"FRESHMAN VS SOPHOMORE(2): KAI VS HAKU"

••• ∅ •••

Haku... I feel it. The intense energy resonating from within you. You are driven by pure hate, and you're more than ready to transfer the aggression into this fight. It was fate how the two of us got ourselves as opponents. I guess talking things out with you wasn't an option.

Let the battle... begin!

••• ∅ •••

Kai and Haku shared an intense brief stare-down, with the latter's energy oozing a discomforting aura. Kai, being the determined redeemer, took his stance with his Iron Claws armored.

'C'mon now... Let's see what you're all about,' Kai thought.

Haku grunted and leapt with an explosive speed and raised his right hand up in the air to build momentum. He strongly gripped his fist and launched it towards Kai with all the rage it could pack. Though he supposedly landed the attack on his opponent, his attacking fist went beyond to punch and shatter the earth beneath him.

'Impossible!' he thought, grunting heavily.

Kai was spotted looking down on Haku from behind him for he had successfully dodged the attack.

"Hmm..." he began to analyze.

Haku growled and performed a windmill spin that transitioned to a vertical spin. This motion created a symbolic python that wrapped around Kai ultimately twisting his body to the point where he was left open for a rib-shattering kick.

As the attack sent Kai flying, he stiffened his body and concentrated the energy within his adversary well enough to reverse the twisting effect causing him to spin uncontrollably in the air.

As soon as Kai somewhat adapted to the situation at hand, he performed a barrel roll on air. He utilized the momentum of the final spin to dig his left claw into the ground and viciously delivered an upper wards slash that created four beast-like claw patterns that ripped through the earth at insane speeds.

Kai soon ate the dust as he lost balance, but Haku was left with a predicament that needed immediate avoidance.

'This technique...' he thought. 'I've seen this one before,' he claimed, recalling Kai's fight against Chiko. 'But, it's unusually faster than its previous form.'

Haku, in response to the incoming attack, took the stance of a lion and roared, creating a symbolic gigantic image of the mimicked animal that neutralized the incoming slashes.

This aroused the Daemons' interest and they soon became excited as they began to rally their predicted victors.

"This is amazing!" acknowledged Satoru, who laughed happily. "These two really didn't come here to joke around. With Kai in obvious trouble, what would be his rebuttal?"

As the dust cleared away, Kai seemed to be greatly injured in his rib cage. He desperately tried to think of a way out of the predicament.

'This is inhuman!' he thought. 'From the feel of things, every hit he lands is pretty much lethal,' he analyzed. 'How can I top that?! Think! Think! Think!'

Kai soon recollected a conversation he had had with the mysterious figure during the period of his one week rehabilitation training.

'You see, Kai, Core Energy is of use in many varieties. You are only limited by your own imagination. All you have to do is...'

'I see it now... I remember! I know what I must do,' he believed as he mustered up courage. 'Open... the gate.'

Kai summoned the energy of the first gate. The Daemons were on their feet as they began to witness Kai having a sudden change in outburst of energy. To Haku's confusion, Kai used the energy surge to reinforce his body's physical prowess.

'To have complete mastery of energy manipulation, you must unlock all four gates.'

The words of the mysterious shadow lingered in his head. From the tip of his hair, down to the nail of his toes, his claws inclusive, Kai was stacked with armored energy and readied himself for a second round against the fearless beast.

'Though it may not be a perfected technique, it should be more than enough to hold my own against you, and at least cover up for my rib damage,' he assumed.

"What a sight!" Satoru commended. "In one swift outburst of energy, Kai has gained an equal ground of power! Now the real battle has begun!"

"Let's see if you're worth the hype, brat," grinned Haku, clenching his fists.

The Daemons roared in expectation.

"Now hang on, fine gentlemen," a calm voice rang.

The intimidating, yet gentle voice commanded absolute silence amongst all other Daemons among the general audience. Walking down to the sight of everyone was a hidden face cloaked with a hoodie wearing a dark red robe with black boots. He was identified to be a man due to the physical features he possessed. He directly spoke to Kai.

"You are showcased to be the Chosen Daemon who possesses insane amounts of power. Yet, you go ahead to fight with a deadly treasured weapon while your opponent fights disarmed. What could that tell of you? A cowardly act I see this as."

"Who's this guy?"

"He is right though,"

The crowd began to reason and murmur all other forms of chatters.

"Uphold your honor, big shot. Prove to us that you're worthy of that title and engage in a full on fist fight with the Core of the Beast," he concluded.

The crowd gasped. There was a brief moment of silence, but Kai soon broke it as he returned to his original form whilst protecting his ribs.

"A cowardly act, huh?" he scoffed. "A full on fist fight with the hyped peepsqueak. Sounds interesting," he smiled maniacally. "I'd like to say you're right. I shouldn't be using these," he confirmed, crossing his arms and gripping his fist as the energy which surged from his fist bent the metal open.

He proceeded to laugh some more. "After All, you're not worth it anyways."

"Not worth it? You underestimate me, brat," said Haku, arrogantly. "It's time to behold the raw strength of a beast."

"Hmph," expressed the Daemon as he vanished into nothingness.

"I guess there's no need for me to stir up the adrenaline," Satoru joked around.

"A massacre draws near," Nakamura commented.

"Don't count him out just yet," Shujin defended. 'C'mon Kai. Don't lose control. Take the entirety of this battle and obtain a flawless victory. I believe in you,' he desperately wished to himself.

