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"Yo, Yellow Jacket."

Yellow Jacket shifts his eyes over to the newbie sitting across from him. His cocky smile outrageously contrasts with the cold feeling in the fighter's lounge. He doesn't bother with an answer, knowing that the newbie would continue with or without his attention.

"I heard you got a match today, someone new and rising to popularity fast," he takes a swig of his beer before continuing, "Sounds like a rough time."

"Piss off." Yellow Jack takes his blade from the center table, a short dagger that peaks like a mountain, and brings it up to eye level. He looks at himself through the steel, his frustration clear in his frown.

"This kid walks in for a few fights and suddenly I'm the one getting kicked?" Yellow Jacket stands up from his chair and puts the blade in its sheath at his hip. The other fighters around the table continue to joke around at his expense.

"You may as well just throw away that name now, huh Yuukida? Not like you'll be using it."

"I said, 'piss off!'" Yellow Jacket quickly puts his blade inches away from the one who made the comment, a strange veteran fighter wearing a heavy metal helmet with his baggy cloak and cape. The veteran didn't even flinch at the threat and continues talking.

"You knew it was going to happen eventually. Don't take it out on us just because the organization decided it would be sooner rather than later." Yellow Jacket eventually lowers his dagger, letting go some breath he isn't aware he was holding and his eyes relax into their usual mild annoyance, "You had a good run, Yuuki. You're the first person to reach as far as you have as fast as you did. Leave with some dignity intact."

With a final huff, Yuukida sheaths his dagger again and storms out of the lounge, slamming the door behind him. He walks briskly to his room, slams that door too, and throws his sheathed dagger across the room.

"The nerve! I work for them for five years and this is how they repay me? They kick me out as soon as the girls swoon over some rocker punk?!" He takes his anger out on an innocent pillow on his sofa bed. Despite the muffled impact, the force was still enough to rattle the items on his nightstand, sending something over the edge and on the floor. The resulting cracking sound immediately catches his attention and he looks down at the defeated décor. A picture frame is face-down on the floor, the cracking sound being the protective glass breaking from the impact. He gingerly picks up the frame and sits down as the smiling faces of three young boys look back at him.

***

"Hey, Sothe!" Yuuki looked over at his friend with a glint in his eye, "I'm bored and need to exercise. How about a friendly match?"

Sothe rolled his eyes, shaking his head but not turning down the invitation, "Alright, but it won't turn out any differently than the other twenty times," he said with obvious tease. They hop off their respective piles of rubble and walk a few feet to a more open area.

"Really, guys?" Tatsuya sighed exasperatedly from his perch at the top of the rubble, "Why is fighting always the thing you resort to for boredom?"

"We're not asking you to join." Sothe yelled back at him."

"I don't want to join."

"And that's why we're not asking you."

Tatsuya grievously shook his head. A familiar tone rang from his pants pocket and he quickly checked his phone. After putting it away, he hopped down from his spot, "I gotta go. Come by anytime you guys are done beating each other's brains out."

"We'll try not to track too much mud!" Sothe finished his final tease with a wave. He turned back to his opponent and slips off his red jacket, "Ready?"

"Always."

Sothe's first move is quick. His arm moved in a blur, picking out two throwing stars from his pouch and spinning them through the air in one quick motion. The stars approach Yuuki faster than he expected, but he isn't unprepared. The stars halt in the air just before making contact.

A bubble of electricity circuited around Yuuki, protecting him from the damage he would have sustained. Yuuki smirked back at Sothe with pride.

"Woah, when did you learn that?"

"I developed it recently. It's weak, but it gets the job done with moves like yours."

"You're asking for it now, buddy!"

Sothe took off running towards Yuuki, his steps dull as they barely have enough time to touch the ground before being pulled back up. Yuuki saw his chance and focuses the current of his electricity. The throwing stars are released from his grasp and thrown back at the speeding rogue. Sothe gasped as he tries to stop, skidding along the ground. He realizes that he'll still get hit and improvises.

He let his feet kick themselves, tripping him up and sending him into the air. He barely flipped over his own stars, a strand of his hair falling from getting sliced off. He took his arm around and grabbed one of the stars and kept his arm wrapped around him, preparing for another throwing attempt. The moment Sothe landed, he's faced with more danger.

"Lightning Stinger!" Yuuki shouted out the name of his attack and pointed his finger at Sothe, aiming to guide his electricity to his opponent. His arm acted as a vacuum for the bubble still around him and wrapped the current around his arm and to the tip of his finger. Just as the energy is about to release, it explodes, knocking him on his back and leaving him a little scorched.

