Chapter 4-

(AN- I'd like to thank all my readers for adding this to their faves and reviewing! Awesome, now that I thanked someone, on to the story! Oh, and if I spell some karate terms wrong, it's not my fault since I don't take karate! Enjoy!)

Darren eyed his mentor, wondering if he'd vanish again later. Ten minutes later, the vampire had donned his human gear and was about to flit.

"So, where are you going now?" asked Darren, arms crossed. "More cheese?"

Larten made his signature 'You did not just ask me that' face.

"Where I go and what I do is none of your business, Darren. You are my assistant, not my father."

His assistant still looked suspicious, but allowed him to flit. He found himself, yet again, at the shopping mall. It didn't take much to find his source of entertainment, either. Kenzie was having a fight with the black haired boy in the middle of the parking lot.

No…they weren't actually fighting. Kenzie aimed kicks and punches to different parts of his body, stopping right before hitting him. He flinched nearly every time, though he tried valiantly not to. From a table, Ashley clapped and called comments at every fake hit.

Kenzie finished with a roundhouse kick aimed at the boy's groin. She didn't stop this one, though. The crowd that had gathered around them burst into laughter and clapped as the boy groaned and fell on the blacktop.

Ashley ran up to them, helping Ben off the ground. "So Ducky, now do you see my awesomeness?" she asked, grinning at him. He mumbled something in response. Larten stifled a laugh, Arra had done something similar a few decades ago. Vancha had never been the same.

"Now, to the karate tournament!" shouted Kenzie, punching the air. Ashley and Alexis, who'd popped up from the table as well, repeated the action. Ben put his hand in the air.

He followed them to a red van, where a woman and yet another teenager were waiting. "Panda!" shouted Ashley. The tall girl grinned.

"I didn't know you were coming!" said Kenzie.

"I didn't know that was coming." said Panda, jerking her head towards Ben.

(AN-I just love how Larten calls us by our nicknames sometimes!)

The black haired boy looked offended, but decided not to respond. The woman, who looked very much like Kenzie, pointed towards the van. "Come on, the tournament's not going to wait for us!" she said.

The five teens piled into the vehicle, Ashley at one point tripping over air and falling flat on her face.

Kenzie looked at her from one of the front seats. "Skills." she said simply. Ashley huffed from the ground then picked herself up and got in the van. It rolled away, and Larten easily kept pace with it for a few miles.

It finally stopped at a high school about twenty miles or so later. Larten hid behind a tree. The teens climbed out of the car, this time both Ben and Ashley falling out this time. The other three shared a look, then said simultaneously, "Skills.". Then they all giggled and, the other two getting up, headed towards the school.

"So, you guys know what to do right?" Kenzie asked, looking at the twin redheads. "Yep, we go to the bleachers, find a spot with an awesome view, avoid getting hit or punched, make ourselves comfortable, and watch while you change." said Ashley. The other girl nodded. "Ducky, Amanda, you guys just follow them okay?"

Then he lost them in a crowd of bragging adults and their children. Larten followed the flow of humans for a while, eavesdropping on their conversations. "Tony's practiced for a whole week on his hand movements, he's got this one!" boasted a blond woman. "Yeah, well Andre's mastered his whole weapons routine! He could probably do it in his sleep!" said a tall black woman. Her son looked a bit reluctant to be shown off.

He followed them to a table, where once again he cursed his illiteracy. People milled around, getting drawn on by other people. A tall man saw him and walked over. "You're a competitor, right?" he asked, then, not waiting for an answer, he drew a 'C' on Larten's hand and led him to a room.

"These are the changing rooms, put on your clothes you're competing in and come out here when you're ready." he said lazily, then walked back to the table. Larten stood bewildered. He went in the changing rooms anyway though. He was, once again, curious.

On one of the benches was a red and black cape, black pants, and a red shirt. Larten looked around, and, not seeing anyone, took the clothes and put them on. Nearby sat a long sword, which he took, too. He liked the idea of this competition. People gave you free clothes and weapons, and you could show off for crowds.

He walked back into the hall, and made his way into the gym. There were people, adults and children alike, punching and kicking the air. Some yelled as they moved, while others remained silent. Larten decided that when he went up he'd yell. It looked like fun, and after all, he was only here because he was bored.

Spying the group of teenagers, he walked over to them, not bothering to hide in the shadows. He took a place near where they had claimed as their own. Kenzie's mother was waving to Kenzie who was on the floor talking to a few other girls. Ashley and Amanda carried on a conversation, Alexis watched the people, and Ben had his nose in a book.

"Competitors to the floor! Line up with your dojo, then sit on the floor!" called a man. The people began heading towards the floor and Larten followed. He paused. Which dojo should he go to? Deciding that the large patch on his cloak meant something, he asked Kenzie's mother what it said. She gave him a bizarre look, but told him the name.

He made his way over, taking his place behind a woman dressed in long, billowing black robes. The announcer made a few more announcements, telling the rules. Larten found them interesting. "You will be disqualified if you draw blood from your opponent." called the man. The vampire frowned. 'This will be difficult….' he thought.

And then the competition began. Larten asked the woman in front of him when he'd have to compete. She smiled, "Right after I do. So just watch me, and when I leave, come down. You a first timer?" she asked. He nodded. "That explains it. Well, good luck!"

Larten took a spot near his entertainment (that's what he'd begun to call the teens), and watched for the woman. He listened in on their conversation as well. "Heh-heh….Hey Ashley, read this little paragraph right here!" said Ben passing her his book. She read it, then made a gagging noise. "I remember this! Why the hell did you bring it?" she asked raising an eyebrow. He grinned, "Because I was bored and that's how I satisfy myself." he said. Again, she raised an eyebrow. "I know, I'm stupid." he said grinning.

"Oooh, look, Kenzie's up!" said Amanda, pointing. Kenzie's mother dug in her bag, pulling out a camera machine. She pointed it towards the girl, and the teens watched.

She kicked repeatedly, yelling with every thrust. Then she spun around and aimed a cut towards the judges. They did not even flinch, just wrote things in their notebooks. Finally, Kenzie finished, and several people clapped and cheered. The judges held up numbers, calling them out. "8", "7", "9". Kenzie looked pleased.

Her group ended and she headed back to the bleachers. Taking a spot between Amanda and Ashley, she grinned at them. "I'm awesome." she stated proudly. Larten had gotten so caught up in them, he had forgotten about competing.

He found the woman, who was just finishing her routine. She winked at him, then was rated. He made his way to the competing area. He bowed to the judges, then started doing moves lightning fast.

Ashley watched from the bleachers. The man had amazing strength, speed, and power. He also had red hair and wore a brilliant red cloak. She paused.

"No. Way." she said.

"What?" asked Kenzie.

"Look at that guy over at the adult section."

"Who, him?"

"Yeah, the red guy. Now think, who does he look like?"

"No. Way."

The two shared grins.

"Hey, Larten! Over here!" shouted Kenzie.

Larten looked up at the bleachers, having just finished. He saw Kenzie and Ashley waving to him, and heard them calling him. The judges made hand signals at the girls, who stopped. Then they rated him, giving him all tens.

Three hours later, Larten fell into his coffin, exhausted. Darren looked at him. "What happened to your human clothes?" he asked. But he was already asleep, a trophy in his arms. Darren shook his head. "What are you up to?"

(AN-That chapter was so looong…..well to a procrastinator like me. Hope you enjoyed it!)