Numbers One & Two In-Command

[8:07 a.m., August 9th, 2048, St. Petersburg, Russia. Shin, Yuki, Natsumi, Martial, Drift and Kohaku stand seven flights of stairs above an opened door, in which they see Fetistof, with a sadistic glare staring them down. With no hesitation, Shin lunges towards him, dropping his gun, and the other five quickly follow him down the stairs, dropping their weapons in the panic. The room they enter is the same as the one which Ryo, Fetistof, Frost and Katarov has been before, but the walls had been lifted to reveal the true size of the basement, which extends as far as the shot pans]

Fetistof [Jumps backwards, easily evading Shin]: Woah, woah, woah there buddy. No need to get that hostile.

Shin [Thinking]: Impressive, he dodged my jump like it was nothing.

Fetistof: Come on, come on, is that all you got big man? Come on… give me a fight, goddamnit!

[Fetistof lunges into Shin, punching and knocking him back into the wall. At the sound of Shin’s spine hitting the concrete wall, the other five enter the room]

Yuki [Yells]: Shin!

Shin [Gets up and cracks his neck]: Eh… don’t worry about me Yukes. Find Kat. That’s what we’re after here. Not this piece of shit.

Fetistof [Angrily]: Eh??? You think I’m just a fly on the wall, eh?

Shin: You sure as hell seem like it, ya loser.

Fetistof [Punches him in the gut, winding him]: Eh? You still think so, eh?

Yuki: Shin!

Shin: I told you, don’t worry! Get Kat!

Katarov [Appears from the darkness in the opposite corner of the room]: Oya, oya… you called for me eh Taiki? Little brother finally made it here, did he now?

Shin [Still winded, looks up towards Katarov, and his eyes immediately turn to a cold, fixed gaze]: So… it was you after all, you worthless piece of trash.

Katarov: Ehhhh? Whatever could you mean? I was only doing my due diligence by picking up that girl… that’s all. [Sarcastically] How could I have possibly known that this would be the outcome at the end of this?

Shin: Shut up, you lying, devilish piece of shit. You won’t live to tell your tale today, y’hear?

Katarov: Oh, I hear loud and clear… but see if you can come get me fir –

[As he’s talking, Yuki lunges towards him with incredible speed, punching him square in the cheek, pushing him backwards and leaving a large bruise on his face. He regains his footing and one foot, and looks up and smiles masochistically at Yuki]

Katarov: Wow, wow. I’m impressed now… even I didn’t see that one coming. You’re strong, missy. Whatever is your na –

[Yuki lunges at him again, but with his eyes fixed on her, he dodges the punch with ease, going low, while she immediately drops back into her initial stance]

Katarov: Come on sweetie, you’ll have to do better than that.

Yuki [To Shin, ignoring Katarov]: Do your best.

Shin [Nods, then stands up in front of Fetistof]: Yeah. You too.

Yuki [Yells]: Drift, Martial, Nats, help Shinzo!

Drift: Gotcha!

[Martial gets to Shin first, and punches Fetistof in the chest, but Fetistof looks at him, grabs him by the hair and flings him into the wall, over Shin. He gets up quickly, and stands beside Shin, as Drift, Kohaku and Natsumi get closer to them as well, before they’re suddenly stopped by another person who appears from behind]

Drift: And who the hell are you? The assassin? Good lord, if you are, then you’re one hell of a trashcan of an assassin.

Ryo [Pushes his hair back, and smiles maniacally]: Oh, I could only dream of being like him.

Natsumi [Looks at him in the eyes, then comes to a realization]: Wait… wait, you’re the same piece of shit from London –

Ryo [Punches her]: Shut up, kid.

Natsumi [Shakes it off, then looks at him in a confused way]: Wait, you’re Roy… aren’t you?

Shin [Looks over for a split second, and his eyes grow even colder with rage]: Roy? Huh? You alibi using piece of shit… I guess no one here is worth a damn penny after all. Ryo… you scumbag. I thought you friggin died.

