Gods of Arena
Jealous Trouble

Crane walked up to him, reluctantly. Kang had slept off so quickly. "Hey!", Crane tapped him roughly. He stared down at Kang's face, while the alarm blared in the hall. Kang had a mixed expression on his face. He looked relaxed and, at the same time, angry. "Wake up, Kang! It's time for the spin!"

"What is it?! Leave me alone!", Kang blurted, shaking Crane's hand off. "What do you want?"

"Shut up, dummy. I don't want anything from you", Crane retorted. "I should probably leave you to sleep while the spin goes on. Whatever the soldiers do to you; it's your Christmas gift" "Idiot. It's not even Christmas yet"

"Well then, go ahead and lay there like it's some holiday", Crane said and walked out.

Kang stared blankly at the wall for a few seconds. "Yea, fuck you, anyway", he muttered, as he stood up from the bed.

He stretched and staggered backwards, almost falling back on the bed. He had only napped for a few minutes and it already felt like a daylong journey. He walked towards the door and took a short glance in the mirror. His eyes were red. He looked rough and beaten. He walked out and ran up the stairs, quickly.

"Don't stand beside me", Crane muttered, as Kang walked past.

"I wasn't going to", Kang replied, glaring. He stood between Romeo and a strange mid-tier and pressed down the button.

The spin began. Romeo nudged Kang, gently. "What's up with the two of you?"

"The two of who?", Kang replied, mindlessly staring at the screen. "I have no idea what you're talking about"

"Don't play dumb with me, Kang. You're both helpless and weak"

Kang looked at him. "You had to say that, didn't you?", he muttered. "I'm weak. I can't get anything done on my own, right?"

He clenched his fist, on impulse, and threw a punch at Romeo's jaw. He kicked him down on the ground. The fighters stepped aside, quickly, giving them space, as the lights turned red immediately. The soldiers were definitely on their way. He felt a sudden tap on his shoulder and the scene erased in his face. He was staring at another fighter on the other side. The lights were just the same. He hadn't punched Romeo in the face and the soldiers definitely weren't on their way. "What are you thinking about?", Romeo asked.

"It's nothing, alright?", he retorted and looked back at the screen. The beep had stopped on the right side of the screen, while it was still moving on the left side. That was unusual. He stared at the face on which the beep stood. It was... Crane. He looked at Crane, quickly. Their eyes met and they stared at each other longer than intended. The anger in their faces had disappeared. Now, it was just fear.

"You're fucked", Romeo muttered, expressionlessly.

They looked back at the screen and waited for the beep on the right side to stop. It had slowed down already. Kang's heart beat louder as it moved from a face to the next. It moved from a mid-tier to Romeo's... then it moved down again to a low-tier. No option was good. Crane didn't have any Shin Zhu to fight with at all. The beep moved down to Kang's face. His heart skipped a beat.

He looked at Crane again. They weren't going to fight. Crane's eyes were laced with tears as he stared back at Kang. Kang wasn't seeing that, though. He remembered the fight between Rico and Remi. It didn't end well.

*He opened the door slightly and peeped. Soldier walked through the passage and walked into a fighter's room. Kang came down from his bed and walked to the door, staring too. Jin left him there and walked back to his bed. "They are going into a fighter's room. Whose room is that?", Kang asked.

"Remi and Rico", Jin replied, turning on his bed.

"Why are they going in there? Come to think of it, I don't think the two of them have returned after the fight", Kang said, still peeping. "They are bringing out their clothes and items"

"They only bring out their items when they are dead. Come to bed and stop talking, man"

"What do you mean by that? None of them died"

"None of them died in front of you", Jin replied. Kang closed the door, staring blankly at the handle in shock. The lights went out, a few seconds later. "Go to bed, Kang. There's nothing you can do to bring them back"

*

* "Lucky you", Romeo nudged him and exhaled. "I almost lost it, for a second"

"What do you mean?", Kang asked, as his eyes darted back at the screen. The beep had moved down from his face to the next. It was Todd again.

"She told me to stay away from the spin", Crane muttered, loudly, in the room, panicking. "I forgot to stay back but you; you chose not to remind me❞

"Shut up. You can forget things but I can't?", Kang retorted. "You think that's all I got in my head?"

"You sure have a lot in your head... like your silly jealousy. It's all your fault anyway"

"Push blames all you want. You were so pissed about me that you forgot something so important. Isn't that the point?"

"And you chose not to remind me because you were angry too. Isn't that true?!", Crane retorted loudly.

