The room was freezing and it wasn’t Ash’s fault. Alright, mostly not his fault. He couldn’t deny the ice that was coursing through his veins. It provided a numbing sensation that allowed the young man to cool his temper. As a by-product, whenever the Vintrkind used his powers a chilly air swept through his surroundings. But right now, that was just a light breeze compared to the sub-zero degree hell he was now sitting in. If one were to attempt to cut the tension in the air, Ash was pretty sure anything short of an actual blade would shatter into pieces. He could practically hear the sparks sizzling in the air as he sat in the middle of the crossfire. Ash’s eyes darted to the digital clock on the wall, each moment passing so agonizingly slow that it seemed that the digits were engraved in stone.

“Whitelund,” the professor in front of him broke the silence. Clicking her tongue, the woman shook her head. A sigh of both irritation and disappointment left her lips, directed towards him. She gave him a tired look before continuing. “This is our third meeting so I’m going to get straight to the point: my answer hasn’t changed.”

They said that third time's the charm, but that wasn’t working out so well for him today. Of course it wouldn’t, the woman in front of him was the most antagonistic teacher that Ash had this semester. He had heard, at length, the various ways that his ever-faithful partner had come up with to describe her. All of them were insults, though he had stopped listening once Kyouko started to come up with things like ‘Unfuckable Onion’. At some point she had stopped ever using the teacher’s real name. Ash would’ve preferred it if he could do the same.

Professor Xiao Bai, whose relationship with Ash held a mutual disdain, snatched the paper off of her desk. Without even a glance, it went straight into the garbage can. “Don’t even think about moving into my dormitory.”

To think that he had thought the matter would be resolved swiftly and easily. Now he just felt like the biggest dumbass in all of Yggdrasil.

It had been one month since Ash Whitelund had become a Valkyrie trainee and entered VEA as the first and only male student. Two weeks since the dramatic and action-packed duel with the hedonistic Asgardian, Anemone Montague. As a result of that incident, the young man had been swiftly promoted to a C-Rank Valkyrie, with a Valkyrie Gear to prove it and everything. After that, he thought all he’d have to do was just wait until the formerly all-girls dormitory was renovated to accommodate both genders. Such delusions were promptly shattered after he had learned that his Jotun Physiology and Behavior Teacher, Xiao Bai served double duty as C-Rank dorm’s overseer.

Honestly, Ash didn’t even know why Xiao Bai had taken such an instant dislike towards him. They had never even shared a word of conversation outside of class, and even then she mostly talked over him whenever he was called to give an answer. And the way she had sneered at him with eyes that were the equivalent of looking at a pest… Well, not long after he had begun his transfer did things become a nightmare. One that, as a former Midgardian resident, he was intimately familiar with. The consequences of when you piss off someone higher up in the bureaucracy than you.

“I detest having to repeat myself so I’ll state my case again.” Xiao Bai flippantly moved to toss back her braided dark-green hair, not even bothering to look at Ash as she talked. “It is my job to protect the girls who are placed under my care, and I refuse to host someone who would be a threat to both public morals and their personal safety.”

It sounded legit, on the surface. However the sheer holier-than-thou attitude the woman displayed made it abundantly clear that it was all just fancy talk. An excuse just to deny him. Ice blue eyes narrowed as Ash stared at the woman in front of him. The meaning of her name, Little White, was something that Kyouko had looked up in a dictionary out of spite. Ash had to admit, with the way her skin was nearly deathly pale it suited her. Perfect for someone whose heart seemed to only beat for the sake of spite alone. The dark green and gold of her qipao only made it stand out even more, though it seemed to be something she took pride in as she deliberately crossed her legs. The gaze in her red eyes made it clear that she wouldn’t back down from this supposed ‘duty’ of hers.

Luckily, Ash hadn’t come to this meeting alone. Before he could even make a move to speak, a certain blonde crossed her arms. The girl formerly bound by chains of duty growled out their reply. “Ash’s record here at VEA demonstrates that he isn’t someone who would engage in any such behavior!”

