The Devil Has My Heart

Chapter 2 - A Day's Work

Both Jason and Akira work in martial arts schools. Akira works with small children as an assistant to Master Paul, a well-seasoned professional fighter. Jason owns a gym where he trains adults as well as teenage kids.

Akira pulled up to the front of the dojo where Master Paul was standing outside waiting for her. "Master Paul? What are you doing out here? Something wrong?" Akira walked to the other side of her car to grab her bag.

"Not at all, Akira. I have a message for you." He held out a golden envelope in front of her and she looked up at him.

"What's this?" she asked as she took it from his hands.

"Someone came here looking for you early this morning. They asked me to make sure this gets to you as soon as possible." Master Paul had a giant smile on his face. Akira was curious about his excitement. She ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. She immediately recognized the embossed logo on the folded sheet of paper. It is exactly like the one on the invitation that Jason showed her.

She unfolded the paper and began to read. The letter was almost identical to the one Jason received. This one, however, was addressed to her. She looked up at Master Paul with shock.

"Golden Dragon tournament? They are inviting me to enter?" Master Paul responded by holding up another golden envelope..

"Yup, and I got an invitation too. Do you know how good you have to be to get an invitation from them?" Akira looked back down at the paper in her hand.

"Jason got his the other day. He will be entering too."

"Of course, Jason got an invite. He is quite the martial artist, one of the best I've seen. So are you. You should not seem so surprised that you got an invitation, Akira."

But she was surprised. She did not know much about the Golden Dragon, but she knew they were pretty exclusive. She has competed and won in multiple competitions, but not at the magnitude of Master Paul. So being invited to a tournament alongside a fighter of his caliber was a huge honor to her.

"Well, the kids will be arriving soon. Let's get everything situated before they get here." Akira nodded and followed the dojo master inside.

After a few hours, Akira took off her belt and robes, then stepped outside where Jason was waiting for her. He drove her in his sports car to the nearby park. They found a secluded spot near the lake to have lunch together.

He laid out a blanket for them to sit on, then handed her a lunch container that had a roast beef sandwich inside.

"Thank you, baby," Akira said with a smile as she bit into her sandwich.

"So guess what?" Jason gulped down his water and gave her a raised eyebrow.

"I got an invitation to the Golden Dragon tournament too!" His brow furrowed even more.

"Really? When?" Akira handed her boyfriend the envelope that contained her invite inside.

"When I pulled up to the dojo, Master Paul was standing outside with it. He said someone came by looking for me earlier this morning. They gave it to him to give to me. He got one too." Jason read the note quietly, then looked up at her.

"So, does that mean you'll be entering with me?" He winked as she rolled her eyes, sipping her water.

"Well, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So I guess so. Plus, I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?" Jason moved closer to her, his nose touching hers. He gazed into her brown eyes.

"I love you, Akira. It will be our last one. We can retire together. Deal?" Her eyes lit up as she kissed his nose gently before whispering her answer.

"Deal. And I love you too, Jason." The young couple finished up their meal together. Jason took her back to the kids' dojo to finish her workday.

Jason pulled up to his gym just as his second set of students arrived for class.

"Master Jason! How was lunch with that hottie, Akira?" One of the teenage boys who attends his class, Aaron, gave him a slick look.

"Mind your business, kid. Or I'll make you regret asking such questions about my personal life."

"Yes, Sensei Jason!" Aaron straightened up quickly. The other students snickered.

"Enough! Everybody line up! We will start with the combo we began yesterday!" Jason very much enjoyed teaching. He had many teachers in his life, and he enjoyed passing his knowledge onto others. Jason, however, was still a student himself.

While Jason is more than qualified to lead the people who join his program, he never felt like he could learn enough. He was always ready to expand his knowledge.

He has learned from multiple different teachers over time. Each teacher specialized in various fighting styles. Jason had a deep need to be the best. He wished to take on other fighters to become the best in the world.

His mother is the one who first lit this fire within him. She taught him all she knew, including her signature style. With that, he formed a style unique to him. The only other person he would teach this one-of-a-kind technique to was his long-time friend, now girlfriend, Akira.

