1

There were few things as intoxicating as the anticipation of a good fight, or at least a decent enough one to pass the time. On that, Kazuya suspected, they could both agree. He might be a nobody, but he lived to fight, he could see it clearly, even through the mask.

Okay, fine. I'll give you the fight you're looking for.

Kazuya sprang into action at the same instant as his opponent, as Lung, as if they had both reacted to an invisible starting pistol, as if they had an agreed signal.

The only signal was the singing killing intent.

Something any fighter worth his salt would understand. They didn't need more than that.

Completely ignoring Lung's minions, Kazuya collided with that beast in the middle of the street. He threw a single punch. As they made contact with the enemy's fist, negating each other, sparks of electricity and fire jumped out.

Kazuya frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly. He didn't like fire. It had been over fifteen years ago now, but he had died after being thrown into a volcano, after all. It didn't matter, it wouldn't change the outcome of the fight, but he didn't like it.

The only thing it would change was that he would seek to end the fight sooner.

He made significant progress with the first blow.

Or so it seemed at first. The force of the impact broke Lung's arm, there was no doubt about that. But he regenerated quickly, the right things snapping back into place thanks to the scales that were growing and covering his entire body, transforming him into something inhuman. He wasn't a carrier of the Devil Gene, but he wasn't normal either. What had they called him, parahuman?

He would investigate everything in due time. When Kazuya broke him, as he had broken all the enemies who had dared to stand in his way so far.

The outcome of the battle was evident.

Lung's transformation was progressing fast, Kazuya's had not even begun. From this it naturally followed that he was the strongest.

There was a more natural and basic logic that also supported his assertion. There was no one stronger than him in the first place. The opposite had never been a possibility. It was that simple.

"DORYA!"

The uppercut, charged with electricity, launched Lung into the air, however far the 'dragon' scales had advanced. He rounded off a series of uppercuts, and energetic doryas, with a spinning kick in the air, executed so quickly that his foot connected with the enemy several times before, of course, launching him away.

Far.

Against and through a lamppost, the impact hard enough to rip it from the ground, like a tree at the mercy of a whirlwind.

Kazuya was a human whirlwind, his body an impenetrable steel fortress.

"Dorya what? Why the fuck that doesn't translate? I don't understand... Shit!"

The gang member wasn't expressing frustration at his sudden lack of hearing or his severe brain damage, not being able to understand a simple word. He had been surprised, or rather scared shitless, because suddenly a swarm of bugs had fallen from the sky like one of the plagues of Egypt.

It was interesting. Not dangerous, not worrisome, just interesting. Mind you, Kazuya regretted not having trained a pet, like Heihachi.

Now he could have used a bear trained in the Mishima style, rolling across the ground nimbly, his claws tearing through the swarm like a hot knife through butter. I like butter, he thought. Well. In any case, he could take care of the bugs faster than the hypothetical bear. It just wouldn't be the most meaningful use of his eye laser, a vulgar pest extermination.

So, back to the important stuff.

Lung didn't seem to give a shit about the new arrival either.

To be fair, he hadn't even had time to get off the ground yet. It was all happening so fast, really, but every second dragged on in a life-or-death fight. Even if you didn't fear for your life. It was a peculiar feeling.

Kazuya grabbed Lung's head with one hand, helped him up, in a sense, though just long enough to smash him back into the ground. A crater formed in the blink of an eye, four or five meters deep.

He slammed him into the ground again and again, making the crater deeper, the cracks wider, until he felt something crunch apart from the asphalt.

Not his skull. The mask.

It split in half, sliding off, revealing a feline face and too many teeth. Another effect of the transformation, Kazuya supposed. Lung wouldn't wear the mask to hide his monstrous face, for in the midst of a fight, in the midst of the transformation it would inevitably break.

He grew more scales and became taller.

He would soon reach five meters tall, if he kept it up. Height mattered in a fight, to some extent, the reach. But if he thought that would give him victory, he was a deluded fool.

Lung revealed yet another card up his sleeve.

Exploding. An explosion of fire in waves that swept Kazuya and dragged him far away. Pain traveled through his entire body, from head to toe. He had only felt something like this on the day of his death. Being thrown into the volcano, the pain had awakened him, only too late to escape.

He had sunk into the lava, being consumed, experiencing unimaginable pain.

There was no better place for a devil's rebirth than the flames of hell. Although, ironically, it had been his son who plunged the world into hell. Jin, of all people, who had stood in his way so many times because he was 'evil' and someone 'had to stop him'.

This wasn't a time for rebirth, however, not such a drastic or dramatic attack. It was easy to handle. Kazuya transformed and the flames dissipated instantly, as if he had been sprayed with a fire hose.

He rose into the air, dark wings spread behind him, with a sinister smirk.

Lung looked vaguely surprised. It was only natural, meeting someone he would think had a power like his own. However, Kazuya didn't get stronger with time. He didn't ramp up.

He was already at the top.

"Conceited mutts like you need to be put out of their misery. Reminded of their place in the world."

Lung laughed in response.

Not mocking him. It would be a terrible mistake to mock him, but that wasn't it. Lung was simply elated, knowing that the fight had only just begun, that he could give him a good fight. As Kazuya had thought from the beginning, the man lived for this.

"I'm done playing with you... Die!"

And, like a dark meteor, Kazuya flew towards his enemy.

2

Taylor, still on that rooftop, couldn't help but wonder what she'd done to deserve life in general.

Her mother's death, such an avoidable tragedy. Emma's betrayal, the Trio's constant campaign of harassment.

Finding herself in such a fucked-up situation on her first night in costume. To be fair, she had proven she could handle herself, that while her power wasn't a big deal at least it did some good, scaring off Lung's henchmen, forcing them to flee with their tails between their legs from the swarm.

It wasn't a big deal, but it was something.

But they were Lung's henchmen, of all the villains she could have come across. Where were Uber and Leet when she needed them? Not to mention that other parahuman, unknown, reckless enough not to hide his identity. Not that there was no precedent, but it was easy for New Wave. Endangering your family by revealing your identity didn't carry much weight when every single one of them were superheroes. She wouldn't be able to do that, that was for sure. She didn't see any reason.

That was the least of it, of course.

That Japanese man was strong, with a power similar to Lung's. He had transformed into some sort of demon, with a third eye on his forehead, his skin turning purple, and he had sprouted wings.

All she needed now was Lung giving credence to the rumor that he could sprout wings, matching the stranger.

This all looked bad, but she wasn't optimistic enough to think it couldn't get any worse. The other shoe could drop at any moment, hard, and there was no guarantee that she could save herself when the time came.

To make matters worse, she didn't have many options. Taylor had already had her bugs sting Lung, but soon that wouldn't be in the cards with his body so covered in scales, the gaps disappearing quickly. She feared the chance to defeat him with the venoms and toxins had passed.

Taylor chose to stay anyway, see what she could do, if anything. Some would say she'd done enough, but she couldn't just turn around and walk away.

Taylor shook her head, bracing herself.

"I hope I won't regret this for the rest of my life."

Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (2): END

Author's Note:

About as much as I can write in one sitting without my brain screaming at me for procrastinating, especially now that I'm committed to two original fiction projects, not just one. For readers of the FoZ/Prototype fic, just because this story was updated twice in a row doesn't mean I've abandoned the former, far from it. It will be updated soon too, it's just that I've been thinking about writing the rest of the current arc (a chapter or three, not much) before posting anything else.