Rendezvous In The Ring

 Today's destination: Nowon District.

 "I'm going for some work, lock the door if you are gonna leave later, Sakura." She mumbled indecipherably before coughing up some of her garlic bread. "Swallow your food before talking. I'm off."

 Seoul traffic was chaotic as usual. I had already addressed that, and I arrived 15 minutes early after driving for an hour.

 This was a new place. A narrow alleyway, with dilapidated house surrounding it, and AC units jutting in from the sides.

 "Just another right turn, and..." There it was. As Scratcher had said, this was a more professional ring than any I had fought in before. A hexagon surrounded by a steel net. The so-called "Hell Cage".

 "Heyo, Shadow! Like the Hell Cage?" I looked at the small guy beside me. "Quit it, Scratcher." I responded; "And that name is just about the most cringey thing I've ever heard." He started laughing, then paused and looked at the sun setting between the slits of the alley. "You'll know why it's called that soon."

 Time was passing quickly, and only the twilight remained on the horizon. People started flooding in, mostly youngsters and buff guys with tattoos. I had put my black hood and mask on before anyone saw my identity.

 "There she is, the queen of the underworld. I told you about her, right?" Scratcher clandestinely pointed at a seemingly young woman wearing a blue masquerade mask. "Why is she here? Isn't this a fight between rookies?" I asked him. "Hehe. Didn't I tell you?" He said as the woman approached us. "I've got connections" He whispered.

 "Are you the Shadow Striker everyone's talking about?" She said in a somewhat arrogant tone. "I didn't know I was this popular, miss." She smirked and replied: "Well, let's see your fabled dance in the ring, hmm?" I responded with a snicker.

 "Are you guys ready?" The loud female announcer asked for the 6th time. And yet, the roar of affirmations confirmed the audience's enthusiasm.

 "Now for today's main event, please welcome the Iron Gladiator, Jin Jibang!" Another roar from the crowd was followed by an even louder one by the gladiator.

 "Don't you know? He shaved of the last person's hair with his hands only!" This was just one of the rumors about this bastard. "Be careful, Shadow. He's unlike the opponents you've faced so far." Scratcher said, the worry written all over his face. "Yeah." I was already outside the door of the cage.

 "And now, the living legend, the dancer of darkness, the slayer of light, please welcome... Shadow Striker!" The crowd bellowed with excitement and chants, but I could only see the brute in front of me.

 This guy's physique... was like a tank. It seemed as if he was half a foot taller than me, and the veins in his huge muscles were protruding dangerously outwards. "Hah. This scrawny guy is the one called Shadow?" He broke into a deep laughter.

 "Gentlemen," The announcer came between us: "The only rule of hell cage is: THERE ARE NO RULES!" She giggled hysterically. "Now then, let the madness begin!" Another loud cheer from the crowd. It seemed to number around a 100 people now, packed into a cramped space. The whole scene reminded me of a nightclub.

 "Where are you looking at?" The brute's punch came flying in quickly, yet it was easy to dodge.

 "Huh? Can you only dodge?" He said furiously as I dodged around the ring like vintage Muhammad Ali. The dance only made the brute angrier.

 "He's right in the palm of my hand..." I thought with a smirk behind my mask. "Let's see, one punch should be enough."

 The jab quicker than lightning, which leaves the audience bamboozled from the sheer swiftness of it. The instant is shorter than human reaction time, and the right hand comes back to guard the chin as if nothing had happened.

 This was the perfect quick jab.

 For a moment, the gladiator lay on the ground in disbelief. The impact of the punch registered a few seconds later. "Argghh!" He screamed while clutching his left cheek.

 "7,8,9 and-" The announcer's glee was cut short by the now upright Jibang. "I'm not done, you bastard!" This time his punches were even more foreseeable, and 2 counterpunches were enough to have him on the ground again.

 "I'm not taking any chance this time." I sat on his chest, punching him again and again, feeling my eyes glowing red. His fighting spirit had shriveled into nothing. "You... blonde..." I paused as he said those words.

 I couldn't feel my hood on top of my head. "He's a blonde?" "Is he a foreigner?" "Kyaaaa!" All sorts of murmurs spread across the venue.

 "Ahem, I think we now know our winner. The still invincible, Shadow!" This time the crowd was pre-occupied in their own thoughts. They were staring at me, waiting for something I'd say. "So I'm blonde, so what?" I thought these words as I put my hood back on, sighing as I left the ring.

 As I was about to head out with Scratcher, the so-called Queen of the underworld approached me again. "Hmm... I'm interested in you." Eh? My expression must have given away my thoughts, as she immediately blushed and blurted: "Not in that way! I mean your fighting... It was marvelous." So the mafia queen could also be flustered?

 "Gimme your number, I might have some gigs for you in the future. I can pay you well." I contemplated the thought, as Scratcher left to collect our rewards for the fight. "All right, here you go." I gave her a piece of parchment from my pocket. "Excellent!" She exclaimed with a sly smile, then winked from behind he mask: "I'll see you soon, baby..." I sighed as she turned away to what looked too be bodyguards.

 "What are our winnings today?" I looked at Scratcher as he counted the money again. "200000 Won(Equivalent to 150 dollars). The rest were given to the betters as you ordered." Hmmm... I smiled, looking up at the starless sky as we left the alleyway. "Take half of it. I only need enough for groceries." Scratcher beamed with a grin: "Really? Thanks man!"

 I lit a cigarette as he left on his bike. As I approached the car, I saw the faint silhouette of a short woman, leaning against the hood.

 "Sakura? What are you doing here?" The girl who was staring at me was by now obviously her, as the street lamp on top of the car was flickering. She quickly threw the cigarette away from my right hand, then grabbed it with her own and started briskly walking down the street. 

 "Sakura, where are we goin-" "Shut up and follow me." She said in a cold voice. At times like these, she was terrifyingly blunt. 

 She led us down the path from a fork on the road, before turning to face an alleyway. "Come in." She let go of my hand, gesturing me to follow her to the far end of the alley. I could see a faint yellow glow at the end of it.

 The light became brighter as we came closer, turning out to be a sodium lamp surrounded by cigarette smoke. As the smoke faded away, the scene in front of me. What seemed to be gang members stared at me, some with crooked smiles, others with indifferent glares. I looked at Sakura again as she leaned against a wall.

 "I want you to prove yourself, "Shadow."" The last word was said with emphasis.

 "Prove myself?" I stared at her wide smile again.

 What is this situation??