Sweet Vengeance

Kairi's steps were slow, deliberate.

She moved like a phantom, her hand reaching down—pulling Rin up, then Kasumi, then Aiko.

They were barely conscious, breathing but broken.

Her fingers curled tighter around Kasumi's wrist, dragging her forward with a rare, unspoken gentleness.

And then—

Celeste entered the room.

Her footsteps were frantic, almost staggering—

And her face…

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her eyes were wide, red, broken.

Kairi stopped.

Something about that look—that face twisted in grief—made her stomach turn.

Celeste tried to speak, but her voice cracked.

She swallowed, trembling, before finally forcing the words out—

"Jin… is gone."

Kairi blinked.

Celeste's shoulders shook, her breath hitching. "He—" she choked, gripping her own arms, nails digging into her flesh.

"He sacrificed himself… to protect me—" her voice broke completely.

"—to protect us."

The words hit like a bullet.

For the first time in a long, long time—

Kairi felt something.

Something deep.

Something raw.

Something that should've been dead inside her.

Her fingers twitched.

Jin was… dead?

Just like that?

Her body stiffened, her chest tightening in a way that felt foreign—wrong.

This feeling.

She knew it.

But she hadn't felt it since—

—since high school.

A hollow ache settled in her gut.

Her throat burned.

She clenched her jaw, swallowing it down, crushing the feeling before it could drown her.

She couldn't afford this.

Not now.

Not ever.

Celeste wiped her face, voice shaking.

"Kairi, please—" she whispered, desperate, broken. "Tell me he didn't die for nothing."

Kairi's hands curled into fists.

Her knuckles turned white.

And for the first time, her voice held no arrogance. No smugness.

Just cold, quiet fury.

"Kayd dies tonight."

Kairi's eyes darkened.

She turned to Celeste, gaze sharp as a blade. The weight in her voice was different now—colder, heavier.

"Take them and leave."

Celeste hesitated, her breath still uneven. "Kairi—"

"Go."

Kairi's tone was firm. Final.

She motioned to Rin, Kasumi, and Aiko—battered, unconscious, barely breathing.

"They need you more than I do. Get them the hell out of here."

Celeste clenched her fists. "What about you?"

Kairi exhaled, cracking her neck.

She stepped forward, her silhouette cutting through the dim light like a demon stalking its prey.

"I finish what I started."

Celeste's brows furrowed. "You're outnumbered—"

"I don't care."

The words left Kairi's mouth like venom.

"Kayd dies here. I don't care if it kills me, too."

The sheer rage in her tone sent a chill through Celeste's spine.

Kairi didn't wait for a response.

She turned away, stepping toward the bloodstained battlefield.

Toward Kayd.

Celeste stared at her back, fists trembling.

But she knew there was no point arguing.

Kairi wasn't coming with them.

Not yet.

Biting her lip, Celeste knelt, gathering Rin first, then Kasumi, then Aiko. She hoisted them up, gritting her teeth at the weight.

"Don't die."

She didn't say it loud.

Didn't even know if Kairi heard.

But as Celeste carried the others toward the exit, she thought—maybe, just maybe—

Kairi wasn't planning on leaving this fight alive.

The room felt smaller, heavier.

Kayd rolled his shoulders, gripping his katana tighter. His usual arrogance dripped from his smirk, but there was something else in his eyes—anticipation.

Kairi, standing a few feet away, was stone-faced. But inside? A storm raged. The weight of Jin's sacrifice, the blood on her hands, the ghosts screaming in her head—it all funneled into one singular purpose.

Kayd had to die.

Kayd tilted his head, watching her like a predator sizing up another. "Look at you. The unbreakable Pacifist, looking like she's about to cry. Is that grief? Fear? Or did you finally realize you're not untouchable?"

Kairi exhaled slowly. "You talk too much."

Kayd chuckled, stepping forward. "And you lost too much. I wonder—what hurts more? Watching your friends die, or knowing you couldn't stop it?"

The instant those words left his mouth—Kairi moved.

Fast.

A vicious right hook slammed straight into Kayd's gut.

A crack. A cough. A second of silence.

Then—

Kayd grinned.

His knee shot up—connecting with Kairi's ribs, sending a sharp jolt of pain through her side.

She didn't flinch.

Didn't even step back.

Instead—she swung again.

Kayd blocked, twisting into a counterstrike. Their blows clashed—fist, elbow, knee—flesh against flesh, bone against bone.

It wasn't a fight.

It was a war.

Each hit was meant to kill.

Each movement driven by rage.

Kayd swung his katana—Kairi weaved under, landing an uppercut to his jaw.

Kayd staggered back, spitting blood. "That's it. Give me that fury. Show me that monster inside."

Kairi didn't answer.

She just attacked.

Kayd moved like a ghost, each strike landing with brutal precision.

A fist cracked against Kairi's ribs.

Another strike hammered into her jaw.

A cut from his katana tore across her shoulder.

Pain.

She could feel it.

But—she could hear them, too.

Unknown.

His smirk, his voice—"Come on, Pacifist. You're supposed to be unkillable, right?"

Aiko.

