The morning after the postcard had arrived, Gen stood in his black leather jacket before one of the many harbours of Yokohama.  The address on the postcard led him to Yomotsu-shitacho Lane, a long boulevard stretching along the seafront where various creatures lumbered from huge swollen sharks to stocky tapirs, kappas rubbing shoulders with sea serpents.  The salts of the ocean breeze revived him as the roar of steel cranes shuddered overhead, ducking through the struts and steel containers as he kept far away from Crown Industries.

Thankfully his destination was nowhere near, despite the warehouses forming a township of sorts with cluttered roofs and crates that, if one was willing, could walk all the way to the ocean without ever touching the ground.  40 minutes after his arrival, Ganbe found the warehouse of Letchi Island Produce, an old faded banner showing a splendid paradise with a crab's claw forming a mountain between palm trees.

        "This it?" Gen muttered looking at the postcard.  "Yeah, says right here."

The card was also rather strange, showing a similar-looking island with a kooky bunch of creatures along with the phrase "HAVING A DEVILISH TIME ON DEVIL'S ISLE" in very retro font.  At the front of the warehouse, directing a large lorry where creatures shoved boxes inside, was a red lobster who wore a striped jacket with spiny shelled back, and four smaller arms beneath his one single enormous claw.  A long fanning tail swept behind him, his piercing sharp forehead splitting his beady eyes above yellow mandibles.

        "COME ON C'MON!" he barked waving his claw.  "WE GOTS THIS SHIT TO SEND OUT THE TWENTIETH, YOU ALL WANNA GET PAID OR NOT?!"

        "Uhh, scuse me-"

        "WHAT?!"  He turned so sharp he almost cut Gen's face with his forehead.  "You lookin' fer work?!"

        "Uh, I got this postcard saying to come here?"

        "...ugh, this fuckin' trash?"  The lobster rolled his eyes.  "Alrigh' this uh thing, you wanna see Clover-kun."

        "Yeah, I was talking with her yesterday."

        "Well she ain't here righ' now, she meetin' up with sum suppliers, you'll wanna talk to Junior-kun."

        "Junior huh?" the bird looked around at the shuffling creatures.  "Where's he now?"

        "HEY, TOM-KUN!"

He snapped towards a large alligator whose hands were wrapped in gauze showing only two of his fingers.

        "GET JUNIOR DOWN HERE, HE GOT BIZNESS!"

        "YES RAITO-SAN!"

Hurrying off into the depths of the warehouse, the croc went charging as the crustacean pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.

        "You the boss here?" Gen asked.

        "Yep," he puffed out from his mandibles, "Ebisu Raito, you one of Clover's fresh meats?"

        "I guess.  Clover-san and I were talking and well, she told me she'd tell me at a later date and I got this postcard an--"

        "Did I ask fer your fuckin' life story kid?!  This ain't Good Morning Japan."

        "Uh, kay," Gen looked around quickly, "you got a lotta monsters round here."

        "Yeah they make good labour," said the lobster crossing four arms, "eager to learn, eager to work, plus they don't get too fuckin' greedy askin' fer a raise."

        "I mean, if they get paid good it's good right?"

        "You sayin' I don't?  Whut are you a fuckin' reporter?"

        "No no, just hey it's good they like their work."

        "Well course they do, they're not workin' anywhere else an' there's plenty else they could work at."

        "SIR!"  The gator came back with a salute.  "Can't find Junior-kun, sorry sir."

        "Fuck's sake," Ebisu rolled his claw down his face, "he slackin' off again?!"

        "Don't know sir, sorry."

        "Alright, one-eye come with me, I got an idea where he's at, Tom-kun you get back to work."

Ganbe followed him through the labyrinth of crates whilst the croc returned to his duties, the bird keeping back from the long crustacean tail swishing back and forth, almost like a club as it snapped and clanged against the sides of containers.  Eventually they heard the sound of a ball thunking against hard steel, along with the voice of an American ringing out in a strong New York accent.

        "//He step up to thuh plate, crowd sits quiet waiting for thuh ninth to go down.  Can thuh boy from Monsterhattan do it?  Ohohh I bet he can Bob, he wuz born in Madison Square, he got thuh feet, he got thuh HEAT, the diamond's in his blood!//"

Standing in a "field" surrounded by crates, a large crude diamond-shape carved into the dock with four wooden squares on each point, was a dark-scaled monster that resembled an iguana in his slenderous shape.  Wrapped in a worker's apron and overalls, his taut lithe body with thin arms and bandy legs swished a long excitable tail back and forth, dark spikes of green trailing down his spine.

His head looked like a slanted rectangle, a strong chin jutting out front with golden eyes shining to the sky as he held a baseball in one hand and a steel bat in the other, upon which his own tail had been carved into its side.  Aiming towards the wall of the warehouse where a crude impression of a sky and billboard with scores had been drawn, the monster hurled his ball up high and pulled back his bat, closing one eye and taking a mighty crack that sent it hurtling to the highest point of the wall where it bounced to land on the floor.

        "//AND THAT'S, THE GAME, WHOOOOO!//" he ran across the diamond plates.  "//THE METS WIN THE SEASON, THE METS WIN THE SEASON, FOLKS!  YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!//"

        "JUNIOOOR!"

        "//GUH-SH-SHIT, SHIIIIT!//"

Staggering hard as he slipped on the wooden boards, Junior fumbled and threw himself forwards to slam his palm on the floor and do a surprisingly agile handstand.  Twirling his body with his tail shooting out to correct his balance, he landed on both feet in front of his boss who he immediately saluted.

        "S-SORRY, SORRY BOSS!"

        "THE FUCK YOU DOIN' EH?!" shouted Ebisu wagging his claw.  "I DON'T PAY YOU TO SWING BALLS AROUND!"

        "UH, Mo, he uh!" Junior bowed and stuttered in halting Japanese.  "Mo took, lunch, yeah, I work, his time,  he had, visit...house?!"

        "Augh...right," the lobster pinched his narrow face, "Mo's at the hospital, you took his shifts, fine, I guess you earned this break, but that means you get to take THIS guy off my hands."

        "Ehh?!"

