And then the two men, one of the men being quite robust—something you wouldn't see on a normal day. He was smiling as one of the ladies was feeding him fruits. And the second, the one and only Finn Blackhand, Coalspire's notorious gambler and ex-Dragon gang member.
Finn had left the Dragon gang some years back; he did this when he got strong connections to the mafia. Now, working with the mafia and earning a lot of money, Finn has become a kind of god or demi-god in the suburbs. With all that power, money, and influence, there was only one thing left for Finn to do: and that was to spend it lavishly. His story had spread far and wide about how he spends his money. All this Kyle thought about.
Averting his gaze away from him, Kyle now looked into the ring that was still being prepped. The noise within the den had grown louder and louder, with people discussing who would be the main event, the possible underdog, and the amount of money they would make tonight. On another side of the den, the cashiers could be seen collecting money, with bookies handing out slips to the people.
As the noise increased, so did the heat, and the smell of sweat engulfed the place. The place also began reeking of alcohol. When all the noise and smell merged together, boom—the real nightlife of the suburbs.
It was soon going to start as the ring announcer stepped into the caged ring. He was kind of average in height; he wasn't really down to earth, neither was he a skyscraper. As he was in the ring, he didn't seem quite dressed for the occasion—just a bit of formal clothing. Tapping on the mic he held, and clearing his voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another night of entertainment. Welcome to the suburbs, home of blood, teeth, and gore! We bring you the best of the best of caged matches. You are welcome to place your bets and become the next millionaire and maybe even leave the suburbs. You can use these matches to fund the kind of life you want."
Saying this, the ring announcer was able to get the whole crowd riled up, with people whistling and shouting, eager to place their bets. The ring announcer had now turned to face the VIP section.
"Also, to recognize special guests in our midst—the man who keeps this place running. The man who picks the fights to keep you entertained, the man who single-handedly runs this place: my boss, Dan." As he said these things, the robust man waved, but after he tried, he couldn't rise.
"And by his side, the major financier of this whole operation. The man who floods this place with his money. I give you the one and only Blackhand." As he said those words, the crowd went wild with cheers.
"Okay, so today we have a list of fights which you will love. Having specially arranged them so you can have a taste of the upcoming tournament which we will be holding. In this tournament, fighters from other suburbs will be coming. Also, this tournament will allow for a cash prize for those who are the best gamblers, as if they are able to predict the winner, they will be awarded. The same goes for the best fighter—all these courtesies of our one and only Blackhand."
Having said that, he started announcing fights, in which most were not really amazing, as most were too boring. And then he announced a fight between a hefty man and a slim young man, with the odds stacked against the young man.
After the names were announced and the bell was rung, the hefty man was there flexing his muscles and showing off, with the young man waiting for him to be done. Immediately after the hefty man was done, the slim man rushed him. The hefty man's hands were outstretched, waiting for the slim man to run into his arms.
As the slim man almost reached him, he jumped high up into the air, only to be grabbed by the hefty man. Now in the embrace of the hefty man, the slim man was being squeezed, the breath of the slim man being snuffed out.
The slim man then raised his hands and used his elbows to crash into the skull of the hefty man, doing it about three times with the sound of their bones resounding after the collision. And then finally using his two hands to slam into the hefty man's head, clapping both sides at the same time, with his hands covering the man's ears.
Pulling his hands back, blood could be seen now at the edge of the hefty man's ears. Pushing himself away, the hefty man's body now dropped to the ground. His eyes still wide open, but his body out cold. Looking at the hefty man's body, the slim man said nothing but kept looking at it.
The whole den was drowned in silence as no one expected this outcome, and most had placed their bets on the hefty man. The same thought ran through everyone's mind—how did he do it? All thought the slim man should have been the one dead or passed out on the floor.
As the silence soaked the atmosphere, there was a clap. The clap attracted the gaze of everyone.
It was not coming from within the crowd, but from above. The clap resounded, its intensity showing the approval of the person who jammed his hands together.
As they turned to look at who it was, it was none other than Finn Blackhand. His laugh now accompanied his clap. The crowd then started cheering after having seen this, even those who had lost their money smiled and cheered for the slim man.
The whole den was now resounding with cheers. Kyle, seeing this, decided to take the opportunity to go to the register and place his name down. He was registering for the upcoming tournament.
Taking the opportunity of the wild cheers, Kyle later left, heading home.