The Martial Arts Prodigy

Chapter 15

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu

Three days before the tournament...

Asia arrives at Danyelle's loft, hoping to find her, but she finds her training with Laura, Vanessa and Draca. Impressed with what she sees, she applauds them while leaning against a wall.

"Brilliant... absolutely brilliant!" Asia exclaims with glee.

"What are you doing here sensei?" Danyelle asks.

"I came here to give you your tournament participant numbers. I already gave Aaron and Johnny theirs, after you three, I give Carly, Zoella and Danny their numbers." Asia informs them.

"So, this is like a regular tournament? Where we fight guys that are next to our entrant number?" Laura asks while drinking some water out of her bottle.

"Yes, whoever you are paired up with, you will be fighting that individual in the tournament. But, your fight can happen at anytime, so be on your toes at all times." after informing them of the rules of the tournament, Asia gives them golden medallions with numbers in the center.

"Number seven, my favorite number!" Vanessa says.

"I got number four." said Laura as she showed the others. Danyelle holds up her entrant number to the rest of the group, revealing it to be the number ten.

"Ten? Dani, that's an amazing draw!" Vanessa tells her. Draca shows her number to the others and it's revealed to be number eleven, to the surprise of Danyelle and the others.

"Draca, you and I will be..." before Danyelle could complete her sentence, Draca simply looks at her and nods in acknowledgment of this revelation.

"All of you will be fighting in three days, I suggest you all practice." as Asia walks away, Danyelle looks at her right hand glowing with an intense shade of jade green. Laura notices it, wondering what is going on with Danyelle.

"Dani, what's with your hand?" Laura wonders.

"It's the tattoo on my hand, it's glowing with the energy of the Jade Dragon." Danyelle rolls up the sleeve of her black shirt and she shows Laura the full tattoo drenched across her arm.

"What the hell? That is f*****g sick girl!" Laura compliments.

"You must have awakened your inner spirit, I noticed that your aura feels different." Vanessa says.

"You know?" Danyelle wondered as Vanessa nods in response.

"When I was training under my master, he informed me about the Jade Dragon Society and their ancient teachings. How they were able to be at one with their dormant being." Danyelle is impressed about Vanessa's knowledge about the Jade Dragon Society.

"Was your master part of the Jade Dragon Society?" Danyelle asks out of curiosity.

"As a matter of fact, he was. For over 75 years, he defended the world from the workings of various evil organizations, until he parted ways with them to teach others Ninjitsu." Vanessa says.

"So I reckon that Asia is a member as well. Makes sense with the way she looks at you Dani." Draca said to Danyelle.

"It's true. Asia is a member and she fought alongside my birth parents, as a member of the Society, until they died." Danyelle pulls down her sleeve as she talks to Draca and the others.

"So, we are going against each other in the tournament? This should be fun." Draca says with a smile on her face.

"Are you kidding? Fighting a former world champion in MMA? That has been one of my dreams!" Danyelle says.

"Really, won't be so magical when I beat you. I won't go easy on you Dani, best believe that." Draca declares.

"I admire your drive and your passion, all I have to say is... may the best fighter win, but don't be mad when I lay the smackdown on you.” Danyelle jokingly comments, making Draca smile.

"Hey there people!" Johnny says as he walks through the front door, with Aaron in tow.

"Johnny, Aaron. What brings you guys here?" Danyelle asks. Johnny and Aaron show her their entrant numbers and they read number six and eight respectively.

"Vanessa... Aaron has number eight." Danyelle tells her.

"Are you kidding me?! I'm fighting my boyfriend?" Vanessa exclaimed upon hearing the news.

"Well... yeah, you will be going up against me. We will be fighting each other." Aaron says with a stutter.

"Well, if that's not a first date, I don't know what is? Fighting you sounds kind of hot." Vanessa flirtatiously says.

"Well, since you put it that way, it would be my honor to face you." Aaron bows to her, making Vanessa blush. Meanwhile, Carly steps out from the front door of her loft, glancing at her entrant number, which is three.

"I can't lose... I won't lose!" she thinks to herself, heading to a secluded lake to further train herself. In the distance Zoella and Danny watch as Carly practices her Kata.

"She is dead set on killing you, for what you did to her in the past." Danny points out as Zoella adjusts her left glove.

"It doesn't matter, we are all set to go. The plan is moving along smoothly." she says to Danny. Danny's phone suddenly rings and a female Asian voice is summoned, once he answered.

"Status update..." The Voice says.

"The stage is set boss, these people will not know what's coming." Danny confirms to The Voice, while grinning from ear to ear.

"Well done, proceed as planned. We will initiate the protocol soon." The Voice says. As Danny hangs up his phone, he and Zoella walk away into the forest. While Laura walks towards the river, she sees Carly practicing her attacks.

"You seem upset." Laura tells her.

"What's it to you?" Carly brazenly asks her.

"Usually if a certain person is angry about something, there is a reason behind it all. So, what's yours 'queen bee'? Why do you hide behind all this bravado?" Laura asks her.

"That's none of your goddamn business!" upon finishing her sentence, Carly kicks a boulder with great force, splitting it in half in the process.

"My intentions are only my own! So don't pretend that you give a damn about what I am thinking!" Carly roars.

"I don't give a s**t what you are thinking! I just want to know why are you so fired up?" Carly punches a hole in the waterfall, annoyed with Laura's constant badgering.

"What part of none of your goddamn business, did you not understand!?" Carly says as she gets in Laura's personal space, staring her in the eyes.

"You need to back up now b***h, before we start this tournament early!" Laura warns Carly.

"You okay here La-La?" Vanessa asks, arriving with Danyelle and Aaron.

"Yeah, just chatting with fake Barbie here, that's all." Laura says.

"I hope you got number four, because I am going to run you down first, before I win this tournament!" Carly boldly promises.

"Don't hold your breath Barbie, someone just may take it away." Laura warns Carly as she walks away.

"What the f**k is her problem?" Vanessa asks.

"Obviously something is bothering her, but we don't have time to find out what." Aaron says.

"Aaron's right, we got a tournament to get ready for. There's no time for messing around." Laura says. Danyelle wonders about Carly and why she really is in this tournament.