Just to add insult to injury, a rubber throwing star made contact with his forehead.
Yuuki's about to growl when he see's Sothe's hand held out to him. With a sigh and a smile, Yuuki took the hand and is helped back up.

"C'mon, let's head over to Tatsuya's, we promised to track mud into his house." Sothe said with a smile.

"Sounds like a blast. Let's go."

"Cool. Lastonetheredoesn'tgetfrozenyogurt!"

Sothe dashed off before Yuuki is given enough time to understand him properly. Recognizing it as another challenge, Yuuki dashed after him.

"You cheater! You got a head start!"

***

"I wonder how they're doing?" Yuuki catches himself before speaking further, shaking his head to empty his thoughts, "It doesn't matter. I can't go back yet," he stands the picture up on the nightstand again and heads to his closet. He pulls out and puts on his fighting costume. The shirt and pants are black, skin tight clothes made of comfortable, stretchy cloth for free movement with yellow lines at the seems. A bulky, yellow belt with several pouches wraps around his waist--items aren't allowed, but his contractor said it looked cool anyway--a black and yellow cape with a yellow jacket bee hangs from his back and a black hat with a skull and crossbones adorns his head. The tight, lightly plated gloves slips uncomfortably on his arm, but allows just enough room for him to twist and move his wrist around freely. His standard black fighting shoes cover his feet and his hair falls loosely behind his head, coming to below his shoulders. He grabs his dagger and sheath and attaches it to his belt. He'll have to pack up later, but for now he was ready for the match.

He walks out of his room and down a long staircase to the exit and the bright sunny morning. The sun is warm, reminding him that it's the first day of spring today. The fighter's arena is just down the stone path from the apartment buildings provided by the World Championship organization for its fighters. He can already hear the fans screaming from the arena despite the lack of even an MC on the stage. He sighs and continues on to the back entrance of the arena where a man in a black suit, shades and earpiece, a member of the organization, is waiting. He holds a small, paper-clipped stack of papers and hands it to Yuuki.

"Here's your script. Just rough him up a bit, get the fans pumped, then take the fall. Been nice having you around, Yellow Jacket," he says with a snide smile.

Yuuki hardly acknowledges the suited man, grabbing the script, pretending to flip through it, then dumping it in the trash the first opportunity he could. He knows how to do his job. He continues walking towards the large entryway to the arena, not bothering to wait for his queue.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for yet another exciting match here at the World Championships!" the MC, wearing the same uniform as the guard, yells enthusiastically into his microphone on the grass surrounding the stone arena, "This time around, we have our returning competitor, the kid who took everyone by storm, Yellow Jacket!"

Yuuki had already taken his spot at his side of the arena before the MC had announced his name, his arms and face cross. His opponent is still waiting behind in the shadows of the entryway for his queue, like every fighter should. The MC either doesn't notice or doesn't care about Yuuki's behavior and continues his announcing.

"And facing him is another young fighter, coming from as far as Meta City, the newest rising star in the Championships, The Molt!"

Yuuki raises an eyebrow at the name and follows his opponent's walk across the arena with his eyes, sizing him up. He's dressed like a hard jazz player, wearing a leather jacket and pants, a black fedora with two red and orange feathers on one side, and a large acoustic guitar slung over his back. He takes his place across Yuuki, hands in his jacket pockets and a smile on his face. Yuuki growls at the sight.

"Let the match begin!"

Yuuki's first step goes unnoticed by the crowd at first. In the span of a second, the air around him stretched and quickly shot backward, like a bow's string relaxing after releasing an arrow, and caused ripples in the air. In what took literally a moment, Yuuki is standing directly behind The Molt with his dagger pressed against his neck. The audience is immediately invested, gasping at how quick their newest favorite was put in the most extreme danger.

Yuuki knows killing wasn't allowed in the World Championships and he isn't about to be labeled a murderer just to spite his ex-employer. The blade-to-the-throat threat just made good therapy in these times.

The Molt began chuckling, not having flinched an inch at Yuuki's first move, "Really?" he asks, "You start off with a threat in a title match? There are much better ways to invest your audience than that."

Yuuki gasps as The Molt, another one, is standing in the middle of the arena, guitar and pick in hand, "Fighting and dancing are fairly similar to each other. They both need rhythm to really get things started, and a one-note measure like yours doesn't make for very good rhythm."

