The atmosphere in the locker room was nothing less than harrowing. With no lights on, the Three Heavenly Kings sat in a silence that could never be called comfortable... the stakes of this round, and the consequences of failure weighed on them so grievously, it was hard to find proper words to even motivate each other.

Chris, especially, sat there with a heavy heart... peering into the palm of his hand, wondering if he had the strength left to carry out their goal... to fulfill the promise the three of them made: to bring this world into blessed oblivion, until only they remained. A world just for them.

He knew he was next. He knew he'd already suffered defeat from Saisyu; being taken out again would be the end for his efforts. No more chances. For these reasons... his nerves were suffocating.

"Hey Shermie..." Chris suddenly spoke up out of nowhere.

"Hmmmm?" Shermie made a quizzical grunt.

"...You remember that time we were playing in Burbank, and one of my drums broke in half? And there was a woman in the crowd, and SHE had a pair of drums, because a few days ago her son had forgotten his drums at band practice, and she put them in her purse to take them to him, but by the time she got there, he had already gotten a new pair, and then she just kinda forgot they were in her purse-"

"Chris, what are you talking about?" Shermie finally cut into the boy's rant. "We're servants of Orochi."

"B-but..." Chris stammered.

"Shermie's right." Yashiro finally jumped in. "Focus on the task at hand, Chris. We HAVE to win here, no matter what. They'll be looking to knock you and Shermie out, and I'm not sure we can rely on Mature and Vice... so it's just you two. I need you guys to put it all on the line."

Shermie flicked her hair with a lyrical giggle. "Oh Yashiro baby, you worry too much. Between the two of us, none of those insects stand a chance~"

Chris leaped up from the bench, slapping his own head a few times. "Yeah, we'll get it done!"

Yashiro extended a warm smile. "I know you guys will. You're the only ones I can rely on."

With that, Yashiro bid his farewell, walking out of the locker rooms to go and stand out on the sidelines.

Chris and Shermie were left in the locker room, by themselves, a small silence shared between them... until Chris spoke up.

"...What was I talking about a minute ago?"

Shermie shrugged. "Beats me."

Chris sighed. "Sometimes... sometimes I remember things. But then as soon as I-"

"All you need to remember... is that we're on the verge of victory." Shermie winked. "We're not the ones hanging on. Those fools are the ones on borrowed time~"

Chris smiled. "You're right."

Silence filled the locker room once again... awkward to most other people, not to two who were bound to each other for all eternity.

Chris looked over at Shermie: it was hard to tell where she was looking, what she was thinking... mystery constantly surrounded the woman. The longer he looked at her, the more he found his cheeks warming.

"...Shermie?"

"Yes~?"

"I... I need to tell you something." Chris meekly spoke, his face growing redder and redder.

"Well go right ahead, but make it quick~"

"Okay..."

Chris closed his eyes... took a deep breath... and opened them. "I love you."

Shermie tilted her head, pressing her hands on her cheeks. "Awwwwwwwww, you're so adorable, Chris! I love you too~!"

"N-no, I really...!"

"You're my sweet, sweet little boy." Shermie giggled. "Now go out there and make me proud. I'll be rooting for you~!"

"I..." Chris tried to form words... but a sigh of defeat sounded soon after, as he hung his head. "Thanks."

With a wave of her fingers, Shermie was the next to leave the locker room. Chris couldn't help but stay fixated on her swaying hips, the constant swagger in her every step, as she left him standing there... alone.

"Shermie..." he sighed. "I wish you looked at me the way you look at Yashiro."


ROUND 3 FIGHT #5: IORI YAGAMI VS CHRIS

FLICK!

A snap of his finger spawned a tiny flicker of purple, standing on the center of his thumb and index finger.

He brought it up to his lips... and ignited the cigarette, hanging from his mouth.

Retracting the flame, Iori laid back, placing a hand behind his head, as he casually sucked in mouthfuls of the nicotine, before blowing out concentrated puffs. Holding it in his lips, Iori reached up with his free hand, up towards the sky...

..Shaking. Constantly quivering, against his control. As hard as he tried to will it steady, his hand quaked with a mind of its own, nagging him... reminding him... of the perpetual struggle he dealt with. A struggle that was being ever-strengthened, as the Hakkeshu persisted in their goal...

"Iori?"

"Dude."

"You have a match."

"You. Ring. Chris. Ring a bell?"

Iori's head only slightly shifted, to capture the faces belonging to the multiple voices pestering him. His eyes then shifted to the field: Chris was already out there. He was down on one knee, his eyes closed... like he was uttering a prayer.

