A Promise Beneath the Ice

Koori sprang aside at the last second as the blow pulverized the ground and exploded into a crater of sand and rubble.

The shockwave caught her and hurled her across the arena; she hit hard and slid several meters.

Hale finally caught up, leaving an ice trail behind him.

He stepped in beside her in a defensive stance, the air around him turning frosty.

“Listen to me, we have to do this together! If we combine our powers, we might be able to...”

But she didn’t react.

No answer.

Not even a glance.

Her eyes remained fixed on the golem.

Burning.

“Hey! Are you even listening to me?!”

Nothing.

A second fist came down from the golem.

“Watch out!” Hale shouted, but Koori jumped aside and thrust her arms forward.

Molten stone gathered in a half-circle along her arms, her gloves glowing like iron straight from the forge.

“Kaþa uyn vaþ nál inrún he dan!“

A massive beam of molten red and orange blasted upward, slamming into the golem’s chest, right where its arcane core glowed.

The sand hissed, glowing and starting to melt, but not fast enough.

A curved wall of violet energy snapped into place, absorbing the blow.

“NYANYAKU’S ARCANE SHIELD BLOCKS THE ATTACK, NYA!!”

Hale saw her fingers trembling, her shoulders tightening.

The fire grew hotter.

The air shivered.

Koori’s breathing became shaky.

He felt it through the mark, a wild, jagged flicker.

Pain. Frustration. Anger.

Hate.

Koori...

She screamed.

“KYAAAAH!”

And the lava erupted forward in a raw, volcanic burst, not controlled anymore, but the same wild, emotional surge she unleashed back in the underpass.

The violet shield flickered once. Twice.

Then it shattered in a spray of light.

The golem flared, its core overloading in the firestorm, before collapsing into a downpour of molten sand and glittering shards.

Sunamori and Nyanyaku were hurled from the imploding mass, hitting the arena floor hard, gasping where they landed.

For a moment, there was a tangible silence.

But Koori kept moving.

Without hesitation, she dashed forward again.

Her fists were once more wrapped in black volcanic stone.

Sunamori lay on the ground, Nyanyaku half on top of him, arms spread protectively.

With the last of her strength, Nyanyaku raised another arcane shield, a thin violet dome, flickering like a candle in the wind.

Koori drew back her fist.

And struck.

The shield vibrated, cracks spreading across its surface.

Nyanyaku groaned in pain while Koori lifted her fist again, ready to hit once more.

Her eyes glowed beneath the mask.

The mark on her chest burned.

Hale stopped in his tracks.

This was no longer what they’d practiced in the old factory hall.

This was merciless.

The volcanic power poured out of her, hot and wild, crushing everything in its path.

Damn it, she’s lost control, and it’s all my fault.

Something tightened in his chest.

If I reach Nekogami this way, I haven’t saved anything, only destroyed something else.

Hale surged forward along the ice trail he conjured beneath his own feet to catch up to her.

“That’s enough!” he shouted as he skidded to a stop beside her. “They’re already as good as...”

“I’m fighting!” she snarled, without looking at him. “That’s what you wanted. Isn’t it?”

Flames shook between her words.

A dull alarm tone sounded somewhere at the edge of the arena.

“LAVA KITTEN DOESN’T STOP! IF THIS CONTINUES, THE REFEREES WILL HAVE TO INTERVENE, NYA!”

Hale now stood right next to her, ice crackling around his fingers.

“Koo—… Lava Kitten! Stop it, you’re going to seriously hurt them!”

She finally turned her head toward him.

He couldn’t see her eyes behind the mask, but he could feel them.

Full of pain.

“What else do you want from me!?” Her voice shook. “Should I apologize to these cats too, even though you wanted me to fight them? Am I not your tool so you can fix your mistake and then leave me behind again!?”

Every word was a blow.

He wanted to say something.

That she was more than that.

That he had never seen her as a tool.

But… in the end she is right. I did have used her like one, haven’t I?

She turned back to their opponents, raising her hand for another strike as Nyanyaku’s barrier finally crumbled.

“No!“

Hale reacted before he could think about it.

From his hand shot a stream of ice, hitting the ground at Koori’s feet.

