"So, that's it?" Weiss wondered aloud, still floating, watching from above. "I really must be a ghost right now if I could see my own bloodied body down there."
"Yup!" a voice behind Weiss suddenly invaded her. Weiss immediately followed it and was met with a toothy grin that reminded her of Yang.
He was sitting on, what seemed to be, a floating broom, cross-legged. He had blue eyes like her but with a little darker tone. Spiky bright yellow hair and... monkey tail? He was also not shy about his body. His shirt was open, displaying his abs.
"Who are you?" Weiss exclaimed. "What are you?"
The mysterious man grinned wider. "When people die unexpectedly like you just did, often they can't accept it and become a ghost!"
"You're not answering my question!"
"Sun is my name. I'm the pilot of the river broomstick!" he said, the grin never faltering. "I take care of people like you."
Weiss frowned, confused. "People like me?"
It's as if the man didn't hear her, he kept talking, "Well, in your culture, you know me as the grim reaper."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "A dunce like you? You're no grim reaper! If you're the grim reaper, then why are you... like that?"
He cocked his head to the side. "Like what?"
"Like that! You're not taking this seriously! You're not even scary-looking!"
"Well, I take that as a compliment." The man grinned yet again, taking a pocketbook from his back pocket. "I kind of get what kind of a person you are now. It's in this guidebook!" he waved the thing and then opened it to read.
"Rather than be scared or surprised, you yell a lot, telling people they don't know what they're talking about. Weiss Schnee. Age: seventeen. Personality's impulsive and ill-mannered with a violent temper. She has no respect for authority and is a horrible student. Your family life is..."
Sun looked up at Weiss who was fuming, "Things weren't looking up for you, huh?"
"That's none of your business!" the teen exclaimed.
Sun merely laughed.
Weiss huffed in exasperation. Even in death, she was still getting pissed by everything. "Okay, fine. Can you, at least, tell me what happened to the boy I saved?"
"Do you wanna visit him?" Weiss nodded.
The two of them flew forward until they arrived at the nearest hospital, floating just outside a window.
"Well, we got the test results in," the doctor said. "He's got a few scrapes, but no signs of broken bones or brain damage whatsoever."
A lady, sitting beside the child, hugged the boy in relief. She must be the mother. "Thank goodness," she whispered.
It made Weiss smile. The boy was okay. Weiss felt okay, too. Nodding to herself, the teen looked up at Sun and said, "Okay, Sun. I have no regrets. You can take me to hell or wherever it is I'm going."
To her surprise, though, Sun playfully tutted. "I'm not here to take you away from this world."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss' eyebrows furrow.
"I'm actually here to see if you'll accept an ordeal that can give you your life back!"
"Excuse me?"
Sun floated higher and began, "It's funny, Weiss. None of us were expecting you to die today."
Weiss looked down.
"No one saw it coming! You saving that child, with that scenario, no one would have guessed. And we haven't prepared a place for you yet, to be quite frank."
"So, you're saying you're expecting that little boy to perish?"
Calmly flipping the pages, Sun hummed. "I wasn't going to actually tell you this because I know it would make you more pissed, but without the confusion caused by you running into the street, the boy would actually miss the car and live."
"What?" Weiss glared at the monkey boy incredulously. "But the car was heading straight to him!"
"Yeah, but the driver would have veered to the left and would have completely missed the child."
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, you're saying my death was a complete, utter waste?"
"I didn't say that!"
The ivory-haired girl sighed. This must be the worst day ever.
"Aw! Don't beat yourself up, Weiss!" Sun began. "That's why you were given a second chance! Just undergo the trial, and you'll be back in life in no time! You should feel special. Unexpected cases such as this, only happen once in every one hundred years!"
Weiss huffed, a little tired. Which was weird because she's already dead. "You're just like my teachers in my school. You have no idea what's actually going on."
She floated higher away. Sun followed her immediately. "What are you talking about? I know exactly what's going on! That's why I'm saying you should do this to make things right! It's a pretty good deal, don't you think?"