Iori rolled his eyes as his head turned back to a daydreaming position. A sharp, long sigh, expelled a haze of smoke from his mouth, as the cigarette was slowly weathered to the nub...

...Finally, rising to his feet, Iori snatched the cigarette from his mouth, flicking it to the ground. He pressed his shoe against it, stomping it into the ground to snuff out the smoldering remains.

His hands found his pockets, as Iori Yagami at last emerged from the fighter stands, and started to make his way to the field. Everyone cheered when they saw his body at last in motion: it was a more appropriate response than jeers of annoyance for the wait, because nobody dared to suggest Iori was wasting their time. Iori Yagami moved as he wanted, WHEN he wanted.

"Good luck, Iori~!" Athena cheered from the stands, waving wildly at the man with a cheery smile.

Iori slowly turned, locked eyes with her for a split second... then turned back and resumed his walk, his face unchanging.

Athena sat back down... and Kensou wasted no time tearing into her with accusatory eyes.

"What was that?!"

Athena looked at him, defensively. "What?!"

"You know what!" Kensou attacked. "You being all goo-goo eyes with Iori!"

"I was not 'goo-goo eyes' with anybody, Kensou!" Athena fired back. "And it's none of your business anyway! I'm just rooting for Iori to do well."

"Iori? Really?" Kensou's face twisted. "He's one of the biggest assholes on the planet! Why would you care how he does? He doesn't care about YOU, or anybody for that matter!"

Athena pressed a forefinger into his chest. "Hey, don't say that about him. Iori can be a very sensitive, intimate guy when he wants to b... uhhh..."

...It was at that moment that Athena realized she might have told on herself a bit. Kensou's face was, for lack of a better term... like someone had insulted his mother.

"Is there something you need to tell me?!"

"N-no~" Athena nervously chuckled, her face slightly blushing.

Kensou cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Because I'm still not 100% sure you're being honest about what happened at the hotel that first night."

BEGIN FLASHBACK

"...Will you move?"

END FLASHBACK

Athena threw her hands up, and brought them back down, slapping her own lap. "Alright, FINE! We slept...i-in the same bed!"

...Those words hit Kensou even harder than an actual punch, and the poor boy literally fell over. It took several seconds for him to scramble back up to his feet, his hair all messed up, a mixture of tears and snot plastered on his face.

"PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!"

Athena looked away, face red. "W-well, you squeezed it out of me! Should've just left it alone."

Kensou was full on pouring from the eyes. "BUT WHY IORI?!"

Athena's lips curled to an embarrassed smile. "W-welll... I was alone, and stressed out, and he was alone, and we were walking the hallways... and he looked really attractive with no shirt on... a-and we just had a really tender moment together, talking about stuff... and cuddling... and..."

"Did you have sex?!"

Athena did a double-take that hurt her neck. "Kensou!"

"You had sex, didn't you?!"

"I'm not telling you."

"WHY. NOT?!"

"Because you can't handle it."

"THAT MEANS YOU DID, DIDN'T YOU?!"

"I'm not saying yes..."

"But you're not saying no!"

"But I'm not saying yes."

"One day, I'm going to grow powerful enough to read your mind, Athena Asamiya! JUST YOU WAIT!"

"Well until then, you'll just have to suffer the torture of the unknown~"

"...That's it, I'm hitting the concession stand."

Iori's walk to the ring was a leisurely pace. Deep down, he wished he felt more urgency to beat the Hakkeshu... but something inside him felt hesitant. Perhaps it was the constant fear of losing himself. Against his sworn enemies... could he control it?

His eyes cut to the fighter stands. Towards Chizuru and Saisyu. They were standing side by side, as always, Saisyu nursing a few facial bandages. Chizuru smiled and waved.

Iori didn't return the gesture. His eyes went further left... not too far away, Mature and Vice were also on their feet, posing weird-like with their backs to each other. They both gave a simultaneous wiggle of their fingers.

Iori blew sharp air. Turned his focus back to the ring. The more he walked, the more he thought... the more he observed how Chizuru and the bitch twins were like an angel and devil on his shoulder. One always preached righteousness... the others preferred chaos. One set out a path for him to follow... the others encouraged him to do what he wanted. Even if it was selfish. Even if it wasn't the responsible way.

Responsibility. Freedom. Sometimes the lines got blurred. All he knew was... he needed to unleash. Violence was a horrible, horrible vice for him; at least in this situation, he could justify it, as it was directed towards people deserving of expulsion. If for no other reason, he could say he was fighting for the good of humanity.

He couldn't help it if it made him feel better in the process.

"So, it's come to this."

