There's a sky above the sky

Before the bead of sweat from my brow could kiss the ground, Kowai moved, with inhuman speed.

Trust me, it was inhuman... Her speed defied logic, more like a fleeting shadow than a human being.

There was no strained breath, no discernible technique fueling her movements. She was simply that fast on her own.

Faster than what I've seen Oka Kami move; and I'd seen him outrun a train, a week before we started high school—I couldn't keep my jaw, and envy, in place.

The martial arts I'd trained in drilled one mantra into me: prioritize your senses. Trust them, sharpen them, let them become your shield against pain and destruction.

But my concentration was splintered, and my instincts screamed too late. I managed to parry her first strike, a blur of motion that seemed to sear the air.

I crossed my hand to defend, but... What the hell...!

Her fist collided with my crossed arms like a collapsing wall of stone. My forearms groaned under the pressure, vibrating from the impact.

The only reason I was still upright was thanks to those insane drills back at the dojo, where sacks of rocks rained on me daily.

But wait, this?

This felt heavier, denser—like gravity itself was weaponized.

"Damn it!" I growled, throwing my arm to grab hers.

She slipped through like water through my fingers.

Again, I lunged, faster this time.

No dice.

She dodged, evading with such fluidity it was maddening.

My arms blurred as I chased hers, our movements whipping the air into spiraling vortexes.

She wasn't even fighting—she was just toying with me.

Her teasing ended abruptly.

Her knee shot toward my stomach like a spear. I swung my hands down to intercept it, but it turned out to be a feint.

The knee stopped just short, and before I could react, her fist drove into my chest like a battering ram.

The world trembled.

Ah, Pain.

Oh, this Pain feels… peculiar…

Pain exploded through my ribs, radiating outward like cracks in a shattered mirror.

It was no ordinary punch—it felt as though an entire boulder had been launched into my chest. Blood surged up my throat, spilling from my lips as the force of the strike launched me backward. Twelve feet at least. My body careened through the air, but there was no solace in the fall.

Because she was there.

Suddenly above me.

Descending like a comet.

I was beyond wide-open, I was a sitting duck... or floating duck, in this context.

Kowai's dropkick dove toward my exposed self, and my brain screamed in panic.

I was airborne, disoriented, aching in every fiber of my being—but I couldn't give up. Not like this.

Not without showing her that I had trained for moments like this, no matter how hopeless.

Her heel closed the distance with terrifying precision, but desperation birthed clarity.

I twisted mid-air, channeling the momentum into a counterstrike. My knee shot up, aiming for her jaw with everything I had.

She shrugged off the knee strike, but that wasn't the real attack.

Everything was happening so fast, yet so slow.

She was slightly below me now, her position perfect for a counterstrike.

I didn't hesitate. I threw my fist toward her, every ounce of frustration and determination packed into the blow.

But Kowai...

She leaned into my punch, her face moving closer mid-air.

My fist slammed against her soft, yet tough cheek, but the impact didn't land the way I'd hoped; It wasn't soft, but the force dissipated as if she'd redirected it with her sheer will.

That was my mistake.

I immediately entered a disadvantage.

Before I could recoil, she snatched my wrist and gripped the front of my shirt.

We were still mid-air when she hurled me downward with monstrous strength. My world flipped violently as my body arced toward the ground.

One second, I was about two meters above the earth. The next, I crashed into the park's dirt floor with a force that rattled my spine and sent a cloud of dust billowing.

Pain radiated through my back and shoulders as though I'd been tackled by a freight train.

It wasn't funny for my spine.

And to think, I once believed I was a monster—a prodigy: At fourteen, I'd wrestled a grizzly in America for sport and lived to brag about it.

What 14-year-old battles a grizzly for fun?

David, maybe. But he was 17 years old—3 years older than me. And he wasn't fighting for fun.

That bear? It was nothing more than a cub compared to this Kowai; She'd slap his head off with one hand, like it was a badly made snowman.

Now, I see that I'm not even worthy to stand in thesame battleground as Kowai.

Like a certain French-named demon butler said, "There's a sky above the sky."

And right now, Kowai stood on a plane I couldn't hope to reach.

I lay there, momentarily paralyzed, my body screaming at me to surrender.

Dust clung to my sweat-soaked face as I stared at the sky, analyzing the sharp, aching pain coursing through me.

And just when I thought it couldn't get worse, I heard it—a heavy thud!

