[In a large room, Kurama faces Rose.]
Kurama: [bored disbelief] You’re supposed to be me?
Rose: Amazing what cloning technology can do these days. They made me a better you.
Kurama: And yet you failed to stop the original.
Rose: [glares] Wh-who says I’ve failed?
Kurama: As you can see, I’m still alive.
Rose: I shouldn’t have entrusted that task to another clone.
Kurama: You think you can do better?
Rose: Let us see. Just try and get past me, your move.
[Kurama pulls out a rose. Seeing she won’t move, his rose becomes a whip as he lashes it towards her. Some vines reach out from her wall of bushes to block. Kurama strikes with his whip again. The whip cuts the vines, but more vines intervene. The whip gets tangled in the vines. He pulls it back while Rose springs into the air, brandishing her own rose whip. She swings her whip at Kurama while coming down. He maneuvers his whip to counter hers. Kurama hops back, and Rose lands in front of him. Both continue striking at each other. Kurama runs around Rose as the whips continue to clash. Kurama jumps with a strong down swipe with his whip. Rose dodges. Their whips continue to fly while they are suspended in air. Rose nears Kurama. At the same time, both move their arms across, causing their whips to crash against each other. Both flip backwards from the impact and land skillfully on the ground, then resume fighting.]
* * *
[Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei watch the fight while tied up in the other room.]
Yusuke: So where did Kurama get the girl look-a-like?
Kuwabara: Good question. Even with all the genetic possibilities, finding someone so similar is near impossible, even if she was a long-lost sister.
Yusuke: Could she be a twin?
Hiei: She’s a clone.
Yusuke & Kuwabara: Huh?
Hiei: They both emit the same energy. That is because the girl came from Kurama.
Yusuke: So does that mean there can be other clones? Who I fought before wasn’t the real Kurama, but a clone? And after I took care of him I saw him undamaged because he actually was another one that I hadn’t fought. Right?
Hiei: Most likely.
Yusuke: Well, that makes me feel better.
Kuwabara: Oh, yeah! I knew Kurama wouldn’t have turned on us like that!
* * *
[While the whips continue, Kurama runs towards the wall of bushes, holding up his free arm to clear a path. Rose makes a fist with her free hand. Mouths from the bushes pop out towards Kurama as he nears. He backs up and uses his whip to cut the mouths off of the bushes.]
Kurama: Who created you? Why?
[Rose’s whip hits Kurama’s hand. He lets go of his whip, which turns back into a rose.]
Rose: Why? [smirk] I’d like to know that myself. But in truth, I don’t care about those trivial facts any more.
[Rose pulls a blade of grass from her hair. The blade forms a sword around her arm. She lunges towards Kurama.]
Kurama: Then what is your goal here?
[Kurama likewise pulls out a grass blade that forms into a sword. He holds it to block Rose’s attack.]
Rose: Destruction, and the clock is ticking. You better think of something fast.
[Rose swipes her sword at Kurama. Kurama keeps on dodging or blocking the blows.]
Kurama: Why are you doing this? What do you hope to gain by your actions?
[Rose throws out her free hand, sending rose petals towards Kurama.]
Rose: My reasons are my own. Don’t think you can talk me out of them. I can play mind games, too, if you wish.
[Kurama jumps to the side, avoiding most of the razor sharp petals. He turns and fires seeds towards Rose. Rose pulls out her whip again, blocking each seed. She strolls towards him with the plant wall growing around the room.]
Rose: Such as some interesting facts I’ve heard about. So tell me about this Midori?
[Kurama’s eyes narrow. He spreads his arms to redirect the petals Rose had thrown out. They swarm around her.]
Kurama: [growls]
[Unfazed, Rose flips her whip to destroy the petals. A few cut her skin and clothes before she demolishes all of them.]
Rose: She didn’t come along on this little field trip, too, did she?
[A vine from behind Kurama wraps around his neck. His sword grows back as he cuts the vine from the plant wall.]
Kurama: [smiles] She’s nowhere near your slimy grasp.
[Kurama grabs the loose vine from his neck and swings it into a lasso. He ropes it around Rose, binding her arms to her body.]
Rose: So she’s back on earth, which will soon be destroyed.
[Branches extend from the wall, lacerating the vine that is between Kurama and Rose.]
Kurama: What?
[Rose picks up two of the fallen vines. They grow into whips. She swings both at Kurama. He grows his section and holds it in the middle with both hands to block. Rose twirls her vines at her sides.]
Rose: Haven’t you figured that out yet, genius? You know we are in space. [right vine strikes] You know where all the energy is being stored. [left vine strikes] And you know when the sun hits it at the right angle, that it will magnify and carry a powerful solar beam towards the planet.
[Rose strikes with both whips again. Kurama continues to deflect her attacks. He twirls his vine whip in front of him then swings one side under to trip Rose. She hops as the end nicks her ankle. They continue.]
* * *
Kuwabara: Whoa! Look at them go!
Yusuke: It’s like fighting a mirror. Kurama should just shatter that rip-off copy!
Hiei: He’s trying, but it appears that the clone inherited all of Kurama’s strategies as well as his techniques. She knows his every move before he makes it. Likewise, he knows what she is capable of and how she will react. Neither will expose their weaknesses to attack, and that is why this fight will carry out as a draw.
Yusuke: But hey, don’t video games pull this kind of deal with fighting an equivalent you? So there has to be a chance to beat her.
Kuwabara: Yeah. Wouldn’t this clone be as good as going against A.I.?
Hiei: Obviously we underestimated her once before and were captured. Let’s not make the same mistake again.
* * *
[Rose swings one vine whip towards Kurama’s head. It nicks his ear as he blocks with his vine whip. The other end of his vine whip snaps near Rose’s feet, which she blocks with her second whip.]
Kurama: I see we are equivalent in every way. This is getting us no where.
[Rose brings her vine whips in front of her, alternating as they spin. She steps closer to Kurama.]
Rose: True. But I do have one thing you don’t.
[Kurama uses his vine whip to continually lash at Rose while he backs away from her.]
Kurama: Time…so you plan to keep me here until your plan is complete.
[Rose snaps both of her vine whips at once, and they wrap around Kurama’s vine whip. Both are still. Slowly, they take steps to the side, causing them to circle each other.]
Rose: Oh no, I want to see the end of the world as it is now known. I’ll even let you off the hook so I can go see it…if you are still around.
Kurama: Are you still presuming a plan to overcome me?
Rose: As a matter of fact, the advantage I was afore referring to…I, [eyes spark] am not afraid of transforming into my demon counterpart!
[Rose releases her vines. She stands and transforms into a female version of Yoko Kurama.]