Chris, eager to greet Iori, rose from his prayer to address the redhead as soon as he arrived in the dirt circle. "The way history meant it to be: the Yagami heir, vainly stepping up to once again try and prevent the rise of the Messiah. Poor, misguided Yagami... you're less an heir than you are a stray dog, wandering without purpose... no Kyo to guide your leash."

Iori's eyes distorted, as his fangs bared. "Again with this shit! Kyo, Kyo, Kyo, Kyo, Kyo, KYO, KYO... I wish you'd all shut the f*** up about him! Newsflash: I'm not defined by Kyo, or any other f***ing Kusanagi. I'm my OWN man. Right now, tearing your ass limb from limb? It's aaaaallll ME. Nobody told me to do it. I'm f***ing doing it, because I don't like you, and I want you and your stupid friends to disappear."

Chris grinned wide. His hand slowly rose... until he spread the fingers across his own face, masking himself.

FWOOOSH! All at once, a purple curtain ignited from the ground, coating the boy head-to-toe in a shroud of violet... when the flames passed, Chris was in his Orochi form: blue clothes now red, skin slightly darkened, his eyes a demonic crimson.

"So, the Yagami pup does know a thing or two about duty." he taunted. "I'm surprised. Although, I'm sure Chizuru had to bend your arm just to get you here."

Iori's eyes widened with madness... as a psychotic grin spread on his lips. "You keep trying to play that card against me, but it's not gonna work. You can call it 'duty' if you want to... but to break this down to the bare minimum, it's just me and you... and a little boy is about to get his mouth shut."

Chris cackled, as he brought his hands up to both sides, spawning columns of flame in his palms. "Hahahahahah! I'm not scared of you, Yagami! I know that I'm just a few wins away from the Promised Land. Me, Yashiro, Shermie... nothing can stop us at this point!"

Iori blew air from his bottom lip. "Pffff... you're delusional. You dumbasses lost already. You're clinging to life support."

FIGHT!

Iori rushed in like a man possessed, an animalistic growl erupting from his lungs, as his fingers bared to kill. Chris, in contrast, stayed totally calm, as the raging madman closed distance...

Iori was on him, and he wasted no time throwing a ferocious swinging combination, hiding no intent to cleave Chris in two with slashing attacks. The first one, Chris evaded, and the second one, he dodged even EASIER... but Iori persisted, and he stepped in, putting his entire body into one, big, downwards swing.

"RRRAGHHHHHhhhhhhh!" Iori roared with all his might, as his hand smashed into the dirt, Chris smoothly jumping back with both feet. But Iori didn't allow his momentum to stop; instead of resting in that whiff position, he used his hand to SPRING his body forward into a frontlflip, closing the gap between the two.

Chris grimaced, as an uppercut flew at his chin; the boy just barely managed to sway back, and Iori spun around with a backfist. Chris first thought he was going high... but Iori went low with it, and Chris just barely jumped back to avoid his legs getting clipped.

Iori, not once ceasing his forward assault, ignored all the misses, and lunged forward with a step-in kick.

Chris finally saw the opening for a swift, and brutal counterattack: the boy, with great agility, slid underneath his leg and emerged from the other end with such a speed, he left an after-image on the ground, as the boy went airborne and launched a flying kick, summoning a purple fireball from his foot.

The fireball soared and struck its target head on, hitting Iori in the back with enough force to drop him on his face.

"Urghhh!" Iori grunted, as he was laid out by one fireball, faceplanting in the dirt and skidding a foot or two. He quickly rose up... he could feel himself burning!

With quick thinking, Iori whipped off his black leather trenchcoat, flinging it to the ground in front of him. He started to raise a foot to stomp out the flame... but he realized it was far too late, as the coat was burned down to nothing in a matter of seconds.

"Feels familiar, doesn't it?" Chris taunted. "A taste of your own medicine!"

Iori snarled, flexing his fingers. "That was custom-made, you little shit... and you're gonna pay with your life."

He rushed in. Chris just stood there, laughing, casually rotating his fingers with an open palm. He appeared passive... but his eyes narrowed, and he suddenly flung two more fireballs at Iori!

...Iori didn't slow down even a bit; as the fireballs soared at him, he swung his talon-like fingers and slashed them to embers, one after the next. Rather than run up to Chris... he LEAPED at him, with a massive airborne slash, that surely would have felled a tree had it connected. Chris was simply too fast, however, and the boy side-rolled to safety.

They were in the pocket. Iori put up his hands, confronting Chris in a proper standoff. He fired two quick swipes; Chris swayed his body and avoided them both, and Iori ended the combo with a low kick.

