Chapter 36: The Phantom Archer.
The silence of Hokkaido was heavy.
It wasn't just the absence of sound; it was a physical weight, pressed down by layers of snow that swallowed every noise. The cluster of wooden warehouses stood like forgotten monuments in a white desert. The ancestral Kuzan estate was only two streets away, its warm lights hidden behind a veil of pine trees, but here, in the shadow of the abandoned lumber yard, the world felt isolated. Dangerous.
Aokiji stood in the snow, his breath forming thick, white clouds in the freezing air. He wore a simple beige trench coat over a dark sweater and jeans—civilian clothes that offered zero protection against quirks. He slowly pulled his right hand out of his pocket, his movements deliberate and lazy.
"So," Aokiji drawled, scratching the back of his messy black hair. "Do you happen to know a grocery store nearby that sells red bean paste? My grandmother is waiting."
The figure on the roof chuckled. The sound was muffled by his yellow scarf but carried clearly in the stillness. "You are remarkably calm for someone with a burning arrow aimed at his chest."
"Do you want me to scream?" Aokiji asked, tilting his head. "Or beg? Sorry to disappoint you, but that little warm toothpick of yours isn't very intimidating."
"Is that so?" The stranger's red eyes glinted.
Aokiji moved.
It wasn't a charge. It was a fluid, sweeping motion. His right hand went from the back of his head down to his hip, then snapped upward in a perfect arc toward the roof.
The snowdrifts to his right exploded.
It wasn't just powder flying into the air. The moisture in the snow crystallized instantly under his command. Thousands of jagged, bullet-sized ice shards launched upward like a reverse hailstorm. Simultaneously, a web of frost raced across the ground, climbing the wooden walls of the warehouse at supernatural speed, aiming to freeze the stranger's feet to the roof.
Checkmate, Aokiji thought. This should end him.
But the stranger didn't flinch. He didn't dodge. He smiled beneath his scarf.
FWOOSH.
His body didn't move; it dissolved. One second he was a man of flesh and blood; the next, he was a flicker of orange flame that simply burned out. He vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.
The ice bullets tore through the empty space where his chest had been. The frost reached the roof, encasing the shingles and the chimney in a thick layer of ice, freezing half the building solid. The air filled with diamond dust, glittering in the weak sunlight.
Aokiji's eyes narrowed.
Vanished? Teleportation?
HISS.
The sound of fire burning oxygen reached his ears from the right.
Aokiji snapped his head around, but he was a fraction of a second too late.
A streak of orange light tore through the air. The fire arrow slammed into his right forearm, just below the elbow.
"Gah!"
The pain was sharp and immediate. The fire didn't just impact; it burned. It seared through the sleeve of his trench coat and scorched the skin beneath.
Aokiji grit his teeth. He didn't panic. He focused his cold on the point of impact. Frost erupted from his skin, smothering the fantasy flame and extinguishing it in a hiss of steam.
He looked at his arm. The coat was ruined, a black hole burned through the fabric. The skin underneath was red and blistered.
He actually burned me, Aokiji realized, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his mind. It's been a while since I felt a burn.
"Good reflexes," a voice called out from the roof of the adjacent warehouse. "I commend you. You truly deserve the title of Champion."
Aokiji looked up. The stranger was there, perched casually on the edge, the fiery bow crackling in his hand. He pulled back the invisible string, and a new arrow materialized from nothing.
Analysis, Aokiji thought, his black eyes scanning the environment. The arrows are dangerous, but manageable. I can freeze them or block them. The real problem is his movement. He didn't run. He didn't jump. He vanished and reappeared. Teleportation via fire? How weird..
The stranger released the string. The arrow screamed toward Aokiji.
Aokiji didn't dodge. He waved his left hand. Moisture in the air coalesced into a sharp, translucent ice javelin.
"Ice Partisan!"
He hurled it. The javelin met the fire arrow in mid-air.
BOOM.
Fire met ice. Steam exploded outward, obscuring vision for a split second.
"Nice shot!" the archer laughed, his voice echoing. "But let me show you something else—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
The archer looked down.
Ice was crawling up his boots. He looked behind him. A thin, barely visible trail of frost snaked across the roof, leading back down the wall and disappearing under the deep snowdrifts on the ground.
Aokiji stood below, calmly on the snow.
"Sorry," Aokiji called out, his voice cold. "I don't really want to see your other tricks. Do you have any last words before you become a perfect statue?"
The archer stared at the ice locking his ankles in place. Then, he threw his head back and laughed.
"Amazing! Truly amazing!" he shouted. "You used the snow itself as a conductor! Spreading your frost underneath the snow layer to catch me off guard? That is genius! It has been a long time since I faced a target this fun!"
