The Gear Handout
As Himari re-entered the hall, the atmosphere had shifted. The noise was lower, replaced by the heavy clatter of metal and the rhythmic thud of supply crates being dropped onto the floor.
She spotted Kiro and Reian immediately at the far end of the room. They weren't alone. They were standing shoulder-to-shoulder next to a much larger group—one she didn't recognize. It definitely wasn't the Leo group; these students wore dark, sleek uniforms that looked more like high-tech armor than standard academy fatigues.
There were at least six of them, and they seemed to take up twice the space Kiro and Reian did.
Himari narrowed her eyes, her exhaustion pushed to the back of her mind as her "Ice Queen" mask locked into place. She walked toward them, her boots clicking sharply against the stone floor. As she drew closer, she saw the contrast. Kiro and Reian looked like survivors—scuffed, tired, and ready. The other group looked like they were posing for a recruitment poster.
"Problem?" Himari asked as she reached Kiro's side, her voice cutting through the low hum of the hall like a blade.
The leader of the other group, a tall boy with a polished insignia on his shoulder, looked down at her. He glanced at the small pile of gear assigned to her team, then back at his own massive stack of supplies.
"Just admiring the math," the boy said with a smirk. "Three people for a mountain trek? You're either incredibly brave or your academy ran out of students."
Before Himari or Kiro could even breathe a word of a comeback, Reian stepped forward. His voice was flat, devoid of its usual humor. "None of your concern," he said, his eyes boring into the taller boy's face. It was a shut-down—quick and surgical.
Himari raised an eyebrow at Kiro, a silent question in her crimson eyes: What's the deal with these guys?
Kiro didn't even look at the other group. He just gave her a small, nearly invisible shake of his head—nothing worth our time.
Himari gave a sharp nod. She stood aside, leaning against a stack of crates as the logistics officers began checking names off the list. She reached into her pocket, her fingers finding the pieces of bread she'd wrapped up and stashed there. Because Kiro and Reian had finished their dinner so fast and left her behind in the mess hall, she hadn't finished a real meal.
Now, she took small, hurried bites, stuffing the bread into her mouth whenever the other group looked away. She chewed quickly, her eyes scanning the room, maintaining her cold, "unbothered" expression even as she scavenged for the energy she'd need for the morning. She felt like a stray cat—proud, but hungry.
The leader of the larger group let out a huff of annoyance at being ignored, but Kiro was already focused on the gear pile. "Grab the straps, Reian," Kiro commanded. "Himari, you take the lightweight canisters. We're moving out in five."
The Slip-up
Himari stayed tucked behind the broad shoulders of Kiro and Reian. Since they were both taller than her, they made a perfect screen. She reached into her other pocket and fumbled for her water bottle, her throat dry from the bread she'd been sneakily chewing.
She took a quick, desperate swig to wash it down, but she moved too fast. The water hit the back of her throat wrong just as she was trying to swallow a dry crust of bread.
Cough. Cough-cough!
It wasn't a dainty sound. It was a full-on, lung-racking choke.
Reian spun around instantly, his eyes wide. He looked down and saw her with the water bottle in one hand and crumbs still on her lip. She'd been caught red-handed.
"Whoa, hey! What's wrong?" Reian asked, his voice a mix of alarm and sudden realization. He reached out and started thumping her on the back—a bit too hard, his heavy hand nearly knocking the wind out of her. "Slow down, you're going to choke yourself before we even see the mountain!"
Himari's face flushed—not from the "Ice Queen" cold, but from pure embarrassment. She swatted his hand away, taking one last frantic gulp of water to clear her throat.
"Nah... nothing," she managed to wheeze out, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and quickly shoving the water bottle away. "I'm fine. Stop hitting me."
Kiro glanced back, his eyes tracking the crumbs on the floor, then meeting her crimson eyes. He didn't say anything, but the corner of his mouth twitched—the closest he ever got to a smirk. He knew exactly what she'd been doing.
"If you're done choking," Kiro said, turning back to the supplies as the officers called their unit number. "Our gear is up. Let's move."
The Six-Bag Burden
When the supply officer finally shoved their unit's crates forward, Himari's "Ice Queen" mask almost cracked for good. Her eyes widened, her crimson pupils darting over the pile.
"Woah," she breathed, her voice losing its cold edge for a second. "What the heck? We're going camping, not moving into the mountains forever. Why is there so much stuff?"
There were six massive, olive-drab tactical bags. Six. They were stuffed to bursting with tents, coils of heavy climbing rope, and what looked like enough rations to feed a small army.
