Kazuo vs. Kaya — Part IV: Aftermath

The announcer's voice cracked through the air: "Kaya is unable to continue! Victory — Kazuo!"

For a heartbeat, the arena held its breath.

Then the noise hit — a roar swelling from the lower stands, rolling upward until it shook the very railings. Cheers, shouts, stamping feet. Some voices carried excitement; others disbelief.

In the squad stands, Sora shot up from her seat, tail flicking behind her. "Wooooo! That's my Team mate!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Tetsu didn’t even flinch at her volume — his pen was already scratching across a small notebook. “He used Torrent first to burst himself into the air, then again at his feet to accelerate. Who would’ve thought?”

Aoi had already turned to leave without a word. Tetsu's eyes followed him until he was gone.

Lyria leaned back in her seat, arms folded. "He won? Eh… I mean, of course he won. After all, he managed to ring me out in the battle royale," she said with a sharp little shrug, though her gaze lingered on the arena longer than her tone suggested.

From there, the view swept upward to the captains' gallery.

Setsuna leaned back in his chair, rice cracker between his teeth, eyes never leaving the arena. "Guess I deserve a rice cracker now," he said, brushing crumbs from his gloves with lazy precision.

Jin's gaze stayed locked on the cracked floor where Kazuo still knelt, chest heaving. "I'll admit it," he said, voice even but firm. "I misjudged him — and water magic. I thought he'd be worn down before he could break through."

"You weren't wrong to think it. You just didn't count on how stubborn he can be." Setsuna said mucnhing on his snacks.

Stubborn… or raw talent? Idris wondered. Smoke curled in the air as he lit a cigarette with his left hand. The sleeve on his right side hung empty, shifting faintly with the breeze. He leaned forward, the ember glowing as he took a long drag.

He didn't just use Riptide Cutter — he infused its pressure into the blade itself so he could attack without snapping his palms. Channeling magic through a weapon isn't rare — it's used often to fight more efficiently. It's called Resonance. Kaya's been doing it all match; her gauntlets are stone, after all. But this… this looked like his first time trying it. Which means Setsuna didn't teach him that at all. He figured it out here. Alone.

He tapped ash into the tray, gaze still fixed on the cracked arena floor. The ember flared again as he inhaled, then dimmed. Only then did he glance sideways — just enough to catch Setsuna in the corner of his vision. What exactly do you see in this boy, Setsuna?

Vaskel gave a sharp exhale through his nose, leaning forward on the rail. "Pff. He might've won, but it was worth watching him bleed every second. Besides—" he stood, turning for the exit "—this is as far as he'll go anyway." His footsteps faded into the stairwell.

Meanwhile at the Royal Balcony. Lady Elyria exhaled.

He won… I'm so glad, Elyria thought, keeping the flicker of relief buried beneath her composed expression.

Cedric plucked a grape and ate it, his gaze steady on the field. "What is your evaluation?"

She glanced at him briefly, then back to the arena. "At first, I was excited to see water magic on display. But it seemed weak… shallow. Then, when he adapted, it shifted. It became sharper, more creative. It caught my interest."

Cedric sipped his wine. "And Kazuo himself?"

Elyria's lips pressed together before she answered. "He fought with more resolve than I expected. He is more talanted than he let's on."

Cedric leaned back slightly. "How do you see the crowd?"

Elyria's eyes flicked across the nobles seated nearby, scanning their faces before answering. "They seem divided — still unsure what to make of him. But it isn't anger, and it isn't revolt. If anything, it feels cautious… curious. Different when they saw him at first in the battle royale"

Cedric's fingers tapped once. "Indeed."

Down below, the noise became a muffled hum — Kaya's world narrowing to the cracked stone beneath her.

The roar of the crowd blurred into a dull vibration in her skull. Stone dust coated her tongue. She couldn't lift her arms and her gut burned.

Defeat.

Her father's voice cut through the haze, sharp as a blade: Failure is not an option.

This was supposed to be my redemption. My chance to prove him wrong, to restore the honor and pride of our family name.

Instead, I failed.

He defeated me. I let every doubt my father ever spat at me take root and grow. I didn't just lose — I fed the very humiliation I swore to erase.

Kazuo.

Kaya forced herself to look at him, bracing for the smirk, the spark of arrogance, the silent claim of victory.

But her thoughts stumbled. What is this?

There was no gloating in his eyes. No triumph. Not even pity. Only a steady, unyielding determination — the kind that couldn’t be faked.

Is this willpower? The sheer drive to endure, no matter what stands against him? she wondered.

She remembered his words: that he was forced into this. That he wasn’t here to play hero or tear down the system — only to survive.

Did he actually mean it?

Her mind pressed in with sharper questions. Why have I been so certain he was arrogant? A fraud?

The answer rose bitterly. Because that’s what the nobles taught me. The very system I was raised to defend told me that someone with the eye of a slave could never stand as an equal.

And yet here he was. The truth, staring back at her in silence.

"…You were right," she said, the words leaving before she could stop them.

Kazuo’s eyes locked on hers. He hadn’t looked away once — but the nearness of her presence knocked the air from his chest.

"You said there's a thin line between ignorance and pride," she continued, her voice sounded defeated. "And I crossed it. I was so ignorant… I made you the catalyst for my anger, fed by these stupid nobles and their poison."

Kazuo's stance wavered. His knees buckled, and he sank down until he was half-sitting on the cracked stone, one hand braced to keep himself from toppling. His breathing was uneven — ragged, each inhale scraping against bruised ribs. I still don’t understand why I’m the one you need to use to restore your pride and honor,” he said slowly. Then his gaze hardened. “But if nobles are raised to judge someone before even speaking to them — before they’ve had the chance to prove themselves — then that’s the real problem. You decided what I was before I ever had the chance to show you otherwise.

Kaya stared at him, the weight of the truth heavy between them.

"I don't hate you, though," Kazuo said — quieter this time, almost an afterthought.

The words echoed in her mind. Her eyes twitched in surprise.

Her vision swam. Strength slipped from her limbs, and the last of her breath shuddered. She lost consciousness.

Kazuo held the gaze a bit longer then let out a breath and collapsed, losing consciousness too