Shadowed Reflection: Chapter 3

Ruby Rose never had the easiest time making friends. Her interests were much more weapon-oriented than most of the other students at Signal, and she often found herself preferring to spend time in the forge or pouring over a new design in her room than attending parties or going out to eat with her friends.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t have any of course. She had a group of friends that she cherished just like any girl her age. It just took a bit longer than most for her to find that group. They were close though, as close as a group of friends could be!

When she had to leave them all behind for Beacon, she was understandably very sad. It took her a long time to find people who shared her interests and were willing to put up with her eccentricities, and now she was abandoning them all for this opportunity. It was a tearful goodbye and she promised to stay in touch, but they told her not to worry about it. She was going to Beacon, they said. She was bound to make even more friends there, they said. 

She wasn't so sure. She had the same group of friends for years and was happy that way. She couldn't imagine having to find people to replace them all.

She expected to spend the first few days at Beacon with only Yang by her side. So imagine her surprise when on the first day, she made not one, but two new friends just a few minutes after stepping off the bullhead. Jaune was nice, and Weiss was as well, even if she was kind of prickly and made Ruby feel like she was financially inferior just by standing beside her. She was cool though, and Ruby was pretty sure she wouldn’t have minded if she was her partner instead of Yang. 

Back in the present, Ruby watched Weiss walk towards the horde of grimm with unflinching confidence and she felt a bit of worry creeping into her gut. What was she doing? Weiss didn’t even have aura–a fact that Ruby was still trying to wrap her head around–but she still expected to be able to fight that many grimm and whatever that thing was? It was suicide, and she was moments away from pulling her back when Weiss raised her sword and spoke one simple sentence.

“Set the stage, Hyōsekka.”

The moment the words escaped Weiss’s lips, the world changed. The temperature around Weiss dropped even lower in a shock that left them all breathless, before a wave of pressure burst outwards from the girl’s body on a wave of cold air. 

Ruby and the rest of the group flinched back, covering their eyes as freezing wind slammed into them like a shockwave, pushing the weaker of them back a few steps just from the sheer force held within the icy currents. Covering her face with a hand, Ruby watched with wide, horrified eyes as Weiss’s beautiful sword cracked like glass, before bursting outwards into thousands-no… millions of tiny shards of ice.

The ice hung in the air around them, frosty snowflakes gathering by the millions in their little slice of the world and drifting through the air yet never once touching the ground or even the students in the storm. Lowering her hand, Ruby watched in awe as the snow danced around them. She reached out, watching as the flakes harmlessly passed her by, slipping around her fingers even as she tried to catch them, before her eyes were caught by the glint of metal in Weiss’s hands.

Weiss’s katana hadn’t completely shattered like Ruby had worried. Instead the weapon had morphed, as if the blade that had been destroyed had simply been a cocoon, the precursor to a greater evolution. It was now much thinner, holding a straight, dual edge design instead of the standard katana that it had been before. It was just as long, but the hilt had seemingly shrunk until there was only space for a single hand on their grip. The tsuba had similarly shrunk, retaining its ovaline shape but no longer offering the protection it once did.

Ruby’s mind immediately went to work on analyzing this new weapon, recognizing its purpose. It was a straight sword but its thin yet long shape clearly meant that it wasn’t made for chopping or clashing. It was more like a rapier though much thicker, meant for piercing and slashing, and the one-handed design only reinforced this.

“Woah! What is this?” She heard Jaune say, in awe of the ice dancing around them. Ruby flashed back to his earlier failed nickname for Weiss, finding it oddly appropriate all of the sudden.

“It’s gotta be her semblance, right?” Her sister commented, “It looks pretty cool, but I’m not sure a bunch of pretty snowflakes are gonna help us a lot against those grimm. We might want to start running now that she’s up and at ‘em.”

Ruby would normally agree but something told her that wasn’t quite right. This didn't feel like a regular semblance somehow. Whatever Weiss was doing, it might not be as crazy as she originally thought. They all watched with varying amounts of worry as the white-haired girl stared down the approaching horde of grimm with no fear, before Weiss slowly raised her sword.

“Daiichimaku…” She intoned, pointing her weapon at the grimm. Ruby didn’t understand the language, but Blake and Ren looked at the girl strangely as she spoke so it probably meant something. There was a breath of silence, and the snowflakes in the air seemed to freeze in place, awaiting something that nobody else could understand, “Hana o Atsumeru.”

Snowflakes swirled around them all violently before surging towards the grimm all at once as a massive wave. The grimm rushed fearlessly into the storm, and the students watched with bated breath to see what would happen to them. The snowflakes seemed harmless, but surely Weiss wouldn’t hinge the entire fight on regular snow and ice, right? There had to be something special about it.

