"Boy, this Chinese food is terrible." Eddie commented as he, Jerry, and Milton walk over to the table Kate and Jack sat at in the courtyard.
"Well, what do you expect from a place called 'The Scrabby Dragon'?" Milton asked.
"I'll take one of these fortune cookies." Jack said, taking one of the fortune cookies from one of the bags the other three boys had. "Hard to mess them up."
"Ooh, I'll take one too." Kate grinned, grabbing one of the fortune cookies. She honestly loved fortune cookies. She always liked to find out what it said and see if it was true.
Jack breaks the fortune cookie in half and reads the fortune out loud. "'You are about to embark on an exciting journey'."
"Oh, sweet, dude. That's a good one." Jerry commented.
Kate then breaks hers in half, furrowing her eyebrows. She squints, bringing the paper closer to read it since she thought she read it wrong. "Weird." She shrugs. "Mine says the same thing."
Jack shakes his head. "These fortunes are just a dumb gimmick to take your mind off how the cookies look and taste like an old man's ear."
"I can't tell you how I know this, but they taste nothing like an old man's ear." Milton spoke and Kate looked at him weirdly. She shook her head and stood up, grabbing her book she was reading and followed Jack inside the dojo.
"Guys, you'll never believe it!" Rudy exclaims excitedly, running over to the two best friends after leaving his office. "I just got a call saying that you two are invited to the Junior World Martial Arts Championship in China!"
The two best friends stare at him in shock and laugh in disbelief as they began to grow excited. "What?" Kate questions. She jumps up and down of excitement. "That's awesome!" She had never been to China before and she had always wanted to participate in this championship. The fact that she and Jack were invited to join it meant a lot to her.
Jack grins. "Are you serious?" He and Kate shared a smile and pulled each other into a hug. A squeal left Kate's lips when he lifted her off the ground and spun her around, causing her to giggle a bit and Jack couldn't help the soft smile that formed on his lips.
"Awe, so cute." Rudy commented, smiling teasingly at the best friends.
Jack quickly sets Kate on the ground and they both step away from each other, avoiding eye contact. They both were blushing faintly with shy smiles on their faces.
****
Now the others were in the dojo, smiling at Jack and Kate. "I cannot believe this." Jack grins at Kate. "We're going to the Junior World Marital Arts Chamionships in China!"
"I still can't believe this is real." Kate admits. She smiles widely. "If this is a dream I don't wanna wake up."
"I was gonna go, but I'm not what they call, you know," Milton frowns. "Good." Kate smiled sympathetically at him.
"Guys, Kate and I have been dreaming about this tournament since I got into martial arts." Jack explains, sharing a smile with Kate before he glances around at everyone curiously. "How did this happen?"
"Mm, I may know how it happened." Rudy speaks up in a knowing tone, causing the two best friends to smile at him. He stands up, smiling at Jack and Kate. "I might have taken it upon myself to write a letter about two certain students and possibly sent it to, oh, I don't know, China."
Kate's eyes widen with surprise. She smiles widely at Rudy and hugs him. "Rudy, did I ever tell you that you're my favorite cousin?"
"No, but I wouldn't mind hearing it." Rudy grinned and hugged her back.
"Dude, this is important." Jerry chimes in as the cousins pull away from each other. "Try to remember. Did you do it or not?" Everyone looked at him with a deadpanned expression.
Rudy chuckles. "Of course I did it." He smiles, pointing at Kate and Jack. "Jack and Kate are amazing. They're undefeated. They never lost a match in their life."
Kate grimaces, glancing at the floor shyly. "Yeah, um, about that..."
Jack gave her a sympathetic look before glancing at Rudy. "Rudy, can we talk to you outside for a second?" Rudy nodded and the three of them walked outside.
"Rudy, not everything you told those people about me and Kate were true." Jack told Rudy.
"Please, everybody stretches the truth." Rudy comments. "I do it all the time on my online dating profile. I'm not really a bathing suit model."
"Obviously." Kate snickered.
"Rudy, we're not undefeated." Jack admits. He shakes his head. "A kid named Kai beat me so badly I gave up karate 'till I came here."
"And remember Chanel Nolan?" Kate asks her cousin. "My first ever karate championship I fought at she was the one who I was up against and she has it out for me." An embarrassed expression forms on her face. "I sprained her ankle during that tournament."
Rudy's eyes widen with surprise and then he looks disappointed. "Kate!" He scolded her.
Kate points at him. "But in my defense, she made me so angry by teasing and taunting me. I was so angry I just lost control." She sighs, her lips forming into a frown. "At every karate tournament we fight against, she always beats me."
