41 Three on One

Bang!

A robust muscular body was forcefully slammed on the wooden floor by a teen who possessed a lean physique. Everyone around watched with wide open mouths as gasps could be heard.

"Faizal, now what do you have to say?" Aditya asked as he wiped sweat from his forehead as drops of sweat dripped from his hand onto the wooden floor.

Blood was pumping into Aditya's brain loaded with adrenaline as he felt an exhilaration that he had never before experienced. He still remembered the other day when he was hit until he couldn't get up by himself. Although he knew that these people were training him, it did not feel any better when you are made to feel little and powerless.

Aditya had spent 15 days (in Tya's world) watching virtual recollections of all the fights. He felt that he had a camera with high resolution and memory integrated into his mind when he saw that he could watch, slow down, analyze and plan counters.

It was like playing a 3D virtual reality simulator all by himself. So, as expected from his intellectual ability, not just one but multiple counters were formulated to each attack which Aditya memorized easily. Aditya had supposed that although he had his counters prepared, it would take some days to actually get the right timing down. But his body and mind surprised him once again. Aditya had discovered that his mind-body coordination had crossed human limits as well.

So as long as Aditya knew what to do i.e. if he visualizes his requirement in his mind, his body would be able to make it possible as long as it was within its abilities. For example, he could not visualize himself flying and expect his body to fly. But if he willed his body to act in a particular way at a definite time, all his senses, limbs, muscle would achieve perfect harmony to make that action possible. This was the cause of today's spectacle that caused the most experienced street fighters in Taarini's gang to doubt whether it was a dream or an illusion.

From the moment Faizal made his move, Aditya did not get caught by him even once. His movements were like flowing water as if he was swimming as he shifted his body to let the blows pass by him. He was always in Faizal's range of movement but let alone his body, not even his clothes were brushed by Faizal's limbs.

Faizal used all his known strikes, strategies but Aditya looked as comfortable as ever. The small smile never left his face, his eyes did not have any sharpness but a lazy, leisurely look could be seen as they looked half closed.

These gangsters did not know that if Aditya had used 'Slow Timing' or 'Sensifull' the other day, the result would have been something like today. But Aditya had chosen the hard road, he wanted to fight like a normal person. But this does not mean that Aditya is averse to use these abilities. He would use these abilities when it was required and necessary. Using these abilities when you are trying to learn something would only pollute the learning experience.

His thinking was proved right as he had indeed succeeded in learning. It's just that he learned a 'little' sooner than he expected.

Once he knew that Faizal was not able to reach him anymore, Aditya started his counter attacks which used the least strength to render the highest damage possible. He knew that his body was not as physically developed as these gangsters so he could only create his own way of fighting using his superior calculative skills.

He could calculate the movement of Faizal's centre of gravity easily by looking at his body motions in the matter of a fraction of a second, all he had to do was move his own centre of gravity below Faizal's and make him lose his balance. When a person's balance is lost, his attacking strength becomes his bane. The science was pretty simple but the practicality of application during a hectic and explosive fight is pretty hard for normal people. Except one could not include Aditya in this list anymore.

Aditya knew that his strength was not on par with any of these people but as long as he was not caught by their strikes and not fight head-on with them, he was sure he could play with them based on his reflexes and quick movements.

Faizal felt that he was experiencing a nightmare today as he lay on the ground without getting up. Yesterday, though Aditya was sharp and caught most of his punches, he was still able to drag him into his pace and beat him with experience. Yet, today, it had only been one day, he could neither disrupt Aditya's pace anymore nor get him into his pace.

He had truly idolized Aditya when he saw Aditya's prowess in handling firearms which could only be described as 'godly'. But, he was confident that he could take Aditya down if it came to unarmed fighting. It was indeed proven to be the case yesterday but everything turned upside down at present. 'What kind of a monster did Big Sis allow to join the gang?' this was the thought running in Faizal's mind as he looked with awe at the slim physique of Aditya who wore black training clothes. His face showed joyfulness as he breathed deeply while his face and neck was shining as he was drenched in sweat. His hair was ruffled as it got wet due to sweat and stuck to his face, the main feature which caused Faizal to admire Aditya was that his eyes showed self-assurance that he would never lose to him again.

Faizal was an orphan taken in by Taarini's big brother and raised to be a gangster. He was not educated, not cultured but if there was one thing he took pride in himself was his capability of 'knowing' what kind of a person one is by looking in their eyes. All his life, he had dealt with all kinds of people in the Underworld so he was an expert in studying humans and their behaviours.

This was also a strong reason that he appreciated Aditya when he first saw him. In him, he saw a blank paper, a pure unstained mind. One look and he knew that Aditya was not a person of schemes and big plans. It was like a breath of fresh air for Faizal who was born and raised in the darkest part of human society and dealt with the worst of them on a daily basis. He did not know that it was not just him who felt that way but every person of Taarini's gang felt that way including Taarini though they might not have noticed it.

