Word count: 3153
Chapter warnings: Mild language, violence, and dangerous actions
[Please do not replicate any of the behaviors read in this book.]
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After explaining what had happened with Tao's challenge, Suho warned her not to do it again without asking him about it. She tried to defend herself in regards to the time limit, but he wasn't having it. Tao attempted to take the blame for it, but they both understood that it was just Suho's being on edge. At least they got another trial out of the way. Only a few more before they were done... Finally, she just decided to move past it, looking down to the screen.
"Lay is limited for this trial." She said curtly, not willing to fight with their unofficial leader any longer. "Who did we say was going next?"
"We listed Sehun." Lay offered, paying attention mostly just because of the use of his name.
"I'm okay with that." Sehun said. "Let's go, it's getting late, and I'm starving. The faster we do this, the better."
"Alright," she pressed his name, waiting for it to load up. Before the text even appeared, Sehun grabbed the phone out of her hand. As she started yelling protests, he held it on his other side out of her reach as she grabbed his arm, jumping behind him to try and get it. Reading it, he said,
"I have to compete in a fighting ring." Pausing her jumps, she asked,
"Are you serious? That seems dangerous. And illegal." Handing the phone back to her, he said,
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it... Where are we even going to find a fighting ring?" As he asked this, everyone looked too Kris. Noticing their gazes, he glared.
"Don't look at me. I don't do that underground shit."
"We might need to ask the app again..." Chen suggested.
"The last time we did that, though, Lay got screwed over."
"Do we really have a choice, though?" Kyungsoo pointed out. "We can't just walk around the city asking people where to find a highly illegal activity we can participate in."
"Yeah, I guess." Suho said, clearly unhappy with this decision. "Y/N, ask the thing." He ordered. She wanted to snark back at him, but just did what he asked, watching the familiar box. Do you wish to request a set trial location? Note that this cannot be changed freely. Clicking yes, a GPS box popped up.
"I guess we have a place, then." She said. "It's within walking distance, actually, do we-"
"We're driving." Kris said, making it non-negotiable. "If something happens, I'm not gonna run down the street like some clown."
"Alright, alright," she said, putting her hands up in surrender, still grabbing her phone in one. "Let's go then." They got into Kris's car, inching down the road as she looked for the right area. Finally, they reached a suspiciously dark parking deck, to which she pointed. "There." Pulling in, she told him to just find whatever parking space he wanted. Although it was empty, she knew that the place must be close. Reluctantly, he did as she asked. Once they had stopped, everyone got out, Kris double checking to make sure it was locked.
"Okay," she directed. "I think it's in the bottom deck of this place. That's what the GPS is insinuating, anyway."
"Do you guys carry masks?" Kyungsoo asked, pulling one out of his pocket. It wasn't uncommon to do so for both health and privacy reasons. However, she didn't have hers on her- she generally didn't when she hung out with them. She wasn't alone, as Baekhyun wasn't carrying one either.
"Hold on, there are probably extras in the car." Kris said with a sigh, re-unlocking it and digging in the center console. Finally, he came up with one fabric and one paper. "Who wants what?"
"You can have the real one," Baekhyun offered. "Blue looks good on me, anyway." Taking the black fabric mask from Kris gratefully, he turned to check his car once more as she put it on. Although it had definitely been in the car a while, it faintly smelled of his cologne. He'd used the same one for years, so she could recognize it by now.
"Let's go." Suho directed, his own mask on as well as they headed towards the not-so-reputable staircase. They filed down two at a time, Sehun in the front. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, they were met by a large, well-built man obstructing the entryway.
"Excuse us..." Sehun said with an awkward laugh, trying to get through.
"What do you think you're doing?" The man asked in a rough tone, shifting to cover any gaps in his body-barricade.
"We're here to fight." He explained. "So if you could just-"
"All of you?" He asked, looking up at the line. "I don't remember that many people even being on the roster."
"Roster?" He asked. There was a roster? Well, shit, how were they supposed to get onto that.
"Um, yes. Are you sure you're in the right place, kids?"
"It's just him fighting." Suho pointed at Sehun, trying to get control over the situation. "The rest of us are just here to watch." Raising an eyebrow, the bouncer asked,
"You? You're gonna fight?" Sehun nodded, to which he shrugged. "What's your name?"
"Oh Sehun?" Grabbing a list off a table obscured by the wall, the man looked it over. After a few seconds his eyes widened just slightly, but he was quick to hide it. Looking back up to Sehun, he said, "Alright, you're on the list. If the rest of you are just watching, though, you'll have to buy tickets."
"Where do we do that?" Suho asked. He received a weird look- they were not blending in easily- but the bouncer told them he'd take the money right there. Reluctantly, each of them paid, following Sehun in. As they passed the man, he said,
"Competitors can go to the back room to get their gloves, unless you brought your own."
