Chapter Text
One.
The sounds of the deafening crowd screaming were drowned out by the rhythmic heartbeat in his head, counting down the seconds like a pendulum swinging back and forth as he focused on his breathing. He could hear heavy footsteps approaching from the opposing side of the ring, followed by a grunt of frustration as the demon swung a violent fist right at him.
Two.
He slid to the side, avoiding the line of impact before it could connect to his body; Zuka was now beginning to realize just how bigger his opponent was, most likely a year or two older than him judging by his size. He smirked to himself, realizing how much time this would take.
Three.
It only took a blink until he was on top of the other demon, an audible snap could be heard as Zuka pulled the other’s forearm in a risky maneuver, breaking his opponent’s left arm. He played dirty, the audience knew that, and it's exactly why they paid to see him fight. It was to the dismay of the managers running the ring, but the one thing they couldn’t deny was that Zuka knew how to run a good show.
They were bloodthirsty, not exactly caring much for rules but instead for how many times he could make an arm or leg bend in all the wrong places.
He got up, rolling his neck as he stared blankly at the crowd through the bars of the cage. He didn’t care much for the attention, all it was good for was the extra cash afterwards. But there was a certain surrealism that came with it. Hundreds of faces with all eyes on him, watching him beat others senselessly like it was a fun game.
He hated it.
Zuka closed his locker as he zipped up his jacket, about to reach for his backpack until he heard the door creak open. Turning around expectantly, he grabbed his bag from the bench and walked over to the manager.
“That confidence will get you killed one day, kid.”
He looked up at the older demon, completely uninterested with his arm still stretched out expectantly. The manager simply just rolled his eyes, unzipping the large black bag he had thrown over his shoulder and handing him a thick wad of cash held together by loose rubber bands.
Zuka counted the cash, giving the demon one last glance before turning away. He wasn’t one for conversation, never saying much to strangers, or better yet, adults.
The manager simply just sneered, shaking his head as he watched his prized fighter walk off. Despite how much money they both made for each other, they were nothing but strangers, with the occasional glance or nod being the only outside interaction they’ve ever had with one another.
Opening the chained fence, Zuka stepped out onto the familiar dirt road and looked up at the sky. It was going to rain soon, judging by the dark clouds building up in the distance.
“You broke his arm.” A familiar voice called up from above him.
“Yeah? Thought you liked that.” Looking up, he saw 2 piercing eyes meet his own from the balcony of the arena behind him.
“Maybe.” his lips curled into a grin.
Broker was a demon with many names; even at a younger age he never really knew who he truly was. Having his gear stolen so long ago that he couldn’t even remember his own identity. It didn’t hold much value to him though, simply because that’s just how he lived, name to name, mask to mask, it was never permanent and he planned to keep it that way.
If there was one thing they had in common, it was violence. One seemed to particularly crave it while the other couldn’t escape from it, and they both knew this as fact.
Zuka was unsure what to call his relationship with the smaller demon, they found each other as runaways, a common occurrence for children of thieves, but took solace in each other’s company. It was far from familial, but it wasn’t like Zuka would call him a stranger either.
An acquaintance sounded too distant but calling him a friend didn’t sound right. It was more like they depended on each other, not as individuals but as a unit. Broker’s silver tongue did most of the talking while Zuka’s overwhelming strength did the rest, and oddly enough he felt more…Confident around him.
The jobs were comfortable, manageable. He even found himself enjoying it sometimes.
Only sometimes, though.
Broker hopped down from the balcony, nearly stumbling over until Zuka grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him upright.
Zuka let out a long sigh. “You gotta stop sneaking to the 3rd floor.”
“It has the best seats!”
“You’re gonna break your bones trying to get down from there one day.” Zuka sang.
“And you won’t? At least that way, we can match!”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Ahhh, and who’s the ‘idiot’ that sets up these fights? Cause I sure as hell know it's not you.”
Zuka thought for a moment before smirking to himself “...I think I could manage without you.”
The smaller demon dramatically gasped “Oh, really? I’m torn up, honestly. I can just feel the knife going straight through my back!”
Zuka rolled his eyes, pushing himself off from the wall as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box, biting into the familiar stick with his teeth. He knew how much the other demon hated it when he smoked, but wanted to see how much he could piss him off.
Unfortunately, Broker was wise to his tricks, pulling the stick straight out from the other’s lips before he could even light the damn thing.