Ryo [Smiles]: Oh, how lovely… Taiki’s brother remembers me… how’s Takuya, doing well I presume? That rotten ape – just like your damn brother.

Shin: Don’t speak on my brother, goddamnit!

Ryo: Why not? It’s not like you’ve got any way to defend him eh? He’s dead. Maybe if you weren’t such a lowly piece of trash, maybe he wouldn’t…

Fetistof [Yells]: Ryo!

Ryo: Ehhh?

[As Fetistof yells, Drift connects with a heavy punch from his left arm, slamming into Ryo’s jaw]

Fetistof [Yells again]: Yo, shithead! Don’t take your eyes off the damn road! Damnit!

Shin [Yells to Ryo]: I guess a coward doesn’t have another side to him, eh? You went from being the top in Japan, to sending my brother on a suicide mission, just to please these losers? You’re human scum. The lowest of the damn low.

Ryo [Smiles, orienting himself towards Drift, but still talking to Shin]: Y’know… if your brother was a little more useful… [chuckles] or a little stronger… maybe we’re all in a different place right now. Too bad he wasn’t though…

Shin [Yells]: You spawn of the devil! I’ll kill you! I’ll fu –

Fetistof [Lunges at him, kicking him]: Shut up. Your opponent is me. Bring it.

Martial [Rushes over]: Can you stand?

Shin: Yeah. I can. I’m gonna get to Kat, alright?

Martial: Sounds like fun… let’s go, shall we?

[Martial and Shin split off in different directions, converging on Fetistof, escaping from his vision. In the background, Yuki can be seen gaining ground on Katarov, as them two exchange heavy blows, and on the other side, Ryo stands up to face Drift, who was still not at 100% shape from his fight with Aleksander, as well as Natsumi and Kohaku behind him]

Fetistof: You vermin… hiding won’t help you!

[He punches on anticipation that Shin was going to ambush him from his left, but anticipates a moment too soon, and Shin appears, with a punching aligned straight for his abdomen]

Fetistof: Too slow kid.

[Fetistof kicks at him with his opposite leg, sending him flying backwards, but from his other side, Martial lunges at him, grabbing onto his side and biting into his arm. Fetistof screeches in pain, before tearing Martial off]

Fetistof: What the hell is wrong with you? You friggin weirdo! Whad’ya think you’re doing?

Martial [Gets up]: I’m having fun, that’s what. Is there something so wrong with that?

Fetistof: Holy Jesus… you’re a creature and a half. Whatever. I don’t mind beating the pulp outta ya, alright?

[Fetistof again closes the distance between him and Martial quickly, punching Martial in the stomach, then kicking him in the ribs, which effectively winds him completely. In this short time, he loses all vision of Shin, who appears directly behind him, and kicks him in the head, just a moment before he could react to such]

Shin: How’s that eh?

Fetistof [Gets up easily]: Good speed… no power though kid.

[Fetistof punches him to the ground again, but Shin gets up, even quicker than before and spits out blood, before rushing towards Fetistof once again]

Fetistof [Thinking]: This kid’s crazy man. What the hell? We got a biter over there, and we got this guy here… I mean damn, I shouldn’t have expected anything better, but what the hell? Whatever. Boss said I could kill this Taiki bastard, so I won’t let him get to Katarov no matter what.

[Fetistof punches towards Shin, but Shin narrowly dodges it, much to Fetistof’s surprise. However, as he reaches into to punch Fetistof with a left jab, he leaves his left side exposed, and he’s quickly kicked to the ground by Fetistof, who picks him up and flings him backwards, into Martial, who was just regaining his feet]

Shin [To Martial]: Get up. Can ya stand?

Martial: I can, yeah.

Shin: You got a better plan than me?

Martial: I don’t know if it’s any better, and I can’t read this guy like I could read Kat… this guy’s a full meathead. He’s probably that right-hand man that you guys were talking about before, Fetistof or whatever his name was. Yeah, him.

