San opened his eyes to the familiar hollowed corridor he had visited so many times before. This dream, his recurring dream of a shadowed path with whispering voices and a blinding light that led to his mom.
He stood still in the center of the hallway, waiting for his body to be ushered towards the small glowing beacon in the distance, but nothing happened.
He stared as the light beckoned him, inviting him to come closer but he stayed frozen in his spot.
The silence pressed against his ears heavily as he listened for the usual faint murmur of his mother's voice.
"Hello?" He pleaded. His voice echoed around, reverberating in the quiet space.
Something wasn't right. It was as if someone pressed pause in his mind and everything became motionless except for him.
"San?" A voice called out from the light.
The usual restraints that captivated his limbs were no longer holding him in place and he stepped towards the familiar voice. He walked over the cold floor timidly, not being used to having control over his body here.
His slow pace turned into a brisk stride as the voice called to him again. "Who's there?"
The light expanded, illuminating his path and a silhouette in the door frame.
San broke into a run, attempting to stop the shadow as the door began to close. He stuck out his hand, grabbing at her until another shaded outline stepped into view making him halt.
The door closed with a heavy thud as he stood, blinking at where the two had just been. He reached for the handle and slowly turned it, letting the light pour in again.
The creaking sound of the hinges opening revealed that they were gone...
+
"Are you ready to do this?" Seunghyun asked.
San looked up at his dad and nodded his head, there was no more time to decide. His fight with Kino was finally here and he wasn't going to back down, not with so many sets of watching eyes.
The roaring crowd in the grungy confines of H3 rattled its foundation as they cheered and spectated the ongoing competition. San was slated to fight Kino in a later bracket but the fights passed quickly and he was now next up to face his opponent in the Pit.
"Dad, I actually wanted to talk about something I saw in my dream last night, I-," San began.
"We'll talk about that later, right now I need you here. Remember everything we did in training, don't lose focus. If you feel like you're gonna black out..."
"Just think of me," Wooyoung said, finishing Seunghyun's sentence.
San smiled, turning to him and took his hand, "I will."
The piercing howl of the crowd signaled the end of another fight and San took a deep breath, feeling the oxygen stretch his lungs.
"I guess that means I'm up."
He wrapped his arms around the elder and buried his face in his shirt, squeezing tight. When he let go he gave a final glance to both of them before turning towards the door that led from the back rooms and into the main floor.
A heavy sense of unease filled his stomach as he walked away. Although the sky had been brooding above him in shades of ash for the past two days, the rain hadn't fallen. However, the stampeding roll of thunder that picked up in the last hour meant it was coming, the storm was finally here.
Huddled bodies over-filled the cramped warehouse. They pressed closely to one another, every person eager to witness the brutal and unrelenting chaos that was taking place on the floor.
As San walked through, the onlookers parted one by one creating waves through the sea of people as they made room.
The air was stale enough to feel against his skin and whispers were heard as the audience was silenced by the cold atmosphere that was now filling the room. Rumors had no doubt been spread of their history and now the entire underground league would watch it come to an end.
Kino stood in the center shifting from one foot to the other. The fair skin on his exposed chest was illuminated under the light, revealing the outlines of his muscles. His icy blue hair seemed just as cold as his stare when their eyes met, however San wasn't intimidated.
The Pit was no longer his realm and he could feel that, but it was going to take a lot to bring him down.
The crowd closed around them, filling in the path he had just made onto the floor and there was no longer any room to escape.
A quick glance around showed unfamiliar faces waiting on the sidelines, the owners of H3 perched on the podium looking over the crowd, and his dad and Wooyoung making their way to get front row seats.
It was time.
The loud clanging of a high toned bell signaled the start of their fight and the silence was chased away by excited whistles and cheers.
Kino and San slowly circled each other cautiously, waiting.
Focus, just stay focused, Seunghyun's voice echoed in his head, Don't give him an opening.
San lowered his gaze, looking through his furrowed eyebrows ready to strike.
"They aren't wrong you know, the things they say about you down here. You truly are the angel of darkness and someone to be feared. I've seen it happen..."
"Then you should know they aren't going to stop me if I lose control. There's no one here to save you and you have every right to be afraid." San replied bitterly.
"I'm not the one that's scared. You see..." he released a sinister chuckle, "I have no fears."
He lunged at San with a bounding leap, bringing his knee up and into his stomach forcing the air from his lungs in a sharp exhale. The fight had finally begun.
He shook his head, pushing the pain that was now in his abdomen to the back of his mind and grabbed a hold of Kino's neck with both arms as he came down from the move.
Cradling his lightning blue locks close to his body, he squeezed his forearms as they were placed around the sides of his neck.
There was no where for Kino to go as he held him tightly, the crown of his head pressed firmly against his chest. San shifted the weight of his body to his front left leg and brought his right leg further back behind him.
When his balance was stable enough, he stretched his back leg behind him as far as it could go and hurled his knee upwards harshly connecting it with Kino's face twice.
His hands came up quickly to block San's knee that was rearing back for another blow. Shaking palms met with his leg and Kino used his hands to grab a hold of it, locking it in his clutches.
With his leg now held hostage, San's stance was compromised. He began to hop on his right foot to keep himself steady, wiggling to release his left from Kino.
The jumping motion only further complicated their hold on each other and they began to fall to the ground, like a tree collapsing in the forest.
