Some time before the events of "A Hero is Born"…

–

"You lied to me!" Chen yelled angrily, taking a step closer to the young man and his gang. "You promised you'd get me into the boxing ring if I did these fights for you, and that you'd pay me! You've been using me this whole time?!"

It was a dark and rainy night, and Chen was standing in an alleyway arguing with the Golden Kitsunes, a gang he worked with and had formerly thought of as his friends.
The man in charge, Kai, turns to him with a bored look. He was only a few years older than Chen, but he looked down on the younger man like he was nothing but a mere child. He glares down on Chen, raising a brow while a small smirk forms on his lips. "How long did it take you to figure that out, Blazing Beast?" Kai chuckles. Chen's blood boils, hands clenching into fists as Kai continues.

"Look, Chen. Sorry you had to learn the hard way, but that's just how it is in life, alright? You're here to waste time with people who'll use you as entertainment. Lucky for you, you get to do what you love with your friends! You get to fight, just like you always wanted! So just suck it up, get over it, and move on. We got another match scheduled tonight, and you'll be fighting in it, m'kay?" Kai scolds him, turning away. This only infuriated Chen more.

Without thinking, the young man grabs Kai's shoulder, swinging him around and smashing his fist into the leader's face. Kai staggers back with a pained yell, clutching his bleeding nose. The other three men freeze, staring at the two with wide eyes.
Kai takes his hand away, seeing the blood coming from his broken nose. Immediately, he glares at the young man. "How dare you-"

Chen folds his arms, ignoring the blood on his hand, feeling slightly satisfied. "Suck it up and get over it already, snobbish prick." Chen remarks as he gives the leader a smug grin. But he wasn't finished with Kai yet.
Kai glares at the young man, wiping the blood from his nose. "You're gonna regret that, Chen." he growled. He raises a hand, and one of the men behind him charges forward, aiming to tackle Chen to the ground. Chen easily side steps him, grabbing the back of the man's gold jacket and yanking him back. He rams his knee into the man's gut, and the man is left winded. Chen lets him drop to the ground, glaring at the man he thought was his friend. "You're forgetting who I am, Kai." Chen growls, crossing his arms. "You just crossed the champion."

Kai chuckles, putting his hands in his pockets. "Who was the one who made you the champion? Not your family, that's for sure." he states, taking a few steps forward to stand over the young man. Chen scowls as the man towers over him, showing no fear.
"You'd be nothing without me. I made you who you are. Without me, you'd still be that weak and helpless little kid running from your fears. You need me." he snickers. He takes a step back, putting his hands up. "But if you fight for us again, I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you." he smirks, placing his hands back in his pocket in a casual manner. The man who had previously charged Chen slowly staggers to his feet, quickly moving away from the young man.

Chen's face scrunches up in anger and disgust. "Fat chance, you moronic twit. I'm not working for you anymore." he growls. The man before him glares back for a moment. The three men behind him take a step forward, but Kai raises a hand to stop them. "You really wanna do this, Chen? Walk away now, and you'll never get to do these fights again. Didn't you love the attention, the fame? If you walk away, you'll be known as nothing but a wimpy kid." he states, a small grin on his stupid face.

The young man doesn't budge, glaring at Kai. "I won't be if I take you down before I go." he spat, arms crossed. Kai raises a brow. "Is that a challenge? Well then…" this time, instead of sending one of his goons to tackle Chen, he removes his own jacket, chucking it to the side. "Challenge accepted. Let's see if the champ is as good as his coach."
Chen gets into a fighting stance as Kai steps forward, the older man rolling his shoulders.

The two circle each other, the three other gang members watching carefully. Much to Chen's frustration, Kai had that cocky smirk on his face. The younger man couldn't wait to wipe it clean off.

