AT THE APARTMENT - MORNING
Kiro woke up to sunlight streaming through his window. No broken wood, no creaky floorboards, no perverted landlord. Just peace. A knock came at the door.
Kiro started to wake up, stretching. Another few knocks came, faster and more insistent.
KIRO: "Coming, now!"
He opened the door to reveal Veyra, who immediately brushed past him into the apartment.
VEYRA: "Kiro, you're going to be late for Raiji's match against King Croc!"
KIRO: "Wait, it's that time already? It's past 9 am? I slept so good after the last few days..."
VEYRA: "Yes, it was hard, but you really should hurry. And don't worry, we got paid for the job without even handing in the bounty. I explained everything to Joe about how it went down. He paid you 250k, and me 50k."
KIRO: (Eyes widening) "Seriously?"
VEYRA: "Then Vesper paid 500k directly to you. I'll be taking a 100k finder's fee."
KIRO: "What? Why are you taking so much? Not that I'm complaining, because it's still a fortune, but..."
VEYRA: "Anyway," she said, cutting him off and handing him a pie. "Here, eat this along the way. And hurry up."
KIRO: "Sure, sounds good." He took the pie, a wave of relief washing over him. "So... those slaves are free?" He thought back to yesterday...
[FLASHBACK - YESTERDAY]
VESPER: "The slaves are free."
THE BIG GUY: (Letting out a booming laugh) "Finally coming to your senses, rookie bounty hunter!"
THE FOOL: "I am free to gamble again!"
THE BIG GUY: "Not so fast. You still have to see your family."
VESPER: "I've paid off The Fool's loans."
[PRESENT DAY]
KIRO: "Anyway," he said, turning back to Veyra with a grin. "I can piggyback you to the place. It'll be faster."
VEYRA: (Blushing) "No way, Kiro!" She quickly turned to leave, hiding her face. "I'm busy! Tell him I said good luck!" And with that, she hurried out
Kiro started running, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Each jump was timed perfectly, executed without a second thought. The cyber cars streamed beneath him like a river of light as he thought back to Sosiego's lessons the way he moved across the roofs, his teachings on focus and footwork.
He took a big bite of the pie mid-stride, not breaking his rhythm.
(Thinking back: Sosiego said it's all about where your eyes focus, your footwork, and controlling the super speed... not just having it.)
Soon, Kiro arrived at the open-air arena, a massive sand pit surrounded by roaring crowds. He pushed his way through and found Raiji in the prep area.
KIRO: "What's up?"
RAIJI: "You're late."
KIRO: "Tell me about it. Veyra already gave me an earful. She said something else, too... forgot what. Oh, right' good luck'."
RAIJI: "Sure. My match is soon. In 10 minutes. Prep time."
KIRO: (Nodding, his expression turning serious) "Sure. I'll be waiting."
The air in the cavernous arena thrummed with a bloodthirsty energy. Raiji finished his stretches, his breathing steady, his world narrowing to the sandy pit and the mountain of a man standing across from it.
Then, the announcer's voice, slick and venomous, boomed from the speakers.
ANNOUNCER MIDAS: "Ladies and gentlemen! Settle your bets and empty your pockets! We have another lamb marching cheerfully to the slaughter, here to challenge our undefeable King!"
His voice dropped into a mock-conspiratorial whisper, amplified for all to hear. "Between you and me? Be smart. Bet against the so-called 'Wind Blade.' He's a bad investment. In fact, if you're betting on him, just hand me your money now and save us all the time. What's that? You're all too broke? A shame."
The crowd roared with laughter. Midas fed on it, his voice rising to a fever pitch.
"ON YOUR LEFT! The reigning, the defending, the UNDISPUTED champion for a decade! The beast who has broken every contender who dared step into his domain... KING CROC! Also known as Torsten Crescent! He holds the strongest title in the under-city, and let me be clear... he isn't losing it today! Or ever!"
The spotlight hit Torsten, who stood immovable, a statue of barely-contained violence.
The light then swung, a pathetic, wavering circle, to land on Raiji.
ANNOUNCER MIDAS: (His voice dripping with theatrical disdain) "And on your right... the challenger. All breeze and no bite. The weak, the pathetic... the WIND BLADE!"
