It has been said that nothing exciting ever happens at the theater. That it's just boring people doing nothing interesting in an overdramatic fashion.

Whoever said that would probably feel very differently, watching the two figures posed on the stage at the little theatre in the village of Nebun. On one end of the stage, stood Nals, the Unbreakable Blade, on the other, Death the Kid. Each of these performers had a different fighting style, each fought for different reasons, yet they each had one thing in common, the intent to kill.

For just a moment, they posed, Kid holding each Thompson in his mortal sin stance, Nals holding his blade defensively, the silence between them so tense, that Liz thought for a second that her heart was going to explode (meanwhile, Patty was fantasizing about taking a ride in a kangaroo's pouch, but that's another story). Another second, the silence was almost painful, then, like a sudden explosion, it began.

In a flash, Nals' blade cut through the air, slicing at Kid's mid-section. Kid dodged away from the blade as he attempted to kick Nals in the face, a move Nals blocked with the hilt of his sword, though the force sent him back a few feet, before Kid and Nals dashed toward each other again, their movements becoming hard to keep track of as Nals continued to slash and thrust at Kid, while Kid used Liz and Patty as tonfas, blocking Nals' sword and firing at him while Nals batted the shots away like a tennis player.

Seeing that his tactics weren't working, Kid moved in close and angled Liz at Nals' head before firing, forcing Nals to block with his blade, giving Kid an opening to use Patty to swipe Nals feet out from under him, knocking him to the ground as Kid kicked his sword away, before flipping into the air and raining down a volley of shots on the Unbreakable Blade, leaving a cloud of smoke behind Kid as he returned to the ground.

"That should take care of that." Kid confidently stated, glancing back toward the smoke over his shoulder. The young shinigami stepped towards the edge of the hole left in the stage by his actions."Well, Liz, Patty, now that our work here is done, we should collect his soul and-"

A sound, like water rapidly becoming steam, cut Kid off. A sudden blue glow flashed towards Kid. Reflexively, Kid raised Liz to cover his heart, blocking the source of the glow and causing it to veer off course and slice into Kid's shoulder instead, causing him to draw back in pain. "Kid! Are you okay!" Liz asked with concern. Before Kid could respond, an icy voice resonated throughout the room.

"Your mind is weak, distracted, filled with concerns." The voice stated, as Nals stepped out of the smoke, into the light.

"How could you have survived that attack?" Kid questioned.

"I simply used the belt on my arm to latch around my sword." Nals replied. "From there, it was only a matter of dodging the shots and hiding beneath the stage in order to appear dead, then waiting for you to inevitably try and collect my soul, giving me the perfect opportunity for an attack."

"You've thought of everything." Kid grimly stated.

"I merely learned how to discipline my mind, something you are sadly lacking." Nals responded. "Now my blade!" Nals called out, holding his blade high in the air, as it began glow blue again. "Soul slicer!" He yelled, thrusting his blade forward, again at Kid's heart.

As before, Kid raised Liz to block Nals' blade, but this time, instead of bouncing off the top of the gun, the blade instead hooked on Liz's trigger guard in mid swing, pulling her from Kid's grip and flinging her offstage.

"Liz!" Kid yelled, before being met by a kick to the hand from Nals, also knocking Patty from his grip.

Before Nals could move in to strike again, he received a palm strike from Kid, knocking him back a few feet. Kid stood, panting, taking his best fighting stance, aware of the blood leaking from his shoulder wound.

"So, even weaponless you still have some fight left in you. That's admirable, but, ultimately, futile." Nals charged forward, avoiding Kid's best efforts to block him as he kicked Kid in the face, before stabbing him with the hot blade through the abdomen, as Nals brought his blade sideways, knocking Kid from the tip and into a nearby pillar, a sickening crash following as a crater was left in the pillar.

Kid crawled from the crushed pillar toward the center stage, pushing down with his hands in an attempt to stand. "You..." Kid struggled, panting, pain and fatigue filling his voice. "You think...that...your egotistic quest for personal empowerment...justifies your monstrous actions. Disgusting."

"Hmph." Nals scoffed, raising his sword. "Spare me your lectures. I merely did what others seek to do. Improvement through willpower. The only difference is, I actually succeeded."

Kid closed his eyes as Nals raised his blade, preparing for the killing stroke.

Bam. That single sound punctured the air. Kid opened his eyes. A moment earlier, he'd been expecting death, now he was met with the confusing sight of a swordless Nals holding a smoking hand in pain. Alerted by a second trail of smoke, Kid glanced offstage to see the youngest Thompson, holding Liz and looking like she meant business.

"Interesting tactic, I applaud your use of teamwork." Nals complimented, a cold grin spreading across his face. "However..." In a move almost lightning quick, Nals whipped one of the belts wrapped around his arm into his palm. "Once I retrieve my sword, I'm afraid you will be my next targets."

Filled with worry, beads of sweat began to decorate Kid's forehead, while Patty kept her tough-as-nails expression. Suddenly, she pointed Liz toward the ceiling.

"Jump Kid!" She yelled.

Realizing Patty's plan, Kid quickly swept Nals' leg out from under him, before diving offstage. The confused Nals attempted to stand, while hearing four more shots ring out. As he scrambled to his feet, he looked up to see the sight of the stage's lights bearing down on him. In a split second move, Nals jumped to the side of the stage as the lights fell with a crash, the sound of broken wood and metal filling the air.

Before long, the sound had cleared as Nals stepped back toward the stage. Examining the rubble left from the fight, despite the now darker lighting, Nals quickly located his sword. Rather than retrieve it immediately, Nals let out a small, contented sigh, taking in the smell of dust and shattered bulbs.

Kid and the Thompsons were long gone. Nals had failed to finish the job, yet he'd met someone worthy of his attention. This would be perfect opportunity to prove his skill. Everything else was unimportant.

Setting his mind back to the task at hand, Nals whipped his belt around the hilt of his sword, before hurrying out of the theater. The performance, now over.

Now, you could argue that neither Kid nor Nals really won. You could argue that Nals was clearly the victor. But the winner no one could argue over, was the theater. This was a very exciting night for it.

And that is that chapter. Sorry if I took longer than I said I would. Writer's block is such a pain. Anyways, next chapter will feature a bit of SoMa interaction, so fingers crossed on hoping I can capture their dynamic just right. It should be finished in about two weeks, ciao till then! :)