"The greatest discovery of all time is that a human can alter his future by merely altering his attitude." - Oprah Winfrey
Bakura stands beside Hayami, his arms still moving stiffly. "You can do it, Hayami. Me and Kaijou believe in you."
Hayami's heartbeat quickens. This is it. Everytime Kaijou and Bakura had teached her about combat... was about to pay off.
Kaijou stops her before she steps into the arena. "Hold your horses there. Remember, it's all or nothing here. Suki is a formidable herself, but we've taught you a lot— win this not only for us, for yourself."
Hayami nods, almost tearing up at Kaijou's speech. "I will, even if I failed— I'm glad I met you both. You two are like... a family that I never knew I had."
Kaijou and Bakura smiles warmly. She wipes her tears, and step into the arena with determination.
Infront of her, there she sees. Suki. As she braces herself, she glances back at Kaijou and Bakura, who smile happily as her gaze meets theirs.
Thank you— for putting your trust in me.
The referee stepping in between them, with his hand raised highly. "Hayami Kishou versus Suki Kiseichu— round 1..."
"Begin."
Suki circles Hayami like a predator sizing its prey. "Hayami, tell me. What motivates you in this cruel place?"
All of a sudden, before Hayami could even speak, Suki had already land a kick towards Hayami.
Hayami parries the kick away with her hands. "You wouldn't know it...", she steps back to give herself some space.
"Let me guess." Suki's gaze fixates on Hayami's stance. "Is it freedom? Is it Kaijou's approval? Or is it Bakura's?"
Hayami clenches her teeth. "No. I don't fight for them. I fight for myself!"
Kaijou and Bakura watches above. Hayami standing up on her own, without any fear, even if it's just for a second. Sounds like a promise that has been fulfilled.
Hayami steps forward, rolling her shoulders, her violet eyes gleaming under the arena lights. There is no hesitation in her stride, no uncertainty in her expression. She chooses to fight, not because she was told to, but because she refuses to be another cog in the machine.
Suki vanishes. A blur of motion—quick, deceptive, weaving between the shifting steel platforms like a shadow. She isn't attacking. She's searching.
Hayami remains still, her gaze sharp.
She's waiting for me to move first.
The tension snaps.
Suki lunges, a flash of speed—too fast for hesitation, too slow for certainty. Her palm shoots toward Hayami's throat.
Hayami moves with minimal effort but maximum control. A precise tilt of the chin. Suki's attack glances off her skin-nothing more than a whisper.
Then comes the counter.
A devastating kick...
CRACK
Suki gasps—her ribs ablaze with pain. The force sends her stumbling back. But Hayami isn't done. She steps forward, pressing the attack.
Suki barely evades the next strike, her breathing ragged.
"You hesitated," Hayami says coldly, shaking out her leg. "That's the first step toward losing."
Suki bites her lip, she knows— she's not like Hayami, not like Sora, not like any of them...
she tries to steady herself. Her heartbeat pounds against her ribs, but her mind is elsewhere.
I can't lose.
If I lose, I'll be left behind.
I will be nothing...
Suki shakes vigorously, not because of the pain, nor the exhaustion. But... out of fear.
She moves again—this time, reckless. Her footwork is erratic, wild, her strikes fueled by desperation. A flurry of attacks, no pattern, no calculation-just sheer need.
Hayami dodges effortlessly. Left. Right. A pivot. A shift.
But Suki isn't stopping, she lunges too close.
Hayami narrows her eyes. A mistake... She catches Suki's wrist—twists it. The girl yelps as Hayami spins her momentum against her, slamming her onto the floor.
Gasps ripples amongst the crowd... even surprising Kaijou and Bakura.
Suki trembles beneath her grip. She doesn't move. She can't. Tears start to form, she curls up into a ball.
I... lost. Now... they will discard me, right? Everyone would not care about me... Just like how it usually is. Without him, what am I?
The referee steps forward. "The winner is—"
"Wait." Hayami's voice is firm, cutting through the noise like a blade.
She crouches beside Suki, then, in a voice only the two can hear, she mutters. "You didn't fight for yourself, that's why you lost."
Suki's crimson eyes flickers. She lifts her head to see Hayami's figure walking away. Her mind carrying a painful turmoil, that she doesn't want to acknowledge. A tear falls from her cheek...
"The winner is Hayami Kishou."
Sora, on the other hand, exhales through his nose. He doesn't look disappointed. If anything—he looks amused.
As if he had expected this outcome all along.
"Well," standing up from his seat. "That was interesting."
He walks past Kaijou, he pauses. A smirk tugging at his lips.
"I wonder, Kaijou... will you disappoint me too?"
Kaijou doesn't react. He doesn't even look at him.
Instead, in a voice so quiet that only Sora can hear, he whispers something that makes Sora's smirk vanish. "I'll make sure, pain is the lesson."
A chilling promise.
Sora's crimson gaze sharpens—then, after a second, he chuckles. But there's something different in his expression. Something that almost resembles... intrigue.
The other Ascendants murmurs, uncertain. This isn't the battle they had expected. Yet, in the grand scheme of the fights, it is just another move in a game far greater than anything they could understand.
The cracks in the system were beginning to show.
Hayami had won, but it wasn't just a victory for herself. It was a symbol. A symbol of those who chose to fight back.
But across the arena, another symbol remained. Unshaken. Untouched. Sora leaned against the railing, his posture relaxed, his smirk lingering. A king who had yet to draw his sword.
A god waiting to be challenged.
A voice echoes throughout the arena. With full enthusiasm, the voice announces. "Wow! What an emotional fight before the storm. No one could have expected Hayami would win, right?"
"With all desserts served, each Ascendants are waiting for one inevitable clash, aren't we?"
"Then, I'll gladly announce, the final fight. The duel everyone has been waiting for..."
"Kaijou Kuronami versus... Sora Kagehashi."
Cheers erupt from the stands, as every Ascendants were surprised. Finally, it's going to happen, sooner or later. The fate of everyone rest between these two.
Sora's heartbeat quickens. Finally... his excitement is palpable.
Kaijou stares at their names coldly. His mind races with plans, even advices from Shibuma came but he ignores them.
This is his fight, not anyone else. Not for Kaede, not for Bakura, not for Hayami... but to redeem himself. The chance to prove himself back after Raito's death.
Yamada chuckles in the surveillance room. "Now... the ultimate test for you, Kaijou. Just one step closer to your delusional freedom."