Luckily, they weren’t left disappointed. The moment that the first grimm entered the storm, something miraculous happened. The moment the snowflakes landed on their skin, ice spread from the point of contact, stiffening flesh and bone alike. There was no buildup like when Weiss used her sword. It was instantaneous, a flash freeze that compounded on their bodies with every flake that landed, spreading like a disease.

The first ten or so grimm caught in the storm were frozen instantly, turned into frosty statues as the ice consumed them completely. The rest were slowed as frost compounded on their bodies, freezing their limbs and making it nearly impossible to move them. A few froze as the ice overtook them and even more stumbled or simply fell over as their legs refused to respond to their commands. But even more kept coming as the storm disappeared into their bodies, completely ignoring the ice that had crept into their skin.

“Uh, Weiss?” Ruby called as the grimm grew closer and everyone tensed, preparing to fight them off, “You got any more of that ice because I don’t think that was enough!”

“I never run out.” Weiss said confidently, slicing her sword through the air and uttering another phrase that Ruby couldn’t understand.

“Dainimaku: Tetsumetai Kaiku!”

Without any warning, the ice inside of the grimm exploded, bursting into icy shrapnel that shredded the grimm and those around them. The frozen statues dissolved into dust as whatever was keeping them together broke apart, and the ice swirled into the air as snowflakes, even more than Weiss started with. The renewed storm swirled across the bridge, approaching the grimm from behind and slamming into their ranks, beginning to freeze them all over again. Their numbers thinned even more this time as tens of grimm were turned to ice and then snow, and soon enough, they were at an actually manageable number as Weiss’s powers devastated their number.

Lowering her sword, Weiss looked back at the group, “Well? What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to press the advantage?”

“I thought you said we could leave it all to you.” Yang smirked and Weiss's eye twitched at the expression, “And I don't know about these guys but I don't really feel like getting frozen solid, Ice Queen.”

Weiss huffed, shaking her head, “Hyōsekka is a part of me. She won't hurt you unless I tell her to. And I practically did all the work anyway, all you need to do is clean up.” She squared her stance, pulling her sword back as her eyes narrowed, “I’ve got my eyes on a bigger prize.”

Weiss disappeared from sight and all those present turned to look as a cry of pain sounded from further down the bridge. The Schnee had reappeared on an ursa’s back, thrusting her blade through its head and killing it instantly. It burst into fragments of ice as she leapt off of it, using a nearby beowolf as a springboard to leap over the rest of the horde as she made her way to the back where the monstrous grimm who had started this all was waiting.

As Weiss disappeared and the grimm continued in their direction, Ruby turned to look at the students around her unsurely. Yang was the first to move, shrugging as she stepped towards the tide of darkness, “Well, I guess we can’t let her have all the fun.”

Ember Celica shifted on her wrists as she reloaded the gauntlets and the girl grinned at them all before shooting towards the horde like a rocket. Ruby was only a step behind her, joining her sister as they leapt into the fray together, quickly followed by the other students.