Chen makes the first swing, to which Kai easily dodges by dropping down, aiming a punch straight for the younger man's gut. Chen backs up, and Kai takes this chance to continue his attacks, throwing punches and kicks at the younger man. Chen is left on the defence, blocking and dodging Kai's attacks, looking for an opening. Some of Kai's attacks manage to get the younger man, and at one point he was left with a black eye.
Kai aims another punch at Chen's head, leaning forward. As he side steps the strike, Chen takes this as his chance to swing a punch at Kai's side. His hit connects, and Kai grunts in pain, stumbling slightly. Chen takes this as his chance to kick the back of the older man's leg, causing him to collapse to his knees.

Seeing his victory in sight, Chen grins, crossing his arms as he towers over Kai. "Had enough yet?" he asks cockily. At that, Kai chuckles, clutching his side, and Chen raises a brow. Why was he laughing?
"You're an absolute idiot, Chen." Kai sneers. Before Chen could react, the older man jabs his elbow into Chen's stomach. Kai grabs onto Chen's shirt collar, hauling him over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground.

Chen's head slams into the wet pavement, and for a minute his vision goes blurry, seeing doubles. There was a sharp pain on the young man's forehead, and he swore he could feel something wet and sticky dripping down the side of his head.
Kai's foot was planted firmly on his chest, keeping him on the ground. He still had that cocky smirk on his face, as he glared down at the younger man.

"You really thought you could beat your teacher? I taught you everything you know, Chen. But I didn't teach you everything." he presses his whole weight onto Chen's chest, making it harder for the younger man to breathe.
"Look at you. You could've been the greatest, but you decided to be petty. You're pathetic, Chen. Without us, you're nothing." he sneers.

All Chen could see was red. With an angry yell, Chen grabs onto Kai's leg, pulling him to the ground. The older man was taken by surprise, and topples over. Chen takes this as his chance to get up, throwing a satisfying punch right at Kai's nose. It made contact and the older man was knocked out cold within seconds. The three men watching yell out in surprise, eyes wide as Chen slowly gets to his feet, towering over the unconscious Kai. He turns to glare at the three men, who in turn quickly drag their leader away, getting away from the young man as fast as they could.

Chen stands in the middle of the alleyway alone, glaring after the men long after they disappear. The rain poured down, drenching him and leaving him soaked, but he didn't care. He didn't care about the pounding head-ache or the pain in his eye, hands or gut. He could barely think straight from how angry he felt. Kai, someone he'd known since he was 15, lied to him, and betrayed him.
After a few minutes, the young man leaves, staggering out of the dark alley and into the night, the rain still pouring down.

He didn't get very far, however, when the headache became worse. He sat down on a curb, holding a hand to the gash on his head. He wanted to get home, but he didn't think he'd make it without passing out. So Chen stayed there, waiting for the pain to pass so he could continue home.
He could feel the blood dripping down his hand, mixing in with the rain as it fell to the pavement. That bastard got him good, but Chen felt a smug satisfaction at the knowledge he'd beaten the older man, just like he'd promised.

He closes his eyes as he sat there, the rain falling on him and the lights of passing cars flashing by.

After a few minutes, Chen felt the rain stop. He looks up, and is surprised to see an umbrella being held over his head. His gaze quickly shifts to the person holding it, and he's taken aback.
The large blue man with a mohawk and wearing a yellow raincoat looks down at Chen, eyes filled with concern. A small blue cat with a similar appearance sat on his shoulder, and it lets out a small curious meow. The young man recognised the man immediately, and he quickly looks away. He hasn't seen him for a few years now, so the fact that he was standing here, seeing him like this? It filled him with shame.

Sandy tilts his head. "Hey, Chen! Long time no see, ey?" he greets. When Chen doesn't respond, he squats down next to him. "Hey, is everything alright, Chen? You look terrible." he says worriedly. He reaches out, putting a reassuring hand on Chen's shoulder. He doesn't appear to notice the gash on Chen's head, the one the young man was trying to cover up.
Chen turns away from him, avoiding eye contact. "I'm fine." he mutters. But Sandy didn't believe him.

