"What's the job, and most importantly, what's the pay?"

Judging by the way Malin had her raised forefinger and thumb rubbing together, Kensou knew what was primarily on the girl's mind. Well aware that was going to be the hard part, Kensou tried his best to make this assignment sound as thrilling as possible.

"Alright," Kensou started, pressing his hands together. "What I'm about to ask of you won't be easy."

"Hehe. Never is." Malin chuckled.

"This isn't one of your typical panty raids!" Kensou intensified. "I need you... to sabotage the tournament brackets."

A not-so-subtle elevation of Malin's eyes: she was definitely interested. "What, they pair you against Yagami or something?"

Kensou countered with a more serious tone. "It's not for me! It's for... her."

Malin nodded, knowing exactly who that pronoun implied. "You don't trust her to fight her own battle? Not that I really care. As long as the pay's good, I'd cause this f***ing tournament to get scrapped."

"N-no need to take it that far." Kensou replied with a sweatdrop. "But she's fighting soon, maybe even after me. So I need this done, and I need it done FAST. I can't let Krauser get his way!"

Malin responded with a few empty nods. "Yes, yes, Krauser, blah blah. So how you gonna pay for this little service? You ain't got money."

"Athena does." Kensou fired back naturally.

Malin saw through it. "And I'm bettin' you don't want her to find out about this. So how exactly you gonna get money from her rich ass?"

Crap... bluff failed. Kensou was slightly on edge now, as he truly had no real bargaining chips to level the field with.

"I-I'll think of something! I'll... I'll take a loan out from Mr. Big if I have to!" he declared with the slightest of uncertainty in his tone.

Malin gave him a good, long, thorough stare, measuring him up, seeing to his very core if he was serious... a grin and a big laugh followed.

"Ahhh ha ha haaaa! Big, eh? Pretty ballsy move. Let's me know you're serious about this. Hm... fine then, I'll do it. But I EXPECT to get paid for this. If not, then you might wake up one morning with a dagger jammed in your urethra."

Kensou shuddered at the mental image. "Y-yeah... great. So what's your price?"

"One million dollars."

"ULKHHHHHHH!"

Kensou choked, much like he did when he ate his food too fast, but this time, he had not a crumb in his mouth. The sheer absurdity of Malin's haggling is what caused the wind in his throat to get sapped.

Malin just ate it up with a grin. "Heh, what did you expect dude? As long as you still got a foothold in the tournament, there's no WAY I'm gonna do business with you and not put that prize money in the conversation. Tell you what... you win the tournament, then I want a million. If you lose, we'll talk about a more grounded rate. Capice?"

Kensou looked away, fists clenched, eyes scrunched tight. He was backing himself into a corner more and more... it was already far beyond parameters to be doing this, and now he was going to plunge deeper by seeking financial aid? This was all becoming too big for him... but SHE was worth it.

"...Fine. You got a deal. Shake on it?"

Kensou extended his hand... but QUICKLY retracted it when Malin spit a huge glob on her hand and tried to extend hers. She laughed at the haste with which he pulled back.

"Hey dude, don't you have a fight coming up? You better get your shit in gear." she reminded.

"C-crap!" Kensou grunted. "You're right. Okay, you handle your end. I'll try and drag my fight out a bit and give you time."

"Kay kay. S'a pleasure doing business with you dude. This is gonna be fun~" Malin grinned.

When Malin departed, Kensou was at last left with just his thoughts, to fully understand the gravity of what he'd just asked of her. His immediate fight felt rather secondary, as his combative instincts were shut out by a powerful moral dilemma: had he done the right thing? Breaking the rules, defying Master Chin's advice, interfering in Athena's personal affair... and for all he knew, he could be putting her and Malin at risk. Maybe, if he had time, he could run after her and change his mind? No... she wouldn't like that at all. The wheels were already in motion. This was going to happen now, second thoughts be damned.

Besides... there was no time left to think. This had to be the right thing... it just HAD to.