Shin: But still, we gotta think of something. I have decently high endurance, but I don’t know about you. Even if you do, this isn’t something that can work forever.

Martial: Well… there is one thing I can think of.

[The two of them discuss for a few seconds, with Shin nodding his head, before turning around being punted backwards by Fetistof]

Fetistof: Eh? You think this is a game? You think I’m gonna give you time to prep? Get real, you sappy shithead. You ain’t strong at all, mate. Give up.

Shin [Laughs, with blood dripping across his face]: Hahahaha, you think I’m gonna give up – to a second in command? You’re friggin crazy. Get real.

Fetistof: It’s funny, cause me, our second-in-command, is probably double the person you are – both physically and mentally. Hell, I’d think Aleks could probably sock you in a fight one-on-one. Too bad that bastard’s dead.

Shin: Eh? I thought we didn’t have time for chitchat, shithead?

Fetistof [Surprised, then laughs]: Oh, my bad, my bad. Let’s finish this then…

[He lunges at Shin with his right leg, connecting with Shin’s upper body, while Shin rolls slightly to the right to avoid full contact. Fetistof easily regains his balance, and swings at Shin, connecting with his shoulder, and Shin tries to gain some distance before standing, but Fetistof again closes the gap with ease, lunging towards him with his right fist and missing, before connecting with his left]

Fetistof: Eh? You scared chap? You’re gonna let the other guy do the heavy lifting here eh? You don’t wanna fight me? I’ll let you know, of the two of you, you hit harder. He’s just a biter, nothing else. Don’t think you’re winning if he’s the one ambushing me.

[Right as Fetistof finishes, Martial appears from a corner, lunging towards Fetistof with his left arm extended, and he punches Fetistof. Fetistof barely reacts, looks at him and laughs, looking back at Shin. He then turns himself around completely and focuses entirely on Martial, landing two right hooks and a left in quick succession, but Martial looks at him, smiles, and latches onto him]

Fetistof: Eh???

Fetistof [Thinking]: Eh? The hell’s this guy doing now?

Martial: You’re strong… y’know that? I like a good fight…

Fetistof: You’re insane kid.

Martial: Oh, but the insanity’s what makes it fun. The more of a thrill I’m having, the more numb I am to the pain…the blood rushes through me, y’know? I love it.

Fetistof: Eh? The hell are ya saying?

Martial [Lowers his voice, and speaks only with a pin drop silence in the room]: I said… I love doing this. It’s what I’ve been missing for all these years… oh this insanity, oh this adrenaline, oh it feels so good!

Fetistof [Grabs him from his shoulder, and tries to rip him off, but Martial holds onto his side with all of his strength]: Get off me you insect!

Martial [Smiles]: I would, if I could feel the pain at all!

Fetistof [Angrily]: Why you…

[Fetistof increases his strength and is finally able to tear Martial off of himself, flinging him into a corner, with Martial’s leg’s taking the brunt of the impact. Fetistof rushes towards him and punches him squarely in the face, and raises his hand again, before remembering what had been told to him earlier by the boss]

Fetistof [Thinking]: Shit… that’s right. I only have permission to kill that Taiki bastard… I can’t kill this one. Shit… whatever. He shouldn’t die from this. Sucks that I can’t kill him though…

[Fetistof gets up, and turns away from Martial, but Martial grabs his arm. Fetistof turns to look at him, and sees his bloody face, which continues to smile maniacally]

Fetistof: The hell do you want?

Martial: Why didn’t ya finish it? Finish the job, ya coward.

Fetistof: Why you aggravating asshat…

Martial: You can’t do it? Why? I thought you were a right-hand man. Shouldn’t you…

Fetistof [Punches him in the head again, which loosens Martial’s grip on his hand]: Shut up kid.. You ain’t worth my time. I don’t care how many screws loose you’ve got mate. I couldn’t care less. You’re one special maniac though, you friggin weirdo.

