CHAPTER 39

Half an hour. Nearly half an hour and Hawk had not found anyone. Not a single person. Not a Cobra Kai or Miyagi-Do either. He had been wandering around the forest all alone, assuming that fighting was going on all around him, but he could see or hear nothing. It was a horrible feeling, and it only made Hawk get more desperate. He felt vulnerable right now, very exposed to an ambush from his current position, as he trudged through the thick underbrush of the forest. However, it wasn't much longer until he finally spotted his first opponent.

Of all people. Of all people it could have been. It could've been Kyler. It could've been Kenny. But no. It had to be Cobra Kai's champion. The new top bully of the dojo. The boy was perched at the edge of the hill, his back to him, sitting beside someone that Hawk immediately identified as one of Johnny's friends and one of the referees. The two seemed to be having a conversation, and that distraction gave Hawk a moment to think. Should he do this? Would it be smart to engage now, or would it be a better idea to wait and meet up with Miguel, Robby or even Demetri and then attack him together. But as Hawk contemplated this, Marcos' words from a month ago came rushing back to him.

You guys want to embarrass me? Fine. But karma's a bitch. Because when it comes time to actually fight, I'm going to embarrass you. All of you…

That was the threat Marcos had made, the open challenge, the vow for revenge. The words still rang through Hawk's head, even long after the incident. Of everyone in Miyagi-Do, Hawk had the frostiest relationship with Cobra Kai's champion. When it came to the others, disliking Marcos had been strictly business, part of being a Miyagi-Do. Or at least, that was how it had been up until Marcos had gone to the Larusso house a week ago and stirred up more shit than he would've thought possible. But with Hawk… things had been very personal from day 1. Day fucking one. Marcos had beat the shit out of his best friend at the Miyagi-Do dojo, almost concussing him, and that was disrespect Hawk was not going to tolerate from anyone, even in his most peaceful state. He wasn't going to allow this man to wreak havoc. Wasn't going to allow him to traumatize his friends in the way that Cobra Kai's previous leaders, himself included, had done.

Every time Hawk laid eyes on Marcos, either at school or outside, he could feel a little bit more of Eli begin to fade away. By now, he hated everything about him. The way he spoke, with every word somehow stabbing at the Miyagi-Do students' most personal scars. The way he walked, like he didn't have a trouble in the world, and despite the fear he was causing Miyagi-Do, he wasn't at all afraid of them so had no reservations about striking again. The way he fought, tossing Miguel around like a rag doll that day. Hawk was sick and tired of all of it, so it didn't take long for him to make his decision to approach the Brazilian teenager.

A short trek up the hill brought Hawk over to where Marcos and Bobby were sitting, and both of them immediately heard his footsteps and turned around. Marcos immediately stood up, as he knew exactly why Hawk was here. This wasn't going to be a peaceful encounter. For either of them.

Instinctively, Marcos began to hop from foot to foot, removing himself from the peaceful mindset he had during his conversation with Bobby, and instead he locked into his war mentality. Everything around him completely faded to nothing. All of his thoughts, all of his troubles were compartmentalized. The only things that existed right now were him and his opponent, and his only mission was to steal the headband off his head.

Bobby watched on nervously as the two got into fighting positions.

"Alright. You two know the rules. All strikes count, but as soon as a headband is off, the fight is over. If I see even a single hit after the fight's over, you are immediately disqualified. And if I feel either of you are dragging the fight out to hurt your opponent, I'm calling it as well."

Marcos and Hawk both nodded, but it was unlikely either of them even heard him. They were both completely dialed in, eager to get the fight started. The Champion vs. The Challenger. Someone who had toppled both Miguel and Robby in his quest to claim gold in the tournament. Someone who had developed his game from both of the most powerful dojos in the Valley to create an absolutely devastating arsenal. Someone who was feeling a little bit overlooked lately in Miyagi-Do in the presence of all of their other great fighters, so was eager to reclaim his spot at the top with a win right here. Against someone who was still pretty new to the Valley, but was already a face that made the blood of every single Miyagi-Do run cold. Someone who many of them believed was a combination of all of their foes reincarnated in teenage form. Someone who brought with him an aura of chaos and power to every confrontation. Someone who was desperate to win the Taikai to make his dream, his lifeline, come true. Well, this wasn't the Taikai. Because to get to the Taikai, they both had to get through this fight here…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