OPENING ROUND #6: SIE KENSOU VS CHOI BOUNGE

A true meeting of veterans, Kensou and Choi had an extensive history going back all the way to 1994's tournament, which introduced the team format. The Psycho Soldiers and Koreans had some good scraps in their time, but obviously this fight was a bit more... personal. This was one-on-one, nobody to watch their backs, take over when they fall. This was a chance for the two of them to truly measure their personal skills, on an even playing field.

FIGHT!

...If one could call it "even". Kensou was actively trying to keep his mind focused on what was in front of him, but thoughts of the huge scam were weighing him down. Finally, a hopping kick from Choi caught him in the nose and shocked him back to the reality before him.

"B-brother Kensou didn't even attempt to dodge that one." Bao noticed.

"I wonder if everything's alright..." Momoko pondered. "And where is Athena-nee?"

"Do you think something's going on between them?"

"Who knows... they probably wouldn't tell us anyway. 'Grown up stuff', they'd call it."

Kensou dipped low to the ground, thrusting his left leg with a forward sweep kick. When Choi easily hopped that one, he didn't give up; he pressed forward, trying his right leg immediately after. Choi easily jumped it too, and Kensou gave him the REAL test: he spun around a smooth 360, coming around with a reverse sweep kick that covered a wide radius. A third failure... Choi was too bouncy.

At the apex of Kensou's spin, he transitioned forward into a flying cartwheel kick, a last ditch effort to catch Choi while the man was backing up. But his foot just barely missed Choi's head, and the short man was free from harm.

"Jumpy little... CHO KYUU DAN!"

Kensou tried to time Choi, extending his palm to fire a well-sized blue Psycho Ball as the short man's legs touched the ground. But as the spherical projectile soared towards him... Choi cackled.

"KEKEKEKEKE!" he leaped up and spun rapidly, so fast, he became a raging whirlwind of razor-sharp proportions. As the projectile hit him, it stood no chance of doing damage: Choi's intense vacuum vaporized it.

Kensou wasn't deterred. As soon as Choi's rotation subsided, the two met back on the feet. Kensou fired a double palm strike, aiming slightly lower to try and catch the shorter target, but Choi barrel rolled backwards to dodge it, and he FIRED back forward with a flying headbutt. Kensou put his arms up to block his chest, and Choi rammed into him, but his head slightly caught Kensou's chin and stumbled him momentarily.

Kensou took a step back, but he shook the cobwebs quickly and came back forward. He launched a front kick at the short guy, looking comically like trying to punt a football (in a mean-spirited way), but Choi blocked high, and Kensou smoothly spun forward into a reverse palm. He was irritated by how he had to slightly spread and bend his knees when throwing hand strikes...

...This actually proved to work AGAINST him, as Choi performed a sneaky, ambushing maneuver. He ducked the palm and managed to actually slide between Kensou's legs, emerging from the other end and latching onto his back like a parasitic traveling bag.

"G-ggahh! Get off me!" Kensou yelped as he was reduced to twirling around like a carousel, trying to get the intruder out of his personal space.

"Kekekekekeke!"

As much as he had those old, stabby urges of his... Choi reigned them in and instead started dropping elbows atop Kensou's head. They were no claws, but Choi's sharp little elbows were still pointy enough to send jolts in Kensou's head with each connection. And if Choi hit him JUST right, it would undoubtedly open a cut and potentially get blood in Kensou's eyes.

"Little... MONKEY!" Kensou angrily insulted as he grabbed Choi with both hands, and flung him off. Choi went flying, but he effortlessly somersaulted into a clean landing.

Choi was on the ground no less than a second before he came FLYING forward, spinning once again in a swirling tempest of death towards Kensou... and this time, he DID take some blood.

"Agh!" Kensou yelped as he recoiled, feeling his white t-shirt tear in several places, where fine cuts opened up and began drizzling modest little trickles of red. It was nowhere near fatal, but it still hurt!

Kensou was on the retreat, and Choi was coming forward. He was so fast, so elusive... truly the most difficult target to hit of all the King of Fighters contestants there ever was. He had to halt Choi... make himself an obstacle, a trap, a ROADBLOCK, to stop Choi's advance!

