Nari hummed quietly to herself, wandering down the hall. The final day of classes had passed, and the students had transitioned into a short winter break to prepare for the upcoming festival. While most took that time to enjoy themselves, she had been using it to steel herself mentally for the coming ones. The next few days were spent getting started on the first leg of what was going to be a long road between now and the concert. Now, after completing that first step, she was finally ready to relax. She needed a break, and nothing made her happier than enjoying the snow.

The sound of shouting and laughter soon reaching her ears told her she wasn't the only one.

. . .

The lord of the underworld sat quietly on the building steps, looking out over the field. In it, he could see the other students of Class A running around and enjoying themselves in the school grounds blanketed in white, building snowmen, making snow angels, and tossing around snowballs. It looked entertaining beyond belief, but Hades knew he couldn't join in, lest he ruin the fun for everyone else. So, instead, he watched them play, muttering quietly to himself. "It snowed quite a bit today… Winter snowfall is snow joke." He chuckled to himself at his little pun, having only a moment to enjoy himself before —

"Guh!"

Out of nowhere a snowball appeared at rapid speed, smacking him in the forehead with enough force to send him toppling backward onto the floor.

"Sorry Hades!"

He didn't hear Takeru's frantic apology, still dazed from his previous assault. It was the sound of footsteps that brought him back to reality, followed by a quiet female voice. When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of brown ones staring upside down at him. "Whoa, that looked brutal. You okay?"

"Mmph…" slowly sitting up, he shook his hair, tossing the frigid snow particles from his bangs. "Perfectly fine."

"I guess even bystanders aren't safe when those idiots are around."

Hades smirked. "Indeed, they are not. It was foolish of me to forget that. Be mindful to watch your own…" Turning to look at her, his words trailed off. The amused grin she wore moments before had faded, instead staring back at him in startled confusion. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted, like she was looking at him for the first time. "Kusanagi? What —"

"Your… Hades, your eye, it's…" For as long as she had known him, the god of the underworld always kept his hair in a distinct style. Shaggy and long with a thick cluster of bangs covering his left eye. It was so carefully styled that until that moment, she had never seen it before. She always assumed it to be a matching shade of garnet. Now, she could see that she was only partially right. The iris was a brilliant red, but the sclera around it was black as night; a deep, haunting abyss that swallowed all the light around it.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly smoothed his hair back into place. "My apologies. I didn't realize…"

"Apologize?" Nari blinked. "For what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I had not intended to frighten you."

"Frighten me?" The student balked, staring down in disbelief. "You didn't frighten me, I was just surprised. Why on earth would you think I'd be frightened of you?"

He chuckled darkly. "You wouldn't be the first person, human or otherwise."

"That's ridiculous, I would never be afraid of you, especially not over something like that."

His eyes fell to his lap. "It is alright, Kusanagi. It is unsettling, I am aware."

"Hades." The sudden shift in her tone drew him back, turning his head toward her. Doing so, he was startled to find her much closer than when his gaze left her. Nari had knelt to the floor, eye-level, staring back at him with a serious expression. Many expressions had become commonplace in the student, anger, agitation, amusement, the occasional happiness with her sister. This was something new, lips tight, eyes gentle but stern. To be honest, it unsettled him. As if she hadn't confused him enough already, she reached forward to brush a hand against the side of his face. The cool air tickled his skin; he could feel the hair moving from its position. Her movements were careful, methodical. She was giving him a chance to stop her if he wished.

He didn't.

With his eye revealed, she gave him his third surprise of the afternoon: A genuine smile. "There is nothing wrong with your eye, and there is nothing wrong with you. Honestly, now that I get a better look at it, it's kind of nice. It's different… but it looks good on you. You wear it well."

"You are not… disturbed by me?"

"Of course not. If anything, I'm a little starstruck. You're a handsome man, Hades. Blackened eye and all."

"K-Kusanagi…" He blanched, staring back at her with a look of utter shock. Those were not the words he had been expecting to hear, let alone from her. Aside from the occasional times they had hung out together, the two generally kept to their own affairs. Truly, it seemed this woman was capable of ceaselessly surprising him.

Nari's smile grew even wider, letting her hand fall from his blushing cheeks. "Listen… I know what it's like to have to hide from the world. To keep the real you tucked away from the rest of the world. I'm not going to tell you not to do that. That choice is yours alone. But I want you to know that you don't have to. Not with me. Okay?"

