Souta began stretching, a cocky grin on his face.
"Yeah, sure. It's not like we're actually killing each other. We've fought before, brother," he said, rolling his shoulders.
Riku started warming up, but his eyes were heavy with unease. The echoing voice boomed through the arena, cutting through the tension.
"The match will begin in three…"
The brothers exchanged a glance, both shifting into ready positions.
"Two…"
Their muscles tensed, breaths steadying.
"One… Let the death match begin!"
Riku blinked, his stance faltering. "Death match?"
His hesitation was all Souta needed. A heavy right hand slammed into Riku's face, sending him stumbling. A follow-up punch whizzed past as Riku barely managed to dodge.
"Do you really want to kill me?" Riku shouted, ducking under another strike.
Riku threw an uppercut, but it missed by a wide margin. "Damn it!" he hissed.
Souta's fist connected with a crushing hook to Riku's jaw, sending him reeling. Blood dripped from Riku's lip as he staggered back.
"Even twins can fight so differently," Kazuya muttered from the stands as Souta pressed the attack.
Riku hit the ground hard, gasping for air. Souta moved in for the kill, aiming a powerful kick at his brother's head. But Riku caught his leg mid-swing, glaring up at him with daggers in his eyes.
"Is that all I mean to you? Just something to throw away for money?"
Souta froze, his face suddenly empty. "It isn't about that anymore."
Riku's grip tightened around Souta's leg, drawing blood with his nails. "What is it about then, brother? We didn't come here to kill each other, did we?"
Souta's voice cracked as he spoke, his hands trembling. "Only one of us can survive in the end. One of us has to see Mom's tears. She's dying, Riku—dying—and there's nothing we can do to stop it." Tears streamed down his face as his voice broke into a sob. "This hurts me too. But one of us has to die here. It has to be the stronger one... or else the winner will lose everything in the long run."
Riku's eyes widened, stunned. "You're right... but I wish it wasn't you I had to stain my hands with."
Riku gripped Souta's leg tighter, his nails cutting deeper. Souta leaped back in shock as Riku rolled to his feet, a burst of speed catching everyone off guard. A sharp kick sent Souta crumpling to his knees.
"No way!" Daiki shouted from the stands. "How did he move like that?"
Riku charged, but Souta managed to evade his strike. "Seems like this fight will last longer than we thought," Kazuya observed grimly as the brothers squared off again.
"One of us will end this!" Souta roared, rushing forward.
Riku threw a flurry of punches, driving Souta back into a defensive guard. "You can't keep this up forever!" Riku taunted, hammering away.
Souta's guard faltered, and a solid blow slammed him into the arena wall. Blood spilled from his mouth as he gasped for air. "I knew you were holding back," Riku growled, closing the distance.
Souta smirked through bloody teeth. "So was I."
With lightning speed, Souta dodged Riku's next punch and delivered a brutal overhand strike that sent Riku crashing to the ground. Before Riku could recover, Souta began stomping at his head. But Riku managed to block, his arms absorbing the blows.
"You can't keep this up forever. Your words, not mine," Riku snarled. He rolled out of range and lashed out with his heel, slamming it into Souta's head.
Souta's skull bounced off the floor, and his vision blurred as darkness began creeping in.
"I… I will survive," he murmured, pulling something from his pocket. His trembling hand revealed a knife.
With a desperate thrust, Souta stabbed the blade into Riku's leg. Riku cried out, stumbling back and clutching the wound. "Where did you get that?"
Kazuya checked his own uniform and pulled a small weapon from his pocket. "Hey, guys! The uniforms have weapons hidden in them!"
Aiko gasped, pulling out her own knife. Its pink handle was adorned with butterfly designs. "Whoa! Mine has butterflies on it!"
Riku gritted his teeth and pulled a knife from his pocket, gripping it in reverse. "You've never been good with weapons," he taunted.
Souta grinned, cocky despite his injuries. "Cutting vegetables doesn't mean you can cut flesh."
Riku rushed him, slashing downward. Souta blocked the attack and countered with a knee to Riku's jaw. The force snapped Riku's head back, but he retaliated with a fake slash, following it up with a brutal elbow strike to Souta's temple.
Blood sprayed as Riku drove his knife deep into Souta's shoulder, then wrenched it free. Souta roared in pain, staggering back as Riku retreated to the edge of the arena.