Thus... Kensou did just that. Just as Choi was to come flying at him again, the Psycho Soldier fell to his back, protruding his leg diagonal in the air... and Choi plowed into it, face-first, feeling the effects as if a sprinter had run full speed and ran into a street sign.

As Choi's face absorbed his foot, leaving him dangling there, Kensou sent him on his way with the other foot, bringing it up and launching him away!

"KyaaaaHHHHHHHHHHH...!" he squealed as he went backwards. Chunks of sunglasses went flying, followed by his trusty hat, all mixed in with floating blood particles, before all four things hit the ground in one jumbled mess. Choi was down hard, blood leaking from his nose, as well as a busted lip. He still had his specs, but they were utterly smashed upon his face.

"Good move, Kensou!" Bao cheered.

"You got this, big bro!" Momoko joined to root for her spiritual loved one.

Hearing the kids' cheers put his mind slightly at ease. As Kensou rose back up, he felt a bit more confidence brimming. The thrill of connecting a clean blow, having supporters on the sidelines... he felt the Athena situation temporarily dulled from his mind, especially when he saw the damage he was able to wreak on Choi. It felt...refreshing.

Choi came back forward, but Kensou could tell he was still wobbly. His reaction time was off, as Kensou caught him in the nose with two flush back knuckles, before Choi even had a chance to get airborne again. Finally, the short man DID try to leap again.. and Kensou launched a high spinning roundhouse at the same moment, clipping his legs out from under him, causing Choi to spiral in midair and crash on the ground with a premature landing.

...Choi got creepy. With a chilling cackle, he got on all fours and crawled forth like a menacing spider, the mere act alone enough to thwart Kensou's concentration, and get the boy guessing.

"Wh-what the..."

That's all Choi wanted.

"Kekekekekekekeeee..."

Choi DIVED low, taking a huge swipe of Kensou's leg as he passed by it. Kensou felt the flare-up all at once: air hitting an open wound, oxygen feeding the bloodstream, producing a bright red trickle down his black shorts. Kensou felt his leg start to go out: how deep had Choi cut him?

"Ahhhh! He's bleeding!' Bao covered up.

"Gross..." Momoko's face twisted upon seeing the red puddle start to dampen the dirt.

"Oooooch! That's a nasty cut." Benimaru cringed.

The sudden laceration distracted Kensou from the fact that Choi was behind him, and the short man leaped into action: taking to the air, he connected on the back of Kensou's head with a drop kick, felling the boy and giving him a mouthful of something that wasn't a meat bun.

Head rattled, Kensou spit dirt and tried to stand up... but two GLARING hindrances were slowing him: the prominently oozing wound on his leg, and his shaken equilibrium. Despite being able to stand, Kensou wasn't sure how long his legs would carry him...

Nonetheless, he spun around with a backfist, followed by a leaping reverse kick, to try and distance Choi. As soon as Choi was afar, Kensou launched his trusty blue fireball and tried to hit his mark; of course, Choi was too difficult to nail, and the man leaped forward with violent intent.

"G-gah!" Kensou tried to lunge forward with extended knuckles... but he missed, and Choi planted a flying kick right on the leg wound.

Kensou winced tight as he went down to a knee... at this point, his leg was almost done. Every step, every lunge, he could feel the open flesh stretching wider, exposing his nerves to more air, causing the wound to sting profusely.

"KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE! What need do I have for 'masters'? I am my OWN MAN!" Choi cackled. "I once wrought a beautiful havoc, carving the innocent faces of men, women, children alike! Who was there to command me, huh? NOBODY! I KILL, THEREFORE I AM! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEEE!"

"Shit... the bloodlust has taken Choi. He's regressing back to those days..." Kim muttered softly. "Jhun... you let this happen, you fool."

Through strained eyes, Kensou looked up, and saw Choi come flying at him again, from high up. The short man had some impressive air time: he was coming down like a divebomber, no doubt looking to deliver the finishing blow on him.

