(Yep, it’s chapter five of Freezing Hearts! Today’s recommendation is, drumroll please….. Gacha Girl, by Slothcraftin GL over on Webtoon! Penny’s adorable, Eve is dope, based, AND a superlit poggers streamer! Chase and Ava are entertaining as all heck, and, if you like rom-com with a huge amount of gushy miscommunication, you’ll love Gacha Girl!)

  I tap my ID on the terminal. “I hope room 14 is good?” I ask Arnett, as the card ignites the green light. The older girl smirks and shrugs.

  “It doesn’t bother me about where you wanna get your ass kicked! Anyway, rules. No Limiters, no outside assistance, and, to make this more fun, I won’t use any special moves. You can use anything you like, not that it’ll help, ha!”

  I control my temper, with more difficulty than I’m accustomed to. Being a girl has made me a bit more emotional than I used to be, and it can be a little overwhelming. I can sense Arnett’s faint irritation that I didn’t rise to her needling, and lead the way to the training room. It’s big enough that we can fight freely in here. A few students are lining the upper walkway, watching with interest, as I spot Chihaya elbowing her way to the front and waving.

  A pair of third-years enters right behind Arnett. The one with dark red-brown hair announces herself as “Ingrid Bernstein, the Defender of Order.” She’s here to make sure that this ‘duel’ is fair and honourable. Despite being the challenged party, I’m still a junior, and I’ve heard a little about her from Chihaya. Ingrid is a stickler for rules and regutions. Anyone who disobeys a senior is liable to get a beating from her.

  The other girl, deep caramel skin offset by a boyish crop of stark white hair, is Creo Brand, the Lightning Hammer. She’s here as insurance in case Arnett goes overboard. She nods at me and takes up a spot against the wall, arms folded.

  I walk out into the centre of the aircraft-hangar-sized room, Arnett in tow, and we take up spaces opposite each other. Ingrid announces, “Deploy your volt weapons!” and I do as commanded, Odin appearing in my hand as I strap it to my hip.

  Arnett’s weapon, a massive scythe, appears in her grasp. Twirling it like a baton, she grins at me, a shark-like smile with no friendliness in it. I keep my face passive, waiting in the ready stance of my grandfather’s style.

  Irked yet again by my non-reaction, Arnett produces a timer. “I’ll give you five minutes to nd a hit on me. If you fail, I’ll go on the offensive for real. But, if you can nd a single clean hit on me, it’s your win. Ready?!” she tosses the timer to Ingrid as I nod.

  The third-year sets the timer, then calls, “Ready! And… GO!”

  Arnett sprints towards me, but I can tell she’s not pushing herself at all. She’s well within baseline human capabilities, and I deflect her scythe with a quickdraw of Odin, sheathing it before she can capitalize on any advantage she sees. The less I reveal about my abilities, the better.

  “Heh, not bad, first-year!” Arnett chuckles, whirling for another ssh. I dodge back a little, before darting forward. “Shimizu-style sword arts… Rock-splitter!” my bde fshes from its sheathe in a quartet of overpping cross-cuts, before sliding back into a guard stance, bde sheathed at my hip once more.

  I can hear Chihaya whooping as Arnett backs up a little. Four slices appear in her volt-texture uniform, peeling away and exposing her bra and one side of her panties. “You brat! You’re faster than I expected…. Still, no matter. No blood, no win!” she dives into a rolling ssh, forcing me to backflip out of the way of her huge scythe.

  I cartwheel sideways without touching the floor to get on her off-side, shing out with “Shimizu-style sword arts, Rising Sun!” as I flip, I unleash a volley of unpredictable strikes, each one at different angles from each other, but Arnett’s reflexes are sharp enough that she blocks or dodges the whole series, even as her uniform repairs itself.

  “Three minutes left!” Ingrid calls, and I dart in, executing Rock-splitter again, then Waterfall. Arnett looks annoyed now, her smirk repced by a scowl as she’s forced to work for a victory. Finally, she leaps, and I ssh upward, shredding the back of her skirt. My back explodes in pain, and I hear a gasp rising from the watching students. Chihaya swears vigorously at Arnett, but I shrug off the damage I’ve just sustained. Ingrid shouts, “Two minutes!” Time’s almost up. I have to make this one move count. If it fails, I’m done….

  “That stings almost as bad as my grandfather’s blows. You’re almost as precise as him, too. My respect, Arnett-senpai.” I adjust my stance to a different form. Suddenly, I move. While I’d been training for the st week, I’d pondered if I could combine my Shimizu-style with Accel Turn. And, sure enough, I’d managed it. As Arnett swings, I use a reverse Waterfall, bringing the bde up instead of down. Tidal Surge. Combined with the massive speed boost from Accel Turn, and I’m behind my opponent and facing away from them. I sheathe my bde with a soft click… before crumpling.

  The amount of stamina it took to do it even once was astronomical, leaving me incapable of moving. There’s a cng behind me, and Chihaya screams in rage. “ARNETT!” I struggle onto one knee, feeling blood flowing down my back, turning my head. Creo Brand is there, her volt weapon deployed as she grips Arnett’s scythe in both hands.

  “Face it, Sshing Trickster. You lost.” She says quietly. Sure enough, there’s a trickle of crimson running down Arnett’s cheek. Oh, good. I won…. I allow myself to fall ft on my front again, gasping for breath.