        "Hey," Gen waved to Junior, "I got a postcard from Clover-san-"

        "//HOOHOOOH SHIT BRO!//" he snatched the postcard from his hand and babbled in English.  "//Yo you that guy Lisa talked about, shiiiiit nice to meetcha, I'm Junior, she said you got some o' them sick-ass blades on ya, hey we don't get a lotta folks like that!//"

        "Uhh...what?"

        "Alright you kids have fun," said Ebisu walking back, "don't slack off too long Junior-kun!"

        "YES SIR!"

The monster saluted to his boss then grabbed Gen's hand to shake.

        "Me, Niko Zillatopoulos, Junior!"

        "Uh, Gen Ganbe!" the bird smirked.  "Nice to meetcha uh, Junior-san?"

        "Yeah!  Everybody call me Junior!"

        "Why?"

        "My dad, Niko Zillatopoulos!  Named me after him!"

        "Ohhhh JUNIOR, right you got his first name too, gotcha.  Why don't they just call you Zilla-san?"

        "Ehh, always called Junior," Zilla shrugged, "even back home!"

        "You like baseball too?" Gen pointed at the monster's bat.

        "Fuck yeah!" he twirled it in his hand.  "You play?!"

        "Nah, used to watch Nagoya Wyverns, you know them?"

        "Nah, New York Mets, best team in WORLD!"

        "Well they can't be worse than the fucking Wyverns," said Ganbe rolling his eye, "so uh, Eight Wonders, you know about it?"

        "Yeah!  Take you now?!"

        "Yeah please."

        "SICK!"

Taking Ganbe's hand, Zillatopoulos led him to the very back of the oldest part of Yokohama's harbour.  Most of the warehouses had been long abandoned, the smell of rotting produce drifted through the air, the sound of the cranes and clamouring creatures felt like a distant memory by the time they reached the Cooper-Jackson Storage facility, a seemingly ill-kept building that Zilla opened the door to by a special key.

Inside was a large empty space, the light from the morning sun glinting across Gen's eye as sharp rays burned from old broken windows, dust motes dancing through the air like a swirling cosmos before him as he coughed slightly, his voice echoing across the grand hall.

        "Come on!" Junior pointed to a storage lift.  "Here."

        "This feels shady as hell," Ganbe muttered.

        "Gotta be secret," the monster tapped his snout, "keep us safe."

A keypad was on the lift, to which the American tapped in 1-9-3-3 causing the lift to shudder under their feet.  Grinding gears crunched with gnashing teeth as they descended down to the depths of the city, a cold empty darkness that somewhat frightened Ganbe.  But what scared him more were the lights that started to roll past his vision.  Blink.  Blink.  Shadows fought within his eye, blink, blink, a dance of violent fear, blink, blink, he tasted the blood again on his beak.

The elevator stopped as Zilla walked off into the tunnel that yawned before them, an old sewer passage where the lights constantly flickered.  There was no water, no refuse, no scars of graffiti on the wall which did nothing to assail Gen's fears of something lurking beyond.  In his mind's eye he saw that alley again, and the trail of blood briefly flashed on the floor with Zillatopoulos' shadow briefly fading before he caught up.

        "Come on dude," Junior beckoned him, "you want fun?!"

        "Y-yeah, yeah I'm good," Gen forced a smile.

        "...you okay?"

The monster stopped and patted the kaiju's arm.

        "Just not...great with dark narrow places," admitted Ganbe.

Zillatopoulos gave a look of concern before he took the bird's hand.

        "Safe."

        "W-wha?"

        "I keep...you safe."  Junior smiled.  "Come on."

Taken by the hand Gen followed the monster, the lights sputtering on with feeble glow as he heard the call of voices faintly from beyond.  The tunnel slowly turned round the corner, the smallest incline under their feet making Gen grip Zilla's hand.  At the end of this passage they found a giant set of doors that was strangely ornate, resembling some sort of tribal gate constructed of wooden planks and steel bars.

        "You ready?" Junior asked.

        "Yeah," Gen nodded.

The doors opened as Ganbe's eye widened at the world within.  A surge of fury and adrenaline swept over his senses, burning sweat and porous screams as bloodthirsty cries filled the air and deafened his ears.  A giant pentagonal room, at the centre of which was an octagonal ring.  Four sides of the room were filled with seats where tables and chairs had been set up on different levels, all filled with kaiju and monsters and beasts roaring for combat with the force of a football stadium, the ground underneath shaking with energy as Gen stepped through the rows.

Inside the octagon ring, a giant ant in a US state trooper uniform faced off against a burly goat in a ragged lab coat who wielded a blunt axe.  The insect grappled his foe with all four arms and tried to pin the mammal, who headbutted him and slammed his hooves into the thorax.

        "Holy shit," Ganbe gasped, "this is...way bigger than I thought it'd be."

        "You watch?" Zilla pointed.  "Got time, then uh...we, see boss."

        "Uhh, s-sure."

They sat themselves down and watched the fight, the ant getting shoved against the steel mesh wall of the octagon as the goat roared with savage cry and came charging with his dull axe.  The arthropod dodged under the sweeping cut and tackled his opponent, punching with two arms and raising the other two to hammerfist the caprine's face.  The goat made a brutal swing for the ant's head, cracking a heavy blow with the axe that sent him falling to the ground, before he golf-swinged the foe's abdomen to roll him across the floor.

But his end soon came when the insect kicked his feet against the goat's knees to knock him off-balance.  In his stumbling fall, the caprine met a rising double uppercut from the ant that crunched his jaw, thrown against the wall before the arthropod made a running jump.  The ant grabbed the steel mesh with all four arms and crunched his powerful knee into the goat's jaw, spilling blood across the floor as he crumpled with a crimson face.

        "AND THE WINNER IS, SERGEAAAAAANT PETERSOOOOON!"

The crowd erupted with furious emotion, half of them in ovation, the other half in frustration as papers were tossed and torn to shower the hall in adulation, the ant warrior lifting up his arms in a high-pitched shriek of strigilation that ran beneath the announcer's voice.

