New Life: A Second Chance

"I'm at the rendezvous point and I see Drako," Kyle reported, "I'm going silent now as I need to concentrate on this. Report everything to Kay."

"Affirmative, Sir," said Alex, "We've located Ms. Cathy and will start extracting her once our men are in position."

"Good. Out," Kyle said and walked ahead.

'Out' was their code word to go silent and keep the frequency clear. Only during an emergency can they break the silence, or until Kyle speaks. For situations like this, Kyle needed to concentrate and he could get distracted with a voice in his head - or ear - when he's busy fighting.

[Be careful, brother]

[Always. Out.]

Kyle walked slowly towards Drako, his eyes focused on the unmoving figure in front of him.

Drako was a well-built young man, with a buzz cut and cold, piercing eyes. He exuded this aura of Death, like a scorpion, that was always ready to strike. Kyle studied him intently and could see the hate within those dark orbs of his. These were details that a mere picture could not give.

Kay was right that the man in front of him hated him for being alive.

Kyle stopped a few meters away from Drako. Not too far and yet, not too close. Kyle was ready to jump back should Drako make a move.

Drako looked at the young boy in front of him. seeing him close-up for the very first time. All these times, it had first been through photos, binoculars and always at a distance.

"You really are so very young," Drako said, "And abnormally skilled. Too bad it ends today."

Kyle cocked his head to one side, raising an eyebrow, "Why are you doing all of this? Since it'll be my last day and all, shouldn't I at least know why I died?"

Drako laughed, shaking his head, "A dead man need not know anything."

"Tch. So stingy," Kyle said, "Didn't think the infamous Drako would actually show himself to little 'ol me though."

Drako's eyes narrowed as he glared at Kyle, "How did you know who I was?"

Drako always worked in the dark, and rarely showed his face. Even with the Boss, he would enter and leave in secret. People knew of 'Drako', the #1 assassin of Kazuya, but only a handful of people knew how he looked like.

Kyle grinned and replied, "A dead man need not know anything."

Drako raised an eyebrow, surprised at how calm Kyle was,

"Bold statement," Drako said with a smile, "Do you have the ability to back it up?"

Kyle moved his head suddenly to the right, narrowly avoiding a thrown projectile from behind him. Kyle turned, grabbed the attacker's hand that the attacker had thrust forward to stab him in the back. Kyle twisted his wrist to disarm him, pulled his arm forward then grabbed him by the neck. He pulled the guys head down while bringing up his knee, smashing the guy's face.

Without skipping a beat, Kyle threw the guy aside, blocked another attack from a 2nd attacker. He grabbed the guy's knife that was in his waist belt, and with a swing of his arm, sliced his throat. Kyle then swung his arm back to stab a guy behind him in the stomach and pulled upwards to slice his stomach wide open before taking out the knife.

He flipped the knife so that he held the tips of the blade in his fingers and threw it in front of him, embedding it in the forehead of another. Kyle made a roundhouse kick to the head of the first attacker that was getting up and he fell back unconscious.

Kyle bent down and twisted the guy's neck, breaking it. He then stood up straight, looking at Drako, raising an eyebrow, "You only sent four? That's a bit ... underestimating me too much, isn't it?"

Drako looked at the four fallen bodies around and pursed his lips. He sighed, shaking his head. Never did he think that the boy not only had the skills to fight, but also to kill.

[Cathy's safe, brother]

[Perfect timing. Tell Alex to get rid of the trash around first]

[He's already on it]

[Good. Once done, just observe. I need to get info from Drako. Out.]

Kyle figured there must be more men hidden in the bushes. Drako wouldn't just send these pathetic four now, would he?

"Looks like you do not value the young lady's life," Drako was saying as he took out a phone and proceeded to make a call.

"What? You expected me to just stand there and have them kill me?" Kyle scoffed, "You didn't tell me not to move or whatever. So it's your fault."

"Also not my fault they're so weak," Kyle added for good measure.

Drako frowned and looked at his phone while Kyle studied him and his expressions.

"And not my fault your men are so stupid to let their captor escape," Kyle continued with a grin.

Drako turned to look at Kyle, his eyes now a darker shade as he got angrier. He gave a signal but nothing happened.

"Also not my fault my men have taken out your men," Kyle said, "Looks like it's just you and me now, Drako. Why don't you just give up?"

Drako snorted, "Me? Give up? In your dreams kid."

