#then a hell kaiser laid on the ground dead

[seventhdoctor]

I had a good time as Carly during Anime NYC!

I also, uh, bought a lot of Judais:

Thanks to @judgedarts and @raintides for my boy and my life! <3

[mslynnwrites]

you were everything

A Mechanisms fic, inspired by Gunpowder Tim vs. the Moon Kaiser

___

Gunpowder Tim gently laid Bertie’s stiffening corpse upon the dust, stood up, and fired three shots aimlessly into the black. A solemn salute to the greatest friend he could have asked for in this hell.

How long had they been here, in these desolate tunnels? How long had they all fought and fought on this Godforsaken satellite, deep down in this endless darkness that crawled into their throats and choked the life out of them faster than the pumps could go? Three years? Four? How long did the Queen expect them all to stay up here? To die for her so far from home?

Rage bubbled in his chest. No more, he decided. He’d already lost everything else. All he had was his own life, and what was that worth? No, this was going to end now. He would not stop—he would not rest—until the Kaiser was dead. Until this whole, pointless war was over.

Jonny shifted from where he’d been taking cover. “That was pointless,” he sneered. “Nothing glorious about that. He’s just dead?”

Tim shot him in the face.

The journey back to base was uneventful, apart from when Jonny woke up complaining about being dragged across the uneven ground. Nothing another bullet couldn’t fix.

When had this become the norm for him? Was it during one of the microwave attacks back at the start, when he’d first discovered what it felt like to burn before they could huddle him under the lead? During that gas attack where he couldn’t reach the respirator in time? Bertie had given him his. They’d shared it until it was over.

When had violence become the default?

He found that he didn’t really care. After all, he was just some lowly grunt caught up in something that, in the end, didn’t mean much.

Don’t talk like that, Bertie would say. You mean a lot to me.

You were everything, Tim thought.

He shot Jonny again and kept walking.

[imaginekpoptrash-blog]

Gangsta Luv (G Dragon fic/Ch.16)

A/N: Hello! Sorry this took so long to write. I have multiple different reasons for it but instead of making excuses I’ll just give you guys the next chapter of my fic! ~ Hope you guys like it!! And thank you so much for showing my little fic so much love!! You guys are the greatest!!!

Ch.1     Ch.2     Ch.3     Ch.4     Ch.5     Ch.6      Ch.7     Ch.8     Ch.9   Ch.10    Ch.11     Ch.12     Ch.13     Ch.14       Ch.15 

Word Count: 3,547

Genre: Everything at one point or another. Also, be warned of explicit language, gun and drug use at one point or another, and violence. I feel like I need to put this on every chapter from now on. You have been warned.

Summary: What does one do when their future is already picked out for them? Try to escape over and over again or accept their fate?

“Home…” Jiwoo mumbled under her breath, her body numb as ice ran through her veins. Everything finally clicked for her as she stared into the face of the enemy only inches away. His wicked smile, the constant destructive look in his eyes, the way he looked at her as if she belonged to him and she was truly nothing but a toy to him, a doll. Jiwoo could feel herself becoming cold, trembling under his eyes.

“Yes, home. Where you belong. Do you still remember my name, doll? I’d be a little offended if you didn’t. We used to have so much fun when we were kids…that is until your little ‘prince’ intervened.”  

Jiwoo swallowed hard, unable to speak as he stared at her. She could see the amusement in his eyes and remembered all the times she’d go home crying because of him. The times he shoved her around and stole King from her, threatening to cut him into pieces. How he’d talk about her and push her around as if she were a Raggedy Ann doll. She was terrified of him back then, and seeing him now, she realized that it had only gotten worse. He tilted his head and ran his finger along her cheek with a smirk on his face.

“Come on. Say it. I know you didn’t forget about me that easily.” His voice deep he watched her mouth open, trying to speak, but nothing came out. Once again he had complete control over her. She feared him and he knew it.

