7:02 AM, Two Days Later
Ashan limped into the bathroom.
T-shirt sticking to dried blood. Jaw stiff.
Purple swelling around his left eye. Bruises bloomed over his ribs like dark bruised petals.
He'd cleaned up the bleeding the night before, but not the pain.
That still sat in his chest like a stone.
No one at school knew what happened.
Ricky didn't brag.
Jalen didn't say anything.
They didn't need to.
Ashan had been put back in his place. And they all saw it.
He stared at himself in the mirror.
"You deserved it," he said quietly.
His fingers curled.
"You're weak."
---
Project Dragon: Day 6
He flipped open his notebook, nearly tearing the page with how fast he scrawled.
"Got folded. Couldn't stop him."
"Didn't land a single clean hit."
"No control. No technique. No power."
Then below it:
"That was the LAST time I ever go down without a fight."
---
The Garage (His dad's old, abandoned motor repairs business)
Ashan set up his makeshift "dojo":
A pull-up bar bolted to the wall.
Old mats.
25 lb backpack filled with books for weighted push-ups and pullups when he got strong enough.
A duct-taped heavy bag he barely touched before.
He stripped off his shirt. Winced. Looked at the bruises.
"Let's see if you're real or fake."
Push-ups - His ribs screamed after 10. He did 25.
Pull-ups - Only managed 3. Rested. Did 3 more.
Squats - 40 unbroken, but his knees wobbled.
Heavy bag - He hit with fury. Sloppy. Raw.
Slipped on the mat once. Nearly fell.
He kept going.
Hours passed.
Sweat soaked his body.
The garage stank of salt, dust, and blood from cracked knuckles.
---
Reality Check
He collapsed at one point, lying on the mat.
His chest rose and fell. Eyes shut.
He imagined it again - Jalen's knee on his ribs.
The helplessness. The nothingness in his limbs.
Ashan hated the memory so much it felt like acid in his throat.
But this time… he didn't push it away.
He studied it.
"That takedown… fast."
"Too low. Didn't sprawl."
"Didn't even plant my back foot."
"I panicked."
He opened his phone.
Pulled up videos: "Wrestling counters."
"Boxer vs Wrestler street fight breakdown."
"Weight distribution for strikes."
That night, he wasn't training to feel good.
He was studying to destroy.
---
YouTube Spiral
He found a compilation called:
"Top 10 Street-Fighting Pros: Real Killers You Don't Wanna Mess With"
Video #3 showed Adam Dudley - American heavyweight, bare-knuckle monster - dropping a guy with a short left hook. No ring. No refs.
The caption read:
"Rumored to be part of some Underground Fights in Asia."
Ashan paused.
"What is this??"
He googled it.
Not much came up.
A few conspiracy threads. One blurry photo.
"Hidden fight leagues…?"
"No way that's real."
But the idea wouldn't leave him.
Something about it felt right.
Felt like something he was supposed to chase.
---
Ashan picked up his pen, hands still trembling from the 4-hour grind.
"My bones ache. My skin's broken."
"But I didn't stop."
"I saw what made me weak. And I punched it until I couldn't lift my arms."
Then in bold block letters:
"I'M NOT AFRAID TO BLEED."
---