When it sunk in for Miguel that he wouldn't be fighting Robby, his stomach bottomed out so fast he thought he was going to throw up. His head was swimming on such a rapidly-surging current, he found himself reaching out to grasp Hawk's shoulder to steady himself before he could stumble or pass out.

There had always been the possibility someone might throw Robby out of the finals. He and Hawk had spent months daydreaming about it, after all. So shouldn't he have been relieved? It was what he'd been hoping for, right? Now he didn't have to worry about disappointing Sensei Lawerence, or putting him in the position where he would have to choose between him and Robby.

So why wasn't he relieved? Why did he feel sick?

Hawk must have noticed. "Miguel, you okay?"

But before Miguel could think of an answer, chaos erupted.

Everyone's heads turned to the Cobra Kai sideline. Tory and Robby had returned to their Senseis after the conclusion of their match, and what had started off with cold looks and even colder remarks over Tory's insubordination blew up into a heated argument when Mr. Silver's voice raised so loudly it carried across the mats.

"You were nothing before Sensei Kreese brought you back!" yelled Mr. Silver in Tory's face. And Miguel's jaw slackened when he saw Mr. Silver draw his hand back.

He narrowed his eyes and his legs moved forward on their own to dash a few steps onto the mat, hoping against reason he'd be able to reach the Cobras before Mr. Silver could slap Tory. But Robby beat him to it. Miguel stopped in his tracks, almost losing his balance from vertigo when he caught sight of Robby slamming his knee into Mr. Silver's stomach, sending the old man doubling over before he then punched him in the jaw.

And when it looked like Kreese was about to turn his ire on Robby, Tory pushed her Sensei back, putting herself between her teacher and friend. It was a full-blown mutiny between the Sensei and his star students.

Sensei Lawrence didn't hesitate to dart across the arena to his son's aide. Mr. LaRusso practically flew off the bleachers to join him. And the students from Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do all watched in awe as their teachers threw themselves between Sensei Kreese and Mr. Silver and the rest of Cobra Kai. Then hands were grabbing the fronts of gis and fists started flying.

Miguel wanted to run over and help. His instincts told him to join the fight. He'd even taken a few more steps towards it. But it was at that moment when he noticed the tightness in his chest, and the way he strained to take in a breath.

All of a sudden, it was like someone had turned up the volume of everything around him as high as it would go. And all the sounds echoed. The yelling of the announcer as he called in the mic for security. The gasps and clamoring of the audience while they wondered what was going on, jumping from their seats to get a better view. The yells from all the Senseis as they got into their spat. The garbled words of his teammates as they crowded around him. The thumping of his heart thundering in his chest.

Miguel steadied himself again, trying to blink himself back to reality. But it wasn't working. He needed to get out of there. He needed quiet. He needed fresh air.

Turning on his feet, ignoring the concerned and confused looks of his teammates who noticed him looking in the direction opposite of the chaos, Miguel took off. First he dashed out of the arena and into the hallway. He picked up speed, running now, darting in between the people who were hurrying to get to the scene he'd just left.

He didn't stop until he was outside the building. The warm evening air hit him almost like a furnace, but at least it was air. Taking in a few deep gulps of it, Miguel walked over to the nearest bench and sat himself down. If people had followed behind him, people who'd also gotten their fill of the chaos and were getting the hell outta dodge while they had the chance, he took no notice of them.

For the next few minutes, he only concentrated on catching his breath. What had that been? A panic attack? What for? It hadn't been fear. He would've joined Sensei Lawrence if he'd needed him when he rushed over to pummel the shit out of Sensei Kreese. He wasn't scared. So why?

"Oh Miggy, are you alright?"

His mother sat next to him on the bench, and Miguel let out another breath when she wrapped an arm around his tense shoulders, pulling him closer to her. She must have seen him run out of the arena and followed him outside. "I'm okay, Mom," he said.

"I saw you running," said Carmen. "After what was happening with Cobra Kai and your Sensei, I was worried you were going to get involved like you always do. But instead you ran."

Miguel knew she didn't mean anything accusatory by her observation. If anything, his mother was probably glad he avoided the fight for once. But hearing her say it made his face burn all the same. He couldn't even remember the last time he ran from a fight. Eagle Fangs were always supposed to finish them.

"I didn't expect things to turn out this way," he admitted, hanging his head. "Am I gonna have to fight Tory?"

