[A few weeks ago]
The office was in ruins. Papers scattered across the marble floor. A glass desk shattered against the wall. The television mounted above the bar replayed the same headline over and over.
Hero Endeavor Exposes Corporate Corruption Ring — Multiple Executives Arrested.
A fat man with a disheveled appearance was pacing behind his desk. He was frantic, and kept loosening his tie.
"That bastard…" he snarled. He threw his tie away.
Only months earlier he had been untouchable, head of a powerful corporation, a man who could buy politicians and silence investigators with a single phone call. Then Endeavor had kicked down the door with the full force of a hero investigation. Illegal quirk experiments, black market fuel trading, safety violations, everything had been uncovered. He didn't expect a pro hero of Endeavor's capability to suddenly investigate him. Sure he had hired some villains to do some dirty work, but everyone was shocked when Endeavor suddenly went on a rampage looking for a villain. He was one of the unfortunate ones to get caught.
His accounts were frozen. His board abandoned him. Even the criminals he used to work with had vanished.
All because of Endeavor. The CEO slammed his fist against the wall.
"I'll ruin you," he muttered. "I'll ruin that entire damn family. You should never have messed with me!!!" He had a manic expression on his face. Most of his contacts had abandoned him, but he still had a few left.
He began making calls. The first group hung up immediately.
"No way..."
The second didn't even let him finish the sentence.
"Not worth dying for."
A third contact laughed outright.
"Do you think we are crazy?"
The CEO's desperation grew with every rejection. No sane villain wanted to mess with the top hero. It was suicide. But he didn't give up. He tried everyone.
He pulled another burner and called the last person he had been informed of. A secure overseas line connected. The voice on the other end was calm and cold.
"State the target."
The CEO swallowed.
"Endeavor. If you can't get him…" he said, voice lowering into a hateful whisper.
There was a long silence…
"Japan's top heroes are on our redlist. There is no way for me to do what you are requesting." The CEO crumbled. His last bits of hope deflated.
"Wait!" He suddenly said out loud. "What about just anyone from his family?"
"Deal."
The conversation went on for a few more minutes before they finally reached an agreement. He was overjoyed, if he couldn't get Endeavor, at least he could make him hurt. The CEO laughed maniacally. He used the last of his remaining funds for this.
There was nothing left to lose after all.
—--
[Back to Present]
The next morning, everyone woke up early. After getting dressed in warm layers, they headed down to the lodge dining area for breakfast.
The room was cozy and filled with the smell of grilled fish, eggs, and rice. Everyone grabbed food and sat together. Natsu finished his plate fast, then casually pulled out his lighter. He flicked it on and leaned in, inhaling the flame like it was nothing.
"Alright, food is done." Natsu immediately hopped off the chair. "Lets go, lets go!"
Fuyumi sighed. "Alright, what's the plan for today?"
"Snowboarding," Natsu said without hesitation. "Let's hit the slopes."
"I'm in," said Shoto.
Gray shrugged. "Why not."
Fuyumi nodded. "Okay. We'll start on the beginner runs and work from there."
They grabbed their gear, boards, helmets, gloves, and stepped out into the cold. Snowflakes drifted gently from the sky, the slopes stretched out ahead of them, and Mount Fuji towered in the distance.
The triplets stepped onto the ski lift, boards strapped in, bundled in warm gear. The cold wind brushed past, but Natsu barely noticed, he was grinning ear to ear.
"This is awesome!" he shouted, arms raised. "I never got to do this before!" Natsu remembered his previous life and the constant effects of motion sickness. He suddenly stepped to the side and dry heaved.
Shoto looked over. "Are you alright?"
"Yep! I feel great. Ignore that" Natsu shook his head. He cleared his thoughts and stopped thinking about getting motion sickness.
Gray chuckled.
They reached the top of the beginner slope and dismounted. The area was wide, packed with soft snow and dotted with a few kids and first-timers. The wind was light, and the slope was gentle, perfect for practice.
Natsuo and Fuyumi stayed behind the triplets. "Alright, who wants to ride down the slope first?"
"M–" Before Natsu was suddenly interrupted.
Gray went first, tilting forward, letting his board glide smoothly. His posture was relaxed, balanced and perfect. He easily went down the slope and stopped at the bottom.
Natsuo whistled. "Wow, can't believe it's his first time. He's a natural."
Shoto followed, steady and controlled, adapting quickly. He didn't show off but picked up the rhythm fast. Soon he reached the bottom as well.
Fuyumi smiled. "Shoto is excellent as well."
Then it was Natsu's turn. "Okay well watch this!" He laughed.
He pushed off with energy, crouching into his stance. His balance was surprisingly solid thanks to all his core training. The board curved smoothly at first.
"I got this!" he shouted as he continued to speed up.
But he didn't know how to stop.
"Wait, wait! How do you-?!"
He sped up, panic rising as the slope gently dipped. Gray and Shoto turned to watch just as Natsu flew past, completely upright… and then-
Face first into the snow.
A flurry of snow exploded as he skidded to a stop, limbs splayed.
Gray laughed out loud. "Flawless!!!"
Shoto walked over, offering a gloved hand, however, he couldn't hide the smile on his face "You were doing well… until the end."
Natsu sat up, snow stuck in his scarf and hair, nose red. "I didn't crash! I landed with style!"
"You faceplanted." Gray said, continuing to laugh.
Natsu brushed off the snow and grinned. "Yeah, but I landed!"
Gray was practically wheezing at this point.
Natsu just groaned.
Shoto helped him up. They waited for Fuyumi and Natsuo to come down before making their way back up to the top.
The group met up together once again at the top of the trail.
