Glass shatters as Taiko’s body flies through the window. His back  thuds against the lawn as he  rolls to a stop in the muddy rain. Crackles follow, as footsteps crunch down on the broken grass. From where he lay, Taiko sees the burly silhouette of the man who threw him. Smoke bellows from the man’s mouth as he continues their conversation in the cold night air,

“Still so certain of your victory, Taiko?” the man calls, “How far will your stubbornness allow you to stumble in total blindness? How long before you concuss yourself, sprinting headfirst into the many walls of reality?” 

Taiko winces, grunting as he pushes his forehead into the muddy floor, using his hands to push himself upwards. He can feel shards of glass digging into his back, as the rain seeped into the cuts. Stinging pain fills him, like dozens of needles piercing mercilessly into his back. 

“Until the sun sets where the moon rises,” Taiko replies, balling his fists and raising them to his face, “Or until I put you down for good, Tokuo.” 

The two men regard each other in the rain. The assailant –  Tokuo – stalks Taiko with hungry eyes. As he takes a step to the left, Taiko instinctively moves to the right. They circle each other, eyes firmly trained.

“So confidently, you lay your life on the line for a cause that has abandoned you,” Tokuo says, “Are you certain what you fight for, will repay you for the blood you shed?” 

Taiko’s vision blurs from the pain. Shaking his head, he feels the rain plastering his hair against his scalp. Adrenaline filled his body, numbing most of the damage. It helped him reign control over his senses, presenting him two clear options. Fight, or flight. But Taiko would rather submit to his wounds, than offer up the humiliation of his retreat. 

“What good is faith, if it is not placed in the cause one believes in?” Taiko growls, “What good is a man, who won’t fight for what he wishes to have.” 

Taiko springs forth, charging without care towards Tokuo. He lets fly a violent haymaker, swinging his right arm over his head. The sound of shifting fabric follows, as the attack finds empty air. Tokuo had slipped Taiko’s desperate advance, ducking to Taiko’s ribs, where he unleashed a tight right hook.

Crack.

All the breath leaves Taiko’s chest as he collapses into a muddy heap. He gasps, desperately clutching his now broken ribs. Tokuo steps over him, looking down to mutter,

“Advance, with blind rage, and you will be fed defeat at the hands of one whose mind is clear.

Tread, where those with reason know not to, and all you have is yourself to blame for what follows. 

Slip your mind under the careless slaughter of life, and you will be met with the carefree embrace of death.” 

Taiko’s lungs open up, allowing him air as the pain makes each breath hollow. Forcing himself to stand, Taiko turns to face his foe. Takuo now stood where Taiko had sprung from. 

“Act, out of emotion,” Tokuo adds, “And you will always kneel to those who hold no remorse for your sorrow.” 

Taiko replies with a growl, spitting blood from his lips. Once more, the two men circle each other at a distance.

“Come then, you stubborn bastard,” Tokuo challenges, “Given your affinity for those who would spit in your eyes, you can have all you seek in the fists of one who’d pummel you at no cost.” 

Taiko roars, charging forth. This time, he takes to Tokuo’s legs. Wrapping his arms around, he locks Tokuo’s legs in a tight embrace.

“What would you know of my sorrow, you orphaned stray” Taiko taunts, as he struggles to keep his hold, “You wouldn’t know love if it came from the very parents that abandoned you by that riverbed.” 

Taiko hears an angry grunt as two heavy fists pound onto Taiko’s back. Shaken by the force, he falters his grip. Only to feel Tokuo push him backwards and bury a knee into his chest.

The air in his lungs is torn from him as he is forced on his back once more. A gasping fit, in the pouring rain. Pain, screeching through his body. 

“THE HEAD OF THIS LAND’S MOST FEARED FAMILY,” Tokuo’s booming voice taunts,”CHASING HIS TAIL FOR AN OUTSIDER WITH PROMISINGLY SWEET WORDS!

