Miguel, Robby, Eli and I all drove together to practice today.
Ever since the teamwork win during the egg exercise, everyone has been getting along much better; especially Eli and Robby.
It nice that they're finally not at each other's throats 24/7. It's one less distraction from preparing for the Sekai Taikai board member visit.
We met the rest of the Miyagi-Fangs at the dojo. Contrary to everyone's moods yesterday, everyone seemed pretty excited. I think they just needed a little time for the news to sink in.
I mean, I needed some time too. A world karate tournament? That's fucking insane!
"Hey, did you guys catch that video I sent of last year's Sekai Taikai?" Eli asked us as we walked to the back yard of the dojo.
"Man, who knew people could kick that high?" Miguel asked after nodding his head. Robby hit Eli's arm softly. "Or that hard," Robby added.
"Dude, seriously," I said after.
"I guess that's why it's the biggest competition in the world," Sam said as she walked up to us. The rest of the students walked up too.
"I heard last year's winners did a car commercial in Taiwan," said Eli.
"Dude, imagine being in a commercial. What would you do with all the money?" Penis Breath spoke. Chris looked over to him with a smirk on his face. "Buy a yacht with a hot tub on it," Chris said, "Fill it up with Smarties and hotties." Chris began dancing, waving his arms around with rhythm. Everyone laughed at his usual silly antics.
"All right, all right. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Mr. LaRusso spoke. He, Sensei, and Sensei Toguchi had just walked out of the dojo and joined the group of students.
"Remember, Cobra Kai is gonna do everything they can to get a spot," Mr. LaRusso continued. "And if they win this time, kids all over the world are gonna have to deal with the same kind of crap you guys have gone through."
"But if we win," Sam shrugged a shoulder, "we can show the world how to stop them."
"First you must prove you can compete with best," Sensei Toguchi added.
"But in order to do that," Sensei spoke now, "You have to be better than the best. Which is why we're gonna kick your asses into high gear."
"Sensei Lawrence, Sensei Toguchi and I are gonna get you ready for the presentation tomorrow. Ok? So, come on. Let's get warmed up." After Mr. LaRusso finished, Sensei yelled, "Go! Move those asses!"
Everyone spread out across the yard, all doing different warm-up exercises. Eli and I began warming up together. We stretched, did some belt forms, and began a quick sparring round with each other, when I heard Sensei call my name.
I looked over at him, as did Eli. Sensei nodded his head to the side, signaling for me to walk over to him. I nodded my head, before looking back to Eli, who nodded his head at me too. I smiled, before jogging over to Sensei.
"What's up, Sensei?" I asked when I reached him.
"I just talked to Miguel and Robby about this, but I wanted to talk to you too," he said. "How are you feeling about tomorrow?"
I thought for a moment, before nodding my head. "I feel pretty good. I think I'll feel better after practice, but I think I'm ready," I told him.
Sensei smiled at me. "Good. I'm proud of you, kid. Which is why I wanted to make sure you knew that... that you don't have to compete if you don't want to," he said, causing me to furrow my eyebrows. "I don't want to make the same mistake that I made with Miguel at the All Valley."
"It's ok, Sensei." I chuckled. "You don't have to worry about me running away to find my dad. Trust me, that's the last thing I would ever want to do."
"Yeah, I hear ya." Sensei chuckled too. "And... is everything ok with..." He nodded behind me. I glanced back, my eyes landing on Eli, who was doing forms again with Miguel and Robby.
I looked back to Sensei. "Oh, yeah, everything is good now. Thanks, Sensei."
"No problem, kid. Let me know if I ever have to kick his ass though. I've been to jail for assaulting minors before, and I'll do it again if you need me to."
I laughed out loud. "Thanks sensei, I'll keep that in mind." I began walking back a few steps.
"Go finish warming up. You'll need it for today." Sensei pointed at me. I nodded, "Yes sir."
Practice begun soon after. The three senseis had thought up the perfect presentation for tomorrow, and everyone had a special role to play in it.
Most of the day was spent practicing our individual showcases, while the rest was practicing our group ones. All three senseis helped all the students, rotating around to make sure everyone was doing better than their best.
I was in a showcase on my own, while Miguel, Robby, and Eli did one together. I wasn't able to see what they were going to do together, and they didn't see what I was doing.
I'm excited to see what they're doing tomorrow, and I hope they don't blow it. Although, truthfully speaking, I'm too busy worrying whether I will blow it or not...
After practice, Robby, Miguel, Eli and I got back in my car and went home. But first, I went to drop off Eli at his house.
