He’s trying to rage-bait me.

  He has no idea how little I give a flying monkey about Gaedric.

  Gadeon tells himself this, yet his fists clench tight enough to tremble.

  He thinks insulting Gaedric will get a reaction out of me. He wants me to snap — to get emotional like him. Just look at him, forcing that persona. Even his smile is starting to crack.

  I don’t care about Gaedric.

  That’s the truth.

  But him trying to humiliate me in front of everyone?

  That’s what’s pissing me off.

  His body twitches. His jaw tightens.

  Damn it… it is getting to me.

  I won’t give him what he wants.

  Remember, Jason. You’re twenty-five years old.

  Leave it. Walk away.

  Earlier, I was just trying to correct him — give the kid advice.

  Gadeon turns and starts to walk.

  Ami doesn’t let it end there.

  “Should I teach your dad how to choose women too?”

  Gadeon stops.

  “Pardon?”

  “To think he picked a foreign woman… actually, no — he’s not that stupid.” Ami tilts his head. “Probably a one-night stand gone wrong.”

  Something detonates.

  “YOU FUCKING PRICK!”

  Gadeon explodes forward.

  You can talk about Gaedric all you want —

  but keep my mother out of your damn mouth!

  His right fist fires like a cannon toward Ami’s face.

  Ami sees it coming — prepares to deflect.

  Too late.

  Because while his eyes track the right, the left is already there.

  The second punch slams toward his stomach.

  Two strikes. One beat.

  Ami reacts instantly. He knocks the right aside — then catches the left mid-flight, twisting with the momentum and flipping Gadeon over his shoulder.

  But Gadeon lets himself be thrown.

  He rides the motion — spins — adds rotation — converts the flip into a snapping kick.

  Ami ducks cleanly.

  He plants both palms on the floor, bends backward, and launches upward — both feet firing like missiles into Gadeon’s mid-air body.

  Impact imminent—

  Gadeon catches both feet.

  His hands lock beneath Ami’s soles like launch pads.

  Using the force against him, Gadeon hurls himself forward.

  He rockets upward, rebounds off the hallway ceiling, spins through multiple somersaults — speed building — then drops into a crushing axe kick.

  Ami steps aside.

  Too easily.

  I really don’t want to hurt him, Ami thinks, anxiety tightening his chest.

  Heh.

  This brat’s so stunned he’s barely attacking — just dodging.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Ami shifts into a crane-style stance.

  Gadeon lunges—

  And Ami is suddenly right in front of him.

  Not moved.

  Not rushed.

  Just… there.

  “Wha—”

  Gadeon doesn’t even finish the word.

  He looks down.

  Ami’s foot is shrouded in water, streams of condensed liquid trailing behind it — a visible afterimage marking where he stood just a second ago… and where he is now.

  Right in front of him.

  Ami drives his fist straight into Gadeon’s gut.

  The impact lifts Gadeon clean off the ground. His body sails backward as the crowd scrambles out of the way, students gasping as he crashes down and skids across the floor.

  Shit.

  If only I could use my Chi-Lungs—

  Gadeon forces himself to move, trying to push back up.

  “Stay down,” Ami says quietly. “You can’t flex. You’ll lose this fight.”

  “Y-you…” Gadeon wheezes, clutching his stomach, lungs burning. “You insulted my mother. I’m… going to beat your ass.”

  Ami freezes.

  Huh?

  But from Uncle Gaedric… I thought he didn’t even get along with his parents?

  “He insulted your mother?!” one of Ami’s friends snaps from the back. “You started this! You picked the fight! And now you’re playing victim?! Don’t even try that!”

  “Victim?”

  The word echoes.

  Something shifts.

  …

  The hum of the engine filled the car, city lights streaking past the windshield as Jason drove one-handed, the other resting near the steering wheel controls. His mother’s voice crackled softly through the car’s speakers.

  “Yes, Jason, I really think you need help. And if you’d let me, sweetheart, I could just—”

  “Therapy is for people who can’t handle life, Mum.”

  “What? Jason, the amount of times I’ve caught you watching porn—”

  “Well, I’m not gay, Mum. I’m a guy. I’ve got needs.”

  He changed lanes, eyes fixed on the road ahead.

  “And you’re always drinking. Most of the time by yourself.”

  “What’s wrong with drinking if I work out? Am I not always in good shape?”

  Streetlights flashed across his face as he exhaled sharply.

