Another night, another match, another bad memory. Night after night. Kim Eli lived a harder life than most. Being a human-feline hybrid had given him a rough start and now he found himself owned by a Hybrid fighter, forced to fight other feline and canine hybrids in the slums of Seoul just to survive. He was up for two rounds tonight, starting now. He was harshly shoved into a circular space marked out with spraypaint. Jeering faces yelled at him from all directions. His ears twitched at the sound, tail flicking around agitatedly as he waited for his opponent to be selected. Finally a tall feline hybrid stepped into the circle and took a fighting stance. The tall feline grinned, nodding to one of the men behind him. Eli knew his type, the ones who actually enjoyed this kind of thing. Some people loved any opportunity to flaunt their strength, hybrids and humans alike. Eli hated them. Off to the side a whistle blew, signaling the start of the match. Immediately the taller feline lunged across the ring. Eli ducked and rolled, easily slipping under the other's arms. He popped back up on the other side of the circle and ran, slamming shoulder first into his opponent's back, nearly forcing him over the line. He barely dodged a blind swing from the other before the tall feline was coming at him full speed, fists flying everywhere. A surprise kick to the stomach knocked Eli off his feet and sent him flying across the clearing, landing just outside the line of the ring. Strong hands grabbed him from either side, holding him down. They all knew the rules. Five lashes for going out of the ring. Eli grunted in pain with each heavy strike of the belt, ripping through his thin shirt. Three! Four! Five! The crowd counted each hit, then Eli was shoved back into the ring. The other feline grinned darkly.
"Aw, whasa matter?" He taunted. "Pampered little pet can't take a little pain?" Big mistake.
Now Eli was pissed. He could take the fights, he could live with pain, but he was nobody's pet. With an angry growl he lunged. His first few punches missed by mere centimeters. The other feline was bigger, but Eli was faster and had years of martial arts training. He dropped and kicked out, knocking the other off his feet, then grabbed his opponent by the shoulders and rolled back. Using the move's momentum and a powerful kick he launched the taller feline into the air and out of the ring. Two sharp blows of the whistle indicated the tall hybrid was unable to fight anymore, and when he stood up Eli could clearly see that his arm was broken. All around them the crowd started chanting finish him finish him finish him. Eli could tell from the scowl on the other's face that injured or not, this fight was only going to end when one of them was unconscious. The taller fighter shouldered his way back into the circle, growling loudly. Eli needed to finish this quickly before things got too out of hand. Dodging a few sloppy haymakers from the other's good arm he delivered a swift but restrained kick to the side of his opponent's head, knocking him out cold. The crowd cheered as the match ended and Eli was taken back to the other three fighters his 'owner' had brought that night, handcuffed and blindfolded like the rest of them. Several matches went by before Eli was pulled out to fight again. A canine this time, Eli could smell it. He couldn't quite place it but his opponent's scent was familiar, possibly someone he'd fought before. As he stepped into the ring and saw his new opponent fully his heart dropped. Not him. Anybody but him.
"Hyung?"
The canine across from him was someone he knew well. A boy named Dongho. They'd gotten close back when Eli was studying in China but lost track of each other when Dongho came back to Korea. Eli had hoped Dongho would never see this dark side of hybrid life but it seemed neither of them were that lucky. The crowd was getting impatient with the reluctant fighters, and began counting down from ten. If they got to zero without any action both Eli and Dongho would be punished severely. Thinking quickly Eli grabbed the other and rolled them both, stopping the countdown. The two tumbled around the ring, each trying to pin the other without actually doing any harm.
"Dongho, I'm going to get you out of here." Eli whispered, pretending to snap at the younger's throat. "I'm going to throw you out of the ring. When I say so, you run. Don't worry about me, just get out of here, got it?" Dongho nodded frantically.
"Come on you lousy hybrids! I paid to see some fighting!" Someone yelled from the crowd. This was their chance. As carefully as he could Eli threw Dongho out of the ring where the crowd was thinnest, immediately launching himself on top of the canine. The crowd went wild, thinking the two had snapped and were going to really hurt each other. Taking advantage of the chaos Eli yanked Dongho to his feet.
"NOW!" He yelled, pushing Dongho in the direction of the main street. The two took off and the crowd surged after them, the guards leading the chase. If they didn't get away now they'd be dead soon. Escape attempts were a one way ticket to the grave in this world. One of the faster thugs launched himself at Dongho, tripping the boy. Eli pulled the man off and threw him into the next guy, buying them a few seconds. One of the faster guards caught up to Eli and slammed the feline into the wall. They exchanged a few hard blows and Eli took a particularly brutal kick to the ribs, but managed to get away. He saw Dongho dart out of the alley and turn up the road, ducking into a nearby shop to hide. By a of luck Eli heard sirens behind him and the fight crowd immediately dispersed in a panic. Now he just had to get rid of the last two thugs. Just as Eli was about to clear the alleyway someone stepped in front of him. There was no time to stop or his pursuers would catch him so Eli grabbed the stranger as they collided and kept running, heading for the train station. Those thugs wouldn't dare follow him where there were so many security cameras. It was only when he was safely on a train that he let himself relax and actually look at the unconscious person he'd technically accidentally kidnapped.