It had seemed hopeless only a little while earlier, but thanks to Weiss, they had a fighting chance. They might survive this initiation yet.

~~~

As the other students dealt with the rest of the grimm on the bridge, Weiss made her way to the one responsible for all this mess. 

Landing hard on the ground just short of the grimm, she eyed the monstrous creature warily. It was even more intimidating this close, covered in spiky. bone white armor that didn't seem to have a single gap in its defence. Glowing crimson eyes peeked out from underneath a wolflike mask that was all sharp angels, with a jaw that left its massive teeth exposed to the air in a perpetual grimace or snarl. A tail with a large, bladed tip was hanging lazily in the air behind it, hidden from sight until she approached. Altogether, it looked unlike any grimm that Weiss had ever seen before and even now, a deep chill ran up her spine as she stared at it.

But she had a newfound understanding of the power within her soul, Weiss wasn’t scared. She stood fearlessly, pointing her weapon at the monster and listening to it sing eagerly for the coming battle, “I don’t know what you are but I won’t let you destroy everything I’ve worked for all of my life. You’ll regret ever coming here, monster.”

The monster stared at her, eyes burning red behind its mask, and then, to Weiss’s shock and utter horror, it actually spoke.

“You are powerful for your age, little Shinigami, but you cannot defeat me” It said, its voice a snarling growl that was barely reminiscent of human speech, “I’ve encountered a member of your kind before and he was far more powerful than you shall ever be, as am I. I clawed my way out of the Menos Forest with my power alone, tore through the dimensional boundaries of Hueco Mundo itself to find myself here. The spiritual energy in this land is great and will be the perfect catalyst for my final evolution. I will not let you stand in the way of my feast!”

Shinigami? Menos Forest? What was this thing talking about? How was it even talking in the first place!?

Weiss wasn’t given much opportunity to process what had been said as the monster then burst into action. Opening its mouth, the grimm quickly gathered energy for that attack it had tried earlier and fired a solid beam of crimson at the white-haired girl. Narrowing her eyes, Weiss blurred, disappearing from the beam’s path and reappearing right next to the creature, sword already in motion as it thrust straight into its stomach just below the hole in its chest.

Hyōsekka bit into the bone-white armor but to Weiss's shock, it only sank a few inches into the grimm before stopping. Whatever the armor was made of must have been a million times tougher than a regular grimm's and as she stared at her ineffectual attack, the thing had the audacity to laugh at her.

“Your puny Zanpakuto won't be able to pierce my hide, girl.” It laughed as it raised an arm and brought it down on Hyōsekka’s blade, dislodging it from its body. It slashed at her face with claws like razors but Weiss danced away before she could be hit. It chased after her, laughing sinisterly, “Those children and soulless husks could barely sate my endless appetite, but you? I can tell you’ll be a feast all on your own! I can’t wait to dig in!”

“You won’t get a single bite.” Weiss narrowed her eyes, gathering her power and kicking off once more. Disappearing from sight, she blurred into being above and behind the grimm, already thrusting her weapon into its spine. Fragments of white bone flew as Hyōsekka carved a thin furrow into its armor but once again, it wasn't enough to do any real damage. Furrowing her brow, Weiss's heels slapped against the grimm's back as she flipped away, narrowly avoiding the thin tail that sliced through the air where she once was.

She landed a few feet away and rose to her feet as the grimm turned towards her. She pointed Hyōsekka at it, calling on her power, “Daiichimaku: Hana o Atsumeru!”

Snowflakes rushed towards the grimm, enveloping it in their cold embrace. Weiss watched with satisfaction as ice crawled up the creature's body, freezing it in place. Narrowing her eyes, she sent another wave on top of the first, using all of her available ice to cover the monster in a layer so thick it couldn't even be seen, when a roar split the air. 

Crimson energy bursts from the grimm's pores in a powerful shockwave. It flung the snowflakes off of its body as waves of power radiated from the monster and Weiss couldn't even react before that power slammed into her as well, sending her flying away with force.

She tumbled along the ground, dirtying her clothes and bruising her body as she headed straight towards the nearby cliff. Just before she fell into the yawning abyss below, a hand reached out and stanched her arm, arresting her momentum almost painfully and leaving her dangling over the edge.

“Careful there, Ice Queen.” Yang's smirk was strained as she kept Weiss from plunging to her death, and the girl gave her a relieved smile as she was hauled back up to safety.

“Thank you, Yang.” She said as she landed on solid ground. Ruby and Blake were waiting nearby, watching out for the grimm as Yang rescued her. 

The blonde patted her on the back, “No problem. Not sure you would've survived that without aura.”

“I probably would have managed but it's the thought that counts.” Weiss responded, turning to look at the grimm who had stopped producing that sickening energy. It still leaked off of him in abundance, a haze of blood red resting around its body as it leered at them with malicious intent.

The two of them walked up to stand beside Ruby and Blake, watching the creature warily. Blake glanced at her, “The grimm are dead but Nora's aura was broken and Rem’s still out of it. Pyrrha and Jaune are taking them somewhere safe so we're on our own. We just need to beat that thing and then we can get out of here.”

“Easier said than done.” Weiss said as snowflakes began to drift around them once more, called back by Hyōsekka's presence, “I'm not sure what that thing is but it is unnatural. We'll have to be careful if we don't want to get hurt.”

