The next day came faster than Weiss had expected, after convincing Mina that she was not in love with Midoriya, or even held the slightest sliver of affection for the green nerd. No offense, but she had never even seen him in a romantic light, at all. He wasn't Weiss' type, not one bit. The thought of liking him in that way nearly made Weiss gag, in a polite manner of course. He wasn't the issue, not that Weiss knew him enough for Midoriya to be one. Still, she would try being nicer to him in the future.
"Nervous?" The most annoying idol in the world asked. Weiss had to already be in the reception hall before most of the other guests arrived, to prepare for her performance. Ahri and Uta, along with their accompanying bands were also there, along with the waiters that were preparing for the upcoming party. The red and white haired girl was at one of the snack tables, devouring anything she was able to stuff in her mouth.
"Of course not." Weiss crossed her arms. That question was starting to be too common, and was losing its effect. She had decided to wear a dress that was identical to the one she wore when she first arrived here, down to the smallest details. It was simple, elegant, and wouldn't take too much attention away from her performance. Ahri wore a short skirt that fell mid thigh, and a glittery blue top that left one of her arms bare. Sadly, her blue was a similar shade to Weiss'."I practiced too hard to fail."
Ahri smirked as she took a small sip of lukewarm water to prepare her throat. She stood beside Weiss, watching the amateur bands that had won the contest to perform with them stare at everything in wonder, mostly the unlimited amounts of food. This would be the biggest stage ever for most of them, with powerful people of industry, and famous heroes that came from all around the world. There were rumors that All Might himself was attending, and was spotted walking around the I-Expo. "I like that drive of yours."
"What drive?" Weiss sighed. She'd rather be talking with Uta, or her band from Sakuragaoka High School. They were decent, and had potential, even if their lead guitarist liked to do her own thing occasionally and forgot the lyrics to the song. It was weird, talking to people who could be considered normal.
"That's for you to find out, since you're asking me that question." Ahri winked. The first of the guests soon started to trickle in. The Gumiho Hero started to saunter away, giving Weiss a wave without even bothering to look back. "I look forward to your song!"
Weiss wished she could say the same, but then that'd be a lie. Her friends and classmates would be arriving a little later, to not be the first since that was usually awkward, but not too late as to miss her song. Kyouka, Mina, and Momo had already seen her sing in person countless times anyways.
"Yui! Ritsu! don't you dare eat that!" A girl with her long black hair in pigtails chased after Weiss' guitarist and drummer. That managed to crack a small smile onto Weiss' face. Hopefully everyone had fun with her performance.
That was all that mattered.
Note to self, running in a suit is a bit harder than it looked, at least in Izuku's opinion. He had spent the entire morning with Melissa, and had forgotten what time it was until Iida called him. Well, Iida yelled at him through the phone since he was late.
"Sorry about that you guys!" Izuku ran into the entrance of the waiting hall. He paused. Only Iida, Kaminari, Mineta and Todoroki were standing around. "Where is everyone else?"
"Schnee's already inside, and everyone else is not here yet!" Iida complained, his face serious like always. "This is why we arranged for a proper meeting time, people! Does that not mean anything anymore?!" He started bending and unbending his arm like a robot.
All Izuku could do was scratch the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Sorry I'm late!" A familiar voice called out as the mechanical doors opened. Uraraka walked in with an awkward smile. "It took me a while to get ready." She wore a fluffy pink dress with black stockings. S-S-She looked cute.
"Best night ever!" Kaminari spoke up with a large grin.
The doors opened again.
"Apologies for the tardiness." Yaoyorozu said with a slight blush on her face. She wore a long greek style green dress with her hair done in a bun. Jirou and Ashido were with her, with the Earphone hero hiding behind her two friends. "Kyouka's feeling a bit shy."
"It's not my fault I'm not used to wearing dresses and makeup." Jirou defended herself. She wore a dark pink dress with a blue ribbon around her waist, and her leather jacket. "This feels more like a costume."
"It kinda is!" Ashido said, taking a step to the side so Jirou lost her cover. "You're the one who never let us dress you up!" The pinkette wore a baby blue dress decorated with lace that fell to her knees.
"All I know is that I'm enjoying the view." Kaminari added with a thumbs up. "Even the jacket can't ruin this-"
Jirou stabbed him in the side with one of her earphone jacks. "Shut up!"
"It was a compliment." Kaminari raised his hands in defense.
"This is my first time wearing fancy clothes." Uraraka said, walking up to Izuku. She had her arms extended and kept waving them up and down. The brown haired girl looked nervous. "I had to borrow one of Yaoyorozu's dresses."
"Really? You look great!" Izuku smiled. It was the truth! He had to borrow one of his Dad's old suits, which must've made him look ridiculous.
"Oh Midoriya!" Uraraka looked away waving her arms around. "Stop flattering me so much!"
Did he say something he shouldn't have?
The doors opened again, which made everyone turn their heads to see who the newcomers were.
"You're all here! Great!" Melissa ran in wearing a short minidress, with a dark blue bodice and a lighter skirt. "I was afraid I was going to miss you guys! Let's hurry and head downstairs to the party."
"We mustn't be late to our Queen's performance." Mineta spoke up, his voice serious. It cracked near the end.
"Yeah!" Everyone shot their fists into the air.
This was going to be so much fun!
"Kirishima and Bakugou aren't here yet."
Iida groaned. "Damn it! Now we have to wait for them."
Izuku only smiled. He was just happy to be here, with his friends.
"Begin locking them in."
"Affirmative."
"My beating heart under the sky we've dreamed of!" Uta sang from the main stage, with one of the largest smiles Weiss had ever seen. This was her first time hearing the other singer perform. She was pretty good if Weiss was being honest with herself. "I can't stop my feelings from crying out! They're just about to overflow and drive me crazy."
