Chapter 28
Johnny's nerves slowly leave him when Rosana moves confidently to the side when her opponent strikes with a high front kick. Rosana was faster in anticipating the guy's move than what Johnny gave her credit for because the second she was in his blind spot, she snapped her leg out and caught the front of the leg that he used to catch himself when he jumped to kick, and that proved to be his mistake.
Johnny lets out an impressed and proud huff as he smiles briefly when the guy fell on his forearms.
Rosana was immediately ready for her opponent when he jumps up angrily and shook where he stood, wanting to pounce on her but the referee's hand stopped him as he says, "Point!" He points to Rosana.
Johnny watches with hawk-like eyes as Rosana takes a deep breath in and releases it, her hands doing that weird thing she always does when she needs to focus in a middle of a sparring match.
"Come on, Anna! Kick his ass!"
Rosana didn't turn her head to look at him, and neither did she give any direct indicator to show that she heard him but he knew, he knew from the way her muscles began to relax and how her stance became filled with more determination and confidence, if that was even possible, and there was a small tilt of her lips just before the referee yelled for the next round to begin.
Rosana watches as her opponent's eyes cloud with anger and fill with bruised ego male pride as he comes at her with more precision and caution than he did before. Before he underestimated her, now he was looking for an opening, seeing past the fact that she was a girl, and that she wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought she would be.
Rosana was prepared for him but she made the mistake of allowing him in her blindspot just like she had done to him. That bastard did the same thing, and she was too late to block his kick to her side because her forearm throbbed from deflecting his freaking iron arms, and her legs became strained from how tensed her muscles became.
"Rose!" Bobby jerked in surprise as he watches her fall on her side
"Firebird, get up!" Jimmy encourages.
"Rosana, come on. One more point. You got this!" Daniel calls as he sees how she was struggling to get up.
"Come on! Get up!" Ali yells while Mr. Miyagi only stared with a focused look. A part of him wasn't concerned because he knew that she could handle this, but the part of him that was coming to see her as more than a friend and a student and more like a daughter, made him worry about how hurt she was.
Johnny clenches his teeth when he sees Rosana gets up with her hand on her side as she breathes heavily.
Rosana feels the side of her face prick with awareness and she knew what that feeling was as she turns her head in that direction to see intense blue eyes staring at her with a mixture of concern and rage that made his eyes seem darker.
Rosana felt the entire stadium and all the screams from her friends, brother, and mother disappear as her eyes clash with Johnny's who held her in his sky blue grip. He didn't have to utter a word for her to know that he wanted to stop this but he was trusting her to take care of herself. And... he wanted her to finish it now before he can't control himself anymore.
With one nod to her, with one dark promise swirling in his eyes, Rosana felt the world come rushing back to her senses as she nods back, feeling his strength, trust and rage fill her when she takes her position and faces her opponent who was smirking at her but she didn't care, she was going to wipe it off his face, hard.
Rosana circles her arms in a slow meditation move and breathes in deeply before exhaling as she gets into a fighting stance, her eyes solely on her opponent now.
"Aiyts!" The referee yelled and immediately her opponent pounces towards her.
Rosana blocks his high roundhouse kick with her forearm and held her stance firm as her entire body vibrated with that hard blow that threatened to drop her to her side but she didn't have time to think, much less allow the pain to take control. With a fierce growl, she pushes his leg away and refrains from shaking her arm to get rid of the vibrations of pain that still lingered before she blocks the following hard blows that he aimed for her face and torso.
Rosana waited till she could effectively judge his movements before she slams her forearm down hard on his oncoming fist, blocking it effectively, but instead of just hitting his arm, she twists her wrist and catches his arm in an iron-like grip, and aims a high kick to his midsection.
The moment he couches down in pain, his arm still in her grasp, she lifts her leg high and over their arms to kick the side of his head.
"Point! Winner!" The referee yells as he points in Rosana's direction.
Rosana bows shortly before turning to go to the others with a grin on her lips.
Mr. Miyagi gave her a look that she knew meant that she did good but he wasn't that supportive of the move she used and she only stared at him sheepishly before giving him her puppy dog eyes; that of course, he couldn't resist before he gave her a small smile, "You did good, Rose-son."
"Thank you, Mr. Miyagi!"
Jimmy and Bobby gave her fist bumps before they returned to their sensei's side while Daniel, Ali, and Mr. Miyagi went to the next mat where they went to watch Bobby's match.
Rosana grew nervous when Johnny didn't say anything, "Jay?"
He drew closer to her and despite wanting to take her into his arms, he refrained from doing so as he grasps her hand gently in his as he moves to whisper in her ear, "This is going to be a very long day if watching you fight makes me want to kill someone and kiss the hell out of you."
Rosana blushes prettily as she giggles softly and hits his chest wholeheartedly before standing on her toes to give him a quick peck on his cheek.
***
Rosana grins as she faces the third Cobra Kai for the day, who also happens to be one of her closest friends: Tommy.
Tommy shakes his head as both of them get into fighting stances after the referees had yelled for the match to begin. "Johnny is going to kick my ass."
Rosana rolls her eyes with a smile as she hears him mutter under his breath as they circle each other in tight circles.
Rosana blocks a weak punch to her face and ducks when he gives a roundhouse kick to her face that he allowed for her to anticipate.
"I am going to kick your ass if you take it easy on me. And I doubt that Jay is scarier than your sensei." Rosana says with a smirk as she watches Tommy's eyes flash with uncertainty and slight fear at the mention of his sensei.
