[HARUKI]
"Sondra Dynamite wins!!!" The Red Helmets cheered for their leader.
They had expected this, but it was also unnerving what they had seen on the battlefield. No one would've mentioned it, because no one ever spoke about General Kira's battlefield around him.
Yet they would talk about it later when the general had left for his home. But there was no now; this was the best of sights for them. General Kira is winning.
"What is happening today?"
"No one has ever flipped him, ever."
"This is a battle of the best versus the best. Of course, someone is going to come," a Red Helmet said proudly to the Black Helmets of Craenia. It wasn't a sight they were used to, and it was humiliating.
So much so that King Yuma retreated.
"I have seen enough," King Yuma clicked his tongue.
And Konno heard him.
Watched the king's back as it retreated.
It was the reminder of the one thing he had never had in his whole life.
Failure.
But Konno was never trained for failure.
In that moment, the warrior decided this was a battle to the death. If General Kira was still going to play nice and land soft blows, Konno was going to do him the same favor.
He would use that against the man.
"You'll pay for this," Konno glowed as he got himself up fast. He hated what he had seen already and was determined to fix it. He was going to make sure his legacy of being undefeated was worth something.
To anyone.
"Get used to being defeated, Konno," Haruki mocked as he gripped his sword harder. He knew this was to be any easier than it had been before. He could see the pure spite in Konno's eyes, the rage and the determination to get a win out of this.
And it was confusing for Haruki for a moment, because this was not right. It was one thing to come to battle for a victory, but it was not to fight to the death. Some would feel some type of way about it.
Then again, it was not the time for them to figure out who was telling what. Besides, the battlefield needed no emotions. Maybe rage. But then rage was a great motivator.
"The eyes are watching, brother," Konno suddenly said in a pleading, low, dangerously soft voice when their swords clashed, and each was pushing against the other cruelly.
Haruki froze.
That was his greatest mistake.
He faltered.
Konno took that chance to drive his sword into Haruki's abdomen, not stopping even then, the sword could be seen on both ends of the warrior who had never been bested, or touched by any blade on the battlefield.
"We will never be equals," Konno spat as he pulled the Sondra Dynamite into him, dragging the sword through the warrior's inside before he pushed Haruki back and pulled his sword to him.
It was a sight that no one had ever seen.
The shock, the disbelieving gasps soon erupted into anger and disbelief.
"We won!!!" the Black Helmets cheered gleefully.
Saito stared at them, anger radiating off of him as he gripped his sword tighter.
"Burn them all!!!" Saito growled, and that was all his fellow red helpers needed to resume the battle. He didn't care that they had lost now.
"No Black Helmet leaves this battlefield in one piece," Saito declared angrily.
The battlefield roared back to life once again. This time, it wasn't just for the fun of it or even teaching darn Craenia a lesson. This time it was for what they believed in, for who they believed in.
Their Sondra Dynamite.
"Finish here, I'll get to General Kira!" Saito shouted over the clashing of swords.
And the Red Helmets… didn't even respond.
Well, they did. Not with their words. Just their swords that were cutting through Black Helmets like that was the only thing that they had to do.
Meanwhile, where the Sondra Dynamite and Konno were, Haruki didn't say a word. Didn't even let out a gasp of pain when the blade was pulled out of him and driven back in one more time on his other side.
"Pathetic," Konno muttered, clearly unimpressed.
The Sondra Dynamite, however injured, could see the opening. He could deliver a lethal strike. He could end this. Hell, the Red Helmets would go home winners. It wasn't that difficult a decision.
But for the first time in Haruki's life, the stakes were impossibly higher.
The realization sat heavily in his chest because he knew.
This was the one battle where victory would mean losing.
Again.
And in that moment, the unexpected happened.
Haruki used whatever was left of his spiritual energy to create a portal. No one had expected that. Not even Konno.
There was a flicker of confusion in Konno's eyes for a split second, but it was all replaced by a smirk, like he already knew what Haruki was planning.
But Haruki…
He was thinking. Considering. Trying to understand.
He could take Konno with him through the untraceable portal and leave the battlefield without any key warriors.
No one would be able to track him, and he would finally get his answers while he healed. That was the most enticing of choices.
But time wasn't something he could manipulate.
Not to mention the eyes on them.
So, Haruki made the choice for himself. He looked at the familiar ghost one more time, his face blank and unreadable. Then he looked at the warriors who were fighting around now.
He could see Saito coming in his direction, probably to come and check on him. With one last look, Haruki stared at Konno, like a man who was committing a face to memory.
Then he dragged himself in, leaving his men and team on the battlefield with only the sour taste of the unbelievable on their tongues.
The Sondra Dynamite had not been bested.
But he had made a choice.
A very dangerous one.