Magnolia Hale, the male Valkyrie’s handler and in this case representative, was arguably the one most upset with the situation. Her usual fiery temper had combined with the fact that she had to deal with all the paperwork and behind the scenes bureaucracy for Ash. By now Magnolia was very visibly at her boiling point, and the only reason she hadn’t outright snapped at Xiao Bai was solely out of respect for her position. Unfortunately, as much as the Vintrkind would’ve liked to solve this with a quick and simple fight, society wasn’t so kind.

“You and I appear to be looking at two very different records then, Miss Hale.” She tapped her fingers against her desk before continuing. “In the span of one month, Whitelund has engaged in violent behavior, instigated fights, and put the lives of other trainees in danger with his rampant destruction of VEA property.”

“The incident with the historical simulations was determined to be an accident,” The Asgardian Wing Candidate responded, her tongue sharp as a knife. “Madam Rivers has proven it to be a result of an oversight on the staff's part. The physiology of Vintrkind has an adverse reactions to being put into a hyper-realistic virtual simulation.”

“As if that screwup who couldn’t even withstand a week in Muspelheim boot camp can make proper judgments.” Ash’s eyes widened as Xiao Bai casually disrespected her colleague behind her back. He clenched his fist as she finally turned to address the topic of the conversation. “But that was not the incident I was referring to. Do you not recall that he became a Valkyrie after causing an explosion at a testing site and almost running off with a Valkyrie Gear? Some of the girls under my care were at the exams that day, and they still remember that incident.”

That was… Well, even if the explosion wasn’t intentional, he couldn’t deny that the events that led him here had been very chaotic. As in he had ended up fighting off several of Midgard’s enforcers and ended up getting demolished by the first Valkyrie he encountered. That wasn’t exactly something that he could defend himself from here, and unfortunately Xiao Bai damn well knew it.

“Considering your position, Miss Hale, you shouldn’t be letting petty personal feelings get in the way of your job.” That was rich coming from her, but Ash doubted the onion knew what the word ‘shame’ was. “This man was given a handler for the safety of VEA. Not for his own sake.”

“That is where you are wrong,” Magnolia declared bluntly, nearly rising out of her seat as she stared down the professor. Xiao Bai’s eyes visibly twitched at the disrespect but it wasn’t like either of the two trainees cared about the woman’s opinion of them anymore. “When I took up this responsibility, I was tasked with not just managing Ash’s behavior, but raising him up to be a proper Valkyrie.”

“Hah! Like that is ever going to happen!” The woman turned a disdainful gaze upon Ash. “He doesn’t even know the first thing about being a Valkyrie. His promotion to C-Rank Valkyrie was a fluke and nothing more. Something gained through brute force alone. He has neither the mentality nor skills to last long in this school.”

“And how would you know that?” Ash finally snapped, knuckles whitening as he clenched his hands. A wintry breath escaped his lips as he spoke up. “I’ve heard others say that to me, and I’ve proved them wrong time and again.”

“Then answer me one question,” their gazes met as Xiao Bai curled her fingers. “Just what is a Valkyrie?”

The question threw the young man off. Not because it was particularly difficult, rather the opposite. Every child in Yggdrasil, no matter who they were, could answer that question. It was something so engraved into their history that it was impossible to not know about the mythical Valkyrie. “The ones who protect the realms of Yggdrasil and fight back against the Jotun who threaten to drive humanity to extinction.”

“...Such a simple answer…” For some reason, the professor took a moment to digest that before something snapped. Her face contorted into a scowl as she let out a loud snort. “I was a fool to expect anything else. As if a man could understand anything of worth, let alone become a real Valkyrie. We’re done here. Whitelund, Hale, both of you escort yourself from my office. And don’t bother scheduling another meeting. My word is final in this matter, end of story.”

“This is far from finished!” Magnolia snapped back as she began to march towards the door. “I will not allow such a blatant abuse of authority and power to stand on my watch!”

“A Wing Candidate should keep an eye on their priorities,” Xiao Bai dismissively replied, letting the words wash over her. Her gaze turned towards the window to the room, though it had long been covered up by a layer of frost. The professor huffed in displeasure. Ash had no intention of apologizing. “And you, Whitelund. You won’t be so confident once the midterm exam week begins. I’ll be expecting a full apology once it’s over.”

