ミ☆ chapter eleven; another side that you don't know
[ season 1, episode 10]
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One thing about Nadia was that she could take her competitiveness to another level. Something thing about her was that it didn't mix well with her anger.
And unfortunately, she was feeling both today.
For one, Miguel had been ghosting her. He tried to talk to her for about two days after their argument, as well as texted and called her nonstop, but she ignored it. That's when he gave up and began to return the same treatment he was getting.
It pissed off Nadia. He should get why she'd be mad at him, but why the hell would he be mad at her?
And for two, she and Robby had to put ten times more effort into their training without the guidance of Mr. LaRusso.
She hadn't actually seen Daniel since the argument. She did, however, call Ananda and ask when she could come into work. The woman told her that it'd be best to work things out after the tournament, which Nadia fully agreed with.
Back to the present, though. Today was the day of the tournament, and both Robby and Nadia had a case of the jitters that just wouldn't go away.
They felt threatened.
All the teams had to report to the locker rooms. There was a girls one, a boys one, a neutral one where the teams could meet up as a whole. Once Nadia had changed into her gi, she met Robby in the neutral one, and once they got there, the two made an observation that every single team had multiple things that they did it.
A sensei, a customized gi, as well as more than two students.
"Staring at them isn't gonna make us win," Nadia tapped the Keene's shoulder. "It's just gonna make us feel worse."
"I think our Amazon gi's are doing that for us perfectly fine," He sighed, handing a rubber band to the girl next to him.
She took it from his hands gently, putting the band on her wrist and grabbing a fistful of his hair. "Stop complaining. Those gi's were twenty dollars each, and I don't see you in a rush to pay me back anytime soon."
Nadia couldn't see him, but he rolled his eyes at her statement, although a smile was tugging at his lips. It quickly faded when the Hayworthe tightened the hair tie. His face twisted into a scowl, "That's too tight!"
"Do you want your hair to fall free in the middle of a match?" She snapped back, still maintaining her grip on his hair. "Yeah, thought so."
She wrapped his hair into a bun at the back, finishing the hairstyle off. Robby turned back around to her. Nadia frowned at him. "We may not have a lot of things they have, but there is something that none of them have that we do."
"And what's that?"
"We were taught by an All-Valley champion," She answered. "Cobra Kai was, too, but that's besides the point, okay? The point is, we've come too far to lose. Plus, a team of ten amateurs have nothing against a team of two professionals."
"Not bad," Robby complimented, tilting his head.
"Thanks, made that one up just now."
Time passed pretty quickly, and before they knew it, all teams had to come out to the floor for the official start of the tournament. Every team was there. Every team except Cobra Kai.
Nadia brushed it off, deciding that dwelling on the opponent would do her more harm than good.
The host continued to introduce every team, and all of them had an equal amount of applause, although some parents cheered louder than others.
"From Reseda, returning to the tournament, we have-"
He was interrupted by the continuous 'Cobra Kai' chants that only became louder as they made their way to the mat. The crowd ate it up like food, applause and cheers roaring from them louder than they had done for anybody else.
"Assholes," Robby muttered, getting a snort out of Nadia.
The smile was still evident on her face when she locked eyes with Miguel. His words from a few days ago reappeared in her mind, making her avert her gaze coldly.
"And finally, fighting unaffiliated, we have Robby Keene and Nadia Hayworthe."
Daniel seemed to finally noticed his students who he turned his back on were there, and of course, he looked confused. Neither of them let it phase them, as they had bigger things to worry about.
"Get ready, it's karate time." The host made one final statement to get the crowd hype.
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Nadia hadn't actually been in a tournament since she moved from Atlanta, and there was a reason why.
The whole point of moving away was to leave her past behind, which meant leaving karate behind. But anyone who believed that she could ever truly move on from something that she had been doing since she was little would be stupid.
She got back into karate quicker than anybody thought she would've. Joining Miyagi-Do was something she didn't regret, but entering a tournament so soon wasn't the best idea. Still, Nadia held the mindset that she'd be okay. Despite working all the time, her mom found a way to make it to the tournament, along with her sister. She didn't want to disappoint them again.
She only had to fight two people before advancing to the semi-finals, fortunately. The first one was some amateur from Topanga karate. He underestimated her simply because she was a girl. That was a mistake on his part, clearly. She won the match 3-0, and she didn't even have to try.
The second match, however, no Nadia knew would be a struggle for her. Most of the time, she didn't know her opponents, but with Cobra Kai in the picture, she was perfectly aware that she'd have to fight people she was familiar with.
