Skara was in her family's home gym and stood in front of her wooden training dummy as music played in the background. She soon got into her stance and began to practice her strikes on the dummy's arms.
"My world has fell apart 'cause you don't love me no more, How can I face life, when you're all I'm living for." The song sounded in her ear as she continued her workout. She continued to think back to everything that had gone on in the last few months.
The memories of what Boscha had done flashed through her mind. Her bullying and beating up just about anyone that challenged her, that fight with Masha, and her and the others constant harassment of Luz. It all hit her at once as she hit the training tool harder and harder. She was against every single thing that had happened and yet, she was an accomplice to it all.
Lucy was right about one thing. Skara had convinced Boscha to join Cobra Kai as kids because she saw a lot of the redhead in herself. But Skara did give it all up. She tried to be forgiving and get along with others, even if she felt they wronged her at some point. Boscha didn't and yet, she never tried to distance herself from the girl. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't. She thought maybe, just maybe her friend would listen.
The longer that she stayed with her and tried to get her to stop what she was doing, the less effective it seemed to be. As long as she kept hanging around Amelia, Cat and the others she was never going to get better with them always whispering in her ear to do whatever she felt like instead of what was right. And now Boscha had seemed to cut her out all together. "Why couldn't she just listen?" She thought to herself. "Why couldn't she just stop and see what she was doing and how it was affecting everyone, including herself, including Skara her best friend? Except, she wasn't Boscha's best friend. Boscha was hers, but not the other way around and that sole fact infuriated her.
"...I know I've got to find, some way to make you change your mind. Baby don't turn me away. Please hear what I say. 'Cause I love you, I love you." The songs chorus rang out as Skara repeated Boscha's earlier feat and snapped the arm clean off in her anger. Her arm didn't fair as well as the other girls and the jagged would had cut the back of her forearm. She didn't seem to care about that as she collapsed to her knees. Holding onto the remaining arms for support, she rested her head against the wooden structure as tears rolled down her face.
It took her time to collect herself before wrapping her wounded arm and headed outside for a moment. She pulled out a lone cigarette from her pocket. One was easier to explain to her parents if they found it, that someone from school had given it to her. Much safer for her then risking getting caught with a pack or heaven forbid a carton under her bed or in a drawer. Just one and only when she really needed it. Though she hated to admit it, that need was becoming more and more common.
"You know, you could walk a bit further from the house. It'd help hide the smell." Skara froze as she heard her father, Alexander's voice. She looked and spotted the man coming outside to her in his robe. "Trust me, I was using those way longer than I should have."
"Dad, I..." Skara stuttered nervously.
"It's okay. You aren't in trouble. And I won't tell your mother." Her father assured as he got closer. "So, how did you get started?" He stood next to his daughter as the two stared out into the night.
"I never meant to for it to be like this. I'm just so stressed out..." Skara admitted as she took a puff and blew out smoke.
"With Boscha?"
Just hearing the name in her current mindset was enough to set her off. "Yes! I try and try but she barely listens to me!" She began to pace around her the man as she blew up. "And when on the off chance she does listen? Oh boy, here comes Amelia, Cat and Sensei Mechant telling her to do everything other than what I say! And who does she listen to? Not me, that's for sure!" Her outburst caused her to take another puff as she tried to unwind from that tirade. Skara stopped as she felt her father's hand take a hold of her wrist, which caused her to look back to the man who had concern on his face.
"Just relax." The woman told her.
The teen looked back to her father as tears had formed in her eyes and she came back around in front of him. The two locked eyes for a moment before Skara dropped the cigarette and fell into his arms as he hugged her and rested her head on him "I don't know what to do." She sniffled out.
"You have to have some faith in Boscha." Alexander told her as the two continued to embrace. "She has some bad influences in her life. If anyone knows how hard it can be to change, it's me. And you know how bad I was. Sometimes it honestly makes me sick to think about it. And if it wasn't for your mother and you, I don't know where I'd be right now."
"I didn't make that easy for you." Skara admitted. "All I could think about was the way you were, and not the way you came back."
"Well, I certainly didn't give you good reason to believe." He told her. "But I'm glad you did. Skara, I know things are hard right now." He gently caressed his daughter's head. "I don't have all of the answers but I'm worried about you. You are stretching yourself thin. I understand you care more about Boscha then you do anyone else, but all the same, it shouldn't come at the cost of your own well being, not to this extent. You can't keep going like this."
He put some space between them and put his hands on her shoulders. "I know she's your friend but the time may come when you have to make her decide what's important. If your mother hadn't forced me to do that by leaving with you, I don't think I would have ever realized what I really wanted was you both. That's what made me look to change and maybe that's what Boscha needs too."
"I can't give up on her." Skara whispered. "I can't." The teen said it out loud, but deep down she had to wonder: Could she? Should she... for her own good?
