“Welcome to London, Mr. Krueger…”, another plain-looking man said as he greeted yet another remarkably forgettable human being.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, we’re glad to have you. We’ve been short-staffed for a few months now and we’ve been needing a capable man to get our bureau back into prime order.”

“Indeed…However, I must say that I’m a little bit shocked that security isn’t as tight as I thought it would have been. I haven’t seen more than two guards since leaving New Center.”

“Ah yes, well, that’s part of that short-staffing issue…In any case, why don’t we head inside and discuss this with a roof over our heads. This thunder storm is proving to be quite nasty.”

“Agree-“

Kruguer’s head was nothing more than mist and spatter on the other gentleman’s crisply-pressed suit before he could finish the word “agreed”. All that remained was a lower jaw and a tongue that moved about for a few seconds afterwards, as if to try and finish it’s last spoken thought.

Above, the murderer observed the event through his scope- a habit that often got him in trouble in the past due to quick enemy responses, but he seemed unwilling to break. It was just too interesting to watch the human reaction to such a horrid deed. He did not relish his killings, but the psychological aspect of sniping and tactic always appealed to his nature.

This is why Leon White was the leader of EEL- the Earth Equality League. It was a group of discontent citizens of Earth who were unhappy with the apathetic nature of the New Center Government in regards to the everyday people of the planet. It was a group that was willing to embrace the label “terrorist” if need be.

“That…was too easy.” He said to himself, full of suspicion and doubt.

“So was this.”, a chilling voice familiar to Leon announced, the tip of her sword aimed at the base of his skull.

“That voice…It wouldn’t be Cut-Chan, now would it?”, he smirked as he turned around to greet his old friend. “Ten years, have they gone by so-“

Leon stopped in mid sentence as he noticed his “sibling” was wearing the dreaded haori of the Neo Shinsengumi elite. A certain anger filled his being, as well as unimaginable disappointment.

“Cut…You’re…the Hitokiri Hayasa?”

“…Yes.”

“You…you…How could you? You’ve killed all of those people…You’ve thrown away everything Dr Light wanted of us.”, Leon gritted his teeth in rage, his fists balled up.

“You’re not so innocent yourself, ‘Thunder Sniper’. The people I killed were all enemies of the New Center Government- all people that were causing harm to the haven they’ve created in Antarctica. It is my job to protect the gates of heaven.”

“…Is that it? Is that how you justify it? As a ‘job’? Cut-Chan…You’ve completely lost your way…”

“Enough. I have a job to do here. The only reason I didn’t kill you on the spot was as a favor to an old friend- to give you the rare chance to defend yourself.”, she said, coldly. “And for the record…I am ‘Cutsan’, now- I’ve grown up.”

“Somehow…I doubt that very much, ‘Cutsan’. But…If it’s a challenge you want, I’ll give it to you. The murders of the Hitokiri Hayasa will end here on this hill.”, White promised.

Hayasa merely sheathed her sword as a response

“Battojutsu…So, she means business…”, Leon thought to himself, observing her stance. “If I miss, she’s got me.”

Suddenly, Cutsan erupted from her standing point, a maelstrom of dirt and dust stirred up from her pouncing steps blew towards Leon as he tried to keep track of his deadly foe’s bullet-like movements. He heard the start of the unsheathing motion in the dust storm, a hollow tone of impending doom.

Instinctively, Leon let his legs go out from under him, and he crashed to the ground. Just millimeters from his face, he saw, if only for a fraction of a second, a silvery- blue blur cut it’s way through the dust, creating a vacuum that sucked it all in. A horrifically loud screech followed the swipe, ended in the dust flying away from the tear in the air it had created.

She was even faster than he remembered. Her sonic-fast blades were always quick, but he could barely keep track of her movements now. He began to suspect that he was now totally outclassed.

However, he had the advantage. The biggest drawback of her deadly “sword-drawing art” was that if it missed, she was completely vulnerable, especially from the ground or above. Taking advantage of the opening, Leon shot three rounds from his revolver into the remaining dust cloud, hoping to hear at least one bullet hit something soft. Instead, he heard the first two hit nothing but air, and the third hit something metallic. Then a tiny explosion in the dirt next to him told him she managed to deflect it.

“Dammit…Stop hiding and fight me face to face, ‘Hitokiri’!”

As if to answer, the dust finally cleared away, revealing Hayasa completely untouched, albeit a bit dustier than before. She swiped the air menacingly to clear the rest of the dirt away, then assumed an overhand stance that would mean a straight forward piercing cut was impending.

Leon answered her stance with the motion of drawing back the hammer of his revolver. Three shots left – he had to make them count. She wouldn’t miss this time.

Again, without saying a word or announcing her movement in any way, Cutsan jolted forward, her blade as steady as Leon’s sniper rifle. Leon raised his armed-and-ready Magnum to greet her, but the unpredictable Hitokiri had another surprise waiting. She suddenly switched from a lancing stance as she whirled her blade around to Leon’s right- now she was aiming for a harsh swing towards his neck. With her speed and power, she very well could separate even a Final Generation cyborg’s head from it’s shoulders.

Leon fired off one round during this, which only grazed her white haori. Instinctively, Leon did the only thing he could do to avoid being beheaded.

“Splish- kisshh” was the sound Cutsan’s blade made as it cut into the former Elecman’s false flesh, then was stopped suddenly by a solid LCT bone. Leon had raised his arm up over his neck, sacrificing his revolver-wielding limb to save his own neck, literally. He knew his metallic bones were the only thing capable of stopping her invincible cutting power.

With her blade held fast, Hayasa reach for her wakizashi for a second strike, but was denied by Leon reaching with his free hand to keep the short sword in it’s scabbard. With his gun able to get a clear shot without requiring him to move his arm, and thusly risk his life, the two were deadlocked in a stalemate, each combatant knowing the other too well to take the first risk.

“Seems like the Shinsengumi choose the right person for this job.”, Leon stated, partly mocking the fact that he wasn’t dead yet.

“Don’t get too arrogant. I could have killed you even before you took the shot on our agent.”

“Is that so…?”, pondered Leon aloud.

Off in the distance, the two heard a familiar voice calling out to them, accompanied by three other voices.

“…Iceman?”, Hayasa uttered, recognizing the form in the distance.

“…And the others.”, Leon added. “What are they doing here?”

The group of four approached the tense showdown, not knowing exactly what was going on. They knew Leon would be here, but it took a while for them to realize that the final member of their team was also here.

“Cut-Chan’s here, too! This is great!”, Bombman announced.

Recognizing that the fight was lost, Leon and Hayasa backed away from each other, warily.

“Huh…What are you guys doing here?”, Leon asked bluntly.

“Heh, long story. Let’s just say we’re getting the band back together for a bit. Hey, it’s great that we found you here, Elec, but Cut-Chan being here is also a nice bonus.” Gary informed the pair.

Hayasa said not a word. Instead, she turned sharply and began to walk away.

“Cut? Where are you going?”, Bombman asked.

“…Home.”, was all she replied with as the warm haze of teleportation enveloped her.

“…What the hell was that all about?”, Fireman asked the remaining Leon.

“…Another long story. One you’re not going to like.”, he said in a drab, bitter tone.

“Well, it looks like we had better get out of here. Sounds like cops heard about the news already, so let’s high tail it back to Light Labs.”, Gutsman said.

Leon nodded in agreement, realizing his arm was still bleeding the thick, rust-orange liquid that sent nutrients and energy through his body. It would take more than a Band-Aid to patch this up.

The five brothers, reunited for the first time in a decade, all disappeared in that same white haze as their sister did moments before, though with a different destination.