"Girls I'm counting on you two to keep this bone head under control." He motioned toward Shina and Uriko.
"Don't worry Mr. Gado, I'll keep him out of trouble." The youngest girl said after jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. The four of them shared a laugh before walking out the door.
"Bye Master Long. See you this weekend" She called before closing the door behind the group. Long and Alice had been completely oblivious to the conversation going on until Long heard his name followed by the door closing. That's when he and Alice realized they were alone in the apartment. They look out the window to see the large burgundy Suburban pull off into the sunset, leaving the two speechless and dumb founded. As they were taking all of this in, Alice's phone received a text message.
~Tell mom Kenji will bring me home a little later. He's meeting us at the restaurant. Thanks. 3~
Alice was furious and depressed at the same time. She sighed in defeat before looking over to Long.
"I really hope you can get through to her. Because if things don't change, our mother or I am going to kill her." She said in a depressed tone.
"I will certainly try." He said heavily. With that Alice left the room, and soon after could be heard driving off toward her mother's house.
Soon enough, three zoanthopes were walking into a diner and promptly took a seat at a table carrying light conversation.
"Shenlong, are you really involved with the city's fight ring?" Uriko asked intrigued and hesitant at the same time.
"Yep, I'm the strongest fighter in the city." He said with a grin, looking over at Shina who playfully scoffed at him. When he looked at Uriko he raised an eyebrow at her uncertain expression.
"Whats wrong?" He pondered.
"Umm…. Do you think I could come see you fight? I need to get out of my house from time to time." She said shyly.
"That may not be such a good idea Uriko." Shina answered for him causing both of them to look at her.
"From what I've heard, that's one dangerous crowd." A voice said from behind the table. Kenji was walking over to the table with a concerned look on his face.
"And how would you know Kenji?" Uriko asked playfully as she jumped up to give him a hug. After the embrace, the two took seats beside one another.
"He knows because I've fought his brother a couple times." Shenlong said with a devilish grin. This noticeably upset Kenji.
"Really? I didn't know Yugo was involved with in the fights too." The young girl was shocked. Alice never said anything about Yugo fighting outside of the boxing ring.
"I didn't know that either." Shina added. "Is he any good?"
"Yea actually he's the only one I get to fight who I can really let loose on. In fact last time we fought we accidently destroyed the building we used to host the fights." He said with a light laugh. "Your dad was the one who helped us relocate Babe." Shina lightly blushed at being called Babe but smacked him on the head anyway.
"Don't call me Babe." She ordered. "Are you sure it was my dad? He never brought the fights up to me." She questioned.
"Yep, it was him, but you don't need to worry about that. I'm actually not supposed to tell anyone where the fights are held unless they are being invited to fight or have some deep pockets." He finished. Uriko was lightly put off by being denied access to the see him fight, but didn't push the issue.
"How do you choose who you invite to fight?" Uriko asked with an innocent voice.
"By fighting in the street and being noticed by someone from the pit." Shina answered.
"But that's all you need to know about that Kitten." Shenlong said patting her on her head. "Besides if Long hasn't trained you beyond the basics, you would really get hurt if you got involved in the fights."
"You would know wouldn't you?" Kenji said in an accusing tone.
"Whats your problem kid?" Shenlong's voice deepened.
"The last time you fought my brother you almost put him in the hospital, that's what!" Kenji said through gritted teeth.
"HEY! Let me set something straight!" Shenlong's tone sent the boy from anger to shock.
"I'm not some coward who goes picking fights with people, got that! Your brother and I work out together every other day and every once in a while he comes down to the pit to test his skills and stretch his legs. There are some really strong and fighters down at the pit, but none of them have impressed me more than your brother." He said pointing a stern finger at the young boy's face.
"He's one of the only ones I have ever had to transform in order to fight and truth is, he's kicked my ass a couple times!" Shenlong's words made the boy slump down into his seat and almost fall to the floor.
"Wait are you telling me that Yugo wanted to fight you… for fun?" The boy asked with a confused stare. Uriko looked from him back to Shenlong.
"Yea, that's exactly what I'm telling you kid. Maybe if you asked him about it instead of getting mad at me you wouldn't have just made a fool of yourself." Shenlong was riled up at this point. He did not like being accused of crimes he didn't commit or be compared to some low life street punk. Shina placed a hand on his shoulder and brought him back to his senses.