Martial [Looks at him, and coughs blood]: If only you knew how long I’d been waiting for something like this… to finally get to be apart of it. Oh, you wouldn’t understand. To be an informant for so long, and to finally be freed from the shackles… oh Shin, oh Katarov, how lovely you both are!

Fetistof [Thinking]: This guy’s completely off his rocker. He’s of no use. I could kill him here and now, but that would upset the boss. Let’s see what shall come…

Fetistof [To Martial]: Let me go now, asshole.

Martial [Still smiling]: I won’t. This is all part of it…

Fetistof: Eh? Won’t you give it a rest goddamnit!

Fetistof [Thinking]: Wait… wait… wait, shit, where’d the Taiki bastard go? Huh? Wait… who gives a shit? He ain’t strong enough, who cares?

[Fetistof hears footsteps coming his way from a short way away, and he readies himself. The footsteps suddenly stop, and within a second, Shin is behind him, but Fetistof reacts accordingly, turning himself backwards and punching Shin square in the face. However, Shin gets knocked back hard into a wall, while Fetistof screams in pain]

Martial [Looks to Shin]: You get him?

[The lights begin to raise in brightness]

Shin: From that reaction, I think I did.

[The lights reach full brightness, and a knife can be seen lodged into Fetistof’s back, but its lodged low enough that it doesn’t damage any vital organs immediately]

Shin: Shit, I didn’t hit him high enough to down him.

Martial [Laughs]: It’s alright. That should keep him down a bit.

Shin [To Martial]: Can you stand? We’ve gotta use this to our advantage now that he’s leaking blood and can’t do anything about it. We’ve gotta throw everything we can at him/

Martial [Grimaces]: I think I can, yeah. The adrenalines slowly wearing off, yeah.

[Shin pulls Martial up, and they both look towards Fetistof, who has already pulled out the knife that was lodged into his side. Fetistof yells loudly, and they can see the blood leaking slowly from his side, and he throws the knife towards both of them, narrowly missing]

Fetistof: You dirty pieces of shit! Come and get me then!

Shin [To Martial]: Looks like it’s on then… let’s go man!

Martial [Catching his breath, spits out blood]: I’m down for some more action man, let’s friggin do this!

[Shin and Martial run at Fetistof, who looks them dead in the eyes, before, switching his sole focus to Shin, and grabbing his arm, punching him in the head twice with his right, then once with his left, then switching to a kick straight to his abdomen]

Shin: Is that all ya got, ya sack of shit?

Fetistof: There’s more where that came from!

[He lunges at Shin again, hurling Shin into Martial, but they both stand up, Shin pulling Martial to his feet, and they both wipe off their sweat and blood, looking directly at Fetistof]

Fetistof [Yells]: Bring it on!

[Shin and Martial rush towards him, as he rushes towards them again, and the scene quickly pans to Katarov and Yuki]

Katarov [Looks towards Fetistof, Shin, and Martial, on the other side of the room, with concrete foundational beams blocking the shot]: Ehhhh, that piece of shit’s giving you trouble eh Fet? Who would’ve thought?

Yuki [Kicks him, and he dodges]: Hey, dumbass. I’m your matchup here, alright?

Katarov: Of course, m’lady! Why would I ever take my eyes off the prize right in front of me?

[He rushes at her, punching her with his right arm, but she receives it with her left, and he pushes back, gaining distance]

Katarov [Smiles sadistically]: You’re strong, eh? We’ve been going at this for some time and you’re still not gassed, eh? You a monster?

Yuki: I don’t like to think of myself as that, no… but you can think of me as whatever you want, I could care less really.

[She lowers her head and rushes at him, raising her right leg and roundhouse kicking towards his head, which she slightly grazes, as he ducks low]

Katarov: Too slow bitch!

Yuki [Laughs]: Really?

