Chapter 25: Rematch Pt. 2

"It doesn't seem like your ribs are broken. However, without a proper examination, we won't know what's actually wrong." The medic says.

"Thank you." I say as I grab the side of my chest in pain. As the medic leaves, I see my parents walk into the room.

"James? Are you okay?" My mom asks.

"I'm trying to be." I say.

"How come you didn't tell us you were participating in this?" My mom asks.

"Because…I was afraid you wouldn't approve. To be honest, I don't care about winning. I mainly want to get back at Steve." I say.

"Why didn't you tell us Steve was doing all these things to you?" My dad asks.

"At first, I was scared. Scared of what he might do to me. But after I joined Miyagi-Do, I thought I could handle everything by myself. I just wanted to prove, on my own, that I could defend myself. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Steve. I'm sorry that I went behind your backs to continue karate. I was just scared that without karate, I would become…weak." I say.

"James…the whole reason why we didn't want you in karate was because we were scared you would get hurt." My mom says.

"I know." I say.

"Your mom and I have talked, and we will let you continue to hang out with your friends, if you promise to take a break from karate after the tournament." My dad says.

"Yeah, I can do that." I say while smiling.

Third Person POV:

"If James Evans doesn't return soon, then Steve Turner will immediately advance to the quarterfinals!" The announcer says. The Cobra's begin cheering.

"Yeah! Go Steve!" Kyler shouts. Because the other qualifying matches had finished, everyone now had their attention on this one match. All the Cobras were standing behind Steve and all the Miyagi-Dos were standing on the opposite side.

"Do you think James will come back?" Chris asks.

"He has to." Sam says. However, everyone can hear the slight nervousness in her voice. Daniel also looks worried. Steve makes sure to smirk at Sam when he sees her. As Steve is smiling and raising his hands, everyone suddenly begins cheering louder. Steve turns around and sees James walking onto the mat. He looks slightly uncomfortable, but confident nonetheless.

"You've got to be kidding me. When will you learn to just give up?!" Steve says angrily. James just smirks and approaches the rest of the Miyagi-Dos.

James's POV:

"Thank God you're okay." Mr. LaRusso says.

"Yeah. I think I'm ready to do this." I say.

"I know you can. You got this." Mr. LaRusso says. I smile and bow to him. I then look behind him and notice that Chase is watching me from a distance. He's with that girl I saw at prom. We both smile at each other and I turn around. I get to the center of the mat and see Steve waiting for me. He looks absolutely pissed.

"You shouldn't have gotten back on this mat." Steve says.

"Why? Scared you're gonna lose?" I say. Steve is now fuming with anger. I can see that he's resisting the urge to run up and attack me. The ref gets in between us. All Steve has to do to win is score a single point. I can't let that happen.

"Score, 2-1 Turner. Ready? And…fight!"

Steve runs up to me at full speed. He delivers a high front kick and I'm forced to back up. Steve then tries to sweep my legs, but I jump over them. I quickly try to kick Steve in the face while he's down, but he catches my leg. He tries to punch the spot where my broken ribs were, but I push his arm away. I wiggle my way out of his grasp and we both back up.

"No point! Continue!"

My ribs were starting to hurt, but I ignore the pain. Steve strikes first once again. He delivers two punches to my chest and I block them both. Suddenly, he tries to hit me in the face. I duck under his punch and get behind him. However, he's prepared. He quickly turns around and does a roundhouse kick, forcing me to duck underneath his leg. Suddenly, my ribs begin hurting again and I fall to the ground. Steve takes the opportunity to run up and punch me in the chest. However, before he can do so, I roll out of the way and get back up.

"No point! Continue!"

The side of my chest felt like it was on fire. I'm gonna lose if I don't try something different. That's when I remember.

Third Person POV:

The Cobras were getting anxious watching this fight.

"Come on Steve! Finish him!" Kyler shouts.

"Show that pussy who's boss!" Tory shouts. Robby stayed silent. Steve glares at James and runs up to punch him in the face. Suddenly, James catches his arm mid punch. James then hits Steve's arm in a weird way and it goes limp. Steve's arm is completely immobile.