        "THE SERGEANT'S REIGN CONTINUES, OVERPOWERING THE CRUEL MYSTERIOUS DR. FLETCHER, THE GOATMAN OF ALTON!  FOLKS, PICK UP YOUR WINNINGS AND GET READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!"

        "Damn," Gen muttered from his seat, "that was fucking awesome."

        "Fuck yeah!" Zilla patted him.  "Come on, meet the boss!"

Taking him up to the back of the hall, through a side door that led into what used to be maintenance corridors, they found posters of old champions from every walk of life and every species one could think, all with the same highly-stylised font of the team they supported.

Other contestants wandered past with bruised eyes and swollen snouts, waving to Zilla who high-foured them in turn and gave fingerguns with a smile.  They passed through break rooms and dormitories where champions slept, played and talked strategies with each other, until they finally reached an office at the end.

        "//BOSS!//" Junior cried in English knocking at the door.  "//I GOTS FRESH MEAT, LISA SAID TO BRING 'IM HERE!//"

        "//Come on in.//"

Opening the door, Zilla motioned Ganbe to come through as the bird saw what was a former administrator's office for the old sewer, now with a large cherrywood desk and two chairs facing towards it.  The wall behind it was festooned with pictures of glorious fights, a giant ape crunching fist after fist into every creature.  Belts and boxing gloves hung upon the wall, a coat stand to one side with a wardrobe whilst the other side had a small personal kitchen and another door that led to the bathroom

        "//That you Junior?//" a deep rumbling American came from within.  "//Just trimming my hairs, think I need new razorblades.//"

        "//You want me get you some boss?//" asked Zillatopoulos.

        "//Yeah could ya?  You know what brand I like, I'd ask Lisa but she never had a damn hair on her body she wouldn't know what to get.//"

        "//Boss you ain't gonna talk about lady barbers again are ya?//"

        "//Look, I said before there's nothing wrong with learning a craft if yer good at it, but if you never had a beard I don't trust you to fix mine.//"

        "//So you'd never let me shave you?//" Junior rolled his eyes.  "//Even though I'm a dude?//"

        "//Hell no, you got less hair than the Sergeant.//"

Gen did not sit down until Zilla did so, patting beside him as they waited for the boss to step out of the bathroom.  He already guessed as to how he looked, but a giant gorilla towering over him was still a startling sight.  His bare chest glinted in the light, a pair of brown slacks with an old-fashioned belt wrapped round his legs as the boss daubed his chin with a towel.

        "Sorry for that," the ape sat at his desk and spoke in Japanese, "I wasn't expecting you so soon, Ganbe was it?"

        "Uh, y-yeah," the kaiju bowed, "nice to meet you, sir."

        "Hm.  Konnor Kingston."  He offered his giant hand.  "I run the Eight Wonders Circuit."

Ganbe shook his hand which looked tiny inside of his, long thick fingers of charcoal silver with a hidden dexterous twitch as he plucked the hairs of his smooth chin.  His face was flat with wide nostrils and a half-circled jaw, a prominent bump on the top of his head framing his deep smouldering eyes that burned into Gen's face.

In his prime Konnor Kingston had the thickest arms and pecs with dark rugged hairs, small cracks in the wrinkles of his even darker flesh forming a leathery texture that glistened off his staunch torso that twitched with every breath.  His six-pack had more muscle than Gen could ever lift.  The passage of time had done little to change his physique, the smallest atrophy evident only from the withering of flesh and the thinning of hairs in his twilight years.

        "So," Konnor grinned, "Lisa tells me that you wield the kusarigama."

        "Uh, y-yeah!" Gen patted his scythes.  "I never even knew there was a whole place like this under Issincho!"

        "Good, it's not meant to be widely known, specially not to Jinuchu."

        "U-uh...what?"

        "You're Jinuchu right?"  He waved a piece of paper in his hand.  "Gen Ganbe, works at Kusonami Pachinko, lives in the Bar District, foot soldier for the Jinuchu Clan, Tagasuki Family."

        "SHIT!" Zilla snapped looking to Gen.  "You yakuza?!"

        "UHH...y-yeah?" the kaiju nodded feebly.

        "AWW SICK!  You fight good then!"

        "//Junior don't big him up,//" Konnor snorted in English, "//let him show me on his own merit.//"

        "//Awww boss but he a yakuza, that's cool as hell!//"

        "//Nothing cool about being a hired thug.//"  The gorilla turned back towards Gen.  "So why'd you come here?"

        "Whuh, what you mean?" the bird shrugged.  "I-i just wanna fight."

        "Is that it?  What, your boss put you on a leash or something?"

        "He...y-yeah, actually."

        "Hmph."  Kingston leaned back tenting his fingers.  "So you're just another punk who's bored and wants some action, not getting enough despite being Jinuchu, so you wanna come down here for a challenge."

        "Yeah, so what?!" Gen thrust his head.  "What's the problem, this place looks fun, there's real fighters here who can give me a a challenge!"

        "And you think you're good enough?"

        "I beat Clover-san didn't I?"

        "That you did...but that only brought you here."

The ape pulled himself forwards and loomed over Gen with his deep russet eyes.

        "What matters is whether you stay.  This place was once a sewer, but I still see little shits come through here."

        "I've dealt with enough shit out there to last in this place," Ganbe clenched his fists, "All I want is to fight for real again, no boss telling me what to do, no fucking clan shit, just straight-up fist to fist."

        "Hm."  The gorilla smiled.  "Alright.  Unfortunately I can't sign you on-"

        "W-what?!"

        "We're all full on my team, BUT, there's a space open on Goro's team."

        "Wait, Goro?" Ganbe squinted.

        "Come on, let me introduce you."

The great gorilla stood up from his desk and offered his hand, motioning Gen and Junior to head out his office and walk to the other side of the arena to another door where another series of halls and dorms stood with different creatures and different posters.

All of them bowed with respect to the ape as he sauntered through with a thick heavy swagger, his arms sweeping with a visible change in the air that made those nearby shiver from his strength.  He knocked on the door at the end of this place.

        "Goro!" Kingston's fist shook the frame.  "Got fresh meat for you!"

        "You're offering me table scraps now?" the voice behind the door said.

        "S'no fun if our teams aren't equal, you need backup."

