On Top of the Food Chain

"First day?" a voice beside him asked. Kazuki turned to see a girl standing next to him, her arms crossed as she eyed the containers with a knowing smirk.

"Yeah," Kazuki replied, still trying to process the sheer absurdity of what he was seeing.

“Hi, I’m Lucy,” the girl, who introduced herself as Lucy, nodded, her expression softening. "I’ve been here for a week now. Even winning Nine matches in a row."

Kazuki looked at her, impressed. "Nine matches? That’s… impressive."

Lucy shrugged modestly as they found a spot to sit together. The large hall buzzed with the low murmur of conversations and the clatter of trays against metal tables. The atmosphere was thick with tension, a mix of fear and resignation that hung over the room like a heavy fog. 

It was dimly lit, the lights flickering every now and then, casting eerie shadows on the faces of the fighters who sat around in small groups. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and fried food, a strange combination that felt both comforting and unsettling.

Kazuki and Lucy sat together at one of the tables near the back, away from most of the crowd. The bench was cold and hard beneath them, and Kazuki could feel the weight of the day's events pressing down on him. He glanced around, taking in the sight of the other fighters—some quietly eating, others engaged in tense conversations. Everyone seemed to be on edge, and for good reason.

As they settled down, Lucy glanced at Kazuki with a curious expression. "How was the hamburger that Shoda gave you…" She wanted to say his name but didn’t know it.

Kazuki took a moment to think before replying. "It was alright, I guess. I’m Kazuki by the way."

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, it’d be great to eat that with these fries," she said, picking up a few and popping them into her mouth.

Kazuki chuckled softly, trying to find some semblance of normalcy in the absurdity of his situation. "Yeah, I can imagine."

Kazuki leaned back slightly, “So, what’s up with all the fries? Why are there so many?” he asked, glancing around at the large containers overflowing with the greasy food.

Lucy smirked, resting her elbows on the table as she replied, “It’s because they’re just fats and carbohydrates. Sure, they’ll keep you alive, but in the long run, they’ll make you weak. Some biology bullshit I don’t really get,” she shrugged, her tone casual but with a hint of bitterness.

Kazuki frowned, trying to piece it together. “So they’re feeding us junk to keep us... weak?”

“Pretty much,” Lucy nodded. “And there are Ghouls here too, so they’re not exactly going to serve up gourmet human flesh. Shoda despises you lot, so he serves you a human meat burger—a taunt to remind you that you won't get the satisfaction of this pleasure anymore, like a twisted middle finger. Besides that fries are also cheap to make, so it’s all about cost-cutting while keeping us just alive enough to keep fighting.”

Kazuki let out a low whistle, shaking his head in disbelief. “That’s messed up.”

Lucy shrugged again, as if she’d already made her peace with it. “Yeah, but it’s the reality we’re stuck in. Just gotta deal with it, you know?”

Kazuki nodded slowly, his mind spinning as he tried to process everything. “Guess I’ve got a lot to learn about how things work around here.”

Lucy gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re catching on quick, though.”

She took a sip of water, then leaned in closer to Kazuki, her voice dropping to a more serious tone. “Let me explain how this whole fighting ring works, Kazuki. It’s not just about surviving each fight—it’s about winning. Consistently.”

Kazuki’s eyes narrowed as he focused on her words, sensing the importance of what she was about to say.

“Consider that there are 20 levels,” Lucy continued, “and you need to win 20 matches in a row to make it out of here. Every match you win, you move up a level. So, let’s say you’ve won five matches—you’re at level six now. But here’s the kicker: if you lose, you get knocked back down.”

Kazuki frowned, trying to picture it in his mind. “Knocked back?”

Lucy’s expression grew a bit more serious. “If you lose at level six, you drop back to level five. Lose again, and you’re all the way down to level three, two levels below. The more you lose, the further back you go, and it’s like starting all over again. It’s a way to keep us desperate, keep us fighting even harder.”

Kazuki’s mind raced as he processed this. The system wasn’t just about physical strength—it was about mental endurance, too. “So, if you lose too many times…”

“You will be discarded.” Lucy finished his thought with a grim nod. “They will kill you.”

Kazuki felt a chill run down his spine. “And you’ve won nine in a row?”

Lucy gave a small, humorless laugh. “Yeah. Nine down, eleven to go. But I’ve seen plenty of people get close, only to fall right back to the bottom. It’s all a mind game. You’ve gotta stay sharp, stay focused.”

Kazuki looked at her with newfound respect, realizing just how tough this place really was. “Thanks for telling me this, Lucy. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Kazuki leaned back against the cold metal bench, his mind swirling with the rules Lucy had just explained. The sheer brutality of the system weighed on him, but something still didn’t add up. He looked at Lucy, his brow furrowing in confusion. “But what’s the point of all this? Why does this place even exist? How is it even running without anyone stopping it?”

Lucy sighed, running a hand through her hair before replying. “Shoda, that bastard, is the one behind this. He’s a piece of work—a guy who used to run in the Black Market before things went south for him. He managed to escape and set up this little hellhole.”

Kazuki listened intently, the mention of the Black Market sending a jolt of recognition through him. He’d heard of it from Rika sometime back—a lawless underworld where anything and anyone could be bought or sold. But the idea of Shoda running something like this made his stomach turn.

“Awakened who’ve lost all their money or taken out bad loans end up here, either by choice or by force,” Lucy continued, her voice carrying a note of bitterness. “Ghouls? They’re just kidnapped off the streets and dragged here. They have a person here with a pretty unique ability—someone who can tell if a person is a human or not. So Ghouls are easy pickings, since there’s no law protecting them.”

Kazuki’s eyes widened slightly. 

Lucy shook her head, a grim smile tugging at her lips. “Ghouls aren’t considered human or citizens, so no one cares what happens to them. As for the Awakened, they’re brought here to work off their debts, or as punishment. It’s a gray area, so the Syndicate just turns a blind eye.”

Kazuki clenched his fists, the reality of the situation settling in. It wasn’t just about fighting for survival—it was about being trapped in a system designed to crush anyone who fell into it. “So, we’re just stuck in this hellhole.”

“Yeah,” Lucy replied, her voice cold. “We’re all here because someone, somewhere, decided we were expendable. The Awakened are here to pay off their debts, and the Ghouls… well, they’re just sport. The only way out is to win—no one’s coming to save us.”

Kazuki felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He’d been thrown into a game with no rules, where survival meant playing along with a sick, twisted system. “Shoda’s running a nightmare,” he muttered.

As Kazuki stared into the distance, trying to absorb everything Lucy had just told him, her voice broke through his thoughts. “How is Junpei?” she asked suddenly, her tone casual yet filled with an undercurrent of something deeper.

Kazuki’s head snapped toward her, his eyes wide in shock. How did she know about Junpei? He hadn’t mentioned him to anyone here. His mind raced, trying to piece together what was going on. “What do you mean—”

Before he could finish his question, a figure approached them, settling down on the bench beside Lucy. Kazuki’s words caught in his throat as he looked at the newcomer.

Moderately long brown hair that nearly obscured his eyes, pale skin that contrasted sharply with the dark surroundings, and a thin, lanky frame that seemed almost too fragile for this brutal place. Kazuki’s breath hitched as he recognized the boy, he was the one Kazuki had beaten earlier in the ring.

“Hi, I’m Elyas,” the boy introduced himself, his voice soft, almost gentle, as if he wasn’t the same person who had tried to tear Kazuki apart in the arena.