The aging car jolted abruptly forwards as its motor huffed in protest along with the screeching of its wheels. E.den slowly massaged his forehead, trying hard not to make any comment towards the decaying car he and his group sat in. He knew how annoying Rasa could get if anyone dared to mention what a piece of junk his baby was.

Jun didn’t seem to care though, sniffing indignantly while pretending to look around the car’s interior.

"Hey Rasa," he said with feigned curiosity. “Did something die in here?"

E.den hurriedly slammed his free hand against Jun’s mouth, giving him a pointed look and ignoring the eye roll directed at him. When he was certain the younger wouldn’t continue sending the two of them to deafness, he let go with a short sigh. The leader glanced sideways at Rasa who seemed calm and composed, apart from the large vein pulsating from his temple it didn’t look like a meltdown was about to occur.

He sighed once again; perhaps s had learned how to be tactful.

"Yeah, your mom’s ity," Rasa retorted casually, his grip on the steering wheel tightening from glee.

Or not, perhaps it was only E.den who’d stopped hoping for brighter companions.

Jun snorted from the backseat, catching Rasa’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Silly gramps, if my mother lost her ity, how come I’m here then?"

"Oh, didn’t she tell you? You’re adopted, sorry kiddo."

The younger man spluttered, eyes widening for a split second before he composed himself. Rasa smirked, winking at Jun from the mirror in a gesture of victory as the other crossed his arms in defeat. E.den watched the whole ordeal from his passenger seat with narrowed eyes; he felt more like a babysitter than an actual leader when situations like these occurred.

Which was all the time; E.den was never going to have children, he had enough on his plate to deal with.

He focused his attention on something else than the death machine they were sitting in as well as the two bickering men. His eyes landed on his phone lying dangerously close to the filthy ashtray, the message sent to him hours ago from someone anonymous was still flashing on its screen.

Fight.

Everyone who had the slightest grasp of what happened in the underground world knew what that simple word meant. It was straight to the point, no foreshadowing and no unnecessary riddles embedded within its message. For them to receive this text, regardless if the sender was real or not, was an honor.

They were rookies, one group out of hundreds that no one knew about, yet somehow they’d managed to get themselves invited into Fight Club.

Fight Club, the biggest event that only happened once a year and the only time when people could be severely injured or beaten to death without any authority jumping in. It was the time when people made a name for themselves, created pedestals for their reputation in the underground’s domain. You either walked out of there like a champion, or you’d walk out of there as a beaten and humiliated loser.

E.den wasn’t afraid of the abilities he and s possessed individually, but he was alarmed at the people they were going up against. Fight Club wasn’t the same as before, before there would be at least ten different groups showing up and showcasing their skills but nowadays there would only be one group according to the rumors as well as gossip.

Nothing had been the same since that man King and his group had dominated the whole arena of Fight Club. No one dared to go up against them ever since rumors began circulating the underground population that King along with the rest of the members had ruthlessly beaten the last champions to the point where nothing but blood had littered the cracked ground. The crowd had been too afraid to intervene, if it wasn’t for King who’d apparently gotten bored of the one-sided fight and thus left with his group, it would have been a massacre.

They were respected and feared at the same time, hated and loved; they were none other than the latest phenomenon to happen to the underground world.

LC9. 

“Leader…”

At the mention of his appointed title, E.den glanced up at the rearview mirror and stared straight at Jun’s childish dark brown orbs. He arched an eyebrow to question the sudden intrusion, he knew the two well enough that they’d know his facial expressions when he was in deep thought by now.

“What is it, Jun?” E.den asked, more out of common courtesy than out of actual concern. It wasn’t as if they actually needed him to take care of them emotionally.

“Do you think we can beat them?” Jun responded with a question, a small smile of anticipation crossing his lips.

“We might, and we might not. I’ve taught you two from the first time we met each other, don’t ever underestimate your opponent, no matter what.”

The younger man didn’t seem satisfied with the answer, pouting at the older man while shifting his stare towards the window on his right. E.den shook his head in amusement at Jun; he still harbored the immaturity of a child. It was entertaining yet frightening at the same time that someone with his mindset could take down people twice his size without breaking a sweat. E.den was about to turn to Rasa to ask how long they had when the latter stomped on the brake pedal with incredible force. The sudden stop caused the two unprepared passengers to almost fly out of their seat if not for the worn-out seatbelts holding them back.

“Rasa, what the hell was that for?” E.den yelled at the driver, he immediately shut his mouth though when he saw beads of cold sweat trickling down from the cap he was wearing.

“Leader, we’ve got company.” He replied, face and tone stone-cold.

The man nodded towards three people standing casually in front of their car, one of them sporting a ridiculous large blonde Mohawk leaning against the rusty hood. E.den immediately recognized them; he’d seen pictures secretly taken of them passed around behind closed doors, of them beating people to pulps or simply lounging here and there.

It was none other than LC9 standing right in front of their beat down wreckage of a car.

“Hey, you don’t mind giving us a ride do you?” King shouted from where he stood, his blonde hairdo seemingly shining from the aura of confidence radiating off of him.

***

King ignored AO’s constant whining as he balanced himself on top of a dumpster sitting nearby the road. J-Hyo was off snoring beneath a flashing streetlight running on half a bulb while AO continued to rant on how hungry he was or how he was itching for a fight. King almost had the urge to send him smacking into the streetlight, almost, but he knew better than anyone how pissed J-Hyo would be if he was awoken from his naps.

It should’ve been humiliating that the biggest and most feared group of the underground world had forgotten to fix a car or steal one for that matter, to get to their usual throne at Fight Club. But it was LC9 who’d forgotten to fix or steal a vehicle and LC9 wasn’t any group, they were certainly the strongest, but not the brightest.

