Shit, I didn't expect that these fucks would attack us. Gin thought to himself as multiple people in suits with blades and hammers rushes him and the people he's with.
"You know what you did, Gin." An old yet muscular man said while smoking a cigar as he walk towards Gin.
Gin spits out the blood in his mouth, holding his stomach that got hit by a hammer.
"Heh, i wouldn't have thought that you'd avenge that piece of shit. That's so out of character for you, Ramon." Gin said, looking directly at the one smoking the cigar.
Ramon puffs out smoke, looking at Gin. "I have to avenge him." He replied to Gin before flicking some of the ashes off his cigar.
"You know what kind of person that fucker was--!" Gin uttered.
"And that's precisely why I'm disappointed in you Gin." Ramon said, cutting Gin's words mid sentence before dropping his cigar and stepping on it.
"You could've just waited for me to take action, to discipline my own men, to dispose of him myself." Ramon continued, walking forward towards the injured Gin, his cane making a sound each time he taps it on the ground.
He stopped just a few feet in front of Gin, removing the rings in his right hand, holding it in his other hand. Gin looked away, not wanting to look at Ramon's face.
"Look, I'm thankful, really I am. But he was still one of my people when you disposed of him." Ramon said, slapping Gin with the back of his right hand.
"So it's naturally my job to avenge him, you'd do the same for your men." He continued, before slapping Gin again with his right hand.
"I hope you understand that this isn't personal." He continued, hitting Gin with the cane.
Gin smiled, punching Ramon in the face as Ramon felt blood on his lips. Ramon didn't feel anger, just smiling at Gin's retaliation.
"I understand. So do let me fight back for my own protection, Sir Ramon." Gin said, raising his fists up.
"You should've asked that before you punched me." Ramon said, putting the rings back in his fingers as he turn around to walk away.
"Go, fight back. If you live another day then so be it." He continued, before letting his men gang up on Gin.
Ramon's men started beating him up, some aiming to kill him with their blades and hammers as he avoid some of them. Gin threw some punches, hitting some of his men as he run away to avoid being ganged up.
Shit, I can't move my left arm. Gin thought to himself as he kicked some trash to slow down the men chasing him. He turned left, hiding as he catches his breath?
"Hmm? Sir Gin?" Suddenly, he heard a voice calling out to him.
He turned around, his hand raised. But the person he saw was the kid, the new employee of the cafe that he uses as a front.
What is he doing here? I'm sure I told him not to come today? Gin thought to himself.
"Ah right, you told me not to come to work today. Oops, my bad." Juwan said. It's obvious to anyone that he's going through something.
But that's not the problem right now. The problem is that he, an innocent bystander, is now in a middle of a gang chase. Gin exhaled, he knows that Juwan's familiar with violence, but to him, he's still just a kid.
"..So how have you been sir?" Juwan asked as he looked at Gin, who's riddled with injuries.
"Listen kid, you have to get out of here right now!" Gin said, grabbing Juwan by the shoulders, gripping it tightly.
Juwan stayed silent, his eyes still calm as he looks somewhere else. Gin followed his gaze as he saw the people chasing him already caught up to him.
"Hmm? I didn't think you'd go as low as this Gin. Really? Pulling a civilian in?" One of the men said, spinning their hammer on their hand.
"Don't get him involved with this." Gin shouted, grabbing anything he can as a weapon.
"You know we can't do that. He's a witness, you know the rules." Another one of the men said, walking closer to the two of them.
I don't know how I'd fight all of them while protecting the kid, but I have to try! Gin thought to himself while Juwan was still silent, his eyes are calm.
"Look kid, I'll count to 3, You go run away on 3, got it?" Gin said, but his words fell on deaf ears as Juwan walked forward.
"11, 12, 13. 13 guys huh." Juwan uttered, shaking his hands as if warming himself up.
The men laughed as Juwan cracked his neck, all of them getting closer each second. Gin found a stick a few feet behind him as he run to grab it.
"Hah! This brat thinks he's some kind of protagonist." One of them said.
"Thanks." Juwan said as he just stared at the man's eyes.
"Heh, you fucker, this'll teach you!" The man raised his hammer, swinging it downwards.
"No! Kid--!"
Suddenly, Juwan's fist connected to the man's face as an audible crack reached to everyone's ears as the man's body ragdolls to the ground.
