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The bear charged. Damian dodged, slashing at its flank, but the blade barely scratched it's hide.
The beast roared angrily, swiping at him with a massive paw.
"So close but naaah." He mocked and ducked, rolling under it's feet while slashing at it's thick hamstrings and ankles. But even that barely fazed the beast.
For a creature of its size, 700kgs easily, the Bear was pretty nimble, forcing Damian to put distance between them lest his face was chewed off.
His back hit the pit wall. He was cornered.
"Shit." Damian cussed as the massive mountain of meat and ferocity barreled straight at him.
At the last split second, he stabbed at it's open jaws only for the bear's paw to slap the blade out of the way.
Damian refused to let go of the grip and instead expertly controlled the kinetic force of the blow, using a Tai Chi move he'd copied in Gotham's Underground fighting rings.
"I'm calling you s- snappy from now on." He strained, holding off the beast with the blade pressed against it's neck.
Shiva furrowed her brow watching from above.
"He's holding back. Being too careful is not his usual style." she assessed
Hanzo nodded. "It's smart."
"Smart won't push him the way I want." Shiva said in a hard tone.
As if hearing them, Damian suddenly tossed the knife aside. It wasn't doing much against the tough hide anyway.
The sudden action caused the bear to headbutt the wall while Damian slid out beneath it's feet again.
"Yo." Damian whistled at it's back. "Over here, Snappy, you're supposed to be the big bad bear right? but where's the bad? Maybe I should call you the big dumb bear."
"His trash talk needs work, Sifu." Hanzo shook his head.
"Noted." Shiva nodded. Fighting was not just physical, but psychological. She would include 'Infuriating Trash Talk to throw off the enemy' in her training lessons.
Clearly the bear didn't share Hanzo's opinion and seemed pretty mad at the small man-thing taunting it's intelligence.
It's roars turned to a deep chest rumble that made the whole pit tremble. It's eyes glinted in the night with primal rage as it circled Damian.
Damian's smile widened. "Oh you mad? Do something then, Pussy."
"He's getting better." Shiva approved.
"Astonishingly so. I feel like punching him on the mouth." Hanzo commented.
But the bear was not so easily fooled. The little Man-thing had suddenly become dangerous.
True enough, Damian's hands were raised, fingers curled like claws.
"Crouching Tiger Art?" Hanzo's brows raised.
"Modified to suit his style. He's finally starting to get it." Shiva corrected, beginning to smile.
"What do- Oh." Hanzo's eyes widened as a red fiery vapor surged around Damian, pouring out of his pores. Strands of his white hair turned crimson and his eyes seemed to burn with red flames.
"Aaahh..." He breathed out and steam escaped his mouth.
The bear charged again, unwilling to let the little Man-thing get even more dangerous.
This time, Damian met it head-on. A single step cleared the dozens of feet separating them and they collided with a thunderous crash.
Damian's finger claws dug into the bear's hide, ripping off a chunk of forsh from it's side.
Blood sprayed as the Bear roared in pain and this time it backed away, the loser in the struggle for dominance.
"That was-" Hanzo was in disbelief. It wasn't unheard of for martial artists to take on an animal like a Bear and win, but to do so without weapons or taking damage in an enclosed space?
"Kid's a Demon."
"Ashura," Shiva said, her tone approving. "Unpredictable. Chaotic. Aggressive. The Demon King of all demons and devils."
Damian heard the name and grinned. "I like it."
The bear was not a quitter. It had been abducted from it's natural habitat where it reigned as King and the only thing standing between It and freedom was Damian.
So with a terrible and desperate roar, it came back snapping, slapping and slashing at him.
Damian twisted, driving his clawed fingers into its side.
The bear howled but didn't fall.
Damian focused, channeling the red energy into his fists. The vapour surged brighter, the strange energy he still didn't understand coursing through him like wildfire, enhancing everything.
He unleashed a flurry of blows, each strike landing with crushing force, each blow erupting with red smoke. The bear staggered but remained standing.
"Efficiency," Damian muttered, realizing he was wasting the energy, seeing as the red vapour filling the pit was quickly dissolving in the air.
The vapor was not meant to leave his body, was it? He was not an anime character flaring their power to power up. That was just wasteful.
Power was meant to be perfectly controlled. Like still water within a container. Uncontrolled power was akin to a container with holes, leaking water until nothing remained.
'I won't bring it out, instead I'll run it through my body.'
He closed his eyes and focused on sucking back the vapor and then keeping it locked in a tight spin around his body, flowing through his blood vessels.
It was hard at first but only because he'd never tried it before. Once he got the hang of it, the vapor continued flowing through the established path without his conscious control.
It filled his limbs with more power than he'd thought possible, causing his veins to glow red. But other than that, his hair and eyes returned to normal.
When he opened them, the world seemed sharper.
The bear's movements slowed. Damian got bored waiting for it's attack and moved in like an arrow, striking out with precision.
He aimed for weak points—eyes, ears, throat—but not to kill. To dominate.
It roared again, but this time, there was fear in its voice.
Damian pressed his advantage, his movements too fast for Hanzo to accurately pinpoint. Shiva could still follow but she had to use all her concentration.
With a final punch to the bear's chest, he sent it crashing to the ground.
The forest fell silent.
Damian stood over the bear, chest heaving, the glowing veins across his skin fading, as he let go of the Power.
