Kev's POV
"Come on, just let me join, pleeease."
Ugh, so annoying. She's been at it for a while now, pestering us non-stop, and it's seriously testing my patience. I swear, if she keeps this up, I might actually lose it.
"Hey, Ryu, can you make your girlfriend shut up?" I shot him a look, my irritation clear. The noise was driving me crazy, and I needed to focus.
"Wow, Kev, that's harsh! I'm not even being loud!" She pouted, putting on her best innocent act.
"Yeah, not sure about that."
"You're so mean!" she huffed, crossing her arms like a child. Tss. Whatever.
"Just let it go, Kev. I'll handle it. If she keeps pestering, I'll make her leave," Ryu reassured me, clearly used to dealing with her antics.
"Fine, whatever. She's your problem." I waved them off, choosing to ignore the two as they bickered.
Instead, I focused on something more important: coming up with a solid plan to convince Lim to join us. We needed strong allies, especially after the reckless stunt that idiot Jin pulled. Seriously, putting one of the Phantom Six leaders to sleep? What the hell was he thinking? That move might've bought us some time, but it also painted a giant target on our backs. Now, we were completely outnumbered and at a serious disadvantage.
First off, we had no real allies. It was just the three of us at the start, and sure, we managed to recruit a few others, bringing our numbers up to six, but six against over seventy? That wasn't just reckless—it was straight-up suicidal. And to make things worse, there was a very real chance that the Akami Army—another group with over sixty members—would side with the Phantom Six. If that happened, we'd be going up against more than a hundred fighters with nothing but a handful of people on our side.
Second, even if we did engage in a fight, there was no guarantee we'd make it out alive. We might be strong, but strength alone wasn't enough to win a war. The Phantom Six had experience, numbers, and connections. Meanwhile, we were just a group of misfits trying to take them down with barely any support. And lastly, I refused to let those Phantom Six bastards walk all over us. If we were going to do this, we needed to do it right.
Once my plan was set, we made our way to Lim's classroom. I took a deep breath before stepping inside.
"Can I talk to Lim?" I asked, my voice steady as I scanned the room.
A few students exchanged glances before a voice spoke up from behind me.
"Why?"
I turned around to see Lim himself staring at me, his expression unreadable. His eyes held a hint of curiosity, but there was also caution.
"Lim, I know you hate the Phantom Six. You and your group can join us if you want. I'm sure you've already heard about what happened."
"You mean the war people are saying was started by that new transfer student?" he scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "And what do I get out of joining your little group?"
I smirked, knowing exactly what would catch his interest. "You'll get a chance to fight whoever you want from the Phantom Six."
That did it. His eyes immediately lit up, and a slow grin spread across his face. "Not a bad deal. I've been itching to crush that bastard Yuroiji. Alright, I'm in. We're fifteen in total. How many are you?"
Yes! I actually got him on board! This was a huge win for us.
"Six."
"Six?" He raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that way too few?"
"Yeah, just six for now. There's me, the transfer student, Hyuga, the two Yuzus, and Naomi."
"W-w-wait... seriously?" He stared at me in disbelief. "So, your group is actually full of strong fighters? You're just lacking numbers?"
I nodded. "Exactly. So, are you sure about joining us?"
"Of course!" he said without hesitation. Nice! Our numbers were growing!
"Alright then, let's go. We still need to recruit more people." I motioned for them to follow, and Jin arrived with three more people in tow.
Lim stared in disbelief. "I still can't believe this. I thought you're just messing with me, Hyun."
I smirked. "Tss. What's the point of lying?"
"Fair enough. So, who's next on our recruitment list?" he asked, now fully invested in the plan.
My smirk widened. "The Maki brothers."
"That's going to be tough."
"I know, but we have to try."
We walked as a group of seven towards the Maki twins' room. The halls were eerily quiet, and we reached their place without any trouble. It wasn't long before we were face-to-face with them.
"Why should we go with you?" Jake asked, arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips.
"We need you two in our group," I answered plainly.
"Oh?" His smirk widened. "Alright."
What? That easy?
"Alright, let's—"
"On one condition," Jerome interjected.
Shit. I knew it wouldn't be that simple.
"What is it?"
"Defeat us in a fight." At his words, several figures emerged from behind them. More than ten guys. Damn, this was going to be messy.
I stepped closer to Jin and whispered, "We'll handle the twins. Leave the rest to the others." I signaled the rest of the team to take down the lackeys. Tss. This is gonna take a while...
"Well? Are you in?"