"Anti-air, you fool! You've got a million of them..." Chin muttered, of course going unheard from his position in the audience.

...Not that Kensou needed to hear him. The boy already had a plan of his own. It would cost him a decent chunk of chi and probably any remaining use of his leg, but this was the ONLY chance he had. He strained, grunted as he commanded his leg to take his weight... he pushed down on it... and he went airborne!

Choi got one last cackle in before a flying knee crushed his chin. A second knee, right after, split his forehead and finished off his sunglasses. And finally... the cherry on top... one last parting kick, catching him across the cheek.. Kensou's modified version of his patented Dragon Fang combination was a scourge to airborne opponents.

The three-hit combo blasted Choi atop the sky, and the two of them began to descend to Earth... Kensou landed on his feet, every ounce of body weight pressing against that bad leg.

"Hnn-AAGGGGGGGGGH!" he wailed to the clouds as he slumped down, sitting atop his own calves, officially robbed of the liberty of movement. The audience let out a disturbed gasp upon seeing it.

Choi was descending... his nearly unconscious body flailing in mid-air... Kensou had to seal the deal. Make sure he didn't get up.

Eyes closed, he concentrated his Psycho Power, disrupting the balance of chi in his body, altering the flow to gather at his palms... he extended his hand above his head, and gathered a large Psycho energy field within his grasp.

Choi fell right into it.

BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Kensou lit him up with a point-blank shotgun blast of Psycho Power, blowing the short man away, screeching all the way before his inevitable impact.

"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" THUD. The sunglasses were no longer there to hide his expression, and he was CLEARLY not awake.

WINNER: SIE KENSOU

Kensou went limp, the last of his energy devoted to panting, to regain the air diminishing in his lungs. He felt himself slightly lightheaded, unsure if it was a result of his sudden chi expenditure, or a loss of blood which was starting to accumulate.

Bao and Momoko went racing out there to help him. "BROTHER KENSOU!"

Tried as the two did, they weren't quite strong enough to lift Kensou on their own, thus Momoko settled for letting him lay in her lap, while Bao spread his legs out and lifted the bleeding one, to elevate it properly.

"You did good, Kensou. Athena would be proud~" Bao delivered some positivity.

"Athena..." Kensou quietly muttered. And the thoughts came flooding back: the high of battle could no longer mask the welling turmoil inside him. There was NO TIME left; had Malin done it? Would all these efforts, all these risks, pay off? The anxiety was starting to eat away at him; he didn't want to pass out, he didn't want to be taken to the hospital. He HAD to see, right here, right now, what would happen.

"Can you guys bind my leg?" Kensou asked.

"No, but Master Chin probably can." Bao replied.

"Sh-shouldn't you go to the hospital?" Momoko used logic.

"N-no! No. I can't leave yet." Kensou replied with urgency. "I need to see this in person."

OPENING ROUND FIGHT #7: WOLFGANG KRAUSER VS

SEVERAL MINUTES EARLIER...

"Alright, boys and girls. The mission is a go."

Malin whispered some self-narration as she slipped through the facility, an obscure figure that did well to make herself not stand out to the chaotic masses shuffling through the hallways, going this way and that way, to bathrooms, concession stands, janitor closets, each and every which way a human body could go. Malin didn't stand out one bit, and that's how she liked it.

"Let's see... Sears, JC Penney, Food Court... aha! Control Room!"

After a quick glance of the directory, Malin had her destination in mind. With great haste, she slipped through the Stadium like a specter, advancing into forbidden territory, where the huddles masses would no longer be there to mask her. From here on... it was all her.

Her bandana around her face like a mask, she took to the walls, climbing up to the ceiling with modified gloves, as she carefully crawled like a cockroach towards the destination that decided the fate of all contestants, as well as the live feed and security cameras.

Speaking of those... Malin took sadistic glee in smashing them every single chance she got. It was fun target practice, seeking out those cylindrical tubes and cracking the glass lens with a pleasurable breaking sound.

"Cmon cmon... where are you... AH!"

