THUD!
Inside an underground fighting ring, a loud thud broke the silence of the crowd as a tall man suddenly fell from being hit by a simple hook.
"That kid..."
"Did he really knock him out with a single hook?"
"That's absolutely f*cked."
The crowd spoke not with praise but with questions and doubts.
"A-and the winner is! Isonade Kenji!"
The sloppy-looking ref announced after seeing that there was no way the man was getting up.
"Can I get my money now?"
The black-haired boy with deep blue eyes and sharp-looking teeth spoke with a bored expression as he turned towards a man outside the ring, wearing a formal two-piece suit, smoking a cigar.
"You're interesting, boy..."
The man chuckled as the gates of the ring opened.
He grinned before he handed Kenji a briefcase filled with cash.
"You punk... I went easy on you because you're just a kid, but it seems I didn't give you enough credit..."
The tall man slowly stood up, blood dripping from both his mouth and nose as he started sprinting towards Kenji.
Right before the man could reach him, Kenji swiftly turned around and performed a perfect counter back kick.
THUD!
His kick resounded, but this time the man didn't budge.
"That sucker punch to the face might have been effective, but I've trained my core to perfection..."
The tall man stood still, as he actually didn't even bother blocking his torso.
"I see... how about this.."
Kenji immediately leapt up using the man's stomach as a platform for his foot, his other leg aiming to knee the man in the face.
"Nice try."
The man grinned as he blocked the attack, catching both of Kenji's ankles.
"Shit.."
Kenji gritted his teeth as he was immediately slammed down to the floor, his eyes almost rolling backwards from the shock.
The dissipating crowd was shocked for a moment before they started cheering.
"Y-yes.. this makes more sense.."
"There was no way Alphonso would lose to this kid."
"I almost lost a bet..."
The crowd spoke with each other as the tall man named Alphonso picked up the briefcase filled with cash.
"Here ya go..."
He says as he drops two stacks of cash in front of Kenji.
"You put up a good fight, punk..."
He spoke once more before walking away with a grin.
Kenji, who was lying on the floo,r grabbed the cash as he stood up, wiping away the blood that was now dripping from his nose.
"Guess it just wasn't my day..."
The man wearing the two-piece suit approached.
"Time to get outta here, brat, the next fight is coming up, and I don't want you loitering around."
Kenji waved him off as he left, gripping the cash, becoming bloodied from his hands.
....
At the side of the street, Kenji, wearing a black hoodie, walked as he headed towards a convenience store.
"Good evening, sir, what can we get you today?"
A bright-eyed girl waved at him as he entered the store.
"I need to use the bathroom first.."
Kenji replied with a rough voice.
"It's right over there si-"
Kenji seemingly knew where the bathroom was as he headed there before the clerk could finish her sentence.
Inside the bathroom, Kenji took out the two stacks of cash he got.
"Damn it... they're all ones..."
He clicked his tongue with frustration as he realized that what he got was all single-dollar bills.
He then turned on the faucet as he washed away the blood from the cash and his hands.
He was quick, so as not to soak it in for too long, just enough to wash away the fresh blood.
He then turned to the hand dryer nearby and placed his hands along with the bloodied cash.
After a few minutes, he then went out of the bathroom as he headed towards the pet food section of the store.
He took some canned food and some treats for both cats and dogs.
"Please ring these up..."
Kenji spoke with a deadpan expression as the clerk was surprised by the amount of pet food in front of her.
"You stocking up, sir?"
She asked with genuine curiosity.
"Not really.."
Kenji replied as he grabbed a pair of Twinkies from a nearby shelf and added it to the pile.
The clerk was confused, but she just continued to do her job.
"That'll be a hundred and two dollars, sir... will you be paying with cash or card?"
She said with a smile.
"Cash, sorry it's all ones..."
He replied, placing the two stacks of cash on the desk.
"I-it's okay, sir, luckily we had just gotten a new cash counter!"
