The Angel of Death took a few steps towards the five men, feeling like he was facing nothing more than a group of underlings. Every step he took towards them made them feel a chill down their spine, knowing by reputation how inhuman he can be when it comes to the art of combat. Despite feeling a sweat drop down their foreheads, all the men stood their ground.

Big mistake.

T.K. ran towards the closest guy and delivered a flying jump-kick right to the skull. The first guy got launched by the kick and crashed right into a wall. Seeing their buddy go down quick and make a huge thud, the next two guys ran right for T.K. The two of them were huge and powerful, but neither had the speed and grace T.K. did.

T.K. gave the second thug a crescent kick to the head and spin-kicked the third thug, knocking them both down. The third thug went down real hard, but the second one shook off the kick.

When the second guy got up and threw a wild fist at T.K.'s face, T.K. ducked the attack and rammed his right fist into the second guy's ribs. The 2nd guy writhed in great pain as he felt his ribs shatter. Hearing him bellow in pain, T.K. grabbed him by the hair and rammed his skull through the closest bathroom sink. He was knocked out cold when his head bled like crazy. The fourth thug in front of Joe stood there, frozen by fear, while the third guy was still a bit shaky from the spin-kick.

"Well, don't just sit there! GET HIM!" Joe commanded to the third thug.

The third guy shook off T.K.'s spin-kick and whipped out a bowie knife. He had his blade point down, raised it over his head and made a downward thrust right for T.K.'s jugular vein. T.K. put both hands up and blocked the attack. The Angel of Death grabbed His arm, made a 180 turn and performed a judo throw. The 3rd thug dropped his blade as he felt his back hit the floor really hard. T.K. grabbed the bowie knife, yanked his head back by the hair, brought the knife to his enemy's throat and made a new hole for him to breathe through. T.K. got up and watched as the 3rd guy choked from his own blood, slowly losing his lifeforce as he lied in his pool of red ooze.

T.K. felt something metallic pressing against the back of his head. He knew what it was, and one wrong move could mean instant death. The fourth guy stood right behind T.K., pointing his gun right at the back of his skull.

"Okay, mister badass. Enough of this bullshit. I'm finishing you off right here!" the 4th thug stated, cocking the hammer of the gun. Joe's eye winced from his accomplice's words.

"Hey, that's not what Mr. Ishida ordered! Mr. Ishida wants him alive!" Joe said.

"Forget that, man! He killed my friend, for cryin' out lou-"

T.K. made his bowie knife point down and spun a 180 with fantastic speed. As the fourth guy saw a flash of metal from T.K., he screamed in pain as he realized the gun and his hand were gone. The 4th thug screamed in horror as he saw his chopped-off, bloodsoaked hand on the floor. Wth a crooked smile, T.K. dropped the knife and popped his gun out of his trench coat's sleeve. T.K. grabbed the guy, slammed his back to the wall and rammed his gun right into the guy's mouth. All the 4th guy could do was make a few mumbles as he could taste the gun-oil. The 4th thug trembled, knowing that Death was on its way for him.

"Hmmmm... I wonder what it would be like to blow your brains out right on this wall? Maybe I could make a pretty picture with only one shot. What do you think?" T.K. asked nicely. The 4th guy let out a whimper as he saw T.K. begin to pull the trigger.

"FOR G-D'S SAKE! THIS ISN'T NECESSARY! DON'T-"

The gun went off. Blood splattered all over the wall as the bullet ate right through the 4th guy's head. As the blood began to stream down the wall, T.K. released the corpse and let it drop like a broken toy. Watching the blood all over the wall begin to run down, he made a sly grin.

"Whoa. Looks like a dragon spreading his wings. Not bad, if I say so myself," T.K. said.

Joe's pulse beat down on his throat, feeling as though he swallowed an insect that wants out. Joe's knees began to tremble as he saw T.K. set his eyes on him.

".... take me to your boss. Now," T.K. commanded.

"Please.... don't hurt me..."

"Aw, shaddup and get me there."

T.K. unlocked the bathroom door and led Joe and himself out. Davis quickly left his bar and took a look inside the bathroom. All Davis could do was stare with his jaw dropped.

"I'll talk to ya later, Davis. Gonna have a chat with dear brother," T.K. said with sarcasm. As T.K. shoved Joe out of the bar to lead the way for him, Davis, the bartender, grinded his teeth and threw his towel on the floor.

"DAMNIT, T.K.! You can't keep doing this! DO YOU REALIZE HOW HARD IT'S GONNA BE TO CLEAN UP THAT MESS?!?"

