The Final Showdown II

Kairi's footsteps echoed faintly against the steel of the shipping yard as she approached the red doors of Building Three. Her breathing was steady, her grip on her blade firm, though her muscles ached from the night's battles. A flicker of light spilled through the cracks of the door, signaling that she was not walking into an empty space. A grim smile spread across her lips as she reached the handle, her mind already calculating her next moves.

With a sharp kick, the heavy doors flew open, slamming against the walls with a resounding crash. Kairi stepped in, her silhouette framed by the dim light of the shipping yard behind her. The air inside was thick with the smell of sweat and iron, and her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim overhead lights.

Sitting at a long metal table were Mikado and Yasuo, their postures relaxed but their eyes sharp as blades. Mikado, with his sleek black hair and calculating demeanor, leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the table. Yasuo, the more brutish of the two, cracked his knuckles, his muscular frame towering even while seated. They both looked up at Kairi with an unsettling calm.

"Kairi Saigeru," Mikado greeted, his voice smooth but laced with mockery. He spoke in Japanese, his words measured. "You've been busy tonight. Tomas and Rika… gone, just like that. It's almost impressive."

Yasuo leaned forward, his lips curling into a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "You've got guts, I'll give you that," he rumbled. "But you're in over your head, little girl."

Kairi ignored the taunts, her blade gleaming faintly under the flickering lights. "Save the speeches," she snapped, her tone cold and biting. "If you're here to waste my time, I'll start with you two before moving on to the rest."

Mikado chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, you misunderstand," he said, switching to German with a smirk. "Du bist nicht hier, um uns zu töten. Wir sind nur die Vorband." ("You're not here to kill us. We're just the opening act.")

The shift in language caught Kairi off guard, though she didn't show it. She tightened her grip on her weapon, her instincts screaming that something was off. Before she could respond, Mikado raised a hand, gesturing toward the shadows at the far end of the room.

"Let me introduce you to the one who will truly test your mettle," Mikado continued, switching back to Japanese. "We weren't holding the spot for Mariko because she was important. She was a placeholder. The real leader has arrived."

From the shadows stepped a tall, imposing figure. His white hair glowed under the dim lights, and his pale skin was marked with scars that told stories of countless battles. His cold blue eyes bore into Kairi with an intensity that made the air around him feel heavy. Dressed in a fitted black military-style jacket, his presence exuded authority and danger.

"Allow me to introduce Lukas Drexler," Mikado announced, his tone almost reverent. "The true successor. A man who has fought wars before you were even born."

Lukas spoke, his voice deep and accented, his German sharp and commanding. "Es ist eine Schande, dass ich wegen einer einzigen Person kommen musste," he said, his tone laced with disdain. "Aber ich werde das jetzt regeln." ("It's a shame I had to come because of one person. But I'll take care of this now.")

He rolled his shoulders, the scars on his arms and neck flexing as he prepared himself. Kairi's eyes narrowed, her pulse quickening. This wasn't just another lackey. This was a soldier, someone who had lived and breathed combat. She couldn't underestimate him.

Yasuo leaned back, chuckling. "Good luck, Pacifist," he said mockingly. "You'll need it."

Kairi's smirk returned, though her heart pounded in her chest. "Another big talker," she muttered under her breath. "Fine. Let's see if you're any different from the others."

The room grew silent as Lukas stepped closer, his boots echoing ominously. Kairi shifted her stance, her mind racing as she sized him up. This was going to be a fight unlike any she'd faced before.

Lukas stood a few feet away from Kairi, arms crossed, watching her like a predator sizing up its prey. His cold blue eyes scanned her bloodied form, the smirk on his scarred face unwavering.

"Is this the great 'Pacifist' I've heard so much about?" Lukas scoffed, his deep German accent rolling off his tongue like a death sentence. "Ich dachte, du wärst größer." ("I thought you'd be taller.")

Kairi wiped the blood from her lips, exhaling sharply through her nose. "Funny," she shot back, rolling her shoulders. "I was just thinking the same thing about you."

Mikado chuckled from the side, his long fingers tapping rhythmically against his forearm. "She's got bite," he mused in Japanese. "But I wonder how long she'll keep that sharp tongue once she realizes what kind of fight she's in."

Lukas let out a low, humorless laugh before suddenly vanishing from her line of sight.

CRACK!

His fist crashed into Kairi's face like a hammer, whipping her head to the side and sending her stumbling backward. The sheer force of it rattled through her skull, her vision briefly flickering as pain exploded across her jaw.

"Too slow," Lukas muttered, stepping back with a soldier's precision. "You fight like a street dog. No discipline."

Kairi barely had time to recover before Mikado was on her.