Rosana doesn't wait for him to decide as she kicks him behind his leg when he makes an uncertain lunge to the front and aim a blow with the side of her hand to the tender crook where his neck met his shoulder.
Tommy crumbles to the ground with his hand on his sore neck/shoulder.
"Point!"
Rosana watches as Tommy gets up with a determined and angered look on his face as he finally looks at her like he had been doing with his previous opponents, making Rosana do a happy dance inside her head.
Good. Time to get serious.
Rosana's eyes harden and her stance is firmer as she faces Tommy who looked all too ready to take her down.
Tommy lunges at her, his movements more firm and angered, his jaw tightened with determination and challenge.
Rosana blocks his left punch and was ready for his right fist when it flew at her but then just before it made contact, he swiftly snapped his foot out to catch her behind the knee and lifts her slightly to throw her over his body.
That sneaky bastard faked a punch only to kick her.
Rosana's breath was knocked out of her as her back made contact with the firm mat that didn't soften her fall at all. And before she knew it, a fist flew to her torso, making her choke on her breath as it was already coming out unevenly from her fall and fought so viscously against her throat to get out that it clogged in her throat.
"Point!" The referee yelled and pointed in Tommy's direction.
*
Johnny felt dread fill him when he saw Tommy's stance and how his eyes and jaw hardened. The second he watched Rosana fall to her knee, everything began playing in front of him in slow motion.
The way Tommy crouched and brought her over his shoulder and slammed her against the mat, he had watched in horror as her body seemed to spasm as it made contact with the mat. What made him even angrier was that when Tommy looked up, he looked straight at Sensei and Kreese had clenched his fist in a silent message that they all knew what it meant: 'finish it.'
Then Tommy's fist flew slowly in front of Johnny's eyes to Rosana's abdomen and her entire body shook with force as she struggled to breathe. The pain in her gasp that was lost in the crowd of screams and the agony in the way she breathed tore through him dangerously as his entire body filled with rage and before he knew it, he was sprinting towards Tommy.
But he didn't reach the mat because he was pulled back and arms were preventing him from moving forward.
"Anna!" He screams as he tries to shake the arms off him, "I am going to kill you, Tommy!"
Tommy's brown eyes fill with regret, concern and fear as he looks at an enraged Johnny fighting against the hold of Rosana's sensei.
"Firebird, are you okay?" Tommy asks as he helps her up, she was still breathing heavily but it was much better than before.
"Are you good to continue?" The referee asks.
Rosana nods, afraid to talk in case she wheezes the words out.
"Rose, I—"
Rosana grins slightly despite the pain in her back and stomach that was already beginning to fade because of her excitement and adrenaline as she slaps his back wholeheartedly, "Don't worry about it, Tom. You are so going down."
Tommy releases a relieved breath that she wasn't mad at him but his growling friend didn't seem to feel the same, "Johnny is going to kill me, Rose."
Rosana shakes her head with a smile as she smoothes a hand over her abdomen, "Hey, we will deal with that later. Right now, let's have f-fun."
Tommy lets out an excited and determined breath and nods at her before they both return to their respective spots.
Rosana looks at Johnny who was still being held in Mr. Miyagi's hold but more placated right now, well, as much as a enraged wolf could be placated that is.
She smirks slightly and blows him a kiss with a wink, trying to tell him that he shouldn't worry about her and that she got this.
She turns back to Tommy before both of them got into fighting stances. The next one to get this point wins this match.
Rosana is more on guard this time and was prepared for Tommy when he tries to grab her arm and put his leg behind hers and just when he tries to get her unbalanced she grasps his shoulder and uses it to push herself on his slightly bended knee. She puts both of her hands onto his shoulders to swing herself around his body.
The force that she exerted on his knee to swing herself brought him to the ground and it made it easier for her when she slams the side of her palm against his neck in a karate chop and rolls off of him when they crumpled to the floor.
Rosana grins when the second she stood to her full height the referee shouted, "Point! Winner!"
Tommy was a bit disgruntled for losing to a girl but he knew that Rosana had still held back on him as he had with her and that they both knew that Rosana was the better fighter.
And it was a good fight though. Exciting as hell.
Rosana and Tommy grins as they bow at each other in respect.
***
Rosana's good spirits began to plummet when slowly, with each victory, she began working her way closer to the finals, and so did Johnny and her brother and Bobby.
It meant that she would have to fight one of them either in the semi-finals or the finals but then she thought that if she fought her brother in the semi-finals or the rounds before then, then she'd have to either forfeit or let him win. He still had something to prove while she already proved to herself that she could handle violence, that she could hold her own, that she was stronger than when she was attacked and that she could do anything she put her mind to.
But, as the matches grew closer to the semi-finals and she saw Daniel's name matched with Bobby's, she knew that the only one left to fight was Johnny before their names were even set with each other.
Her eyes move to Johnny's vibrant blue ones as the host says into the mike, "This is the first semi-final match of the afternoon! Defending champion John Lawrence of the Cobra Kai; two time winner of the All Valley under eighteen golden trophy. He will be facing Rosana LaRusso of Miyaji-do Karate!"
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Heeey guys!
Dun fun duuuuuun!!!
Almost done with movie one. I was intending on updating when the book got 500 votes but with how quickly it jumped to 450, and gotten 10k reads in what a month and two weeks, I just couldn't resist updating sooner.
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