Cold Interference: It Sings of Poison

The fight started the second the snow settled.

It didn’t drift peacefully. It hung in the air like the world was holding its breath, waiting for someone to make the first move. Brass stood across from Itaka as if this were nothing more than a casual meeting. One hand rested loosely on the hilt of his saber. 

The other lazyly spun a black and gold revolver, metal flashing every time it caught the pale winter light. He looked her up and down once, unimpressed. “Do you always act this serious,” he asked, “or am I just unlucky?” Itaka didn’t answer. She slid the brass knuckles over her fingers, tightening them until the metal sat perfectly against bone. The fit was clean. "You're about to be really unlucky in a moment." Said Itaka.

She rolled her neck once as snow drifted between them. Then she moved. She crossed the space in almost an instant, her shoes carving through frost. Her first punch went straight for his throat. Brass drew his saber in the same breath. The blade slipped free in one smooth motion, its slight curve gleaming like polished silver. It was the kind of weapon that didn’t need to swing hard to cut deep.

The impact rang out sharp across the clearing. Zyn bursts from Itaka’s knuckles, the force traveling through the blade in a violent pulse. Brass didn’t flinch. Ice flashed over his grip at the exact moment of contact. The recoil vanished from his body as if it had never been there. Itaka’s eyes shifted toward the treeline.

A shadow moved.

“A Shikigami,” she said flatly. Brass smiled. “I prefer ‘trusted associate.’” She dipped low and drove a punch toward his stomach. He twisted with fluid ease, bringing the saber down toward her shoulder. She blocked with her forearm, metal scraping against steel as sparks spat into the snow.

Without missing a beat, Brass fired. The revolver cracked loud enough to shake the trees. Itaka jerked her head aside just in time. The bullet tore through strands of her hair and detonated into a trunk behind her, showering splinters across the frozen ground.

“Wow,” Brass said. “You dodged.” She stepped in again, aiming for his throat again. "I'm going to rip out your vocal cords so that I don't have to hear your dumb voice." Said Itaka as she moved in. "Ouch princess, that one stung." Their movements grew sharper, faster. Each clash snapped through the air like breaking ice. Her brass knuckles slammed against the side of his blade once more, and this time a faint orange glow began to build along the metal.

“You feel that?” she asked calmly. He smiled again. Every time her fist struck his guard, ice formed over his knuckles or along the saber’s grip. Just enough. Just at the moment of impact. The damage didn’t stay with him. It slipped away. The shadow in the trees shifted again.

His gaze flicked past her shoulder. “Yours would too, I’m sure. If they weren’t still on the ground.” "However did that happen?" Her jaw tightened. He slashed horizontally. She ducked beneath the blade and drove a punch toward his jaw. It hit steel again.

Blocked.

Still no reaction.

“That’s cheating you damn bastard,” Itaka muttered. “But fine.” He fired again at point blank range. The bullet grazed her sleeve and exploded into steam when it struck the snow behind her. “You’re wasting energy,” Brass continued. “And you’re not clan head. So this is what? A performance?”

That one landed.

Her next strike came harder. Steam began rising from the snow around their feet as her Zyn flared hotter. “You’re getting mad,” Brass observed softly. “I like this part.”

She pressed forward with three rapid punches. Each detonated with force. Each was redirected. “You know,” he added, voice lowering just enough to cut, “if you actually had the title, maybe I’d take you seriously.” Her breathing shifted. It was subtle but he saw it. He stepped inside her next strike and drove the hilt of his saber into her ribs. The air left her lungs in a sharp gasp. Before she could recover, the revolver pressed against her stomach.

He fired.

The blast sent her skidding across snow and ice. Silence followed. Brass exhaled slowly. “When you get emotional, you get sloppy.” Itaka pushed herself up, blood at the corner of her mouth. Snow clung to her tanktop, melting slowly from the heat radiating off her.

“You talk too much,” she said.

He rushed her again, blade flashing. She blocked high, pivoted low, deflected a thrust that would have pierced her shoulder. The revolver barked again, and this time the bullet punched through her shoulder. She staggered. “There,” Brass said quietly. “Does the situation feel real yet sweetheart?” She steadied herself.