She squinted her eyes and looked at the sign on the nearest door. It couldn't be more official:

CONTROL ROOM: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

"I'm going for a smoke. Clean up in here a bit, will ya?"

Malin observed carefully: a few staff members exited the room, probably to go on a quick break while Kensou's fight was happening. Good... this was very good. But that still left the janitor...

Luckily, Malin planned ahead for that one. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a plastic bottle of warm-

"Hehehe... good thing I held it in." Malin cackled. She unscrewed the bottle, and let it free fall... SPLAT.

The two staff members walked right into it, upon which one of them immediately looked down with disgust.

"Ugh, what the- SOMEONE PISSED IN THE HALLWAY!" he screeched, immediately retreating from the hazardous spill, flailing his shoe to try and repel the intrusive substance.

"I swear man, people are f***ing animals in public."

"LIAM! HEY! LIAM! COME CLEAN THIS UP! LOCK THE DOOR BEHIND YOU!"

Malin watched as they scampered away... she closed her eyes and begged for that sweet music... there it was! The sound of wheels rolling. Yep... no doubt, a yellow mop bucket, one you could find in any run-of-the-mill retail store. Complete with a wringer.

Seconds later, the janitor rolled the bucket out of the Control Room, and made his way down the hallway, to where her devious puddle had been spread.

"Ugh. Who would do such a thing...?" he muttered.

Malin made her move. She crawled along the ceiling, skulking away, out of sight, until she was hovering above the door...with a swift move, she dislodged, and parkoured off the wall, sticking the landing perfectly onto the floor.

The door had indeed been locked, but to Malin, picking a lock was easier than a coloring book. A few seconds of fumbling with her intricate tools (a flattened out paper clip and her dagger), and a CLICK granted her entry.

"HA HA! I'm in." she whispered with exclamation.

Cautiously closing the door behind her, Malin turned around... and her eyes filled with childlike excitement. This was the sandbox. The playpen. From here, the heart of the tournament was beating: the fates of the fighters lie on these monitors, which was now in HER hands... she could shape, mold, arrange as SHE saw fit. She could play God.

One would forgive Malin for allowing herself to become drunk with power for a moment.

"Alright, Malin. Focus on the job..."

She slipped over to a monitor, where the tournament brackets were being displayed on a graph worksheet. Right next to it, another screen appeared to be the prompter for messages on the giant TV above the Stadium. It was a simple layout: the execs would look at the arranged matchups and the order in which they descended, then type it out, and display it on the huge TV for the audience to see... and that was who had to come out and fight.

"Alright ladies and gents, we're about to have a few revisions to our scheduled broadcast... hehehehe. Man, too bad I didn't think of this sooner. Coulda saved my own ass."

Malin set her dagger down and leaned over to take the controls on the graph. All 48 contestants were displayed in a bracket format: in one column, they were paired together, with the winner being displayed in a cell to the right. It kept going down, all the way, 24 rows in total. From here, all she had to do was click and drag... rearrange the cells containing their names, and she could pair up ANYBODY who hadn't fought yet. That left her with 36 fighters to choose from, since 12 had already been in the ring.

"First order of business... Athena Athena Athenaaaaaaaa... there you are, gorgeous."

Malin scrolled down to Row 7: Wolfgang Krauser vs Athena Asamiya.

"Shit, Kensou wasn't kidding. How the hell did he know? Ah, whatever. Probably some psychic hooey baloeey."

Malin clicked on Athena's name and dragged it to a vacant cell, leaving no name next to Krauser's. Now came the big question... WHO to replace it with? She scanned all the available names, surfing through all the potential combat scenarios in her head... and then she thought: why not have a little FUN?

"...Where's Yuri at?"

She scanned through the document, the smile on her face widening of its own volition, unable to be stifled. "Yuri Yuri Yuri... aha! Hehehe... hmmmmm... Malin, you horrible bastard, you wouldn't dare! Ha! HA HA HA! Actually, you know what? I'm gonna leave you right where you are."