“Soohyuk, doll. Now, repeat after me. Lee Soohyuk.” His eyes stayed on Jiwoo, his lips curling into a devilish grin when he heard her whisper his name, barely audible even in the deadly silent room. He chuckled and stood to his feet, looking down at King in her grip before turning his back to her. Jiwoo watched him walk over to his desk and lean against it after he turned back to look at her.

“I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions so I’ll gladly answer them all for you. That is, if you can find your voice again.”

She wanted to scream, wanted to cry her eyes out, wanted to fight him with the last bit of energy she had left in her, but her body refused to move from the spot she was currently glued too. Jiwoo could feel her entire body shake, a few tears rolling down her cheeks which she didn’t dare to wipe away. Soohyuk enjoyed every second of this and she knew it. She could tell by the pure heinous look in his eyes and she swore that if it was physically possible, a set of horns and a tail would accompany that demonic smile of his. He shrugged at her when she didn’t answer him, turning around to pour himself a glass of brown liquid which she could only assume was some type of liquor.

“Alright, how about we start at the beginning then.” He took a sip and set the glass down, his eyes turning back to her.

“As you know, your little ‘prince’ had me shipped off when I became too much of a problem for you back then. To where is unimportant right now. Actually, I should rephrase that…” Walking over to Jiwoo he turned the spare chair around and faced her as she sat backed up against the wall. “His father had me and my family shipped off. If it was up to him, I’d probably be dead right now. I should probably visit his father and thank him for that one day. Now I’ve got the chance to fuck him over and take you for good.”

Jiwoo clung onto King and listened to his story silently. At this point, she didn’t have any other choice. He would kill her if she dared to oppose him, she had no doubt about that.

“Back to the important things, though. After a few years of being gone, I got a phone call from a certain friend of mine. Best friend, actually. He told me that you were in town and that your prince had finally made his move. That you were with him now. See, doll, all those years of being gone were actually very good for me, as you can see. Just like your Prince I’ve made my way to the top. Unlike him, though, I worked my ass off to get where I am today. To be one of the most feared men in the country, alongside none other than Jiyong. I’m obviously not as nice as him, though, as you can tell.” Soohyuk paused and leaned up with a smirk, watching in amusement as Jiwoo tried to back away even further into the wall, wishing that at this point she could phase through it like a ghost and run as far away as her legs could possibly take her.

“So, naturally, when that friend of mine told me that you were finally with Jiyong, I figured to have a little fun. I could have come to fetch you at any point I wanted to, but this would be more entertaining. To rip you out of his hands just when he thought he finally had you. The ‘meeting’ gone wrong was my doing, too, of course. The only thing that I didn’t plan on was him getting out of it alive…I planned for him to die. I wanted him dead, and since the guys I hired to do that couldn’t do the damn job right, they had to die.”

“You…” Jiwoo mumbled and Soohyuk raised his brow curiously.

“Oh? Did you suddenly find your voice, doll?”

Jiwoo’s breathing quickened and her grip around King tightened as if he suddenly gave her courage to speak.

“You’re the one…at the shop…and the one I first ran into…” Jiwoo’s eyes widened as she finally realized that in the end, she was the one who told him everything when she first ran into him. She ran to him for help, trying to get away from Jiyong. Something that ended up backfiring on her.

Soohyuk chuckled and stared at her.

“I was getting to that. You’re getting ahead of yourself, doll, but yes. That was me. Running into you only confirmed what I already knew. Believe it or not, you getting out of that house and even making it into town was planned, too. Your precious little family that you love so much has a very smart rat in it, if you hadn’t noticed yet. How else do you think I knew Jiyong had finally come to fetch you? All of our encounters were planned, doll. I’m surprised it took you this long to find out. You never were the brightest, though…always such a naive little girl…that was one of the things I liked most about you. You were always so innocent. Never dared to talk back to me…”

Soohyuk stood from his chair and kneeled down in front of Jiwoo, placing his hand on her chin and tilting her head up to face him. Her heart beat faster, skipping a few beats while her body went still under his rough touch, a small whine escaping her whenever he spun her head in a different direction as he looked her over.

