Alex crouched on a thick branch, muscles coiled, eyes locked on his prey.
With a sudden burst, he launched himself downward. His strike slammed into Tomoe, nearly knocking her from the limb.
He pressed the assault — blows snapping through the air, sharp and merciless, his body moving as though the canopy itself had trained him.
Tomoe steadied herself, breath tight. He's faster up here. Stronger. If I fight him in the trees, I lose.
But every time she tried to shift the fight, Alex was gone — leaping to another branch, laughing like a predator at play.
"Come on, Tomoe! Is this all you've got?"
Her eyes narrowed. She waited, coiled, patient.
Then — the mistake. Just a fraction of hesitation, but enough.
She lunged, wrapping her arms around his waist and kicking off the branch.
"Crazy girl!" Alex barked, his grin wild. "You wanna die with me?!"
The river hit them like a wall of stone hidden in water. The impact ripped the breath from Tomoe's lungs, dragging her under in a storm of bubbles.
They broke the surface, gasping.
Alex swayed, eyes glassy, his skin burning with fever. "Don't… want you dying yet."
Tomoe reached for his forehead. "You're on fire. You're sick."
"Mushroom," he rasped, voice unsteady. "Jungle's… laughing at me."
Her jaw tightened. "You ate a poisonous mushroom?!"
"How was I supposed to know?!" His laugh broke into a cough. "It looked edible!"
"It doesn't matter now."
She drove her fist into the water. A startled Perona fish launched into the air — smacking Alex in the chest.
He yelped, twisting instinctively, springing out of the river. Exactly where she wanted him.
Tomoe surged forward, fists dripping. Her voice was low, a promise:
"Now you're in my domain."
She struck — jab, hook, cross, sidestep, hook. Each impact cracked like drumbeats in the damp air, every blow driving Alex backward. The final strike sent him sprawling into the muddy bank.
He coughed, spitting river water, then grinned through the pain. "Damn, girl… you hit like a warhammer. Hurts like hell." He pushed himself up, eyes glinting with something sharper than madness. "But thanks to you… I'm awake now."
His grin widened. "Still starving, though."
He reached behind his back, steel whispering free. Two blades — kopis, curved and gleaming — caught the fading light, their edges singing hunger.
Alex raised them, stance low, dangerous.
"Be ready to be cut down."