Sunlight cracked through the window in Westwood High's advanced biology class, where they were covering mutated wildlife—Radie-Beasts—spawned by the Morning Star power plant disasters.
The projector hummed as holograms rotated above the podium. A teacher's voice droned in the background.
"Class E are typically docile or easily contained—glow-rats, moss-snakes, etc. But Class A and S... These creatures are intelligent, unpredictable, and capable of extreme destruction. Only licensed handlers or government forces are authorized to keep or train them."
Kimara's fingers clenched around her pen. She wasn't listening anymore. Her eyes kept drifting to Reina—three rows up, too still. Dimitri sat diagonally behind. Every time she turned, he was already looking away.
The tension was getting to her. It slithered into her stomach at night and sat heavy in her chest during the day.
After school
she found Toma in the garden. "Can you take me to the Black Market?" Kimara asked calmy
"...Why?"
"I need something strong. I—I'm not stupid. I feel it. Someone's watching me. Waiting."
Toma, quiet as ever, only nodded once.
The Undermarket wasn't on any map, but everyone in their world knew it existed. Hidden below an abandoned subway line, pulsing with flickering lights and bio-synth fumes, it was a crossroads of criminals, mercenaries, and desperate souls.
Kimara walked close to Toma as they passed a stall selling glitched firearms, another offering hacked hero gadgets. A man tried to sell her a cracked Telepathy Syringe. She declined.
Then she saw it man sitting in the cold dimly lit street under a tattered canopy, surrounded by cages. Inside: glowing eyes, chittering fangs, growls muffled by heavy muzzles.
A cage stood out to mara in particular, dimly lit, sat beneath a stall made of rusted pipes and plastic sheets. Inside, curled like a nervous ball of snow, was a tiny creature. It had icy-blue fur that shimmered like misted glass, two short saber teeth, and swirling eyes that reminded her of frozen lakes.
"Frostviel Sabrelynx cub," the man rasped. "Aberrant A-Class. She'll die in days if she doesn't form a bond. She needs a heart to cling to."
Kimara stepped closer, drawn in. "She's scared," Kimara whispered. "Just like me." Toma scoffed and asked "So do you want the ugly little thing or no?"
She bought the cub, using a hidden wad of bills Seamus had once gifted her for emergencies. Toma didn't ask any more questions —just helped carry the cage back in silence.
Back at the Kaz's Apartment
Kimara sat cross-legged on her brother's bed, gently stroking the soft fur of her new companion. The kitten purred—no, it hummed, a faint crystalline resonance like wind through glass.
Kaz walked in mid-yawn, then stopped.
"Is that another cat? …Nope. That is very much not a cat."
"Meet Niva," Kimara said softly. "She's... mine."
Kaz crouched beside the bed, inspecting the beast as its breath left little ice-puffs in the air. He raised an eyebrow.
"Y'know owning an A-Class Radie-Beast is like... wildly illegal, right? Like, black ops team illegal."
"Then you'd better not tell anyone or else." Kimara said slyly
Kaz chuckled, flopping onto the floor beside her.
"Gotta admit, she's adorable. We should launch her at Grigorovich next time he shows up. 'Attack, Frostbite!'"
Kimara snorted, covering her mouth.
"Seriously, though," Kaz said, his tone softening. "I know things have been rough. You're not wrong to be nervous. But you're not alone, Kim. Dad might not be here righr now but you've got Jamie, Vali… me."
He nudged her shoulder with his. "Let those assholes lurk. I'll be the shadow that bites back."
Kimara didn't respond with words—just leaned her head against her big brother's shoulder as Niva curled between them.
Later that night
Kaz sat on a rooftop with Amy overlooking the glowing sprawl of the city. They shared grilled skewers and canned soda, their feet dangling over the edge.
"Thanks for coming babe, I really missed you" Amy said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "But I know you've been busy."
"Ofcourse, anything to see you princess, plus I needed air," Kaz admitted. "Been a weird week, not to mention exhausting, training with your dad....training with my uncle." Amy grinned resting her head on his shoulder "sounds to me line they're preparing you ro take on a entire army", Kaz sighs, the memories of Grigorovich's attack playing through his head like a fresh recording "That might be more literal than figure"
He told her everything—about being summoned by Kimiko to meet the board of sponsors. The glass office. The condescending glances. The old man who'd sneered, calling his family "Radioactive Parasites."
"So I told him he'd better watch his damn mouth before I made him swallow his teeth."
Amy choked on her drink. "Kaz!" She blurts out grinning. "What? I said it politely. Well Mostly politely." Then Kaz's voice dropped a little, a shadow flickering in his eyes.
"One guy laughed. Not like the others—he looked at me like... he liked it, the guy looks fucking insane I kid you not."
"Well damn, who was he?" Amy chuckles
"General Raikiri. They say he used to fight Radie-Beast hordes solo. Has this ability—he turns movement into stored kinetic energy. So the more he moves, fights, twitches... the more he builds up, until he can hit like a railgun or explode like a grenade. He's never still. They say he sleeps walking."
Amy raised her eyebrows. "And he's interested in you?"
"He said I had 'the spirit of a beast.' That if I ever felt like I wanted to break the world instead of save it, I should look him up."
Amy leaned her head against his. "Please don't join the psycho army."
"I like noodles too much." Kaz says, obviously avoiding what Amy just said,They laughed, and for a moment, the tension melted.
Back in her room, Kimara placed a small plush blanket over the sleeping Sabrelynx. Niva's tiny claws twitched in dreams, and the windows frosted gently from her breath.
Kimara smiled, then whispered:
"You're safe now. And so am I."