"I'm sorry." Kenji said with his head hung low. "It's just that with all of the things people say about you, I thought you were just a tyrant trying to cause chaos in the city and hurt others." He bowed n respect.
"Actually its quite the opposite." Shenlong started in a calm tone. At this point all three of the others were looking at him for further explanation. Shenlong sighed before he started his explanation.
"Think of it like this. There are a lot of low life's and lost causes in this city, and some of them actually have some potential in life if the cruel world doesn't drain it out of them first. The fights are a way for talented fighters and rich gamblers to come and put all their attention, cash and skill to one cause. Plus, with all of the money tied up in the fights, things like drugs and gangs are rare in the city. People don't even use steroids because the pit is exclusively for skilled and talented fighters with some sense of pride. That's also why it's by invitation only. Scouts are constantly combing the streets looking for talent. If any of them saw someone using some kind of drug to help them fight, they could fight everyday for the rest of their life and never get into the pit. Those that do get in are paid for the fights they win and train very hard to get to that level." Shenlong's voice was strong and almost inspirational in a way.
"It's a second chance for people who normally wouldn't have made anything out of their lives." He finished in a serious tone. No one had ever taken the time to think of the underground fight ring as a positive thing. Only as another form of organized crime that was plaguing the city, when in fact it was probably saving the city from being a much harsher place.
"SHENLONG YOU HAVE TO TRAIN ME!" Uriko demanded with a grin on her face and stars in her eyes.
"What… why...?" He was caught off guard by the sudden request.
"Because Master Long refuses to teach me anything beyond the basics." She said with a pout. "I know it's wrong to go behind your master's back like this, but if he wont teach me then I need to find someone who will." She said with a strong tone.
"I'll think about it…" He said uncomfortably.
"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" She cheered. "You are the best big brother EVER!"
"Calm down, will ya." He laughed. "I'm not exactly good at teaching others, so that could be a problem. Not to mention a few other things I have to consider."
"Hi there, my name is Kelly and I will be taking your orders this evening. Can I start you off with a drink?" the waitress said bringing the conversation to an end.
"Saved by the bell!" Shenlong sighed in reliefe. The group placed their orders and continued the evening with light conversation. Unbeknownst to the group a certain Chinese pair was walking down the block plotting their revenge and their next attempt into the pit.
"Dammit Xie! Now how are we going to get into the pit and take over this dump?" The larger man growled.
"Be quiet, Panda. Do you want every fighter in the city to know our plan?" Xie responded with a sarcastic tone.
"I already told you, I'm a SUN-BEAR! NOT A FUCKING PANDA!" Hung roared.
"And I told you to quiet down!" Xie scolded him. The pair had still not recovered from their defeat, and had still not come up with a way to find the pit.
"What the hell happened to you back there anyway?" Hung asked finally starting to calm down. "One minute that spotted freak put her knee in my skull, the next you come crashing into me with your shell cracked open."
"I was ambushed by another zoanthrope, and it was only a small crack. I still have my venom for the next fighter we find."
"I just want to find that girl again and when I do, things will end much differently. I promise you." Hung snarled while loudly cracking his knuckles. Just then they were passing the diner when a head of yellow hair caught Xie's sharp eye.
"Well my friend you may have your chance sooner than you expected." He said motioning into the diner.
"There she is! Smug bitch I'm gunna tear those claws of her's out." He began to stomp toward the entrance when Xie grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. The enraged man looked over his shoulder to see Xie quietly shake his head.
"Take another look inside you idiot. She has companions this time. I'm not sure what to make of the younger two, but I get an odd vibe from the man she's with. The children might be their siblings or something. Lets keep an eye on them and make our move when the time is right." Xie finished with a sinister smile. Hung glared through the window, then got an idea of his own which brought a toothy smile to his face.
"I think I know how to hit that jungle cat right where it hurts." Hung said with a chuckle.
"Well thought my friend. But like I said we strike when the time is right." Xie said with a satanic look in his eye. As the two found a less conspicuous spot to watch from a green Jeep pulled into a parking spot and out stepped Yugo. Hung gave him a cocky glance before continuing across the street with his comrade. Yugo looked back to the spot where they were walking from and saw that it had a clear view of his little brother's table. This made him nervous but decided to keep quiet until he got to the table.