"Shout all you want, you're still the one fighting on the Arena", Kang said and turned, facing the wall.

"So what now?", Crane muttered. His voice broke, slightly. The argument didn't make any sense to him, anymore. Kang was right. He was the one about to be sentenced to death. He stared, tearfully, at Kang's back. "You're just going to leave me to it, won't you? You'll let me die like the weakling I am"

Kang rolled on his back, facing up, and exhaled. "I am a weakling but I won my first fight", he replied, calmly. "We just have to do the same thing I did... so you're winning the fight. Come on, smile" Crane smiled. "Thank you"

"You don't have to. The fight really made no sense. We shouldn't turn against each other like that", Kang said. "We are winning this"

"I'm sorry", Crane nodded.

"No. Say we are winning this"

He smiled, widely. "We are winning this"

"So what were you guys thinking?!", Ana howled silently. "Did you even realize what could have happened?... Or what has happened?!" Crane and Kang stared at each other, running their hands through their hairs.

"Nothing?", Ana continued. "The spin was going to be between the both of you... what happened? You just forgot the warning I gave?"

"Yea. I was pretty pissed with him", Crane replied, reluctantly.

"And you forgot to remind him because you were pissed too?"

"He was jealous", Crane blurted.

Ana stared at the both of them, wondering what they were saying. "You forgot something so important because you were jealous and pissed? What were you jealous of?"

He had said too much. His eyes darted at Kang who was staring back with a questioning look, his eyes literally asking Crane to shut up. "Uh...", Kang muttered, faking a carefree look.

"You've forgotten?", Ana asked, staring at Crane.

Crane looked away. "It's really nothing", Kang replied.

Ana nodded. "Alright. I think I understand perfectly well", she chuckled. "You already have a name, Kang.... If you step on the ring today against Jae or Dan, or even Jin, the gamblers may want to stake their money on any of them but they will rather cheer and praise you... and trust me when I say they would still love to see you win without using your powers. You Shin Zhu doesn't change the sweet person that you are"

"Alright. Don't make it worse, Ana", Kang said. "For a second, I was going to cry"

"Do all you can and make sure Crane wins that fight", Ana said and stepped back. "I have to go."

They nodded and turned around. It was late already. Their eyes met and they burst into a silent laughter, as they walked down the stairs. "She totally missed the point, didn't she?", Crane asked. "Well, I'm glad she did though. Else, I would be shoving a dildo up your ass"

"Ain't that stuff meant to give orgasms?"

"You want to find out?"

"I wonder where you'll get one, though..."

Kang walked into the room and closed the door behind him, slowly, like he was watching something in the hall. He walked to his bed, staring suspiciously. "You don't want to sleep yet?" "No, I want the light to go off", Crane said, laying on his bed and staring at the ceilings. "It's easier to fall asleep then"

"Alright. Don't forget to take the pills", Kang walked to him and added an extra pill to the ones on Crane's palm.

"And you're sure this isn't overdose?", Crane asked, counting the pills on his palm without looking. He was holding four. "How many pills did you take before your fight?"

He walked to his bed and sighed, as he laid comfortably. "Jin recommended one"

"And you took how many?"

"I followed his recommendation"

The lights went off. "You followed the recommendation but I should overdose?", Crane said.

"No, dummy. Follow my recommendation, alright?"

(Eight minutes earlier)

Dan stepped out of his room. Gently slamming the door behind him, his eyes fell on a lanky mid-tier. He was definitely waiting for him. "Uh? You want something?" "It's me, Todd. I was the mid-tier you-"

"I know who you are. We already talked about this", Dan said. "You don't need to thank me. I don't need to see you. I just need to use the toilet, right now" "Well, you need to help me", Todd said.

Dan stopped walking and turned. "Oh", he muttered. "You're the one going against Kang's guy?"

"Yea-"

Kang stepped out of the bathroom, staring at them as he slowly walked to the room. Dan stared back for a second and looked away. "You don't need my help for anything", Dan replied in whispers. "In here, we are all opponents so... fight your battle yourself"

Kang had entered the room. Todd stepped closer, confidently. "You will have to help me because you saved me. I shouldn't be scared but I have no idea what he can do. If he wins me, your save would be a waste"

"Well, if you don't stop talking now, I will waste that save myself", Dan said and turned.

"I know your secret, Dan", Todd said. "I wonder what will happen when the Larger Figures know about it... or the fighters... but, just so you know, I already know your secret"

*******

**PLEASE, LEAVE AN HONEST REVIEW. [**