"Hey, Neale! Did you hear the news? Alina Blake is studying at our school. Lucas Blake himself came to enroll her. She's 2 grades below us. Isn't that crazy!?" Fin said to Neale, his words fast but clear.
"Nope," Neale muttered in reply as he wrote in his workbook. "More importantly, that fool has been staring at me with ill intent since I arrived in the morning. I wonder if that Felix is up to something."
He had left his house pretty early to reach school that morning where he found Felix who was pretty early in class. Immediately upon seeing him, A strange expression came over Felix's face.
"Oh yeah, nobody gets why you're still in school since everybody thought you'd be expelled and Felix hasn't said anything about yesterday. What on earth happened yesterday? Felix seems pretty pissed." Fin asked, casting a gaze at Neale. Fin, a short thin boy with dirt brown hair, Neale had 'rescued' him from Felix's clutches the day before, and ever since then, he had stuck to Neale like glue.
"I got lucky," Was all Neale said. "Anyways, you seemed to be well-informed about a lot of things and you seem to know almost everything about everyone. What's up with that?"
"Well, I want to become a journalist, after my sister. My sister is amazing! She's an amazing journalist and she even got hired by Crystal CV. She's kinda the reason why I can school here and ever since my parents passed away, she's been taking care of me and I try to know as much as possible about all topics and I hope one day I can become a successful journalist." Fin went off, it was pretty evident that the boy looked up to his sister.
Neale just nodded in reply. He was about to get back to his work when suddenly someone appeared in front of him, distracting him from his work.
"Hey! I don't know how you got out of that mess yesterday but don't think you're just going to get away with what you did so comfortably. Meet me after school behind the school, don't flee if you're a man." Felix snarled like a cat threatened by an enemy. Funnily enough, that was exactly what he was, he was a cat that felt its territory was threatened, A king that felt the fear of being dethroned, and he knew that he had to do something about it. After spitting his challenge like a snake spitting venom, he slithered away to his place in the back. After the faceoff, the class began buzzing as people felt a need to discuss what they had just seen.
"You're not going to go now, are you? Felix is the school no. one boxer and he's the favorite to win the regional tournament.
"Oh?" Was what Neale thought to himself. Felix's achievements in boxing made everything more interesting and Neale figured that if he beat the school's boxing champion, then he might spend the rest of his time in the school undisturbed.
"I'm a man, aren't I?"
~~~
Lucas Blake sat in his spacious office, signing and checking different documents and paperwork. At times he would turn to the laptop beside him and type a couple of words.
Then he heard someone knocking on his office door.
"Come in!" Lucas called out, still occupied with his work.
"Good day Boss," Said Rachelle, his assistant as she walked in. "I see you're still stubbornly doing the paperwork over here. You should allow me to do this kind of work. I am your assistant after all."
"You already do enough for me, Rachelle. Allow me to do this much, It keeps my mind fresh. Simply smiling at cameras, and attending meetings and interviews isn't healthy for me. Anyways, I'm pretty sure that isn't the reason you've come here, Rachelle. "Lucas Blake said raising his head to look at Rachelle.
"Correct, Boss. I have uncovered some very interesting information. Have a look at this, Boss." Rachelle said handing a thick folder to Lucas Blake.
"What is it about?" Lucas asked as he received the folder. He opened it and removed the documents that were inside.
"You'll find out." Was all his assistant said as she watched him from where she stood?
"Oh Rachelle, you know how much I hate surprises," Lucas muttered with a slight grin as he squinted his eyes to read the paperwork.
"Honestly Boss, I'm not sure if you'll like or hate this surprise," Rachelle said in reply.
"Let's see then," Lucas Blake said reading another document. A shocked expression came over his face as he read the information in his hand and the surprise just seemed to grow the more he read. "Neale Blake...he was a core member of the gang Stray-Tigers. The gang was a well-known one, operating mostly in the small town of Kennington. They were one of two main gangs in the area, the other gang being the Kennington Club. The gang had a few hundred members so if he was a core member it meant it was either through wealth, connections, or strength. It was most likely the latter for him.
Neale had refused to stay at Lucas Blakes's mansion, he had made numerous excuses before Lucas finally allowed him to return to his apartment. Lucas Blake didn't understand why Neale preferred sleeping in his minuscule apartment over Lucas' enormous mansion. Furthermore, Lucas Blake felt like there was some sort of wall between him and Neale but he couldn't quite place a finger on what exactly it was.
Lucas Blake sighed heavily to himself before requesting more information.
"Our reports say that Neale had a very good relationship with the former leader of the gang, Artem Markovic. Artem is deceased now and Neale moved away, the reports also say that Neale has not made any forms of contact with the group since." Rachelle explained.
Lucas Blake stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking again, "So he got his high rank in the gang through connections then."
"Not really. The reason Artem had taken a liking to him was because of his fighting ability. Here's an interesting fact, back in Kennington, they used to call him one punch guy." Rachelle said.
"What a lame nickname." Lucas Blake muttered.
"Don't be deceived by the nature of the name. They called him that because of his terrifying strength. With his strength, Neale could produce a powerful punch that could drop opponents with a single strike. Coupled with his durability and stamina, It made him a terrifying opponent. It says that to join the group, he knocked out one of the highest ranking members in the group and took his position." Rachelle said.
Lucas Blake stood up and walked over to the large window in his office and gazed at the large and beautiful city of Eagles Bay.
"Just what kind of a childhood did you have, Neale Blake?"
