Chapter 4: [Gangsta's Paradise]
With a sigh, Jack pushed the mane of his hair back with his hand, looks like he's going to get a little held back.
Waiting until the gangsters were further inside where there was more space, Jack glanced up and noticed the locking mechanism on the automatic doors was just left out in the open above them, guess whoever the owner of this shop was didn't care much for security from the inside. Jack used that carelessness for his own gain and clicked the button that automatically locks the doors after they close. Turning around to survey the six rowdy thugs Jack felt his blood boil, alcohol, cigarettes and, of course, condoms.
"Gonna need these for that blondie~"
'Crap! Why now of all times?! These guys are scary!' these were the thoughts running through Daniel's mind as he tried his best to blend with the background, to not be noticed and attacked by what to him was a group of absolutely terrifying gangsters.
Luckily for the very afraid boy, they didn't seem to be paying him any attention, instead, they were talking about some blonde girl they save on their way to the store. He didn't want to think what the condoms were for, and if the worst came to be he was willing to call the police on them at a moment's notice. Fortunately... he wouldn't have to do such a thing. As the gangsters were about to leave with their items without paying, the sudden sound of glass breaking stopped them in their tracks. The sound of liquid splashing against the ground followed soon after, then came the wet feeling on their feet and legs as the alcohol they "bought" quickly drenched through their shoes and pants.
"What the fuck?!" a reasonable reaction by the gangsters, how were they supposed to reach to their boose suddenly breaking and drenching their shoes and pants?
"You won't be needing those anymore, these too, they will be useless to you," Daniel couldn't help but look on in wonder as he saw Jack standing there, a few shards from the glass bottles could be seen glistening on the right side of his pants.
The condoms the gangsters bought? They were all neatly packed inside a plastic bag that Jack was mockingly holding in front of himself, swinging it side to side to show off the contents. The gangsters' look of surprise was replaced by that of anger, but there was also a hint of caution. Well, some of them appeared cautious.
One didn't quite appear to think things through and got into Jack's face, he was just barely taller than the much younger teen who didn't appear intimidated in the slightest, "Hey, hey, hey! Who the fuck are you supposed to be?! You can't go around breaking other people's stuff!"
"You didn't pay," Jack's stoic tone didn't seem to bother any of the gangsters, instead, they viewed it as a sign of intimidation.
"So fucking what?! What are you going to do about it, shithead-"
-SLAM-
Teeth flew out of the gangster's mouth as it was forced shut by the tip of Jack's foot, the boy had somehow managed to lean back far enough to get a good angle for a straight high kick right into the gangster's mouth.
"Sssshhh~ I have something to say to Daniel," the gangster didn't have the option to reply as he stumbled back, holding his jaw in pain as his teeth did not only get forcefully knocked out but he also bit his tongue in the process, "Daniel, that's your name, right?"
Daniel jumped slightly as the attention was suddenly shifted onto him, "Y-Yes?!"
"I'm going to give you a quick lesson in street fighting, okay?" Daniel felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine when he saw the thin yet noticeable smile of a sadist appear on Jack's face.
"Okay!" Daniel didn't have a choice, either he listens to Jack and does what he says or he either gets beat up by the gangsters or Jack himself, he didn't like his odds against either of the two options.
"Cool, now watch closely. Lesson numero uno!" Jack didn't seem to really take any particular note of one of the five unharmed gangsters charging at him with a broken bottle in his hand as a weapon, "You always want to exploit every weakness you find. Eyes, ears and of course..."
-SLAM-
-CRUNCH-
"KRRRYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
"The balls, that is if you are fighting a male opponent and if your legs can reach," every male in the 200-meter radius instinctively felt a pang of pain run through their testicles as the gangster in question loudly screeched like a bat out of hell after Jack kicked him in the family jewels with enough force to lift him in the air.
Jack allowed the gangster to fall to the ground, desperately clutching his crotch as everyone cringed at the sight of blood quickly staining the man's pants. Daniel watched with great spectacle and a hint of sympathy for his fellow man, but that was secondary. What surprised the short and chubby guy was the fact Jack sent the gangster half a metre into the air with that single kick to the testicles.