From the moment the fight started, there wasn't even a moment's pause. Both of them were rapid in their lunges at one another, and it took every ounce of defense and restraint from both fighters to keep themselves from walking into the other's clobbering blows. 30 seconds into the most hectic fight Hawk had ever fought in, neither had even landed a hit yet, apart from a few light thuds here and there, none so significant they left a mark. Just as Hawk had expected, this was definitely the toughest opponent he had come up again. The speed, precision and power Marcos had, as well as his seemingly unending stamina, eventually caused Hawk to be dragged onto the back foot.

This fight was definitely tight, neither boy wanting to give up even a single hit. It was much closer than Miguel's fight with Marcos. Though Hawk and Miguel were equally skilled, this time, there was no hesitation on the part of the Miyagi-Do fighter. There was no underestimating the ability of the Cobra Kai. There was no shock and being taken aback by the dominant force coming his way. Hawk knew exactly what he was walking into, which meant that Marcos didn't have the element of surprise on his side to disarm his opponent. He was forced to dig deep into his arsenal to instead pull out moves that could do the same job.

Right from the start, Marcos had the decision to only use strikes, and not use grapples. Not only was stand-up striking - kicking in particular - his greatest strength, but he also ran the risk of having his headband unexpectedly yanked off in the middle of wrestling Hawk. Just as well too, as Hawk had clearly set himself up at a far enough range that Marcos couldn't resort to takedowns, even if he wanted to. Hawk was all too aware about how Marcos had dispatched his friend at the dojo a month and a half ago, so he wanted to stay out of Marcos' grappling range at all cost.

That didn't change the fact that Marcos was a monstrously good kicker though, something that only 8 years of Capoeira had perfected. Marcos took a half a step back from Hawk, trying to gain himself a bit more distance from Hawk to line up his kick. His opponent took this as a sign of retreat, and the aggressive side of Hawk eagerly pounced on it like sharks attack chum. He charged at Marcos, although the only thing Hawk was met with was a clobbering heel kick to the jaw.

At this moment, Marcos made an unexpected error. He underestimated the durability and ability of his opponent. After all, why shouldn't he? A full fight against one of their champions, and they hadn't scored a single point. And now a fight against their reigning champion, and Marcos had kicked the boy's soul right out of his body within a minute and a half of the fight starting. Eager to end the fight there and move onto his next opponent, Marcos began to move towards Hawk, who was now bent over as he clutched his throbbing jaw. However, just as Marcos approached him, with lightning reflexes, Hawk counter-attacked. He shot upright and sent one vicious roundhouse at Marcos' leg to drop him on one knee, and then another roundhouse to Marcos' head to send him crashing backwards.

Marcos wasn't knocked out, but the kick had most definitely heard, Hawk connecting beautifully to the cheek. Hawk didn't make the same mistake Marcos had, and he didn't rush in to try and finish the fight, instead proceeding cautiously. This, however, gave Marcos the opportunity to roll sideways and clamber to his feet once more, now sizing up his opponent with respect on his face. It had most definitely been a powerful blow, and was a wakeup blow to him about the damage they could cause.

For Hawk, the kick had provided him with life. It had provided him with the glimmer of an opportunity. This guy wasn't all he was cracked up to be. He wasn't this unstoppable force, a wall that Miyagi-Do couldn't possibly break through. He was definitely beatable, and Hawk was filled with hope that he was able to do it.

However, after that point, Marcos picked up the pace and revved himself up to full gas. There was no underestimating on his part now. His defense and offense flowed like a well-rehearsed dance. He ducked around all of Hawk's attacks like he was transparent, and he threw a couple of well-timed hits of his own.

For the next couple of minutes of the fight, this proceeded to frustrate Hawk, and it caused the intensity of his blows to increase, but also the sloppiness. He very nearly had this guy down at one point, and now he seemed to be unable to even land a hit.

When it comes time to actually fight, I'm going to embarrass you

That's what Marcos had said, and right now, that was exactly what he was doing. Because although Marcos hadn't laid any killer blows on him just yet, he had his opponent looking like a 7 year old child trying to land a hit on their sensei. The boy was almost teleporting around him, a two handed shove from behind here to push Hawk forward and indicate how he could manage to get behind Hawk and potentially take the headband off of him with relative ease.