Malin continued sifting through names, the urgency slowly getting pushed back, as she found herself settling in the room, awash with a comfort over toying with the others this way.

"Hmmmmm... dum dum dee dum... AHA! Well, well well, if it isn't B. Jenet."

Malin cackled to herself as she recalled the events of last year. Pairing up with that flippant female floozy, trying to steal the prize money, and failing miserably... that whole ordeal left her with a bitter taste, and she came out of it resenting the pirate queen more than if she ever had before. Oddly, she held no ill will towards Chizuru, the woman who actually thwarted their heist... but perhaps fear of her power was a factor in that.

"Heh heh! Swab my deck, you dumb blonde bitch."

Malin scanned the other pairings a bit more carefully, just to see if anything piqued her interest, or fueled her power complex-laden desires.

"Sucks that Jhun lost. Hm. Iori... those ghost guys... ahh, Yamazaki. Mmm. I'd f*** him so hard. I love a guy with a big knife."

The messing around continued for several abiding minutes. Malin was so engrossed, she didn't hear the mop bucket stop rolling.

"Kasumi... hmmm... " Malin observed the position of her former teammate, who joined her in her campaign to strike down the evil Kyokugens. If nobody else, they definitely had common ground in their respective goals to defeat Ryo and Yuri. Perhaps Malin could toss her a...?

"Mm... nah. Ryo'd just flatten her. Sorry babe." Malin changed her mind, and left Kasumi where she lay. If the blue-haired girl won her fight later, Malin could feel a little righteous about herself. If not, well... better to never know "what if".

After a good few minutes, Malin finally leaned back in the chair, content that her enemies were properly punished and her acquaintances were in a decent enough place. Of course, the important thing was that Athena and Krauser had new opponents. Feeling there was nothing left to do, Malin finally got bored with it, and made her escape.

...As soon as she opened the door, she plowed directly into a blonde guy with a blue jumpsuit, holding a broom.

"OOOF!"

Malin was less concerned with being discovered, and more agitated from being plowed into. "Who the f*** are you?!"

The humble-looking man straightened his cap, looking at her with blue eyes. "I-I'm Liam Brantner, the janitor here...?"

"Yeah?" Malin entertained. "You clean up shit, vomit, and other fluids?"

"S-sometimes. I mainly just keep the big trash cleaned up. And actually, the Bernsteins are paying me extra to clean the Sky Noah-"

"Okay, I officially have gotten bored and thus, do not care." Malin cut him off. "I was never here. Goodbye, and if you tell anyone about me I'll kill you."

Malin didn't wait for a response, rudely bumping past the confused janitor with her shoulder before sprinting away from the scene of the crime. Mission Accomplished, as far as she was concerned.

"W-wait!" Liam called out. But she was long gone... he could do nothing but remove his blue cap and scratch his head. "What was she doing here...?"

OPENING ROUND FIGHT #7: WOLFGANG KRAUSER VS BONNE JENET

It was amusing to watch the confusion spread, like a wildfire: it started off in isolated little pockets, the smoke steadily rising...

"W-wait a minute. That's not...!" Rose gasped. She was out of her seat, eyes wide with disbelief, as she saw the message the giant TV displayed...

She had her phone out in seconds, as she dialed the control room. "Hello? Is anyone there? Hello? HELLO!"

"M-Miss Bernstein?"

"THAT'S THE WRONG MATCHUP! Fix it, now!"

"B-but I... ah! What the hell? Who switched the names?!"

"The only one in here was Liam! We stepped out to... ah..."

"I don't care who it was, this is not a joke! FIX IT!" Rose squealed.

"B-but it's too late ma'am... they're already walking out!"

"DAMNATION!"

Rose looked out of the booth, helplessly: it was true. Krauser was already out there, his eyes FURIOUSLY glued to the tv monitor, a scowl baring every last bone-gnashing tooth in his mouth.

"Oh no... this is not good..." Rose panicked.

On the fighter benches, it was becoming increasingly aware there was an issue. The first hint was when they all watched Athena walk out of the blue corner, only to see the tv, pause, slowly back up... and retreat back into the locker rooms.