"Haha!" Chris giggled as he phase-shifted through the kick, connecting on Iori's chest with a solid fist. Iori recoiled only an inch, growling. He tried to rush in again... this time, Chris hit him with a more damning strike: a leaping knee to the chin, this one actually hurting Iori a bit more, as his head snapped back and he stumbled wildly.

"RRRGH! RRRAAAGhh!" Iori dipped low, like he was going to collapse... but it was a fakeout, as he was actually taking a low stance! Like a leopard about to leap from bushes, Iori DIVED forward with a predatory swipe...!

...He hit nothing but an after-image, as Chris leapfrogged over his body, emerging from behind. He drove a foot into the back of Iori's knee, breaking the man's stance... and a back elbow to the back of the head made Iori's lights flicker.

"Urgh...urrrghh..." Iori was feeling that one intensely; everything was a blur. He knew he had to get away, and recover FAST: with a rather sloppy dive, Iori rolled forward and tumbled through the dirt to gather precious distance between them.

When he turned around...Iori was still on one knee. He didn't rise up.

The next 30 seconds or so became a waiting game, as Chris slowly, unsurely, inched forward... Iori still on one knee, not appearing dazed, his mouth slightly open with labored breaths from all the missed attacks... but his eyes still bore all their tenacity.

Finally, Iori struck; he slid his hand across the ground, raking the dirt, sending a purple fireball sliding towards the boy! He didn't even wait for it to hit; as soon as Iori sent the thing, the man sprang to his feet like a relay race and went into a full sprint!

Chris wasn't afraid of the fireball; the boy countered with a reverse sweep kick, his foot summoning an equal force of flames. The two fireballs slid towards each other and cancelled each other out.

...But by the time Chris was back to neutral position, Iori has PLOWED into him with a massive spear. Their bodies hit the dirt, Iori immediately achieving top position.

Iori wasted no time ramming his fist into Chris's face repeatedly, spouting curses the entire time as he did it. Chris took one, two, three... his face was getting mangled fast. The kid gave a desperate yelp as he slid his legs free and found himself in full guard. Without much time to think, Chris locked his legs around Iori's neck in a triangle, and used it to fling the much larger man aside, giving him enough time to roll backwards and back to his feet.

Iori was slower to get up, and Chris made him pay; before the man was even fully up, Chris kicked him in the face, opening a cut on his lip. Iori recoiled in pain, leaving his legs exposed, and Chris threw a spinning kick to his shin. Iori's stance gave out, and he toppled forward...

...But again, Iori rolled with the momentum. As he fell forward, he bent his knees and DIVED at Chris's feet with a swipe of his arm. His powerful strike clipped Chris's knee, and the boy was felled.

Iori, with a ravenous snarl, snatched Chris up by the shirt, lifting him with one hand...

He cocked his free hand back, and started raining punches into Chris's stomach. One... two... three... Chris's face twisted with agony, as his eyes shut tight.

In a desperation move, Chris pulled guard and locked his legs around Iori's waist. But rather than fall to the ground, the boy hovered there, his upper body strength keeping him up and wrapped around Iori like an inner tube.

He spread his hands apart, and SLAMMED them into Iori's ears, making the man's world light up with a distortion of colors.

"Arrghhhh!" Iori was instantly reduced to a stunned state, allowing Chris enough time to detach himself from Iori and backflip with style. Back on his feet, Chris's feet trailed flames, as he leaped up and threw a spinning kick to Iori's face! Blood flew from Iori's mouth, as his head turned completely.. and the rest of his body went with it.

"THAT WAS FOR YASHIRO!" Chris shouted the name of his 'big brother' with noble intentions.

Iori was on his hands and knees, crawling desperately to gain distance... he brought a hand up, for only a second, to check the blood that was drizzling down his mouth. He saw the red stain his fingers... and it only enraged him more, as he balled those fingers into a fist.

Chris approached, his hand menacingly raised, flames sprouting from the palm. "And this is for Shermie...!"

Chris leaped at Iori with his open palm, intending to slam the fiery hand into Iori's face. The redhead acted fast; a quick roll, and Chris's hand impacted against the ground, leaving a smoldering crater.

...The next thing Chris felt was a crushing vice-grip, as fingers wrapped around his neck. "Ghhkkk...?!"

Iori drove the back of his head into the ground, as the man lifted himself back up... still with a hand on Chris, he got a running start, and started dragging the boy's body through the dirt... before abruptly hoisting him up high, above his head, with one hand.

"You... little... PRICK!" Iori cursed Chris's name as he slammed the boy against the ground like a giant salmon.

He lifted him back up. "You wanna f*** with me?!"

He slammed him back down, eliciting a yowl of pain from the boy.

"This is the price you pay... for being a deranged, genocidal little SHIT!"