The longer the fight went on, the more Hawk could feel his hope beginning to slip away and fade. And the more Hawk could feel his chance to win slipping, the more desperate, angry and aggressive he became. Marcos' words from all that time ago were rattling through his head, and as Hawk looked Marcos in the eye, it caused his level headedness to chip away even more. Eventually, he found himself outright swinging at Marcos, abysmal strategy in a hail mary to try and take out his opponent. Marcos could sense that this had been coming. He had always been fascinated by the way that sharks could smell out their pray, their potential victims, and that was something that he had begun to develop in himself. He could tell the fight was close to an end, and seeing Hawk attacking him so erratically only sealed it.

Ducking under one of Hawk's clobbering hands, Marcos moved so that he was behind Hawk, and then kicked him to the back of the leg. This dropped Hawk to his knees in front of Marcos, and at this point, Marcos knew the fight had been well and truly won. He could have won the fight right there by taking the headband off his rival. And he was about to do just that when his sensei's words came rushing back…

The fight is only over when your opponent is down and out!

Although Marcos had pointed out the fact that that rule was unnecessary in a point scored fight or a friendly spar, he knew that this situation was none of those things. He was fighting a bitter rival in a no-rules brawl. He needed to make sure he wasn't going to get ambushed as he reached to take off Hawk's headband. For this reason, Marcos sent one more kick Hawk's way. It was not immensely powerful, but it was perfectly accurate at Hawk's liver, causing the mohawked teenager to fall to the ground in pain. He could only stare up at Marcos as Marcos reached down and pulled the headband off his head, tossing it down beside him.

That was it. The reigning champion was out. Defeated by the boy who was on a warpath, determined to tear through Miyagi-Do and win the Taikai. Well, if Miyagi-Do weren't concerned then, they definitely would be now. Marcos had now beaten two of the three best fighters in the dojo. There was only one person left that he hadn't beaten, but that was only because the two hadn't fought. At least not yet.

But that wasn't what Hawk was thinking about as Marcos stood over him and pulled the headband off of him. All he was feeling, as he lay in the dirt, was humiliation and a white-hot rage. After Marcos had left, wanting to give his opponent some time to leave before he returned to his perch at the top of hill overlooking the Creek, Hawk punched the ground a few times in frustration, letting out a rabid cry of anger. Bobby looked on, concerned, but little did they know that there was another person watching. This person was looking on almost thoughtfully as he saw Hawk's reaction.

For this person, Hawk's reaction wasn't at all unusual. In fact, all he had to do would've been to look in a mirror in 1985, and he would've seen that expression on his own face. There was something about Hawk, something that very much struck the man watching on. There was so, so much of Hawk that reminded him of himself back in the day. The way he had all of the talent in the world, but it was being wasted by his inability to control his emotions during a fight… it was almost completely identical. So as the figure retreated back into the trees, continuing his role as a referee, that thought stayed with him. And although not right now, he knew that sooner or later, he wanted a meeting with Hawk, a conversation with him, to try and help prevent him from making the same mistakes he himself had in the past.

Although Hawk was now out of the drill, and so were Sam and Tory, things were not yet done for Miyagi-Do. Far from it. They still had two of their champions left in the running, as well as a few of their other fighters. It wasn't over yet…

A/N

Just wanted to give some insight real quick about the direction the story is going. I'm already predicting a bunch of people thinking that I'm ruining Hawk, or that I'm making Marcos too predictably boringly good and making it too biased. I wanted to let you know that this is a completely intentional decision, and it is not a permanent one.

From a writing standpoint, I will never have Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai both doing very well, not until towards the end of the timeline. It makes for no drama and a boring story. Instead, what I am trying to do is balance it: when Cobra Kai is rising, Miyagi-Do is falling. And then soon, the pendulum will begin to swing the other way, so Cobra Kai is falling and Miyagi-Do is rising. I know exactly when that point will be, and it's pretty soon actually.

I'm not completely tossing aside Hawk or anyone else's character. I am merely dragging them down during the fall to allow them a more compelling arc during their rise.