I wheezed as I wiped away the sweat that was dripping along the side of my face, before tightening my high ponytail.
After the whole meeting, I left immediately and rushed home to change into a sports attire and went out for a run. Karma said nothing nor asked what I was doing, probably didn’t give a sh*t about me.
Running was the only thing that could ease my mind, as the muscle pain and fatigue could distract my other thoughts and focus on the main thought.
‘Tokyo Manji Gang’
It was said that it all started around this time…
If I could find them, maybe I could stop that traumatic experience from happening again.
Then I wouldn’t have to live through that pain again.
My thoughts were distracted by deep screams and cheers from what sounded like people in arenas.
Looking down from the sidewalk, I saw hordes of men around my age, positioned themselves in the stairs. Some were cheering from their seats and others were standing and yelling bets to one another.
Just right below them stood two men—one who looked petite and the other who looked like your typical gangster.
‘Is a fight gonna happen?’ I stopped walking, placing my hood to shield my face before resting my hands on my hoodies’ pockets.
A guy with blonde hair, who was a few steps below me, caught my eyes. In the corner of my eyes, I could see him clenching and unclenching his fist and looked hesitant.
As the cheerings began to sound louder, he screamed.
“WAIIITTT!!!”
The crowd became silent and all heads were now focused on this young blondie.
With my eye still on him, he made his way towards them, acting all brave and bored but in fact he was trembling and you could see it as he gripped his hands behind his back preventing them from shaking.
“We’ll ain’t it boring to watch the same type of match every single time?”
“Don’t you want to see something new?” He said as he made towards the center of the crowd, to the guy with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
If this were a gang, that man would probably be the leader.
As he continued to speak, I could hear the fear and hesitancy mixed with his masked bravery. Hiding his fear with a smile, he declared a fight with that black haired man.
And compared to him, he looks like a shrimp against someone who looks like a gorilla.
A fool indeed. He stands no chance against the big guy.
I watch as he takes each blow, not allowing himself to fall down. Standing tall, he welcomes each blow and grunts as blood begins to pour out of his nose.
How boring.
What’s more boring was the fact that all the b;lack-haired guy’s moves were sloppy and easy to read.
“A punch in the ribs,” I muttered. And he did.
“Another punch in the face.” He did.
“And on the side of his temple.” I sighed in disappointment as all my predictions were correct and each blow landed exactly where I pictured it.
I’m just wasting my time here. I should get going.
Just then, a movement caught my eye, more like something in his pockets did.
I make no mistakes when it comes to identifying object silhouettes and I am certain that what’s inside is a weapon.
The red hair guy made his way towards the bottom, while eyeing one man in particular in pure hatred.
I scratched my head in annoyance and closed my eyes, debating whether I should stop him or not.
I looked back at him again and he was in the front row. His eyes were glaring at the guy with black hair and he clenched the weapon in his pockets.
‘At this rate, he’s really gonna kill him.’
Out of impulse, I moved. Keeping my face hidden under my hood, I slowly made my way towards the front row. The delinquents screamed in my ears, making me flinch slightly but I continued to walk quietly towards him.
Everyone around us was screaming for this man called Kiyomasa to kill the blonde shrimpy.
The red-haired guy took out the weapon in his pockets and opened his pocket knife. He clenched the handle and glared dangerously at Kiyomasa.
Coming from his left side, I walked and stood in front of him, with my back facing him.
I pulled the hood lower to my eyes and faced him. He looked confused and irritated, maybe because I block his view or rather his target.
I leaned against his and whispered just loud enough for im to hear and low enough for my voice to drown with the screams.
“I don’t know what your history is with the blonde shorty temo,” I held his hand that had the pocket knife.
“Killing is never the answer,” I pulled back slowly and he looked at me with a terrified look on his face, knowing he got caught.
His hands were trembling under my touch and his eyes and lips were quivering with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
I looked at the pocket knife in his hand. “Let go before you make a mistake you're never gonna forget.”
Slowly, he opened his hand and the knife slid into my palms. I smiled in relief and looked at him, making eye contact with him.
“Good job.” He looked at me in shock and a light tint colored his cheeks. I nodded and closed the knife, ready to head out.
Just then, I felt someone bumped into me and soon after, a ring started to buzz on my head. A ring that is similar to a bomb once it has exploded.
“AHH-” I covered my ears and closed my eyes. The pocket knife that was in my hand flew who knows where, leaving me to deal with the ringing.
“Are you ok?” The red-haired guy held me by the arms and kept me from falling.
I opened my eyes and nodded. The ringing subsided but my vision was fuzzy and I felt nauseous from the aftereffect dizziness. I patted the red-haired stranger, telling him that I was good and he let go of my arms awkwardly.
“I’m alright. Thank you for your help,” I nodded and began looking for the pocket knife that flew out of my hands.
I glanced at the ground around us, beside us and even in the arena but it was nowhere to be found.
I began to panic. From how I swiftly covered my ears and the pressure I used, It should not have flown more than a few feet away from me.
It should have flown around…
I froze.
I looked at the blonde shrimpy—from his pockets to how his hands were positioned— he didn’t have it. He was clutching his stomach in pain with his back turned from KIyosama.
On the other hand, the crowds continued to scream for him to kill the shrimpy. He grinned and slowly reached for his pockets and took out the pocket knife that I took from the red-haired guy.
“KILL HIM, KIYOMASA!”
“KILL HIM, KIYOMASA!”
“TAKAMECHI, LOOK OUT!!!”
Kiyomasa launched himself to the shrimpy, with the pocket knife opened in his hand. He grinned and laughed maniacally with the cigarette falling from his mouth.
“I GOT YOU KNOW TAKAMECHI!” Takamechi turned his face to him, frozen in shock and fear. His eyes widened as he saw the shiny weapon held by the other male.
Before the knife could come in contact with Takamechi, I rushed in between them.
The cheers of excitement and fear was now replaced with shock faces and speechless expressions as I held and twisted his arm. The knife fell from his hand and he knelt down, groaning from the pain.
“Attacking someone who is weaker than you with a knife,” I grinned and twisted his arm tighter.
His scream filled the arena and I smirked.
“What a coward.”