The kid nearly came out of his shorts, frantically running along the corners of the ring as if he were fighting a whirlpool. His unease and panic did nothing but make the crowd roar as Shadow loomed in the center ring, carefully taking his steps toward him, measuring him up with a deadly grin under his masked face. I bit my lip hard. Jinx didn't understand the situation, but I wasn't about to let this kid get killed for entertainment.
I pushed my way through the crowd slowly, making sure that no one pushed back hard enough to knock my hood off and reveal who I was before I got to the center of the ring. Shadow was nearly at the kid now, each step echoing through the underground and through my nerves.
"Mix!" I heard Jinx call out, but I wasn't turning around yet.
"Please..." I heard Grimm Reaper weep to Shadow, falling upon deaf ears. Before I could get to the front, a deafening thwack caught everyone's attention--
Shadow had hit the kid straight in his nose, and he was leaking bad.
He fell to the ground in tears, clutching his nose in a fetal position, but Shadow didn't let him off easy. The audience looked on eagerly, hungrily as he picked up the Grimm Reaper and beat him against the ring, punching him from any angle. Side, face, neck, chin, hip, temple. My body tingled.
I had to move.
I was pushing now, shoving people out the way with every screeching cry this kid let out. He sounded like Luca. It haunted my ears.
The Grimm Reaper fell unconscious from shock, splayed out lifelessly on the ground, and still Shadow raised his glove. Money flew in the air around him. His eyes continued to pierce the air, determined to beat this kid until someone stepped up to him.
Finally, I launched myself up on the ring, my weighted gloves wrapped tightly around my hands. I let my adrenaline take over.
I could see red, everything blacked out around me. Targeting Shadow's face, I felt my body move on it's own, like a mama bear instinctively runs to protect her cub. This kid meant nothing to me, so why did I need to protect him? Why should I care if Shadow does something to him?
I flashed back into reality, to me panting... standing still with my fists at my side. The crowd stopped chanting, for some reason. I blinked a couple times, trying to grasp what was going on. The Grimm Reaper still laid in front of me, unconscious, but where was Shadow?
"So," I heard to the left. I jerked to the familiar, eerily menacing voice. Shadow's face leaned to the right of me, and it took me two seconds before I realized I punched him.
"You want to be brave?" He asked, rubbing his jaw with his boxing glove. He teetered slightly, balancing himself again to face me. I could hear the crowd sway before the announcer came behind me.
"Excuse me," he stated, clasping my shoulder, "this is the match for Shadow at Grimm Reaper, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the match is over.."
"I'm not going to sit in that stupid ass crowd and watch this kid get killed! Fuck outta here!"
"You taking his place?" Shadow taunted, snickering as he spit in the bucket on the corner.
"If I fucking have to, I will." In the corner of my eye, jinx was making his way to the front of the crowd with my gloves. I tightened my fist. My nerves were making my fingers twitch. "I'd rather fight you than the opponent I was matched with anyway."
"You're a fighter..?" Shadow's mouth curled in the corner at me. "Who... are you?"
"OKAY CROWD" the announcer cut in, "ARE YOU READY FOR ROUND 2?!!?" They roared in approval. I knelt down, picking up the Grimm Reaper and holding him at my knees. He blinked cautiously, his face riddled with pigments of black and blue with specks of red.
"Th-thank you..." He mumbled. I nodded. "I... just wanted to help... my gramma... cancer..."
"It's okay, you're in good hands." I cut in. Jinx was at the front now, and I gave him the teen in exchange for my gloves. "Take care of him while I take care of Shadow's ass."
He roared in laughter behind me.
"Take care of me? Bitch you're funny," he hollered, shaking his head.
"PLACE YOUR BETS FOR THE SECOND ROUND, SHADOOWWW AGAINST..." the announcer leaned in, his microphone pointed towards my lips, shining as it reflected the light that beamed on us. My eyes fixated on Shadow's grin. "Who are you again, challenger?"
I snapped my gloves onto my wrist and slapped them together.
"Red Bull."