Carmen paused for a moment, looking at him like she wondered if this was the reason he ran. And Miguel wanted to sink into his shoulders in shame. Because, yeah, maybe it was the reason. "It makes you uncomfortable, fighting a girl?" she asked.

Miguel shook his head. "No, just her. We never made up after I kissed Sam. I mean, I tried apologizing for hurting her, but…." He stopped, thinking back on those failed attempts. If only he'd been more honest with his feelings. He never would've hurt Tory. The school fight never would have happened. Kreese wouldn't have taken over Cobra Kai. And things wouldn't have blown up like they did. "It's my fault, Mom," he confessed, his jaw clenching. "It's all my fault."

"No. You made a mistake, Miggy," said his mother, combing her fingers through his hair again. "And I know you've learned from it. As for Tory, personally, I would prefer if you kids were able to talk these matters out, but it sounds like you've already tried. As much as I don't understand why things have turned out this way, I suppose there's nothing you can do now but fight each other in the Tournament. Assuming they are still having the finals. Are they?"

Miguel shrugged. He was still too caught in his temporary fugue state to even properly register her question.

His mother continued. "But who knows? Perhaps this will be the closure you both need to move on from what happened. And then afterward you can finally talk."

He didn't know how to explain to his mother that this wasn't the closure he'd wanted from this Tournament. So he didn't even try, opting instead to mumble back a feeble, "Yeah."

Patting her son's arm, Carmen asked, "Do you want me to stay with you for a while?"

Miguel thought on it a second, then shook his head. "No. I'm gonna go back inside soon. I'll be right there. I just want a couple more minutes."

Carmen rubbed Miguel's shoulder one more time and gave him a small smile. "Alright."

His mother stood up and left him, going back inside he assumed to find his Ya-Ya and rejoin her on the bleachers. And Miguel's eyes dropped to his feet while he thought over what she had told him, hoping now some of it might make it through the fog in his brain. His mother usually had good advice, and he appreciated her trying to put things into perspective for him. He could always count on her to help with that.

And yet his stomach was still rumbling. He still felt bad.

"El Serpiente!"

Miguel lifted his head to see it was now Hawk who had found him. He sat down beside him on the bench, slipping off his crutches and leaning them to the side.

"What's going on in there?" Miguel asked, his eyes falling back down to the ground.

"I dunno, I left to follow you," answered Hawk, making Miguel's face burn hotter, worried about what Hawk would think of him running from anything. "I mean, maybe I should've stayed if everyone's going crazy in there. Maybe they could've used some backup. I bet these crutches pack a wallop. But I figured Sensei and Mr. LaRusso were handling it. Although if I missed Sensei giving Kreese a bloody nose, you owe me." His voice then dipped, sounding more serious. "Are you okay?"

Miguel stared hard at his feet, and he wrapped an arm over his stomach, hoping it would settle the rumbling still churning in there. "I was supposed to fight Robby." He knew Hawk, more than anybody, understood what facing Robby here at the Tournament had meant for him.

Hawk was quiet for a long minute. Then he quipped, "It doesn't make you feel any better that Tory kicked his ass pretty good already? Trust me, I know what that feels like, and I bet Keene's still feeling it."

Miguel was surprised at himself when a sharp laugh came out of him at Hawk's joke. It was bitter and jovial and sarcastic and all-around emotional. He didn't know if he was laughing at the audacious question, at how Hawk had managed to poke fun of his own injury, or if he was just laughing at the hand he'd been dealt. "Oh God, I'm gonna throw up," he said, chuckling on the verge of tears, wrapping his arm over his gut tighter.

"Gross, man, it's gonna get all over your bare feet, don't do that." After Hawk's jest, Miguel felt his hand on his back. And then he started rubbing circles across it.

Looking back up at Hawk, Miguel asked, "I should be happy, right? I mean, now at least I don't have to worry about disappointing Sensei. I should be glad about that. It's what I wanted."

Hawk looked like he was thinking on that, judging by the way his brows were knitted together. Then he leaned in closer to him. "Hey, don't let it wreck your big day," he said. "Forget Keene for now. I know it sucks, but you can deal with him later." He reached his hand that wasn't rubbing Miguel's back over to cup his jaw. "And when you do, you know I'll be there with you."