After her "talk" with Lucy, Skara hurriedly excused herself and went outside to get a breather. She stepped out near the parking lot and looked around to make sure she was alone before she reached into the band that kept her hair tied back in a ponytail. The teen pulled out a slightly bent white and orange cylinder and held it between her pointer finger and thumb before pulling a single match from her pocket. She scratched the latter against the side of the building and used the now light match to light the cigarette she placed in her mouth.
The gray haired girl stood there for a while and took several drags on the cigarette as she breathed several sighs in frustration. Skara didn't like doing this. She told herself that after this tournament was over, this would be the last time. Of course, she said that after last years All Valley, New Years the year before that, at Amity's birthday when Boscha made that whole scene and about a dozen times in-between. After all this time and everything she had been through with the redhead, this was just about the only thing that helped calm her down in the slightest. All she needed was a few minutes alone to relax, away from Lucy, the roaring crowd and... Boscha.
"Skara?" The girl squeaked as she spun around, the cigarette still in her mouth as she spotted Viney there. The gray haired girl almost spit it out when she saw her friend. "When did you start this?"
Skara got defensive as the El Chacal student approached. "Don't. I don't need a nurse maid. I just... need a minute, okay?" She paused for a moment before addressing the other girl's presence. "So...how did the match go?"
Viney chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. "It was a shutout. 3-0. She's... gotten a lot better."
"Better or worse is up for interpretation." Skara said as she leaned against a wall.
"Meaning?" Viney asked. This caused the other girl to remove the cigarette and stare down to the ground.
"I brought Boscha into Cobra Kai because I thought it would help. But now I think it was just me wanting to connect with someone who was as angry as I was back then. Then I changed. But Boscha? It just seems like over the years, everything just got worse. Now, she won't even listen to me. She's fine being a bully, she's fine with someone getting hurt as long as it doesn't affect her. Heck, she's fine with beating someone half to death!"
"What?!" Viney exclaimed in utter confusion as she watched Skara slide down and sit on the ground. The brunette sat down next to her and put a reassuring arm around her friend. "Listen Skara, I can't tell you what to do...but maybe it's time for you to find your own way and let Boscha find hers." This caused Skara to look over in confusion. "You both have your own lives to live. She's her own person, has to make her own decisions for better or worse."
"What do you mean?" Skara asked.
"I mean, look at yourself. You're bending over backwards to help her, and what has it gotten you? It's wearing you down." Viney told her as she got back to her feet. "I'm just saying, you can only bend so much before you break." She let her friend be alone for a while as she went back inside.
Skara simply sat there, staring out into the parking lot as she took another puff on her cigarette. A moment later she yanked it out of her mouth and held it in her fingers, looking at the object in disgust before flicking it away.
Back inside, the last of the boys semi-final matches was taking place, pitting Marvin Masters against Dragon Fang Karate's Marco Diaz. "Diaz is really showing his defensive skills, folks! Masters has not been able to land a shot yet!" Perry said excitedly over his mic as he and his two guest commentators watched on. Marvin threw a barrage of punches to hit his opponent, who dodge everything the boy could hurl without moving from his position.
"Unbalance him, Masters!" Lucy shouted as Marvin went down to sweep the legs out from under Diaz who finally stepped back and out of range. The blonde tried to hop back to his feet only to receive a swift forward kick to his chest that knocked him on his back as Marco quickly closed the distance.
"Point! Diaz! Score is 2-1 for Diaz." The ref said as he gestured for both boys to get back to positions.
Marvin was breathing heavily from the last kick as he got back into his fighting position as he looked back to his foe. He tightened his fists and prepared himself. Outside of the opening strike he had scored, nothing seemed to be able to crack the defense once Diaz got it up. His conventional moves weren't working. With that in mind he quickly glanced off to the side and spotted Clara Strauss standing and talking with her teammates. This gave him an idea.
"And fight!" Marvin made the first move and opened with two forward kicks with Diaz quickly blocking the first and back stepped from the second. That was all Marvin needed as he remembered the moves he'd seen the cheerleader utilize in her matches. He performed a cartwheel forward before turning into a somersault over Marco's head, surprising him as the Dragon Fang student went to spin around only to receive a kick that scored to his stomach. Diaz looked surprised, as did Clara who had to admit that for a first time that wasn't a bad execution. "Point! Masters. Score is 2-2."
"That was an impressive performance." Perry said from the sidelines.
"That it was. It was definitely an unconventional move by Masters, who seems to have a few tricks up his sleeves. Certainly something I can relate to." Gus said as he flicked his wrist and a card appeared in his right hand.
"Nice." Bria said in a casual voice.
"Next point wins." The ref signaled for the two to continue as Marvin charged forward and threw a side chop to the head that Marco blocked and then leaped back.
