As everyone got ready to move to the swordfight spar, Daya approached Yuma with a smile. Even though she was smiling, he found it unsettling.
"So... how does the loss feel?" Daya asked, clearly teasing him.
"You knew he was going to lose, didn't you?" he sighed softly.
"Yep," she chuckled.
"He's never understood how to actually fight, even when we were little," she continued, still chuckling lightly.
Yuma scrunched his face in surprise as he turned his head towards her. He never knew they had known each other for so long.
"You've known him since you were little?" he asked, curiosity lifting his tone.
"Since middle school," Daya replied quickly, not wanting to keep going.
Yuma almost couldn't believe she had opened up for even a second, but the high of winning the bet must have loosened her tongue. He wanted to press for more information, but Daya changed the subject before he could pry any deeper.
"Want to go double or nothing?" she offered, hoping he'd be dumb enough to agree.
Yuma paused for a moment because he had just lost the last bet.
"I'll even let you change who you bet on," she tempted.
Now Yuma was intrigued. He could potentially win back his money and then some. Without hesitation, he nodded his head and placed his bet in her open palm. He added another 1000 yen into her hand, ready to win.
"Alright, 2000 on Akira!" Yuma gleefully bet, overconfident in his choice.
He knew Akira was a master with the blade; after all, he went up against him with his sword while training with him. Daya took the money and stuffed it into her pocket before mentioning who her bet was on.
"I'll pick Aymar this time," she said casually as she walked away to pull Keisuke and Kae into the double-or-nothing bet.
Yuma watched her walk away, completely confused by her choice. Why would she pick Aymar, especially in sword fighting? For a second, his confidence wavered—but then he reminded himself who he had bet on. It was Akira. Of course Akira would win.
After an hour of downtime, everyone gathered at the kendo dojo not far from the gym in Akira's basement. Yuma wouldn't really call it a basement, though; it was more like a penthouse beneath his massive mansion. As the others entered the dojo and removed their shoes, Keisuke, Kae, and Daya lined up against the wall beside Yuma. Akira and Aymar left to change into the training armor in the changing room. Yuma turned toward Keisuke and Kae, curious who they had bet on.
"So... who did you guys bet on?" Yuma asked carefully, hoping he wasn't the only one who chose Akira.
Keisuke looked at him with bravado.
"Akira so quickly; I'd be stupid not to pick him," Keisuke scoffed arrogantly.
Kae just nodded, joining Keisuke's sentiment about his bet on Akira. Glancing at Daya, Yuma realized the situation was the polar opposite of what he feared. She was the only one to bet on Aymar.
"Hey Daya... you know you're the only one to bet on Aymar, right?" Yuma pointed out to her.
She gave him a simple glance and a grin before looking forward again. Yuma stared for a moment, then shrugged.
'Her loss'
A few minutes passed before both Aymar and Akira stepped into the room together, both donning kendo training helmets. Both held their shinai at their sides as they took their places across from one another. Yuma stood up and walked to the middle of the mat, his hands raised once again, just like he did during the boxing bout.
"Uhm... welcome back, I guess?" Yuma started, completely unsure of how to start the match.
Although he couldn't see their faces, Yuma knew Aymar and Akira were staring at him like he had already messed this up. Still, he pressed on, improvising the rules as best he could. He had never seen a kendo match before, let alone judged one.
"Uh... Since I have no clue how this works, we'll play it like this... If you hit the helmet, that's two points and ends the match. If you hit the body, that's one point and ends the match at two hits to the body. Got it?" Yuma explained.
Aymar audibly sighed and nodded, wanting the match to start already. Akira nodded too, though Yuma could tell he felt differently about the improvised rules. Once both sides agreed, Yuma dropped his arms to signal the start and hurried back to the wall beside Keisuke.
The four spectators watched quietly as Akira and Aymar inched toward one another. Once Akira stepped into range, he swung overhead at Aymar's helmet. Aymar blocked it cleanly and answered with a quick hit to Akira's side, earning the first point. Akira backed up and composed himself before returning to striking range, his shinai held forward.
This time, Akira wanted Aymar to move first. He waited for the slightest flinch, ready to block and counter. Aymar seemed calmer, almost like he understood the trap immediately. He gave Akira exactly what he wanted, swinging toward his side. Akira blocked it and quickly returned the strike, aiming for Aymar's head. Aymar stepped back, dodged with ease, then tapped Akira's helmet to end the first match.