~~~
"I had a terrible childhood. My mother tried her best to shield me from the negatives that surrounded me from every direction but eventually, it got to me. A drop of poison is all that is needed and that drop of poison proved to be lethal for me."
Neale's thoughts wandered, they wandered to the past and uncovered memories that he did not want to see. Neale felt like covering his ears to block out the inharmonious sounds of the cacophonic grief which played in his head like a death melody. It was a tune filled with grief, pain, and frustration and Neale couldn't stand the sad sound. The images of the past were also making themselves noticed in its head, as the horrible images flashed by one by one. It was terrible and ominous like some sort of sick horror film.
Neale closed his eyes and forced himself to focus and forget his unpleasant memories before he finally made it to the back of the school. He was accompanied by Felix who seemed to follow him everywhere now. The school sports pitch was at the rear of the school building and it was a high-quality sports pitch, as expected from the caliber of the school it belonged to. At the end of the field, seated on the stands was Felix with a few dozen or so individuals.
"So you came! I was beginning to think that you had run away!" Felix shouted out to Neale, a confident smirk on his face.
"You challenged my manhood, How could I?" Neale replied with a cryptic smile on his face.
"Humph!" Said Felix scornfully. "Enough talk, I need to quickly teach you a lesson so I can leave."
"..." Neale never bothered to reply, instead he walked up to Felix until he was a couple of feet away from him.
The other students that were with Felix formed a circle around the two and soon Felix and Neale were standing there, face-to-face with each other. They both paced around the space watching the other, waiting to see what the other was going to do. Neither of them needed to speak, they knew what would follow. Felix grew impatient and he drew near, his hands raised into a boxing position. Like a cat stalking its prey, he agilely approached Neale. Felix threw a right hook aimed at the side of Neale's head. Neale ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the punch.
"As expected, he's impatient." Neale thought to himself.
Neale tried to counter Felix's punch with a straight punch of his own but Felix leaned to the side avoiding the punch. Felix's back leg pushed back and his front leg flexed to allow his body to weave underneath Neale's punch. His upper body moved from right to left in a gentle arc, ending up back at the boxing stance. It was then that Felix released a flurry of punches, each punch hitting its mark. First, he threw a jab to Neale's head before throwing a right hook and then a left hook, both aimed at the body. Then he instantly threw another jab at Neale's head but Neale just managed to avoid it before swinging his hand as hard as he could, catching Felix on the side of his head.
Felix stumbled backward before collapsing unto the ground, his body motionless. He was out cold.
All of the spectators were left stunned at what had just occurred. It had seemed like Felix was controlling the momentum but he had just been knocked out in an instant. All it took was just a single punch to make him sleep. The crowd was left stunned at the ferocity of Neale's power. He had just knocked out the school's boxing ace, and all it took was a single punch.
"Haha, I have to admit he's the school's ace for a reason. He's fast, agile, and skillful. He had me worried for a second." Neale thought to himself as he stood over Felix's limp body like a knight standing over a slain dragon.
Suddenly, the boys and girls who had been spectating gathered around Felix, praising him sycophantically. Felix felt the distaste grow in him as he saw the hypocrisy of the kids before him. Just a moment ago they would have responded to the buck and call of Felix but now they were shamelessly speaking about how Felix was not that good a boxer and how he was no match for Felix. Neale grew annoyed when one particular individual claimed that Felix was a mediocre boxer.
"You're wrong. All of you are wrong. Felix is no doubt a good boxer. No, he's a magnificent boxer. However, this was not a boxing match. This was a real fight and even though Felix is lying down on the floor pathetically, I do not doubt the fact that he'd beat the living hell out of everyone present here. Now go and help him, and leave me alone. Come on, Fin. Let us go." Neale said reprimanding everyone present there before calling Fin who had accompanied him there.
Fin quickly caught up to Neale, and he had a look of awe on his face. He looked like he wanted to speak but he stayed silent. A smile came over Neale's face, he was beginning to enjoy Fin's company. Although his timid companion tended to be pretty verbose at times, he was a genuine person and Neale liked that about him. All around him, he only saw snakes but in the jungle full of a wild dangerous animals, Fin seemed like a trustworthy companion.
"You can speak, Fin, " Neale said to him.
The instant, Neale permitted him, Fin began speaking excitedly describing the fight scene as he complimented Neale's fighting skills. Fin continued his rattling until Neale heard someone calling out his name from behind.
"Neale Blake!" The voice called out to Neale turned around to face the person who turned out to be a tall boy with tinted spectacles. "I know you're rushing off, so I'll be brief."
"What do you want?" Neale asked with a sigh.
"Join our boxing club. We represent the school and I'm confident you'll succeed in the sport." The boy said as he used his index finger to adjust his glasses.
"I've already said it but stop trying to replace Feli..." Neale began saying when the boy interrupted him.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you but we're not trying to replace Felix with you. We're merely recruiting another talented fighter to help better our chances of winning the Regional competition. You don't have to make the decision now but you can keep this flyer just in case you decide to join us." The boy said handing Neale a flyer. "Kazuko Takahashi, pleased to make your acquaintance."
Neale nodded in reply as he received the flyer. 0n it where the club details like the room number, etc. Neale immediately left for class after that.
The day went on, staying quite uneventful but in the last lesson which happened to be Geography, something unexpected occurred. Someone knocked on the door of the class and when the teacher checked who it was, it was Alina Blake, much to everyone's surprise.