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The Uncrowned Queen

"Anih.....?" Vayu was stunned.

"Yeah. Anih. She is our uncrowned queen of battle." Ken said as he walked towards the commentary box.

Vayu followed him.

Ken continued, "This place was the primary source of income for Akemo, the person who ruled the underground world of delinquents before Anih. When he suddenly vanished, Anih grabbed the opportunity and built her own domain here. Her arrival was a blessing for all the delinquents. She made some change in rules that benefited all. Earlier, the betting was rather unfair. You always had to bet against the choice Akemo made unless you are his side-kick. And if he loses, he beat the shit out of the guy who made him lose. But now there is noone's monopoly in this betting business. It is managed by two of the strongest hoodlums out here, Anih and Hikaru. It was Anih's idea to involve these outside companies to interfere in this betting arena. Because of their betting, the commission Anih gets is much more than what Akemo used to earn and thus no commission is taken from the usual betters. Also, now not only delinquents fight each other but even gang fights are conducted here and again with betting. Gangs and all...sounds funny.....but it isn't. Many here are juvenile criminals. They might actually form a real gang in the future someday. And these companies and Anih make profit out of these foolish aspirations of over excited teenagers."

Vayu kept listening and following him.

"But still......Anih has lost no battle.....and her gang, Thorns, is ranked 1 out of all others."

"And who are you?" Vayu asked.

"I am Ken, Thorns' 2nd in-command."

Vayu was flabbergasted.

When they reached the commentary box, they noticed a guy was commentating on the ongoing battle in the arena and some other people gathered around a chair, on that chair......the person sitting.......was.......Anih.

"She is already here. I'm leaving." Vayu said.

But as he was leaving, Anih saw him.

Ken tried to stop Vayu, "HEY COME BACK HERE!!"

He went to grab his hand, but someone pulled him back.

"WHAT THE-"

Ken tried to shout, but a piece of cloth was shoved in his throat and many boys grabbed his limbs, making him unable to move or speak.

"See if he has left or not." Anih ordered.

There was only one girl other than Anih present in the room. She went and peeked through the window.

"He is staring at something....." the girl said.

"Tell me when he leaves. Until then, keep this bastard crippled."

The commentator was unfazed by all this ruckus and didn't stop his commentary for a single second.

"AND BY THIS FINAL KICK.....THE FINAL ROUND OF TODAY HAS CONCLUDED!!"

Vayu left as soon as he announced this.

"He left....." the girl said.

Anih signaled, and everyone let Ken go.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU GUYS DOING!?" Ken shouted.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?? WHY WAS VAYU HERE!? AND WHY WAS HE INJURED!?" Anih shouted back.

"I BROUGHT HIM HERE BECAUSE I DIDN'T FIND YOU AT THE SCHOOL!! I THOUGHT HE WOULD HELP US TO GET YOU HERE!! EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE OUR LEADER AND THE HEAD OF THIS ARENA, YOU DON'T COME HERE AT ALL!! MOREOVER I DIDN'T FORCE HIM!! HE WANTED TO SEE WHAT YOU DO!"

"SON OF A BITCH!!" Anih was furious. She snatched the mic from the commentator's hand and announced, "EVERYONE LISTEN! I, ANIH, CHALLENGE KEN MUSASHI IN A DUEL!!"

"WHAAAAAAT!!"

"The captain and vice captain of Thorns in a duel!!"

"THAT'S FUCKING CRAZY!!"

"HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE ANIH HERSELF HAS FOUGHT!!"

A wave of cheer ran through the crowd.

"FUCK THIS SHIT!! I DON'T ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE!!" Ken exclaimed.

A hand comes on Ken's shoulder. It was the girl who kept an eye on Vayu until he left.

She said, "There is no such thing as rejection of duels here. Ken, you yourself once said that anything Anih will say, everyone in Thorns must abide by it. Now you are turning away from your own words."

Ken grabbed her hand and threw her on the ground.

"AAGH-"

"SHUT UP BITCH! YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!"

"Oi!" the commentator finally broke his silence, "What Rukia said is true. You cannot decline a duel, especially not when your own gang leader challenges you."

Ken stepped back but didn't reply back.

"It's decided then." the commentator grabs the mic back from Anih.

"THIS IS AN EXHIBITION MATCH BETWEEN THE TWO OF THE TOP COMMANDERS OF THORNS!! AND HENCE NO BETTING WOULD BE DONE FOR THIS!!" he announced.

Everyone cheered but the agents who were previously betting on behalf of their respective companies, left silently.

"Rukia, get up." Anih told Rukia, who was still lying on the ground.

When both Anih and Ken entered the arena, the crowd cheered like never before.

"THE QUEEN VS THE COMMANDER OF THORNS!! LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!" the commentator announced.

After 10 minutes, Ken was on the ground while Anih was still kicking him.

The overjoyed crowd was silent and watching the demise of Ken.

"Hey........doesn't a duel ends when a person doesn't get up from the ground in 30 seconds? He is lying there for minutes now.......and she still hasn't stopped kicking him." Someone from the crowd said in low voice, but since the whole arena was silent, everyone overheard him.

"THIS IS MY ARENA AND MY DUEL!! DON'T FUCKIN' TELL ME WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO!!" Anih shouted, "I KNOW YOU HITTED HIM, DON'T YOU!? HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HIM, HUH!? YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!! FUCK YOU AND YOUR THORNS!! IF YOU EVER TOUCHED HIM AGAIN, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!"

Anih stopped kicking him after a while.

"RUKIA!! GET MY BAG!!" Anih ordered.

"YES MA'AM!" Rukia ran to the commentary box.

The commentator was still there.

"How much would this affect all of us?" the commentator said.

"I don't know. But I'll follow Anih no matter what."

Rukia replied.

She came back and gave Anih her bag.

Before leaving, Anih kicked Ken in the stomach once again.