CHAPTER 34
"All right, guys! Gather around!" Both Johnny, Kreese and Daniel called to their respective dojos on opposite sides of the All-Valley Sports Center the next morning. The day had finally arrived. 6 months of extremely rigorous training had finally come down to today, the day of the All-Valley tournament.
Miguel had woken up that morning, already nervous. He couldn't stomach anything more for breakfast than a single piece of toast, and him and Johnny left for the sports arena early so they could register and get ready. Carmen and Miguel's yaya would be coming later, closer to when the tournament began.
As Hawk and Miguel stood opposite Johnny and Jimmy, the Miyagi Do students stood opposite Daniel and Julie, and the Cobras stood before Barnes and Kreese, the three instructors began to give their pep talks.
"All right, listen up, guys! Today's the day." Daniel said. "The day we finally show the world what Miyagi-Do is all about. I don't care about the result too much, because I know that each and every one of you gave me every ounce of what you've got. All I want you to do is…"
"Beat the living shit out of them!" Johnny declared. "That's what I want you to do to all of your opponents today. I want you to use every strike, every kick, every throw Jimmy and I have taught you. But at the end of the fight, I want you to always bow and shake hands with your opponents. We're badasses, but we're not…"
"Assholes!" Daniel spat. "That's what Cobra Kai are. They have all bullied us for a very long time. But I don't want you guys to let emotions from the past into your fighting and end up abandoning Miyagi-Do's never-strike-first…"
"Bullshit! That's what Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do's policies are!" Jimmy stated. "Both dojos have too one-sided ethoses. Ours is perfect. We strike first. We strike hard. But we show mercy. If your opponent is already down and you've already won the fight, you…"
"Finish him!" Kreese barked. "Your opponent is never down and out until he has stopped breathing. The fight is still going until the ref steps in and pulls you away. What I want you to do today is to…"
"Show forgiveness." Daniel stated.
"Kick ass. Have fun." Johnny declared.
"Obliterate this tournament!" Kreese spat. "Is that clear?"
"YES, SENSEI!"
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"All right. We're all signed in." Johnny announced as he walked over to the other Eagle-Fangs half an hour later. "Miguel, just one thing. As the reigning champ, you have the option to skip prelims and go straight into the quarter-finals. Your choice."
"I want to fight in the prelims." Miguel immediately replied. Johnny looked at him, slightly worried.
"Are you sure? The last thing I want you to do is to burn out, or get injured in the prelim. I mean, for all you know, you could be facing Robby in the prelims. Are you sure you want to risk that?"
Miguel nodded.
"Yeah. My muscles are feeling kind of tense today. I feel it would be good to get a warm up and get into the fighting mindset, you know?"
Johnny nodded.
"Fair point. Okay, so there really isn't much to do now. You guys just need to change into your gi's, and then we can warm up and stretch and get ready for the tournament to begin."
"Are we wearing our normal training gi's?" Hawk asked. Jimmy chuckled and shook his head. He opened his duffel bag, tossing Miguel and Hawk their special tournament gi's. As Miguel and Hawk looked at them, their eyes widened and they whistled in appreciation.
"Daaaaaamn! These are nice!" Hawk remarked.
"Right?! Go put them on!" Johnny instructed. 5 minutes later, Miguel and Hawk walked out of the changing room in their new gi's. They were jet black - not dissimilar to the Cobra Kai gi - but rather than yellow embroidery and a snake at the back, it had a fire embroidery and an Eagle-Fang logo at the back.
"These are awesome!" Miguel exclaimed as him and Hawk looked at each other. The gi's had been perfectly measured for them, so they fitted like a glove. Johnny and Jimmy were also donning Eagle-Fang merchandise, and moments later, Miguel tapped Johnny on the shoulder and pointed to something behind him. Johnny turned around to see the Miyagi-Do dojo walking towards them, led by Daniel and Julie, all of them donning the clean, white, long-sleeve gi's.
"Hey. What do you want?" Jimmy asked them.
"We just wanted to wish you guys good luck." Daniel said. "Our dojos… we're fighting against the same common enemy. It's in our best interests to look out for each ot… wow, Johnny, you couldn't resist, huh?" Daniel's message was cut off when he noticed Miguel and Hawk's gi's. At the top of the back of their gi jacket, Johnny had also gotten a message printed in block capital font. He had printed KICK SOME ASS in a fiery font.
"What? These gi's are badass!" Johnny exclaimed. Daniel scoffed.
"You do realise what they look like, right? They look like alternate versions of the Cobra Kai gi." Daniel stated. Johnny shrugged.
"So? I stand by it. The Cobra Kai gi is also badass." Johnny declared, daring Daniel to challenge him. Before another word could come out of his mouth, two arms draped around Daniel and Johnny's shoulders.