"Thank you." As they walked in, she looked around, astounded. She had never really been anywhere like this before. While in structure, it definitely looked like a parking deck, it was- no pun intended- decked out to no end. There were LED's and smoke machines everywhere, but it fit well with the aesthetic. It was less like a cheesy haunted house and more like a club that was too cool for you. There were crowds of people, makeshift bars, and the smell of many, many drugs, at least half of which the scents she didn't recognize.
"Hey, honey," she heard a voice to her right as she was walking, a man sauntering up to her. He was definitely older than her, but she couldn't tell by how much in the dim light. "You look new. Need someone to show you around?" Shoving him away by the shoulder, Kai answered for her.
"She's fine, thanks." Looking to Kai, then to her, then to the group as a whole, he laughed.
"Oh, you're one of those girls."
"What's that supposed to-" She started to ask, before Kai pulled her to his other side by the elbow.
"That's enough of that." And with that, he escorted her further into the deck with the rest of the group. In the center of the entire mess, there was a huge padded arena, much like one would see in boxing movies. There was a timer hanging on the wall, lit up at 1:34. It was counting down, leading up to something. Sehun split off to go to the back, slipping through the mess of bodies and out of sight. She wanted to follow him, but Kai was still holding onto her elbow. She was simply forced to watch as the clock counted... 3... 2... 1...
When it hit zero, it made an earsplitting buzz for a second or two, quieting the whole room down. Just after it went off, a man climbed up into the ring, wearing black jeans and a leather jacket. Holding a microphone, he yelled,
"Ladies and gentlemen! Can I have your attention please!" Once the whole room was looking at him, he waved a hand, laughing into the microphone. "Ah, who are we kidding, there are none of those here. Who's ready to fight?" As he said this, the room flew into an excited roar, strobe lights going off in the background. All of it was giving her a headache, but it was somehow entrancing as well. She couldn't help but continue watching.
"We have a roster of eighteen people this week, including your favorite reigning champion, the Golden Ninja!" The room once again broke out into a frenzy, but she couldn't help but laugh. The golden ninja? What kind of lame-ass name was that? She could only assume the others would be worse.
"We also have quite a few new contenders, so keep your eyes out for some new potential bets! Remember, the rules are simple. No kicking, no biting, no uh... blows below the belt, and you fight to win! Now who's ready?" Screaming and rock music began harmonizing in some sort of demon's chorus, flooding the area. How was this not audible to the people on the surface? Regardless, the matches were about to start.
If there were 18 players, that would mean there were 9 games. She wasn't sure which Sehun would be in, but she wanted to make sure she was up front for it. As she struggled to see over the mob, Chanyeol asked,
"Do you want a lift?" He whispered next to her ear. Wanting to be able to see the fight, she nodded in agreement. Kneeling down in front of her, he gesture to his shoulders. Not sure of what to do at first, she awkwardly stepped over his arms so that she was standing over him, legs on either side of his head. In one swift motion, he grabbed her knees and stood, lifting her off the ground on his shoulders. As they we relatively near to a pillar, he leaned back on it, so that she'd have some form of support as they watched.
Now that she was far above the crowd, she could see quite clearly. The fight was just beginning as the announcer called the first two competitors out. Neither of the names called were Sehun's. She looked on in curiosity as two bigger men entered the ring, each with shorts and gloves on. They were both heavily bruised, although neither looked like they bore recent injuries. Maybe they were regular competitors.
"Three rounds of three minutes each, we'll judge the winner by K.O.'s or cheering! Ready, set, go!" The brawl broke out almost immediately. She could barely keep track of their hands as they battered each other, each grimacing in pain every few seconds. When the three minutes was up, the disorienting buzzer rang again, each man backing up from the other. They were breathing heavily and sweating, glaring at each other. Had they fought before?
The second and third rounds progressed in relatively the same fashion, although they progressively became more slow and clunky. By the end, since no one had been knocked out, the announcer raised each man's hand one at a time to listen for the cheers. She did not cheer for either.
The second match was similar, but they only fought two rounds. During the second, the smaller of the two men was knocked out cold, tongue practically falling out of his mouth. It was beginning to worry her. Those two men were obviously not in the same weight class. Who would Sehun end up fighting?
"Hey, uh, loosen up." Chanyeol said from below her in sort of a loud whisper, trying to get her attention without alerting anyone else.
"Huh?"
"My scalp's kinda sore still." Looking down, she realized that she was holding onto his head rather tightly, running her fingers over his remaining hair in an obsessive manner.
"Oh! Sorry..." She said. "I'm just nervous."
"Me too."
The third round passed, then the fourth. The fifth. She was starting to become fearful as even bigger and scarier men began coming out, each more violent and rage-filled than the last. Sixth. Seventh. It was at the eighth round that things became interesting. The announcer, as he had between the other rounds, stood to speak. However, this time, his dialogue was a bit different.