Miguel thought about arguing more, about how he'd spent months thinking about nothing else, and how everything was falling apart under him. But he found no words. They left him as he felt his skin warm against Hawk's hand. He instead parted his lips in silence and followed Hawk's lead when he leaned in to press his mouth against his own.

He unwrapped his arm from around his stomach and reached out to grab the front of Hawk's gi, tugging him in closer. And it was only then that it crossed Miguel's mind that this was their first public kiss. People were walking around outside, were undoubtedly seeing them. And somehow that made him much less anxious than whatever was going on inside the arena. He even felt his stomach begin to settle.

He took in a deep breath when they parted and let it out slowly. And it became clear that Hawk was right, that he could deal with Robby later. There was no rule stating he had to defeat him here and now. That had been Kreese's goal, it had been Cobra Kai's game to pit them against each other in front of the Valley. Why had he willingly played the role of their pawn?

Things between him and Robby were so much more personal than being just about karate. So why did he think a fight in the Tournament would settle it? What, did he think kicking Robby's ass would take back what happened at the school? That it would bring back his Cobra Kai? That making Robby lose hard in front of Sensei Lawrence would've brought him any sort of peace?

No. So why had he thought any of the others taking out Robby would give him that peace either? None of the closure he wanted with Robby could be found at the All-Valley Tournament. And there was no use sitting outside and sulking about it.

Flitting his eyes over to the arena, Miguel said, "Maybe we should head back inside now."

"What, isn't this better?" joked Hawk, ribbing him.

Miguel grinned back, admitting, "Yeah, it is, but let's go back inside anyway." He had to face the conclusion to this, no matter what it was.

Both of them stood up from the bench and made their way inside. While there were more people congregated around the front lobby, it didn't look like much of the audience had left yet. Miguel figured if the Tournament was officially over, everyone would have dispersed by now. And by the time they reached the hallway leading to the arena, they got their answer.

"Miguel, there you are!" Miguel and Hawk both looked down the hallway to see Sensei Lawrence approach them. He appeared a little disheveled but otherwise none the worst for wear. If there had been a big fight, it must have been a fast one. "I've been looking everywhere for you. The ref is saying you need to get back out there and decide whether or not you're gonna fight, or they're gonna consider it a forfeit."

Miguel knitted his brows to the bridge of his nose. "They're still gonna let Cobra Kai fight in the finals?" he asked. "After what they tried to do to Tory? After they attacked their own students?"

Sensei Lawrence frowned. "I don't know, everything's a little crazy right now," he said. "But I know this much: Kreese and Silver are out."

"What do you mean 'out'?" asked Hawk, leaning forward on his crutches.

"I mean out, their Cobra Kai is finished. LaRusso's in there already trying to push for another ban on their dojo. Although, the committee says he and I are on thin ice ourselves right now, so we'll see how that ban goes," explained Sensei Lawrence, crossing his arms and looking back toward the door at the end of the hallway. The door that could lead to the finals. Miguel was having a hard time processing what he was hearing again, much less try to read Sensei's tone to get an idea of how he was taking it. "But Nichols says she still wants to fight."

Miguel's eyes widened. "She does?"

"They're waiting to hear your response," said Sensei Lawrence. "You can either fight her or forfeit. I'm not gonna stand here and insult you by asking whether or not you're gonna quit, because I know you know that quitting is for pussies. So all I'm gonna say is, you ready to finish this?"

Taking in another deep breath and exhaling slowly again, Miguel squared his shoulders back. He nodded to Sensei Lawrence, declaring, "Yeah, I'm ready."

When Miguel followed Sensei Lawrence back into the arena, Sensei Kreese and Mr. Silver were nowhere to be found. Just like Sensei had said, they were out. Were they dragged out by security guards? If so, Miguel was sorry he missed it. He made a mental note to ask the others for the details after the Tournament.

For a moment, Miguel's eyes drifted over to Robby. Their gazes met. And while there was no way for Miguel to read his mind, he couldn't help but suspect Robby had spent the past several months sharing his expectations, that a fight between the two of them here had been inevitable. Was he sharing his feelings right now, the realization that they would have to confront each other at another time?

While Robby was standing there in his Cobra Kai gear, what caught Miguel's attention next was that Tory had changed out of the sleeveless black gi top typical of her dojo. Somewhere she had found a plain white gi to replace it. She had her blackbelt tied around her waist and still wore the black headband to keep her hair out of her face. It reminded Miguel of the gi Robby had worn last year.