The crowd erupted in a chorus of boos and jeers.
Both fighters stepped into the sandy pit. The gate slammed shut behind Raiji with a final, metallic clang that sounded like a tomb sealing.
Raiji stared up at the eight-foot titan of muscle, his orange hair like a fiery crown. "So... you must be the great King Croc."
The giant merely grunted, ripping off his hoodie and letting it fall to the ground. He cracked his knuckles, the sound like gunshots in the tense air. "Come at me."
Raiji became a blur, dashing forward. King Croc didn't even brace, standing perfectly still and allowing the first hit.
From the lobby screen, Kiro watched, fists clenched.
Raiji crossed his swords in a lightning-fast scissor motion, aiming to shear through the giant's torso. He flashed behind his opponent, stance perfect.
KING CROC: "That the best you got?"
Raiji's eyes widened. Two clean slices were torn in the back of King Croc's shirt, but the skin beneath was unmarked.
KING CROC: (Not even turning around) "Your swords must be blunt. Or you're just that weak."
RAIJI: (Voice tight with shock) "I... I hit you with a strong attack. Your skin is like iron..."
Thinking fast, Raiji feinted a backward dash before twisting and launching forward, putting distance between them. "WIND STRIKE!" A blade of compressed air shot across the arena.
King Croc took the full force of it in the chest. It dissipated against him like a gentle breeze. He didn't flinch.
In the next instant, he closed the distance Raiji had created in a split second. A casual, almost bored left hook connected with Raiji's face.
The impact was sickening. Raiji was lifted off his feet and thrown backward through the air, crashing into the sandy ground in a heap.
KING CROC: "Come on. Do something. Make this last at least a minute."
The crowd erupted, their chants a unified roar of bloodlust: "BEAT HIM UP, KING CROC! BEAT HIM UP!"
Raiji pushed himself to his feet, spitting a glob of blood onto the sand. A pained grin split his lips. "Nice punch... You hit like a gorilla. Oof."
He didn't wait for a reply. He dashed forward, leaping into the air for a high-angle slash. King Croc raised a forearm, blocking the steel with a dull clang. Raiji used the rebound, twisting his body to bring his second blade around in a savage slash at the giant's side.
King Croc didn't even try to block it. He simply ignored the incoming blade, his own fist already pistoning forward like a cannon.
THUD.
The air exploded from Raiji's lungs as the punch connected with his gut. The crowd screamed, "YES! YES! WE WANT MORE GORE!"
Raiji was lifted off his feet, coughing a mist of blood into the air. As he flew backward, King Croc was already there, meeting him mid-air with a devastating series of body blows crack, crack, CRACK each impact a sickening drumbeat of destruction.
Desperate, disoriented, Raiji swung his arms in a wild, spinning frenzy, creating a whirlwind of steel around himself. "I CALL THIS... MINI-NADO!"
It was a frantic, unorthodox move. It shouldn't have worked. But in the chaos of the spinning blades, as he fell past the giant, one sword tip connected. A quick, shallow slash on King Croc's lower body.
They landed apart. Raiji on his hands and knees, gasping. King Croc standing tall.
A silence fell over the arena. A single drop of blood welled from the thin red line on King Croc's torso and traced a path down his skin.
The champion looked down at it. He touched the blood, then looked at his red-tipped finger. He didn't look angry. He looked... unimpressed.
He raised his finger for the entire crowd to see, his voice a low rumble of absolute contempt.
KING CROC: "All that... for a paper cut."
KING CROC: "You drew a single drop of blood. A mistake. Now, I'll show you why they call me a King."
King Croc focused inward. His muscles, already colossal, began to swell and bulge, his skin taking on a thick, greenish hue. Sharp, reptilian scales erupted across his arms, back, and shoulders, and his orange hair seemed to grow wilder, framing a face that was becoming less human and more primordial beast. In moments, he stood even larger, a hulking, scaled titan of pure power.
His body finished its grotesque expansion. Where a man had stood, there was now a monster. King Croc, now a 10-foot-tall engine of destruction, cracked his knuckles with a sound like grinding stones.