"I…" He wasn't entirely certain what to say. Never judge others by appearance alone; that was something he had practiced since long ago. But never has the impact of that philosophy been stronger than in that moment. Like nearly everyone else, he had come to know Nari Kusanagi as the short-tempered, sarcastic, polar opposite to her mild-mannered sister; an inferno given human form. Yet in this moment, there wasn't a trace of it. In those gentle eyes was something — someone else entirely. A glimpse of the woman beneath the surface… of the person she used to be. It brought a grin to his face mirroring her own. "Thank you."

The two smiled at one another, sharing in their tender moment of mutual understanding.

Out in the courtyard, Loki danced around his snowman, dodging snowballs with almost maniacal laughter. For one so athletic, Takeru wasn't much for their current sport. He had enough power behind his throws to send snowballs clear across the field, but it seemed he had spent all of his centuries of training on melee combat. He couldn't aim to save his life. Growing bored, he made his escape, looping around one of the trees, outmaneuvering him once more. After exhausting the other student's patience, he prepared to select his next victim.

Searching for a target, he looked around the yard and ran through his options. Dionysus was always a good option, and he would take almost any excuse to peg him with a snowball — or anything really. However, he was currently preoccupied building a snowman with the younger sister. He wasn't sure he could get a good hit on him without friendly fire. Balder was pointless, he couldn't hit him anyway. Apollon or Hades were pretty good options.

Making his decision, he primed a ball in his hand and looked around. Then, his eyes caught sight of her. Nari Kusanagi. Following her flight from the classroom, he hadn't run into her once. The sight of her blue hair alone was enough to bring a small smile to his face… a smile that fell the moment he noticed who she was with. Mr. Death. The two of them were looking very cozy together, far cozier than he was comfortable with. Even stranger, she was wearing one of those rare smiles he enjoyed so much. What were they getting up to over there? Loki didn't know. All he knew was that he didn't like it.

His feet were crunching across the snow before he realized what he was doing, taking aim at the unsuspecting pair. From the sidelines, Yui's eyes widened realizing what he was doing. In a few paces, she had abandoned her snowman to appear beside him, a look of concern rising on her features. "L-Loki, I wouldn't — that isn't a good idea —" Her words went unnoticed, his hand tossing the ball clear across the field in a perfect arc. His lips pulled into a grin as the ball nailed its target, smashing into the side of her arm with a thump.

Strangely, she didn't give the reaction he had expected. Rather than scream at him, throw him a nasty glare, or even lose her composure, she went eerily still. The only thing that shifted was her mouth, dropping from its joyful arc… before rising again in the most unnerving grin. Slowly, the older sister turned her head, eyes deadpan before locking on Loki himself. With a gentle hand on Hades' shoulder, she rose to her feet. "Excuse me a moment."

"Uh oh… you shouldn't have done that," Yui muttered, quickly backing away from the flaming god. He had opened a Pandora's Box, and now there was no closing it. Stepped into a dangerous realm; dove headlong into shark-filled waters without realizing it… but he was about to.

Dionysus chuckled at the younger sister, quirking an eyebrow in her direction when she returned to his side. She turned to watch the god of fire and her sister approaching him. On her face was a mixture of amusement and unease. As though she weren't entirely sure what was about to happen, but knew that whatever it was, she was going to enjoy it. Deciding he couldn't take the suspense, he asked, "Everything okay with Fotia?"

"Oh yeah, Nari's fine… but Loki isn't going to be."

"Hmm?" Balder paused, putting the finishing touches on their snowman before turning his attention. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Loki just made one the biggest mistakes of his life," Yui replied. The younger Kusanagi had spent many years and therefore many winters by her sister's side. She watched year after year how Nari's face would light up at the first snowfall and go dashing into the snow. Winter was her favorite season; she was unlike many humans in that regard. But her sister took it a step further. Not only did she enjoy the season, but she thrived in it. Running through the snow-covered fields of the shrine, sliding around with little more than a pair of boots. It was like she was made for it. Which was why Yui, along with the other children had long learned never to challenge her on the ice. She had watched many attempt and fail by her hands in brutal battle. It was one of the few times she saw Nari willingly interact with others. And in all that time, for as long as she could remember, there was one indisputable fact. Nari never lost a snowball fight. Ever.

Noticing all the commotion, Apollon hopped up from his snow shapes and jogged his way over to the gathering group. "Hmm? What happened? What's going on?"

Yui sighed. "Nothing yet. But in a few seconds, Loki's going to get destroyed."

"Huh?! Siren's going to do what?! We have to stop her, Fairy!"

He made it two steps forward before Yui grabbed his arm and dragged him back. "No, Apollon, not literally… I mean she's gonna bury him in snowballs."

"Bury him in snowballs? Why?"