[She drops her foot down from the air, connecting directly with Katarov’s spine, which he grimaces at, before rolling to the side and kicking her opposite leg in while she was off-balance. She jumps back, twirling in the air as she jumps, raising the same right leg at Katarov’s chest, which he easily dodges, as he jumps backwards again]

Katarov [Smiles]: I like you, y’know… you’re tough as hell. Maybe a bit of refining on some of those techniques but –

[Yuki takes the split-second of distraction to close the gap between them, throwing a punch towards his head, but he dodges at the last second, much to her surprise]

Yuki: Eh? What the?

Katarov: Oh honey… don’t tell me you came here as ill-prepared as that boy’s [motions to Shin] brother, did you?

Yuki: Hell no man. We know who ya are. I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about your ‘gift’ though.

Katarov: Well, that’s just being ignorant, isn’t it? And let me tell you, what you’re doing isn’t bliss at all. You’re just willingly ignoring facts now, aren’t ya?

Yuki [Thinking]: He’s smart as hell, but even he can’t have predicted that we’ve come here with about the same information on him as Ichigo did all those years ago… I need information if I want to beat the brakes off him, and he’s cocky enough to spew it.

Katarov [Confused]: Ehh? You’ve grown awfully quiet, haven’t you?

Yuki: Shut it, moron.

Katarov: Oh my, oh my… are you still trying to concoct a plan to beat me? Are you? I’m telling you girl, it’s pointless. You can’t beat someone who’s able to see what’s coming.

Yuki [Thinking, but shocked]: ‘See what’s coming’?!?! What the hell? Is that what this damn gift is? If it is, then we’ve got no damn shot… even if it’s only for a second, we’re screwed! For someone this smart, it’s over man! Shit. I’ve gotta confirm this.

Yuki: Huh? You think you can see what’s coming you friggin moron? Not if I get to you quicker than you can react…

Katarov: I’m telling you, it’s fruitless –

[Yuki jumps towards him, throwing out a left punch which misses, then a right which misses, and then a left which grazes him, which causes him to jump backwards again, but she jumps right with him, surprising him, before throwing a flurry of punches, most of which miss, but the last punch is pulled, as she raises her leg fully and kicks straight upwards, landing a hit directly on Katarov’s chin, causing him to spit out a large amount of blood, before regaining his composure and smiling at her]

Katarov: You truly are special… you really are! You’re the closest thing to he was when we fought on the train, hell, you might be better than him! You truly are amazing! You –

[She leaps towards him again, missing another kick, but she stabilizes and stands directly in front of him. Before she can react though, he goes on the offensive, throwing a punch towards her abdomen which she blocks, and then kicking her side, which she partially blocks with her other hand. He then stands up straight and lunges at her with both his feet aimed at her head, but she ducks and rolls off, and he sticks his landing. They both breathe in deeply, before turning to run at one another again, both of them disregarding any form of defense, with each of their right fists raised. They meet, and both of them land a heavy right on the others face, sending each other flying backwards, but both of them quickly stand and stare down the other]

Katarov: I’m telling you, you’re special! You’re one of a kind – you truly are! I haven’t seen someone with this type of speed and power in years! You’d make a great replacement for Aleks! You truly would, I mean it!

Yuki [Scoffs]: Oh, save your shit, you ass. I ain’t ever gonna join you bastards. Not over my dead body, that’s for sure. You killed Ichi. That idiot isn’t the only one who holds a grudge against you for what you did that day.

Katarov: But sweetie, I did it to create this empire! To make the people happy! And look where it’s taken me! Look around at this place! Look at Eastern Europe! It’s a hundred times better than before we started, and we’re only beginning! That man, he was only a steppingstone, you see –

Yuki [Interjects loudly]: Huh? Did you just call Ichi a steppingstone? A fucking steppingstone? Ichi was a thousand times the man you are, you rotten, sadistic, twisted piece of shit!