“That’s my line,” He replied as he moved to follow Magnolia. “My room better be ready by then.”

“You’d have better luck trying to get promoted to B-Rank before that happens.”

Ash paused to consider those words. Slowly the thought churned in his head before he looked back and gave Professor Xiao Bai one last smile. “...I’ll consider that to be a challenge.”

---

“I still say we should do more than just sit around like this!” Kyouko shouted as the group sat around campus after school. During his first weeks at VEA Ash had spent this time training, but now it had become a general study session as his course load began to rise up. “We need to take action! Burnt Broccoli isn’t going to change her mind if we just play her game like this!”

“Revolutionary action is not the way to go about this!” Magnolia responded, though her hands were clenched tight. “Another one of your ‘pranks’ would only solidify her case even more! …And why do most of your names involve vegetables?”

“Breaker refuses to eat her greens,” Ash grunted as he solved a math problem on his data pad. Let’s see, if he used this formula here… Carry the two… “That's why she’s small.”

“I do believe that compared to your physique, everyone appears diminutive in stature,” Liesa laughed, ignoring her charge’s yelp of indignation as she glanced over at his tablet. “That’s right! Well done, Mister Ash! Keep this pace up and you’ll be able to complete your homework without assistance in only three years!”

A sigh of disappointment left the Vintrkind’s lips. The fact that he’d already be on track to graduating by then was something that no one acknowledged as he went back to work.

In the weeks after their showdown with Anemone, the breakneck schedule that Ash had forced upon himself had gradually begun to ease up. When he had first arrived, Ash had zero idea how he was going to be in an actual school, let alone one for training Valkyries. Yet before he had realized it, life had fallen into a routine of waking up, studying, eating, going to class, and then training after school. Of course, that wasn’t to say that nothing had changed, as was evident from what he spotted in the corner of his eyes. A group of girls were sneaking glances in the direction of his group. One of them spoke, daring one of the others to approach their table. She was met with rapid head shaking and frantic refusals, yet all the girl’s eyes showed signs of interest. Especially when Ash happened to meet their gazes on occasion. It would’ve been tolerable, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was only one of five such groups sitting all around them.

“Don’t acknowledge them,” the most sociable of the group instructed them plainly. “It will only encourage them more.”

Unfortunately, coming out in a victory duel against a Wing Candidate had the side-effect of making their group minor celebrities on campus. Though practically speaking,Ash was the only one to experience a real status boost. Magnolia had always been one to socialize and network with her peers, as expected of the Hale heir. Considering how quickly she had dropped them in favor of spending time with Ash and his friends, though, her bonds with any of them couldn’t have been described as deep. This wasn’t even accounting for the fact that the duel had involved her getting quite emotional in front of everyone. From what Ash could tell, while some sympathized with her and others scorned her, any attempts to get closer after the duel had been swiftly shot down. Soon enough, a silent understanding was made throughout the school regarding her position. In the eyes of VEA, Magnolia had gone from a promising star to an unreachable princess.

Kyouko, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. As the first Valkyrie to have been eliminated from the duel, all people had to go off of was her less than stellar performance. There were a lot of ‘Nice tries’ and ‘Good effort’, but that was more out of politeness than anything else. Then, as point scheme after point scheme began to add up, public opinion began to change. While their wallets got heavier, the girl herself had once again become a pariah around campus. An outcast that nobody wanted to get involved with, especially after whatever happened during her promotion exam. While Ash didn’t hesitate to glare at the ones he heard talking behind their backs with his winter-enhanced ears, after a certain point he had to admit that his friend’s reputation came in handy. He wasn’t going to deny the fact that she was basically student repellent, no matter how much Ash got teased for how closely he was hanging around her.

And as for the Vintrkind himself… Nobody seemed to know how to interact with him. Which was fine, because he had no idea how to interact with them either. It was a rather awkward situation where every encounter seemed to be spinning a roulette wheel for how they’d approach him. The attention whittled on his nerves no matter how much he tried to keep his cool, and so he had thrown himself head first into his studies with Liesa’s help. In this time of crisis, the Alfheim girl was like a gift from the One-eyed Queen herself. She had constantly set aside hours of her day to act as Ash’s tutor in his theory homework while Magnolia had served as his physical trainer.