He raises his pick hand high in the air and strums a hard note. It fills the air as if it were plugged into an amplifier and the shockwave hits the doppelganger in front of Yuuki. The clone starts to lose form, waving with the vibrations of the guitar strum and erupting in a blast forceful enough to send Yuuki to the floor. Yuuki bounces back up quickly and returns to his fighting stance.

"However, my one-two measure does the job much better and can you hear that crowd?"
Yuuki's ears finally stop ringing from the attack only to be filled with the roars and applause of the audience around him. The noise only fuels his frustration as he charges for another attack. He aims to put his dagger in The Molt's arm, but his opponent knows better. A mere shift of his arm puts the dagger against the guitar. The instrument doesn't budge, the wood doesn't even chip. Yuuki doesn't give up, though. He goes for a sweep kick, missing just like he thought he would. The Molt jumped into the air to avoid the hit, giving Yuuki the opening he needed to make his real move.

Yuuki pushes down on the guitar, the strap and his unexpected strength forcing a surprised The Molt to the ground for just a moment. Yuuki uses the guitar to step into the air and flip over him, kicking him in the back of the head on the way down. The Molt skids along the ground before recovering and landing back on his feet. He prepares his guitar once again but freezes as Yuuki comes back into view.

Electricity is visibly coursing around Yuuki, his dagger pointing directly at him. Just another second later and the tip of his dagger is glowing with pure energy.

"Lightning Stinger!"

A strong bolt of electricity shoots at The Molt, who is unable to react quick enough to guard or dodge. He takes the full effect of the attack as the electricity covers his entire body before exploding around him. The attack leaves his body burned in several places, but proves he's alive and moving by standing right back up, guitar and pick once again at the ready.

"I see it's time to get serious now."

The first chord The Molt plays immediately takes effect on Yuuki. A disastrous series of notes disrupts his senses, blurring his vision and making his body feel numb. He barely sees the blurry shape of The Molt running at him, guitar in both hands, and swing it hard against his head with a loud *THONG* and once again landing him on the ground.

He stays there, unmoving. His senses were slowly returning after the sound of the notes left his head, first the new mark that was just given to him, then the rest of his injuries. His hearing came back as well, the roaring crowd cheering like the match was already over.

"Is it over just like that, folks?" he can hear the MC ask, "Has our Yellow Jacket finally been stung back?"

He takes quick, sharp breaths, trying to regain as much energy as he can before he's considered defeated. He's about to get up when he sees a hand next to him. He looks to see that it's connected to The Molt, giving him a face he can't quite place.

"You're holding back," he says to Yuuki.

"I have to. It's in the script."

"What do you care? This is your last match either way, let's go all out. I have to go back home after this anyway, so I don't care if I win or lose this match. Deal?"

Yuuki doesn't take the hand immediately. He looks cautiously at it, thinking over what might happen if he did. Either way, they're both leaving the World Championships. A no-strings-attached, all-out brawl? The thought made him grin from ear to ear. He grabs the hand and is helped back up to stand in front of the booing crowd. They'd grown antsy with the lack of action to entertain them. The MC had made his way over to them, his anger clear in his shades-covered eyes.

"What are you two doing? Get back to the action!"

"Don't worry, MC," The Molt assures with his usual smile, "We're getting back to it right away. By the way, you may want to keep at a distance," he pulls his hat up after it fell over his face, "it's about to get rough in here."

Yuuki and The Molt walk back to their positions at the beginning of the match, Yuuki taking off his cape so it wouldn't be in the way. The crowd is still booing around them, but they pay no mind. Nothing matters but what is inside the arena's borders. They focus on each other, trying to anticipate the other's starting move. At the end of an imaginary countdown, they both launch at each other, weapons ready. They swing at each other and sparks begin to fly from between them. They separate and Yuuki goes for a roundhouse kick, only to be caught by The Molt. Yuuki grins as a jolt of electricity on his show zaps The Molt's hand, causing him to let go and let down his guard. Yuuki sent a swift punch to his gut and ends his combo.

The punch was strong enough to force The Molt back a few feet, but not enough to stun. He comes back with another swing with his guitar that Yuuki successfully blocks. The Molt then takes his pick and strums all the strings with Yuuki still connected to it. The erupting waves return the favor and blast him back. He hops back up and leaps back forward, continuing the flurry of attacks between the two.