“I’m glad there’s no serious marks or scratches on you…I would have hated for my new toy to arrive broken. A few bruises on your arms, but I’m sure those can be take care of.” He could see the tears well in up her eyes and moved to wipe them away, to which Jiwoo turned her head in the opposite direction at his touch. Soohyuk’s usual grin turned into a frown as she shied away from his touch and within a second he snapped her head back to face him, his hand resting on her chin.

“Don’t. You’re mine now, understood? Or did you forget how scary I can get when I’m mad?” His voice deeper than usual sent chills down her spine and she could feel the tears roll down her cheeks. He was her worst nightmare and no matter how hard she used to try and forget about him, she never truly could. Soohyuk haunted her in her dreams and was ultimately part of her memories. Something Jiwoo tried to forget but never truly could.

“How about we get you to your new room. I know the perfect person to take care of you when I’m busy. I’m sure you’ll love the idea just as much as me.” Soohyuk slowly let go of her and stood to his feet.

Jiwoo’s heart raced in her chest and her breath hitched, afraid of which one of his goons would come to drag her off next, adding another bruise to her body.

She watched as Soohyuk smiled deviously at her and walked over to the door. She watched as he opened it and ordered for one of the men that stood guard to go and fetch someone. She couldn’t quite hear what he said, but she watched him as his smile grew from ear to ear, and she even watched as a new man entered the room. Her heart stopped along with her breathing and she was positive that she was officially numb now. Her brain shut off and she lost the last bit of her confidence as she stared into the face of the man standing by the door.

His lips curled up into a devious smirk as he looked down at Jiwoo sitting with her back hugging the wall. He stood tall in front of her and chuckled.

“Hey, princess.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Night quickly turned to day, sunlight shining through Jiyong’s open curtains just like every morning. The birds sung their beautiful songs and the machines still beeped, their sound echoing through the room. Kaiser laid by Jiyong’s bed, having worn himself out from trying to escape. His head laid on the ground as his eyes watched the door closely, whining every few minutes whenever Jiwoo didn’t walk through the door.

Jiyong laid in his bed, dreaming of Jiwoo. She stood at the other side of his bed staring at him while he laid there, watching her. She was mad. He could tell from her expression.

“How the hell did you manage to get shot again? You need to be more careful! I didn’t learn how to stitch you up just so you can go out and get shot every other day!”

Looking down at himself, Jiyong could see a bullet wound in his side. One that was stitched up and covered in bandages. She had, once again, taken care of him. The corners of his lips curled up into an amused smile and he couldn’t help the laugh that followed next. Jiwoo stopped in her tracks, staring at Jiyong now.

“What the hell is so funny?? What am I supposed to do if you end up dead? Huh?” Jiyong patted the bed by his side and she sighed, walking over to him and laying next to him. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, making her smile at him.

“You’d do great even without me…trust me when I tell you that I’m not going anywhere any time soon, though. I’m here to protect you, remember?”

Time stopped and Jiwoo slowly turned up to face him, tears falling from her eyes like a waterfall and even though this was but a dream, Jiyong could feel his heart breaking. He looked her over and the more time passed the clearer her bruises became. She was suddenly covered in them. The blue and purple marks covered her arms and legs and she stared at him with pain in her eyes. She was staring right at him, but her eyes had a certain longing expression to them as if he wasn’t truly there. He could feel the panic rise in his chest as he stared down at her, slowly and carefully wiping the tears from her eyes. Before he could ask her anything, she opened her mouth and questioned him, sending chills down his spine at her inquiry.

“Where were you when I needed you most then?”

Taking a deep breath, Jiyong could feel his heart beating, tears of his own now rolling down his cheek.