KIRO: (Watching from the lobby screen, his knuckles white) "Come on, Raiji... think of something! Get out of there!"
VEYRA: (In her apartment, gripping her coffee mug so hard it might crack) "Please... just hold back... Brother..."
Back in the pit, the air grew heavy.
RAIJI: (A fierce, desperate grin on his face) "Finally... you're taking me seriously."
Then, something in Raiji shifted. It was as if the wind itself possessed him. He didn't move; he flowed. His usual style was gone, replaced by a feral, unpredictable barrage. His eyes glowed with a sharp, emerald light.
He became a hurricane of slashes, moving so fast he was a blur. King Croc blocked and countered, his scaled arms deflecting the steel with showers of sparks, but he could no longer keep up with the sheer, chaotic speed. A random Wind Slash erupted from the flurry, hitting King Croc square in the chest and knocking him back a step though it still did no damage.
But the beast-king was a smart one. He stopped trying to follow the movements and started predicting the pattern. His hand shot out with impossible speed, not at the blur, but at where it would be clamping like a vice around Raiji's ankle.
The hurricane stopped dead.
RAIJI: "Wha ?!"
With a grunt, King Croc swung him through the air and slammed him into the ground, the impact cracking the stone. Before Raiji could even cry out, a massive, scaled foot stamped down on his chest.
CRUNCH.
Raiji coughed, a spray of blood misting the air. Then, with a final, contemptuous throw, King Croc hurled him across the arena. Raiji's body smashed into the reinforced wall with a sickening BOOM, crumpling to the ground, motionless.
Raiji's body screamed in protest, but his spirit roared louder. He pushed himself up from the rubble, his legs trembling but his grip on his swords firm.
With a guttural yell, he began swinging his blades in a wide, cyclical motion, creating a vortex of steel meant to draw King Croc in.
King Croc, amused by the defiance, let it happen. He took a step forward, into the range of the whirling blades. A final, desperate Wind Slash from Raiji flew from the cyclone, striking the champion's chest and leaving a faint red mark.
King Croc looked down, then back at Raiji. He smiled. It was not a friendly sight.
He lunged, too fast for the battered Raiji to react. A massive hand clamped around Raiji's face, lifting him off the ground.
BANG! King Croc slammed him head-first into the stone floor.
BANG! He ripped him up and smashed him against the arena wall.
A final, brutal punch to the torso sent Raiji collapsing into a broken heap, utterly still.
ANNOUNCER MIDAS: "He's out! It's over! King Croc wins! But it seems our champion… isn't done with the entertainment!"
The crowd roared, bloodthirsty and ecstatic. King Croc ignored the announcement, grabbing Raiji's limp form and smashing him against the ground once more, following up with a vicious uppercut that lifted the swordsman into the air.
KING CROC: (Glaring toward the announcer's booth) "You don't tell me when it's over. I do."
He stalked toward Raiji's motionless body, intending to deliver a final, crushing stomp.
KKKKRRRAAAA-BOOM!
A gust of wind howled through the arena as the massive iron door to the pit was blown clean off its hinges, flying past King Croc's head and embedding itself in the far wall.
Standing in the newly made entrance, silhouetted by the light from the lobby, was Kiro. His voice was low, but it cut through the chaos like a knife.
KIRO: "That's enough."
King Croc didn't hesitate. He completed his motion, driving his foot down in a devastating stomp meant to end Raiji's life.
In a blur, Kiro crossed the pit. He didn't tackle or shove. He dropped to one knee, sliding perfectly between the stomp and Raiji, and raised a single arm.
THUMP.
The sound was not of shattering bone, but of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Kiro's forearm met the sole of King Croc's foot and stopped it dead. The impact sent a shockwave through the sand, but Kiro didn't budge an inch.
A tense, deafening silence gripped the arena.
KING CROC: (Eyes wide with a mixture of shock and intrigue) "...Who are you?"
ANNOUNCER MIDAS: (Sputtering over the speakers) "An illegal move! Interference! That's a 5,000 credit fine from your next purse, you fool!"
But no one was listening to Midas anymore. In the center of the pit, the two titans one a hulking, scaled beast, the other a slum-born boy with unthinkable power locked eyes.