The leader jumped down from the dumpster, giving AO a tired look as he went to sit next to J-Hyo. The younger man pouted at him, blonde bangs coverings his eyes as he huffed before hopping onto the spot where King had left.

“This blows,” he groaned while fiddling with a piece of trash sticking out from the lid of the container. “I wanna fight, come on boss let’s fight!”

He considered the idea, at the moment the other man was bored out of his mind. AO looked more than ready for a short sparring session and King could use the well-needed exercise to get his muscles as well as circulation going. He got up from his seat besides J-Hyo’s sleeping form, gesturing with his hand towards AO. The young man instantly brightened, a large grin plastered onto his face as he leaped right in front of King. AO sometimes freaked the leader out with his overly enthusiasm when it came to fighting, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t hyperactive all the time but when it came to a fight he’d always be extra alert.

AO was shorter and way younger than the average fighter hanging out amongst the underground people, but King knew from experience that he was one of the scariest fighters he’d clashed with.

“A car’s coming.”

The two standing members reluctantly left their stances upon the call, albeit lazily spoken, from J-Hyo. The latter nimbly used his feet and legs to propel himself off of the dirty ground and into a standing position, stretching his arms as well as his neck afterwards. He walked over to the members in a carefree manner, hands in his pockets while nodding towards the road. King followed his gaze, peering closely before widening his eyes when he noticed two flickering headlights belonging to a car.

“, you never stop with the surprises…” He whispered, an expression of awe filling his face.

AO let out a low whistle as he gave J-Hyo a pat on the back, the older man only shrugged as he began to walk in to the middle of the road. King grinned as he understood what the other was planning, quickly running after with AO quick on his tail. The dim light of the car came closer and King hurriedly covered his mouth when it stopped in front of them.

The car was wrecked, its whole metal body rusty with bits and pieces of what were once its color as well as its windows being hidden by dust amongst other visible stains.

“Seriously boss,” AO said in clear disbelief. “Are we seriously going to ride in that piece of ?”

“It’s our only hope,” King answered, although it came out muffled by his hand and the chuckles escaping his lips. “And it’s not as if we haven’t gone on worse crap.”

“Guys, you honestly can’t spot a beauty, even if it came dancing in front of your untrained eyes.” J-Hyo chided the two, rolling his eyes.

King ignored his remark; instead he stepped closer to the rundown vehicle. He removed the hand covering his mouth, flashing a smile at the residents of the car who sat behind the filthy window.

“Hey, you don’t mind giving us a ride do you?”

There was movement from the other side; he could barely make out the sound of conversation as silence enveloped him and s standing outside. After what seemed like an eternity, the passenger door opened and one man stepped out. He had brown hair styled in a quiff with a bandana wrapped tightly around his forehead; he looked rather muscular beneath the black t-shirt he wore. He gave a short nod while gesturing to the backdoors behind his back.

“Sure, you’re going to Fight Club, right?” He said with a deeper voice than King had expected. “We’re on our way there too.”

King briskly slapped a hand over AO’s mouth as the younger began to splutter, they all got the hint directly. The man standing in front of them belonged to the group they were going to fight against at Fight Club. He didn’t wait for an answer, swiftly returning back to his seat while closing the door after him. King hesitantly removed his hand from AO’s mouth, the younger man giddily jumping up and down as he indiscreetly gestured to the car.

“Is this for real?” He chirped happily. “Are those guys inside that car the guys we’re up against? Can we beat them up right now? Can we, please King, can we?”

J-Hyo made a clicking noise with his tongue as he aimed a kick at the younger’s shins; the action would’ve sent AO tumbling to the ground if it weren’t for his quick reflexes enabling him to dodge the oncoming assault. He glared at the older man, his delightful mood forgotten as he instead started to whine about J-Hyo being the worst friend as well as teammate. King ignored their one-sided verbal fight, holding up his hand to silence them while walking calmly towards the right door leading to the backseat.

He waited until the rest of his group was present before speaking to them in a hushed tone. “Listen, we don’t have time to beat them up. But, we can pretend to be all buddy-buddy and with them until we reach Fight Club.”

“But why should we-“

“Because they’re rookies and I haven’t embarrassed someone for a long time apart from you.” King interrupted AO, giving him a lopsided smile and pretending not to notice the pout he sent him.

He opened the car door and along with the two other members, crammed into the limited space. There was another person sitting in the backseat, he looked about AO’s age or slightly older with a nearly identical bowl-like hairstyle except it was dark brown. The young man glanced at them, clearly showing signs of being annoyed at being pushed all the way to the left side of the whole backseat. AO noticed him and before King could start up an introduction, the blonde haired man had already scrambled over him to greet the brown haired one.

“Hi, what’s your name? You probably already know my name but it’s actually my nickname and not my actual name, it’d be weird if I was actually named AO, right?” He rambled, words mixing with each other into an incoherent blur.

The other man didn’t look too freaked out though, instead he replied with a small polite smile. “My name is Jun, and AO is cool as a nickname and a name.”

There was a pause and King could narrowly see from where he sat the broad grin taking up AO’s face. The blonde bobbed up and down on his seat while staring with large eyes at Jun whose smile had grown a bit bigger.

“I like you!” AO exclaimed with joy as he hugged the other. “You’re way better than my members; you should totally replace J-Hyo!”

“Watch it, kid.” J-Hyo grumbled from his squished position between King and the hyperactive blonde. “I won’t be leaving until I’ve made sure your face is beneath my foot-!”