He moved with the grace of a phantom, his strikes sharp and calculated. His first hit was a palm strike to her ribs, knocking the air from her lungs, followed by a brutal elbow to her shoulder. Kairi gritted her teeth, twisting to counter, but Yasuo was already closing in from her blind spot.

WHAM!

A heavy fist slammed into her gut, lifting her feet off the ground for a split second before she crashed onto her knees. She spat blood onto the floor, her breathing ragged.

Mikado crouched beside her, his expression as amused as it was condescending. "You're good, I'll give you that," he murmured in Japanese, brushing some of his sleek hair from his face. "But you rely too much on instinct. It makes you predictable."

Yasuo rolled his shoulders, stepping forward with a grin. "She's fun to hit, though," he said in Spanish, looking over at Lukas. "¿Cuánto tiempo más jugamos con ella antes de matarla?" ("How much longer do we play with her before we kill her?")

Lukas remained still, watching Kairi as if gauging something deeper than just her skill. "No tan rápido," he replied in Spanish, his voice calm. "Quiero ver qué hace cuando está acorralada." ("Not so fast. I want to see what she does when she's cornered.")

Kairi spat out blood, her breathing still heavy but her grin creeping back onto her face.

"That's cute," she rasped, looking up at them through her messy bangs. "You really think you've got me cornered?"

Mikado raised an eyebrow, but before he could react, Kairi twisted her body and drove her knee straight into his ribs.

BAM!

Mikado staggered back, eyes wide with genuine surprise.

Kairi planted her hands on the floor and launched herself upward, twisting mid-air to dodge Yasuo's incoming strike before landing on her feet.

Lukas smiled, nodding slightly. "Now that's more like it," he murmured.

Kairi exhaled, rolling her neck. The pain was there, but so was the adrenaline.

This was going to be a war. And she was going to make them bleed for every hit they landed.

Lukas cracked his knuckles, watching as Kairi steadied herself, blood dripping from her lips. He tilted his head slightly, his cold blue eyes narrowing.

"Sie kämpft besser als erwartet." ("She fights better than expected.")

Mikado smirked, rubbing his ribs where Kairi had just struck him. "I'll admit, she's got fire," he said in Japanese, rolling his neck. "But fire burns out when it runs out of air."

Yasuo wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth, grinning. "Then let's suffocate her."

And just like that, the real fight began.

Mikado was the first to move, his movements precise and eerily fluid. He slid in low, using his momentum to drive his elbow into Kairi's abdomen.

CRACK!

The force sent her reeling, but before she could fully react, Yasuo was already there, his fists moving like battering rams.

BAM! BAM!

A brutal one-two punch to her ribs made her stumble, and before she could regain her footing, Lukas was already behind her.

THWACK!

A monstrous kick to the back of her knee sent her collapsing onto all fours.

She gasped, her vision blurring as pain rattled through her body. Her breath hitched as she realized something—

They weren't just good.

They were coordinated.

Mikado, Yasuo, and Lukas weren't attacking randomly. They were systematically dismantling her—striking weak points, cutting off her movement, and giving her no time to recover.

They were hunters.

And she was bleeding in the water.

Mikado cracked his knuckles, towering over her. "You're slowing down," he murmured, a smirk creeping onto his lips. "What's wrong, Pacifist? You getting tired?"

Kairi clenched her teeth, gripping her side where a bruise was already forming. She forced herself up, breathing heavily.

"I'm just..." she spat some blood onto the floor, "...pacing myself."

Lukas let out a short, amused exhale. "Nicht schlecht," he muttered ("Not bad"). "Aber du blutest." ("But you're bleeding.")

Before Kairi could move, Yasuo shot forward with a spinning backfist to her temple.

WHAM!

Her world spun as she staggered sideways, only for Mikado to drive a vicious knee straight into her stomach.

She gagged, nearly doubling over.

Lukas finished it with a bone-shattering punch to her ribs, sending her crashing into the nearby wall.

BOOM!

The impact left a dent in the concrete.

She coughed violently, a sharp pain stabbing at her side. Maybe a cracked rib. Maybe more.

Mikado crouched down, watching her struggle. "Still think we don't have you cornered?" he taunted.

Kairi exhaled shakily, pushing herself up despite the pain.

She was battered. Bruised. Bleeding.

But she wasn't broken.

She wiped the blood from her mouth, grinning through the pain.

"You hit like bitches," she rasped.

Yasuo scoffed, rolling his wrists. "Oh, now you're just begging for us to break something."

Lukas stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "Enough talk."

Kairi tightened her fists, her breathing steady despite the pain.

They had the upper hand.

For now.

But she had no intention of staying down.