There are rivalries built on hatred.
There are rivalries built on duty.
And then there is the rivalry between Hakuyune Makihoshigo and Flexor Timmins, which is built entirely on three things:
Flexor’s refusal to acknowledge defeat
Hakuyune’s refusal to acknowledge Flexor as an equal
The universe’s refusal to stop them from fighting
To Flexor, these are not separate battles.
“We’re still fighting. He just keeps calling timeouts.”
To Hakuyune, each encounter is a complete duel, with a clear victor, followed by a quiet walk home and a vow to never underestimate sheer stupidity again.
Yet somehow, this boy is the only one permitted—by fate, luck, or cosmic comedy—to challenge the Sword God repeatedly and survive.
Location: Frostfall Expanse
Flexor’s Age: 13
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “Round One Warmup”
Hakuyune arrived to break up a pirate raid.
Flexor arrived to “see what a Sword God looks like up close.”
Flexor’s first strike was so reckless that the Buccaneers watching assumed he had slipped on ice.
Hakuyune sidestepped, struck once, and launched Flexor directly into a snowdrift.
He dug himself out five minutes later, smiling with a loose tooth:
“Heh… nice. Again?”
Hakuyune walked away.
Flexor assumed this meant intermission.
Location: The Polar Ice Flume
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “The Fight Has Entered Phase Two”
Flexor ambushed Hakuyune from above, falling with his giant broadsword like a dropped anchor.
Hakuyune blocked with one finger.
Flexor called it “a good opening round.”
When Hakuyune froze the air to immobilize him, Flexor simply vibrated through the ice by spinning Torquebreaker fast enough to melt a tunnel.
This impressed Hakuyune for the first time—but he still incapacitated Flexor with a single palm.
Flexor regained consciousness two hours later and shouted:
“DON’T RUN FROM ME, SWAN MAN! I’M NOT DONE!”
Hakuyune was already 12 kilometers away.
Location: Kessara Strait
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “We Tied (I Didn’t Die)”
Flexor hurled his Giant-Pearl broadsword at Hakuyune.
Hakuyune caught it gently, set it down, and made tea.
Flexor considered this disrespectful and took it as a sign that Hakuyune was “warming up for real.”
Hakuyune ended the fight in a single elegant arc of snow-chilled steel.
Hakuyune: “Do not throw this weapon again.”
Flexor: “So you are training me!”
Hakuyune denies this to this day.
Location: Ruins of Winterpass
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “I Figured Out His Footwork”
Flexor entered the battlefield bouncing between walls, debris, lantern posts, and even a passing seagull—anything to accelerate.
Hakuyune’s footwork remained calm and fluid, each step melting or freezing just enough ground to redirect Flexor.
Flexor hit himself with his own sword.
Twice.
He declared the fight a productive learning session:
“I know how you walk now!”
He did not.
Location: Hakuyune’s private shrine
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “We Both Won”
Flexor broke into the temple.
Hakuyune broke the broadsword’s handle.
Flexor mistook this for a handshake ritual.
Location: The Frozen Silk Bridge
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “He Needed the Break More Than Me”
Flexor launched a surprise duel lasting exactly twelve seconds before Hakuyune ended it.
Flexor woke up saying:
“We went even for like ten seconds! That’s progress!”
Hakuyune privately acknowledges this is… almost true.
Location: The Polar Ocean, on drifting ice
Result: Hakuyune victory (narrow)
Flexor’s Interpretation: “I Pushed Him Into His Style”
Flexor created a vortex by spinning Torquebreaker like a wind turbine.
Hakuyune countered with snow petals that sliced the vortex harmlessly apart.
Still—
For the first time, Hakuyune had to take two steps back.
Flexor assumes this means the fight is practically a draw forever.
Location: Storm of the White Maw
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “Environmental Loss”
Flexor claims the weather cheated.
Hakuyune refuses to dignify this.
Location: Neutral island marketplace
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “Rematch Scheduled After Lunch”
Hakuyune knocked Flexor out with a single palm strike.
Flexor woke up, ate dumplings, and immediately re-challenged him before passing out again mid-sentence.
Location: Above the Abyssal Sea
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “He Complimented Me”
Hakuyune said:
“If you continue on this path… you may one day be my equal.”
Flexor heard:
“You’re basically winning already.”
This misunderstanding fuels him to this day.
Location: Floating monastery ruins
Result: Hakuyune victory (barely)
Flexor’s Interpretation: “1–1: First Blood Matters More Than All Other Points Combined”
Flexor struck Hakuyune’s cheek.
A single drop of blood.
Hakuyune ended the duel immediately afterward, but Flexor declared:
“AHA! I GOT FIRST BLOOD! THAT’S THE REAL WIN CONDITION!”
No other school acknowledges this rule.
Location: Unknown island
Result: Hakuyune victory
Flexor’s Interpretation: “The Battle Continues Eternally”
After being defeated, Flexor sat up, stretched, and said:
“Alright, timeout’s over. Round thirteen starts whenever you’re ready.”
Hakuyune sheathed his sword and replied:
“The duel ended long ago.”
Flexor shook his head:
“Not until one of us stays down for good.”
Hakuyune walked away.
Flexor wrote in his personal log:
HAKUYUNE MATCH STATUS: UNDECIDED
SCORE: SWAN (COOL MOVES) — METEOR (SURVIVED)
CURRENT RESULT: STILL FIGHTING
In his heart, the duel has not ended.
It has simply entered a very long pause.
He is alive after fighting the Sword God twelve times
Therefore, he has not lost
Therefore, the duel is ongoing
Therefore, he is undefeated
Not even a god can argue with Flexor Logic™.
Hakuyune has accepted this.
Quietly.
Regretfully.
Inevitably.
Their rivalry will shape the age, even if only one of them realizes they are rivals.