"...Renji."
He halted at thirteen steps.
The man I remembered carried a smirk most days,
even in battle,
even when he was angry enough to break bones.
But now?
Nothing.
His face was carved from stone.
Expressionless.
Silent.
Dangerous.
Renji didn't speak.
He didn't even blink.
He simply raised his hand—
and the next thing I heard was the whistle of steel splitting the wind.
Both daggers were already halfway to my face.
Heat burned in my right eye.
No… in my left eye too.
The world slowed—
snow hanging in the air like frozen dust.
My body moved before my mind could catch up.
I felt the knives slip past my face,
the wind peeling the ice from my cheek.
A faint smirk tugged at Renji's mouth.
"These knives are dull… but you're not."
"You're wrong."
He shook his head.
"Maybe about the knives. Never about you."
I stepped back and sat on the fallen log.
Renji walked over without a word and lowered himself beside me.
He didn't look at me at first.
His eyes drifted across the white slopes, the frozen rooftops,
the thin smoke rising from the village below.
"This mountain…" he said at last, voice low, contemplative.
"It forces a man to think.
Even makes him think things he normally wouldn't."
His breath misted in the cold.
Mine felt heavier.
Then he turned—just slightly.
Enough to aim the next words straight at me.
"So much power," he murmured.
"Fifth Flame. High stage.
And yet…"
A pause—sharp as a blade.
"Hayato.
How much do you remember of your mother and father?"
My heart stuttered.
Of all things—
after throwing knives at my face—
after tracking me up this mountain—
he asks that?
"You throw daggers first," I said quietly,
"and now you're asking about my parents?"
I exhaled.
"It's been years, Renji…
and I still can't tell what you're trying to do."
I stared at the ground.
"There's not much to remember anyway.
Before slavery… there was just—"
My voice faltered.
"Just my father's hands hitting me.
And my mother pushing me away.
Not wanting to see me."
The words tasted like rust.
Old, but not forgotten.
I met Renji's eyes again.
"Those are the only memories I have."
His gaze drifted back to the village.
"How did the mountain folk treat you?
They found you half-dead.
Nursed you.
Fed you.
Did they fear you at all?"
I exhaled hard.
"Renji.
Say what you came to say."
He nodded once.
"Justice is splitting the camp.
Some want your head.
Some don't."
"They shouldn't forgive me.
Not after what I did."
I didn't blink.
"I crossed a line.
You should be the one to end it.
If there's an execution…
do it properly."
The air tightened between us.
Cold.
Heavy.
Renji clicked his tongue softly.
"You talk too much.
Death arrives when it gets bored of waiting."
A faint pause.
"I'm not bored yet."
I glanced at him.
"Are you truly not bored, Renji?
Not of me.
Not of the rebellion either?"
Renji's eyes narrowed at the distant fields.
"Boredom isn't the enemy," he murmured.
"Time is."
Renji didn't look at me.
"The mountain sleeps now," he said.
"But underneath the snow, the soil is breathing again."
He tapped his thumb on his knee.
"When spring touches the earth, everything stirs.
Farmers. Warriors. Bandits."
A pause.
"And rebels too."
"Renji," I said quietly.
"You know the danger.
Your choice could bring disaster in the camp.
My death will benefit you.
Will benefit the rebellion.
The twins are strong enough—but be careful for them too."
Renji frowned.
"If you die, what becomes of them?
You promised, Hayato."
"No one survives long beside me," I said.
"They're safer without my shadow over them."
Renji answered quickly.
"They told me if we kill you, they'll quit the rebellion—and make us pay."
A humorless smile pulled at my lips.
"Even you don't buy that.
They think for themselves.
If you execute me, you win support.
You win strength.
You win the Emperor's notice."
My hands tightened.
"You'd be the one carrying justice."
Renji rose to his feet.
Straightened his back.
"Let the gods sort the judgment.
Give me your full strength.
If you beat me, you come back.
If you don't, we decide afterward."
"You'd lose on purpose."
"My defeat has never been seen," he replied, "and neither has a lie from my mouth."
"That's the lie."
Renji's eyes glinted.
"Then new rule:
If you win, you die.
If I win, you live."
I exhaled.
"Your mind never worked like anyone else's."
He smirked faintly.
"Calling me a liar and a madman—those are added to the duel.
Now go fetch your blade."