"Come on, Marco. Show him what you've got!" A girl with blonde hair said excitedly from the stands.
Diaz stepped back and began to perform a short kata as Marvin was a bit thrown off by this. "Get the point!" Lucy ordered as Marvin edged forward and threw a hard right hand that Marco parries with his left, forcing the attack up. The Dragon Fang student then swiftly swings up his right hand to strike under his opponent's right arm. As Marvin staggers back from the strike, he finds that his right arm has gone limp. The blonde looked up in stunned silence as did his team. He then launched a left that Marco again blocked and countered with a repeat shot under Marvin's left, rendering that arm useless as well. With both hands numb and hanging down, Marvin was defenseless, yet launched a high left kick that Marco blocked and pushed off to the left. This caused the blonde to spin around as he lost his balance only to come back around to face Marco as the latter launched a single scoring punch to the stomach and knocked down the Cobra Kai disciple.
"Point! Winner, Diaz!" The crowd cheered as Marvin managed to get up, the feeling in his arms having returned as he rubbed them.
"Dude, what was that?" Marvin asked as he bowed to Marco. "My arms were like, totally useless."
Marco returned the bow. "Secret Dragon Fang Tang Soo Do move." Marvin nodded as he left off the mat to the disapproving glance of his sensei.
"And with that, Cobra Kai's chances of winning the tournament is done." Perry announced as Bria looked in amazement with Marco's technique.
"That was one heck of a fight and Diaz really showed some great moves out there. But now Diaz will meet with Joaquin Vidal of Locust Valley Karate in the finals." The girl said with excitement. "That will be a fight to see given both boys skills."
"I'm sorry, sensei." Marvin said as he bowed before the woman.
"Yes, you are." She said as he flinched from the comment before joining his other friends.
"And now for our last quarter final match of the girls division, we have Luz Noceda of Clawthorne Karate vs. Amelia Birch, unaffiliated." The announcer said as he stood on the center of the mat.
"Remember kid, this isn't about revenge. I know she broke your hand but just stay focused. Breath and stay focused." Eda told Luz who stared out at the mat with a steely resolve.
"Yes, Ms. Eda." Luz looked over to Vee who had a nervous look on her face. "Any advice, little sister?"
Vee merely stared across at Amelia who jumped up on the mat and began to walk to the center. "Run." Luz had a raised eyebrow in concern. "She knocked the wind out of me with one punch. I was up two points and that's all it took to beat me. You let her hit you with that and trust me, you aren't getting back up."
Luz nodded and headed up on the mat as she and Amelia faced off. The girl with the shaved head opposite her stared down to the Noceda teen. "I'm gonna enjoy breaking your other hand." Amelia whispered with a smirk, though the other girl didn't seem to be phased. "Nothing to say? Well, at least I got a rise out of that loser, Vee." She added, this time causing Luz's brow to furrow slightly. They separated as the two stepped away from each as the referee gave them instructions.
"And fight!" He called as Amelia swiftly lunged forward with several heavy shots. The aggressive heavy attack forced Luz back and forced her off of the mat. "Out of bounds. Out of bounds." The ref announced as Luz came back and got some calls of encouragement from her friends as the two walked back to the starting positions.
"Come on, Luz. Don't let her intimidate you." Amity called from her spot near Vee and Eda.
"Fight!" Amelia again launched a barrage of punches but this time, Luz stood her ground and parried the shots before landing a solid hit to the girl's midsection. She was alarmed however, when Amelia didn't even flinch from the strike. "Point, Noceda."
The former Cobra Kai student smiled wickedly as they got back to the starting points, but not before Amelia shoved Luz back. "You're nothing, Noceda." The ref gave her a warning before getting them back into positions. The fight resumed as Luz surprisingly leaped forward with a series of punches of her own, fed up with the taunts and actions of this girl already. Amelia slipped to the left and used her leg to trip Luz, who fell face first to the ground. She hopped up quickly as the other girl swung wide but heavy punches that again forced Luz to step back and out of range.
Amelia continued to throw punches but stopped and launched a side chop with her right hand. Luz reached out and grabbed the hand to prevent it from scoring on her. She barely held it back as Amelia's new strength was impressive. Luz was forced to block another strike from her opponent's left hand with her right and locked both hands in her grip. The two held the stance near the center of the mat as Amelia attempted to overpower Luz and the latter tried her best to hold her back. Amelia moved her right leg and slipped it around back of the other girl's left to keep her from moving back.
With no option to move anywhere, Luz knew it was only a matter of time before her foe's superior physical strength won out. It was with that in mind that she did the only thing that could help to overpower the other girl. Luz turned her gaze up to Amelia with a shimmer in her eyes and a redness in her cheeks. "I think I'm in love." She said with a passion that completely threw the taller girl off as she blushed in surprise. The distraction worked as she eased up on her grapple and it was enough for Luz to work around her leg and trip her backwards onto the mat before she punched her in the abdomen again.