"Aymar won the first match," Yuma declared, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
As soon as he announced it, his faith in Akira shrank. He heard Daya stifle a giggle, as if she already knew the bet was over. Kae and Keisuke both held back groans as Aymar's skill sank in. It was becoming painfully clear that they were all about to lose their money to Daya.
The two boys reset, and the second match started without Yuma's cue. Once again, they closed the gap carefully, but instead of striking, Aymar decided to make things easier for both himself and Akira.
"Men only?" Aymar asked calmly.
"Yeah... better than the bull Yuma made up," Akira said with a small nod.
After the brief exchange, they took two steps back and returned to their starting positions. Both held their shinai forward, ready to strike for the head. Just as Akira raised his sword, Aymar snapped forward and struck his helmet.
Akira froze, shocked by the speed. By the time he processed what had happened, Aymar was already back on his side of the mat. Whether Akira liked it or not, Aymar had taken the point. He lowered his arms and returned to his side, frustration visible in the stiffness of his posture.
Yuma stared in shock at how quickly the match ended. Keisuke finally broke and groaned loudly at the loss.
"Aw man, I lost my money..." Keisuke huffed in defeat.
"Damn..." Kae whispered to herself.
Before Yuma could announce Aymar's win, however, a third match had already started. Aymar and Akira closed the gap again, but this time, both were going all out. Every strike was met with the loud cracking of the shinai's blocking. The two were stuck in an aggressive attack-and-block pattern that neither one could break. Akira suddenly seemed to be much more skilled and focused, while Aymar grew serious about Akira. The two kept at it for over 4 minutes, perfectly blocking each other's strikes. It only ended when Aymar stopped playing defense and feinted a strike, then followed up with a real strike, hitting Akira's helmet. That ended the match and forced Akira to stand down as Aymar looked at him with his sword down.
"Good match," Akira stated coldly, disappointed in himself, before bowing slightly toward him.
Yuma stared hopelessly at Akira, practically feeling his wallet drain. Keisuke and Kae wore the same faces of despair before Keisuke collapsed to his knees, utterly defeated. Daya was the only one smiling broadly, reveling in the joy of winning both bets. If she had been any more expressive, Yuma could have sworn she would break into a victory dance while chanting Aymar's name.
Yuma got up and raised his arm toward Aymar.
"Aymar won!" Yuma announced to everyone.
Akira accepted his defeat and clapped slowly for Aymar's victory. Given Aymar's earlier arrogance during the boxing match, Yuma was surprised he didn't rub the win in Akira's face. Still, he wasn't going to dig into that now.
With Aymar taking the sword match after Akira's earlier win, the score was even. That meant there had to be a tiebreaker. Yuma lowered his arm and started thinking. There could only be one winner and one reward. After a while, he found the perfect way to break the tie—this time, on his terms.
***
Yuma sat beside the TV as Aymar and Akira sat in front of it, white controllers resting loosely in their laps. This was the perfect tiebreaker: something he knew neither of them would be good at. Video games were the one medium only he and Keisuke had real experience with.
Keisuke sat next to Yuma, fully focused on the screen as the game's title flashed with bright animations and colors. Akira and Aymar looked at each other in confusion, then turned to Yuma at the same time.
"Dead or Alive 6?" Aymar asked, still confused as to why a fighting game was chosen.
"Seriously?" Akira muttered, just as confused and disappointed as Aymar.
Yuma nodded and gestured for them to continue. Akira glanced at Aymar, who only shrugged and pressed play. When the character selection screen opened, Yuma watched their choices closely. Aymar selected Hayabusa, while Akira selected Bayman. Neither choice mattered much, but Yuma felt he could still learn something about them from it.
The screen shifted to a random stage, then to each character's entrance animation. Once the countdown ended, the match began—and to Yuma's shock, both of them played at an elite level.
Yuma had completely misjudged them. He never would have imagined Aymar was good at fighting games, let alone Akira. He had assumed they were outside people, the type to spend their time training, messing with people, or building their lives instead of staying home with a controller.
Keisuke's sudden "OH!" snapped Yuma out of his thoughts. He turned back to the screen just in time to see Akira win the first round. Yuma barely had time to process it before the second round began.
Aymar came in with a stronger tactic, the loud clacking of his controller betraying how intense he had become after the first loss. Akira felt the pressure and defended with equal effort, his posture even mimicking Aymar's as he leaned closer to the screen. Akira kept defending until he found an opening and counterattacked with strange, intense combos that forced Aymar to focus fully on the game.
"Wow, they're so locked in" Keisuke muttered to Yuma without looking away.
"Seriously..." Yuma replied, his voice shaking a bit in excitement.