The floor shuddered at the impact and they rolled away from each other, collecting their bearings.
The sound of the riotous crowd seemed like murmurs to San as his heavy breathing was drowning out the yells.
Blood trickled from Kino's nose from San's striking knee and the sight made him smirk.
Flashes of his practice with Jongho and his dad invaded his mind. He couldn't let him get a chance to hold onto him like that again so he needed to find a way to keep him at a distance. They stood again and circled the edge of the crowd.
Kino's eyes followed San as he looked over to Wooyoung. A distressed look captivated his features and San gave a small smile to show he was okay.
"He looks a lot better than he did the last time he left here," Kino called out. "Glad to know his face healed a lot better than my fists did."
The flaming heat of anger crept through San's veins at the remark, raising the temperature of his blood and blurring his vision.
"I didn't take you as the type to need a bodyguard," he spoke again.
Don't let him get to you, his conscious thoughts feebly warned.
"You must be scared that you're going to lose just like your dad, that's why you're talking so much," San provoked.
The other growled and burst into a sprint towards the other, quickly closing the distance. He spun around upon his approach, using the momentum to power a kick that brought the back of his leg to the side of San's head.
The force was only met with both of his forearms though as he held them up to block it. They came face to face and San used the proximity to land a hard uppercut to his chin.
Kino stumbled, losing his balance and falling to the floor. San jumped on top of him, straddling his torso.
With his fists balled tightly, he punched him successively in the chest, face and ribs.
Once his arms were blocking the strikes, San stopped and climbed off to stand over him. A hard kick was delivered to Kino's stomach and the crowd gave a collective groan at the sight.
Before he could kick again, the wincing boy on the ground swept his legs in an arch, knocking him off of his feet and back down to the ground.
San's head hit the ground and the lights that were shining above him started to make circles around the ceiling.
A blurry powdered blue figure shuffled over, kneeling next to his body as he lay on the ground. Pain erupted from his nose and behind his lids from Kino's hammering fist.
"San! You have to get up," he heard the faint voice of his dad over the shouting voices.
The yellow lights above shifted, growing darker in tone and he brought his hands up to protect himself.
Color drained from the room, draping the pit in a bloody hue. Shadowed figures replaced the throngs of bodies around and the screams became muffled.
The red vision was coming back, engulfing his control in destructive flames.
"Use your anchor," a small whisper pleaded.
My anchor....
I can't. I'm losing control. I won't win, dad..
What do I do?
Use your anchor, the whisper repeated. Focus
My anchor? It's Woo.
Wooyoung....
The rusted metal rafters in the foundation of the warehouse slowly crept into perspective at the sound of the name. The burning lights that were colored a crimson red began to pale and return to the dingy yellow tone glowing down on the room.
The sweat soaked lightning strands of Kino's hair obscured his vision as he hunched over him. He had his arms now locked around his neck in a tight choke hold.
San's focus returned and he realized he was gasping for air. In a panic, he brought his elbow up to strike forcefully into the top of Kino's head repeatedly.
His grip loosened and he rolled to the side limply.
San clambered to his feet and looked down at him as he rolled lethargically. When he showed no signs of getting back up the crowd burst into screams and applause at the new victor.
I did it? Is it really over? He questioned internally.
He began looking around the room for his dad. Before he could spot them and make his way over, the tight grip of a warm hand grasped his ankle. Kino dug his nails into the skin, desperately holding on.
The crowd that had began enclosing the space spread out again as he slowly dragged himself up San's body. With both arms locked around San's thigh now, Kino balanced himself on his knees.
"You should have stayed down," San spat as he looked down.
He grabbed a hold of his hair firmly with his left hand and used his right to punch him roughly in the face. Blood leaked from his nose and cuts opened up on his skin as he continued to hit him repeatedly.
A devilish grin spread across Kino's face that made San halt his attack. Something about the look in his eyes disturbed him and he stopped, dropping his arm.
"I've watched for years, as people labeled and ridiculed my dad as nothing more than the second place fighter who lost to your father. I've wasted my whole life trying to live up to his standards and training to take his place."
The crowd fell silent once again, listening to Kino's words through his blood stained teeth.
"I obsessed over proving my worth but I'm still not good enough for him. You'll always be Choi San, son of the greatest professional fighter in the league. But I refuse to live as the loser son of my loser father."
He grabbed San's leg tightly and lifted him up using all his strength, tackling him to the ground. He landed with a thud and Kino spun him over quickly to climb onto his back.
Bloodied arms wrapped around his neck and legs snaked around his thighs. With a tight squeeze, he latched on and held him in his grasp as tight as he could.
His breath was quickly forced from his body leaving him gasping and fighting for air. Flailing arms reached for the grip around his neck as he attempted to pry them away.
Lights began to pop behind his eyes and the fast paced beating of his heart was slowing, lungs almost completely devoid of oxygen.
There's no way out, he thought.
Before he reached his final breath, he lifted his hand to the other and tapped rapidly against the hold that was restraining him, giving in.
Kino loosened his grip and let out a despairing shout, relishing in his victory as he pushed San away who rolled over, gulping in air harshly.
He lifted his head, searching the crowd for his dad with pitiful eyes. When they connected his defeated expression conveyed everything he didn't have the strength to say with his words.
I lost.