Yang smirked and crouched down, pointing her weapon at the ground behind her, “Careful’s no fun! Let's just go kick its ass instead!”

The ground cratered as she launched herself upwards with the massive weapon's recoil. As she flew through the air towards the grimm, the three girls back on the ground shared exasperated looks before following after her.

Ruby reached it first despite Yang's headstart, twisting and swinging her scythe at its wolf-like mask point first. The grimm ducked underneath the weapon and snatched it in one of its massive claws, pulling the redhead off of her feet and towards its open mouth to take a bite. Luckily by then, Yang's descent had brought her in range and instead of taking a chunk out of Ruby's aura, it received a golden gauntlet to the face.

It stumbled backwards but didn't take any other apparent damage. Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and was replaced by Blake who tossed her weapon in an arc, wrapping its ribbon around the grimm's body and trapping its arms against its sides. Capitalizing on the opening, Weiss rushed forward, sending her snowflakes ahead to slow the grimm even more as she thrust Hyōsekka at the only weak point she could see on the grimm's entire body. It's eyes.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the grimm saw that coming. Milliseconds before her blade could slide into the only weak point she could see, the grimm jerked its head to the side so that instead of the finishing blow she wanted, her sword only skidded across its mask. It seemed to flinch at the contact, as if it actually hurt, and before Weiss could move away, something thin and white came shooting over its shoulder straight at her face.

As Weiss froze like a deer in headlights, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her away. Shadows coalesced in front of her in a familiar form, and blue eyes widened as Blake's face was the one that was pierced through instead of her own, moments before she was launched away to safety by the person holding onto her tightly.

Weiss grunted as they landed roughly a fair distance from the grimm and turned to look at her rescuer. A familiar pair of topaz eyes stared back at her and Weiss’s worry turned into confusion instead, “Blake? But then who…?”

“It was a clone. My semblance.” Blake said as she let go of Weiss, standing alongside the girl, “Are you alright? You almost died just now.”

Weiss nodded, not even shaken by her near death experience. She'd already had her fair share. “Yes, I'm fine. Thank you Blake, I don't know how I forgot about that blasted tail.”

“Just be more careful.” Blake said as Ruby and Yang retreated from the grimm as well, “You're kind of in charge of this whole operation right now, as much as I hate to admit it.”

She was, wasn't she? Weiss wasn't sure when she had stepped into the role but it felt natural so she hadn't even noticed it. She felt a small flush of pride that was echoed by her weapon as she realized she was technically leading her own team right now, just as she had envisioned when she first came here. It wasn't official, but there was no need to change what was working, right?

As the four girls recovered and prepared to continue the fight, the grimm roared angrily as its prey put up more of a fight than it had probably been betting on. Energy poured out of it as its rage echoed through the forest before it leaned its head forward and opened its mouth, charging another one of those attacks.

Weiss put a stop to that swiftly. Raising Hyōsekka, she sent her snowflakes forwards towards the beast, intoning her second act once again, “Daisanmaka: Fuyu no Megumi!”

The snowflakes burst into perilous fractiles that built upon one another, swiftly forming a pillar of solid ice that slammed into the grimm's jaws, snapping them closed before it had a chance to release the energy it was gathering. The monster's eyes widened as its jaw glowed, before the energy within its jaws erupted prematurely, knocking it back several feet where it landed on the ground in a smoking heap.

“Nice shot, Weiss!” Ruby cheered as Weiss lowered her sword, “That looked like it really hurt!”

“Yeah, I'm never making fun of those snowflakes again.” Yang added on.

Weiss ignored them both, watching as the grimm slowly climbed up to its feet, clutching its smoking face with palpable anger. It slowly pulled its hand away, revealing that its own attack had accomplished what none of theirs could and broke through its armor. The wolf-like mask that had been snarling and gnashing its teeth at them for the duration of the fight had been cracked and chipped. It was still intact, but what had once been an impenetrable shell had been turned into a major weak point.

And Weiss had the perfect tool to exploit it.

“Daiyonmaku: Fuyu O Tsuranuki.” The snowflakes lingering around them all rushed towards Weiss’s outstretched sword, gathering around the blade and becoming a sheet of solid ice that wrapped Hyōsekka in its cold embrace, granting it a frozen edge that spewed a frigid mist in every direction.

Weiss lowered her altered weapon, keeping it well away from the other girls. She looked at them seriously, “Listen, I might be able to kill that thing but I'll need your help. I'm sure you've noticed that there's something weird about its body. It’s like it has its own aura or something. Even my sword can’t get through.”

“But that thing can?” Blake questioned, staring at Weiss’s weapon, “Fuyo o Tsuranuki… That means Piercing Winter. You think it’ll break through the armor?”

“The sword might not get very far, but the cold will. Especially if I target that broken mask.” Weiss assured, and all of them believed her. Even standing from feet away, they could feel the frigid temperature radiating from the blade. It sank into their bones straight through their skin and even their aura, like a slice of winter itself had been forced into the sword at the white-haired girl’s bidding, “That grimm’s not stupid though. It’s actually frighteningly intelligent. It actually spoke to me, though I don’t have a single clue what it was talking about.”