"Whose next? Bring it on," Aditya roared as he was trembling in excitement. For the first time in his life, he came in contact with the feeling of raw physical power and he actually discovered that he loved it. Many of the people also laughed loudly in encouragement when they saw this excited kid.

Munna was the first to regain his composure as he sternly stated," it's enough for now, take a short break, why haven't you helped Faizal to get up?"

Aditya smiled awkwardly as he reached out his hand to Faizal as he apologized," Sorry, brother Faizal I forgot, are you alright?"

Faizal took Aditya's hand as he sprang onto his feet as he laughed, "am alright, it's nothing." he ceased his laughter as he patted Aditya's shoulder with his scarred hand as he said sincerely, "Brother Aditya, you are truly a prodigy of fighting as much as you are in shooting, it is fortunate for you to be on our side, I can't wait to start working with you."

Aditya smiled in response when he heard these words as they both walked shoulder to shoulder towards the sitting benches outside the arena. Aditya took a bottle of water as he sat on one of the chairs beside Munna who was watching other people fight. Aditya steeled his heart as he said to Munna while offering him water, "Big brother Munna, can I ask you a question?"

Munna nodded as he looked at the matches, he also took the bottle and drank a little.

"What do you guys do actually?"

pfft… cough cough

Munna coughed as some of the water that he just drank shot into his nasal cavity, he looked incredulously at Aditya as he asked back, "Come again."

Aditya did not expect such a reaction from Munna, but still, he asked," What do you guys do for a living? How do you make money? What is underworld like?"

Aditya suddenly noticed that the atmosphere became grim and serious as the smiles vanished from all faces. He looked around to see everyone looking at him with mixed expressions while Faizal had facepalmed himself.

Munna's voice became a little cold as he asked, "Do you want to know really?"

"Only if it is convenient for you to reveal," Aditya also answered seriously. He knew that he was not one of them but still he asked as he tried his luck but looks like he touched some taboo topic.

Munna's face turned normal but he replied in a rigid tone as he put it frankly, "You will know when we deem you trustworthy."

Aditya nodded and kept quiet. Such moments reminded Aditya that though he was with them physically, their worlds were still different.

He wanted to ask about Taarini's whereabouts but looks like that would be another mistake, so he watched the fights along with others. He recorded each and every fight as he activated 'Slow Timing' and 'Sensifull'. His learning speed increased multiple-fold as he watched these fights. Although these fights were raw, crude and unrefined, Aditya could see that what these people were training was not techniques but spirit, aggressiveness and brutality.

"Aditya, go" Munna ordered as he saw Aditya looking calm and peacefully at the fights without even blinking his eyes.

Aditya nodded as he walked on to the stage while flexing his limbs, his only purpose here was to become stronger and learn ways of surviving in a place where the government's eyes could not see and its hands could not reach. He should not focus too much on other issues.

"Phani, John, Dhanush, go together."

Aditya almost fell down when he heard these words as he looked at three tall, bulky physique came together while having evil grins on their faces.' Big brothers what are you doing here instead of working as bouncers for Bollywood actors'

"Aditya, you never know when you have to fight against multiple opponents in this field, so its good for you be prepared beforehand," Faizal explained while stifling his laughter. Even Munna who usually had a solemn face had a playful look in his eyes.

'Faisal, pray that you don't fight me ever again' Aditya thought hatefully as he smiled weakly as he looked at these figures in front of him.' What do these people eat?'

Aditya knew that Munna was punishing him for his loose tongue so he could only grit his teeth as he thought,'Thai massage, start.'

It was around 8:00 pm when he was dropped in front of the garage. As if the heavens also felt sad about Aditya's pain, it had started raining. Otherwise, how could it rain during one of the driest months of Bangalore? The street was empty as all the people had hurried to take shelter from the rain.

It took a great amount of effort as he got down from the car as he cursed the ancestors of Munna and the three musketeers (he named them himself). As Aditya was about to mix his limping and running to get back to his room before he got drenched, he saw a female standing in front of the garage getting heavily drenched in the rain.

Looking at her clothes and demeanour, Aditya did not think that she was some homeless person. Her wet hair stuck to her face making it hard for him to see her facial features but her physique was enough to make any man's blood start boiling. Especially when she was drenched in rain, the clothes stuck to her body exposing all her curves. Aditya felt some steam rising near his neck as he stood there transfixed while he appreciated the scenery, who cares if you get drenched in the rain, it is not every day that you get blessed with such a sight.

Being a 'gentleman', Aditya could not leave a 'poor' woman standing alone in the rain. He had to utilize this chance to serve humanity, so he limped his way to that figure as he went near the woman, "Big sister, is everything alright? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Aditya had thought that it would be some stranger but he was dumbfounded when the woman raised her head because he knew this woman.