        "Heh...sure, let me see him."

Stepping inside, this office was much more familiar in its design to Ganbe than that of Konnor's.  A large calligraphy banner and an old fishing flag from some unknown island, old boots hung up next to belts that Ganbe recognised from Konnor's office but with different months and years.  A low wooden table sat between Gen and his target, who sat on a floor of rush tatami mats and comfortable cushions with a large chest of drawers in one corner.

Goro Saureno looked as severe as his photo did, an allosaurus with small flinted pupils and silver scales across his taut muscular physique.  While not  as bulky as Konnor, his arms wiry and his chest more slender, he had an incredible pair of thighs from his powerful legs beneath a dark blue kinagashi, a flowing robe that crested like the ocean waves as Gen tried not to look at him directly.

        "So," Saureno sneered, "this the kid that Clover-san brought in?"

        "Fresh little virgin he is," said Konnor shoving Gen forth, "now we're even again, after you lost the last one."

        "I don't need your pity, monkeyfuck."

        "I wasn't offering, lizard-bitch."

They both chuckled to each other as Goro stood up and walked over to his dresser, rummaging around his papers before pulling out a form he slapped on the table.

        "Sign here," he offered Gen a pen, "yer joining Team Saurus, the winning team."

        "Nah he ain't," Zilla snorted behind Konnor, "he want win, he fight me!"

        "Stick to baseball kid, or better yet the strip club, your body'll be more worth there."

        "Fuck you, old bitch!"

They laughed despite their insults as Gen signed his name on the form, Saureno taking it before he shook the kaiju's hand, and pulled him in close.

        "Rule number one, never kill your opponent, it's bad business.  Clover-san brought you here cuz you were good enough to follow that, so don't disappoint me."

        "Got it," Ganbe sighed with greater relief.

        "Rule number two, never insult the audience.  They support you."

        "Ah huh."

        "Rule number three, if your opponent can no longer stand, the fight is over, back away."

        "Totally."

        "And lastly, rule number four, respect all your opponents."  He looked to Konnor with a courteous grin.  "We're not enemies here, we are rivals."

        "Oh, cool, alright yeah!" Ganbe nodded shaking his hand again.  "You got it Saureno-san!"

        "Don't get too friendly," the allosaur pushed him back, "you still have to prove yourself, and I need someone in the ring after Kingston beat up my goat."

        "That's what happens when you stand against my sergeant," Konnor shrugged with arms wide, "no one can top them."

        "Find yourself a free bed."  Saureno pointed to the door.  "We'll pit you in the little leagues first and see where we go."

        "Alright," the bird nodded, "thanks for letting me on!"

Led to the dorms where other fighters sat and waited for their turn, Ganbe saw the goat from the last round healing up in his bed, clutched his ribs and staring towards a TV.

        "Good luck dude!" Zilla grabbed Gen by the shoulders.  "Hope ya win!"

        "Wait, aren't you on the other team?" Ganbe asked.

        "Yeah, but it's fun!  Hope we fight soon!"

        "Don't slack off," said Konnor grinning down at the bird, "the crowd's a harsh mistress, they'll turn on you in an instant if you don't make it fun."

        "Make it...fun?" Gen squinted.

        "You're not on the streets anymore kid.  Lemme give you a word of advice."

He put a hand on the kaiju's shoulder that dwarfed it completely.

        "You're a performer first, and a fighter second.  That's why we don't kill round here, it's not about winning, it's about entertaining."

        "Entertaining?" Ganbe cocked his head.  "Wait is this like wrestling, do we just pretend?!"

        "Oh they're real fights, trust me...but it's still a sport.  Have fun kid."

Taking his leave, Konnor took Zilla with him as Gen found a free bed to sit himself down, laying back and staring up at the ceiling as he tried not to think about his dubious mission.  His eye turned towards the door where Saureno kept working, filing papers and shuffling schedules whilst other creatures roamed about the break rooms playing shogi, watching TV or playing handheld consoles.

Another fight came ringing out from beyond the entrance, the muffled roar of the crowd almost soothing Gen as he lost himself in the muddy haze of the theatre of fists.  Casual bantering and cheeful laughs calmed his spirit, tapping his long single-claw feet together until he heard his name sharp from the room.

        "GEN GANBE?!"

        "UH, YEAH!"

        "Yer up, first fight, come on."

He vaulted himself out of bed and headed over to a long-headed blue serpent with the claws, body and wings of a gold eagle wrapped in a white leotard.  The crowd surged with a murmur that made Gen's skin vibrate from the steel tips of his belly, to the pale wings of his back as he felt something akin to stage fright.

        "Nervous?" the serpent looked back at him.  "Don't be, just do your best, and don't kill."

        "Got it," said Ganbe nodding, "just never really performed before."

        "Just give us a good fight, that's all we want.  Also, no gouging, no strangling, no stabbing."

        "You know I got sickles right?"

        "You can slash and bludgeon, just not too deep," she grinned with a wink, "s'all about control as much as it is about winning, got it?"

        "Right."

He smiled and waited at the entrance to the now-open ring, its giant mesh walls strangely absent for the time being as the blue winged snake marched to the centre, a mic coming down by a wire as she screeched out.

        "CRRRRREATURES AND PATRONS, WELCOME BACK TO THE EIGHT WONDERS, IIII'M YOUR HOST, SALLY GLASTNER!  TWICE AS PRETTY AS A CHURCH WINDOW, TWICE AS EXPENSIVE, AND I SEEN MORE SIN THAN ONE LEMME TELL YA!"

The crowd cackled at her warming up as she whooped them up into a frenzy.

        "TODAY WE GOT A SPECIAL BOY HERE FOR YOU ALL, A VIRGIN TO THE ARENA WITH HIS FIRST TASTE OF BLOOD, FILLING UP THE SPOT ON TEAM SAURUS!  WE'RE GONNA PUT HIM THROUGH THE OL' THREE-ROUNDER AND SEE WHERE HE COMES OUT!"