“Wait, it spoke?” Blake’s eyes were wide, as were the other girls’. Weiss nodded seriously.

“It did. Which is why I need your help if we’re going to beat it. It’ll know what I’m trying to do and if it’s completely focused on me, I’m not sure I’ll get the opportunity to actually freeze it. I need the three of you to keep it restrained for me, can I count on you for help”

“Just keep it still, huh?” Yang cracked her knuckles, eying the grimm who stared back eerily, “I think we can manage that. Let me go in first and soften it up a bit, alright? I can take whatever it can throw at me.”

“Just watch out for that energy it’s putting out.” Weiss warned, “There’s no telling what it could do to you, even with your aura.”

Yang nodded before rushing off towards the grimm fearlessly. She cocked a fist back, leaping into the air and slamming it into the ground. At the same time, her gauntlet released its payload, sending a plume of dirt and debris into the air and effectively covering herself in a makeshift smokescreen.

The grimm sneered as she disappeared behind the wall of fine detritus, “You humans are so weak. It will be a pleasure to feast on your innards with my claws and fangs.”

“Just try it!” Yang yelled, shooting out of the smoke like a bullet. She crossed the space between them in an instant and slammed her gauntleted fist into the grimm’s cracked mask, releasing a round directly into its face the second her fist made contact. The grimm reeled back but seemed more surprised and angry than actually hurt, an idea that was reinforced as it immediately recovered, lunging at the blonde with an open mouth and biting down on her shoulder.

Weiss watched with wide eyes as the beast’s razor-sharp teeth bit straight through the blonde’s jacket and into the flesh below and Yang let out a grunt of pain, before rocketing a fist into the monster’s gut to blow  it off of her. It landed on its feet and wasted no time in returning to the fight, thrusting its claws towards Yang’s stomach to try and impale her. Yang leaned back to dodge but wasn’t able to avoid the tail swipe that carved a sliver of aura out of her, making her wince and clutch her side where she was hit.

Weiss didn’t understand what was going on. She should have been able to dodge those hits easily or at least block them. Why was she standing still and taking them? Was she tired, or perhaps just not as skilled as Weiss had originally assumed. Either way Weiss was one moment away from stepping in to help, when the grimm suddenly lunged towards Yang with malicious intent.

“You’re dead!” The grimm yelled, jumping forward and raising its arm into the air. Its claws whistled as they cut a path directly towards the immobile blonde, seeking to tear her in half.

Instead of panicking, Yang suddenly grinned as the claws approached her and didn’t even try to dodge, actually leaning into the blow and letting it hit her with full force. Her aura flickered wildly, sparks of yellow and gold bursting into the air as it just barely managed to stand up to the full force of the grimm’s strength, and all the girls watched as she was sent flying away into the forest.

“Yang!” Weiss yelled, horrified that the girl had taken a hit like that, “That was her plan!? Why didn’t she dodge!?”

As Weiss went to go after the blonde, Ruby put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head, “She’s fine. Just watch.”

Weiss turned back to the fight just in time to watch Yang return to the battlefield. Only this time, something was different. Golden flames licked the air as the girl emerged from the forest she had been sent flying into just moments ago. Her hair seemed to be on fire, glowing with barely restrained power, and an aura of flames surrounded her entire body. Her lilac eyes had become blood red, and a wide grin was present on her face even as her aura flickered sporadically around her.

“Thanks for the boost, ugly.” She slammed her fists together and the resulting shockwave blew leaves from branches, “Now lets try this for real!”

The grimm roared and she roared back as she charged. It swung at her again, just as fast as before, only this time Yang actually dodged the blow. She slid underneath the claw and got in close as she brought her fist up in a viscous uppercut. Her fist slammed into the grimm’s jaw and lifted the monster off of its feet as it let out a cry of actual pain, and Yang grinned viciously as she followed up with a swift roundhouse kick to the chest to send it flying back.

“Yang’s semblance boosts her strength the more damage she takes.” Ruby explained what was happening as Yang followed after the grimm, beginning to brawl with much more skill and power than she had shown before, as if she had been holding back to lull the beast into a false sense of confidence, “She still takes the damage and feels the hit, but she can hit back ten times as hard when she really gets going.”

“Impressive.” Weiss said, relaxing slightly as she watched the glowing blonde duke it out with the feral creature. She wasn’t taking nearly as many hits as before and in fact, actually seemed to be putting the creature on the back foot somewhat. It seemed that her estimations of Yang’s skills hadn’t been wrong after all.

 “She’s doing a good job but I assume it won’t last forever.” Ruby shook her head and Weiss nodded, looking at her and Blake, “Then let’s back her up. Remember, I need one clear shot to be able to end this. Just one.”

“We’ll do our best.” Blake muttered, gripping her weapon as she stared at Weiss, “I just hope this plan you have works.”

“So do I.” Weiss whispered, staring at the grimm that was getting progressively angrier. It was do or die time and she still had quite a bit to live for. She hadn’t been officially accepted into Beacon, after all. She refused to fall here.

Squaring her shoulder’s, Weiss ran towards the dueling pair at a normal pace, quickly overtaken by Ruby and then Blake as she allowed the two of them to pass her by. She had one shot at this. She had to make it count.