"Because he made the first strike. For Nari, that's essentially a declaration of war."

"Hmph, I don't know," Takeru disagreed. "I hate to admit it, but the guy's pretty fast and he's got pretty good aim. I don't know how well she's gonna fair against him."

Balder nodded. "It's true… as Asgardians, we are at home in the snow. I'm not sure your sister can win."

Their words were met with only a slow shake of her head. "You guys don't get it. My sister lives for this stuff. Back home, Nari was so dangerous, the kids used to have a name for her. They called her Ice Queen."

"That does sound concerning…" Dionysus muttered.

"Ice Queen, huh? Sounds dramatic," Takeru complained. "But honestly, part of me wants to see his ass get pummeled."

Balder watched the students squaring up near the center of the courtyard. Decent cover, a few items and obstacles, some trees but not too many unless they headed near the tree line. All in all, it was a good arena. "It would most certainly be impressive should she manage to do so. Few can stand against the Norse in an icy setting."

"Is it really that cold?" Takeru asked.

"Mm-hmm. Our climate is such that most Asgardians learn to navigate snow before solid ground."

"Oh, wow, wow!" Apollon exclaimed. "Then, Loki's got an advantage then. He has an advantage."

Her classmates came to a stop, staring at one another from across the field. Yui leaned back against the tree, crossing her arms. "You guys don't get it. You're looking all of this the wrong way." "Loki's not out of his element here…" The look of her sister's devious grin sent a shiver up her spine, and not from the cold. "He's in hers."

"I'll give you one chance to forfeit, Loki. For your own sake, I suggest you take it," Nari called across the field. Her entire body was the definition of confidence; he wasn't sure he had ever seen her stand taller during their time there at the school — and that was including when she stood on stage. The god of fire would be lying if he said wasn't just a little unsettled by the display. The cold, calculating look in her eyes, her dangerous smile. Like a cat staring down a cornered mouse. It was a frightening look on her, but also exciting. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt anticipation like this.

But ultimately, he wasn't concerned. Another god couldn't hope to best him, let alone a human. She would be lucky if she could land a single hit. Calling back at her, he offered a feral grin. "Do your worst, Puppy."

Nari's smile grew even wider, her eyes glinting with joy. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Those words were indeed his only warning before she swiped a clump from her coat. Within seconds, a snowball was hurling back at him, at nearly twice the speed. He yelped, ducking to the side, and narrowly avoiding the fluffy white ball of death. By the time he turned back around, she already had two more in her hands. Loki smiled. 'Oh, this is gonna be fun.'

The onslaught began, a fearsome battle between human and god. Although no one would be able to tell by looking at them.

Nari was always a somewhat athletic individual, running most mornings, dance practice, and who knew what else. And since her eating habits had improved, she had a lot more energy, bolstering her strength even more. The older Kusanagi sister was fast, everyone knew this. They had seen an example of her agility during her surprise victory against Takeru Totsuka. But that was on solid ground. This was something else. On ice, she was an entirely different monster.

And she was giving Loki more than a run for his money.

As a trickster and native to Asgard, the god of fire was accustomed to slippery surfaces like this one. Much as he hated it, he was used to the snow and navigating it, as well as forming it into balls and pelting anyone and everyone he wanted in the face. But now, for the first time in many years, he found himself struggling. Not only was he realizing he was disadvantaged in his human form, but that he had little more than a prayer against his opponent. But it wasn't because of his strength or even his stamina. No. It was that he couldn't seem to hit her.

Nari dashed through the snow, slipping, and sliding gracefully across the ground. She used her momentum to keep pace, and her speed to lean into turns, even as she grabbed snow globs along the way before launching them at her opponent with reckless abandon. Whereas Loki had to move carefully to dodge her throws, making certain that his human body didn't falter, she remained in perfect balance.

She also never stopped moving. When she wasn't gliding around the field like an ice skater, she was chucking balls at alarming speed, pelting him, the trees, and the area around him like a human machine gun. To make matters even worse, she was frighteningly adept at using her surroundings to her advantage, ducking in, out, and around everything, snowmen, bushes, and trees, to assault him before vanishing from sight. The few times he did manage to land a hit on her, he considered himself lucky.

It was becoming abundantly clear that he wasn't going to win this fight without some form of trickery, which was perfectly fine in his book. After all, he was still a god of tricks, and there was no honor in war. Changing his strategy from sniper assault, Loki decided to get up close and personal, darting for the tree line that was currently serving as Nari's cover.

