CHAPTER 18: CONFRONTATION

Ashford led him to a private room away from the medical tent, away from the cameras, just white walls with a metal table bolted to the floor that gave Rin flashbacks to the interrogation after Leo died.

"Sit." Ashford gestured to one of the chairs.

Rin sat, wincing as his broken ribs protested, medical hadn’t gotten to him yet so every breath felt like someone was stabbing him in the chest.

Ashford pulled out a tablet, swiped through something, turned it to face Rin.

The screen showed footage from his matches, specifically the moments when purple energy appeared, frame by frame analysis with annotations highlighting energy signatures, power output measurements, spectral analysis.

"This," Ashford tapped the screen where Rin absorbed Onma’s fire, "is not energy absorption in any documented form, this is something else entirely."

"It’s a secondary ability."

"Don’t insult my intelligence." He swiped to another clip, Rin converting gravitational force into fracture energy. "Normal awakened can’t convert one energy type into another, they manipulate what they have, fire users make fire, gravity users control gravity, they don’t steal each other’s powers."

"Maybe I’m built different."

"That’s what concerns me." Ashford put the tablet down. "During your preliminary evaluation, Dr. Yumiko reported that your mana channels showed no abnormalities, completely standard structure despite your demonstrated capabilities, do you know what that suggests?"

"That your equipment sucks?"

"That you’re operating on a completely different system than normal awakened." He leaned forward. "I’ve been doing this job for two years, seen hundreds of unique abilities, met every S-rank currently active, none of them can do what you just did in that arena."

’He’s getting too close.’

[Agreed]

[Recommend partial truth]

[Establish boundaries]

"So what if I’m different," Rin said. "I closed a portal, saved lives, now I’m trying to get licensed like everyone else, what’s the problem?"

"The problem is that we don’t understand your power, can’t measure it, can’t predict it, can’t contain it if you decide to go rogue." Ashford pulled up another file. "Do you know what happened to the last unclassified awakened we couldn’t understand?"

"No."

"He turned a city block in Chicago into a crater before we could stop him, killed three thousand people, required four S-ranks working together to bring him down." He closed the file. "We can’t let that happen again."

"I’m not going to blow up a city."

"How do I know that?" Ashford’s voice went cold. "You’ve been awake for two weeks, demonstrated abilities that defy classification, absorbed energy types that shouldn’t be compatible, all while showing no physical markers of awakening, for all I know you’re a ticking time bomb."

Rin’s jaw clenched. "So what, you’re going to lock me up, study me until you figure out how I work?"

"I’m considering it."

The words hung in the air between them.

[Warning: Elevated threat level]

[Director Ashford has authorization to detain anomalous entities]

[Recommend de-escalation]

’How?’

[Offer cooperation in exchange for autonomy]

"What if I agree to regular testing," Rin said carefully. "Medical evaluations, power assessments, whatever you need to feel safe, but I stay in the field, finish the exam, get licensed, work missions."

Ashford considered this. "You’d submit to weekly evaluations?"

"Yeah."

"Full disclosure of your abilities?"

"Within reason."

"That’s not good enough."

"It’s the best you’re getting." Rin met his eyes. "You can try to lock me up but that becomes an international incident, remember, China’s offering fifty million for research access, Russia’s threatening sanctions, how do you think they’ll react when they find out you’re detaining me against my will?"

"We’d classify it as protective custody."

"And I’d tell every reporter with a camera that you’re scared of me, that the Association can’t handle someone they don’t understand so they’re eliminating the threat." Rin leaned back despite his ribs screaming. "Your choice, work with me or create a PR nightmare."

Silence stretched between them.

Ashford’s fingers tapped the table, thinking, calculating.

Finally he spoke. "Weekly evaluations, no exceptions, you miss one and we come get you, full power demonstrations in controlled environments, detailed reports on any new abilities that manifest, you stay within Association jurisdiction unless cleared for international missions."

"And I get licensed, work normal Hunter operations, build toward higher ranks."

"If you pass Stage 3, yes." Ashford stood up. "But understand this, Mr. Matsuda, the moment I think you’re a threat to public safety, the moment your abilities become uncontrollable, I will mobilize every S-rank we have to put you down, political fallout be damned."