A sharp ice ridge sprang up out of the sand, turning into a smooth ramp that knocked Koori off balance.

“H-ha…?”

She toppled backward and was thrown toward the edge of the ring, sliding over the boundary line.

A red signal light flashed.

“WHAT'S THAT!? LAVA KITTEN WAS THROWN OUT OF THE RING BY HER OWN TEAMMEMBER AND IS THUS DISQUALIFIED!”

She stared at him in stunned disbelief as the realization sank in.

“W-what… are you doing!?”

Her voice cracked.

Hale was breathing hard.

He stood alone in the center of the ring, the opponents wheezing and half-conscious a few meters away.

A tense silence fell for a moment.

Then he started walking toward her, to the edge of the ring.

And deliberately jumped over the line, out of the arena.

The alarm sounded again.

“I-ICE KNIGHT ALSO LEAVES THE RING!? THIS MEANS.... THE WINNERS ARE: TEAM DESERT TIDE, NYA!”

A wave of boos, angry shouts and confused muttering rolled through the stands.

“Why… why did you do that?” Koori whispered, her voice brittle.

He walked up to her and stopped one step away.

“Because I don’t want to win like that,” he said quietly. “Not this way. Not if it means you lose yourself in the process.”

His gaze dropped briefly to her hands.

The basalt layer was cracked wherever she’d struck; the skin beneath was reddened.

“You’re not a tool, Koori,” he continued. “I… dragged you into this tournament because I wanted to undo my own mistakes. But I shouldn't have done this.”

The moment the words left his mouth, something jolted in Koori’s posture.

“But… you… you just...”

The rest dissolved into a strained breath.

The spectators murmured about the strange outcome of the match.

Some booed, others jeered, the commentator tried to rein in the situation.

“An… uh… unexpected end to tonight’s fight! That puts Team Ice Knight & Lava Kitten at two wins and one loss, so they can still move forward depending on...”

But Hale didn’t hear any of it.

Koori’s shoulders were trembling.

Hale saw her fingers clenching inside the gloves.

Instinctively, he raised his hands.

A semicircular shimmer spread out, and a dense, milky wall of ice shot upward, arcing into an opaque dome that sealed over them.

Inside, the arena fell instantly silent as bluish half-light wrapped around them and the floodlights outside fractured in the glittering ice.

Koori stood there like a statue.

Her breathing was too fast, her legs looked weak.

“Koori…” Hale’s voice melted every distance as he unfastened his helmet.

His wavy blond hair clung damply to his forehead, and his blue eyes watched her with a mix of guilt and worry.

He slowly raised his hands, wordlessly asking if he could remove her mask.

She didn’t resist as he lifted it off.

Her star-filled eyes stared at him in desperation.

“I simply wanted to protect you. From yourself. From what I was turning you into. And from the world out there,” Hale finally said, his voice rough.

Koori shook her head, distraught.

“But… you didn’t take my letter… you… didn’t help me when those cats…”

Her last words broke, not in anger, but in despair.

The first sob tore out of her, small and helpless.

And then, as if someone had shattered a dam, it all burst out.

A heart-wrenching cry, which she tried to smother with both hands but couldn’t.

Hale stepped toward her at once, hesitant, careful, but resolute.

“Koori, I am sorry…”

She staggered toward him under the cracking dome of ice.

And fell into his arms.

Her forehead pressed to his chest, she clung to him like a wounded animal.

“It hurts so much…”

Her voice broke.

“Why does it hurt so much…? I didn’t… I didn’t want you to leave me alone… like… like all the other humans who left me alone on Fuji… like Mother who left me there all by myself...”

And as Hale held her, he finally understood.

Damn it… how could I have been so blind.

He placed one hand on her shoulder and looked at her seriously.

“I won’t leave you alone,” he said softly. “Not now. Not later. No matter what happens.”

She swallowed, her voice trembling.

“Do you… promise…?”

“Yes. I promise.”

And suddenly he felt it again.

The warm connection between his mark and hers returned.

That soft pulsing that grew stronger whenever they were close.

Koori inhaled, deeply, shaking, as though she were breathing properly for the first time in days.

And Hale simply held her, the arena lights shining through the dome of ice around them.