Takes one step. Then another.
“It’s time we part ways.”
“I agree.”
He stops and turns back, posture shifting. Formal. Familiar. The stance he drilled into me until it lived in my bones.
“Despite it all,” he says evenly, “it was my honor to mentor you.”
I mirror him without thinking.
“All you did was teach me how to kill you.”
Something dark slides into his expression, erasing the warmth. The calculation sharpens into something lethal.
“Well,” he says, settling into a fighting stance.
“Let’s see if the student can finally best herteacher.”
Kenji’s gaze drops to my hip.
“Toss it,” he says calmly. “We won’t disgrace this with gunfire.”
For half a second, I consider arguing. Consider just shooting him.
Then I don’t.
Because I want to finish this with my hands. Feel every second of his life end at my grip. I’m going to earn every drop of his blood.
I pull the gun free and flick it once in my hand before hurling it into the koi pond. It breaks the surface with a sharp splash, ripples racing outward as orange and white bodies scatter beneath the water.
Kenji nods, satisfied.
We step apart, shoes silent on gravel, cherry blossoms drifting lazily between us. Lantern light catches the lines of his face, familiar and unreadable. The garden seems to shrink, like it knows what’s coming.
We take our stances.
And we wait.
The stillness stretches, taut as a drawn bowstring.
Then, we move at the same time.
He comes in fast and low, all economy and intent, striking before my muscles fully register the motion. His elbow slams into my ribs, precise enough to steal my breath, and he pivots immediately, foot sweeping for my ankle.
I jump it—but he’s already there.
A palm strike snaps my head sideways. I taste blood. I stagger back into a stone lantern and barely catch myself before he’s on me again, driving a knee into my thigh that makes my leg buckle.
“Sloppy,” he murmurs, almost kindly.
I snarl and swing anyway, catching his jaw with the heel of my hand. It lands. Solid. He grunts, more surprised than hurt.
I press the advantage for half a heartbeat too long.
He punishes me for it.
Kenji grabs my wrist, twists, and uses my momentum to sling me into the gravel. I roll, coming up just in time to block a kick that would’ve caved my chest in. The impact rattles my arms to the bone.
