Aaron stared at Adrian for a moment, disbelief flickering across his face. Then he threw his head back and laughed, his lungs working overtime.
"Do you hear this guy? He said 'or die' like we're supposed to be scared," Aaron said between breaths, wiping his eyes.
"It seems you're not that good at math, Golden Boy," he continued, smirking as he gestured at the crowd behind him. "So let me give you a simple breakdown. There's one of you, and over forty of us. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out how this ends, right?"
The crowd behind him roared in agreement. Steel glinted off bricks, bats, chains. The air smelled like sweat and cheap cologne. Over forty guys, all armed, all waiting for the word.
But Adrian didn't look fazed. He didn't even look angry.
He turned to the nurse standing nearby, still holding the flowers like he'd just stepped out for a delivery, not a war.
"Hey, can you hold these for me?"
He asked it with a polite smile, voice calm enough that it cut through the noise. She blinked, caught off guard, then blushed.
"Sure thing."
"Thank you," Adrian said, eyes closing for half a second. When they opened again, they were focused.
Aaron's expression twisted. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"You just gonna let him ignore you? Charge him!"
Five boys with bats rushed forward. The nurse gasped and stepped back.
"Look out!"
The first bat came down in a wide arc, meant to cripple. It never landed. Adrian spun, his back kick snapping out with a sickening crack into the guy's ribs. The kid's eyes bugged out as he flew backward, crashing into two of his friends and taking them down with him.
Adrian didn't pause to watch. He caught the next guy mid-swing, pivoting into a roundhouse that slammed into the kid's chin—hard enough to crack bone, not break it. The kid staggered, dazed.
Then Adrian was airborne, driving a jumping knee into another kid's nose before he could even register what was happening. Blood sprayed.
The last two swung together, trying to overwhelm him. Adrian weaved under the first bat, low and smooth, swept their legs in one motion, and dropped both. He finished with an axe kick to one guy's leg.
"Argh!!!"
The crack echoed louder than the shout. The kid hit the ground clutching his leg, rolling.
The other one froze, trembling, the bat slipping from his hands. "Please, don't kill me."
Adrian didn't answer. He ended it with a clean soccer kick to the jaw. The kid dropped like a sack.
Aaron watched the whole thing, clapping slowly, his grin sharp now instead of amused.
"Bravo, Golden Boy. You're just as strong as the rumors say. Good thing I didn't bring fodder."
He snapped his fingers. Ten guys stepped forward, moving like they'd drilled this. They formed a tight circle around Adrian, spacing themselves so he couldn't slip through easily. Aaron wasn't stupid—he knew forty people would just get in each other's way. Ten was the sweet spot for efficiency.
No one moved. The hospital courtyard went quiet except for the groans of the guys on the ground. In fights like this, the first to rush usually ate pavement.
Adrian's eyes flicked around the circle, reading stances, measuring reach. Then he looked up at the sky for half a second.
A few of them followed his gaze out of instinct.
That was all he needed.
He launched at the closest guy with a high kick to the chin, using the momentum to hurl him into the next. The line broke. Adrian was already moving, kneeing the next guy in the stomach, stomping his hand to break it, and finishing with a roundhouse to the head.
The second guy didn't last longer. Consecutive kicks to the ribs, each one precise, then a drop kick to the chest that sent him skidding back across the concrete.
A brick whistled past Adrian's ear. He ducked, the wind of it ruffling his hair.
Behind him, someone with a knife lunged for his eye. Adrian twisted, snapping a kick to the temple before the blade got close. The guy dropped, but not before the edge grazed Adrian's eyebrow. Blood trickled down, warm against his skin.
Adrian wiped it away with the back of his hand, stared at the smear of red for a second, then exhaled.
The smile was gone now.
"I guess I have to resort to my hands to win this."
He settled into a Taekwondo stance for the first time in the fight—back straight, weight balanced, eyes cold. The ten guys shifted, suddenly unsure.
---
Adrian stood still, breathing slow. He let the anger drain out.
_Fighting angry gets you killed. I need to fight like I always do. Break them up. Make them doubt each other._
He pulled a cherry lollipop from his pocket, popped it in his mouth.
"What are y'all standing around for? We're supposed to be fighting, yeah? So bring it."
Grinning with the lollipop between his teeth, he watched them take the bait. They stayed organized, but that wouldn't last long.
One came from behind, swinging a bat. Adrian intercepted it without looking back and snapped it in half.
From the front and both flanks, the rest moved in unison.
He leaned back, dodging the guy in front. In the same motion, he caught the guy behind him, kept him upright, and used his shoulder as a brace. Horizontal, balanced, coiled.
Split kick to the two on his sides. Backflip kick to the one in front.
Before the rest could process it, he dropped the last three. Adrian landed light, slicking his hair back with one hand.
"That all you've got?"
"Oh nah. We've got a lot more, Golden Boy."
Aaron's voice cut in. Twenty more stepped forward.
"Fuck. This is gonna take a while." Adrian muttered, smiling. "But I can't let them get near that hospital. Not under any circumstances."
---
*Cut to Austin's house*
Austin was tutoring Eva on circle geometry. Mark scrolled through a novel on his phone. He'd asked Austin how to train his vision earlier, but Austin told him to wait until Eva's session was over.
Time moved fast. For what should've been the most boring, complex topic, Austin made it sound easy and even fun. Before Mark knew it, the lesson was over.
"Alright, we're done for the day," Austin said, smiling.
"Really? I was just starting to enjoy it," Eva pouted, playful.
"Then pay for more hours next time," Austin replied politely.
"Won't you tutor me instead?" Eva teased.
"No."
Austin's answer was immediate.
"Don't you think that was a little fast?" Eva pouted harder.
"Not really." Austin was already heading for the door. "Come on, Mark. Time to introduce you to the training you'll be doing this week."
---