We all changed into our black and yellow robes, they had the sleeves cut off, they looked bad ass. I stood in the mirror in the locker room. All the guys were getting pumped up, having pleasant warm up spars or stretching. I couldn't help but stare. Suddenly a pair of hands held my shoulders, I looked behind me in the mirror, of course it was Hawk.
"You look good" I nodded
"You look great too" he smirked
"I feel like I should make it more baggy" I sighed, tugging at my gi
"Hey hey no, no no" he swatted my hands away, pulling me away from the mirror "You look just fine like this, okay? And besides, the more scrawny you look, the more awesome it'll be when you kick those jerks asses"
Miguel and Aisha came up behind Hawk, both smacking him up the side of the head.
"Not the right thing to say" they chorused
"Okay okay, sorry" he cringed
"It's okay, I know you meant well" I chuckled
"Ready to kick ass?" Miguel smiled down at me.
"Cobra Kai!" I shouted
"Cobra Kai!" Everyone shouted after me.
We all got in a line, we had an idea that Bert made up to wig out all the rest of the teams. He all started jogging out of the locker room, after everyone else chanting 'Cobra Kai, Cobra Kai' over and over. It felt amazing.
"From Reseda, returning to the tournament we have-"
"Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!" We kept chanting as we made our way out into the stadium.
Lots of people cheered as we made a long winding track to our spots, stopping with a gruff 'hu!' standing still as boards. Was it kinda cheesy? Yes. Did it make us feel powerful and intimidating? Definitely.
"Now that's what I call an entrance!" the announcer proclaimed "And a badass name for a dojo! Let's hear it for Cobra Kai!"
"Whoo! Go Hawk!" I heard Moon cheering from the stands.
It made my back itch, but not as much as the next thing that happened.
"And finally, fighting unaffiliated from North Hills, we have Mr. Robby Keene!"
My eyes widened as Robby came out into the ring. Oh swear to god I better not have to fight him. As he ran past me he gave me a sorry look, but I saw the smug look he gave my dad as he jogged by him. There's no way this will end well.
"Alright folks. Get ready... it's karate time"
The crowd cheered and the fights began.
"Alright gentlemen, you know the rules. Three points wins. Step on the mat"
Miguel was the first to fight. We all cheered him on as he began his fight. Miguel took the crane pose, I smirked, one of the best tricks in the book. As soon as the referee said fight the other guy was on his back.
As the fights continued I made sure to keep an eye on Robby. He was good, really good. But I kept my eyes on him and watched how he fought, trying to learn how he did it, analize his wins. Yes I'm not just all fists like my dad, I got some brains. As I assumed, every fight I was in, I won. What can I say, I'm good. I beat one guy in under two minutes.
One of my favorite fights was Hawk versus a boy from one of the preppy studios. They were 2-2, the guy got a soft hit on Hawk, and that set him off. He sent a flying jab punch to the kid's face, and he was down. Hawk was so excited, that tripped the top half of his gi off, turning his back to the crowd, rotating his shoulders and making the hawk on his back 'fly'. He's such a dork, I love him.
Bert's fight was pretty interesting. He was so small that the other guys could physically jump over him.I didn't think it was fair, they didn't even seem in the right weight class, but, life it's fair I guess. Sadly Bert lost the fight.
In the quarter finals it was me, Hawk and Miguel all in the semi's with some other kid. Sadly Aisha didn't make it, but you can't win every fight. I saw Sam run off after Aisha stormed away. I knew they had been friends before. Part of me hated Sam's guts and wanted her to stay the hell away from Aisha... the other part of me knew how good of friends they were, and wanted them to make up.
In the semifinals, it was me, Miguel, Hawk, Robby and another kid. Me, Hawk and Miguel had all tied for points somehow. Which meant that three of us would make it to the finals, that the winner of that would have to fight two people.
"There can be only one true winner, and he- I mean they... is standing on this stage right now" I almost laughed when the announcer realized I was up here "Will it be, Miguel Diaz, from Cobra Kai karate? Will it be Harley Lawrnece from Cobra Kai karate? Will it be Robby Keene, unaffiliated? And last, but certainly not least, last year's champion, fighting out of Topanga Karate, Xander Stone!?"
The guy did a crazy backflip move to charge up the audience, I rolled my eyes. It was a total poser move. He even took the mic from the announcer
"I just wanted to say, even though I love to fight, we all need to fight together, against hatred-"
"Aaaand I'm zoned out" I mumbled over to Miguel
"Right?" Miguel grinned
"What a poser" I muttered
"Yeah but he's won before"
"So what? We got this" I smirked
"... And as I look around this arena. I pray for every race, religion, and gender, that we can all live together in peace. Please join me, in a moment of silence, as we strive to end intolerance in our time"
Okay that was something I could get on with.
