I creaked the door to the theater open, as slowly and cautiously as I could. 

The projector was playing a black-and-white test pattern, its cone of light grainy and unfocused, catching dust particles in the air. The lights in the aisles were on but dim, not fully lit, like when movie trailers are playing. 

Erin patted me on the back.

“When we find him, you're talking to him.”

I began to protest, biting the inside of my lip in the process, causing a small shudder of pain to ripple across my mouth. 

“Are you kidding? You run a whole company! You're way smarter than I am!”

“I'm not a good negotiator. I leave that kinda stuff to my subordinates.”

I looked helplessly to Felix. 

“I cannot speak English. Choosing me would not be wise.” 

I grumbled an obscenity and scanned the rows of plush seating. 

A tuft of black hair poked out in the very center of the room, and I carefully approached. 

I was greeted by a hulking mass of a man. His muscles bulged under his suit, his triceps and calves massive, like the legs of a horse. He was nowhere near as big as the African man we saw earlier, but his bulk was impressive. I estimated his height to be about six feet, meaning he towered over me. 

He wore a suit with what looked like a long-sleeve button-up underneath, the black suit jacket tightly fastened, completely hiding the shirt underneath. The only visible part of the undershirt was a blood-red collar, which was popped. If he had a tie at some point, it had been tossed aside a long time ago.

His knuckles were adorned with all manner of rings. He looked like he had about ten on each hand, all shapes, sizes, and widths in a wide spread of luxurious colors, from stark platinum to shining gold to deep silver. Similar to Erin, his arms and neck were covered in a tattoo sleeve, albeit his ink was thinner and more worn, almost invisible from a distance. A black flame pattern cascaded down his skin. 

His face was ruddy and flushed. He had obviously been drinking. If his features didn't give it away, the bottle filled with a caramel liquid that was clasped in his left hand did. 

His eyes were predatory and wild. He was wearing some sort of colored contacts that tinted his naturally brown eyes the tiniest bit crimson. His face was clean-shaven and stuck in a perpetual grin, gold grills shining. True to Felix's description, his teeth were sharp and hungry, just like a shark's. His night-black hair looked like he attempted to slick it back, but unsuccessfully, as patches of hair flicked out wildly, creating sharp, spiky curtain bangs that framed his face, whereas the rest of his hair stuck out in little patches all along his scalp and down his nape. 

He reclined lazily in his seat, a pretty woman with a pixie cut and blue dress completely asleep on his right shoulder. Another woman lay splayed on his left shoulder, stroking his pecs with her long, slender fingers, blonde locks flowing down her shoulders and spilling onto his. 

I waved awkwardly. 

“Hi. I'm Aurum. What's your name?”

“None of you soldier-looking fellows have introduced yourselves. I'm Kishibe Arasaka. Pleased to meet you. I'm 35, and from Okinawa. When I'm not collecting dues from clients, I enjoy playing pool, drinking at the bar, and going to the club to meet pretty women.”

I scratched the back of my head, unsure how to respond.

“Great! I uh… your English is pretty good.”

“Thanks! Before swearing up with the yakuza, I went to an international school where both Japanese and English were taught simultaneously. I have a bit of an accent, but it's hardly there, yeah?” 

He clicked his tongue, shuffling both women off his body. Disappointed, they both shuffled off into the darkness at the back of the theater. 

“It's great to meet someone so agreeable. A shame I'll have to smash your skull in.”

“Wait, what? I'm not one-”

I just barely managed to jump back as his fist struck the floor, sending ripples into the soles of my feet. The scary gangster also had to be freakishly strong too. Great. 

His meaty palms gripped my shirt, casually tossing me into the air. I crashed into the seats, the chairs toppling like dominoes as I landed on top of them, my limbs a jumble between the fallen furniture. 

Scrambling out of the pile, I steeled myself as Kishibe came at me like a rushing bull.

Redirecting his charge, I gave him a strong push, and in his drunken stupor, he collided with the wall.