Seeing her dressed like that, it started to sink in for Miguel. Tory wasn't going to fight for Cobra Kai, was she? The threat of Cobra Kai was over? At least here, at the All-Valley Tournament? Did that mean the terms of the finals no longer applied? Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, were the futures of their dojos still on the line, did they depend on him being the victor? Or were they safe now?

Those questions crashed down on him so fast, he almost felt himself getting light-headed again, but Sensei Lawrence's hand on his shoulder steadied him when they took their places on the mat near the announcer while he commenced where he'd left off, before the hurricane of chaos. Meanwhile, Tory stood on the opposite side, avoiding Miguel's stare, keeping her eyes locked forward.

"After a tournament truly like no other, it has now all come down to this moment," said the announcer, "the match that will determine who will be this year's victor and All-Valley champion! Will it be last year's champion, Miguel Diaz from Eagle Fang Karate? Or will it be Tory Nichols, now fighting unaffiliated?"

The audience cheered. Whatever they had been feeling during the blowup from Cobra Kai must have dissipated into excitement to see the outcome of the final match. But Miguel didn't pay attention to their hurrahs. His eyes traveled from where Tory stood on the other side of the announcer, over to where Robby watched on the sideline. His vision swept to where Mr. LaRusso was sitting on the bleachers again, with his dojo nearby, at Sam, Demetri, Chris, and Nate. Then Miguel's vision crossed back to the Eagle Fang sideline. He looked at his teammates, at Bert, Mitch, and finally Hawk.

Giving one more quick glance to Sensei Lawrence, Miguel impulsively turned to the announcer after he concluded and asked, "Can I say something first, before the match?"

The man looked surprised but smiled, and he handed Miguel the mic. "Of course."

"Uh, hi," said Miguel into the microphone, directing his attention to the audience. "I guess you all know who I am, so I'll try and keep this quick. I've been spending over the past six months getting ready for this Tournament. I even pleaded for the Valley to let it continue when they wanted to cancel it after what happened to me at my school. I wanted this Tournament to go on because, despite all of the crazy stuff that's been happening, as you no doubt saw for yourselves recently, I still think karate is one of the best things to ever happen to me.

"But these months have also been more intense than I ever could've imagined. I've learned that there are people in the Valley that would try and divide us into winners and losers, into heroes and enemies. But the world isn't divided like that. I've seen two dojos come together, despite our different styles, and learn from each other. And, maybe more than anything, I've learned that no matter what, it's never too late to make a choice. It's never too late to change when you've fallen off the path.

"Karate might be a way of life, but it's also for fun. It's a sport meant to make us into better versions of ourselves. And, really, no trophy can provide that for us. It's something we gotta win on our own. Because out here, on the mats, anything can happen, but it's also where the fight is meant to end. So even if things don't turn out the way you thought you wanted, that doesn't mean it counts as a loss. If you go into a match with the right mindset, we can all be winners."

The audience applauded at the end of his speech. Miguel gave a sheepish smile as he handed the mic back to the announcer when he saw the Eagle Fangs, Miyagi-Dos, and both their Senseis clapping for him, too.

Tory, however, was not clapping. She simply glared at him, her mouth pressed in a firm line.

If Tory wasn't fighting for Cobra Kai anymore, Miguel wondered, did she still consider him a traitor? Was he still the enemy? Did she still want to get back at him for cheating on her? Or could they consider this match nothing more than pure sportsmanship?

Miguel wished he had just ten minutes to ask Tory those things. Then again, what more could he say to her than he already had? Would she be more receptive to talking now that she had finally seen for herself the type of man Sensei Kreese was? Or had that realization only made her even more upset?

Now wasn't the time to ask, he knew. There wasn't time to talk anymore. It was time to fight.

Once they took their places, they bowed to the referee when instructed, then turned to bow at each other. Miguel savored those last few seconds to try and read what Tory must have been feeling. But she hid everything behind stoic determination. So, raising his fists, Miguel decided, for the time being, he would, too.

The ref threw down his hand. "Fight!"

In the split-second Miguel saw Tory lunge the first step forward, getting ready to come at him with a punch, he reacted. He spun his leg out, prepared to meet her with a flying kick, but Tory leaped back on her feet, letting his foot fly harmlessly by.