"Family reunion? Can I join?" A familiar, cold, calculating voice asked. Johnny and Daniel spun around to see Kreese, Barnes and Cobra Kai standing right beside them. Daniel and Johnny immediately tensed up, and they slapped Kreese's hands off of them.
"What do you want?" Daniel growled. "And where's Silver?"
"He's running an errant." Kreese replied, cryptically. "And I'm just here to wish you guys my deepest condolences."
"Excuse me?" Johnny snapped.
"I hope you guys enjoyed the time you spent with your kids. Because I guarantee you, they aren't leaving this arena alive."
"Shut up. And get the fuck away from us." Johnny spat. Kreese smiled and nodded.
"See you guys out there." He said, before stalking away. Johnny and Daniel then both turned to their respective dojos, who were watching on, concerned.
"You guys okay?" Johnny asked Miguel and Hawk. They nodded.
"Yeah, fine." Hawk replied. Johnny then turned to Daniel and held out a hand.
"May the best team win." He said. Daniel nodded and shook it.
"May the best team win…"
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The prelims of the tournament flew by for Miguel and Hawk. They recognised many faces from last year's tournament, and they immediately gauged the threats: Tory, Robby, Sam, Kyler, Shawn and Xander Stone, who was back after his semi final loss last year to Miguel. However, thankfully, they didn't have to fight any of these people.
The way prelims worked was that each fighter had to win 3/3 fights to qualify for the quarter finals. The fights were scored the same way as the knockout rounds: first to 3 points, any strikes above the waist are a point.
Hawk was the first of the two Eagle-Fangs to fight in his prelims, and luckily for him, he didn't have to fight a single Miyagi-Do or Eagle-Fang. Although dropping a couple of points here and there, he easily coasted to a spot in the knockouts.
Miguel was one of the last people to begin fighting the prelims. He fought fast, and he fought hard right out the gate, and he didn't drop a single point the entire prelims! 3-0, 3-0, 3-0. Easy. Peasy.
Unfortunately, Miyagi-Do didn't have the same luck Eagle-Fang did. Although Sam - their standout star fighter - made it to the knockout rounds, she was the only person who did. Demitri, the other decent fighter among them, was pitted against none other than Tory, who absolutely mauled him until the ref decided to end the fight early and give Tory the win. Sam was forced to watch on as the girl who had been haunting her nightmares for 6 months beat the living crap out of one of her best friends. It definitely was messing with her head, but she couldn't let it get to her in the knockouts. Besides, what were the odds the two of them would end up facing off, right?
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Soon, the stage was set for the quarter finals. The 8 fighters who qualified had been established: Miguel, Hawk, Sam, Tory, Robby, Shawn, Kyler and Xander. The standard of fighters in this year's tournament was infinitely better than the standard last year. People like Sam, Tory and Shawn were fighting for the first time, and even veterans like Miguel and Robby were a million times better than they were last year.
Right before the beginning of the quarter finals, Michael, the All-Valley committee head, was sitting in his office. He was extremely excited for this year's tournament. It was the most packed the All-Valley Sports Arena had ever been, and the crowds seemed to be loving the prelims so far. He had in his hands a random quarter finals bracket, and he was about to go out and announce it to the fans and fighters, when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" He called. Walking into the room was the Cobra Kai sensei, John Kreese. Michael smiled. The man was always extremely polite and courteous to him.
"Hello, Michael." Kreese said as he walked over to Michael.
"Hey, man! Your dojo has been doing great so far! 4 fighters out of the 8 in the quarter finals are in your dojo! That's gotta be some kind of record!"
Kreese chuckled.
"Yeah, thank you. I actually had a favour to ask you." Kreese said, pulling out a sheet of paper. It was a bracket for the quarter finals that he had made the night before, knowing full well who the fighters in the top 8 would be. It provided Miguel with the toughest physical and emotional path to the finals possible, whilst simultaneously providing Robby with the easiest path. In addition, as an added bonus, it pitted Sam and Hawk against their toughest psychological challenges.
Kreese handed the paper to Michael, who looked at it, confused.
"I'd like you to use this sheet of paper as the bracket for the knockouts." Kreese stated. Micahel looked at him, puzzled.
"Mr. Kreese! I can't do that! It wouldn't be fair for the other dojos!" Michael exclaimed.
"Come on. As a favor to me and my students. My students have been through a lot. They deserve this."
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Kreese. There's nothing I can do." Michael said. Kreese chuckled.
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to make you…" Suddenly, Kreese lunged at Michael, grabbing Michael's arm in the same lock he had Tory's landlord in 9 months ago, and he took out his cigar cutter, looping it around Michael's finger, ready to slice. "Reconsider?"
Michael started trembling in fear, and he stammered to string words together.
"Okay! Okay! I'll do it! Just please don't hurt me!" He begged. Kreese smiled.
"I knew you'd come around." Kreese replied. "Thank you, Michael. Don't tell anyone about this though, because I have plenty of friends who can come finish the job for me if you do. Is that understood?"
