Chapter 8 - Determination

Kiyoshi peeked around the corner of the building, heart pounding. A man stood in the lobby—tall, intimidating, and wearing heavy gauntlets on both arms. He gripped a female worker's wrist and raised it high.

"Want me to burn your hand off?" the man growled. "Tell me where Raidon Hiroshi is."

Kiyoshi's face turned serious. Without hesitation, he sprinted forward.

Izumi immediately understood—Kiyoshi was betting on his athletic instincts again. He turned to the others.

"Stay back. I'll cover him."

Greed saw Kiyoshi rushing in and let go of the woman, turning his focus to the boy. As Kiyoshi neared, Greed swung a heavy right hook—but Kiyoshi ducked beneath it and grabbed his arm.

What Greed didn't see was Izumi, trailing close behind. With precision, Izumi kicked Greed's left shoulder, giving Kiyoshi the momentum to flip him onto the ground.

"High schoolers?" Greed grunted, smirking from the floor. "If I were your age, I'd stay far away from situations like this."

"Man, it's really unlucky to have this much confidence at our age," Kiyoshi quipped.

"Don't worry, Gauntlet Guy," Izumi added. "We're enjoying our teenage years just fine."

Suddenly, Greed lashed out with a powerful kick toward Izumi. He blocked it—but lost momentum. Then, threads shot out of Greed's gauntlet, wrapping around Izumi's legs and yanking him down.

Kiyoshi rushed to react, grabbing Greed's body—but Greed smirked and grabbed Kiyoshi's arm with his gauntlet, burning his skin instantly.

"AAAHHHH!" Kiyoshi screamed, collapsing in pain.

Izumi's eyes widened—he had to move fast. But then he sees Aoshi with face full of determination, rushing towards greed and dropkicked Greed in the chest, sending him stumbling back.

Aoshi had arrived.

"Izumi, take Kiyoshi to safety!" she shouted, landing in a low crouch.

"Are you sure?" Izumi asked.

"Yeah. Trust me again, will you? I'm burning with determination."

Izumi nodded, grabbing Kiyoshi and carrying him back toward Raidon. Aoshi stood her ground.

"What's this?" Greed scoffed. "Letting a girl protect you over a little burn?"

"You're not worth the joke," Aoshi muttered.

She launched a flurry of kicks, all dodged by Greed—until she spun into a rotating handstand kick, nailing him in the head. Her athleticism was clear.

"Not bad," Greed said with a grin. Then—a blade emerged from his gauntlet.

"He wasn't even trying before…?" Izumi thought, fear creeping in.

From a distance, Kiyoshi tossed a mop toward Aoshi.

"Take this!"

"Thanks. This will do."

Aoshi now fought with the mop, dodging the blade with precision—knowing full well it could slice the mop clean in two.

Meanwhile, Izumi was thinking hard—until Raidon called out.

"Izumi! That gauntlet is powered by gamma energy. If you still have those blue gem shards from the car, we can use them to jam it."

Izumi's eyes widened. He sprinted back to the car, grabbed the shards, and rushed back.

"What do I do with them?"

"Smash them into the gauntlet with enough impact—it might overload the system."

Back in the fight, Aoshi finally landed a quick jab to Greed's gut, then shoved the mop into his forehead like a fencer striking true.

From behind her, Izumi yelled:

"AOSHI, GET DOWN!"

Aoshi ducked. Izumi, using a flying cube as a step, launched himself into the air and slammed the gem shards into one of Greed's gauntlets, jamming it.

"Now!" Aoshi shouted.

She ripped off the other gauntlet, and Izumi snatched it, running back to Raidon.

"Why is this thing so heavy?!" he groaned.

Greed charged after him—but Aoshi landed a kick to his head. Greed dodged, countered, and punched her in the stomach. She gasped, then collapsed.

He raised a fist to finish her—but a flying cube struck his arm, knocking it off course. Izumi appeared again and punched him across the face, giving Aoshi time to escape.

The cube now floated beside Izumi, glowing with a faint blue aura.

Raidon approached Aoshi, handing her the gauntlet she'd disarmed.

"Here. You can use this one."

She slid it on—it was surprisingly light on her arm, despite its weight when carried.

Aoshi stood next to Izumi.

They faced Greed together.

Then, from behind Greed, a voice rang out:

"Aww, Greed... can't even handle a few kids?"

Two new figures emerged—Lust and Sloth.