"What…what the hell? What is this shit?!" Steve says in a scared voice. This was the first time Steve was ever scared of James. Everyone is completely shocked. Terry, Robby, Tory, and Kyler all had their mouths agape. Kreese seemed to be the only one who understood what was happening. James had used the pressure point technique. Well…only part of it. Steve was in complete shock. As Steve was staring at his arm. James took the opportunity to deliver a spinning back kick to his chest. Steve fell over as the kick landed.

"Point! 2-2!"

Steve finally regains his composure when he regains the ability to move his arm. He gets up and just stares at James. The Miyagi-Dos begin clapping.

James's POV:

"Yeah! Go James!" Sam shouts. I look at Mr. LaRusso and he seems proud. Steve and I both get to the center of the mat.

"Score, 2-2. Next point wins. Ready? And…fight!"

We both circle each other. Nobody wants to make the first move. I decide to finally strike first. I try to punch Steve in the face but he easily blocks it. I keep throwing punches and Steve gets nervous trying to block all of them. I then switch it up by delivering both roundhouse and spinning back kicks. Steve is constantly having to duck and block all of them. I finally manage to push Steve out of bounds.

"Out of bounds! Continue!"

I strike first once again. I continue to deliver punches that Steve had to block. I think he's too afraid to attack me. I decide to try something different. I pretend like I'm gonna kick him in the face and he gets ready to block. However, I instead sweep his legs and get ready to stomp on him. As I'm about ready to get the point, Steve moves slightly out of the way and delivers a punch directly to my throat. When the punch lands, It feels like my windpipe exploded. I collapse on the ground and begin coughing.

"Warning! Illegal contact to the throat!"

When the coughing stops I place my hands around my throat as if it would help. The side of my chest also begins hurting again. Now it's my turn to be scared.

"James!" Mr. LaRusso shouts before running to me. "Are you okay?" Mr. LaRusso asks. It takes me a while to respond and I'm breathing heavily.

"I…I…I don't know." I say in a shaky voice.

"Get up you pussy!" I hear Kyler shout. Mr. LaRusso glares at Kyler and he quickly shuts up.

"You don't have to keep fighting. You're already injured enough as it is." Mr LaRusso says.

"No, I have to do this. I need to show Cobra Kai that I'm not the same James who first moved into Reseda and got his ass kicked." I say.

"Are you sure?" Mr. LaRusso asks.

"Yeah." I say. I slowly get up and Mr. LaRusso steps back to his spot.

"The score is still 2-2. Next point wins. Ready? And…fight!"

Steve doesn't seem to be scared of me anymore and rushes at me. He delivers a front kick to my chest which I barely block. He then delivers two roundhouse kicks in a row and I have to duck under both. After that, I aim several punches to Steve's face and chest. He blocks them all and then pushes me, causing me to stumble back. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sensei Lawrence looking at me. I have to do it. Steve charges at me and I spin while jumping in the air. My foot swings around and I kick Steve directly in the face. I just landed the flying tornado kick. Steve flops on the ground like a rag doll and I can hear the crowd cheering. I turn to the Miyagi-Dos and I see them all cheering for me. I look back at Cobra Kai and they are all frustrated. Kyler seems to be the most in shock. Robby is eyeing me down which makes me a little uncomfortable but I quickly ignore him.

"And with that, the final Qualifying Match has concluded. James Evans from Miyagi-Do Karate is advancing to the Quarterfinals!" The announcer says. I smile and bow to Steve who is still lying on the ground. He slowly sits up and I can see his face. He's giving me the most intense death stare I have ever seen. However, I didn't feel a thing.

"Who's the pussy now?" I say as I walk back to my team. I look at all the Miyagi-Dos. Sam seems to be the most excited. However, when I look at Mr. LaRusso, I notice that he's looking between both Sensei Lawrence and I. Oh no, I think he figured out that I have been getting extra training.