I pulled up outside, the sky darkening. Eli said goodbye to Miguel and Robby, before pulling me in for a quick kiss. He said goodbye to me, before leaving the car and beginning to make his way to to his house.
I watched him leave for a couple seconds, before I unbuckled and opened the door. "I'll be right back, guys," I said to Robby and Miguel, before getting out of the car and shutting the door behind me.
Eli heard the noise, and looked towards me as I jogged up to him. He turned all the way around, facing me now.
"What's up?" Eli asked. I looked at him silently, letting out a deep breath. It felt like my heart was beating in my throat.
"Y/n... I can tell you're nervous."
I looked to the ground, not sure what to say. Eli put a finger under my chin and softly directed my gaze up to him again.
"You're not going to mess things up for everyone," he told me. I furrowed my eyebrows, giving him a questioning look. "How'd you know that's what I was thinking?"
"Because I know you, Y/n. I know how you feel about these kinds of things, especially after the All Valley. But I also know that you are going to kill it tomorrow. We wouldn't have a chance without you there." Eli cupped my cheek with his hand.
I sighed, somewhat reassured by his words. "How do you always know exactly what to say?" I asked.
He chuckled, his handsome smile shining in the darkness. He leaned in and connected our lips again. "Because I love you."
I smiled, my face warming. We hugged, our arms wrapping around each other. "I love you too," I said.
"Shall I walk you to your car, my lady?" he asked playfully, holding out his hand. I smiled, putting my hand in his. "Yes, you may."
He walked me those few steps back to my car, where he opened the door for me and made sure I was settled before he shut it again.
He waved one final time, before turning around and heading toward his front door once more.
I was about to drive away, when I noticed Robby sitting in the front passenger seat now. I raised an eyebrow.
"Miguel and I played Rock Paper Scissors for the front seat," Robby explained, before looking back to Miguel with a smirk.
"He lost." Robby chuckled, while Miguel rolled his eyes with a small smile.
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The next day came quickly. Before I knew it, the Sekai Taikai board members were already here for our evaluation.
When they first entered the back yard of the dojo, following behind Mr. LaRusso, all the students were spread out all around. Some kids did forms on the grass, some kids were sanding a deck to showcase the defense strategy... I was standing alone on a deck kicking and blocking in a badass pattern Sensei made up.
I tired not to look over at them. I tried to stay focused and continue my kicks. I could, however, hear what Mr. LaRusso was telling the board members as they walked around.
"Our students start with basic movements. We use chores to create muscle memory," Mr. LaRusso said, pointing to the students sanding the deck. "Once they have that down, they can master their defense," he added, guiding the members towards another showcase. Chris and Penis Breath showed off defense with Sensei Toguchi.
Now Mr. LaRusso lead the members towards the deck that Robby, Miguel, and Eli were standing on. I looked over in their direction this time, still continuing my task.
"Only after they master their defense, do we teach offense," Mr. LaRusso continued. Sensei stepped in to speak now. "But with a badass twist," Sensei added.
Sensei faced the three boys on the deck. "Show them the screaming eagle." The boys got starting into position quickly. "Ready?" Sensei said, before yelling for the boys to start.
All three boys yelled, throwing out an awesome block. Then, they jumped up high and kicked quickly. When they landed, they yelled again, blocking and pulling their hand back with strength. Finally, they swiftly came back to junbi stance.
Sensei looked at the board members, trying to see what they thought of what they just saw. None of them reacted the way Sensei hoped, so Sensei held up an awkward fist.
I let out a nervous breath that I didn't realize I was holding. The boys executed their showcase flawlessly, but the day isn't over yet.
I've got to kill it too.
Next, it was time to do Sam and Robby's showcase together. Everyone nearly gathered around the koi pond, where Sam and Robby stood on the round platform.
Eli maneuvered his way next to me. I glanced at him for a moment. "Good job," I whispered.
"You too," he whispered back. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. "I haven't even done anything yet."
"But you will," Eli whispered finally, nodding his head towards the two students on the platform.
They began doing mirroring movements, a mixture of blocks, kicks, and punches. It was impressive, because neither of them fell into the water.
During their showcase, I noticed Eli ever-so-slightly elbow the board member next to him. The man looked at Eli, who began smirking and wiggling his eyebrows.
A small smile found its way onto my face as I tried not to laugh out loud.
The next showcase was a group one. Everyone did forms in unison, only, I was the one leading them. I yelled loudly when it was time for everyone to change position, and they listened... I hope. I couldn't see everyone, and I was still too afraid to look.
Eventually, all the students, senseis, and board members all went to Sensei's Eagle Fang warehouse. This is where I do my solo presentation.
