***Keifer's POV***
"They're so ugly," Eren commented.
"Why are they dressed like that? Is there a dress code for gang wars?" Denzel asked.
"I want to eat!" Ci-N said, hugging David. "Get away…" David tried to push Ci-N away.
"Is this what a gang war is like? I have no clue! It's like we gate-crashed a party!" Edrix exclaimed.
"You guys don't know anything about gang wars!" Blaster said.
Out of all of us, only Blaster and Drew had been in a gang war before. We were all clueless about what would happen next. I didn't fight like this. I only faced those who wanted to fight me.
"There are more than 120 of them," Josh said, still counting.
That was fewer than Ram usually brought to these kinds of fights. Maybe because some of them didn't really like being in his group.
Besides us, there were other groups who wanted to challenge their new leader. So, if you excluded them, only about 60 were left from Ram's old group.
"Before we start!" a man shouted, holding a baseball bat. "I want you to know what Watson answered when I sent him the invitation!"
If I wasn't mistaken, that was their new leader. I hadn't seen him before. Or maybe I had, but I didn't remember.
Everyone here looked at us. Mostly at me. They looked at me like a predator looking at its prey.
"He said he's the real boss! That if we lose, we'll become his dogs! We'll obey him!" he explained, and some of them laughed.
"BULLSHIT!" one of his men shouted.
"YOU'RE CRAZY! ONLY RAM CAN DEFEAT YOU!" another added, and they laughed again.
Only Ram? They underestimated me. They kept talking as if they knew me. When in reality, they'd never had a chance to test me. And I would prove them wrong.
"Let's give him a chance!" their new leader said, and everyone fell silent. "…We'll agree to that! But if you lose, you'll be our dogs!" he said, pointing at us. "And we'll get your girl!"
My vision darkened at his words. Before I knew it, I was in front of him, choking him. Those who were beside him quickly moved away.
"Don't you dare mention her," I growled.
I heard someone whistle. "Woah! It seems the rumors about you just using that girl aren't true!"
"He used her? Watson is ruthless!"
"Maybe they're really a couple?!"
"Who's spreading those rumors?"
"Your group! Idiots!"
"You're crazy! It's your group!"
"You're a grown man, and you're gossiping!"
I released their new leader when I noticed he was about to suffocate. I was becoming too obvious.
They started arguing and insulting each other. Until someone started throwing large rocks. Some started punching, and others were hitting each other with whatever they could find.
I slightly stepped back when the guy in front of me swung his baseball bat. He dropped it and pulled out a balisong. He spun it before trying to stab me.
I deflected his hand and punched him.
That's all?
The brawl began. Everyone started running, chasing, and yelling, along with exchanging punches.
My opponent disappeared when two groups clashed near me. I faced Section E, who were just watching the fight. Ci-N was smiling, trying to calm himself.
He was obviously excited to punch someone. "Do me a favor! Show no mercy!" I shouted, and they all grinned like kids ready to play with new toys.
"Let's brawl!" Ci-N said.
They joined the fight. Everyone chased their targets. I also tried to find that fake leader. I would make him pay for what he said earlier.
While searching, several people attacked me. I didn't waste time on them. I knocked them out with one punch or by throwing them in the air.
It was hard to find that guy. I saw him hiding behind a pile of wrecked cars.
"How did you become their new leader? You did nothing but hide," I said, walking towards him.
I saw fear in his eyes as he slowly moved away from me. He sat down without noticing the metal scraps behind him and tripped. I couldn't understand how he became their leader.
"I-I'm not their leader," he said, stopping me. "…I was just ordered by R-Ram."
My forehead creased. "What do you mean?"
"T-they're looking for y-your girl. T-they told me to distract you!"
What the fvck?!
I didn't hesitate and pulled him up. I punched him repeatedly in the stomach, and when I released him, he immediately knelt down.
He coughed while holding his stomach. I wanted to break his neck, but I still had things to find out.
I knew Jay-jay was already home and under Angelo's protection. I was sure nothing would happen to her.
"What's Ram's plan?" I asked authoritatively.
"I-I don't know!" he shouted, taking a deep breath.
"What's his plan?" I asked again.
He shook his head violently. "I really don't know!"
I kneed him in the face. He fell down, clutching his bleeding nose and lip.
"Where's Ram, and what's his plan?!"
He kept shaking his head, even though he was clearly struggling to breathe.
"B-believe me… I r-really d-don't know!"
Fvck this! I couldn't get anything out of someone who didn't know anything.
I looked at five men approaching me. They all had weapons, I thought, for me.
