Rayazaki's side.

I'm not dumb. Every single one of them just thinks that I am someone who doesn't even have the capacity to form a single rational thought.

"Hahaha. Oi. Don't be like this. It's anticlimactic if you just go dead silent like that in the middle of the climax after all that shit you spoke to me. You afraid or something?"

I'm not afraid. I'm never afraid.

Shit.

Even though I hit him with a massive barrage of punches, he is still retaliating. What's worse is, the fucker took a bite out of my fucking fist.

Honestly, I could not give a shit about whether or not I leave this underground or whoever I fight next.

Nobody beats me more than once.

Yes, that's right.

I'm not someone who is invincible, as a matter of fact, I am someone who is far from invincible. Throughout my whole life, I've been beaten over so many times yet it was never more than once.

Should a second time come, then I always turn undefeated.

This fucker is not an exception.

I'm also done underestimating him. From this moment on, I will fight him as if I'm facing my nemesis.

"Yo, Rayazaki!!! I knew that you were a pussy but, haha, this is something else!!"

Ryoken's comment pisses me off. However, the main point of this act is to purposely bait the fucker to strike.

I've noticed certain things about him.

From our past battle, he took advantage of the pattern that I had. It's as if he held the first minutes in which he simply received strikes from me only to analyze me.

Fucker.

Unfortunately for you, between the time gap of our previous battle and the current one, nothing except revenge has consumed me.

He probably doesn't realize that I was the one who followed him when we were after the piece of gold.

All of that was for the sake of studying. I study whoever comes across me and defeats me. I always religiously analyze and find every single thing about whoever I will decimate a second time.

The way you breathe. The exact moment when you relax. The precise time where you think it's fine to relax. Your cardiac rate. Your dashing pattern. What gets you confident about victory. Your drive. Emotional triggers. Reasons.

It never really matters how they perceive me since I always evolve tremendously in that time gap.

"This isn't like you at all, Rayazaki? What happened to your fighting spirit?"

He doesn't learn, does he?

Ignorant like the rest, they always believe that I am incapable of changing myself or that I am incompetent to the point where I can't adapt to the situation at hand.

I will prove you all wrong.

"This isn't like me, you say? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you're talking now. Nice, nice. So, um, as I was saying, you would always rush in when you are fighting, but you haven't made a single move for the last minute. Did something happen?"

"No, not really."

Nothing really happened, in all honesty. That's right. Nothing is happening nor will it happen.

To go against the expectations of others, it exists a necessity to contradict the swirl of normalcy within the expected.

"Then, I will end this fight right here and now."

......

He's not joking from the look in his eyes. I've never been curious about until now but I wonder what sort of past does he has? No...

Is that really worth questioning? I'm fairly sure that every single person in my whole class has a fucked up past. It's only normal that the one who I'm fighting happens to have a fucked up past.

Regardless, the point of this observation is to find his emotional trigger. His reason for being.

"I will win."

There's a vast difference between winning and losing. But overall, the vastest difference lies between whether you win or you just make your opponent lose.

I will win; I will not make him lose. I will make myself win.

At last, he made his move. This time around he tried to rush to his shovel.

No way was I going to let that happen.

As soon as he gets in range of my striking area, I will allow him to grab the shovel. Then, I will strike him with my shovel immediately as he tries to back off.

"!"

...

"Wow, you were going to kill me just now, weren't you? Nope, no doubt about it. If I hadn't backed off, my head would've been sliced off from my neck."

It's not as if he made me use that move on purpose, but he just didn't have any other choice but to back off.

Also, it was about time I broke this rhythm.

"That's where you're wrong. Your neck will still get sliced off!"

By grabbing my shovel, I dug a massive portion of sand and threw it in his direction.

Furthermore, by throwing my shovel in his direction as a follow-up, this would give him no other choice but to move as I pleased.

"...!"

Exactly as predicted, in order to avoid the sand from hitting his eyes, he rushed towards the left. Rushing to his left side was something he would do. Because that's where he tried to pick up the shovel.

I'm fairly sure he realized that without a shovel that he cannot break through my onslaught.

Nevertheless, I rushed immediately to where he went and launched an attack with the shovel.

