The click of ceramic against cold stone is dry and brittle, sharp like a rib being snapped in two.

  As soon as the pure white mask fits back onto the shattered face of the statue, this entire fake world instantly turns hostile. The snowflakes that were drifting lazily suddenly fall in sheets like a torrent of rage. The wind screams through the pine needles, whipping my face so hard it feels like a physical slap against my cheek. The cold doesn't just linger outside my coat; it invades my lungs, freezing every breath right inside my chest.

  I shudder, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.

  Itsuki-sama stands rooted to the spot, his hand still hovering over the inanimate mask as if he cannot bear to let go.

  The murderous aura and aggression from just moments ago are extinguished within him, vanishing as quickly as a candle thrown into a blizzard. On that usually cunning face, only a terrifying emptiness remains. He slowly turns his head. His smoky purple eyes are wide open but unfocused, darting around to avoid making eye contact with me or Kujo-sensei.

  The ears atop his head twitch once, then droop low against his neck like a wounded animal. His lips tremble.

  I hold my breath, straining my ears to wait for a curse, or at least a familiar arrogant excuse.

  But no. There is nothing.

  Whoosh.

  He pushes off, stomping hard on the snow. His body shoots away like a white arrow, launching straight into the heart of the storm and leaving us stranded in this giant freezer.

  "Itsuki-sama! Stop!"

  I scream, lunging after him on reflex, but my legs sink deep into the knee-high snow, sending me sprawling face-first. When I lift my head, his figure has already been swallowed by the blinding white curtain.

  "Coward!"

  I slam my fist into the snow, ignoring the bone-chilling cold seeping into my hand. Anger boils in my gut, making me whip around to glare at the person perched on the rock.

  "Has that damn old man finally snapped?!" I yell at Snow-Itsuki. "How dare he do that? And you, are you just gonna sit there and take it?"

  Snow-Itsuki remains seated, infuriatingly calm. His fox ears are flattened. He reaches out to catch the falling snowflakes on the sleeve of his loose Kariginu, the corner of his mouth twitching into a resigned smile.

  "Don't waste your breath, kid," he says, his voice light as it dissolves into the wind. "My mess... outsiders can't untangle it. Let me handle it myself."

  "Handle it yourself?" I stand up in shock, brushing the snow off my pants. "You gotta be kidding me. He's clearly bullying you! He locks you up here, releases monsters to chase you until you're breathless, and now he gags you with that mask! You look like you're about to collapse, so how exactly are you gonna handle anything?"

  I point in the direction Itsuki-sama vanished, my voice cracking with frustration.

  "He's an abuser! And you're the victim! It's plain as day!"

  "Kid, your imagination is too vivid."

  Snow-Itsuki cuts me off. He looks up, using those purple eyes to stare straight at me.

  "When I say 'I', I mean the Itsuki you idolize too," he says in a flat tone. "Don't try to drive a wedge between us. We're fused together. We can't be separated."

  My head buzzes. Where's the logic in this story?

  "Absurd!" I stretch my neck to argue. "Clearly he hates you like dirty water! He looks at you like a thorn in his eye. He almost grilled you into charcoal! You're definitely a different personality! You're the weak 'Dark Side' he wants to throw away!"

  It has to be. Every manga is like that. Two souls fighting for one body.

  But Snow-Itsuki shakes his head, crushing a snowflake in his hand.

  "If I were a different personality, the soul would have cracked in two, or at least there would be a clear partition," he sighs. "But him and I... we're from the same root. Cut from the same cloth."

  "The same... cloth?" I mumble, feeling disoriented as if someone just slapped me awake.

  "He's right."

  Kujo-sensei speaks up. The teacher has been standing with his back against the old pine tree this whole time, arms crossed over his chest. His floral shirt flapping in the blizzard looks indescribably ridiculous, but his expression is unusually serious.

  He steps forward, dusting the snow off his shoulder, his lecturing tone beginning to surface.

  "The soul? That's just the outer shell," he clicks his tongue. "Consciousness and the mind are the root of any existence."

  He points at Snow-Itsuki, then points toward the foggy forest where the fox just disappeared.

  "Nonsense! Absolute nonsense!"

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  I shake my head violently, waving my hands in the air as if to shoo away the crazy theory these two adults just stuffed into my brain.

  "You two are one? Don't joke with me! One side bares fangs like a starving tiger, while the other is..." I glance at Snow-Itsuki, hesitating to find a word that isn't too rude. "...meek and resigned like a doormat? Does schizophrenia now go by the fancy name of 'soul synchronization'?"

  Hearing this, Snow-Itsuki doesn't get angry. Instead, he squints and smiles. It's the characteristic eye-smile of a fox, but it radiates a vibe that is... pitifully harmless.

  "Hey kid, that stings," he tilts his head, his tail sweeping a long line across the cold snow. "Did you really not realize? I've always been there. In the moments when he's most vulnerable."

  "Have appeared?" I frown, rummaging through my memories. "No... Itsuki-sama is always cool, calculating like a god. Has he ever looked... um, as pathetic as you?"

  "Tsk, you're a stubborn kid," he lets out a long sigh, white breath rising and dissolving into the void. "I guess you've never met people with complex inner lives."

  Kujo-sensei, standing with arms crossed against the tree, suddenly clears his throat loudly, cutting off the pity party.

  "Hey, buddy," he glances at Snow-Itsuki with a warning look, his voice smelling of gunpowder. "Planning to blab about family matters? Aren't you afraid the 'front facade' guy will come back and beat you half to death?"

  Snow-Itsuki startles. The smile on his lips freezes solid. He reaches up to scratch his fox ear, his eyes darting away guiltily.

  "Umm... about that... honestly, I haven't calculated the part where I get beaten up yet."

  But then, his shoulders slump.

