Aka was deeply impressed by the fight he had just watched — but his thoughts didn't change. He stepped into the center of the arena and stood in front of Number 32, raising his guard. 32 quickly composed himself as well and prepared for their fight.
Aka made the first move, rushing toward 32. By now, his speed was average compared to the rest of the crowd — but it was still clearly slower than 32's. Aka threw a punch from 32's right side. 32 failed to dodge — he was about to take the punch head-on… but at the last moment, he grabbed Aka's arm and pulled him forward.
Aka hadn't expected this. Caught off guard, he froze for a split second — and 32 landed a solid punch straight onto his nose. Seizing the opportunity, 32 slipped behind him, hooked his leg, and sent Aka crashing onto his knees. Just like he had finished off Number 55, he was about to finish Aka as well.
But Aka, now kneeling on the ground, did what 32 had done in the previous match. He grabbed 32's incoming kick and pulled him off balance, then scooped dirt from the ground and threw it into 32's face. This time, it was 32 who was shocked — and the opportunity shifted to Aka.
Aka threw his first punch — and 32 collapsed to the floor.
Filled with the thrill of his first victory, Aka waited in the arena for his next opponent. But 32 wasn't finished yet. Crawling forward, he kicked Aka's leg out from under him, sending him to the ground. Aka had never expected to be tripped by someone he thought was already unconscious.
The advantage returned to 32. He landed two or three punches on Aka — but he was exhausted, so the blows weren't very effective. When Aka got the chance again, he kept punching 32 until he was absolutely sure he had passed out.
This time, Aka waited until some members of the crowd carried 32 away to a corner. Then he turned back to the ring, wondering who would face him next. The person approaching was the only one he could call even remotely familiar here — Number 29.
29 stepped into the arena and spoke.
29: "Rookie, I won't lie — even though 32 was tired, you fought well. I didn't expect you to beat him."Aka: "Thank you."29: "Give me a good fight too, okay? Even if you lose, give it everything you've got."
As soon as 29 finished speaking, Aka charged forward again and aimed a low kick at him. 29 leaped gracefully into the air and, while still airborne, landed a powerful kick straight into Aka's face.
Aka had never seen a move like that before. He was stunned — but at the same time, a strange sense of pride flickered inside him: 29 had used such a flashy move on him.
For the first time, even though his opponent was stunned, Aka didn't immediately counterattack. When the dizziness faded, he lunged at 29 again — and this time, he tried something new. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around 29's waist. Apparently, 29 hadn't expected this — it even looked a bit ridiculous from the outside. But Aka didn't stop. Summoning all his strength, he lifted 29 and slammed him onto the ground, then sat on top of him.
If this hadn't been a brutal fight club — if the crowd hadn't been cheering for blood — Aka's move might almost have looked romantic.
Aka began punching 29 in the face while tightly gripping his hands so he couldn't throw dirt like 32 had. But what Aka didn't expect was that 29 would knee him straight between the legs.
It was the first time in his life Aka had been stunned that badly. He toppled sideways in agony. This time, 29 didn't hold back — he pinned Aka down and started punching him.
He was also laughing hysterically, clearly enjoying himself. Aka, on the other hand, felt like he was going to die. He tried every trick — every dirty tactic — to get up, but he couldn't. As a last resort, he decided to use the same "fainting trick" 32 had used on him.
He pretended to pass out.
And strangely — 29 fell for it, just like Aka once had.
Aka did exactly what 32 had done to him — he tripped 29, knocked him to the ground, and climbed on top of him again… but this time, his punches no longer felt strong.
Aka was exhausted too. Because of that, 29 managed to push him off and reclaim control of the fight. He beat Aka badly — but didn't let him lose consciousness. Then he took Aka's arm… and without a second thought, broke it.
Aka was on the verge of fainting from the pain — but 29 grabbed a dagger from someone in the crowd and made shallow cuts across Aka's skin, keeping him awake. Then he took Aka's other arm — and broke that too.
This time, Aka couldn't endure it anymore. He blacked out.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the familiar stone floor next to the Healer — but this time, he wasn't alone. 29 was there as well. After the Healer left, he spoke.
29: "Hey again. How are you, Forty-Seven?"Aka: "Get away from me. And my name is Aka — don't call me Forty-Seven."29: "One more piece of advice: forget your name — fast. Otherwise the instructors won't show you any mercy."Aka: "I thought we were… friends. Or at least acquaintances."29: "If we've met, doesn't that already make us acquaintances?"Aka: "That's not what I meant."29: "By the way — nice rodeo, rookie."Aka: "Rodeo?"29: "You know — taking turns climbing on top of each other? You really are a rookie."
Aka blushed and told him to shut up.
29: "Alright, rookie — I'm going to say something serious now. You look like you've learned the basics — using dirt, faking unconsciousness, things like that. But you're still missing something important."Aka: "What do you mean?"29: "To survive here, you need savagery. If you're not wild in a wild place like this… you'll be prey."Aka: "After putting me through all that pain… why are you helping me now?"29: "I wanted to be the first person to help you get used to pain. And as for why I'm helping you—"
29 leaned in and kissed Aka passionately. Aka froze, not knowing what to do — he just stood there. Once 29 felt that he had complete control, he pulled away, gave Aka a meaningful smile, and stepped back.
29: "There. Did you get your answer?"
Then he turned and walked away.
Aka was left there, embarrassed and speechless. But after a while, he gathered himself. Taking advantage of the fact that his exhaustion had faded, he headed straight back to the training area on the north side of the hall — and began training again.
Heyyy, hi again! Honestly, I'm having more and more fun writing with every new chapter. I still haven't really been able to dive into any of my main concepts yet — right now it kinda just feels like the very beginning of Nano Machine — but I truly believe that, after a while, it's going to turn into something completely unique in every way. Please believe in it with me!!!
And as always, thank you so much for reading or even just checking it out. If you have any thoughts — good or bad — don't hesitate to leave a comment. I'll always try to reply. 💛