"What's new Pussy cat?" He jokingly greeted Shenlong when he got close to table.
"How's it goin Shina?" He gave her a light hug before continuing to entertain Shenlong.
"What up Pup?" Shenlong greeted him with a fist bump. "You here to play driver on our siblings little date?" He finished with a laugh.
"OUR siblings?" Yugo repeated with a raised eyebrow, looking over to Kenji for elaboration.
"Yep." Shina answered instead. "Little Uriko here has chosen Shenlong to be her big brother." She ended with a light laugh. Yugo's mouth dropped as he looked over to Shenlong who now had a teenage girl wrapping her arms around his neck and cheesing a big grin.
"What? I couldn't say no, for some reason." He gave a nervous laugh. Yugo looked over to Kenji who simply palmed his face and shook his head. When he looked back to Shenlong, he burst into hysterical laughter. Shenlong started to growl under his breath, but Uriko suddenly kicked Yugo's feet from under him causing him to fall flat on his butt. Now it was Shenlong's turn to laugh at his friend's humiliation.
"HA! Servers you right Pup!" He shouted pointing a finger at his fallen friend.
"Don't laugh at my brother Yugo." Uriko scorned and tapped him on the head.
"Ok, ok sorry." He put his hands up in surrender still laughing lightly. "It's just that I never pegged you for the brother type Shenlong."
"What can I say, I gotta soft spot for the kid." He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder before helping Yugo up. "You understand." He said nodding his head over toward Kenji.
"Yea, ok I guess, but what is Alice going to say when she finds out?" The thought seemed to make everyone laugh and sigh at the same time.
"Wait… don't tell me… She already knows?" He looked around nervously.
"Your little girlfriend flipped out just seeing her in the same room as him." Shina chuckled.
"Really? Somehow that doesn't surprise me." He laughed lightly to himself. He began rubbing the back of his head. "How bad was it?" He sighed, fearing the answer. Uriko lifted her pants leg to show the bruises on her shin. Yugo looked in shock for a moment then sighed to himself shaking his head.
"I can't believe she would go that far for something like this. Were you in any kind of danger?" He asked making sure to cover his basses.
"No. Shenlong was passed out on a couch when she came in. I was talking to him in his sleep to calm his mind when she grabbed my leg and took out Shina, Master Long and Mr. Gado to get me away from him." Uriko said quietly slightly angry with her sister for what had happened.
"She clearly overreacted if he wasn't even conscious when she got there. Then again, Shenlong you don't exactly have the best reputation around ya know. It doesn't excuse her actions by any means, but it's not hard to think of what was going through her mind." He said calmly. Uriko folded her arms and scoffed, but Shenlong simply sighed and nodded whilst rubbing the back of his head.
"Anyway, Uriko you have your final exam tomorrow before you're set loose for the summer right?" Yugo changed the subject. "I'm sure you're going to catch hell when you get home, but the sooner that's over with the sooner you can get some rest before your last day." He said with a light smile.
"Yea you're right. I guess its time for me to go face my mother. Lord knows what my mom's gunna say." She said with her head hung low.
"Hey don't worry too much. There's only so much they can say in one night. Besides I know you're going to do just fine on your test tomorrow." Shenlong patted her head and gave a warm smile. She immediately cheered up and smiled as well. Kenji walked up and took her hand.
"Come on Uriko. Lets get you home." He said with a smile. Even Shina gave a thumb's up as she rested herself on Shenlong's shoulder. With a crowd like this, even facing the grim reaper would feel like a trip to pick flowers.
"Thanks guys. Yugo I'm ready to go home." The young girl said with a smile. She gave Shenlong another hug before walking out of the door with Kenji and Yugo. When the jeep pulled off, Shelong and Shina went back to talking.
"You know, you're a pretty good at this brother stuff, Shen." Shina said with a smile as they moved their food over to a booth from the table. Shenlong slid in next to a window, and to is pleasant surprise, Shina slid in next to him and rested hers head on his shoulder. He smiled to himself and took a sip of his soda.
"So do you still want to fight me tonight?" He asked coyly. Shina's eyes went wide for a moment then she simply smiled.