"Understood."

"Good." He headed toward the door, paused. "One more thing, Joy Castellanos has been spending significant time with you, training together, private conversations, are you aware of her background?"

"She’s an emotion manipulator, just awakened."

"She’s also the daughter of Senator Castellanos, the man currently pushing legislation to increase oversight on unregistered awakened." Ashford glanced back. "Her interest in you might not be purely social."

The implication hit, Joy might be reporting back to her father, gathering information, using their friendship to get close.

"Noted."

Ashford left.

Rin sat there alone, processing, his ribs still broken, his body exhausted, the weight of Ashford’s threat hanging over him.

[Analysis: Threat level has increased]

[Director Ashford will monitor you closely]

[Recommend maintaining low profile]

’Kind of hard when my matches are broadcast to millions.’

[Agreed] [However you must limit ability demonstrations in future combat] [Show enough to win but not enough to terrify]

Medical staff finally arrived, a different doctor this time, older woman who immediately started scanning his ribs with some handheld device.

"Three fractures, clean breaks thankfully, I can heal this but you’ll need to rest for at least two hours before your next match."

"When’s my next match?"

She checked her tablet. "Four hours, top ten finals, you’re fighting fifth."

Four hours to recover from broken ribs, sure, totally reasonable.

She pressed her hands to his chest, green light emanated from her palms, warmth spread through his ribcage as bone knitted back together, pain fading into dull ache.

"There, good as new, try not to get crushed by gravity again."

"I’ll do my best."

She left, medical tent returning to its usual chaos of injured fighters being patched up, some worse off than him, one guy was missing an arm that apparently got frozen then shattered during his match.

Rin’s phone buzzed, message from Joy.

heard ashford grabbed you. you ok?

He stared at the message, thought about what Ashford said, about Joy’s father, about potential ulterior motives.

But then he remembered her helping him train, sitting with him during meals, genuinely seeming to care.

’Maybe Ashford’s just paranoid.’

[Or maybe he is correct]

[Recommend caution]

Rin: yeah im fine. just some standard threats about locking me up if i step out of line

Joy: typical. they did the same thing to me after i awakened

Joy: scared my dad would use me as a political tool or whatever

Joy: which he totally tried to do but thats a different story

Rin: your dad’s a senator?

Joy: oh shit i didnt tell you that part did i

Joy: yeah. senator castellanos. the guy who hates unregistered awakened

Joy: ironic right? his daughter awakens and suddenly he wants stricter laws

Rin: does he know about me?

Joy: probably? everyones talking about you

Joy: but i havent told him anything personal if thats what youre asking

Joy: our training sessions are our business

Maybe she was telling the truth, maybe not, either way Rin couldn’t afford to push everyone away, he needed allies, needed people he could trust even if that trust was conditional.

Rin: thanks

Joy: for what?

Rin: being normal about all this

Joy: lol "normal" is relative

Joy: but yeah. we’re in this together right?

Rin: right

He put the phone down, lay back on the medical cot, closed his eyes.

Four hours until the next match, four hours to rest, recover, prepare.

The viewing screens outside showed other fights concluding, the bracket narrowing, only twelve fighters left now, after this round there’d be ten, the final group advancing to Stage 3.

’I’m almost there.’

[Correct]

[However your next opponent will be significantly more dangerous]

[All remaining fighters are top-tier combatants]

’Any idea who I’m fighting?’

[Bracket has not been updated yet]

[Will notify when information becomes available]

Sleep came easier than expected, exhaustion overriding anxiety, his body demanding rest even with all the chaos surrounding him.

He dreamed about Leo again, not the death this time but earlier memories, college apartment filled with ramen cups and anime posters, Leo explaining some convoluted plot point while Rin half-listened, scrolled through his phone.

"You’re not paying attention."

"I am, there’s a tournament arc, everyone’s powers get explained, protagonist wins through friendship or whatever."

"That’s every shonen ever, I’m talking specifically about the subversion of expectations in this particular series."

"Uh-huh."

"Rin, I’m serious, this show is actually peak, you need to watch it."

