As Kiro flew out the door from the force of the blow, the two men gave chase, stepping out into the alley.
TALL GUY: "Just not your day, bounty hunter."
NEO: "You could have left when you had the chance. But you wanted to be a hero." He made a hand sign, and a shadow clone erupted from the ground beside him, lunging for an attack. (the clone is ffully black like a shadow)
At the same time, the Tall Guy jumped into the air, taking out a humming, digital scythe made of hard light.
KIRO: "Fool me once, but not twice!" He ignored the clones and the scythe, leaping straight for Neo himself.
Just then, a hand grabbed the Tall Guy by the throat in mid-air and slammed him down hard onto the pavement.
RAIJI: "Told you to stay back, man! But you have to rush in!" He landed beside Kiro, looking down at the groaning Tall Guy. He shook his hand. (That felt strange... like grabbing air.) "Go get Destripador! He's on the roof!"
KIRO: (Looking up) "On it!"
DESTRIPADOR: (Looking down from the rooftop edge) "Good luck." He calmly put on a pair of advanced combat gloves.
Kiro did the same, pulling on his own shock gloves. "Done holding back."
RAIJI: "Leave Neo to me!"
Kiro jumped into the air, aiming for the roof. Destripador immediately turned and ran across the rooftops.
NEO: "Stop right!" He threw a knife at Kiro's back.
RAIJI: "Wind Slash!" A blade of air shot from his sword, cutting the knife out of the sky.
The Tall Guy, recovering, jumped up to intercept Kiro, but Raiji's foot hooked his ankle and slammed him down again, this time crashing him into Neo. Neo easily blocked the falling body, shoving the Tall Guy aside.
RAIJI: (Eyes narrowing, feeling that strange sensation again) "Strange... there it is again. Felt like grabbing nothing..."
MEANWHILE - THE ROOFTOPS
Kiro gave chase, leaping across the gaps between buildings. To his shock, Destripador was just as fast as he was, maybe even faster.
A smoke bomb suddenly exploded at Kiro's feet, obscuring his vision. He lost sight of his target.
Think, Kiro! he remembering Veyra's scolding. Think!
He scanned the area. High ground. There was an extra-high building nearby. If I were him, I'd go to street level to hide... but staying on the high ground is faster for escape. He focused, and a blur of movement caught his eye on a roof several blocks away. There!
He pushed forward, refusing to lose him again.
BACK TO RAIJI - THE ALLEY BRAWL
RAIJI: (A fierce grin on his face, circling the two men) "This'll be fun. A 2v1. And you beat Kiro? That means you're strong. I must revenge my friend."
The Tall Guy Dr. Silas Black swung his digital scythe around his hand like a toy, the blade humming with energy. The move took terrifying skill and precision.
DR. SILAS: "So, what's your name, swordsman? It's only honorable to know who I'm defeating. My name is Dr. Silas Black. What's yours, strange swordsman?"
Neo looked at him with disdain. "Stand aside, Doctor. You're not good in a real fight."
RAIJI: "The name is Raiji. You should earn my last name."
In a flash, Raiji drew both his blades. There was only the sound of wind.
He lunged. Neo jumped back, dropping a smoke bomb to dodge. Raiji's two swords came from opposite directions for a scissor-cut, but they sliced only air.
Neo's knives were out instantly, slashing forward. Raiji saw it, dropped into a slide under the attack, and came up with a Wind Slash.
But from behind him, Dr. Silas swung his scythe in a wide, deadly arc.
Raiji blocked it just in time, but the very tip of the energy blade nicked his front, right next to his left arm.
He swung his blade back in the opposite direction, but Silas simply jumped out of the way with unnatural ease.
DR. SILAS: "Close one."
Then, four shadow clones of Neo materialized and launched a surprise punch barrage on Raiji from all sides. The force pushed him back.
(Raiji's Thoughts: Wait... they don't do so much damage. That's strange. It's like they're... empty.)