"...You're getting a bit annoying you know..."

"You're one to talk, Rayazaki. I-I can barely predict what you will do now...!"

Fancy words from someone who is using every ounce of his strength to hold the shovel's head just so it doesn't hit him. Yes, my attack was intercepted.

Though, that was already far from obvious. What was necessary was to think what after.

If he blocked my shovel attack, then he would be forced to use both of his hands to block it. Occasionally, it would be possible to block it by utilizing one hand, however, I put way too much impulse in that strike for that to become an option.

Hell, I couldn't care less about the shovel strike, the important part was that his hands were busy.

"Predict? Then... predict this, please!"

"!"

Most people froze just up at the moment instead of realizing how to utilize their bodies to the maximum. If your hands are busy, then use your fucking legs.

It didn't hit home, but that's fine.

I was aware that the left low kick that I threw had a chance of not hitting. It's a simple bait, at the end of the day.

Anyone can dodge a low kick by positioning their body well. In this case, he managed to avoid the left low kick by slowly jumping back.

This created a distance that he couldn't resist. An average person would lose from what he was about to do.

"Rayazaki, I really thought that you were up to something impressive, but if this is all, then it all ends her- KAHH!!!!"

It's nothing impressive.

Given that he repositioned his body in which I would be vulnerable to a side kick, it made perfect sense to utilize his own two hands which were holding my shovel to bring me closer.

Essentially, a flawless counter.

No, that's wrong. It's a good counter, but not flawless.

He brought me closer and launched a side kick which would be aimed at my stomach. Furthermore, my left leg was badly positioned. This was, by all means, a good move. Just not the correct one.

"This one is for my jaw."

I forgot to mention, even though he brought me closer to him, I did the simple thing of letting go of my hold which then allowed me to take some distance. Otherwise, I would not have been able to intercept the side kick.

No, I didn't intercept the side kick. I allowed it to be.

Ultimately, I moved to the side zone, in which, his side kick was completely visible. A simple body rotation to the left was enough to make sure I had the upper hand here.

This time around, it was your own mistake. You got impatient and prematurely assumed that I would not be able to fight back.

Crack.

A disturbing sound that signified the result of a bone being broken filled the tense atmosphere of this humid underground.

In the meantime that he had launched that side kick, since I was in a sideway, I immediately took a hold of his knee with my right hand and additionally grabbed his ankle. All this to make sure that he had no possible way to escape the attack that would decide the outcome.

Of course, since I was holding those two important components and he was in a position where he couldn't respond in any possible way, I fired the decisive knee strike which was aimed at the center of his left calf.

I had officially broken his calf with that knee strike.

"A-Aniki!!!!"

"Gaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!"

I really hate how observant I get whenever I am put in a scenario where I have to face someone for the second time. It's not my fault. It's yours for going up against me the first time.

Now then, it was time to finish the job.

He was holding on to his broken left calf while crying in pain on the floor.

Why though?

Does he not realize that it won't come back regardless of how much you scream?

What a bastard this fucker is. He breaks my shoulder and jaw which should indicate that you wouldn't complain if something similar happened to you yet he has the motherfucking audacity to be like this...

"God fucking damn it, you piss me off so much!!"

Since he was aiming to fuck my shoulder up, I will show you what it's like to fuck with something that's already broken from the get-go.

"GAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!"

"Take that! Take that! Take that! C'mon! What's the matter huh!? Not feeling too hot right now, are you!? You're all so fucking dumb! Did you all actually think that I would fucking lose this shit!? Don't fuck with me, you bastards!!! All of you!! You're all weak as shit!! As long as I exist, you all will never climb higher than me no matter how hard you try!!!"

Daniel's side.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!

Ah, shit!!! It hurts so fucking much!!!

Oh, I fucked this up hard. Nope, I'm not even sure if I can win at this point. Not with a broken left calf.

Besides, Rayazaki is continuously kicking my left calf with his right foot. He seems to have a grudge against me by the look of his face...

Well, of fucking course he does. This is basically a revenge match. He must have harbored so much hatred towards me that ruling this possibility out is utterly ridiculous.

Also...

Why is Rayazaki speaking to every single person in here and not me?

