He walked out of the cage. No one stopped him. The bruise-colored sky was beginning to lighten at the edges—a thin line of gold, like the first clean strike of dawn. The next morning, Kenji visited Akari in the hospital. She was awake for the first time in three weeks. Her eyes, still swollen, found his face. She saw the cuts, the bruises, the broken hand.
He sat beside her bed and took her unbroken hand. Outside, the sky over Buchikome Ward was finally, impossibly, blue. Buchikome High kick- -Final- -Aokumashii-
"The high kick isn't about height, Kenji. It's about intention. You don't kick to win. You kick to end something. A fight. A fear. A future you don't want to live in." He walked out of the cage
He lunged. A massive front kick to the chest. Kenji couldn’t dodge. He crossed his forearms and took it. The next morning, Kenji visited Akari in the hospital
"Little brother of the broken doll," Goro rumbled, his voice like gravel in a blender. "I was hoping you'd come. I need a warm-up before I visit Akari's hospital room."
Akari smiled. It was a small, fragile thing. But it was real.