"Hey kick that pansy bitch in the face" my dad whispered to Miguel
I nudged my dad, getting him to shut up. Despite what my dad thought, these were genuine issues. I really need to get him facebook or something.
"Alright!" the announcer had the mic back "First up! Stone versus Diaz!"
They got into the fight right away. I had my fingers crossed the entire time. He had to win, not for my dad or for anyone else, but for himself. He needed that win. I would say the exact same thing for Hawk, but he was pumped cheering more Miguel. Stone was good, but Miguel wanted it more, you could see it in his eyes.
"Focus Diaz!"
A spinning roundhouse to the face and it was 2-1 in favor of Miguel. I clapped so hard my hands hurt. I was so proud of him.
"Offense! Stay on offense!" dad shouted
The guy had a lot of fancy spinning moves that threw Miguel off, but he held strong. I was muttering under my breath, praying to god above that he made it through. Another kick, and Miguel had won.
"Winner!" The ref threw Miguel's hand into the air.
He nodded respectfully, yeah it was definitely me that had taught him that one, sorry dad. We all cheered and clapped, patting Miguel on the back. It was the victory he deserved, but it wasn't over yet.
The next fight was Hawk versus Robby. That terrified me because Robby was better than Hawk, and I knew it, as much as I loved the crazy ass kid. Robby would win, and I would have to fight either him or Miguel. That I was not looking forward to.
"Something wrong sensei?" Hawk asked
"No" dad mumbled "Show him what you got"
Hawk nodded, the three of us did our special fist bump, and Hawk jumped up into the ring. I didn't want to watch, but three kids from the same dojo all fighting each other? It was unheard of. I didn't want to fight my brother either. We were already in a rough spot with him training with Mr. Larusso, and dad flipping out. I honestly didn't know what I wanted to happen.
"One point Hawk!"
Oh wow- I had been so zoned out I missed half the fight already. Eli was of course basking in the cheers, he loved it.
"Remember what you learned Robby!" Mr. Larusso shouted from the stands.
Oh Jesus, please don't start this now. Robby took a deep breath in, I watched, it was almost like he was meditating or something. Whatever it was it worked because Robby got a point.
"That was a lucky point, it's gonna be your last" I heard Hawk tell Robby
"Why? Leaving early to fix that stupid haircut?"
Oh no. Eli loved his hair. His hair was his pride and joy, it was his confidence booster. It was like, a lucky charm or something, and my older brother had just insulted it. When Robby turned around to walk back to his spot, Hawk lunged forwards, kicking him flat in the spine.
"What the fuck" I gasped.
Dad instantly lept up from his position, running over to Robby. I followed after him
"That's enough! Illegal contact! You're disqualified" the ref announced
"Bullshit!" Hawk exclaimed
I looked back and Hawk gave me a confused and... betrayed look. Oh please tell me he's not thinking what I think he is.
"Are you okay?"
"Get the hell away from me" Robby spat
"Hey, back on your side" the ref grabbed dad, i shoved him off, looking down at my brother
"Robby, are you okay?" I said panicked
"I said im-" he looked up at me with an annoyed look, but it softened when he saw the worry in my face "I'm okay squirt"
"Hey, let's go" the ref grabbed my arm, pulling me back to my side
I stood beside my dad, Hawk was glaring holes at me, but I was angry at him too.
"What the hell were you thinking man?" Dad smacked Hawk
"What was I supposed to do? Be a pussy?"
"You're a pussy for not obeying the rules" I shoved him.
He spun around giving me a wicked look, but I was too red to notice I was getting mad at the one person that could keep me calm.
"Hey, whose side are you on?" He growled "I saw how quickly you ran to help that jerk"
"Yeah and ya know why-"
"With that disqualification, Keen earns a trip to the finals!" the announcer talked over me, hawk couldn't hear
"..... what?"
"Forget it" I rolled my eyes, cracking my neck and turning to watch the fight.
It was Miguel vs Robby first, and then it would be me against the winner. Just as I had called. I didn't wanna fight either of them. Both of them were brothers to me, in whatever respect. I was scared something would happen, and I'd lose them both.
During the break, I was scared shitless. I was pacing around the locker room. Hawk wouldn't talk to me, I was freaking out.
"Hey- hey kid calm down, you're gonna wear your feet out-"
"I'm gonna forfeit" I spilled out
My dad paused, staring at me as if I had just willingly swallowed a wasp.
"You're what?"
"Dad, I don't wanna fight Miguel or Robby. I mean- shit if I win then they'll both hate me forever, I can't lose them dad" I sighed
"Hey" dad grabbed my shoulders "It doesn't matter if you win or not. And you can't control if those guys hate you, If they do, then they lost one hell of a person in their lives"
Compliment counter: 4
"Win or lose, that's up to fate. But you don't back down, you hear me?"
