Turning to face Kudor, I had no plan.
An unexpected variable had entered my strategy my own mistake.
"Well… my plans are mostly perfect, so it's easy to get cocky sometimes." I forced a smile, staring up at him eagerly, doing nothing but buying time.
"Unfortunately for you," he growled, clenching his fist, "I don't waste words on fools."
No way I win this... unless I reveal my fake blindness.
But it's not time. Not yet.
I have to save that card for something greater. Right now, all I can do is gamble.
My eyes flicked to my cane.
"Well," Kudor said, raising his arm like a hammer, "time's up. You're dead."
Before his fist could even move CRACK!
I struck his balls with the full force of my cane.
His eyes bulged. He dropped to a knee in silence.
I didn't wait to see what came next. I turned and bolted, sprinting toward Yakou's hiding spot.
"Bye-bye!"
Looking around, scanning the area, I noticed two mysterious eyes watching from the darkness. But before I could make out who or what they were, they vanished.
Turning back, I saw Kudor charging after me like a demon. My heart dropped.
Yakou was still sitting near a light pole, calm as ever, until he spotted me sprinting for my life. I threw him a frantic signal: hide and get ready.
No hesitation.
He slipped into position, perfectly still, waiting for the cue.
Kudor got closer.
Closer.
Closer.
The moment arrived.
I stopped dead in my tracks, staring up at the night sky and muttering, "I hate plan B's."
Kudor roared, fist drawn back for the final blow
But just before it landed, his entire arm vanished.
Shfft.
"Iaijutsu quick draw technique number 2," Yakou said as he landed behind him, blade humming.
"Kakudiachi."
Kudor screamed in pain.
But then Kudor stopped.
He looked Yakou dead in the eyes and growled,
"I thought you were a true warrior. You're no more than a rat."
Those words echoed in Yakou's mind like a curse.
He froze.
Silent. Still. Shaken.
Kudor, seizing the moment, raised his other hand to strike
Shfft.
Gone. Just like the first.
His second arm fell limp to the ground, severed.
Yakou stood over him, blade dripping with blood.
"No… You have no clue what it means to be a true warrior."
There was a darkness in his eyes something unhinged.
And just as he stepped forward to finish it
I grabbed his arm.
"Yakou. Enough."
He snapped out of it.
His sword dropped.
Then he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, hands shaking.
I turned to Kudor.
"You can't fight anymore, can you? With all this blood I smell, and whatever I'm feeling right now which I'm guessing is your hand"
I stepped forward.
"You're utterly useless. But I'll extend my offer: I have the coins to restore your body. Follow me."
Kudor, now trembling, didn't hesitate. He nodded.
And as we walked away, one thought plagued my mind:
What the hell was that? That state Yakou was in…
If I hadn't stopped him…
What could he have done?
As I carried the exhausted Yakou, I spotted Rita sprinting toward us.
"What the hell happened?" she demanded, out of breath.
"I couldn't find you at the parking lot… did you screw up??"
I shot her a sharp look.
"We don't have time. Change of plans we hunt Chamber. Now."
Her eyes widened.
"In that state? You need to rest. Even just 10 minutes."
"No. No, no, no. The timing's fucked. My pace is too slow. I need to be faster."
"Ken! Just STOP-" she tried to grab my arm, but I shook her off.
I didn't stop.
We reached the bar entrance.
SLAM.
The doors flew open as I stormed in, laying Yakou down gently near the counter.
"Relax. I'll handle the rest."
Chamber's members turned. Every single one of them.
Their stares could cut steel.
Rita stood behind me, anxious terrified, even.
I looked around, my voice sharp, worn, and venomous.
"I'm in a really shitty mood. Got this weird-ass feeling I can't shake off."
The bar-woman leaned forward, unimpressed.
"What do you want? If it's nothing, get out… or die."
I took one step forward, eyes locked with hers.
"Surrender."
"I don't have time for this crap."
"So be It." She said "End them all."
Chairs scraped back. Glasses hit the floor.
The room ignited in a heartbeat.
"ARGH… Why do you have to make it so complicated?"
I stepped forward and the first idiot lunged.
I grabbed his collar mid-air and yanked him into my knee. His nose shattered against it like wet chalk. Before he dropped, I turned and caught another by the wrist twisted hard until I felt the snap, then shoved him into the bar.
