26 Vs 3

“Dad, teach us how to fight.” Yuka stood in front of the TV, blocking her dad from watching. Her dad, Daigo Ishikawa, moved his head trying to see behind her.

“I'm retired, I can no longer fight.” He boredly dismissed her, using the remote to flip the channel.

“Dad…” she trailed off before she crossed her arms. “WE are getting bullied, Hayato and I.” 

Hayato stood on the side, holding his backpack tighter, awkwardly embarrassed. Her father looked at her then at Hayato. They both had bruises, their cheeks red, from being beaten down. He let out a sigh. “How did you even get in this position?” 

“I declared war on our bullies.” Her thumb on her chest, proud.

“And the poor kid got dragged into it, didn't he?” Daigo gave him a sympathetic look.

“Dad!” Yuka looked offended. She was doing it for Hayato. “Should I go to your rivals instead?”

“No, no, I'm better than them.” Daigo immediately stood up. 

“They definitely seemed more skilled.”
“No! If you saw me in my prime, none of them could defeat me.” He fell for her blackmail, and beckoned them to follow him, as Yuka smiled, pulling Hayato with her to go to the street across from them, where the rundown dojo was.

Ever since that day, they both trained under her father's guidance. A martial artist who had more than twenty years of experience. Yuka, at some point, started to skip classes frequently to focus on sharpshooting. For a long time, only Hayato, had consistently trained for four years. It was another one of those days where Hayato was sparring with Daigo. Hayato fell on the ground as Daigo pressed his foot on his back, holding his arms high.

“Do you know what's your problem, Hayato? You are a better fighter than Yuka but you have a good heart. A soft heart. You hold yourself back.” Daigo shook his head, letting him go. Hayato massaged his arms, wincing, switching this position to sit upright.

“I'm not holding back—”

“You are.” Daigo cut him off, bringing out a cigarette, and lighting it up. “It's a big weakness of yours. The enemy doesn't care about your good intentions, Hayato.”

He placed the cigarette between his lips, taking a long drag and puffing it out. “You believe the outcome will be good no matter what, that nothing will go wrong and that everyone will see your good outcome, but Hayato, most people won't.”

Hayato heard this from him a couple of times and he didn't know why he needed to change who he is. “But... if I lead by example, won't it show them my unwavering resolve? I don't want to hurt anyone. If I hurt people back, I won't be better than them.”

He was very stubborn. “That sentimentality will be your downfall, Hayato.”
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“Misuki, RAN!” Yuka yelled. Misuki pulled herself away from Hayato's hands and limply ran. Ryota wanted to chase but Hayato stopped him. 

Yuka on the ground summoned multiple swords and had them sink down into Apollo, who was holding her down. He let out a brief cry before going limp, his body shrinking to its normal size. His size saved her from being impaled by her own attack. 

She pushed him off her. That Ryota guy, if only I can copy his abilities, but he is a tough one to get close to. She glanced at Hayato and Ryota before running away from the fight, choosing to retreat. She saw Misuki ahead, limping away, and she immediately carried her, keeping her by her hip as she got away.

“What are you doing, Genesis?” Silvia looked at him worriedly, her real body hidden somewhere so only her clone is present. 

“You are Genesis now, no one should know your identity. If anyone finds out, you will be skinned alive.” Evan's warning rang in his head. They don't need to know she was his sister. It doesn't matter whether she was or wasn't.

“Do you think it makes sense we are hunting a child? Are we going to kill a child just because we are asked too? Aren't we better than this? She isn't an enemy. She is a child. A small, scared girl whose only crime is being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. If we kill her to save ourselves, won't we just be evil?.” He asked, hoping they would see the reasoning behind his words.

Silvia seemed to muse on his words, however, Ryota laughed. “Shut up.” 

“Bu—”

“Save your hypocritical speech for yourself. We were going to kill that woman—” he mentioned Yuka. “—but suddenly it changes because the target is a kid? If we keep her alive, then what? Does it stop these games? No, right? We will still kill someone next round.” 