"I... really need to let off some steam." Juwan said as he got hit by another guy in the shoulder with a hammer.
But Juwan barely even flinched, his eyes stayed dead calm before throwing another punch that made the guy who hit him stagger backwards.
W-what's happening? That's all Gin could think of as he watches Juwan walk calmly towards the men who was chasing him.
"You fucker--!" One of them said as Juwan easily slipped out of their attack while simultaneously hitting the side of their body.
Juwan threw a front kick, hitting the guy who missed his attack, making him fall down. He turned around, blocking a hammer strike with just his forearm before throwing a left hook directly at the man's chin as they crumble down on the ground
He stomped on their head, his eyes cold and indifferent as he look back at what he deems as enemies.
"11 left." He told them as he rushed in towards them.
One of them swung down their blade, cutting his arm but he didn't stop. He threw two punches at one of them before running away to gain distance as they chase him, then he'd rush inside again when they swing their arms, slipping their attack as he lands another blow.
He keeps running, when some of them catch up to him, he retaliates with blows that sounds like gunshots. One of them fell to their knees after a devastating body blow as Juwan throw a roundhouse kick to their neck before running away again. Gin can't help but analyze his movements.
Boxing? No, that kick was definitely a Muay Thai kick. He was at a loss for words, the kid was showing different styles of fighting effectively.
But that's not the most impressive part for him.
"8 left." Juwan uttered, rushing inside again.
Gin felt terrified at what's he's watching. The kid rushed in, stopping his hit and run tactics as he gets hit by some of the men's attack. But instead of being in pain, the only expression in the kid's face is an unnerving smile.
Juwan's attacks earlier were calculated and swift, but now its brutal. He threw low kicks that hits directly at the back of the knee as they fall down before throwing a flying knee directly at their face as their numbes start dwindling down like flies.
[You're a monster.]
The voices in Juwan's head starts to get louder as he feels his blood boil even more. He knows that he's starting to lose control of his strength but the voice in his head just won't stop.
[You're unlovable, Juwan.]
Shut up! Juwan tried screaming back at the voices, his punches becoming heavier to those he's fighting, not realizing that some of them already lowered their weapons.
[You're an unlovable monster.]
Juwan got hit in the hammer with the head as he stopped his onslaught. The guy that hit him started nervously laughing, thinking that he made the monster that was beating the shit out of them stop.
[Have you forgotten?]
"Not so tough now huh?! You bitch!" The guy said as he kept hitting Juwan, who's not moving at all.
Shut the hell up! Juwan said, not realizing that he's getting pummeled by a hammer. It's not that he doesn't feel the hammer hitting him, it's just that he's already got hit with worse.
[You shouldn't have been born.]
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm gonna fucking kill you! You son of a bit--"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Juwan suddenly shouted, throwing a jaw breaking uppercut as the person hitting him crumpled on the ground.
He mounted the guy, punching him in the face again and again, pummeling him with different strikes as blood splatter on the ground.
"Shut up!"
He hammered his fist down on the guy's nose, breaking it.
"Shut the fuck up!"
He threw an elbow strike, crushing the guy's forehead.
"Shut up! You piece of shit!"
He shouted, his fist stopping midway.
[See?]
The man uttered, looking exactly like him.
[You're a mur%^÷&er.]
He was about to hammer his fist down with the intention of destroying the reflection that's just underneath him. Suddenly, Gin grabbed him, stopping his onslaught.
"Kid! Calm down!" Gin said as he drags Juwan away.
"Let go of me! I'll--!"
Suddenly, Juwan snapped out of his trance.
"What did I...?" He looked at his own bloodied hands, his warm blood are dripping down from his injuries.
He looked at the man on the ground, their face badly beaten to the point that they're not even recognizable, their skull cracked from Juwan's elbow. They're clearly not a perfect copy of him, they don't even look alike.
Not again Juwan. Not again...! He thought to himself, trying to wipe the blood off his hands on the ground.
"He's still alive." Suddenly, his panic halted when he heard Gin's words.
Juwan looked back at the guy as he saw them breathing. He took a deep breath, calming himself down as he stood up. His mind was still all over the place but atleast he can now collect his thoughts unlike earlier.
Gin looked at Juwan with a mix of amazement, worry, and fear. He now knows that the kid is proficient in fighting, he's also amazed by how tough he is... But there's only one thing that worries him.