It made sense that the only two girls in the competition would battle. Nadia would never admit it, but she was a bit nervous. The other dojos weren't as aggressive as Cobra Kai was, leading her to believe that Aisha would be much harder to face than her previous foe.
"Face me, bow," The referee instructed. They did so.
"Face each other, bow."
As they bowed, Nadia had a slight smile playing on her lips. "We're still friends after this, right?"
"I'll decide that after this match," Aisha responded, smiling as well despite her words.
Aisha went to strike first, courtesy of her dojo, but Nadia blocked it with ease. The Robinson was telegraphing her hits, giving the brunette the upper-hand.
This got her visibly frustrated, the Hayworthe could see that. Aisha attempted to punch her again, and Nadia blocked this one as well, striking her in the stomach while doing so.
"Point, Hayworthe!"
Nadia took her place back to the middle of the mat, grinning as she saw the encouraging smile on Robby's face. She saw the LaRusso's in the crowd as well. Sam had a grin on her face as well, but didn't cheer due to the fact that both of her friends were on the mat and she didn't want to see biased. Nadia didn't notice, but Daniel had been secretly rooting for her as well. It seemed that despite his blowup just a few days ago, he couldn't help himself.
Her eyes never found Miguel's, as she knew looking at him would distract her.
Before the second round began, Johnny yelled loud enough for both his student and her opponent to hear.
"Remember, Aisha. No mercy!"
A scoff dared to escape from Nadia's lips. She didn't pay any mind to Johnny's words, but she quickly realized she should've once the ref called the beginning of the new match.
Aisha barely gave the Hayworthe a chance to move before kicking her straight in the face, catching her heavily off guard.
Nadia stumbled backwards in pure shock, holding her jaw, only getting more ticked off at the cheers that came from Aisha's team. The girl readjusted her gi, pulling it down angrily.
"Point, Robinson! One to one."
The curly-haired girl made sure to mask the shock and anger on her face. It was a slip-up. She forgot the most important thing she was taught in karate, even before Daniel began teaching her.
There are no friends in a tournament.
As soon as the quote entered her mind, Nadia couldn't get it out. She wasn't sure she wanted to, either. The words seeped into her mind like poison, and she didn't want the cure.
"Ready, fight!"
This time, Nadia went for the enemy first. Getting swept off her feet caught Aisha off guard, as she had the expectation that her opponent would be defense the entire time. She had broken the one rule that Daniel would remind them of everyday. She had decided to strike first. Nadia didn't see Daniel's reaction, and she didn't actually care enough, either. He made his choice when he decided to shut out both her and Robby.
Aisha didn't get to stand up, as Nadia kneeled down and sent a punch straight to her gut with a grunt.
"Point, Hayworthe! One to two."
Nadia barely spared a glance at her friend, turning away and returning to the center of the mat for the next match. She intended for it to be the last.
She pulled down her gi with a sigh, adrenaline rushing through her veins.
"Time-out!" Sensei Lawrence called, earning a groan from Nadia. Aisha walked over to her sensei, while Nadia jogged over to Robby.
He didn't looked pleased. "What was that?"
She didn't let it phase her, raising her eyebrows expectantly. "I'm winning, Robby. That's what we're here for, right?"
"Daniel didn't teach us to strike first," He replied.
"This is Cobra Kai. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire."
With that, she made her way back to the mat, eager to win. Aisha made her way to the mat as well, looking just as angry.
"Ready, fight!"
Aisha kicked towards Nadia, and she avoided it, jerking her shoulder out of the way at the perfect time. The Robinson kicked at her a second time, but Nadia caught her leg, using it to push Aisha to the ground.
The Hayworthe went to punch her, but Aisha rolled out underneath her just before she could, pissing her off even more.
Aisha got up right after kicking Nadia's back, sending her to the ground this time. Just like before, one was beneath the other. Aisha was going to punch her hard in the gut, but Nadia used her right leg to kick Aisha harshly in the face.
She stood up from the ground once she knocked the girl off balance, smirking proudly as she did so.
"Point, winner!"
Aisha ran off almost immediately, and instead of following after her, Nadia stared at Johnny. Breathing heavily, she titled her head, almost tauntingly. "How's that for no mercy?"
Miguel, Robby, and Daniel watched as Nadia walked past each of them, and into the locker room, with an expression of rage.
They were concerned.