The car lurched forwards, sending the people inhabiting the backseat forwards as well. King swore under his breath as he crashed into the backside of the passenger seat, accidentally locking gazes with the resident of it for a brief second before momentum returned him back to his original spot.  He stared at the people surrounding him; AO wore an expression of utter delight as if he was riding a rollercoaster while Jun only looked annoyed at the car’s death noises as it drove onwards.

“Does this always happen?” King inquired.

“Don’t,” The man sitting in the passenger seat held up a hand to quiet him, his posture suddenly rigid. “Don’t say anything about this car; it’s a great car, a phenomenal car.”

King arched an eyebrow, knowing full well that that statement had been a load of bull. But he opted to stay put when he glanced over at the driver. He wore a cap over tousled dirty blonde hair. It resembled the disheveled hairstyle J-Hyo had apart from the latter having light brown hair. Nevertheless, the cap didn’t conceal a vein protruding from the man’s temple and King was not about to start anything with the driver of the death machine they were sitting in.

“Tch, don’t listen to them.”

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, eyes meeting with J-Hyo’s ones. He narrowed his eyes and pressed his mouth into a tight line. King didn’t understand what the expression was supposed to mean, but apparently J-Hyo did. He leaned back against the seat with a weary smile flashing across his facial features.

“These kids can’t tell a beauty even if they’re surrounded by one right this instant.” He continued, a playful smile accompanying the statement.

A ghost of a smile lit up on the driver’s lips as he returned his stare to the road in front of him. King hid a smile of his own behind his hand, tricking these people was easier than he’d thought. He noticed E.den watching him with cautious eyes and greeted them with a bright grin. It threw the other man off-guard as his gaze momentarily lost their seriousness, replaced with surprise for a split-second.  King decided to continue with the charade, sensing that the brown haired man was loosening up although it was barely noticeable.

“So, what are your names?” He started in a casual tone, eyes flickering between the driver and the other man. “We know that this guy over here is called Jun, and I’m pretty sure you guys know our names, what are yours?”

The driver exchanged a wary look with the brown haired one, who King had by now assumed was the leader. The leader shrugged, a quick nod signaling it was alright. The driver’s grip on the steering wheel tightened although King could hardly make out the action.

“My name’s Rasa.” He muttered, eyes narrowing a fraction before returning to their usual state.

“I’m E.den,” the leader responded in a stern tone, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m the leader of this group.”

“I knew it!” King whooped from where he sat, feigning giddiness. “You have this authority thing going on around you, I can feel it.”

“You’re way cooler than our boss…” AO murmured quietly, causing Jun to cover a laugh.

“I heard that, dip.” King shot back at the younger man. “I can be cool, not serious, but cool.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, dumb boss.” AO retorted, sending Jun into short fits of laughter.

“Oh it doesn’t? Why don’t you come over here so that I can beat the sense into that non-existent brain of yours?”

“Woah, did all that practicing on opening a dictionary finally work?” AO mocked in feigned surprise, making Jun erupt into full-fledged laughter.  

King smacked him across the head, pretending to be hurt. He glanced from his peripheral view and chuckled inwardly when he saw Rasa and E.den’s amused expressions. The ice between the two men and them had begun to crack the slightest of bits.

“Are there any rules we should know about when we get there?” E.den questioned with less caution than before as he glanced at King.

King shook his head, the faintest of smiles tracing his lips. “None, it’s just fighting until the other one drops down.”

E.den thoughtfully nodded to himself, thanking the other man for his help. King hid a smile; the leader had fallen for it. There was some bit of trust between the two groups and King couldn’t wait to shatter it as soon as they entered Fight Club.

Another jerk from the car signalized that they’d stopped. Rasa’s grip on the wheel was more casual than the one he’d previously had as he called over his shoulder that they’d arrived. King held back a smile as he scrambled out of the vehicle with the rest of s as they all exchanged knowing looks.

Things were working out too smoothly, they hadn’t had this much fun since forever and King loved every second of it.

***

Fight Club wasn’t as glorious as it sounded, quite the contrary. The environment was gritty, the fights happening at an old alleyway with rundown cars littering parts of the space. There were abandoned apartments that nowadays held masses of people all coming from different places to watch the upcoming fights, along with the rusty yet sturdy fire escape stairways, Fight Club attracted heaps of people with enough space to deliver view from all directions. Neon lights buzzed with weakened glows coming from their bulbs, but accompanied with dim lighting from the streetlights it was the right amount of light to shine down on the cracked concrete ground stained with dried blood.

E.den narrowed his eyes at the large crowd appearing in front of him. He hadn’t expected that many people to show up, usually there was about ten or a bit more but this time the number of people was up to twenty at the least. He shook his head to get rid of the creeping anxiety invading his senses, dispelling the uneasy feeling by letting  his eyes roam across the different viewers watching them on the ground and up on the stairways as well as from the apartment windows. There were people of all ages that had come to this year’s Fight Club, teenage boys and men cheering from their spots, girls or women hiding behind skull masks to disguise their appearance either shyly glanced around their surroundings or cheered on as enthusiastically as the men. It was easy to see the veteran audience and the ones who were experiencing their first Fight Club match.

It had to be all thanks to LC9, their latest fight that had put them high on pedestals when they’d completely wiped the floor with the last champions. Although E.den didn’t understand the rumors talking about their ruthlessness, from what he had seen during the car ride King and s had been like every other fighting group he’d encountered. They showed the same childishness he witnessed everyday as well as the boyish charms.

“Wow, this is awesome!” Jun announced in a too cheerful voice, sounding completely ecstatic. “I’ve never seen this many people at one place!”

