And the dinner meeting comes in! Jason and Headmaster Wing comes in for dinner at the Bushido-Akio house!

Chapter 29: Dinner Guests

Max was a little surprised to see Headmaster Wing coming with Jason for this dinner with the Bushido-Akio's and he said, "Headmaster Wing, what brings you here?'

"I noticed that Jason was going to head to your house to join in for dinner and I figured that maybe I'd join in as well. If that's all right with you." Wing added.

Max blinked his eyes for this and he cleared his throat and replied, "Yeah, that'll be fine."

Just then, Mako walks to the door and sees not only Jason, but Headmaster Wing standing in the door as well and that took him by surprise as they meet each other again and he said, "Headmaster Wing. I didn't expect to see you here."

"A pleasure to see you as well, Mako." Wing said, bowing to him and shook his hand.

Mako accepted the handshake and he shook Jason's hand as well and as both of them came in, Jason was fascinated by the Chinese/Japanese vibe in the entire house and loved the fact that it's a very welcoming feel and it made him feel like he's at home right now. Max comes right behind Jason and he could tell that Jason's amazed that Max could actually live in places like this and he said, "It's awesome, huh?"

"Yeah. How long have you lived there?" asked Jason.

"When I was six. They adopted me and brought me to their house to live in. Of course, I was always nervous about how long I would stay here because I don't want to go back to the orphanage. These guys gave me something to look forward to and it made me want to become a much better person after this tragedy that I've been through when I was four." Max replied.

Jason was taken aback by how much Max took his personal tragedy in stride and rose above it and he said, "You're like a tiger phoenix, man. Rising up from the painful ashes and flying high across the sky looking for freedom."

"Yeah, let's put it like that." Max added, with a chuckle.

Shortly thereafter, Max took Jason to meet the rest of his family and as soon as they entered the dinner table, Jason's jaw nearly dropped to the ground once he saw the numbers of siblings that are sitting there and he was stunned to see that Max has a very big extended family and everyone turned around to meet Jason for the first time and everyone said hello to him and Jason replied, "Nice to meet you."

Max and Jason walked towards their seats and as soon as Max sat down, Jason sat down in between him and Arizona and before long, everyone stood up individually and introduced themselves to him and Headmaster Wing and after that, Mako said, "Everyone dig in. Headmaster Wing, you and Jason go ahead and serve yourselves first."

They did exactly just that and after they got their servings of food, everyone else got theirs on their plate and Mako started to get to know Jason a little bit better and he asked, "So...Jason, how long have you been training Max?"

"I started training him a couple of months ago, sir. I was actually aware of him whenever the group MMA class had started while we were doing some student training." Jason replied.

"Student training?" asked Mako.

"Yes. My students are also instructors to kids in their own right. They volunteer their time to teach kids what they need to learn about MMA and self defense as well." Wing replied.

"That's actually very interesting." Reiko said, amazed.

Jason nodded in agreement and he kept eating his chow mein and chewed it slowly and Wing said, "I've been taking Jason in for about 2 years now when he first came to the Valley of Peace. I was actually aware of him after he got out of prison."

Mako nearly choked on his water after the 'P' word was spewed out of the headmaster's mouth and Jason flattened his ears in response to that and Reiko asked, "Prison?"

"Yes, ma'am. From what I gathered, he made a lot of bad choices in his life and when I first met him, he seemed like this scared, yet sorrowful kid with a criminal record and I was willing to shape him up and make him a much better person than he was. He was very cooperative and I've never seen someone with much drive and determination after I started training him." Wing replied.

Mako looked up at Jason and he asked, "What did you go to prison for?"

Jason was nervous to tell this straight to Max's adopted father, but he felt Max's paw touch his shoulder and a look on his face that tells him that 'it's okay' and with that hint of reassurance, Jason replied, "Just hanging out with the wrong crowd, basically. I did a lot of stupid stuff that I know I'm not proud of; starting fights, stealing, disturbing the peace, beating up my dad's girlfriend and my mom's boyfriend out of rage...one that I can never fully forgive myself for."

Reiko was a little surprised that Jason was involved in stuff like this and Mako couldn't help but be a little shocked by this, but at the same time, this is about a kid who's been through a lot of stuff and just wants a second chance at life. Mako sighed heavily at this and he looked at Max and he said, "Did he tell you this?"

"Yeah, he told me already." Max replied.

"I bet you had to shower with crazy prisoners, right?" asked Sage, raising his eyebrow.

"Sage..." Mako said, through clenched teeth.

Jason lets out a very deep sigh and said, "If I'm honest, all the time I've been at the MMA facility, the headmaster saw some potential in me, even when I never saw potential in myself. And when I taught Max, he just brought the best out of me. I know it sounds weird as a teacher, but he really believed in me on the first two weeks that I became his personal MMA trainer. This kid has so much energy and so much spirit, determination and brings his skills in a way that I've never seen before."

"Max is always one to achieve so well. Even on the first try, he's a very quick learner." Reiko replied.

Samurai agreed with that and he said, "This little one is like an example of hope and light in this family. Most of us don't think so, but personally, he has this ability to just shine a light at a bad situation and make the most of it."

"Very true. He's an inspiration to all of us that even in bad times, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I guess what he had gone through in his life made him stronger than anything." Phoenix added.

"That's what I saw in Max when he first stepping into my class. Which I have to ask...how did he become like this?" asked Wing.

Mako sighed at this and he replied, "Sometimes...I have no idea how he's like this, but he's been following our example in our family, we have always taught our kids some morals and values; being a light to others, always be kind, considerate and helpful to others and show compassion. For Max...he embodies all of those, even after a traumatic experience he had faced before and he never lets it define him."

"I've been called strange and unusual before because of that, but that's okay to be a little strange. I wouldn't change anything for anyone anyway." Max said.

Jason chuckled softly and he said, "You've adopted a really awesome kid, you know."

"Thank you. And you're an amazing teacher to my son as well." Mako added.

"So...where do you live right now?" asked Reiko.

Jason sighed heavily and he replied, "I live in a room on top of the MMA facility because I don't have any money to have my own place to live."

"How long have you lived in that facility?" asked Samurai.

"About a year or so. Wing gave me a room to live for a while until I have a place to call my own." Jason replied.

"Oh...I see." Reiko added.

"Yeah, there's that. I know I have to find a job that actually pays. I love what I do at the MMA class and it's rewarding to volunteer and help out kids, but at the same time, I just need to have a steady job." Jason replied.

"I'm sure you'll find a job soon." Mako added.

Jason nodded his head and as they enjoyed their dinner, Wing started talking about the times at MMA class and of course, most of those involve Logan...in which the pre-teen cub was too embarrassed to hear from the headmaster and Tae Kwan whispered, "So glad I'm not you right now."

Was that an awesome dinner event or what? Looks like the entire family is starting to like Jason now. Stay tuned for more!