Kai experienced a spark in his cells as he held his chest, due to the immense pain felt. However, he smiled darkly once again to the confusion of Haku, who adopted a fighting stance regardless.

As he was about to charge right at him, Kai appeared walking right past him. To his shock, his body suddenly began receiving multiple punch holes all over his body. He staggered.

"I'm starting to get bored of these repetitions," he spoke confidently. "Haven't seen this old trick before? I expected you to react to this technique," he assumed, altering his voice to a dark tone.

Terror gripped the veins of Haku as he coughed up blood.

'What is this aura? I can't move… You're right. I knew this would be your go to move, since you used a similar strategy when fighting Chiko, but you acted long before my nervous system could send signals to my brains. What are you?' he began rapidly thinking.

"Oh well, it's a fist fight, isn't it? Let's have some fun," Kai stipulated.

Kai immediately delivered a mirage of fatal blows to the guts of Haku. However, Haku simply coughed up some blood and appeared to be fine.

"Not bad, peepsqueak," Kai commended.

"You should be aware of who you're up against, brat," he replied as his body returned back to order.

"Oh? Show me then."

Enraged, Haku raised Kai for a choke-slam deep into the ground, but upon landing, their bodies swapped positions. Haku viciously ate the ground hard.

"A swapping technique?" exclaimed Satoru. "Impossible. Shujin… is this…"

"Hmph," he interjected, visibly startled as well.

'What in the world? How did I end up on the ground?' he thought.

Kai laughed maniacally as the blood of his opponent spilled over his body. Once again though, Haku's body healed from the attack.

To Kai's disgust, he began loading Haku with heavy core energy reinforced punches.

The latter tanked the vicious hits and waited for the right moment to see an opening.

"He really be eating these hands right now, ay Naka?" he asked.

"No, that's not all that's happening," Nakamura pointed out.

In a spontaneous motion, he caught the right fist of Kai and instantly broke and crushed it.

Feeling immense pain, he went for a left jab but he caught it again and crushed it like the former. He used his legs to throw him high up in the air.

On his opponent going back to land, Haku stiffened his body, jumped and spun in a consecutive 360° motion and created a drill-like effect. This attack brutally injured the ribs of Kai once again.

Haku grabbed his opponent's middle section and slammed him to the ground. This immensely cracked open the land below them. In reminiscent of the past action, Haku landed a series of punches all over Kai.

The crowd roared in the back and forth excitement.

"Now will you look at that! Kai's on the receiving end of those hands," Satoru announced.

••• ∅ •••

I could feel it. My body was on the verge of a chaotic rampage. I was about to lose control of my own body. To stop any further damage, I resisted the energy resonating in my core.

••• ∅ •••

In a desperate position, Kai fell unconscious mid battle. Once again, he engaged in a talk with "him."

"And why do you summon me at the moment of battle… Kai?" the Figure asked, disgusted.

"I don't know how I did it. I don't know why I did it. What could this mean?"

"In retrospect, he's no stronger than that screeching nuisance. So tell me, why is this one a threat to you?"

"I dunno... Maybe it's what he's fighting for. The will to pursue in defeating me is far more tense than when I fought Chiko. There is no sense of pride in him. I see it now. There's no way I'm winning this battle. He won it long before it started."

"Hmm… So you're drawing the curtain there."

"I am," he concluded.

"Pathetic," he scoffed, visibly alarming Kai.

"You're submitting before he even gets the chance to trap you in a hold. Is that the spirit of a Daemon? If Daemons had this attitude, the human race would not have been in existence for this long. Is this what you're worth, ay Chosen One? Simply Pathetic," he mocked.

"Who are you to question my worth?" he asked, swelling up with powerful emotions.

"I wasn't brought up in your ideals, but this I know: I will find the answers I'm looking for. I will put a stop to all things evil in this world, and in the event of my demise, know that I shall depart this life with the fearless confidence of a true Daemon, leaving behind a lasting imprint of greatness that will never be forgotten."

"Hmph. Show me then…" he dared. "That fearless confidence. The might of a Daemon. Go back out there, and prove your worth," he concluded as the void swallowed them whole.

"Pathetic."

"Simply pathetic."

"Is this your worth, ay Chosen One?"

The words of the Figure echoed in his vision as he was brought back to reality.

"I'll show you what I'm worth," he claimed. "Open the gates. Transcend all boundaries. Go beyond!" he ignited the flames of power within him. "Core Infusion."

In the epic climax, as Haku kept pounding on his opponent, Kai's body began to shimmer. The glow began subtly and ended up becoming an enormous beam of light that temporarily blinded the audience and blasted Haku away.

"Oh no, it's about to go down," Satoru highlighted.

"Haku…" he called, seemingly in a new state. "It's about time we give it our all. You're really boring me."

"You don't think I'm at full strength, do you?" he chuckled, breathing in shortly. "Technique Development."

Haku's body suddenly transitioned. It became broader and larger, adopting a new form.

"Let's finish this," Haku declared.

"Even now, you're not at full power," Kai realized. "You just enhanced your body's physical strength and durability to adapt to my new form. You truly are the realest one, but I can't. I can't lose to you. Not right now. Not ever."

The two heavy hitters sent their final vicious gaze to each other.

As the tension reached its peak, they bolted towards each other for the final and deciding clash.