        "Wait, three rounds?" Gen muttered looking around him.  "Well, I guess that makes sense-"

        "INTRODUCING, THE BLADED TERROR OF ISSINCHO, A LOCAL BOY WHO GOT NOTHING TO LOSE AND EVERYTHING TO WIN!  WITH HIS EYE ON THE PRIZE AND A PAIR OF SICKLES JUST AS SHARP, GIVE IT UP, FOR GEEEEEEEN, GANBEEEEEEEE!"

Screams filled the hall as Sally beckoned him up, the steel-beak in his black leather jacket feeling the lights burn on his back with his face shining in the severe gleam.  He felt obliged to wave, feeling like he was getting judged in front of a school auditorium as there were a few cackles, some pointing fingers, and others politely clapping as the serpent continued.

        "GANBE-SAN, FOR YOUR FIRST OPPONENT, THE LANDLORD OF SADO ISLAND, A LITTLE NOOK OF THE WORLD WHO SOME SAY SPENDS ALL THE RENT HE GETS ON NOTHING BUT BOOZE!  YOU LOVE TO HATE HIM, GIVE IT UP, FOR THE MARQUIIIIIS DE SADOOOOO!"

Staggering up the other side of the arena was a dishevelled tanuki, eyes of sallow brown and a large bushy tail behind his somewhat-husky belly.  Wearing a weatherproof jacket of green, he carried a gourd on his hip as the crowd either cheered or booed as he waved to them with a little hiccup in his throat.

        "Are you for fuckin' real?" Gen muttered.  "Who let their drunk-ass uncle wander in here?!"

        "WARRIOOOOOORS, RRRRREADYYYYY!"

Sally stepped out the arena after her proclamation, before a shuddering rattle came from above as the walls slammed down like a mousetrap, trapping Gen inside a steel mesh cage with the tanuki taking a swig of his drink, giggling to himself as the azure serpent raised her fist.

        "BATTLE, ONE, ACTION!"

The audience roared as Gen pulled out his sickles, swishing them like nunchuks as the raccoon snickered derisive at him before going into his own stance.  His feet slightly wobbled, his hands grasped out in front like he was holding invisible cups as the avian charged him first, swiping the back of his scythe towards the Marquis' face as the tanuki suddenly bent backwards, balancing on one foot to kick the other square in Ganbe's beak before a surprising twist of his leg corrected the raccoon's stance to backhand Gen twice.

Surprised by the flexible movements of this portly landlord, Ganbe stepped back quick before he was set upon by the raccoon, staggering like he was about to fall and tricking Gen to try and kick his face, before the landlord swerved to one side and clocked Ganbe's chin with a devious uppercut.  Twisting his body from the wild upwards swing, the Marquis de Sado wrapped his arm round Gen's shoulders and swung out his leg to trip the bird, but not before Ganbe wrapped his sickle-chain round the tanuki's throat and pulled him down with him.

On the ground he tried to get on top with hammering blows to the raccoon's eyes, but with a heavy thrust of his hips the Marquis gained momentum to curl back his legs and kick Gen's face to knock him off completely, swinging himself upright with helicopter legs and a cackling hiccup.  Gen stood up shaking his head as he made a half-charge to try and trick the raccoon into striking out, dodging to one side and slashing with the blunt side of his sickle to surprise the landlord with a yelp.

In his brief startlement, the tanuki was left wide open as Gen spun himself round to whip the other scythe out beyond the Marquis' neck, wrapping round his throat before pulling him like a dog on a leash to swing him around the arena.  The landlord tried to pull back by spinning close towards Ganbe, tightening the chain but in turn closing the space to try and backhand him sharp and sweep the bird's leg.  But Ganbe was onto him, blocking his punch with the other sickle before stomping on the tanuki's knee to make him shriek and sober up from the pain.

        "Sorry pal, don't drink and DIE!"

With a laugh at his own joke, the one-eyed kaiju untwirled his chain fast from the tanuki's neck, causing the landlord to spin like a ballroom blitz towards the mesh wall as the Marquis corrected himself in time with a stumblefoot.  When Ganbe came rushing for him once again, the tanuki slapped the scythe away and rolled his hands to grab a quick sip of his gourd, twisting the chain to trap Gen's hands as he gulped down a quart before belching right in Ganbe's face.

Snarling at the alcohol fumes with a tear in his eye, the bird slammed his head into the Marquis to blind him with a headache.  Unwrapping his sickles sharp he lashed the raccoon's face with nunchaku-style whallops, battering him left and right with a mixture of blunt and sharp strikes that bludgeoned and lacerated his pudgy features.  He ended the first fight with a driving elbow crushing the skull of the raccoon into the wall, a hiccup bubbling from his throat as he fell to the floor and tapped himself out.

        "AND THE WINNER IS...GEN, GANBEEEEEEE!" 

With a cry of proclamation from the announcer, Gen smiled at the crowd who shrieked in adulation, a small chuckle escaping his throat at the audience shouting his name.  The mesh walls lifted up to allow the Marquis de Sado to leave, the drunken tanuki bowing to Gen respectfully which surprised the new contestant.  Glastner offered the bird a bottle of water that he drank gratefully, chugging back half of it to refresh himself.

        "WOW," Glastner cried, "WHAT A FIRST FIGHT FOLKS!  BUT HOW WILL GANBE HANDLE, THE THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER?!  THAT'S RIGHT, YOU CAN HEAR THE STORM A-COMING FROM THE FIERY CREEK, YOU ALL BETTER HIDE YOUR EGGS CUZ HERE COMES, BUNDIIIIII YIPAAAAN!"

The next contestant stepped up into the ring, a bizarre reptilian marsupial with kangaroo legs, long-furred neck, and a bulky body with several folds of skin where various tribalistic tattoos of aboriginal origin were painted across.  Her head resembled a horse with an emu's beak, small tusks on either side touching her long hangdog ears that framed her unusual complexion.  The walls came down once again as Gen braced himself for another fight, his opponent squatting with her hands touching the floor.

        "BATTLE, TWO, ACTION!"[/]

Bundi came lumbering forth with hands patting the ground in an odd tribal drumbeat intended to frighten her opponent.  Gen kept his distance, the two circling around each other with the marsupial doing small cartwheels to loosen up her feet and force Gen to circle faster.  Once they were close enough she suddenly charged, closing the gap with surprising speed as Yipan grabbed him by the arm and neck, a hard punch between grapples stunning Gen enough to throw him hard to the floor.