"Well aren't you clever?" She asked mockingly. "Actually I think I will take you up on that offer some other time. Tonight I will play spectator." She said cozying back up to him.
"I'll take that. After a few rounds maybe we can head out for some real fun." Shenlong chuckled.
"Haha, you will just have to wait and see." She teased with a wink. "Don't you have a deep sea fishing boat at the docks? Maybe a night on the water under the starts would be nice, then some fresh fish for breakfast." She said with a purr. That was all the motivation he needed, and in a flash he was making a call.
"Hey, yea that newbie you told me about. Yea that's the one, looks like the roster has changed a little. Tell those greedy bastards that tonight are gunna be a short night for me. Yep. Ok then set up some interesting matches at the usual bids and let me take care of the rest. I'm gone by midnight so it really doesn't matter to me. Yep that's how it is, be there in a few." And with that, the night was on. Shenlong left the money on the table and the two headed out the door.
When they got out into the warm night air, Shina picked up a familiar scent and it made her tense. Shenlong had noticed her sudden change in mood and quietly surveyed the area for the cause. He picked up the scent of dry blood, and the stink of wet bear. They were being followed but pretended not to notice until they were down in the subway, which was empty save for a couple drifters looking for a place to shelter them for the night.
"That's it. I can't wait anymore. No bat is going to swoop in and save you this time girly!" Hung came down the stairs as boisterous as ever, with Xie standing quietly near the top of the stairs just watching.
"First I'm gunna bury this shrimp, then I'm going to enjoy hearing you scream." He finished then immediately transformed. He didn't even have time refocus his vision before Shenlong planted his fist between his eyes, causing the giant to stumble back and groan heavily.
"Babe do you know these idiots?" He asked as the bear moaned and rubbed his face.
"Some freaks from China want to take over the pit and control the city." She responded before transforming. Hung came to his senses and charged Shenlong but was caught off guard by a swift kick to the gut that knocked the air from his body followed up by a beast powered cross kick to the face from Shina. Hung staggered around the subway blindly swiping at blurred visions of Shenlong and Shina. He was so disoriented that he couldn't maintain his transformation. He reverted to his human form and in a rage tried to attack Shenlong again. In an instant Shenlong had performed a dragon fist combo that made all of Hung's limbs go limp, a duel palm to the chest paused his breathing and a cross kick to the face sent all of Hungs dead weight soaring up the stairs and back onto the street. Xie couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Though he was the superior fighter, Hung was still more than a match for nearly every opponent they had ever come across. But he was just beaten almost single handedly, and by a mere human at that. This was impossible for Xie to comprehend. The only thing he knew was that he had to collect Hung and get away from him NOW, and that is exactly what he did. Without further hesitation, Xie had disappeared back to the surface, hoisted Hung's body over his shoulders and ran as far as he could.
"Well that was random." Shenlong said rolling his eyes. Shina transformed back to her human form and took a moment to take in just how fast she and Shenlong took down Hung.
"Wow Shen, I'm glad I decided not to fight you tonight." Those two were a real handful for me the other night and you took him out in a few seconds without even transforming." She was feeling both impressed and envious at the same time. "I see why you're king of the cities fighting ring and one of the wealthiest men in the city." She finished with a smile
"Don't worry, I would have gone easy on you." He joked, however it earned him a punch to the face.
"You jack-ass. You know I would rather get beaten to a pulp than have someone hold back against me. I fight with all I've got every time, don't insult me by not doing the same." She said through gritted teeth. Her blood was lightly boiling from Shenlong's comment combined with how obvious the gap between their strength and abilities was. Instead of begging forgiveness or teasing her further, Shenlong simply kissed her forehead.
"Calm down slugger. You would probably kill me if I didn't go all out in a fight with you. Rest assured, if we ever do really go at it, I will come at you with everything I've got." He said throwing his fist out and giving her a wink. Shina was slightly dumbfounded, then her anger suddenly melted away, and she laughed.
"Let's just get going. You still owe me a boat ride and breakfast, so I don't want to waist anymore time." She said with a playful wink. Right on cue, the train pulled in to the station and the two were off to the south end of the city, as close as they could get to the docks by train.