Iori slung his arm up, and let go, throwing Chris high into the air. The boy's body descended, without control, as the trauma of the hits had shaken his discipline... he was falling right into Iori's waiting arms...

...And Iori cocked his hand back... flexed his fingers... and let loose his mightiest slash.

SLASHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Chris screamed to the top of his lungs, as he felt Iori's fingers cleave through his body, almost completely clean. As he hit the dirt, the most intense pain he'd ever felt flooded his fake nervous system. The boy looked down at his torso; he panicked a bit, when he saw himself completely opened up. Thankfully, as his body wasn't mortal... he had no blood.

"Huff... huff... hufff... u..urrghhh..ghhhh! N-NO! My powers... are... fading...!"

Chris rose back up... but he appeared to be in a state of great torment, as he brought his hands to his head and yelled in anguish. Iori bided his time and watched, as Chris's body started to fluctuate... his clothing constantly switching between red, blue, red, blue... before finally resting at blue. His skin color returned to normal. He opened his eyes... they no longer bore that red tint.

He looked at his arms, his lower body; he gasped. "N-no! Not now. Not like this! I need... urgh... I need to beat him!"

He looked to the sky, closing his eyes desperately. "P-please! Orochi... grant me strength!"

On the sidelines, Yashiro noticed Chris's plight. "CHRIS! Stay strong! You can do this! You've got more power in you than all of us combined... focus, and channel that power!"

Iori took the opportunity to dish out some psychological warfare. "Look kid... you're way past your time on this Earth. Why don't you call it quits now, and go rest in peace?"

"Sh-SHUT UP!" Chris spat. "I'm not going anywhere! Y-Yashiro... Shermie... I have to win! For them!"

"NEWSFLASH, ACE!" Iori shouted. "They're the ones that put you in this position! They're the reason you're dead! They're the reason you didn't get to live a normal little boy life, and grow up and make something of yourself. Jesus Christ, how can you follow those lunatics?!"

"BECAUSE I'M NOTHING WITHOUT THEM!"

The exchanges between them lost their heat all at once... and it became a more somber air.

Chris looked down at his feet. His hands meekly found his pockets. "You don't understand... I... I've never... been confident. I've never thought anything of myself. As long as I've breathed, I never thought I could ever... amount to anything. I dunno what's wrong with me. I had no aspirations. I had no... no belief in myself."

His head slowly raised... and his eyes found Iori, the words now directed at him. "Without Yashiro and Shermie... I'm a coward. I'm... I'm just a scared little boy. They've always been there, to hold my hand, to guide me... to protect me. I don't remember much of anything from my past life... but that's one thing that always clings true. What I have with them. They're my everything."

He took a bold step forward. "I swore to always devote myself to Yashiro and Shermie... to always follow them, to heed their words, to trust their judgement, to walk their path. Because I trust them to always steer me in the right direction. To always do what's best for me. I know, that as long as I'm with them... everything will be okay."

Iori's eyes narrowed. "So you'll follow them into Hell, then?"

Chris met his eyes with a determined gaze. "Yes, I will. And I'll die for them!"

The boy raised his hand, brought it back up to his face, the fingers shrouding his expression... his forefinger and middle finger parted... revealing a demonic red eye, once again.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! That same curtain of purple flames covered him once again, anointing him... with the power of Orochi, once more. When the flames subsided, he was back in his true form: red clothes, dark skin, blood eyes.

He raised his hands to his sides, summoning purple flames once more. "Enough talk! FACE ME!"

Yashiro was back to smiling, snatching Shermie into his arms as he pumped a fist. "YEEEAH THAT A BOY, CHRIS! MAKE HIM PAY!"

Iori hesitated for only a second... before shaking his head with pity, and getting back into fighting stance. "You're one poor, pitiful kid. I'm gonna put you out of your misery, and maybe you'll finally be free from this mess."

Iori rushed in with a wild combination left slash, into spinning back slash; Chris backflipped into a handstand, but instead of finishing... he sprang his feet FORWARD, slamming his feet into Iori's face, recoiling the redhead. Chris rushed forward, phase-shifting into a ramming elbow in his chest.

"Hnnf!" Iori grunted, as Chris spun around, and the second elbow cracked Iori in the cheek.

Chris tried to fire a kick to the midsection; Iori threw his own leg out in return, intercepting Chris's leg and dropping the smaller boy to his knees. Before Chris could get up all the way... Iori decked him in the face with a straight left that sent the boy skidding several yards back. Iori's strength caused the boy to get some good distance.