[She runs at him with her right fist raised, as he stands in one place, staring at her, smiling sadistically. She raises his fist to punch him, but he dodges her once again. She looks down and kicks towards him, missing again, and he jumps into the air, double roundhouse kicking towards her head, missing her on the first attempt, but connecting on the second, weaker kick, which winds her]

Katarov: Oh, you poor thing. Even you can’t keep up with me, can you? Your reactions are getting slower and slower. But really, no human can beat me. Not him. Not you. Not any of your guys. None of my guys.

Yuki: Shut the hell up. Your reaction time ain’t all that. ‘Seeing into the future?’ Cut the crap, asshole. I’ve connected with you on multiple occasions.

Katarov [Looks at her, then laughs]: Oh honey… is that the scouting report they gave you? Well, to be fair, it’s better than the nothing that he got all those years ago. Still, wow… [He laughs again]

Yuki: Eh? Scouting report? The hell are you talking about?

Katarov: Oh, come on, don’t play dumb with me now. Come on… but let me correct you on one thing, alright?

Yuki [Thinking]: This is what I wanted now…

Katarov: It may seem like I can see into the future, but theoretically speaking, I can’t. That just ain’t possible. But what I’m blessed with – which stems from my gift – it’s this incredible reaction speed. It’s inbuilt babe… that’s why I can keep up with anyone.

Yuki [Thinking]: Stems from… wait, so his gift ain’t this reaction speed then? What the hell? But if it stems from it, that means the gift itself has to do with his reactions to attacks, right? That means… wait, is the gift defensive then? [Realizes] Wait, wait, wait, that all makes sense… Ichi would never be overpowered, not by this shitbag… no, no, no, it was just that it was impossible to overpower this guy. That has –

[Ichigo kicks her in the stomach, causing her to grimace and fall backwards, but she quickly regains her footing]

Katarov: I know I’ve been sweet-talking you, but all you hurl at me are insults and threats… don’t expect me to just let you drift off in the middle of a fight!

Yuki: Hmph, well, I guess your power ain’t all that special after all, eh?

Katarov: Eh? The hell d’ya mean?

Yuki: Reaction speed? Please. What kind of lame trash is that? You think that would win me over? Please.

Katarov: Are you dense?

Yuki: Huh?

Katarov: I said that that stems from my gift, damnit!

Yuki: Damn, don’t care, a defensive gift is lame as hell. No wonder your punches don’t feel like shit at all.

Katarov [Irritated]: Ehhhh? You wanna say that, you bitch?

Yuki: Oh look, you’re mad. Can’t keep your cool you friggin donkey?

Katarov [Leaps toward her]: Why, you bitch!

[He jumps towards her, but she dodges his punch. He lands on both of his feet, before jumping into the air, with his right leg in a kicking position]

Yuki [Thinking]: Got him right where I want him… the friggin moron.

Yuki [Mockingly]: Hey, shouldn’t you keep your cool, Dreadknight leader?

[His right leg nears her head, but she dodges it with ease, kicking backwards and then kicking her foot towards his vulnerable head]

Yuki [Thinking]: Hmph, no way he can dodge this. That’s why you don’t jump into the air with a full head of steam… idiot.

[She kicks towards his head, but he dodges it, much to her shock, and his left leg, which had been flailing behind his kicking right leg, kicks at her with incredible force, hitting at her side and throwing her backwards. She looks up, and sees him standing up, regaining his composure]

Yuki [Thinking]: What hit me… what?

Katarov: You really thought I lost my cool there? Really? You really are dense…

Yuki: Eh?

Katarov: You calling me out for having a shit gift ain’t enough to make me turn hotheaded. Besides, there’s only one person can judge these gifts, and that person isn’t you… no matter how much I admire your strength.

Yuki: Oh… so even you have someone you admire, and someone you care about, don’t you?

Katarov: Of course I do…

Yuki: So, if we found and killed them –

Katarov [Bursts out laughing]: You morons? Kill him? Please… that’s the funniest shit I’ve heard in a long time! Holy shit!

