Two men circled each other.

No... one of them was not a man. He was a boy barely in his teens, with long limbs he hadn’t grown into yet, shaggy black hair, and thick straight brows. It was the way he stood that made him look like a man at first glance. Defiant, not like a rebellious teenager but like a beaten man refusing to die.

The man was a head taller and a few inches wider than the boy. And in his hands was a blade, old and nicked but still sharp enough to cut.

The boy’s hands were empty. And still he held himself confidently as he circled the man and the man circled him. Finally, the man lunged for him, with a swing of the sword. The boy ducked low and tackled the man, arms around his midsection. He wasn’t strong or heavy enough to topple the man but he did throw him off balance long enough to kick him in the balls. Doubling over in pain, his grip on the blade loosened.

The fight was over once the boy got ahold of the sword. The man’s body slumped lifelessly to the ground as the bystanders stared in shock.

The boy stood completely unharmed, covered in blood, holding on to the shitty sword... shaking uncontrollably, clutching the sword so closely it cut into the skin over his collarbone - the boy snapped out of his memory, bending down to steal the handkerchief out of the man’s sleeve. He wiped the blood from his face as he turned and walked away.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A man much older but not any bigger than the boy blocked his exit from the hollowed out, abandoned building the fight took place in, while a voice from behind the boy called out, “Eun! Wait!”

The boy, Eun, raised the blade and pointed the tip at the throat of the guy standing in his way. If this is about the kick to the balls being ‘dishonorable’ then you can fuck off, he came at me with a sword while I was unarmed.”

The man put his hands up and swallowed. Eun was holding the blade so close that when the man’s Adam’s apple bobbed it was pierced, a single drop of blood trailing down the man’s neck until it was stopped by the collar of his shirt. The man said, “you don’t understand. He was our leader and so-”

“And so what?” Eun leaned forward, pressing his blade into the man’s throat. The man stumbled back lest he get ran through. He stuttered, shook, and was unable to say anything else.

A man Eun didn’t hear approach dropped an arm around his shoulders and spoke directly into his ear, “ and so... we need a new one.”