"I'll let you go if you tell me your real objective," Aokiji offered.
"Tempting," the archer grinned. "But no."
He generated two arrows in his hand, putting them in his fiery bow. He pulled back then shot down onto his own frozen feet.
FOOSH!
Fire erupted around his legs. The ice melted instantly. His boots caught fire.
He stumbled back with a strangled cry, "Aah—! Oof—!", his feet kicking against the roof as if trying to escape his own skin. Flames licked at his soles, searing through the leather of his boots. He danced in agony—half jump, half collapse—his voice cracking under the pain.
Aokiji's eyes narrowed, the faint chill around him sharpening as he watched the scene unfold.
For a heartbeat, he simply observed… and then realization struck him like a shard of ice.
So that's it.
The archer's power wasn't like his own. His flames were turning against him—burning their very user. He wasn't untouchable. If the archer could be forced into a corner—if Aokiji could cut off his escape—then he can touch him.
The archer's boots turned into ash, leaving him barefoot on the roof.
"Heeh.." He sighed
Then, his entire body flickered. He turned into a wisp of flame and vanished again.
Aokiji straightened up, scanning the area. The silence returned.
Again... Aokiji thought. Where will he appear this time?
HISS.
The sound came from directly above.
Aokiji looked up. An arrow was falling straight down, vertical and silent.
Different trajectory, Aokiji noted. Not a sneak attack?
He raised his hand to the sky, blasting a stream of cold air that froze the arrow solid before it could reach him. It shattered harmlessly.
Something is wrong.
In that split second of distraction, warmth bloomed directly behind his back.
Aokiji's eyes widened. He didn't turn. He trusted his instinct.
"Ice rage!"
He unleashed a massive wave of ice directly behind him without looking. The ice tore through the air, freezing the snow, the ground, and the space where an attacker should be. A clone of Todoroki's icy attacks.
But when Aokiji turned his head, there was no one there.
A feint?
WHAM.
A fist wreathed in fire slammed into Aokiji's jaw from the front.
The impact was heavy. Aokiji's head snapped back. He was lifted off his feet and thrown backward, crashing into a deep snowbank.
He lay there for a second, staring up at the sky. The clouds were gathering, obscuring the sun. The cold snow felt good against his burning face.
"Arara..." Aokiji sighed, sitting up slowly and rubbing his jaw. "I guess I can't take this lazily anymore."
He stood up.
The archer was back on a roof, barefoot in the snow, his bow burning bright.
"Are you telling me you haven't shown everything you have?" the archer asked, tilting his head.
Aokiji dusted the snow off his shoulder, some snow still on his black hair. His expression shifted. The sleepiness was gone. In its place was a cold, hard authority.
"If you refuse to reveal your motives for targeting a student," Aokiji said, his breath fogging, "then I have no choice but to arrest you and hand you over to the police."
"Ooh, scary," the archer mocked. "Haha!"
Aokiji didn't laugh. He sat down in the snow, crossing his legs and folding his arms.
The ground began to rumble.
It wasn't an earthquake. It was the snow.
All around the lumber yard, the deep drifts of white powder began to move. They flowed like water, drawn by an invisible magnetic force toward Aokiji. They piled up beneath him, lifting him higher and higher.
Aokiji sat perfectly still as a mountain of snow formed under him.
It grew. Five meters. Ten meters.
The snow compacted, hardened, and took shape. Massive legs formed. A torso as thick as a house. Shoulders broad enough to carry some cars.
In a nearby house, about 230 meters away, a little girl heard the rumble. She peeked out her window and gasped, dropping her teddy bear after watching the lumber yard.
Outside, rising above the rooftops, was a Titan.
A colossal Polar Bear made of snow stood in the lumber yard. It was easily fifteen meters tall.
Aokiji sat calmly on top of its head, his arms still crossed.
Ice armor formed over the bear's chest, protecting its core. Its claws became long, translucent blades of diamond-hard ice. Its fangs were jagged icicles.
The archer stared up, his mouth open beneath his scarf. "You haven't used this on the festival.."
Aokiji looked down from his perch. He was now eye-level with the rooftop.
"I would prefer to end this without damaging the neighborhood any further," Aokiji said, his voice amplified by the sheer mass of ice beneath him. "Who are you? And what do you want?"
The archer trembled. But it wasn't fear. It was excitement.
"My name is Pyre," the archer announced, his red eyes burning with manic glee. "I was sent here specifically to deliver a message to you from a certain person. But..."
The gray hair on his head ignited, turning into a crown of orange flames.
"Don't be boring, Champion! Before you hear the message... let me see the limits of your new doll!"
Aokiji sighed, and the giant bear roared—a sound of grinding ice and wind.
"I see," Aokiji whispered. "There's no other way right..."
.
.
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