Kazuo vs. Kaya – Part II: Shards and Surge

The shards formed a perfect X orbiting around Kaya, each line rotating in opposite directions. They stayed locked to her body, moving as she moved, spinning so fast the air around her hissed.

Tetsu adjusted his glasses. "This is bad."

Sora flicked an ear. "Why?"

"Because you can't just charge her. That vortex moves with her — and stepping in means stepping into the stream. It'll tear him apart before he gets close."

Kazuo circled, trying to find an angle. The X-shape shifted with her footwork, cutting off every approach. He waited for the smallest opening — and in that heartbeat, a shard broke from the pattern, snapping straight toward him.

He dodged the first. The second. But the third caught him across the side. The impact flared white in his vision, followed by a chain of explosions as more shards struck home. Dust and heat tore against his face, his jacket tore and pain burst across his ribs and shoulder. The cuts burned like fire, raw air stinging the open skin. His sword clattered away, skidding across the runes.

Through the haze, Kaya's silhouette advanced, the X spinning around her like a living wall.

Before the dust fully cleared, he hurled a massive spinning shuriken of water.

Her eyes narrowed. "Again? Tch—"

She stepped into a sidelong dodge, the shuriken hissing past — but Kazuo was already behind her, boots slamming down for balance. His elbow drove hard into her back, the impact solid enough to force a stumble.

The vortex reacted instantly. Shards whipped outward, scoring fresh, burning cuts across his side and elbow as he disengaged. He grit his teeth and backed off, chest heaving.

Argh! This hurts like hell!

Tetsu slammed his palm against his forehead. “Is he stupid??”

“Looks like it.” Sora answered.

Kaya straightened slowly, head turning just enough to glance over her shoulder at him.

She didn't speak — but the weight in her gaze said enough.

Kazuo kept circling, sword angled low, eyes locked on the shifting pattern of the shards. "Seriously — what's your problem with me?"

Her gauntlets flexed, the vortex of stone tightening around her body. "You really wanna know?"

“You so badly want to be someone important,” she said, voice sharp and rising. “The one hero. The one who changes the system. The one they’ll talk about when it’s all over.”

Kazuo shifted his footing, adjusting his stance. “What are you talking about?”

“That’s who you are, isn’t it? Acting like you belong here — with those eyes. Like you’ve earned this.”

“I don’t care about the system. Or anything like that,” he snapped, the words biting. Eyes serious.

Her rhythm broke for the first time — a half-beat hesitation, the edge of her focus slipping.

“I do have empathy for the lower class, yes,” he went on, circling the ring edge. “But this is not my battle. I’m not here to prove anything, or to change the system. I simply don’t care.”

The words landed like a hammer, selfish and unpolished.

"I'm here because I'm forced to be here," he added.

Her gauntleted hands tightened.

"But what about you?" Kazuo pressed. "Why are you here?"

For a moment, her eyes hardened — then, in her mind, her father’s voice rose again, low and cutting: You disappoint me. Failure is not an option.

Her jaw set. “To defeat you,” she said, every syllable heavy. “And restore my pride, my honor… and my family name.”

She lunged. The shards surged with her, slashing forward in a violent sweep.

Kazuo slipped sideways. He countered with a swift slash of his blade, steel singing — but the vortex spun tighter, deflecting the strike as if the air itself was armored. Sparks burst and died between them.

Kazuo disengaged with a sharp step back, chest rising with the effort. “Restore? What does that have to do with me?”

She did't answer.

Kaya’s breathing sharpened, the rhythm of her vortex losing its perfect X-pattern. Shards still spun around her, but slower now.

Kaya slammed her gauntleted fist into the ground, the impact cracking through the platform. Her voice rang out, steady and sharp:

“Stone Magic — Pillar Break!”

The arena shuddered, faint cracks spidering out from her boots. Kazuo tensed, weight shifting, eyes on the runes beneath his feet — here it comes.

But the ground didn't erupt.

Instead, the tremor cut off, and the vortex around her snapped tighter. Hidden between the larger stones were razor-thin shards, flickering like glass.

"—Wait—"

Kazuo brought his sword up to deflect, steel flashing as he batted two shards aside — but the next barrage cut through. They scored across his ribs and shoulder, tearing fabric and flesh alike.

His grip faltered. The sword spun from his hand, clattering across the floor.

“Argh!” He staggered back, one hand clutching the burning gash along his side, one eye squeezed shut against the pain. His sword clattered out of reach, but he forced himself upright, chest heaving.

The last shards skimmed past and died, the glow of her Arcane spell bleeding away.

Through the dust, Kazuo straightened — bleeding, jacket in tatters, but still on his feet.

Kaya's breath hitched. Crap… I'm exhausted.

She adjusted her stance, lowering her guard and exposing her vitals — chest, neck, and stomach all unguarded.

From what I've heard… he can't kill.

Kazuo's eyes narrowed, reading the bait instantly.

His gaze locked on hers.

"You know… at first, I didn't understand why you dodged the big shuriken when everything else didn't work."

He winced slightly, shifting his stance to keep weight off his injured leg.

"But now I get it." He opened his eye.

Her gaze didn't waver.

"It's because of the compressed water pressure, right?"

She said nothing. But her gaze got even angrier.

Kazuo snapped his hands together, arms thrust forward, fingers straight like twin blades. The sound cracked through the arena — clap!

“Water Magic: Riptide Cutter!”

A needle-thin beam of compressed water shrieked across the platform, ripping from his palm. It carved a clean line through the arena floor and grazed her side. Blood bloomed instantly.

Kaya's eyes widened, her body flinching with an instinctive half-step back. Her hand went to the wound, pressing hard.

"Don't assume just because I won’t kill you… that I can’t cut you."

The words carried across the hushed platform, settling like steel.

At the Captains’ Gallery, silence broke only when Jin leaned forward. “That’s… dangerous. For a standard spell?”

Setsuna’s mouth curved faintly. “And why is that a problem? Are you saying Kaya is allowed to use dangerous spells, but Kazuo isn’t?”

The remark landed sharp. They exchanged cold stares, but Jin leaned back in his chair without another word. Idris’s gaze flicked between them.

Sora's tail twitched. "So he did have a new spell. This is insane — he really wasn't bluffing."

Tetsu’s thought flashed sharp and quick: what a beast.

"But why wait until now? He could’ve ended the match sooner."

Aoi, still watching the ring, spoke without turning. “Because it wasn’t the right time. He used the big water shuriken twice — merged into one — to see why she dodged it. Now he knows. He waited until her Arcane faded, so the shards couldn’t shred him before he got close. And to activate that spell, he needs both hands — once he lost his sword, he knew this was the only way to erase the disadvantage in an instant.”

Both Tetsu and Sora turned in surprise as Aoi spoke up, his gaze fixed on the arena. “

Tetsu’s realization hitting. “…So the whole fight—”

"A gamble," Aoi finished. "He didn't know if her Arcane would fade in time. But if it did… this was the only shot."

Kazuo's gaze was serious.

"You talked about pride and honor," he said, voice low but carrying across the arena. "But you know… there's a thin line between ignorance and pride."

He stepped forward, water gathering at his palm.

"And I think you crossed it."

Kazuo steadied his footing, shoulders squared. “Now it’s my turn.”