I sat in the briefing room along with a handful of other Numbers. Lieutenant Ryder had called a small meeting; for what reason, we had no idea. We were all green operatives: most of us had just graduated from Makarov Academy the previous month. Having spent the last three years together, it was easy to understand that we were sick of each other's presence, so the four of us sat on opposite ends of the formation of chairs.

  The door flew open, and all of us snapped to attention as the Lieutenant entered the room. She took up residence at the small podium just to the left of the presentation screen. After a long minute of awkward silence, she had us return to our seats.

  "Good morning, operatives," she began. "You have been gathered here to receive your partner assignments. Once I am finished calling numbers, move yourself next to your partner and wait to be called again. Number 21, you will be assigned with Number 48."

  Angelica Grey stood up once her number was uttered, and a tall, muscular guy stood up right after. The latter moved to the former because she refused to budge. The Lieutenant had continued calling numbers while everyone else had gotten up to move. Finally, I heard my own.

  "Number 19, you will be assigned with Number 26."

  I stood up and looked around for my new partner. He stood up almost immediately. His blonde, naturally-kept hair caught my eye as well as his attire. In those days, we were allowed to dress in whatever manner allowed us to most effectively use our abilities. He moved his head around until his blue eyes met mine, and he gave a big smile revealing his shark-like teeth.

  I hardly had a chance to move before he made a beeline towards me and took a seat next to me. Neither of us said a word, but I studied him out of the corner of my eye. He wore torn, acid-washed jeans with a black belt, a black sport coat, and a somewhat baggy grey shirt. His wrists were adorned in studded leather armlets while his neck bore a silver necklace.

  "You got something to say?" He asked as he leaned forward, his head cocked and eyes staring into my soul. His smile remained unchanged.

  His accent was difficult to pin, but it was clear that he was from a rough part of wherever he was from.

  "At least make small talk if you're gonna stare." His smile seemed almost offputting, and I knew it would take a lot of getting used to for the two of us to work together.

  "Now," the Lieutenant continued. "These will be your partners for the duration. We will not go so far as to make you live together, but almost every waking moment will be spent with your partner from now on."

  The room stood to attention as she left. While some of the others tried to mingle with their new partners, there were those that immediately walked out. Number 29, formerly Komamura Aiko, was one of the latter. As the background murmurs grew, Number 26 turned to me and held out his hand.

  "I look forward to working with you, partner. I hope we'll end up getting along. I feel like we can be best friends." His smile lodged itself into my memory from that first interaction.

  * * * * *

  Number 26 stepped into the ring, and the crowd's cheers grew. He threw up his hands and cracked his unforgettable smile. The metal bat in his hand dangled as his arms were fully extended outward to bask in the glory of the applause. He turned back to Meiji, pointed the metal bat at him, then dropped his jacket to his waist.

  Why is his torso wrapped? Did he recently have a fight?

  "Without further adieu, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer spoke up. "Let the beatdown begin!"

  In an instant, Noir was over Meiji with his bat pulled back in preparation for a brutal swing. I had always known that he was aggressive when necessary, but the speed and power that he held gave me reason to worry. Somehow, Meiji outmaneuvered the swing and ran as fast as he could across the arena. Noir looked back over his shoulder like a cat that had just found a new toy to chase.

  Noir proceeded to chase Meiji around the arena just like that: a cat chasing a mouse trapped in a small box. I started to see that he was enjoying himself with the chase — the giveaway was his unmistakable "I'm not taking this seriously" laughter. With each miss, Meiji squealed and squirmed further away, but he also grew more tired since his adrenaline was likely running out. The crowd's patience began to wear thin.

  "Come on! Finish him already!"

  "I'm not paying for a chase; I'm paying for a fight!"

  "Give us what we came for, Double Take!"

  As the crowd began to withdraw their favor, Noir clearly decided to start taking the "fight" seriously. He stopped in the middle and slumped over slightly. His body convulsed for a split second, and a second Noir violently split off. The first spared some of the tape wrapping his stomach as well as the jacket that he had previously wrapped around his waist. The clone came out already wearing the items.

  Even during our fight with the Red Star, he had only just learned how to clone himself fully clothed. Seeing him at this stage is interesting.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The two Noirs fist bumped each other, and the original handed off the bat. With a nod, they understood their objectives. They took off and started cornering Meiji. He was pinned down between the two of them, and the beatdown began. One would throw a jab, the other a cross. An uppercut from one, a hook from another. A knee from the first, a double hammer fist from the second. Once Meiji was on the ground, the two of them took turns kicking and stomping him.

  "That's more like it!"

  "That'll teach him to try to scam us!"

  "What are you waiting for? Finish him off!"

  The original Noir picked up the bat that the clone had tossed to the side once the double-teaming had begun. He dragged in on the ground while the clone ensured that Meiji could not get up. Once he was almost on top of him, he raised it above his head ready to bring it down in a thunderous crash.

