| abstract | - The Second Fight between Lucy and Bando refers to the altercation taking place immediately after Bando saved Mayu from the vicious Unknown Man's assault. After their first fight, Bando prepared himself diligently for the time he would face Lucy again. Carefully cleaning of the beach to make sure she didn't have anything to throw at him was part of the setup, as well as him stockpiling weapons. Both done with the intention of what he considered an inevitable showdown with the Diclonius Queen. He finally got his wish the very instant he made to leave the Maple House after saving Mayu and Nana. Right in front of him was the woman he'd been pursuing for the past six months. For their part, Kouta, Yuka, and Nyuu had only just arrived, expecting to greet their makeshift family, to not only find a strange man in their door, but that the strange man immediately pulled a gun and shot at Nyuu. The gunshot missed her, save for a graze on her cheek, but the shock was more than enough to awaken Lucy from her six-month slumber. Elsewhere in the house, Nana was startled to sense her presence again. Bando wasted no time and challenged Lucy to a duel, telling her to meet him at the beach where they had their first encounter. Kouta's protesting was solidly silenced by Bando knocking him out with a single punch, but Kouta quickly recovered after he left. Once both combatants arrived at the designated battlefield, they quickly turned towards banter, with Lucy mocking his desire for revenge, claiming his "excitement" could give him a stroke. Bando, for his part, boasted about his plans to kill her, how he had carefully prepared the beach to turn it into the perfect trap for her. Lucy's only reply was to assume what seemed to be a fighting stance, taunting Bando into attacking, which the impulsive ex-soldier promptly did. But what would be his shock to discover that she was also capable of deflecting his specialized .50 tungsten rounds, tailor-made for hunting down Diclonii. Surprised, but not defeated, Bando simply retreated to another plan of his. Ruminating about their first fight, Bando lead her straight into a trap, detonating a flash grenade he had buried under the sand, following with a tear gas grenade he hurled at Lucy, the combo succeeding in blinding her, ensuring she had no way to target him for attack. That didn't stop her from trying though, which resulted in Bando rapidly incapacitating her by shooting her in the leg, although the bullet merely grazed her, it was enough to knock her to the ground in pain. Now with the clear advantage, Bando gloated about his imminent victory, and how now he had ten minutes to slowly torture the life out of her. Lucy's reply was to lash out with her vectors, trying to form a protective shield to keep Bando away. This in turn made Bando change his plans, and instead opted to finish her off right there and then. Before he could land the finishing blow, though, the Unknown Man stepped in; the first of many interruptions of their duel, protesting and raving about the future of "the new mankind", which would be compromised if Lucy dies. Even more surprising, the vicious predator was now seeking to protect the incapacitated Lucy, offering to be Lucy's eyes. One can't be sure if Lucy was aware at this point who the Unknown Man was, his ties to Kakuzawa and the Lebensborn Project or, most importantly, the horrific actions this man had committed against several of the Silpelits and even attempted to with Mayu. What we do know is that Lucy's reply to his offer to help was met with her ripping his head off and promptly using it as a projectile against a shocked Bando's face. Taken off-guard, Bando could do nothing as Lucy turned the tides effectively against him, mocking the way how, despite all his planning, he missed a seemingly obvious detail: With the flash grenade, Lucy was already forced to shut her eyes, which meant that when he threw the tear gas, she was not completely affected by it, a serious oversight she could not help but lampshade as she prepared to land the finishing blow on him. But his life would be saved in the most ironic way possible, as the fight was once again interrupted by none other than Nana, who quickly knocked Lucy down by throwing a heavy weight right at her face. upon remarking how strange was that Lucy would lower her defense, she stated her intent to finish things off once and for all, as she had promised her Papa six months earlier... Bando, however, was not in the mood to get help, and scoffed at any attempts of Nana to try and assist him, gloating that his only interest is to kill Lucy, and even that the only reason he joined the SAT was to be able to legally kill people. His cruel words obtained the desired effect, and Nana eventually just stepped down of the fight, stating she may have misjudged him. Bando