Grinning like always—"No matter how crazy things get, we make it out. That's the rule."

Kasumi.

Laughing softly—"You never know when to quit. It's annoying… but I respect it."

Celeste.

Her gaze—softer than most—"You act like you don't care, but we all see it. You fight for us."

Rin.

Bloodied but unshaken—"You never run. You never back down. That's why we follow you."

Jin.

A shadow now. A voice from the past—"If you're gonna fight, fight like hell."

A new fire ignited.

Kairi stopped hesitating.

No more toying around. No more games.

She took the next hit—absorbed the pain—then snapped forward.

A perfect elbow strike—

—straight into Kayd's stomach.

CRACK.

The air rushed from his lungs. His body folded from the impact.

For the first time—his smirk vanished.

Kairi's voice was low, cold, unshaken.

"You're not worth holding back against."

End of an EraKayd coughed, blood dripping from his lips, but instead of rage, he laughed.

A hoarse, twisted chuckle.

"Damn… That's more like it." He rolled his neck, cracking it with a sickening pop. "I was starting to think you lost your edge, Pacifist."

Kairi didn't respond.

She didn't have to.

Kayd dashed forward, his katana flickering like lightning, his eyes scanning—searching— for the slightest opening.

A feint left. A shift right. A blade cutting the air.

He was fast.

Too bad she was faster.

Kairi stepped inside his range—past the katana—her fingers clamping onto his wrist like iron.

Kayd's eyes barely had time to widen.

Her hip turned. Her stance locked.

Then—the throw.

A perfect judo execution.

Kayd's body whipped through the air like dead weight, his back slamming into the table—

CRACK.

—splintering it into pieces.

Silence.

Then, a groan. A ragged breath.

Kayd lay in the wreckage, coughing, struggling to push himself up.

Kairi stared down at him, expression unreadable.

"Edge?" she finally muttered, voice quiet but edged with something dangerous.

"You think I lost my edge?"

Her foot came down. Hard.

Right onto his chest.

Pinning him where he belonged.

Kayd swung.

Sloppy.

Desperate.

Kairi weaved past his blade, her eyes cold, her movements precise. His attacks were losing their edge—his once-sharp, practiced strikes now wild and erratic.

She caught his wrist mid-slash.

A sharp twist. A brutal parry.

Kayd's katana jerked off course, missing its mark. Before he could recover, Kairi's elbow drove into his jaw with a sickening crack.

"You're slowing down," she muttered.

Kayd spat blood, staggering back. His breath was ragged, his hands trembling from the force of her counters.

Yet, he still grinned.

"Funny," he wheezed, shifting his stance. "That's what I was gonna say to you."

Kairi's expression didn't change. She didn't care.

Not anymore.

As they clashed again, Kayd's form fell apart. His strikes lacked precision. His footwork was crumbling.

Kairi?

She only got faster.

Sharper.

Stronger.

Her blocks turned into parries. Her parries turned into counterattacks. Every hit she landed was heavier—punishing.

Kayd swung again. She sidestepped.

He lunged. She blocked.

Then—she struck.

A brutal knee to the ribs. A crushing palm to the sternum.

Kayd stumbled. Wide open.

Kairi's leg snapped forward—

THWAM.

—a vicious front kick to his chest.

Kayd's body launched backward, crashing into the bookshelf behind him.

Books tumbled down. Wood cracked. Dust filled the air.

Kairi exhaled slowly, eyes locked on the wreckage.

But she didn't let her guard down.

Not yet.

Meanwhile…

The Kurokawa Metropolitan Bureau officers fled, their panicked footsteps echoing through the building.

Yuriko, Mikaela, and Ryuji were among them, their faces grim as they took the opposite route—leaving the chaos behind.

And then…

At the back of the building, Celeste, Kasumi, Aiko, and Rin moved swiftly through the escape route.

Away from the bloodshed.

Away from the storm brewing behind them.

But Kairi?

She wasn't leaving.

Not yet.

She had unfinished business.

Kairi moved in for the kill.

Her fingers curled into a claw, ready to tear out Kayd's throat.

Then—

SHHK.

Pain.

White-hot. Blinding.

The sting shot through her skull like a lightning strike.

She barely registered the spray of warm blood splattering across the floor.

A burning, raw sensation tore through her left eye—

Kayd had sliced her.

Deep.

Not enough to take it out, but enough to split the skin. Enough to send her into searing agony.

She screamed.

A sound that rattled the walls.

Raw. Animalistic.

Her body jerked back, her hand snapping to her eye. Fingers pressed against the wound, feeling the hot, sticky warmth of blood rushing down her face.

Her breath came out ragged. Her vision blurred.

But she didn't stop.

Not for a second.

Through the crimson haze, her remaining eye locked onto Kayd.

He was grinning.

Laughing.

He had landed a real hit.

But Kairi…

She only grinned back.

Kayd's laughter faltered.

Because even half-blinded, even bleeding, even with only one good eye left—

Kairi wasn't done.

Not even close.

She surged forward.

One eye. One hand. Pure adrenaline.

The hunt wasn't over.

It had only just begun.