This kid isn't stable. Gin thought to himself, looking at how fast Juwan composed himself after that breakdown.
.
.
.
(Juwan's POV.)
I lay down on my bed, my head aching as I try to rest.
[You shouldn't have been born.]
Fuck-- what's wrong with me today? I sat down, trying to think why I'm getting all these unwanted thoughts, all these unwanged memories.
I decided to exercise, tiring myself out to try and kick out these thoughts.
But no such luck.
I removed my clothes and took a shower. I stayed there for a bit and pondered why I'm getting all of these unwanted thoughts and why I'm being affected this badly?
Sure I get these from time to time but I usually just shrugged it off.
I got off the showers and put on some clothes. I checked my phone and saw some messages from Lovely and Cedric.
"Dude why did you leave early? Man, I missed my chance on making you sing again!" Cedric's message made me laugh, seriously this guy.
"Joowan!!! Where are youuuu?! Huhuhu I don't know what to do here!" Lovely's message was filled with cute emojis, which made me laugh.
[You're unlovable, Juwan]
Seriously? I'm not even-- GAAHHH!
I pulled out my black card out of frustration, wanting to admire it so that these stupid thoughts go away.
[Inspect.]
Suddenly, the Eyes of the Seer activated by itself, targeting the black card that's floating in my hands.
[[Black Card: Gives the User different abilities. The card becomes stronger everytime it feeds on life forces or when feeding in the negative energy of the User, tormenting them with their own negative thoughts and feelings.
This Card has not yet received it's name.]]
I looked at my black card, my hands shaking slightly from the anger thats creeping up at the back of my neck.
"IT WAS YOU?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I almost threw this fucking card on the ground.
I stopped myself, realizing that crashing out wouldn't do me any good.
"Haa... [Eyes of the Seer], can you tell me how to stop this feeding thingy?" I asked my skill as I look at the card I'm holding.
[[Deactivated Auto Feed. You can activate it again by casting [Activate Auto Feed].]]
Suddenly, a symbol appeared on the card. A lock and a keyhole.
I looked at my phone again, specifically at Lovely's message. My fingers landing on the keyboard as I waited for the annoying thoughts to pop up.
But it didn't.
I felt myself smiling. I remembered what happened at the arcade, the way those memories made me completely doubt myself.
This time, nothing is stopping me from talking to them. Well-- nothing except my own self doubt.
Even if I was influenced by the card earlier, it's still true that I'm just an side character, an extra. Do I even deserve being this close with her?
"Ah! Joowan! You're online!" Suddenly, a messaged popped up on my phone.
"Are you ok? Sonaia told me you left early."
"Oh umm! If I'm being nosey! Please tell me!"
"And umm! Thank you for helping me hang out with Cedric, even though I failed on confessing again, I had fun!"
Lovely's messages filled my phone as she chats me nonstop, going from thanking me to being anxious to being thankful again.
Seriously even in chat, this girl is so--
"It's spelled Juwan." I chatted back.
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"My name, it's not Joowan. It's Juwan."
"Ah! I didn't know huhu!" She replied, her text full of cute emoticons and emojis.
I found myself chuckling. I kept conversing with her through our chats, not noticing the time.
At first she was as timid as she is in real life, but she started becoming more and more talkative especially when it comes to her hobbies.
"Heyy! Why aren't you replying? Huhu am I yapping too much?" She asked as I giggle to myself.
"No, I just like seeing you share your hobbies, since we rarely talk about it in school." I replied to her, her chat bubble shows up, then disappearing, and then popping up again.
"But it's kinda embarrassing! What if you think that I'm weird or something?" She asked.
"I don't. I think you're cute." I replied back.
Her chat bubble stopped, it's so obvious that she's flustered. I waited for her response, making coffee as I chat with her.
"Blehh your fake compliments won't work on me anymore! I won't treat you foods you knoww!" She replied to me, her messages are full of bunny emojis
I take a sip of my coffee, feeling a smirk appear on my face. The doubt I was feeling vanished as I typed in my reply.
"It's not fake." I replied back.
Shit, I feel like I'm still influenced by the black card.
"Eh? What do you mean?" She chatted, her reactions are clear even through chat.
Because even though I know I'm just an extra here, even though she already have two love interests...
"I meant what I said. You're cute, Lovely."
...I want her all for myself.