“Doll…what happened…I’m so sorry…please be okay. I’ll protect you, okay? Doll?” He could only watch as her appearance suddenly started to fade and he clung onto her as if his life depended on it, only to have her fade out of existence in his arm. “Doll? Jiwoo!? Doll!!”

Jiyong’s eyes shot open as he inhaled sharply, feeling the pain in his chest and the tears on his cheek. He could feel pain shooting through his shoulder as he tried to move and suddenly remembered what happened.

“Fuck…” he whispered under his breath, looking around the empty room. “How long have I been out?”

Jiyong’s eyes wandered over his body and followed the cables that led from his arm to the machines sitting at his bedside. Moving his fingers, he tested just how much of his body he could move without the intense pain returning. His brows furrowed when he heard a low whine coming from the side of his bed.

“Kaiser.”

Jiyong’s voice was still barely audible from not having been used in so long. The dog’s head perked up nonetheless when he heard Jiyong call for him. Jiyong watched Kaiser jump up and turn, placing his front paws on the bed with his tail wagging. A small smile crossed Jiyong’s lips as he slowly moved his hand, wincing at the pain, to pet Kaiser.

“Kaiser, where is my doll?”

Kaiser stopped at hearing the word ‘doll’ and whined, placing his head on the bed. Jiyong’s gaze turned serious as he stopped petting him.

“Did something happen to my doll?”

Kaiser barked and that was all Jiyong needed to confirm his suspicions. Turning around in his bed, he placed his hand on the IV drip connected to his arm and closed his eyes. He mentally counted to three and snatched it out of his arm, biting the bottom of his lip in agony, realizing this probably wasn’t the best idea he’s had.

“Fuck!!” Jiyong cursed loudly and one by one pulled out the remaining cables, taking a deep breath and letting his head hit the pillow once he was done.

“Fucking…Where the hell is everyone anyway?!” Stirring in his bed, Jiyong could hear Kaiser whine again and knew something wasn’t right. “Why are you tied to my bed, Kaiser?”

Jiyong paused and looked around the room, finding the phone Jiwoo had left for him and recognizing it as Top’s. Looking through it, he found it had been wiped clean save for the number to their doctor. “What the fuck happened here, Kaiser?”

Kaiser barked and bit the bedsheets, pulling on them until they were all on the floor.

“You want me to get up and follow you? Show me, Kaiser.” Jiyong commanded and Kaiser barked, jumping around while Jiyong very slowly bent down to undo Kaiser’s leash. As soon as he was free, Kaiser took off running out of the room and down the hall at an immense speed.

“Fuck, Kaiser! Wait!”

Jiyong moved his body out of bed and stood to his feet only to feel his legs giving out from underneath him and almost letting him fall. His hand hit the bed and he tried his hardest to hold himself up. He stared at his room door, hearing Kaiser’s bark echo back to him, and a new determination burned in him. Jiyong couldn’t afford to fall or let his pain hinder him from moving. He had been asleep for long enough, and the dread that burned deep inside him from his nightmare let him know that he was needed now. Something happened to Jiwoo and he was the only one that’d be able to fix it. Pushing himself up from the bed, Jiyong tried once more to stand, refusing to fall as his legs threatened to let him down once more.

It took some time, but Jiyong slowly walked his way over to the bedroom door. His eyes widened, a mix of shock and fear with a hint of murderous intent hidden in them. He could see bodies lying sprawled out in the hallway and his sight turned red with rage. He could feel his blood boiling with rage at whoever dared to do this, the constant barking of Kaiser being the only thing that got him to keep moving . There was something the dog wanted Jiyong to see, something important for him to keep barking so intently.

Jiyong made his way around the bodies that laid in the hall, his state of fury growing more and more the further he walked. He passed by the bodies in the hall, tried to ignore the gruesome scene that laid in his lobby as best as he could, stepped around the puddles of red and followed Kaiser’s bark to the front yard. He could feel his breathing become heavier the more bodies he passed, but froze once he hit the front door. Kaiser stood out a bit further pulling on Daesung’s unmoving body and Jiyong finally understood why he was left a phone with only one number in it.