Her shoulders drop in defeat and she looks at the ground nervously, fiddling with her hands that were now folded in front of her. "And she always warned me that she will get revenge. I'm just surprised she hasn't done it yet. But I have a bad feeling she'll be there and this will be the time she gets revenge." Jack smiled sympathetically at her, putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her and Kate glanced at him with a sad smile.
Rudy frowns. "Kate, why didn't you tell me? I-I could've done something to help you." He hated knowing that his little cousin had an enemy who wanted revenge on her and he hated it even more that it felt like he couldn't do anything to protect her.
"I didn't want to be a burden." Kate admitted.
"You're never a burden." Jack reassured her and Rudy nodded in agreement. Kate smiled at Jack and Rudy.
"The point is," Rudy decides to change the subject, smiling at the two best friends as Jack takes his hand off Kate's shoulder. "It doesn't matter that you guys aren't undefeated. You both deserve this." He smirks. "And that's why they sent you three first-class tickets to China."
Kate and Jack looks at him with shock and excitement. "What? No way!" Kate excitedly said.
"You get to bring someone," Rudy adds, looking at her and Jack with a hopeful expression. "An adult, a mentor, perhaps someone who is both here and a man."
"It'd be even better if everyone could go." Kate smiled and Jack nodded in agreement.
"Wait, first-class tickets are really expensive," Jack's eyes widen as he thought of an idea and he smiles at Kate. "Maybe we could trade them in for seven coach tickets."
Pointing at him in a sign of agreement, Kate grins. "Yes!"
"It's settled," Rudy throws his arms around Kate's and Jack's shoulders. "We're going alone, first-class," Kate and Jack exchange a look an annoyed look as Rudy continues. "Endless legroom, our own entertainment systems, and hot nuts."
"Why do you need endless legroom?" Kate snickers. "You're so short." Jack laughed along with her and Rudy glared at them, taking his arms off their shoulders.
"Hey, guys." Kim greeted as she and the others walked outside.
"Hey." Kate smiles at at her friends. "Guess what? We're all going to China!" Everyone but Rudy seemed happy about this.
****
China was beautiful. Kate never thought she would get to see this country and so it was as if she was dreaming now that she was actually there. She was in disbelief she was actually standing on the great wall of China.
"Alright, this is amazing." Jack grins. "We are actually standing on the great wall of China."
"Just think," Rudy walks over to the edge with a grin. "Thousands of years ago the emperor could've stood right here, and leaned over the edge of the wall and yelled," He leans over the edge and yells, "'You darn kids aren't getting your ball back!'"
"This thing is over three thousand and seven hundred miles long." Kim gasps in disbelief, looking at a travel guide she held. "The biggest landmark back in Seaford is the water tower somebody spray-painted 'fart' on."
"Well, this wall is awesome, but you know what else is awesome?" Milton smiles. "Cookies with fortunes that come true." Eddie and Jerry nodded in agreement and smiled.
"So we're gonna head over to the Panda Moon Cookie Company." Milton explained, referring to him, Eddie, and Jerry.
Eddie nods. "It turns out it's just a few miles from here."
"Once we get the other half of that fortune, we'll be able to find where our treasure is." Milton smiled. Yeah, turns out the the last fortune from the last fortune cookie they had said something about a treasure, but Jerry accidentally ate the other half of it with the fortune cookie which is why the three of them wanted to find the other half of the fortune.
"Guys, Jack's and Kate's tournament starts in a couple of hours." Rudy reminds them. "Don't get lost."
"Don't worry, we won't be late." Jerry reassures him. He smiles smugly, crossing his arms. "I found a great cab driver."
****
It was almost time for the tournament. Jack, Kate, and Rudy were in their gis and Jack and Kate were preparing themselves for the tournament. All the other teams were in the building now, preparing themselves for the fight. The boys weren't there yet which worried Kate, but she knew they would eventually get there.
"Who's the man? You're the man! Say it!" Rudy said, trying to hype Jack up.
Jack looks at him with annoyance. "You're the man." He glanced at Kate with a small smile when she giggled. He loved it when she giggled and the fact he made her giggle made him love it even more.
"Right!" Rudy points at Jack, smiling widely. Then his eyes widen when he realized what Jack said and he shakes his head. "No, no, no, I'm not the man. You're the man." He then begins to ramble. "I'm just a man. Just a man in a world of men and some women-"
"Hey, guys." Kim greeted, interrupting Rudy's rambling and Kate was honestly glad because he was beginning to annoy her.
"Hi, Kim." Kate smiled at her.
"Kate, I got you something." Kim smiles back at her, gesturing for Kate to outstretch her hand. Kate does, looking at her with confusion. Kim opens the small bag she had, pouring out some colorful rocks. "I was down at the market and I picked you up these Baoding stones."
"Ooh," Kate moves the stones around in her hand, smiling at them. "Pretty." She then glances at Kim with confusion. "So, uh, what do they do?"