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By the time Nadia exited the locker room, she had already been announced as a semi finalist. Miguel had beat Xander from Topanga, meaning that it was just her, Robby, Hawk, and Miguel.
If Robby could beat Hawk, he'd go on to fight Miguel. If Robby lost against Miguel, then Nadia would have to fight him instead.
"Hey," Robby greeted, noticing that she had finally come out of the locker rooms. He thought she had went in there to calm down, but she didn't look any different from when she had gone in. "Are you sure you wanna compete?"
"Yeah." She nodded, checking the timer for the intermission. "Why wouldn't I wanna compete?"
"You just seem...angry," He confessed, seemingly a bit fearful of letting out his thoughts. "And you're using it the wrong way."
"So you want me to back out of the tournament because I have emotions?" She scoffed.
"No, no, I just..." He trailed off, brainstorming sentences that wouldn't tick her off more. "I saw the way you fought Aisha on the mat, and you said she was your friend, and I'm just concerned for you, Nadia. I don't want you to do something you're gonna regret."
She remained silent, her eyes dropping to the floor. For a moment, Robby did get through to her, he could tell. Her facade had broken. It didn't last long, though. Nadia looked back to him with a grimace. "Like what? You think I'm gonna kill someone or something?"
"No, of course not-"
"Exactly," She interrupted coldly. "What I'm doing is winning, Robby. I suggest you stop worrying about me and worry about that opponent of yours next round."
She walked away, back to the edge of the mat where she planned to watch Hawk and Robby battle. His words lingered freshly in her mind, but she refused to let him or anybody else see that.
Hawk got onto the mat about a minute after Robby did, clearly taking his time to do so. He was arrogant, and Nadia hoped the Keene would give him the humbling that he desperately needed. A part of her wanted him to lose, just so she could be the one to deliver the ass beating.
Hawk scored the first point quicker than Nadia had expected. Robby wasn't focused, she could tell. The brunette crossed her arms and tapped her foot anxiously.
"Remember what you learned, Robby!" Daniel shouted from his seat.
It grabbed his attention, and it seemed to do just the trick. Robby scored the next point easily, giving both Nadia and Daniel hope.
As per usual, Hawk had something stupid to say to boost his ego, and Robby clearly had something to say back. Whatever he said pissed off the Cobra Kai student enough to the point where he was fuming.
The Keene turned his back to him so he could return to his fighting position, meeting Nadia's gaze. Despite their clash just minutes before, the Hayworthe was still proud of him, regardless of how he chose to win. She sent him a thumbs up.
He planned to smile back at her, but out of what seemed like no where, Hawk charged at Robby, kicking him so hard in the shoulder that she heard a crack as he fell to the ground.
"Robby!" The curly-haired girl rushed over to the injured boy with haste. She didn't care enough to acknowledge the fact that his opponent had been disqualified, but she did see Johnny run over to his son even though they were on opposite sides.
"Are you okay?" His father asked him genuinely.
"Get the hell away from me," He growled in response. Nadia locked eyes with Johnny, telling him just with her orbs that he needed to back off. He was escorted away by a ref before he could say another word.
Nadia watched him go, then turned back to Robby. "Can you stand?"
"I think so, yeah," He responded, grabbing onto her shoulder as support to stand up.
Ignoring the different reactions from the crowd, she led her friend into the locker rooms as carefully as one could.
Robby sat on one of the benches, pulling off just enough of his gi to where his shoulder was revealed. He flinched just by looking at it. "Is it bad?"
"Yeah," She said bluntly. "My mom's a nurse, so I can at least tell you that it's dislocated. Someone's gonna have to pop it back into place."
"Can you do it?"
"I think I'd just make it worse," She answered. "You would've won, I think Eli only did that because he knew it too. His ego just couldn't handle losing."
She earned laughter from the boy, making her crack a slight grin as well. Nadia continued to speak, "I'm serious. Now all you have to do is fight Miguel, and if you lose, I'll be there to make sure we still win."
"You're confident."
"Nope, just honest," She smirked, flashing him an innocent smile.
"You remembered to focus," Daniel spoke, letting his presence be known. Nadia whipped her head around and raised her eyebrows in shock.
"You had us up on that tree for hours," Robby joked. Nadia took a seat on the bench beside him.
"Look, Robby, your dad and I, we have our issues, but, you and him, that's another story."
"I'm sorry I lied to you, Mr. LaRusso," Robby apologized. "I just wanted to get back at him."