Pulling the device from his pocket, he dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. Jiyong was silent for a moment as he looked over the yard, his eyes burning with fiery rage that could only be quenched in one way.

“Yeah, doc. I need you to get your ass over here ASAP. I need you to come help me out. I’ve got some serious shit to take care of.”

Jiyong walked over to Daesung, placing his fingers on his wrist to feel for a pulse. Kaiser whined and Jiyong ignored him, waiting for a few seconds before sighing in relief.

“Don’t worry. He’s still alive. He’s lucky, because I would have killed his ass if he had died.”

Jiyong and Kaiser spent the next few minutes walking around the front yard and checking the pulse of the other boys, Kaiser finding them and Jiyong making sure they were all still alive. He stopped after checking the last one, Taeyang, and sat down beside him exhausted and frustrated with himself.

“I slept for the last few fucking days…how can I be so damn tired already. Fuck. They need me and I can’t do shit about it…”

Looking around the yard, Jiyong noticed someone missing. His brows furrowed as he looked the yard over a few times from his spot and just as he was about to order Kaiser to search for the missing person, the wiped phone rang. Jiyong pulled it out of his pocket, staring at it for a moment as he read an unknown number.

“Who the fuck is this?”

The other voice chuckled before answering. “I hope you like the present we left you. There’s someone here that wants to say hi.”

The male voice stopped and a voice Jiyong recognized all too well came screaming through the other end of the phone.

“Jiyong!! Jiyong!! I…I’m scared!”

Jiyong’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet at hearing her voice. “Doll! Jiwoo! Don’t worry, I’ll -”

“You’ll do nothing, that’s what. Don’t worry about the princess. She’ll be safe here. She’s exactly where she’s supposed to be now.”

Jiyong froze at the distorted male voice that echoed through his mind.

“Did you just fucking call her ‘princess’?”

The voice only chuckled in response. “Good bye, Jiyong.”

Just like that they hung up, leaving nothing but the dial tone ringing in his ear. Jiyong let the phone drop from his hand and could feel his heart beating faster in his chest. Rage filled his veins as his heart turned ice cold. He was surrounded by people that gave their life for him to live, for his doll, for his family. So much blood had been shed, so many innocent lives taken. He could feel a deadly calm take over him that left him thinking of all the different ways he was going to rip their body into millions of pieces and torture them until they died a painful death.

“Kaiser,” Jiyong turned to the Rottweiler and he sat right in front of him.

Kaiser looked up at Jiyong and could feel the atmosphere change into a deadly one. Kaiser was a smart dog. A deadly dog. One who would destroy whatever and kill whomever he was ordered to.

“We’ve got a new target for you. You’re coming with me to get doll as soon as we get everything here back in order.” Jiyong looked over the yard at the boys before looking back down at the dog. “We’ll need the boys, though…Are you ready to get our doll back Kaiser?”

Kaiser’s eyes changed into that of a devious dog and he barked once, growling as he bared his teeth. Jiyong stared out at the broken gate, determined, cold, deadly.

“I’m coming for you to get what’s mine. I hope you’re ready. You want to play? Let’s fuckin’ play.”  

[thisisthee-n-d]

On the Tainted Wings of a Butterfly Prologue

Sooooo, @soofireanon and I were talking a few weeks back about an Assassin AU and at first, I thought I wasn’t going to write it, but then I kept thinking about it and thinking about it and, before I knew it, I had an outline. So here’s my Assassin AU! No Daiken in the prologue, but it comes along later in the story.

Summary: Ken thought that this was all behind him. The Kaiser was dead, he had made sure of that. So why was all of this coming back to haunt him? And they just had to drag Daisuke into this too... And Daisuke doesn’t ever back down from a challenge, not where Ken’s concerned. Ken knows this well.