Once his feet were both on the mats, Tory lunged forward at Miguel with a left punch, then a right, both of which Miguel blocked with quick, sweeping motions of his arms. Miguel went on the attack, aiming a high left punch. Tory threw her right arm up to block it, then lowered it in time to keep Miguel's right fist from striking her stomach.

Miguel let out a yell as he raised his right knee up towards her gut again but his opponent pushed it down with both her hands. Then Tory swept her left leg in hard, striking Miguel's nearest calve and knocking him off his feet. As soon as he hit the mats, he scrambled to get back up to defend himself, but wasn't quick enough to avoid Tory's punch from nailing the Eagle on his back when he rolled over.

The referee announced, "That's one point, Nichols!"

Miguel heard the Eagle Fangs groan as he picked himself up, but he pushed the setback out of his head. And he kept his eyes on Tory while the two of them took their places again. He expected some sort of boast on her part for landing the first hit, but she remained silent all the way until the referee made his gesture for them to start the next round.

A cry of frustration parted her lips when Tory came at him with a high punch, then a low. Miguel shielded himself from both, letting neither strike his chest. Miguel countered, kicking out his right leg, only for Tory to sweep her arm down to block it. Tory ducked to the ground, sweeping her leg at Miguel's, but he jumped in the air so she couldn't knock him down this time.

Picking herself up, twisting her hips as she did so, Tory launched a straight kick, aiming the heel of her foot at Miguel's stomach. His hands shot out to intercept it, catching her leg in his hands. Miguel pulled it out from under her, sending Tory falling to the ground this time. A swift ax-kick drove his heel down between her shoulder blades, landing him the point.

"One point, Diaz!" confirmed the ref.

While the Eagle Fangs and Miyagi-Dos both cheered at the evening of the score, Miguel noticed Tory giving a glance over to Robby. The boy gave her an encouraging nod, his mouth curling in a reassuring smile. And the reality washed over for Miguel like ice: Robby was the only friend Tory had in that arena cheering her on.

"Fight!" ordered the referee.

Miguel raised his arm to block Tory's opening right punch, then a knee to shield his chest from her straight kick that followed. He had to duck and shift out of the way fast when she spun around with a roundhouse kick to avoid her heel from striking his jaw.

Moving on the offense, Miguel kicked his leg straight out, which Tory glided her hand down to deflect. She swung her other fist around to try and slam her knuckles against his ribs, but Miguel rotated around so her fist struck nothing but air. His fist came flying this time toward Tory's shoulder, but her arm flew up in time to block this as well.

Miguel pivoted again and came at Tory with a high kick, swinging his right leg up. Tory raised her left arm to block it without a problem. But Miguel immediately responded to her defense with a swift follow-up spin throwing his right leg out again as he came around in the blink of an eye, nailing Tory on her right shoulder this time around.

"That's two points, Diaz!"

"Shit," Tory muttered, scowling at Miguel while she took her place again. Meanwhile, the Eagle Fangs erupted in cheers.

Hyped up with the knowledge he only needed one more point to win, Miguel stepped forward with a right punch as soon as the ref gave them the signal again, and Tory lifted her elbow to stop it. She repeated the motion with her opposite elbow when Miguel threw a left punch next. Tory then drove that right elbow at Miguel's collarbone, and only a quick, steep dip back saved him from her hit landing.

Miguel's leg shot out in a straight kick. Tory smacked his foot down with her left hand, and her right fist flew out to try and nail Miguel's vulnerable side. When he lowered his left elbow to block the hit, Tory took advantage of his distraction to launch her left leg up and strike him in the gut.

"Two points, Nichols!" said the referee.

Over on the front sideline by the table with the trophy, the announcer declared, "It's now two-two! Whoever scores the next point will be this year's All-Valley Tournament Champion!"

Wiping sweat from her face with the sleeve of her white gi, Tory raised her eyebrow at Miguel when the two circled back to their designated positions at the fist painted on the center of the mats. "So," she finally muttered, saying the first words directed to him since the Tournament started. "It's finally down to this."

Hearing Tory say that, it almost felt like it had always been coming down to this, that everything in the universe had conspired to draw everyone together for this exact moment. And yet, in Miguel's wildest dreams, he had never seen it, it had never even struck him as a possibility that it would be Tory he faced in the finals, not even when she'd warned him that she'd be coming for him.