Kim chuckles. "By rotating them in your hand, it will center you, build your chi and help you compete."
"Wow," Kate looks at her with surprise, not expecting Kim to get her something like this but she was touched by the fact the blonde wanted to get her something like that. She smiles at Kim. "Thank you, Kim."
"No problem." Kim nodded, smiling back at her.
"Hey, can I see those for a second?" Rudy questioned and Kate smiled slightly at him, nodding in response. Her eyes widened and she gasped when Rudy grabbed the stones and threw them to the side.
"Awe." Kate said sadly, her shoulders dropping in defeat and Jack rubbed her back to comfort her.
"What is wrong with you?" Rudy asks Kim sassily, looking at her with disbelief. "Why don't you hop on your unicorn and ride to yoga class, moon princess?"
"Okay, rude." Kate rolled her eyes.
Kim puts her hands on her hips, staring at Rudy with a harsh glare, offended by the way he was talking to her. "We don't need your magic rocks." Rudy continued.
"Right, right." Kim shrugs. She glares at Rudy. "Jack needs you telling him, 'the pain train is on the jack track'. What does that even mean? And by the way, you're not even bothering to encourage your own cousin!"
"Yeah," Kate crosses her arms, glaring at Rudy. "What's up with that?"
"Okay first of all, it means that Jack needs to come out swinging and show them that this is his house. And Kate is perfectly fine! It's about time she got some tough loving!" Rudy exclaimed in frusturation, swinging his fist down on a nearby table. Kate watched with shock along with her friends, backing away along with Jack and Kim when the table crashed.
The judge looks at a sheepish looking Rudy. "Do you realize you just broke a thousand year old table?"
"You've had that table for a thousand years?" Rudy chuckles nervously. "You people ever hear of a garage sale?"
****
Kate had fought before Jack did, winning all of her fights, and she was now in the final. She was beyond excited to be able to be in the final. And she had to admit she was a bit surprised since she didn't think she would make it this far in the tournament, but she was proud of herself for getting this far and hoped that she could win. After her semi-final was done, she and the others watched the other semi-finals. Her eyes widened and she stood there, frozen in shock when she noticed one of the opponents.
"Kate?" Jack asks. He noticed her expression out of the corner of his eye and now he was worried about her. His full attention was now on her, he turns to look at her with concern in his eyes. "What's wrong?'
"Chanel." Kate replies in a shaky tone, biting her lower lip nervously. Her heartbeat increases and she could feel anxiety beginning to appear. Jack and the others glance back at the semi-final that just finished, noticing the blonde who won the current match. "She's here. I-I didn't think she would be here."
It was as if the blonde heard Kate talking about her because then she looked over in the direction Kate stood, making eye contact with her and smirks. She then began making her way over to Kate. Right then and there Kate felt like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. "Kate, didn't think you would be good enough to be here." Chanel commented, crossing her arms.
Kate didn't want to leave her cousin and friends side since she felt more confident and safe by them, but she musters up the courage to leave her cousin and friends. She knew she had to face Chanel eventually. She walks over to stand in front of Chanel, crossing her arms and glares at the blonde, trying to be intimidating but she had a feeling she didn't look that intimidating by the way Chanel was looking at her with amusement. "Guess I could say the same about you."
"It seems like we're going to be going up against each other during the finals. Remember what I warned you." Chanel leans forward, staring at her with an intimating stare that made Kate lean backwards with a nervous look on her face. "I'm getting revenge. And that will happen today."
"Alright," Jack scoffs. He had enough of this. Kate didn't even realize Jack had joined her and Chanel and that now he was standing in front of her, shielding her from Chanel. He crosses his arms, glaring at the blonde. "Either you leave or I make you leave." He wasn't afraid to hit a girl who was bullying his best friend.
Chanel had took a step back out of surprise when Jack stood in front of Kate. She replaces that short moment of surprise, raising her eyebrows and chuckles. She glances at Kate behind Jack with amusement. "You really call your boyfriend over to protect you? How pathetic."
"Not my boyfriend." Kate replied quietly, staring at the floor with her arms wrapped around her in an attempt to protect herself. She knows that's probably not the best thing to say at the moment and it definitely was the least important thing to say at the moment, but it was like her mouth had a mind of its own.
"Okay, sure." Chanel speaks in a tone that showed she didn't care. She turns around and began walking back to her team, calling out over her shoulder, "Good luck, Kate! You're gonna need it."
Jack's threatening demeanor changes as he turns to face Kate with a soft expression. "Kate," He said, frowning when he got no response. He puts his hands on her shoulders, getting her to look at him. "Rina, everything's gonna be fine, alright? You're gonna be your amazing self and win that fight."
