Reece cracked his neck, then his knuckles, then his neck again, this ti just for the intimidation factor. His broad fra rippled with muscle, and the faded scar etched above his right eyebrow gave him that unmistakable street-beast aesthetic.
Most could guess how he got it, probably from using his head a little too much.
Across from him, Jay stood still. He rolled his shoulders, taking deep, slow breaths as he carefully sized up the opponent in front of him.
He wasn’t a trained fighter. Not like Joe, who had studied boxing and treated the art like a craft. Jay had never stepped foot in a dojo or even cared to. Fighting wasn’t sothing he dread of mastering. It was just... sothing that ca naturally. When pushed, he pushed back. When cornered, he wrestled his way out.
But today was different.
This wasn’t so schoolyard scrap or last-minute tussle.
This ti, he was facing soone who matched him in size, in power, maybe even in grit.
"Bring it!" Reece roared, his arms stretched wide like he was about to tear down the cage itself.
"I’m ready," Jay muttered.
And like his nickna promised, Rhino didn’t walk, he charged. Head down, shoulders squared, feet slamming against the concrete like a war drum.
For a big guy, Reece was fast. Shockingly fast.
Jay’s instincts scread dodge, and he moved, just in ti to avoid a full-body collision. But not clean enough.
Rhino’s shoulder clipped his ribs hard, sending Jay stumbling back until his spine slamd into the basketball cage. The jarring impact ran straight through his bones.
Reece grinned, wolf-like and cocky. "You’re lighter than I thought. Might break you by accident."
Jay scowled. "You’re talking a lot for a fight that just started."
He spread his arms, shifting into a stance as he began to circle the cage.
Then, boom. Reece ca charging again with the sa wild montum.
But this ti, Jay ducked more smoothly, slipping past the brute force and wrapping both arms around Reece’s biceps from behind, locking on tight.
"You think this is enough to stop ?" Reece growled.
With sheer strength, Reece swung his body upward, breaking Jay’s grip, and in one brutal motion, slamd the back of his skull into Jay’s face.
A thunderous crack.
Jay’s vision exploded in white. He staggered, dazed, blood from a freshly split lip trickling down his chin.
"Told you," Reece said, tapping his forehead with a smirk. "Reinforced skull. It’s not just a nickna."
The other students watching from behind the fence exchanged looks, their excitent turning into unease.
"I thought that was just a joke," Aki said, eyes wide.
"Who knows?" Mayson replied. "With all the rumors about that guy, any of them could be true. But yeah... it would explain how thick that head is."
"Does that even matter?" Joe asked. "Jay can’t get a grip on him. I’ve never seen this happen before."
"It’s okay..." Max said calmly. "Jay will win."
Jay blinked hard, trying to clear the stars from his eyes, but even through the pain, he was smiling.
"Really?" Jay muttered, wiping the blood from his lip. "Fighting with your head’s your style? Then maybe I should’ve stuck to mine from the start."
Reece barreled forward again, head first for another skull-breaking impact.
But Jay didn’t dodge.
He braced.
At the last second, just before impact, Jay swung both arms downward in a powerful arc, catching Reece’s back with the force of a collapsing wave. It forced Reece’s upper body down, his head slamd into his own stomach.
The impact was brutal, and the crowd collectively winced in pain.
Everyone could almost feel the wind knocked out of Reece, as if their own lungs were being crushed.
But Jay wasn’t done.
He locked his arms underneath Reece, tightening his grip around his midsection. Muscles straining, heart pounding, Jay began to lift.
"Get off !" Reece barked, twisting and thrashing, trying to throw him off.
But Jay held on. He shifted his grip, found better leverage, and in that second, his mind wasn’t on the fight anymore. It was on her.
Emily.
Back ho, probably eating toast with too much jam. Waiting for her big brother who always promised just one more job.
Jay wasn’t fighting for pride.
He was fighting for a ho. For her dicine.
And for Max, the guy who cleared his debt, who took a chance on him, who promised to cover Emily’s bills so Jay could be by her side.
Sowhere beyond the tal cage, Jay knew Max was watching.
He clenched tighter. Then, with a roar, he lifted Reece completely off the ground. His feet dangled in the air like he weighed nothing at all.
"This is gonna hurt," Jay warned.
"I’m Rhino! I don’t go down!"
Jay didn’t respond.
He only thought of Emily’s tiny pink backpack. The chipped blue bowl she used every morning. Her warm smile when he ca ho, even with black eyes and swollen cheeks.
He lifted Reece higher, and then slamd him with all his strength into the cold, hard concrete.
The thud echoed like thunder.
Reece’s arms flopped to the sides, limp. He wasn’t getting up.
The damage was done.
And though his heavy build and reinforced skull might’ve saved him from serious injury, he was out cold. He’d need a few checkups, but he wouldn’t be standing again any ti soon.
"I told you, there was nothing to worry about," Max said, grinning. "That guy... Jay’s like a real-life Hercules. Pulling off sothing like that?"
Exactly what Max had envisioned for this event was unfolding.
Jay returned to his position, bruised but standing tall. Another clean victory for the Billion Bloodline.
So far, the only loss had been Mayson, and even that had been a close one.
"This event’s already over, right?" Print said, arms crossed. "The Billion guys have racked up so many wins. They could just wear Rick down one by one, injure him if nothing else... then Max cos in to clean up."
Erik laughed beside him. "Is that what you’d do?" he asked. "Can’t you tell what kind of guy Max is? He’d never do sothing like that."
He looked out toward the cage.
"No way in hell he’s gonna play it safe. He’s here to prove sothing. To show everyone the true power of Billion Bloodline, so strong no one would even think about ssing with them."
Right then, Max stepped into view, wearing his signature black jacket.
His mont had co. It was ti to finish what they started.
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