Weiss sat at her mahogany desk, mulling over the most recent quarterly report. The numbers were up, sure, but not nearly enough. Not enough for Weiss. After she had taken over control of the company a little over three years ago, Weiss had been slowly working on improving the company's image as well as making it more profitable all the same.
The 23 year old put a hand to her head, brushing back a few strands of her perfect white hair, keeping her hand at her forehead. She could feel another headache coming on. Great, she thought, that makes four days now. Weiss sat back in her chair, one that she was told was the top of the line ergonomic chair, allowing for any individual to sit comfortably for up to eight hours. It also just happened to be the most expensive on the market.
She thought back to her first year with the company, pushing aside the report for now. After her graduation from Beacon, Weiss returned home to Atlas to take a spot in the company. She didn't want to be thrust straight into command, neither had her father for that matter. Weiss wanted to work up to being CEO, to earn the respect of those that she would soon be leading. It hadn't taken her long to impress the board members and after only six months, her father stepped down and Weiss took control. With her new leadership position, Weiss set out to amend the past mistakes of the company.
After spending the last four years working with her Faunus teammate Blake, Weiss' opinions on the Faunus quickly changed. Her first order of business when she took command was to have humans and Faunus on equal grounds. Met at first with grumbling, both from the board and the company's employees, the policy quickly found favor. The company now boasted the highest employee satisfaction rates in Schnee Dust Company history. This, in turn, led to higher production sparked by an untapped Dust mine in Mistral. The company was turning over record quarters and everyone couldn't be happier. Except for one person.
Weiss sighed and stood up. It had been months since her last vacation day. She worked sixty, seventy hour weeks in her office, signing documents and enacting new policies. Not that it bothered her, she didn't have anyone close. Her parents had left on a Remnant-wide cruise vacation, leaving Weiss and her sister, Winter, in Atlas. Winter was of course, upset over Weiss' promotion instead of herself. Weiss saw to it that Winter had an important position in the company. Once she had been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, Winter had calmed down considerably.
Her old teammates from Beacon had gone on to lead very successful careers as huntresses. Blake and Yang were now living just outside Vale, happily engaged. Yang had taken up a position to help defend the city against the growing Grimm population. It had seemed as if they were dwindling but a lack of hunter forces in the area had allowed the Grimm to make a resurgence. Blake on the other hand, had taken up a more peaceful position, a professor at Beacon Academy. The job offered stability, the distinct lack of danger of death, and most importantly, continued access to Beacon's enormous library. Blake had said yes almost immediately after Ozpin laid out the offer.
But Ruby, well, Weiss hadn't heard from Ruby since a few months after their graduation. Weiss had traveled to Vale to celebrate Blake and Yang's engagement. All of their friends from Beacon, team JNPR and team CFVY, had been there in celebration. Even Sun and Neptune managed to make the trip to extend their congratulations.
They were enjoying a nice dinner with drinks when Ruby had walked in. Weiss looked up, mid-bite, at the battle-worn huntress. Yang had told her that she was going to be late as Ruby was another mission, but she hadn't expected the brunette to be this late. Gone were her red highlights, faded from a couple months in the field. Even in her dirty, torn combat attire, Weiss was struck by just how beautiful Ruby still was.
But of course, that was nearly two years ago by now. Weiss smiled at the pleasant memory of seeing Ruby again. The wedding was just around the corner, a week from now. Weiss had made sure that she would take her vacation days for the week leading up to the wedding. It had been nearly a year since she had seen Blake and Yang, and she was desperate to catch up. Shuffling the report and setting it neatly to the side, Weiss turned back to her computer. Reminders of important meetings for the next month were neatly organized on the large screen. Sending out a last email to the head manager of the Mistral mines, Weiss shut down her computer, grateful she'd be able to leave the office for the next week.
The buildings and people on the sidewalk passed by as Weiss stared out the back window of her town car. Headed home before she left for Vale that night, Weiss was deep in thought. The Mistral mines weighed heavy on her mind. They had a continuous stream of burn Dust flowing from the earth, but as of recently, production was facing troubles. When the mines were discovered, SDC quickly moved in, claiming the land and pushing the few inhabitants out. I made absolute sure that they were reimbursed heavily for their troubles. Why would they start protesting now? Weiss thought to herself, the buildings becoming shorter as they moved out of the city.
