A Single Friend

Max didn't spend much time talking with Devon; he still needed to return to the house where he would now be living.

Since his parents used to live here, Max wanted to spend some time in this place before deciding what he wanted to do with his life.

On the way home, Max was looking at the scenery from the back seat of an Uber.

Beep-Beep!

Lost in thought, Max took out his cell phone to see who was calling him.

"Ryan…"

"Zz… Are you going to fight this month?" When Max answered the call, he heard the voice of Ryan, his only friend—someone who seemed cool but also had a life full of problems.

"I could be there, but I won't fight." Max declined while sitting down in a nearby park.

Ryan, his friend, organized a mixed martial arts tournament every month. Fighters had to pay an entry fee, and the winner took home at least two hundred thousand dollars.

At least during the time he'd been in this city, Max had formed a good friendship with Ryan, and they understood each other better than most.

In his golden days, Max fought every month, winning the top prize without any trouble.

But now, part of him wanted to take a different perspective. His master in Japan had taught him the right way to channel his anger and use it as wisely as possible.

"Not for now, but I could come to the races," Max suggested as he got out of the Uber. He then walked toward his house, which was more like a mansion with a pool, and was surprised by the cars in the garage.

Parked inside and outside the garage were a Ferrari F8, a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster, a four-door Jeep, and a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

"Do you have racing cars?" Terry doubted that Max was into things like this.

But Max, who had just looked at his garage, was confident as he said, "I think I have a few at home; I'll show you later."

"Alright, I'll see if I can make time to visit."

Max ended the call after saying goodbye to his friend, then walked over to the first vehicle. But before he could even enter his house, he saw a man taking out the trash to a community dumpster.

"Good morning, young man. Are you one of the ones moving in?"

Max smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm the only one who'll be living here."

"Nice to meet you; I'm Daniel LaRusso. It seems we'll be neighbors."

"I'm Max; nice to meet you." As soon as he heard this man's name, he recalled the old story his sensei had told him and immediately realized who he was standing in front of.

Daniel, interested in the boy who seemed about his daughter's age, asked, "Where are your parents?"

"My uncle looks after me. He's usually away on business." Max always thought there was no need to mention he didn't have parents, as he figured no one would care.

There was nothing to gain from it—just a simple apology and an even more uncomfortable moment.

"Great. Since we're neighbors, feel free to come to me if you need anything." Daniel kindly offered to be of help in case Max ever really needed it.

But Max had learned a lot from living alone, and although he didn't think he'd need an adult's help, he responded kindly, "Thanks for your kindness. No need to worry; I can take care of myself."

"No doubt about that. Well, Max, have a great day." Daniel walked off after greeting his new young neighbor, who seemed very polite.

Max, on the other hand, murmured, "Who would've thought I'd run into my sensei's enemy and my uncle's former rival?" It really is a small world."

…

Inside the LaRusso mansion, Amanda looked at her husband and asked, "Why did you take so long?"

"Oh, I was just saying hello to our new neighbor," Daniel said while washing his hands.

"They bought the mansion next door?" Amanda seemed surprised; she hadn't known that mansion was about to be occupied.

"It's a young man, blind in one eye, quite polite." Daniel hadn't seen anything wrong with Max, which was normal since Max had learned over the past year to control his emotions.

"What are you talking about?" At that moment, a girl around Max's age walked into the kitchen.

Amanda looked at her daughter and said, "We have a new neighbor, Max. Your father says he's nice."

Sam looked at her father, questioning him with a glance.

"I only said he's polite. I'm not implying anything," Daniel quickly defended himself to avoid being misunderstood.