He stood in the center of the arena, staring blankly at me as I entered. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to foster my hate into a weapon of destruction. That was the way he used people, the way he used me. He smirked and flicked his hand toward the referee, then spoke in a calmly sinister voice. "Well, have you told him the special restrictions on this round yet? We don't want to scare him."
I groaned softly and motioned for the ref to get on with the match. I drew my kunai, but he stopped me, holding out a pistol. I looked at him confusedly and shrugged. "What's going on?" I asked curiously. "A ninja must be ready for conflict in any environment. We no longer live in a world of swords and knives... So, if you are a true ninja, you should be able to think on your feet." I snatched the pistol from him and loaded the clip, cocking the hammer of the gun back. "You could've warned me about this sooner. This really isn't something you should just spring on a person." I heard Hideki laugh from the far end of the arena. "Are you backing out?"
"No. I wouldn't miss this chance for the world." Hideki looked at me and chuckled darkly at this comment. "Good, I wouldn't have it any other way. You should die by my hand brother." I laughed and pointed the gun toward him. "One will die, but it sure isn't gonna be me." I looked at the crowd, and saw all my friends sitting in the stands... I was afraid.
I could only hope my shots were accurate. The ref called the start of the match while I was unaware, as gunshots echoed out. I dodged and instinctively moved for cover, leaning behind a pile of rubble in the arena. I peeked up and fired several shots as the barrel clicked and reloaded. Hideki rushed for me, nimbly dodging my every blast. I listened as several bullets chipped away at my small source of cover.
"If you don't come out, I'll blow away your cover piece by piece." I ducked lower as the shots continued. Finally a small click echoed, the click of an empty clip. I popped up from behind the boulder and fired several times, then rushed across the arena as Hideki reloaded his weapon. "You're a fool, you left a vital point wide open." He aimed and fired at my leg, narrowly missing. I jumped forward, then twisted and double-gripped the pistol, firing with calm precision. As I hit the ground, I rolled softly across the dirt as Hideki loomed over me. "Night-night Brother."
I thrust my wieght backward and shifted my body off axis, then pushed off as Hideki fired into my shadow. I was mobile again, and I had to take the chance. I reloaded the click and cocked the hammer back, then raised the gun. I stared into Hideki's barrel and he stared into mine. I looked quickly up into the stands. Jamie had covered her eyes, and Kitty had already covered her mouth. Somehow, they seemed to know this would happen. I looked carefully at his fingers, they were sliding back. He was going to fire. I dropped the gun as Hideki fired. Right as I saw the finger flick back, I kicked the gun back up into my hand. The tides had turned... He had fired his final round, expending a vast majority of them on the boulder. I raised the pistol to his throat and held it tight. "Any final words, Big Brother?"
He didn't say what I expected him to... He simply laughed and shrugged, as if he knew something I didn't. "Poor little brother, with that one move, you just signed your life away..."