I felt like my hands were shaking. I wiped sweat off my forehead quickly, which could've been from nervousness or tiredness.
I stood in the middle, while everyone else gathered in a circle around me.
My presentation? Kicking watermelons.
A few watermelons hung from chains hooked to the ceiling. As Sensei began speaking to the board members about this showcase, I kicked the first watermelon. It broke, red pieces of the fruit exploding to the ground.
"No fancy crap here," Sensei spoke. "Our dojo is old school. We don't spoil our students. We make 'em earn things the hard way."
I yelled loudly, kicking another watermelon. This one didn't break. Instead, it swung on its chain. "Call that a kick? Harder!" Sensei yelled.
I stopped the watermelon from swinging with my hand, nodding in Sensei's direction. I got into fighting position, not taking my eyes off the watermelon.
I tried to block out my surroundings. I took a deep breath in, and kicked. Hard.
But this time... the watermelon exploded all over one of the board members. Gasps echoed throughout the room, the member's white undershirt now stained red.
I froze for a moment, afraid of what he might say. I looked towards Eli quickly, hoping he would know what to do, but he just looked back, his eyebrows raised, also unsure what to do.
That's when Sensei came to my rescue.
"Uh, hey look, man, I'm sure this probably all seems weird to you," Sensei spoke to the board member, "but sometimes you have to train outside the box to get to another level. Some people use the latest high-tech junk to get there, and some people need to run up a mountain in the snow and yell."
I watched and listened to Sensei with confusion on my face, but that was quickly replaced with surprise when the board member yelled loudly.
"Drago!" the man yelled, holding up his fists. He dragged out the last letter of the word for a few seconds. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes.
"Rocky Balboa is my hero," the man added.
"No shit! Mine too," Sensei said.
"His victory over Russia effectively restored my fractured homeland," the man continued. Sensei nodded his head. "You get it."
"I do." The man nodded back. "Show me more."
Both Sensei and the board member raised up a strong fist. The man seemed unbothered by the incident. I just really hoped he wasn't faking his calmness.
Everyone looked back at me, including Sensei, who sent a small wink my way. The corner of my mouth raised slightly as I sent a quick, thankful nod towards Sensei.
I finished my showcase without any more flaws. Then all the students did a few more things in the warehouse, before the board members were ready to talk to the three senseis about their decision.
We all went back to the dojo. All the students stood in the back yard, while the senseis and board members stood in the front.
None of us could hear what they were saying, so everyone decided to sneak through the inside of the dojo and eavesdrop on the conversation.
I, however, decided to stay out back.
I went and sat on one of the decks, my face in my hands and my elbows on my knees. I just needed a moment to breath. And although I took a breath, my nerves weren't mitigated.
"Everything ok?" a voice said.
I looked up, my eyes landing on Eli. He stood in front of me, his hands in his pockets, and a small smile on his face.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, I'm good." I nodded my head. Eli gave me a knowing look, before taking a seat next to me.
"Y/n, you did absolutely great today," he told me. "If we're getting a chance to fight in the Sekai Taikai, it'll be because of you."
I started to shake my head with a small smile to refute what he was saying, but someone else began speaking.
"He's right, Y/n."
I looked to the voice to see not only Miguel, but Robby, Sam, and Demitri too.
"You're an awesome fighter," Robby said to me.
"I've seen the progress you've made," Demitri began, "and holy shit, you've progressed a lot."
"If any of us deserve to make it into the Sekai Taikai and win..." Sam emphasized, "it's you."
"We're all so proud of you, Y/n." Miguel smiled.
I couldn't contain the smile that grew on my face as I looked around at all my closest friends. Their support meant everything to me. I don't know where I'd be without them.
Without responding, I pulled everyone in for a group hug. We all laughed at the awkward jumble of bodies we were.
"Thanks for everything, guys," I said, looking around the circle and each and every one of them.
When my eyes landed on the person to my right, I realized something. "Wait... I thought you were working today. Where'd you come from?" I asked Demitri.
"I just got off," he replied, signaling to his red uniform shirt that had the Tech Town logo embroidered onto the corner. "For the last three hours, I had been dealing with this same lady, who eventually threatened to shove her computer up my ass."
Everyone laughed again. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece," I said jokingly.
Demitri smiled. "Honestly, I'm surprised too." He chuckled.
I looked at everyone again. My friends, my boyfriend, and my best friend all surrounded me, giving me their support and love.
They gave me everything I needed to be confident through whatever happens next.
I feel loved, and I feel strong.
I also felt something click inside me.
Something driving me to victory.
Something that can't be so easily turned off again.
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