"Isn't it just a waste? Cathy's safe, your men are all out," Kyle pointed out.

"But I'm not," Drako said, throwing the phone to the ground.

Drako launched the first move, sending his fist to Kyle's face. Just as Kyle avoided it, Drako's fist became an open palm to hit him from another angle. Kyle dodged that easily, too, but his face had a slight frown.

That move of Drako's ... Kyle recognised it but he couldn't believe it. He must have seen it wrong.

Drako followed that move by giving two swift kicks towards Kyle's face. Kyle moved quickly, avoiding the double kicks and kicked Drako in the stomach. Kyle felt like he hit a concrete wall, despite not holding back on that kick. Drako just moved back an inch, his face not showing any pain.

Drako immediately launched another kick, this time to his mid-section. Kyle leaned to the side and blocked it with his elbow, following it up with a sidekick with one leg and a kick to the stomach with the other, then with the momentum gained, made a butterfly kick to Drako's face.

Kyle could see - and feel - his foot connect to Drako's cheek. Yet, despite the force of the kick, Drako hardly changed his expression. If anything, he just looked angrier. A seed of doubt entered Kyle's mind.

There were too many things that didn't add up.

Kyle avoided Drako's punch to his face and returned a punch. He avoided yet another punch and managed to hit Drako again, this time aiming for his neck. Kyle was getting frustrated that all of his kicks and punches seemingly not having any effect on Drako.

He also felt like he was kicking and punching a wall rather than a man made of flesh. Thus, Kyle had to change tactics and aim for all the weak spots such as the throat. However, to Kyle's horror and shock, not only was the punch ineffective, Drako then brought his chin down and trapped Kyle's hand there!

Kyle immediately tried to pull his hand away but it was locked tight; and before he could execute another move, Drako punched him in the gut. Kyle doubled over from the force and Drako kicked him hard on the chest, sending him flying a few meters.

Without missing a beat, Kyle tumbled and got up immediately, in a fighting stance.He narrowly avoided a kick from Drako, then blocked another kick from the other side. For the next minute or two, all Kyle could do at that time was simply defend against Drako's attacks. He had no opportunity to attack in return.

Now both of them were breathing hard, staring at each other, and in their fighting stance.

"Tell me, Drako," Kyle panted, "What's a disciple from S Temple doing, being an assassin?"

Drako rushed to punch him and Kyle nimbly stepped aside. Drako gave a front kick which Kyle avoided by bending over backwards and was almost at a 90 degrees angle (Kyle would seriously rock it at a limbo party). Drako brought down his leg to smash at Kyle's chest and Kyle blocked it by crossing his hands in front of him and then pushed the leg away.

Straightening up, Kyle rushed over to Drako, and did a running kick on his chest. This essentially meant that his foot landed on Drako's stomach, then the other foot immediately followed to kick above it and he went to kick at the neck with the other foot.

So if one was to look at this move from afar, it would appear as if Kyle was running on Drako's chest.

Drako grabbed Kyle's offending foot at his neck and Kyle used his other foot to kick Drako right under the chin with the heel of his other leg. Kyle made a somersault and landed neatly on his feet.

Drako's head snapped back hard and he stumbled, falling on his back. The back of his head hitting the ground as he fell.

"I wonder what your Master would say if he could see you now," Kyle commented, "Betraying the core teachings of the S Temple."

"SHUT UP" Drako roared as he got up, "My Master is Kazuya. Not this S Temple you keep spouting!"

Although Drako said that, he couldn't help but feel that it was wrong the moment the words came out of his mouth. His head hurt, probably due to Kyle's kick. He doesn't know why, but Kyle's words stung at his heart. What is this S Temple that he keeps talking about?

"Seriously? Drako, come on," Kyle said, his eyes focused on Drako who had gotten up, "Who do you think you're lying to? Your moves are typically S Temple. That closed fist-and-open palm strike. That double-kick. You think I'm blind? You think if you lie about it, you didn't break your oath?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!" Drako shouted, his heart somehow hurting with each word that Kyle said.

Drako reached into his shirt and threw three knives at Kyle, one at a time and in quick succession straight to the heart. Kyle avoided the first, got grazed by the second and the third hit him squarely in the chest.

Drako watched with satisfaction as he saw the knife slide into the body, the force making Kyle fall backwards and onto the ground.

Team Alex, hidden in the bushes, was frozen. It had all happened too fast.