Back with Yang, the blonde dodged underneath the grimm’s bladed tail and met an angry punch with one of her own. Her fist ached as it slammed against the bony claws of her opponent but she didn’t let it bother her, instead giving the grimm a sharp smile even as it snarled at her, “Not so tough when your opponent is as strong as you are, are you?”

“Your strength is nowhere close to mine, welp!” It snarled, lunging forward to bite her head off. Its movements had become much more sloppy as the battle wore on and it failed to kill her. By now, it was moving like an animal instead of the human it masqueraded itself as.

“You know what, you’re right.” Yang jumped into its guard, surprising it, and slammed her fist into its chin once again, stunning it. She grinned at the shocked look in its eyes,  “I’m in a class of my own. You’re nowhere near my level.”

“You know nothing of my power!” The grimm snarled, raising a hand to strike her down. Yang jumped back and it prepared to follow, but a blur of red passed it by, followed by a metal clang and a shower of sparks as Ruby suddenly appeared at its side. Her scythe hooked around its outstretched limb and forced it against the ground, trapping it there as the blade bit into the ground. The grimm looked at her in shock, “You-!”

It was interrupted as a black ribbon wrapped around its body again, binding its other arm rightly against its body. Blake appeared behind the grimm and raised an arm back, throwing the other end of Gambol Shroud to Yang who was standing in front of it, “Here! Hold it down!”

“Are you sure this thing will hold up?” Yang called back even as she grabbed her hand and pulled it tight, fighting against Blake’s strength as well as the grimm’s as it began to thrash in its bindings.

“You insignificant humans!” The grimm roared, pulling against the ribbon and Ruby’s scythe, “I will skin you alive!”

Blake grunted, using all of her available strength to keep the ribbon in place, “It only has to work for a second! Weiss!”

But she didn’t need to say anything. Weiss was already in motion. Her pace tripled as the grimm was held captive by the other girls and she jumped into the air, bringing her frigid weapon to bear and thrusting it straight between its terrified eyes. It tried to move out of the way as it had before by Hyōsekka

was larger than before so it accomplished nothing. It didn’t matter anyway. Even the smallest cut would do.

Hyōsekka slid home in between the cracks in the grimm’s mask and it let out a soul-wrenching cry as the blade pierced the flesh underneath. Ice instantly spread from the point of impact as her snow seeped from the blade and into the wound, spreading through the mask and into the grimm’s body itself and Weiss watched in satisfaction as the grimm’s eyes widened, before its mask crumbled into dust underneath her power.

As the chips of frozen armor fell to the ground however, that satisfaction froze in her veins alongside her blood at what was unveiled.

Throughout the fight, Weiss had assumed that this thing was just some sort of mutated grimm, a byproduct of hatred that was simply the first of its kind, or maybe just another grimm that had lived so long that evolution didn’t know what to do with it anymore beyond granting it a semblance of the sentience that humankind had. The creatures of darkness had always been known to grow more dangerous with age, after all, who’s to say they couldn’t mimic human speech?

As she stared at the grimm’s face as the mask fell to the ground however, she realized that she couldn’t be more wrong.

Because right there, staring back at her with all the starkness of the snowstorm she had conjured just minutes ago, was a human face. The skin was black as coal and the eyes burned with a rage only surpassed by the snarl on its face, but it was definitely human. And that, more than anything it had shown so far, was absolutely terrifying.

Weiss stared at the person beneath the monster and crimson eyes stared back, milliseconds before it opened its mouth and let out a scream that sent tremors through the souls of all of those present. Energy, thicker and more potent than ever before, poured out of the monster’s body as it shrieked in a startling mix of rage and anguish, and none of the girls present could do anything but be blown away by its power.

Yang was launched towards the cliffside like a rocket and was saved by a fortunately placed rock that stopped her tumble. She slammed into it hard enough to crack the stone and her aura finally failed in a spectacular shower of yellow sparks. Ruby was sent into the forest, disappearing from sight only a few feet inside, but the sounds of limbs breaking was heard well past that. Blake was lucky in that she didn’t get far, but was unlucky in that her aura also failed to stand up to her impact, shattering just as easily as Yang’s had.

Weiss, not having aura in the first place, was left to just tumble along the ground, acquiring scrapes and bruises along the way as she did her best to protect her head. She came to a stop just before the edge of the cliff, aching and bruised but alive and more importantly, unbroken.

Another shrill scream split through the air and Weiss looked up to find that the grimm was vibrating in place, clutching its exposed face with clawed hands, “No! I w-won’t die here! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY PREY LIKE THIS!”

Even more energy burst from its body, bathing its entire form a deep red as it began to glow and shift. Weiss’s heart sank into her stomach as she watched its body begin to morph and the pressure of its energy practically doubled and then tripled in an instant. She didn’t know what was happening right now but somehow it was growing even stronger than before now that its mask was broken. If someone didn’t do something, they were all done for.

She reached out with her mind with something, anything, that might help her stop this horrific transformation before it completed itself. Her mind locked onto something immediately and her heart lifted as she realized something. Her snow was still in its body, trying to constrain the monster as it slowly turned its flesh into ice. It wasn’t enough, but all it needed was one more push from its master.