"This is crazy!" Souta yelled, charging again. Riku slashed wildly, cutting deep into Souta's chest.
Souta gritted his teeth and lunged, stabbing Riku in the stomach. Blood poured from the wound, but Riku refused to fall.
"Are you insane?" Riku cried.
"No," Souta whispered, his voice cold. "I'm just not you."
Riku snarled and stabbed Souta in the chest. Souta coughed, blood dribbling from his lips. "Brother…" he gasped. With trembling hands, he yanked the blade free and drove it into Riku's stomach again and again.
Both brothers stumbled, their vision blurring as blood pooled beneath them. Souta smirked weakly. "I'm going to wi—"
Riku's knife plunged into Souta's neck, silencing him. Souta's body crumpled to the floor, lifeless.
Riku collapsed beside him, his voice barely a whisper. "Is this the end, brother?"
Souta's soulless eyes stared back. "I love you, Riku… the best brother I could ask for." His final words faded as his body went limp.
Riku nodded faintly. "I love you too… brother."
As his vision darkened, the booming voice returned.
"Fight one has concluded. Both fighters are dead. No winner."
Silence filled the arena. Then— "Next match will begin shortly."
back in the stands
Kazuya sighed, his gaze locking on Daiki. "I promise you, I'll be the winner."
Daiki twirled his knife lazily in his hand, smirking. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with."
The announcer's voice boomed through the arena once again:
"Let Kazuya Kaneko and Daiki Kobayashi go to the arena."
Daiki looked at Kazuya, his expression softening briefly, a glimmer of the friend he had been. "I guess this is it, huh?"
Kazuya clenched his knife, his jaw tightening as he nodded. "Yeah. I guess it is."
As he turned toward the arena, Kazuya caught Aiko's gaze tracking him. Her usually sharp eyes held a pleading look.
"Do you have something to say, Aiko?" Kazuya asked, pausing.
Aiko hesitated before speaking softly, her voice almost trembling. "I hope you win."
In the Arena
Kazuya and Daiki stepped into the center, the air between them charged with tension. They faced each other, standing mere feet apart.
"We've only known each other a short time," Kazuya began, his voice calm but steady. "But I could tell we would've been good friends."
"Yeah." Daiki clenched his fist, forcing a smile. "We really could've."
The announcer's voice echoed across the arena.
"Let the match begin in three…"
Kazuya pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean, muscular frame.
"Two…"
Daiki smirked, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Looks like this will be more fun than I thought."
"One... Let the death match begin!"
Kazuya spoke first, his tone almost casual. "You're the only man I've fought on fair terms—no guns, no ambushes, no backup. Just one-on-one. I guess I'll finally find out what I can really do."
Daiki didn't waste any time, charging at Kazuya. But Kazuya sidestepped with ease, throwing a punch. Daiki blocked it cleanly, his movements sharp.
"Seems like we were made for each other," Kazuya said, smirking as he sheathed his knife. "I don't want a weapon ruining the fun."
Daiki hesitated, then mirrored Kazuya, slipping his knife back into its holster. "Fine. Let's let our fists do the talking."
Daiki moved first, aiming a punch straight at Kazuya's solar plexus. The blow landed hard, making Kazuya grunt, but he retaliated immediately with a precise right hook that sent Daiki staggering.
Daiki smiled through the pain, wiping blood from his lip. Kazuya jumped back, baiting Daiki to chase him. When Daiki lunged, Kazuya slipped under his swing and delivered a vicious uppercut to his liver.
Daiki froze, gasping as the pain rippled through his body. Kazuya didn't let up, stepping in with a brutal kick to Daiki's chest that sent him crashing to the ground.
Kazuya stood over him, catching his breath. "Looks like I'm not disappointing you, Daiki."
Before Daiki could respond, Kazuya grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground—once, twice, over and over until Daiki's body stopped moving. Blood pooled around them.
Breathing heavily, Kazuya stood, wiping sweat from his brow. "Does that mean I win?"
Suddenly, a sharp kick slammed into the back of Kazuya's head, sending him stumbling forward.
"What the—how did you do that?!" Kazuya shouted, spinning around.
Daiki stood there, completely unscathed, a smug grin on his face. "I have to admit something to you, Kazuya."
Kazuya narrowed his eyes. "What is it, Daiki?"
