And Jason reveals the truth about himself on his life before he became an MMA instructor and student.

Chapter 21: The Truth About Jason

Jason blinked his eyes after staring at Max for a second and he was a little surprised that he was standing there the whole time without knowing and Max nervously stared at him back, but did see some shaolin wraps around his hands and fingers and that confirmed that there was something more to his trainer than he never thought he saw before. Jason broke the silence and asked, "How did you find me?"

"I kinda heard some noises downstairs at our training room." Max answered.

And that made Jason close his eyes for a few seconds and never thought that Max would actually hear them and covered his face with his paw and he asked, "How much did you see?"

"All of it." Max replied.

Jason took a few sharp breaths and Max wasn't sure what Jason was gonna do next, but he's way more concerned about his teacher than himself and hopes that he'll help him in some way and Jason said, "Come in, Max."

With that, Max enters in Jason's room and when Max looks around there, it wasn't the most home-oriented room there, but at least Jason has a little roof over his head and Jason followed behind him and he said, "So...this is where I've been living for almost a year now. Headmaster Wing tried to make it as comfortable as possible, but it's fine. It's kinda temporary though..."

"Temporary?" asked Max.

"Yeah, just until I find a place of my own. But...I don't have any money for it right now." Jason added.

Max nodded his head at that answer and he bit his lower lip and asked, "How'd you get the scratches on your back?"

That must've caught his attention because Max had already seen it and Jason tried to find a little excuse for it, but knowing that Max is a kid, the most painful thing he has to do is tell the truth in order for him to be an honest instructor and he replied, "Those are the scars I got when I was a teenager...when I got involved in some streetfighting."

Max's eyes widened in shock and surprise after hearing that fact and realized there was more to Jason than he thought and asked, "Streetfighting?"

"Yeah. I never wanted to tell you this story because you might be too young to understand and that you might be scared of me." Jason said, a little worried.

Max got a little closer to Jason and he said, "Just tell me everything, Jason. I've told you my past and you can do the same."

Realizing that Max has opened up about his past, Jason was more than willing to do the same...even though it might be hard to let out some personal demons inside of himself. He took a deep breath and looked at Max directly in the eye and gave out his whole story.

"I haven't always been like this before, you know. I was pretty much a rebel...a troublemaker of some sorts. Where I came from, I never had a father to guide me because he divorced my mom when I was three and left her for another girl that he had a cub with. I'm not gonna get to the details on that, but...it put a strain on my parents. My mom ended up with a stepfather who's pretty much a jerk and I wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever...so I resented him and my mom for that. When I got older, I was pretty much hard to deal with. My only outlet was fighting in the streets and MMA. MMA really got me interested because I can fight a lot faster than anyone else, but I didn't care about going in the right direction. I just wanted some attention and guidance, you know? Man, did I get that in the worst way possible. I had fallen into the wrong crowd when I was 16 with a gang that was all about fighting, stealing and causing all kinds of mayhem. I didn't care what anyone would say or do and the first instinct I did when someone tries to stop me was to fight them until they leave me alone. I was pretty much cold-hearted and brutal towards anyone and I had a very quick temper. Just the messiest temper I ever had in my life and I was pretty much destroying myself on purpose, knowing that I could provoke everyone's expectations of what I was supposed to be. One day...one of my stupid antics got me in trouble. I mean...big trouble." Jason said, tearing up at the last part.

"What did you do, Jason?" Max asked.

"I...I brutally beat up my stepfather and my dad's fiancee for revenge. I nearly killed both of them and I was blinded by bitter bad blood between them and my parents that I felt that this was the only way to show them how I felt and blamed them for the whole reason. Your parents divorced...can make you think of insane things like that. After that, the guards obviously saw what I did and I left there in handcuffs and got sent to prison and I was charged with aggravated assault along with a bunch of other charges; disorderly conduct, attempted assault, arson, vandalism, indecent exposure, damage of public and private property, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, eluding, gang involvement activity, malicious mischief. That's pretty much every charge I've had. I was 18 at the time and as I got sent to prison, it really sinks in after hearing those doors close. Prison...not a fun place to live at." Jason admitted.

Max had no idea that Jason was that much of a troublemaker at an early age and all the stuff he did and went through and all of it was before he was even an adult and Jason looked at Max in the eye and Max asked, "Why'd you do it?"

"Because at the time...I thought that if I were to do those things, it would make me cooler and be accepted as their family. What I learned before I got arrested...the gang I was with didn't even stick up for me. They just left me before the guards could even find them and I was the only one beating up my stepfather and my dad's fiancee. That's what I learned that the gang life brings in some consequences...losing your gang family after they abandon you and you're the only one getting arrested. The charges for attempted assault, disturbing the peace and malicious mischief ended up getting dropped because I wasn't involved in them at all. As for the others, I pleaded guilty to all of them and because of it, I was sentenced to less than 2 years in prison and as I walked out of the courtroom, my parents were disappointed in me and I was very angry with myself for being involved in stuff like this. During that time, all I did was just cry and I blamed myself for being into these stupid things and I knew I would never forgive myself for all the things that I've done. It made me reflect on everything I've been through and I just took one look at myself in the mirror and said to myself, 'Why did you waste your young life in favor of a life of crime?' I ended up losing everything; my childhood, my family, my friends, my self-respect and my freedom. My father died and my mother was murdered while I was in prison and it just tore me apart. Like...really bad. So...I decided to just cut off all the bad stuff I've done and if I was gonna control my anger, I need to make a change. I finally got out of prison after spending 18 months for good behavior and I was determined to leave my old life behind to start over. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do because I was still mad at myself for my stupidity...but Headmaster Wing came into my life less than two weeks after I left prison and he heard that I was good at fighting and he took me in to teach me how to fight in a positive way instead of destructive ways and he's been like the father I never had growing up. He's the one that gave me that job to teach MMA to kids and it's not about the money...but to volunteer my time and also be a student in the process. So far...my first student that I taught was you. And for some reason, I always felt like I was not alone when I train with you, let alone in the same species...but you're the main reason for my redemption." Jason finished.

Max was blown away by that response Jason received...from the last part, that is. He asked, "Why me?"

"Max...ever since we started training, you've been one of those special students that brought out the best in anyone despite their dark past. You brought out the best in me and you just made me look forward to waking up every morning to be the best trainer and fighter I can be." Jason added.

"Really? I never thought I could do that." Max answered.

"It's true. You really inspire me, Max. And I just want you to know...that I'm really proud to call you my first student." Jason said, tears coming out of his eyes.

Max smiled at this and hugged Jason tightly in response, making the instructor a little surprised at first, but eventually hugged him back and Jason whispered, "Thank you so much...for making me a better person."

"Anytime, Jason." Max said, smiling.

Both of them let go for a while and Jason wiped his tears off and he said, "I haven't cried for like so many years...not like this."

"It's cool. Hey, Jason...you still wanna have dinner with my family? If you're not doing anything this weekend..." Max started.

"I'd love to. Maybe Saturday would be a better time for me." Jason replied.

"Awesome. I'll let them know." Max added.

Soon enough, Max grabbed Jason's bandaged paw and placed them on top of his and almost immediately, he grabbed onto them and before long, Max unwrapped the bandages off and revealed that Jason's bloody knuckles and the cuts were gone...much to Jason's surprise.

"Don't ask how." Max replied.

Looks like Jason has found a friend...in his student. It's a good thing that Max still accepts Jason. Stay tuned for more!