  "Whatever. If I don't tell you guys, where am I supposed to spew this trash inside me? In this godforsaken place, aside from those mindless monsters, who is there for me to talk to?"

  "Wow," Kujo-sensei smirks, the corner of his lips curling in sarcasm. "I didn't expect the Fox Boss to have a day where he craves a teenage diary session like this. Truly a wonder of the world."

  "Being in solitary confinement too long does that to you," Snow-Itsuki mumbles, his gaze distant as he looks into the white void. "I'm not a blabbermouth, but... let's put it simply so you two can visualize it."

  He stands up, brushing the snow clinging to his faded Kariginu.

  "In the bureaucratic battlefield of the Nexus, which is full of daggers, there's never room for unprofessionalism. To climb to a higher position, one is forced to do things one absolutely detests."

  He points a finger at his own chest, his claw pressing deep into the fabric.

  "My nature... or rather, 'our' nature... is a mess. Lazy, playful, loves sleeping in, and hates trouble with a passion."

  "So..." I speak up tentatively, my throat dry. "Itsuki-sama... threw you away?"

  "Exactly," he nods, his smile twisted. "The feeling of forcing yourself to do things you hate... it's disgusting, kid. So he chose to dump me down here to lighten his load."

  "Very poetic," Kujo-sensei interjects, rubbing his chin. "But reality is slapping you in the face right now. That old Itsuki up there... is still lazy as hell. Your method failed miserably, didn't it?"

  Snow-Itsuki laughs, sounding like wind whistling through a narrow crack.

  "That's the point! The problem is I was dumped down here, not killed off completely! That lazy nature still has roots connected to him. Every now and then, it surfaces and pulls the strings, causing him to... derail."

  He stops abruptly mid-sentence.

  The fox ears on his head twitch violently, swiveling toward the edge of the forest like a radar picking up enemy signals. His face changes color, turning pale without a drop of blood.

  "Crap... This time it's 'dead for real'."

  Kujo-sensei and I startle, looking in the direction he's pointing.

  From the horizon, a giant white wall is rolling in, swallowing the ancient pine forest. A roaring sound echoes, shaking the heavens and earth, sounding like a train careening downhill without brakes. Thousands, tens of thousands of sharp snowflakes swirl together, forming a giant mouth waiting to grind everything in its path.

  "Run! Time's up!"

  Snow-Itsuki screams. The resigned, philosophical look from earlier vanishes completely.

  "I'm out of here! If you don't want to invite disaster, don't follow me! Split up! Go find that guy!"

  Finished speaking, he dashes away, his white shadow blending into the snow screen, leaving Kujo-sensei and me rooted to the spot amidst the incoming white nightmare.

  The cold air slaps me straight in the face. My skin stings. My lungs burn. Sweat pours down the back of my neck, hot and sticky, as if my body is betraying the cold before my eyes. I lower my head and run, feet sinking deep into the snow, trying to stick to Kujo-sensei's back.

  Behind me, the roar of the storm, or rather Itsuki-sama's madness, is swallowing the entire forest.

  "Sensei!" I scream, my throat dry and raw. "That old man... how much more is he hiding? What exactly..."

  Out of breath. I swallow hard. Keep running.

  "What exactly is he?"

  Sensei doesn't turn his head. His floral shirt flaps wildly, completely out of place in the snow forest, but his steps don't falter by even an inch.

  "Wake up, kid!" He yells back, his harsh voice drowning out the wind. "Who do you think you are? His soulmate?"

  He jumps over a pine root protruding from the ground, sneering.

  "Eating off him for a few days, getting handed a few toys, and you think you understand a god?" Sensei snorts. "Even Zhen Shan, the guy who sticks to him like a shadow, doesn't dare claim he knows what he's thinking. What makes you think you can?"

  "But..." I grit my teeth, the image of Snow-Itsuki sitting on the rock with that twisted smile clinging to my mind. "Are we just gonna leave him like this? We have to go back! We have to drag him out of there!"

  Skrrt.

  Sensei brakes abruptly. I can't stop my momentum and crash into his back. Before I can regain my composure, my collar is grabbed by a hand as hard as iron pliers, hoisting me up.

  "Stop playing the messiah."

  He brings his face close to mine, emphasizing every word. "Did you forget why you crawled into this hole? It's for your mush for brains to practice endurance! You can't even keep your consciousness from dissolving in this layer, yet you want to stick your nose into a god's business?"

  "But he doesn't deserve that!" I slap his hand away. "That's also a part of him! Why must he torture himself to that extent? He just needs to change... change the view of..."

  I freeze.

  That name.

  It lies right here. On the tip of my tongue. I've called it countless times today. Familiar enough that I don't need to think.

  But now... Empty.

  "Change the view of..." I frown. "Of..."

  The image of the white fox appears clearly. The smirk. The grey suit. But the tag for that image has... dissolved.

  "Huh? That old man... what's his name again?"

  Eeeeeeee....

  A high-pitched screech drills straight into my eardrums, as if someone is scraping iron nails on a blackboard right inside my skull.

  The surrounding pine trees begin to twist like heated rubber strips. The white of the snow flares up, blinding, swallowing every line and contour. The memories of that god, the meals in the cafeteria, the lazy posture on the sofa, the mocking voice, suddenly crumble, falling apart like shards of broken glass.

  "It hurts... It hurts so much..." I clutch my head, dropping to my knees on the freezing snow.

  "Focus!"

  Sensei's voice rings out, but it sounds distorted as if echoing from the bottom of an abyss. Smack! A burning slap on my cheek pulls me violently back to reality.

  "Don't think! Look at the present!" He screams.

  I look up at him, tears streaming down my face due to the splitting headache. His face ripples, as if reflected on cracked ice.

  "He... He... what's his name..."