"In a recent development, one of our competitors has backed out! Normally we'd drag him out here and just... beat the shit out of him," He laughed with the crowd, "But he's pretty much turned tail and hit the road." Were they talking about Sehun? Had he run away? She didn't have time to ask Chanyeol what he thought before the man continued. "So, you folks are in for a special treat! Instead of giving our eighth round competitor a bye, the Golden Ninja is going o be fighting twice! Yes, you heard that right, the Golden Ninja will be fighting two first round drafts!"
The crowd began to go wild, lights flashing and a few beer bottles smashing on the ground. She flinched, causing Chanyeol to tighten his grip on her knees.
"It's gonna be fine." He muttered.
"You don't think...?"
"I'm sure he's alright." As the two names were called, her eye grazed over the arena. The first guy- the original fighter- looked about how she'd expected. Huge, tons of tattoos, short hair, muscled far beyond her comfort level- it was all there. The second man, though, was much different than anyone else she'd seen. He was wearing golden shorts, as well as a headband. He had long, black hair that was tied back with it, falling into his eyes like feathers. His skin was light, and surprisingly clear. She couldn't make out a single bruise on his frame, although that could have just been the LED's. It was when the starting buzzer rang, though, that she was truly surprised.
The bigger man lunged for him almost immediately, likely familiar with the ninja's style. The smaller man immediately zipped around him, looping a foot around his ankle and pulling, causing the man to fall to the ground. Once he was down, the boy jumped over him, leaning down to hold a glove to his shoulder. Within seconds, the man had gone completely limp, announcer ringing the buzzer.
"And, as usual, the golden ninja takes the victory!" Two assistants, a man and a woman she had seen at the bar earlier in the night dragged the motionless body of the man off the arena floor, the victor waving his hands in the air and calling for cheers.
"For the final first-round match of the night, we have a new competitor to the ring!" She held her breath, trying to figure out whether she wanted Sehun to still be here, or to have escaped. This did not look good for him. The trial never said he had to win, but it also may have a contingency. In addition, she'd really prefer if he didn't die...
"Introducing... Sehun!" Shit. Walking out into the arena, Sehun was already sweating just slightly, silky sheen on his skin. He had taken off his shirt and was now wearing gloves, but he was still sporting black skinny jeans, no doubt restricting his movement. The crowd broke out into laughter.
"What's going on?" She asked. "Why is everyone laughing?"
"My guess?" Tao said grimly, "This is a normal occurrence. They pick the weakest of the new competitors and throw them up against the reigning champion as a form of entertainment."
"That's sick." The betting boards supported his theory. Every single bet was on the golden ninja, Sehun's boxes completely empty. No one expected, or even wanted him to win.
"Yeah, well, it's just how it goes." Sehun was looking around, trying to find the group. With Y/N covering feet above the rest of the crowd, she made eye contact with him, causing his darting gazes to still. After a moment, he looked back to the golden ninja. He had the advantage in weight and muscle, but he had no experience. She grit her teeth, hands roaming over Chanyeol nervously as the first bell rang.
The ninja seemed reluctant to lunge for him first, mostly because he seemed to want Sehun to make the first move. As obvious as it was that the latter had no idea what he was doing, the ninja wasn't stupid. Neither of them knew anything about the other. After a few seconds, though, the crowd began to boo. They wanted blood. As the competition was fueled on audience approval, the fighter fling forward, trying to pull the same tripping move.
While Sehun wasn't able to completely avoid it, he pulled his foot out of the other man's grip, keeping his balance and managing to shove off him. The ninja tripped, skittering on the floor, but didn't fall either. Annoyed, he said something to Sehun, but she couldn't hear it from where she was residing. Still, it seemed to send the front few rows into a bout of excitement. In a blur, the man's fist flung forward, connecting solidly with Sehun's jaw and flinging his head to the side.
"Sehun!" She shouted worriedly, Kris looking up at her with a glare.
"Shh, don't draw attention." A second blow met the boy's face from the other side, causing him to sink to his knees, blood flowing from his nose now. Laughing, the golden ninja leaned over, sneering. It was his revenge for Sehun avoiding his first move. While he was celebrating, though, Sehun wrapped his arms awkwardly around the man's knees, yanking on them and causing him to land on his ass, yelling out in surprise. Sehun managed to scramble to his feet as the golden ninja tried to react, able to get in a sucker punch while he was on the ground. Then a second, then a third.
At this point, the ninja had lost his advantages: his speed and experience were limited to his incapacitation on the ground, so Sehun was free to use him as a punching bag. As much as the boy didn't want to, he understood that he wouldn't get lucky twice, but if he managed to knock the man out now, the fight would be over. He kept punching until the clock hit zero.
As the buzzer sounded, he backed up, breathing heavily, wiping the blood from his upper lip with the top of his arm. Watching as the golden ninja twitched on the ground, the crowd was hushed, the announcer walking over to him. He seemed to ask a question, the boy trying to get up. He managed to make it into a standing position, knees shaking and face bloody. After a few seconds, though, he crumbled to the ground again. Shocked, the announcer walked over to Sehun, grabbing his wrist and raising it.
"The new champion of the arena- Sehun!"