Turning around, facing Sun, Weiss smiled albeit sadly. "Perhaps it is. But I have to decline." Sun blinked. Weiss continued, "I think I like being a ghost."
She shrugged. "You said so yourself that my life is pathetic. To be quite honest, everyone would be so much happier now that I've perished. Teachers will be able to rest their big mouths, plus, my mother would be able to do whatever she wants without thinking about me."
Sun frowned. "I'm sorry if you feel that way, Weiss."
Weiss merely nodded. "So you understand now how futile it is for me to do this ordeal."
"Well, you don't have to make a decision right now," Sun said as he ascends. "Spend some time at your wake and think it over. I'll be back when you decide." And with that, the blond boy with a monkey tail was gone.
Think it over? No, there's nothing to really think about this. No matter how pitiful her life was, Weiss never thought of ending it, but now that it ended on its own? Who was she to rebuff the opportunity to not be hurt anymore? To not hurt others. To not be a hindrance. Filth.
With a huff, Weiss continued to float. Veering herself towards their little apartment.
In a blink of an eye, Weiss was floating outside their tiny abode. A lot of people were already there. Looking around, Weiss could discern her classmates. And it made her angry.
"Look at them, smiling and laughing in my wake!"
Who was she kidding? This was what she was talking about. Everyone and everything would be much better without her. That grim reaper should have listened to her!
"Pyrrha, please..." Weiss heard. Of course, Pyrrha would also be in her wake. But what surprised Weiss was the fact that her friend, who lectures her all the time and was on the verge of giving up on her, was crying.
"Weiss," she said. Covering her eyes with her hand, she continued to cry as she walked out of the door. Her school friends were there with her, but Weiss guessed Pyrrha couldn't feel them. Not long after, Pyrrha fell to her knees, seemingly unable to stop her weeping.
"Weiss!" she exclaimed. "Weiss!"
Weiss blinked a few times. "Is she... making all that racket for me?" Taken aback by the event, Weiss remained looking down at her mourning friend when another racket took her attention.
"Come on, let's go back! This isn't right!"
"Shut up! Let go of me, Merc!" a familiar voice bellowed. Everyone outside was immediately gasping, maybe, in surprise or trepidation. Or maybe both.
The person Weiss could only discern as Yang struggled to walk as her minions were pulling her back. She grunted, but she didn't stop. Seemingly determined to fight someone inside Weiss' apartment.
"What is that dunce doing here?" Weiss wondered.
Now that Yang was in the doorway, she began to talk again, or more like, lash out. "Damn you, Ice Queen!" she bellowed. "You think you could just back out on me like that? Are you scared or something? We're not done yet, you hear me? Open your fucking eyes and get back here! Fight me like you mean it, damn it!"
"Yang..." one of her minions with gray hair began as he grunted, still pulling Yang back. "This place is for mourning." But Yang was relentless, pushing herself until she was inside. "I'm not going to leave! Not until that idiot comes out and fights me! You fucking Ice Queen!"
Weiss floated down, observing. That's what all she could do, after all. "You dolt," she said. Yang was trying to reach out for her photograph at the altar as she continued to bellow. Her lilac eyes were darker, tears threatening to fall.
"Who am I gonna fight now, huh?" she said, more weakly.
"She's gone," her friend reminded her. And with that, Yang looked down. She didn't push ahead. She just looked... devastated, defeated. "You're supposed to be here. For me," Yang whispered, tears finally falling.
Weiss' eyebrows furrowed. Who would have guessed?
Yang finally relented after a moment. She let her friends drag her outside as they yell apologies to everyone on the way.
Another set of voices invaded Weiss: Mr. Ironwood's and Mr. Torchwick's.
"Look at those thugs Schnee hung out with," Torchwick sneered. "Even in her wake, they're still acting like barbarians. It's a shame, really, that they attend our institution."
"Do not be too harsh, Mr. Torchwick," Ironwood replied. "We should be glad. After a life of being worthless, Schnee did something that gave our school a good reputation."
