When Pain Turns to Hate

The human girl’s eyes widened, hope and fear tangled together.

The Neko blinked, first confused, then amused.

“Get lost before I get annoyed.”

But Koori was already at him.

She grabbed the Neko by the collar and tore him away from the wall as if he weighed nothing at all.

The Neko staggered, tried to dodge, but Koori’s fist drove into his stomach with brutal force.

“Ugh!”

Air burst from the Neko’s lungs; he dropped to his knees.

“Y-you’ll pay for that, nya!”

He raised a glowing paw, sending a sharp, slicing gust of wind at Koori.

But the ground beneath Koori’s feet steamed and hardened, anchoring her in place like a pillar of stone.

Her hair whipped in the wind, but not even her stance shifted.

Another punch cut the wind attack short, driving the breath out of him in a choking gasp.

“H-how… why isn’t my magic doing anything!?” he wheezed.

A thin, shimmering layer of volcanic stone had formed across Koori’s skin, invisible to normal eyes, but harder than iron, turning every hit she delivered into the weight of a falling boulder.

Before he could recover, another blow crashed into him.

This time into the shoulder.

Then the ribs.

Each strike heavier than the last, fueled by something deeper and darker burning inside her.

“You… you cats always hurt humans! You always think you can do anything!” Koori shouted at him.

Another punch.

And another.

The human girl stumbled back, hands covering her mouth, eyes huge.

“I... I have to go!” she whispered before fleeing as fast as she could.

But Koori hardly noticed.

Her world had shrunk to the wheezing bundle of fur before her, and to the pain in her own chest, a pain that dulled a little more with every punch.

“Nyarghh…!” The Neko gasped, barely conscious.

Koori raised her fist again.

“STOP HURTING MY BROTHER, NYA!”

The voice cracked through the winter air like a whip.

Koori spun around.

At the corner of the building stood a small Neko girl with lynx-like ear tufts and a short, fluffy tail that twitched frantically.

Golden eyes, wide with fear and fury.

“Another cat…” Koori muttered.

Kuroha Nyarin stumbled forward, planting herself protectively in front of the collapsed boy.

“I… I won’t let you hurt him!”

Koori’s hand faltered mid-air.

“Hurt… him?”

For a moment, something like shame flickered across her face.

She stared down at the Neko, then at her own blood-smeared knuckles.

Her jaw tightened.

“He...” Her voice cracked. “He hurt her! I only stopped him!”

“Who?” Kuroha hissed, tears collecting in her eyes.

Only then did Koori realize the human girl was long gone.

“But… there was a student… she... he...”

Kuroha’s brother dragged himself upright with a groan, clutching his stomach.

“S-she attacked me out of nowhere, sis! I didn’t do anything!”

Koori threw him a cold, furious glare and was two heartbeats away from hitting him again, but Kuroha’s small paws clenched into fists.

Something crackled faintly in the air as she bit her lip.

“I’ll protect my brother if I must! So... leave him alone!”

“…Protect?” Koori whispered.

A sharp, crystalline sound suddenly rang out, like glass shattering.

Kuroha’s pupils narrowed; the gold of her eyes turned silver.

A faint, pale-silverish ring formed around her body for a single heartbeat, then burst into a thousand glowing fragments.

Wind rose around her, first a soft flutter, then a surging gale that kicked up dust and leaves, before gathering into a shimmering, silver aura coiling around her small frame.

Koori stared, fists still clenched.

Kuroha’s ears flattened as she screamed:

“NYAAAAA!”

The air around her fractured like a shattered mirror, shards of light floating weightlessly in a swirling halo.

For a moment, her rage was replaced by stunned disbelief.

“I… I ascended… I’m finally a Kakusei…”

But the wonder vanished quickly from her face.

She turned back to Koori, planting her feet wide, the wind sharpening around her as if forming invisible blades.

"I'll fight you if I must!"

Koori steadied herself as well, breath hot, the ground beneath her faintly glowing.

"You cats are all the same... all you can do is hurt others!"

The air between them warped, heat and fury twisting together...

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? STOP IMMEDIATELY!”

The voice cut through the scene with absolute authority.

Hiro rounded the corner, two more human teachers behind him, all three wearing grim expressions.

The gale collapsed instantly; Kuroha flinched.

The basalt layer crumbled from Koori’s fists as if it had never been there.

“You two, come with me. Now.” Hiro’s voice was ice.

Then, noticing the injured Neko boy on the ground, his face twisted in alarm.

He turned to the other teachers.

“Get him to the infirmary. And make sure no one sees you... move!”

The teachers hurried off, half-carrying the groaning Neko boy between them, their footsteps fading down the path.

The winter air settled again, cold and sharp.

Hiro turned back to Koori and Kuroha, his expression dark with restrained fury.

“Both of you,” he said quietly, “inside. Now.”

Koori lowered her gaze, the last traces of heat fading from her hands.

Kuroha wiped her eyes, silver still flickering faintly in her pupils.