"Chen, you're not "fine". I want to help you, but I can't if you won't let me. Let me help, and I promise I won't tell Pigsy." he says. Chen freezes. His father would be upset if he found out he'd been fighting again…
The young man lets out a sigh. "Fine…" he grumbles, slowly getting to his feet. Sandy smiles gently, and lets the young man lean on him for support. The two of them walk down the street, the rain still pouring down around them.

– – –

Chen sat on the couch, looking around. He was wrapped in a warm blanket, wearing new clothes while his old ones were hanging up. The young man noticed a few splotches of blood, but he didn't know whether they were his own or Kai's. And frankly, he didn't care.
The gash on his head had been treated, and he was holding an ice pack against his black eye. Sandy was in the kitchen area, preparing two cups of tea, while the cats at his feet scurry around him, meowing loudly. A few walk over to Chen, sniffing him before jumping on the couch next to him.

As Sandy comes back over to him, carrying a tray with two cups of tea, Chen looks away awkwardly. "Uh…thanks, Sandy. For helping me, I mean…" he mumbles. Sandy smiles kindly. "No problem, Chen. Anything for my nephew!" he chuckles. Mo, who still sat on his shoulder, meowed in response, as if agreeing with Sandy's statement. Sandy gives Chen a cup of tea. "Here, drink this. It'll help calm you down and de-stress!"
The young man looks down at the cup of tea, taking a hesitant sip. Sandy sits opposite him, and some of the cats around jump up onto his lap. Although, one cat in particular jumps right onto Chen's lap, much to his surprise. A small black cat, with emerald green eyes, looks up at the young man. Meowing loudly, she curls up into his lap, and begins to purr.

"Awe, it looks like Shu really likes you!" Sandy points out, as Chen slowly starts to pet her. The young man already starts to feel relaxed, as he pets the cat in his lap. "Yeah…"

"So, Chen. Do you want to tell me what happened?" the blue man asks, tilting his head curiously. "You don't have to if you don't want to." he adds.
Chen thinks for a minute, looking away briefly. Shu's purring becomes louder, and a few of the other cats come up and rub against his leg. The young man felt safe in his uncle's home.

"I got into a serious fight…" he starts, before hesitating. Sandy nods, urging him to continue as he takes a sip of his tea. Chen exhales quietly, before continuing, telling his uncle what happened.

"So, I found out that this guy who I thought was my friend had lied to me…"

Rain: Rain can symbolize many things. It can represent unhappiness, rebirth, foreboding, determination, the breaking of a drought, and a pause for introspection.

Red: Action, strength, passion, energy, courage, confidence. Anger, danger, revenge, aggression

A/N: Forget how cringe the dialogue is lmao i didn't get any better in writing while on my hiatus i was taking a BREAK i never said I'd get better at writing fight scenes or dialogue-

-Kai is around 25 years old, and he's based off of an older design (plus name) of another character. The reason why I went with Golden Kitsunes as the gangs name is because it's a bit of foreshadow :3. I also dont know why he thought he could beat someone who's only 5 years younger than him.

-NONE OF THAT FIGHT SCENE OR ARGUMENT WAS ORIGINALLY GONNA BE IN THE SCRIPT AND IM SO THANKFUL I KINDA PUT OFF WRITING IT-

-Also just for fun, Chen's former street fight name was the Blazing Beast or some shit ksdhjdd

-If it's not clear by now, Chen hates feeling helpless or being referred to as weak lmao.

-A little tidbit on why Chen and Rey bonded lmao both were manipulated by those they thought were their family/friends (although granted Rey's was a more serious matter oof-)

-Also yes, Chen did come off as a bit of an asshole in this one. it's meant to show how he had (kinda) chilled out and learnt to rely on his friends and family.

-and finally: DO YOU REALISE HOW HARD IT IS TO COME UP WITH INSULTS WITHOUT SWEARING?