CHAPTER 57

The kick had not only rocked Sam, but it had sent shockwaves through the entire dojo. Tory had won the fight, cleanly and fairly, and although they probably wouldn't admit it, a lot of the dojo probably predicted otherwise, given how their previous fights had gone. It was almost ironic: hesitation, patience and Miyagi-Do techniques were what had won Tory the fight. If someone had said that about her 6 months to a year ago, she probably wouldn't have believed them.

A massive smile graced Tory's face as Daniel raised Tory's hand to signify her victory in the fight, and it took everything she had not to hop and dance on the spot in jubilation. She had done it! She had finally done it! An unmarred, uncontroversial win against the girl who had bested her before. It represented so much for her, even more than an All-Valley trophy could've. Because the way that Tory won the fight also showed her that maybe she was indeed on the right path now. Maybe patience, defense and hesitation weren't weaknesses like she had always thought, but were instead great strengths. The grin on her face was echoed by Johnny, and even Robby cracked a faint smile, his elation for her breaking through all of his emotional issues right now.

What happened next, nobody also would've predicted. All of a sudden, Sam found herself rapidly walking towards Tory once more, and for a horrible moment, everyone thought that this was going to be the start to another brawl. Robby, Miguel and the two senseis tried to get there first, but Sam was a lot closer than any of them, so if there was to be a fight, it was definitely going to start before they got there. Thankfully though, they didn't have to worry about that. Instantly guarded as she saw Sam approaching with an unreadable expression on her face, Tory relaxed ever so slightly as she saw Sam's hand extending and hanging in the air, held out for Tory to shake.

"Nice fight." Sam told her. There wasn't bitterness. There wasn't resentment in the girl's tone. Because in a way, both Sam and Tory had gotten exactly what they needed from the fight. Fighting Sam and winning had finally given Tory that triumphant feeling that she had been robbed of in the All-Valley. She was finally the best at something, for once in her life she could consider herself number 1. And for Sam, the fight had allowed to unload all of her remaining trauma from the long rivalry and lighten that load off her shoulders. She was able to put her mind at ease that a new chapter had genuinely begun in their relationship, one where they could spar and train like any other two students in the dojo, without her having to fear for her life. Sure not scoring 3 points sucked, but in a way, both Sam and Tory had won the fight today.

However, after all of this, the attention immediately shifted. One fight left. One final battle in the Fight Night that was currently scored at 2-2. This would be the title decider between team Johnny and team Daniel, and not only that, but this would also be the tie-breaker in Miguel and Robby's head-to-head record, that was also tied 2-2. Miguel had taken both their first and their latest fights, with Robby taking the two in between. None of these fights had been without their controversies, none of these fights had been without their unexpected moments, so they knew that it was now that would finally settle the debate once and for all.

Both boys had taken heavy losses in the past little while, both physically and mentally. Miguel had had to endure the arduous road to recovery from his injury, followed by the failed encounter with his father, and then his latest loss had come in an absolute beatdown at the hands of Marcos on this very sparring deck. Robby had also been through the wringer, losing time and time again but forcing himself to only work harder as well. But Miguel and Robby forced themselves to compartmentalize, to forget about all of this. They forgot the existence of Marcos and Cobra Kai. They forgot all about the Taikai. All that needed to remain in their brains was the task ahead, and how they were planning to go about beating their opponent.

Daniel and Johnny had decided to give them all a bit of a break before this final fight of the evening. Not only would this allow Robby and Miguel a bit of time to warm up and strategise, but it would also attempt to ease some of the tension that was beginning to fill the air surrounding this encounter. Although nobody in the dojo would dare admit it, almost all of them were supporting one fighter or another. Of course both Senseis were torn between the two, but amongst all of the other teenagers, they all had their respective pick to win, their fighter to support. Thus was the nature of the Miguel Robby rivalry all this time. It was almost impossible not to pick a side in it all.

But despite this, thankfully the other students didn't allow this fact to divide them. If anything, it brought them together, as their intrigue for the fight to come was enough to have them murmuring quietly to each other in anticipation. They felt like they were about to watch a title fight in the UFC. No, more than that. They felt like they were about to watch two absolute behemoths, Godzilla and Kong, going toe to toe, with only one of them capable of walking away victorious. This was a clash of the titans, a battle between two of the very best that the Valley had to offer. All of the times they had fought, there had been so little between them. It was almost up to the flip of the coin who would win, and if they knew one thing for certain, it was that it would be equally unpredictable here today.