"Yes sensei" I smiled
"Atta girl"
~~
Miguel and Robby's fight had begun. I was scared shitless. Mr. Larusso had decided to coach Robby, which sent everyone into a frenzy, and I was even more panicked. I couldn't stop shaking, I was cracking my neck so much it started to ache. I felt someone grab my hand, I expected it to be my dad, but it was Hawk. I looked up at him confused, he didn't even look at me, too focused on the match.
"You gotta be focused" he muttered.
"Thanks" I mumbled
Hawk squeezed my hand affectionately, keeping hold of it for the rest of the match. Robby was too focused on aggression. My dad's methods worked, but Robby was smart.
"Remember the pitching machine! Don't get hit!"
My dad was starting to get on my nerves. If it wasn't for his teaching Hawk wouldn't have gotten disqualified from illegal contact. My dad fed into Hawk's aggression and need for acceptance, and it was going to cause problems later, I could tell. Miguel hit Robby's shoulder a few times. It was low play, but if Hawk was affected by my dad, Miguel was worse. He was in it to win, no mercy was a part of his mantra now.
Robby took a knee while Mr. Larusso talked to Robby. Part of me wanted to know what he was telling him. I valued my dad as a teacher, I did. But you can never know everything.
"Hey" I called out to Miguel, getting him to look up at me "Defense"
He scoffed, rolling his eyes and staring back at the floor. I shook my head. We had all gotten too cocky. Robby got back up, and the fight started again. Robby kept his arm braced to his chest, using one arm to fight. It was tricky, but Robby was good, and he could do it. He put all his weight on his one good arm, jumping up and making a two legged kick to Miguel's chest, winning their match.
"Oh shit" I sighed
"You got this" Hawk mumbled, looking down at me
"Hawk he's-"
"It doesn't matter, okay? Win or lose, you're still the best fighter I know. And the best person" he smiled
I smiled back. What would I do without him?
"What happened to hating me?" I smirked
"Eh, I move on fast" he shrugged
I raised an eyebrow, he gave me a wink. I shook my head, hoping up onto the mat. Miguel shoved past me as he walked away.
"Don't lose" he muttered
Well that was a different approach. I stared across at my brother. He had determination in his eyes, I had fire in mine. Everyone was cheering me on, I felt the pressure on me, it felt like I couldn't breathe. I tried to picture, having a dope flashback sequence happening around me as I fought against my brother. We threw punches and kicks at each other, and I pretended I was in some movie. But what did I have to look back on? My life had been shit, there were no positive memories or valuable lessons from a trusted adult that I had to go off of. I had my shitty life with a father that neglected me, and a mother who openly never loved me. A delinquent morally grey brother who I was currently losing against. And a busted up body from having to be my dad's mother for years. I had nothing to go on.
So I fought for this moment. I fought for the one constant in my life. Karate. I fought for Hawk, who despite his ego was cheering me on from the side. I fought for Demetri who was reluctantly sitting in the stands. I fought for my dad who had taken his second chance all the way to the All Valley tournament. I fought for myself last. I fought for those few seconds of glory that I could feel.
With a foot sweep, and a hit to the collarbone. I had done it. I watched as my brother panted on the ground, desperately clutching his shoulder. I had tried my best to avoid it, but I'd hit it a few times. My hand was grabbed by the ref and histed into the air, but I yanked it away. I could celibate my victory later.
I rushed over to Robby, trying to get to him before everyone else got to me first.
"Robby- Robby hey. Hey jerk" I stopped him, he turned around with a sad look "Peace" I held out my hand
He gave me a look I couldn't read. He looked upset, I didn't blame him. I kept my hand out, hoping he would take it.
Suddenly someone came and grabbed me around my waist, spinning me around like mad. It was my dad. The guys were all jumping around me, cheering and hugging me, I could barely breathe. I decided that it was okay for me to think about myself for once. I could talk to Robby later. Right now, I had won. I had actually won something, and it felt incredible.
"Is there anything you'd like to say to the people here, kid?"
I at first thought to just back away, but the guys shoved me forwards and I figured, might as well.
"I just wanna say... If it weren't for my sensei, my dad, I wouldn't be here. Friends who kept me motivated" I looked over at Hawk and Miguel "Fellow students who I got to kick around" I smirked over at Aisha and Bert "And my brother... Who taught me everything I know now" I looked over at Robby as inconspicuously as I could. He was staring at me "I love my brother, he raised me some days. And I hope... even in annoying and trying times, that he's proud of me"
-'|'-'|'-'|'-
Please don't hate me for this!!