~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

kusaki wa midori hana wa sakihokori iro toridori shiki wa mata
meguri koharu biyori
you mo nai noni tada namikidoori omou ima hitori

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A shrill cry rocked the canopy, filling the dead jungle with life. All the calmness of the morning couldn't mask the savagery being witnessed on the dark forest floor.

The larger of the two contestants fell against the blood soaked boy, burying both weapons into his victim. Sage struggled, teeth bearing, attempting to gain balance. The sword held in his dove between the two, pressing into Kahil's stomach but not cutting.

Kahil pressed the sickle edge into Damien's shoulder as far as his strength would allow him. At the same time, his free hand frequently went to catch a whips of exposed flesh, the arm trembling as it found the base of Sage's neck and pumped the last vial into the vein. The tranquilizer gun fell from his hand.

Hissing, Sage pushed back, now both drugged and wounded. His mind realized that Kahil was the one who had taken the vest from Miguel's cold grip, being both disgusted and amused by the fact. Kahil wasn't nearly as innocent as he put off.

Or perhaps he didn't want to die.

Sage didn't care about dying, he wasn't killing for survival, he was here to win.

'The tranqs should slow him down.' Kahil thought desperately, doubting his own words. Even without the powers, there was something super human about Damien Sage.

Kahil saw the handgun before Sage fired it. He dropped, feeling the bullets fly above him, one so close it grazed his cheek.

The next sound he heard was the dry click of an empty clip. "Hn." Sage discarded the weapon, stepping forward. Kahil made to hit him, but the punch was caught mid-throw. Sage crushed down on the fingers, eyes lighting with amusement as seven cracks and a wail filled the air.

Kahil was pulled to his feet, dragged across the bramble and slammed into a tree. He hissed and whimpered, trying his best not to cry out. "What you injected me with," Sage demanded quietly, grip tightening, "was that the tranquilizer or the poison vials."

He didn't know.

Sage threw him against the tree again.

He didn't know!

Sage took what was left of his good arm and twisted it, exposing the bone as it ripped out of the flesh.

"I DON'T KNOW!!!" Kahil screamed, tears running. He didn't everything he could to keep from passing out, to keep his body calm, to keep from going into shock.

His eyes started to close. Sage whirled him around, pushing him up against the trunk and backhanding him. "You're going to be awake when I kill you." He informed.

The drugs still weren't kicking in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We go every day ikou emi de
hikari no terashidasu hou ni hirakareta mirai mezasu you ni
We go every day ikou emi de

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though he could still loose the limb, Sage had lost feeling on the side Kahil had pricked him. His legs were starting to prick and tingle, they'd soon be dead too.

"You're so pathetic." Sage spit, throwing the blonde against the groove once more. He was crying, his face was red and ugly with pain. "How can you ever expect to be a good soldier if you can't deal with pain?"

After awhile you just learned to turn it off.

Kahil was too choked to answer.

How was he going to kill him? The thought of taking one of the blades and skinning the boy was looking very appealing. Aside from Kat and her mock evil plan to seek revenge or whatever, Kahil had been the only other fighter to score a hit on him. Him. The so-called Perfect Soldier.

He could hear J's voice mocking him in his mind.

Drugged and bleeding by Master O's psychic? Master O's PEACEKEEPER.

Sage once again put the boy into his arms, holding him from behind. He wish he had taken the fork with him.

Kahil's body convulsed underneath him, the breathing shaky and hysteric. He was no longer crying. His skin had paled to a deadly white. He looked like he'd just collapse and fade away right there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sou kisetsu hazure no kono ame ga bokashita hyoujou to sono namida
furiyamanai uchi ni Gerra sukashita kao shite futto warattena
tena guai de susumu sokkou One week
tsukareta karada de sotto One drink

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Under Sage's anaconda grip, Kahil reached for his weapons. A second distraction. Distractions were beginning to become something he was good at. He wasn't thinking straight as he pulled the switchblade out, eyes blotted with blue and red dots, head light, breathing rapid.

The blade loosened, popping open with a graceful cut of the air. Kahil's grip on it steeled, snaking downward and plunging it into Sage's thigh. Around him, the Aphonia Wail shanked, recoiling backwards, not expecting the blow. The knife kept in him, Kahil giving it a solid turn.

The flesh was now entangled in the blade.

Moment of weakness, Kahil fled forward, putting distance between himself and Sage. The flick blade came with him, taking a large clump of Sage along for the ride.

He ran behind the tree, panting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
nantonaku keitai no dengen ofuri mimi sumasu zattou no zenzen oku ni
kikoeru darou kaze no koe nagare nagarete kondo wa naze doko e
shirajirashi kumo kiitari nanka shite jibun no mirai kasanetari
nanika itte moraitai no wa onaji kimochi suriherasu kakegae no nai inochi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage swallowed down a curse, hand feeding down to cover the gushing wound. He nearly fainted, the shock of putting weight on the now injured leg, mixed with the sickle wound, and the drugs starting to take effect.

He took out the machete, determined to take Kahil down before he lost it. If it was poison in his veins, he vowed, he wouldn't be dying alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
osanai koro no yume daburashite kagami no mae de asa haburashi de
migaku toki mo mata aho zura shite ie ni deru sonna hibi no
kurashite yoru wo matsu no wa mou yameyou yasundemo ii sa chikara tameyou
shizuka ni toki wo kizamu machi yume takushi orera ga tsunagu a-chi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Close to his head, Kahil yelped. The machete struck out from behind him, catching the bark of the tree, slicing a few strands of his hair. He clung to his limp arm, running forward. Sage followed.

Behind him, he could hear Sage chase behind him. Kahil was near hysterics, running on blindly. A tree branch sliced into him, creating a second blood line on his once perfect face. A tear trickled from his eye.

Sage tackled him them, coming up from behind and using his last reserve of strength to leap onto the psychic. They feel down into a heap, Sage's movements becoming too sluggish to attack him with the machete at the same time. Rolling around, Sage lashed out, trying to pull his body together to make the final blow. Kahil struggled uselessly, trying to pull the other's weight off him.

He couldn't tell, but he thought at that point, they both were screaming.

A blade reached out, lifted and plunged.

Blood spread.

Lifted. Plunged.

More blood.

A cry, tear drops.

Lifted, plunged.

Convulsions around him, eyes going blank. A shuddering smile.

Lifted, plunged.

The skin was tearing into crimson meat.

Lifted, plunged.

Dead.

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shizuka na hibi no kaidan wo...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He laid still, breathing shallowly. The body beneath him was already cooling, hard to recognize the face now with half the knife wounds. He smiled and laughed, picking himself up, limping and hissing at his own injuries.

"I won..."

It was all just a game.

He fought not to pass out. The red light on his collar faded. It was over. He had won. "I won."

He was covered in blood himself, drowned, black. He had won. He was trembling, shock from the injuries. He had won. He had won...

Kahil fell to his knees, crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
kaze ga yanda sora no mashita mizukara no te de tsukamu ashita
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Player - Damien Sage - Dead
Player - Kahil Emmajuanahana - Winner

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shizuka na hibi no kaidan wo...

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