It's weird no matter how you look at it. Those words should be directed at me yet he seems to be more preoccupied with assorting dominance against everyone that is present.

Furthermore, it's actually a miracle that he hasn't knocked me out.

I'm standing on the ground suffering from his brutal kicks on my broken left calf but he could have ended this fight as soon as he unleashed that knee strike yet he's not even looking at me.

He's drunk on asserting supremacy.

Which means... It's now or never!

I have to just accept the fact that I have a broken calf at this point. This whole fucking pain makes me want to die but that's how it is. Fucking screaming about it won't solve this for shit!!

"GAAAHH!!!"

"Look at him! He tried to predict me again yet he failed miserably!! You're all equal to him!! What you do, I already did!!"

God fucking damn, his arrogant trash talk is pissing me off to a whole new extent! But what's pissing me off, even more, is that, despite his arrogant self-absorbed stance, he kept in check the possibility of my counterattack.

I tried to take a hold of his right foot but he immediately used his left foot while backing his right foot away to crush my right hand.

It's actually impressive that he is able to be so absorbed into the amount of shit he is speaking while effectively countering me at the same time.

"You were never anything praise-worthy from the damn start! You got damn lucky, but so, damn lucky that you actually thought you had a visible shot at beating me, didn't you!? Well, look around now! Only you and I are fighting and the winner is as a clear as sunlight!! I AM!"

For future references, I am never doing an in real life Street Fighter tournament like this ever again. Rayazaki isn't aware of how accurate his attitude towards this whole tournament is. Plus, he's not even acting, it's his fucking natural persona!!

Also, broken bones!? What the fuck man, I didn't sign up for this shit!

"However!! I am generous! I am aware of how superior I am in comparison to everybody who happens to share the same air as me! I understand the visible difference between I and someone who was born in my generation! Given that you are one of those unfortunate people, I, the ruler of this match, will give my ultimate decree! Daniel Lead, you are free to surrender! That's right! This is mercy! I am allowing you to pass on the chance of being knocked out cold!"

........

I had enough of this shit. I didn't want to use this set of methods but Rayazaki has gone too far.

I don't care if what I'm about to do is childish or immature, but after those words, no way in fucking hell am I losing this fucking match.

Uniting every ounce of my strength, I collect my spirit and resolution. Even though he was clearly smashing my calf's bone to the upper limit, I refused to give a shit anymore.

All this physical pain is partial. It's not a necessity to give a shit about it anymore. Yes, it does hurt. Of course, it fucking does. My point is, physical pain shoulder never be a priority in these types of situations.

"Rayazaki..."

"Alas, witness this scenario, mere fools! The clear loser has decided to speak in response to my solemn decree! Feast your eyes upon his answer!"

"...Your zipper is open... It's been distracting me this whole match."

I'm not lying, it literally has been disturbing the living hell out of me.

"....."

Given by the silence that everyone else, including Rayazaki himself, created, they were all staring down at one place alone.

"Yikes."

"Hahahaha!!! What the fuck, how come I didn't notice that!? This is hilarious as shit loooooooooool!"

"O-Oh my god, I think I'm gonna die from laughing so hard...!! Hahaha, my ribs!! Take me to a fucking hospital please!!"

"Y-You're all wrong!!! I always make sure to check my zipper in the morning!! H-He must have done it!!! You goddamn bastard, you will pay for this tric- WAAAAH!!"

I could have said that he had his zipper open a while ago, but his attitude was far too composed. Rayazaki, however, as soon as he got the complete upper edge of me, got way too cocky. Surely, he didn't abandon the possibility of upcoming counter attacks. In other words, the right time to use this information would be when he lost all of his past composure.

Nevertheless, as soon as he got absorbed into the opinions of my classmates, he became distracted. Therefore, I took that chance to grab his left ankle which threw him into the ground.

Swiftly after, I made sure to turn his whole body around, ultimately allowing me to be on top of his back.

It didn't matter that my left calf bone was broken, because Rayazaki's ankle was at such a close distance that I simply had to take a hold of it. Oh, also, Rayazaki, someone who is bothered by the opinion of others too much, stopped attacking my left calf just to check his zipper.

"Off me!! You'll fucking die, I swear!!!"