"She's almost as good as you Weisscream." Yu teased with a light whisper. She elbowed Weiss in the side, earning her a soft glare. Uta would be the first performer of the night, followed by Weiss in an hour or so with Ahri being the closer.
"She's not bad." Weiss shrugged.
"I'll reach you soon! I swear won't be much longer. The sunlight's shining down across my path!" Uta threw her arms out as a miniature sun formed above her, the result of her quirk. Weiss didn't fully understand it, only that she could manipulate reality whenever she sang. "I think that's all the signs I need. Ready, steady, go!"
Uta caused harmless fireworks to spew from the stage, much to everyone's awe. She started headbanging to her guitarist's riff. What looked like oversized speakers formed in the air. "And please trust me!"
She made an over dramatic pose with her final note, much to the applause of the audience. Uta gave a bow and quickly left the stage along with her band, helping to roll the drums away comically. The host, an old clean shaven man, took to the stage once they were gone.
"Please, a big round of applause to Uta for her opening performance." The host spoke in English with a deep voice. "And thank you all for attending the I-Expo opening reception. I hope all of you will be able to enjoy yourselves."
"I know I am." Yu mumbled as she grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter. She downed it in a few seconds.
"Aren't you drinking too much?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, this is some light stuff." Yu shrugged with a lazy grin. "It's a party, relax."
Weiss rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the host.
"Now I wonder if we can get All Might, the Number One hero up here. He's visiting from Japan." The host said with a cheeky smile. "Wouldn't you like to hear him say a few words? Come on! Maybe a round of applause would make his stage fright go away." He started clapping.
Weiss joined in of course, All Might was an exemplary person after all. He was one of the few people that truly deserved the title of hero. The World Symbol of Peace and Justice approached the stage with a glass of champagne in his hands.
"Thank you for inviting me, it's truly a pleasure to be here." All Might towered over the microphone provided. "Formal speeches really aren't my thing, but-"
The holographic screen that floated behind him turned red with 'emergency' in bold white letters and the alarm started to sound. Huh? What was going on here? Weiss' left hand drifted to her waist to grab Myrtenaster-
And Myrtenaster was back in her hotel room with the rest of her belongings. Damn it!
"This is an announcement of the I-Island security system." The intercom came to life. "We have received a report that a bomb is located somewhere on the I-Expo grounds."
A bomb? Who was dumb enough to do that? This room alone held dozens of the best heroes around the world, and that wasn't even including All Might!
"I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Your safety is of the utmost importance." Weiss tuned out the rest of the announcements, her breathing started to quicken. "As a precautionary measure most of the island's main buildings will now be sealed off."
"Weiss, are you okay?" Weiss felt Yu grab her shoulder. A few of the guests tried to leave, only for dozens of masked men with guns to burst through the doors. She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes shut. This was starting to remind her of the Vytal Festival.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Weiss wasn't going to let that happen again, with or without Myrtenaster and her Dust. She opened her eyes again as the armed men started to carroll the civilian guest and heroes.
The main door opened.
"In case you haven't noticed or caught on, the security system is under our control now." A man in a white coat with a black turtleneck took the lead. His hair was long, wild and red, and his face was hidden by a mask that looked like it was made out of scrap metal. Weiss slightly bent her knees, doing her best to slow her breathing. "I know we have a lot of heroes in here, but if you decide to make a scene." He snapped his fingers.
The screens showed live videos from around I-Island, showing the security robots surrounding dozens if not hundreds of people from all around the island. Where were her friends? They weren't here yet!
"I'll make the security sentries think everyone they have in their sights are dangerous criminals." The Villain formed an evil smirk as he held his hands out. "So I'd play nice, because everyone here is now my hostage."
Weiss felt her arms shake in anger as she relaxed her stance. This was bad, she couldn't make a move with that many hostages, and Yu was here too, along with Mina, Momo, Kyouka and the others. She didn't want any of her friends getting hurt, especially because she couldn't protect them. Her eyes darted towards All Might who glared daggers at the Villain.
The Villain fired his gun in the air, causing several people to instinctively duck. He stopped several feet from All Might on the stage. The Villain tapped the side of his head. "Do it."
Several circular opens appeared on the floor all over the reception hall. Weiss' eyes widened slowly as they lit up in a bright blue color. Her head whipped in Yu's direction just as energy restraints fired in their direction. One wrapped around Weiss' leg before traveling itself around her body, capturing her. Another restraint wrapped around Yu. She could break out of this, maybe, if only Weiss had Myrtenaster and a little bit of Dust. Using the Arma Gigas here would reveal one of her biggest secrets, but she'd summon it if she had to. Lives were at stake, her friends were in danger.
The Villain fired his gun again. "If any one of you takes a step, then I'll kill everyone in this room."
Weiss glared at the Villain, using her aura to strengthen her legs and stop herself from falling over. Forget being nice, she was going to make this guy pay once she had a chance.
The Villain kicked All Might onto the ground, his dark smile clearly visible through his mask as he stared at the rest of the crowd. "You're all going to do everything I say."
Weiss ground her teeth as her body shook from rage. She wasn't going to let the Vytal Festival happen again, she wasn't going to let the Fall of Beacon etch itself in her mind for a second time. Weiss wished glares could slice someone in half.
The Masked Villain pointed his gun in the air again, until he lowered it and aimed it towards the crowd. "Do you understand?"
A/N
Happy second anniversary! It's still hard to believe that I'm still writing and updating this story, even if 2023 had been a little less consistent. I'm really thankful to all of the readers that have joined Weiss' journey.
I commissioned this drawing of Weiss in honor of the second anniversary. I hope you all liked the update and the art! It can be found on AO3, Wattpad, SB and SV!
Till next time on Schnee: Hero or Huntress!