The flames continued raging around the two of them.
Tyouro charged first.
BOOM!
His fist collided with Kimimaru's guard, sending a shockwave through the barrier.
"COME ON!"
Kimimaru slid backward.
Tyouro followed immediately.
"You said we'd become stronger!"
Another punch.
Kimimaru dodged.
"You said we'd protect each other!"
Kimimaru vanished.
An invisible slash cut through the flames.
Tyouro jumped over it.
"YOU HEARD EVERYTHING SHougo TOLD US!"
He slammed his fist downward.
Kimimaru blocked.
"You remember him!"
Kimimaru pushed him away.
"I remember."
"Then why are you acting like none of it mattered?!"
Kimimaru stood completely still.
The flames reflected across his emotionless eyes.
"...Because it didn't."
Tyouro froze.
The entire battlefield seemed to become silent.
"What...?"
Kimimaru looked directly at him.
"Those words."
His voice was completely calm.
"Everything Shougo said about us being a family..."
He looked away.
"...they were meaningless."
Tyouro's eyes widened.
Kimimaru continued.
"Useless."
The flames around Tyouro flickered.
"You don't mean that."
"I do."
Kimimaru's expression didn't change.
"We were his students."
"Nothing more."
Tyouro's fists began shaking.
"Stop."
Kimimaru continued.
"He wanted us to believe we were some kind of family."
A pause.
"But that was only something he told himself."
Tyouro's breathing became heavier.
"SHUT UP."
Kimimaru looked at him.
"Why?"
Tyouro's eyes were filled with anger.
"Because you're lying."
"I'm not."
"YOU ARE!"
Tyouro's flames exploded outward.
The barrier shook violently.
Everyone outside felt the sudden increase in heat.
Kairo stared toward them.
"What the hell happened?"
Yura looked worried.
"Tyouro..."
Inside the barrier, Tyouro's voice cracked.
"He loved us."
Kimimaru remained silent.
"He treated us like his own."
Nothing.
"He believed in us when nobody else did!"
Kimimaru's eyes remained cold.
"He was wrong."
Tyouro stopped breathing for a moment.
Kimimaru's next words were even colder.
"I never needed a family."
Tyouro stared at him.
"...Then what were we?"
Kimimaru answered immediately.
"Students."
Tyouro's expression broke.
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Tyouro lowered his head.
His fists trembled violently.
For a moment, the anger disappeared.
Only hurt remained.
Then—
FWOOSH!
The flames around him exploded.
"YOU'RE A LIAR!"
Tyouro rushed forward.
Kimimaru disappeared.
An invisible slash passed across Tyouro's shoulder.
He didn't stop.
Another slash.
He kept moving.
"TELL ME YOU DON'T MEAN IT!"
Kimimaru appeared behind him.
Tyouro turned and punched.
Kimimaru blocked.
Tyouro screamed.
"YOU CAN'T JUST THROW EVERYTHING AWAY!"
Kimimaru pushed him back.
"I already did."
Tyouro stared at him.
Kimimaru's eyes were completely empty.
"Shougo is gone."
He lowered his hand.
"There's no reason to pretend anymore."
Tyouro's eyes became watery.
"You really..."
His voice trembled.
"...don't consider us your family?"
Kimimaru looked at him.
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Tyouro's face went completely still.
Then the flames around him became brighter than ever.
Far above the Earth...
The Sun responded.
Its light intensified.
The temperature around the academy rose again.
Everyone outside began sweating heavily.
Kairo looked toward the sky.
"...What's happening to the Sun?"
Yura stared at Tyouro.
"I don't think..."
She swallowed.
"...the Sun is reacting to his technique."
Inside the barrier, Tyouro slowly raised his head.
His eyes burned with anger.
"You know what hurts the most, Kimimaru?"
Kimimaru waited.
"It's not that you don't want a family."
Tyouro clenched his fist.
"It's that Shougo spent all that time believing you were his family..."
His voice broke.
"...and you're pretending none of it mattered."
Kimimaru's eyes narrowed slightly.
Tyouro took a stance.
"Fine."
The flames roared.
"If you really believe all of that..."
He looked directly at Kimimaru.
"Then I'll make you remember."
Kimimaru disappeared.
Tyouro charged.
The two collided again.
And this time...
Tyouro wasn't fighting because he was angry.
He was fighting because he desperately wanted his friend to admit that Shougo's words had meant something.