A violent bout of coughing could be heard along the hallway as the heels of Weiss's boots softly clicked along the tiles that made up the floor. The glare of sunlight made her wince as she passed by a window, its rays bouncing around the corridor's tiles to light it up further than the fluorescent lights ever could at night. A soft beeping could be heard as she made her way through the top floor of the hospital to one of the largest single rooms they had available. Of course he would be in there, it was set aside for him especially when he ran himself into the ground so far that he actually needed medical care to get back onto his feet.
She hadn't changed out of her police uniform before the visit, there hadn't proven to be time enough for that. Still, there had been time for the silver haired girl to stop by a florist and buy a pre-made bouquet. He probably wouldn't care about the gesture, but she felt her father would be pissed more by a lack of formal respect. Weiss had barely even glanced at the white and yellow arrangement to tell what flowers had been used in it.
"I don't care what they say, you have to close that deal!" The coughing had ended to be replaced by a rasp, the man's dry throat not stopping him from barking orders down a cell phone. Salt and pepper hair sheared short and brushed back into a straight line on his head was the first part that Weiss noticed when she approached the door and waited for him to finish ranting at the poor employee on the other end of the line. It had grown out since she had last seen him. Other parts of him, from the weathered and tanned skin, to the intense lines written into his skin from stress and frustration over the years, hadn't changed one bit.
Even in a medical gown and lying in a hospital bed, he was still the same businessman, focused on nothing more than making his already prodigious profits expand even further. Never mind that the Schnee Corporation was one of the largest companies around the world now thanks to his efforts and that of those working under him, and that this habit of aggressively pursuing further ventures even when not at work had already caused his health to nosedive a few times before. Overworking did tend to do that to people.
Leaving him to keep yelling down the phone line, Weiss paced quietly through the doorway and to one of his bedside tables. The shouting faded into background noise for her as she picked up an empty vase to place the bouquet in, casting a glance towards several others almost just like it spread around the room. Some had small cards attached to them, brief cookie cutter messages wishing her father well printed on them by the companies that had made them, the only personal touch to them a signature at the end in either blue or black pen.
"Just do it!" There, that was the familiar ending to one of his orders. Sure enough, the cell snapped closed in his hand just before he tossed it to one of the tables nearest to him, a growl slipping out with the motion. Although Weiss's father had only been ranting at the man, his shoulders rose and fell in a quick rhythm as he panted for air, brows still firmly pulled together to crease the skin in-between. "A bunch of goddamned idiots, the lot of them."
"Maybe, but I think they can handle the company long enough for you to get your rest and bounce back from whatever it is you caught this time." Weiss spoke up from arranging her flowers, not needing a greeting before engaging in a conversation with him. "Speaking of which, what was it this time that they decided to hospitalise you against your will for?"
"Pneumonia, they said." A coughing fit interrupted him before he could continue, forcing him to pause momentarily with one fist over his mouth as he bent over. "I still don't believe it's bad enough to call for me to stop working, not with this big deal on our doorstep to take care of."
"Well, I'll believe that when your cough stops." The flowers propped as best as she could manage, she turned to face her father, arms sliding smoothly to cross over chest as she leaned backwards against the table. "The only reason they make you stay here is because if they left you alone, you'd be likely to work yourself to death."
"That isn't true." But they both knew how much of a lie that statement was. "Not like it matters where I am, with those fools still calling me up at least once a day to check what I would decide on in their situations. It's like I can't even rest for one day without them thinking they'll mess everything up. Which they probably would without me."
"Relax, I'm sure you'll be out of here within a few days at worst." Weiss's eyes slid up and to the right as she tried to remember how long pneumonia normally landed a person in the hospital for. She knew it wasn't a long stay, so long as they weren't elderly or kids. But that was in normal circumstances. With the head of the Schnee family, it was likely he would continue to stress over the deal that he kept talking about and wind up making his stay longer. "And then you can get back to yelling at them in person."
He huffed over the way she viewed his directing of the workers under him, but didn't disagree outright with her either. At least now he seemed to be relaxing, shoulders dropping slightly now that he completely recovered from his coughing fit.