The fight went to go back and forth, trading blows like two battleships firing their canons at each other. Their actions became faster and harsher, pressure building between them until the audience only saw a series of blurs. Yuuki slashes with his dagger, but The Molt dodges, plants his guitar on the ground and uses for leverage to lunge a kick back. Yuuki lets it brush against his empty hand and tries again with his dagger. The blade barely nicks The Molt, but it leaves Yuuki open and he swiftly kicks his head, but Yuuki jumps right back up and delivers an electric-powered punch.

Several minutes of this went by with neither of them letting up. The crowd is back to cheering louder than before, though their excitement only falls dull in their ears. This isn't about pleasing the crowd anymore, this is about them walking out of the arena with their heads held high.

The Molt eventually gets the two of them separated and far enough away to use his music. He strums a heavy metal chord and his whole body glows a bright silver. Yuuki doesn't give him another chance and lunges for another attack at his arm. His dagger makes contact with the bare skin, but it doesn't pierce through. A high-pitched *TING* sounds instead and The Molt grins. He starts playing a commanding rock chord through Yuuki's desperate attempts to stop him, punching him with everything he has. His skin feels like steel to Yuuki and his body doesn't budge no matter how much force he uses. At the end of the chord The Molt's body flashes red and his skin becomes flesh again. Yuuki throws another stab only to be knocked upwards with a powerful uppercut.

The blow feels like it might have shattered Yuuki's jaw. His whole head rings with pain as his body reaches the peak of its arc in the air. The Molt jumps up from the ground and slams him back down to the arena with his guitar. The impact cracks the stone under him, effectively stunning Yuuki for a while. The Molt lands in front of him and his body flashs a much duller red, noting the end of the power boost.

Yuuki stumbles to a standing position, panting hard and blood dripping a bit from his mouth. He can't help but grin widely, though. He's having the time of his life. His head thumps hard, breaking his focus. He needs to stall, just for a bit.

"That's a nice instrument you have," he says through his pain, "You know, I used to play the trumpet back in school. Maybe you can teach me those tricks of yours?"

The Molt smiles back, "Only if you win."

He jumps forward for another swing. Yuuki grins. Just long enough.

A dome of electricity erupts from Yuuki's body just as The Molt comes face-to-face with him. His body is stuck and taking volts from all directions. He tries to move, tries swinging his guitar, to use any force he can to break the caster's concentration, but to no avail. After a few seconds of extreme volts the dome erupts in a blast of energy, sending The Molt in the air. He still can't move with the static of the electricity numbing him. He's helpless and falling back to earth.

Yuuki concentrates his electricity solely on his right leg, aiming to increase the power of his next attack as much as possible. The stone under his foot cracks and dents as the pressure builds up. The Molt's body gets closer, and so is his window. Yuuki makes a small jump in the air and kicks his knee upwards. The Molt lands right on it as the knee was still coming up, hitting his stomach like a boulder. He coughed up blood and flopped to the ground, winded and hurting.

"What's this? After a huge upset it looks like The Molt has been stung for good!" the MC yells with his usual excitement before turning to Yuuki and turning off his mic, "Hey, kid! What's the big idea? That should be you on the floor! What do you think you're doing?"

Yuuki turns and gives him that look, the look he'd been wearing the entire match. The look of pure joy of finally finding exactly what he wanted. The MC's confused for a moment, then snaps to angry when Yuuki says, "Fighting, what else?" he helps The Molt up so that they can talk properly, "You look like you just lost a fight with a wrecking ball. You up for another round?"

The Molt smirks back, "If we keep going like this we'll kill each other. Our song's just about ended, anyway. What say we each get one last attack, eh? Everything we've got, winner take all."

"Sounds good to me, Molt."

"It's The Molt. Please remember it."

They both get some ground between them, standing near the edge of the arena. The crowd watches in quiet, even the MC, waiting for what will happen. The Molt brings his guitar and pick in his hands and prepares to start his last song. The sky darkens with thick black clouds over the arena, lightning coursing through it like water snakes. The Molt's song is the first thing to be heard. It quickly turns into a full ballad that brings a sense of power and determination to those who hear it, a last stand. The music comes to life out of the guitar in the form of orange measures, notes and lines. It collects about two feet in front of him into a ball, slowly growing bigger and brighter with each new measure he plays.

