The sun rises on a cool Saturday morning. The deep orange rays of the dawn sunlight slowly pan through the window making the darkness of the room being overtaken. The curtains of shadows that cover the bed of Gaia. She could feel warmth creep up her body. She smiles when it hits face and it makes her glow. She opens her eyes to see a fluttering shadow on her bed. She looks towards the window to see a butterfly flying outside. A hummingbird flying nearby soon joins the butterfly in the window. They fly around each other as if they are partaking in a dance, like they are curious of one another. Witnessing this makes Gaia smile a little bigger because it reminds her how effortlessly beautiful nature can be, how she is truly blessed to see rare events such as this one.
A pleasantly sweet smell passes her nose. She gets out of bed to find the origin of the smell. It leads her to the kitchen. It's her mother making blueberry cinnamon pancakes. "Good Morning Gaia" , says her mother with a tender smile. "Good Morning, a beautiful one at that", Gaia responded. The morning rays were now a bright yellow, a beautiful one indeed. She grabs a seat from the table and puts it in front of the counter beside the electric stovetop where her mother is cooking. The smell is way stronger and as it hits Gaia's nose her mouth's start to salivate. A loud growl that almost echoed in the room erupted from her stomach. Her mother chuckles and says "Grab a plate and you can have this fresh one." Her mother laughs as she takes her eyes off of her daughter for a second and when she looked back it was like the plate had teleported in front of her. "But the cabinets with the plates are across the kitchen," she thought to herself. She shrugged it off and flipped the pancake onto the plate. For Gaia it was like it was flipping in slow motion in the air, she almost wanted to catch it mid air with her mouth.
When the pancake hit her plate she instantly stabbed it with the side of her fork. The crunch of the outside crust made her heart smile. "My favorite sound in the world," she said with a smile as she took a bite and her body tensed up with satisfaction when the airy interior touched her taste buds. "Sooooo goood," she exclaimed as her body went limp again. Her mother had a plate of pancakes already made on the other side of the counter. " Hurry and eat these. You know you have to get ready for your kung fu class,' her Mother stated. Gaia ate every single one without hesitation. After she finished eating and getting ready her mother took her to the dojo.
"I'll be back later to pick you up!" her mother yelled from the driver seat out the passenger window. Gaia smiled and waved her mother goodbye. She enters the dojo to see all the students in their white robes and different colored belts sitting down on the floor separated in their own little individual clicks. The loud chatter became whispers once Gaia entered, she was the only one wearing a black robe and a red belt. She sat by herself near one of the clicks. She could hear her name in the not so secret whispers. " I heard she broke a kid's sternum with one punch," one kid whispered. "That's impossible. Girls don't hit that hard," another kid responded. Gaia scoots closer to the group. " It's true and wanna see me do it again?" she says with a raised clenched fist and a sinister smile. "He challenged me thinking I was a weak little girl but I showed him who the weakling was when I sent him to the hospital coughing blood" The children backed away in fear and Gaia chuckled to herself. She then hears her name yelled from the back of the dojo.
"The Grandmaster is ready for you," one of the teachers said to her. She bows and begins to walk towards the back. " She sucks so much that she has to be taught by the Grandmaster," one of the older students says while laughing. "The only thing that sucks is your mother when it is time to pay for classes," Gaia says as she walks with her hands behind back."OHHHHHHH," the class exclaims. "Don't talk about my mother!" the boy yells angrily. "How do you think you're still enrolled here? It seems your mother is more skilled with her throat than you are with your Kung Fu." Gaia says while barely looking behind her shoulders. The boy yells in pure rage as he charges speedily at her. He uses his whole body to throw a punch and Gaia dodges it without even looking. He then throws an array of punches and kicks but Gaia still dodges them without even taking her hands from behind her back. When the boy planted his feet back on the ground after one of his failed kicks Gaia side kicked his shin causing him to fall forward and smack the mat. The impact made his nose bleed profusely. "How dare this weakling challenge the likes of me. For his insolence he should pay with his life," said a voice in her head. She lifts her foot to the sky as she prepares to strike down and finish him. The whole dojo was paralyed, only able to move their eyes. They were preparing themselves to see a murder. She brings her foot down with amazing speed and power but right before impact she is interrupted by her name being yelled by the Grandmaster. The sudden stop of motion caused a gust of air that resembled a leaf blower to hit the boy's face. "How can I make a profit if you keep killing my students?" the Grandmaster says while emerging from the back and stroking his long goatee. He was an average height Asian man who had well developed muscles for his old age. "I thought you said John is on life support master", one of the teachers asked with worry in his voice. "He is, but would you consider a vegetable alive?", the Grandmaster replied. "No master," the teacher said as he looked towards the floor. "Gaia, come to the back for your training. I don't need any more lawsuits on my hands." Gaia obeys and walks into the back room. The teachers picked the injured boy from the pool of blood his face was lying in. Not only was his nose broken, but his pride also.