Kate smiles weakly. "Thanks. I'm glad at least one of us believes that."
"Make that three of us." Kim chimes in, referring to herself and Rudy. She smiles softly at Kate. "You're gonna win. I just know it. You're way better than that jerk."
A genuine smile made its way to Kate's lips. It was small but it was genuine. "Thanks, Kim."
"So that was Chanel, huh?" Rudy questions and Kate nods. He rolls his eyes. "Stupid name."
****
It was now time for Jack's first fight of the tournament, but Eddie, Jerry, and Milton still weren't there yet. Kate was relieved Jack's fights were next since she hoped it would take her mind off the fact she was terrified of fighting Chanel. After Jack walked on the mat, he looked at the judge with a hopeful expression.
"Hey, can we wait, like, five minutes? I'm sure my friends will be-" He fell back on the floor when his opponent kicked him after the judge started the fight.
Jack's eyes widen with surprise. "Or we can just go now." He got up and got into a fighting stance. The fight continued on between these two with Jack winning in the end. Jack won the next two matches. One of the matches Rudy was pushed back against the wall when the boy was thrown over to the side near where Rudy was standing. Rudy was knocked into the table by him and a vase that was on it fell off, crashing on the floor.
The judge looks at Rudy with annoyance. Rudy nervously smiles. "Let me guess, priceless thousand year old vase." He looks at the judge with annoyance. "Just put it on my tab."
The next fight Jack had it seemed like his opponent would win since he knocked Jack to the ground. But before the opponent could win, Jack kicked him to the ground. and held him on the ground until he tapped out.
Jack ran over to his friends, high fiving Rudy and hugging both Kate and Kim. "Jack, that was amazing!" Kate beamed. So far Jack's fights took Kate's mind off of her fight with Chanel for the final which she was relieved about. She knew she would be overwhelmed with anxiety and fear if she kept thinking about that fight.
"Yeah, you did it!" Kim smiles. "You're in the final along with Kate!"
Jack breathes heavily, bending over slightly with his hands on his hips to try and catch his breath. He still smiles though and shakes his head. "I'm proud of you for getting this far, Jackie." Kate smiled softly at him.
He returns the soft smile. "Yeah, I'm proud of you too, Rina."
Rudy smiles at Kate and Jack. "Now, as your sensei I know you look at me as the guy that is responsible for your success, but I want you to know that in some small way..." He grins, pointing at the two. "You're a part of it too."
"Oh, that's sweet." Kate sarcastically commented.
"Thanks, Rudy." Jack nodded. Rudy smiled, giving the two of them a thumbs up.
Kate and the other's attention were brought back to the current match when they heard a yell. "Hiyah!" Kate's eyes widened as she watched the blonde-haired boy flip the other boy onto the mat and she grimaced as the blonde-hair boy twisted the other boy's arm. Then she gasped when she recognized the boy. It was Kai, Jack's cousin.
"Ugh!" Kai groans, glaring down at his opponent. "Get up, punk!"
"Yame." The judge stopped the fight and Kai let go of the boy while the audience cheered.
"Looks like the other semi-final is over." Kim noticed.
"That's your opponent in the championship." Rudy pointed out and Kate exchanged a nervous look with Jack.
"That's Kai." Jack said.
Kai walks over to the group. "I saw your fights, Jack." Kai smirks, crossing his arms. "Surprised to see you here."
Jack stands in front of Kai with a smug look. "I thought I'd swing by and pick up a trophy or two."
Kai scoffs. "That's funny." He glares at Jack. "I thought I beat the karate out of you two years ago."
"Well, I'm a better fighter than I was two years ago." Jack tells him. His eyes widen and he grimaces, leaning back. "And you're breath is worse."
Kai clenches his jaw and his eyes flashes angrily. "Listen, loser, this time when I take you down, you're not getting back up." He then glances at Kate with a smirk. "Good to see you again, Rina."
Kate glares at him, her hands at her sides forming into fists. "Wish I could say the same. And don't call me that. Next time you call me that your face will meet my fist."
Kim stands by Jack and scoffs. "He's not afraid of you, Kai!" She glares at Kai as the boy walks away. She turns to look at Jack with raised eyebrows. "Right, Jack?"
"Jack?" Kate asked Jack, looking at him with concern when he remained silent and looked nervous.
"Guys, I can't beat this guy." Jack began walking towards the exit, his nerves getting the better of him.
"Jack, think about everything that I taught you." Rudy stops Jack from leaving. "Think about everything your grandfather taught you. He was a master sensei."
"He taught the same things to Kai." Jack confesses, earning confused looks from Rudy and Kim. Jack's shoulders drop in defeat. "Kai's my cousin."