"Point. Noceda." The ref called.
"...with your technique." Luz finished as she walked back to her starting point. Amelia angrily punched the mat before getting back up.
"Score is 2-0, Noceda."
"You're going down." Amelia said as she got into her fighting position.
"And fight!" Amelia exploded out again as she was no longer playing with her food and begin to throw tighter punches. Luz blocks or evades each one before Amelia throws a sweeping kick that the former ducks under. This was all she needed as the opponent waited spun fully as Luz was coming back up and connected a solid straight left hand, square into her chest. With the months that Amelia had spent at home, honing that punch on the heavy bag for hours at a time, she knew it would only take opening each opponent up once to deliver a blow that would put them away. Now, it landed.
Luz's eyes widened as she felt what Vee must have as she staggered back and went down to one knee, gasping for breath. "Point. Birch." The ref said as Amelia walked back to her side, confident it was over.
On the outside, Vee was shocked as she clutched her chest tightly. At the medical station, Camila had her hands over her mouth, hoping that Luz would be alright and readied herself to provide any aid she could. Amity likewise looked concerned as Lucy stood by with a small smile, impressed by Amelia's one-hitter quitter style.
"Time!" Eda said as she rushed onto the mat and knelt down to check on her student. "Luz? Luz are you okay?"
The girl responded with shallow breaths as she was struggling to keep upright so as not to have the match immediately called off. "Eda...I can't..." She tried to force out the words only to be hushed by the woman who placed a hand on her chest.
"Listen to me. Calm. Down. Control. Don't panic, just ease it out." Eda instructed as Luz closed her eyes, drowning out the rest of the world around her as she relaxed.
"I can do this." Luz said to Eda's shock.
"Kid you don't have to. She knocked the wind out of your sails."
"I can do it." Luz reassured.
Eda sighed but smiled lightly. "Okay, but you can't take another one of those." The girl lifted herself to her feet as the woman rose with her. "Keep moving and stay away from her."
"Noceda, do you want to continue?" The ref asked as Luz gave a nod, much to the mixed shock and joy of her friends and family. Eda reassured her once more before leaving the mat. Amelia, who was knelt down, looked over and got back up on the line to finish the fight. If one didn't finish her then a second would end it all. "Score is 2-1, Noceda. Fighting positions. And fight!"
Luz, knowing she still didn't have her lungs fully back on her side knew she couldn't trust herself to stand toe to toe and hope to defend herself and quickly back peddled away from Amelia who was looking to land that one punch to finish her off. She launched punch after punch in hopes of scoring on Luz who was not offering anything back, just buying time to get her breath back. Amelia had no intention of simply letting the clock run down and soon had Luz trapped in the corner of the mat. The chase, Luz now realized was a mistake as she had expended her remaining energy reserves on fleeing and only had two options: Either go out of bounds, which would put her back to square one in the center of the ring and let Amelia pick her off there or make her last stand right her with one move to end it.
She opted for the latter as Vee yelled for her to go out of bounds. Eda placed a hand on her shoulder and looked to her reassuringly. "Your sis has got this, kiddo." Her words seemed to calm the blonde as she watched in silence. Amelia threw punch after punch as Luz weakly dodged each of them, with some getting way too close for comfort. Once she saw the time was just right and Amelia was in the proper position, the Noceda girl slipped a left and stepped outside of the girl's left foot. This allowed her to spin around her back to the full mat and make one all or nothing move. She leaped backwards and just as Amelia turned to catch her, Luz launched a single right hand punch midair that hit her opponent square in the face.
"Point. Winner!" The ref raised Luz's hand in triumph as everyone cheered, Gus at the commentators table giving some of the most animated cheers much to Bria's amusement.
Amelia held her face, her nose now bleeding as she got up slowly, looking at Luz who stared right back. The Noceda thought for a moment and decided to walk over to her and offered her a hand and helped Amelia up. If she wanted to believe in what Skara said, then she decided it might have been best to first offer the branch of peace. "Great fight." She said as she pulled the other girl up.
The girl with the shaved head looked to her in confusion. Amelia was hesitatant before she took Luz by the right hand and raised it in the air as everyone cheered. "I was wrong. You do belong here. I'm sorry." She gave Luz some space and the two exchanged bows before she began walking off the mat and out of the arena main floor.
Cat took notice of this and began to walk to catch her. "Leave it." Lucy ordered with cat looking back at her in anger, ignoring her and racing after her friend.
"What a match that was. And with that Luz Noceda advances to the semi-finals." Perry said as the mat was cleaned for the next fight.
