Gods of Arena

"You're back. How did it go?"

"Uh. It went smoothly... I'm sure she's not going to tell anyone after this", Kang replied and sat on the bed. He definitely wasn't sure about that. He might have made things worse by impulsively giving her an information which was meant to be secret. "You guessed well"

"Can you tell me what she said?", Jin asked.

"I didn't actually give much time to speak", Kang replied, thinking of what to say. "it started with a joke, though. She was like, 'it was definitely stupid for me to expect her to come'. Then I told her, 'I already thought of how stupid it was but I thought of her coming over just to say how stupid the act was'. We only had a fifty-percent chance"

"Yea. I was sure, though I wasn't actually sure", Jin replied. "You said she was childish, right? You can easily manipulate their emotions.... She would probably fall in love with you in no time" "Like Dea, right? How did yours happen?"

"It just happened. It started from a fight on the Arena and she came over. The truth is she just wants me to sleep with her"

"You sleep with her?"

"Yes, I sleep with her.... When she wants me to"

"Wow! That's totally, uh... cool. No one will believe you have that kind of relationship with a Larger Figure", Kang said. "So you think the same will happen between me and Ana?"

"I don't know; do you want to sleep with her?"

"Uh, I've never thought of it", Kang replied. "I don't know.... She's cute, though"

"I just hope she's not more dangerous than she looks", Jin said, casually, and yawned.

"I hope so, too", Kang muttered, thinking about it all over again. She was definitely more dangerous than she looks and she would probably put them in more trouble.... Or she wouldn't. "I wanted to talk about Romeo" "What about Romeo?"

"She took him with her in the morning. You remember?"

"Oh. I totally forgot about that. What did she say?"

"No, I wanted to but I forgot to..... She probably couldn't have helped him in anyway, right?", Kang asked, to keep his conscience in check.

"Yea... It would be too late to withdraw him, immediately he gets to the Gamblers", Jin replied. "We should go to bed, now... Thank you for everything, Kang"

"Thank you for everything, Jin"

The lights had gone out, already. He just stared at the ceilings, even though he could barely see anything, unable to fall asleep. He had just become one of the fighters and he still hadn't fought on the ring. Kang's fight on the Arena didn't promise he would have a chance against whoever he had to fight with and he couldn't compare himself with many of the others. They are either mid-tiers or top-tiers. They could kill him before he even had a chance to show his steeled arms. The door opened, suddenly, breaking through his deep thoughts. He covered his eyes, as the bright torch pointed directly at his face. It was a soldier.... And Romeo.

"Leave my fucking cloth", Romeo gritted, jerking the soldier's clothes off him. He limped to his bed and laid back, silently.

The soldier closed the door and walked away. Finn raised his back. "Romeo? Are you okay?"

"Go to bed, Finn... and leave me alone", he muttered.

"What did they do to you, Romeo?"

"Damn it! I said go to bed! Just go to bed and sleep, ok?!", Romeo said and turned, facing the wall. "I need some silence for the night"

****

Kang walked up to Finn, as they headed for lunch. "Hey, Finn. What's up?"

"Good morning. How's Jin?"

"He's alright. Is Romeo back? I was going to check, earlier today, but I didn't want to disturb his rest"

"Yea, he's back... and it's better as you stayed back for a while", Finn said. "Just looks like you will have to stay back for a longer while" Kang chuckled. "Are you kidding? Why's that?"

"Well, he's been snarling at me since he got back. He's pretty angry and it doesn't seem like he will calm down, anytime soon" Jin walked up to them. "Hey, Finn. Where is Romeo?"

"He's in the room. He's pretty angry... I don't think he wants to see anyone at the moment"

"He's going to miss lunch", Jin said. "You should pack his food for him"

"He's going to punch me in the face. You need to see him. The last time I tried to say anything, he almost bit my head off"

Jin smiled. "Just pack it. I will take it to him"

Everyone was seated, already devouring from the plates before them. They walked to the kitchen and collected their foods. Finn collected Romeo's food too, as Jin had requested. Kang took a short glance at Jae, who was staring at him angrily with a table knife in hand, as if expecting anyone- specifically Kang- to start another fight with him. Kang looked away and smiled. The drug was no longer working on him so he knew who and what he could dare. Jae and a table knife weren't on the list.

A squealing sound burst into their ears, forcing them to drop their spoons and cover their ears. "What the fuck is that?!", Finn asked, as they all looked up.

The sound was definitely coming from the speakers on the ceilings. "Someone is about to say something", Jin replied, covering his ears too. "They never control this thing"

'Good day, fighters. You get a break of thirty minutes after the meal', a voice gave an announcement. 'Once the clock hits the next hour, you all have to move up the stairs for the next spin. Whoever stays behind will be specifically picked for the Gamblers when next they ask'

Jin laughed. "Ok. These Gamblers have high sex drives"

"Or maybe they don't have high sex drives", Kang played along. "Maybe it's just one of them with a sex drive"

"And it's not a gangbang", Jin laughed. "It's just one guy with a big dick"

"What's up, Romeo?", Kang said, immediately he walked into the room. Romeo threw a deadly look at him, sleeping on his bed with and holding his blanket tightly.

"I don't want to see anyone now", Romeo replied. "Go to your room"

Jin walked into the room with his food and sat on his bed. He kept the takeaway pack on his nightstand and looked at Romeo. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't want to see anyone"

"You don't have to see anyone", Jin replied, calmly. "You can just close your eyes till this is over..... or it probably won't be over soon... or ever. How you feel is how you make yourself feel; just remember that, Romeo... and eat your food so you can have the strength to chase more people away"

"Really?", Romeo muttered and raised his back. "That's what you're going to say?"

"What do you expect me to say, Romeo? There's really nothing any of us can do about any of this", Jin said. "They have done what they did, already, and there is nothing you can do, either... instead of brooding about it, just remember there won't be a second time... You really should eat"

Jin stood up and walked towards the door. "You think that'll work on him?", Kang whispered.

"Sure. It's not about my words", Jin replied. "He respects me"

"That's pretty confident of you"

Jin looked back. "Also, we need to be upstairs in a few minutes. You should be-"noveldrama

"I know", Romeo replied, opening the takeaway pack. "I heard the announcement"

****