Torchwick chuckled. "Between you and me, Mr. Ironwood, I'd say she probably pushed that kid on accident while she was trying to knock him down while stealing all his lunch money."
And for the first time, Weiss saw Ironwood smile, and it just made her seethe. "I wouldn't be surprised by that, Mr. Torchwick." They both chuckled while Weiss grunted, taunted to punch their faces. "Those pathetic excuses for a teacher!"
Then a crop smacked both Ironwood and Torchwick's heads. That made Weiss stop. When the two turned around, feisty green eyes stared down at them.
Grabbing their collars, she said, "What do you suppose is more disgraceful? That girl shouting in misery or your insensitive, idiotic words?" Not even giving them a chance to blink, Goodwitch pushed them away and walked inside Weiss' apartment.
She knelt in front of Weiss' mother, who was... not there. She was, physically, but her eyes were bloodshot from weeping, empty. She seemed like an empty shell sitting on the floor beside her daughter's altar.
"I am sorry for your loss," Goodwitch said. She then knelt in front of Weiss' altar. Her photograph, looking up at her, just like her ghost.
"Miss Schnee," the teacher began, sorrowful. "At first, I was surprised. To hear you save a child at the cost of your own life." She was quiet for a moment and then Weiss heard a sniffle.
"Weiss," she said, "Why didn't you stay?" Goodwitch looked down, trembling. "You could have made something great out of yourself."
Weiss was paralyzed. Seeing Goodwitch this way... she didn't quite expect this. She cared. She really did care. Weiss couldn't understand the teacher's past actions, but she was looking out for her. Perhaps in her own little way.
Soon afterward, Weiss' mother began to move, she opened her mouth as her eyes welled tears again. "Weiss," she weakly uttered. "My snowflake." She began to weep again, curling into a pitiful ball.
It broke Weiss' heart. Her mother, who was neglectful all of her life, was here, mourning for her. Weiss expected as much, but not to this extent. Her mother wasn't perfect, but she supposed, just like Goodwitch, she really did care and was, at least, trying to look out for her.
"This way," a woman's voice said. Weiss frowned when she turned to look.
"Yes, mommy."
Ah, the child she saved and his mother. Just like Goodwitch, the woman knelt in front of the weeping Willow –Weiss' mother– and sent her their condolences. They then both knelt in front of Weiss' altar. "Jaune, dear, say something to honor her," she told her child.
The young boy smiled and kept his hands together. He said, "Thank you, big sis, for giving me back my ball and for telling me to be careful," he paused for a minute and then, "Also, you have a very pretty smile!"
The boy obliviously grinned at her mother after, and Weiss saw his mother's pained smile. Weiss wouldn't admit it, but it warmed her heart that even the person who never met her was a little bit sad that she had perished.
She followed them outside. Her chest clenched when he heard the young boy say, "Mommy? When will I be able to see big sis again? I want to play with her and I also want to see her smile again! She's a very warm person. I don't know why they're crying. Maybe because they want to play with her too." The child's mother merely embraced her child, sniffling.
Perhaps Sun was onto something, Weiss thought. Perhaps he knew this would happen, or at least, something like this. Weiss continued to observe the people close to her, and the people she had just learned about who actually cared.
Shattered, broken... that's what they all look like. And it flabbergasted Weiss that the reason for these people's current plight was her sudden quietus.
Floating up, she asked when she felt Sun's presence on her side, "Have you ever not known about something that seemed obvious to everybody else?"
"That happens to us all, I think," the blond shrugged. "So, are you ready now?"
"Yes," Weiss said. "I am."
Sun grinned, ruffling the ivory-haired girl's hair that earned an icy "Hey!" Not that he cared.
He exclaimed, "Good to hear!" He grasped Weiss' hand and pulled her up. "Now let's not waste any more time! Let's go, Ice Queen!"
"Where are you taking me?" Weiss asked.
"To the Spirit World, of course!"
"To the what?"
Sun continued to pull the girl and explained, "The Spirit World! We are going to see someone who would explain to you about the whole ordeal!"
