Gods of Arena
The Traitor

It was another boring day. He had laid on the bed, all through the morning. He sprung up, grabbed a jacket and stood in front of the mirror. He could see a strand of hair beneath his jaw. Generally, he was changing. His face was literally growing. He pulled the door open and walked out. It was time for lunch. He was hungry.

"Hey, Kang", Romeo greeted him, immediately he stepped out of the room. They walked to lunch together.

"Romeo. What's up?", Kang replied. "Where is Dan? Is he back yet?"

"He is back. He is not supposed to be", Romeo said, keeping his voice as low as possible. "He said he was going to be executed so he escaped somehow... but the good news is no one knows about his escape"

"So he will have to hide forever?", Kang asked and they stopped walking. "I think there are cameras in our rooms. It won't work"

"He claims the only way he'll stay alive is if he stays in the room throughout the day. There are probably no cameras in our rooms. If there are, that's when we have a problem. I'll just get him his food and he can use the bathroom in the middle of the night"

"Good idea", Kang said and they walked to their seats. Kang still had no roommate yet. They were yet to replace Crane. Everyone else, except Romeo, had to sit with his roommate at the table.

His eyes darted at a strange fighter, a few times. There was no hard feelings, literally, though he had a glaring frown on his face. Jae used to sit right there. The fighter stared back and dropped his fork, wondering what the glare was for. "Oh sorry", Kang muttered and smiled.

A soldier walked through the passage, followed by Ana and another soldier. She was here to pick another fighter to be misused. The fighters stood up. Kang stared down at his plate. The last person he wanted to see at the moment was her or any Larger Figure.

Ana kept her head straight. She was probably avoiding his face too. She walked straight to a fighter. "You. Come with me"

The fighter looked around quickly. He was new but he could tell from the faces around him that no one would want to go with her. "Please", he muttered, fearfully, drifting back like he would run. "I'm new. Don't kill me" The soldiers raised their guns at him. "Move!"

"Leave the boy", Kang said, raising his hands. "He's still new. Let him go"

"And what makes you think we are supposed to listen to you?", Ana retorted, stepping closer to him with a fixed frown on her face. "Who do you think you are? You want to replace him?"

"I'm not asking you to listen to me. I'm asking you to let me go for him", Kang replied. "I will go with you and please your gamblers. Let the boy stay"

She stared at him for a few seconds, keeping her frown on. "Alright. If that is what you want, come with us"

He followed her closely and the soldiers walked behind him holding their guns firmly. They cuffed his hands when they got to the passage and he was able to walk through. He glanced at the cuffs on his hands. It reminded him of the golden bracelet he had taken from Jin's bag. He would probably use it, someday when he had a good plan to escape. He could clearly remember the narrow paths he had ran through when he escaped from the furnace. He doubted if any of the Larger Figures even remember he was a condemned product.

Ana stopped suddenly and they stopped behind her. "I will take it from here. You can go now", Ana said, without looking back. The soldiers nodded and turned, walking away. "Come on, Kang".

She kept walking and he followed her without saying a word. It was pretty awkward. He sensed she had a plan to probably let him get out of the situation. He put the thought aside. She was an enemy anyway. She probably didn't care what happened to him so she wouldn't do that. She took a short turning and they stopped. She looked back at him and exhaled. "Listen, Kang! I don't know what you're doing but you have to stop right now." "I should be asking what you're doing 'cause I could have killed you from the back", he replied.

"There's a dampener on your wrist. You can't use your Shin Zhu", she said and smiled for a second. "Congratulations on discovering your Shin Zhu"

He faked a smile and frowned again. That definitely wasn't his Shin Zhu. Even he didn't understand his ability yet, after trying to use the cement Shin Zhu in his room alone. "Are we going to keep going?" "Do you know what's going to happen if you go in there? It's hell"

"You let a lot of us go in there, don't you? Something tells me you are trying to get me to like you because you need me to do something for you... and when it's done, you will dump me"

Ana's eyes twitched. She was the Larger Figure but she could guess how weak she seemed to a mere creation of the lab. "Alright, Kang. You can have it your way", she replied. "But don't get this wrong. It's not my wish to bring fighters here... and I'm only being this way to you because of how I feel about you"

Kang's eyes twitched too. He stared down at her boots. He couldn't let her get inside his head. Dea probably did the same thing to Jin... but there had to be a reason. "I want to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me" She nodded. "Go ahead"

"Where is Jin?", he asked, looking straight into her eyes. Her long pause could mean anything. He was already sure about Jin's death. He just needed to hear the complete truth from her. "Is he dead?"