"I know," Daniel sighed. "You just can't let that bad blood change who you are. I'm not saying you need to like the guy. I know I never will, but, he is your father, and believe me you're lucky to have one. Mr. Miyagi always told me there's no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher, and Johnny...he had the worst teacher there ever was."
He turned his attention to Nadia. "I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you. I may have been mad, but it was no excuse for me to shut you out when you had nothing to do with it."
"It's fine, Mr. LaRusso," She acknowledged. She still felt guilty about the fact that she had gone against his teacher during the match and let her anger get the best of her.
"I just have to know," He began, obviously trying to watch his words. "Why did you strike first?"
"It's just old habits," She told him honestly. "And I know you may not wanna hear it, but it's actually kind of
working."
"Nadia, I taught you balance. What you're doing...it's like what Johnny's teaching them. This anger that you're building up, it's just going to explode into something that you cat control."
He was right, and she didn't want to admit it. "I need a minute, but keep me updated in Robby, please."
Upon exiting the locker room, Nadia saw Aisha and Sam laughing while walking out of one of the hallways and back to the arena. She wanted to apologize to Aisha, but the more she thought about it, the less sorry she was. She was only playing the same game that the Robinson girl had planned so. It was fair, at least from her view.
"Nadia."
It took her a minute to do so, but she eventually turned her head away from Aisha and Sam, looking behind her to see the source of the voice.
"What do you want?" She scowled, realizing it was Miguel.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened the other night," He began. "And I'm sorry that I pushed you, but it was an accident, I swear."
"I don't care that you pushed me," She retorted. "I'm upset that you twisted everything back onto me just because you were jealous."
"I was drunk. There were a lot of things I wanted to say before but chose not to, and it all just came out," He defended. Just as the Hayworthe was, he looked as if he was trying to keep his cool. "I mean, the same day you reassured me that Sam wasn't with Robby, they come to a party together? How would you react?"
"I wouldn't react like an asshole," She spat. "You barely knew the guy, and you tried to fight him the second he tried to stop the argument from going any further."
"You have to strike first. You don't wait for the enemy to attack," He argued back. Nadia couldn't believe what she was hearing or seeing.
It was like looking into a mirror.
"Do you even hear yourself?" She scolded.
"Well, you better hope Robby backs out of the tournament because of his injury. If not, just watch what I'll do to him next round."
"You're gonna fight dirty?" She scoffed angrily. "The guy's already got a dislocated shoulder, the least you could do is give him a break."
"You're asking me to let him win?"
"No, Miguel. I'm asking you to play fair," She corrected. "That's all I want."
"Unbelievable." Miguel walked away without saying anything else. Even though his words hurt, they were also a wake-up call. Daniel was right, and so was Robby. Cobra Kai's methods worked, but they turned the students into monsters.
Much like Nadia's dad did to her.
Miyagi-Do was meant to serve as a reminder that she didn't always have to take the merciless route. But her anger and competitiveness had completely infiltrated her mind and made her believe that she could only fight fire with fire.
Winning the All-Valley would've been fun, but she would've preferred to win in a way that would leave her feeling good.
Maybe she could win the tournament someday, but Nadia made the decision in that moment that it wouldn't be today.
She found Mr. LaRusso on the opposite side of the mat with Robby, already feeling bad about what she was going to do.
"Hey, kid," Daniel greeted, relieved. "You kinda ran off there, everything okay?"
She pursed her lips. "Yeah, I just, I think I'm gonna back out of the tournament. I'm sorry, Mr LaRusso. I think I rushed into something I wasn't ready for."
"Don't be sorry. Nadia. I understand." He smiled kindly. She could tell it was pity, and she hated it more than anything. "With some more training, you'll be back here next year winning the All-Valley."
She giggled nervously. "You're putting a lot of faith in me, Mr. LaRusso."
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it were true. You've got some real potential, kid. Never forget that."
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"You've been bouncing your leg for nearly ten minutes, honey. It's gonna fall off," Layla Hayworthe joked, handing a bottle of water to her eldest child.
Nadia took it, tilting her head back to stare at her mom apologetically. "Sorry. I'm just nervous."
"Right, so who are we rooting for? The Diaz boy or the other one with the bob?"
"The one with the bob. Robby. He's on my team," She answered, pointing at him from the very top of the seats.
Layla furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought we liked the Diaz kid."
"Not anymore," Nadia frowned. "He's a jerk, so we're only cheering on Robby."
"Shame. I was going to invite his family over for dinner." Layla matched the frown her daughter wore.
"I though he was your boyfriend," Kie mumbled through a mouthful of nachos.