Had that been arrogance on his part? Self-centeredness? Tunnel vision? He didn't know.

The referee gave the order one last time. "Fight!"

Miguel whipped around, launching a windmill kick after the signal. Tory stumbled back, almost tripping over her feet to escape it, and Miguel continued the assault with a straight kick and knee-strike, both blocked by lightning-fast motions from Tory's arms coming up to shield her front.

He still kept coming. Now wasn't the time to go soft. It wasn't the time to let up. Left punch. Blocked. Right knee-drive. Deflected. Left kick. Stopped. And Tory didn't remain on defense, either. She swung her leg high, and he ducked to let it fly over his head. Raising his fists, Miguel kept hyper-focused on Tory's movements, raising one arm up to block her right hook, and drawing up his knee to keep her left fist from hitting his gut.

She attacked again, exhausted but undeterred, coming at him with a brutal ax-kick at his shoulder that Miguel intercepted. He twisted her leg, trying to throw Tory off her balance and onto the ground, but she turned it around on him.

A yell tore from her throat, and Tory yanked her own leg back, pulling it free from Miguel's grasp. Using the momentum from the pull, Tory did a complete spin, and on her way back around, she front-flipped. Miguel had just enough time to widen his eyes and start raising his arms as she dropped her leg in a cartwheel kick on her way down, striking Miguel on his shoulder before he could properly defend himself, sending them both crashing together onto the mats.

From the floor, rolling over to detangle himself from Tory, Miguel heard the referee call it. "Point! Winner!"

Tory won.

He lost.

Miguel groaned, standing on his feet, having barely any time for that reality to settle in when the announcer came running up to Tory just as she also got her bearings. Miguel's feet were stumbling to the sideline on his own, even as he gave a glance over his shoulder to meet Tory's gaze. Her face was red and sweaty from exhaustion, but a big smile lit up her face when the announcer presented her with her reward, and then she wasn't looking at Miguel anymore.

"Let me present this trophy to this year's new champion, Tory Nichols, our first champion from an unaffiliated dojo!" While the announcer handed Tory her championship trophy, Miguel rejoined his teammates. They all provided him consolatory pats and words of encouragement.

"Hey, man, good try," said Mitch.

"Did you see his windmill kick?" asked Hawk, nudging Bert with his elbow. "It was fucking awesome. Major air."

Still holding up his broken glasses, Bert told Miguel, "You almost had her, it was super close."

Miguel suspected they were mostly trying to help him feel better but took their remarks in goodwill regardless. Because they helped him realize that the worst had happened, and yet the world wasn't ending. The weight of loss was hanging on his shoulders, but he was still standing.

Then there was Sensei. He was grinning from ear to ear, despite Miguel's loss. "That's the best I've ever seen you fight," remarked Sensei Lawrence, wrapping a hand over his shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze. He pulled him into a quick hug. "That's the most I could ever ask from you. I'm proud of you, Miguel."

Miguel flashed a tired grin, patting his teacher's back. "Thanks, Sensei."

It was like what he had told the audience before the fight. He might have lost, but he knew the sting of that was going to wash off and be left behind on the mats. He was going to leave there a winner, regardless.

His eyes then followed Sensei as he disembarked from his team to go over and talk to Robby. Miguel watched while, for a second, it looked like Robby was going to tell his dad to fuck off again. But that didn't happen. A hesitant curiosity crossed Robby's features as he listened to whatever Sensei Lawrence was telling him before the familiar stoicism returned.

But even then, after giving a quick look to Tory, Robby turned and followed his father as Sensei Lawrence led them to the opposite doors. Chewing on his bottom lip, Miguel forced himself to turn away from them. He didn't need to think about that right now. He didn't want to deal with it. Later.

Instead, while the Eagle Fangs made their way towards the doors on the other side of the room, he stopped when he passed near Tory. She had also been watching while Robby broke apart from her to talk with his father, and now simply stood there, holding her trophy, looking like she was lost in a crowd as the audience began to disperse.

It struck Miguel again, much like it had during their match. Here he was, surrounded by friends, despite having lost. And Tory, the winner, seemingly had no one but Robby to celebrate her victory with.

Miguel extended his open hand to her. "Good match."

For a few seconds, Tory simply stared at him, locking her eyes on his. Miguel half-expected her to say something antagonistic, to rub her victory in his face, maybe to even declare the war had only just begun for real now.