  “And then you keep saying ‘no one cares about men these days,’ but anytime I suggest therapy, you refuse it!”

  “Mum.”

  He said her name sharply, fingers tightening on the wheel, pulling her full attention through the line.

  “If anything, I’m the therapy for other men out there. You think I could go to therapy? And what — admit I lost to life? That I’m a victim? A rabbit?”

  His voice rose, the engine whining as he accelerated.

  “And you didn’t raise a rabbit. No, no. You raised a lion. You went through hell and back for me. You did things that break my heart just hearing about them. You beat life.”

  He leaned forward slightly, jaw tight, eyes never leaving the road.

  “And now you’re telling your son — who’s meant to surpass you — to go to therapy? What do you take me for, woman?”

  “Who the hell are you calling ‘woman’? I am your mother!”

  “Yes. And I love you,” Jason said quickly, flashing a grin at his own reflection in the windshield. “So let me do what I do. Let me take care of you. Just enjoy the money I bring in.”

  He tilted his head, tapping the steering wheel with his thumb.

  “By the way, did you see my podcast earlier? The way I shut that cowboy-looking guy up?”

  The line went quiet.

  Jason glanced at the dashboard clock, then back to the road.

  She didn’t answer.

  “After that, all the young men in the crowd were cheering me. Obviously, I had to keep my composure when he said his wife would beat me up — pfft. He tried to stay calm, but he couldn’t stop his emotions from getting to him.”

  “Really?” his mother said through the car speakers.

  “Why?” Jason replied.

  “Because from where I’m standing, he looked calm — like a peaceful ocean. You looked like the emotional one.”

  Jason let out a short chuckle. It was forced.

  “What are you saying?”

  “You heard me. And you know I’d never lie to you, sweetheart.”

  Something in Jason shifted.

  “You know what, Mum. I’ll call you back later. Lately, it feels like you haven’t been supporting me… or having my back.”

  “You’re joking, right?” she responded.

  “See? You’re not even taking me seriously. Why would I be joking? I came to you to share my achievement — the podcast did well. Another man tried to humiliate me, but I stood my ground. And now I’m talking to my only parent, my mother… and I don’t feel your love or support.”

  Silence filled the car.

  Then — a tired sigh escaped her.

  “Okay, sweetheart. Regardless, you know I love you. I always will.”

  Jason’s grip loosened slightly. A warm smile flickered.

  “Yeah, I know, Mum. Alright — I’ve got to go. I’m driving, so could you end the call?”

  “Okay. Bye, sweetheart.”

  “Bye, Mum.”

  The call didn’t end.

  “Woah… you look pissed off, babe.”

  A deep, unfamiliar male voice came through the speakers.

  Jason straightened instantly.

  “Babe?!”

  Confusion flooded his face.

  I don’t remember Mum ever saying she was seeing someone.

  Why didn’t she tell me?

  “He’s so fricking jarring!”

  Jason’s stomach dropped as he heard his mother’s voice again — exhausted, frustrated — spoken to someone else.

  “Mum?” Jason said softly, his voice trembling. “Are you okay? Are you talking about… me?”

  “What’s he done now this time?”

  “This time…?”

  Jason’s breath caught.

  WHY THE FUCK IS SHE CONFIDING IN ANOTHER MAN ABOUT ME?

  THIS TIME?

  HOW MANY TIMES HAS SHE SPOKEN ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK?

  “I still love him. I really do.”

  “NO YOU FUCKING DON’T!” Jason shouted.

  “You don’t need to tell me that, babe,” the man said calmly. “You talk about him all the time. He’s clearly your fav—”

  “ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT ME TO HIM?! YOU BITCH! AFTER EVERYTHING I’VE DONE FOR YOU!”

  “He’s changed,” his mother said, her voice cracking. “He used to be so carefree. Always messy. Always mismatched clothes that made me laugh… but now…”

  “NOW WHAT, MUM?!”

  “Now he’s different… he just told me I haven’t been supporting him…”

  Her voice broke.

  Jason heard it.

  Crying.

  I’ve never heard Mother cry before.

  And she’s crying to another man.

  About me.

  “Do you know how much it hurts to hear that?” she sobbed. “I’ve tried to help him… but he keeps refusing…”

  “Oh no you don’t!” Jason snarled. “That’s what women always do. I didn’t expect this from you too. Don’t you dare play—”

  “He always plays—”

  …

  “Victim.”

  The word slips from Gadeon’s mouth.