7 Chapter 7: Fair Game

Trigger Warning: Blood (a bit)

[AKIRA'S POV]

"Aww. Did that ax kick hurt, little sister?" My sister teased.

I returned an equally threatening glare at her. I rolled my shoulders backward and popped my neck. "Not at all," I replied.

Within a split second, I swiftly ran towards her and attempted to give her a hook punch. I grunted when she was able to dodge and slip before my knuckle could hit her face.

In return, she took a few quick steps past my back and quickly delivered a kick near my tailbone. But alas, I was too slow to react and fell on my knees. I turned to face her before spinning the knife in my hand and throwing it in her direction.

"Bingo," I said triumphantly as my knife grazed her right cheek before getting embedded on the oak tree behind her.

She wiped the blood off her cheek using her index and middle finger. "Not bad," she complimented me before putting her fingers in her mouth and tasting her blood.

This act reminded me of how much Aki can change whenever she's in a fight. Sure, she's mostly carefree and spontaneous. But in a fight, Aki's alter ego begins to show and she becomes ruthless. Right now, her eyes seem to lust for blood and power.

I guess I just have to be at par with her attitude then.

Without giving her a chance to react, I charged towards Aki and delivered a right cross punch. "Tsk," I murmured when Aki was able to dodge it again.

As a strong gust of win blew on my dress, Aki counterattacked with a front kick but was not able to land it. I was on time in defending my torso and chin by blocking her foot and pushing it away. Nonetheless, I was forced to take a few steps back because of the power that Aki is placing in her kicks.

In close combat battles, Aki always had the upper hand due to her fast reflexes and strong bodily power—unlike me who specializes more in weaponry and long-distance battles.

"I should never have chosen this kind of duel," I murmured to myself.

I chose this because I wanted to prove a point to Aki. I figured that if she lost in something she is good at, I could make her realize that this world isn't some type of video game. If she dies, she will not come back to have a replay.

Aki went forward and combined an overhead punch with her knife. I purposely dodged it a bit just so that the knife would only hit my shoulder blades. I immediately took this chance to give Aki a side whip kick. I twisted my body to move my right rear foot to the front and quickly swung my foot from her left side to her head. A smirk was plastered on my face as my foot connected to Aki's head.

After the impact, I quickly lowered my foot and ran towards the tree to get my karambit knife.

"Aww. Did that side whip kick hurt, big sister?" I said mockingly while running. Aki's face immediately took a darker aura. Since I sneered at her, Aki went after me. While she was moving, I noticed that she moved her wrist in a circle—a clear sign that she's about to deliver one of her "combi punches." This is one of the techniques Aki uses to avoid giving the opponent any chance to counter. She swiftly rushed towards me.

I held my hands close to my face in anticipation of her attack.

"What the fu—" I said in surprise.

My eyes were fast enough to realize that Aki will not do her combi punches, but my body was a second too slow in reacting.

Because of this, Aki was able to deliver a chop to my throat and a heavy punch right at my heart. I fell on the ground as I tried to gasp for air.

I forgot how cunning and merciless Aki could be in duels. I mocked her and this is her way of mocking me back.

"Oh, you can't breathe? That's too bad," she teased in a playful tone. I coughed while glaring at her.

She was about to rush forward and wound me with her knife when I stood up and moved farther from her. I was trying to breathe heavily, even if every breath was scraping against my throat.

I need to continuously give my body enough oxygen or else I'll risk lowering my reflexes.

I looked back at Aki—she was grinning and spinning her knife in her left hand. It was as if she was toying with me. She knows that she could come and attack me but she's just there...grinning because she delivered a good attack.

That's it. I love her but I'm kicking her ass too!

After doing a big inhale, I rushed forward to Aki. I intentionally gave a substandard jab so that I could fix my stance for a hook kick. As soon as she evaded it, I raised and bent my right knee before extending it. I launched the heel and base of my foot to double the impact of my kick on Aki's torso. I did my best to aim at the center of her chest too but Aki was able to move fast enough to receive my kick at the lower part of her torso.

"Feels nice, right?" I taunted her whilst raising my left hand to the front, quickly motioning for her to come at me with her best shot.

