“Hey, if it isn’t Johnny!”

“My name’s Hugo! Drill that into your brain already!” I barked at Jack. Every time I faced this scum, my irritation hit its maximum. I simply couldn’t stand this asshole.

“Let’s see what new tricks you learned, amateur.” Jack sneered. “Hope you’ll entertain me more than last time, khaha.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining enough.” I readied my gun. This jackass was way too confident. Last time, he only managed to pull one on me because I didn’t know what ricochet was about. Things were different now.

“...”

“...”

“......”

“....... Well? I’m still waiting for your super entertaining tricks.” Jack frowned at me.

“You don’t expect me to just shoot you like last time, do you?” Carelessly shooting him would only result in a ricochet. The same was true for him as well, so we were at a standstill.

“Bah, you’re such a buzzkill.” Jack pointed his gun at me. He was going to-

BAM

Got him!

BAM

I shot myself. That’s it! A ricochet! His shot will bounce back at him! ... or so it should had went.

“Ugh. Damn.” I collapsed. My own bullet eliminated me. Jack’s shot never intended to hit me. He shot in my general direction just to bait me into shooting myself. Damn him! I’ll remember this!

“Khaha! You call this entertainment? Grow a pair, will ya?” Jack’s irritating voice was the last thing I heard before my consciousness was cut.

.........

......

...

“Hey, if it isn’t Jeffrey again! Came to get another beating?”

“You’re the one who’ll be getting a beating! And my name’s Hugo dammit!” I charged toward Jack. This time, I didn’t waste any time. I went with a frontal assault as soon as I tracked him. He spotted me earlier than I intended, but that didn’t hinder my plans.

BAM

I fired without warning. Thanks to my surprise element, he won’t be fast enough to react. He had to shoot himself right away if he wanted to survive... or so I wanted him to believe. In truth, my shot was a bluff. I baited him into eliminating himself, just as he did to me.

BAM

And he fell for it! ... or not.

“Ugh! How!?” I pummeled into the ground. Jack didn’t shoot himself. Instead, he shot me without any hesitation. Damn!

“Khaha! You’re way too obvious, amauter!” Jack read me like a book. Damn.

.........

......

...

“Hey, if it isn’t Pugo! Came to get your ass kicked again?”

“It’s HUGO! You’re definitely doing it on purpose now, aren’t you?!” I attacked Jack again. The more he beat me, the more I wanted to kick his damn ass. Considering the results, nobody could blame me for “bullying” here. If anything, it was more like reverse bullying. I felt like a masochist asking for a beating.

BAM

Yet again, I found myself on the ground.

BAM

Again.

BAM

And again.

No matter what I tried against Jack, he always shot me down in the end. Even when I thought I finally hit him, turned out he merely used his arm as a shield. He was faster, more experienced, more perceptive and probably even more talented. As much as I hated his guts, I had to hand it to him.

How the heck was somebody as skilled as him still stuck in this game? It meant that as long as I hadn’t surpassed him - I had no chance of winning either. Rather than seeking revenge, defeating Jack turned into an important challenge to overcome. Accomplishing that would mean I was getting closer to victory.

I abandoned frontal assaults, as they weren’t my preferred strategy. Instead, I returned to my roots: hiding behind covers and sneaking up to people. That’s the strategy which worked best for me.

BAM

Jack dropped on the ground. It only took three attempts with this strategy. I shot him in the back before he even noticed my presence. It was rather... anticlimactic.

My feelings were mixed. On one hand, I finally screwed over that scum. But, on the other hand, it didn’t feel like I truly settled the score with him. He probably didn’t even realize who shot him.

“Maybe I’ll feel better if I kill him a hundred times more.” With that resolve, I focused on Jack every cycle. It went smoothly at first, but he soon realized someone was gunning for him.

“So it was you all this time, Kugo!”

“It’s HUGO!”

“So now you’re sneaking around like a rat?” Jack pointed his gun at me. “That’s why you forever gonna stay an amauter, khaha!”

BAM

“Geh!” I was too slow. Clack. My gun hit the ground. However, my body didn’t collapse for some reason. Only my right arm went limp.

Did he miss my vitals? Then, I still had a chance! I reached toward the gun with my left-

BAM BAM BAM

My left arm. My left leg. My right leg. All my limbs were paralyzed. I could no longer support my weight and crashed into the ground. I was as good as defeated, but my consciousness was still intact. A weird situation. I was just lying on the ground, as if somebody plucked all my limbs out.

“You damn amatuer, what’s your deal anyway?” Jack towered over me. “Do you get off from stalking me or something? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t swing that way, dude.”

“As if. Just wanna beat the crap outta you.”

“Oh, really now? And I take it you’re planning to keep doing that?”

“Sure as hell.”

”Tch, you annoying fucker.” Jack’s face contorted. “Well, I’m sick of your stupid games, so it’s time I taught you a lesson. I’ve been playing nice so far, but you’re really getting on my nerves now.”

“Ooooh, so scary~ Please spare me, oh mighty Jack~”

“You asked for it, amatuer!” Jack raised his foot, then abruptly brought it down. On my stomach.

“UGH! GAH!” My insides caved in. Violent coughs assaulted me.

“Take that! And that! And that! Khahaha!” He stomped all over my body. Over and over. It hurt. It hurt. IT HURT!

“AGHHHH!” My body spasmed pitifully as I tried to fight him off. It was no use. My limbs were completely limp. I was powerless against him. He kept crushing my insides without mercy. Urges to vomit assaulted me on top of coughs.

“KHAHAHA!” He didn’t stop. He kept crushing me like a bug. Once he grew tired of stomping, he started kicking my sides and face. Pain burned me from every part of my body.

“S-Stop ugh! P-Please agh!” My plea went unanswered. “I won’t attack you any- AGH!”

“Kyahahaha!” He was in a trance. He kept violating me to no end. Just kill me. Erase me. Stop this pain. Please. UGH.

“Khaha... haha...” Jack finally came to a halt. His heavy pants indicated he needed a break. I prayed he won’t resume his violence afterwards.

“Ugh, I got it... I got it already! So please, just stop this!”

“No. I ain’t stopping until I’m sure you’ve learned your fucking lesson.” He shot me a crazed glare and grabbed my limp arm. He wasn’t done yet. Even after screwing me so much, he still planned to do more,

“Just... let me go... I’m....I’m begging you...” I swallowed my pride. My eyes were stung by tears. I couldn’t take it anymore. No more no more no more.

“Don’t worry, bro. I’ll let you go soon enough, khaha.” He grinned as he dragged across the ground like a lump of meat. Since I couldn’t feel most of my body, being dragged around didn’t hurt much. If that was his new idea of torture, it wasn’t very effective.

“Sweet dreams! Khaha!” Jack pulled my shoulders and tossed me. Into the sea. You must be shitting me...

“BLURGH!” Water invaded my mouth. My eyes burned. My insides screamed.

Oxygen.

Need more.

Oxygen.

There was none.

None.

None!

Can’t... breathe...

Just... let it end already...