Characters: Ken, Ryo

Pairing: DaiKen

The alleyway was empty, the pale moonlight bathing its opening. Shadowed cracks in the pavement stretched from building to building, each break surrounded by the pebbled tar that used to fill it. Nearly silent footsteps padded along, the whoosh of the wind filling the heavy air with sound. A solitary figure strode through, the flaps of their black coat swelling and whipping with the breeze that broke through the humid air. A pair of sunglasses sat upon a pale face, shrouding cold eyes from view.

A cloudless night hung overhead, the velvet sky interspersed with the faded light of the stars overhead. City lights glowed and pierced through an almost oppressive darkness. One streetlight sat at the end of the alley, the electronic buzz crackling and fading as the light flickered. But still the figure walked ahead, unflinching in the face of the darkness. Their shoulders remained straight, an easy confidence bleeding from the grace of their walk. Dark hair was tied back, a mane of hair the color of midnight draped over one shoulder. They stopped suddenly, boots crunching along one of the cracks.

“You’re really doing it, aren’t you?” a voice cut through the darkness ahead of them, a pair of eyes reflecting the light spilling from behind them. The figure frowned, pale lips cutting a deep line across their face. Worn leather creaked as their hands curled into fists, their eyebrows drawing a flat line.

“What I do is none of your business, Ryo. Go back home,” a deep voice responded, a deep gravelly anger rippling through the otherwise calm words. The person ahead growled, the sound rumbling from deep within their chest, a glare burning in a pair of ice blue eyes.

“What the hell are you thinking, Ken?! If you leave, they will kill you! Do you want to die, is that it? Tell me, dammit!” Ken regarded Ryo calmly, his scowl only deepening. For a few seconds, there was only silence, the wind blowing from behind Ken. Ryo didn’t move, anger twitching on his face. Brown hair shifted with the wind, falling away from his tanned face.

“Then let them come.”

The words dropped heavily in the silence, the anger on Ryo’s face erupting into full rage. He stormed forward, his feet scraping on the pavement, and grabbed the collar of Ken’s shirt, dragging him closer. His teeth were bared, his hand shaking around Ken’s shirt. “What the hell, Ken?! What happened out there?! Why the hell won’t you tell me?! Aren’t we friends?! Aren’t we supposed to be brothers?! What has gotten into that stupid head of yours, dammit?!” The anger smoothed from Ken’s face, his dark eyes filtering through the dark lenses of his glasses.

“I’ve decided that this isn’t the life I want anymore. That’s all. It’s nothing personal.”

“N-nothing personal?! Are you being serious right now?!” With an enraged roar, Ryo punched Ken across the face. The sunglasses skidded across the pavement, Ken’s head jerking to the side at the punch. “We were brothers, Ken! We grew up together! We were going to work together to get to the top of the Butterflies! What about all of our promises, Ken? Are those all gone too? Have you cast everything to the side?!”

Slowly, Ken’s head turned, dark blue eyes molten with anger. A line of blood streaked from the corner of his lips, tracing a scarlet line down to his chin. One of his hands twitched and then moved, gripping Ryo’s wrist with an almost impossible strength. Ryo faltered, but strengthened his own grip, snarling at Ken. “What I have decided to do with my own life is none of your business, Ryo. Continue our foolish dream if that’s what you want to do, but that’s no longer what I want. I’m not asking you to like it, but I ask you to at least respect my decision.” The skin between Ryo’s eyebrows crumpled, his eyes narrowing to mere slits.

“Respect your decision? You’re abandoning your family, Ken! Don’t we mean anything to you?! They picked you up off the streets! They fed you, clothed you, kept your fucking ass alive, and THIS is how you repay them? By running off like some coward?!” Ryo shouted, shaking Ken as he spoke. “What the hell caused this? Was it some whore who changed your whole life or some fairy tale bullshit like that?! Was the fuck goo-” A fist slammed into Ryo’s cheek, cutting off his rant. Ryo grunted, stumbling back from the force of the punch. He straightened, his tongue flicking out at the blood staining his lips.