One had a baseball bat, one a cane, one a large rock, one a balisong, and the last one had brass knuckles.
"Ram's orders are to kill Watson and bring the girl alive!" one of them shouted.
Two attacked me after one threw a rock. I dodged them all, but when the cane was swung, I blocked it and wrestled with him. He didn't let go, so when the baseball bat was swung at me, I pulled him with all my might so he would be the one hit.
It worked because the guy passed out after being hit on the head. The one with the baseball bat panicked and didn't know what to do next.
The one with the rock attacked me—he had another weapon. He was about to hit me, but I used the cane to hit the rock, causing it to shatter against his face. He closed his eyes, and I kicked him in the chest.
The one with the baseball bat attacked me again. He kept swinging while yelling. I just kept dodging. He was breathless, and when his movements slowed, I punched him in the side. I felt his ribs break.
Can I have someone else?
I noticed the remaining two looking at each other. I raised both my hands to show I had no weapons. They quickly attacked, but I wasn't stupid enough to raise my hands without fighting back.
I used the opportunity to grab the wrist of the one with the knife and pull him to use as a shield. Because of his brass knuckles, the impact hurt. I heard his bones crack.
I threw him away and faced the one with the brass knuckles. He got into a fighting stance, and I did the same. He tried to punch me, but he was too slow.
One punch to the face and another to his jaw. Knockout!
That's all? Didn't they have anyone stronger?
I went back to look for Ram's fake leader. The scoundrel had escaped! I quickly followed him. I couldn't find him, so I had to return to where I started.
I finally saw him. The coward was just hiding. He was trying to get the fallen men to stand up.
"Get up! There was only one, and you couldn't handle him!" he yelled angrily.
"C-call R-ram. Ask for b-backup," one of them replied, struggling to get up.
"He's not answering! Let's just get out of here!"
I smiled. Ram had abandoned them. It seemed they were only sent to distract me.
"Tss… So Ram doesn't really care at all," I said, and he turned to face me.
He was still shaking as he tried to point the cane at me. The others tried to move away from me. Some weren't even standing anymore.
"Brace yourself. I'm about to break your bones," I said, walking quickly towards him.
He tried to hit me with the cane, but I blocked it like before. I snatched it from him and threw it far away.
"P-please have mercy! I was just o-ordered," he said, kneeling in front of me. I quickly grabbed his wrist.
"Don't you dare mention that girl in your nonsense. She's mine, and she's my possession. No one else can claim her," I said, gripping his wrist tighter.
"P-please forgive me! I-if you want… I'll help g-get rid of those who are trying to h-hurt h-her. Like the t-threats…" he screamed after I tightened his wrist even more.
"I don't need your help! After you talked about her like that! Do you think I'll trust you?!"
He couldn't answer because he was crying. I tightened my grip, twisting his wrist.
"Keifer…" someone called me.
I turned to see who it was. It was Yuri with Rory and Edrix.
"Jay-jay's here." he said.
WHAT?!
I was immediately alarmed. Had Ram succeeded? Had he gotten Jay-jay? How had it happened?
"Who brought her here?!" I demanded, my voice sharp.
"It was Kuya Percy," Felix said, walking towards us.
I felt a little relieved, but she shouldn't be here. Why had Percy brought her here? It seemed he was the one who would lead Jay-jay into danger.
I looked around at the fallen men. I wasn't satisfied with the number I'd defeated.
"Tell me… how many did you defeat?" I asked, not looking at them.
I heard footsteps. It seemed others who hadn't been here earlier had arrived.
"A lot," Felix answered.
"And how many is that?" I pressed.
"M-more than ten," he said.
More than ten? Bullshit! That wasn't enough! How could I intimidate others if that's all we'd managed to defeat in one fight? I looked at the man whose wrist I still held. I proceeded with what I'd planned. I twisted his wrist, hearing his bone crack and his cry of pain.
This is my warning!
But it wasn't enough! It was far from enough!
"FVCK! This is not enough!" I roared, my anger flaring.
"What's 'not enough'? Keifer… We've taken down more than half of the gangs. What else is missing?" Felix asked, gesturing to the bodies on the ground.
Just half? Did that seem like enough? That would never be enough. Angelo could defeat more than this. How many were they? Eight or nine? Yet they could still defeat more than this.
The thought fueled my anger even more.
"Do you think this will make us strong?! Ha?! Do you think this is enough?!" I shouted, my voice laced with frustration.
"What are we going to do? Join every gang war here?" Edrix asked irritably, causing me to glare at him furiously.
"If that's the only way, then we will." I stated grimly.