Chris finally stopped. His eyes flashed bright; with a snarl, he raised his hands and slammed them down, sending two pillars of flame sailing across the ground towards Iori. But he didn't stop there; he used his hands for leverage, vaulting his body forward into a handstand, his feet hanging above his head... Chris completed the frontflip, leading with his left leg, bringing his heel down on the ground, and sending a third, more powerful stream of fire forward.

Iori was prepared to roll between the first two... but the third flame attack hit him dead on. "Arrghhhh!"

Iori was dropped where he stood. Chris, feeling the momentum shift, rushed in and met Iori head-on. The redhead was only on his feet for a second, before an uppercut sailed into his chin and threatened to drop him again. Iori tanked the blow... but Chris kept throwing. A punch to the liver. Iori froze up; Chris leaped up with a spinning kick to the stomach, and Iori collapsed to his knees. Chris kicked him in the face, sending the man's body backwards, until his head hit the ground.

"Huff...huff...huff.. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Iori felt his body aching all over, his face stinging, his movements sluggish... but the rage still didn't subside. It strengthened him. Compelled him to keep going. He couldn't stop... until he was at peace.

Iori lifted with his elbows, vaulting his feet north... he completed the motion, backflipping onto his knees. Chris came in with a flaming fist cocked back, ready to unleash on his face; Iori was game enough to dive into a roll, to avoid the fiery impact. He tried to fly at Chris with a drop-kick; Chris easily rolled out of the way of it.

Back to their feet. They met in the middle... Iori swung with an overhead right, and Chris dodged it, but Iori followed up with a body shot that stumbled Chris hard. Iori immediately outstretched his hand and grabbed Chris by the face, intending to pick him up; Chris defended, flinging his arms up to slap the grip away, and he let loose a barrage of strikes: a fist to the stomach, a second to the face, a third back to the stomach... he brought that same fist back, reversed into an elbow, and let it fly across Iori's jaw.

Iori was sent backwards into a drunken stupor, his body turning 180 degrees... Chris rushed at him, thinking he had the advantage of a rear hit...

...But it was a trap! Iori baited him in, spun back around with a nasty forearm smash to the face. Chris was stunned instantly, and Iori followed up with a second forearm, smashing the boy so hard, his body flopped to the ground.

Chris slowly tried to rise up... Iori picked him up, and drove a knee into his body so hard, the boy went airborne from it, before landing right back on his face.

"You gonna stop now?" Iori tried to dissuade the boy. "Or do I have to put you in timeout?"

Chris groaned weakly... but the boy, even now, was attempting to get to his feet. "I won't stop! I'll never stop!"

Iori grunted. "Well, I tried to be nice."

Iori approached Chris, snatching him by his hair... Chris suddenly grabbed his arm, seizing it tight. With a sharp twist, Chris bent the arm, and the boy transitioned into a cartwheel. His momentum took Iori's entire body with him, redirecting the redhead at his mercy.

"Ghh! What the... fuuu...!"

Holding Iori's arm, Chris drove a knee into his jaw, used the arm for leverage to vault himself upwards... and he brought both feet crashing down on Iori's face, stomping the man downwards until he planted in the dirt. Chris backflipped off him with style.

"This... f***ing... kid..." Iori wheezed out his words weakly. He rose upwards... Chris was back in his face, and he wasted no time slugging Iori across it. He went back to the body, and followed up with a kick to the body as well.. before Iori was able to go down, Chris drove a back elbow into his face, and Iori stumbled back the other direction...

Chris approached, without fear. A menacing smile spread across his lips... and his hand raised, as his body coursed with a purple field of fiery chi...

...The chi began to gather, all at once, into his open hand. His eyes no longer bore any white, completely coated in a bright neon red.

"Here's a little blast from the past! OROCHINAGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Chris ripped through him all at once; with a wave of his hand, Iori's body was swallowed in a ball of fire. All that could be heard was his agonizing scream.

Chizuru was immediately reduced to frightened tears. "IORIIIII! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"That bastard kid...!" Saisyu cursed.

The flames roared for a few good seconds... until they were snuffed out in an instant, and only a lingering smoke remained... along with the charred body of Iori.

He was frozen there. Mouth open. Eyes devoid of consciousness. It wasn't until nearly a full minute passed, that his wobbling legs gave out... and he hit the ground.

"IORI! IORI, NO!" Chizuru squealed.

"He actually...?!" Saisyu gasped.

He certainly didn't appear combat-capable at the moment; his body lay still, though his chest still rose and fell with slow breaths... his arms and legs twitched with minimal activity.

"Call it." Krauser commanded, quick to jump to conclusion.

"Wait..." Rose pulled rank on him, with an objecting raise of her hand. "Not yet."

