After school Yuki decided to go home first before heading to the Kyorin Residence. At the apartment, the atmosphere was thick with a different kind of tension. Yuki had left for the Kyorin Residence, ignoring Hana's pleas to rest. Now, Hana and Luna sat on the floor, staring at the sleek black box sitting on the table.
"So... you're really an AI?" Hana asked, poking the box with a hesitant finger. "Do you have a brain in there, or is it just wires and stuff?"
A flicker of blue light pulsed on the box's surface. "My 'brain,' as you so crudely put it, is a multi-layered neural network that makes your biological synapses look like a child's abacus," Kira's voice rang out, sharp and haughty. "And please, stop poking me. Your fingerprints are oily."
Hana huffed, crossing her arms. "Fine, Miss Grumpy Box. If you're so smart, tell us about those scars. He said a 'crazy uncle' did it. Was he lying?"
"The 'Crazy Uncle' was a metaphor," Kira replied, her voice losing its edge. "The truth is far more clinical. Those scars weren't accidents, and they weren't just from a fight. Most of them were from the a brutal torture regime designed to force the Kinatarou bloodline to its absolute limit. That scar across his torso? He was six years old when he got that."
Hana's face went pale. "Six? Who does that to a child?"
"An uncle who values power more than his own blood." Kira snapped.
At the Kyorin estate, the garden was eerily quiet. Lord Genji wasn't in his usual chair. Instead, he stood on the high balcony, his hands clasped behind his back, with Seri standing several feet behind him.
Genji watched as Yuki limped into the white circle. The boy's movements were stiff, his side heavily taped under a fresh shirt, but his eyes were like flint. Genji's eyebrows twitched—a rare sign of genuine surprise. He actually came back. Does he have a death wish, or is he simply too stubborn to die?
Tetsu waited in the circle, his stone skin already active.
"Begin!" Genji's voice echoed from above.
Yuki didn't rush in this time. He took a deep breath, and the air around him began to shimmer. He vented a massive amount of Ki, creating a thick, blinding Ice Mist that swallowed the entire circle.
Using his Kizo like this would certainly drain him of his Ki, the backlash would great but Yuki didn't care anymore. He had to get stronger and he was willing to do anything.
Inside the fog, Yuki dropped to a crouch. He slammed his palms against the stone. A layer of blue, frictionless ice coated the floor, turning the arena into a skating rink.
Tetsu shifted his weight, his heavy stone feet sliding slightly. For the first time, the "Mountain" looked off-balance. Yuki lunged through the mist, moving with surprising speed despite his ribs. He didn't aim for a punch; he aimed to use Tetsu's own weight against him.
But Tetsu was a master for a reason. Realizing his footing was compromised, Tetsu didn't try to balance. Instead, he raised a massive, granite-heavy fist and slammed it vertically into the ground with the force of a falling meteor.
CRACK-BOOM!
The shockwave shattered the ice floor into a million jagged shards and sent a tremor through the garden that nearly knocked Yuki off his feet. The mist was blown away by the sheer pressure of the strike.
Tetsu stood in the center of a cratered floor, his eyes locked on Yuki. He wasn't smirking anymore. He was waiting.
As the dust from Tetsu's shockwave settled, the garden fell into a suffocating silence. Yuki stood amidst the shards of broken ice, his chest heaving, his vision swimming in a sea of grey and red. He was at his limit. His ribs felt like burning coals, and his heart hammered against them like a trapped bird.
I can't reach him like this, Yuki thought, his teeth bared in a snarl. If I can't match his strength, I have to become a wall myself.
He closed his eyes, and a surge of Kizo—colder and more concentrated than ever before—erupted from his core. The air screamed as moisture crystallized instantly. To the utter disbelief of Lord Genji and Seri on the balcony, the ice didn't just form a weapon; it crawled up Yuki's legs, over his torso, and across his shoulders.
In seconds, Yuki was encased in a full-body suit of jagged, Spartan-style armor. The Blue Ice shimmered with a lethal, metallic sheen, a helmet with a high crest masking his battered face.
"He's... reinforcing his entire skeletal structure with ice?" Lord Genji whispered, his grip tightening on the balcony railing.
Seri stared with awe and disbelief.
Yuki didn't wait. He lunged.
The clash was a symphony of violence. Yuki engaged Tetsu in a brutal, close-quarters exchange. Throwing punches that sent waves throughout the entire garden. Every time Tetsu's granite fist slammed into the armor, shards of ice flew like shrapnel, but Yuki didn't back down. He swung with everything he had, but his movements were sluggish, weighed down by exhaustion and the sheer mass of the armor. He wasn't able to land a single punch.
Tetsu moved with terrifying efficiency. He slipped under Yuki's guard, delivering three rapid-fire punches to Yuki's midsection. The spartan armor cracked. Another hit—a devastating hook to the head—and the helmet shattered.
Yuki's armor disintegrated into a cloud of frost, and he collapsed, hitting the cratered floor with a sickening thud.
"It's over," Genji stated, turning to lead Seri away.
"I'm... not... done!"
The shout was raw, a primal roar that stopped Genji in his tracks. Yuki was back on his feet, swaying like a tree in a hurricane. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, and his hair was matted with sweat and dust, but his eyes were glowing with a terrifying blue light. His glasses were gone, shattered by Tetsu's punches.
"I'm not done yet, you pile of rocks!"
Tetsu didn't hesitate. He stepped in and delivered a full-force punch directly into Yuki's gut—a blow meant to put a man through a concrete wall. Seri covered her eyes immediately, she couldn't bear it anymore.
But Yuki didn't fall.
He took the hit, his feet sliding back an inch, and used the momentum to pivot. He wound up his right arm, pouring every last ounce of his remaining life force into his fist. He threw a punch so violent it tore through the air with a high-pitched whistle—a sound like a scream cutting through the garden.
Tetsu's eyes widened. For the first time, the "Mountain" felt the cold breath of danger. He threw his head back, the knuckles of Yuki's fist grazing the tip of his nose.
Tetsu scrambled back, jumping nearly ten feet to create distance, his breath coming in sharp bursts. He touched his nose, looking at Yuki with genuine shock. He had nearly been hit. By a zero, a weakling.
Everyone—Genji, the guards peeping through the bushes, even the wind—seemed to freeze. Yuki stood there, his fist still extended in the air, a silhouette of pure, unbreakable will.
Seri's eyes sparkled with admiration in his will. To her, at this moment Yuki seemed like nothing but a beautiful warrior.
Then, the light in his eyes flickered out. His body went limp, and he collapsed forward into the dust, finally surrendering to the darkness.