Seven days later.
Karu grovels on a cliff, barely awake. His eyes open and catch Kanon sitting on the edge, smirking at the ruins below. The dojo—once a monument of strength—now nothing but broken timber and ash.
"So as I thought… seven days was all it took" Kanon thinks, his gaze sliding to Karu as the boy struggles to his feet.
The wooden dojo collapses in on itself. The most prestigious dojo in all the lands, reduced to splinters. Birds scream overhead. Lightning cracks the sky. Rain hammers the cliff where only two figures remain. One smirks. The other stands still, empty, as if his home was never more than a stepping stone.
Karu's face is stone. The wind pulls at his hair but he only crosses his arms, watching in silence.
"I really did lose everything in one day. Zen. Dad. Sensei. Even the dojo. But for some reason I am not sad" Karu mutters, voice flat yet sharp enough for Kanon to hear.
Boom.
Kanon vanishes and appears behind him. His hand clamps around Karu's skull, grip crushing. He leans forward, forcing Karu's eyes toward the ruins.
"Look at it. Take it in. Your home. Your family. All dead. And you're calmer now than when you fought me" Kanon growls, pressure digging into Karu's temple until blood drips to the ground.
Karu does not flinch. His glare is iron. His lips curl into a faint chuckle.
Kanon pauses. For the first time his smirk flickers. "Is he even human" he thinks, grinding harder, testing him. But Karu's eyes only flare red, burning back into his.
"Why am I enjoying this" Karu thinks. "Why does it make this demon sweat"
His eyes dim again. He sits down, legs stretched out on the wet rock. His voice is cold.
"You're right. That dojo was my home. My family is gone. And all I do is laugh."
Kanon studies him, finger resting on his chin. Slowly, he grins.
"In eight hundred years I've never met a human this irritating. Yet somehow… one of the most intriguing."
He steps closer, lowering his voice.
"You act like you don't care, but I still think you have feelings for your home."
Karu hugs his knees, rocking faintly like a boat in rough water. His voice barely rises.
"Really"
"I don't get you kid" Kanon mutters. He presses a finger to Karu's forehead, nails carving into skin until blood runs. Karu doesn't move. Instead he grips Kanon's shoulder with sudden force.
"Listen" Karu whispers, voice sharp as steel. He rips Kanon's arm away and hurls it aside. His eyes burn crimson. "I don't care what you think. All I want is to get stronger and kill you."
Tension coils through him like a drawn blade.
"You don't know how far I'll go."
Kanon gasps before breaking into laughter. In a blink he vanishes and reappears at Karu's side, eyes fixed on the ruined dojo. His lip bleeds from biting too hard.
"I expected you'd want to kill me. Obvious, since I wiped out your dojo." He grins, voice low and venomous. "But will you keep your word. Will you really go that far."
He leans close, whispering in Karu's ear.
"Would you wipe your entire village."