A/N: Thank you Isshinene for your review! It makes me extremely happy to hear that! You'll more Isshiki badass moments sooner or later!

Now let's go to the chapter!

Isshiki couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Someone inside the ice kingdom was out of control? He never had to experience this in first hand, and no one in his area ever got out of control…

People with intense emotion have their eyes in the color of their designated element. However, if a person gets enveloped in their element- they go out of control. This is believed to be caused by a high negative emotion, such as depression of anger.

He remembered those words from a book that he read. His parents always made him read such books so that there would be a bigger possibility that he'd be a better leader. And now… he got to see it in front of his very own eyes.

He watched the fellow leader move a bit closer in a cautious manner to the figure who was starting to curl up near the wall. "You can trust me." Nene says as she reached out to the female in front of her. "I'm your leader, I wouldn't ever harm you."

The ice which was surrounding the female only became sharper. "I don't believe you… I don't believe you!" She screeched those words in pain and Nene had her hand pierced by the ice. "If my parents can't help me, then what more of a self-proclaimed leader?!"

Isshiki's eyes widened as those words were stated. Self… proclaimed leader? He turned his head to Shigemichi, wanting to question those words. Did he hear that right? Was there a story behind this? "What is she talking about?" Curiosity built up in him and the male beside him didn't respond. "What did she mean by that?"

"You don't need to know this, Isshiki Satoshi." He finally responded. "Whatever happens here stays here. No other leader needs to know." He blankly states.

Was there something that Nene told him? Something important? He understood that he shouldn't ask any further question but he became only more concerned. He believed Nene truly deserved the spot she's in, but someone calling her that made him confused.

He snapped out of his thoughts once Nene went close to the person despite more injuries being caused by the person who she tried to approach. Before Isshiki could actually go to her and try to pull her away out of worry- he saw a sight which he never expected to see from her.

Nene, the person who was known to be cold to all the other elements, gave a hug to one of the people of her was hugging her tightly, holding her as if she was her own child. It was like a sight of mother and daughter.

"I might not be your parent, but I might as well be one for you." The person who went out of control began tearing up and the ice that was surrounding her body began melting. "So if you would still allow yourself to trust me, calm down, Hang Le."

After a few seconds, the female hugged her back- her head resting on her chest with no other words said.

This was one of the moments where Isshiki saw something beyond her cold eyes- and it warmth. An expression that she never gave him for years. He missed those eyes, and the last time she did that was when when they were still children.

Once the whole situation went back to normal, Nene still continued to hug her. A couple of head pats and reassuring was enough to make the other girl sleep. She stood up, and began fixing her clothes- allowing some snowflakes to appear on her body so it could cover up the bloody mess on her skin. She slowly released the female and finally turned her head to see the visitor.

In a split second, her eyes became rather cold again. "Isshiki." The way she stated his name seemed like it was filled with despise, and it was contradictory to how she acted before she spotted him. "I'm surprised you'd come here without warning."

He smiled gently, hiding the fact that he was pretty disappointed at the sudden change. "I apologize for that. I was wondering why you weren't coming to my are or sending me any messages that you will."

She raised an eyebrow at his response. "Then why did you not come here and ask?" She questioned. "Are you expecting me to do all the effort, Fire Element Leader?"

"Not quite." He admitted. "It only made me assume you didn't want to see me, so I decided not to go here until now."

"Coming here without a warning, coming here uninvited, and even causing a scene with one of my people? The temperature dropped immensely and there was silence between the two, Nene glaring daggers at the person with the opposite element. "I will not easily forgive you for that."

It only took some minutes and there were new things he discovered about her. She was someone who prioritized her people more than herself- and she was willing to do anything for them, even if it could damage her.

He tried to change topics, so the atmosphere wouldn't feel as bad as it was now. "You really care about your people, huh?" As soon as he brought it up, Nene sighed and closed her eyes.

"Of course I do. They're my people. They chose me to be the leader." So what was that self-proclaimed comment about? "I have to not fail their expectation and I should show them that they have made the right choice." She continued before eyeing him. "However, I hope you know I won't let you slide so easily. Kaburagi gained a lot of injuries because of you."

