The cafe Uta chose wasn't exactly crowded, but neither was it really empty, which was nice in Weiss' opinion. The dim lighting created a comfortable atmosphere, compared to the bright sun that bore down on everyone as soon as they took a step outside. At the very least, nobody in there recognized, or were just used to celebrities due to the large number of them on I-Island, especially with the opening day tomorrow.

"You're not actually nervous about your performance tomorrow, are you?" Uta took a large bite out of an oversized drumstick. She had five more of equal size sitting on her plate, along with a large mug full of frothy root beer.

"What makes you say that?" Weiss scoffed, cutting one of her sausage links in half with a fork and knife. She sliced them into smaller, bite sized pieces. Even if the Schnee name didn't mean much here, outside of Weiss' own career as a singer, it didn't mean she was going to forget all of the lessons that her etiquette tutors had instilled in her from a young age.

Uta stuffed the rest of the drumstick into her mouth and pulled it out cleanly. She'd taken off her hoodie with the oversized sleeves, to not get it dirty, revealing her white dress with a black bow around her neck. The dress had one long sleeve, with the other leaving her right arm free. With her white and red hair, she was the spitting image of Todoroki. It was uncanny really.

"You always look confident, on and off stage, like you were born to perform." Uta took a large swig from her root beer, leaving her upper lips covered in its foam. She wiped the foam clean with her tongue. "So there's something else that's bothering you."

Realizing that she had been regressing in the way she had been treating people? That Weiss was no better than her younger self when she started attending Beacon?

"Maybe." Weiss answered neutrally. While she did plan on being nicer, Weiss also wasn't going to reveal that to someone who might as well be a stranger, even if Uta had been polite so far. Weiss liked her more than Ahri at the very least. "You're not going to ask me what the problem is?"

Uta shook her head as she started on her next drumstick. "Nah, I'm just here because I didn't want to eat alone." She gave Weiss a big grin. That forced a small smile from Weiss in return, who continued eating her own meal.

"You can tell me if you want, or not." Uta continued speaking with a shrug. "It's your life after all." She stopped speaking for a few seconds as she chewed on the bone before moving onto her third drumstick.

"Pun intended, and I really love that song. This Life is Mine is really your best song." Uta started to ramble as she chewed on her fourth drumstick.

That was a horrible pun, but Weiss had been meaner to her classmates for lesser offenses. Weiss forced herself to laugh and took a sip of her water.

"Hopefully I'll be able to surpass it one day." Weiss' smile was genuine this time. She really loved how much that song pissed Father off.

She doubted any song would be able to top that.

The plan was proceeding just as scheduled, with every member of Wolfram's specially chosen team in position to strike when he gave the word. Everything was going too well, but with none of the heroes being even suspicious of an attack, the element of surprise was on his side. Wolfram leaned against the crate he was relaxing with and pulled out his handgun, giving it one final lookover.

The Symbol of Peace would meet his end soon enough by Wolfram's hand. All For One did give him a gift that should help turn the tide.

That old relic would follow soon enough, Wolfram would make sure of that.

It was late by the time Weiss made it back to her hotel room. She turned her phone on the moment she stepped into the lobby, just for it to start buzzing uncontrollably. There were tons of text messages and missed phone calls no doubt. They'd get answered later, once Weiss felt like answering.

Weiss did look at Yu's messages though, who said that she was going to be even later since she made some new foreign hero friends. That was good, Yu seemed sadder, more serious, since her almost death with Stain the Hero Killer. She deserved to find some new friends to help distract her from dealing with the issues Weiss had brought her. She scanned her hotel badge at the lock for her room, unlocking the door with a low beep.

The lights to their room were already on by the time Weiss even took a step in. Did Mina bring any visitors from their class? Silently taking off her heels at the entrance, and switching a pair of slippers, Weiss sighed as she walked into the main living room.

"Weiss." Mina was sitting on the couch with both of her hands pressed together. Her usual smile was missing.

"Mina." Weiss said with a small smile. "Did you have fun with Kyouka and Momo? Where did they go afterwards?"

"Kyouka went with Denki to some music shop." Mina answered neutrally. She sounded serious. "Momo and the others went with Midoriya and Melissa on a tour of I-Island."

"Sounds like fun." Weiss angled her body in the direction of her room, sliding off her bolero with practiced ease. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and she had her soundcheck in the morning.

"Why did you leave without saying anything?" Mina asked, causing Weiss to pause midstep. She took a deep breath and folded the bolero in half, holding it with her right hand.

"Something came up at the last minute." The excuse left Weiss' lips easily. Going into why she had an epiphany about how she treated others would lead to questions that Weiss would prefer never to see the light of day. Such as Uraraka asking if Weiss had a crush on Midoriya, or the fact that she came from another world.

"Something urgent enough to turn your phone off and not answer any of our calls?" Mina sounded angry now.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Weiss pressed her lips into a thin line and kept walking in the direction of the room, only for Mina to vault over the couch and block her path, spreading her arms out.

"No! You don't get to run away this time." Tears appeared at the corner of Mina's black and yellow eyes, it made Weiss feel guilty.

"I'm not running away." Weiss mumbled under her breath, and tried walking around the taller pinkette, only for Mina to take a quick step to the side, blocking her once again.

"Yes you are!" Mina said forcefully. "You always run away and refuse to talk about whatever is bothering you!"

"That's not true!" Weiss weakly defended herself. She wasn't used to arguing with Mina. Kyouka, sure, but Mina was the least confrontational of their small group, after Momo.

"Stain." Mina said only one word, but it was more than enough. She may have forgiven Weiss, but she clearly didn't forget. Weiss remained silent, doing her best to avoid Mina's accusing glare. "You always push away when something happens, and that hurts Weiss."

Mina took a deep breath and continued talking. "I know that you've talked a little with Kyouka about what happened after you beat Stain, and she didn't even tell me that much! You two are always leaving me out of the loop."

Weiss' eyes widened. Mina knew that she's the one who attacked Stain? None of the new articles mentioned that Weiss had seen any fighting, just that she had been at the scene.

Mina bit her bottom lip and grabbed her head with her hands. "What I'm trying to say is this, stop running away, Weiss, stop shutting us out when bad stuff happens."

Weiss' grip on her bolero tightened, but she remained silent as she shook slightly.

"We love you Weiss. I love you, you're one of my best friends, but I cant help you if you keep me at arms length." Mina lowered her hands and glared in Weiss' direction. "Whatever you think you're doing to 'protect us', isn't what we want. Whatever happens, Kyouka, Momo and I will be there for you."

Something inside of Weiss broke, as she felt her cheeks start to moisten from tears that she didn't know she was holding in. Mina was crying at this point too. She pulled Weiss into a hug, one that the white hair girl returned easily.

"I'm sorry." Weiss whispered into Mina's shoulder. She really had been regressing in the way she had treated others. "I-I'll try to open up more."

"I'd say I forgive you, but I'm still pretty mad you ditched us." Mina said through her own tears. The pink hero in training was too nice. She held Weiss even closer. "So, what happened?"

Weiss bit the inside of her cheek and nodded slowly, pulling away from Mina's embrace. She might as well start opening up now, for her friends.

"Uraraka asked me if I had a crush on Midoriya since I've been avoiding him." Weiss admitted sheepishly. This was embarrassing, but it needed to be done.

Mina's eyes turned into pinpoints.

"WHAT?!"

A/

The I-Island arc has been harder than usual to write which led to the more infrequent updates. I hope this chapter was enjoyable! I really wanted to get this out before the year ended. It's hard to believe its been almost two years since Hero or Huntress has started.

Till next time on Schnee: Hero or Huntress!