Heya Readers, as promise we have checked back in with Jun at the Fight Club.
What will happen here? Well read below to find out.
Again, a huge thank you and Kudos to Meian16 for writing the fight scenes in this chapter!
Chapter Thirty-One
Threat Spotted.
Meanwhile, up topside at the Abandoned School in Chicago, Hanako and Kodama sat in a couple of chairs at a table near the ring surrounded by their guards, both Kodama's Yakuza Assassins and Hanako's Foot Soldiers where the Underground Fight that Jun was attending was taking place.
"So, this is an Underground Fight Club hmm?" Hanako asked fanning herself with a grey fan with the red Foot Symbol on it.
"Indeed." Kodama replied, "Have you never been to one before my dear?"
"Can't say I haven't." Hanako shrugged as she watched the action below, seeing the referee introducing the fighters to the show girls in the ring parading around.
"Back in New York, the Purple Dragons along with the other city gangs put on these fights for money and glory, it'll be interesting to see what Chicago has to offer."
Hanako sat back in her seat and continued to fan herself as she watched the fight begin to take place.
"Let's see how this turns out!" she said to herself as she continued to fan herself.
"This is a pleasure of mine, and I have a few hundred dollars on a couple of fighters, those I deem worthy for assignments." Kodama explained.
"Oh?" Hanako asked raising an eyebrow.
"Just observe, and you'll see." Kodama gestured his hand to the ring.
"Have you got your eye on a certain fighter?" Hanako asked.
"I've had a few favourites." Kodama said "Regulars who keep coming back for glory, but I like to observe new meat."
"I see." Hanako mused looking back at the Ring.
"Fight!"
Almost from the word go, Diego and Clay met in the middle of the ring, both standing toe to toe and starting to unload on each other with vicious punches, igniting loud cheers from the crowd.
"Oh, hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" said Valentina as she had a seat on Kamaru's lap.
"What a hell of a way to start this off!"
Both fighters connected with each other's faces with their punches so hard that it caused blood to fly from both their faces and fists.
"They wasted no time at all," said Miesha sitting with Jun from their seats.
"They're straight up beating the shit out of each other."
Jun nodded and observed the fight.
Diego began to get the advantage of the situation, switch up from hooks to the face of Clay and starting to land uppercuts to his chin that caused him to start backing up.
Diego followed him, landing more uppercuts to his chin and jaw until Clay was backed up into one of the corners of the ring.
"Uh oh, Diego's starting to get up in Clay's shit!" said Valentina.
"What you gonna do, Clay!? You better start fighting back and not go out like a bitch!"
Backing up from his opponent a bit, Diego leapt at Clay tried to slam his knee into his face. However, Clay grabbed sidestepped out of the way and caused him to stumble into the corner.
Clay gave Diego no chance to recover as he kept him trapped in the corner and started to deliver hard punches to his lower back and sides, so much so that he left instant bruises on him.
"There you go Clay!" Valentina said over the speakers.
"Lay it on him!"
Miesha readjusted herself from her seating position.
"Told you she's a savage. She's loving every bit of this."
Jun nodded in agreement.
"I can see that. And as for this fight, it looks like both of these guys are strikers. Boxers that like to focus on punches. Clay seems to be more aggressive while Diego's a bit more technical."
"So who would you say has the edge in this?" Miesha asked.
"It depends. When it comes to strikes, one good shot from either fighter can end the fight in the blink of an eye.," said Jun.
"Clay's best shot is to stay aggressive and not give Diego any kind of opening, whereas if Diego can switch up the kinds of punches he throws, he can throw Clay's gameplan out the window because he'll have no idea what kind of strike is going to come next. As the fight goes on, we'll see who it'll end up favouring."
Diego grit his teeth through the pain in his back and Clay turned him around, delivering a punch square to his face that smashed his nose.
"Oh, that nose is gone!" said Valentina.
The crowd nearby responded with collective "Ooo's!" as they saw blood starting to pour from Diego's nose like a river.
"That's what Clay needs to do," said Jun.