"Hey, did you see that? Athena tried to walk out." Terry pointed.

"Yeah, that was weird... and did anyone see Jenet get a fight notice?" Andy asked.

"Ask Tizoc or Gato. She's been hanging with them all day." Joe nudged over to them.

...But upon seeing Gato, one leg draped over the other, his arms folded, and his eyes narrowed with a threatening gaze, nobody dared approach him for even directions to the restroom.

"Hey Tizoc, did you see Jenet get a fight notice?" Joe wisely asked the other.

"I dunno!" Tizoc loudly responded. "I was paying closer attention, but my gloriously abundant, inflated muscles might have hindered my field of vision."

Speaking of B. Jenet... the poor girl was confused on her own end. She had not an inkling of warning her name was going to pop up next, nor was she granted a modicum of a hint her opponent would be the Emperor of Darkness. Nonetheless, she was forced to pick her confused legs off the bench and nervously wobble over to the blue corner, lest she get automatically disqualified.

"Maaan, what the hell is happening." Benimaru griped. "Something doesn't feel right about this."

"J-Jenet-san didn't get a fight notice. That's so unfair!" Hotaru squeaked.

All the while, Kensou was sitting quietly... and watching... more than ever, he was deeply pondering the ramifications of what he'd done. Did he deserve to feel good about this? He'd saved her, but at the cost of robbing someone else's opportunity. And... did Athena even WANT his help? Would she thank him for it? When it really boils down to it, was this a chivalrous act on his part... or a selfish one?

FIGHT?

In the long, documented, often romanticized history of pirates, they were known for a lot of things: greed, foolhardiness, charisma, leadership skills, and unwavering courage into depths unknown.

But sometimes... the facts could be a little skewed. While it was fun to paint pirates in such a glorified light, one needn't forget the OTHER side of pirates: the uglier, less fun side, which probably helped preserve their culture better than the storybooks regarded.

When cannons flashed, muskets blazed, and cutlass shimmered, pirates could ALSO be counted on for their cowardice. To save their own skin, they'd leave a man behind, even their own captain, abandon their vessel altogether for the slim chance of surviving another day. This was the true nature of piracy, less spoken of by history.

When B. Jenet found herself facing down the monumental giant before her, one arm alone seemingly bigger than her entire frame, she had her own thoughts about how to get out of this battle victorious. Victory had a much different meaning here, far removed from besting her opponent and climbing the brackets, to claim the ultimate prize.

There were a lot of things she had left to do in life. Drinking, plundering, admiring shiny things, enjoying pleasurable company, fighting people who were actually on her level... and thus, B. Jenet made her bold, decisive move.

"Uhhhhhhh... eheheheheeeee... Parley?"

Krauser took a threatening step forward; she turned into a blonde-purple blur in the opposite direction.

"Oh screw this."

WINNER: WOLFGANG KRAUSER

The reception of the audience was delightful to a select few.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

They started pouring out, in unison, quickly growing into a choir of negativity. An endless symphony of jeers, insults... some people even got ornery enough to start throwing stuff. Their venerated German athlete was robbed of a fight, and his disappointment and anger resonated within all of them.

"Oh snap. It's getting bad out here." Benimaru's voice was rather calm all things considered.

"OOF! OOOGH! AHH! G-GAAH!" Shingo was bobbing and weaving, trying to dodge beer bottles.

"What is going on here!" Shen Woo complained. "This is NUCKING FUTS!"

"Bout time things got interesting around here." Yamazaki grinned.

Krauser himself was understandably the most upset of everybody. To him, this wasn't just a missed opportunity... this was a BETRAYAL. The Bernsteins had promised him his due, and THIS was the result. He felt it inside him: a rage so terrifying, anyone who dared cross his physical person... or his mind... was at risk.

...But there was one person on his mind. The one who got away. He couldn't help but think, maybe this was HER doing? Once again, evading him, teasing him, tormenting him with that lingering stain on his honor... he chose to direct his anger at her.