She accepted my invitation without a second thought and ran towards me to try and slash my torso with her knife.

*CLISH CLANG

I gave Aki a smug look while block her knife with my karambit. As soon as our knives clashed, Aki tried to push and bury her knife towards my torso to make it close enough for a stab. I pushed back with all my might and immediately raised my knee to carve a direct hip-to-knee offense. Without skipping a beat, I continuously hit Aki's stomach until her grip loosened.

As soon as it did, I took that chance to create some distance between us.

But she quickly closed the gap. Using her right knee, she tried to hit my waist but I was able to carefully dodge it. What I didn't expect, however, is that her left hand anticipated for me to make that move and strike a jab. In a panic, I ducked barely enough to evade her punch.

"Crap—" I wasn't able to finish cursing since my sister didn't hesitate to deliver a dropkick at my nape. I gasped for air as Aki connected her foot on my neck and forced me to fall face flat on the ground. My vision got a bit fuzzy due to the gravity of the impact.

Before I could even stand up and realize what was going on, Aki had already bent down and lightly punched my left cheek. "I win," she whispered.

"That's not fair!" I complained while turning over to properly lie on the ground. My head is full of bitter feelings. I'm really not fond of losing.

Aki fixed her ponytail while catching her breath. "All is fair in love and war, Akira."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds to regulate my breathing. "Yeah, right. You tried to confuse me. That's why you won," I bitterly retorted.

At this point, I'm just grasping at straws because I don't wanna admit I lost. Even though a part of me expected that I would lose, arriving at the result still stings.

Losing always hits my nerves, especially my pride and ego. I've always wanted to be the best so losing is not an option for me.

"Oh, stop being bitter, Akira. You know I won fair and square. Besides, it's just one of our typical duels," Aki told me in a pissed manner.

I opened my eyes and sat upright while looking at Aki intently. "Yeah, but that duel was a deciding factor. This world isn't a game, you know. Once you die here, you'll be gone for good."

The expression of her face turned quickly from annoyed to serious. "I know that. I may seem careless but I can be responsible. I think before acting."

I raised my eyebrows at her as if I was mentally saying 'really?'

All my life, I had to clean up after her mess. Well, I'm not complaining. It's just that my sister could be a handful whenever she's being naive and thoughtless.

Aki raised her hands in defeat as a response. "Well...sometimes. Sometimes I think about it," she added before giving me a peace sign and a wink.

I sighed. I can't be complacent in this world knowing that my sister was born with half a brain cell and rarely acts maturely. "I'll only agree with us going on adventures and quests if I get to be the party leader."

It's against my will to go into quests because I wanted us to reach a certain level of training first. I'm worried we might encounter dangerous opponents we aren't prepared for and lose our lives in the process. But hey, I can't do anything now. We settled the dispute and I lost.

The best I can do is accept quests that are within our range and ensure our survival.

Aki squinted her eyes at me. "That's...fishy. Do you want to be the party leader because you wanna show off at Alrick?"

I looked away. "N-No! I wanna be the party leader so that I have full authority in managing our quests," I lightly stuttered as the thought of Alrick made my cheeks feel warmer.

"You don't like taking on big roles. Plus, you're already blushing! Just admit you like him and go." Aki rolled her eyes as she placed both of her hands on her hips.

"W-Whatever! My condition is set. It's either I'm the party leader or no quests for us," I uttered while standing up and brushing the dirt out of my dress.

Aki giggled at my behavior. "Fine, fine. You can become the party leader and I'll be your wingman," she replied while wiggling her eyebrows.

I immediately hit the back of her head. "Don't pull that kind of game at me. You suck at that."

She held her head and pouted. "What a meanie!"

"Whatever, Aki. Let's just go back to the house. It's lunchtime," I told Aki while looking at Myr who was standing at the house's door frame, evidently waiting for us to wrap things up and eat lunch.

"Fine." Aki gave in while pouting and crossing her arms across her chest.

Looks like my next few days, weeks, or even years in this world are about to take a more tedious turn. I'm not ready for it! Not one bit. Sigh.