“No, I- I didn't mean that. A child is different from an adult—” he suddenly felt nervous. He was right. He wanted to take his revenge on Yuka, so he didn't care, but now that he pointed it out, he was wrong to even try to hurt Yuka. He suddenly felt guilty. “You are right, we shouldn't have aimed for her either. What I mean to say that I have a way to win this game without hurting anyone—”

Dodge. His thoughts said out loud. Hayato felt confused, trying to keep his train of words. “— I can't guarantee everyone will be alive but most of us can win—”

Dodge. His thoughts again, repeated, and his body moved on its own, throwing himself into the ground. A blaze of fire flew past his previous spot. He is trying to kill me. 

Hayato looked at Ryota. Flames danced on his palms and he swung his hand as Hayato dodged again.

“If you listen to me, I have a plan that I believe will work—” A wild, erratic flame burst.

“Genesis, watch out!” Silvia shouted, her clone coming from behind Ryota to launch an attack but unlike everyone, she never was a fighter so the hotter and brighter flame burned her clone and she screamed from her hiding spot. She ran around, bumping into the trees, falling, holding her own body, and rolling on the ground. “IT HURTS!” 

So this is the weakness of her abilities? While she had no scar, for him, if he took that attack, the results would be different. He would be a goner. His moves seem very… predictable?

Hayato slid underneath his outreached hands, and did a two-combination uppercut to his torso then chin. He pushed his feet forward, slipping between Ryota's legs and grabbing his wrist. If my observation was correct, he can't engulf his whole body. Hayato pulled him forward, over his shoulder, to slam him down into the ground.

Ryota gasped at the throw. 

“Hayato, do you know why Yuka always wins against you even when you are much better than her? Because she only thinks about what it would take to win… you don't.”

Daigo's voice rang in his head. If Yuka were in his position, she would have followed it with a kick to the face to make sure he stays down at all costs but… Hayato pouted slightly. He couldn't do it. 

He instead decided to run towards Silvia, she lay on the ground not moving. He picked her to his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. “Come on Silvia, it's not over!” 

He flew to the sky to find Misuki easily from high above. 
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Yuka ran and ran, her eyes wildly noticing every shift in the scenery. The bright green came into her view, and she immediately braked, pulling the trigger. The bullet hit him in the head, and she continued running immediately afterwards. I need to practice shooting while running. 

“Do you see any hiding spots, Misuki?” She depended on Misuki to look for a hiding spot while she looked out for the enemies.

“I think there is a cave over there!” Misuki gestured, and Yuka shook her head. “Too obvious, but maybe… it's the best spot at the moment.” 

She changed her direction and headed towards the cave. On her way there, she felt a presence behind her. She hopped, twisting mid-jump, her gun ready. She saw a fluff of brown hair, but instead, he ducked, clutching his head. She almost pulled the trigger but stopped herself in time. What is this? Another… kid? 

He was shaking, crouched down, flickering between bird and human forms. What an interesting ability. “Kid, What's your name?”

He peeked an eye open, confused why he isn't dead yet. “Umm, Youngwoo.” 

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen?” He answered as if it were a question.

“So Youngwoo, want to join our team?” Yuka asked, and Misuki threw her a look from beside her hip.

“Aaaa? Why would I switch to red?” He blinked, looking at her innocently.

“Because we are going to win, so you should obviously be with the winning team,” Yuka declared.

He stood up, hands on his hips. “You clearly are the losing team here; I'm already in the winning team, nobody thinks red will win.”

Yuka clicked her tongue. “You really believe that?” She looked at him disappointed, and he felt offended by the look. “This is your only chance to join.” 

“I refuse.” 

Yuka looked at him disappointed again.

“Why are you looking at me like that!” 

“Your loss.” Yuka shook her head and turned around. “Don't come crying to me when you lose.”

“I WON'T!” Levi yelled at her retreating form as he pivoted harshly, walking away, quite upset, before a realization hit him. “Oh, I was supposed to kill her.”