She looked at Kiro and Reian. They looked back at her, their expressions grim. Without a word, Kiro reached for the two heaviest-looking rucksacks, his muscles tensing as he slung them over his shoulders like they were nothing. Reian grabbed the next two, grunting as he adjusted the straps.
"It's okay," Himari snapped, her pride flaring up as she saw them leaving the "light" work for her. "I can pick them up too."
She lunged for the remaining two bags. She grabbed the first one and pulled. It didn't budge. It felt like it was filled with lead pipes and bricks. Gritting her teeth, she put her shoulder into it, dragging the heavy canvas across the floor with a screeching sound that drew eyes from the other academy groups.
"I've got it," she muttered to no one in particular, her face turning a light shade of pink from the effort. She managed to hoist one bag onto her back, the weight nearly folding her in half. Then, she grabbed the strap of the sixth bag and started pulling it along the ground behind her.
"Six bags for three people," she hissed under her breath, a piece of bread from her pocket still stuck in her cheek. "This isn't a camping trip. It's a punishment."
The Bunkroom Door
As they trudged down the dimly lit corridor toward their bunks, the weight of the bags began to sink in. Himari trailed behind Kiro and Reian, her boots thudding rhythmically against the floor, punctuated by the scuff-scrape of the sixth bag she was dragging.
"Who even gave us this many bags?" she grumbled. "Every other group has at least five people. We're already down two members, and they give us more weight? Nah. No way. They're just testing our patience. That's all this is. A mind game."
Reian glanced back, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Are you done complaining yet? Open the door."
Himari stopped, her hands empty and her shoulders feeling strangely light. "Why me?"
"Because," Reian deadpanned, nodding toward Kiro. "He's the one carrying your slack."
Himari blinked and looked over at Kiro. She realized then why he looked so stiff. He wasn't just carrying his two bags—at some point, without her even noticing, he had reached down and hoisted the bag she had been dragging, slinging it over his already crowded frame. He was carrying three massive tactical rucksacks. He looked like a mountain of olive-drab canvas.
Seeing him take her burden made a weird knot of guilt and "something else" tighten in her chest.
"Open it, Himari," Kiro said, his voice low and steady.
"Fine. Give me the keys." She held out her palm.
"Right pocket," Kiro grunted. "Jacket."
Himari stepped in close. Because he was draped in so many bags, she had to lean in right against his chest to find the opening of his pocket. She could feel the heat radiating off him from the exertion and hear his steady, heavy breathing. Her fingers fumbled past the fabric, finally catching the cold metal of the key ring.
She pulled them out and quickly turned to the door, her face feeling warmer than the hallway should allow. Click.
"Get in," she said, pushing the door wide. "Before you collapse and take the wall down with you."
The Repack
The moment they cleared the threshold of the room, Himari let her shoulder bag hit the floor with a heavy thud that vibrated through the floorboards.
"Huh... it's so heavy," she breathed, rolling her shoulders. "Did they put actual bricks in there?"
Kiro and Reian didn't waste a second. They dropped their massive loads, the six tactical bags taking up almost all the floor space in the cramped room. Kiro was already kneeling, unzipping the heavy canvas.
"Put your own stuff in these bags, okay?" Kiro said. "We can't carry three each. We're consolidating."
He looked at Himari. "For the rations... Himari, you pack all the food supplies and your personal kit into one bag. We divide the three final bags among us. It keeps the weight balanced and ensures we aren't wasting time digging for essentials when we reach the site. Understood?"
Himari nodded, her expression cold and focused. "Understood," she said, her voice steady. She reached for the ration packs and began stacking them with military precision. "If we're organized, we won't lose time at the first checkpoint."
Reian began moving the heavy tent poles into the designated bag. "Divide and conquer. It's better than carrying six random sacks of chaos."
The Tactical Argument
As they worked, the only sound in the room was the rustle of heavy fabric. Himari stopped, a stack of rations in her hand, and looked at the "Tent Bag" Kiro was packing.
"Kiro," she said, her voice low and serious. "Are we even allowed to do this? What if we get scouted or inspected? Also, doing it this way... doesn't it make us too dependent on each other? In a military operation, you have to account for the worst-case scenario. If we each carry a bit of everything, we have a backup. This way, we have none."
Reian looked between the two of them, sensing the mounting tension. He held up a hand. "I've got a suggestion. Why don't we just make our own separate bags? We divide the tent components—one person takes the poles, one takes the cover, one takes the stakes. Same for the rations. We each carry our own survival minimum."
