Life of a Street Fighter

Panic

* edited 11/17/15

Scarlett awoke to dull throb that quickly intensified in pain, accompanied by a bloody lump on the back of her head. She slowly opened her eyes and stared in confusion at a long crack in the white plaster ceiling. She turned her head, wondering where she was and what events had lead her to be here. Then she saw Kaiden, standing in front of a mirror, in the bathroom whose door had been left open.

A white t-shirt was in his hand and he swiped his hand several times through his damp hair. Scarlett looked over his bare back and arms, taking in the sight of someone who looked like they'd been fighting on the streets for years, winning every single one of them, and when he wasn't fighting he was training in a gym. Their eyes met in the mirror and he turned around.

Scarlett's eyes went down to the diagonal scar that stretched across his chest and frowned slightly at the sight of it. Kaiden flushed and jerkily pulled on his shirt and came over to her.

Scarlett sat up quickly, and blinked at few times as the world swirled in front of her for a few moments. "You ok?" Kaiden asked, in a quiet voice.

"You mean, except for the egg sized lump on my head? Yeah totally fine" she said sarcastically.

Kaiden's mouth twitched, like he was suppressing a smile, and he walked back to the bathroom, where there was the sound of running water moments later. He came back with a damp towel, which he placed against her head. Scarlett flinched but didn't cry out, years of pain and hardship muting her cry of pain.

"So, what exactly happened?" she asked, her voice sounding rough.

Kaiden frowned at the lump on her head, and didn't look into her eyes. "You got knocked out" he said.

"No shit Sherlock" she said, rolling her eyes. "Seriously though, what happened?"

Kaiden didn't reply, taking the damp cloth away from her head and folding it in half, hiding the pinkish stain that was on it.

"Kaiden, where's Ellie?" Scarlett asked in a shaky voice.

"I couldn't get to her" he mumbled, looking at the floor.

"No!" Scarlett cried out. "No, no, no, I have to get to her!"

She swung her legs of the couch she was lying on and stood up. Her head was still slightly dizzy, leading her to trip over the fraying edge of the carpet. Kaiden quickly caught her before she could fall though, and restrained her.

"You bastard!" she spat, struggling against his grip on her. "You should've left me and gotten her! She can't look after herself!" Scarlett aimed her fist at his face but in her anger punched him in the shoulder.

Kaiden winced and loosened his hold on her. "Look, I'm sorry ok. But if you want to save your sister, this isn't going to help her" he said firmly. Scarlett glared at him with angered eyes, but stopped struggling. "That's better. Now from what I, uh, know, about the Snake gang, is that they're not going to stop until they get what they want" he said, a strange look on his eyes.

"So?" she snapped.

"So they pretty much go to any length, even getting involved with some type of law enforcement. Technically your sister could still be alive" he said with a shrug.

Scarlett's head flew up, and she smacked him as hard as she could, snapping his head back. "What do you mean, could, still be alive?!" she demanded.

"Damn" he cursed, touching his cheek gently, that side of his face bearing a bright red handprint. "Let me rephrase that. She could be being treated well" he said, becoming irritated because of the slap.