As we walked to Camp Willie I listened to Jim drill both my mom and Lachelle's mom. He went on about sending us to camp to fit their own agenda without reading the fine print. It sounds like both our moms didn't read the activity section. No one is happy about the karate tournament.

"And  the other thing, why would you send your daughter to a conversion camp?" Jim continued his rant focusing more on Lachelle's mom. "Forget how mind damaging and trust killing that is, they don't fucking work. Also lesbians are awesome. Why? No accidental pregnancies and the STD rate is much lower."

Wait what?

"You both are blessed at the opportunity to raise children. Your job isn't to change them, but to guide them. If the worse choice Lachelle made in life is liking Alex then she's not as bad of a kid as you think." Jim concluded.

I looked over at my mom who was looking down as she walked. She just watched me obliterate a door of course she doesn't want to talk. On the other hand Lachelle's mom was now in a heated debate with Jim about parenting.

Lachelle walked ahead with Maindo in silence. Lachelle had her eyes glued to the schedule. I can tell from here that she is nervous.

She wants to win. The higher we go the more recognition Camp Maindo gets. There is a chance that after next year Maindo will have to close if we can't get him more campers. I know she wants to prevent that. I know she wants me to drop out. She doesn't want me to get hurt.

As we entered the arena the stands were filled with people supporting their team color red, blue or gold. Of course, there was no green.

I said my goodbye to mom and Jim. "Good luck kid." Jim whispered as he hugged me. Wait Jim just hugged me. Before I could question him, Jim walked over to give Lachelle a hug.

Lachelle hasn't talked to me since I kicked the door out. Maybe it's for the best. I don't know what to say.

"Ikari, Kioku." Maindo spoke grabbing our attention. "They do not want you two to face each other. That's not out of respect for the camp. It's common for participants from the same camp to fight each other in the later rounds." Maindo explained. "So make plans to see each other in the finals."

Finals?

I looked over at Lachelle. When her eyes met mine I understood why she was nervous. She wants to face me. She wants to put on a show.

"Ikari Koi." Maindo Sensei ordered. I watched as Lachelle walked to her boxing ring. She was at the one further to the right. She matched up against a girl from Camp freedom. My eyes drifter to the male contender from Camp Freedom, who was currently matched up against Keith. As soon as both boys finished their bows Keith punched the Camp Freedom Kid in the face causing the kid to fall on his back.

"Knock out!" The ref by Keith yelled.

The smirk on Keith's face made me unease.

"Point!" The ref by Lachelle yelled. I'm not sure what happened but the girl from Camp Freedom was also laying on her back. Unlike the boy from Camp Freedom the girl stood back up.

"It's the best of three Kioku." Maindo explained. "As long as you don't get knocked out you'll be okay."

"Yes Sensei." I'll be up sooner than later.

***

"Welcome to the Lake Nyrae Karate Tournament. Where Four Camps compete for bragging rights; or is there more to the tournament that meets the eyes." The robotic voiced announced. 

Lachelle ended up winning her match. Meaning I was now up. I walked passed Lachelle to the boxing ring. I heard her whisper. "Please be careful."

"Would you like to unlock your skills?" My robotic friend voice inside my head asked me. Skills? Sure!

I stood right in front of Buster from Camp Willie. Better known as our school's boxing Champion.

"Achievement Unlocked: The Vrikshasana Pose. Skill Obtained: Balance.
Achievement Unlocked: First Move. Skill Obtained: First Strike.
Achievement Unlocked: Skill of a Hero. Skill Obtained: Swift Movement."

I bowed down.

As soon as I looked up I saw that Buster tried to punch me in the face. To everyone's surprise I was able to block it away with my left hand. I only saw the surprise look on Buster's face for a second since I connected my right foot to his nose. The impact caused Buster to fall on his back. 

"Point!" The ref yelled in my favor. 

My weirdness spilled out because at that same moment I yelled out "Koi!"

"Come on!"
"You're in danger."
"Focus Kioku."

Multiple voice were going off inside my head as I let out a battle cry when Buster stood up. He's the first person I fought besides Lachelle. A known school bully, and I just kicked him in the face.

But, Buster is still a boxer. So, when he started throwing punches at me I made sure to dodge them. I heard his swear with every miss throw. Boxers usually don't use their feet. They try to stay light on them. I'm a runner. My legs are strong, so when I kicked Buster in his side I knew he felt it. I punched him in the face for fun. 

"Point!" The ref yelled in my favor.

"Koi Kioku." Maindo Sensei yelled. I backed away from Buster slowly. I can see that he was mad. I looked over at Keith and Cara. They were both glaring at me.

It's obvious. I'm now a threat.

Which means Lachelle isn't fighting alone. "Lachelle as long as you're fighting I'm fighting." I blurted out as I walked up to her.

Lachelle gave me a very confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"Karate, school, and everyday life. I won't give up on you. I won't let you scare me away." I'm rambling. I'm being weird. Then again I don't want to lose her. I don't want to go back to being strangers.

