Lights on the ceiling of a large basement shook as a large crowd cheered, screamed, shouted, yelled, and cursed. The crowd had formed into a big circle, almost all of them were men with little money in hand, as they cheered for whomever they had bet on to win.

In the middle of the circle stood two people that were going against each other for the crowd's entertainment. It was a fight between a man and a woman, the man being big and burly with a round stomach and a beard being the only hair on his head. He could pass for an impressive sumo wrestler but circumstances in his life must've led him to where he was now, and those circumstances must've been bad.

The same could be said about the woman, she too was here because of life-changing circumstances, and to her, this was the only way she could change those circumstances.

With her short green hair, muscular yet lean frame along with her short stature, her right eye was black but her other eye was missing and all that was left was a scar over it, the woman was certainly eye-catching and many had bet on her just for her looks, but others knew of her skills. She wore a white shirt with three undone buttons, black plain cargo pants with some wear and tear, old black sneakers with black socks, three small golden earrings were pierced onto her left ear and the most particular article of clothing was the black bandana tied around her head.

The burly man swung his fist at her, but she blocked the punch and grabbed his hand, and kicked his left side. The man let out a yell and held onto his side, unknowingly lowering himself in the process, which allowed her to start punching him in the face.

Not one or two but four punches to the face left the man bloodied with a bleeding nose and swelling eye. The crowd cheered as the big man let out an angry shout and punched the woman, knocking her back a few steps. He regained his footing and ran at her with a yell.

The woman widened her eyes as the man tackled her back and some of the crowd dispersed, causing her to hit a wall. The big man turned to the ground and let out a mighty yell, causing the crowd to cheer.

The woman spits out some blood as she leaned by the wall, wiping away the blood dripping down the side of her head. The big man turned around and ran towards her in an effort to tackle her once more, but she was quick with her movements, jumping onto the wall and using it as a base to jump towards the man and land a superman punch, right at his face.

The man stumbled back as the woman continued her relentless assault of lefts and rights, mainly on the big man's face and stomach. The crowd watched the assault in awe and those that bet on her cheered for her victory.

The big man stumbled back and forth once she stopped punching him. His vision blurred and his right eye was completely swollen, along with his lips and left cheek. The blood flowed from the side of his head, his nose, and mouth, making the damage he sustained look much worse if the missing teeth weren't enough to deduce from that.

He stumbled towards her, and the crowd watched on in anticipation as the woman prepared her signature move. She lowered herself and positioned her body as if she was drawing a sword from her right side. She clenched her right fist and the veins in her arms protruded in preparation.

"Oni..." The woman let out as the man got closer to her.

"GIRI!!!" The crowd shouted as the woman smirked and hit the big man with a devastating uppercut that not only knocked out the big man but sent him flying back into some crates.

Most of the crowd cheered but some complained and whined at their loss. Emerging from the crowd was a tall young man with a dapper grey blazer, white shirt, black jeans, and black shoes. He had wavy dark brown hair and black eyes.

"Match 67 comes to an end! Now with over 99 wins! Give it up for the one, the only..." the young man announced as he grabbed her hand and raised it "Zoro the Fighter!"

The crowd cheered and traded money with each other as two men carried her downed opponent away to another room. The young man grinned and draped his arm over her shoulder, whereas as she kept a stern glare.

He led her away from the crowd and up the stairs of the basement, into a second level with five men sitting around a desk.

"Did she win?" one of the men asked.

The young man smirked "Was there ever any doubt? Of course, she won!"

The men in the room laughed as Zoro took off her bandana and wrapped it around her left arm. She walked towards one of the men and held her hand out.

"Hand it over." Zoro stated.

There was an awkward silence as the men looked at each other then back at her. The young man chuckled nervously and stood in front of her.

"She's just tired. Sorry. Err...uh...we'll take our winnings now." The young man said and the man in front of him gave him a glare.

He scoffed and counted a stack of money, handing it to the young man. The young man grabbed the money, but the man swiftly took it back and smirked.

"Fighter's fee." The man stated and the young man rolled his eyes as the other men laughed.

Zoro glared at them as the man subtracted a large amount of the money and handed the young man what would be the equivalent of spare change. The young man took the money and pocketed it, looking at her and nodding towards the stairs.

Zoro followed him up the stairs but held a lasting glare towards them as they left the room. Where they were now was a small convenience store, this was the place acting as a front for the fights that went on underground. The rooms below were insulated to not let any noise from the fights or the crowd travel above.