Outside, Amelia held a towel up to her nose to soak up the blood. "Hey." She turned to see Cat looking to her with concern. "You alright?"
Amelia was quiet for a moment before responding. "Yeah. Shouldn't have broken that hand of hers. That right hit like a hammer." She joked, though Cat wasn't laughing and Amelia picked up on that. "Okay...I get it. I messed up. I shouldn't have done that to Luz and I wouldn't have gotten kicked out of the dojo."
"Is that all?" Cat asked incredulously. She sighed and looked back to her friend. "Amelia, ever since what happened to you, I've been thinking... about everything that we've done to Luz and everyone and it wasn't right."
The other girl wanted to argue but after remembering the beating she took, she couldn't argue after that experience. If that one moment was even a fraction of what they had put the other students through, then maybe she deserved everything she got. "Then I guess I know what I gotta do." She turned and grabbed her shoes and headed for the locker room.
"Where are you going?" Cat asked as she followed.
"If I'm going to make this all right, I got to pay the piper." As she turned around she bumped into someone and stopped before her eyes stared upwards to see a large woman from the paramedic team and looked at her name tag that read "Cutburn". Next to her the two girls saw their classmate, Celine.
"That's her, Aunt Hettie." The eye patch wearing girl pointed out.
"So. You're the one who picked on my niece?" The wall of a woman said as she stared down the girl.
"Yes." Amelia said hesitantly. "And I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry Celine, for all of it. We were jerks. Me especially and I know there's only one thing that I can do to make up for it all."
Celine glared at the girl for a moment. "Meaning?"
Amelia sighed. "I was the one that broke Luz's hand. So, I'm turning myself in for what I did." Amelia's words caught all three of them off guard. "If I gotta do a some time behind bars and some community service then that's the least I deserve." She turned and headed for the locker room to grab her things as cat raced up to her.
"I'm coming with you. I didn't have your back before. I won't make that mistake again." Cat said to her.
"What about your match? It's coming up in a few minutes." Amelia reminded her of the match against Skara.
Cat shrugged it off as they continued to walk outside. "Eh, I wouldn't have beaten her anyway."
Celine and her aunt watched as the two girls disappeared from view. The woman snapped her fingers before pulling out a scalpel. "Dang! Didn't even get to threaten her with this baby. Just sharpened it, too."
"Aunt Hettie, I love you, but sometimes I wonder how you got a license to practice medicine." Celine admitted with a bit of concern in her voice as they made their way back to the tournament floor.
On the mat, Skara waited patiently as the calls for Cat Griffin continued as some of her teammates searched, unaware that she had already departed. As everyone waited, Luz stood by with her team as they talked among themselves.
"So... was I the only one that noticed what happened with Boscha?" The Dominican girl asked as the other two looked to her.
"I don't know. I think she just got distracted." Clara responded. "Not that it mattered the second I capitalized on it, she made me pay. It still hurt."
"But not as much as that punch would have been, though." Luz pointed out as she continued to stare over to the redhead who stood by her sensei. Her cheerleader teammate merely rolled her eyes and left the arena floor for a bit.
Vee was still silent about all of this but decided to chime in. "Either way, it doesn't change what she did."
"I know it doesn't, Vee." Luz noted. "At the same time, maybe this is what Skara was trying to tell us. Maybe there is more to Boscha than just this karate jerk. You have every reason to think the contrary but if there is a way to end all of this for good, we need to at least realize that she's not a monster." The small speech seemed to quiet Vee, who folded her arms in frustration, still not full convinced but having nothing else to add.
"It looks like Cat Griffin is not going to fight." The announcer said. "With that, Skara Booker earns a trip to the semi-finals where she will face off against Luz Noceda. But before that we have our first semi match, Boscha Hargreaves of Cobra Kai vs. Amity Blight, unaffiliated."
Skara walked off the mat, a bit surprised that Cat had missed out on the fight. She reasoned it clearly had something to do with Amelia and the two had most likely headed out. While she didn't mind, the seeming betrayal didn't sit well with their sensei.
Meanwhile, Amity had headed back to grab some water and prepare for the match which would take place in five minutes. She noticed Boscha who was already at the fountain to get a drink. The scowl on her face grew as she made her way over and the redhead took notice of her. "You don't have to do this." Amity told her as the other girl turned to face her, first with surprise and then with anger.
"What do you want, Blight?" Boscha asked as Amity approached.
"To try to save you the embarrassment you're going to suffer and tell you to just forfeit." The Blight girl said.
Boscha smirked at this. "What's wrong, Blight? Afraid you're slipping? I saw your last match and how you got hit. Face it, you're slipping and I'm only getting better."