But instead, she pressed her palm lightly against his. And while she did not smile, she did give him a nod, replying back, "Same to you."

With that, Tory walked across the arena, following in the direction Robby and Sensei Lawrence had gone. Either to join them or to leave altogether, Miguel had no clue.

When he turned back around, Miguel saw his mother and grandma had come down from the bleachers. His cheeks burned in embarrassment when his mother pulled him into a big hug. "You did wonderful, Miggy!" she praised, rubbing his shoulders as she pulled back from the embrace. "I know you had your heart set on a win, but you were still incredible. Remember, there's no shame in second place. And I hope you had fun."

"I did," said Miguel. "Thanks, Mom."

Carmen pulled her son into another hug. "I'm proud of you."

His Ya-Ya intervened. "Stop it, you're embarrassing him in front of his friends," she teased in Spanish, getting his mother to release him. Then she patted Miguel once on his cheek, telling him, "Go have fun and celebrate. Maybe by the time you get home, you'll have some tres leches cake waiting for you, huh?"

Considering how not even an hour ago, Miguel had felt like he was going to lose his breakfast, the promise of such a treat now sounded appetizing. "Thanks, Ya-Ya. I'll see you both at home later tonight."

Departing from them, Miguel's smile remained lingering on his face. He had his teammates' support, his Sensei's admiration, and his mother's and grandma's love. And the Valley wasn't being overtaken by a quiver of Cobras. He guessed second-place wasn't so bad after all.

The other Eagle Fangs had joined up with the students from Miyagi-Do where they had congregated around the doors. Hawk hobbled up to Miguel's side when walked in their direction, to get a private word in first it seemed. "You good?" he asked.

Miguel nodded. "Yeah. I'm good."

"Hey, at least you still got the one trophy, right?" Hawk pointed out, his crooked grin sliding up the side of his face.

Miguel snorted. "Dude, didn't you listen to the speech I made before the fight?"

"Yeah, but we worked hard to get that trophy back," retorted Hawk. "And, you gotta admit, it was a blast doing it."

"Heh, yeah, it was, wasn't it?" chuckled Miguel.

Hawk's grin softened into sincere affection. "And trophy or no trophy, you'll always be the champ to me."

Wrapping his hand around Hawk's shoulders, Miguel leaned in and planted a kiss on him. Their second public one, this time in plain view of their friends. And, judging by the look on Hawk's face, Miguel could tell he was fine by that. "Thanks."

The two of them joined the others, hearing Mitch call out, "Yo, guys, who's up for hitting the Applebee's for celebratory nachos?"

Crossing his arms, Demetri dryly responded, "Normally I'd be a stickler and point out that technically all of us lost. But, seeing as how we lost to an unaffiliated dojo, do we count that as a win against Cobra Kai?"

"That's how I'm choosing to take it," said Hawk.

"Besides, seeing Mr. LaRusso honk Mr. Silver's nose before Sensei Lawrence kicked him in the nuts counts as a win in my book," added Nate.

"I can't believe I missed that," groaned Miguel. And judging by the way Hawk elbowed him, he owed him one for making him miss it, too. And yet, despite wanting to get the full story from the others once they all settled down to eat, Miguel found that he didn't care about Kreese or Silver anymore. He never had. He hoped he never laid eyes on them again. All he cared about now was getting to move on from the shadow of Sensei Kreese, who'd done nothing but ruin everything ever since showing up to Cobra Kai.

Seeing Sensei Kreese's defeat didn't matter to him. As long as the Valley was safe, as long Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do were safe, as long as he and his friends were safe? That was all that mattered to Miguel.

Although, seeing Sensei Lawrence kick Sensei Kreese's ass still would've been pretty cool.

Clapping Mitch on the back, Chris pointed out, "I mean, it sounds like we're getting to keep Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang open, right? If this was all some sort of trap, wouldn't Cobra Kai have made a move as soon as Tory won? I don't know, you guys, I think we're in the clear."

"No way my dad's going to let Cobra Kai consider this a win," said Sam. To Miguel's ears, it didn't sound like she was exactly thrilled by Tory's victory, but Sam could see this wasn't a total loss for them.

Wanting to keep up the good vibes, Miguel declared, "So, pseudo-victory nachos it is then!"

But while they made their departure from the area, Hawk asked the big question that was on Miguel's mind. "So, what's gonna happen now?"