Jerry Lee was performing a kata when Lily entered the dojo. She watched him silently. Jerry finished his kata with a bow. Lily clapped as she stepped onto the mats.
"Thank you," Jerry said.
"You're welcome. You remind me of your father more and more everyday."
"I try to live up to his legacy. Those are big shoes to fill."
"You do a great job. I'm proud of the man that I've watched you become," Lily said as she patted him on the shoulder.
"Thank you. You've been a big part of how I've turned out. You and mom pushed me to be the best that I could. Now we just need to get Hirono."
"We've gotten under his skin."
"He's got his students attacking ours. He's turned into a common gang leader. I don't expect anything from the police since Hirono seems to be paying most of them off," Jerry said.
"Well, there is more going on here. Have you heard from any of the students about the guy that's been helping fight off Hirono's thugs?'
"Not really. What guy?"
" Well, there's an interesting story going around about a masked fighter who is helping Blackdragon students against Hirono's guys," Lily said as she took off her shoes.
"He's some random guy?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. The really interesting part is that he uses Blackdragon Karate and is apparently a master at it," Lily smiled and bowed to Jerry.
"A Blackdragon master? Could it be that guy that was dad's rival," Jerry asked as he bowed to Lily.
"Hiro? No. This guy sounds like he's a white guy around your age."
Lily's foot barely missed Jerry's head as he thought about what she was saying. He countered with a series of punches. The two traded blows and blocks at a breakneck speed. Jerry grabbed her by the collar and rolled backwards to flip her. Lily went with the momentum and did an aerial cartwheel.
Jerry kipped up and turn to face Lily. She circled and he prepared for her next attack. Lily dashed in and went low. She hooked her left arm over Jerry's left shoulder and used her momentum to swing around his back. She wrapped her legs around his head and spun around to increase her torque. Lily wrapped an arm around his neck and tossed him to the ground.
Jerry rolled through Lily's throw and came up on one knee. Lily smiled and nodded. Jerry stood and bowed to her. Lily returned the bow.
"He doesn't sound like any of my students. I have quite a few black belts, but none that I'd consider masters," Jerry said.
"Me neither, but I've had several students who have encountered him. I'm curious as to who he is and why he hasn't tried to contact us."
"Do you think it's a setup?"
"I don't know. If it was someone using Blackdragon Karate to commit crimes or cause trouble, then I'd bet my life that Hirono was behind it," Lily said as she scratched her head.
"We'll have to look into it. I have some questions for him."
=====
Several of Hirono's students were following a young couple from a book store. The young couple was oblivious as they talked about the new volume of Dawn Sullivan's RARE series. The leader of the Hirono squad signaled for the others to surround them.
"Hey buddy, you got some change," one of the goons asked.
"I'm sorry, but I don't," the young man replied.
"That's okay. I'll take your little chick instead," the goon said as another one of Hirono's goons moved in.
"Wait! We don't want any trouble."
"Sucks to be you then," another goon said.
The young woman screamed as the men moved in to attack. Her boyfriend tried to be ready for an attack from any angle, but the numbers were against him. One of the goons grabbed the girl by the wrist. When her boyfriend tried to save her he was attacked by another goon. He was blocking attacks when the guy that had grabbed his girlfriend was thrown by him.
"You guys don't like to fight fair," a young masked man said.
"It's that guy," one of the goons said.
"I've been wanting to have a go at you," the leader of the Hirono goons said.
The mysterious masked man motioned for the leader to attack. The leader rushed in with a flurry of punches, but the masked man dodged easily. He motioned for the couple to run while all of Hirono's goons were focused on him. The leader leapt forward with a triple kick. The mysterious man blocked them easily as he backpedaled.
"So, you are good. What's your name," the leader asked.
"Vortex," the masked man replied.
"Vortex, huh? I'm Hiroshi Nakamura. I've heard that you're a strong fighter. I want to see for myself."
"Why were you about to attack those people?"
"Because I heard that you protect people in this area. I knew that it would draw you out."
"So, let's do this," Vortex said with a smirk.
Hiroshi held up a hand and then pointed at Vortex. The other members of his team attacked. Vortex dodged and countered with ease. Hiroshi waited until he saw an opening, then he jumped in kicking Vortex in the back.
Vortex stumbled forward into the arms of one of the goons. He grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the ground. He hopped back to avoid a flying knee from Hiroshi. Vortex landed a four strike combo on another goon before flooring him with a Rising Dragon Palm.
Vortex finished off the goons until Hiroshi was the only one left. Hiroshi charged in with punches before switching to kicks. Vortex dodged and blocked until he saw his opportunity. He dropped down into a sweep kick. Hiroshi jumped over the attack, but was unable to avoid Vortex's Rising Dragon Kick.
Hiroshi hit the ground hard. The rest of his guys had recovered enough to help him up. Vortex showed a cocky smile. Hiroshi grimaced.
"I'll see you again soon, Vortex," Hiroshi said as he signaled for his men to leave.
Vortex saw a woman talking to a police officer. She seemed to be showing the policeman a video and pointing towards him. Vortex quickly ran into a nearby alley. The policeman rushed to where he had been, but didn't know which way to go.
"Master would be upset if I lost or got captured. I need to make sure that that guy is one of Hirono's. Then I can find out if they've found him."