Colosseum

Characters

 * Kino
 * Hermes
 * Shizu (First Appearance)
 * Riku (First Appearance)

Synopsis
Kino and Hermes arrive in a country ruled by a tyrannical king. She is forced to participate in a tournament held every three months where contestants fight each other to the death or until one opponent yields. The winner then becomes a citizen with the right to make a new law. Hermes is told by their guard that the current king murdered his father seven years ago to take the throne. This horrified his wife who committed suicide, and led their son and daughter to run away. Kino easily defeats her tournament opponents, forcing them to yield. In the final round, Kino faces a young accomplished swordsman named Shizu but defeats him. While pretending to shoot Shizu, she fires an especially prepared bullet that breaks through the King's private suite, killing him. As the winner, Kino proclaims her new law that the citizens can fight each other until the last person standing becomes king, leading to chaos in the Colosseum. After escaping, Kino and Hermes encounter Shizu and his companion Riku, a talking Shiba Inu dog. Shizu reveals that he is the prince who returned to kill the king and gratefully thanks Kino for ending his father's tyrannical rule. After Kino and Hermes leave, Shizu is left to decide whether or not he should now become king himself.

(Source: Wikipedia)