Daiki smirked, his tone casual. "Since birth, I've had the ability to make a copy of myself."
Kazuya's expression twisted into confusion. "A copy? What do you mean?"
Daiki's smirk widened as a second version of himself stepped out from the shadows, identical in every way. "I mean this."
Kazuya stared, stunned. "So, it's true… there are people with supernatural abilities."
The revelation hit him like a lightning bolt. His mind raced as he remembered the rumors—the unexplained attack on the town in Japan, the destruction and chaos caused by mysterious individuals. "You're saying people like you caused the attack on the town?"
Daiki shrugged, his smirk never faltering. "Who knows? Maybe."
Kazuya clenched his fists, his blood pumping with excitement. "If that's true… it looks like I don't have to hold back anymore."
Kazuya's grin widened, his muscles tense with excitement as he tapped into a primal energy, almost animalistic in its rawness. He dashed toward Daiki with a speed that made the air itself tremble.
Daiki reacted instantly, sending a lightning-fast kick toward Kazuya. But Kazuya dodged it effortlessly, his movements fluid and instinctive. He swung a punch toward Daiki's face, but the clone appeared just in time, blocking the attack.
Kazuya's eyes narrowed. He flipped over the clone's head with agility, delivering a devastating kick that sent the clone crashing into a nearby wall. Daiki watched as the clone dissipated, only to recreate it almost immediately—but it was too late. Kazuya's strike had already left an opening.
Daiki felt a sharp pain and warmth drip down his left shoulder. Looking down, he saw blood staining his shirt. His left arm hung limply, useless. The pain surged through him, but he gritted his teeth, trying to focus.
Kazuya grabbed Daiki's damaged arm, using it as leverage to throw him into a nearby building. Daiki hissed in pain, but as he hit the ground, his mind raced.
Without hesitation, he created a clone, this time using it to tear off his mangled arm. The clone vanished just as quickly, but the look in Daiki's eyes hardened as he smiled darkly. "It's time to get serious." He grabbed a knife from his clone and, as if mocking the struggle, created several more of the weapons, each identical to the first.
His eyes burned with intensity as he looked at Kazuya. "I can clone objects more than myself, you see."
Kazuya stood his ground, undeterred. "What's that going to help you with?"
With a deep breath, Daiki cloned his right arm to his left side, his limbs regenerating before Kazuya's very eyes. He then unleashed his true power. "To do this." He charged forward, his knives multiplying in his hands, each one a deadly extension of his will.
He threw the knives in a flurry of rapid fire, each one aimed with deadly precision. Kazuya barely managed to dodge, twisting and weaving through the storm of blades. But as Daiki closed the gap, Kazuya realized he was facing death with every move.
His mind raced, and he reached into his pocket—only to be met with another slash to his neck. Kazuya staggered back, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, his heart pounding in his chest. "I underestimated you," he muttered, sweat dripping from his brow.
Daiki smirked, his clone standing beside him, two perfect arms now at the ready. He pressed forward, relentless, throwing his knives with deadly accuracy. Kazuya was on the defensive, his instincts screaming to find an opening.
Kazuya kept retreating, his mind running through Daiki's attack patterns. He needed to find the right moment. Then, it came—the briefest lull in the barrage of knives. Kazuya launched himself forward, closing the distance in a heartbeat. He kneed Daiki in the gut, sending the air from his lungs.
Before Daiki could recover, Kazuya landed an elbow to his jaw, snapping Daiki's head back. Finally, he delivered a right hook that sent Daiki crashing to the ground.
Daiki spat blood, his breath ragged. "Where did you get this power?" he gasped. His body was battered, but his pride remained unbroken.
Kazuya stood over him, cold determination in his eyes. "I have nothing if it wasn't for this. My organs wouldn't even be inside my body right now." He pulled the knife from his pocket, its cold edge gleaming in the light. "I'm a dead man walking."
With those final words, Kazuya plunged the blade into Daiki's throat, cutting off his words. Daiki's eyes widened in shock as the life drained from him. He gasped once, but it was all over.
The Announcer's voice echoed once more:
"Kazuya Kaneko is the winner of the second battle."
Kazuya took a slow breath, the weight of his victory settling in. His body ached, and his heart pounded in his chest, but he was alive. He wiped the blood from his hands and started walking toward the exit.
As he left the arena, he muttered to himself, "I guess I do have a last name after all."