PokeContestIkari-I Don't Want A Fighter
Chapter 2: Discovering Dexterity Downtown
The three girls were now wishing that Shinji had taken his car. They had walked from the peaceful neighborhood where Hikari and Shinji's house was to an environment at least Hikari wasn't too experienced with. What, with all the flashing lights, Sidewalk Sallys, groups of questionable men passing items back in forth…they had reached the bad part of the placid town.
In other words…downtown.
"Oh MY FEET!" Haruka whined, bending over with her arms dangling.
"Great to know that you still HAVE THEM…" Kasumi said, her feet being so numb she couldn't feel them anymore.
Hikari did not complain, although her legs were ready to detach from her hips. Ahead, she saw Shinji walking forward with his usual "Shinji" swagger. Hands in pockets, head down, and most likely his eyes were closed. He had glanced at no one, not even those Sidewalk Sallys who had come up to him interested. All he did was walk past, like he hadn't a care in the world.
Or he simply just didn't care.
"Do you mean it?" She incredulously asked.
"I'm a man of my word." He assured her.
She had still been uncertain, but knew that she had never doubted him before. She certainly wouldn't doubt him in this situation. She flashed him one of her trademark smiles, but he did not smile back.
She continued to smile; that was just the way Shinji was. Looks certainly weren't deceiving…
Hikari had looked down as that memory flashed into her mind rather randomly. Slowly, she found her conscious suddenly become dull and blurred…she heard her name being called from a variety of tones…
"Hikari, Hikari…"
"Hikari…"
"..Hikari, Hikari, wake up…"
"Hikari…Hikari?"
"HIKARI! YOO HOO!"
That tone was all too familiar.
"Gah!" Hikari gasped, frantically looking around. Kasumi and Haruka's eyes widened, gazing at the blue-haired girl with wonder and curiosity.
"You okay kid?" Haruka asked, raising one brow.
Hikari nodded multiple times. "Yeah, yeah, I—I'm fine. Come on let's go, we're losing him."
Hikari shook off the light-headed feeling and followed a skipping Haruka, and a collected Kasumi. Hikari didn't know how to define herself at that moment; she'd assume the best word would be…
Lost.
They didn't know how, and they didn't know why, but they soon found themselves behind an aged warehouse, currently not in operation. They leaned up against the back of the building, hearing the clacks of heels along with the thuds of heavy boots.
"Where are we?" Haruka asked in a low whisper.
"Hmm, some sort of warehouse…" Kasumi observed.
"Why would Shinji go to a warehouse?"
"Maybe to work?" Hikari offered.
Haruka and Kasumi exchanged unconvinced glances. Hikari mentally scowled at their response, but focused herself into the situation once more.
"Besides, I don't think that the warehouse would have people work this late…unless they follow colonial time rules…" Kasumi said.
"Why don't we just go inside, and see what's going on?" Haruka suggested.
Kasumi glanced at the many people rather suspiciously walking into the building. They handed a slip of paper to a surly-looking man outside the door with a pair of sleek black sunglasses covering his eyes. The women were dressed in the shortest skirts and dresses one could imagine, whereas the guys were dressed in cargos and wife beaters. Many of the men looked tough and threatening.
"Are you sure we should go in there? Looks like some kind of special club for…well-toned people." Haruka said, observing the large biceps one man had walk in. After looking at that man, she slightly glanced at her own pencil-thin arms with a frown.
"Now come on, if this involves Hikari in trouble, we'll risk it. I'm sure we can get ourselves in." Kasumi scolded at Haruka, determination in her voice.
Haruka was taken aback a little, but was used to the constant scolding and reprimanding…and hitting from Kasumi. Hikari trailed behind the two to the main entrance where the man stood. When he saw the three girls appear before him, he lifted his sunglasses up, and eyed them all up and down. Except he seemed a bit curious instead of interested.
"Aren't you girls a little young to be here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We know the owner." Kasumi instantly said.
To their surprise, the man began to chuckle. "This place don't really have an owner sweetheart, but thanks for the try, it was cute. Real cute."
Kasumi angrily pouted, wanting desperately to smash the guy's head in with her mallet. Haruka silently shushed her as the man eagerly awaited another attempt from the three young women to gain entry into the club.
"We know someone in there." Haruka said, without thinking.
Hikari's eyes widened as Kasumi held back her rage to kill the spunky brunette beside her. If Shinji ever found out that Hikari was following him, why...heaven would expect her early.
"Oh yeah? Who?" The man asked, breaking Hikari from her frightening thoughts of Shinji beating her to death.
"Sh-Shinji." Haruka trembled.
Then, the man's countenance changed from sarcastic to curious, and convinced. His smirk disappeared, and he uncrossed his arms. They were all confused as to why the man began taking them seriously all of a sudden.
"You know Shinji?" He skeptically asked in a low voice.
"Why yes we do!" Kasumi confidently said, putting one hand on her hip.
Hikari suddenly became nervous as the man stood there, looking unsure.
"What're your names?" He asked. "No way these three kids could know Shinji." He thought to himself while asking the question.
"Uh, I'm Amaya." Kasumi said.
"I'm Hana." Haruka managed to think up.