As expected, she was both confused and surprised by his sudden appearance at close range, pausing in her movement to gape at him when he came bursting through the trees. Rather than lob his massive lump of snow at her, he attacked her with it directly, spinning around her, tugging back on her jacket, and dumping it down the opening. Cackling wildly, he skittered away, sure of his victory… for all of a moment. To his utter disbelief, his plan failed miserably as he discovered the harrowing truth of her words that evening lying in her bed. He had forgotten one, highly unusual aspect of this very strange woman.

Nari didn't get cold.

At most, she jumped in surprise before shaking it off with a few twists, like a dog shaking off its fur. "Nice try." Then, she turned and charged right at him flipping his switch from fight into flight. He was so alarmed by the turn of events that he missed his step, foot slipping on a wet patch of ice and pulling his feet right out from under him. As he crashed into the snow, he saw one last glimpse of her smile before defeat. Reaching upward, she slapped a low-hanging heavy branch with all of her might. The wooden arm shook and with it rained down a pile of snow, covering him from waist to neck. Loki's bellow was so loud, it frightened even the birds from the trees, sending them scattering away into the sky.

"Aahhh! It's s-s-s-so c-c-cold!" He couldn't get out of the snow fast enough, leaping to his feet and shaking his body like his life depended on it. What a time to lack his fire magic. Reveling in her victory, Nari strolled away into the open field leaving her classmate behind to freeze. When he finally emerged from the trees, Loki stared dumbfounded at the woman as she made her way over to her sister wearing a look of triumph.

When she arrived at her side, Yui sighed in exasperation. "Jeez, Nari… you could've gone easy on him…"

Her sister only shrugged. "I did."

Furious, Loki clambered into the clearing, shivering, and glaring at the chuckling woman. "Y-Y-You little… Y-You're a m-menace, P-P-Puppy!"

But Nari didn't seem to care. She didn't respond to his jab, instead turning around to shoot him devilish grin. Then, with five words, she had both his body and mind frozen with a taunt that made his heart skip a beat.

"Better luck next time… Snowki."

. . .

"Haha! Fotia, that was incredible! What a woman!" The god of fertility guffawed, raising his glass in an honorary toast.

Nari, interestingly enough, was joining him, a glass of sweet red between her fingers. "Snowballing is a pastime of mine. I only get to do it a few times a year, but it's blast. I think I burn more calories during my on season than I do all year."

"I'm not sure what that means, but you're skilled, Siren! You are very, very skilled!"

"Thank you, Apollon."

Yui shot her sister a look of mock irritation, gesturing to her heavy plate. "Calories, huh? Is that why I see no vegetables on your plate, again?"

Her sister rolled her eyes. "Ugh, come off it, Yui. I had vegetables yesterday afternoon."

"You had one salad, and it's the first one you've had all week!"

"Isn't that enough?"

"No! You're supposed to have them with every meal!"

The god of light gave his classmate a sympathetic look. "I don't know… I'm not sure you have to have them with every meal, right?"

"Balder, you're not helping!"

As the festivities went on, the students of Class A bantered and laughed, all making merry with the exception of one. Near the end of the table, Loki's eyes followed the older Kusanagi's every movement, watching as she swayed back and forth singing songs with the drunk in a language he couldn't understand. More accurately, Dionysus sang the song; Nari just hummed and mumbled along with him. Strangely, her voice was still melodic even when spouting nonsense. He would never be able to understand that woman.

Suddenly, her eyes turned, meeting his with a jovial grin. Loki felt his heart stop again, lips pulling upward as he returned her smile. But it turned into a frown almost immediately when her attention shifted back to her song, Dionysus swinging an arm around her shoulders. The frown nearly morphed into a glare as she wobbled sideways, leaning against his chest with a raucous laugh before continuing their chorus. At this point, he genuinely couldn't tell if her jumbled syllables were pitiful Greek or drunken slurring.

"You are watching her."

"Hmm?" Loki blinked; his focus shattered at the sound of Thor's curious voice. It took a moment for him to register his words before he quickly shook his head. "Not at all. I have better things to do than watch a human girl all day."

"You're lying," Thor replied. As usual, there was no snarky tone or malice in his voice. Just a pure statement of fact.

Waving his hand, Loki tried again to sound as apathetic as possible. "I was just deciding on what my next prank should be. I can't look in their general direction? Is that a crime now?"

"No, it isn't… But you seem fixated on Dionysus. Why?"

"He just bothers me, you know? I don't know, maybe it's his face." Before Thor could prod him further, Loki turned his attention to the others and their shifting topic of conversation. While he was distracted, it seemed the younger Kusanagi had gone from nagging her sister to ribbing.

"Oh, so that's where you've been? Hanging out with Dionysus? You two have been spending a good bit of time together recently," Yui teased.