He was clearly beginning to turn into a little child visiting a candy store. E.den smiled fondly at the younger man as he bounced towards the center where the fights happened. Rasa snorted at the other’s unnecessary giddiness, but E.den noticed the small smile lighting up his face.

The atmosphere was filled with mixed emotions, aflame with utter excitement. E.den felt strangely at home, more home than he’d felt at his own home.

His peaceful moment was shattered though when a blaring noise cut through the heated air. E.den watched in confusion as King jumped on top of one of the cars lying nearby, balancing on the hood while his right hand gripped an air horn tightly. He signaled with it again to hush a couple people who were still chattering amongst themselves, sending everyone’s attention onto him and the rest of LC9.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the tenth annual Fight Club!” He spoke loudly, inducing a roar of appreciation from the crowd. “Today we’ve got a couple of rookies wanting to have a go at us. Let’s hope that they’ll be a bit more of a fight than last year’s ones, we wouldn’t want to have another snore-fest now would we?”

Laughter erupted from the various male genders of the assembly and E.den suddenly had a bad feeling of the whole thing unraveling in front of his eyes. He glanced towards Rasa and Jun who both shared similar expressions of confusion.

Was this the same King that they’d talked to, although briefly, in the car?

“As always, the rules will be the usual ones.” King finished, pretending to snore at the mention of rules which caused another rumble of laughter from the crowd. “Let’s begin-”

“Hey, wait a second!” E.den interrupted in an angry tone.

His voice silenced the people in the alleyway; everyone diverted their attention to him with badly masked ecstasy. King turned to look at him, a large grin evident on his face as he toyed with the air horn. He leapt off of the car hood and whispered into J-Hyo’s ear.  The other man groaned but complied with whatever it was the leader had said, albeit looking annoyed as he let go of an empty beer bottle in his hand. 

“Kiddo, get over here.” He drawled, pointing a finger at Jun as he made his way to the center of the arena.

Jun’s confused expression grew into one of shock as he pointed at himself, as if to confirm that J-Hyo had picked the right person. The people near Jun began to call on him, names mixing with cheers as the veteran women cooed at him while the male audience shouted indecencies at him. He vaguely heard AO whine from where he stood behind J-Hyo, a disappointed look on his face as he glanced at Jun and then to his own hands.

“What’s the meaning of this?” E.den growled at King who still had his grin stuck in place.

“It’s easy; since we’re the champions from the previous Fight Club we get to pick out the first person we want to challenge. After a certain amount of time, or depending on how injured your teammate is, it’s free for one of you guys to intervene and vice versa.”

“You didn’t tell us that back in the-!”

“Oh I’m sorry for keeping confidential information away from outsiders,” King mocked in a sarcastic tone. “You should be glad that I actually decided to tell you these rules.”

“Come on, I don’t have all day…” J-Hyo moaned frustrated from where he stood.

Jun glanced reluctantly from Rasa to E.den; the leader hurriedly went over to his side, clasping a firm but comforting hand on top of his shoulder. “I’ll tell you right now, they’re choosing you because they think you’re the weakest. But you’re one of the best fighters I know and you’ll handle this. Just don’t underestimate him, that’s all I ask of you.”

The younger nodded cautiously, eyes zoning in on J-Hyo who was strapping on a pair of small, black and red open- gloves. E.den knew this expression; it was the calculating side of Jun.  He pulled out a pair of identical gloves that J-Hyo wore, only that they were black and white in color, and gave them to Jun who quickly fastened them onto his hands. He bounced lightly on his feet, stepping from side to side to warm up as he too walked towards J-Hyo.

“Finally,” J-Hyo yawned, deliberately lowering his guard as a taunt. “Show me what you’ve got, kid.”

The crowd instantly returned to life, chanting the familiar word fight over and over as the two men circled each other. E.den bit his lower lip as he examined the scene, his muscles tensing from the sudden pressure covering the whole alleyway. Jun and J-Hyo were still in the process of sizing each other up and down, the chants grew louder.

Jun initiated the fight. He latched out with a sharp jab that J-Hyo dodged with ease. The older man struck out with his fist, causing Jun to step back into the surroundings of the cars. J-Hyo followed the punch with a hook, his arm arched as his fist came round with increased speed along with his whole body. The momentum made him exchange places with Jun who took advantage of the brief pause.

He shoved J-Hyo hard in the chest; the force sent the older man falling backwards.

He hit the hood with a loud thud, dust particles flying around him as he grunted in response to the pain. There was a faint smile flashing over his lips for a split-second before he heaved himself up, slamming the dirty surface with his hand in a sign of anger.

“Damn, you’ve got some moves.” J-Hyo whispered to himself, his familiar lazy smirk appearing.

The people reacted immediately to the surprising change of events, shouting and screaming as J-Hyo slid down the hood. Right away he delivered a flurry of punches that Jun blocked with difficulty, pushed back farther and farther as he parried each blow. J-Hyo directed a swift kick between Jun’s legs sending him tumbling forwards; he quickly grabbed the other’s head and kneed him harshly in the chin.

The blow jerked Jun’s head back; he stumbled backwards and smacked roughly against the side of a car. His body closed the first open door of the vehicle before he fell further; his head harshly slammed the next shut.

Jun felt warm blood trickle from the area, slowly running down his temples while his vision blurred for a second.  He barely heard the growing decibels of the crowd, barely made out J-Hyo’s silhouette as the older man coaxed the people to continue.

“Jun, get up!”

