The arena lobby still buzzed with leftover energy from the last match. Faint echoes of cheering seeped through the stone walls, but here, it was quiet enough for Bruce to focus on tying his bandana again. His knuckles were still sore from the fight with Tsubaki, but he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he scanned the corridor, a frown tugging at his lips.
Where's Belita...?
She was usually close—if not hovering, then at least within reach. But now, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey," a voice called from behind.
Bruce turned slightly. Kaede Takahashi approached with a casual wave, her pace unhurried, yet there was something about her smile that felt... reckless.
"I take back what I said about you being weak," she said, stopping in front of him. Then, without warning, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a bold embrace. "If you can tell me… how you destroyed Tsubaki's golem."
Bruce blinked, a little confused, but not exactly bothered. "I dunno," he said with a shrug. "I just punched, and before I knew it, it was all over."
Kaede let out a sharp exhale, somewhere between amusement and disbelief. "Ho? Is that so?"
She stepped back, eyeing him like a predator teasing its prey. "Say… how about we go at it real quick?"
Bruce gave her a dry look. "As much as I'd love to…" He paused, glancing down the hallway again. "I can't seem to find Belita. So how about another time?"
Kaede's smile twitched, a glimmer of challenge rising in her molten eyes. "Chickening out, are we?"
Before he could respond, heat pulsed through the air like the first breath of a furnace. Cracks of glowing light formed along her arms and legs as her body began shifting—lava-like patterns glowing beneath her skin.
"Unfortunately for you…" she said, her tone shifting into something far more primal. "My blood is boiling right now."
Steam curled off her shoulders. The stone tiles beneath her feet hissed and cracked from the rising heat. She wasn't just bluffing. Kaede had entered her molten state without hesitation, her clan's infamous bloodline technique already simmering at the edge of eruption.
---
Bruce sighed, stepping back with both hands raised in surrender.
"Alright, alright! Let's call a truce for now—my legs still kinda hurt from the last match anyway…"
---
In the dimly lit Noble's Pavilion, a solitary figure lounged in the high-backed chair meant only for the blood of Hanma—the confident, regal aura unmistakably that of Minato Himemiya. But it wasn't him.
It was Ajax.
He sat there with his legs crossed, arm resting lazily on the armrest, sipping from a delicate teacup. A fake eye patch covered his left eye, mimicking Minato's signature look, though the smug grin betrayed his act.
Without warning, a swirling portal shimmered to life before him. From its depths emerged a tall man with an even colder presence.
"Naoya," Ajax muttered, barely moving.
Naoya raised a brow. "You seem very comfortable in that seat, Number Five."
Ajax placed the cup down without breaking eye contact. "The boss gave me the name Ajax for this mission," he said with a smirk. "And it's Senpai to you, Number Nine."
A pause.
Naoya sighed. "How's the job going?"
Ajax's gaze grew sharp. "What do you think?" Another short silence passed, thick with layered meaning. "Perfectly."
Naoya stared for a beat, then turned toward the still-rippling portal. "I'm just saying… I don't know about the Hanma family, but Minato Himemiya is not someone you want to underestimate."
And with that, he vanished into the portal.
Ajax clicked his tongue. "Tch. He's pissed off…"
He stood, slipping off the chair and vanishing through the back corridor as the Noble's Pavilion grew still once more.
Meanwhile…
"Brrrrrruuuuuuceee!!"
Kaede's voice echoed violently through the cracked corridors of the arena's lower floor, molten lava dripping from her hands, searing the tiles as she stomped through.
"Hiding?! Really?! After that?!" she howled, the floor quaking under the weight of her rage.
---
In the far corner, tucked behind broken supply crates and covered in dust and panic, Bruce crouched low, muttering to himself.
"Man… what a pain… why are the scary ones always after me?" he whispered, pulling his bandana over his face like it'd help him disappear.
Suddenly, the lid of his crate creaked open.
Tsubaki's calm expression appeared above him.
"Bruce, what are y—"
He slapped a hand over her mouth immediately.
"Ssshh! I'm not here!"
---
With Kaede still rampaging like a one-girl volcano unit in the background, Bruce followed close behind Tsubaki as she guided him through a maintenance corridor tucked behind the arena's southern wing. The stone floor echoed faintly beneath their rushed steps, and the distant roars of the crowd faded into muffled murmurs.
"I still don't get it," Tsubaki said, glancing over her shoulder. "If you could beat me, why not fight her?"
Bruce folded his arms behind his head, walking like he didn't have a care in the world, though his eyes stayed sharp. "Fighting that muscle-brain is a waste of time."
He sighed.
"It's already written all over her face—she knows she's going to lose. But just because she's one of them, she thinks she still stands a chance."
Tsubaki slowed down a bit, brow furrowed. "Them?"
Bruce's eyes narrowed as he looked ahead.
"The kinds of people I hate the most... those who don't give up. Even when it's obvious they'll lose, they keep pushing, hoping that if they just try hard enough, things will somehow work out."
Tsubaki tilted her head. "That's not a bad quality, is it?"
He shrugged. "Maybe not for you. But I don't care. Anyway—" He waved off the thought. "I gotta go look for Belita. I think she's still mad at me."
"Belita?"
"My exclusive maid. She's always hovering around me, but today—of all days—I can't find her anywhere."
"She's probably just busy," Tsubaki offered, voice gentle.
"I doubt it," Bruce replied flatly. "She barely does anything else besides keeping me in check. That's why I'm heading to the main mansion first."
But before either of them could turn another corner, a sudden static crackled through the colosseum loudspeakers, making both freeze in place.
Lovee's voice rang out, cheerfully as always… but this time, something about it was off.
"Attention to all candidates!" he began. "Please return to the arena… the grand prize is about to be displayed."
There was a brief pause.
And then, his tone dipped—not comical, not playful—but laced with something darker. It wasn't just seriousness… it was anticipation, like someone thrilled to reveal a twisted secret.
"…You won't want to miss what's coming next," he finished, and the sound cut off with a cold click.
Bruce's face went still.
"…That guy creeps me out," he muttered.
---