Having only one job now, more time in my life, and some semblance of motivation to write, this fic still isn't dead.
"Mirror mirror, I'll tell you something: I think I might change it all."
The bright light of her Scroll filled the otherwise dim room as its incessant buzzing informed her of an incoming call. Weiss huffed and opened her eyes, only to squint against the bright light. Of course someone would call now, her Aura had only just started regenerating and she'd just gotten comfortable enough to doze off. And it wasn't like anyone should have been calling her. The rest of her team knew she wanted to rest after the doubles match today, and JNPR had gone with them to celebrate her and Yang's victory. They all knew she would probably be asleep by now, so unless something was wrong they wouldn't bother her. Hopefully nothing was wrong…
When she picked up her Scroll to see who it was, it was something far worse than her team calling to inform her of something.
"Father. Of course," Weiss muttered. She couldn't help rolling her eyes as she threw the Scroll back down on her bed and turned on her side. By now he had to have caught wind of what happened during the doubles, either by seeing it or by word of mouth. Certainly he wouldn't be happy with how she conducted herself, but she couldn't really bring herself to care, not about him nor the consequences he would lord over her. He would never understand. Sure, she could give an explanation about competition and wanting to win, and how that was the only way to ensure a win. She could tell him about how she knew the risk and the reward, and figured the risk was worth the reward. She could explain it to him by equating it to all of the business terms she knew and he would accept it, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter because it wasn't true.
Yes, she wanted to win the doubles match for herself, just as everyone still left in the tournament did. But it was so much more than that. She wanted to win the match for Yang, for her team who trusted her and saw enough in her to send her on. She wanted to protect Yang from the onslaught Flynt was about to unleash on her. She wanted to prove herself as a Huntress and a teammate. She wanted to prove herself as a friend.
"That was a gutsy move, Schnee. I dig it."
Flynt's words right after the match still rang in her head as the only justification she needed. Not only had she wanted to prove herself, she succeeded in doing so. Compared to what he told her before the match began, those words were one of the most important things she had ever heard. To go from being judged, from being disliked for her name and her com—her father's company—to acceptance in a matter of a fight was incredible. To know that her actions could have that impact, that she didn't outright earn that scorn anymore and could prove herself was such a wonderful thing to know. And while it could easily be twisted to be about the Schnee name, it wasn't.
Throwing herself and Flynt into that blast wasn't about proving anything about the Schnee family name. It wasn't about Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. It was about the Beacon student and Huntress in training Weiss Schnee. Her father would never understand that, and while she could lie about it, she didn't want to anymore.
It was gradual, but the familiar stranger and her mask were slowly melting away. Weiss had no desire to bring her back.
More than that, her actions were no longer harming the ones around her. Gone were the days where she was spouting off insults, knowingly or not, and hurting the ones around her. Gone were the days when she thought she was better than those around her. She still made mistakes, sure, it was a process, but she had gotten better. She was changing, she was taking strides to become the person she wanted to be. And it wasn't for the family name anymore. It was for herself, and only for herself.
And through that, she had gotten what she wanted. Friends. People around her who liked her for who she was (who she really was) and not people who pretended to like her for her name or because they felt they had to. Or worse yet, who outright despised her for her name and the act she put on. Authenticity had been more helpful to her goals than the rigid adherence to the image she thought she needed to portray would ever be.
It was with that thought the parting words of her sister replaced Flynt's praise.
"It sounds to me like you have two choices in front of you. You could either call him, beg for his money back, and once again explain once more why you want to study at Beacon over Atlas. Or, you could continue to explore Remnant, discovering more about the world and honestly…more about yourself."
Winter was correct, as she often was. It really shouldn't have been a surprise, given her sister had gone through the same thing years prior. And Weiss had a sneaking suspicion Winter knew which one she wanted to pursue when she gave her the options. She knew she would have to call her father back eventually, however much she had no desire to. He would be persistent until she did, but it didn't have to be now. Not yet anyways. And it certainly would not be to beg for his money and find herself explaining her situation yet again.
She had already started taking major strides to accomplish the latter option. Exploring all of Remnant was still a bit of a ways off, of course, but learning more about herself? She had friends. She had a place where she finally felt she belonged, really belonged. Not just belonging because of a name and a sense of duty. Not only had the familiar stranger been melting away, she was discovering the girl underneath. The real young woman underneath, strong and intelligent and tempered with her experiences. And still learning more and more by the day with her training and from the people around her. No, there was definitely no way she wanted to bring the familiar stranger back.
She liked the person resting beneath the icy façade.
Almost as if sensing her determination, her Scroll stopped buzzing. She breathed a sigh of relief, but a moment later, a different vibration went off. It was only one, to signify a new message. Weiss let out another sigh and reached behind herself to grab it. It was a voice message that her Scroll was notifying her of, and she didn't know why she expected any different. Her father was relentless in his desire to speak with her, his incessant calls and cutting her off had been proof of that. And she would, eventually, listen to his messages and return his calls, but not now. Definitely not tonight, she was far too tired and not in the mood to deal with being screamed at, especially with how good of a day it was otherwise.
She deserved to rest and enjoy the rest of her night comfortably.
She clicked her Scroll off and rolled over again. Her eyes landed on the mirror on the wall across from her, and a set of blue eyes beamed back at her from the reflection. Winter smiled at her and nodded, pleased. Proud. And Weiss closed her eyes with a smile, fully content with her decision.
This was what Winter wanted for her, what she had meant a while ago when she said she wouldn't always be around. She wanted her younger sister to be self-reliant and confident. Weiss wasn't fully there yet, but she would be. She wanted to be. She wanted to make Winter proud and be more like her. Self-reliant, self-assured, strong-willed, and happy with herself and her choices. She could get there…she would get there. She would keep growing and changing and show the world who Weiss Schnee, not the familiar stranger, really was.
She no longer just hoped to find an environment better than what she had grown up in. She was determined to create and see that difference for herself now.