To be honest, I had to finish this right here and now. Rayazaki's physical condition was far greater than mine. A broken shoulder is less worrying than a broken calf. At least you can walk properly with a broken shoulder, but not with a broken calf. My whole dashing speed would be cut if we had a contest of speed yet again.

This time around, Rayazaki was unable to move because I was pressuring his broken shoulder. Additionally, since he was facing the ground with his back against me and not the other way around, there is hardly any way for him to come back from this.

However, I was not going to pressure his shoulder. The aim of the match is to knock him out, not to torture him.

"I never lose a second time! It's useless!! I will always win, regardless of the situation!!! Just accept the fact that you are going to lose and get off m- GAH!"

"Good game, Rayazaki."

"And we have a winner! A round of applause for Daniel, boys!!"

King George had given that order and thus, my fellow classmates, which were also in this tournament gave a shower of claps to me.

Thank you, thank you.

But, um.

Guys.

Why are you all smiling like so damn psychopaths?!

Oh right, you're all psychopaths.

Damn it!

Are you all looking forward to fucking your adversaries up this hard?!

I had bigger worries since I was walking out of the cell with only one leg, but it still disturbed me how no one was scared. After witnessing what just went down, you would expect there to be terror and fear, but nope.

These dudes are all hopeless as fuck.

"Aniki! Aniki" Over here!!"

With the match over, King George walked into the cell and carried the knocked out Rayazaki out of the cell. Simultaneously, Kuzan started to wave at me while calling me 'Aniki' out of respect.

Can't be helped then, I'll just ignore this massive physical pain to heed his call.

As I walked into the observation plane, I could feel a tense atmosphere amidst two certain individuals.

"Aniki!! What was that just now!? Is that like a secret ninja move?!"

Although he didn't say anything, Kan was looking in our direction sneakily.

"That wasn't a ninja move. I simply knocked Rayazaki out by targetting one of his pressure points."

"Wow! Amazing, Aniki! So, what's the name of the technique!?"

Kuzan probably just said that in hope that I randomly responded to him while saying something that would appeal his weird interest in ninja stuff. Yet, the move I used to knock Rayazaki out really has a name.

"What, are you interested in martial arts?"

"Of course! I love the gimmick of fighting!"

"Is that so? Alright then. It's called Brachial stun."

"Brachial stun!? So, if I use that on King George, will I be able to win!?"

"Kuzan, come closer."

Kuzan, just like me, is still young. And so, since we are young, we adore being foolish. But, this is too much. I can't bear what's about to happen to my boy.

"W-What is it?"

"Come on. Closer."

"Y-You aren't going to do anything weird, right?"

"Nope. Not at all. Trust your Aniki on this."

"Alright..."

Kuzan was acting a little too cautious. I would act too. Nevertheless, he finally closed the distance and so, I proceed to hug him.

"W-What!? Why are you hugging me!?"

"Yosh, yosh. It's going to be alright."

I vow to carry Kuzan's ashes after his fight with King George. Additionally, I will bury his body in a nice place where no one will bother his tormented soul. I'll remember Kuzan for being the one person who called me Aniki and who thought that despite all odds that he could knock King George out with a Brachial stun.

His soul was young yet wild.

"W-Why are you shedding a tear?! OI!!! I feel so mocked right now!!!"

"There's no reason to feel that way, Kuzan. You died a hero. Most people would probably shit themselves if they were up against such monstrosity yet you, in contrast, have shown great ardor for this. You have my infinite respect. I pray that your life in the farplane does not meet the same fate as this one!"

"What are you talking about!!! I won't die!!! You're overreacting, Aniki!!"

I wish I was overreacting, I really do.

"Daniel, could you tell me more about this 'Brachial stun' that you were talking about a while ago?"

Unable to keep on just observing Kan decided to ask that question.

"Google it."

"I don't have any mobile data and there's no fucking wi-fi here you dipshit!!"

"I don't care!! Don't interrupt me while I'm comforting a premature dead soul!!!"

Kan has no manners. Can he not see how sad this is!? Why is he not paying respects for Kuzan!!

Besides, I wasn't going to explain what a Brachial stun was. After all, there's nothing that says that I won't be against Kan any time soon. Although the technique is really easy to understand, it's hard to know when to apply.