"W-What the fuck is wrong with you?!" yelled one of the four remaining gangsters, really, these guys were not used to pain at all.
"...What are you on about? You were just talking about forcing yourself onto my girl..."
...With the appearance of a sinister smile came the feeling of dread, the type of terror one feels when the barrel of a gun is pressed to the back of their head...
"What makes you think I'm going to let you live?"
|>---->[Daniel Park POV]<----<|
I'm not quite sure what Jack Ho did back then, or what sort of intimidation trick he used on everyone present in the building. But, whatever it was... it was terrifying. It's hard to describe the feeling fully in words but if I had to compare it to something... it was like having the barrel of a loaded gun pressed into the back of your head. W-Well, I never experienced such a thing! But the metaphor came instinctively. It's impossible to forget that night, I still have nightmares of it whenever I actually get to sleep properly. The involuntary shiver, the cold sweat, the feeling of imminent danger like being stalked by a hungry lion... The "lessons" Jack "taught" me that day, I don't know if I will ever actually get to use such... brutal techniques with this body of mine... but... I'm really, really thankful. He saved my skin on that day and taught me a valuable lesson...
"Nobody fights fair on the streets."
He also taught me not to mess with him, but I wasn't going to do that in the first place. The techniques he showed me? Well... they were... awesome.
"If you want to win a fight easily, make your enemy lose their centre of balance or force them into an attack. Then... just break them against the ground."
"Always attack in a way that conserves as much of your energy as possible while leaving the biggest impact."
"The shorter the fight the better for your well-being, even if you don't get the sweet taste of a hard-earned victory, so put as much energy and power into every strike, every swing and every kick."
Every single one of those gangsters received a heavy hit in some form or another, hits that I, in this body, couldn't inflict on anyone. So of course these were mostly lessons in fighting that only my other body could perform. At least that was until the very last one, the last lesson in fighting was something... I've never seen before. It wasn't a heavy hit, it wasn't a secret technique that only a few could perform. It was... just a slap.
"The victor of a battle is not decided based on strength or technique, at least not in a street fight. Ingenuity and full use of your every option, be it a dirty tactic or the use of a weapon is allowed, so long as your conscience is alright with it."
Jack... ruptured the ear of one of the gangsters by giving him a slap on the ear at the opposite side of his head. Somehow, in some way, the force travelled through the gangster's head, leaving the insides unscratched and only rupturing his eardrum. I knew there were strong people around the world, like Logan, but... this... it didn't feel possible. This was the type of battle you'd see in a manga or a comic book... But Jack made it a reality. Six gangsters... all destroyed with a single attack. The fight felt like it lasted hours... but it was less than ten minutes... Despite being just an observer, I felt like I was in danger all throughout the confrontation. Like if I took even a single step, the owner of this place would be cleaning me off the ground with a spatula. And when Jack was done? Well, he gave me 200$ dollars as a fee for the damages and bought a bottle of beer that he drank in five seconds flat.
|>---->[Narrator POV]<----<|
"Sorry it took me so long, there was a long line," when Jack made it back to his friends he was quite relieved to see them both okay and unharmed, he knew they were strong, but a little bit of consideration never hurt anyone.
"Ugh, can you believe it Jack~?! There was this group of ugly fuckers who were ogling me!" Jack rose an eyebrow at Mary's angry tone, he appeared to be completely in the dark but he knew that the group she was talking about was most likely the group he just finished pummeling to the ground.
This time the group was being led by Mary who was running her mouth a mile a minute while Jack and Vin. The much more drunk boy gave Jack a look before bumping him with his elbow, getting his attention with no trouble at all.
"So...?" Vin had to wait a moment before Jack's drunk brain caught up with the question before he received a small smirk in return.
"Pummeled," that was all Vin needed to hear before adapting a large smirk, looks like he could take it easy for now and leave the "gangster beating paradise" to Jack for a while.
The group of three then made their way to Jack's home, which was a small apartment rented to him by a generous old lady with a big heart. Everything after that was a blur, there was alcohol... music... dancing... ugh... the... sound of the bed creaking... and... moaning...?
...
...
...
"So... drinking... is officially on my blacklist of things to do."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone