"I can assure you, I'm in perfect condition; I can jump without feeling any pain in my ribs!" Dash shouted as he took small jumps behind Devon, who was buying ice cream.
The day of the inter-school tournament had arrived, and the atmosphere was lively. Obviously, competition between the two schools generated hostility, but Dash had not gotten involved at this point.
"When you mentioned you wanted to talk about something, you never mentioned this. Didn't you say it was better to focus on competitions that really matter?" Devon looked at Dash and handed him his coffee-flavored ice cream.
Dash ignored Devon's displeasure and pointed out, "I just thought it would be amazing to fight together. Don't you think so?"
"Do you trust me so little?" Devon turned around.
"That's a misunderstanding; it's not my intention to say I don't trust you. But if advancing or not depends on someone else, it's better to go together," Dash hastily said, noticing Devon's calm look, which seemed uninterested but was quite the opposite.
"Haha!" Devon laughed with a little joy in his eyes. He chuckled lightly, sending slight shivers down Dash's spine. He didn't bring up the topic again.
"I'm being honest."
"In that case, let's fight together in the next national dojo competition. I heard they'll implement the same rules as in this competition, so we could learn important things."
"You're absolutely right." Dash finally gave up trying to participate. In the end, he knew this competition would offer little besides facing Jack, so he was well aware they could cross paths in other places.
After that, both boarded the waiting bus, and surprisingly, Chozen, Daniel, and Johnny decided to accompany them in this competition, knowing their students were about to participate together. Dash, at the back of the bus, realized that this trio was terrifying. Few knew how legendary these students were individually, but he was well aware of how incredible they were when gathered in one place.
Now that hostilities seemed to have diminished, things among the students had cooled down even more, and each one showed their differences in training.
That was for the best; outside the dojo, it was better not to talk about karate or take it into account, as it would bring more problems than benefits.
"Hawk, did you go back to your purple hair color?" A boy looked at Hawk's hair color and asked with some curiosity.
Upon hearing this question, Hawk showed no displeasure or anger and simply replied, "They told me this color looks better on me."
"Red would make you look more intimidating."
"I think the same."
There was a cheerleading team that had accompanied them to the event, and all students could attend the competition as long as they were interested. As it was a significant competition, everyone was excited and expectant, waiting to see what would happen.
When they arrived at the school grounds, Johnny stood in front of everyone and said, "You know, guys, break bones and greet afterward. The enemy must be crushed mercilessly in special competitions."
"That's not so important; remember to have fun and, most importantly, learn what the rival can show you." Daniel intervened in the conversation to clarify this point to his students.
Johnny looked at Daniel and whispered, "What kind of crap is that?"
"We can't tell them to break their rivals' bones."
"These kids hit Hawk and your student Demetri. Do you want to show leniency?"
Johnny looked at Daniel with astonishment and regretted that this guy had been invited.
Chozen, who was slightly in favor of Johnny, said, "Broken bones don't matter; they usually heal with time, but pride is a bigger wound that takes longer to heal."
"For the love of God..." Daniel gave up, knowing he was contradicting two stubborn men.
"You heard them, guys, no mercy!"
"Yes!"
Dash, as he wouldn't be fighting, brought a trumpet in his backpack and blew it loudly. "Come on, guys, whoever loses has to run a naked marathon."
"Yes!"
Everyone cheered happily, but after realizing what they had supported, they quickly refused to participate in that activity, but it was too late.
Johnny, who heard that, shouted, "That applies only to the guys; don't get excited, you demons' offspring."
"Does that apply to binary genders?"
Daniel looked at the boy holding a camera and asked, "What did you say?"
"It's better if I don't say anything, or I'll leave him halfway." Johnny gave up on that conversation.