"Tch. It's nothing special anyway..."

That's where you're wrong, Kan. A well-applied Brachial stun onto the side of the neck will cause the one who received it to lose complete consciousness. What Rayazaki suffered that gave him a surefire defeat was the result of an extremely well-timed Brachial stun.

To use the Brachial stun, you can use a variety of attacks, as long as they hit the side of the neck with accuracy. Furthermore, it needs a certain amount of power applied to it. I decided to apply a chop onto Rayazaki's neck from the left side which resulted in his defeat.

As to why I didn't want to use it earlier... Well, it could very well work in a death scenario. But, I'm confident that I haven't applied that much strength into it to come down to that.

"By the way, Aniki, who do you think is gonna win?"

"Who you ask...?"

I was, of course, aware of what Kuzan was asking me. Although the two individuals were not near us anymore, they had moved onto the fighting spotlight.

Though, honestly, I had no idea about the two individuals' physical prowess.

"Has anyone seen one of them fighting?"

Tsudo asked a really good question.

"I don't think so. But, since Akihiko and Tatsu mutually agreed to this tournament without any objections, I'm assuming that they have some sort of plan..."

Sagasuga was on point here. If you had any sort of complaint with the fact that we were basically playing Street Fighter in real life, then it would make sense to voice that complaint yet the fact that Akihiko and Tatsu mutually agreed with the rest of us means that they are confident about this in one way or another.

"Akihiko doesn't seem that strong honestly. I have no idea what type of crime he committed but I reckon that most of us have engaged in physical activities as a way to prepare ourselves for such troublesome occasions, right?"

True enough, Ryoken laid the truth out.

"Not necessarily. There are so many crimes that do not require the usage of physical activity. It would be an overstatement to say that both Akihiko and Tatsu are minimally physically prepared just because they might've committed crimes that require a well functioning body."

However, Sagasuga refused to agree. I share the same opinion as Sagasuga. Even though we are constantly on the blood for each other, that could simply be viewed as a defensive mechanism. Plus, Akihiko himself is only known for his self-talking trait. He never really showed to be physically intimidating unlike some of us.

Tatsu's the real mystery though. I have no opinion about him.

"So you're suggesting that one of them might not even be qualified to win this?"

"All I'm saying is, it's far more correct to assume all kinds of possibilities instead of immediately labeling someone as a weakling just because they don't possess any sort of visible physical prowess."

"But Sagasuga, isn't that awkward man? What sense does it make to not have any sort of physical prowess while agreeing into this whole tournament?"

"You don't really need any sort of physical prowess because we are armed with a lethal weapon if used correctly, Kuzan."

This time I'll disagree with Sagasuga. You do need physical prowess in order to win constantly in a physical tournament that requires physical interaction with your opponent.

"Why don't you all stop theory crafting and just observe? The winner is gonna be decided by the result of their fight, not by your words, you bimbos."

After Kan's reasonable proposition, silence hit the atmosphere. Our eyes turned front into the same place. We were all curious about the outcome of the match, so we feasted our eyes onto the present scenario.

But first, King George, who was putting Rayazaki's body in a special zone that was somewhat far away from our current location, had yet to speak.

"Alright, finally done putting the trash in its place."

I don't feel bad for Rayazaki. After all that trash talk, he deserves this.

"Now then! Since Daniel managed to secure the win against this trash can, the next match will begin! Who will win?! Trash can number 3 or trash can number 4!?"

King George's rude match introduction aside, I'm surprised that they haven't said a word to each other. They are both highly composed as well. What the hell. Are they that confident in that own abilities?

"Yo, wanna make some bets?"

"Fine by me. So, what are we betting?"

Shady words were going down between Kan and Kuzan.

"Money."

"Nope. I'm broke as fuck."

We all are broke as hell. I'm not sure what Kan was thinking when he proposed such a thing.

"Then... well... let's make weightless bets, I guess. Just for fun."

"Oh yeah. That works too. Well, I'm betting on Akihiko. Anyone who Aniki approves has my approval too."

I never approved of Akihiko. As a matter of fact, Tatsu's mysteriousness is far more alerting to me than Akihiko's unknown yet to see abilities.