"I’ll add it to my list of three hundred other shows you’ve recommended."

Leo threw a pillow at him. "You’re the worst."

"And yet you keep hanging out with me."

"Someone has to make sure you experience culture."

The dream shifted, Leo older now, post-awakening, lightning crackling around his fingers while he practiced control.

"Check this out." He focused, the electricity forming shapes in the air, symbols, letters. "I can write with lightning now, how cool is that?"

"Super cool, what are you going to do with it, send electric love letters?"

"Don’t tempt me, I could absolutely make that work."

The dream faded, Leo’s voice echoing as everything went dark.

"Use your power, don’t be afraid, you’ve always been impossible..."

Rin woke up to someone shaking his shoulder again.

"Fighter Matsuda, you’re up in fifteen minutes."

He sat up, the medical staff member who woke him was already moving to the next cot, waking another fighter.

The viewing screens showed Match 4 concluding, some guy with shadow manipulation had just defeated a girl who could control plants by literally drowning her in darkness until she passed out.

Brutal but effective.

Rin stood, stretched, his ribs felt fine now, the healing had worked perfectly.

He checked the bracket board.

Match 5: Rin Matsuda vs Paul Thorne

Paul Thorne, male, twenty-eight, earth manipulation specialist, finished Stage 1 in eleven hours, won all his Stage 2 matches through overwhelming physical force, literally buried opponents under tons of rock.

’He’s going to try to crush me.’

[Likely]

[Earth manipulation users favor area control]

[Recommend maintaining mobility]

Joy appeared at his side. "Hey, you ready?"

"As I’ll ever be."

"Paul’s dangerous, he doesn’t fight clean, expect cheap shots." She handed him a water bottle. "But you’ve got this, you’ve beaten fire and gravity, earth’s just rocks."

"Rocks that can crush me."

"Details." She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. "Look, whatever happens out there, just stay alive okay, I don’t want to watch another person I care about die on live TV."

The words hit harder than expected because she meant it, whether or not her father was using her, whether or not she had ulterior motives, in this moment she genuinely cared if he lived or died.

"I’ll be fine."

"You better be."

He headed toward the tunnel, the noise building as the crowd realized the next match was starting.

Paul was already in the arena, big guy, six-five easily, built like someone who moved boulders for fun, arms covered in scars, wearing torn jeans and a tank top that showed off muscles that probably had muscles.

He saw Rin, grinned. "So you’re the portal kid, heard you’ve been absorbing people’s powers, that’s cute, let’s see you absorb a mountain."

The referee stepped between them. "Standard rules apply, fight until surrender or incapacitation, try not to kill each other even though I’m pretty sure one of you is going to try, fighters ready?"

"Ready."

"Let’s go."

"Begin!"

The arena floor exploded.

Rock erupted from beneath Rin’s feet, jagged spikes shooting upward trying to impale him, he jumped back, more spikes appeared where he landed, forcing him to keep moving.

Paul laughed, hands pressed to the ground, controlling every inch of earth in the arena. "You can’t touch the ground, can’t touch me, what are you going to do now?"

Rin gathered fracture energy, fired a bolt at Paul.

The earth guy raised a wall of stone, the attack splashed harmlessly against it.

"Nice try!" Paul slammed his hands down, the entire arena floor tilted, became a slope, gravity pulling Rin toward a pit that opened in the center.

He tried to run upward but the angle was too steep, his feet slipped, he started sliding toward the pit.

Rock hands emerged from the walls, grabbing at him, trying to pull him down faster.

’I need to get off the ground entirely.’

[Recommendation: Use fracture energy to create platforms]

[Solidify the energy into physical constructs]

’Can I do that?’

[Unknown]

[Attempt anyway]

He focused, channeled fracture energy beneath his feet, tried to solidify it into something he could stand on.

Purple light flickered, formed a small platform, he stepped onto it, it held his weight.

’Holy shit it worked.’

He created another platform higher up, stepped to that one, then another, climbing through the air away from Paul’s earth manipulation.

Paul’s grin faded. "That’s cheating."

"That’s strategy." Rin launched himself from the platform, came down toward Paul with a fracture energy-enhanced fist.