Amity shook her head and looked as she listened to the girl's boasting. "You really believe that? You really believe that you can win? I have to say that is the saddest thing I've heard. That's one of the reasons we never clicked on a personal level. Your absolute ability to live in your denial." Amity stepped up closer to the girl until they were almost chest to chest, her golden eyes seeming to threaten to burn through Boscha's. "You never could admit to the reality of the situation, even now when you have no chance to win."
Boscha's eyes began to shutter, her body shaking and droplets of sweat beginning to form on her face as she tried to keep up her tough facade. "You-You don't scare me, Blight."
"Of course I do." Amity said with a smirk. "I always have, one way or the other. You were always afraid, either of me or displeasing me because you knew I might leave you behind. And even after that, you still are. You know why? Because despite all your bravado, you're still that same little girl alone in the corner, crying her eyes out because of a name. Oh, what was it again?"
Tears began to well up in Boscha's eyes as she continued to try and keep eye contact with Amity which was quickly failing. "Don't." She begged as she closed her eyes tightly.
Amity surprised her as she cupped her cheek with a gentle left hand. The redhead looked to her in surprise at this act of seeming compassion. "Yeah, there she is. Little Boscha 'Three Eyes'." Hearing this shocked Boscha as Amity's look of concern turned into a menacing glare. "I'm going to give you one warning. Stay out of my way. Unlike you, Luz and I are actually fighting for something, not some dumb trophy or our own self gratification. That is something you'll never understand. So if you don't want to get hurt, tuck that pointed tail between your legs and scurry off. Got it?" She removed her hand and didn't even bother to get the water she initially came for.
Boscha merely stood there, sweating bullets and tears streaming down her face. She slowly reached a hand up and slipped it under her headband, nervously rubbing the skin beneath it. Her body leaned back against the wall as she began to breath heavily and sunk down to the ground. The sound of children's laughter filled her ears as she placed her hands over them to shut it out, her teeth clenched tightly.
Back on the arena floor Amity came back with a stoic look on her face as she waited for her match to be called. She fully expected Boscha to back out after that dressing down. It wasn't like she couldn't take the Hargreaves girl, but if there was one thing she learned from her mother it was this: Why handle a problem when you can sidestep it all together? In addition, if Luz couldn't defeat Skara, it would be best to come into that fight fresh.
"Now onto the first of our semi-final matches in the girls division. We have Boscha Hargreaves of Cobra against Amity Blight, unaffiliated." Amity walked onto the mat, shooting a look over to the Cobra Kai team that had all but been eliminated from the tournament. Boscha was finished mentally. As for Skara? The Blight was confident that the girl wouldn't prove to be a problem for her. That is if she got passed Luz. Amity had to admit she hadn't seen Luz fight for real but she had seen her putting in the work every so often with Eda's rather unconventional training.
All that being said, everyone waited as the call went out for Boscha, causing many to look around and whisper when she didn't show up. Skara and even Lucy herself were confused as to the whereabouts of the top student on the team as the judges gave her five minutes to arrive on the mat. Many of the other members were looking around the arena for Boscha as Amity simply knelt down and waited for the time to run out.
"I wonder what's keeping Boscha." Luz said as she stood on the sidelines.
"Who cares." Vee stated as she looked on. "She probably knew Amity would be too much for her and chickened out."
"Or not." Eda said as they spotted Boscha coming out with a few of the other Cobra Kai students with her.
Skara was shocked to see that the girl's eyes were red, clearly from crying as she went over to her. "Boscha..." She was interrupted as Sensei Mechant approached.
"Where have you been?" She demanded to know of the redhead as the other students backed away.
Boscha hesitated to answer before looking up to the woman. "I had an...issue." She said simply.
Lucy looked to her in displeasure at almost missing her fight time. "I hope you at least sorted things out."
The redhead looked on the mat to Amity who had her usual apathetic look about her. Boscha sneered in her direction as she walked forward. "Yes, sensei. There's no problem anymore." She hops up onto the mat as her opponent meets her in the center. The two girls stared each other down as the referee gave them the instructions.
"Well, I gave you an out and you are going to regret not taking it." Amity said though Boscha said nothing and returned her intense stare.
"Face me. Bow." The ref said as the two followed the instruction. "Face each other. Bow." Neither girl followed the second as they continued to stare each other down. "I said bow." At the insisting of the man, the two gave light bows before getting into their respective fighting stances.
"Fight!" Neither moved initially, seeming to be gagging each other for several seconds. Boscha suddenly exploded out of the gate, throwing about a dozen or so punches that Amity deflected before stepping off the line to the left as her opponent gave chase. The Blight girl then dug in and began to slip and evade punches until Boscha launched a kick. Amity grabbed her foot mid-kick and swept Boscha's other leg from under her before rushing in and bringing down a powerful kick to the latter's midsection. "Point, Blight." The ref called as Boscha still wore a displeased scowl.