Another tried to flank me. I ducked low and drove my elbow into his ribs, heard the wind exit his lungs in a pathetic wheeze. A bottle crashed against the wall near my head someone missed. I didn't.
I hurled a barstool, catching him square in the shoulder. He screamed as he hit the ground, rolling.
Someone wrapped their arms around my neck from behind too slow. I shifted, leaned into the grab, then slammed the back of my head into their face. Bone. Cracked. They crumpled.
"Still too slow."
A guy swung a broken cue stick like a sword. I sidestepped, caught the stick mid-swing, and snapped it over his knee. Used the broken edge to drive it into his thigh. He howled.
All around me groaning. Limbs twitching. Glass crunching under my boots.
I looked toward the bar.
Rita had both hands over her mouth.
The rest of Chamber were frozen in place, watching the bodies pile up.
And then she stepped forward.
The leader.
She had no fear in her stride. Just arrogance. That cocky, slow walk of someone who thought they understood the battlefield.
"You think this wins you something?" she said. "You're a dog lashing out in a corner."
She cracked her knuckles. "Let's put you down."
She exploded forward a spinning back kick cutting the air like a blade. I ducked, but just barely her foot clipped my shoulder, and I staggered back.
She didn't stop.
She flowed into a roundhouse, foot whistling past my face, then pivoted into a hook kick that slammed me square in the jaw.
My vision pulsed white.
Fast. Sharp. Fuck.
She reset before I could blink. Bounced on her heels. Smiling.
"You've got nothing."
Wrong move.
I took a step forward and she launched again.
This time: jumping spinning heel kick aimed right at my temple. I blocked with both arms it felt like a bat slamming into bone. I stumbled back.
She's trying to end it clean.
Pretty. Stylish. Overconfident.
That was her mistake.
I charged in the moment her foot hit the ground.
She didn't expect it. Her stance was wide not ready.
I closed the distance, ducked a side kick, and crashed my shoulder into her gut, sending her flying back into the bar.
Bottles shattered.
Before she could breathe, I was on her.
Two body shots. Heavy. Meant to break.
Her guard was high I slammed my elbow into her ribs, then swept her leg.
She dropped.
I grabbed her by the collar and yanked her up just as she threw a desperate kick I caught it, twisted it, and stepped into her blindside.
"All that flash," I whispered, "but your distance was your weapon."
I let go of her leg. Her weight shifted.
I punched her square in the chin.
Not a jab. Not a cross. Just one perfect, brutal hit.
Her eyes rolled, and she dropped like a ragdoll.
The room was silent again. For real this time. "And now it's just me."
I looked down, noticing she was still moving. Before experiencing a crueling headache. "ARGH."
Knocking me back to my senses, she looked at me and said whimperly. "You can see, can't you? You aren't actually blind."
"I did way too much… She'll definitely suspect something," I thought to myself.
Still, I smiled, looking down at her.
"I'm on time now, so this is great. Take this compass. It'll beep once I need you. It leads to my location at all times. Just… be there."
"And why the fuck would I do that?" she spat out, barely able to speak.
I took a slow step forward, my eyes locked onto hers.
"Because if you don't… I'll kill you."
I didn't blink. I didn't stutter.
"And no, no, no- I don't joke. Not about this."
I turned around gazing through the windows.
"See, I've got my sights set on something way more important than your sorry ass… so please for your own sake, follow me."
Leaving the bar, I caught Yakou's gaze. He looked completely shaken still trying to process what just happened.
He stood up and followed me out.
Rita sprinted as well catching up.
"What was that, Ken? Never knew you could fight so hard." he asked quietly.
I didn't stop walking.
"There are situations." I muttered.
Yakou kept walking beside me, silent… but his thoughts screamed.
"That's not the Ken I know. Something's wrong."
A figure stood still beneath the flickering streetlight draped in a long, black trench coat that swept at the ankles with every subtle breeze. A dark fedora shaded their face, though the glint of calculating eyes pierced through the shadows like twin razors. Leather gloves, smooth and unblemished, rested at their sides one hand lightly tapping a metallic ring on their finger. The coat was buttoned tight, hiding the shape underneath, but every inch of their stance screamed control. Observing. Judging. Waiting.
That wasn't just a person, That was a presence.
The mysterious figure walked away noting, "He's not just winning battles… he's bending this war to his will. If he really plans to unify the gangs, then maybe just maybe he's worth testing. Let's see if the devil can be reasoned with."