On the sidelines, Yashiro was spinning a giggling Shermie around in his arms. "HE did it! HE DID IT! YESSS! TAKE THAT, YAGAMI!"

"Our Chris is such a powerhouse~" Shermie spoke in agreement.

Chris approached the fallen man... no longer in his Orochi form. It seemed, the boy had at last exhausted the rest of his power, and he now stood before Iori in his regular appearance.

"How ironic." Chris chuckled. "Or how poetic, should I say. To be vanquished by that very attack... and by the very flames that you command. A real double dose of it!"

Iori uttered a raspy breath... but only coughs came out in response. A groan followed.

"I told you I wasn't going to stop." Chris continued. "I wasn't going to let anything in this world defeat me... not until I achieve the Utopia the three of us desire. You crossed me... and I just showed you what I believe in. The power THEY give me."

Th-thump...th-thump...

Chris, hands in his pockets, playfully extended a foot to Iori's stomach, and rested atop it. Iori groaned a bit louder.

"How sad that you chose to spend your limited time on this planet opposing me. Why do you do it, Iori Yagami? Why do you waste your borrowed time?"

Th-thump...th-thump...th-thump...th-thump...

Iori's breaths started coming out a little louder... some volume to his voice.

"You're just going to die anyway, so why not just do what you want? But no... you're constantly suckling the teat of those fools, Kusanagi... Kagura... and now it's brought you to this: a messy end, upon my flames. The flames of God."

TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP TH-THUMP!

Chris reached down, with both hands... he brought them to Iori's neck, and slowly started to squeeze...

"Don't worry... after I kill you here, I'll give you the dignity of roasting your bones to ash. A fitting end for the fool who thought he could play with our power." Chris insulted.

Chizuru was out of her seat in a flash, as was Saisyu.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

"YOU BASTARD! LET HIM GO!"

Chris's eyes widened with insanity, as his teeth stretched wide. His fingers squeezed tighter and tighter... Iori's face started to flush with a light blue-violet hue...

TH-THUMP.

KILL.

KILLKILL.

KILLKILLKILL.

KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL.

KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Life returned to Iori's eyes... but no irises were visible. Nothingness. A blank, white palette.

"Rrgh...!"

Steam hissed from his lips as he rose up, much to Chris's shock. "Wh-what...what?!"

Iori placed a hand on Chris's chest... with one shove, he sent Chris SOARING halfway across the Stadium!

"H...h-he's up!" Rose squeaked.

"IORI!" Chizuru called out. "Oh god... don't tell me he's...!"

Chris coughed violently, struggling to get back up. "N-no...! Not this! Not now...!"

Yashiro's tune had changed fast. "Oh no... no... CHRIS! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Iori approached with no urgency, a slow, looming danger... all-too real to Chris, who stood his ground with frightened legs.

Chris tried to swing; his fist connected clean on Iori's cheek... but the man just stood there, fist absorbed in his face, like it was nothing.

Iori cocked his arm back, and unleashed a backhand across Chris's face, knocking the boy silly... he hit the ground, and it seemed like he didn't want to get up, just from that.

Iori didn't care. "GRRRAHHH!"

He reached down, snatched Chris back up... already there seemed to be no consciousness in the boy's eyes.

Iori showed no mercy; he started with a left, and didn't stop throwing. Punch, after punch, after punch... he brutalized Chris's face with blows, each one producing purple embers upon impact.

It wasn't until after the seventh punch, that Iori took a step back, his empty eyes witnessing the dazed and unresponsive state of Chris, who just stood there, in limbo... his body swaying with zero functionality.

Iori raised his hand... the fingers straightened out, into rigid form. An accumulation of purple flames began to gather, until the hand... no... the entire ARM was painted in fire...

He stepped forth... and rammed his hand into Chris's stomach.

"Urr...urrggh...kkkk...?!"

He held him there. The boy was frozen... his eyes wide, mouth hanging... shocked eyes meeting the absence of emotion.

...And then it happened. Iori tore the arm free, and Chris's body was CONSUMED in an explosion of violet combustion.

BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The Stadium lit up with a bright purple inferno, in the dirt circle... it swirled and roared for several seconds, until the flames at last faded... and all that was left, was Chris's body, laying on the floor. His eyes were closed.

TH-THUMP...TH...THUMP...th...thump.

th-thump.

His body twitched... he hunched over... breathing loudly... the breaths were so loud, his exhales were like wails...

His body seized violently...

He coughed. A single glob of blood expelled from his mouth.

His body rose back up...

...The color returned to his eyes.

Iori looked down, at the damage he had wrought. He saw Chris, unresponsive, unmoving... but at the moment, no sympathy could register. Only a cocky smile.