Jason's mother helped set his foundation. This foundation kept him grounded. The blood of the devil inside of him did not define him. But the loss of his mother hit him hard. Jason began going down a dark path that would lead to his early demise. If he didn't have any help, he would have lost himself forever.

He had no other family besides his mother, so he began bouncing from foster home to foster home. Akira's mother, Denise, was finally able to gain custody of him and straighten him out. She was made aware of Jason's unique situation by Samira before she died. It seemed as though she knew her time was coming to an end, and she wanted to know her son would be safe.

Denise looked out for Jason until he moved out at age nineteen. He was able to get onto the right path and finish school. He would only fight during a competition. His bad behavior seemed to have all but disappeared. As long as he was with Akira, he was able to keep his anger in check. She kept his demon at bay simply by being next to him.

After Jason finished up his 3-hour session with his kid group, he sat them all down and called his assistant, Eddy, to his side to make an announcement. The tall, young, dark-skinned man with cornrows came to his friend's side to address the children.

"Alright, everyone, listen up. I have been invited to a very elite fighting tournament by the Golden Dragon." Mumbles and chatter erupted in the dojo. Jason put his hand up to silence the noise and redirect their attention.

"I will be going. The trials begin in 3 weeks, starting in California, then finishing in Bangkok. I must begin directing my attention to training for the next three weeks. So, I will be leaving your classes in the hands of Eddy. There will also be another excellent teacher who will join him in my place. You will listen to, follow and respect them as you do me. Anyone who disrespects any teachers while I am gone will be automatically removed from my program, with absolutely no exceptions. I will let your parents know of my absence and give them information about my substitutes.

Now, this is not a time to slack off or take a vacation. You will work just as hard with them as you do with me. Are we all clear?"

"YES SIR, SENSEI JASON!" All the young boys and girls stood to their feet and bowed to their instructor.

"Will it be on TV? We would love to see you kick some people's asses!" one boy said. Jason and Eddy looked at each other and laughed.

"Yes, it will be on TV. I will give you all of the information once I get it. Now, you all get home and do your homework. Remember, if your grades slack, that is also grounds for being kicked out of my program."

Eddy stood by the door and watched as the kids got into their rides, then closed and locked the front door.

"So, are you nervous, man? It's going to be a big one. Probably bigger than any other one you have ever done." Eddy helped Jason straighten up the dojo before both men headed home.

"A little. You're right. It is the biggest tournament I've ever done. The Golden Dragon is pretty f*****g huge. The best fighters from all over the world will be there for sure. Akira got an invitation too."

Eddy's eyes grew wide. "Really? Wow! She's probably going to be one of the youngest people there. Are you worried about her joining?"

Jason chuckled. "Are you kidding? She is a hell of a fighter. I know she can hold her own. She and I have been training and fighting together since we were kids. Granted, I have been doing it longer than her. But she is a badass. You know that." Eddy shrugged his shoulders.

"That's true. Akira is a baddie for sure. Is it going to be divided by gender?" Jason sat down behind his desk and put his feet up.

"Now that you mention it, I'm not sure. The letter did not say whether it was or wasn't. Most of the tournaments we've done together were women versus women and men versus men. We only did one that wasn't divided by gender. Luckily, Akira and I never had to fight because there was no way I was going to fight my girlfriend."

Eddy sat down in front of Jason. "Yeah, I get that. It would be pretty embarrassing to lose to your own woman." Jason chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, man. I guess we will find out more information as the trial date gets closer. I will give you all the details once I have them, then we can give them to all the students who might be interested in watching the tournament on TV."

"Whatever you say, boss. Hey, let's grab something to eat, man. I'm starving." Eddy stood up and put his bag over his shoulder.

"Wanna make it a double date? Akira wants burritos tonight, so I'm going to take her out for dinner. You could bring Christina."

The friends agreed to meet each other in a couple of hours. They both headed out of the dojo, locking up the doors behind them.