A Series of Rules

Since the day ended with good relations among all the dojos, or so they all wanted to believe, Dash received an email the next day detailing the rules for the tournament scheduled a week later.

At Devon's house, Dash sat in the living room with printed sheets of information that he needed to share with everyone.

"The date is very convenient for coordinating among all of us. The last meeting ended quite badly." Devon approached with a jar of fruits and placed them on the table.

"It seems that the matchups will be in pairs; we will be fighting in pairs, and the victory will be determined by the points between both participants," Dash said after understanding a bit more about the tournament.

Devon approached, and after reading a bit, he nodded in understanding. "If the tournaments are in pairs, it means that there will only be a few participating pairs."

After hearing Devon's words, Dash's hand, which was between the information sheets, began searching through them. Upon finding what he wanted, he said, "We can bring five pairs, ten people at most, and I suppose there will be a total of ten pairs."

"That would be twenty competitors, and half of them would be women. Are there really that many women in martial arts schools in that place?" Devon's confused voice stood out when asking this question.

"That's the same thing she asked..." Dash's gaze was perplexed. His eyebrows furrowed as he contemplated the possibilities, and after a while, he looked at Devon. Indeed, it was known that the wisest decisions were made by her, so he awaited her response.

In this way, Dash was merely a figure in which he combined his ideals with Devon's to make a more open decision. Nevertheless, considering that there are students from three karate schools, he assumed that everything should be very fair.

Achieving balance in everything is impossible, given that there are still problems. However, Dash wanted to find a kind of peace in a competition that could bring them all together.

It's not so bad now that he thinks about it. Maybe many participants in this competition can find some redemption and fix their problems.

"I seem to recall... a week ago, when we were training with Cobra Kai, I heard that Miguel showed some interest in Tory... Do you think that could complicate things within the group? We could leave someone out if you think they would be a problem," Devon murmured as she sat down to watch some television.

Dash knew about this because she told him, and at that moment, he subtly mentioned it to Miguel. As for whether he understood the message or not, that wasn't his problem.

"All I know is that we need to come together if we want to win this in a cool way. If we're separated, it would look too bad," Dash said as he reclined on the couch.

...

Sakura Bushido Martial Arts School.

"A tournament in pairs?" Victor jumped with excitement.

Dash sighed deeply and said, "From Sakura Bushido, Devon, Sophia, me, and you."

"Only four?"

"There's a limit on participants, so those numbers are more than fair. We'll bring two teams, and Cobra Kai will bring two teams, leaving one for Miyagi-do because we know their limited numbers." Devon approached while wiping off the sweat.

Chozen, who was nearby, asked, "Will you need any Sensei to accompany you?"

"We should ask; it would be interesting to see."

With so many masters, it would be interesting to see Johnny and Daniel together in a tournament, fighting on the same side. That would precisely calm Dash from so many strong emotions.