Title: "Unfinished Business"
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Summary: The Bride confronts Bill at his hacienda towards the end of Kill Bill Vol. 2. An alternate take on the big fight between Kiddo and Bill.
Author's Notes: The ending of KB2 was great, but I thought the fight between Kiddo and Bill could've gone longer. I did read on the Internet Movie Database entry that Quentin Tarantino did in fact have a longer, drawn out fight planned. But, due to time constraints, he wasn't able to do it. Also, one of the posters has the Bride in her dress carrying her sword and I found out QT was also going to add that to the film. This is my attempt to write how it might've gone down.
Disclaimers: I own nothing, nor do I think this even comes close to what Tarantino envisioned. I also make no claim to being able to write 'cool' action sequences. Please excuse any 'out-of-characterness' as well. Thank you.
Read & Review!
"You and I have unfinished business."
Beatrix Kiddo looked coldly into the semi-drunken eyes of Bill. Her Hatori Hanzo sword stood sheathed and at the ready in her left hand. Her eyes, so much like their daughter, B.B., was a swirl of emotions: anger, betrayal, sadness...and ultimately resolve. Bill's own sense of betrayal was reflected right back at her and Kiddo knew that this whole sordid affair was going to eventually end one way or another; that little girl sleeping peacefully in her bed upstairs would have one parent to take care of her when she woke up in the morning.
Bill looked to sober up as he saw what lay in his ex-lover's eyes. Kiddo caught his gaze flickering to his sword and she tensed slightly, waiting for what would come. Then he took a deep breath and poured himself yet another shot from the bottle of tequila he'd been liberally drinking from as she told her story.
"I'm a murdering bastard...but I don't have to be one right at this moment," he said quietly, almost to himself as he knocked back the shot and glanced back over at Kiddo. "My offer still stands: we cross Hanzo swords on the beach at sunrise." He smiled. "It's like I said: I'm a sucker for the old school."
Kiddo's eyes narrowed a bit, but simply nodded and got up from her chair. "Fine," she said and turned to leave the backyard of the hacienda.
"You know," Bill called out. "I could've been a real asshole and not said a word to her about you."
Beatrix froze and slowly turned her head to regard Bill. "Why did you?"
"That's the funny part," Bill said with a small smile. "I wasn't. I mean, I've lied, cheated, stolen and killed so many times, what's one more for the score?" His eyes turned misty and he frowned. "But when my little girl asked me, all innocent-like, where her mommy was...that all just fell apart, and I just couldn't lie to her to save my life," he said and poured himself another drink. The glass paused just as it reached his lips.
"She's really something, isn't she?"
A wan smile graced Kiddo's face. "Yeah, she is." And with that she headed out the door.
Bill swirled the drink a moment or two before knocking it back. He gritted his teeth as the tequila warmed his stomach...but not his heart.
"Dammit."
---
Beatrix popped the trunk to her car and pulled out a rather large gym bag. She unzipped it and gazed down at the contents, running her fingers through the delicate material. It'd taken her a while to find one the exact same cut she'd had before, but it had been worth it. She'd tried to find the original, but it'd been lost after four years. She thought herself crazy to do this, but part of her felt some kind of poetic irony in the gesture.
She began to undress.
---
The door slowly opened so as not to wake the small bundle in bed. Bill walked into the semidarkness and gently sat at the edge of the bed, looking down at the sleeping girl. A hand came up to pull back a few strands of blonde hair away from her face. Bill then leaned down and kissed the top of B.B.'s head. As he stood up to leave, he noticed the small framed picture his daughter had of her mother. A small necklace lay draped over it and he could read the meaning behind the gesture: just in case. Looking thoughtful, he took off one of his gold rings – one inlaid with a jade crystal – and placed it right next to the picture. Then, without a second glance back, he left and shut the door behind him.
---
The roar of the waves rumbled all around as Bill stood there at the edge of the water. The sun had yet to rise but he could just start to make out the beginnings of an orange glow in the east. He wouldn't have long to wait: Kiddo was nothing if not punctual. Bill hadn't been completely honest about why he'd wanted to fight it out here on the beach. His best times with B.B. were here, swimming around the water, or spending countless hours walking around with her and picking up seashells. He idly wondered if he'd get to do that again. Movement caught his eye and he almost unsheathed his sword...but what he saw almost made him drop it.
Walking serenely towards him, Hanzo sword in hand was Beatrix Kiddo dressed from head to toe...in a wedding gown. Kiddo said nothing as she stopped several feet away from him and Bill had to cock his head in mild amusement.
"Not...quite what I was expecting in terms of battle gear."
"When I wore this, you robbed me of four years of my life – among other things," Kiddo said. "I figure I'd give you one more chance to finish the job."
Bill had to chuckle a little at the slight, but he sobered quickly when it got lighter. The first rays of the sun started to poke through the horizon and Bill brought his sword up to face level. The sword jerked out and slowly came out of its sheath. Placing the scabbard on the sand he stood back up in a ready stance and brought his sword up with both hands just behind his right ear. Kiddo followed his actions move for move.
