My Pro Boxer System

I remembered hearing a loud bang, then a sharp pain erupted throughout my body. Everything went black, but I could hear the sound of car doors opening and slamming.

I felt a warmth of liquid running down my face and the sensation of being picked up. My mind spun; everything was a haze.

"Get him in the van," a female voice said. It sounded awfully familiar.

"He's bleeding from his head. Are you sure we didn't hit him too hard?" another voice asked.

"What do I care? We're probably going to kill him anyway. What's the big deal?" the female voice replied.

I hazily remembered being tossed into the black SUV. The soft leather rubbed against my skin, then the engine started, and the vehicle began moving.

In my haze, I tried to sit up, but I only collapsed onto the person beside me. I remembered the softness of their skin and the sweetness of their scent before being pushed off.

"Dummy, you're going to get blood all over my outfit. Just stay still, would ya?"

My mind slowly drifted, but before that, my eyes fluttered open slightly, and I caught a glimpse of the person beside me. Rather, I caught a glimpse of their pink hair.

…

I didn't know how long I was out. It felt like hours as I drifted in and out of consciousness. But every time I woke up, I was somewhere else—until I felt a freezing liquid being tossed on me.

It jolted me awake. There was also a bag covering my face; the wetness of the bag caused it to stick to me, slowly suffocating me.

I tried desperately to catch my breath before calling out to whoever was holding me hostage.

"W-who is there? Let me go!"

Just then, a sharp pain rung from my stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of me, making it even harder to breathe. I clutched my chest, trying to inhale as much air as possible so I didn't suffocate.

Laughter erupted. A male voice was laughing hysterically until a female voice chimed in.

"Weren't you the one just telling me to be careful not to kill him?" she asked.

"Just trying to set the mood. He needs to know what he's in for before we get down to business," a male voice said before the bag was removed from my head.

My eyes were immediately assaulted by a bright light. I was inside a room, tied to a chair. There were only two other people in the room with me.

I recognized only one of them: the pink-haired girl who looked to be about my age. It was the same girl I met last name at the joint. She was wearing a crop top, a short skirt that left most of her thighs exposed, and knee-high boots.

She sat atop a metal container with her legs crossed, twirling a lollipop in her mouth.

The other was a man who appeared to be in his early 40s. He was dressed in a black suit and had blond hair that was obviously dyed. He brandished a crowbar in his right hand and wore an amused smile as he walked closer to me, resting the crowbar on my shoulder.

"You sure this is the kid who assaulted our guys?" he asked the pink-haired girl.

"Ugh, didn't I tell you? They identified him this morning when we were outside his house. This is definitely him."

The man turned his gaze back to me.

"Why'd you do it? You cost us a lot of money by pulling that stunt. You're just a kid, but a punishment is in order."

"Your friends attacked my sister." I said, calmly. For some reason I was perfectly calm. My mind was assessing the situation without the slightest panic.

"I guess your sister will have to be the one to earn our money back then. I can think of plenty of things a young girl like her can do to make that sort of money."

"Touching her isn't a smart move, but what do I know?" I replied.

It was a bluff, of course, but it was the only card I had left. Flying into a mindless rage would only worsen the situation. Although every fiber of my being was screaming at me to pry the crowbar from his hand and smash his head in until it looked like a doggy chew toy.

"Pfft." He laughed and swung the crowbar around as if it were a toy.

"You can't do anything, kid, and that's what really pisses me off about you," he said bitterly before kicking over the chair I was sitting on.

The chair tipped over, and I fell with it, smashing my head against the ground. I grunted from the agony but I didn't do much more than that. The coach's words rang in my mind. 'Reacting to your opponent's attacks only spurs them on.'

"You can't do shit so how did you do it?" he asked. "That man you injured was one of our best fighters. A kid like you could never beat him. What weapon did you use? Was it a crowbar just like this?"

"My fist." I replied.

He chuckled, then stooped down to meet my gaze.

"This is anything but funny. The man you injured was supposed to fight tomorrow. No fight means no money, which means someone has to get killed to appease the goddess of wealth. Do you know the goddess of wealth?"

"No," I answered flatly, "but maybe I can get your money—"

He pressed his hand against my lips, shutting me up. He stared at me coldly before continuing with his rant.

"Luckily, you'll get the chance to meet her. She asked for an audience with you. She'll take a good look at your face before asking me to bash your head in with this," he said, holding up the crowbar for me to see.

"Are you done?" the pink-haired girl asked exhaustedly. "I don't think the boss will wait any longer."

The man scoffed at her, then proceeded to untie me from the chair.

"Get up!"

He dragged me to my feet and pushed me toward the door. I limped down a vast hall. The vintage decorations made it look like I was in a old mansion.

My uniform was covered in my own blood and soaked from the water they had thrown on me. I limped down the hall until the man brought me into a room.

Inside the room was a flickering fireplace. A woman was gazing into the flames with her back turned to us as we stepped through the door.

If I had to guess, she was in her early twenties—not much older than I was. She wore a nightgown that clung tightly to her curvy figure.

"Have a seat," she said with a wave of her hand, not even bothering to turn around.

I took a seat on a couch made of animal pelt. By its patterns, I would guess it came from a tiger. The material felt soft and comfortable against my skin, and despite the situation, leaning against it made me feel a bit drowsy. The mysterious woman then turned around to face us. She was just as beautiful from the front as she was from behind.

"Chris, you may leave," she said to the man who had brought me in.

"Are you sure? This kid—"

"Leave," she said again, but this time in a stern voice.

Chris quickly bowed his head and turned toward the door.

"Yes, ma'am."

The woman sat beside me on the coach, her black hair spilling over her shoulders as she examined my face. A strong scent of cologne wafted through my nostrils as she sat down. Staring into her hazel eyes, I got the feeling I was locked in a room with a vicious predator.

"How much do you want to leave here alive?" she suddenly asked.

"A lot… ma'am," I replied.

"Then answer me truthfully. Did you really beat those men with nothing but your fists?"

"Yes, I did."

She shook her head.

"They told me a different story. They said you attacked them from behind with a weapon. I thought differently though; their wounds didn't look like they came from any weapon. The fools must have wanted to save face after being beaten up by a child so they lied. And why did you attack them?"

"They attacked my sister first. I only acted to protect her from harm."

"Well, your sister was hanging around with a man who stole money from us. How did you expect us to act?"

"Maybe go after the man who stole the money and not the clearly innocent middle schoolers."

A small smile tugged at her lips. Though for a second she seemed surprised by my words. I was too. In a situation like this, I expected my heart to be beating out of my chest, but instead, it was calm—too calm.

The changes made to my body and mind were frightening. Considering that moments ago I had been hit by a car, it seemed impossible for me to be walking perfectly fine.

"The fact that you were able to overpower one of our best boxers tells me a lot about you," the woman said. "It tells me you can fight at least, and that's exactly what I need you to do."

Her words left me confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You injured one of our best boxers, so you'll fight in his place."

"Fight in his place? Who even are you people?"

The woman smiled and took out her phone. After dialing a number and talking for a bit, she put her phone back into the pocket of her nightgown. She turned her attention back to me, and a smile formed on her cherry lips.

"Forgive me. Let me introduce myself. I am Faye, the boss of the Blood Moon Cartel. And if you tell anyone about us, I'll kill you and your whole family."

Just then, the door to the room burst open, and the pink-haired girl from before stepped in with an annoyed look on her face.

"This is Yuki," Faye said, directing me to the pink-haired girl. "She'll be watching over you from now on to make sure you're not up to anything naughty."