Tobi coughed hard, the sound scraping the back of his throat as he clutched at his ribs, every breath slicing through him like a blade. His vision was still smeared by the dust that hung thick in the air, swirling like a gray curtain, and he could barely make out Amelia's figure beside him. Her wrist was bent at an ugly angle, the skin already swelling and bruising around the bone, and she groaned through clenched teeth as she forced herself up to her knees. He did the same, though slower, his hands shaking uncontrollably, his chest tightening with every frantic breath.
'Shit... I can't... I can't breathe...'
The panic sat heavy in his chest like a weight he couldn't push off. His head buzzed, his heartbeat deafening in his ears, and for a moment everything else—the gunfire echoing in the distance, the screams, the pounding footsteps on the stands—felt muted.
Amelia snapped him back. "We gotta fight! Dammit, we gotta fight this guy—"
Her voice bled through the haze, but Tobi couldn't hear her clearly. His body was frozen. The kind of fear that didn't just shake your legs but wrapped itself around your lungs and throat until even breathing felt wrong. Amelia grabbed his hands, firm despite her injury. Her fingers were warm against his trembling palms.
"Look at me, Tobs… look at me…"
He forced himself to lift his head. Her eight watery, bloodshot eyes—raw, angry, alive—pulled him out of the panic like a rope thrown to a man drowning. His breathing slowed, not steady but less jagged, and he nodded slightly, even if the fear still knotted itself tight inside him.
"Breathe," she whispered, though her voice was rough. "I need you right now."
Tobi looked past her to Leo, who was approaching without a hint of hurry. His steps were almost casual, each one echoing through the emptying rows of seats, the black and gold of his Zodiac robes swaying lightly as if this entire fight was nothing but an inconvenience to him.
"How cute," Leo drawled, his grin wide, too relaxed for someone walking into a fight. "Now, tell me. Where's the hideout?"
Amelia spat on the ground and rose, dragging Tobi with her. She stood tall despite the pain twisting through her wrist, her shoulders squared, knife in her good hand.
"We're telling you jackshit."
Leo's grin didn't fade. If anything, it stretched wider, like he'd been hoping for that answer. "Good," he said, sliding on black brass knuckles with slow precision, as though savoring the moment. "I guess I have no need for you anymore."
He kept moving forward at an easy pace. Amelia tightened her grip on the knife, scanning the ground for her gun. She spotted it just behind him, glinting faintly through the dust. Tobi raised his arms into a shaky stance, though his knees trembled beneath him. He expected Leo to rush them. Instead, Leo lifted one leg high—flexibility unnatural for someone with that kind of build—and brought his heel down with terrifying force. The ground cracked beneath him, and a cloud of rubble and dust exploded outward, swallowing the stands in a gray shroud.
Amelia and Tobi pressed their backs together, instinctive, their eyes darting through the curtain of swirling dust. Amelia's voice was sharp but tight with tension. "Where is he…"
She didn't finish. Her eyes widened as she caught a blur in the corner of her vision—a foot slicing through the dust, aimed for her head. Before she could move, Tobi grabbed her collar and yanked her back. His forearm took the hit with a sickening crunch that echoed in the stands. Tobi gasped, the impact lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing back into the haze.
"TOBI!"
Amelia spun around, coughing through the dust, but Leo had already disappeared again, moving like a predator slipping through tall grass. She could hear his footsteps, but they bounced, light and unpredictable, surrounding her.
"Come out! You pervert!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the smoke.
Then she saw them. Two glowing hazel eyes at the edge of the dust, crouched low like an animal ready to pounce. Her knife came up, but Leo was faster. His uppercut slammed into her stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs before she could even react. She folded over, a dry choke ripping from her throat, and Leo's fingers tangled themselves in her short hair. He slammed her against the railing with casual cruelty, his breath hot and raspy against her face.
"You don't wanna come with me?" he wheezed, his voice carrying a sick amusement that made her skin crawl. "We could have some good fun…"
She swung the knife for his neck, but his hand caught it mid-thrust. The blade sank through the center of his palm with a wet, ugly sound, blood running down his wrist and dripping off his elbow. He looked down at it, and instead of pain, there was only delight twisting his grin.
"Ah… look at that…" he whispered.
He pressed down harder on the blade, forcing it deeper until her knuckles met the hilt. His fingers curled around hers, slick with his blood.
"We're already holding hands…" he giggled through a wheeze.
Amelia snarled, twisting and thrashing. "Get off me!"
Her boot connected with his knee, buckling it. His grip on her hair loosened, but just as she pulled free, Leo's mane was suddenly yanked back by Tobi. For a second, it seemed like he had him, but Leo twisted with impossible speed, flipping over Tobi's shoulder and using the momentum to kick off him, freeing himself. His landing was smooth, almost playful, as if this wasn't a fight but a warm-up.
The dust began to settle. Tobi's breaths came in ragged bursts, his arm throbbing where the bone had nearly shattered.
"Don't t-touch her…" he forced out, voice cracking but determined.
Leo laughed, wiping blood from his palm like it didn't matter. "You're a liar, puppy eyes. I thought you said she wasn't your woman. Or maybe…" His voice dipped lower, darker. "…maybe she's your sister. Either or, move outta my way."
His expression shifted then. The grin didn't vanish, but it sharpened, his hazel eyes narrowing with a predator's focus. He lifted his blood-soaked palm, still impaled by the knife, and ripped it out without even flinching. The blade clattered onto the floor.
"Let's make this fun," Leo whispered, and his stance lowered, every muscle coiled like a spring.
The only thing Tobi and Amelia could do...was prepare themselves.