I flinched as Kowai landed next to me, her feet mere inches from my head. The ground beneath her cracked and caved in as if she'd stomped through ice.

I turned my head slightly, my trembling eyes locking onto the small crater near my face.

"Still alive?" she asked, her tone emotionless, but her warm brown eyes glinted with something dark—predatory.

Still! I'll have to find a way to—

Ah.

"Th-they're cute..." I muttered before I could stop myself, a red flush creeping across my face, as I looked up to her skirt above my face.

She blinked, her expression neutral. "Thank you. Onee-chan got them for me," she replied, her tone flat but laced with an undertone of menace.

"Tell your Onee-chan I'm... very, very grateful for the treat." My voice was strained, my breath coming in sharp gasps.

I tried to wriggle free, twisting my body to escape from under her. But before I could leap away, her iron grip caught my ankle.

And that's when she taught me the true meaning of pain.

All these while I've been alive... I haven't known TRUE pain.

She wasn't just showing me her strength—she was showing me that life and death danced on the thinnest of threads. And right now, I was dangling from her grasp.

I was like a rag doll in her hands six years ago... and nothing has changed.

As Kowai swung me like a bitter sock, all I could feel was pain—raw, unfiltered pain. My head smacked into the playground's climbing frame, splintering the metal.

I crashed into the hard ground, leaving gouges in the dirt as my body swept across like a human wrecking ball.

She was too strong, too violent. Resistance wasn't an option.

My only choice was for her to release my foot, THEN I'll start choosing between escape, or compliance.

Blood started trickling from my scalp. That's serious, right? Shouldn't she be dialing that number down by now?

Swing after swing, I couldn't even form a coherent thought beyond: How much worse is she planning to beat me up?

Then, as if to answer my silent plea, she flung me into the air.

I soared upward—no, ROCKETED upward—until I was at least twenty meters above the ground. My vision blurred, and all I could hear was the wind screaming past my ears.

Does she really mean to bring me to a near-death state?

Isn't this a bit extreme for a mere high school fight?!

Below me, Kowai dropped into a stance, her legs coiled like springs, her focus sharp. Her right fist rested in her left palm, poised for what I instantly recognized as THAT technique.

No way.

I know what she's planning, and I know it's going to hurt… so much.

"The three layered fist"

A devastating move rumored to target not just the body, but the soul and spirit.

A technique reserved for high-level martial artists who had trained in solitude for decades, reaching levels of enlightenment I could only attain in my dreams.

Kowai-san... Who are you, again?

She muttered, her voice calm but terrifying. "Now, Makoto... wake up."

Her fist shot forward, tearing through the air like a bullet.

.....

….

..

∞

Huh? My head's still on?

That was my first thought as I lay sprawled on what was left of a massive tree. My body had left a human-shaped crater in its trunk, and four smaller trees lay flattened on the ground around me.

Blood dripped from my face as I stared up at the sky, my thoughts a mix of relief and disbelief. How did she manage to hit me so hard but hold back just enough to not kill me outright?

Such talent.

Though, I didn't know I was this sturdy.

Maybe I should put that on my résumé?

I shifted slightly, groaning as the pain screamed through my body.

The plan, initially, had been brilliant. Just like my looks: Before her fist could meet my universe-level brilliant face, I'd spin precisely midair and dodge it.

Simple, right?

But the Three-Layered Fist requires absolute focus to execute, meaning Kowai wouldn't have been able to defend against my planned counterattack: a revenge kick aimed right at her smug, overpowered self, right?

I figured if I was going to make a stand, I shouldn't hold back.

I mentally prepared as I fell toward her, ready to strike at the last second, but then…

I saw something.

Something sublime. Otherworldly. Mysterious.

And no, it wasn't panties. Though, I did see those too.

No, it was something else entirely—something that froze my thoughts and derailed my entire strategy.

So instead of dodging the rumored life-ebbing Three-Layered Fist, I stared at her like a complete idiot.

Her fist slammed into my face.

And my world began to tremble.

Or was it just my brain? I can't tell.

That technique had been believed to obliterate full-grown humans, decimate boulders the size of houses, and perform other surreal feats.

I assumed, at the very least, I'd have multiple broken bones—if I didn't outright die.

And yet, here I was.

"Well, well, well…" Kowai's voice slithered through the broken silence as she stepped gracefully over the shattered remains of trees, each splinter crunching under her feet like brittle glass.