Misuki's eyes widened in alarm as she gazed at the wounds.
'These are severe!' she exclaimed, her voice trembling with fear.
She encased Yukiko, Toru, Hana, and Riasa in a water bubble, her eyes pleading with Kaito, 'Please be careful!'
The air was filled with the sound of clashing metal as Kaito burst out of a dust field and dodged the flying rods aiming to hit him.
He seized one of the rods in mid-air, swung it to the left, and deflected an incoming rod, then swung to the right and deflected another then he landed gracefully on the ground.
The smoke cleared, Kenshiro grinned and walked slowly gradually, Kaito charged towards Kenshiro, his fists flying in a flurry of punches.
Kenshiro dodged the first blow, but Kaito's second punch got blocked which sent him stumbling back. Seizing the opportunity, Kenshiro countered with a sucker punch, sending Kaito flying across the room, his body crashing into the ceiling with a loud thud.
"Kaito!" Mizuki yelled,
Kenshiro smiled but instantly moved his gaze to his arm, his eyes widened in disbelief, and his hand was broken as it dangled limply at his side,
"Huh?!" he muttered, Kaito crashed to the ground, covered in dust upon landing. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his eyes stayed fixed on Kenshiro.
'He deliberately took the hit to break his arm,' Mizuki thought, Kaito maintained a stoic expression, speaking in a low voice.
"That's not enough," he growls, his fists clenched at his sides. Kenshiro began to laugh, his eyes gleaming with sadistic delight.
He wigged the broken arm, the bones began crackling and then he straightened the arm.
"His arm is fixed!" Mizuki exclaims, her eyes wide with shock.
Kaito's eyes narrowed as he watched Kenshiro, he clenched his fists and took a step forward.
At that moment, Kenshiro disappeared into thin air. Kaito froze in shock, his eyes widening in disbelief, he scanned his surroundings, searching for any sign of Kenshiro's presence.
"Peekaboo!" Kenshiro's voice echoed, and Kaito looked up to see Kenshiro perched on the ceiling like a spider, his muscles coiled.
Without warning, Kenshiro dived down, his body a blur as he bellowed, "Steel Rain," materializing hundreds of razor-sharp metal spikes that rained down towards Kaito like a deadly shower of arrows.
Kaito gritted his teeth and bolted away with lightning speed, his footsteps pounding the ground as the rods crashed down behind him.
"Watch out, Kaito!" Mizuki shouted as the metal rods came hurtling toward him.
Kaito's heart raced as he sprinted in a wild zig-zag pattern, narrowly avoiding the menacing metal rods.
With a swift twist, he pivoted and charged straight for an approaching rod. With a single bound, he leaped onto the rod and propelled himself upward.
Kenshiro's grin spread across his face as he confidently stretched his arm.
Kaito sprung off the rod, hurtling directly toward Kenshiro. As they closed in on each other, a crackling surge of lightning adorned Kaito's outstretched arm, illuminating the tense atmosphere.
The two adversaries faced each other, lightning crackling in the air causing an explosion.
Kaito fell downward into the ground covering the scene with dust and debris
Meanwhile, Kenshiro was propelled through the air.
As the ground rushed up to meet him, he twisted in mid-air with fluid grace, his body contorting to absorb the impact.
He crashed into the earth far away, the ground shook around him,
'This battle isn't between two people" Mizuki said,
Kaito's eyes blazed with determination as he rose to his feet, his muscles tensed up.
Kenshiro slowly withdrew his hand from the cracked earth, shards of dirt cascading off his fingers,
They both stood and locked eyes.
'It's between two monsters,' Mizuki thought, her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.
Toru slowly opened his eyes and dragged himself up, his movements labored and pained. As Mizuki moved closer to him, she hesitated for a moment, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder gently. "Don't strain yourself," she urged softly.
"I took the rods out of your body, the girls are safe as well"
"I hope... "
"But you can't make any reckless movements..."
Toru glanced over at the mysterious figure standing in the chaos of the battle, his sharp eyes narrowing in curiosity. "A friend of yours?" he inquired, his voice barely audible.
"Yes, That's Kaito," Mizuki whispered, then she smiled.
"I don't know how he could find us but he did"
"And it seems he's holding his own against him"
Toru remained silent, his eyes fixed on them as they rose to their feet, he tightly clenched his teeth. 'I have to become stronger,' he thought to himself.
"You're a tough one Kid!" Kenshiro said, then gave a maniacal look, "What's your name?"
Kaito's response was swift and sharp. "What's it for you to know?" he retorted, his eyes narrowing as he dropped into a defensive crouch.
"So that's how it is..." Kenshiro said with a wistful sigh, his gaze shifting to Mizuki's shimmering water bubble.
A mischievous grin spread across his face. "I might just have to make her the next target," he mused, his eyes sparkling with a hint of deadly intents.
"Huh?" Kaito's face contorted in bewilderment, his brow furrowing. His gaze shifted to the shimmering bubble in front of him, and through it, he saw Mizuki.
"You want to take her out?" Kaito's voice quivered with a hint of disbelief as he locked eyes with Mizuki.
"Huh? No!" Kenshiro rejected.
"But you said you might go for her..." Kaito added, his face still confused. His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of the situation.
"I meant beat her next you idiot!" Kenshiro yelled,
"Oh I see now" Kaito laughed it off,
"I thought it was weird"
Kenshiro's piercing gaze locked with Kaito's as a sly smile crept across his lips. "How dense are you?!" he said, his voice tinged with amusement.
"Dense enough to know it's checkmate..." Kaito retorted, a victorious gleam in his eyes.
Confusion clouded Kenshiro's expression. "Huh?!" he exclaimed, but in the blink of an eye, Kaito stood before him one moment and vanished the next.
"An afterimage!" Kenshiro realized in shock as he swiftly twisted his body, only to find Kaito standing behind him with his hand coiled into a formidable fist.
Time seemed to slow as Kenshiro's mind raced, 'He's already here...' he thought.
'Don't matter, I'll block it like the girl earlier,' Kenshiro confidently declared.
'Then I'll hit him with the same attack,'
"Guess this match is over," Kenshiro muttered under his breath, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Kenshiro raised his left arm, as he anticipated the impending attack.
"Plasma Edge," Kaito called out, his voice echoing, he swung his arm past Kenshiro, the crackling energy cutting through the air and slicing into Kenshiro's torso.
A spray of crimson filled the air as blood splattered.
"What?! " Kenshiro exclaimed, his eyes widened.
"He sliced him!" Mizuki's voice trembled with shock and awe.
Toru stayed quiet, his eyes fixed on the unfolding spectacle.
'He did a fake....' Kenshiro's thoughts raced.
'Making me believe that he'll punch... but no,'
'He swung his hand and sliced me...'
"And that's checkmate..." Kaito's voice cut through the tension as he stood tall.
"I can't believe he did it..." Mizuki exclaimed in joy, her eyes shining with intense excitement.
"He might win this..."
Toru's gaze remained fixed on the scene, then immediately he screamed, "Watch out!"
Kaito whipped around, his expression morphing from triumph to surprise as a rod struck his stomach.
He gasped, coughing out a little blood. In the next moment, his body was impaled by 5 rods, and he slowly fell backward to the ground.
Kenshiro grinned wildly as Kaito hit the ground with a heavy thud.
"Huh... Kaito!" Mizuki's voice rang out in a mix of shock, and disbelief.