Twelve Years ago.
In a dark abandoned alley, dimly lit by a neon city, two men in black in suits slam an old man into a brick wall. The old mans cloths were torn and worn browned by dirt and fill with holes. He whimpered softly. "Please, I have paid my dues. What more do you want from me?"
A fist slams into the old man's stomach. The impact was so fierce that the man couldn't help but throw up. The man whom the blow came from winced in disgust. "Scum almost hurled on my nice new shoes."
The second man smacked his lips, annoyed. "You didn't just owe our organization money, old man. You also owed your fingers. Could've manned up and paid your dues. Instead, you ran like a little bitch, so our boss wants more than your fingers. He wants the entire arm."
The old man cried fiercely. Panicked breaths suffocated him as the man's words set into his brain. Unable to control himself, he pleaded as tears ran down his wrinkled face. "PLEASE I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT JUST DON'T TAKE MY ARM!!"
One of the menacing men laughed. "Dumb old man, there is only one thing we want, and that is whatever our boss wants."
The man pulls out a clever from his coat, pinning the old man to the wall, preparing to hack away at him until his arm came free. At least, that was the attention. However, his efforts were quickly stopped as the slow patter of bare footsteps approached from the darkness of the alley. The men look in anticipation as from the darkness appeared a frail skinny boy no older than 12. His long, pink hair was unkempt and knotted. He wore an oversized dirty grey hoodie and stained grey sweatpants. Whistling echoed through the alley. "The ants march one by one, ho-raw, ho-raw!"
The man holding the clever lets go of the old man, letting him fall to the ground. He points the clever to the boy. "Hey get the fuck out of here, kid!"
The boy stops and slowly sways back and forth as a small grin curls on his face. "Do you want to play with me?"
That simple phrase threw off the man. All he could do was chuckle confidently. "Was that some kinda Bruce Lee style threat? You've been watching too much movies, kid. If you think you can take me, I won't treat you like a child."
The boy turned his head, confused, similar to a curious puppy. "Bruce....Lee? Is that a game? Can we play it?"
The man waved his clever around sadistically. "Sure kid, I'll cut you up after I'm done playing with this scum."
Gleefully smiling, the boy jumps with joy. "So that's the rules of Bruce Lee? Whoever chops up who first wins?"
The man looked at the boy confused but before a thought could even enter the man's head, his body falls to a bloody mess. Shock consumed the remaining two men. Panicked, the second man in the black suit pulled out a handgun and aimed it at the boy. "What the hell did you do?!"
The boy clapped his hands even more excited. "Wait, what game is that?"
Shocked, the man cocks back the gun hammer, ready to fire. "It's answer the question or I blow off your head!"
The boy jumps up and down, unable to contain his excitement. "Oh, that sounds super fun!"
Losing patience, the man fired a warning shot past the boy's face. "Answer me! What did you do?"
Joyous clapping filled the dark alley as the boy smiled from ear to ear. "I played Bruce Lee with the knife guy." Without pause, the boy points at the man. "Why is the sky blue?"
The clearly agitated man shouted. "Who cares? How did yo....." The man's head pops like a balloon as red poured out all over the alley walls.
Joyous clapping was quickly replaced with a loud, disappointed sigh. "Wow, that guy sucked at his own game." The boy turned to the old man, who sat speechless and greyed as if he met face to face with evil itself. "Hey old guy!" The old man slowly turned to see the boy's glowing white eyes pierce through the darkness. "Do you want to play a game?"
The old man's heart dropped to his stomach as those innocent yet evil words left the boy's mouth. The old man's mouth opened to answer, yet no words could be formed. From the end of the alley, a voice rang. "I'll play with you, kid."
Surprised, the boy quickly turns around to see a large man with long, black, spiky hair. Smoke ran through his black and grey beard. A long black coat with crosses and fur adorned upon the collar sat on his shoulders. The large man put his cigar to his lips and inhaled deeply. So deeply that the whole cigar turned to ash. A gigantic cloud of smoke engulfed the alley. Glowing green eyes hovered through the smoke, watching the boy intently. "How about we play heads or tails?"
A huge smile ran across the boy's face. "Three games in a row? Today is awesome!!!"
The large man smirked confidently. "I take that as a yes?"
Eagerly, the boy nodded his head. "Heads and tails is a betting game, so if I beat you, play games with me forever!"
Still smirking, the man nods softly in agreement. "That's a hefty bet you asked me for boy."
The boy's eyes widen in confusion. "How so?"
Pulling out a gold coin from his coat, the large man squeezes it tight as he explains. "You are asking for my like boy, and all betting men know bets are always even. With that in mind, If I win you will become my dog forever!"
The boy nods with joy. "Thats fine! Flip the coin, weird guy!!!"
With a flick of his thumb, the coin shoots to the air. The man points at the boy. "Your call."
The boy jumped in excitement. "Heads!!!"
The sound of metal hitting the ground made the boy even more excited as he ran to the coin seeing who won. Shocked, the boy looked up to the large man who had not even bothered with the coin. Already waving the boy over to him. "Come boy, you now belong to me"
Confused, the boy raises his hand as if he was in a classroom. "How did you know you'd win?"
The large man broke out laughing. "Because I always win, kid. For I am Castle. Now introduce yourself to your new master dog."
Silence fell over the alley as the boy scratched his head lost. "I don't think I have a name."
Castle stares, almost speechless. "Ummm.... what is the name of your miracle?"
The boy's eyes widen gleefully. "My miracle Is King of Games."
Putting his hand out, Castle beckoned over the boy with a proud smirk. "Then from now on, starting today, your name shall be....."
"King!"