Jonas and Yuki spent a good portion of their night testing the boundaries of the newly discovered healing power. It was one thing to heal himself: it was another for Jonas to heal other people. Over and over again, they tested the limits of the ability; it seemed that his blood was capable of healing fresh wounds, but that's as far as they understood. Perhaps, after some practice, Jonas could heal deadlier wounds. He had found his Original Sin and opened up an entirely new world for himself.
Breaking locks, burning flesh, healing wounds—Jonas knew this wasn't the full extent of his power; it would take an understanding of his desires, practice, and imagination to fully flesh out what he wanted to do with his Original Sin. When he closed his eyes at night, he began imagining the power he could achieve. The thoughts were formless, and they flashed like shooting stars, but one day his passion would mingle with his imagination, and from it would come the ability to perform incredible feats of Sin.
During the following days, Jonas and his crew were preparing for their escape from the Hurts gang. The plan hadn't changed much, but they seemed to all agree that attacking when both leaders were away was the best time. Hypothetically, they could level the gang, kill Garth, free the slaves, and deal with Xiao Lin before Howard or Thomas returned. The main question was, should they attack in the morning before the two leaders returned, or should they attack during the main event match when the leaders gathered in the VIP booth?
After a week or so passed, Brow came to Jonas with the news that he'd finished scheduling Jonas a new fight. Not only was it the main event with thousands of Sin Stones on the line, but it was also the first of his career as a top-five fighter, and it was against Rodney White, an elite warrior from the Black Saints gang.
“He’s about your size,” Brow said. “Ahmed lost to him both times they fought, but Wolf beat him once, and Rodney lost three matches against Garth.”
“So, it’s a tossup?” Jonas wondered. “What about Yuki?”
“Yotama Yuki,” Brow corrected, and he looked suspicious. He narrowed his yellow eagle eyes and tried to garner any information from Jonas' expression.
"Yes, her." Jonas blinked innocently.
"She fought him once and managed a close win—very close," Jonas nodded his head; he felt confident about the fight knowing that both Wolf and Yuki beat Rodney.
Later that day, Jonas discussed his upcoming fight with Ahmed while picking the old warrior's brains for information about their shared opponent. Perhaps, Jonas would be able to discover something of value that could help him during the fight.
“Rodney White doesn’t make many mistakes,” Ahmed side-stepped a punch and hit Jonas in the ribs. “I lost to him twice, both times by submission.”
“What’s your best advice?” Jonas deflected a punch and kicked Ahmed hard in the chest. The impact from the blow sent the old warrior crashing into the sand.
“My best advice,” Ahmed was breathless as he picked himself up from the ground. “Try not to overthink the fight, and don’t obsess over a game plan. Simply put, do whatever the moment calls for.”
“So, I should take what my opponent gives me?”
“Sports aren’t necessarily a contest of who is better; sometimes, they're a contest of who can better capitalize on their opponent's mistakes, and sometimes, they're a contest of who can better capitalize their successes.”
“Their successes?” Jonas looked confused.“What do you mean?”
“If you punched your opponent, your goal may have been to cause him damage, right?” Ahmed asked, and Jonas nodded his head. “But what if your opponent dodges the punch and falls over?"
“I’d jump on top of him,” said Jonas.
“Exactly,” said Ahmed. “Half the battle is seizing opportunities you created, whether on purpose or by luck.”
“Wait, wait. Isn’t that the same thing? If my opponent falls on his ass, and I attack him, isn’t that both capitalizing on my opponent's mistake and my success?”
“I never said they were separate things,” Ahmed shook his head. “Your opponent’s mistakes can become your successes if you have the experience, skill, and confidence to seize the opportunity.”
“I think I get it,” said Jonas. “Instead of game planning and coming into the fight with a preconceived notion of what I’m going to do, I should simply seize the opportunities as they present themselves. Maybe those opportunities are given to me because my opponent made a mistake, and sometimes those opportunities are created because of something I did successfully."
"I'm glad you understand. Remember, a fight rarely goes how you imagine it will. Most of the time, you have to improvise and be willing to roll with the punches: so to speak."
Ahmed and Jonas sat on the sidelines and used towels to dry the blood and sweat off their faces. Jonas took a deep gulp of a beer, and the two watched as Jaden and Johnson sparred. It seemed that Jaden was a much better fighter; however, Johnson was more adept at channeling his Sin. Because of this, it allowed him to fight toe to toe with his much more talented opponent.
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Jaden tried punching Johnson across the cheek, missed the shot, and Johnson fell over while attempting to dodge. Suddenly, Johnson kicked his foot, and it caught Jaden on the back of the knee, tripping him and making him fall hard into the sand. He rolled over and leaped toward Jaden, put him in a headlock, and bent his opponent's body like a bow. Jaden tried to struggle, but soon he was red-faced, couldn't breathe, and was forced to tap Johnson's arm. The two fighters separated and pounded knuckles once they had caught their breath.
"Well, look at that." Jonas grinned. It seemed that Ahmed's lesson was genuine.
"Johnson used a kick to capitalize on Jaden's mistake; he also capitalized on his successful kick by getting on top of his opponent for the submission. Do you see what I mean?"