"Grrrr... ASAMIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! YOU COWARDLY, TREACHEROUS SWINE! I SWEAR BY ALL MY BREATH, IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO, I'LL SEE YOUR BROKEN BODY LAYING BEFORE ME! YOU WON'T GET AWAY FROM ME A THIRD TIME! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!"

As a squalid mixture of discomposure and indignation rocked the Stadium, Kensou watched it all unfold from his stationary position on the bench. Part of him wanted to run, but his leg prevented that... plus, he didn't want to leave Bao and Momoko, who were understandably perplexed, alone.

"Brother Kensou, what's going on? Why's everyone so angry? What happened?" Bao assaulted Kensou with questions.

"B-Bao I... agh..."

Kensou tried to get more words out, but stopped before he even started. How? How COULD he explain how he orchestrated a sabotage, and utterly tossed the Stadium into disarray, potentially ruining the tournament?

To make things worse... he hadn't noticed Athena approach from behind.

"Bao. Momoko. I need to talk to Kensou alone."

All three of them jumped when they heard her, two of them turning around, while Kensou was a bit slower about it. But sure enough, Athena was standing there... looking quite unhappy.

"A-Athena-nee..." Momoko uttered.

She managed a warm smile for the two of them, a gentle paradigm of reassurance. "It's okay you two. Just leave us for a second, please."

"O-okay... cmon, Momo-chan!" Bao took her hand and the two ran off, perhaps towards the concession stand.

...As soon as they were out of sight, her warm expression grew hot. She let him have it; snatching him by his shirt, standing him up forcefully, disregarding the state of his leg.

"What did you do?!"

Kensou winced upon feeling weight on it, but it wasn't as bad, as Athena's strength was holding him up. Still, he couldn't look her in the eye; he kept his face averted, twisting, shutting his eyes with all the strength he could muster, to avoid facing her.

"Kensou, I mean it! LOOK AT ME!"

...Still, he turned away. He couldn't... he just couldn't. He foresaw this happening: the remorse of it tearing into him. He knew he wouldn't come out of this as a hero, and now that it was time to face the music... he had no heroism to summon. He didn't dare open his eyes, and look into her rage-filled ones.

"You messed with the tournament lineups, didn't you? I KNOW you did, Kensou. I can sense the guilt inside you!" Athena cursed.

At least there was a comfort in knowing Athena could ascertain the truth herself, just so he could have the tiniest little comfort of not having to say the words himself.

"M... M-M...Malin." was all he could whisper in response.

She shoved him back onto the bench. "You had NO RIGHT! You had no right to interfere in my personal business, Kensou! This was MY battle to fight! MY burden to bear! I NEEDED THIS!"

"I had to protect you!" Kensou fired back, finding a little courage, but still not enough to look her in the face.

...But as he opened his eyes finally, he could tell that excuse wouldn't cut it. If anything, Athena Asamiya took that as an insult from her partner, implying she needed protection. That she couldn't hold her own. That she needed "rescuing".

"Just... just don't talk to me, Kensou." Athena spoke softer, and he could hear her voice distinctly crack. "You've ruined everything."

That harsh sting was her parting gift, as she fled the sidelines and ran towards the exit. And now, Kensou could finally look in hindsight, to think about how all this played out. How he could've changed it. How he could've stopped Malin at that last second.

He was no hero. He didn't "save the day". He enraged Krauser, incited an even GREATER wrath within him, threw the tournament, host, audience into an wildfire, and, inadvertently, helped out in the terrible grand scheme of eroding the threads of Order to spawn Chaos, the ambition of the occult and the mad. It was all him.

He only did it for her... he kept telling himself that as a few angry, remorseful tears broke through.

And there you have it. A harsh life lesson, that sometimes even the best intentions don't produce the best outcome. Kensou spared Athena from Krauser's brutality... but at what cost?

NEXT CHAPTER: In the thick of a mass outrage, the Hakkeshu spring into action. Will their luminous bodies weaken their strength, or will the negative energy influx even the odds? Find out next time!