RAIJI: "You two are actually good! Nice! I can go all out at once here!" Wind began to visibly swirl around his blades, gathering energy. "This new technique... my ultimate!" He smiled, ready to unleash his power on both of them. "For both of you!"
MEANWHILE - KIRO STILL RUNNING
KIRO: (Yelling across the rooftop gap) "Is this a race to you?! We're almost at the end of the road!"
Ahead of him, Destripador didn't answer. Instead, he threw two smoke bombs behind him without even looking.
Not again! Kiro thought, frustration boiling over. But this time, he had the high ground. He skidded to a halt at the roof's edge, looking down at the long, one-way road below.
He activated his new cybernetic eye. The tech whirred to life, scanning both sides of the street, analyzing the the any movement of the passing vehicles, searching for his target.
A sudden hiss came from right beside him. A third, smaller gas bomb one he never saw coming detonated at his feet, spraying a cloud of acrid, stinging gas directly into his face.
"Gah!" Kiro threw his hand over his eyes, turning his head away as the burning cloud enveloped him. He tried to blink through the tears, to see anything.
It was the moment of distraction Destripador needed.
He was suddenly just there. Moving faster than Kiro could track, a white-haired blur against the grey smoke. A powerful hand slammed into Kiro's face.
The force was incredible. Destripador used Kiro's own momentum against him, hurling him sideways off the rooftop.
Kiro crashed back-first into the great brick wall of the adjacent building with a sickening thud. The impact left a web of cracks in the mortar and a Kiro-shaped dent. He slumped to the gravel-covered roof, the wind utterly knocked out of him.
"Oof... damn," he grunted, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "You're strong. Agile. You can keep up with me... What top-shelf cyberware are you running?"
Destripador stood over him, his white hair almost glowing in the hazy air. He looked down, his expression unreadable, his voice calm and devoid of boastfulness.
DESTRIPADOR: "Not cyberware." He took a slow step closer. "I am just... him."
Destripador stood over him, his white hair almost glowing in the hazy air. He looked down, his expression unreadable.
DESTRIPADOR: "Not cyberware. I am just... me." He took a slow step closer. "So tell me, rookie bounty hunter. What's your name?"
KIRO: (Pushing himself fully to his feet, fists clenched) "It's Kiro!"
He launched forward with a furious punch, followed by a swift kick. Destripador didn't block; he simply flowed around the attacks, dodging with an infuriating, effortless ease.
DESTRIPADOR: "Kiro." He said the name like he was tasting it. "Have you ever questioned it? Those bounties you chase... are they actually criminals? And when you catch them, do they actually go to jail? Or do they just disappear into the system, making someone else richer?"
KIRO: (Throwing another combination, each strike meeting only air) "No! How are you so fast and slippery?!"
DESTRIPADOR: "Ahh. Then you are a fool for that." He finally stopped dodging and went on the offensive, throwing a straight punch.
Kiro saw it coming. "Finally!" he grunted, parrying the blow aside. He saw his opening and went for a devastating hard punch straight to Destripador's face, his shock glove crackling with energy.
But instead of pulling back or blocking, Destripador did the unexpected. He leaned into the punch, moving with it to halve the physical impact. Kiro's fist connected, the glove discharging its shock, but the force was dissipated, the blow glancing.
In the split second the electricity arced across his face, Destripador's hand shot up, not to block, but to briefly touch his own chest where the current had grounded. Then, with impossible speed, he pressed two fingers directly against Kiro's chest, over his heart.
A second, smaller jolt of redirected electricity seized Kiro's muscles, making him spasm.
KIRO: (Eyes wide in shock, his words stammering through the convulsions) "H-how did you... know to do that?! That c-can't be"
Before he could finish or recover, Destripador used the momentum from the lean to pivot into a brutal kick that caught Kiro square in the chest, sending him flying back across the rooftop.
Destripador stood calmly, straightening his jacket, a faint wisp of smoke rising from where the shock had grounded.