Soon they were out of the heart of the city, out to the countryside where Weiss had her house built. It was nothing fancy, a simple two-story house with a spacious porch on the west side of her white house. The nearest home was over a mile away, which was perfect. Weiss preferred the quiet and privacy. Her driver pulled up into the drive, slowing the car to a halt. Weiss wasn't scheduled to leave until later that night so she dismissed her driver, instructing him to return in a few hours.
Weiss unlocked the front door, hanging up her coat on a nearby hook. Fall had finally started to make its presence known, a slight chill swept through the living room as she shut the door. The weather report she received earlier that morning had said they were even expecting snow as early as next week. Weiss made her way through the house, moving to the kitchen when a quiet noise caught her attention.
She came to a dead halt, just outside the kitchen's entrance. Her years at Beacon had taught her to listen to and track noises, just as any huntress should be able to do. Someone was in her house. Someone who was very unwelcome. Retrieving Myrtenaster from the hall closet near the front door, Weiss quietly approached the kitchen once more. It had been years since she had fought anyone or anything and Weiss really wasn't looking forward to a fight right now.
Resolving to get rid of the threat, Weiss gave a small turn of the Dust barrel on her rapier, sending the clicking noise through the house. Weiss could hear the intruder's feet shuffle, likely preparing to strike as she rounded the corner. Quickly rounding the corner, Weiss quickly jumped backward as the assailant slashed at her with a knife. Recovering from the first attack, Weiss slashed back at the man who she now noted was wearing a Grimm mask. But I thought the White Fang were disbanded, we made sure of it. Her opponent dodged her attack, backing up into the room, bumping up against the far wall. Realizing he was far outmatched and cornered, the assassin made a desperate attempt, throwing the knife at Weiss while simultaneously pulling out a revolver.
Wide-eyed at the sudden attack, Weiss made a quick side step to dodge the blade. As the masked man brought his revolver up level, he fired. The first lodged into the wall behind her, too close for comfort. Throwing up a glyph in front of herself, the next four impacted safely into the glyph before it shattered. It has been far too long since I've done this. I've lost my touch, Weiss thought, Wait, that was only five shots. Revolvers have-
The last shot from his revolver struck her, sending her in a small spin. It's been a REALLY long time. Even with my aura, that still really hurt. Recovering, she turned towards the now defenseless man and pierced the ground with Myrtenaster, sending a line of ice rushing towards his feet. Not reacting quickly enough, the ice struck the man, freezing both of his legs in place up to his place up to his knees. In a desperate attempt to free himself, he slammed his fist into the ice, recoiling in pain as the harsh ice remained solid.
Weiss smiled as she walked to the man. "Nobody attacks Weiss Schnee and gets away with it," she told the man, her smile dropping as she neared the assassin. "Now who are you and who sent you?"
"We're your worst nightmare. We will be everywhere you are," he said in a gruff voice. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small capsule and quickly bit into it. Weiss realized all too quickly what was happening, too late to stop him as the cyanide took its victim, his body falling limp at the waist.
Weiss stepped back from the now dead, failed, assassin. He said 'we'. There's more after me? A broken window from the second story shook Weiss from her thoughts. Slowly climbing the steps to the second story, Myrtenaster in hand, Weiss scanned the hall. She carefully cleared each room in the hall; her office, the guest room, the bathroom, until only one remained. Weiss slowly opened the door to her room, ice blue eyes scanning the area. The cold draft from the broken window caught her attention once she determined the room was void of anyone but herself. She hastily moved towards the window, peering out into the field behind her house.
The sun was just starting to set and Weiss could just make out the shadow of a figure running to the tree line, quickly disappearing. Sighing, she set Myrtenaster against the wall, sure the house was clear now. She gritted her teeth, chastising herself for not being more careful. Standing to phone the police, something black on her white sheets caught her eye. Picking up the playing card, she turned it over. "An ace of spades?" she quietly whispered.
After being reassured the police were on their way, Weiss went to her office and sat at the desk in the corner of the room. Letting out a deep breath to calm herself, she pulled out her personal scroll in order to make a call to someone equally as important as the police. Swiping to 'Y' in her scroll's directory, she pressed the call button. Someone is going to be very upset that I'll be late.
A/N: Thanks everyone for the favorites/follows and the reviews. I hadn't originally planned on writing and updating so soon, but seeing the reaction to the first chapter got me really excited to write again. I'd like to know what you think of these short chapters. I don't write a whole lot yet so I prefer this shorter method, it'll allow me to update more often.