She didn't seem to forget what just happened, so he really did have to explain. "She attacked me first." He commented. "She used her element to injure me."

"She was doing her job." She defended. "We do not allow visitors who come without notice. Especially that you're from another element. Leader or not, you're supposed to follow the rules of the area you're in."

He took her words to heart and he had to admit, that he was also in fault. But it was true that if she didn't attack, he wouldn't end up defending himself… "Fine, my mistake. I'm sorry. But I can see that you train your people well."

Admittedly, Nene was a bit in shock when he told her this, but her eyes started to shift away from him. "... You don't need to tell me that." She responded. "You're lucky that there are people who specialize in healing in the ice element. If not, I would have told you to not come back here again unless any of you fire elements have the power to do healing magic."

Isshiki began laughing a bit. Damn. That means he'd be banned forever. No person in his element had the ability to heal… and it was no surprise. As far as he knew, healing magic may have been considered "rare" in certain elements. These were fire and lightning. "I will apologize to Kaburagi once I see her again."

"You better."

"As cold as always."

She muttered before turning to the door and walking away. "Let's talk in another room. Kumai, be sure to take care of Hang Le." When she stopped on her tracks, she began speaking again. "Isshiki, follow me."

It wasn't hard to notice the hostile glares people began to give. It was something to be expected because he was a well known leader inside and outside of his place. They must have been worried that he'd be able to melt the ice without even trying because of his title. This didn't bother him at all.

The room that was in front of Nene had large doors and it seemed like it was hers. No one was allowed to enter it without her permission after all. Once she entered the room, a bunch of snowflakes could be seen floating in mid air, and it was as if everything was frozen in time.

"What are you waiting for?" She squinted. "If you don't want to come in, then don't. I wouldn't mind not talking to you for the day." A slight bitterness was quite obvious in the tone of her voice, and he couldn't tell if it was because of what he did or something more personal. Nene wasn't an easy person to read. Cold as ice, as they described.

There wasn't something that hindered him from entering, not even her words… But if he were to admit what was stopping him, it was by pure awe. The sight of Nene underneath all the frozen snowflakes was like a scene that could be a perfect picture. It was completely fitting, and it was wonderful.

"I'm coming in." It took him by surprise that the doors automatically closed once he entered, and he eyed the girl. "Your doing?"

"Who else would have the ability to control the blizzard?" She rolled her eyes. "Stop questioning the obvious." Once she sat on her chair, she became the one asking some questions. "Can you tell me your plans?"

"I only went here to know why you weren't visiting. I suppose it's because of her."

Isshiki didn't need to hear it from her, from the view alone- he could already tell that the female who was out of control was the reason. People would often compare those who go out of control as "monsters".

Even if there was no change in the expression of Nene, her words seemed like it was in pain. "At least you're smarter than the rest. Others called her an "it"." She stated, her eyes looking down at her desk. "And I absolutely dislike it when they do."

If she thought he'd actually think like the rest- she was wrong. He may have been a different figure in her eyes, but he would never say or think such. "Of course I wouldn't think that about her. I was never quick to judge people around me, Nene."

"I know you wouldn't, I'm just stating I'm relieved."

"If I may ask, what happened to her?" The snowflakes inside the room began to fall and Isshiki started to feel it drop to his skin. Knowing what may have happened, he paused for a moment. "You don't need to tell me the reason."

The eyes of Nene was becoming blue, and she ended up talking after some minutes passed. "I shouldn't tell you." Her voice sounded a bit dimmer, affected by his question. "Just tell me what I need to know."

Did she have something to do with what happened to her?

"I'm assuming it's about training you want to talk about." Isshiki spoke up. "But as of now… we should place that aside."

"Responsibilities are first, Isshiki."

At this time, he didn't care about the tournament, he was more worried about her than anything else.

People with intense emotion have their eyes in the color of their designated element.

Those words repeated in the head of Isshiki as he continued to focus on the eyes of Nene. "No, your feelings come first."

"I can't believe that I heard those words from you."

There were a million of questions in his head, but the one that stayed deep in his mind was… Why did she say that?