Chapter 24: The Monster’s Name

—Because sometimes, the scariest thing about a fight isn’t losing. It’s knowing why you have to win.

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The gym was empty except for me, Jin, and the sound of rain slamming against the roof like a war drum.

He didn’t look at me when he said it. Just tossed the file onto the bench.

“His name’s Goro.”

I opened the folder. One photo. Grainy. Ugly. The kind of face you don’t forget, even when you try. Scar across his mouth like someone tried to erase his smile and failed.

Stats scribbled underneath: 6’4”. 250 pounds. Forty fights. Forty wins.

“Undefeated?” I asked.

“Try untouchable.” Jin lit a cigarette, hands shaking just enough for me to notice. “Last guy who went against him… didn’t walk out.”

I stared at the photo. Felt nothing. Or maybe I felt everything all at once, and my body shut down out of self-defense.

“When?”

“Three days.”

“Rules?”

He laughed. Bitter. “There aren’t any.”

---

I set the file down. “Fine.”

“That’s it? Fine?” Jin snapped, smoke curling out of his teeth. “You think this is a game, Kazuki? This guy doesn’t fight to win. He fights to break things. People. Bones. Faces. You.”

“So?”

“So?” He grabbed my arm, hard enough to bruise. “Listen to me. You step in that ring, you don’t come back. Not whole. Maybe not at all.”

I looked at him. Calm. Cold.

“Then let me die buying her another sunrise.”

The words landed like a blade. He froze, grip loosening.

“Damn it, Kazuki…” he muttered, turning away like he couldn’t stand the sight of me anymore.

“Why her?”

I didn’t answer. Because the truth was simple and ugly:

Because no one ever stayed for me. And for the first time, I want to stay for someone else.

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That night, I went to see Yume.

She was sitting on the couch, humming softly, a blanket over her legs like a warning flag I pretended not to see.

“You’re late,” she said.

“Traffic,” I lied.

She smiled, and it almost hurt. “Traffic at midnight?”

“City never sleeps.”

“Neither do you.”

I sat beside her. Didn’t tell her about the fight. Didn’t tell her about Goro or the fact that his name sounded like a god of destruction in some old myth.

Because if she knew… she’d try to stop me. And I’m too far gone to turn back now.

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When she fell asleep on my shoulder, I stared at the dark and thought about three days from now.

About blood on concrete.

About whether I’d still be breathing when the sun came up.

About how none of it mattered, as long as she saw her last wish come true.

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