They stood there, two sentinels, each watching the other for the slightest chance to strike. The wind picked up and Bill's hair whipped around his face while Kiddo's dress billowed from the gusts of the sea. The first rays of the sun touched the tips of both upraised swords...
...and both leapt at each other at the same.
Two swords clashed together in a resonating shriek that shattered the peace of the beach. Bill's blade swept down, going for the legs, but Kiddo's blade parried it aside. She feinted and then tried to run her blade through Bill's chest, but had it batted aside. Both swords sang as the two combatants whirled them through the air. Although neither side could strike a blow, the Bride's gown was systematically hacked here and there. Pieces were strewn everywhere and the wind picked them, dancing them around the two fighters. Bill's blade slashed across Kiddo's midriff, but she leaned back missing it by mere inches. She then sprang forward, slicing downward toward Bill's knees, but cleaved thin air as Bill jumped away at the last moment. For every attack Bill made, Kiddo was able to dodge, but for every blow she tried to land, he was able to parry away. This was the man who brought the DiVAS together and had them all trained, and Kiddo knew this fight would go longer and harder than any other she'd had before.
And she was just starting to feel it.
Bill looked no worse for wear, though a thin sheen of sweat appeared on his brow. Both stepped back for a half-second, one sizing up the other, and then Kiddo went on a desperate offensive, slashing left and right, up and down. Bill, startled by the savagery of the attack, momentarily backtracked, blocking and parrying as he went. He lost his footing in the wet sand and stumbled slightly back. Kiddo immediately leapt into the air, teeth gritted and sword flashing above her head, her dress rippling around her, giving her the appearance of an avenging angel. But the blade sliced deeply through empty sand as Bill rolled away at the last second. Kiddo grunted as the beach proved stubborn to release its hold on her weapon. From the corner of her eye she saw Bill leap into the air as well, sword held above his head.
At the last second her sword came out of the sand and stopped Bill's airborne blow, mere inches from her head. An ear-splitting peal made Kiddo grunt even harder as her shoulders buckled from the attack. Bill pressed on, pushing harder, aiming for her head. But she held firm, finally diverting the sword to hit just behind her, cutting away even more of her dress. Bill, seeing an opening, quickly brought his sword up and in a wide arc, catching Kiddo's blade and spinning it around. Her hand, still tingling from the blow, lost its grip on the sword and it fell away. Before the sword even hit the ground, Kiddo sprang up and grabbed Bill's sword. The two struggled with it, but Bill, older but still the stronger, brought it achingly closer to the Bride's throat. She stared hard into his eyes...and saw the same look she got four years ago at the Two Pines church...and knew he wasn't going to stop.
On its own, her right hand snapped back with two fingers joined together, and slammed into a corner of Bill's chest.
Vernita Green's body went slack on the ground, her eyes staring at a spot behind Kiddo...
The hand arched again and hit another point in Bill's chest.
"That really was a Hatori Hanzo sword," Oren whispered, as her scalped head fell to the snow covered ground.
Snap! Another pressure point hit.
"This is for breaking my brother's heart," Budd said before he closed the lid on the coffin.
Snap!
"I killed your Master," Elle declared proudly, moments before she writhed in agony from having her other eye plucked out.
Kiddo's hand went back one last time and a final thought came to mind:
"At this moment, this is me...at my most masochistic."
The two fingers came down and hit the last pressure point. Bill's head snapped back and he gasped in agony as blood spurted out of his mouth. The sword fell from his grasp. In amazement, he slumped down to his knees, Kiddo sliding down with him. They sat there, one saddened, another amazed, as the water washed around them, looking like any other just-married couple at an altar. Bill chuckled weakly.
"Pai Mei taught you the Five-Point-Palm-Exploding-Heart Technique?"
Kiddo smiled and shook her head. "'Course he did."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know...because I'm a bad person."
"No," he said with a slight shake of his head. "You're not a bad person. You're a terrific person. You're my favorite person. But, every once and a while...you can be a real cunt."
Kiddo laughed, fighting back tears. Bill took a shaky breath and wiped his chin, looking deeply into the eyes of the one woman he ever truly loved.
"How do I look?"
Kiddo reached over and squeezed both of Bill's hands. "You look ready."
Bill nodded and stood up. With a last look to Kiddo, he turned to face the ocean and began to walk into the water. Beatrix's eyes followed him, until, at the fifth step, he crumpled into the shallow surf. Kiddo watched as the body was slowly pulled off into sea. She closed her eyes, wiped her tears away and stood up. Without a glance backward, she gathered her sword and headed back to the hacienda.
---
B.B. didn't say a word as Kiddo gathered her up from her room. Beatrix noticed the ring and necklace lying next to the photo. After a moment's hesitation, she took both and headed out the door.
The car was waiting for them when Beatrix came out. She settled B.B. in her seat and then grabbed the wheel. Her daughter looked expectantly up at her. Kiddo smiled and put the car in gear, driving away into the night.
-FIN-