  Time to save his ass, I guess.

  Everything stopped as Noir reached the peak of his range of motion. My footsteps seemed to echo throughout the complex as I walked towards the arenas. The door to the cage was unlocked, but the announcer stood behind it to ensure that Meiji was unable to flee. I slipped by him and into the cage. I moved over to my target and tossed him on my shoulder. As the two of us neared the door, my head began pounding, and my ability wavered.

  What the hell?!

  The death chanting of the crowd fell silent when the bat crashed into nothing. Only then did everyone notice me. The two Noirs stood dumbfounded by what had just taken place. The announcer again guarded the gate.

  "He's not going anywhere," he declared.

  "What if I fight for him?" I squinted. "He's worth nothing to me dead."

  "P-please, let me go," Meiji sniveled.

  "Hey hey hey!" Noir called out. "What's the big idea?!"

  "This guy wants to fight you too, champ!" a voice called out from the crowd.

  "Two bodies in a single day? Fine by me." He smirked.

  "Fine," the announcer grunted. "Toss that scumbag out of the cage; we'll have someone watch him. What's your name, kid?"

  "Here's a pair of cuffs for him, and I don't really have one..."

  "Lame," he muttered. "Ladies and gentlemen, a new challenger approaches!"

  "Let's get to it, then!" Noir smiled completely. "I've gotta see more of that power of yours!"

  The two of them rushed me at once, but since I had trained with Noir for years before The Purge, I was very well prepared. Unlike two separate people trying to attack simultaneously, Noir's attacks were all perfectly coordinated since they shared a single mind. The bat came from my top left while a sweeping kick came from the bottom left. Without even needing to freeze or slow time, I spun out of the way dodging both attacks.

  The top attack took much longer to recover from a miss, but the lower attacker used his momentum to continue into a rolling kick, simple enough to deflect. The second came from behind with an overhead swing. I had to slow time to dodge it completely and I gave him a good push with my foot once I had. The two of them continued for a couple of meters before regaining their control and balance.

  You won't win. I know all your tricks, and you're even weaker than when we started training together last time.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm speechless!" The announcer rang out. "The contender, no, The Defier, is dodging all of Double Take's attacks like they're moving in slow motion!"

  "Heh." Noir's smile became more determined. "This is getting fun."

  The three of us continued to dance for what seemed like forever. It had been so long since I had been in a fight where my life was not on the line. The two of them clearly became more and more frustrated with each failed attack as did the crowd. I knew that I would have to finish the fight quickly if I wanted any hope of a speedy escape. I froze time completely and began my offensive.

  Noir's clones varied in toughness. He could make a clone of anyone provided he had a certain amount of blood, usually about 5mL; however, the more blood that was used to make a clone, the tougher it could be in comparison to the original. This naturally came with the drawback that he could either not make many tough clones or have to wait a considerable amount of time between each self-cloning.

  Non-lethal means were the fastest ways to deal with him previously. If the clone was rendered unconscious, it would fall apart. Although we had trained with disabling Noir himself with mixed results, I never gave much thought to what would happen to a clone after the original died. Before my mind could wander to carrying his body in the rain, I refocused my attention. My first action was to hit the back of the clone's neck a couple of solid times to ensure that outcome.

  Weird, his neck seems skinnier than I remember. Maybe he's not eating well enough.

  My next course of action would be to disarm the original and deck his nose a couple of times to give myself enough of a chance to get him into an arm bar or something similar and force a tap out. As tough as he was, after losing a certain amount of blood, even he would fold. I closed in and locked eyes before punching his nose.

  He's really not eating well: his face is much more slender than it should be.

  I took a step back, and time resumed. The clone crumbled and fell apart. At the same time, the metal bat clanged on the ground outside the arena, and Noir recoiled in pain. I closed the distance and took him down. Within seconds, he was in an arm bar. After another few seconds, he tapped out in an effort to save his arm.

  The shocked crowd slowly processed what happened as the cage door flew open. The announcer quickly rushed the two of us. In between his huffing, he stood us up at a dizzying speed, and spotlights rained down from above.

  "The winner is The Defier!" The announcer held up my hand as the crowd went wild.

  I'll admit, if it wasn't for needing to take Eclipse down, this could be a pretty easy life. Adoring fans, constant work, steady cashflow...

  "Seeing as how the undefeated champion can't go by that title anymore," he continued. "All those wanting to take over Double Take's contract will have to contact her agency directly within two business days."

  Excuse me. What? Her?

  CHA-CLICK

  What the hell?!

  I looked down to see that my left hand had been handcuffed, the other end of the pair was already locked onto Noir. I looked up in disbelief, and I was met with a pair of blue eyes and a big, genuine smile full of sharp teeth; it was the exact same as his smile, the one that I could never forget.