October 20th, 2089

Kira’s POV

I lashed out with my fist, sending blood and teeth flying as I pummeled my opponent’s face.  The strike knocked him off his feet as he fell unconscious.  My intuition warned me of an attack coming from my blind spot.  I dropped into a crouch, letting the punch hit empty air above me.  I turned back and kicked at the man’s shin, a sharp crack indicating that I did more than just bruise it.  The large, beefy man fell with a cry of pain while I rolled away as a 3rd enemy stomped the ground where I had just been. 

I dashed away into a nearby tangle of people, taking full advantage of their distraction with each other to sneak in cheap shots to necks, kidneys, and any other vulnerable areas.  Several more people fell to the ground.  Other fights soon resolved, leaving only myself and 3 fighters.  Those three looked to each other and came to an unspoken agreement, resulting in a 3 on 1 scenario.  The three men all looked to have a foot and 200 pounds on me, yet they were clearly frightened at facing a teenage girl in combat.

I sprinted forward, choosing not to engage in the long-time tradition of a stare-down prior to a fight.  Seizing the initiative is vital in any battle.  I shoulder charged into the nearest brute, sending him sprawling a dozen feet away.  I lashed out with my foot, striking the second man in the gut, then I kneed him in the face as he hunched over from my initial attack.  The last man was going to surrender, but my beast-kin’s blood was boiling and demanding that I go for the kill.  I didn’t kill him, naturally, but I did unleash a vicious uppercut that lifted him off his feet.  He landed in a heap and didn’t move.

“Winner:  Kira.”  The calm announcer’s voice rang out after the 12-person free-for-all brawl ended with just me standing.  The other fighters were all huge, ripped and even had some combat experience, but they were still no match for me.  Terra’s daily torture, ahem, training has really been making an impact.  I walked out of the arena, looking for Mr. Chino so he could pay me my share of the winnings.  It’s been a fun diversion fighting here these past few months, and I felt useful when I started paying some of the expenses again.

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My ears perked up at the sound of squeaking, which I have come to associate with Mr. Chino.  He was happily cackling away at his touchpad, not tearing away his eyes from the line of numbers that showed the large amount of e-cash that was just deposited into his account.  “Hey, Mr. Chino!  Haven’t I told you to stop with the cackling?  You’ll never find yourself a lady friend by being creepy!”  I admonished him.

Mr. Chino gave me a half-hearted glare as I just smiled.  He looks like and acts like he’s a tough-shot criminal, but it’s a façade.  It’s kind of similar to Terra, now that I think about it.  “Don’t get cheeky with me, brat.  If it weren’t for the money we’ve been raking in, I wouldn’t put up with your sass.”  I waved off his remark as I responded “Please, we both know you’re secretly fond of me.”  There was a grumpy pause as Mr. Chino didn’t deny my assertion before he spoke again.  “Listen, there’s something we need to discuss.”  “I’m assuming that this is about the fact that no one wants to fight me anymore here at the Pits?”  “Yeah, we’ve had a good run and we’ve made a lot of money off those suckers.  But that wasn’t exactly what I wanted to ask.”  “Ok, so what’s up?”

“With the money we’ve made, I’ve paid off my debts and made sure there’s no one left who wants to kill me.  I’ve decided to get out of the game and just run my casino legally.”  He snorted “Unfortunately, my casino is still in a shit part of town and I’ll have scum around all the time.  I need some muscle to keep the drunks and angry gamblers in line.  You interested?”  There was a silence as he waited for my answer.  “…You just can’t let me go, can you?”  “Shut up, brat!”  Mr. Chino huffed.

I wisely decided not to push it and instead changed the subject.  “What sparked the change?”  “I’ve never waded too deep into the sewer that is the Tokyo underground.  There is a lot of messed-up shit, and I am just a greedy bastard.  As long as it made me money, I was satisfied with my place.  But even so, things have become scary.  The recent uproar over some upstarts muscling their way in has ended in a complete takeover.  The 47 Ronin, the Katsuragi family, and the Youkai are all gone.  Now those psychos from Pandemonium are in charge.  I’m a crook, not an evil and heartless monster.”

I had no reply to that, still being caught in the midst of processing what he just said.  Terra needs to hear this.  It was only a little over a week ago when Reiji and his friends got attacked by Pandemonium demons, if they’ve established an outpost here it’s only going to get worse.  Their terrorist attacks have been increasing in both frequency and ferocity around the world.  Japan has managed to avoid the brunt of it, I suspect it is because of Terra.  He’s been gone so frequently lately trying to hunt down those demons that I’m worried he’s overworking himself even with Rin and Irene’s help.

“Hey, Mr. Chino.  Do you know anything else about Pandemonium?” I asked him as we were driving back to the casino.  “From what I heard from my associates before they turned, died, or ran away, Pandemonium isn’t too interested in making money.  They want manpower and influence, and they’re very willing to pay for it.  Frankly, it looks like they’re gearing up for a war.”  We didn’t speak anymore after that.  I was too busy thinking and Mr. Chino was too busy fantasizing about how he was going to spend his money.