Rudy and Kim looks back over at Kai with a frown. Rudy sighs, sitting down on a nearby chair. Kate yelps, backing away with Kim and Jack when the chair broke. "You really need to get some stronger furniture in here!" Rudy exclaimed, glaring at the judge.
****
Kate was now sitting next to Jack, zipping up her duffle bag. The tournaments for this day ended and it would continue tomorrow. Everyone was getting ready to leave. "What happened between you and Kai?" Rudy asked Jack.
"We both studied with our grandfather, but to Kai it wasn't about honor and discipline." Jack replies. "It was about intimidation and hurting people."
"That's exactly what karate is for Chanel." Kate scoffs. "They'd be perfect for each other."
"Guys, it doesn't matter." Kim smiles encouragingly at her friends. "You can take him, Jack. And Kate, you can take Chanel."
"Yeah," Rudy agrees. "You guys are not gonna give up on yourself," An upset expression forms on his face. "Not after I flew all the way out here in coach, stuck between a screaming baby and a man who cleaned himself with his tongue." Kate grimaced, smiling sympathetically at her cousin.
"Maybe you guys are right. My grandfather taught me to live by the Wasabi code." Jack puts his hand and fist together. "We swear by the light of the dragon's eye to be loyal and honest and never say die."
Rudy smiles at him proudly. "Never say die, Jack." He looks at Kate and Jack with a smile. "I believe you guys can win this. You guys got this." Kate smiled at him, touched by his words. It meant a lot to her knowing her older cousin believed in her.
Jack shrugs. "I don't know if I can beat Kai," He picks up his duffle bag and smirks at his friends. "But he's gonna know he's been in a fight."
"So, Kate," Kim glances at Kate with a smile. "Are you gonna fight Chanel?"
Kate smiles and nods. "I am." She stands up, picking up her duffle bag. She bites her lower lip, "I'm nervous and I have no clue if I can beat her, but like Jack said," She smirks, crossing her arms. "She's gonna know she's been in a fight."
"That's the spirit." Kim cheered.
"Why didn't you tell us Kai was your cousin?" Rudy asked him.
"My family was really embarrassed of Kai." Jack admits, shaking his head as his face scrunches up with disgust. "And my Uncle Carl wears flip flops to the post office."
Kim shakes her head. "That's not so weird."
Jack nods. "It is if that's all he wears. You do not wanna know where the keeps his stamps."
****
Kate was shocked and worried when she found out Jack had been jumped in the locker room after he took a shower. She couldn't believe someone would do something like that and she only hoped that he would be okay. Kate, Kim, and Rudy were with him in the locker room, anxiously waiting to see the diagnosis the doctor would give him since he hurt his hand during the fight.
"Jack, after a thorough examination of your hand..." The doctor said, putting a cast on Jack's right hand. Rudy whimpers as he paces. "I'm afraid I have to be honest with you." Another whimper from Rudy. "Based on my diagnosis..."
Kate huffs in annoyance, glaring at her cousin when he whimpered again. "Rudy!" She scolds along with Kim, but she was the only one who exclaimed, "Shut up!" Rudy immediately grew quiet when the two girls scold him.
"Jack, your hand is broken." The doctor sympathetically smiles at him. "You can't fight in the tournament tonight."
Kate's eyes widen and she looked at her best friend sympathetically. That wasn't good. She had no idea who the guys were who jumped Jack, but she wished she did know them so she could find them and beat them up for hurting her best friend. And she knows how much Jack had been looking forward to do this. He was so close and now he won't be able to fight in the final.
Jack's eyes widen and he panics. "What? No, no!" He stands up, outstretching his arms in disbelief. "No, I didn't come all the way out here to forfeit."
The doctor raises his hands in defense as he stands. "I'm sorry." He picked up his medical bag and then he left.
"Despite how things turned out," Kate speaks up, glancing at Jack with a soft smile. "Jack, you proved you belonged here."
"Right here with the best in the world." Rudy said and Kate glances at him weirdly when it sounded like he was close to crying. "I'm really proud of you." Jack nods and smiles at him in response. Rudy glances at Kate with a smile. "You too, Kat."
Kate smiles brightly at him. "Thanks, Rudy."
"Now I'm just gonna walk behind those lockers," Rudy begins to walk backwards. "And if you hear what sounds like a grown man crying...It's probably just the pipes." His voice cracked at the end as he turned to run behind the walls.
Kim glances at the two best friends, noticing the smile they shared. She nods to herself and smiles at them, beginning to leave the locker room. "I'll leave you two to talk." She figured they both needed a moment and she wanted to give them privacy.
"I'm really proud of you, Jackie." Kate said to Jack, looking at him with a soft smile. "You made it this far and that says a lot."
"Thank you, Rina." Jack looks at her with a fond expression. "I'm really proud of you too. I can't win the championship, but you still have the chance to win. I believe you will."
