*Before the Fight*
In Grandpa Fujita's residence, the sound of the phone ringing broke the silence of the night.
"Kazuki, where are you right now?" Rin asked anxiously.
"Rin? Have you already arrived home? By the way, where did you get my phone number from?"
"From Grandpa Fujita, who else is in this house!" Rin replied, slightly annoyed.
"Oh, I see. Is my little brother already asleep?"
"Yes, he's already asleep on my bed now."
"Hey, don't change the subject! It's already 12 midnight, you know! You left since 8 PM, it's been 4 hours now!"
"Calm down, why are you so mad at me?"
"Are you still asking about that?"
Rin got up from her bed and walked to her bedroom window. Her eyes gazed into the darkness of the night outside.
"So when are you coming home?"
"Your voice sounds very worried about me, huh…"
"Idiot! Just answer!"
"Alright, don't be so angry… Maybe around 12:30 or 1:00 AM."
"Just sleep first. You've just recovered from your fever, so it's better for you to get some rest."
*Idiot, how can I sleep if you're still not home,* Rin thought to herself.
"Alright, make sure you come home, okay?"
After that, Rin hung up the phone. *I hope he's alright,* Rin said in her heart.
*Back at the Fight Location*
Kazuki wiped the blood flowing from his cheek. *Even though I can see clearly now, I'm still not used to his speed. I need something to withstand his attacks.*
As Kazuki was lost in his thoughts, a barrage of relentless attacks came at him without mercy. He couldn't even move an inch from where he stood. The attacks were so fast, like a storm hitting from all directions, with Kazuki trapped in its center.
Kazuki's body continued to take hits—hands, feet, face—all drenched in blood. His body felt heavier.
*Damn, my consciousness is starting to fade,*
*my body feels so hot, it's like back then,* suddenly Kazuki's eyes began to close.
"So this is all you can do now, kid?" Hashiro slowly revealed himself and began to approach Kazuki, who was still frozen in place.
But suddenly Hashiro stopped in his tracks. *What's wrong with me? My instincts are screaming at me not to approach him. There's something strange about this kid… Even though he's just standing still, I feel like I'm going to die.*
In the blink of an eye, Kazuki vanished from in front of him. Hashiro gasped as he realized Kazuki was now behind him, and the sword he held was shattered into pieces.
*When did he break it?*
Hashiro turned around and saw Kazuki staring at him sharply. A thick black aura emanated from Kazuki's body, accompanied by smoke that seemed to weave back together all his wounds. In a matter of seconds, all of Kazuki's injuries healed perfectly, even his torn clothes were restored.
*This is an unbelievable sight. How could a human possibly heal himself?*
Before Hashiro could react, Kazuki appeared in front of him. His movements were lightning-fast. Without mercy, Kazuki swung his right hand straight at Hashiro's chest. The attack was so quick it couldn't be avoided, sending Hashiro flying far away as if he were airborne.
Kazuki appeared above Hashiro's still-floating body and delivered a devastating kick. That single kick sent them crashing to the first floor.
Dust billowed in the air from the violent impact. About 80% of Hashiro's bones shattered from the attack. His mouth couldn't even produce a sound, as if it had been crushed.
Kazuki looked up at the night sky and raised his hand to it. Suddenly, rain fell heavily, as if he could control the weather itself. In his hand, the shards of Hashiro's broken sword began to merge again above his palm. Kazuki observed the sword for a moment before walking toward Hashiro, who lay powerless.
Hashiro couldn't move at all. His mouth was silent, his body refused to budge. One thing he could feel—this figure in front of him was no longer the same kid. The one standing before him now was a demon. His aura clearly indicated a demon ready to torture his opponent.
Without hesitation, Kazuki swung the sword toward Hashiro's right eye. Fresh blood gushed from it. Not satisfied, Kazuki stabbed his left eye, then severed both his hands and legs as if cutting meat.
Unimaginable pain coursed through Hashiro's entire body. He realized he had chosen the wrong opponent. Even though both his hands and legs had been cut off, he was still alive. From the beginning, this kid could have killed him, but he chose not to.
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion was heard around them. *That sound… a bomb?* Hashiro remembered he had planted a bomb in the kid's house. *Could it be that he knew all along…*
The bomb that exploded in this place was undoubtedly the one he had placed in Kazuki's house. *So that's it… even before I came here, my defeat was already assured by him.*
Hashiro finally realized one thing—this kid was not an ordinary boy. He regretted underestimating him from the start. The cold eyes he saw for the first time were the eyes that had completed all his plans.
*He was right,* Hashiro recalled the kid's words: "Just by looking at you, I already know what you're thinking."
"Hahaha…" Hashiro could only laugh to himself. Slowly, the place was engulfed in flames from the explosion. His body would burn here.
Although he couldn't see, Hashiro could feel the cold gaze of the kid. *It seems that kid doesn't know that something very dangerous is hidden within him. Such an incomprehensible power.*
The great fire consumed the entire building after Kazuki vanished from the scene. The rain stopped, and Hashiro's body burned in the fierce flames.
People watching the fire from a distance quickly called the fire department. The officers arrived quickly and began to extinguish the flames, though the raging fire seemed impossible to put out easily.
*At Grandpa Fujita's House*
"Kazuki still hasn't come home…" Rin murmured. The clock showed 1:00 AM. *What if something happened to him?*
As she was lost in her thoughts, suddenly there was a knock at the door.
*Could he be home already!* Rin hurried down to the first floor towards the front door.
There she saw Kazuki, but there was something strange about the way he walked, like someone who was sick.
"Hey Kazuki, are you alright—"
Before Rin could finish her sentence, Kazuki collapsed into her arms.
"Hah?! What happened?!"
Rin felt Kazuki's body temperature was very high. *Did he catch a fever? Maybe it's because he took care of me when I was sick a few days ago?*
Carefully, Rin brought Kazuki into the living room and laid him on the sofa. She hurried to get a cloth and placed it on Kazuki's forehead. Then she took a blanket from Kazuki's room and gently covered him.
"I hope you get well soon, Kazuki…" Rin whispered softly.
This was the first time Rin felt so worried about Kazuki. She herself didn't understand why her feelings could be like this…