Chapter 27: Miyagi V.S. Miyagi

I was the first to strike. I run up to Demetri and try to hit him in the face with a roundhouse kick. Demetri backs up just in time and sees that I am exposed. He aims two punches at my chest but I am able to block them both using the drum technique. After that, I manage to sweep Demetri's legs and he falls to the ground. I quickly stomp on his chest to get the point.

"Point, Evans!"

"Thanks for teaching me how to do that." I say in a joking manner. I extend my hand and help Demetri up.

"You've gotten really good." Demetri says.

"Score's 1-0, Evans. Ready? And…Fight!"

As the next round begins, I notice that Demetri is circling me. I quickly do the same. After a while, I realize that one of us needs to do something. I strike first again and try to kick Demetri in the chest. However, Demetri catches my leg mid kick and manages to hit me in the chest.

"Point, Alexopoulos! Score's 1-1. Ready? And…Fight!"

I run up to Demetri and deliver a variety of punches to both his face and chest. However, Demetri is able to block all of them. I try to do a spinning back kick but Demetri is able to block that as well. Demetri then delivers a kick of his own. Demetri has really long legs so this front kick forces me to back up quite a bit. Demetri is able to keep me at bay with a barrage of front and roundhouse kicks. Eventually, I'm forced out of bounds.

"Out of bounds! Continue!"

When I try to punch Demetri this time, he grabs my arm and throws me to the ground. The impact is hard but I instinctively roll out of the way to dodge any kicks or punches Demetri might hit me with. I manage to get up and block a front kick right when it's about to hit my chest.

"No point! Continue!"

Demetri was almost impossible to hit. His defense was too good. However, I had a more powerful offense. I try to hit Demetri in the face by delivering two roundhouse kicks in a row. Both miss as Demetri easily dodges both. I then execute my strategy. I aim two punches to Demetri's chest. Both get blocked. I then focus on Demetri's face. I deliver about four punches to his face which are all blocked. However, immediately after the fourth punch, I release a simple front kick and manage to hit an exposed area of Demetri's chest.

"Point, Evans!"

At this point, both Demetri and I were exhausted. I turn and find my parents in the audience. They are both smiling and cheering me on. It felt nice not having to hide this part of my life from them anymore. I then turn and look at Cobra Kai. I couldn't help but notice that some of the Cobras were a little surprised. Did they not think Demetri or I could last this long? I turn back to Demetri and get ready to fight.

"Score's 2-1, Evans. Ready? And…Fight!"

I try to run up to Demetri but he holds me back by releasing many different kicks. He's using his height to try and force me to the edge of the mat. Right when I'm at the edge, Demetri performs a spinning back kick. I move to my right and dodge just in time. I try to sweep Demetri's legs but this time, he backs away and I miss. Demetri now has the high ground. Right when I get back up, I feel a roundhouse kick hit me square in the face.

"Point, Alexopoulos!"

The score is now tied. Whoever gets this next point will be facing Robby in the Semifinals.

"Score's 2-2. Ready? And…Fight!

I run up to Demetri and try desperately to punch him in the face. When that doesn't work, I try to do a spinning back kick right into his chest. However, he catches my leg mid kick again. This time, he sweeps my other leg out from under me. It's the same thing I did against Steve during the house fight. As I'm falling, it feels like everything is going in slow motion. Demetri immediately lets go of my leg and lets it fall with the rest of me. Demetri was quick, quicker than I've ever seen him. As soon as my head hit the ground, Demetri was already ready to strike. He punches me right in the face and ends the match.

"Point! Winner!"

The referee raises Demetri's hand and the crowd goes wild. I get up and extend my hand for Demetri to shake. As we shake hands I decide to speak.

"Thanks for that. Listen, I'm sorry for what I did to you yesterday." I say.

"It's all good. I know that wasn't really you." Demetri says.

"I'm just happy that we put up a good show. I hope we showed Cobra Kai that we shouldn't be messed with." I say. Demetri and I then step off the mat and return to the rest of our dojo. As we're approaching I see Kyler, Steve, and some of the other Cobras walk away from Eli. It looks like they said something to him because he looks defeated.

"You guys did amazing. I'm so proud of how far you guys have come. No matter who won, you guys both earned points for the dojo." Mr. LaRusso says.

"Next up in the quarterfinals, it's Kyler Park of Cobra Kai v.s Eli Moskowitz of Miyagi-Do." The announcer says. Klyer looks extremely cocky. However, Eli looks like he got his confidence back. He exchanges words with Mr. LaRusso and then jumps onto the mat. What happens next shocks everyone. Eli is able to 3-0 Kyler in less than 10 seconds. Demetri and I look at each other excitedly. I look over and manage to catch Steve's reaction. He's utterly shocked.

Third Person POV:

Steve couldn't believe what he just saw. One of the top fighters in Cobra Kai got destroyed in such a short amount of time. Kyler returns to his dojo looking extremely embarrassed.

"What the hell was that? I thought you had this!" Steve shouts.

"Like you're one to talk! You need me to remind you what James did to you?" Kyler points out.

"Enough, both of you! You both failed. You failed your dojo." Kreese says. Both Kyler and Steve look at the ground in shame. However, Steve looks back up to see Eli high-fiving both James and Demetri.

"Hey, you ready to get some payback?" Steve asks Kyler.

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" Kyler asks.

James's POV:

"That was amazing! I knew you had this!" I say excitedly.

"That felt so good. You have no idea." Eli says. Everything was going so well. Steve and Kyler were beaten, Demetri and Eli were advancing, and there was only Robby left to beat in the boys' bracket. What could go wrong?

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long gaps in between chapters. To make up for it, I'll try my best to post another chapter tomorrow and even more after that. I hope you guys are okay with how James left the tournament. I felt like it was the most appropriate way for him to exit. He already beat Steve, he did not need to win the whole thing. Also, I feel like losing to Robby would be more devastating for James. However, his story isn't over yet. The next chapter will be the most James has ever suffered. Can you guess what Steve will do? It's also not just James that will get hurt. This moment will set up new character arcs for everyone going into season 5. Anyway, I hope I did well with this chapter. See you all soon!