"I don't know about that." Kate chuckled, shaking her head.
"I do." Jack nods. He grins. "You're gonna beat Chanel and win the championship. You're the best fighter I know," He frowns when she looked like she didn't believe him but still smiled. "And it hurts me because you don't think that."
Kate ignores the way her heart flutters because of how highly Jack thought of her and how much he cared about her. "I don't think I'm the best fighter ever, but it means a lot to me that you think that."
The two best friends stared at each other with nothing but adoration. Kate swore she thought she saw him leaning in and what was even crazier is that she felt her self beginning to lean in. Her heartbeat increased as she felt blush appear on her face. Then suddenly loud wailing could be heard, causing the two best friends to quickly look away from each other. Jack rubbed the back of his neck nervously with a light shade of blush on his face. Kate had crossed her arms, staring at the ground nervously.
"Stupid pipes!" Rudy cried out.
****
It was finally the final of the tournament and Kate was freaking out. At first she was hyped up and believed she could beat Chanel, but now she was moments away from the actual fight anxiety and her nerves came rushing back.
"I-I can't do this." Kate stuttered, watching nervously as Chanel prepared for the fight. Chanel locked eyes with her, smirking at her and waved. Chanel was getting under her skin and it was clear the blonde enjoyed it. That's what Kate hated the most, letting Chanel get what she wanted. Not like she could stop that though, it was hard to not let that happen when she was scared of Chanel.
"What?" Rudy questions in disbelief. "Yes, you can." He smiles reassuringly at her. "Kat, you got this. You're beyond prepared for this fight." He sighs. "Look, I know you're afraid of her, but you can't let fear take control." He smiles. "You have to push past that and be the brave and strong girl I know."
"Okay." Kate nods, jumping up and down in an attempt to hype herself up. "You're right." She stops jumping up and down and smiles. "I got this."
"I believe in you, Rina." Jack smiled softly at her and then he did something that surprised Kate. He kissed her on the cheek.
Kate stares at him with wide eyes, her face turning a light shade of pink. Jack grins at her, ignoring the blush appearing on his face. "Now go win that championship."
Kate brings herself out of her state of shock and nods, smiling back at him. She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes. She opened her eyes when she heard the judge call the fighters to the mat. She walked onto the mat, glaring at Chanel as the girl stared at her intimidatingly.
Chanel started the fight and despite her being more aggressive than Kate, Kate seemed to have the upper hand. That was until the end when Kate was going to kick her, Chanel punched her in the stomach roughly. Kate stumbled backwards, yelping in pain. Kate luckily kept her balance and didn't fall. Her friends looked at her worriedly as she held onto her stomach and winced. Kate was anxious and scared now more than ever, but that didn't stop her. She wanted to win this fight. She wanted to beat Chanel in at least one fight.
Kate was surprised though when she looked at Chanel the blonde seemed to regret her move after seeing how hurt she was. Chanel looked regret because Kate had a lot of possibilities during this fight to hurt her, but Kate didn't do that. Kate clearly was more kind than she was which made her start to rethink things. Her sensei taught her to play dirty, that it was the only way she would win tournaments, but she never wanted to play dirty. She just went along with to not upset her sensei.
As Chanel was caught up in her thoughts, Kate had the opportunity to kick her legs out from under her. The judge then pointed at Kate, signaling she was the winner. Kate grinned excitedly, glancing at her friends when she heard loud cheering from them. She looked back down at Chanel, offering a hand to help her up which made Chanel look at her suspisoucsly.
Chanel grabs onto her hand and Kate helps her up on her feet. "Why did you help me?" She asks in disbelief. "And why didn't you hurt me before? You had a lot of chances."
"I'm not that kind of person." Kate tells her, shrugging her shoulders. She grimaces. "At least, not anymore." She looks at Chanel apologetically. "I'm sorry about spraining your ankle at that one tournament. I never meant to." She looks down sheepishly. "I was just so clouded by anger, I didn't realize what I was doing until after it happened."
"Thank you." Chanel smiles slightly. She sighs. "Sinise we're apologizing I guess I'll apologize for always being mean to you."
Kate's eyes widened, surprised but touched by Chanel's apology. It wasn't exactly a heartfelt apology like hers, but it was a step in the right direction and an improvement for Chanel since the old Chanel would've never apologized. She offers her hand. smiling a bit. "Friends?"
Chanel hesitates, but then she shakes her hand, her lips forming into a small smile. "Friends."
****
Kate sat between Kim and Jack at the tournament that night as they all watched the drummers. Jack picks up phone when it buzzed. "I just got a text from the guys." He notices. "They said they're sorry I had to forfeit and they wished Kate good luck." Kate smiles slightly, thinking that was sweet. "And they'll be here as soon as they ditch the wives." Kate looked confused at the last part Jack said.