Zuka frowned. “Hey now, that's a perfectly good burn, and I’d say I deserve it after that stellar performance back there.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure.” Broker managed to dodge Zuka’s attempt to snatch it back, chuckling as the taller demon stumbled over himself like a fool.
The playful demon only had one simple request: “Impress me.”
“I think I could do that quite easily.”
A Cheshire smile curled up his lips “Really?”
Zuka took one step forward, eyes narrowed as Broker took one step back. It was a game they liked to play, one of cat and mouse. Obviously he could always just pull another stick from the pack but of course, but that wouldn’t nearly be as fun now, would it?
“I’ll pry it off your hands.”
“Let’s see you try.”
Rooftop tiles and steel wires were slicked with a wet coat of rainwater as heavy clouds suffocated the sky with dark gray tendrils that trailed miles over the towering eastern mountains. It was one of those days when the crisp evening air bit at your skin, leaving flushed pink cheeks and red knuckles on pale skin, the pitter-patter of droplets droning on as a natural white noise to families who found shelter inside. However, for 2 young demons, they found themselves scaling the sides of the dilapidated buildings like it was their own playground, jumping and climbing past landmarks they had grown familiar with until they reached a misshapen balcony, ducking underneath the haphazardly sewn tarps and into their little makeshift abode.
They had found it abandoned some years ago, a small, barely-functioning, unused apartment room near the edge of the Den’s borders where nobody would go looking for them. Compared to the cramped alleyways they slept in most nights, it was a haven. A place they could call home, and so they did.
It was quiet most of the time, but…Tonight had been a different story; both crashing into the main room as Zuka tackled Broker onto the floor the moment he caught up, pinning him down as the smaller tried clawing his way out from his grasp.
They were both stupidly stubborn.
But Broker refused to yield.
He ate the cigarette, quickly dropping it into his mouth before forcing to swallow it down. All Zuka could do was stare in abject horror.
“Oh dude, that’s just fucking nasty.” Zuka cringed.
It felt nasty too, the smaller demon immediately wanting to cough it back up but for the sake of the bet, just weakly smiled at him, though he was fooling no one.
Broker felt a hand on his back as Zuka kneeled next to him, honest-to-gods worried. “Told ya, you’re an idiot.” He laughed nervously.
“I won though, didn’t I?” Broker managed to meekly speak up.
“Yeah, because you fucking cheated!”
“I didn’t realize eating cigarettes was against the rules. And besides, you still have yet to impress me.” He batted his eyelashes sweetly, much to the other’s dismay.
Zuka grumbled, taking his hands off of Broker’s back before pushing himself up from the ground using his knees. “I’ll make you some food to wash it down. Will that satisfy you?”
He could see the smaller demon's eyes open wide at the offer. “Oh fuck yeah.”
“Thought so.” He smirked again as he watched Broker scramble to a separate room, trying to get out of his damp clothes like a wet cat.
“Think you’ll go to Crossroads soon?” Broker managed to speak as he was biting into a grilled cheese sandwich.
“Crossroads?” It was a rhetorical question, Zuka giving it a few seconds to think about it before shrugging. “I dunno.”
It was a goal they had made for themselves a year prior, when Zuka started street fighting they had heard the biggest events were held in the heart of hell, Crossroads. That meant bigger fights, bigger demons and bigger money.
“Hm? You sounded so confident about it before.”
“Well, the key difference from last time was that we were starving and broke.”
“Yeah and look where you are now! You’d be stupid not to go.”
Zuka said nothing for a long while, both sat next to each other silently as they watched the rain pour down outside from the safety of the balcony.
When he spoke up again, his voice had softened. “I don’t want to live like this forever.”
Broker tilted his head towards his companion, unsure of what to make of the comment.
“When the people outside the cage look at me, it feels like I’m just some animal trapped into a corner, beaten and bloody for the sake of their entertainment.”
“That’s what you signed up for, no?”
Zuka scowled. “Sure, but it wasn’t like I had any other choice.”
He paused again before looking down at his hand, flexing his fingers. “Just seems like that’s all I’m good for nowadays.”
Neither of them said anything, just letting the rain fill the silence for the time being. Broker wouldn’t exactly call himself the sentimental type, he didn’t care for the well-being of others, using other demons as merely just a means of survival.
However, there was one exception.
Zuka felt a weight on his shoulder as he looked down to find Broker leaning against him.
“We’ll figure it out.”