Neither spoke a word as they followed.

Silently.

***

The air in the principal’s office was so heavy you could have cut it with a knife.

Koori sat on one of the chairs in front of the desk, her hands clenched tightly in her lap.

Next to her sat Kuroha Nyarin, staring stubbornly at the floor.

The door opened.

Hiro stepped inside, followed by Hale, who froze when he saw Koori.

Her eyes were red, her hair disheveled, her shoulders looked smaller than ever.

She threw him only the briefest sideways glance before turning her head even further away, as if she couldn’t bear to let him look at her.

But he didn’t need to see her to know what was happening inside.

He felt it through the connection between their marks, the pulsing pain, the usually warm flicker that now flared hot, then cold, over and over.

Sadness. Anger. Despair.

Koori…

His thoughts flickered back to the envelope.

To her trembling hands.

To his own words.

Then his eyes fell on Kuroha, and widened.

The small Neko girl he had defended only a few weeks ago.

“Kuroha-san…?” he blurted out.

She is the Neko, Koori got into a fight with!?

Kuroha shot to her hindpaws as if someone had flipped a switch.

“Sensei!” she cried, tears springing up in her eyes. “That girl attacked my brother for no reason, nya! I was only trying to protect him! I… I only did what you would do, nya!”

A stabbing pain shot through Hale’s chest.

“Kuroha-san…” he began, but Koori was already standing.

“He hurt a girl!” she snapped. “Just because she is human! That made me angry and...”

“That is enough.”

The principal’s voice cut through the room like a blade.

His bushy mustache bristled, pupils narrowed, the tip of his tail twitching.

“We are not here to debate human feelings. We are here to determine who violated school regulations.”

He looked at Koori as though her guilt were already confirmed.

Slowly, the two girls sat back down.

The principal folded his paws atop the desk.

“Sakuya-san,” he said, the polite honorific sounding like empty ritual. “This supposed human student you mentioned. Tell me her name.”

Koori opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“I… don’t know her name,” she whispered. “She ran away before anyone could...”

A sharp, irritated hiss escaped the principal.

“What about her class?” he asked dryly. 

"Her class? I-I don't know..."

Kuroha’s head shot up immediately.

“Because she didn’t exist!” she cried. “I ran over right when I heard my brother cry out, nya! There was no one there! Only her, hitting him again and again! My brother said the same, nya!”

“That’s not true!” Koori snarled back. “You didn’t see...”

“Enough.”

The principal’s voice sliced through her words.

“Violence against Nekos, regardless of the cause, is a serious offense. Normally this would not only be grounds for immediate expulsion, but also a formal charge before the Interspecies Authority for Hate Crimes Against Nekos.”

Hale’s breath caught.

This is bad. This is really bad. I have to fix this somehow...

“Uh, sir, perhaps we should...”

“Mr. Armitage.”

The principal shot him a cold glare.

“I am leading this meeting. As an Assistant Teacher, you will speak only when asked. Understood?”

Hale clenched his fists but nodded, while Hiro shook his head subtly, urging him to keep calm.

The principal folded his hands beneath his chin and stared at Koori, his expression calculating.

After a moment, he sighed.

“As hosts and competitors of the Kyūmei Mahō Taikai, we are under the scrutiny of all Neko-Nippon. We cannot afford a scandal right now. Therefore, we will downgrade this matter to a severe altercation between students.”

His gaze hardened.

“Under one condition.”

“Condition?” Hale and Koori echoed simultaneously.

“…Sakuya-san will apologize to the injured boy and promise this will never happen again. Additionally, she will perform two hours of daily service and cleanup duty as restitution.”

“But…” Koori choked. “I… I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Hale pressed his lips together.

It’s not fair… but… we have no real choice.

“Koori…” He turned fully to her.

She looked at him like he was pulling the ground out from beneath her feet.

“...If you don’t apologize,” he said softly, “then… we can’t stay here together.”

Her fingers twisted painfully into her skirt.

“That’s what you want anyway…” she whispered, a tone Hale had never heard from her before. “So I’m punished for protecting someone?” she continued, her voice barely audible. “And now… you won’t protect me either?”

The stabbing in his chest deepened.

“It’s not about who is right,” he forced out. “It’s about what you stand to lose if you don’t. Please… Koori…”

She stared at him.

Then lowered her gaze.

Slowly, she stood, her hands shaking.

Every movement looked mechanical, like a puppet moved by strings.

“I… will… apologize to him,” she said flatly.

Kuroha crossed her arms and looked away.

“…Hmph.”

The principal nodded once.

“Good. Once you have apologized to Kuroha-kun formally, the matter will be closed. I expect not to see you here again under such circumstances. You may leave.”

Koori didn’t answer and bowed stiffly.

As Hale watched her, his fingers brushed his wrist where the mark lay.

But instead of the usual warm pulse he felt whenever she was near, there was only a jagged, stinging cold.

And for the first time since he had met her, he felt as if he had completely lost her.