Mikoto's black sword flew out of her hands and into the night air after she ran into a surprisingly powerful tonfa strike.
"I won't let you hurt Kazu!"
Akane's normally soft voice shouted in a rageful tone as she stood in front of the nervous boy accompanying her and desperately repelled Mikoto's ambush. Mikoto sprinted to where her abandoned blade had landed in Fuuka Academy's courtyard, then shouted back to her enemy.
"He HAS to die, Akane! If I don't defeat you, you'll be a threat to my brother!"
Mikoto clenched her teeth as she lifted Miroku back into her hands and dashed toward her target at blinding speed. Akane quickly responded by dodging to the side and swinging one of her decorative metal tonfa lowly to the ground to strike it across Mikoto's shuffling knees. Akane's attacker cried out in pain as she dropped her blade and roughly crashed into the ground.
Akane pounced on her vulnerable opponent and straddled over Mikoto as she groggily lay on her back on the paved walkway. Mikoto spent her final moments looking up in horror as Akane lifted her blunt weapons to deliver a finishing attack in pure impulse. Without hesitating, Akane killed Mikoto with a single thunderous blow to the temple, and then continued to use her tonfa to deliver several alternating strikes that reduced Mikoto's motionless head to a red pulp.
When the battle was over, Akane continued to kneel on the ground and panted from exhaustion as Mikoto's corpse and weapon disappeared into a swarm of glowing green particles. When Akane finally caught her breath, she briefly meditated and caused her own weapons to safely disappear so they could be summoned later. She then looked down to see her hands were still soaked with Mikoto's blood from her gruesome attack, and her peaceful silence was interrupted when her light brown eyes suddenly widened with shock and she let out a shrill scream that filled the night air.
When Akane quieted again, she was trembling in anxiety and thought out loud as the realization of what she had done to win the HiME battle came to her.
"I-... I killed someone! I can't take it back!"
As Akane continued to shiver in fear, her voice gradually became more relaxed.
"I can't... take... it... back..."
Her eyes closed as a bright smile appeared on her face.
"But... Kazu's safe..."
Kazuya watched in sympathy as Akane silently came to peace with her actions. This was followed by Akane briefly giggling in a calm, innocent tone. She slowly rose back to her feet and closed her eyes to meditate again, causing the air around her to turn into a warm breeze that dried her dripping hands. After Akane had fully collected herself, she quietly approached where Kazuya was standing. She gently leaned against his shoulder before speaking in her usual cheerful voice.
"Kazu, I've made up my mind. I'm going to defeat the other HiME so we won't have to worry about being separated anymore."
Akane raised her head, and her eyes looked into Kazuya's with playful energy.
"Mikoto gave me an idea. I'm going to focus on killing the HiME themselves instead of their Childs. That way they'll die with the people they care about the most, and they won't be separated, either."
She happily tilted her head to the side before speaking again.
"Okay?"
Kazuya gasped in shock at Akane's words. He was taken by a sense of dread as he realized Akane was acting like her usual self, but her words conveyed nothing but utter madness.
"Akane, you're talking about murder..."
The joy in Akane's face quickly faded and turned to a look of concern and desperation at the boy's words.
"I'm talking about survival, Kazu! If I don't stop them, the other HiME will come for me and Hari, and you... you'll die!"
Kazuya responded in a soft tone as he hugged his trembling lover and brushed his hand over her head to calm her.
"Akane, you're still excited from Mikoto attacking us. Just relax. We'll be fine."
The desperation in Akane's voice faded slightly, but her decision and new rationale still stood.
"I can't take that chance anymore, Kazu."
She rested her head against Kazuya's chest as she began to lightly sob.
"I don't think I'd be able to go on without you..."
Kazuya felt the girl's soft hands tightly grasp his shoulders as she continued speaking in a worried voice.
"...But your happiness is more important to me, and I would never try to control your life for myself. If the fact I need to fight the other HiME disgusts you that much, I would only be hurting you."
Akane's damp eyes gazed up toward Kazuya with growing paranoia. In her mind, failing to take the initiative now would be surrendering her love to certain death.
"If you're afraid of living with the guilt of what I have to do, and you would rather have me give up, then I... understand..."
Akane's desperation returned in full force as she pleaded.
"But please reconsider, Kazu!"
Kazuya now knew Akane's anxiety wasn't going to leave easily. He thought back to the day many months ago Akane had privately revealed she was a HiME to him. She had nearly fallen into despair when she thought he would be repulsed by the sight of the monstrous guardian she could summon, but she was calmed by Kazuya's warm acceptance. This predicament was similar in many ways, despite the stakes now being much higher.
Kazuya was also aware that Akane's affection made him a part of the secret HiME festival no matter what he did. Fate had left him only with the options of painfully abandoning Akane for something she had no control over to distance himself from the ceremony's atrocities, or returning his HiME's admiration and sharing her sins. He could see Akane's sanity had already suffered greatly from the stress of the festival, and turning her away now would only bring her more injury.
The young man sighed deeply as he considered the facts before him. After a long pause, he placed his fingers under Akane's chin and slowly lifted her head toward his before offering a loving smile. He put Akane's worries to rest by speaking in gentle assurance.
"Okay, Akane. Whatever you have to do, I'll stay by your side."
Akane's face brightened with renewed glee at her lover's words. Her still watery eyes began to sparkle with warmth as hopeful energy flowed in her voice.
"Do you really mean it, Kazu... ?"
In response, Kazuya lowered his head to Akane's and slowly brought his lips to hers. The couple closed their eyes as they shared a lengthy kiss in Fuuka Academy's courtyard.
In the caverns below Fuuka Academy, a silver-haired boy stood with his arms crossed as he watched Akane and Kazuya embrace through a collection of hanging video screens. Beside him was a ceremonial throne that was occupied only by a few sparkling green particles that quickly disappeared from sight. The boy grinned mischievously as he spoke in a cocky voice.
"I guess this messes things up a bit, doesn't it, Boss? I don't suppose you were planning on ever losing your physical body, especially only in the opening round."
After a brief pause, a single deep voice boomed from all sides of the cave in response to the boy's observations.
"Yes, Nagi, but it's not a vain loss. Even though she's only trained against two Orphans, Akane has surpassed all of my expectations. She's actually broken the pathetic trend Harimau users usually have."
Nagi chuckled softly before speaking again.
"Oh, you're calling her by her first name, now? You must be impressed."
The scheming subordinate stroked his chin in thought.
"Should I recruit her as your new enforcer, my Lord? Now that Mikoto's gone, it's going to be hard for us to constantly guard Mai."
The dark ethereal voice let out a low laugh that vibrated through the cavern before responding.
"No, Nagi. It would be better to let Akane's own devotion to Kurauchi grow. I may have to make use of that man."
The invisible being occupying the room with Nagi looked into the main video screen with great anticipation. His voice spoke a final time.
"Now that the cat's out of the bag, there are two candidates. Mai's survival is no longer a total necessity."