  Ingrid raises a hand. “TIME! Weapons down!” I slowly rise, my body protesting, and focus on making my volt weapon disappear. It shatters and vanishes into fragments of blue light, and Arnett does the same, scowling. Chihaya’s arms are suddenly on my shoulders, steadying me as I feel my heartbeat slowly level out. Creo lowers her gauntleted fists, but doesn’t take her eyes off the redhead.

  Ingrid announces, “The duel is over! The winner is Akari Shimizu, the first-year girl! Ms Rengoku, do you have a first-aid kit avaible to you?” Chihaya nods, and Ingrid nods approvingly. “Good. Please take care of your junior.”

  As Chihaya escorts me out, Arnett grabs my sleeve. “Hey, one minute. I… I was wrong. You have as much right to be a Pandora as any girl. I look forward to sparring with you again, when you’ve got some experience under your belt!”

  I nod, smiling. “Thank you, senpai. I’m sorry about the cut on your cheek.”

  She waves it off, chuckling. “I’ve had worse. I’ll treasure it as a reminder of our little csh, and, who knows? May the next time YOU’LL be the one walking away with a scar!”

  I gesture to my back. “I think it’s a bit te… for that, Arnett-senpai.” I say softly, wincing. She walks around behind me and checks out the damage. “Ooh, my bad. At least it looks like it’ll heal cleanly, though.”

  I wince as Chihaya dabs antiseptic serum on the long ssh down my back, her fingers gentle and slow as she attends to my wound.

  “I’m impressed! You got out of a scrap with Arnett with only a minor injury. I’ve seen what she can do when she goes wild, you were lucky she held back, Akari…” she scolds kindly. I nod, keeping my head tilted forward ss she can reach my shoulder without my hair in the way.

  It feels… weirdly normal to be sitting topless in a… another girl’s room like this, but I try to focus on repying the fight. If I’d done things differently, could I have won quicker, or without using my special technique? Would altering my strategy have been less effective?

  Chihaya’s fingers are light on my skin as she applies gauze and adhesive tape to my wound. “I’m sorry if this hurts, please try to bear with it. I swear it won’t take much longer!”

  I smile, letting her continue her ministrations. “It’s okay, do what you’re doing. I’d much rather you take your time.”

  I close my eyes, but it makes things feel… weird. I can feel Chihaya’s fingers on my back more intensely now, and the smell of her perfume is stronger. Her skin is warm on mine, and I could swear she’s lingering on every touch.

  My body is reacting against my will; a pretty girl touching me is causing my knees to press together in a way that would’ve been most uncomfortable if I’d still been a guy. Suddenly, I feel something gentle on my shoulder-bde, just above the start of the gash in my back. I start, jolting a little, as I realise that she just kissed my back!

  She lets out a giggle and I can feel her move away. “I’m going to have a shower; I’ll give you a moment to yourself. I hope you can manage to sleep okay?”

  She ducks into the bathroom, and I stare after her for a moment. My chest feels a little tight, and I look down. Crap! I’m still topless, and my nips are hard! Could this get any more awkward?!

  After swallowing a couple of painkillers, I carefully dress in a long, knee-length nightgown and ease myself into bed, taking care to lie on my side to prevent any aggravation to my injuries. I rest my head on the pillows, feeling the dull ache in my back, coupled with the exhaustion of my ‘fight’ with Arnett. If she hadn’t handicapped herself, it would’ve been a sure loss for me… my eyes are growing heavy, and I slip beneath the waves of slumber before Chihaya emerges from the bathroom, fresh from her shower.

  The next thing I notice is the light, snaking through gaps in the curtains. Chihaya’s cute little snores are audible from where she’s curled up in her own bed, her arms wrapped around that stuffed shark. I’ve heard her refer to it as a… bh-hah? I think?

  I slowly shift out of bed, standing a little unsteadily. Thanks to the bandage Chihaya applied to my back, it’s too painful to wear one of my bras right now, plus Arnett ruined one with her scythe. She cut the back of it clean, but, since it’s esticated, it’s impossible to repair. I really liked that one, too… it was pink, with a cute flower pattern… hopefully I can get a new one, once my back’s healed.

  I turn to Chihaya’s kitchenette, before foraging in the cupboards and the mini-fridge. There’s not as much to work with as the cafeteria would have, but I wanted to make something for her, to repay her for all the help she’s given me.

  Despite her name, I can’t be sure if Chihaya’s been raised in Japan. The selection of ingredients in her cupboards and fridge is more Western than I’m used to, but I think I can make this work. I just… have to be careful…

  About half an hour ter, I put the finishing touches on breakfast. Scrambled eggs, thick-cut bacon, sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pan-fried, along with buttered toast. I can hear Chihaya stirring as the smell of food rouses her from her sleep. I turn and smile, holding two ptes in my hands. “Wakey wakey, my Pandora!” I tease, giggling at the ruffled mess of her hair. She sniffs, a sleepy grin on her lovely face.

  “You made me breakfast?!” She gasps, and I curtsey, wincing a little, and pce the ptes on the table, sitting down a little more heavily than I would’ve liked. Chihaya reaches out and helps me, tutting

  “Just rex; you’re the one who’s hurt! Your wound will heal faster than a normal human’s, but you still need to take it easy, okay?”