"She win?" The owner of the shop asked.

"Yeah." The young man responded as they two left the store.

Zoro stopped the young man by grabbing onto his arm. He looked at her and sighed, knowing what she wanted. He took out the money he got and split it, giving the half to her. She counted the money and saw that it was 250,000 won, smirking and pocketing the money.

"You know that's not nearly enough, right?" the young man asked.

Of course, it wasn't enough, it barely scraped the amount she owed but it added to her savings and that's all that mattered.

"You shouldn't worry about my debts, Cho." Zoro said to him "You've got loan sharks aiming for your neck every week."

"Better than the Yakuza." Cho retorted.

Zoro rolled her eyes "I can handle myself."

Cho shook his head and let out a chuckle "I was actually worried about you today. You're strong, but you've always had some problems against bigger guys."

"I won, didn't I?" Zoro asked, starting to walk away "Even if I'm beaten half to death, I'll always win."

Cho shook his head "I'll call you when the next fight comes up."

"Yeah, you do that." Zoro replied without turning around and continuing on her way.

Zoro the Fighter. That's what people who were into some shady shit knew her as. The Japanese immigrant that made a name for herself as an undefeated fighting machine. Those that challenged or went after her secured themselves a ticket to the hospital but who wouldn't? The bounty on her head was too good to pass up.

141 million won was the amount in South Korea. 136 million Yen was the original amount in Japan. Now imagine gangsters from both countries coming after her to get that money, that was what she had to deal with every day. It didn't matter how they got her, dead or alive, the money would be given to those that brought her body back to the contractors.

All wasn't lost though, she was allowed to pay for her wanted poster to be revoked but that meant she had to pay double the amount of the poster, money that she was struggling to get, money that she didn't have.

~

Zoro put the 250,000 won into a bag full of money and zipped it up. She shoved the bag back under her bed and sighed, cracking her neck and looking around her one-room apartment. It was a tiny space with one single bed, a mini-fridge with a sink above it, and a toilet right next to the bed. It may have been small, but Zoro didn't care. It was a place to sleep and relax, that was what mattered.

"Not long now..." Zoro muttered, knowing that she was getting closer to the amount she owed even if she was going at a small pace.

About 30 million won was saved up into that bag, three years of hard work really went a long way. It may have not been near her goal, but it was getting there and once it does, she would finally be free.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts and she let out an annoyed groan, standing up and walking towards the door. She opened it to see four men with bats, knives, and crowbars in hand.

"Yo, Zoro." One of the men greeted.

Zoro widened her eyes but then glared at them, kicking the front man away and exiting the room. She slammed the door shut and punched one of the men that lunged at her, she kicked another in the face and caught the bat of another.

She kicked the man back and took his bat, hitting the one with the knife on the head and throwing the bat at the one with the crowbar. She ran away from the men as they recovered.

"Get her!" One of the men shouted and all of them ran after her.

Zoro ran down the stairs of the apartment and eventually reached the bottom, running out of the building and down one street. The men ran out of the building not too long after and looked around, spotting her running figure and chasing after her.

She turned down an alleyway and the men followed, not prepared by the surprise punch she landed on one of the men. The man fell to the ground unconsciously and she kicked another in the gut then took him out with an uppercut. The last two looked at her warily as she picked up one of their fallen comrade's baseball bats.

"H-Hey, I didn't sign up for all of this!" One of the men exclaimed.

"That bastard, Cho! He said she'd be too tired to fight!" The other shouted.

'Cho?' Zoro asked herself in surprise, hoping they weren't talking about that Cho.

She used the bat to knock one of them out and then thrust it forward onto the last man's crotch, he let out a scream and held onto his groin in pain as Zoro hit him with an uppercut, using the baseball bat.

The man fell out of the alleyway and onto the street, surprising some passersby. Zoro walked out of the alley and looked down at the man, crouching down and searching his pockets.

She took out his wallet and took whatever won he had, tossing the wallet to the side. She then took out his phone and looked through it, finding the contacts and calling the recent number. The phone rang for a few moments but then it was picked up by a familiar voice.

"Hey, you get it done? Is she dead?" Cho asked from the phone and Zoro clenched her jaw in anger.

"Hey!" A person shouted and Zoro looked up to see two police officers approaching her.

"Shit." Zoro cursed, throwing the bat at them and running away.

The bat didn't hit anyone which allowed the police to pursue her. She wasn't dumb, beating up thugs was one thing but fighting officers would only add to the number of people after her. The best option was to run and lose them.