Weiss got to her knees with the help of her sword. Pointing an aching hand at the screaming grimm, Weiss focused, drawing upon her power one last time, “Daisanmaku… F-Fuyu no Megumi.”

Her icy flowers bloomed to life within the grimm’s body the instant she enacted the second act. Shards of ice sharper than even the grimm’s viscous claws burst from its flesh in dozens of places, breaking out of the internal prison and breaking through the armor from the unguarded side below. The grimm’s screams of change become ones of agony as it was speared through dozens of times over, and the glow slowly died down, revealing a piece of what it had been trying to become.

Its body had shrunken massively, going from seven feet tall to a much more modest five. Its armor had all but disappeared, and instead of the black ichor that all grimm were known for, crimson blood dripped from various places on its body where her spikes had pierced through. With the armor gone, its skin had been revealed, though instead of the charcoal black color that its face had been, it was a pale peach.

The remnants of its broken and chipped mask lingered on the side of a horrifyingly human face. It, or Weiss should say he, stared at her from underneath a curtain of blood red hair, clearly not believing what was happening. He opened his mouth, but the words on his bloody lips were destined to never be heard as moments later, his entire body burst into fragments of light that floated into the air and disappeared without a sound.

And then all was silent. Weiss stared at where the grimm had once been, scarcely believing what she had seen, before a pained groan made her snap out of her surprise. Right, they weren’t done yet. The initiation was still going and her friends were still hurt. She had to get them out of here.

She slowly stood, putting her feet underneath her with a small grimace. Looking around, she spotted Blake laying nearby, twitching slightly and clearly out of it, but alive. She was the closest so Weiss moved to her first.

“Blake, are you alright?” Weiss asked, using Hyōsekka as a walking stick as she leaned down towards the girl. Blake’s eyes were clenched shut in pain, but they opened as Weiss spoke, flicking over to her as she laid there, sparks of her broken aura flashing across her body periodically.

“Did you get it?” She asked in a quiet voice and Weiss nodded.

“Yes, I got it. I don’t know what happened but… Yes. It’s dead.” She leaned down, looking the girl over for any overt wounds, “Are you alright? That was a nasty fall.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Blake groaned, slowly sitting up. Weiss put a hand on her back to help her steady herself and the girl froze for a moment before accepting the help, “And yeah, I’m mostly fine. My aura broke though so it’s gonna take a minute to stand up.”

“You saved my life back there.” The white-haired girl said quietly as she helped Blake up, “I thought you hated me.”

“We’re partners, aren’t we? I’m not just gonna let you die.” Blake didn’t look at Weiss who stared at her in turn, “I’m sorry for what I said. I realized that you were right earlier. I don’t know anything about you. I may not like that I got paired up with a Schnee of all people, but… maybe I can learn to live with it.”

Weiss was surprised by her words but withheld reaction, instead giving the other girl a small smile, “Well thank you for saving me. And I guess if you’re willing to put aside our differences and work with a Schnee, then maybe I can learn to live with having a faunus as a partner as well.”

Blake’s eyes widened and her hand shot up to her head, groping at the space where her bow used to be. Weiss found her shocked expression almost endearing and held up a strip of black cloth that had been lying near the girl, “It fell off when the grimm blew us all away with that energy. I have to say, the ears suit you. And put quite a few things into perspective.”

Blake’s mouth opened and closed silently and Weiss giggled at the stark contrast to her normally unflappable expression, “Here, take it. I doubt you want me touching them so it’s probably best to leave it to you.”

Blake stared at her, before slowly reaching out to take the length of cloth from her fingers, “Thanks… Please don’t tell anyone. I… I don’t want-”

“You came here to be someone else, right?” Weiss interrupted her, looking down at her sword as Blake began to tie her ears in cloth, “I can relate, trust me. Like I said, there’s a reason that I came here instead of Atlas.”

With a thought, Hyōsekka reverted to its original form. Weiss stared at the perfect white saiya, a manifestation of her very soul. Most would see the empty space and think it blank. Beautiful, but devoid of anything meaningful. Weiss only saw the potential of what it could someday become. An empty canvas waiting to be filled with purpose, just like she once was.

Blake stared at her, yellow eyes full of comprehension, “...Your family.” She said more than asked.

“Among others.” Weiss acknowledged as she stopped leaning on her weapon. She looked at Blake who’s ears had been hidden away once more, “Let me assure you that I have no issues with you being a faunus. I just ask that in return, you at least give me a chance to prove I’m not like my father. Deal?”

“...Deal.” 

Just then, something burst out of the nearby thicket. Both girls turned to the intrusion, tensing up as they prepared for another fight, but it was just Ruby, returned from wherever she had been sent. The girl’s clothing was in disarray and more than a few leaves were stuck to her face as she burst from the forest, scythe unfurled and ready for a fight, only to blink as she saw the two of them standing there.

Ruby blinked. Weiss and Blake blinked back. And then the silence was broken by a groan from nearby as Yang woke up from her impromptu nap. She looked around briefly, slowly sitting up and rubbing her head as she looked towards the rest of the girls.

“Hey guys.” She yawned, looking around blearily, “What happened? Did we win?”