The two girls went back to their starting points as the redhead looks furiously at Amity who is poised and ready. "Don't let her get inside your head! Use what's inside." Lucy told Boscha as the fight continued. The girl exploded forward once again as the violet haired girl again back stepped out of range as the Cobra Kai girl launched vicious kicks. Amity dropped down and went to sweep Boscha off of her feet mid kick. The attack succeeded as the other girl once again slammed her back on the mat and the Blight raced to score the point. Her effort was thwarted as her fist was caught by Boscha who swiftly kicked off her chest and resulted in Amity hitting the mat herself.
The two quickly go to their feet, with Amity this time taking the offensive with a three piece series of punches that Boscha blocked and then came back with a flurry of punches of her own before launching a kick that connected to the side of Amity's right arm. The power of the strike took the violet haired girl by surprise as it shifted her whole body. Another followed behind it and connected to her head and knocked her down. "Point, Hargreaves." The Blight teen held the side of her face in surprise as her supporters were silent for a moment. Even Odalia had nothing to say, her mouth wide with shock. "Score is 1-1"
Boscha's expression never changed from the angered look she was giving Amity as the two squared off again. This time Boscha opened with a series of kicks, all targeted toward Amity's right side as the girl blocked some and did her best to evade others. The redhead never let up and continued to attack that side as she recalled the training dummy that she had worked on with Sensei Mechant. The training had gone day after day and had done much in increasing her leg strength and subsequent kicking power. She reasoned that as long as she held this range and kept up the ferocity of the attack, it would ware her opponent down.
A spinning kick eventually connected to Amity's right arm that sent a jolt of pain through it as she reeled back. Boscha saw her chance and then leaped in with a powerful forward kick that Amity parried with her left hand. Her opponent came back in with another barrage of kicks that hammered her right side again, the Blight now looking visibly concerned. She had never before faced such a strong attack, and from Boscha of all people. Amity moved to block another strike, which was all she could do at the moment before the kick struck her wrist joint and she staggered back. Seeing the opening, her opponent launched a side kick aimed, not at a scoring zone but her shoulder that struck her hard and knocked her on her back as she cried out in pain. "No point. Shoulder, no point."
The girl slowly clutched her right shoulder as she knew something was wrong, as did Luz and the others. She did her best to get into a fighting stance before Boscha charged back in, Amity doing her best to cover her right side as more kicks came in. She eventually slipped inside to avoid the long range assault and used her good arm to push her opponent back and leaped forward with a kick. The attack was block and Boscha lunged forward with a series of punches and then a spin kick that again connected to the other girl's shoulder. The pain seized the Blight girl again and Boscha used the opportunity to come in with a hard right to the body. "Point, Hargreaves." The girl sneered down at Amity, who clutched her shoulder tightly and looking up at her enemy. Time was called by the ref. "Medic."
Boscha shook her head at Amity as she walked back to her side and knelt down, closing her eyes as Camila and Hettie came out and checked her shoulder. "I'm fine. I'm okay." The girl protested as the two medics looked at her shoulder.
"That's for us to decide." Camila said calmly but sternly as the pair took her to the medical station and looked her over.
Hettie pressed two fingers against the shoulder that caused the girl to wince in pain. "It's popped out of place." She said simply.
"Can you fix it?" Amity asked to the shock of Camila.
"Young lady, you need to get yourself to a hospital and get this looked at right away." The Noceda woman told her.
"Please," Amity said as she fought through the pain to get up only for Camila to hold her back. "Don't stop it. Just give me a chance. Please."
Hettie looked to her and nodded. "I can do that."
"Hettie?!" Camila declared in a confused anger.
"It's only a temporary fix and it'll hurt like hell but I can do it." Hettie said as Amity silently agreed to whatever it was. Camila looked at her partner with disapproval as the other woman placed a firm hand on Amity's shoulder and pressed hard as a sharp pop was heard. The girl bit down hard as a sharp pain jolted through her but it died down just as soon as it came. "There, I popped it back for the moment but if it gets hit again, we'll stop it. Understood?" The girl nodded as they let her back up and let the ref know the situation.
Amity got back on the line as Boscha was called back. "Enjoyed your little break, I hope. You've got another one coming real quick." She said as Amity was still clearly in pain.
"Score is 2-1 for Hargreaves. Fighting positions." Boscha got into her usual stance as Amity made sure to keep her right side back and away from the danger. "And fight!" Boscha again came in with several roundhouse kicks aimed to the right side of her enemy as Amity made sure to evade those kicks, keeping her right arm tucked close to her body. One forward left kick came at the Blight girl which she then knocked away with her left hand before the redhead spun around and launched another before Amity caught her foot and shoved her back. Boscha fell back onto her butt as Amity stood in her defensive stance ready for the next attack.