The earth guy brought up a shield of stone, Rin’s punch shattered it, kept going, connected with Paul’s jaw.

The big guy stumbled, blood spraying from his mouth, but he recovered fast, grabbed Rin’s arm, slammed him into the ground.

Rock wrapped around Rin’s body, encasing him, crushing, Paul’s face appeared above him. "Absorb this."

The pressure increased, ribs creaking again, Rin couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t reach for fracture energy because his arms were pinned.

’I’m trapped.’

[Recommendation: Release energy from your core]

[Full-body burst]

’That’ll hurt him.’

[That is the point]

’He could die.’

[Then he should surrender]

Rin gathered every bit of fracture energy he could access, pulled it into his chest, let it build, pressure mounting until it needed release.

He exhaled, the energy exploded outward.

Purple light filled the arena, the rock encasing him shattered, Paul flew backward, crashed into the far wall hard enough to crack the barrier.

The big guy slumped to the ground, tried to get up, fell back down.

Medical staff rushed in.

The referee raised her hand but before she could call it, Paul pushed himself to his knees. "Not done yet."

Blood poured from his nose, his mouth, probably internal injuries, but he pressed his hands to the ground anyway, started gathering earth for another attack.

"Paul, stay down," Rin said. "You’re hurt."

"Fuck you." The ground trembled, rocks rising. "I’m not losing to some freak who glows purple."

He launched everything at once, a tsunami of stone and earth, thousands of tons coming straight at Rin.

No time to dodge, no time to create platforms, Rin brought up both hands, channeled fracture energy into a barrier.

The rocks hit, crashed against the purple shield, the impact drove Rin backward but the barrier held.

Then he pushed, the barrier expanding, shoving the rocks back toward Paul who couldn’t dodge because he’d committed everything to that final attack.

The stones slammed into him, buried him under their weight.

Silence.

The referee blew her whistle, medical staff rushed to dig Paul out, it took them thirty seconds to find him, unconscious, bleeding, but breathing.

"Winner: Rin Matsuda by incapacitation!"

The crowd was going insane now, this was the most violent match of the day, the most spectacular, cameras were everywhere, recording, streaming, broadcasting to millions.

Rin let the fracture energy fade, felt exhaustion crash into him again, his body was running on fumes.

Joy grabbed him before he could collapse. "Holy shit that was intense, are you okay?"

"Define okay."

"Can you stand without help?"

"Mostly."

She supported him anyway, guided him toward medical. "That makes five wins, one more and you’re in the top ten, you’re going to Stage 3."

One more fight, one more opponent, then he’d be licensed, then he could start hunting for real, start getting strong enough to face Kazriketh.

Then he could keep his promise to Leo.

"Match 6 starting in ten minutes!" The announcement echoed.

Rin watched the screens, his next opponent would be whoever won this match.

Two fighters entered the arena, one was a girl with silver hair and ice powers, the other was someone he recognized.

Fiona.

The gravity manipulator who’d surrendered against him earlier.

’Wait, if she surrendered how is she still in the tournament?’

[Reviewing bracket structure]

[Surrenders count as losses but fighters remain eligible if they won previous matches]

[She must have won her other fights decisively]

The match started.

It lasted seven seconds.

Fiona created a gravitational singularity in the center of the arena, everything got pulled toward it, including her opponent who couldn’t resist the force, got crushed into a ball of compressed matter that probably used to be human.

The medical staff didn’t even bother rushing in, they just brought a bag.

The crowd was silent, horrified, some people were leaving, others were throwing up.

The referee looked shaken but raised her hand anyway. "Winner: Fiona Treacher by... by fatality."

Fiona walked out of the arena like nothing happened, her expression completely neutral.

Joy’s grip on Rin’s arm tightened. "She just killed that girl."

"Yeah."

"In seven seconds."

"Yeah."

"And you have to fight her next."

Rin didn’t respond because what could he say, Fiona had been holding back against him earlier, testing him, now she’d shown what she could really do.

His phone buzzed, message from an unknown number.

Don’t hold back this time. Show me what you can really do. - Fiona

The final match was in two hours.