AN: here's chapter 15. Enjoy, people.

"James with a turtle..." Iris mused, frowning as a memory tugged on the back of her brain. Her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers enthusiastically. "I know you! You're the DeLesco kid who's betrothed to–"

"Keep your voice down," James hissed, glancing around furtively. "I don't want anyone to know."

"Alright." Iris checked her watch. She let out a frustrated huff of breath at seeing there was more than half the time left.

"How have you been, Iris? It's been a very long time."

"My mother is dead."

"...That sucks to hear. Miss Ellison was a wonderful lady."

"Yeah," Iris chuckled bitterly, "she was."

James studied her with curious green eyes. "Have you... had a chance to fight since that night?"

She hesitated before answering. James might have once been a good friend, but a lot had happened in the last two years that couldn't be discounted. "No. Dad doesn't like me in the ring."

"Yeah." James' eyes lit up with amusement as he leaned back. "I remember when you broke three of your ribs and DeLano found out... wow was he mad. A few terrible people died that day."

"May their souls burn in hell." Iris nodded solemnly and James mimicked the movement.

"You see," James stood and tucked his hands in his pocket with an impish grin, "there's a match- my aunt set it up, so it's totally legal and everything. Why don't you come along? I mean, you clearly don't want to be here."

Iris chewed the inside of her cheek, her right knee bounced up and down in a rhythmic motion as she turned the prospect over. Although Harry did warn that he would put her under house arrest if she ever thought of fighting again, Iris desperately craved a release. She needed it after all that had happened in the last few days.

"Okay," she breathed out, squaring her shoulders. "When's the fight?"

"Thirty minutes. If we want to take the next bus, we'll have to leave now. What do you say?"

Iris glanced at the field and made eye-contact with Oscar. He waved excitedly, and she found herself returning the gesture before she realised what she was doing. With a dark scowl, she drew out her phone and sent a quick text on the group. Going out with a friend. If I'm not back by 8 I've probably stayed over.

Julian was inside for some debate club and Iris believed she could avoid that corridor if she and James took the back route.

"Let's go." Iris slid her phone in her pocket, ignoring how her heart hammered away in her chest like a runaway locomotive. It's just the excitement.

*****

The stench of beer and sweat coupled with the heat of tightly packed bodies clinging to the edge of the makeshift ring washed over Iris. She bit her mouthguard, the sole of her trainers squeaked against the rubber floors, and her clothes- which James's aunt graciously provided- stuck to her body like a second skin.

Her opponent was a girl roughly the same age. She was confident and waved at a gaggle clustered at the edge- but she was clearly new considering she entered under 'The Dark Assassin'.

Iris squared her shoulder, heard the familiar hum in her head as her muscles tensed for the fight. Her eyes flicked over Assassin, noting how low her arms were and the way she seemed to favour her left side more.

Iris quipped an eyebrow and pulled the cloth covering her face over her nose- a precaution suggested by James in case someone recognised her. She slipped into a defensive stance, relaxing into the comfortable security.

Assassin charged with a sloppy punch that Iris easily evaded. The two settled into some strange dance, with Iris dodging and weaving- despite the crowd's cries to pick up the pace. She smirked at Assassin's growing unease, remembering her mentor's words about how people were likely to become aggressive and slip up the more they lost.

Deciding she had toyed with her opponent enough, Iris lunged.

The second Iris's fist made contact with skin, she felt a euphoria she had never before. Everything flew out of her mind- all the troubles, worries and woes. All she knew was each punch she felt and each move she should make.

Assassin stumbled away, but recovered surprisingly quickly. She threw a roundhouse kick that caught Iris on the side of her leg and she buckled, but managed to regain her composure. She lunged and pulled on the girl's hair, forcing her down.

Through the crowd's cries and cheers, Iris slammed her knee in the girl's face. Blood spurted and Assassin roared in pain. She tackled Iris down and rained blow after blow- most of them were sloppy and missed their mark, but she was too fuelled with rage to care.

Yes, Iris thought, raising her arms to protect her face. Tears gathered on the lids of her eyes and stung as they mixed with the sweat. She smirked and focused on regulating her breathing. Get angry. Become so angry that you cannot even think straight–

"Pathetic bitch," Assassin hissed, spitting out a mouthful of blood- her mouthguard having been lost some time in the fight. Her eyes burned with hate and pride- a deadly cocktail for hubris.

"End it quick ladies!" James's aunt- Alexa? Lexi?- called, stepping closer.

Iris was only too happy to oblige. She had initially planned to give Assassin a respectful ending, but bad comments and personal vendettas should be left outside of the ring, and Iris believed in treating ignorance.

She wasn't quite sure what happened next- in fact, no one in the crowd could have accurately said what happened. Iris managed to get on top and kept hitting and hitting and hitting even after Assassin's face resembled a bloody pulp–

"ROSE!"

She blinked through the haze as a hand landed heavily on her shoulder. Pulling away, she saw James's aunt staring at her with concerned eyes. Pushing away the comfort, Iris staggered to her feet and gave an innocent shrug, bloodied hands splayed towards the Heavens.

The mob screamed in joy and disbelief as money was exchanged. Through the din, Iris leaned down and whispered to a barely conscious opponent, "Who's the pathetic bitch now?"

All she got was a weak groan and some attempt with broken fingers at flipping her off.

Iris chuckled and grabbed Assassin by the shoulders, pulling her up. "You've got spirit, but you're too rash. Work on your anger and you'll be better."

Assassin's eyes were hazy and hooded as her friends quickly carried her off the ring, but she managed to give a small nod and the flicker of a grin washed over her expressions.

"And the winner is Rose!" Lexi grabbed Iris's hand and pulled it up as whoops and hollers erupted over the basement.

Iris grinned, although no one could see it under the mask, still suffering from that euphoric high of sweet victory. Her chest rose and fell with each laboured breath and she tugged at the hem of her shirt, trying to cool her flushed skin.

"Go Rose!" James clapped from the sidelines, pride lighting his brilliant blue eyes.

Iris grinned and waved back, but stopped as James's expression suddenly fell flat and focused on a point across her shoulder. His lips parted and a shout pushed through, but it was too late.

Iris turned, just a fraction of a second too slow, and a heavy metal object swung and hit her across the abdomen. She stumbled, pain exploding like a grenade in her stomach, and dropped to her knees. Out of breath, she saw the man who attacked being tackled and held down, despite his desperate attempts to throw them off.

"Get him out of here!" James's aunt ordered, her green eyes sparking with rage and her powerful voice quelled the murmurs of dissent that fluttered across the room. She bent down and dropped her voice to just above a whisper. "Hey, are you okay?"

Iris shook her head, the rush she felt earlier quickly faded and bile flooded her mouth with its bitter, acrid taste. Some of it spilled past her lips and Lexi's eyes widened as she called for help. A buzz filled Iris's ears and she slumped to the side, her head hitting the ground as darkness swept over her.

Harry's definitely gonna kill me.

**************

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)