-------------

In his office, Matt Ishida twirled his glass of red wine and watched the wine move with the twirl. With a stoneface, Matt took a sip. A pair of doors opened right before Matt's eyes. In came a blonde man with sunglasses that could make it impossible to see his true eyes.

"So, in comes to the Angel of Death. Ya know, T.K.? I always loved this brand of red wine. Whenever someone I despise dies or suffers, I always relish the taste of this wine. That's because I like to imagine it to be the blood of the one I hate the most. And to relish it even more, I always take it in sip by sip. But, today, this wine tastes flat. Do you want to know why?" Matt said.

Matt brought his wine to his mouth and took it all in with one gulp. As his glass was emptied, Matt brought it near the side of his head. Thanks to Matt's grip, his glass began to form cracks. In a blink of an eye, the glass shattered into dozens of pieces. Matt wiggled his fingers to get the glass shards off his unscathed hand.

"It's because you fucked up, T.K.! Kari was suppose to be dead five days ago! You had her right in your hands, and ya let the little bitch live! What was going through that head of yours, T.K.?" Matt asked angrily. T.K. slightly turned his attention away from his older brother, blushing as he pictured why he spared her life. Seeing how T.K. was behaving, Matt chuckled and got up from his seat to face T.K. As the brothers were face to face, Matt shook his head.

"Hmph. I should have known. Rather than think with your head, you preferred to think with your dick. Well, I gotta admit, she really does look good enough to eat. Man, I'd bang her all-"

T.K. slapped Matt right in the face. Matt staggered a bit from the force of T.K.'s strike. Matt felt his face reddened by T.K.'s resentment.

"Don't you ever talk about Kari like that. You got that?" T.K. threatened. Matt rubbed his face a bit as he gave his little brother dagger-eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that. If you weren't my brother-"

"HALF-brother to you! Man, you're still nothing but filth. Always wanting the easy way out. Damnit, Matt, you were the only one in the family who could have made a good living out of the Yakuza! Father always wanted you to graduate from college so you won't have to live in such a hellish life you're in now!"

T.K.'s tone of voice began to cool down.

"But no. You preferred to take over the Ishida Clan. Right in his death-bed, father was begging you to give up this Yakuza fiasco. And what did you do? You spat right in his face by staying!" T.K. said.

Matt wore a crooked smile.

"And why not? Why the fuck should I give up all this power? Out in the real world, I'd be nothing! But here, I possess TRUE power! Many people's lives pulled by my strings. Anyone who would give up such power would definitely regret doing such a thing," Matt said.

Matt walked a few steps away from T.K. and turned his back on him. Matt faced a cupboard which was made out of pine and designed beautifully. Matt began to gently run his fingers on the cupboard.

"But enough about me, T.K. What about you? It's your head on the line, not mine. You know the code of the assassin. It's much stricter than the code of honor the Yakuza has upheld for centuries. When an assassin fails to take down a target-"

"Yeah, I know. He/she becomes the target," T.K. finished.

"Look, T.K. I know you hate my guts, but you're still my little brother. I'm gonna give you one more chance..." Matt opened the cupboard and took out a black box. When he walked to T.K. and faced him, Matt opened the box slowly. Right before T.K.'s eyes was a silver dagger. The single-edged blade was curved and it had a jagged edge on the blunt side.

On the end of the dagger's black handle was a silver skull.

"T.K., this is a special dagger I have always cherished using. Over a year ago, I used this dagger to take down someone very special to Tai Kamiya when he wasn't living up to his word. Every time I pictured the look on her face when I sunk this dagger into her heart, I felt so damn good about it, knowing Tai can never have her! This dagger makes the art of death better than sex, and I'm sure it'll work for you," Matt said. Matt brought the black box closer to T.K. for him to take.

T.K. stood there frozen, staring at the dagger.

"T.K., you have to do it. I don't want to end up losing a brother to some stupid code. And if I let you live, then that'll make me a target as well. As your elder brother, I'm ordering you to take down Kari Kamiya once and for all! Don't you disrespect family, T.K. Take her heart! For your sake...." Matt stated.

Reluctantly, T.K. took the dagger out of the box.

"That's the spirit, little brother. Remember: there are no third chances. Make me proud."

As T.K. left the office with the skull-dagger snugged in his shirt, Matt sat down comfortably in his reclining chair.

"Hehehehe... man, I can't wait to see Tai's face when he finds out that his only family will be food for the maggots!" With that, Matt let out an evil laugh. T.K. could hear his brother's laughter, and that made his skin crawl.

As he was outside of the Ishida Estate, T.K. took out the dagger and eyed it. Seeing his reflection on the dagger, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. To hide his teary eyes, T.K. wore his sunglasses as he began to walk through the night to head back to his hotel room.

"Kari.... forgive me...."



... to be continued.