further added he had a secret weapon, which Nana couldn't help but find "plainly unfair." Turning his attention back to Lucy, Bando threw himself into a seemingly blind charge against his opponent, an apparently foolish action Lucy was quick to mock him for. But it was then that Bando managed to turn the tables on her in a most impressive manner, by skilfully dodging Lucy's vectors, much to the shock of those who witnessed such a feat. Lucy in particular, was thrown off by the sudden revelation, enabling Bando to come close enough to safely shoot her in the face at nearly point blank range. Lucy was barely able to react by dismantling the gun, but that only made Bando pull off his aforementioned "secret weapon": The modified crossbow he stole from the Unknown Man in their previous fight. Caught off-guard twice in a row, Lucy was unable to dodge the spiked, poised ball that shot straight to her mid-section, bringing her to the ground in agony as the toxins began acting through her wound, rendering her seemingly unable to use her vectors. Now sure of his victory, Bando stood tall over the defenseless Lucy, ready to deliver the killing blow. However, once again, he was to be interrupted, this time by none other than Mayu herself. The girl had been in deep denial since the fight with Nana, refusing to connect the vicious Lucy with the Nyuu she came to see as family. And so, all she could do was plead with Bando not to kill her. Irate, Bando demanded she back away, lest he shot her, as well. Mayu, however, was undeterred, insisting that she knew Bando was not a bad person deep down. The ex-SAT angrily denied her pleas, bellowing the same old boast that the only reason he joined the SAT was to kill people without consequences, and further threatening her life. His harsh words, however, were to be cut short by havng is last flesh arm amputated from him, by none other than Lucy herself. According to her, the spiked balls were not painful enough to nullify her vectors. Seeng Bando dismembered, however, caused Mayu to remember, back during her last days of homelessness, having witnessed the fight between Nana and Lucy, and the brutal results of it. No longer able to deny the truth anymore, Mayu confronted Lucy, seeking to know who she truly was. In turn, Lucy smiled, walking up to her with sad, mournful smile, pondering out loud if she was simply unable to achieve happiness regardless of her struggles. As she said this, though, her vectors slowly made their way to Mayu, her intent seemingly clear, and no plea from Nana seemed to deter her. It can be argued if Lucy was indeed attempting to kill Mayu, or if it was mostly a clever feint to throw Bando off-guard. But as far as anyone was concerned, the end seemed certain for Mayu. And as the commotion ended, the one lying on the ground bisected was none other than Bando, who threw himself in between Mayu and the deadly attack, losing his lower half for his troubles, although not before he aimed his gun for one last-ditch attempt at taking Lucy down. His "desperation move" failed, although it succeeded at making Lucy retreat, even reverting into Nyu. Finally, as Bando laid dying, he was comforted by a tearful Mayu, who confessed her feelings for him and, in a further effort to comfort him, was willing to lie to him about having actually killed Lucy. in the end, Bando realized, after a life filled with violence, isolated from everyone, that all he wanted was ultimately have someone who will, at the very least, mourn him once he died. This battle is the final turning point for Bando, both in the terms of his skills as a combatant, and as a character in of itself; for it is here where we see all his preparations and development come to its fruition. Bando is defined by two defining relationships: His obsessive lust for revenge against Lucy, and the bond (whether platonic or romantic, at least on his end, is left entirely up to the viewer) he grows to form with the young Mayu. Both of these became defining to his character, as through both of them, he grew in different ways. With Lucy, his rage and hatred at the way she humiliated him plunged him to dedicate himself almost exclusively to find a way to finally kill her, calculating every minuscule detail of his battle with her, something that, for the most part, worked splendidly for him. This battle was, indeed, his culminating point as a warrior. Having grown from the brash sadist out for blood, to a coldly calculating strategist, not merely improvising on the spot, but carefully planning ahead. With Mayu, on the other hand, he showed a different facet of himself. One he had tried to suppress all that time. In the end, the one who wanted better things overrode the killer inside, and it would not be the last time readers would see this play out.
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