"How's your stint in the police force coming along, Weiss?" He asked, leaning back onto the mound of pillows perched at the head of the bed.
"It's been good. I've been partnered up with detective Goodwitch, and it looks like I'll be a part of some big operation already." Perhaps she wanted to impress him with that. Given the need for secrecy in their work, the officer wasn't supposed to even mention their little sting they had going, using that brawler as their spy into the underbelly of this city.
"Good, good. At least this little venture into community service isn't proving to be just standing on a street and directing traffic." Though the dismissive line about what the head of the Schnee family thought she would end up doing caused a bubble of irritation, Weiss did not show. Her training on how to act in... prestigious company had taught her better than to show negative emotions easily. "And if all goes well, it'll be another shining achievement to add to your list once you decide to join the company."
It was no secret that the heiress had been in training from day one to take over from her father eventually. In fact, most people expected it normally. The reasons for it however, might have slightly different than what ran through their heads. Other families that owned large shares or companies often had their children raised into the same careers as them to use the family name to make sure that they would be successful. In his case, it was so that the company that he had raised from the ground with his own two hands would be left to someone that he could trust to keep it going. If there was one lasting impact that he would leave upon this world when he died, it would be the Schnee Corporation, not a child raised to be the best in everything. Even if his endeavours towards the first had also created the latter.
"Hopefully." Weiss's eyes flicked over the rest of the large room. Whereas on other floors, such a room might have housed at least two patients at any one time, being the owner of the hospital allowed him to have a room always specially reserved and prepared for him. Even the bed was larger than the cots used for general patients. It was more akin to a hotel stay than a trip to the infirmary any time he fell sick. "We'll still have to wait and see how it turns out first." There was always the chance that Yang could turn traitor if there was a way out of the deal and into a better one. But Glynda had a safeguard against that, didn't she, knowing that there was a sick sister they could use against the blonde.
"I wouldn't expect anything else other than golden results from my only child." Rubbing one hand on the rough stubble coating his chin, Weiss's father raised a remote with the other. The snap of electricity moving through a flat screen TV embedded into the opposite wall could be heard moments before an image flickered onto it. Red and green stats of companies rolled across at the bottom of the screen as a reporter took up most of the space left, the buzz of his talking taking away what quiet there had been before. "I'm sure it will all fall into place."
"Hmm." Talking to him while he was fixated on hearing the latest news about his rivals and market changes was useless, unless she actually wanted to get him annoyed. "I suppose I should head off, this was only supposed to be a short break before I go back on another shift. I'll try to come see you again later in the week."
The most response the officer got as she walked out the door was an unfocused grunt, his gaze firmly following the stats as they went along.
Once she was far enough down the corridor to the elevator that she was sure that no sound would drift back to him, Weiss let out a sigh, her shoulders rising and falling along the rush of air through her mouth. Of course he wouldn't stop to think that maybe, she had asked to join the police because it was something that she wanted to do, not just to gain another embellishment on her record to show off later down the track at a business meeting or such.
Not that actually saying so would change his mind about her future. Needing something to occupy her hands with, the heiress reached for her tie, straightening up the knot as she waited for the elevator doors to open. If she recalled right, there was a coffee machine down on the 20th floor. And god knows how much she needed some liquid caffeine goodness before heading out on duty. Especially if she wound up dealing with a bunch of rowdy delinquents like last time.
With a quite loud ding, the metals doors slid apart to let the heiress enter the box and ride it down a few floors. They had only half opened at her destination before she was striding out of it, her mood sinking fast into vexation as she kept letting the thought of her predetermined future roll over in her head. Her eyebrows knitting together as the edges of her mouth turned down, most of the nurses and visitors on the floor skittered out of her way and avoided all eye contact as she marched past, not wanting to set her off.
209, 210... The numbers on the rooms along the corridor seemed to blur as she walked past. The sooner she could get some coffee or such into her, the better.
And there the machine was, stood near to the numberplate reading 219. Maybe the sight should have made her somewhat relieved, if it wasn't for the annoyance of finding someone else already using it.