Swinging out his scythe he stopped her from coming down on top by bashing twice across her face, making her reel back before he bounced back up with a hard kick to her stomach and rolled onto his feet.  When she tried to grab his neck again, Ganbe ducked and swung the back of his blade in a hard strike to her ear, causing Bundi to wince and clap her head from the stinging pain before she lashed out in a wild haymaker that clocked the bird on his cheek and sent him reeling back.

His moment of weakness was longer than hers as the marsupial charged once more in a savage rush, grappling Gen's shoulders and crushing him against the wall with her massive form before backhanding him across the face to knock him down on his back.  Ganbe tried to lash out again with his scythe, but Bundi slapped it out the air and crushed him, the kaiju crying out from her suffocating weight as she started thundering down with vicious punches.  Seven barrelling fists crunched in his eye and jaw before he shoved his sickle between her fingers, and twisted hard to make her stop with a howling shriek.  Throwing the other blade round her neck, he grappled her throat with the chain and pulled her down to meet his fist coming upwards, crunching her face in a stunning blow as her staggering back helped lift Ganbe up on his feet.

The kaiju kicked the back of her leg to try and hurl Bundi against the wall, but the marsupial was much more grounded than he expected as she stiffened her sturdy limb and whalloped him in revenge.  Her backhand threw Ganbe against the mesh wall as she wrenched off the chain from her throat to pull it hard and force Gen to come running for her.  When she tried to do the same yank-and-punch tactic to him, the bird made a sliding tackle between her legs and pulled the scythe he held to trap her thigh with his chain, spin-striking with a hammerfist to the back of her head and throwing her down face-first with a crunch that made the floor bounce.

        "Now your FACE is down under, HAH!"

The crowd screamed with excitement as Gen pumped himself up, whooping with a cocky grin before the marsupial rolled herself up to make a flying tackle for Gen's back.  He did not escape in time and expected to be fully flattened, but instead Bundi landed on both feet and grabbed Gen in both arms whilst he was still flying, whirling the kaiju round in a full spin before tossing him against the wall, and barreling towards him ready to crush her entire body against his back.

Ganbe hooked his scythes into the mesh and scrabbled upwards like a spider, the marsupial's thundering feet causing the entire ring to shudder as he braced himself to launch off the wall.  With a flying roundhouse kick he cracked his long clawfoot on her equine head as she groaned from the impact, her body colliding with the wall in a booming thud as stars burst in her eyes and the folds of her muscular belly rippled from the shock of impact.  She fell back onto the floor in a brief shockwave, knocked out and staring towards the lights.

        [i]"SECOND ROUND, GOES TO, GEEEEN GANBEEEEEE!"

        "HAH, HHHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAAAAAAA!" Ganbe cackled pumping his arms up.  "YEAH, YEAAAAAH YOU LIKE THAT?!  I TOLD YOU I WASN'T NO PUNK, I TOLD YOU!"

The walls lifted up as Bundi pushed herself back up, shaking her head before she gave a thumbs up with a cheeky grin from her blackened eye.  Gen smiled in return with a thumbs up to her as she walked off in a stagger.

        "WOW, SECOND ROUND SUCCESS!" Sally clapped from the side.  "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT FOLKS, STREET-SMART GEN GANBE SHOWING HIS SKILLS TO PAY THEM BILLS!  BUT CAN HE KEEP IT UP FOR THIS FINAL ENTRANCE EXAM?!"

        "BRING IT ON!" Gen shouted thumping his chest.  "ANYONE ELSE WANNA TAKE ME ON, PLACE YOUR BETS!  I'LL FATTEN YOUR WALLETS, CUZ YOU DON'T FUCK WITH ME!"

        "OHOHHH HE'S A FEISTY ONE FOLKS!  SHOULD WE BRING OUT THE BIG BOY?!"

        "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!" the audience roared.

        "WHAT SAY YOU GANBE?!" the blue serpent turned to him.  "WE COULD PIT YOU AGAINST ANOTHER REGULAR, BUT IF YOU THINK YOU'RE HOT SHIT TO TAKE ON ONE OF OUR ELITES-"

        "FUCK YEAH I AM!" Gen screamed with a giddy rush to his head.  "COME ON, I'M NOT EVEN SWEATING, GIMME A REAL FUCKING CHALLENGE!"

        "YOU HEARD IT FOLKS!  SHOULD WE GIVE HIM A REEEEAL CHALLENGE?!"

The audience cried with a resounding YES, pumping their fists and pounding their feet with bloodlust that sang throughout the room.  Gen encouraged them more with a rolling of his arms and a swishing of his blades, whirling a figure-eight pattern with his sickles to try and psyche himself up.  The spotlight suddenly went out, the crowd fell silent with hushed murmurs as a fog machine turned on, sprinkling mist across the arena.

        "CRRRRREATURES AND PATROOOONS!" Sally's voice called from beyond.  "OUR NEWEST FRIEND GANBE DECIDED HE WANTS SOMEBODY BIGGER, THAT OUR FRESH STARTERS WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM!  WELL HE'S ABOUT TO FIND OUT, THAT SIZE, DOES, MATTER!"

An explosion of fireworks popped off from Team Kong's side of the ring, bursting red, white and blue across the ceiling as a shrieking cacophony filled the arena from the audience gasping in joy and throwing their hands up high as Sally's voice rose higher.

        "YOU KNOW HIM, YOU LOVE HIM, HE'S THE KING OF MONSTERS, THE TERROR OF MONSTERHATTAN, THE BOY WONDER OF TEAM KONG!  THEY CALL HIM JUNIOR, BUT DOWN HERE, HE, IS, GOOOOODZILLAAAAAAAAAA!"

With a blasting shock as the fireworks briefly painted the American flag, enter Niko Zillatopoulos Jr. wearing only a pair of blue shorts and armed with his baseball bat, showing his tail carved in its side as he whooped up the crowd and pumped his fists harder, giving high-fours to everyone with greetings in English.