The bear lay still, breathing labored but steady. He had won. "Sleep well Snappy. You were the greatest punching bag I've ever had."
Shiva clapped slowly. "Well done, dear student. You've taken the first step towards mastering your unique ability. Have you thought of an appropriate name or should we just call it Chi?"
Damian thought about it, feeling the calm river of red within him. A river that could turn violent and fiery in an instant.
Then he looked up, his eyes burning with an indescribable confidence. "Ashura. That's what I'm calling it."
(2 weeks later)
The courtyard echoed with the sound of fists meeting flesh, the dull thud of bodies hitting stone, and the sharp gasps of pain.
Damian stood at the center of the sparring ring with a shit eating grin, his chest rising and falling steadily, his knuckles raw.
Around him, bodies littered the ground—trainees who had challenged him and lost.
One by one, they had come at him, their pride bruised by his rapid ascent into popularity(notoriety) and growing ability to trash-talk anyone into an insane rage.
They hated him—not just because of his skill, but because he had surpassed them in weeks where they had trained for months and years.
Naturally Damian loved it.
Another opponent staggered to his feet, blood running from his broken nose.
"My mother has never done anything to you! I'll kill you for what you said about her bastard! Aaahhh." He charged blindly, rage overcoming reason.
Damian barely moved. At the last second, he sidestepped, tripped the fool, and drove his knee into his ribs as he fell.
The sickening crack of bone was the only sound before the boy collapsed, unconscious.
"I guess I was right about her ability to take dick and birth idiots." Damian chuckled, planting his foot on the trainee's back. "Who else wants some? Line up or come at the same time, maybe that'll make it a worthwhile challenge."
The remaining trainees hesitated, exchanging uneasy glances. They didn't want to fight anymore. Even as a group.
The fact that this class was the cream of the crop and they accepted defeat was a testament to Damian's considerable strength.
Good. They knew who the Alpha was. But he still had to drive the point in.
Damian cracked his knuckles.
"I thought this was supposed to be difficult. I thought you were supposed to be elites." he taunted, his voice carrying through the courtyard. "Pathetic."
No one moved. They were afraid.
He grinned. Fear was better than respect. Fear lasted longer.
From the balcony above, Lady Shiva watched, her expression unreadable.
Hanzo leaned against the railing beside her, arms crossed. "They hate him." he observed.
Shiva smirked. "Let them."
Below, another figure stepped forward, cutting through the crowd of beaten trainees.
Kai.
The second-best recent recruit in the League. He and Damian had never spoken before, but Damian could always feel the hateful glares the older boy sent his way when he thought he wasn't looking.
The moment Kai entered the ring, a ripple went through the spectators. Unlike the others, Kai wasn't afraid.
Damian tilted his head. "Finally, someone grew a spine."
Kai's eyes were cold, his posture steady. "You're not as good as you think you are."
Damian rolled his shoulders. "Prove it then."
The fight was fast, brutal and quick.
Kai was good. His technique was precise, his form disciplined. But he was predictable. Not at all like Cassandra. None of them were like Cassandra.
Damian danced around his strikes, dodging with effortless grace, waiting for an opening.
Then, in a single explosive movement, he slammed his fist into Kai's gut, doubling him over. A knee to the chin sent him reeling.
Kai staggered, furious, wiping blood from his mouth. He lunged again, but Damian was already inside his guard.
A sharp elbow to the jaw. A crushing strike to the ribs.
Kai collapsed.
The courtyard fell silent once more.
Damian didn't look at the fallen trainee. Instead, his eyes locked onto the rest of them—the ones still standing, watching.
The message was clear: I own this place now.
Shiva sighed from above. "Enough."
Damian turned toward her, his expression unreadable. Then his eyes fell onto the Shadow beside her and Hanzo.
Cassandra.
A maniacal battle lust gripped him.
"Hey Cass, wanna figh-
Shiva immediately interrupted. "You and Cassandra will train separately from now on."
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why Master?"
Shiva's smirk faded slightly. "Because you won't stop fighting her."
Damian shrugged. "She accepts."
"That's the problem," Shiva said, glaring at her daughter who was gripping the rail as if she wanted to jump down. Cassandra like Damian was also raring to go.
He smirked. "If I beat her or she beats me and we establish an order of hierarchy based on strength, will you change your mind?"
Shiva exhaled sharply, pressing her nose. "No. And that's exactly the issue. Neither of you fights to spar—you fight to win. And if I don't step in, one of you is going to die."
Damian didn't argue. She wasn't wrong.
Every time he saw Cassandra, he wanted to test himself against her. She was the only opponent that mattered. The only one who pushed him. And every time, she accepted because maybe she was the same.
They fought like two storms colliding, no hesitation, no holding back. Although Damian never used Ashura.
And Shiva had to stop them. Every time. The one time Hanzo tried, he got his jaw broken.
Damian chuckled. He didn't know if Cassandra was obsessed with the fights like he was, or if she was just following some unspoken warrior's code. It didn't matter.
One day, they'd meet for the final time, and he would crush her and assert his dominance.
He turned to leave, stepping over Kai's unconscious body without a second glance.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Hanzo watching, unimpressed.
Unbothered.
Unlike the others, Hanzo wasn't afraid of him. Even after a shattered jaw.
And that intrigued him. It intrigued him a lot.