“Thermosovereign: Lymph Drainage.”

Her right arm tightened visibly as muscle compressed along bone. Blood flooded into that limb. Every ounce of power sharpened into speed. Brass tilted his head. “Again with the self sacrifice boost.” He lunged, saber aimed straight for her chest. 

"Split ice meteor." Frost spread like disease to the tip of his saber. The entire area seemed to drop in temperature As he swung his blade from the sky to the ground, forming a Z shape, the energy formed a bright white line in it's place. It dashed towards her, only feet away. She stepped inside the strike. The difference was only a tenth of a second. But that was enough.

“Too slow.”

Her Zyn reinforced brass knuckles crashed into his face before ice could fully form over the impact point. A wide smile seem to form on Brass' face on contact. Bloody knockout. Itaka hadn’t even realized how fast she went. Brass' initial attack had an even landed behind her yet.

The explosion of heat was immediate. Snow melted instantly around them. Steam surged into the air in thick clouds. The saber flew from his hand. Brass stumbled back, a deep burn tearing across his cheek and down his neck. His skin blackened where her fist had landed. He touched it slowly. His grin faded.

Itaka didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward and punched him again, heat searing on contact. The brass knuckles left a glowing mark against damaged flesh. Some inherited techniques carried traits. In her clan, the head bore Heat directly in their Zyn. Normally only the head. Itaka was the exception. Her energy burned. Brass screamed and dropped to one knee. The revolver slipped from his hand into the slush.

She stepped back slightly as he collapsed fully into the melted snow. Steam rose from his body in slow waves. Silence settled over the clearing. Asumi exhaled behind her. “We won.”

Itaka didn’t answer. She kept her eyes on him. His bodh sat too still. Where's his Shikigami?" Behind her, Asumi knelt beside Tatsuchi again. Her shadow slipped into Tatsuchi’s body like ink spreading through water. “There’s still poison,” Asumi said quietly.

Zhenyu stepped forward. “Where?” Asumi guided him, her shadow wrapping tight around the source. Zhenyu formed a small Antigravity field inside Tatsuchi’s body, gathering the poison unnaturally into one place. “Asumi. Now.” She tightened her hold. Zhenyu reversed the pull. Tatsuchi coughed hard. Thick, dark residue spilled into the snow. Her breathing steadied. “It’s out,” Zhenyu said. The air still felt heavy.

Itaka turned back toward Brass. Laughter answered her. She froze. Brass was standing again. The burn was gone. Frost crawled across his skin where the damage had been, sealing it smooth and pale. His saber lifted off the ground and slid back into his hand as if drawn by invisible thread. The revolver followed. His expression wasn’t playful anymore. It looked... disappointed?

“They say you're officers of false gods,” he said coldly. “You should be stronger than that.” A single tear fell down his face and froze before touching the ground. He reached into his kimono and pulled out a scroll. Old paper. Edges rimed with frost. "If you won't give me a feast to settle my hunger, then this should."

Zhenyu stiffened. He knew what it was.

“DON’T LET HI-”

Brass began chanting: “In the cold amidst the play, snow chooses to fall this day, wrapped in red ribbon filled with doubt, it takes the children and chokes them out…” The world shifted instantly. The gas station disappeared, and the road vanished. They stood in a snow-covered forest now. Tall trees surrounded them. Snow piled thick. A children’s playground sat half buried nearby, its swings creaking faintly.

Brass was gone. But his voice echoed through the trees. “Kagome-no-Ha… feast…” A child’s voice began singing. Soft at first. Then wrong.

“The monster lives deep in the snow, it sings to get closer to kids you know, colder and colder the longer it drags, find his body or risk being attaaaaackked…” Something shrieked. A tree beside them ripped from the ground and vanished into a white blur. Wood chips went flying in each direction and stabbed Itaka in the back. Shadows rushed between the trunks.

The lullaby started again. The snow began to darken. The poison was in the air now. Asumi swayed. Her shadow flickered weakly. She collapsed. Tatsuchi forced herself up, then dropped to one knee again, her breathing was uneven again. Zhenyu clenched his jaw. “Dammit, It’s everywhere.” Somewhere in the forest, Brass’s laughter echoed.

The real fight had started.