        "//EY YO EY YO EY YOOOOOOOO, IT'S YA BOY JUNIOR WASSUP WASSUP WASSUUUUUUP!//"

        "What...fucking seriously?!" Ganbe snorted waving him off.

        "//Y'ALL READY FOR THIS, EYYY WHUT'S UP, HOWSIT GOING NICE PLAY BACK LAST SEASON YOU WON THUH POT RIGHT?!  YEAH AH KNOW YOU DID, CUZ YOU BET ON ME, THAT'S WHY, ALWAYS BET ON JUNIOR!//"

Shaking hands and bumping fists, Zillatopoulos bantered briefly with everyone he passed before he finally made it up to the ring much to Gen's derisive amusement.  He sauntered with a smile across his craggy lips and greeted in Japanese.

        "EYHEY, GANBE!" he grabbed Gen's hand and shook him fierce.  "Congrats, two rounds, you done GOOD!"

        "Uh, th-thanks?!" the kaiju grinned unexpected.  "Hope you don't mind I kick your ass and humiliate you."

        "Hah, nah you ain't, good luck!"

The walls came down once again locking both contestants in.  Drinking up the rest of his water, Gen braced himself with a limbering up and a small swish of his sickles as he saw Junior twirl his bat, his long iguana tail slinking out behind as he gave a wily grin to his opponent.

        "WELL FOLKS, THIS IS IT!" cried Sally Glastner.  "OUR FIRST TRIAL FOR THE YOUNG NEW MEMBER OF TEAM SAURUS, TAKING ON ONE OF KONG'S STRONGEST AND FINEST OF WARRIORS IN THE ELITE CIRCLE!  IF GANBE CAN TAKE HIM DOWN, HE CAN COME RIGHT ON INTO THE ELITES!  IF NOT, WELL, HE TRIED, AND HE'S STILL A HERO IN OUR HEARTS AS THE NEW JUNIOR ENTRANT!"

        "Fuck that," Gen rolled his eye, "I'm gonna take this ballboy down a notch."

        "BATTLE, THREE, ACTION!"

        "//DON'T HOLD BACK MUTHAFUCKERRRR!//"

Running towards Gen with his bat dragging behind, Zilla took a mighty swing for the bird's face as Ganbe swerved around him, the monster switching his grip to bash the kaiju with the hilt of the bat.  Surprising Gen with a sharp rap on the skull, Zillatopoulos punched him with his free hand before Ganbe dodged under the second swing of the bat and struck the back of the monster's head with the blunt edge of his scythe.

When he tried to kick Junior in the knee, the monster's tail blocked the kaiju's foot, coiling up like a spring to shove Ganbe back as Junior turned with a savage swing of his bat, barely missing Gen's beak who fell on his back and quickly rolled out of the path of the crushing hammerblow that made the floor shake underneath.  Gen hooked the back of Junior's leg with his scythe-chain, but the monster backflipped in response and did a handstand easily, spinning on his palm to strike Ganbe with his tail, before vaulting forwards with his bat held high above.

In a frantic clash Gen struck both his blades against Junior's weapon, scraping against the hard steel and trying to twist the bat from his grasp as Zilla shoved it on Ganbe's neck.  Bashing his beak and kicking his stomach, Junior spun with a wild slap of his tail that Ganbe barely dodged, using the momentum of his own staggering spin to swipe out the back of his sickle to wrap round Zilla's bat just above the fingers.

Wrenching back with a vicious pull to try and disarm his opponent, the bird saw Junior stagger forth, but instead the monster stabbed him with the blunt point of the bat straight into his chest.  A hard crunch knocked the wind from his sails as Zilla wound up for the pitch.

        "BATTERRRRR UP!"

Ganbe couldn't recover in time when Zilla swung for his belly, the kaiju flying off his feet and falling hard on his back.  The monster came down for his head as Gen rolled to the side, kicking out Zilla's leg to try and trip him, but the American quickly spun on his other foot to avoid the sweep and with a mighty backflip, swung his tail in an uppercut that slapped Ganbe getting up.

Thrown against the wall, the kaiju watched Zillatopoulos enter a breakdancing pose as his lively body spun with his back on the floor and his feet in the air, launching himself forwards with a bludgeoning strike from above as Ganbe dodged the baseball bat that crunched against the cage.  The crowd was screaming with such frenzy that Gen almost worried someone was going to pass out from excitement, the blood in his arms pumping faster as he backhanded Zilla in the back of his head.

Junior staggered and grabbed the mesh, but Gen launched at him with his sickle blades hooking into his shoulders and, threw himself backwards to wrench Zillatopoulos from the wall.  Falling onto his back, the bird planted his feet into the monster's stomach and launch him across the arena, the crowd going wild as he came running with his whirling scythes shooting out like a flail for Zilla's throat.  The monster gripped his bat and whacked one sickle high in the air, before suddenly hurling his bat towards Gen like a missile and crunching his jaw with a shocking rebound.

        "//GEEEEEET DUNKED MUTHERFUCKERRRR!//"

The bat went flying above Ganbe's head, spinning back towards Zillatopoulos who snatched it from the air and kicked Ganbe's skull to send him rolling to the side.  With sudden fury from his burning headache, the kaiju came rushing with his kusarigama shining in the light, lunging for Junior's face who countered with the bat that he switched up in his hand.  Gen tried to strike him again, but that too was countered as he turned his scythes into nunchaku, twirling the chain between his arms to try and slash at Zilla's face.

Much to his surprise, Junior also twirled his bat like a nunchaku, spinning it between his arms back and forth to crack and counter and scrape against Ganbe's sickles as the two briefly sped up.  Sparks flying between their faces only further incensed the crowd with a booming roar of pumping fists, the bat and sickles turning to a blur of silver before Gen finally took his shot and slammed an elbow hard into Zilla's face.

The monster staggered with a brief shock before the chain wrapped round his neck, and he was yanked forwards to meet Ganbe's fist with a furious scream from the kaiju.  Blood burst from the American's snout, groaning with both their faces battered and bruised with purpling welts as Gen ripped the bat from his opponent's grip..