All of the Miyagi-Dos were most definitely here for it. Daniel had ordered them all pizza and bought them all snacks, so all of those who had finished fighting sat together on the grass backyard of the dojo, preparing to watch the inevitable chaos unfold before them. Robby and Miguel, meanwhile, warmed up in isolation. They were like bulls, ready to be released from their cages to attack their enemy.

While Robby warmed up on the sparring deck, sparring lightly with Tory to loosen up his limbs and get his mind in the game, Miguel warmed up inside the dojo itself. He was nervous about the fight, to say the least. He was always nervous going into a fight, especially against someone as skilled as Robby. However, the important thing was that he was not scared. He was not scared because for the first time in one of their fights, he knew that there was actual, genuine respect between him and Robby, so neither would be resorting to cheap moves to win the fight. Robby didn't have to worry about Miguel dislocating his shoulder. Miguel didn't have to worry about Robby targeting his back. They both knew that this was just a spar, so if anything, Miguel was ready to have some fun. This was what he enjoyed doing. This is why he had stuck with Karate, long after he learned how to kick the asses of his bullies. It was the Martial Art, but without the war that had seemed to be consuming them for more than a year now.

As Miguel threw a few air kicks to stretch his legs out, he heard a knock on the dojo door.

"Yeah, come in!" He called, and the door slid open to reveal Johnny.

Miguel had nothing but love and respect for his sensei, but he knew that today, Johnny was going to be training Robby, not him. And he respected that. Johnny had opted to coach his son for the first time ever, and Miguel knew that he wasn't the person to deny him that.

"Is the fight starting?" Miguel asked.

"Soon." Johnny replied. "There's just something I wanted to talk to you about first."

"Sure, what's up?" Miguel asked, curiously. Johnny seemed almost reluctant to say what he was about to say, and that definitely caused Miguel to raise an eyebrow.

"I, uh… look, I'm not sure if I'm meant to be telling you this. I don't know whether we're supposed to be telling people yet about this. And also the last thing I want to is try and mess with your head and throw you off before the fight."

"Well, now you've worried me, so you kinda have to tell me." Miguel remarked drily, before nodding at his sensei. "Sensei, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

Johnny took a deep breath before answering.

"It's Robby's mom." Johnny told him. "On the 23rd when you guys came back from school and saw her at the apartment, she was there to tell Robby that she had managed to get a job in New York that needs her to move there permanently. Robby's gonna have to stay with me because she's leaving in less than a week now."

Realization dawned on Miguel in less than a second, as everything seemed to click into place.

"Ohhhh… is that why he's been so distant and quiet lately?" Miguel asked.

He had initially thought that when Robby had barely spoken when them and Johnny had picked up a Christmas tree together, something had gone down between Johnny and Robby that had caused Robby to be angry and moody at him. And when he had barely seen him during Christmas Day itself, Robby had opted to spend it with his mom. But this… this was totally different, and Miguel felt genuinely bad for what the boy was having to go through. Having to live across the country from the only family he had before Johnny had come back, the only constant in his whole life… Miguel couldn't imagine how hard it would've been for him if it was Carmen that had moved across the country.

"Sensei, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Miguel said. "Do you want us to cancel the fight? Or at least reschedule it to another time?"

"I've already spoken to Robby. He wants to fight. He's determined to fight. So the fight's going to go ahead. And I'm not going to stand here and tell you to go easy on him, because I know that he's not planning to take this fight lightly." Johnny said. "All I'm going to say is that I guarantee that he's going to be distracted. He isn't going to be completely focused tonight, so when you do fight, be careful. Please. If you see him drop his guard and lose focus, score your point but you don't have to absolutely annihilate him with your strike. Because he's not thinking clearly right now, emotionally speaking. And the last thing we need is another misunderstanding between you two that ends up restarting the entire rivalry."

"I understand, Sensei." Miguel replied, nodding his head. "Don't worry, Sensei. I'll watch control."

"Thank you." Johnny replied gratefully. "Now… get out there. The fight is about to start…"