“There is no need to offer me gratitude,” She had said once when he had expressed his thanks after a difficult exam he had barely passed. “Education has no price, and helping others in their passionate pursuit of knowledge is something I enjoy.”

Ash would describe his situation more as ‘desperate’ rather than ‘passionate’, but he didn’t say that part out loud.

Red eyes settled Magnolia as Kyouko’s hands began to fidget. “Are you still mad about the-”

“Yes I’m mad about my hair dryer!” With a loud bang, Magnolia’s fist nearly put a dent in the table. “You almost set my hair on fire with that stunt!”

That was nearly a week ago, when Kyouko had decided to mess around the house and had ended up getting her hands on some of the appliances their resident A-Rank had left lying around the dorm. The sight of Magnolia storming out of the bath and chasing Kyouko around the house clad in a towel and an accidental afro would have been hilarious, if the Asgardian girl’s scream of pure rage didn’t fill Ash with a deep dread. Not that he didn’t understand, of course. While the two girls were no longer attempting to strangle the other with their eyes, the young man knew that Kyouko was a rather difficult roommate to deal with. Still, he hadn’t slept soundly ever since, even with the new mattress that came with Magnolia’s renovations to the D-Rank dorm.

Sometimes when he closed his eyes, the demon came for him. Considering the last person who had pissed Magnolia off had ended up getting battered through the sky with a flaming spear, he could only pray that someday it would never call his name.

“While I am not as personally invested in this case as you, Miss Hale, I do believe Miss Kyouko has a bit of a point,” Liesa stated as she adjusted her Smart Glasses. The lens emitted a brief flash before text could be seen, almost legible if one squinted. Ash had once tried them on, only to be immediately overwhelmed by the rapid fire stream of information that flashed in front of his eyes. After that time, he had no clue just how the Alfheim Wing Candidate was able to multitask so efficiently. “It is vexing, but regardless of the case we present, Professor Xiao Bai appears unwilling to change her mind on the matter. How has getting in touch with the VEA administrators been progressing?”

“I’ve made contact, but the process has been frustratingly slow.” A tired sigh escaped Magnolia’s lips as she slumped into her seat. “Ash’s existence is a first for all of VEA. Even if that… that…”

“Stale spinach?” Kyouko suggested, only to get a confused look from the blonde. “You know? Because she’s got a stick up her ass and clearly hasn’t gotten laid in- Ah! Cold! Ash you bastard!”

It had taken little effort for Ash to touch the back of his partner’s neck and send a trickle of ice water down her spine, shutting the firecracker of a girl up instantly. Ignoring the looks of agonized betrayal being sent his way, he gestured for Magnolia to continue.

“Thank you.” She sighed. “Yes, even if that detestable woman hadn’t been mucking things up, the process still would’ve taken a while. Now the higher ups have to make two judgments and they are infuriatingly slow about it.”

“Then we should not waste too much effort on the matter and focus on what’s in the long term.” Liesa said with a serious expression. “The Midterm Exams are approaching rapidly, and we all need to be prepared to do our best.”

Every Valkyrie Trainee at the table, including the ones who weren’t actually part of their social group, nodded with a deathly seriousness. That was no exaggeration, as this could quite possibly be a matter of life or death for all of the trainees. Hell Week, as Ash had heard it being called in hushed whispers. A rapid fire series of exams for all of their classes. It wasn’t just about grades though, midterms was also when VEA’s ‘Points’ came into play. If one failed their exams and didn’t have the Points to pay the school’s ‘Academic Fee’ then they’d be unceremoniously kicked right out of the Academy. Not even given a chance to finish the semester. There was no mercy involved, not when Valhalla was dedicated towards raising the defenders of Yggdrasil.

To say Ash was worried about it would’ve been an understatement. The mere thought caused him to have put physical training on the backburner. He didn’t know what the exams were going to actually consist of, considering that they apparently changed every year, but he just knew that his lack of theoretical knowledge was going to bite him in the ass soon if he didn’t make a rapid sprint to catch up.

