A rustling in the bushes alerted him to somebody's presence immediately. From the sound of it, the person was intending to make their actions audible. Either that, or their description of stealth was ridiculous. Grasping a throwing knife in his hand, he spun and threw.

A shadowy figure stepped out, catching the knife easily, and it was then he knew.

Déjà vu. That damn ninja… that means…

"You were too late," Hayabusa threw back the knife, which he caught and re-holstered angrily, nearly stabbing himself in the leg as he did so. "Donovan caught the original. You just succeeded in killing one of the clones running around,"

"Well, I'll kill you too!"

Hayabusa shook his head. "It won't make a difference if you kill me or not. You were too late. Donovan caught the original before you could kill him. And you wouldn't stand a chance in killing the original, anyway,"

He narrowed his eyes. "I've killed clones. What's the difference?"

The Hayabusa clone shrugged, a seemingly relaxed motion that Bayman would have supposed was impossible for the super ninja. "We do not have all of the original's data thus far. Donovan is working on perfecting it, but so far, we only have about fifty percent of the original's skills, but all of the memories and thoughts. Hence, we are easier to defeat then the original would be, simply because we carry the burdens of killing and bloodshed without all the required skills needed to instigate it,"

His mind drifted back to killing the last clone. He had managed it in the end, but only because of his 'playing dirty', pulling out a poisoned arrow and thrusting it into the clone's side. Fight-wise, he would have been well and truly beaten.

If these clones only have fifty percent of the original Hayabusa's skills, then… I don't stand a chance. But I want my revenge against Donovan, no matter what.

"What is Donovan doing? Aren't you supposed to attack me for being against your master?"

Cold emerald eyes met his statement. "I have no master. Donovan, that fool, released us without knowing that we still contain all of the original's thoughts and memories. The original holds nothing but contempt and hatred for Donovan. And until that is altered, none of the clones have any reason to harm you,"

He couldn't resist a laugh out loud. "You mean that Donovan released you before checking that you would obey him?"

"He is too busy with experiments on the original,"

Stone grey met emerald green. "If Donovan ever gains control over you, clone, then tell him this. I will have my revenge on him, regardless. Either that, or die trying,"

*

"You're such a fool. I never would have thought that a cold-blooded killer such as yourself would sacrifice your freedom for the sake of a petty girl," Donovan was humming under his breath, checking some test tubes, as he remained helpless, on the bench, the tranquilizers rendering him unable to move, attack. Speaking and even breathing were nigh-on impossible, but he managed.

"Perhaps, but…" he paused to take a breath. "…But I promised… promised to save her, no matter what. And nothing will make me… make me go back on my word,"

"It was the fact that she could have been killed and nobody would have cared, isn't it?" Donovan turned to adjust some chemicals. "We ultimately wanted you. But she would have sufficed, if, for nothing else, to be good target practice. If she had been killed, then so be it, no loss. If she hadn't have been, she would have been cloned and tortured. That's what made you sacrifice your freedom for her, wasn't it?"

Every breath was hurting. "Yes, perhaps. Anything… rather then you hurt her…"

Donovan smiled cruelly. "Well, here ends that noble speech. Good night, Ryu. See you tomorrow morning. Sleep well,"

He felt the sharp pain of another injection before nothing.