False Victory

Iori Yagami's left hand held the front of Kyo Kusanagi's black t-shirt in a tight fist. Squatting over the fallen warrior his fist tugged Kusanagi upward. The warrior had no strength left and so his head was titled backwards and his brunette hair lay lazily over his eyes. Iori held his opponent before him, basking his glory.

They were both a bloody mess Iori noticed as he observed both Kusanagi's and his condition. Blood spilled over Kyo's open lips, cuts across his right cheek were covered in dry blood, and blood dripped down his face through his dirty hair probably from the spot where Yagami had slammed his head into the ground. His pants were blood splattered and torn and his jacket was filthy.

Yagami's condition was a little better off. His clothes were dirty and covered in blood, the blood all being from Kyo… Iori's physical features were much better than that of his rivals. He felt little pain anywhere and the only blood on him that belonged to him came from a cut on his lip. Iori guessed he hadn't felt much pain because he'd entered the Riot of Blood not too long into the fight but thankfully he snapped out of it in time to gloat.

Iori began to question his victory though. Usually Kyo fought a lot harder. Usually the younger fighter won. Usually it was Iori who walked away beaten and bloody. Usually it was Kusanagi who got to bask in the glory. What happened to that? What happened to the smart-ass high school punk?

Realization dawned on Iori. Kyo had barely fought back. Iori was sure that in his rage, he'd left a lot of opportunities for Kusanagi to strike wide open, but Kyo had only gotten in one good hit. One single hit! Looking back, it was even in his eyes. Something that told Yagami that Kyo hadn't wanted to fight. No… He wanted a fight alright but he didn't want to win. Kusanagi didn't want to survive the fight.

Kyo Kusanagi had let him win.

Suddenly Yagami couldn't bring himself to look at the mess in his fist. His victory was a false one…

Kusanagi coughed. Yagami jumped at the sound and looked back down at Kyo, his red bang sliding into place over his eye. Kyo's face was covered in blood now. The more the man coughed, the more blood conquered his features.

"Jus' kill me…" Kusanagi gargled.

Pity struck Yagami hard. What could possibly make a warrior like this want death? "Kusanagi…. You let me win."

There was no response.

Iori took that as a yes and slowly released his grip on the younger fighters' black t-shirt and let him gently hit the ground. Iori than stood and kept his eyes on the wounded man.

Why was he doing this? Why did Kyo want to die so badly? Was it because of the feud? Iori loved to fight Kyo but he no longer fought the man because of some feud, he fought Kyo because Kyo was his equal. Iori had dropped his hatred of Kyo long ago and let it be replaced by other feelings that had been hidden in his subconscious the entire time: respect, love, and curiosity.

"Kusanagi…"

Kyo's tired chocolate eyes stared back up at him. His lips began to move but no sound came out.

Iori forced himself to look away from the pitiful man lying on the wet ground begging to die. He forced himself to look the other way. To keep himself distracted he observed the condition of the back alley they'd fought in. Blood spotted the walls here and there, the dumpsters were bent up, trash cans lay knocked on their sides, and trash was thrown just about everywhere.

"Yagami!!" Kyo's angry weak voice echoed through the alley and Iori's thoughts.

Iori slowly brought his eyes to meet his.

"Wha' are you…. Waiting for…." Kyo's voice was choked and his breath was ragged, it was obviously a struggle for Kyo to speak, let alone stay conscious.

Yagami stood silently staring down at the pathetic Kusanagi heir. He'd always wanted this. To kill Kyo. That's what he had been told and raised to do. That is what he suffered through harsh physical training for. That is what his family wanted him to do. Pheh! The family no longer held any interest to him, nor their wishes.

Yagami stepped over Kyo, shoved his hands into his skin tight, dirty red pants, lowered his head so his red hair hung in place over his eye, and closed his golden eyes. The exit of the beaten alley and Kyo's presence was his goal.

Kyo rolled onto his side, groaning with the effort, coughed and called after the red-head. "Where are you going?! Aren't you gonna finish me?!" A spasm of coughs broke the wounded man's speech off and velvet red blood splashed onto the gray concrete. "You waited… all this time…but you can't even *cough* finish me? What's wrong Yagami?! Don't want my blood on your hands Yagami?! HUH??"

More of his bloody coughs filled the night air and echoed down the alley.

Iori stopped dead in his tracks. He'd began to leave with the intention of leaving Kyo in the back alley to die to be found by some passer-by the next morning, but now in his heart, the part of his heart left undamaged by ex-girlfriend and his ridiculous father, screamed at him.

"Don't leave this man here to die!" It screamed. "This is exactly what your father would want!"

Before Yagami knew it was happening, he was at Kyo's side. "Oi! Kusanagi!"

Upon observation, Iori learned that the young fighter had finally succumbed to the pain and was now laying face down, unconscious on the filthy cracked ground. Yagami clicked his tongue and scooped the injured man up into his arms.

With a slight grin on his face that did not resemble his usual bloodthirsty one, Yagami left the alley with Kyo.