"Stay being aggressive and not let up, not even for a second."
Diego staggered backwards into the corner and Clay continued his assault on him, being punched so hard across his face that her was knocked out of the corner and staggered on the ring ropes.
The punch also opened up a nasty cut on the side of his face that more blood poured from and some of his skin was barely hanging on.
"That's what I like to see!" said Valentina.
"Damn, that's really nasty..." said Miesha, wincing a bit.
"Goes to show how strong a puncher Clay is," said Jun.
Clay followed Diego and looked to keep up the pressure until Diego surprised him with a swift jab to his face, catching him in his eye and almost instantly making his eye swell shut.
"Bam! Right to the eye!" said Valentina.
"That's one of those technical strikes I mentioned," said Jun.
"Diego's more versatile with his strikes and that's gonna be the key to him winning this fight."
Miehsa nodded and continued to watch, surprised and intrigued by Jun's knowledge of fighting.
Diego spat some blood out of his mouth before rushing Clay, nailing him with a gut punch that dropped him to his knees and he leapt on his back, starting to slam vicious hammer fists onto the sides and back of Clay's head.
"Now Clay's the one down on the ground like a bitch!" said Valentina.
"Diego's got Clay down," said Miesha. "And he's all over him. This one's probably all over. No way Clay can take all of that."
"Don't be so sure," said Jun.
Miesha looked to him.
"What do you mean?"
"Keep watching," Jun replied. "You'll see."
A bit confused, Miesha nodded and turned her attention back to the fight.
Clay covered up and protected the back of his head as back as he could, starting to try and get Diego off his back.
Diego, taking deep breaths, lost his balance a bit and Clay used that moment to throw his body backwards, slamming his opponent down on his back and crushing him with his body weight on top of him.
"Oh shit, I felt that from all the way up here!" said Valentina.
Miesha's eyes widened in shock and surprise.
"Saw that coming," said Jun shrugging his shoulders.
"Diego went away from his strength of picking his shots at the right time and got too aggressive. He was already worn down by the fact that he had to breathe through his mouth because his nose got smashed. That, combined with wildly throwing those punches got him tired quicker and now he's in a real bad spot after Clay overpowered him, one that I don't see him being able to get out of."
Miesha was still blown away from what she'd seen.
"Damn..."
Diego felt some of his ribs crack from the impact and it got worse for him as Clay mounted him and began to rain down hard punch after punch on his face.
"Oh shit..." said Miesha under her breath.
Jun crossed his arms over his chest as he watched. "This fight's over."
Diego did what he could to block the punches, but Clay started to overwhelm him and continued to slam his fist into his face, one of them smashing his jaw and breaking it.
The crowd was roaring with loud cheers which got louder with every punch Clay landed.
"Somebody stick a fork in Diego!" said Valentina. "I think he's done!"
Clutching Diego's throat, Clay continued to viciously punch him until Diego's body went completely limp.
The referee saw this and waved his arms, calling off the fight before pulling Clay off his downed opponent.
"There it is!" Valentina called out over the speakers. "Ball game! The winner of the first fight is Clay!"
Clay wiped blood from his face and looked down at Diego's broken and defeated body before smirking and pumping his fist against his chest in victory, all to the cheers and chants of his name from the crowd.
At the same time, some guards entered the ring and removed Diego's unconscious body, taking him through the crowd and away from the fight area.
"Hell of a fight to start things off!" said Valentia.
Kamaru smirked and held her close around her waist. "And that was just the beginning. We've got a lot more to come."
As the crowd continued to cheer for Clay after he won the fight, Miesha was still taken aback.
"Damn, that was crazy." She looked over to Jun. "And Sam, was it? You seem to know a lot when it comes to fighting."
"Let's just say I've been around the block a few times," Jun answered.
"Oh, I got no doubt of that," said Miesha. "You must've mixed it up quite a few times. If that's the case, how come you didn't enter the tournament?"
"Didn't feel like it," said Jun. "I was more curious about this more than anything else. But most importantly, I made a promise so I'm just spectating this."