It was with that grim reminder that the Vintrkind’s data pad let out a loud beep. The alarm caused tension to drain from his body as Ash quickly rose from his chair. “Well, it looks like time’s up here.”

“Ah yes, our next appointment.” Magnolia nodded as she began to pack up her things as well. “At least this one should prove to be less stressful than the rest of the day has been.”

“Oh! May I accompany you this time?!” Her chair almost toppled to the ground with how fast Liesa jumped out of her seat. “I’d like to witness the ‘Special Classes’ that Mister Ash has been taking for myself!”

Special Classes was a way to put it. Though the spirit of it was more a “How not to get yourself killed like a dumbass” kind of deal, as Ash understood it.

“I’m sure she won’t mind.” With a shrug of his shoulders, he glanced in Kyouko’s direction. “You coming?”

“Nah, go on without me,” his partner replied with a wave of her hands. “I’m not interested in watching you get your ass beat. That happens every day.”

“At least I actually win my fights sometimes.”

“That’s cold man!”

A cough drew Ash’s attention back towards the clock. With one final wave of goodbye, the trio began to make their ways through the halls of VEA’s rather large campus. The person they were looking for usually blended into the background. Not to mention the fact that her job had her constantly on the move. Ash had occasionally spotted the woman every now and then working around the clock. Still, at this time of day she should be at their usual meeting place. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the science and technology building of VEA’s campus. The group made their way up the steps to the foyer before stopping to give their greetings to the janitor idly sweeping the ground.

The janitor smiled back before pulling a silver pocket watch out of her overalls and flipping it open. “One minute, thirty four seconds, fifty two nanoseconds. Late again, Ash.”

“Sorry,” He apologized, though he didn’t really understand why this woman was so peculiar about precise timing. Even after training with her regularly for two weeks, she was still mostly an enigma to him. “A friend wanted to watch, so I let her come along.”

“I can see that well enough,” his third and final tutor, Miss Zima, said with a chuckle. She reached up and removed her cap, letting her braid of snowy white hair fall to her shoulders. A clear sign that she too was Child of Winter. A slash of bright blue ran through her bangs, equally bright eyes sparkling as she turned to face the Valkyrie Trainees. “Oh, I recognize you! You’re that Alfheim girl who didn’t do her research on Vintrkind before throwing one into a simulator.”

“Ah, I am deeply regretful about that…” Liesa bowed her head, biting her lips in shame.

“Relax~! It’s all in the past, so no worries!” Miss Zima cheerfully strolled up to them and grasped the bespectacled girl by the shoulders. “Say it with me now! ‘No Worries~!’ ”

“N-No worries?”

“Louder!”

“No worries!” Liesa shouted at the top of her lungs, only to go as stiff as a board as she remembered where she was. The looks passing students and staff members were giving the two caused her face to flush bright red.

The janitor didn’t care in the slightest as gave the girl an enthusiastic pat on the back, causing Liesa to stumble slightly. “There you go! If you’re going to sit in on my lessons then you gotta be relaxed!”

“That is a bald faced lie,” Ash bluntly stated as he glanced Magnolia’s way. “Our first encounter involved you pinning me to the ground in an arm lock.”

“Students are a different story. You, Whitelund, are here to learn.” The older Vintrkind waved dismissively, snowflakes weaving between her fingers. “When learning to harness the power of Winter, you have to take it seriously.”

A brief memory of Kyouko in the medical ward flashed through his eyes. Instinctively Ash began to inject ice throughout his body. The moment he bagan to do so, however, Miss Zimma rapped her knuckles sharply against his sternum. Immediately, the process came to a screeching halt, causing the younger Vintrkind to squirm in anxiety. “Oi, no. Stop that. Bad Ash. Bad!”

“I’m not a dog,” he grumbled, but in the end there was little he could do about it.

The only other Vintrkind that he had ever met, Tanya Ivanova Zima, ignored his protests. Stowing her broom on her janitor’s cart, she sent it trundling away on a gust of chill wind. “Come along then, let’s get going!”