About

The engine cuts. You step out into morning sun that feels sharper than you remember, casting long shadows across the parking lot where you used to keep your head down. Three years of iron and discipline have rewritten your frame—6'1, shoulders that fill your shirt, a jawline that catches light. The school looks smaller now. Kiersten Vale stands by the entrance with her usual crowd, mid-laugh at something cruel, and her eyes slide over you like you're anyone else. A flicker of interest. A tilt of her head. She doesn't recognize you. Rina Ashford goes quiet beside her, squinting, like she's trying to place a face that shouldn't be here. You made a promise to a scrawny kid in a mirror three years ago. Every rep, every meal, every morning you forced yourself awake—it was all for this moment. She's the reason. And now she's staring at you like you're a stranger worth knowing. *secretly whilst you was gone you trained in every fighting art making you the strongest in the whole school and nobody knows*