"You're just making more enemies! Ask for help from Jay-jay's cousin. He has more connections," Josh suggested.
No! I would never ask for his help.
"It's not possible. He'll take Jay-jay away from us if we do," Yuri stated, his voice low.
He knew exactly what would happen if we talked to Angelo.
"Then that's good!" Drew shouted. "…to make sure she's safe."
Yuri and I both glared at him. We'd discussed this countless times, yet they kept bringing it up.
"Why are you looking at me like that?! You're afraid of losing Jay-jay, aren't you?!" he asked, as if he didn't know the answer. "…You guys do something stupid, and now you're acting like this!"
He spoke as if he hadn't done anything to her. He was part of our group. Maybe he was just trying to distance Jay-jay to avoid paying his debts.
Yuri quickly grabbed Drew by the collar.
"Shut up, Drew," he said coldly.
I noticed them looking in another direction, like they'd seen a ghost. I turned to see my Jay-jay with Percy.
It was true; she was here.
What had possessed her to come here? Why had Percy let her come? It wasn't good that they were now relatives. They were both stubborn.
I tried to remain emotionless. But I really wanted to hug her right now. I missed her so much, even though we saw each other almost every day.
"J-Jay? H-have you been here the whole time?" Felix asked, looking at both Jay-jay and Percy.
I could see anger in Percy's eyes. Felix still seemed afraid of him. Now I knew why they were here.
"Is this what you've been busy with?" Percy asked calmly, but I could still sense his anger.
Felix obviously didn't want to answer, so his brother turned to us. "Is this what you taught my brother while I was gone?! Did you teach him to participate in this killing?!"
Yuri and I looked at each other. I didn't want any drama. This was a fight between brothers. I turned away, and Yuri did the same, trying to avoid the conflict, but I stopped when I heard her voice.
"Don't be rude!"
I felt a pang of pain. I didn't know why, but it hurt to hear her voice. Maybe because I missed her too much.
I chose not to turn around. I couldn't—I might lose control and run to hug her.
"Jay—." Yuri began, but Percy cut him off.
"Damn it, Yuri!"
I didn't want to prolong this.
"Your brother has his own mind. Even if you teach him, it's up to him whether he joins us," I said, still not facing them.
Out of nowhere, I felt something strange. Like someone was watching us. But this was no ordinary feeling. My intuition told me something was wrong. It was about Jay-jay.
Percy continued arguing with Felix. I tried to look around without them noticing. And as I looked at Jay-jay, there it was! Someone was aiming a knife at her.
I took a step forward, and at the same time, someone lunged at Jay-jay with a knife.
"P-PERCY!" she screamed, and everyone turned.
But they were too slow. Adrenaline surged through my body. In an instant, I was in front of Jay-jay, grabbing the attacker by the neck and wrist, where the knife was.
I didn't know where my strength came from, but I was ready to break a neck.
"Who the fvck are you?!" I demanded furiously.
Instead of answering, he laughed, and my anger flared. I tightened my grip, his laughter turning into a pained groan.
"What the hell do you want?!" I repeated.
I saw his eyes flick to Jay-jay.
"We… Want… Her… Dead."
Who's that "we"?
Who were they, and why was she their target?
"Who?! Who wants her dead?!" I roared.
He laughed again. Fvck! He was still laughing while I was livid.
I couldn't control myself and twisted his wrist. I heard his bone crack, and he screamed in agony.
I let him go and watched him suffer. I hated people who didn't give me straight answers.
"This is your fault!" Jay-jay suddenly shouted. "…They're targeting me again! Because of you!"
Maybe she was right. Maybe I was the reason. I was the one with many enemies connected to her.
I heard the man's loud laughter again. He was really trying to anger me.
He was probably out of his mind. He was holding his broken wrist but still laughing.
"Sato," he said, looking at Yuri. "Jason," he looked at me. "And Ram," he looked at Jay-jay.
Wasn't my threat enough? They had actually teamed up to attack Jay-jay.
I knew Jason was up to something. He shouldn't dare show himself; I would burn his motorcycle in front of him.
Ram couldn't move on from what Jay-jay had done to him. He couldn't accept that a woman had defeated him. If he knew something was wrong with Jay-jay at that time, he might go even crazier with rage.
Sato. Who the hell was he? I didn't know anyone named Sato—if that was even his name.
"Who's Sato?!" I demanded.
"Keifer," Yuri said. "I fought him before, and it seems he's coming after me again."
WHAT?! Why was Jay-jay also his target? This wasn't good! I had more enemies than allies. They were all targeting Jay-jay. Where had I gone wrong?
