The dimly lit room of the restaurant buzzed with tension as Kazuya and Shota found themselves surrounded by a dozen hostile gangsters. The flickering light overhead cast eerie shadows across the grimy walls, the air thick with the scent of sweat and aggression. Kazuya's heart raced as the gangsters closed in, their eyes filled with malice, their weapons ready to strike.
Shota stood slightly ahead of Kazuya, his posture calm yet ready, his hand flexing around the hilt of his sword. Without a word, Shota picked up a dagger and lunged forward, he cut through the air with precision and speed. The gangsters responded in kind, charging at them with brutal force.
Kazuya hesitated, his instincts screaming at him to run. He wasn't a fighter—not like Shota, who moved with a deadly grace, cutting down the attackers with a fluidity that was almost mesmerizing. Kazuya dodged and ducked, narrowly avoiding the swings and stabs aimed at him, but fear clung to him like a shadow.
Shota spun around, blocking an incoming attack and countering with a swift slash that sent another gangster sprawling.
Kazuya was trying to keep his distance from the chaos. But the gangsters were relentless, their numbers overwhelming. One particularly large man, wielding a rusty iron pipe, came at Kazuya with a wild swing. Kazuya barely managed to dodge, the pipe whooshing past his ear with terrifying speed.
He couldn't keep up. Every time he thought he had a moment to breathe, another gangster would close in, forcing him to retreat further into the room.
As Kazuya backed away, his foot caught on a loose floorboard, causing him to stumble. A momentary lapse in concentration was all it took for one of the gangsters to seize the opportunity. A blade glinted in the dim light as it slashed towards Kazuya, too fast for him to react.
Panic surged through Kazuya, his body frozen in fear. But just as the blade was about to connect, something within him snapped. All of a sudden, Time seemed to slow, the air thickening around him as if he were moving through molasses. The blade inched closer, but Kazuya could see every detail of its movement—the way the light reflected off the metal, the tension in the gangster's arm.
Instinctively, Kazuya shifted to the side, his body moving with a sudden burst of speed. The blade missed him by mere centimeters, slicing through the empty air where he had been just moments before.
Time snapped back to normal, and Kazuya stumbled away, breathing heavily, his heart pounding in his chest.
"What… what just happened?" Kazuya muttered, his mind reeling from the experience.
But there was no time to process it. The gangster who had missed his strike growled in frustration, raising his weapon for another attack. Before he could strike again, however, Shota intervened by delivering swift kick towards the gangsters, sending him flying across the room.
The gangster who escorted them was watching the battle from a far but once he finished analyzing, he stepped forward a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"You've caused enough trouble," the gangster sneered, raising his daggers as energy began to build around him. The air crackled with power, the temperature in the room rising as the gangster gathered his strength. "Time to end this!"
With a roar, the gangster unleashed a massive blast of energy, the force of it tearing through the room. Kazuya and Shota had no time to react as the blast slammed into them, sending them flying across the room. Kazuya crashed into a wall with a sickening thud, pain exploding in his side as he crumpled to the ground.
Shota landed hard but managed to roll with the impact, his face twisted in anger as he pushed himself up. He looked over to Kazuya, who lay on the floor, struggling to breathe, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Shota's face was filled with concern and fury. But before he could rush to Kazuya's side, two figures emerged from the shadows. It was the leaders of the gang, the tall, imposing man with a deep scar running down the left side of his face. He wore a pair of gloves that shimmered with a strange energy.
And the woman with fiery red hair, her lips curved into a cruel smile. She held a long whip in her hand, the weapon crackling with a strange, ominous energy that sent a shiver down Shota's spine.
The scarred man stepped forward, his voice low "You've caused quite a bit of trouble. But this is where it ends."
The red-haired woman cracked her whip, the sound echoing through the room. "You should have known better than to cross us," she said, her tone mocking.
"Now let me guess? Hiroshi was butthurt about what we did to the place? Is that why he sent you?"
Shota clenched his teeth, his anger giving way to a cold, focused resolve. He knew these two were dangerous—far more dangerous than the regular gangsters they had faced so far. But he wouldn't back down. Not now. Not after what they had done to Kazuya.
The scarred man spoke up. "I knew Hiroshi was such a crybaby but I didn't expect him to send some goons to their deaths. Like seriously look at that kid over there" He said while pointing at Kazuya who wasn't in a good condition.
" What were you idiots thinking? Going on missions with a kid?... What a joke"
The tension in the room reached its peak as Shota faced off against the two gang leaders, the air heavy with the promise of violence. The battle was far from over, and Shota knew that the real fight was just beginning.