A teenage girl joins a martial arts school in search of her long-lost sister.

A young girl and her older sister are seperated after their family die in a car accident, and she is told her sister has died; she spends much of her time with a neighbourhood delinquent, learning to fight in the street. Years later, she recieves a pair of beaten-up gloves with an address on them; believing them to be from her sister, she takes her friend and goes to the address, finding a martial arts school, which she promptly signs up to. However, her lack of credentials makes enemies among the other students, particularly drawing the ire of the best fighter of that year's influx, forcing her to cope with both the rampant bullying and the incredibly harsh training. Things come to a head when she discovers that her sister has, in fact, joined a rival school, and the only way to reach her is to win the one spot on the team for the inter-school tournament - a spot contested by her rival; she barely wins and makes the team, but suffers a devestating injury in the process, and now she has to fight against her sister, one of the most powerful fighters either school has ever seen, with her battered body on the verge of giving out. She wins, again barely, and convinces her sister to come back with her.
Sequel Hook: Her sister gives her a dire warning about a potential war between the two schools.

//Ace Weaver
The principal character; Ace joins a martial arts school in search of her sister, and must deal with the harsh training, rampant bullying, a strong rival, and finally a battle with her incredibly powerful sister.
Motivation: To reunite with her sister.
Goal: To enter the school - to defeat her rival (and thus earn a spot on the team) - and to defeat her sister.
Conflict: Harsh training; rival (and bullying); her sister.
Epiphany: Proper fighting skill; commitment.

As a young girl, Ace's parents die in a car accident; she is taken in by a different family than those who take her sister, and is told that her sister has died. Often displeased with her family, Ace takes to spending her time with the local delinquent, spending her time getting into fights and trouble and generally making the most of her youth - until her 15th birthday, when she recieves a pair of worn out fighting gloves, with the only letter with them being an address of a fighting school. Determined that they came from her sister, Ace takes her friend and signs herself up for the school, only to become an instant target of both bullies and the best fighter of that year's crop. Distraught at the treatment and hard-pressed to keep up with the tough training regime, only her friend's intervention and thoughts of her sister keep her in place. Finally, it turns out that her sister has joined a rival school, and the only place Ace can see her is by winning the sole remaining spot on their time - a position that her rival is also gunning for. Ace ekes out a win, barely, but suffers a broken rib which will not heal before the tournament. Determined to fight, she participates anyway, initially losing to her first opponent, but being the only fighter left in a state to participate after the round, she is chosen for a tiebreaker match against her sister. Desperate to bring her sister back, she fights in spite of her injuries, and barely manages to win.

//Ken Ni'Chulainn
The second principal; Ken is the neighbourhood delinquent whom Ace befriends, and she follows Ace to the school, acting as mentor and confidant - Ken helps Ace deal with her bullying troubles and coaxes her into sticking with her training.
Motivation: Friendship. To protect others. To fight strong opponents.
Goal: To aid Ace.
Conflict: Ace (and her wilful tendencies), and the teaching staff (because Ken is a slacker).
Epiphany: "Training" is a strong opponent, too.

Ken, even as a teenager, runs a gang of delinquents from around the neighbourhood - but of the noble type, mostly preying on the other gangs in the area; as a younger girl, she was unable to prevent her friend from being assaulted and killed, and never wishes to feel that way again. As they run wild, Ken comes to view Ace as a younger sister, and a surrogate for the friend she was unable to protect; she teaches Ace how to fight, move, and hold her own, and encourages Ace when she recieves her gloves, going so far as to enter the school with her. At the school itself, Ken primarily clashes with the teaching staff, as she has little interest in actually studying, in spite of her prodigous strength; she spends most of her time relaxing or looking after Ace, either helping her practice or aiding her in her bullying woes. She keeps Ace on track when Ace feels like quitting, encourages Ace to fight in spite of her injuries, and is part of the team's crew at the tournament, serving in part as their mission control.

//Alan Richter
A non-fighter who comes from a family that studies the traditions, history, people, and techniques of martial arts. He is at the Tiger School to study their training methods as part of his family's tradition, and befriends Ace in spite of butting heads with Ken.
Motivation: Pleasing his family.
Goal: Studying martial arts.
Conflict: Lack of experience vs. 'book knowledge'.
Epiphany: Simply studying martial arts is useless without experiencing them.

Alan's family has published martial arts encyclopedias for decades, and Alan is expected to follow in their footsteps. Sent to the school somewhat against his will, he nevertheless attempts to follow through, and befriends Ace when he sees her being bullied. Alan argues frequently with Ken over her dislike of him, especially as he sees her as hypocritical. In the end, he's one half of the team's mission control; Alan supplies information while Ken's seasoned eye picks out fine detail. After the tournament, he resolves to begin actually practising martial arts.

//Alexis Lexington
Ace's rival, and the best fighter in this year's intake. A girl from a strong martial line, she dislikes those who enter the school without similar credentials.
Motivation: To prove her superiority.
Goal: To ruin Ace.
Conflict: With Ace.
Epiphany: A person's strength is unrelated to their circumstances.

The Lexington family have been a defensive martial arts force for generations, and it is on the strength of this name that Alexis enters the school. She rapidly gathers a clique of similar girls to her and they begin to make Ace's life hell for their circumstances. Seeking to prove herself higher and higher, Alexis aims for the last spot on the inter-school tournament team, only to be defeated by Ace for the spot, though she inflicts greivous wounds on her rival in return. Afterwards, she grudgingly admits that Ace really can fight, and arrives to cheer for her in the nick of time during Ace's fight with Yuriko.

//Baraen Yuriko
Ace's older sister. Yuriko initially joined the Tiger School, but defected to the Dragon School after clashes in style. An immensely powerful fighter.
Motivation: To prove her strength.
Goal: To win the tournament.
Conflict: With Ace.
Epiphany: "Strength exists for others, not yourself."

Seperated from her sister after the accident, Yuriko was taken in by the Tiger School and allowed to keep her family name. Devoting herself to her training, Yuriko rapidly became known as the most powerful fighter in the region, but, in her boredom, her fighting style grew more and more brutal, and she was eventually disgraced for badly injuring a younger student in a sparring match. Frustrated, Yuriko took herself to the rival Dragon School, and promptly found herself enjoying their much more ruthless approach to combat. She defeats her opponent at the inter-school tournament in less than 10 seconds, but is eventually worn down and defeated by Ace in the final fight. Accepting her loss, Yuriko returns to the Tiger School with her sister.

//Shen Hu
The headmaster of the Tiger School. Loud and passionate, but gentle and wise.

//Master Shin
A calm, demure man who teaches grappling techniques at Tiger School.

//Miss Lang
A beautiful Chinese woman who teaches soft style at Tiger School.

//"Boss" Jack
An abrupt and strict ex-biker who teaches hard style at Tiger School. Very hands-on.

//Coach Tyler
A specialist at Tiger School who helps students improve their stand up and evasive skills.

//Shen Long
The headmaster of the Dragon School. Cold, calculating, and cruel, but intelligent and determined.

//Tiger School
The school that Ace joins, built in the mountains overlooking the city. The emphasis is on wide-open spaces, and the students have a lot of leeway, though this causes some of them to become slack.

//Dragon School
The school that Ace joins, built in the heart of the city. The school is very industrial and strict, sometimes too harsh, but the quality of training is top-notch.

//"The City"
A huge city set between lush mountain ranges and a reef-filled bay. Has something of a crime problem, largely due to gangs being started by students who flunk out of the two martial arts schools.