"'Ditch the wives'?" Kate questioned and Jack shrugged in response.
"What does that mean?" Kim asked.
"Uh, try to stay hip to the jive, girls." Rudy said in a duh tone. He smiles. "'Ditch the wives' is what the kids today say when something's cool or rad."
"Kids today don't say that, but okay." Kate chuckled, smiling at her cousin in amusement.
"Hey, Jack," Rudy points at the judge's beard. He smiles. "Check out that judge's beard. It's so ditch the wives."
"And now this year's Junior World Martial Arts Champions..." The judge points at Kate. "The champion for the girls, Kate Mitchell," He then points at Kai. "Champion for the boys, Kai Brewer, would you please come up here?" Everyone in the room cheered and applauded for Kate and Kai.
Kate's eyes widen in disbelief as a wide smile made its way to her lips. She seriously won? This had to be some kind of crazy and awesome dream. Her friends cheer loudly for her. Jack puts a hand on her hand that rests on the armrest, squeezing her hand gently. "Rina! You won!"
"I can't believe it." Kate chuckled in disbelief, glancing at him with a wide smile and squeezes his hand back.
"I can!" Rudy said, grinning at his cousin. "Now go get that trophy you earned."
Kate grins, letting go of Jack's hand and walks up to the judge .She smiles politely, taking the trophy from the judge. She glances at the trophy in awe, never expecting to be holding it. She looks at Kai and nods at him. "Congratulations." She said politely.
He looks surprise that she spoke to him, but then he smiles a bit and nods. "You too." He then walked over to his dojo.
Kate walks back over to her dojo, yelping whenever she was suddenly picked up and spun around. She laughs when she realized Jack had picked her up in a hug and was spinning her around. "I'm so proud of you, Rina." He sets her down and lets go of her. He grins at her. "You fought your fears and even made an unlikely friend."
"Thanks, Jackie." Kate beams. "I'm proud of me too."
"Okay move it, Jack. Let me hug my cousin who's a winner!" Rudy shoves Jack to the side and pulls Kate into a hug, earning a laugh from her. "Proud of you, Kate."
"Thanks, Rudy." Kate hugs him back. "."
"I love you too." Rudy smiled, pulling away from the hug to let her hug Kim, who was grinning at Kate.
"I'm gonna go congratulate Kai." Jack said and began to walk over to where Kai and his dojo was at. He stopped walking when he spots a familiar tattoo on the arm of the boy hugging Kai. He shakes his head, walking over to his cousin. "Congratulations, Kai." Kai and the boy pull away from each other as Jack points at the other boy. "This guy a friend of yours?"
"Yeah." Kai nods. "Why?"
"Well, 'cause he's got the same tattoo as one of the guys that jumped me!" Jack pulled the boy's arm up to show everyone, glaring at Kai.
"Jack, you had a forfeit." Kai angrily said, handing off his trophy to his friend. "I won. Let it go."
"You won because you were afraid to fight me." Jack pointed out. "So you sent your friends to take me out." Kate's eyes widen and she shared a surprised look with Rudy and Kim. Kate had to admit she wasn't that surprised. It seemed like something Kai would do. Sure she expected him to do something like that, she just still couldn't believe that he actually did it.
"You better watch your mouth." Kai threatens. "You're still just a little punk."
"And you're still a liar, a cheat, and a coward." Jack insults, glaring at Kai. "But enjoy your trophy, champ."
Kai looks around angrily as Jack walks back to his friends. Jack doesn't notice Kai running at him, kicking him in the back which caused him to fall forward, crashing into Rudy's chair. Everyone gasped as he was knocked to the floor.
"Jack!" Kate worriedly said, going over to Jack to help him up.
Rudy glares and points at Kai. "That is so not ditch the wives!"
"Kai," Chanel hisses, walking over to Kai with a glare in her eyes. "What are you doing? You won, stop embarrassing yourself."
Kate looks at her with surprise. "Wait, you know him?"
"We sadly go to the same school." Chanel sighed.
"Get out of the way, Chan." Kai glared at Chanel, pushing her to the side.
Chanel scoffs, crossing her arms when Kai's friends stand by him. "You guys think you're getting in on this fight? Nuh-uh, think again." She pushed two of the boys back as Rudy and Kim ran forward to push the other boys back.
"Back up!" Rudy exclaimed, glaring at the group of boys.
After helping Jack up and making sure he was fine, Kate smiles encouragingly at him and kisses his cheek. "You got this, Jackie." He looked at her with surprise, ignoring the blush appearing on his face as she ran over to the others to help them keep Kai's friend away.
