Chapter One: Waiting in Vain
I'm not your every day on the block...
I'm known for finding weakness,
in anyone too arrogant!
Hasn't anyone ever told you?
It's not the man in the fight,
it's the fight in the man!
Somebody lied to me...
Today was a normal day for the Mighty Ducks' center hockey player, Duke L'Orange. He and his teammates were on their way to a martial arts competition under the command of their manger, Phil Palmfeather. The humanoid convinced their goalie, Wildwing to go as a public appearance.
They all had disgusted looks and gloomy attitudes about the decision, but Wildwing reasoned with them with the help of Mallory and Tanya. Nosedive complained while being pushed into the Migrator while Duke tried to talk his way nervously out of the event, but had no such luck. Grin, of course, went with the decision. Eventually, Duke gave in and followed suit with less reluctance.
"Man, this is so lame! Why do we have to go to something as lame as martial arts?" Nosedive whined in a rough tone as he sulked in his seat.
"Because Phil gave us these passes, and besides," Wildwing answered in a brotherly tone, "it's something to do on our off day."
"Yeah, and at least we won't be outside in this horrible heat." Mallory chimed in from the other side as she shrugged her shoulders at the younger duck.
"Yeah, but martial arts?" Nosedive argued stubbornly, kicking his feet onto the panel beside him. "I'd expect Grin to go to something like this, but this is totally uncool!"
There's no turning back now...
Once they arrived at the Broken Hills Tournament, they looked around. The lobby looked slightly like their own Pond. The only difference was that the trophies at the pond didn't have miniture fighters on them. It was a relief to know that it was a similar sight for the teenaged duck.
"Well, I'll give this place one thing, it's a great place to take a break away from hockey." Wildwing commented in a postitive tone as he took in the area he stepped into.
"Yeah, and the uh, aerodynamics that the fighters use in their matches are amazing, too!" Tanya added in an excited tone as he looked at the youngest duck.
"Eh, it's not my style, but I'm always open to new dings." Duke said in an interested tone as he towards the signs on the walls; looking for the enterance to the competition.
"I still thinks it's boring." Nosedive mumbled under his breath as he glared at anything his eyes fell on in the lobby.
"It's something to do, now come on already before we miss the opening match!" Mallory barked at the younger duck, following the others to the ring.
Nosedive blinked at the red headed duck and obeyed her command, and looked around at all the fighters in the room. They were all scattered along the room. Two teenagers were matched up all over the room and whoever got three points first, won. The rules were simple and easy to follow. Some fighters had an artistic while others had a bit of a wild side to their style, which quickly caught the attention to the two reluctant ducks.
The oldest duck looked around the room and seen a thin girl fighting against a bigger boy. "Hey, that's not fair, making a girl fight against a boy twice her size!" Duke declared, getting the attention of his teammates.
"What girl, Duke? There's a lot of girls fighting boys down there." Mallory said in a confused tone, looking around the room for the girl Duke was talking about.
"She's da one wearing a gray bath robe across the floor with a big guy wearing a red bath robe." Duke said angrily as he pointed the girl out.
"In martial arts, all fighters are equal." A lazy voice said from behind the ducks, making them look back.
The speaker was an old man in his mid- 50's with stoned gray hair and tired brown eyes. He wore a simple white shirt with red suspenders and light brown pants.
"Do you know that girl, mister?" Wildwing asked in a curious tone as he looked from the man to the girl fighting against the man.
"Yes I do." The man answered simply.
"Den who is she? Why does she have to fight a monster like that?" Duke demanded warningly as he glared at the man behind him.
The man blinked at the old duck before he began laughing at him. "I know that girl since before she was able to walk by self." The man said in a foreign accent, " She know how to take care of self. Besides, the bigger they come, the harder they fall."
Duke gave the man a bewildered look, and the man, shook his head in response. "Just watch and see." He said in a positive tone.
Duke turned his attention back to the little girl and watched her take a fighting stance that resembled a bird with her arms raised over her head and her left knee brought forward. As soon as the bigger boy charged forward, she brought her knee down and used the other to deliver a harsh kick to the boy's face, earning her a victory.
"Whoa! Did you see that! She took him out with just a simple kick!" Nosedive cried excitedly as he leaned his elbows on his lap, giving her his full attention.
The man only laughed at the younger duck's reaction. "I told you so." He warned, "that girl is known for pulling victories out of her sleeve against people everyone knows she won't be able to beat."