"Sorry, kid. But I got news for you..."

He raised his hand, as a flicker of flame ignited in the palm. "THIS is the real deal. And I don't care what you, or some mythological rulebook says... I'm not dying until I decide to. It's MY power, by right. I command it. I decide my fate. And my fate... is to squash people who annoy me. So rest in peace, kid... you fucked with the wrong guy."

He crushed out the flame with a closed fist, pocketed his hands, and walked away.

WINNER: IORI YAGAMI


Iori didn't make it ten seconds, before Chizuru came running out there, and CRASHED into him, with tears in her eyes.

"Iori! Oh my god, Iori!" she wailed. Their bodies parted just enough, that her face could be close to his. "You... I thought you were...!"

Iori actually smiled. "I'm fine, Chiz. Fine. I wasn't gonna let some jumpy little flea motherf***er be the end of me."

Chizuru's arms captured him tight, shoving his face into her bosom, almost suffocating. "Iori Yagami... god... please don't ever scare me like that again. Please...!"

"Mrrph mrrrpp mmmrrph mrrrphhh mrrrphhh." his muffled voice spoke in her chest.

Saisyu, who joined the reunion, placed an adoring hand upon his back. "You did good, Yagami whelp. You did real good."

...It wasn't long before two pairs of arms snatched Iori, and forcefully pulled him away from the Kagura woman... much to her displeasure.

"We'll take it from here." Mature snarled at the woman.

"Yeah, Iori's OUR boy." Vice spat.

Iori, who was just along for the ride, showed little to no reaction to the events occuring. Probably because he was tired and hurt. Thus... he was defenseless against Mature and Vice, who were patting his head all over, brushing off his clothes (which remained intact, somehow), and overall just being all over him.

"We're so proud of you, Yaggy~" Vice beamed.

"You're our big, strong man." Mature gushed.

"When we finish our business here..."

"We'll be sure to reward you properly for squashing that little bug~"

Iori scoffed. "Pfff. Getting him to shut the f*** up is enough of a treat."


While one half was being saturated by celebration... the other half was stricken with tragedy.

Ignorant, the paramedics had tried to converge on the motionless body of Chris to tend to him. Yashiro quickly interfered, forcing them aside.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" his booming voice and powerful arms struck fear in the medical personnel, as he easily cleared the path. He couldn't have rushed faster to Chris's side, dropping to his knees, reaching down to scoop the boy up. Shermie followed soon after.

"CHRIS! Talk to me! Chris! CHRIS!"

Yashiro shook him several times. He reached up to gently slap the boy's cheek.

"Unngh...ungh..." Chris's eyes were behind his head initially.. but they soon rolled back to life. But even now, they were dim: it was taking all his strength to keep them open.

"Oh god, Chris..." Yashiro's voice was quiet, but carried a tremendous fear. "Y-you're body is fading... no... don't do this to me."

Even as Yashiro held his solid form, the boy's body was distorting... reflecting in the light, with constant flickers of transparency.

He spoke. "Y...Ya...shi...ro..."

Tears began to pool in Yashiro's eyes. "Chris. You fought so hard for us. I'm so proud of you."

A weak smile. "I...I'm... proud... to have stood by you guys... y-you're my... family..."

Shermie, too, knelt down the join the two of them on the ground. She put a hand on Chris's leg... just before it began flickering.

"Please, Chris... please don't leave me." Yashiro begged. "This is supposed to be our world. OUR world. The three of us! We can't... do it without you..."

"Sorry, big bro..." Chris groaned, his voice a whisper at this point. "I'm not... strong enough... to maintain it... this form is about to disappear."

"No!" Yashiro shouted in defiance.

"I don't know... COUGH! COUGH COUGH! when I'll be back..." Chris wheezed. "Maybe 2 years from now. Maybe 20 years. Maybe I'll NEVER be strong enough to will my spirit back. But I just want the two of you to know... everything I did, I did for you. I love you both. I... lo...ve... youuuuu..."

"CHRIS! CHRIS!" Yashiro wailed. He tried to hug the form against him... only for his arms to pass through nothing, and wrap around his own body.

"CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

And that's it for this very intense chapter. I think Round 3 is featuring some of my best work yet. I was incredibly proud of Mai vs Benimaru, and it was a delight to write Iori vs Chris. I hope you all enjoyed this decisive battle!

NEXT CHAPTER: The Hakkeshu strike back! Chris may be gone, but one Heavenly King still remains... a woman who has yet to suffer defeat, and is still brimming with power. Will Chizuru be able to put an end to Shermie's reign of terror? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!