Weiss's blue eyes flicked over the short dark hair with shades of red towards its ends, and down over the medical gown draped over a smaller frame than her own. The girl had a finger paused before the buttons that chose the drink the vending machine would hand out, hovering for a moment before moving to the next, constantly shifting position but never actually pressing anything. Waiting as the patient further deliberated on what to do, Weiss gritted her teeth. She didn't have time for this.
"Are you even allowed to have anything other than what the nurses give you?" The thought had turned to words and was out her mouth before she could stop herself. Not that she would have, that instinct was only for while she was around people her father would want to impress.
A jolt ran through the girl's body, and her head turned round to face the officer. The sight of silver eyes made Weiss pause. That... was something you didn't see every day.
Tonight was the big night. The start to the fighting tournament. Despite herself, Yang took in a deep breath as she tried to keep her nerves from getting the best of her.
She should be happy, excited even. This was her big chance to earn more money, get Ruby her surgery, and get out of this life for good. So why was her heart thumping around in her ribcage like a frantic rabbit?
Instead of fighting down in the basement this night, Yang had turned up to the club once it was dark to find Junior waiting outside with a car running, his special pair of bodyguards along for the ride. As the engine purred away, she glanced out the window, face propped up on one half formed fist, no clue on where they were headed. She could recognise parts of the dock area out the tinted glass, so they hadn't gone far.
Junior, as opposed to his contender's anxious mood, seemed over the moon that the night had finally come. He had his best black suit on, dry cleaned and pressed earlier that very day, the only marks of colour against it being the white dress shirt, and the new ruby red tie that lead own under his vest. It was if he had spent the day grooming and preparing himself, ready to look his very best when Yang triumphed over the brawlers put forth by other gang bosses in the city. It was easy to get that idea about his intentions, when he kept wearing that cocky grin on his face, both sides of his mouth pulled back at all times to show off his teeth.
"I can't wait." Yang's attention drifted from the buildings passing by outside to where he sat in the driver's seat. "This night alone determines the top half of the best fighters in Beacon." Even more teeth showed as he paused, the blonde figuring that he was probably envisioning the look on the other leaders' faces when he actually got someone that would make it through this round. "This won't be like last time, where we barely lasted a minute before getting knocked out."
"We're right here, you know." Miltiades interrupted from the front passenger seat, though there was only barely a flicker of anger that broke through the boredom written on her face. She looked just like any other time that Yang had run into her. Crimson strapless dress with a black sash complete with bow, red gloves, and some black fur piece that hung down from the back of her neck. Red wings of eyeliner only served to highlight her bored attitude, eyes partially closed and looking off out the window.
"Maybe I would stop mentioning it once we actually have some success at this thing." The bodyguard huffed, but said no more. "I should warn you now, Yang. For some of the guys you'll be facing, they'll be having a lot riding on making it through to the one-on-one rounds. And if the chips are looking down for them, and they think they can get away with it, they will pull something dirty."
"I thought there wasn't going to be any rules?" Yang said. The idea of crime lords actually wanting their champions to fight fair seemed a tad ironic to her. Especially if they were going to start with a group brawl by the sounds of it. "I thought the only rule that would be applied here would be 'no weapons'."
"Well..." Junior scratched at his beard, knowing he couldn't quite disagree with her there. "It's more 'you can cheat so long as you don't get caught.' So, you know, anything could happen out there." Well that was calming to hear. "Anyways..." The engine gave one last whirr before clunking as it died, the car itself lurching slightly as it came to a stop. "We're here."
Pushing the door open, the blonde could see that they were on the very end of the docks, dark water ebbing below around the concrete platform that they stood on. A large warehouse was to one side, light overflowing from every window that could be seen, and the large crack in the metal entrance that people were being ushered through. Scanning the handful of thugs that were scattered around the door, Yang could see markings of nearly every big name mob in the city on them. A tough crowd to impress tonight. And a far cry from the drunks and lechs that would gather in Junior's club.
"Well, it's time." Junior tugged on his jacket to ease out any wrinkles as his small group gathered behind him. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a pair of red shades, opening it up with a flick of his wrist and sliding them onto his face. His grin hadn't faded for a second. "Time to show them just what competition we brought this year."