Her mom was understanding of why she backed out. It was more of a silent look that said everything that needed to be said. Layla decided not to ask any questions, as it was clear she was on edge.
Miguel Diaz, on the other hand, was conflicted. He constantly found himself alternating his gaze between his sensei and Nadia.
Play fair. That's all Nadia was asking for. Not to throw the match, or hold back. All she wanted was for him to fight fairly.
The issue was, Nadia's definition of fair was different from Johnny's. He couldn't do one without disappointing the other. It didn't help that his sensei taught his students to deal with their anger with violence. His emotions were clouding his judgment, and the more he thought it, the angrier he got. Robby Keene ruined everything in his eyes.
Robby made the first point within seconds when the match started, and that clearly only fueled Miguel's anger.
Miguel scored the second time, hitting Robby once more just for extra measure, even though he knew it was unnecessary. As soon as he made the point, he found himself looking into the crowd to find Nadia, who averted his gaze the second their eyes met.
Once again, Miguel made the point, fighting even dirtier than before. It was clear that the battle went a lot deeper than just karate.
"Do you see that? He's using Robby's shoulder as an advantage to win," Kie observed, pointing at the mats below. "How is that even allowed?"
"I will never understand what you see in this sport," Layla mumbled, leaning towards her daughter's ear, getting a hum in response.
Once Daniel realized that Robby had remained on the ground holding his shoulder in pain, he called a time-out.
Nadia felt horrible that she had to just sit there and watch the Keene lose without any actual backup. But there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Once the next round started, it looked as though something shifted in Robby. He looked...balanced. Whatever Daniel had told him worked like a charm, and somehow the boy had managed to block all of Miguel's hits with just his single arm that was not injured.
Miguel had somehow managed to get Robby to the ground though, and when it looked as if he was about to score the winning point, the Miyagi-Do student did the unthinkable.
He used the move that Daniel had referenced the day they went to the lakes. He put all his weight on one hand and kept his balance long enough to kick Miguel right in the chest with both of his feet. Landing with ease. The score had become 2-2.
The crowd cheered in sync with Nadia, who had been hollering at the top of her lungs for her friend.
Despite all the things the Diaz had done to hurt Robby, he still decided to be a good sport and hold out a helping hand to get Miguel to his feet. Big mistake though.
The boy decided to return the favor by pulling Robby's arm down, practically dislocating it again. The worst part was, in return, all they got was a warning.
The next and final round Nadia found herself covering her eyes for most of it. Deep down she knew that the game had already gone to Miguel, all they had to do was call it. Robby was far too injured to be able to beat a guy who was willing to worsen his opponent's condition just to win. Miguel had won, all they truly needed to do was officiate it.
That's exactly what the host ended up doing. Miguel caught Robby's leg in mid-air, using it to push him back and kick him to the ground, scoring a point. He looked as if he was going in for more, and he probably would've if not for the ref grabbing him by his arm and declaring him the winner.
The crowd began to roar gleefully as if they hadn't been booing Miguel just a minute before because of his foul play.
The Diaz boy had all eyes on him. But, truthfully, that didn't matter to him when he had found Nadia in the crowd. As expected, she didn't look happy. He had completely failed to do the one thing she had asked of him. The brunette knew it may have been too much to request considering what dojo he came from, but she still held out hope that he'd do the right thing.
She felt stupid. Stupid for thinking that he'd risk losing just for her.
As he stared at her from the mat, Miguel tried to keep the tough look on his face, but it had faltered. His facade had slightly broken just for a second when he realized that he let his anger cloud his judgement. It didn't fall for long enough for Nadia to notice. In her eyes, he didn't feel guilt for what he had just done on that mat.
Nadia whispered to her mom that she'd meet her in the car before taking her bag and standing from her seat. She had forced herself to look away from Miguel, but his eyes were still burning into her head, she could feel it.
It was then that Miguel knew that although he may have won the All-Valley Tournament, in the end, he still lost something much more important to him.
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AUTHORS NOTE!
AND THAT CONCLUDES ACT ONEEEE
sorry this chapter was so long i didn't wanna split it in half 💀 i also dk how i feel ab the closing line bc it was kinda corny but oh well
i'm so excited to write s2 bro there's gonna be sm drama + THE FIGHTS (cough cough coyote creek 🤭)
may or not have already written that one
ANYWAYY
ik i haven't actually said WHY nadia moved/quit karate temporarily but i swear you'll find out like either first or second chapter (MAYBE third)