"Who is that girl! She kicks some major butt!" Nosedive wondered in the same excited tone as he kept his eyes trained on the girl advancing to the next round.
"Her name is Shadow Honda. Is known for letting opponent's think they have uppa hand." The man answered simply as he watched the girl like a proud father.
"Shadow Honda? As in "The Devil's Shadow" Honda? The youngest martial artist to win the Underground under 18 tournament?" Mallory asked in a surprised tone as she watched the girl get paired up with another girl wearing a white gi.
"That only a title the tabs called her. But that same girl alright." The man answered with a nod.
"You know dat girl?" Duke asked in a curious tone as he looked over to the red headed duck beside him.
"Yeah, she took the Underground Tournament by storm when she defeated the reigning champion, Rocky Dean. And he was champion for three years and at the time a third degree black belt." Mallory told him, "I didn't expect her to be here. She looks much smaller in person."
"That because she only fifteen." The man replied in a flat tone as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat.
"If that's Shadow, then who are you?" Wildwing asked in a questioning tone.
"I would be her teacha, Mr. Kemo." The man behind them said in a pleased tone, not taking his eyes off the girl fighting in the tournament. The man looked down at his watch and gasped at the time. "So sorry to leave you, but I go to sign Shadow-san up for the finals!" He said in an embarrassed tone as he stood up and bowed to the ducks. "Nice talking to you." He said as he walked off; leaving the ducks to their imaginations.
And soon enough, Shadow's last and final advancement to the semi-finals had regained the ducks' attention once again.
The other times the tiny girl won her matches, she didn't have hardly a scratch on her, but when Duke looked at the girl get into a tiger position, he saw blood smeared just above the left brow and a slightly bloodied lower lip. From the way her left elbow was trembling, Duke could tell she had injured the accused area.
Shadow let her opponent make the first move and waited for her to charge. This time, instead of rushing in like all the others before her, Shadow's opponent flipped her way towards Shadow; catching her off guard. Shadow took a harsh blow to her arms and head, and was sent to the ground.
"I never would've seen that coming!" Wildwing said in a shocked tone with his mouth opened wide.
"I knew martial arts was rough, but I neva knew it was dis rough!" Duke said in disbelief as he watched the refferee rush over to Shadow and began asking her if she could continue.
Shadow coughed and crawled a bit on the floor. After a brief second, she bounced back to her feet, and nodded to the refferee. The red-clad man made a few shouts and ordered the two fighters back to their marks on the matt. The refferee made the girls bow to him before he made them bow to each other and finally get into their fighting stances. The score was now tied.
"She's not half bad for a human." Nosedive said in an interested tone as he watched two fighters begin to fight once again.
"And you thought this was going to be boring." Mallory said in a sly tone, trying to keep her snickers in control.
"I bet yer glad ya came now." Duke sneered playfully at the younger duck between him and the leader, before he quickly turned his attention back to the fight.
Instead of crouching down into her normal move, Shadow stood on one foot like a flamingo with her arms stread upwards and her wrists angled perfectly. Her back was perfectly straight; waiting for the girl to charge. And once she did, Shadow bounced to her other leg, and kicked her opponent in the chest, sending her flying, and advanced to the final round. The ducks let out a sigh of relief when she won.
Nosedive looked over at his older brother and stared at him in shock. "Remind me not to make her mad." He said in a blunt tone as he blinked in surprise.
Wildwing nodded in agreement. "I hear ya, baby bro, but now it's down to her and the champion." He said in a tunned tone as he leaned back in his.
"If that's how tough the semi-finalist is, I don't even want to see how bad the champion will be!" Mallory said in a worried tone as she shook her head at the limping Shadow as the referees helped her to the bench so she could rest while she waited her turn to fight.
Duke nodded his head in agreement. "Somethin' tells me it ain't ova yet fer her eitha." He said in a grim tone as he was watched the injured girl tend to her wounds while she watched the champion fight the last fight before he went against her.
The champion was a slightly buiilt boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a black gi with a symbol of a red dragon etched into the back and the words, "Fire Dragon" on the left side on the front. He waited till his opponent was in range before he struck him harshly in the nose, breaking it on impact, and striking him in the back when he doubled over. He earned himself two points in one move.
He rose to his feet when the other guy got to his and sent a quick punch to his chest; earning him the right to take on Shadow in the next round.