Kiro went quiet, considering it. "But Himari... are you okay with that? It's going to be a brutal, awkward weight for three days straight. You sure?"
Himari didn't even hesitate. She grabbed a section of the heavy tent fabric and pulled it toward her personal kit.
"Nah, I'll be okay," she said, her voice like flint. "I'm going with Reian's suggestion. I'd rather have the weight on my shoulders than the risk of having nothing at all."
The Reality of the Weight
While Kiro and Reian worked with methodical speed, Himari turned to her own kit. She chose only the thinnest, most efficient winter layers—nothing for comfort, everything for survival.
"Done," she muttered. She had to kneel on the canvas, using her full body weight to force the heavy-duty zipper shut. Zip-rrip.
Reian and Kiro stepped in to help her hoist the monster onto her back.
"Ready?" Reian asked. "Yeah. Let go."
The second they released their grip, the true weight hit her like a physical blow. The "Ice Queen" didn't just stumble—she went down. The sheer mass of the pack pulled her backward, and she hit the floor with a heavy thud, her boots kicking up uselessly as the bag pinned her down like a turtle on its shell.
A sudden, sharp laugh burst out of her. "Haha! Oh my god... this is so embarrassing!"
She scrambled to get up, but every time she tried to find her center of gravity, the massive weight yanked her right back down. She finally unbuckled the harness. "Huh... okay. That was... something."
Reian's voice was firm. "Yeah. I think we need to go with Kiro's suggestion. We need to be fast, or we're just going to be targets."
Himari looked at the bag on the floor. Her pride was still there, but her common sense had taken over. She gave a small, defeated nod. "Fine. Kiro's plan. I'll carry the food and the light supplies."
The Secret Backup Plan
Himari dropped her bag by the foot of her bunk and collapsed onto the thin mattress. "Good night."
As soon as the sound of Himari's steady breathing filled the room, Kiro turned to Reian. "Reian," Kiro whispered. "I think... listen. It's better if we share the load. If one of us loses a bag, at least one of us needs to have a shelter. Put the main tent poles in my bag. We'll split the stakes."
"Yeah," Reian whispered back. "I was thinking the same thing."
As Reian moved his gear, it was clear: they had stashed several packets of instant food and emergency heat-packs in their own side pockets. They were protecting the team—and her—by carrying extra weight in secret, ensuring that even if the "Ice Queen" faltered, the mission wouldn't.
The Midnight Fever
In the darkness, Himari could feel the heat radiating off her own skin. Her fever was climbing. She woke up in the middle of the night, moving like a ghost.
She splashed cold water onto her face, staring into the mirror at crimson eyes glazed with exhaustion. She soaked a handkerchief under the cold tap and swallowed her pills dry, the bitter taste a reminder of her reality.
She stumbled back to her bunk and laid the ice-cold handkerchief across her forehead. Just a few hours, she told herself. Just get through the morning.
The pulse in her neck turned into a sharp, rhythmic ache. She pressed the damp handkerchief firmly against the side of her neck. If the boys saw her like this, they'd report her. They might even try to take her bag, and she couldn't live with that. She couldn't be the "weak" one.
Stay cold, she commanded herself. Be the Ice Queen. Just until the sun comes up.
The Shadows of the Past
Every time Himari's eyes drifted shut, the darkness transformed into the cult's lair. She could see the distorted, blackened smiles. The pain in her neck throbbed in sync with those memories.
She gasped, sitting bolt upright. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She slid her legs over the edge of the bunk and sat there in the dark, her feet dangling. She stared at the floor, her silver hair shielding her face, her silhouette small and trembling in the moonlight.
She was the "Ice Queen" to the world, but here, she was just a girl trying to keep the shadows from swallowing her whole.
The 05:00 Bell
BRRRR-RING!
The morning bell shrieked. Himari shoved the wet handkerchief under her pillow and smoothed her hair over the back of her neck. Cold. Sharp. Unbothered.
"Morning," Reian grunted, stepping out. "You even sleep?"
"I'm fine," she said, her voice sounding thin and metallic.
She waited until the door clicked shut and she was sure they were gone. She rushed back to the washroom, splashing more freezing water on her face. Her neck was flushed a deep pink. She adjusted the high collar of her tactical suit, pulling the fabric up to hide the heat.
Focus. Cold as ice. Just three days.
She grabbed her heavy bag, gritting her teeth against the weight, and stepped out into the hallway to join them. She didn't look like a girl who had spent the night battling cult nightmares.