Michael sat motionless, staring at the crumpled file on the table. His trembling hands still felt the weight of the revelations they had uncovered. He exhaled slowly, the shaky breath doing little to steady his racing thoughts. Running a hand through his hair, he forced the words out, though they felt foreign and heavy.

Michael: “I don’t even know what to say. We’ve bled for each other, Kaizen. Killed for each other. And all this time, we didn’t even know… we were fighting for blood. Our blood.”

Kaizen sat hunched over, fists clenched on his knees, his knuckles pale. His chest tightened, the swirl of anger, confusion, and betrayal leaving him struggling to breathe.

Kaizen: “Yeah. Brothers, huh? And they didn’t even tell us. They kept it from us. Made us strangers. Made us… this.” He gestured toward the bloodstained weapons propped against the far wall. “Why? What’s the point?”

Michael’s gaze hardened, his eyes locked on the file. His voice grew sharp, bitterness bleeding into every word. “Because someone wanted us broken. Wanted us to think we were alone. It’s easier to control tools when they think they have nothing else to fight for.”

Kaizen: “So what? We’re just an experiment? A pair of disposable weapons they can point wherever they want and pull the trigger?”

Michael’s tone was cold, his words cutting through the air like a blade. “Maybe. But not anymore.”

Their eyes met, a silent agreement passing between them. For the first time, there was no distance, no guarded walls—only the shared understanding of their pain and anger.

Kaizen: “No. Not anymore.”

The silence that followed was heavy, the weight of their realization pressing down on them. Kaizen leaned back in his chair, exhaling sharply in frustration.

Kaizen: “You know what’s funny? All those years of fighting… I thought it was for me. Revenge, closure, whatever. But now I realize… it was never just me. You were always there. Even when I didn’t know why it mattered.”

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Michael’s lips twitched into a faint, bitter smile. “Same here. You pissed me off sometimes, you know. But I never wanted to see you fall. I guess I understand why now.”

Kaizen chuckled dryly, shaking his head. “I guess that’s what brothers do.”

Michael: “Yeah. Brothers.”

The word hung between them, unfamiliar yet strangely fitting. For the first time, their pain felt less isolating.

----------------------------------------

Kaizen’s hands trembled as he flipped to the next page of the file. His eyes scanned the lines, his face draining of color.

Kaizen: “Michael… there’s more.”

Michael, who had been lost in his own thoughts, snapped to attention. The look on Kaizen’s face made his stomach churn.

Michael: “What is it? What could possibly make this worse?”

Kaizen slid the file across the table, his hand shaking. Michael grabbed it, his eyes darting over the words. His blood ran cold.

"Subject identities: Michael Hawk and Kaizen Hawk. Biological parents terminated by order of the Tori no Ichizoku clan. Subjects placed into adoption under fabricated identities to facilitate controlled upbringing for future operational use."

Michael’s grip on the file tightened as a wave of nausea and fury crashed over him. He clenched his jaw, his voice trembling.

Michael: “They… they killed them. The Tori no Ichizoku clan. Our parents. And then… they put us into this system like cattle, shaping us into their pawns.”

Kaizen’s fists clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, drawing blood. His voice was low, trembling with barely restrained rage.

Kaizen: “We’ve been nothing but tools to them. They took everything—our family, our names, even our memories. And for what? To turn us into monsters?”

Michael slammed the file onto the table, his breaths ragged and uneven. “No. This isn’t how it ends. They used us, Kaizen, but they don’t own us anymore. We’re not their weapons. We’re not their pawns.”

Kaizen’s burning gaze met Michael’s, his voice rough with emotion. “Then what are we?”

Michael leaned forward, his words steady and deliberate despite the storm raging inside him. “We’re their reckoning.”

Kaizen let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “All this time, we thought we were just fighting to survive. But now? Now, it’s personal.”

Michael nodded, a glint of resolve in his eyes. “They wanted to make us tools of chaos. But they made a mistake. They gave us something they can never take back.”

Kaizen raised an eyebrow, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Michael’s expression hardened, his resolve unshakable. “Each other. Brothers. And now, we’re going to burn the Tori no Ichizoku to the ground for what they’ve done. For us. For our parents. For everything.”

Kaizen smirked, his first genuine smile in what felt like forever. “I’m in. Let’s show them what happens when they mess with the wrong family.”