She was losing them through the crowded streets, but she needed a bit more distance to completely lose them, so she continued to run. Suddenly, she bumped into someone leaving a building and they both fell to the ground.

She sat up and looked to see she had bumped into a girl. The two looked each other in the eye but then Zoro looked away and at the spilled drink that must've belonged to the girl. She clicked her tongue and reached into her pockets, shoving the won into the girl's hands.

"Sorry." Zoro apologized, standing up and continuing to run.

The girl watched as Zoro ran away, along with the officers that chased after her. She looked down at the money now in her hands with a perplexed look.

~

Later that night, Zoro walked along the path of a park with a beer bottle in hand. She was a little buzzed but not drunk, it'd take a lot more for her to get drunk.

She spotted a nearby park bench and walked over to it, sitting down and taking a swig of her beer. She took out her phone and called Cho once more and as expected, the call went to voice mail.

"Cho, answer the damn phone! You know I'll find you, don't make this worse than it already is." Zoro stated, ending the voice call and shoving her phone back in her pocket.

She heard footsteps approaching and turned her head to see a suited man walking towards the bench and sitting down. Zoro ignored the man and continued to drink, even when he turned to look at her.

He was a handsome man with short and stylized black hair, black eyes, and the fadings of a shaved-off mustache. He wore a grey suit and black shoes with a brown case to his side.

"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" The man asked her.

"Taxis don't usually come around here, the bus stop is a few blocks away and the nearby subway train only goes to Busan." Zoro replied nonchalantly, thinking the man was lost.

The man smiled "No, I'm not asking for that. But instead, would you like to play a game with me?"

Zoro turned towards him with a glare and grabbed his collar "What kind of game?"

The man quickly raised his hands in surrender "Just a simple game of Ddakji, that's all."

Zoro let go of his collar with a raised eyebrow "Ddakji?"

The man picked up his case and opened it, revealing two paper tiles and stacks of won. He then picked up the Ddakji and showed them to her "It's a simple game. You manage to flip over my Ddakji, and I'll pay you 100,000 won. If I flip over your Ddakji then you have to pay me 100,000 won."

"That's it?" Zoro asked.

The man nodded "That's it."

"What's the catch?" Zoro asked with narrowed eyes.

"No catch." The man replied.

Zoro smirked and downed the rest of her beer, standing up along with the man. She took the blue ddakji as the man placed his red one on the ground. She threw her ddakji onto the ground, completely missing.

"Shit..." Zoro sighed, backing up as the man picked up his ddakji.

He threw it directly onto Zoro's and it flipped over, earning another curse from her. The man stood straight and looked at her and she just glared at him.

"Problem?" The man asked.

"I'm broke." Zoro stated, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Ah, well, maybe you can pay with your body instead." The man said and Zoro gave him a confused look.

He sent a slap her way, but she caught his hand with another glare as she asked "The hell?"

"Instead of a 100,000 won, how about I slap you for every time you don't flip my ddakji over?" The man asked.

"What the hell kind of game are you playing at?" Zoro asked.

The man smiled and simply responded "Ddakji."

Zoro rolled her eyes and let go of his hand, earning a slap to the face. She picked up and went again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

He slapped her once again, and despite her cheek being red, Zoro went again. She calmed herself down and focused her strength into her right hand, throwing the ddakji down and flipping the red one over.

She smirked victoriously and looked at the man, holding her hand out "Pay up."

The man nodded and took out a 100,000 won from the case and handed it to her. Zoro was about to pull her hand back, but the man held onto it with a serious look on his face.

"You can play again, you know? More games, with bigger prizes." The man offered.

Zoro forcefully pulled her hand back and pocketed the money, starting to walk away "No thanks."

"Are you sure, Shimotsuki Katsumi?" The man asked and Zoro stopped walking with wide eyes.

She turned around and grabbed his collar once again with a glare "Who are you?"

"Someone who knows a lot more than you think, Katsumi." The man said digging into his blazer pockets and taking out a card with a triangle, circle, and square symbol on it "I know you need help paying off your debts, this is the best way I can do that."

"Whoever the hell you are, stay away from me if you don't want to get hurt." Katsumi stated, shoving the man back and walking away.

"136 million Yen is 141 million won; you can earn all of that and more in just six days. No more bounty hunters, no more debts, no more Zoro." The man stated and Katsumi stopped with wide eyes, turning to look at him as he held the card up "All you have to do, is play the game."