chapter 5

Beatrix

As I stood there, my anger boiled over as I stared at the man I had just punched, who was staring at me with a mixture of shock and anger.

The sting of my fist against his cheek still vibrated hand. This was little compared to what I wanted to do to him in the first place.

"You bitch, apologize right now!" he yelled, his voice trembling with anger as he glared at me.

"Apologize? You must be joking. You had that coming, and you know it!" I yelled as I pulled my hand away from his grip, I could already see the bruises forming on my wrist.

"It's like you don't have any manners because you're behaving like an uncivilized swine," their leader said as he took a menacing step toward me.

Was he trying to intimidate me? Because it was definitely not going to work, I have faced worse people compared to this nuisance

"Uncivilized Swine? Do you think you have the right to call someone an uncivilized swine? When you're one yourself. And we both know the reason why I punched you is because you disrespected my Sensei and me" I scoffed, my frustration and anger evident in my tone.

He took a step closer, his face inches from mine. "Even though I Insulted your whole damn family, it doesn't give you the right to punch me! Have you no fear?."

"Fear? I'm not the one who should be scared here. You provoked me, insulted me, and now you want an apology? Not happening so go fuck yourself"

He clenched his fists, his anger intensifying as he spoke "If I have to force that apology out of you I will."

I leaned in closer to him, my tone low and menacing. "You think you can force me to do anything? Dude guys like you are all bark and no bite."

"We will see about that," he said as he tried to grab my hand but instead I headbutted him in the face causing him to fall to the ground holding on to his bleeding nose.

"You bitch! You broke my nose" their leader said as he held on to his bleeding nose, "You're going to pay for this" he added as his friends helped him up to his feet

"Do whatever you want, I don't really care" I said as I walked away from him, not bothering to look back. I could hear him muttering angrily to his friends, and they started to follow me, but Sensei Tanaka and Ricardo stepped in front of them immediately, surprising me as to why he joined Sensei Tanaka because I had expected the latter to do so.

"That's how far you go, if you don't leave, I will do more than break your nose" Sensei Tanaka threatened as the blood drained from his face but he still managed to put on his tough guy act.

"Listen up, all of you. You've seen what I'm capable of, and I won't hesitate to involve the authorities if you continue harassing me or the people in this lab. So Leave now, unless you want to get arrested."

His friends exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to do next. I'm sure they knew I meant business after what I did to their friend.

The guy I had punched finally seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation. He reluctantly nodded to his friends, signaling them to back off. With one last furious glare in our direction, they retreated, leaving me standing there, with Sensei Tanaka and Ricardo staring at me with amused expressions.

"What?" I asked because their gazes were still focused on me

"Nothing" they both answered as we all went our separate ways

An hour later….

The day moved on, and my curiosity about Ricardo only grew stronger by the minute. And I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to what Sensei had said than met the eye. During his regular breaks, I tried to strike up a conversation with him, asking innocent questions.

He remained frustratingly silent, as he always did when I confronted him with questions about his personal life. It was as if he had made a vow to never utter a word about it, which was the vibe I felt from him.

The day wore on, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, signaling the end of our training for today, Ricardo, who made no effort to acknowledge me after that whole accident with those guys, simply gathered his things and started to walk away, leaving me standing there, with questions still unanswered.

I was bent on finding out what I wanted to know so I decided to follow him because if he wasn't willing to tell me, I was going to find out on my own.

I kept a safe distance as I trailed behind Ricardo, my curiosity pushing me forward. The night had fallen, and the only sounds were the soft rustling of leaves and the distant hum of city life. Ricardo's steps were purposeful, and it was clear he was heading somewhere specific.

We walked through dimly lit streets, finding our way deeper into the city. My mind raced with different questions concerning Ricardo and who he really was.

Finally, Ricardo arrived at a small building hidden away in a quiet alley. He pushed open the creaky door, disappearing inside. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should continue following him because I was already crossing the line of stalking. But my burning curiosity got the better of me, and I followed him inside, careful not to make a sound.

Inside, the building was dimly lit, and the air was heavy with an unfamiliar scent. As I crept closer, I could hear murmured voices coming from a room down the hall. My heart pounded as I approached the door, straining to listen.

"Today was the first day nothing happened, And how is it going on your side?" Ricardo said to someone but I couldn't make out the response the person gave, but it was clear that Ricardo was hiding a dangerous secret as I stared at the wall in front of me which contained pictures of very dangerous men that rule this city.

Quietly I left the board alone and went to the slightly open door, it was open just enough to see inside of the room where Ricardo was. As I looked into the room my eyes widened in shock as I took in the scene before me. Ricardo was surrounded by a clutter of papers he was looking through and stupid me just had to sneeze at the wrong moment.