Chapter 2

Bryan was pumped up, is blood pressure at an alarming rate as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. That was a very personal match and in his opinion the man got off easy. He was still breathing after all.

Raihiko tried to ignore the man as she walked over to a dummy and began stretching. She didnt care if the brute was there or not. She would warm up.

As the brunette rounded the corner, he was going to grab his water bottle from his locker and he nearly plowed her over. Instead he grabbed ahold of her shirt and slammed her against the frame.

"Who the fuck you think you are?" he growled as he brought his head down close to hers so they were eye level. She was quite short.

Raihiko had begun her stretches and barely noticed her new aquaintance was no longer behind her.

That was very unexpected for Rae. She almost collided with his towering form, but was suddenly grasped hold of and pushed backwards. It was so fast and so sudden that it took a moment to even register the fact that the wind had been knocked from her lungs as her back collided with the frame. A few splutters later, she managed to focus and locked eyes with his ice blue ones. This was not good. He was obviously still on a high from the match, his aggression levels were always so intense that he was known for brawling even after the match was over.

He had spoken to her though. Words. Actual words. A man who usually just laughed like a maniac had actually asked her a question. Was it rhetorical, or did he expect a reply? She didn't know what to do for the best, so ended up lowering her gaze to his hand that was grasping hold of her leather jumpsuit. Blood was smeared all over his huge, gnarled fingers and was transferring onto the blue leather. She could feel his proximity, but his breathing was oddly shallow to what she expected. "I'm Rae?"

She instantly regretted opening her mouth and cringed. Her brain screamed at her. 'Nice job. Say goodbye to your loved ones, you're dead meat.'

Raihiko turned towards the commotion and quickly found out why Rae was no longer behind her. Bryan had her pinned against the door frame.

Rai gasped as she made to go help the brunette, but stopped dead in ger tracks. If this man was as crazy as they say, she would only be making this worse for her. She stood back, keeping a close eye in case age was needed.

Bryan seethed. Was she kidding? Did she think this was a joke? He grit his teeth so hard it was a wonder they didnt break.

Then he did something that surprised even himself. He tossed her aside with a growl and headed over to beat the snot out of some practice dummies, just hoping someone would look at him wrong.

Raihiko's eyes widened as she watched. What the hell was that all about?

She quickly ran to Rae to see if she was ok, careful not to get anywhere near the brute as they passed one another.

Rae crumpled against the frame after he let her go and watched as he walked away, her eyes focused firmly on his back. "Wh… But…" She was alive? He hadn't mashed her up into chum? What strange miracle was this and was did she get off so lightly? "Oh my fucking heart. I think I'm going to die after all." She waved a hand around and had to laugh to herself for fear of losing her shit. Her eyes moved to Raihiko and she gave her a look of relief, but something was bothering her. Bryan was notoriously psychotic. No one got off lightly. She was confused, bewildered, every analogy in the book.

Suddenly, Paul came striding in, blood dripping down his face, but he was grinning widely. It seemed as though he had won and he couldn't help but show how pleased he was. He looked over to the pair, gave a fistpump in the air, but noticed Rae was still clinging to the door frame. "The heck?"

Raihiko rushed to help get the poor woman on her feet.

"What the hell was that all about?" she asked as Paul came striding up to them. He had won. Great. They would have to put up with his ass a little longer.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked as he grabbed a towel and threw it around his neck, wiping the blood with it, merely succeeding in smearing it aroun.

Rai sighed as she heard the warning bell ring to call her for her own match. Boy did they move fast.

"Here. Help her. Rae, tell me what happened when i get back."

She wasnt sure why she cared. She had only just met the woman, but she seemed nice enough.

Raihiko took in a deep breath as she moved through into the arena, taking her spot.

Rae burst into a fit of laughter as she watched Raihiko leave and leaped forwards to Paul, latching onto his arm for dear life. "I almost died! I ALMOST DIED!" Her laughter continued to the point that her eyes started to leak. "But I didn't. What's up with that? You know what, screw it. I am going to find out!"

She wobbled a little, stood upright and marched away from Paul in the direction Bryan had gone. What was she thinking? Maybe it was a bad idea. But she needed to know what that was all about. Why had he let her get away with it? She hated inconsistency and secrets, it was one of her biggest pet peeves besides laziness. Once she found him, she stomped into the area as confidently as she could, her nose wrinkled. "What was THAT about!?"

Paul didn't know what was going on. It was nothing new though. Something weird was always going on in the tournaments and he was used to it. He simnply wiped himself with his towel again and began to undo his gloves.

Raihiko watched as some pink… Girl? Sure? She madebher way to the arena anyways. Raihiko bowed politely as was embedded in her very DNA for good sportsmanship.

