"You gotta be kidding me... YOUR ass is their secret weapon?" Hwoarang groaned.
"Paul Phoenix? F-from the tournament?" Julia asked.
"So you've heard of me? I can't say I'm surprised." Paul said, his cheesy smile full of cockiness.
"We were in the King of Iron Fist Tournament together, you dumb shit." Hwoarang replied, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, that's right! And who won that tournament, hmmmmmm?!" Paul asked, striking a triumphant pose.
"Uhhhhh... Jin Kazama?"
As soon as Paul heard those words, his smile faded in an instant and his face twisted as if he was kicked in the balls. A vein in his forehead throbbed as he turned slowly and menacingly to Hwoarang and looked him in the eyes.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOO! That little punk STOLE my victory, you hear me? I defeated Ogre! ME!"
"Paul, you're just butthurt because you were too stupid to finish the job." Hwoarang retorted. "The only reason you lost the tournament is because you got cocky and assumed victory just a liiiiiitle too fast."
"Grrrrr... well how far did YOU get, you little shit?!" Paul fired back.
Hwoarang was humbled a little after hearing that. "Guuuuh... f-fair enough."
"Excuse me, Mr. Phoenix... wh-why are you hanging out with a Korean biker gang?" Julia asked.
"They're old friends of mine." Paul replied. "I don't just ride in America, ya know. I've been to many far away countries on this old hawg. Made lots of friends on my travels, too."
"I see... well you picked some very bad bikers to befriend here. These guys are a bunch of lousy pissants!" Hwoarang added.
"H-hey! You started it, punk!" Broken Sunglasses Guy responded.
"Look, I'm sorry! Okay? I'm SORRY. Is that what you all want to hear?" Hwoarang said.
"That's not good enough. You drew blood. So now, my old buddy Paul here is gonna spill YOUR blood."
"Hey! He just apologized. Isn't that good enough for you?!" Julia yelled.
"Okay, everyone SHUT UP! You're givin me a headache." Paul yelled, putting his hand to his head. He approached Hwoarang and leaned down, putting his hand on his shoulder.
"Listen...c-can we talk somewhere in private?"
Hwoarang gave a strange look. "Uhhh... sure."
The two of them pushed their way through the crowd and to a nice secluded area where they could have a discreet, man to man conversation.
"Listen... I really hate to put you in this position, but I don't have a choice." Paul said, shrugging his shoulders.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Look, kid... my goal in life is to be the toughest fighter in the universe. That means I can't just back down from a fight, ya know? I have a reputation to think of! Those guys... they're kinda counting on me to kick your ass and wreck your dojo."
"But they're a bunch of violent hoodlums, Paul! You're not really gonna condone that, are you? And here I thought you at least had some semblance of honor left in that giant head of yours. Let's just go over there and I'll apologize for everything and ask their forgiveness. It doesn't have to be this way!"
"Kid... I'm well aware they're bunch of bitter, vengeful assholes. But those guys look up to me. They RESPECT me! In their eyes, I'm the greatest fighter there is. I have to live up to their expectations! If I just pussy out and try to settle things with words, they'll no longer have that godlike image of me. I'm sorry kid, but this is happening whether you like it or not."
"So let me get this straight... you're gonna ruin everything I've worked for all for your stupid ego?!" Hwoarang yelled.
"Sorry it has to be that way, but it's a dog eat dog world. I've got ambitions, my friend. I have to prove to the world that there's no one better than me, and for that... I'm gonna have to knock your teeth out."
Paul tried to give Hwoarang a consoling pat on the shoulder, but he just angrily slapped Paul's hand away.
"I think someone needs to knock you back down to earth, Paul. Looks like I'm gonna be the one to do it."
Hwoarang turned and walked away. As he walked on, Paul called out for him one last time.
"Hey, kid!"
Hwoarang turned around angrily. "WHAT?!"
"I'll...I'll at least try to talk them out of attacking your dojo. Okay?"
"That... would be nice. Thank you."
The two of them walked back over to where the standoff was still taking place and they returned to their respective sides. Paul rejoined his Korean biker buddies and Hwoarang rejoined Park and Julia, and the two sides once again engaged in an intense staredown.
"So, is everything clear?" Broken Sunglasses Man asked.
"Yeah... so I guess there's no talking you out of this. I suppose apologizing won't do any good either." Hwoarang responded.
"Nope. You attacked my boys. You violated our bikes. And worst of all... worst of all..."
He couldn't even finish that sentence, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the broken pieces of his precious sunglasses. A sniffle escaped from his throat as he reached up and wiped a single tear that was shed for his fallen sunglasses.
"...Tomorrow, at sunrise. Me, my boys, and Paul here are all coming for you. We won't show mercy to you OR your dojo. We're gonna tear the place to the ground, and anyone who stands in our way... well, they're just collateral damage."
"I'll be waiting for you, you bastards." Hwoarang spat.
Those were the last words shared between them all as the bikers hopped back on their high powered machines and drove off into the night. Hwoarang was left there with just his thoughts swimming in his head. Julia approached him from behind and put her arms gently around his neck.
"You okay?" she whispered.
"I'm... I'm fine. I just need to call someone."
BACK AT THE DOJO...
Julia stayed at Hwoarang's that night so she could be with him for emotional support. She hadn't told him yet that she was planning on fighting alongside him, but she had a feeling he already knew. Julia wasn't one to just stand on the sidelines and let evil prevail.
As Julia slept, Hwoarang quietly got out of bed and stepped out of the room. He went into a secluded area and sat down, his phone in his trembling hand. He flipped open the phone and scrolled through the contacts until he saw the desired name, then pressed the green button.
"..."
"..."
"...Hwoarang?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Why are you calling me at this hour, boy? An old man needs his sleep."
"There's plenty of time for that later, Baek. I just need to talk."
"How is the dojo doing?"
"It's good. Profits are up, there's new students signing up all the time. Everyone likes me pretty well. But... there's one tiny problem. You see I... I pissed off a biker gang a while back. Well... now they want blood. But they don't want to just stop with me; they want to destroy EVERYTHING."
"Hmm...so violence begets violence once again. This is what I warned you about, my boy. I told you that living that lifestyle would only bring you despair. It seems you were a bit too late in changing your ways..."
"I didn't call to get bitched at, old man! I called because I need your advice!"
"I'm afraid I have no advice to give, Hwoarang. What need do you have for it? You've done better for yourself in this short time than you did your entire lifetime of being under my wing. There's nothing I can tell you that will make things any better. The cards are in your hand, and you have the power to play them."
"So what, do you expect me to fight them? Continue the cycle of violence?"
"I expect the same thing I've always expected of you... to be the best you can be. Hwoarang, you have a life worth living now. If you have to fight to protect that life, then with the power of right on your side, hold nothing back. I think you'll find that your power is far greater than you could ever imagine when you use it for a true purpose."
"Well well well... the old man's cheering me on for once. Heh, well in that case I'll kick their asses extra hard. And I don't want any complaints, since I'm kicking their asses for righteousness!"
"...Just don't lose."
Those were the last words spoken as the other end fell dead silent. Hwoarang smiled as he hung up the phone and went back to bed. He was so anxious that he forgot to be quiet getting back in bed and woke up Julia.
"Unghhh... H-Hwo? Is everything okay?" she asked. She snuggled up close to him and put her arms tight around his torso.
"I'm fine, baby." Hwoarang replied. "I'm just ready to whoop these motherf***ers."
Next Chap... FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!