But he could make out the shout from E.den. He automatically responded to it, lifting his head up just in time to see J-Hyo advancing on him. The older man dashed to the brick wall next to Jun, leaping against its side before ricocheting off of it. His hand was balled into a fist, coming down fast.

Jun hurriedly dodged the oncoming impact, rolling forwards as he heard the crackling of glass behind him. He glanced back at the damage. J-Hyo retracted his whole arm from the shattered car window; pieces of splintered glass fell off of his glove as he effortlessly rolled his shoulder.

He closed the gap between them; surging forwards with a front kick that spared Jun no time to catch his breath as he narrowly dodged it. J-Hyo landed, he spun around with a sidekick and was promptly blocked by Jun. He swung a hook at the younger man but it got caught in midair. Jun locked the arm in place, angling his free hand in the process as he struck the side of J-Hyo’s jaw with the palm of his hand. The blow threw his head back which allowed Jun to push him back.

The younger man barricaded him against a stack of tires, he held J-Hyo in place with his left hand while his right one started to deliver punch after punch all landing right on top of the expanse of his unprotected chest. The low thud of the padded glove meeting skin and bone thundered through Jun’s frame, urging him to continue the assault before J-Hyo could counter.

He landed another blow before he drew back his arm. His hand began to glow with light, colors crackling and circling his fist until they constricted into a ball of energy that consumed his hand.

Without hesitation, he drove the charged ball of energy right into J-Hyo’s chest.

The force burst upon impact. The shock made the tires disperse from their original position and J-Hyo to fall limply to the ground.

Jun spun around to greet the audience whose screams and shouts had turned into a chorus of incoherent words all fused with one another. The younger man walked up to E.den, smiling as he bumped fists with E.den who acknowledged for his efforts. He subtly glanced over at Rasa who had an expression looking like pride on his face although Jun only got a snort in response when Rasa saw him staring at him.

He turned around to observe King and AO’s reactions, but strangely enough they didn’t look taken aback by the whole performance nor did they look worried for their fallen teammate. Instead they looked surprisingly giddy, an air of excitement surrounding them from where they stood as large grins were plastered on their lips.

Jun froze along with the crowd instantly quieting down as J-Hyo’s laughter sounded throughout the whole alleyway. 

It was a jubilant laughter that didn’t fit the scene at all. J-Hyo had his mouth open wide, eyes shaped like crescents as laugh after laugh racked his body. King called for him to get up, clapping his hands to emphasize although he still wore the grin.

The laughter subsided from J-Hyo as he used his legs and shoulders to push himself off of the concrete, planting both feet on the ground. He tore off the gloves on his hands, exposing red bandage wrapped around the bare spaces. J-Hyo rolled his shoulders back, stretching while he looked completely unaffected by the blow dealt by Jun.

Jun felt his heart rate speed up along with his adrenaline running out. The injury he’d sustained to his head from before caused his head to pound violently. He felt his vision and hearing dim as blood slowly seeped down his skin, sticking to the strands of his brown hair.

“Try him out; let’s see what he’s got up his sleeves.” E.den commanded from behind him, his deep voice sounding like a low thunder compared to all the screaming at the newly revived J-Hyo.

The younger man obeyed, cautiously moving towards a trashcan standing nearby. As he reached it, he carefully picked up the lid. J-Hyo followed him with his eyes; amusement shining in his brown orbs as he silently urged him to continue. Jun pointed the metal lid at the older man, narrowing his eyes as he measured the distance. A beat passed until Jun curled his arm back, bent his knees and threw the lid in an arch with the snap of his wrist.

The metal lid quickly changed direction from an arch into a straight line, heading right towards J-Hyo. He smirked as he saw the oncoming attack. He threw himself backwards in the air, his right leg in front of the left one as he steadied his weight with one hand.

The timing was precise; the metal lid flew over his bent body before J-Hyo’s right leg kicked it even farther away causing it to hit the brick wall with a clank while scattering dust all over its surroundings.

The crowd cheered even louder. Jun gulped audibly as he tried to regain his strength, only to breathe deeply as fatigue started to set in. He took a shaky step forwards while J-Hyo faced the audience of people. But E.den put a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from continuing.

Rasa ran up to the scene, jumping onto the hood of a nearby car at the same time as J-Hyo spun around. He placed a heavy kick against the other man’s chest, sending him stumbling back. Rasa stepped off of the car, rushing forwards towards J-Hyo and grabbing his hand when he reached him. He pulled back his free hand, aiming for a punch when his fist was promptly blocked midway.

AO sent another kick sideways, forcing Rasa to dodge as it almost hit him. He stepped in between the two men, a wide grin etched across his features as he lightly bounced on his feet. His hands were already raised, yellow bandages shining brightly in the light of the alleyway.

“I wanna fight too!” He announced loudly while pushing J-Hyo away from the center. “It’s my turn!”

“, I was looking forwards to this the most.” The older man growled at AO in a low tone, reluctantly stepping back but keeping a glare directed at the younger.

AO ignored him; instead he made a grimace at Rasa to edge him on. It worked as a barely noticeable vein showed itself on his temple. He grabbed the trashcan Jun had used, lifting it high above his head with the intent to throw it at AO.

The blonde man responded quickly, he dashed up the side of a brick wall and bounded off of its surface. While in the air, AO brought back his leg before kicking the side of the trashcan with surprising strength. The impact sent the container flying out of Rasa’s hands as well as making him loose his balance.

As soon as the two men’s feet hit the ground the trashcan did the same a few feet away from them. The loud crash sliced through the air at the same time as the two stood up. AO closed the distance, spun around and landed a devastating kick to Rasa’s abdomen. The wind was knocked out the latter’s lungs as he hit the side of a car behind him, but AO gave him no breathing space as he lunged at him with a front kick.