This girl really was an anime girl wanna be. She would not underestimate her of course, but she couldn't help but think that this was going to be her easiest match.

Meanwhile, Bryan was trying to burn off his adrenaline high by beating the shit out of a practice dummy. As he heard the voice behind him, he gravbed the sand bag mid section and squeezed until it exploded, sending sand everywhere.

He quickly turned on the little woman, ripping his bandana down and growling at the woman, baring his teeth at her. "Do you wanna die today? If so, it can be arranged." he snapped as he took a menacing step towards her.

Rae jumped, but she tried to stand her ground. Sure, it would suck to end up dead on the floor, but she had to find out what was going on. She knew his story. It was common knowledge. He had been given cybernetic implants. While his outer body was still human, inside he had all kinds of neat tech keeping him alive. Was it malfunctioning? She knew he'd never hold back. Never. She coughed and blew the sand dust away from her face and placed her hands on her hips. She should have been taping up her hands ready for her round, but this was too much to pass up.

"No thanks. i'll pass. What about you?"

Bryan narrowed his eyes. This girl had guts. Either she didnt have a clue as to who he was, or she really did have a death wish. Were they anywhere else, he would have happily reached out and snapped her neck. The thought itself was quite satisfying to the brute, but he had to… "Behave". Especially if he wanted to reach his end goal.

"You're lucky that prize money is slightly more appealing than killing you where you stand."

"Huh. That figures. You're busted. I should tell the offici-"

He brushed past her, making sure to bump her on his way as he headed for the showers.

She was interrupted by the bump and it sent her flinging against the wall with an 'oof'. "Hey, HEY! I'll report you if you're glitching out! SO help me! I refuse to go up against anyone glitching!" She yelled after him, hoping that he wasn't just ignoring her words. He hadn't killed her. Yet again. First Lei, and now her twice. Something was definitely amiss.

Too easy. It took longer than she had anticipated but it was far too easy to take down the woman. Her head had actually fallen off! All she did was kick the woman! How was she supposed to know that would happen!

After the fight was over, she saw that she had actually not killed the robot per se, as her head was put back and and she trudged off to lick her wounds.

Rae slowly made her way back round into the main waiting area to where Paul was and waited for Raihiko to return. "How'd she do?"

Raihiko returned to see Rae and Paul waiting for her. Good to know she didnt do anything rash. She could feel the burn in her side where the robot girl had managed to land a particularly strong kick, but besides that and being quite sweaty, she felt rather good.

"I see he didnt kill you." she smiled as she grabbed the key from her bossom and opened her locker to grab a towel to remove the sweat from her face.

Paul looked at them both with confusion.

"Nope." Rae folded her arms. "I even went to find out what the heck was wrong with him after you went to your match."

"Wait… What?" Paul scratched the back of his head. "You don't mean…"

"Mmm. It's worse than I thought. I think he might be malfunctioning."

"Malfunctioning?" Raihiko questioned with a tilt of her head as she reached in to pull out her bag. "Wait, is he a robot too?" she raised a brow as she pulled her kimono from her bag, revealing a bit of shine beneath, but Rai quickly covered it with another article if clothing. She needed a shower. Bad.

"Are you insane?" Paul reached out and grabbed Rae by the shoulders. "You could have been…"

Rae shushed him and waved a hand around to get him off. "I know, but look! I'm alive!" She looked to Raihiko, saw a glint of metal in her bag and wrinkled her nose a little. "Uh-huh. Well, he's mostly human. I guess. I'm surprised you haven't heard anything about him, or any of the fighters to be honest."

"You been livin' under a rock?"

"Shh!" Rae thrust a finger up against Paul's lips and the mushed in a hilarious manner. "Bryan is technically a reanimated corpse from what I hear. He has tech inside him that keeps him going. A cyborg, I guess."

She turned to look at paul with an unamused look on her face.
"No. Tokyo, Japan. In seclusion. Sorry no televisions in my Sensei's Dojo." she looked to Rae again.

"So… A zombie huh? Well then. What the hell else do i have to look forwards to? Nazis? Russian spies? Cat people? Already went up against a robot. "This just keeps getting more interesting."

Paul raised a finger as if he was about to speak, rae's finger still pressed against his lips, but thought better of it and lowered it in defeat.

"Well, I guess zombie is one word for it. But I don't think he smells all THAT bad. No rotting flesh, just sweat."

Rai grumbled as she headed towards the showers, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

Paul grimaced and watched as Raihiko left for the showers. "Oh! Shower? I'll join ya!" With that, he too dashed off for the showers almost a little too enthusiastically.

Rai glared at the man, thinking the worst as he followed her."I would rather do this alone, if you don't mind." she grumbled as she walked into a stall and closed the curtain behind her quickly.

Rae was left standing on her own waiting for her round to start.

It didn't take long.