DESTRIPADOR: "One more thing you failed to note. I am smarter than you." He tapped a finger to his temple. "I have read digital books on every known martial art. That was called Karate. And that," he nodded toward Kiro's smoking glove, "was called applied physics."
Kiro coughed, a speck of blood spraying from his lips. The old injuries from his fight with Neo screamed in protest, not yet fully healed. "So why?" he gritted out, shifting into a balanced boxing stance. "Why kill rich women?" He began to circle, ready to use everything he had true Mixed Martial Arts.
DESTRIPADOR: In answer, Destripador's hands flicked forward. Three throwing knives sailed through the air.
KIRO: "Already fooled me once, not twice!" He dodged sideways, anticipating the trick.
The knives hit the ground where he'd been standing and exploded in a burst of concussive force. Using the explosion as cover, Kiro surged forward through the smoke. Stay strong. Make it count. He lunged, putting all his weight into a powerful strike... but hit only empty air. He'd been dodging a feint.
Destripador was already in motion, using the opening to launch a devastating kick. Kiro barely managed to lean back, the wind from the kick brushing his face. Seizing the moment, Kiro countered with a lightning-fast punch to Destripador's chest. His shock glove activated on impact, delivering a jolt meant to stun the heart.
CRACKLE-THUD.
Destripador grunted, forced back several steps. He coughed, and a trickle of blood escaped his lips.
KIRO: (Eyes wide) "Wait... why are you still up? Do you have a strong body, too?"
DESTRIPADOR: (Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand) "No. I disabled your Cube. For a minute. The shock works like a targeted EMP on its energy." He looked at Kiro, not with anger, but with analytical curiosity. "But you're still so strong. I can tell you lost a lot of power, yet you persist. That Cube... it's a passive ability, isn't it? Which means... DNA alteration. Already integrated. I understand now."
KIRO: "I don't know what you're saying!" He threw another furious punch, but Destripador easily dodged.
DESTRIPADOR: "The fool, Grieg, and the 'big guy,' Silas. Both are good people who were wronged by the Green Dragon Clan. That is why I kill these women. It's part of the reason. My current target... she is one of the bosses. If I kill her, it will create huge change. A reckoning."
KIRO: "There has to be another way!"
DESTRIPADOR: "There isn't." His response was final. He followed with a feinting kick, then a real, solid punch to Kiro's guard, pushing the wounded bounty hunter back yet again.
DESTRIPADOR: "You know what this clan the Green Dragon Clan did to me?" His voice, usually so calm, now carried a sharp, cold edge. "They experimented on me. Sixteen years ago. They made me... this. I am six years older than I should be." The words were a weapon themselves. As he spoke, he threw a blistering kick, followed by a punch so fast it ripped through the air with a sharp crack.
Kiro dodged, the wind from the blows whipping at his hair.
KIRO: "So does that make it right?! Killing at random? Let's try to save them! Change their hearts! Killing..." He stomped his foot on the rooftop. The concrete beneath them shuddered with a minor but sudden shake, enough to make Destripador lose his balance for a critical second. A familiar energy surged back into Kiro's limbs. "...Killing them stops what they can become. It stops them from ever turning good."
DESTRIPADOR: (Regaining his footing, eyes wide) "My power's back. Good."
Without another word, Kiro leaped into the air, fist pulled back. He didn't aim for Destripador he punched the air in front of him with all his might. The force compressed the space between them and erupted in a visible shockwave that slammed into Destripador (the wind wave punch), sending him flying backward to skid across the gravel.
Destripador pushed himself up, coughing like the wind had been knocked out of him. He looked at Kiro, not with anger, but with a newfound, grudging respect.
DESTRIPADOR: "Nice move. Maybe... you have a point." He conceded, brushing dust from his clothes. "Okay. I will play your game. But we should still stop this lady. She is a core part of the corruption."
KIRO: (Nodding, finally lowering his guard) "Sure. Lead the way."
The two former opponents turned, a tense and unlikely alliance formed under the neon sky, and headed as one toward the towering spires of the sky city.