"Your new champion of the 51st All Valley Under 18 Tournament, Samantha LaRusso of Miyagi Fang karate!"
The words hadn't yet registered in the reigning brunette girl's mind as she stared at her opponent on the ground, her chest rising and falling as she panted tiredly. A high pitched sound rang through her eardrums, hence why she couldn't hear the immense cheering and triumphant stomping of the crowd from the bleachers. She remained in her fighting stance, preparing for Tory to get back up and send another kick her way, until the girl in question met her gaze, a bitter scowl across her face as she hastily stood up and walked off the mat.
Her victory still wasn't made known to her when she felt a grip on her wrist, pulling her arm up above her head. She turned to catch the source, a grinning host who shook her arm proudly to the crowds. She faced them then, the swarms of people now standing in the bleachers, applauding and calling out her name. She saw her friends, the rest of Miyagi Fang, her family, and then her dad, who wore the most prideful expression she'd ever seen on him, and it was directed towards her.
But her champion status was only fully made clear to her when her gaze fell on Miguel's.
Right before she was to go on for the final fight, he'd brought her close, gripping her shoulders and leaning his forehead down to meet hers, their gazes on the floor.
His last fight had gone out strong, lasting up until the last few seconds of the timer. Miguel had proven he was back to his old self through his clean roundhouse kicks and newly-learned defense techniques. She'd watched him proudly, cheering him on, along with the rest of Miyagi Fang. But as soon as his opponent- some boy from another dojo in the region- had sent a fierce kick to Miguel's abdomen, her heart had dropped. He'd fallen backwards onto the mat, clutching his ribs and wincing in pain. The announcer had yelled his opponent's name, followed by the word winner, and disappointment filled his face momentarily. It was hard to watch the former champion lose, especially after his remarkable recovery. Sam worried for his emotional state, but to her surprise, he seemed oddly unfazed as he brushed aside her words of comfort, encouraging her instead.
"Don't worry about me," he'd said to her. "I'll be alright. A champ has to take a loss to keep himself humble, you know?" And she'd chuckled, some relief seeping into her chest.
"Now listen to me," he started, his voice low for only her to hear, but still firm and reassuring. "You can do this, okay? You don't need to worry about Tory, or Cobra Kai, or even Kreese. Miyagi Fang is yours now, Sam. You can bring us home." Sam swallowed nervously, blinking several times.
"What if I can't?" she asked him quietly. "What if I can't beat her? We'd lose the dojo. We'd lose everything."
He was quick to shush her doubts, running his hands over her arms soothingly before gripping her shoulders again.
"Sam, look at me." And she looked up to meet the earnest brown eyes she fell for almost two years ago.
"All you need to worry about when you get up there, is showing everything you've learned, everything I know you're capable of. The only thing that matters is that you go out there and not regret a single thing.
"And however this turns out, I'm so incredibly proud of you. Even right now as you're standing in front of me. You're incredible, Sam. Don't forget that." She pressed her lips together in a bashful smile, feeling a new sense of confidence in herself, as well as love for the boy in front of her. It was hard for her to believe that a year ago today, she was arguing with the same person who just gave her such heartfelt words of encouragement. She had stood in front of him, arms crossed with anger in her mind but pain in her chest, unable to recognize the boy who stood before her. But the truth was, he wasn't the same person now as he was then, and neither was she. They'd both been through so much pain, making regretful choices and mistakes, but they'd each grown substantially in character as well. And that's what made their coming back together so beautiful to her. They weren't just kids anymore. And it was clear to both of them what really was important.
She knew then that no matter what happened after the tournament, he'd still be by her side. And somehow that meant even more to her than all of the doubts that had previously swarmed her mind.
"And now, for the final fight of the evening, Samantha LaRusso of Miyagi Fang and Tory Nichols of Cobra Kai!"
The two turned in their embrace to look at the stage, hearing the host announce that the last fight was about to begin. She met her boyfriend's eyes once more, and he looked at her with such conviction that she knew he had nothing but faith in her. Nonetheless, as if he could read her mind, he told her anyway.
"You're gonna crush it," he told her encouragingly, bringing his hands up to hold her face as he placed a quick kiss to her forehead. "I believe in you." And with one last reassuring squeeze of her shoulders, he let go, and she was off for the final showdown.
Now, as she stared at the dark-haired boy in the bleachers amongst the crowd, he beamed at her with every ounce of pride for her in his eyes, and she finally knew.
Everything was made clear to her then, the sound of the ever-applauding crowd making its way into her ears- they were cheering for her. But she kept her eyes locked on Miguel, a wide grin forming on her face as he stood up, running towards her.
The rest of Miyagi Fang made a dash towards her as well, but none of them were fast enough to beat Miguel, who met her almost instantly with open arms. She laughed as he practically knocked her off her feet with the speed of which he ran towards her, and he instantly lifted her into the air, circling his arms around her back in a tight embrace. Her legs clung to his waist involuntarily, holding onto him as he spun her around excitedly, her infectious laugh like music to his ears and making him laugh alongside her. She could hear the rest of their friends cheering around them, the sound of someone whistling at the two's intimate interaction ringing out, which she could only assume to be the work of Hawk.
She moved in his embrace then, looking down to meet his gaze from her position in the air as he held her in front of him. And just like that, everything else around them became a hushed blur, and it was merely the two of them in the middle of the All Valley arena.
"I knew you could do it," he told her, mirroring the smile she wore, and then, "you never cease to amaze me."
She beamed down at him, the glitter of admiration in his eyes as he spoke to her erupting a swarm of butterflies within her. With her hands around his neck, she leaned down, colliding her lips with his.
It wasn't just a victory for her, she realized, or even for Miyagi Fang. Because as he kissed her among the forming crowd in the middle of the arena, her heart on her sleeve, it was clear that Miguel had always been her source of light in a world of darkness, by her side to guide her until the end of time.