"You're right on the money," Jonas watched as Simon and Pete sparred off in the adjacent pit. "Thanks for the advice," Ahmed patted the youngster on the back, and it was the first time he had shown such affection.
“Every fight you’ve been in has followed the lesson I gave you, hasn’t it?”
Jonas considered his friend, and he tried to recall his many victories and his many losses. Hadn’t he seized the opportunity and capitalized on his opponent's mistakes in the past? Hadn't it allowed him to reign supreme over them?
“When I beat Wolf—killed Wolf, I mean,” Jonas rubbed the dirty sand between his fingers.“He made the mistake of not noticing that there was a weapon nearby for me to use.”
“Yes,” said Ahmed. “And you seized the bout of luck and caused Adam’s demise.”
“But I could say the same for him,” Jonas touched the spot on his kidney where he had once been stabbed in the back by someone he trusted. “He used my goodness against me and seized that opportunity to deal a critical blow.”
“Very true,” nodded Ahmed. “He did do that, and it cost him his life. Wolf forgot who he was because he was so obsessed with beating you, and it compelled him to use dirty tactics, and the consequences meant death. Never go against your inner nature, especially not in a duel to the death."
“And I capitalized on that mistake,” Jonas pushed his long golden bangs out of his face. “You’re pretty smart when you want to be,” Ahmed chuckled and pulled his hair out of a ponytail to let it hang down his muscular back.
“I've been observing the world around me for a thousand years,” said Ahmed. “It doesn’t matter where you go: Hell or Earth; there will always be some moron you can take advantage of because of his carelessness,” Jonas grimaced at Ahmed's words because he had been the moron taken advantage of by other people.
Later that night, Yuki gave him some advice too, and Jonas eagerly listened as she lay naked in his arms.
“Rodney is a smart fighter,” she said. “The main reason I beat him is that he tried to grapple me into submission; however, he underestimated how flexible I am.”
“Oh, if we ever fought in the arena,” Jonas said as he touched the tip of her nose. “I wouldn’t make that mistake.”
“You haven’t seen the half of it,” she pushed him down and straddled his body until their sexes smashed against each other. “Seriously, though,” she slowly lifted herself up and then down, lubricating their private parts. “He’ll be tough to beat, especially because he won't underestimate the guy who killed Wolf.”
“I'm serious about the fight,” said Jonas as he laid on his back and used one hand to caress her ribs. “Just because Wolf is dead doesn’t mean I can slack off. There's so much more to lose now that the plan is in motion.
“There is, and to make matters worse: Thomas and Howard know about us.”
“Fuck,” Jonas tried to sound concerned, but it was difficult to do when his dick was halfway inside her.
“Fuck, what?” she asked playfully.
“Aren’t you worried? What if they suspect something?”
“They suspect,” said Yuki. “That I like having sex with a hot young fighter,” and she put all her weight down onto him, which filled her to the breaking point. “They—uh—they have no reason to suspect anything other than that.”
“But—” he tried to say, but she pressed a soft finger against his lips to quiet him.
“But nothing,” Yuki began humping, and Jonas felt his worries leave his mind.“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.”
Hours later, Jonas lay in that comfy bed, staring at the ceiling while he listened to the soft sleeping noises coming from Yuki, who was cuddling him. Howard, Thomas, Garth, and Xiao Lin. These names kept repeating themselves in his mind as if he was trying to tattoo them on his brain.
‘I have to kill them,’ Jonas bit his lip as he recalled a strange distant memory. This foggy memory ingrained itself in his psyche; it was intrusive and enjoyed playing in his mind every night before he slept. He saw blood and bits of brain, and a skin-crawling whimper filled his ears. ‘None of them can live. I’m a leader now, and I have people that depend on me, so I don’t get the luxury of keeping my hands clean.’
How long had it been since he could just live his life knowing that someone else would care for him and make every serious problem disappear as if it had never been a problem? His thoughts became filled with Drake as he wondered what it was like to be so young and have so much responsibility. ‘Did he hold it against me?’ Jonas recalled that scene from when he had first got to Hell, and his brother had confessed that he no longer wanted to be his keeper. ‘It was just a trick to make me hate him, right? Or did he no longer want me?’
Jonas' confidence wavered, but his Sin Scars began to glow, and he felt an overwhelming surge of positivity flow through him like electricity. He smirked at his stupidity because he recalled an old conversation between him and his brother. Drake had just gotten his license, and the two of them had taken a trip to Rutgers Outlook, intending to watch stars and crush beers.
“Drake,” Jonas had been feeling depressed that day. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“Sorry for dragging you down, sorry for being a burden,” Jonas had found out his brother turned down multiple scholarship offers. It had been an evil insect that ate at Jonas' innards and made him think terrible thoughts. Tears had welled up in his blue eyes because the sadness was unbearable. His existence was constantly putting people out.
“Don’t be fucking stupid,” Drake flicked him across the forehead. “Maybe I could have gone pro? Maybe I could have been a millionaire,” he had smiled warmly. “None of that is guaranteed, but do you know what is guaranteed?”
“What?”
“That you're my baby brother and that we’ll always be family.”
“But—“
“No buts. Older brothers take care of their younger brothers, it’s a rule that’s been around since the dawn of time, and it’s a rule I don’t ever plan on breaking.”