"And I'm Michiko." Hikari said.
"Hmm, Michiko? That means beautiful…and you certainly are." He commented, smiling wide at the young blue-haired beauty.
Hikari slightly smiled, not knowing how to respond.
"If you young ladies know Shinji, you're welcome here anytime. Just tell them you're friends of ol' Isi. Especially you, dear." The man named Isi took Hikari's hand for a couple seconds before letting it go.
Hikari awkwardly stood there, not knowing how to respond again.
The three cautiously walked in, passing suspicious glances to the man named Isi.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Kasumi yelled once out of earshot of Isi.
"Well how else were we supposed to get in here?" Haruka asked.
"We could've snuck in!"
"Yeah, well usually when we try to sneak in somewhere, like the movie theatre if you recall, it always ends up getting us arrested. Shinji will be sure to see us if that happens."
Kasumi sighed, and continued walking in. Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, she faced the two other girls.
"Act natural, blend in with the crowd, and PLEASE don't do anything stupid." She instructed.
"We're not sticking together?" Hikari asked, a little intimidated by the people in the building.
"It'd be best for us not to."
Hikari shuddered, glancing at the many tough men and women who towered over her small stature. Kasumi noticed, whereas Haruka was looking around for food.
"Hey, don't be afraid kid. Nothing bad will happen, I assure you. You've got your phone, right?" Kasumi asked.
Hikari reached into her pocket, and saw the familiar enV. Nodding, she tucked it back into the small pocket in her skirt, and looked back up at Kasumi.
"All right, let's meet at the staircase in fifteen minutes, and see if any of us have seen him. It shouldn't take long, considering this place isn't exactly large."
"Or flattering." Haruka added, pinching her nose at the essence of sweat.
"All right, let's go."
The three dispersed in three different directions, Hikari literally shaking from terror.
She had found the building very uncomfortable to be in. The room she was in had two floors; the bottom one she was on now, and the second, which was visible from the bottom. Railings bordered the edges of the second floor, where many people talked and walked. It was stuffy, hot, dusty, and definitely too crowded. Hikari struggled to move deep within the crowd, searching for a familiar, tall, purple-haired man.
Kasumi rudely pushed through the crowd, ignoring threats from muscular women holding beer bottles. She searched the crowded basement, but still did not find her friend's mysterious significant other. She sighed and continued to look, that same determination pulsing through her veins.
Haruka felt herself get hungrier and hungrier as she pushed herself through the horde of obstreperous men and women. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to eat. Even if Kasumi killed her for slacking off, at least she would've died with a full stomach. She eagerly went to the bar, hoping that they sold good food.
"What'll it be young lady?" The bartender in his early twenties asked the brunette.
Haruka scanned over the menu that hung from the ceiling. She saw nothing that pleased her. Basically it was beer, wine, beer, French fries, beer, chips, beer…nothing superficial whatsoever; Just beer and things that went well with beer. Except steamed crabs of course, steamed crabs ALWAYS went well with beer.
"Yeah, I'll just have a Coke." Haruka ordered, shrugging.
"Sorry dear, we don't have Coke." The bartender said, scrubbing a tall glass.
"What? No one doesn't sell Coke!" She said.
"If you mean the drink, then I'm afraid that's true. If you mean…the other thing, go out back. I saw some guys passing some goods."
"Ugh, forget it." Haruka hopped off the stool, leaving the green-haired bartender and went back on her mission to find Shinji. She figured it wouldn't be hard, considering that Shinji towered over everybody he met, even his brother. Yet, she couldn't set her eyes on a purple-haired somewhat-emo man.
"Oh this is useless…" Haruka muttered to herself. "We might as well leave…"
It had felt like hours had gone by before the three finally gave up. Shinji was nowhere to be seen, and they certainly wouldn't succeed if they waited any longer. It wasn't like Shinji was going to pop out of nowhere…
"But we saw him walk in here!" Hikari claimed as Kasumi began leading her out of the building.
"Do you see him in here? No. I don't." Kasumi snapped back.
Hikari sighed hopelessly, but then realized she didn't hear a witty comeback from her brown-haired friend.
"Where's Haruka?" The blunette wondered aloud, Kasumi stopping in her tracks.
Hikari heard Kasumi mutter, "oh my God, not again…"
"We need to find her Kasumi!" Hikari expressed.
"Thanks Captain Obvious!" Kasumi angrily replied.
"No need to be so bitchy!"
"Hey! Don't use language like that!"
A man roughly bumped into the two, ending their fight. The man screamed out:
"PLACE YOUR BETS! PLACE YOUR BETS HERE!"
Hikari and Kasumi didn't seem to notice the importance of that statement, along with the many to follow…
"I'm going with The Slaughterer!"
"No way, The Tiger will DEFINITELY kill The Slaughterer!"
"Why do you think The Slaughterer is called 'The Slaughterer' idiot? The Slaughterer will definitely win!" A raven-haired boy screamed out.
A certain group of people laughed at the young man and walked away.
"Damn all these people to hell…I'm just trying to fit in with you…" He muttered, walking to another part of the basement in a huff.
"Haruka! Where the hell are you?" Hikari cried out.