Yuki: What? Your family can’t be in any state to fight us if we held em hostage. You’re the damn anomaly, and even you aren’t all that strong.

Katarov [Continues laughing]: Family? What? Are you mental? Oh, I haven’t laughed like this in a long time! Oh, if only Fet could hear this and wasn’t dealing with those morons over there. [He tries to compose himself]

Yuki: Eh… are you insane?

Katarov: No, no sweetie, you’re the one who’s insane. You can’t beat him… even I can’t beat him.

Yuki: But you just said there’s no one who can beat you?

Katarov: I said there’s no regular human who can beat me… which human d’ya think unlocked this type of power within me eh? You think I’m a damn wizard who just magically turned myself into this? Hell no. There’s only one, and he’s stronger than any of us… that damn fallen angel he is.

Yuki [Thinking]: What the hell?

Yuki: That’s bullshit. I don’t care what ya say, but that ain’t right.

Katarov: Oh, believe me, believe me… you don’t wanna cross paths with this guy. [Laughs even harder] Oh wait… did you think he was a fallen angel because I said it that way? Oh please, you’re too gullible, you really are.

Yuki [Thinking]: Wait… now what’s he talking about? What?

Katarov: He ain’t a damn real evil spirit, you moron. He’s a human who’s mastered these gifts and given himself away to these types of powers. At that point, can I even call him a human anymore? No. He’s a fallen angel by then.

Yuki [Shakes her head]: Whatever the hell you say… you sure as hell just sound deluded man.

Katarov [Throws his head back]: Well then sweetie, I’ll ask you again, although I know your answer… you wouldn’t want to come to our side, would you? You seem more useful than Taiki’s brother, and you seem competent enough… why not? You guys are only gonna fall here, after all. It doesn’t matter what you do.

Yuki [Scoffs]: Please. I already told you, my answer. It’s a fucking no.

Katarov: Even if I made you my second in command? You could be the Juliet to my Romeo as we take over everything… you could boss all of my people around. Even then, you’d still say no?

Yuki: Hmmmmmmmm, no. I told you already. I ain’t joining your damn group, no matter what you offer me. I’m not leaving my post with Shinzo to join you and be your damn second-in-command, because you’re a vile, egotistical, maniacal sack of shit. I could care less to ever come to your side. And please… be the Juliet to your Romeo? I’ll never have any interest in you, and I have my own Romeo, thank you very much.

Katarov: Aw really, you do? That’s a shame.

Yuki: It really isn’t… cause he’s a million times the person you are. In every way.

Katarov: Oh, really now?

Yuki: Oh yeah, he is.

Katarov: Then I guess I’ll beat the brakes off you first, and find him, and then kill him in front of you to prove how deluded you are – alright?

Yuki [Scoffs]: Like I’d ever allow that, you moron.

Katarov [Cracks his knuckles, then wipes some blood off his lips]: Let’s finish then, shall we?

Yuki [Walks towards him]: With pleasure…

[The two once again run at one another, with less speed and power in their steps. Yuki throws the first punch, which misses Katarov’s head. He responds with a flurry of a left, right and then another right, but only the second right connects with Yuki’s arm]

Yuki: Tch! Damn.

Katarov [Laughs]: Keep your guard up!

[Yuki creates separation, then runs at Katarov once again, and he punches towards her, but she grabs the punch, and twists his arm, which causes him to grimace. He pulls that same arm backwards, yanking her towards him, but just as he attempts to punch her, she knees him in the chest, with no room to react. As he grimaces, she kicks him in the groin, which prompts a loud yell from him]

Yuki: Even with all that reaction time, you still can’t defend that? You’re pathetic.

Katarov [Thinking]: Endure it. Endure it.

Yuki [Yells] Come on… leader!