        "NOW WHAT, HUH?!" Gen screeched tossing it aside.  "FUCK YOU GONNA DO NOW, BALLBOY?!"

        "YOU WANT REAL FIGHT?!" Zilla snorted back his blood.  "ALRIGHT BITCH, NO WEAPONS!  YOU AN' ME, MADISON SQUARE, COME ON!"

Putting himself in a boxing stance, he taunted Gen with beckoning fingers as the kaiju cackled with adrenaline surging through him.  Much to the audience's surprise, he sheathed his sickles and put up his fists, a cocky smile growing on his beak as their screams rose even higher, with half the patrons on their feet to stomp and cheer for the real match to begin.

        "WOAH-HO, FOLKS!" Sally Glastner cried from the side of the arena.  "LOOKS LIKE OUR FAVOURITE BOY'S DECIDED TO SHOW HIS SENSEI WHAT HE'S LEARNED IN THE RING!  WILL THE FRESH-EYED GANBE BE ABLE TO KEEP UP, THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!"

Ganbe charged with a downwards fist as the monster dodged with a hard lean and punched Gen's side, following with a sudden jab to the beak that made Gen clench and stand his ground for a one-two punch and an uppercut, crunching into Zilla's jaw before slamming his elbow into the monster's eye.  Zillatopoulos swerved in a fake-out to make Gen think he was reeling, but was instead charging up a mighty swing that tore into Ganbe's stomach like a roaring train and threw him back by several feet.

Crushing against the wall of the cage, the one-eyed kaiju sneered with a primal fury as he came rushing, dodging at the last minute when Junior threw a punch to suddenly find Gen had ducked straight past him with two hard punches to the side and another elbow to the monster's face.  Zilla countered when Gen tried to land a haymaker, the New Yorker swinging the back of his fist hard in an upwards strike cracking Ganbe's beak, before a savage harder second backfist crunched his knuckles straight through Gen's forehead and sent bells ringing through his temple.

Zillatopoulos changed his posture strangely, hunching his shoulders and loosening his arms as Gen tried to shake himself free of the dizzying stagger when he tried to come in close with a few fake punches before a brutal uppercut.  But Junior was fast to his tricks and let him jab a few times before he jumped back out of range, the monster shuffling his feet as Gen followed him round the arena.

His head floated in front of Gen mockingly who struggled to land a hit on the lithely American, managing once or twice with Zilla tightening his jaw and hardening his neck before he immediately countered with four jabs anytime Gen landed one.  A flurry of fists pelted the kaiju that while did not hurt as much, still frustrated Ganbe enough to make him lose his focus and scream with blinding fury as his own punches became more frantic and easy to block.  When the kaiju took a swing for Zilla's head, the monster ducked underneath and bopped his eye twice, but it was just the trick Gen needed to bring Zilla close to grab him in a headlock and pummel his face.

Driving his fist again and again into Junior's snout until his arm went numb, he slammed the monster into the floor who wiped his large tail to the back of Gen's knees, knocking him down in turn as Zilla rolled on top to beat his face in a bare-knuckle smackdown, their fists growing red from each other's blood that spattered across the ring.  Gen stopped the fourth fist that came down on his beak, palming it fast before cracking a hard swing for Zilla's head and forcing him off as they stood up again.  With a desperate cry, Ganbe threw the most brutal haymaker he could, but then he felt his stomach crumple with a fist.

Junior had ducked and punched him in a counter-strike, crushing his belly as a soft cry of pain trickled from Gen's bloodied beak.  He stumbled back, his eye fluttering as Zillatopoulos braced his legs with a cruel grin, leapt high in the air and raised both his arms like a gorilla before crushing down both fists into Ganbe's skull.  His mind blanked with intense agony, his neck compressed as he fell backwards and crumpled onto the floor.  The crowd exploded with a scream of ovation as one single voice, hammering claws making the ring tremble around Gen's body.

        "THE WINNER, IS, GOOOOODZILLAAAAAAA!"

For a moment Gen felt his heart sink.  Too tired to be angry, too exhausted to cry as the audience cheered for their champion.  The light of the underground ring burned in his eye like the sun in the desert, his fists trembling with a bitter impotent rage for having flown so close, and yet fallen so far.

        "Hey!"

A shadow came over him with a smile.

        "Good fight bro!  You awesome!"

        "Wh-...what?"

        "Listen!"

His eye started to focus as he saw the battered swollen face of Junior looming over him, a hand to his earhole as Gen strained his own hearing to try and discern the crowd's chanting.  They were calling his name.  Pumping their fists and stomping their feet with every syllable of Gen Ganbe.  Zillatopoulos gave him his hand.

        "Congrats bro!  You're in!"

        "B-but...but you beat me," Gen gasped.

        "Yeah, they love ya!" Junior pumped his fist.  "S'not about win or lose, s'all about fight, fun, and you fight good, Ganbe!"

        "...heh."

He grabbed Zilla's hand as the monster pulled him up, bloodied and beaten but the audience chanting his name filled him with a sense of belonging he had never felt in his life.  He waved to the crowd as Junior did too, hugging him round the shoulder as they stood side by side before the cage lifted up its walls, and Sally the winged serpent came back into the arena with her microphone booming.

        "WELL FOLKS, YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!  GEN GANBE PROVED HIMSELF TODAY WITH TWO OUT OF THREE, PUTTING HIM UP IN THE ROOKIE LEAGUES!  ANY WORDS FROM OUR ELITE FIGHTER, JUNIOR-SAN?!"

        "YEAH!" the monster grabbed the mic.  "YOU LIKE THAT FIGHT?!"

        "YEAAAAAH!" the audience screamed.

        "GANBE FIGHT GOOD, YEAH?!  YOU WANT SEE HIM AGAIN?!"

        "YEAAAAAAH!  GANBE, GANBE, GANBE!"

For the first time in years, Ganbe felt tears of joy running down his cheeks, battered and bruised to a thick purple sheen but still happier than he had ever been.  In the darkness of the wings behind the audience seats, Konnor crossed his arms with a smile at his protegé Zillatopoulos, whilst on the other side of the room stood Saureno slitting his eyes at Gen.  He nodded to himself, and walked back to his office.