Nari snorted. "First of all, that is a blatant lie. I've been spending time with everyone. Second, I just needed some… help with something, that's all. So, I asked Dio."

"And I am always happy to do so." Dionysus winked.

Apollon looked back and forth between the two of them, gears turning in his head. Now that she mentioned it, he had noticed Nari hanging around his brother a bit more frequently following the start of winter break. She had even made an appearance in their neck of the woods, sneaking around the buildings during the early hours of the morning. "Oh!" Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait… Wait, Di-Di! Is that why you were undressing Siren yesterday in the dorm room?"

Nari's wine glass nearly fell to the ground. Eyes wide, she looked around the table, every pair of eyes staring at her. All except for one, which was glowering at the man beside her. "Apollon!" she hissed, skin turning a vibrant red. Yui was impressed; it was only a few shades away from her wine.

"Huh. Can't say I didn't see that one coming." Takeru shrugged.

Yui blinked. "U-Undressing…?"

Tsukito nodded in understanding. "It is typical to undress when —"

"Tsukito, shut it." Nari snapped.

Takeru returned to his meal. "She's a grown woman, she can do what she wants."

Hades sighed and shook his head. "Apollon. It is no one's concern what happens in other people's private lives."

"N-Nothing happened!" Nari almost shouted, putting her wine glass back on the table.

Across from her, Yui was stunned. "Wow, Nari… I don't think I've ever seen your skin with this much color."

"Oh, was it supposed to be a secret?" The sun god frowned. "Sorry, Siren. I didn't know. I really didn't know."

"Apollon, please…" Nari groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. "Look, that wasn't what you saw! I mean — okay, it was what you saw, but it wasn't what you think you saw."

"What in the hell does that mean?" Takeru blinked.

"Dionysus wasn't helping me undress, he was doing the opposite…"

"It's true. As much as I wish I could say it weren't…" The god beside her slowly nodded his head before offering her a wink. "Of course, if you ever decide to change your mind —"

"Not the time, Dio," Nari grumbled.

"I-I don't understand." Yui blinked. "He was doing the opposite? So, he was helping you… dress?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because! I'm doing something, and it requires a peplos. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to tie the thing. Dionysus is Greek, so I asked him to help me out. Hades would have been too embarrassed, and Apollon doesn't know how to keep his damn mouth shut."

"Hey!"

"Apollon, you literally just blabbed to everyone that I was helping Fotia."

"I didn't mean too, Di-Di! I didn't mean to!"

Yui blinked, finally understanding. "Oooh…" She had mentioned that her theme was multicultural. Whatever she was doing must have had something to do with the concert. One could only wonder what her sister had up her sleeve this time, but if it involved — she assumed; she honestly had no idea what a peplos was — ancient Greek garments, it was sure to be something spectacular. The rest of the table fell silent, each of the gods absorbing Nari's claim. It seemed like everyone understood for the most part. Most.

Finally, Takeru broke the silence. He understood her explanation. He just didn't believe a word of it. "Yeah, that's bullshit."

"Wha — excuse me?!" Nari gaped at him.

"It is a plausible explanation," Tsukito reminded.

Balder offered a sympathetic smile, hoping to ease her uncertainty. "It's alright, Kusanagi. You'll find no judgement here, there's no reason to be embarrassed."

No judgment from everyone, except for the fire god seething at the other end of the table.

Growling, Nari stood, her patience exhausted. Throwing back the rest of her wine, she slapped the empty glass back on the table, glaring at everyone. "I hate you all." Turning on her heel, she grumbled and staggered off. Dionysus gave a weak wave in her direction before slapping his brother over the head. Takeru laughed and Hades sighed, Tsukito did nothing. Yui quickly rose to her feet. If she didn't catch her, she wasn't sure where her sister would end up in her drunken stupor.

Bowing, she excused herself from the table before taking off after her wobbling sibling. "Nari, come back here!"

"No! I'm going back to the dorm!"

"You're going the wrong way!" Their voices grew softer and softer before finally disappearing down the hall.

With the sisters gone, the gods returned to their shenanigans, with the exception of the Norse. Balder looked longingly after his departed classmate, while Loki glared menacingly at the other side of the table. The limited around his neck wouldn't allow him to light the other god on fire, but that didn't mean he wasn't free to imagine it. His gaze only shifted away when Thor prodded him, having witnessed the entire exchange. "Does he bother you? Or is it the two of them together?"

"Tch… whatever," Loki didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he turned his head back toward the now empty exit. Though his eyes stared outward at nothing, in his mind, all he saw was navy blue.