Arou's Shadow energy began to surge, dark power rolling off him as he turned to face Kayomi.
Kato pushed himself to his feet, ready to jump back into the fight, but Kayomi lifted a hand, stopping him in his tracks.
Kayomi: This one's mine.
Kato: But Mr Kayomi, I can fight!!
Kayomi shook his head.
Kayomi: You're too injured to fight. You can barely even stand.
Kato: It's fine. I can push myself.
Kayomi: This isn't the time to be stubborn Kato. I'll fight Arou. If you manage to gain enough strength, get out of here. I already called for backup and they'll be here soon. So stay out until then!
Kato: But…
Kayomi: This is not up for debate, Kato!!
Kayomi hardened the skin around his arms and charged toward Arou, every step radiating lethal intent. Kato, too battered to fight, could only watch, a heavy sense of helplessness pressing down on him.
Then his mind flashed back to Yamato's words echoing in his memory when Kenny had attacked them both. A spark ignited within him.
Kato pushed himself to his feet, pain and determination coiling together, and activated the God Eye once more.
Kato: No… I'm not running this time! I'll prove my worth, right here, right now!!
Kato instantly mimicked Kayomi's hardening ability, his arms becoming as unyielding as steel. Without hesitation, he leapt into the fray, landing a solid punch on Arou just as the latter was about to strike Kayomi with a clean hit.
Kayomi shot Kato a sharp glance, clearly unimpressed.
Kayomi: Kato!! I thought I told you…
Kato: Mr. Kayomi, please let me join you in this fight. I'm the one Arou's after, so I want to face him too. I HAVE TO PROVE MY WORTH. Everyone's efforts to protect and help me can't be in vain. I'm not running away!!
Kayomi: Why you…!!
Kato: Please!! Let me make this right!! I don't want to run away like last time!! Let me face this!!
Kayomi met Kato's gaze and saw the unwavering determination burning in his eyes.
After a brief pause, he finally gave in, acknowledging the resolve before him.
Kayomi: I guess there's no stopping you, huh?
As Kayomi and Kato charged in together, Arou's eyes narrowed. He could feel the energy of both opponents converging on him.
Arou: (to himself) Dealing with Kayomi's hardened punches is already a pain… and now Kato's copied them? If they combine that with a Shadow Rush, it's over for me. Do I release my technique?
His mind raced and his chest caved in.
Arou: But Kato's God Eye is active… he'd copy it instantly… What should I do?
He clenched his fists and smirked, as his eyes flickered to the shadow below his feet and the shadows on the walls, floor, and broken furniture around him.
With a subtle motion, Arou melted into the shadows beneath his feet, his body blending seamlessly with the darkness and catching Kato completely off guard.
Kato: Huh?! He can enter his shadow?!
Kayomi: Any Shadow can do that.
Kato: Really?!
Kayomi: But this isn't a good thing for us. He's flipped this battle over in his favor.
Kato: How so?
Kato's question was immediately answered as he began to detect multiple Shadow energies around him. From the corners of the room, multiple clones of Arou began to crawl out of the shadows from the broken floorboards, dark cracks in the walls, and the lingering shadows cast by the shattered roof.
His God Eye flickered as he sensed the clones, but their origin was obscured.
Kayomi: He figured it out. For the God Eye to work, it has to see the user activating the technique right?
Kato nodded.
Kayomi: So if he activates it outside of your line of sight, the God Eye can't copy it.
Kato's eyes shone in surprise.
Kato: So you mean, he's not amongst the clones surrounding us?
Kayomi: Yes. If my theory is correct, he wants to keep creating the clones while hiding in his shadow. We have to bring him out.
Kato: Right!
Kayomi nodded and rushed forward in a wide arc, smashing through the nearest clone. The impact shattered the shadowy figure into vapor, but another clone simultaneously lunged from behind a fallen beam. Kayomi barely twisted in time to block it with his armored arm, the force rattling his joints.
Kato's fists blurred, striking another clone before it could reach them. Then, with a rapid leap, he struck downward, landing a heavy punch that sent two clones crashing through the wall. The floorboards groaned under the impact, dust and debris filling the air.
Arou's eyes widened as he watched the fight from inside his shadow as he produced more clones.
Arou: If Kato's God Eye doesn't see my technique, he can't copy it. So I'll wear them out by having them fight my clones endlessly.
Arou continued generating clone after clone, flooding the battlefield with copies of himself, until something felt wrong.
A sudden chill crept along his spine. He felt a presence slip into his Shadow.
Arou twisted toward the disturbance, and there in the depths of his own darkness, was Kato floating suspended within the shadow itself, staring straight back at him.
Arou's eyes widened with shock and sudden fear written clearly across his face.
Arou: What?! How did he enter my Shadow?! Wait… could it have been that time I did it in front of him?! Damn it!! I made a mistake!! I was so bothered about him copying my cloning technique that I didn't consider this happening!! I have to leave this place immediately before he copies my technique!!
Arou yanked himself out of his Shadow, leaping back into the real world, but what he saw only deepened his confusion.
His body was barely free, still halfway tethered to the darkness he had been controlling, when his gaze fell on Kato. Right in front of him, Kato's right hand glowed, hardened and pulsing with concentrated Shadow energy.
Every instinct screamed danger and Arou realized, too late, that Kato wasn't just ready, he was preparing to strike.
Arou: How?! He was just in my shadow!!! Did he copy my cloning technique already?! How?!
Arou's eyes darted around the room, frantic, searching for any clue and then he saw it.
Kayomi emerged from the shadow of one of his own clones and around his neck hung Kato's necklace.
In that instant, everything clicked.
Arou: I see. Kayomi was the one inside my shadow, not Kato. That necklace around his neck which was meant to hide how Kato looked to anyone else… They used that to fool me… If I had stayed in my shadow, nothing would've changed.
Arou's gaze locked on Kato. The boy's expression was a mask of unwavering determination and absolute focus. In that instant, Arou knew that this was the strike that would decide the outcome of the battle.
Kato: [BLACK: SHADOW RUSH]
With a final, precise strike, Kato landed on Arou's chest, his fists reinforced by both hardened arms and the shadow rush technique. Arou's Shadow energy faltered and his clones collapsed instantly, bringing the fight to an end.