Rasa twisted to the side, dodging the strike. His eyes focused on a hammer leaning against the car, without hesitation he grabbed it and swung the heavy weapon at the other man. AO ducked, the hammer missing him by an inch as it hit the car’s window instead.

Glass scattered upon the impact, littering the ground but AO was nowhere to be found.

He quickly scanned the vicinity, looking upwards and locking eyes with AO who smiled gleefully at him as he stood firmly on the roof of the car. It lasted for a second, the barely existent silence being broken by AO’s foot slicing through the air, delivering a thundering kick to the side of Rasa’s head. The force caused the latter to whirl around. Rasa backed away as his senses dimmed altogether, vision stained with black spots as he tried to regain his footing while a grating noise bore its way through his eardrums.

Rasa managed to attain his footing. But as the black dots started to disappear, AO appeared in front of him. The blonde man raised his right leg up high, hoisting himself up onto Rasa’s shoulders as the latter struggled to fling him off. AO swiftly brandished a pair of brass knuckles, slipping the cool metal over his hand before he pounded his fist against Rasa’s temple.

The skin cracked open, spraying blood down Rasa’s face as he screamed out in pain. The red liquid splattered onto the metal as well as onto the concrete ground while the rough sounds of metal connecting with bone rang out in the euphoric crowd.

The older man crouched down from the pain that overtook his senses. AO followed along, hoping off of his shoulders and taking advantage of the fast motion. He propelled his whole body upwards into a standing position, quickly running towards Rasa who lay bleeding on the ground.

He lifted his foot, preparing for a stomp to the other’s head. It was stopped by Rasa hurriedly raising his hands to catch it. He countered, he twisted AO’s foot. The pop of the blonde man’s ankle dislocating rung in his ears but he ignored it, focusing on the heavy weight standing above him. Rasa kicked upwards with his right leg, breaking AO’s balance.

AO crashed to the ground. Rasa switched their positions. He straddled the blonde man, using his legs to pin AO’s shoulder down. He trashed around, trying to protect his face at the first strike from Rasa’s fist. It connected with a sickening blow against the other’s cheek, drawing out blood before it retracted.

The beating turned into an all-out throttle as Rasa continued to punch the blonde man. Drops of blood spilled one after another from AO’s face. The red liquid grew larger in size as Rasa changed his blows into much brutal ones. He laced his fingers together before he brought it down across AO’s face.

The impact caused him to grit his teeth as he felt the bone of AO’s nose breaking beneath his hands.

The never-ending assault was broken by a brick slamming into the back of Rasa’s head.

“Hey bastard, over here you freak!”

He stood up, his vision concealed with the color red when he turned around. King was grinning at him, accepting a high five from J-Hyo who causally held a beer bottle in his hand. Rasa ignored the scorching pain burning where the brick had hit him; the dull pound only intensified the glare he directed at them.

“What is it?” He growled at the two.  

“How are you still alive?” J-Hyo inquired curiously.

“Shouldn’t you be asking that to your friend lying on the ground?” Rasa countered.

J-Hyo smirked, shaking his head. “I was just asking, no need to be get so moody.”

He twirled the bottle in his hand, eyes locked with Rasa’s. The crowd’s cheering had faded into a low murmur as the two stared at one another. In one fluid movement, J-Hyo threw the beer bottle at Rasa.

Rasa scoffed. He removed his bloodied cap, tossing it to the side as he took a stance. He pulled back his fist, waiting for the incoming bottle until it got close enough. As soon as it entered his line of sight, he punched it. The bottle broke into various pieces of glass that rolled off of his bandaged hands along with beads of alcohol.

A gust of wind blew past the side of his face. He glanced to the side and barely dodged the punch from King. It flew past his chin. Rasa retaliated with a punch of his own, it crashed right into King’s chin. His head was thrown back and Rasa used the short time to grab ahold of it. His hand gripped the neck tightly while he kneed him roughly in his stomach.

King was flung backwards from the force, knocking into the wall behind him. He clutched at his abdomen as Rasa ran forwards in a matter of seconds. Rasa spared no time for the other man, slamming his head against the concrete surface before ramming it straight into an array of metal pipes stuck to the wall.

Blood stained the concrete upon the impact. King stumbled forwards in a complete daze while Rasa turned around to greet the ecstatic crowd along with E.den who cheered loudly for him. He raised his hand to wave to him.

His vision faded, sight turning completely white as his head throbbed unbearably.

Slowly, Rasa cautiously touched the spot where the pain was coming from. He felt the warmth of blood staining his fingertips. With gritted teeth he glanced over his shoulder, staring directly at King’s delighted expression.

The man held an iron rod in his hand, the faint specks of blood shining from the neon light at its tip.

King threw it away in an offhanded gesture before he swung a heavy punch. Rasa reflexively blocked it, his senses still somewhat dull as he grappled with the other man. King acquired the upper hand, rolling Rasa into a pile of dirty bags.

Rasa barely caught his breath when King’s foot came out of nowhere. He stomped down, hard, on his groin.

All the people went silent as the only sound heard throughout the alleyway was the pained cry escaping Rasa’s lips at such a decibel, the people near him had to cover their ears.

“Holy …” J-Hyo squeaked, suppressing the urge to cringe as he witnessed the scene. “Okay, that was dirty King, even for you!”

“Tch, he asked for it.” King retorted, grinning at his apprehensive teammate.

“I don’t think anyone would ask for that.” J-Hyo sighed.

“I don’t get it, why is that so bad?” AO mumbled in a slurred voice from where he leaned against a brick wall, wounds on his face bleeding lightly.