"Well, that was quick." Mallory said in a blunt tone as she rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
"Uh- I hate to say it, but," Tanya said in a concerned tone, raising her feathered finger to her lower beak, "I don't think Shadow stands uh, you know a chance against him!"
Duke looked at the girl for a moment and noticed a confident smirk on her face, and looked over at the two doubting ducks beside him with a reasurring look. "Don't write her off yet." He advised in a warning tone as he grinned at the girl watching her next opponent go back to his friends to wait to be called to fight again. She had a playful look in her eye as she kept her eyes trained on her next opponent. "I think she might have a trick up 'er sleeve."
When it was finally her time to fight once again, she was called up front to face the red dragon. After they bowed to the referee and to each other, they both got into their fighting stances. The boy bounced around as if he were dancing on hot coal and moved side to side, waiting for the right time to strike.
Unlike Shadow's last stance, she stood up straight with one arm folded behind her back and her palm facing upward and her thumb folded over her open palm. The boy charged for her and she quickly dropped down to the matt and sent him to the ground in the process and tagged him in the stomach with her free hand. They got up once again in time for Shadow jumped into the air and pulled a roundhouse kick to his face; earning her the title, "Champion of the Underground Tournament". The girl helped the boy to his feet and bowed to him in respect before the referee and Mr. Kemo joined her sides and raised her arms in the air in triumph.
The ducks couldn't help but give Shadow a standing aplause. Nosedive was so impressed by Shadow's preformance that he whistled and cheered with excitement. Wildwing had also cheered along with Duke and Mallory. Tanya clapped while she, too cheered. The only duck that didn't show as much as the rest of the team would be Grin. He merely bowed in respect for the young fighter.
"Whoa! I didn't think she could win against someone like that boy!" Wildwing said in shock as he sat back down in his seat.
"She's pretty good." Mallory said in an amazed tone as she nodded in agreement.
"Good?" Nosedive said in shock, "That girl has some serious skill!"
He added excitedly as he jumped up and down in his seat.
"She's got talent!" Duke said proudly as he looked at the two younger ducks with equal excitement.
"She's got some real potential. I could see her going pretty far in this career." Wildwing said in a positive voice as he watched her teacher help her out of the ring; holding her trophy as they walked out of the room."Maybe we should go down and congradulate her."
Duke stood up with a satisfied smile. "Well, I'm definitely goin' down dare ta congragulate 'er!" He said in mind-set tone as he began to make his way down to the isle. Without another word, everyone else followed Duke's example and followed him through the crowd.
Once they made their way down to the stadium, they found Shadow and Mr. Kemo sitting at the bench. Shadow was in the middle of wrapping her wrists when they came up to her.
"Hey, Shadow," Wildwing said in a good natured tone, "how's the bumps and bruises feelin'?"
Shadow looked up at Wildwing in shock before she looked over at Mr. Kemo with desperate eyes. "I've survived worse than this." She said in a quiet tone as she looked up at the leader with a brave smile. "I can take a few cuts and scraps."
"Dose were some pretty slick moves ya pulled back dare. You've got a lot of talent." Duke said in a pleased tone as eh smiled down at the girl.
"Shadow-san work very hard to get where she is today." Mr. Kemo said in a pleased tone as he ruffled Shadow's already messed up hair.
Shadow swatted the old man's hand away in embarrassement. "Mr. Kemo!" She whined as she glared over at the man beside her.
Mr. Kemo made a mock-growl at the child and looked back at the ducks before him. "It was very nice meeting you all, uh- Shadow-san and I are going to Burger World - celebrate victory."
"It was nice meeting you..." Shadow said in a quiet tone as she slowly stood up and let Mr. Kemo help her off the stadium. She looked back at them with a ghost of happiness in her eyes before she called out. "Good luck at tonight's game! I hope you win!"
"Uh-Danks, Shadow!" Duke said in a stunned tone as he watched her limp off towards the exit. "Ya know, somethin'? Dat kid ain't half bad."
"Yeah man!" Nosedive said excitedly as he held a fist up to his face. "I want to see her fight again!"
"I bet I could teach her to be one tough kid." Mallory said in a thoughtful tone as she began daydreaming about sparring off with the human child.
Nosedive let out a hardy laugh as they made their way out of the building. "Hey, if anyone's gonna corrupt that kid, it's gonna be me!" He declared proudly as they all headed stepped out of the stadium; laughing as they went...