"Alright, everyone, since you all seem to be on different levels, why don't we go on our individual trails?" Natsuo suggested.
Gray and Shoto both excitedly nodded.
Natsu already took off.
-
The air at the top of the mountain was crisp and biting, at least to those who weren't of the Todoroki family. The sun shone above, reflecting off the thick blanket of snow in a blinding bright white.
Natsu tightened his scarf as a wild grin formed on his face. He let out a breath of steam to warm himself.
In front of him were two trails. To his left, the beginner trail. A steady incline without many turns or obstacles. A simple and relaxing ride down the mountain. To his right however, was a narrow, unmarked path that seemingly disappeared between the trees and rocks.
"That path looks fun!"
Gray was a few yards away, tightening his boots.
"Don't do something stupid flamebrain."
However, as he looked up to glance at Natsu, he was already gone again.
"Dammit."
—
The hidden trail could hardly be called a trail. It was more of a suggestion. It was incredibly steep, and twisted through many trees. Natsu leaned into it anyway, cutting through the terrain, his speed increasing.
"This is awesome!" Natsu yelled as he laughed wildly.
Then beneath him, the snow gave out. There was no more solid ground beneath him, only air. For a moment, time seemed to have slowed down for Natsu. He continued sailing forward from his momentum, the majestic view of Japan right in front of him. Then it hit him. That feeling of falling.
"Crap-"
Natsu found himself in free fall. His excited grin turned into a stunned one and he began to flail his arms.
A small group of tourists sat on a nearby ridge. They noticed the red haired teenager falling what seemed to be at least 150 meters.
"That child is falling!" One of them screamed.
"He's gonna die!"
Hearing the words of the tourists, Natsu perked up. Flames erupted from beneath his feet as he propelled himself upward back towards the cliffside he just fell off of, incinerating his snowboard and boots in the process.
"Woooo!" Natsu shouted as he soared upward. He looked at the tourists with a cheeky grin as they stared at him in awe.
Natsu landed on the cliffside, his body sinking knee deep into the snow as he landed. He looked around but the terrain around him seemed off, a bit different. He couldn't find the trail that he created in the snow with his snowboard previously.
"I think I flew up the wrong side…"
—
Back near the trail
Gray had finished his run of the mountain side and already made his way back up to the top. Natsu hadn't returned, which could only mean he had most likely done something stupid.
'Should I track down that fire hazard?' Gray shrugged his shoulders. 'Nah, I'll go train.'
Gray walked through the woods until he found a quiet clearing. He took off his jacket, shirt, and pants, leaving only his underwear on, this time intentionally. The cold was nothing to him. In fact, it was quite enjoyable.
Without a word, his fist slammed into the side of a tree, causing snow to fall off its branches. Then another punch. And another. Followed by a kick.
One by one, the trees became his targets. A couple skiing down a nearby hill slowed down to check the commotion.
"Why is there a naked guy hitting trees?" One of them questioned.
"Let's just leave him be." The other one said, urging to leave.
—
A loud bang echoed through the snowy forest of Mount Fuji. Followed by another. And another one. This had been going on for hours. Every day, for almost two weeks straight.
A lone young man stood in front of a tree, its trunk barren with dents. The trees around him were all toppled over. There was a constant gust of cold wind, making the negative 7 degrees celsius feel like negative 20 degrees. Yet this lone man continued to punch away at the tree, completely naked. Frost had formed on the tips of his white hair and eyelashes. His back was covered in ice. Yet there was not a single sign of frostbite. The young man did not once shiver. He continued punching away at the tree until it had toppled over.
"Aghhh!" Gray let out a sigh as he raised his arms up and stretched his back. He looked down at his knuckles. He had been doing this since the start of summer vacation, alternating between punching and kicking.
'This is the coldest it's been this month but I still don't feel it. Too bad winter break isn't nearly as long.'
Gray got into his ice make stance, placing a closed fist on top of an open palm, his feet wider than shoulder width. He looked at the surrounding forestry and closed his eyes, envisioning every leaf and branch of the trees.
"Ice make: Tree!"
Gray slammed his hand into the ground and a tree of ice that looked very similar to the surrounding trees in shape was formed.
Gray continued doing it, replacing every tree he had toppled over with an ice version of itself. At that point, he felt a shiver run down his back and throughout his body. Using his quirk this much, he was now cold.
He paused to look at his creations. Unlike magic, his quirk had limited cryokinesis. It was incredibly hard to make something so precise to be formed. He also couldn't get his ice's temperature to go as low as he could have as a mage. Whatever his body could handle at this point was his limit.
He looked up at the sky, now really feeling the cold. At that moment, he remembered his old master, Ur, training him and wrapping a scarf around him when he was cold.
"Starting from scratch again just like that huh…" Gray smiled. 'It's getting late, I should get back.'
Instead of his normal route, Gray decided to take a more scenic route back, one that let him see a good view of Japan from the cliff sides of Mt. Fuji.
Gray walked slowly as he looked at the dim city lights. It was truly a sight to behold. He reminisced briefly of the times he was on Mt. Zonia and could see Fiore beneath him. Thinking about Fiore, his mind began to wander. He began to think about the friends he had in Fairy Tail, the ones he had left behind. Hopefully, everyone was fine.
In that split second, a chill surged down Gray's spine, not from the cold, but from instinct.
His breath caught in his throat. Something was coming.
Death. He shifted to the side
A sudden gout of blood burst from his chest. A deep and burning pain followed.
Gray's eyes widened in shock as he twisted his neck, just enough to catch a glimpse of a man behind him, his blade driven straight through Gray's back.