"I'm betting on Tatsu then. I have no real reason as to why I should bet on him, but I certainly don't have a reason to bet on Akihiko. The dude just seems way too kind for some reason. I never have sensed a shred of malice coming from him."

Well, Kan was right. For a supposed criminal, Akihiko was behaving like a goodie. There was nothing off about him except the fact that he refuses to keep his thoughts inside. But, that wasn't exactly being witnessed right now. He had not spoken a word.

"My bet's on Tatsu too. I share the same reasoning as Kan's."

"Same thing. No way Akihiko wins this. Someone who doesn't have the balls to face a girl is bound to get rekt in any scenario."

Said Sagasuga and Tsudo. So far, only Kuzan was betting on Akihiko. Kan, Sagasuga, and Tsudo were all betting on Tatsu to win.

"But he was against a chainsaw, though. Either way, my bet's on Akihiko. He might just do something unexpected."

"Still a pussy. Look at me, I faced Shizuku despite her obnoxious sexual tendencies!"

Rebooking Ryoken's opinion, Tsudo reasoned that Akihiko was a pussy just because he didn't man up and stood up against a girl with a chainsaw. Meanwhile, Tsudo also claimed that he was the greater catch because he managed to stand up against Shizuku's 'sexual tendencies'.

"So, Daniel, what's your take?"

I could just not voice my take on this but since this is a weightless bet, why not.

"Tatsu. Akihiko seems way too absent-minded for some reason. He's not even talking to himself like usual."

"Oh yeah! That's true! But you know, Aniki, he hasn't talked to himself ever since the day we infiltrated the girls' dorm! What exactly happened?"

"I don't know..."

Kuzan was really speaking the truth. Ever since that day, Akihiko had been acting out of character for some reason...

"Alright, so basically... I, Sagasuga, Daniel, and Tsudo are betting that Tatsu will win, meanwhile Kuzan and Ryoken betted that Akihiko would actually win, right? Or am I missing something here?"

"Well... We still are missing one person, right?"

"O-Oi, you can't be serious..."

"But I am serious. Aren't you curious as well, Kan?"

"...Sure. You call him."

Not sure as to why Kan's acting so reserved.

"King George, before you begin, can you come here for a second!?"

"The fuck!? Can't you dipshits see that I'm trying to spice this fight up!?"

Maybe this was why Kan refused to speak his mind about this.

"Who do you think will win!?"

"I will!!!"

And I'm not too sure as to why I even bothered to question this when the answer he would give was obvious as hell.

"See..."

Kan's exhausted toned answer was reasonable, I guess.

"Ah, before we begin, can I just offer a handshake to Tatsu? I want this to be a decisive match, after all."

"What? You finally decide to speak and that's what you choose to say?"

"Hm? Yeah. Is there a problem with a simple handshake? It's a common thing in sports. It's a sign of sportsmanship. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Yes... But, I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation..."

Tatsu was placing his right palm on his whole face as a sign that he was disappointed. Truly, if my opponent was this clueless about what was about to go down then I would share the same sentiment. Despite holding onto to his shovel, Akihiko was not behaving like someone who was supposedly about to fight someone to the death.

"Oh, but I do. Seriously. Here, a handshake!"

Taking his hand off his face, Tatsu finally faces Akihiko and decides to move forward as if to accept Akihiko's request.

"Don't blame me for thi-"

Bam.

"............."

"Surprise, bitch."

D-Did this guy seriously just!?

"Oi, you little shit! I didn't announce that the match could begin! Who said that you could knock your opponent out straight up!?"

"Uh? Um, well... Daniel said anything goes so I figured I would fool Tatsu and knock him out like this... Is something in the matter?"

"No, there's nothing in the matter! We have a winner!!"

I did say anything would go, but I certainly wasn't expecting Akihiko to knock Tatsu out with his shovel before the match even began.

...................

Even though Tatsu was kind enough to accept Akihiko's request, the handshake was never realized because Akihiko knocked him out with a frontal shovel attack as soon as their eyes met.

Tatsu, of course, was not expecting this and got immediately knocked out cold.

..................................

Akihiko might be slightly dangerous.