I kicked off the closest seat, launching myself into the air. I drove my knee into his jaw. He cursed, falling to his knees, clutching his face. 

I looked around, hoping for support. Clover hid in a cluster of chairs, almost invisible underneath the ocean of brown fabric. Felix rummaged through his supplies, probably looking for something non-lethal. Erin was nowhere to be found.

I was on my own. But I could deal. 

Kishibe's stance was relaxed and cool, his hands open at his sides, knees bent and spaced slightly apart. His strength was carrying the fight. He didn't know any form of martial arts, but that was fine. If he could chuck me around, he could win.

I instinctively went for a shin kick, but was forced to pull back as a massive overhead punch threatened to take my face off. I caught the fist, pushing it back to its sender and forcing him to stagger back. 

He was badly drunk. I needed to take advantage of that.

Kishibe wiped blood off his mouth, hiccuping. Lazily, he pulled two pipes from his pockets, both in an interesting L-shape. 

I squinted, confused, ready to block any oncoming blows. 

“Do you know what these are?”

“No. But they’re made out of metal, and you’re probably gonna try and hit me with them.”

“The first thing I did when I escaped was go into the boiler room. I tore these off the walls, and from then on, I have never been more in my element. These are tonfa, little man.”

He swung them around in fast circles, forming a circular saw shape in the air.

“My birthplace of Okinawa was once the Ryukyu Kingdom. Home to the strongest warriors on earth. Karate, Kobudo, Nunchaku, the Sai… All invented there. Including my weapon of choice, the tonfa. We stood unparalleled against the world until we were absorbed into the mainland’s government, leading to the end of our way of life.”

Kishibe sprinted directly towards my defensive stance, waving the improvised tonfa in deadly, blunt arcs. 

I grabbed his wrists, forcing him to stop the weapons from moving. I strained against his strength, grunting as beads of sweat ran down my forehead. 

“But the Ryukyu Warriors live on. You’re looking at one of ‘em.”

The pipe came down over my head just as I loosened my grip, the metal just barely missing my skull. I shifted into an axe kick, knocking his head back, forcing him to lower his weapons. The massive man laughed, gurgling on his own blood. 

I needed to disarm him somehow. 

I placed my hand on the wall aisle. Leaping forward, I ran across a row of seats, carefully balancing on top of each one as I went. Kishibe charged after me, swinging his tonfa wildly, toppling each seat as he pressed forward.

I leapfrogged onto his head, wrapping my thighs around his neck, knocking him to the floor as I leapt off his writhing form. As he scrambled to get up, Kishibe attempted another rush, throwing a chain of heavily wound-up, slow punches. I threw two side kicks onto either of his hands, forcing him to drop the weapons.

Heaving, Kishibe collapsed into a sitting position, grimacing. As he rose to his feet, he charged forward into a tackle, stealing the air from my lungs. 

“HIS HEAD! AURUM, HIT HIS HEAD!”

Clover poked around the corner of a seat, her legs still partially stuck underneath the chair. She squirmed and thrashed, trying to get free.

I palmed the side of Kishibe’s cheek, slamming him into the wall. He released me from his grip and collapsed onto his back, unable to move. 

With a squeak and a pop, Clover was free, and she rushed to my side. 

“Sorry I couldn’t provide support, Aurum. I got stuck.”

Kishibe’s eyes lit up as he saw Clover, fascination and endearment overtaking his battle-hardened features just as the electricity pulsing around her body faded. 

His expression rapidly changed to a jovial grin, springing to his feet, peering shyly at her small, slightly trembling form. 

“A kid! None of those soldier guys would bring one into this place.  I guess you’re in charge of watching her. You can’t be one of them then. That was some pretty impressive fighting. And that electricity thingy? Pretty cool. You seem like a good guy. Let’s talk.”

Felix and Erin approached me from behind. I sighed, exhausted. 

“Sure. Gimme a minute to catch my breath.”