On the way there Shenlong made sure to let Gado know that the plans had changed for the evening, and even authorized his agent to move all his paperwork through for him. Everything was going smoothly for the blue tiger recently. Despite past struggles and complications, everything for now was right and none of his problems mattered. When they reached the docks, the two pulled up a couple ringside seats looking down into the pit. A fight between two new comers had been going on and was starting to wind down. The two had one arm handcuffed to one another and a weapon in their free hand. One fighter had a pink Mowhawk and was wielding a trench knife. The other man was completely bald and wielded a short metal pipe. Though the bald man had some cuts and slashes on his body, the one with pink hair was clearly losing this fight. His face and body were badly buised and swollen, and he was starting to lose his footing. Shenlong looked down with a smirk as the bald man finished off his opponent. He hit the knife from the man's hand then pulled him in by his cuffed hand and landed a headbut square on the bridge of the pink haired man's nose. Just that quick, the fight was over, both Shina and Shenlong were impressed by his skill.
"I see how he got in here." Shenlong said with a smile. "You wunna get in there and work up a little sweat?" He smirked toward Shina. She tapped his forehead whith her fingertips then leapt down into the pit ready to put on a show. Shenlong grabbed the announcer and told him to open up the pit to all new challengers.
"New to the pit by way of our top fighter Shenlong, I preseant Madame Marvel." A young woman shouted into a microphone. Though it was rare for women to get into the pit, it was not unheard of. Unfortunately for them, as hard as it was to get in, it was even harder to be allowed to stay. If someone lost too many fights, they would be banned from to pit, and if they tried to force their way back in or get the authorities involved, the pit would simply shut down as long as nescesary and the snitch would be paralyzed from the waist down or removed from the city all together if needed. The few women of the pit were fierce competitors, and a number of them were zoanthrope. All of them wanted the chance to improve their ranking by taking down the broad that was brought by the king himself.
"So who's first?" Shina snatched the mic from the announcer. In an instant, two blonde women and skinny man lept down into the pit to accept her challenge.
"These two should be more than enough for someone like you girly." The man said patting his companions on their butts sending them forward. The two girls were twins with matching tattoos, lip piercings and even wore similar outfits that happened to be quite revealing. Shina sunk into a fighting stance and struck a grin.
"This will be over quickly." She teased. Immediately the girls transformed reveling to be golden fox zoanthropes. They charged her, but she dodged by leaping over their heads with a front flip. She waited no time in evening the odds by picking one of the twins and bringing an axe kick down on the base of her skull knocking her out cold. The remaining twin rushed to her siblings aid and became infuriated at Shina for what she had done.
The remaining fox dropped to all fours and charged Shina with surprising speed slashing at her chest with her claws. Shina dodged at the last second, but her shirt was shredded, exposing most of her bra and her ample chest. The crowd cheered at the light strip fest. Shina was slightly angered by such a dirty move but quickly figured out how to go about getting her foxy opponent back. She braced herself for another charge. She started to transform her arms and hands for a quick strike. When the fox charged again Shina ducked the swipe and shredded the front of her shirt and tore slits in her bra, causing her full C cups to almost burst out of her top all together.
"Well arnt you purky this evening." Shina teased, pressing her finger to he bottom lip makinga cute face.
The fox snarled lept to kick Shina in the face, but missed, and this time it would cost her. Shina dipped under the attack and reached up catching the fox's bra strap and the back of her shirt. With a hard snatch, she pulled the foxes breasts to her face causing the bra to be destroyed completely and the collar of her shirt choked her airway making her pass out and reverts to human form before she hit the ground. Shina held her limp and exposed body up by the tattered collar for the crowd to get a full view of her fully exposed breasts and pierced nipples. The crown erupted in chear and whistles at the spectacle. Shina looked up to Shenlong for his reaction. He was ignoring the half naked girl and looking directly at Shina with a smile and applauding her from his seat.
"You bitch!" The skinny man fumed. Someone from the stands threw him a hokey stick and he charged at Shina swinging at her head. She ducked the attack and tagged him in the gut with a swift uppercut. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he was done.
The crowd continued to shout and chear, and there was almost a riot as people were rushing to bid on Madame Marvel for the next fight. Shina's performance had caught the eye of a woman sitting in the stands. After a large bouncer removed the bodies from the pit, she leapt down to the pit to face Shina next.