"You circum to your anger too easily. You must learn to control it. Channel it to increase your power," the Grandmaster said as he circled a meditating Gaia. He walks towards a wall of weapons and picks up a staff. He smacks the girl in the back of the head. "What was that for," an annoyed Gaia said. "I'm sorry did that make you angry," he said whilst dealing a smack this time in the middle of her face. "It's not making me angry, it's just annoying," Gaia replied with a clear frown on her face. "Just annoying huh. Well about this?" the Grandmaster said as he started to strike her sitting body multiple times. " I don't want to kill you master," Gaia said gruntingly. " You're free to try," the Grandmaster said while delivering another smack aimed at her face. Just as the staff enters her personal space she punches the staff and snaps at the tip. She smacks the ground and propels herself upwards. Gaia gets in her stance and the Grandmaster keeps his hands behind his back. "Familiar?" the Grandmaster taunts. Gaia lunges herself at him with a fast flying kick. He easily dodges and laughs. "Pitiful, is that all?", he replies. She grunts and throws out an array of punches and kicks. He dodges them with ease, keeping his hands behind his back. "Wait, this is the same situation that just happened. Well let's see if he can dodge this," she thinks to herself. Gaia then goes for a sweep and as the Grandmaster jumps over her leg she stops mid-way and kicks upwards while he is mid-air. He leans back while in the air causing the Gaia's sole to barely slide across his nose. He lands on the ground to feel a little heat on the tip of his nose. It was a friction burn from how fast the kick was.
"I guess it is now time to get serious," he says as the grin on his face turns straight. The Grandmaster gets in his stance and the two stare at each other. They both charge at each other and start throwing blows but dodging each other blows at the same time. One of the teachers walked in to take a peek at the training session. His mind is blown at what he is witnessing. It was like there were multiple versions of themselves in different parts of the room fighting at once. He hears the multiple impacts that almost sounds like it has a rhythm, like an orchestra that consists of . What seems like a clone of the Grandmaster walks up to the teacher. "What do you want, can't you see that I am busy!" he says. "H-How is this possible? How are there multiple versions of you?" the teacher asked. " Your brain can't possibly comprehend how fast we are going. What you are seeing are the after images of our battle," the Grandmaster replies. The teacher looks closer at his body and it resembles some sort of hologram, like he can put his hand right through. A bruise suddenly fades onto the Grandmaster's face as he is explaining. "She managed to hit me? Leave my presence now! You are clearly distracting me," the Grandmaster said as that version of him disappears. The teacher stays to see how the battle ends. He then feels a sudden back hand smack on his cheek come from seemingly nowhere. "I said leave!", the teacher heard from the multiple fighting Grandmasters. He then runs out of the training room holding his cheek.
The battle seems like it could go on forever. Dodge after dodge. Deflected blow after deflected blow. It's been hours and the dojo is empty. They both go for a forward punch and their fist collides, pushing them both back. All after effects disappear. "It is time to end this," the Grandmaster says as he stomps his foot on the ground. "So it is', Gaia replies. "Isshun Sengeki! (One strike, one thousand hits!)," they both said in unison. The room went dark and the only thing that could be seen was red flashes of light from the impacts of the punches. One big burst of light flashes and both individuals are propelled back away from each other, causing them to crash in the wall. They both arose from the ground and came to the center room. They both bowed in respect.
"Who knew a 15 year old girl would be my most worthy opponent, that is why I taught you my secret technique," the Grandmaster said while grabbing a broom. "I am most grateful, master. Maybe one day I will be able to defeat you fair in square," Gaia replied as she walked towards the exit. " I am the least of your problems, the real battle is coming soon. And I believe it will mold you into a greater warrior," the Grandmaster says while cleaning up the mess they've made. This confuses Gaia but she shrugs it out and starts walking. "Oh yea and Gaia…" Gaia stops right as she walks out the door. "Thank you for pulling your punches," the Grandmaster says whilst smiling. Gaia giggles and waves her master goodbye as she walks out the door. Her mother is waiting outside the dojo and unlocks the door for her daughter to enter. "How was the session honey? It was so dark in there I couldn't see, what were those flashing lights? Did I miss a party or something?" her mother asks. "You know, same old. I had fun today" Gaia says while putting on her seatbelt. "Well you better because these session prices are kicking my wallet's ass!" , her mother says jokingly. They both have a good laugh as they drive home.