~~~

The four girls stood on the stage alongside their fellow students, doing their best to contain their excitement and anxiety as the crowd around them cheered for all of those present.

They had gone through more than their fair share of trials and tribulations in that forest. Battles had been won and lost, revelations had been made, and though things hadn’t looked good near the end, they had never given up hope or stopped moving forward. And it seemed their persistence was about to pay off.

Weiss straightened as Headmaster Ozpin looked at them all, giving them a proud smile or at least the closest to what he was able to produce, “...And finally, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. I have been told that your experience in the forest was harder than most, and yet you prevailed and came out the other side stronger, as all hunters must do. From this day forward you will work together as Team SBYR, led by… Weiss Schnee.”

His words rang through the auditorium and were responded to with claps and congratulating cheers. Weiss’s smile stretched so far across her face that it pulled on the bruises and scrapes she had acquired in that forest, but the pain was nothing in comparison to the joy she felt at that moment, and on her hip, Hyōsekka vibrated with that same joy.

She looked at the other girls – her team – and received smiles in return. They accepted her for who she was and didn’t think less of her for not having aura. She could see it in their eyes that they were content with the decision to make her the leader. They trusted her to steer them towards victory, whatever that may be. And she would not fail them.

The grimm that she fought in the forest, along with the things that it said, still weighed heavily in the back of her mind. But right then, at that moment? It all fell away as she basked in the glory of her achievement. She had done it. After years spent slaving away to become the best version of herself she could possibly be just to get her foot in the door at this school, she had been accepted into Beacon on nothing but her own merit. Despite the ridicule and obstacles thrown in her path by everyone who thought she was nothing without her aura, Weiss had managed to find her own place where she could flourish and blossom into the person she was always meant to be.

From the moment she was born, Weiss Schnee’s life was one of expectations. From her first breath, people had her life planned out and expected her to follow it to the letter no matter what she said or how she felt, and she had long since become used to putting other people's whims before her own desire.

But now that was over. She was her own person and she was done letting other people choose how her story would play out.

...

...

...

Hello, everyone! Sadguychet here with some post story goodies! This fic was super fun to write, as I’m sure you can all tell by the wordcount lol! I don’t have any plans to continue it currently, but that doesn’t mean its not possible in the future. I made sure to leave things in such a way that I might be able to return to it someday and continue Weiss’s story. After all, we still haven’t seen all of what Hyōsekka can do!

But for now, here’s a quick rundown of Weiss’s shikai and its abilities. I tried to keep it powerful yet still in the realm of possibility, and I’m sure many of you will be able to see the Zanpakuto that I was inspired by.

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Name: Hyōsekka (Crowd Control Ice-Type Zanpakuto.)

Release Phrase: Set the stage, Hyōsekka

The main gimmick of Hyosekka is the ability to freeze opponents and add to its radius, all the while setting up for her bankai. As she attacks, with the storm or with her sword, ice builds on her enemies’ bodies, slowing and restricting their movements until they are frozen solid, at which point she can attack them one more time to shatter them and add to the storm of ice. She can also use one of her Acts to do this, which causes them to explode outwards rather than just crumble to dust.

The ice that freezes her opponents is extremely hard, and pierces through aura as it attacks the soul itself. Each time a snowflake is attached to an enemy, it is lost until she freezes and shatters whatever it was attached to, at which point that ice is returned to the storm alongside that which was created from the act. She can create more with her spiritual energy at any time, though said energy is lost in the transformation until the release state is undone or her bankai is activated.

Hyōsekka’s abilities are divided into Acts, with each one stemming from the initial release. The Acts do not need to be done in order, but some have prerequisites for their activation.

Daiichimaku: Hana o Atsumeru (First Act: Gathering Blossoms) The beginning of her performance, Weiss sends her available snowflakes towards her opponents or target and has them gather together to freeze them. This Act is a precursor to the second and must be performed before Tetsumetai Kaiku is activated

Dainimaku: Tetsumetai Kaiku (Second Act: Frigid Bloom) This act is when Weiss uses her power to have her snowflakes bloom, shattering her opponents and adding their mass to her growing storm. This is Hyōsekka’s main form of gaining momentum

Daisanmaku: Fuyu no Megumi (Third Act: Winter’s Bounty) Weiss uses her snowflakes to create a solid object or weapon, growing ice from the snowflakes in a blooming nature. This can be used on snow that has infiltrated someone’s body but has not frozen them completely, flowering from their body as the flakes spread outwards in a solid mass.

Daiyonmaku: Fuyu o Tsuranuki (Forth Act: Piercing Winter) Weiss gathers all of her snowflakes on her blade, imbuing it with freezing power far beyond what was previously available to her. It can also leave some of those snowflakes behind in the air in a Frigid Bloom, creating solid objects of ice. When struck with this blade, an opponent will be injected with Hyōsekka’s snowflakes in a much more intimate way than they would with the first Act, leaving no room to dodge once you have actually been cut.

And that’s that! There might be more to come in the future but for now it’s over and done with! I hope you all enjoyed the story because I know I did!