On the other side, Yuuki concentrates hard to collect the electricity he needs for his last attack. Everything in his body, the static around him, and the lightning waiting to strike from the clouds above. Just as he's about ready, the clouds send a single, strong bolt of lightning right to the tip of Yuuki's raised dagger, filling him with more energy than he was prepared to deal with and stiffening his whole body. It wouldn't matter though. In the next few seconds, it'll all be one attack. He forces his arm to move, bringing it down so that his dagger is pointed squarely at The Molt.

The Molt's ballad begins its rising climax, the orange ball in front of him growing as big as it can get. The ballad's climax makes the ball of collected energy glow at its brightest, ready to launch the attack. Yuuki's own electricity is gathering at the very tip of his dagger, making a ball of energy as bright and huge as The Molt's. The song filling the air reaches its descending climax, the two balls of energy humming now. Before the final note, The Molt lifts his pick high in the air, waits a couple seconds as his notes echo as far as they can, and finally brings it down for the final strum. The ball of energy releases, shooting out a beam of orange energy surrounded by a double helix of musical lines and notes. Yuuki's electricity shoots its own beam with a double helix of thick electricity surrounding it.

The two beams collide in the middle of the stage. The entire arena and stands is attacked by the sound of The Molt's final strum, the force of Yuuki's electricity, the blasts of wind from the two of them colliding, and the adrenaline that fuels the two fighters. If the thick black clouds hanging over them weren't there, the two beams would have been bright enough to eclipse the sun and cast everything in the same white light as it is now.

Finally, the fighters' energies are depleted and they can't handle their attacks anymore. The beams lose stability, wobbling but still joined together. Eventually the beams explode in the middle, sending enough force to push the MC to the wall and the crowd to the backs of their seats, almost lifting some of the lighter ones up and out.

The light dims and the wind dies, leaving a thick cloud of dust covering the arena. The MC and crowd are dead silent for several minutes, watching the clouds slowly dissipate little by little. The arena is barely visible now and the people in the front row are the first to gasp. The murmurs spread to the crowd and is soon buzzing with quiet conversation. The dust finally settles completely and the wrecked stage is visible for all to see. The explosion left a large crater in the center, almost completely cutting it in half. What's most shocking, though, is what's not there.

The fighters.

A few seconds later some more people in the front rows point towards the edges of the arena. The MC goes to take a look on one side, then the other. He stammers a bit as he tries to collect his words before shouting the verdict that everyone already knew.
"It's a tie! Both Yellow Jacket and The Molt are out cold and out of bounds! What an incredible match folks!" he then turns of his mic and speaks into his earpiece, "Call an ambulance and the president. He won't believe this."

The sound of two heart monitors are the only sounds in the room. The curtains, walls and bed sheets are all white, as well as the hospital gown Yuukida finds himself wearing. He groggily attempts to sit up, only for a splitting headache to push him back down.

"Hey, you're up," The Molt says next to him. Yuukida only manages a groan sounding a bit like "Where are we?" in response, "The hospital. It seems we gave each other quite the beating; we'd both passed out. I asked the nurse earlier who won and she told me it was a tie, that we'd rung each other out of the ring and unconscious by the time the dust settled and they couldn't determine a winner."

"Were you serious before?" Yuuki asks once he gets his speech back, "Are you really going back to Meta City after you've just started getting popular in the World Championships?"

"I have to. I'm a police officer there, but crime was starting to become a problem. Nothing my team couldn't handle on their own, but it was rising nonetheless. I thought if I made a name of myself in the World Championships the criminals would be too scared to try anything knowing I would be there to stop them. I know the fights are fake, but I seem to be in the minority on that.

"I got a call from them the day before the match saying that the problem had increased much faster than I thought it would. It's almost too much for my team to handle without me, so I have to get back home ASAP. I still got some popularity, though, and I'm sure the news has reached home by now about how we just wrecked the arena in our fight. Once the criminals know I'm back I'm sure it'll all calm down."

He looks over at Yuuki with a curious smile, "So, what's your story? What are you going to do now that you're out of the WCS?"

Yuuki's frowned at that question. He let his eyes wander, trying to find something that would give him an idea, "I don't know. I left home because I wasn't strong enough. I'm still not strong enough. I can't go back until I'm ready. I was going to quit the WCS once I reached the top and proved myself, but you can see how that went."

The Molt shared his sadness, the emotion contagious as it ruined his usually good mood. He decided on a subject change.

"My name's James. I don't like my last name, so I'd prefer not to tell you."

Yuuki's spirits lifted a little at that, "Yuukida Nari, but Yuuki's fine."

