"Before we begin, I have to inform you."
Kenshin's smile faded. The shift was small—the corners of his mouth lowering, the light behind his eyes dimming—but it changed him. The playful energy drained out of his posture, replaced by something heavier. Something final.
"There's no reality where I lose to both of you. This fight is a fight where you would lose."
He let the silence sit.
"Badly."
He stared at Kai and Jude—not challenging, not threatening. Stating. The way you stated the weather or the direction of the wind. Things that simply were.
"That just makes it all the more exciting."
Jude's smile didn't waver. If anything, it sharpened.
"Imagine the look on your face when we beat you."
Kai smiled as well.
Kenshin released a sigh of relief. His shoulders dropped. The tension that had gathered around him dissipated like morning mist.
"I did not overestimate you guys."
He clapped his hands once. The sound was sharp, final—a period at the end of a sentence.
