Curiosity Kills The Cat

    A few minutes ago, the dangerous noise scared the hell out of me but that has only increased my curiosity to know what's happening in there…

     The corridor seemed colder the deeper we went, the concrete walls, flickering lights.

Silence…..the kind of silence that made your skin crawl, I could feel my heart thumping hard against my chest.

My heart hammered violently against my ribs, it hurt, but I kept on following Kaizen through the underground passageway.

Every instinct told me to turn around, Every instinct told me this was a terrible idea…

Unfortunately...Curiosity has always been my worst flaw.

I could remember when I tailed a customer, to a secret hideout just to confirm my suspicion about a theft that occurred around the cafe where I once worked, I caught him and called the police with a private number to remain anonymous.

It was risky but I still did it.

And tonight, it was winning. Suddenly Kaizen stopped, His shoulders stiffened…His head snapped toward a large steel door ahead.

Then, the door burst open..A man staggered out, covered in blood…Not bruised, not injured… just covered in blood. Blood stained his shirt, His hands, neck and face….

My stomach lurched…I almost threw up at the gory sight.

"Where the hell is Kaizen?"

The man's voice echoed through the hallway.

Angry, Violent and Dangerous.

"I'm tired of waiting."

He spat blood onto the floor.

"When I find him, I'm gonna drill the fuck outta him tonight."

Fear shot through me, real fear, the kind that freezes your body.

Before I could react, an arm wrapped around my waist, Another hand covered my mouth…I nearly screamed.

 It was Kaizen.

He pulled me backward into the shadows, My back collided against his chest.

Hard and Warm…Dangerously close as I could feel his heartbeat.

Fast, Unusually fast ... .Kaizen looked genuinely afraid… my ass reacted stupidly to his bulge, his body was practically pressed against mine….even though we were scared our bodies still reacted to the contact. 

His mouth lowered near my ear, His voice barely a whisper…. 

"Stay quiet."

My mind nearly blew up ... .his breath, his scent… Gosh!!

 Should I call myself a pervert? I thought ridiculously, I can't even help myself…. I'm in trouble yet, shamelessly reacting to the body contact with Kaizen. 

The man continued cursing, looking around and searching.

After several tense seconds, he eventually turned around and pushed through the steel door again.

The loud metallic slam echoed through the corridor.

Only then did Kaizen release me, I sucked in a shaky breath, finally getting a hold of myself.

"What the hell was that?"

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair,

"Exactly what I've been trying to protect you from."

My pulse refused to slow down, I pointed toward the steel door.

"What's in there?"

"Nothing you need to see."

"That's not an answer."

"It has to be."

His gray eyes locked onto mine.

Serious and desperate….almost pleading.

"Nyra."

The way he said my name made my stomach twist.

"Can you finally see how dangerous this is?"

I folded my arms, still adamant.

"No."

His eyes widened slightly.

"No?"

"No."

The answer left my mouth before common sense could stop it.

"Because every time I ask what's happening, you lie."

His jaw tightened.

"I don't lie."

I laughed bitterly.

"Really?"

Silence erupted….

"You disappear every night."

Silence ….

"You come home bruised."

Silence….

"You promised you'd tell me."

Silence…..

The silence was not enough, today she wasn't buying it.

My chest hurt unexpectedly, not because I was scared…Because I was disappointed.

And somehow that felt worse.

Kaizen exhaled heavily.

"I need to go inside before someone comes out looking for me again."

"Then tell me why."

His gaze dropped briefly, then rose again.

"I can't."

I stared at him, Long, Hard….

Then finally, I said "Fine."

His shoulders relaxed slightly, Relief ... .Until I added, "I'll wait here."

The relief disappeared immediately,

"Nyra."

"I don't know the way back."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You absolutely do."

I shrugged.

"Guess I'm waiting, I've come this far to see for myself and get my own answers since you won't tell me."

The frustration that crossed his face almost made me smile …almost.

"This place is dangerous."

"So you've said."

"Please."

The word surprised both of us.

Kaizen never said please, Ever…But there it was, Raw and Honest.

"Go back to the penthouse."

For a second...He looked like he genuinely wanted to beg.

And that scared me more than anything, because Kaizen Arclair feared very few things.

Yet somehow...He feared me staying here.

Then his expression hardened, The walls returned.

"I'll be back soon."

Without another word, he turned toward the steel door And disappeared….

Leaving me alone… stiff loneliness, leaving me curious, leaving me with a choice.

A smart girl would've left.

Unfortunately...I wasn't being smart tonight, I waited ten seconds…Twenty…Thirty.

Then quietly approached the door, My pulse thundered ... .the handle felt cold beneath my fingers…I pushed.

The door opened, and my world stopped…

The sound hit first, Roaring, Screaming and Cheering.

Money exchanging hands, People shouting…

The deafening hunger of a crowd desperate for violence.

My eyes widened, below me stretched a massive underground arena…Hidden beneath Blackthorne Heights…. Wow.

Rows upon rows of spectators, Students,

Businessmen I had seen on TV, Security personnel, Masked figures..…

People I recognized, People I trusted..Money changed hands everywhere.

Betting, Gambling, Celebrating.

My stomach dropped. What kind of place was this?

Then suddenly, a spotlight flashed to the podium.. The audience exploded.

"KAIZEN!"

The arena shook.

"KAIZEN!"

No.

"KAIZEN!"

My breathing stopped, A figure emerged from the fighters' entrance…Black shorts, Wrapped fists, Scars, Bruises and old wounds.

Kaizen..

My heart shattered.

Everything suddenly made sense now.

The bruises, The disappearances, The money, The exhaustion, The lies.

Everything…

He wasn't partying,

He wasn't skipping classes ,

He wasn't living the carefree life everyone imagined, 

He was destroying himself Night after night, for his mother.

And somehow… That realization hurt more than any lie.

The bell rang, An opponent charged… I barely processed what happened next. Kaizen moved first, Fast, Brutal and Precise.

His fist collided with the man's jaw and Blood sprayed.

The crowd erupted as people screamed his name..

Money flew everywhere, hard currencies, thousands, Tens of thousands….

The defeated fighter crashed onto the floor, The arena lost its mind…Kaizen remained standing, breathing heavily.

Sweat dripped down his face., An organizer handed him a thick bundle of cash.

Without hesitation, he shoved it into his bag Like he'd done this countless times before, Like survival had become routine.

The realization made my chest ache.

People were paying to watch these men suffer,

To bleed, to break….

And Kaizen was willingly stepping into it.

For his mother.

Then suddenly, his head lifted, Scanning and Searching…Almost instinctively as though he already knew, as though he could feel me there.

Our eyes met, across the arena, across the noise, across the lies…

That was why Auren was scared, it's risky

I saw Kaizen's fear, Not fear of losing, Not fear of getting hurt, Not fear of dying.

Fear that I finally knew the truth… and it hurts so badly.