The calm planes of Ken’s face were cracked, pure fury bleeding through into his expression. Thin lips were twisted into a deep scowl, eyes wide and furious. His fist, still raised, was trembling, his stance tense. A smile began to twitch onto Ryo’s face, his head cocking slightly to the side. “Ah, so it is a girl? Or is it a boy? I can never know with you. The little slut must have been good to change your mind on everything.”

Ken stalked forward, planting a hand on Ryo’s chest and shoving him against a wall. One of his forearms pressed against Ryo’s throat, the other flicking out a knife to press against his cheek. “Never…ever…call him a whore again,” Ken growled, scarlet blood beading against the edge of the knife. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Ryo, so drop it before I make you drop it.” Blue eyes glinted at Ken, a mocking smile slipping across Ryo’s face.

“Ohh, you’re going to ‘make me drop it’, are you? It seems the Kaiser wants to play a little. Seems your balls haven’t been cut after all. I was worried there for a minute. Ohh…what was that boy’s name again…Dai-something…?” The knife slashed down, the skin splitting neatly in its path. Blood began spilling from the cut, dripping down off the lines of Ryo’s jaw and soaking the collar of his shirt. Ryo’s expression didn’t so much as twitch, his eyes glazing over with a mocking boredom. “Really, Ken? Is that all you can do?”

Slipping his own hands under Ken’s arms, Ryo shoved Ken away from him, sending him stumbling back into the light of the moon. Ken, his hands gripping the knife, got his footing back quickly, his lips parting to bare white teeth to the night. “Is that how you want to play this, Ryo? A fight?” Ryo’s arm flicked out, the snick of his own knife flicking out echoing in the alley. The smile slipped from Ryo’s face, a dark frown replacing it, darkened further by the shadows spilling across his expression. Blood shimmered in the light of the moon, tracing a path from Ryo’s cheek down to his shirt. More dripped from the tip of Ken’s knife, spattering on the pavement below.

“Oh, this isn’t how I want to play this, Ken…but you won’t listen to me. Maybe violence is the only thing you do listen to!” His face contorted into a snarl, Ryo lunged forward, his knife pointed towards Ken’s heart. Ken merely stepped to the side, grabbing onto Ryo’s arm and flinging him onto the pavement. Keeping his wrist pinned with one hand, his other fisted in Ryo’s hair, pressing his head into the ground. His legs were planted on either side of Ryo’s body, knees bent in a crouch.

“You forget, Ryo…You’ve never been able to beat me…” The anger slowly leeched from Ken’s face, the gentle breeze tousling the free strands of hair on his face. His eyes soft almost, he regarded Ryo calmly, only sighing softly at the anger carved across Ryo’s expression.

“So is this it, Ken? Are you going to kill me now? Is this how everything ends?” A smile twitched at Ken’s lips, colored with self-loathing. He shook his head, his grip tightening a fraction on Ryo’s hair.

“No. I’m done killing. Tell the boss I’m through and don’t come after me again.” Pausing for a brief moment, he looked away, lifting Ryo’s head. “Ryo…for what it’s worth, I’m sorry…” He slammed Ryo’s head against the pavement, watching the startled shock on his expression fade as his eyes fluttered shut in the bliss of unconsciousness.

Ken released him, straightening with a silent sigh. Tucking the knife back into his pocket, he turned away, his coat fluttering behind him. Ryo laid in shadows, his hand limp in a single stream of moonlight. Near his outstretched fingers, Ken’s glasses sat, hairline cracks webbing across one of the lenses.

But Ken walked, his steps slow and measured, taking him from the alley and away from the life he once lived.

The Kaiser lived no more.