Gray POV
Ryu Beaksan.
That name stuck with me all day.
He was like a walking contradiction. Hair like lightning, attitude like thunder—loud, cocky, unpredictable. But there was something else beneath the surface. Something sharp. Focused. Like a blade hidden in a storm cloud.
He walked like he didn't care if the world burned, but then turned around and acted like your overly-hyped friend from middle school. It shouldn't have made sense.
Yet somehow, it did.
"What an odd guy," I muttered under my breath.
"You talking about me?"
I blinked and turned. Ryu was right there, slinging a gym bag over his shoulder, earbuds half-in. His grin made it hard to tell whether he was joking or dead serious.
"You startled me," I said, steadying my tone.
He cocked his head. "Let me guess, that was your first or second time fighting? Im guessing second."
"What!?" My voice cracked before I could help it. He just laughed.
"I could tell. Hands were shaking." He tapped his own fingers. "But what caught my eye wasn't the nerves. It was the way you locked in, like someone flipped a switch."
He glanced sideways at me.
"You're new to this—but that stare? That look after you dropped him? That wasn't a mistake. We may walk, talk, and act different… but we're built outta the same material."
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
Ryu shrugged, still walking beside me. "You remind me of myself. Back before I knew I liked hitting people more than talking to 'em."
I wasn't sure how to respond to that.
We walked in silence for a moment. The sidewalk stretched out in front of us, quiet, empty.
Until it wasn't.
"HEY!" a voice shouted from across the street.
We both turned to see a familiar face—Colton. Or, as Ryu had started calling him…
"Yo! It's the ogre!" Ryu said, grinning wide. "And… damn. You brought the whole tribe."
Behind Colton were eleven other guys, each looking like they thought they were tough shit. Baggy uniforms, bad haircuts, and worse posture. Classic goons.
Colton pointed straight at us, face red.
"You're gonna pay for what you did, you little shits!"
I didn't move. Neither did Ryu.
"Flattered, honestly," Ryu said. "All this muscle just for me? Makes me feel special."
Colton growled and raised a fist. "GET THEM!"
The goons surged forward.
Ryu turned to me. His eyes sparkled with excitement. "I'll take eleven. You take one. Cool?"
"...Sure," I muttered, reaching into my bag.
My fingers wrapped around a pen. Thin. Metal. Weighted just enough.
It would have to do.
POV shift – third person
The first attacker lunged toward Ryu, throwing a wild haymaker. Ryu ducked effortlessly, slammed an elbow into the guy's gut, then swept his legs out in one fluid motion. The boy hit the pavement with a dull thud.
Another charged in—Ryu caught his wrist mid-swing, twisted, and used the momentum to fling him into two others. Bodies crashed to the ground like bowling pins.
A fourth tried to blindside him. Ryu ducked under, delivered a quick jab to the stomach, then cracked the kid across the temple with a spinning backfist. The sound echoed.
"Come on, I just got warmed up!" Ryu shouted, laughter in his voice.
Meanwhile, Gray locked eyes with a skinny guy in the back who thought he'd be the easiest win.
Helmet.
"You're dead, white-haired freak," Helmet spat. "Should've stayed hiding behind your new boyfriend."
He charged.
Gray moved fast—quicker than the boy expected. With one step back, Gray let Helmet's punch miss by inches. Then he drew the pen, gripping it reverse-style.
One precise jab—straight to the throat.
Helmet gasped, stumbled, and clawed at his neck. Gray spun behind him and struck again—once to the ribs, then swept the legs out from underneath him. Helmet crashed into the ground, choking and defeated.
"Not so easy," Gray muttered.
On the other side, Ryu finished the last of them with a rising knee to the chin. The boy's feet left the ground before he collapsed with a hollow moan.
Twelve bodies. Two boys.
One clear result.
Ryu stretched his neck and let out a sigh. "Huh. Thought that'd take longer."
Gray stood over Helmet, still gripping the pen tightly. His hand was steady now.
Ryu walked over, clapping him on the back. "Told you. Same material."
Gray didn't answer. But for once, he didn't feel like denying it.
Elsewhere, watching from the second floor of a nearby pool hall…
Ben Park set down his cue stick. His brows furrowed as he watched the white-haired kid and the loudmouth with the punches tear through a dozen upperclassmen like it was nothing.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Ben muttered.
Gogo leaned on the window beside him, grinning. "Ryu Beaksan. Dude's insane. He K.O.ed colton with one uppercut to a jaw, I like him."
Gerard, arms crossed, simply said, "He fights like he's dancing. Kind of reminds me of a drummer on fast tempo."
Ben kept watching, jaw clenched. His gut told him something important.
Ryu wasn't just strong. He was a storm waiting to crash into them.
And Ben? He wasn't used to sharing the spotlight.