Lachelle didn't answer me. She just stared at me. She seemed so unsure.

"Koi Ikari." Maindo ordered.

Lachelle stood up and placed her hand on my shoulder. "We need to talk later." Lachelle said as she gripped my shoulder.

"You remember the last time we needed to talk right?" I joked. 

Lachelle blushed and shoved me away causing me to laugh. "The fact that you remember shocks me." Lachelle teased.

"I will never forget about you Lachelle." I reassured her. Lachelle turned around and smiled at me as she walked to the boxing ring.

I saw that Keith, and some boy from Camp Pride moved on. On my side I saw Cara, Chloe and the redhead girl from Camp Willie moved on.

I'll be taking on Chloe next, while Lachelle is taking on the blond girl from Camp Willie. However, my eyes were on Keith as he was delivering blow after blow to the boy from Camp Pride. I honestly felt bad for the kid. Just the muscles on Keith scare me. I can't imagine being punched by him.

"Get up Lachelle." I heard Jim yell.

My attention immediately went to Lachelle. I watched her struggle to get back to her feet. I missed what happened but I recognized the look on her face.

As soon as the ref swung his flag to begin the match, Lachelle spun around and kicked the girl from Camp Willie in the face. It's either Lachelle has been going easy on me or I'm stronger than I look because that poor girl hit the mat hard. 

"Knock out!" The ref yelled.

"That's it Lachelle!" Jim cheered.

"That's my baby." I heard Lachelle's mom yell.

Lachelle really is a whole ass ninja. When she walked up to me I saw that her right eye was swollen. "Hey Alex." Lachelle sang. "Only you get the kicks for kisses trade." Her comment made me laugh. I'm glad she's able to joke with me again. "But seriously." Lachelle said with a serious tone. "You're going against Chloe next. She's super sweet, but she's a lefty."

"Meaning?" I am a little confused.

"Koi Kioku." Maindo ordered.

I quickly ran over to the boxing ring. I stood in front of Chloe and bowed to her. Chloe smiled at me "Ready Alex?"

"Do we know each other?" I had to ask. She seems so familiar to me and I don't know why. Chloe just laughed. "Yes you asshole."

At that moment Chloe threw a punch at me with her right hand. She is faster than Buster. I was doing my best dodging her attacks, until she started talking. "Track ninth grade." Chloe said as she punched me in the gut with her left hand. I never felt so much pain before. Still I managed to grab her hand and twisted it behind her back. "What about it?" I asked. I felt Chloe try to pull away so I kicked her in her upper thigh causing her to fall on the mat.

The ref called a point in my favor as Chloe stood up. "I was your baby sitter during the season. I drew the shortest straw."

The ref swung the flag for us to start. Chloe tried to do Lachelle's famous spin kick. I seen this kick so many times that I was able to block it. Chloe is faster than me and more experienced, so when she landed she was able to punch me in the chest. It took everything I had not to get knocked off balance.

I stumbled back trying to catch my footing. Chloe used this opportunity. She quickly kicked me in the chest with her left foot. I fell back on my hands. I must have still been in play because Chloe kicked me in the face. 

"Point!" The ref yelled.

"Blood. I taste blood!" This weird voice is a part of me. Chloe's kicked caused my mouth to bleed. I was tasting blood.

Still I wanted this win.

Now I'm throwing punches. Hard punches. Chloe was doing a good job blocking them. Chloe would occasionally try to sneak hits in with her left hand. Lachelle was right in that aspect. Beware the left.

I'm not sure if it was all that training on the boat but I did a better job keeping my balance. Better than Chloe. I knocked her off balance and dropped low. I kicked her ankles sweeping her off of her feet.

"Point!" The ref yelled. It was my point.

That was the same move I watched Lachelle do on the last day of school. Have I really learned this much just from watching her?

I walked over to Chloe and helped her to her feet. "I see you still got that speed." Chloe joked. Chloe is definitely familiar to me. 

"Chloe were we friends?" I just want to know the connection we had.

"I wouldn't call us friends since I practically had to introduce myself to you daily." Chloe teased. "You were closer to Lachelle before Cara came in the picture. We did spend a lot of time together though. I have stories if you want to hear them."

"Yes!" That sounds amazing.

Chloe gave me a wicked smile. "I need you back on my basketball and track team next year. Then I will tell you everything you want to know." Chloe bowed to me before walking back to where her fellow campers were.

Basketball and track?

I walked over to Maindo and Lachelle. Lachelle practically tackled me as she ran into my arms. "I'm never going to let Chloe live this down." Lachelle said with a laugh.

I guess Lachelle noticed my injury because she quickly grabbed my face to examine it. "I'm okay Ikari." Lachelle gave me a light smile as she nodded.

"You two have thirty minutes before the semifinals start. Go to the first aid station and get cleaned up." Maindo instructed.

The main event will be starting soon. Both Keith and Cara moved on.