Kasumi's eyes widened, and she instantly clapped her hand over Hikari's mouth. Hikari shot her a confused look.
"Remember we're undercover! Haruka isn't Haruka, she's uh…oh God what was her name again…?"
"I-I can't remember…" Hikari said, scratching her head confusingly.
Kasumi groaned, loudly, as she started taking long strides throughout the overpopulated area. Hikari innocently followed the aggravated tomboy. After a couple of seconds of angry stomping from Kasumi, the two had caught sight of Haruka at the bar, eating a little too fast. Kasumi growled and grabbed Haruka's shoulder, turning her around. Seeing the shrimp sticking out of the brunette's mouth made Kasumi irately sigh, as if she were Haruka's mother. Behind them, Hikari quietly giggled.
"HARUKA!" Kasumi angrily shouted. Haruka spit the shrimp out of her mouth, and started verbally attacking the redhead.
"Hey, it took me a half an hour to get this guy to give me shrimp. Now I'm gonna eat it IN PEACE and WITHOUT PAIN!" Haruka declared.
Kasumi averted her eyes to the handsome, green-eyed man. He shrugged, lifting up his hands in defeat.
"Sorry, she can be pretty…mean." He said in a somewhat gruff voice.
"Don't give her food. It doesn't help her stay focused." Kasumi informed the man, glaring at Haruka.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Kasumi kept on glaring at Haruka, Haruka glaring back.
They stared, and stared, and stared, and stared…
Kasumi blinked twice.
"HAHA! I WIN!" Haruka cheerfully shouted.
Kasumi rolled her eyes with annoyance as Hikari continued to giggle. The bartender even smiled a little at Haruka's kookiness.
Then, all of a sudden, the lights went low; the only source of bright light was in the center of the room where a white circle was drawn. Every person in the area gathered as close as they could to the circle. A man in a black suit walked into the middle of the circle with a cheap microphone.
"Is everybody ready to rrrrrrrumble!" He screamed into the microphone.
The question was answered by screams from girls and "woot woots" from the men. Hikari, Haruka and Kasumi were ready to leave when the man said this. They curiously looked back to where everyone was gathered. The men raised their fists into the air, a cheerful, eager look on their face.
"What're they doing? Is this come kind of cult?" Hikari asked, even more scared for her husband, and herself.
"Let's wait around and see…" Kasumi said.
So they could get a better view, they climbed up a couple stairs so the emcee was clearly seen.
All three fell silent.
"Then let me introduce to you…weighing in at two-hundred and sixty pounds, TAKESHI THE TIGER!"
Screams flooded the room again as a tall, muscular African-American guy with spiky hair stepped into the circle, wearing only a white wife beater and espresso brown cargo pants. His face read anger and violence. All three girls pinched their faces in fear as they watched the brute man punch the air in front of him.
"Come on guys let's go…" Hikari said, turning around with her two best friends. "Shinji would never go to a place like this."
"And his opponent…weighing in at two-hundred and ten pounds, at the young age of 21…SHINJI THE SLAUGHTERER!"
Hikari stopped in her tracks. Kasumi and Haruka abruptly turned around hearing this, but it took Hikari a couple of seconds to believe it. Slowly, she turned around, clenching her fists and holding them up to her mouth.
"Are you sure about that?" Haruka inappropriately commented.
There he was. He walked into the white circle with "Takeshi the Tiger", that same look on his face. Hikari was flabbergasted by the size of Shinji's muscle on his arms and his legs. She had never noticed, considering he always wore clothing that fully-covered his arms and legs. His attire was a black wife beater and a pair of casual black athletic shorts. The eyes she fell in love with more piercing then ever, the lips she kissed that one summer night in a thin harsh line.
Hikari's jaw dropped. This was a fight.
Not just any regular fight you see on television though. Both Shinji and Takeshi had no mouth guards, no caged ring, and they were fighting with their bare fists…
This was an illegal fight.
A sound related to a cry escaped from Hikari's throat as she heard the bell's ring reverberate through the small room, along with the excited cheers of the audience watching.
"No!" Hikari yelled out.
Takeshi landed a left hook punch to Shinji's jaw, making him stumble back some. Shinji unleashed a series of left and right punches to Takeshi's jaw and temple. Takeshi came back with a revolving kick to his gut. It seemed like Shinji didn't even notice it.
Hikari noticed something in Shinji's eyes. They were now not the ones she had fallen in love with. They were fiery, enraged; possessed.
Shinji landed a perfect kick right to Takeshi's jaw, and followed with a snap kick right to his rib cage. He waited in a fighting stance for "The Tiger" to stand up straight again. It didn't take him long.
Then, almost out of nowhere, Takeshi landed a perfectly executed uppercut, to Shinji's chin. Hikari swore she heard something crack over the "OH'S!" of the crowd. Shinji shook his head from side to side, trying to shake off the throbbing in the back of his head.
Chest, temple, ribs, abs, knees. These were all the places Shinji punched the combination of "left-right-left" or in this case, "right-left-right" to Takeshi over and over again.
Hikari turned and ran away, leaving her two friends to scurry behind her.
She had no idea who that Shinji was.