'A promise?' Miesha thought to herself. 'Wonder what he means by that, and to who?'
Shrugging, she leaned more against the wall behind her.
"Alright, whatever floats your boat."
Jun continued to watch the crowd cheer for Clay until he looked beside him, and something caught his eye.
Down below he saw a few tables, a few feet away from the crowd.
There were two specific individuals seated at them that stood out to him - one a tall, willowy Japanese woman with long, black hair. She was wearing a smart black suit.
And beside her was a middle-aged Japanese man with thick black who was dressed in a smart suit as well, only his was grey and black.
Both looked to not only be watching the tournament but also having an important conversation from the looks of things.
And standing around the woman, as if to protect her, were ones that looked like ninjas.
The tiger narrowed his eyes at the sight.
The 95th Street Families, from what Miesha told him, may be one of the most dangerous gangs in Chicago.
But something told him that this mysterious woman and man might be the ones to truly be on the lookout for.
Jun narrowed his eyes as he observed the man and woman.
The way they were dressed made them stick out from the rough looking men and women in the room, and seeing the guards that surrounding them, a few details struck him.
Of course, he had seen smartly dressed mobsters before in these Underground clubs, but this was different, as they were Asian, and the guards behind the woman wore black but also sported a Red Foot Symbol.
It was then it dawned on the tiger, he remembered Dahlia telling him about the Hamato Clan's enemies and how they had sported a red Foot Symbol.
Quickly taking out his phone, the tiger zoomed in on them and took a few photos.
"There's something off about that couple!" he thought "Even from here, I can see they're no good!"
He took a few more pictures then slid his phone back into his pocket before looking back at the ring where a couple more fighters were about to be announced.
But after what he had seen from the side, he couldn't let it go, and he couldn't concentrate on the fight.
Miesha noticed Jun look distracted and cocked her head to one side.
"Hey! You okay?" she asked.
Jun was brought out of his thoughts as he turned to Miesha.
"Do you see those people?" he asked pointing at Hanako and Kodama.
Miesha looked over.
"What about them?" she asked.
"Do you know them?" Jun asked.
Miesha analysed Hanako and Kodama narrowing her eyes as she studied them.
"I've seen that guy a few times." She said pointing at the Asian Male "Boss Kodama, he's a regular observer when he's in Chicago, he's often analysing fighters to use them for jobs."
"Jobs?" Jun asked.
"Mainly drug deals and counterfeiting money." Miesha explained "I haven't done any of that, but I know a few who have."
"He's a drug lord?" Jun asked.
Miesha shook her head.
"He's more than that, he's a Yukuza Boss! Passes himself off as a Businessman, but really his money and power come from Underworld Crime!"
"Damn!" Jun muttered "And what of the woman?" he asked.
Miesha shrugged.
"Never seen her before!" she replied, "She might be another Yakuza Boss trying to make a deal or a partnership or something, it's not uncommon."
"Right." Jun said still studying Hanako.
"I got some information on the guy, but the woman, no idea, but if I didn't know any better, they look like the enemies the turtles and Tyroth spoke of."
He looked at the photos on his phone then narrowed his eyes realising that who he had seen could cause problems.
"I gotta tell the boss!" he stood up and looked around.
Miesha was surprised to see him jump up.
"Sam?" she asked.
"Sorry Miesha, I gotta go!"
"Go? But it's only the first hour!" Miesha cried "There's loads more fighters to take their turn!"
"Sorry." Jun replied as he started to climb down the bleachers "But this is urgent." he looked back at Miesha.
"Nice meeting you!" he called then leapt down the bleachers to look for an exit.
Miesha watched him go then frowned.
"I wonder what got into him?" she then shrugged and looked back to the ring "Pity, I would have liked to have gotten to know him better."
So Jun spotted Hanako and Kodama at the Fight Club! As Kodama seems to enjoy those fights and Miesha was able to recognise him!
What will Jun tell Tyroth when he returns to Mutopia? Well tune in to find out!