When Ice Turns Against Ice

An icy wind howled across the rooftop of Nyansei High, whipping the snow into small, swirling gusts.

The snowfall grew heavier, the flurries more frequent.

Icy blue light flickered, accompanied by a distant rumble echoing through the air again and again.

Down on the school grounds, hats were pulled low, headphones and earmuffs sat snugly in place, and most eyes were glued to phone screens.

One student twitched an ear and glanced upward as another rumble rolled overhead and a brief glow flashed in the corner of his vision.

“Where are you, Nyagamoto-kun?” a voice called out.

With a shrug and a hurried “Coming, nya!”, the Neko dismissed it and hurried after his classmates.

And so, no one noticed how, five stories above them, snow and ice were colliding in violent bursts.

***

“You won’t be able to protect her like this, Mr. Armitage!” Tadamori Purimura hissed through the winter air as she effortlessly deflected yet another volley of Hale’s frost bolts.

Hale panted heavily several meters away, the mark on his wrist glowing bright and erratic.

Every attack just dissolves! I need a different approach…

He clenched his teeth as a layer of ice spread across his body.

In his right hand, an ice-forged sword took shape, in his left, a jagged shield.

I’m not a fighter… but this might be my only option.

He lunged forward.

“Oh? How daring, nyah…” Purimura murmured as Hale charged.

She didn’t move, she simply waited.

Even as he swung, she remained still.

Then, a shrill clang rang out, as his strike was blocked by something.

Hale was thrown back, stumbling as he struggled to keep his footing.

How did she-!?

When he looked up, Purimura was casually licking her paw, where long daggers of ice extended from her claws, gleaming in the pale light.

“If you want to achieve anything in close combat,” she said coolly while her claws retracted, “you’ll need to be a lot faster, nya.”

So this won’t work either…

“Are you done?” she sighed. “Then I suppose it’s my turn.”

Purimura removed her glasses and slid them calmly into her coat pocket.

For a brief moment, she simply stared at him.

Then her pupils narrowed into thin slits.

Hale didn’t see her move.

One instant she was standing there, the next, she was right in front of him, fangs gleaming.

He barely managed to raise his arms, blocking her first strike with another hastily formed ice barrier, but another blow followed, then another.

The falling snow seemed drawn toward Purimura, hardening midair into massive fists of ice that slammed into Hale until his shield shattered and she sent him flying with a final kick.

He crashed hard against the rooftop railing, sliding down with a groan.

“D-damn it…”

So this is the power of a Domei… a rank four…

Purimura stood in the snow, her expression openly disappointed.

“Well?” she asked flatly. “Is that all, nya?”

How naive of me. Did I really think a bit of training would be enough to beat them? It seems I completely underestimated the power of their magic...

Hale’s hands sank into the snow beside him, his gaze hollow.

“Tch…” Purimura clicked her tongue. “I do hope Lava Kitten puts up more of a fight than you.” She sighed theatrically. “After all, there won’t be a rematch once the researchers are done with her.”

The words struck like a blade through his chest.

I can’t give up.

If I don’t stop her now, then she’ll… she’ll...

His chest burned.

Every breath felt like icy air slicing straight into his lungs.

The mark on his wrist pulsed violently, brighter than before, irregular, reacting to something beyond his sight.

He felt her.

Koori.

Somewhere on the school grounds.

I promised her I’d never leave her alone…

Hale ground his teeth together.

And today is not the day I break that promise!

Purimura’s gaze shifted from his face to his wrist, where the mark was now shining intensely.

“Oh?” She tilted her head slightly. “I was wondering what that was…”

The snow around Hale’s feet began to crack and shift.

“If you won’t leave us alone,” he said hoarsely, “then you’re leaving me no choice…”

Determination reignited in his eyes.

Ice spread across his body again, but this time not as mere armor.

It formed a second framework over his skin, reinforcing his joints, supporting exhausted muscles, guiding his movements, as if the cold itself had taken over where his body had already failed.

His eyes flared with icy light.

Then he moved.

Jerky and unnatural, like a marionette pulled by taut strings.

Purimura’s tail twitched.

“Interesting…”

Hale charged, striking once, twice.

Purimura blocked effortlessly, but he didn’t stop.

Another swing.

She dodged, grabbed his wrist, and slammed him hard against the wall beside the stairwell entrance, but the armour dampened the impact.

His eyes caught something next to him as he got up.

An old water pipe protruding from the wall, thickly frozen over.

Purimura was already moving in for another attack.

Hale didn’t hesitate.

He struck.

Metal groaned and Ice shattered.

With a sharp hiss, a jet of freezing water burst forth from the water pipe.

It hit Purimura head-on.

“Tch!” She snarled as the icy stream lashed across her coat and face.

Hale seized the moment.

Behind her, swirling snow condensed into a spinning disc of compressed ice, razor-sharp, rotating like a saw blade.

He hurled it.