"Well, Yuuki, if you want you can always help me at home. We could sure use you on the force for a while, teach those criminals a lesson once and for all."

"I'll think about it," said Yuukida with a genuine smile."

They sit in quiet for a long thirty seconds before James can't take it anymore. He turns on the radio between and and waits as it buzzes to life. It;s an interview with Stanly Ernings, one of the richest men in the world.

"So, Mr. Ernings--"

"Stanly is fine," the multi-billionaire says with a charming voice.

"S-Stanly," the reporter sounds like her legs can't support her anymore, "you said you had something important to share with the world."

"Yes, I do," he clears his throat, "Citizens of our humble Earth, I, Stanly Ernings, cordially invite all fighters, young and old, weak and strong, to my very special manor in Torchwood up high north. There, I will be holding my own tournament to see who is the strongest fighter in the world. The prize for your trouble is one million in cash and the title of the strongest fighter in the world. The only condition is that you must make it there by March 20th before midnight with a group of five. I hope to see many participants at that time!"

"We got a challenge on our hands, folks! Be in Torchwood in exactly one year from yesterday to participate in what could be the hottest event of the year! This is Cathrine Lamara, signing off!" The feed cuts off and starts to play some music that neither of them cared to listen to. They turn it off and see each other with huge grins on their faces.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Yuuki says with a gleam in his eyes.

"A way to settle our tie. And with a year to practice, it won't be a stale replay of our last song and dance," James looks over at Yuuki with a bit of concern, "Where do you plan on getting your other four?"

"I know one person who would love to join me," Yuuki says with a hesitant sigh, "It'll be weird to see him after so long, but I don't have a doubt that he'd say yes. We can go from there."

The nurse decides to then walk in on them, clipboard in hand and the clacking of her high heels making her presence more than obvious. She flips through two books sitting next to each other, writes something down, switches to her clipboard to write something else down, then finally speaks to the two of them.

"I don't know how you fighters can wake up and function after the beating you took yesterday, but both of your recoveries were rather quick. If you both promise to keep your activities to low stress levels, I can release you both. Deal?"

They grinned at her and nodded their heads, "Deal!"

She scribbled some more on her clipboards, tore them their leave papers, and brought them their patched up outfits. They quickly dressed and left the hospital as quickly as they could, reaching the front door and stopping at an unexpected sight.

The boss, the head of the WCS, Leonard Baggs, was standing outside the hospital with a huge grin on his face upon seeing them. He swings his arms over them like they're best pals.

"Yellow Jacket, Molt--"

"The Molt."

"--Whatever, my boys! Have I got great news for you! That fight yesterday was aa hit with the fans! They've never seen anything like it! They demand you two to show up more. YJ, don't worry about leaving the WCS, you're going to continue all the way to the top, guaranteed! And you too, Molty boy, you two will face off again for the title of Champion several months from now. You'll make a fortune! You'll--"

"We quit."

The response came in stereo, making the answer even harder for the boss to swallow, "What do you mean you quit? You're going to be rich and famous!"

"Doesn't make a difference if the fights are bogus anyway," James slips himself form under the boss's arm and walks away, Yuuki following shortly.

"But, you can't just walk away! What about the fans?"

"I feel even worse for them," Yuuki shoots back, "They come in expecting quality entertainment and you give them plays with a bit of violence? I've seen street brawls more appealing than the garbage performances I had to give."

They both continue walking away from Leonard, deciding it best not to acknowledge him anymore. His cries of anger and empty threats eventually fade out and they finally end up at the train station after packing up their things from the WCS apartments.

James looks over Yuuki with a skeptical eye, "Isn't it a little warm to be wearing flannel?"

Yuuki nods his head, "I'm burning up right now, but it brings back memories. I can't remember the last time I've worn my favorite pattern," he takes another look at his black and red checkered jacket and seeing images of his childhood play in the black squares. He looks over James in return, pushing up his glasses, "What about you? You're dressed awfully casual for a police officer."

"When you wear that tight uniform all day, I deserve any casual moment I can get," He double checks the time on the hanging clock and the time on his ticket and sighs solemnly, "My train's about to leave. Don't shirk your training this next year."

"Same goes for you. I don't want to be hearing the same old tune over and over again."

The two split ways without another word. The intercom above them announces the nearing departure of their trains. The crowds of people leaving the town after the fight do nothing to drown the silence that grows between the two competitors. A year of silence to prepare for their tiebreaker. Yuukida couldn't ask for anything better.