His attention was brought back to Kai when his cousin went to kick him. Jack quickly blocked the kick and kicked Kai. The next time Kai kicked him, he kicked Jack's broken hand, causing the brunette-haired boy to stumble backwards, holding onto his hand in pain as he gasped. He continued to hold onto his hand, ducking when Kai kicked at him.
Jack fell backwards, landing on the wall after Kai kicked him. Jack managed to get up just in time before Kai went at him again. Everyone moved to the entrance to continue watching the fight. Chanel, Kate, Kim, and Rudy stood in front of Kai's friends, blocking them from the entrance and stopping them from going to help Kai.
During the fight, Jack sent Kai crashing into a solider armor and a poster. He fell on the ground as the soldier and poster fell on him. Kai angrily stood, grabbing the staff that was a part of the soldier armor.
"That's clearly not a fair fight." Kate muttered angrily. Jack didn't have a weapon, but Kai did and to make matters worse Jack was hurt. Kate wanted so badly to go out there to help Jack, but she knew Jack needed to do this on his own.
Jack got on the railing of the wall during the fight which worried Kate. And when Kai almost pushed him off the edge with the pole, she felt like she had a heart attack. She feared that he would fall off. Jack grabbed the staff, leaning backwards with wide eyes as he looked down below. He groaned in pain, landing on his back roughly when Kai used the staff to throw him over onto the ground.
Jack didn't have any time to recover because Kai swung at him, making Jack roll to the side. Jack grabbed the staff, trying to get it out of Kai's grasps. He did get it away from Kai, but Kai fell over the railing in the process. Jack abandoned the staff, grabbing onto his cousin's hand just before Kai could fall.
"Okay, Jack. I'm sorry." Kai immediately apologizes, looking at him with fear in his eyes. "I'll admit it. I planned the attack against you. Just don't let me fall."
"Don't worry. I've got you, man." Jack reassured him. He had trouble pulling him up, but he eventually got him back on the wall. Both stood, breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breath. Jack's face falls when Kai looked at him smugly.
Kai laughs. "That proves you're weak." He stares at Jack intimidatingly. "I would've let you drop." He grabbed Jack's right arm, punching his hurt hand. Jack yelped in pain, falling on his knees. He looked at Kai in disbelief, catching Kai's foot when Kai went to kick him. He then threw Kai backwards and Kai crashed into a bench that broke because of him falling on it.
Rudy's eyes widen. "Okay," He points at the broken bench. "I think everybody saw I was nowhere near that bench."
Jack points at Kai. "See you next year, champ." Kai's friends ran over to help Kai as Jack limped back over to his friends. Kate ran over to him, pulling him in for a tight hug as she sighed with relief. She was glad Jack was okay.
Jack winces when Kate punches him in the arm after they pull away from the hug. "Ow! What was that for?"
Kate glares at him. "You almost gave me a heart attack." She then smiles. "I'm so glad you're okay though." Jack smiled softly at her in response, looking at her fondly, and for some reason his reaction made her heart flutter.
Suddenly Eddie, Jerry, and Milton ran over to them wearing ridiculous outfits. "Sorry we're late." Milton apologizes. "You would not believe what we've been through."
Jerry takes his phone out when it rings. "Ooh, it's the wife." He grimaces. "Ignore." He said, pressing a button and putting his phone back in his pocket.
****
"So after all that you find out your great treasure is in your friends?" Jack questioned.
"Yeah." Eddie responds in disbelief. "Can you believe that?"
"I can." Rudy smiles. "Look, you could have all the money in the world, but if you don't have what we have right here, you've got nothing."
Kate smiles. "Awe, that's sweet, Rudy."
Rudy shares a smile with her and picks up his glass, glancing at everyone with a smile. "To friends." Everyone else picked up their drink and smiled.
"To friends." Everyone spoke in unison, clinking their drinks together.
"So, do you think your wife will be mad that you ditched her?" Jack asked Jerry.
"Uh, excuse me, my wife has a name." Jerry replied in a defensive tone.
Kate raises her eyebrows at him. "Okay, what's her name, Jer?"
"I may not know what it is," Jerry admits and Kate nods, chuckling as she looks at him with amusement. "But she has a name."
Milton rolls his eyes. "They're not our wives. We're thirteen, there were no rings, and one of us was dressed like Elvis."
Kim grimaces at the sight she saw. "Oh, really? You might want to tell them that." She pointed at three angry girls, glaring at Eddie, Jerry, and Milton. The three boys screamed as they stood.
"Honey," Milton smiles nervously. "I can explain." Then the three boys took off running as the girls chased them.
A/N i did change things a little differently in this chapter, making up a girls only section & boys only section cause i wanted both kate & kai to win to make things work the way i had planned. oh also chanel nolan is played by peyton list <3 this chapter is so long but honestly one of my favs i've written so far