J-Hyo coughed awkwardly while he watched Jun helping Rasa to his feet, albeit the latter’s legs wobbled from the sudden motion. “You’ll understand when you grow older.”

The silence was destroyed upon E.den’s arrival. He pushed past the people standing in front of him, walking with long strides towards the perpetrator. He forcefully yanked his shoulder, shoving him to the side.

E.den was furious.

King had never felt as much joy as he did in that moment. His blood was boiling with excitement as he took a stance, matching the one E.den had.

Both fighters drew back their fists and edged closer before both their punches collided.

The knuckles connected, creating a burst of crackling electricity to spark from the impact. The force sent a shockwave through both their bodies as they both struggled to overpower each other.

The sparks clashed against one another, burning the rubber on their gloved hands. The concentrated current became too much as both fighters’ fists retracted, causing the sparks to dissipate into the air.

King advanced, he delivered a sharp jab. E.den blocked it with a firm grip, twisting the arm to the side as he used his free hand to aim a punch at King’s head. King hurriedly ducked under the space provided by the drawn back arm. He managed to free himself out of the strong grip, ending up behind E.den before he tried to wrap his arms around the other’s midsection.

E.den was quick to respond. He grabbed both of King’s hands and twisted his body. The limbs were forced to let go at the sudden pull and E.den swiftly used his arms to loop around King’s throat. The latter was forced down as the other man pulled him down in a choke hold, cutting off his air supply.

He could feel his senses being clouded as the need for oxygen grew stronger. Without thinking, King struggled to hold onto E.den’s arm. When he felt his fingers connect with fabric, he rushed to bite into the flesh beneath it.

The effect was instantaneous as E.den groaned in pain. His grip loosened and King hurriedly crawled out of it, dragging himself on the concrete ground towards the crowd. He noticed AO holding something out in the open air and felt a grin immediately lit up his beat-up expression.

An axe, its clean metal blade shining brightly in the light, was tossed at him.

King stood up and caught the wooden handle. He spun around to face E.den who had his back turned, nursing the bite mark on his hand. Hastily, he walked over with the axe raised high.

E.den looked over his shoulder.

King came closer.

The axe’s metal blade shone before it smashed directly into the flesh of E.den’s shoulder.

The whole crowd screamed, some in fear, others in complete awe. Rasa and Jun watched in shock as King dug the blade deeper into the wound with a feral grin on his lips.

There was blood splattered across the blade as he firmly pulled it out. A vague noise of crushed bones was heard when the blade left E.den’s shoulder. King embraced the cheering crowd, twirling the axe in his hand while he stared challengingly at E.den.

E.den looked at his wound, his expression passive, before he ripped off the torn shirt cling onto it. The slash pulsated beneath his fingers but E.den shrugged it off. There was an air of indifference that circled around him, driving the excitement within King to a whole new level. King stopped twirling the axe, holding it steadily. E.den advanced forwards.

King prepared for another strike. He raised his axe, dashing towards the other man. As the axe was about to strike, E.den grabbed the arm holding it. His brown eyes flashed to piercing grey ones for a second. His grip tightened remarkably, forcing King to drop the axe as he slowly bent back his arm. King stared at him in surprise. E.den used his other hand to grab the man’s throat, calmly but firmly lifting King up from the ground.

The man struggled to get out of the chokehold, legs kicking weakly above the concrete. He grimaced when the grip intensified. E.den lifted his whole weight. He took cautious steps forwards, sight set on a table behind King. He caught the other’s eye for a split-second before he slammed King down against the table.

It broke from the weight. King crashed to the concrete ground. His ribs protested when he tried to roll to the side and away from the debris. But E.den didn’t stop. He grabbed King’s leg and swung the other across the expanse of the alleyway. King soared through the air.

The fall was painful. He landed on his back right on top of a car hood. Dust scattered upon the contact, aimlessly floating in the air.  King gritted his teeth, trying to in as much oxygen as possible. E.den gave him no time. He rushed towards the scene, jumping up high when he came close to the hood.

He pulled back his arm. His hand was engulfed with something similar to fire before he brought his fist down straight into King’s chest.

The impact caused the car’s doors to open up simultaneously. E.den and King were covered with the dust that retreated from the vehicle. The latter’s head fell back, hitting the window of the car with a low thud. He couldn’t breathe properly, ribs cracked from the force of the blow and dangerously close to his lungs.

E.den smirked at him. He hopped off of the hood. People were shouting all over the alleyway, exhilarated cheers mixed with whistles filling the air. He spun around to face everyone, causing the decibel to rise to an even higher level.

It got muffled when AO came in with a swift sidekick to E.den’s stomach.

He was knocked to the ground. Jun dashed forwards, connecting a front kick to AO’s chest and sending the blonde man sprawling against the concrete. J-Hyo kicked Jun from the side, causing him to fly backwards and next to E.den. Rasa hurriedly jumped towards J-Hyo, planting his foot against the other man’s chest that sent him tumbling to the ground. King dragged himself up, running down from the hood and towards Rasa. His fist connected with a sickening crunch to the side of Rasa’s face. The force caused both of them to fall to the concrete ground.

There was silence as the six fighters all lay bruised, bleeding and injured on the hard surface. But it quickly got covered with muffled laughter that filled the open night air. King and his teammates continued to laugh loudly while Rasa and Jun only smiled with glee at the scene in front of them. E.den shook his head, focusing his attention on his shoulder wound, but there was a small smirk on his lips.

King tried to stop his laughter, it diminished to quiet chuckles as he looked at the crowd. He grinned, eyes glinting with delight.