"Bring it on!" The moment those words left my lips, I lunged forward alongside Jin, aiming straight for the twins. But before we could reach them, their men blocked our path—street fighters, thugs who clearly had experience.
Ryu didn't waste time. His fist slammed into one guy's jaw, knocking him out instantly. Jerzey spun and delivered a precise kick to another's ribs, sending him sprawling to the floor. Yuzu and the others swiftly engaged, fighting off the rest of the opposition.
The air was filled with the sounds of fists colliding, grunts of pain, and bodies hitting the ground. It was chaos, but we had the upper hand.
"Hmm... Looks like your group really is strong," Jake mused, laughing. "The question is, can you handle us?"
"Tss. Shouldn't we be the ones asking that? Can you handle us?" Jin retorted, unimpressed.
"Why don't we find out?"
"Let's go!"
Jake stepped up to face me. I knew this wouldn't be easy. He wasn't the fastest, but his strength was ridiculous. If he landed a solid hit, it was going to hurt.
"Ready, Hammer Fist?" he taunted.
Ugh. That damn nickname again.
Hammer Fist. That's what they called me around here, though I had no idea where they got it from.
"Of course. You think you can handle me? Hahaha! Bring it on!"
He made the first move, lunging forward with a powerful punch. Fuck! It connected. Pain shot through my jaw, and I stumbled back.
"What's wrong, Hyun? That shook you up? Hahaha!"
I spat blood onto the floor, then grinned at him. Time to teach this bastard a lesson.
I took a step back to gain momentum before dashing forward. My fist slammed into his gut. Solid hit—he bent over from the impact. He underestimated me. I followed up with a flurry of punches, but he held his ground, blocking and countering with a brutal left hook to my ribs. A sharp pain shot through my side, but I clenched my teeth and endured it.
Jake capitalized on the moment and swung a heavy right hook. I barely dodged in time, feeling the wind from his fist graze my cheek. I countered with a sharp knee to his sternum, making him grunt. He staggered back, but his eyes burned with determination.
"Not bad," he admitted, wiping blood from his lip.
I didn't give him time to recover. I rushed in, weaving past his guard and landing a clean uppercut to his chin. His head snapped back, and I saw an opening. Twisting my body, I delivered a spinning kick to his side, sending him skidding across the floor.
Meanwhile, Jin and Jerome were locked in a fierce battle. Jin had the advantage in speed, but Jerome had sheer power. Every time Jin struck, Jerome dodged or blocked, but when Jerome swung at him, Jin expertly evaded, caught his arm, and countered with a sharp elbow to the back of his head.
"You bastard!" Jerome growled, retreating before charging again.
Jin ducked under a wild punch, using Jerome's momentum against him. With a swift pivot, he grabbed Jerome's wrist, twisting it before delivering a crushing kick to his ribs. Jerome stumbled but refused to fall. He roared in frustration and swung wildly, but Jin moved like a ghost, slipping past every attack and delivering precise counters that wore Jerome down with each passing second.
The room felt like it was shaking with the intensity of the fight. Sweat dripped down my forehead. My pulse pounded in my ears, but I refused to back down. Jake came at me again, throwing a brutal haymaker. I ducked, twisted my body, and slammed my fist into his side, feeling his ribs crack under the impact. He gasped, his stance wavering.
"Damn... You're tougher than I thought," he admitted, trying to steady himself.
I smirked. "You too. But this ends now."
Gathering all my remaining strength, I launched into a final, devastating strike. My punch connected with his jaw, sending him crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
I glanced around. Jin stood victorious over Jerome—without a single scratch on him. Damn. Did Jerome even land a hit?
Both twins lay on the ground, bruised and exhausted. We won.
"Looks like that settles it," I grinned, offering Jake a hand. He struggled to stand but eventually accepted the help.
"So," he said, catching his breath. "Who's next to join?"
"Blake," Jin replied, helping Jerome up as well. "Welcome to the JRK clan."
Jake laughed. "Damn... We joined a powerhouse. First-year king, Rank 7 and her sister, Rank 5. The former Rank 6 and his partner and, most of all, the monstrous transfer student. Hahaha!"
We all shared a laugh, the tension from the fight finally fading.
"Alright then! Let's start getting stronger so we can take down those Phantom Six bastards!" Lim declared with a cocky grin.
"Dumbass, you need to beat Ryoma first before talking like that!" Ryu snorted, ruining the moment. We burst out laughing.
"Fine, fine! Hey, Jake, Jerome, help me take down Ryoma's class!"
"We're in."
Our group was growing, and I knew that, little by little, we were becoming stronger. One day, we'd crush the Phantom Six—especially now that we had Jin on our side.