Rumors about us were already spreading like wildfire. Was it because I'd also spread warnings? But if I hadn't, they would keep coming after her. It didn't matter whether they believed she was my girlfriend or not.
They had to stop!
"Go back. Go back to Sato, Jason, and Ram. Tell them to come after me. I'll be waiting for them," I ordered him, controlling myself before I broke another bone.
"I didn't know this was happening here. I had no choice," Percy said, his voice low.
He looked at Jay-jay and Felix. "You two are coming back to New York with me."
NO!
Jay-jay couldn't leave. What if they attacked her there? Percy's plan couldn't happen. I wouldn't let him take her. We would clash.
I glared at Percy, but he just rolled his eyes.
"Let's go! We're going home!" he called to Felix.
But Felix didn't move; he looked at me.
"Go ahead! I can go home by myself!" Felix answered.
Percy was clearly annoyed but couldn't do anything. He reluctantly left but gave us a venomous glare. Jay-jay followed him, shocked by what had happened.
I needed to make sure no one hurt her and that her stepbrother didn't take her away.
"David. Kindly make sure they leave safely," I instructed.
David left without a word to follow Jay-jay and Percy.
"Keifer," someone called me. I turned to see the bloody leader of a gang I'd fought before. He could barely stand and was clearly in pain. Some of his injured men were with him. He approached me but fell in front of me.
"M-make a deal with us!" he said, pointing at me.
"What for?" I asked.
"We're w-willing to be y-your men. J-just help u-us when we n-need it."
Considering how many they'd fought, I could tell they were strong. I smirked. I needed people like them.
"Deal."
His men collapsed to rest.
"Keifer, what are we going to do with those we've defeated?" Yuri asked me.
"Leave them. They're too weak. We need stronger allies."
"What about the ones who escaped?" Felix asked, pointing to a group of battered men limping towards us.
I followed his gaze. A few men, obviously weak and bleeding, approached us.
"W-we challenge you… WATSON!" one of them shouted, lunging at me.
I gave him a light kick to the chest. He fell like a dead man. His companions had no strength left either.
"If you don't want to make a deal like the others, go back where you came from and don't dare challenge me again."
I turned and walked away. I didn't plan on waiting for them to wake up to make a deal. I had too much to do. One of those things was to stop Percy.
"Let's go. Help those who need help," I said, leaving.
Yuri immediately followed me. "What's your plan?" he asked, grabbing my arm.
I took my phone out and dialed Angelo's number, using my original phone.
"I'm calling Angelo. We need to stop Percy."
He answered after a few rings.
"Percy's up to something. He didn't come back just to catch up!" I said urgently.
"[Tell me everything.]" he said calmly.
"He's trying to take Jay-jay away!"
I heard his low curses.
"[Find him now!]" he said and ended the call.
If I couldn't stop Percy, I would find someone who could. I wouldn't let him take the woman I loved away from me.
"We need to find Percy," I said to Yuri, and we both got into my car. I pressed hard on the gas to find that idiot. I called him several times, but he didn't answer.
He shouldn't make a mistake; he'd regret it. I would search for him until the end of time, and then I would kill him repeatedly.
He had probably taken Jay-jay home.
I was about to turn back towards their subdivision when I saw his car pass mine. I quickly stepped on the gas to chase him.
He didn't seem to notice because of his loud music. Until he turned into a familiar corner. He was going to Felix's house!
I blocked his car with mine. He honked loudly because of what I did.
"Hey! What's your problem?!" he yelled angrily.
I quickly texted Yuri and Angelo about our location. I got out and faced Percy.
"I won't let you take Jay-jay away from us," I said threateningly.
"How can you stop me?" he asked mockingly.
"By hook or by crook."
"Don't stop me. She has the right to see her father."
"But not now. Not when someone's trying to kill her. What if they followed her there?"
He shook his head. "You think I can't protect her?"
We looked at two cars that had just arrived. Angelo quickly got out and grabbed Percy by the collar.
"I knew you weren't coming back for nothing," Angelo said.
"Woah! Relax… I came in peace," Percy replied, flashing a peace sign.
"You can't take Jay-jay. Until her mother agrees, she can't leave," Angelo said. He released Percy but kept his gaze on him.
"One wrong move!" Angelo threatened, pointing at him. "And I'll send you back to your grave."
Angelo turned and quickly got into his car. He left without speaking to us again.
I looked at Percy and Yuri.
"Like a child…" Percy said with a pout. "…he actually reported me." He scratched his head. "Get your car out of my way!"
Yuri and I shook our heads.
Now he knew he couldn't just take Jay-jay away.