The girl immediately took the money and placed it in the machine to count.
DING!
And with a ding, the machine showed a set of numbers, revealing a hundred dollars.
"Apologies, sir, it seems that you're a dollar and a half short..."
Kenji thought about it for a moment before he took the pair of Twinkies from the pile and placed it back on the shelf.
"Just that then..."
Kenji took the two bags filled with pet food with both of his arms as he then walked towards the exit.
"You're receipt, sir!"
"Keep it"
Kenji disappeared into the crowded streets, heading deeper into an alleyway.
"There you are..."
He suddenly stopped in front of a white furred stray cat.
"You're covered in dirt... lead me to your friends..."
Kenji was quiet as he followed the cat, jumping over some fences and walls on the way to their destination.
BARK!
"Easy boy..."
Kenji spoke, trying to calm down the dog barking at him after he hopped off a fence.
"I've brought food... see..."
He took out one of the cans in the two bags he had and opened it, as he slowly walked towards the weary dog.
"Here you go..."
The dog sniffed the open can for a moment before it started licking and eating.
Kenji then proceeded to open more cans of both cat food and dog food, as more and more animals approached him.
"There's enough for everyone, no need to fight..."
Some time passed, and Kenji just lay across the floor, staring at the sun that was about to set.
His stomach suddenly grumbled.
MEOW!
The white cat from before started rubbing itself on his hand.
"You guys are just like me... homeless bums"
Kenji chuckled as he patted the cat.
"But nah, I'm different... I'm not a cat, or a dog..."
He paused for a moment as he sat up from the floor.
"I'm a shark... I have to keep moving no matter what it takes, to survive..."
"I̸̼͛s̵̻̀ ̸̱̅̍t̷̼͔̾h̶̫̄̾a̷̛̰̔t̵͖̄̉ ̸̤̼̒s̷͈͓͛ö̴̧̃?̷̳͘"
Kenji shot up from the floor as a voice suddenly whispered in the back of his head.
But after looking around, he couldn't find anyone.
"I think I might've hit my head too hard from earlier..."
He sighed as he placed his hand into one of his hoodie's pockets, taking out a crumpled dollar bill.
He then smiled before placing it back in his pocket. He then spent a few minutes picking up the empty cans and the plastic bags before dropping them into the nearest trash can.
....
In the busy streets of the night, Kenji walked with his hoodie up, the white cat following him.
"Ah! Good evening, sir! Welcome back! What can I get you tonight?"
The bright-eyed girl greeted Kenji as he entered the store again.
He just nodded as he went to a shelf near the cashier, where Twinkies of all sorts of flavors were lined up.
CRASH!
A rough-looking man suddenly busted through the glass door seemingly without care about the damage.
"W-why are you here, sir..."
The bright-eyed girl suddenly had a grim expression as she looked at the man who was approaching her.
"Ungrateful b*tch..."
The man suddenly pulled a pistol, aiming it at the girl.
"P-please don't do this!!"
The girl was horrified, her body shaking as tears started flowing from her eyes.
"I just need you to put up a bit... I've done so much sh*t for you bitch... yet you ain't givin nothing, not fucking once..."
He says with bloodshot eyes as he starts unbuckling his belt.
"Get on your knees b*t-"
THUD!
The man staggered back a little as Kenji landed a front kick on him.
"The f*ck?! The f*ck was that pathetic kick? This sh*t's got nothing to do with you, brat. Leave before I pump you full of holes."
The man was pissed, pointing his gun directly at Kenji as the girl was moving slowly towards her phone.
Kenji gritted his teeth; his stomach was aching, and he could barely feel his strength.
"I'm so f*cking hungry..."
Kenji said with a deep sigh before he suddenly ducked and leapt towards the man's stomach.
CRASH!
Kenji managed to push him down, immediately following up with a barrage of punches at the rough-looking man.
"Pathetic..."
The man grinned as he easily blocked Kenji's weakened punches.
BANG!