"I don't do shit halfway, sweetheart. You step in my flames, you'll burn to ashes!"
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The Kings of the underworld are in a bit of a predicament; their rule over the city is challenged as an old enemy...
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Marcella was about nine and a half the first time she learned how to deliver a proper punch.
She was in the living room of their home one spring day, her mother was making them their favorite; black bean noodles and her brother was - as per usual - buried into his computer, playing one of the many video games he was obsessing over growing up. Prepare to be disappointed if you expect her to remember its name, he finished them so fast Marcella had given up on trying to remember any names.
That's what happens when you have no life! She used to tease him when he annoyed her.
Danny would occasionally pause the game to laugh at her failure when she couldn't deliver the punch correctly. Making fun of her stance that was all wrong, or her knuckles being folded wrongly, the thumb on the inside. He teased her about hitting likea girl until their father snapped at him, telling him that instead of looking down on her and making fun of her, he should teach her how to do it the right way.
"She doesn't need to learn it. I'll protect her" he boy had declared seriously earning a chuckle from their father.
"Oh really?!" Mocked the tiny girl with boyish clothes and two disarrayed pigtails. "What will you do? Throw the P.C. at them? Or duel them on a game?"
Her dad had chuckled again, but seeing the thunder in his son's eyes he had intervened before their sweet argument could escalate in a full on war.
"It's better if she learns not to depend on others," her father had explained to him calmly before turning to her again. "Your brother might not always be there to protect you Mars, that's why I think it's important that you know, at least, the basics."
"Mom says she should be acting more like a lady!" Danny jumped in. "Fighting is no good for a lady."
Her father had rolled his eyes crouching down in front of her to level their eyes. His deep brown orbs shone as he smiled genuinely, his deep voice filling her with warmth and security. "Your mother will teach you how to be a lady. But I will make sure you know how to beat the shit out of the jerks you'll surely meet growing up!"
"Kai, language!" Their mom had scolded pocking her head from the kitchen for a few seconds to glare at him. He had nodded sheepishly and apologized. The second she went back inside he had smiled to her again and winked.
Mr. Kung was an incredible teacher and she was a remarkable student so they always had made quite a pair. Even though he wasn't her biological father she loved him as a real one. Her mother had married Mr. Kung when she was three and Danny was four. The two of them had instantly become siblings in every way. They protected and deeply cared for each other, yet fought like cat and mouse over trivial things like who would eat the last cookie or who would have the P.C. longer.
Truth be told, Danny was her brother in every way and Mr. Kung was her father where it truly counted. Not once did she ever want to know who was the bastard that abandoned her mom. Not that she knew wha that word meant, but she had heard the boys at school calling each other that and it souned prtty bad. Point being that that man was not worthy of a second look back.
