THE SHADOWS

Ryu stands in the middle of the training area while blind folded, surrounded by Mila, Marco, and Jacobe. The four students have a stand off, while Ryu listens close for any movement. Mila then blasts three yellow fireballs at him. Ryu easily dodges all three of them. Marco then shoots red fire at him, but Ryu redirects the fire back at him and blasts a blue fire ball at Jacobe. Jacobe punches through the fireball.

"He's getting better at this." Jacobe says with a smile.

The three martial artists then charges at Ryu, as he smirks. All three throw a punch at him, but Ryu blocks with his arms and his leg. He then kicks Malia away, pushes Jacobe back and throws Marco into him. Jacobe catches Marco, puts him safely on the ground. As they are about to counter attack, Sifu raises his hand to stop them. He then slowly approaches Ryu, standing right infront of him.

Sifu throws a quick left jab, but Ryu narrowly avoids it. The young man then throws a roundhouse kick that Sifu easily dodges. Ryu follows up with punches and kicks that have great speed and accuracy, but Sifu either dodges or blocks. Sifu counters with a sidekick, with Ryu barely blocking in time.

Sifu smiles at his youngest pupil.

"Very good, Ryu."

Ryu smiles, takes off his blindfold, and the two bow to each other. Malia hugs her youngest brother while Jacobe gives him a noogie. Marco just folds his arms and smiles.

"Not bad." He says.

Sifu looks on at his kids and smiles, proud of them all.

"Ryu, come walk with me." He says.

Ryu is confused by this, but goes with him. The two walk near the garden and stare on at the waterfall.

"You know, I remember when you first came here, all those years ago." Sifu says.

Ryu chuckles, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I wanted a pair and fell out of a tree." He says.

Sifu smiles. He then reaches over and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"It's been my honor, to watch you grow into a talented martial artist, and a fine young man, along with your siblings. Your kind heart and fearless nature will make you a great leader one day."

Ryu smiles and bows.

"Thank you Sifu. But I don't want to lead anyone."

Sifu is surprised by this.

"Leading is more Marcos thing. I just want to become a great fighter and help people in need, like you Sifu."

Sifu chuckles.

"Of course. I'm sure you'll accomplish your goals then."

"Hey Ryu! We're going into town for groceries, you wanna come!?" Jacobe yells.

"Coming! I'll see you around, Sifu."

As Ryu runs off, Sifu can't help but smiles. He then gets a serious look on his face and looks at his hand for a moment, getting a feeling deep down that something bad is going to happen.

The four Dragons walk into town, with Malia look at fruit, Marco arm wrestles a group of tough guys, and Jacobe is eating free samples of food stands. Ryu looks over and sees a friend of his, a girl his age with red hair and golden brown eyes. When Ryu approaches her, her face lights up with a smile.

"Hey, karate man, long time no see." She says, putting her fist on his chest.

Ryu rubs the back of his head and chuckles.

"Yeah, sorry, I was caught up with training."

The girl smirks.

"Yeah I get it. Hey, I've been saving these for you."

She pulls out fresh cranberries from her bag. Ryu's face lights up when he sees this.

"Wow, my favorite." He says.

He then hugs her and makes her blush.

"Thanks Talia, I really appreciate it." Ryu says.

Talia smiles while still blushing and pats him on the back.

"Don't mention it, dummy." She says.

When Leo let's her go, he notices bruises on her arm. He gently grabs one of her arms and stares with a serious look on his face, causing Talia to quietly panic.

"Talia. Is your dad- hurting you again?"

Talia looks Ryu in the eyes, hesitant to answer the question. She then smiles at him.

"It's fine, seriously. He just gets upset about mom leaving sometimes, you know? It's no big deal."

"There's no excuse for this. You don't deserve this."

Talia sighs and nods, trying to hold back tears. Ryu then notices men in black suits watching him.

Meanwhile, Sifu meditates in the monastery. He then senses someone standing infront of him.

"May I help you?" He asks the stranger.

"Actually, I think you can- old friend."

He recognizes the voice and is shocked when he opens his eyes.

"Darius?" He asks.

The man in the black suit from before smirks.

"Hello, Liu. It's been awhile."

Back with Ryu and the others, he quickly pulls Talia behind him as the men in black suits walk over to him. Malia, Marco, and Jacobe notices this and pays attention to what's going to happen next.

"Can I help you guys with something?" Ryu asks.

"We're going to need you and your other three friends to come with us."

Ryu looks off in the distance and notices three other men standing far behind them.

"Sorry, but my Sifu and sister told me to never go with strangers. So I'm going to have to decline."

Two members of the group of men approaches him as Ryu pushes Talia further back behind him.

"That wasn't a request, kid. You four are coming with us."

"I said, no." Ryu replies with a more intense look on his face.

One of the men chuckles.

"Do you really think that you can take us all on?"

Ryu smirks.

"That's not the question that you should be asking."

"Is that so. And what is the question that I should be asking?"

Ryu quickly takes out the two men with fast punches to the face.

"The question is- do you really want to find out."

Everyone, looks on in shock at the young man. The three men in the background pull out their guns, but Marco, Malia, and Jacobe quickly take them out. One of the other men runs at Ryu, but he quickly kicks him in the ribs then hits him with a spinning roundhouse kick in the face. Ryu then kicks another man in his chest, knocking him through a barrel. The last of the men standing cracks his neck and takes off his blazer jacket.

Jacobe is about to step in, but Marco stops him.

"I'm getting really tired you, punk." He says.

Ryu looks at him confused.

"Me? You sketchy guys were the one who tried to kidnap me and my siblings."

The man gets angry and throws a fast punch, but Ryu easily dodges. As another punch is thrown, the young man catches it and punches him in the ribs, causing him to stumble back. The man gets even angrier and swings widely. Ryu easily blocks, land multiple jabs in his sternum, then hits him in the throat. As the man stumbles back, Ryu hits him with a thrust kick, sending him flying over a crate.

"Wow." Talia says, watching Ryu.

Everyone in the marketplace cheers for Ryu, as he smiles.

Marco smirks.

"That little show off." He says, as Jacobe and Malia chuckle.

Back with Sifu and Darius, they are face to face with each other in the front of the monastery.

"Why are you here, Darius."

Darius chuckles.

"Isn't it obvious? I know Sifu gave you the Dragon Heart. Hand it over- and you won't have to die, old friend." Darius answers.