She turned at the last second, leaping back, barely.

The blade scraped across her tail, shaving off a few gray hairs that drifted soundlessly into the snow.

Purimura looked down, then back at him, a genuine smile spreading across her face.

“…Remarkable.”

She stepped closer, the water dripping from her coat freezing mid-fall and shattering like glass beads.

Her gaze returned to his wrist, sharper now.

“…But not enough.”

Hale raised his arms again, ready to keep fighting.

But Purimura's paws moved faster than he could follow.

Razor-sharp ice spikes erupted in a circle around him, shredding his clothes and piercing his left flank just beneath the ribs, pinning him in place like a frozen prison.

Hale screamed in pain.

“Oops,” Purimura drawled. “Looks like one slipped… don’t move, or the blood loss will kill you, nya?”

She approached slowly, stopping just inches away, eyes fixed on his limp wrist protruding from the ice.

On the mark.

“Hmm…”

Hale’s body twitched, a futile attempt to pull free.

“I said don’t move,” she repeated quietly.

Her paw closed around his wrist, twisting it slightly so the mark lay exposed in the pale winter light.

The frost around them reacted and Purimura’s ears twitched.

Slowly, she traced the glowing lines with a single claw, as if feeling their structure.

“So that’s how it is…”

Her voice was no longer mocking.

It was thoughtful.

She looked at him, smiling crookedly.

“Your magic doesn’t come from you, does it,” she murmured. “You merely… acquired it, nya?”

Purimura’s claw hovered above the mark as Hale’s breath hitched.

His vision blurred.

And through ice and pain, only one thought surfaced.

Koori.

***

“Koori-chan, pass!” Mitsuki shouted, catching the ball midair.

It bounced sharply against the gym floor, the rhythmic squeak of sneakers echoing through the hall.

The scoreboard read 14:16.

Humans versus Nekos.

Just outside the three-point line, Koori caught the ball again, stumbled briefly, then recovered.

She took a few steps and passed to Kobayashi-san, who aimed, shot, and scored.

Two points.

“Yatta!” Mitsuki cheered as brief smiles flickered across the girls’ faces.

They exchanged quick high-fives and jogged back into defense.

“Nice pass, Sakuya-san,” Kobayashi-san panted as the Neko players whispered among themselves, tails lashing impatiently.

Next play.

A Neko shot from beyond the center line, leaping as the ball sailed through the air.

At first it looked like a clear miss, but for a split second, a faint glow flickered around her paws, and the ball dropped cleanly through the hoop.

“Hey!” Mitsuki shouted immediately. “You used magic! That's forbidden!”

Several of the human girls nodded in agreement.

The opposing team crossed their arms.

“That’s not true, nya!”

“Yeah! Don’t blame magic just because we’re better than you!”

The girls turned indignantly toward the PE teacher, an older Manx cat with a stopwatch around his neck.

He glanced over lazily.

“Hmnya?” He blinked. “Didn’t see anything. Play on.”

A soft, mocking purr followed from the other side.

Mitsuki bit her lip and leaned toward Koori.

“That’s unfair…” she whispered. “If they’re doing it, then you should too!”

Koori gripped the ball tightly.

“I…” she began quietly.

She thought of Hiro. Of his words.

Drawing any more attention would be… unwise

“Maybe I shouldn’t...”

“Koori-chan,” Mitsuki said firmly. “We’re just playing fair!”

The whistle blew and the play resumed.

Koori received the ball, two defenders in front of her.

She inhaled and moved.

As they closed in, she stepped down.

Not hard, not visibly, but enough to send a brief, focused tremor through the ground beneath them.

The defenders slipped, losing their balance.

“Huh!?”

Now she had a clear path.

Koori jumped and shot.

Score.

“What was that, nya?!“, the toppled Nekos cried out in disbelief.

Cheers erupted from the human girls.

“YES! Nice shot Sakuya-san!”

But before Koori could cheer with the others, something tightened painfully in her chest.

Her mark flared.

Hot. Urgent.

Not from using her power, but from something else.

“Hale…” she whispered.

She could feel that he was in danger.

The cheers around her faded, the court blurring as she staggered back a step.

“I-I...” she gasped.

“Koori-chan?” Mitsuki called out as Koori suddenly bolted for the exit.

“Hey! Sakuya-san!” the teacher barked. “Where do you think you’re going, nya!?”

“Uh… stomachache!” Koori shouted over her shoulder, already sprinting away.

Then she was gone, racing up the stairs, her heart hammering harder with every step.

On the court, confused murmurs rippled through the players. 

The whistle shrilled.

“Quiet, nya!”

The teacher glanced briefly at the door, then down at his list.

“You.” He pointed at a human girl on the bench. “Sub in for Sakuya-san. Let’s continue.”

Another whistle.

The ball was put back into play.

Mitsuki lingered for a moment, her gaze fixed on the exit.

Then she forced herself back into the game.