"No... Jin is alive. He is safe and free", she smiled. "King really let him go"

Kang laughed. "Alright. I'm done here", he turned and tugged at the cuffs, breaking it immediately. "You think I'm a fool"

"Wait!", she called. "You can't just go. How did you break the cuffs? It weakens you and your Shin Zhu"

"Well, I don't have a Shin Zhu so you can stop wondering"

"You used the cement Shin Zhu, out there. Everyone saw you and everyone talked about it"

"It wasn't mine", he said and stepped closer to her. "You knew I didn't have a Shin Zhu. It's no big deal. I know Jin is dead so you have to tell me the truth".

"I'm sorry, Kang", she muttered. "I didn't want you to get hurt. Jin is dead"

"Who killed him?"

"Dea killed him... and King had her executed for it"

"Why did she do it?", Jin asked. "She couldn't have done it just for the sake of doing it"

"I have no idea"

"Alright. You didn't want me here so I'll just go back to the hall", Kang said and turned, walking away. "Thank you"

"You can't just leave. The gamblers are waiting. They will be pissed if I don't go in with someone"

"So what am I supposed to do about that?"

"I don't have an idea... I was thinking you might"

Kang sighed and turned, heading for the Gamblers' room.

****

"Kang? You're back", Dan said, as Kang stepped in.

"Yes. Where is Romeo?", Kang asked and closed the door behind him.

"You can check him in the bathroom. He stepped out, a minute ago❞

"I actually came to see you", he walked to Romeo's bed and sat down. "You can't leave the room?"

"Well, I got lucky. Let's talk about you. What happened with the gamblers? You look okay"

"I got lucky too.... The gamblers definitely won't want to hurt their favorite fighter before staking their money on him", Kang replied. "Come on. I came for a more serious question. How did you know about Jin's death"

"I just happened to know. I can't tell you more than that"

Kang paused for a second. "Can you at least tell me why he was killed?"

"A larger figure. She claimed he betrayed her to King", Dan replied and stopped talking, staring wildly like he had said something wrong. "I can't tell you more".

He was probably about to spill one of his secrets. Kang nodded and stood up. The conversation didn't seem helpful but it could help him understand other links to the murder. "Thank you, Dan"

........

The lights went off. He was still staring at the ceilings, unable to fall asleep. He had probably heard enough hints to figure out why Dea killed Jin.... If Ana really liked him- as he was desperately refusing to believe- so much, Dea could have liked Jin equally... and Jin probably got the pills and the gold strap from Sea. It wasn't making much sense to him, trying to put the pieces together.

Dan said something about betrayal. 'Jin betrayed Dea to King'. That was probably the weirdest thing he'd ever heard. There was no way Jin could get to Dea.... Even if he was getting out, Kang would have figured it out. Jin was pretty open to Kang while he was alive. Unless Jin did something wrong.... Something Dea had warned him not to do.

Jin once asked him to talk to Ana about Dea. Jin warned him not to mention her being a Grimm. He could remember clearly. That was the first time he asked Ana to see him at the back passage.... He had spilled it to her. Dea was a Grimm and he told Ana about it. He didn't know what the secret meant or why it needed to be kept. He didn't bother about it, even when Jin specifically asked if he didn't spill. He just hoped Ana wouldn't tell about it.... Well, Ana betrayed them. She must have told the secret to King. Kong must have confronted Dea about it, making her know her secret had been exposed. She must have thought she only told Jin and the secret must have gotten out through him. She must have feared the danger that King could bring to her so she decided to execute Jin first.... Then King killed her for being a Grimm and for executing one of the best fighters in the Arena.

The door opened suddenly and someone rushed in, slamming it close, swiftly. Kang sprung up quickly, reaching for his torch. "Shh!", the person said, with a hand across the lips. His face was covered by the darkness so Jin couldn't make out who it was.

He flicked on the torch and pointed at the intruder. "Crane?"