[Katarov punches towards her, but misses her, and she lunges towards him but also misses. She raises her leg to kick him square in the stomach, but he drops low and kicks out both of her legs, causing her to fall to the ground]

Katarov: What were ya saying?

[She gets up, and kicks at his legs, attempting to knock him down, but he karate hits her with one arm in the back of the neck, which rings out and winds her. She looks at him and lunges at him again, closing the gap at a furious speed which Katarov can’t respond to]

Yuki [Thinking]: I can do this… I can do this!

[She tries to kick him in the side, but he dodges that, and then dodges her next three punch attempts, followed by a fourth upper cut. He then turns on the offensive, attempting to punch her in the head, but missing slightly, then he kicks at her leg, but the leg only moves backwards, and she keeps her footing. The two then look each other dead in the eyes and trade blows, with Katarov landing most of his and Yuki only landing one, before Yuki attempts another kick, which Katarov defensively responds to. As he dodges the kick though, she looks him dead in the eyes and laughs, and from her side comes a punch which connects deeply into his abdomen, pushing him back]

Yuki: That should do it, eh Katarov? [She laughs, but he slowly regains his footing, to her shock]

Yuki [Thinking]: Huh? What? What? But that caught him off-guard too. I even beat his reaction time… is this what Ichi felt? No, no, no, I can’t lose! I can’t!

Katarov [Regains his footing] You did well, girl. You really did. I really do like ya.

[He lunges at her with his remaining energy, which is still surprisingly high, and is evidently higher than hers. The two continue to trade punches, with Yuki still in shock at how her punch wasn’t able to knock him out, and Katarov still on high alert. Suddenly, out of the blue, Katarov extends his hand in a punching motion, but quickly retracts it, to Yuki’s confusion]

Katarov [Thinking]: NOW!

[Out of the corner of the scene, from the stairs, past the open door, the loud sound of a sniper recoil can be heard. As the scene shifts back to Katarov and Yuki, the bullet can be seen lodged into his abdomen, but it doesn’t pierce through him. A silver hue can be seen around him, as even Fetistof, Martial and Shin stop their fighting to look at Yuki and him – he scoffs and then laughs with pure insanity, which piques Martial’s interest. In a side corner, Ryo and Drift can still be seen throwing punches at one another, with Natsumi chiming in when Drift gives her a go-ahead]

Katarov: I fucking knew it!

Yuki: Huh? A sniper? What?

[From the stairwell, as the light shines on him, appears Hachiro, with his sniper rifle pointed towards Katarov. From behind him, up the stairs, Naomi and Ashe look on, while the others continue to spar with the remaining Dreadknight. A new face, Matthew Finnigan, the leader of the English troops, can be seen back-to-back with Electra, beating up the Dreadknight guys, along with Karina and Daisuke]

Hachiro [His hair blows past his face, and he cracks the mint in his mouth]: Damn. I missed, eh? Damn.

Katarov [Yells]: No sonny, you didn’t miss! You got me square on, in fact!

Yuki [Looks at the bullet lodged into his body]: Oh my God. There’s just no way.

Katarov [Gets closer to her, in punching distance]: Now you understand, eh?

Yuki [Thinking]: But he wasn’t using it before… he was waiting to use it, because he predicted that he’d be sniped by someone… he knew this would happen. If it was unlimited… he wouldn’t have waited and let me have my way with him, even if it was only punches. There’s a condition to this. There has to be. So now that he’s used it, I’ll be able to take him down when this immunity ends, cause it’s sure to take a shitton of energy. I can win… and unlike Ichigo, I have backup with these guys. He won’t be able to win and tire me out like he did with Ichigo… because…

Yuki [Ignores Katarov]: Shinzo! You ready, ya sadist?

Shin [Pushes Fetistof, who tries to grab his leg, but misses]: Perfect timing, ya bitch!

[Yuki runs towards Shin and Fetistof, and Shin kicks Fetistof back and runs towards her as well, with both of them leaping towards one another with each of their left arms extended]