An otherwise simple bank heist hinged on one man: Isamu Takahiro. One of his high school classmates, Clyde B., turned to a life of crime shortly after graduation. He'd been a fighter in Isamu's fight club and stayed in touch off and on for the past decade. While Isamu grew into a much better fighter, Clyde B. became something of an expert thief. He'd escaped right under the noses of authorities and made grand escapes with massive hauls. There was just one bank he hadn't been able to best yet, one final safe to crack. The problem? A big bodyguard with ki training.

Apparently, last time Clyde B. tried to hit this bank, the behemoth literally obliterated the getaway car and sent most of his crew to the ER. Clyde B. was lucky to even make it out with his life, especially with his reputation. This time, after months of preparation, Clyde B. was ready for revenge. Aside from a better plan and a crew more suited for the heist, this time they somehow managed to convince Isamu. Clyde B. saw how formidable Isamu could be up close and personal, so he knew he needed such a force on his side. Following a few rounds of messages between the two, Isamu agreed to go along with their plan.

The stage was set and everything seemed ready to go.

Isamu wasn't impressed by the crew Clyde B. brought to the table on game day. He had a shred of respect for Clyde B., since he had a proven track record, but the rest of his team was shoddy. They all seemed like amateurs, and since Clyde B.'s usual team had blundered the last heist, they probably were amateurs. Unlike Clyde B. and himself, they were starry-eyed and jovial about committing a serious crime. So once they pulled up outside the bank, Isamu had changed his own game plan.

The getaway driver rolled to a stop. He turned to Clyde B. and explained, "Camera EMP going live now. Once it's up, they'll be down for 15 minutes. If Kaizen (Isamu's codename) can take care of BG in five minutes as he says, then we'll have about 10 minutes to ransack the joint."

Clyde B. turned around to look at Isamu and their fourth member, where he continued, "Hear that? Fifteen minutes tops, maybe less depending on what Kaizen can pull off." He took a second to let that marinate before adding, "This is our last shot at this safe, by the way. They're enhancing defenses sometime next week and we're short on funds. Let's give it everything we got!"

His crewmates cheered, but Isamu just kept his composure. He nodded in agreement, then reached for the door handle. Once the driver gave him the all-clear, Isamu pulled on his balaclava and made his way to the back door. He picked the lock, just like he'd practiced, and disarmed the local security system with the code Clyde B. had given him. Once he was sure the defenses were down, he made his way to the basement, where the large safe awaited. Standing guard in front of it was the infamous 'BG', a tank of a man who looked even more intimidating in person than he had in the CCTV footage.

A few minutes later, Isamu spoke into his walkie talkie, "Good to go." He waited for the others two sneak into the bank with their bags and drills at the ready. Once they turned the corner to break into the giant safe, a giant forearm leveled one of the crewmates. The getaway driver tried to pull his gun, but BG kicked him in the chest and sent him flying through a wall on the other side of the room. Clyde B. scrambled around in a panic, throwing various objects at the behemoth in an effort to avoid one of his ki-powered attacks.

Clyde B. did a good job moving around until he tripped over someone's foot. He looked up to see Isamu, unmasked, sitting on a desk carelessly. He squinted his eyes and asked, "What's going on, Kaizen? I thought you were going to deal with him!"

Isamu ran a hand through his hair as he grumbled back in a defeated tone, "He won rock-paper-scissors. A deal's a deal."

"What?!" Clyde B. gasped. He tried to get back to his feet to continue running, but it was too late. BG had caught him. Isamu averted his eyes from Clyde B., who received an absolute pummelling from the security guard. Once the onslaught stopped, Isamu rose to his feet and slipped his hands in his pockets. The scene looked rough, seeing three men strewn around like ragdolls.

BG texted something into his phone, likely to his superiors, then he looked over at Isamu to ask, "Anybody else?"

"Nope," He admitted. "That's all of 'em."

"So... what now?" BG asked. "You just gonna go home and act like this didn't happen?"

Isamu locked eyes with the guard, but he did not give an outright answer. For a second, neither said anything, but both understood. Teaming up with the criminals was never his true plan. Isamu had other goals in mind.

Without saying another word, the two immediately started grappling, both of their powers surging as they tried to gain the upper hand. Isamu lost in the height and weight department, but his overall power exceeded that of BG. The security guard tried to send a knee up to Isamu's gut, but the pink-haired fighter moved his arm to catch the attack. With his shift in weight, BG slammed Isamu onto the tile floor, which cracked under the strength of the attack.

Before BG could follow up with another attack, Isamu fired a ki blast at the ceiling, causing it to collapse on the two combatants. In the confusion, Isamu scrambled to the edge of the room to avoid being crushed, then he unleashed a volley of blasts at the pile of rubble before him. Even if he didn't hit the target directly, he knew he'd still do a good deal of damage to the man underneath.

To his surprise, a surge of energy washed over the rubble, until the pieces exploded every which way. Isamu held his arms up to shield his face from the incoming debris, but his eyes widened at the man standing in the center of the room. With his security guard uniform in tatters and various cuts and scrapes around his body, BG seemed to be pushing his power to its very limit. He had a blue aura radiating off of him, which glistened in Isamu's excited eyes. Over the sound of surging energy, he cheered, "This is why I teamed up with those idiots! To get a taste of a real man!"

Despite the circumstances, the guard seemed a little put off by the comment. He tilted his head and questioned, "...Huh?"

It didn't matter! Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, Isamu started to let his power surge, too. An aura of purple energy engulfed him, sporadically surging and kicking up winds in the bank's basement. Face-to-face with a real opponent, Isamu felt empowered. He had to put on his best face, otherwise, he'd make a fool of himself. Once both men had hit the peak of their power, which dwarfed that of the regular criminals they'd been dealing with earlier, they re-engaged.

Instead of grappling, this time they traded blows up close. Neither fighter gave up any ground. If Isamu got a good hit on BG, BG would respond back with an equally good hit. On the other end, whenever BG managed to come up with a big block or a quick dodge, Isamu avoided getting hit, too. Just like that, they'd engaged in a stalemate.

Through each hit and swing, Isamu cheered, "Clyde B. made the right choice in picking me to be your first worthy opponent. I doubt you've ever experienced a battle as thrilling as this!" He received a big punch across the nose, which dazed the pink-haired man for a moment, but he quickly sent an elbow up that connected with BG's chin to counter. "Only one of us can walk away. So, I challenge you to another set of rock-paper-scissors!"

While he spoke, a maniacal smile grew across Isamu's face. As expected, BG did not agree to his silly terms, but Isamu didn't care. He began interweaving the hand signs for roshambo into their fight. He tried to slam the side of a closed fist on one of BG's temples, but the security guard caught the attack. He blocked a few hits, then threw a chop at BG. It missed the target, leaving Isamu open for a quick two-piece on his right shoulder. A third punch came his way, but he managed to block it with the back of his hand, which he used to throw up a peace sign.

Finally, the two clashed one last time before both leaping back a few feet, so that they were both on opposite sides of the crumbling bank. Both fighters breathed heavily, but Isamu held a flat hand in front of him and boasted, "Roshambo - Paper!" With his other hand, he chopped down on his palm, then he swiped at the air. A wave of energy surged across and through the wreckage until it collided with his opponent. BG tried to catch it, but the power overwhelmed him and sent him flying into a wall, unconscious.

Isamu breathed heavily as he let his power subside. Various cuts and tears lined his jacket, his knuckles were bloodied, and his face looked like it'd been run over a few times, but he came out victorious over a formidable foe. On his way out, using the same staircase which he'd come in with, he nodded toward BG's lifeless body, "Good run out there."

WC: 1,645