Squirming in the rain, where is this prize you fought so hard to attain?

Squirming in the rain, where is this warmth you fought so hard to maintain? 

Squirming from the pain, where is the cause you fought so desperately to keep?  

Where is she now? Playing “house” with another?”

Tokuo’s taunts mix with the sound of rainfall. He bends down, grabbing a fist full of Taiko’s hair as he snickers,

“In begging your beloved “cause” to not forsake you, what answers can you yield to the question that matters most? 

What was it you offered, that another could not? 

Your unoworthiness?” 

Taiko snaps, letting out a furious roar as he forces himself up through the pain. He sweeps Tokuo off his feet. Climbing over his foe, Taiko strikes a raised fist across Tokuo’s jaw, his knuckles crackling. 

“You’d know of unworthiness, wouldn’t you!?” Taiko wails, “An orphan!  So unoworthy, you were not spared a second glance by the ones who gave you life. What could you possibly preach about love?”

Taiko reels his arm back, bringing it down on Tokuo’s chin once more. With a forceful snap, he cracks Tokuo’s head against the ground.

“What could you possibly understand about losing what you’ve never felt before?” Taiko sneers, “You would know nothing, about receiving nothing, long after you have given everything.”

Taiko grips Tokuo’s collar with both hands, slamming the dazed man against the ground, 

“I dirtied my hands building the paradise I saw she deserved. Instead she complained that the grass wasn’t green enough on this side. 

I soiled my hands planting Eden for her. Instead she wonders why I didn’t spend her more of my time. 

I bloodied my hands, paving a road down which she’d never know the absence of happiness. Instead, she questioned why she should ever walk it…WITH SOMEONE LIKE ME!”

Taiko shoves Tokuo into the mud, bringing both fists together. Interlocking his fingers, he brings it down onto Tokuo’s chest with a roar. A bone chilling crunch follows as Tokuo’s ribs shatter beneath the impact.

Tokuo wheezes, his breath ragged and deathly.

Silence follows. Filled by Tokuo gurgling blood and rain from his mouth

“And so, y-ou know…t-hat you did…your best, Taiko,” Tokuo splutters, “And so…you see…t-hat you have left all you had to give, u-pon that battlefield. Turn back. Cease this pursuit…of paradise…l-ost. Heal.” 

Taiko’s fingers slip apart on Tokuo’s chest as he slumps backwards. He rolls off Tokuo, coming to lay face up beside the beaten man. Together, they stared up into the gray sky as it cried down upon them. 

“It was through my desperation, that I found myself at the mercy of the ignorant,” Taiko whispers, in a grave and hollow tone, 

“It was through my sorrow, that all I gave away now haunts me for all I still do not have.

Ignorant, to the fact that a cause has no duty to its believers. And love has little care, for how hard you fight to keep it.”

“You loved with all your heart, but that won’t buy you love in return,” Tokuo replies in a flurry of bloody coughs, “You fought valiantly, but victory often wears the mask of defeat..,Sir.” 

Taiko raises a hand in interruption, “Our father did not adopt you from that riverbed, for you to see me as such, Tokuo. Honor his memory, by addressing the bond he wished between us.” 

“My apologies.” Tokuo chuckles painfully. 

Taiko sighs, wincing in pain as he gets up. He raises a hand out to Tokuo, as the pair help each other stand. 

“You inflicted quite the number on me,” Tokuo says, clutching his broken ribs, “Victory is yours, yet again.”

“Spare me your humiliatingly humble lies, Tokuo,” Taiko retorts, “A fool I am when it comes to love, but a fool I am not. You let me win, as you always do.”

Tokuo smiles at Taiko, as they limp towards the house, relieved to hear a familiar spirit once more.

“Victory, often wears the mask of defeat,” Tokuo repeats, placing a hand on Taiko’s back, “Welcome back, aniki.”

Taiko’s scowl turns into a smile, “You owe me a new window, brother.”