“It’s a draw.”

***

The tenth annual Fight Club was over, with its first draw. The alleyway was as abandoned as it had been in the past, all the people had left while chattering about the best fight in the years of fights that had occurred before. Everyone had left, except for the fighters themselves.

They all sat at various spots. E.den leaned against the stack of tires, calmly wrapping a piece of cloth from his shirt around the injury. Rasa sat on top of the hood of one of the many cars, examining the scene in front of him while Jun was listening with interest at AO’s incessant rambling.

“This is the best fight ever, like ever, and I mean it when I say that I’ve been in a lot of fights!” He babbled, eyes shining with light from both the neon lamps and excitement.

“It was fun.” Jun replied politely.

“It wasn’t just fun, it was awesome! I have to fight you; you have to show me that cool trick you did when your hand went all snap and crackle!”

“Fight, like right now?”

“Yeah, we can spar!” AO exclaimed, spirit revived despite the harsh beating he’d received beforehand.

Jun contemplated the idea. He looked at AO who had begun to widen his eyes into the ones puppies had. Sighing, Jun nodded while smiling at the blonde man. AO squealed in delight before he dragged the other man towards the middle of the alleyway, skipping on each step.

“Kids these days…” J-Hyo commented with amusement clear in his tone as he sat down on the hood next to Rasa. “They never stop moving around for a second.”

“What do you want?” Rasa muttered, glaring at him.

J-Hyo looked taken aback for a moment before he quickly composed himself. He shook his head, his familiar lazy smirk taking its place on his features. Rasa arched an eyebrow, silently repeating the question. J-Hyo held something out towards the other man and Rasa cautiously peered at it.

It was his cap, albeit bloodied and torn at the seams.

“You forgot something?” J-Hyo teased.

“Thanks…” Rasa murmured while he reluctantly accepted it.

Silence enveloped the two, awkward on Rasa’s part, comfortable on J-Hyo’s. Rasa slowly put on the cap, letting out a small cough to somewhat break the silence. J-Hyo glanced over at him, his smirk turning into a smile as he noticed how tense Rasa’s posture was.

“I wasn’t kidding,” he spoke up, lying back. “About your car, I mean.”

“Are you serious?” Rasa asked in disbelief, snorting at the statement.

“I’m serious, it’s a beauty indeed. I have a car like that myself, those idiots I have for friends always makes fun of her.”

They both chuckled at the shared problem. A small smile graced Rasa’s lips; he shook his head before lying down next to the other man. They lay there while the sounds of AO’s overly excited squeals and shouts reverberated around them.

“Maybe, maybe I’ll take you on for a ride.”

“Is that a date suggestion?” J-Hyo grinned at him, his voice a singsong at the mention of the word “date”.

Rasa only smiled, closing his eyes as he shrugged. “Maybe it is.”

E.den rolled his eyes not only at the whole ordeal happening in front of him, but also at King’s constant poking at his wound. It wasn’t the fact that it stung every time he did it, it was downright annoying. King didn’t seem to mind the death glare E.den was sending him though, whistling a happy tune as he continued the small yet unbearable action.

“Could you stop that?”

“Stop what?” King responded, pretending to be surprised.

“That poking of yours,” E.den answered with gritted teeth. “It’s annoying, and it’s not helping.”

“It isn’t? That’s strange; AO told me that if you constantly touch the injured spot then it’ll get better.”

“No, it only leads to infections.”

King rolled his eyes, stopping the poking. “I knew that, I was just kidding around.”

“I don’t see how that’s any fun.”

“Geez, what crawled up your and died?”

E.den frowned at him, gesturing to his shoulder wound. “Oh I don’t know, maybe an axe?”

“Ew, I didn’t know your was stuck on your shoulder.” King countered, holding his nose as he used his hand to waft the air.

The other man dragged a hand across his face, grumbling at the childish behavior King was showing. He returned his focus to the wound, gently probing it with finger before tightening the cloth wrapped around it. A loud bang echoed in the area, E.den sighed as he saw Jun and AO playfully wrestling straight into one of the cars.

“I had no idea you guys could fight.” King spoke up from besides him, staring with something akin to fondness at the younger men.

“Well, you shouldn’t underestimate anyone.” E.den pointed out.

King scoffed indignantly. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it, an expression of contemplation taking over his features. E.den waited, he wasn’t going to urge King to break free from whatever thoughts he had but he was getting a bit curious at the sudden silence. It wasn’t like King to be silent and patient; he was more of an actions first kind of man.  

“Hey, we should totally get our groups together.”

E.den had expected dumb things to come out of King’s mouth, but not that dumb of things.

“Do you really think I’m going to do that after you guys almost beat us to death, not to mention tricked us?” E.den said dryly, staring at him.

“Yes.”

“Well, it does sound like a really stupid idea. But I’m going to have to beat you up for this you put me through, and it’d be easier if we’d be a team.”

“So, is that a yes?” King asked, barely hiding his happiness.

“It’s a yes, welcome aboard.” E.den stated simply, smiling a small smile.

King suddenly smacked the shoulder wound, causing E.den to let out an embarrassing yelp before he covered his mouth. He glared at the other man who was glaring at him too before he held up his hand to silence E.den.

“Oh yeah, like we’re jumping onto your group, you’re jumping onto ours.” King said, his tone taking on a foreign serious edge. “I bet you guys don’t even have a group name, do you?”

E.den uncovered his mouth, opened it, and then closed it with some resignation. He shook his head, huffing before he crossed his arms across his chest. King grinned at him.

“Then it’s settled, welcome aboard LC9.”