"Yes, yes, understood! I swear, understood!" Michael begged. Kreese nodded.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some students to attend to…"
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At around 1 pm, it was finally time for the actual tournament to begin. Carmen and Miguel's yaya quickly shuffled into the arena, and Carmen watched nervously as Miguel, Hawk, Johnny and Jimmy lightly trained as they waited for the quarter finals to start as they wanted to keep Miguel and Hawk's bodies warm and their heart rates up.
"There he is!" Miguel's yaya exclaimed as she pointed at Miguel and clapped gleefully. Carmen wasn't as happy though. She was extremely nervous, more so than last year, despite the fact that Miguel was much more well-trained and prepared. Miguel's yaya noticed, and she chuckled. "What's the problem now?"
"I'm nervous. These are the same people who broke Miguel's back and shoulder! Why aren't you nervous!"
"This isn't like the school fight. This is a tournament. It is controlled." Yaya answered. "Relax! Miggy's gonna do great!"
At that moment, Amanda and Anthony sat down next to them, and Carmen smiled and nodded at them in greeting.
"Hey. Good luck to Miguel today." Amanda said.
"Yeah, good luck too to Samantha." Carmen replied.
"Hopefully this whole mess ends today and that monster leaves town." Amanda stated. Carmen laughed.
"Let's hope so." Carmen replied, before the two of them turned their attention to the mat, where the announcer Ron stepped onto the mat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 2019 All-Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament!" He exclaimed. "Wow! What a crowd we got here today! I hope all of you are ready, because we are in for a treat today! This tournament has everything! Without further ado, let me introduce the competing dojos. Firstly, from Reseda, it is the new home of our reigning, defending All-Valley champion. Coached by 1 of the only 2 double All-Valley champions, Eeeeeeaagggggleeeee Fang Karate!"
Miguel, Hawk, Johnny and Jimmy walked onto the mat. Miguel immediately spotted his mom and grandma in the stands and he shot a quick smile at them. His heart was pounding from nerves, but he was less nervous than he was before the prelims. The prelims were an excellent confidence booster for both him and Hawk.
"Next, fighting out of Topanga, Topanga Karate!"
Xander Stone and his sensei walked onto the mat, waving at the audience as they did. He was determined this year to become a 2 time All-Valley champ, but he wanted to do so PEACEFULLY.
"Next, fighting from Encino, California, coached by the only other two 2 time champ Daniel Larusso, give it up for Miyagi-Do!"
Everyone clapped politely as Sam and Daniel walked onto the mat. The rest of Miyagi-Do were watching from the stands, hoping and praying that their only student remaining won.
"Next, from Reseda California, our reigning champion dojo but under new ownership, the ever badass Cooooooobraaaaa Kaiiiiiii!"
"COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI!" The Cobras chanted as they sprinted onto the mat in their traditional Cobra Kai march. Kreese and Barnes led the pack, but strangely, Silver wasn't there yet. Jimmy turned to Johnny.
"Where's Silver?" He asked, nervously.
"I don't know." Johnny murmured back.
"I don't like this. I have a feeling he's up to something." Jimmy whispered. Johnny shook his head.
"You're being paranoid." Johnny stated. Jimmy shrugged.
"Maybe. I just can't shake the feeling…"
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"Diaz, listen up!" A guard bellowed at Miguel's dad, who quickly walked over to him in the prison yard. Standing next to the guard was the head of the prison.
"What can I do for you, sir?" Miguel's father asked. The man nodded at him.
"Congratulations. Due to your exemplary behavior and your excellent service in inmate work, you have been approved for a day out of the prison."
"I have?" Miguel's dad asked, putting on a face of mock-confusion. He knew exactly what was going on. Kreese had told him all about this.
"Yes, you have. I must say. I have had inmates get a day out for funerals, baptisms, but never their kid's karate tournament. You're lucky, Diaz. You have some serious backing coming from somewhere."
Well, yes he did. He had one of the richest businessmen in the country named Terry Silver offering to pump a ton of money into the prison if his day out was granted.
"Thank you so much, sir." Miguel's father said, smiling widely.
"Just remember the rules, Mr. Diaz. You have a guard with you at every step the entire day, and he is ready to cut your day short if you try anything. At the end of the day, you come right back here. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, now let's go." The guard told him, before cuffing Miguel's dad and walking him out of the prison, where a black SUV was waiting. The two of them got into the guard, and the driver turned to them.
"Mr. Silver. It's a pleasure." The guard said. He knew exactly who Terry Silver was. He was one of the richest men in the city and he had donated A LOT of money into the prison.
"The pleasure is all mine." Silver replied, before turning to Miguel's dad. "Now, you ready to watch your son compete?"
Okay, don't worry. Miguel's dad is NOT escaping from prison as I know some will be wondering. He is still going to be a minor character.