Boscha got to her feet and charged forward with a flying kick. Amity had seen this coming and charged all the same despite her injured shoulder. Both leaped into the air, aiming to score the point. Amity was a just a bit better positioned as she scored the kick to her opponents chest. The two girls crashed to the ground with Amity being sure to land on her left to save her other side from further punishment. "Point, Blight. Score is 2-2. Next point wins."
Amity managed to get back to her feet while Boscha laid on the ground, punching the mat. "Get up! Get! Up!" Lucy yelled at her. The redhead looked to her and got up. She closed her eyes and remembered what Amity had said to her the days after the alley fight, the months prior to this tournament, her showing Boscha up in the dojo and especially the Blight trying to destroy her resolve minutes before the fight. She opened her eyes and focused as the fight was called to proceed.
The two girls circled each other before Boscha leaped forward with another kick as Amity evaded to the left. The redhead gave chase, hurling punch after punch with the Blight girl blocking and parrying with her left. Boscha launches a kick aimed to sweep the legs out from under the other girl only for the violet haired girl to step back and evade the kicks. One of the kicks delivered ended up connecting to the side of Amity's left ankle, the blow causing her to lose balance and stagger. She ended up unwittingly turning her back on Boscha who was in the process of throwing a punch, the heavy blow hitting the girl in the back of the head. Amity cried out as she collapsed to the canvas, holding the back of her head in pain. Everyone in the arena jumped up in shock as they looked to the downed girl.
The ref halted the bout and called the medics back in. "Unintentional foul. Go to your sensei." He ordered Boscha, who stood over Amity.
"Get up, Blight! Get up!" Boscha yelled at the girl as the ref pushed her away.
"I said go to your sensei!" He said as Camila checked on the girl while Boscha stomped back to her side and knelt down.
"Due to that foul, Amity Blight will be given five minutes to recover." The announcer informed the crowd as the girl was tended to.
"Amity, stay still." Camila said calmly as she looked to the girl who had tears streaming down her face. "That's it. We're calling this."
"No. I can still..." Amity weakly attempted to protest with no success as the referee accepted the medic's calls.
"Due to her injury, Amity Blight has been deemed unfit to continue by the medical staff. The judges have also decided that the blow to the head was indeed unintentional and so Boscha Hargreaves will be allowed to continue. That secures her a spot in the finals." The announcement caused a chorus of boos from the crowd as Boscha watched with disgust as a stretcher was brought out for Amity and she was wheeled out. Unlike the redhead, the crowd clapped and cheered as the violet haired girl was taken out of the arena floor.
Boscha jumped off the mat angrily as several attendees hurled items at the girl. "Excellent work Ms..." Lucy attempted to say as Boscha pushed passed her.
"Not now!" She said angrily as she ran out into the hall. Boscha pressed her head against the wall as she gritted her teeth. This was not the way she had wanted the fight to end. She wanted to crush Amity with her own merit, not like this, with her victory seen as tainted by everyone. With that she could only feel cheated and somehow she was angrier than ever as she looked up to the walls of the hall which were lined with the framed pictures of the former champions. The girl looked through them all before coming to Amity's second year victory. She looked to it as the girl in the picture seemed to stare back at her, same as the real one. One anger fueled kick was all it took to smash the image as it crashed to the floor. Around the corner, Lucy kept herself hidden as she watched the entire ordeal.
Luz and her friends raced after them as did Willow and Edric while Odalia, still hidden in her overcoat and scarf, waited at her seat, her expression hidden beneath the garb and glasses. The group found themselves in the medical office as they waited for the ambulance to pull around. Amity merely laid on the stretcher as she stared up at the ceiling, the pain having subsided enough to talk. "Sorry for letting you down, Luz."
Luz innocently smiled and shook her head. "Forget that. I'm just glad you're alright."
"Yeah, sis. You kicked butt out there." Edric said. "You were really taking it to her."
"If Boscha hadn't cheated you'd be the winner. Those judges are blind for not seeing that." Willow said, her arms crossed in anger.
The sound of someone clearing their throat caused everyone to turn around to see Odalia, having removed her sunglasses and the scarf covering her mouth. "Ah!" Vee shouted, much to everyone's surprise. "MILF! I mean, Mommy! I mean...hello Mrs. Blight. You look lovely today."
Odalia wore her regular apathetic expression. "In light of earlier events, I'm going to let that slide. I would like to speak with my daughter in private."
The others slowly began to leave one at a time, saying their goodbyes and well wishes to Amity. Vee was the last to leave as she had an embarrassed blush on her face, walking by Odalia who looked at her as she left out. "Well...I hope you got what you wanted." Amity said, not even bothering to turn her head to her mother.
"Oh Amity, don't pout. It's very unbecoming." Odalia told the girl whose brow furrowed in anger.
"Go ahead and rub it in, why don't you? I lost and I'm a woman of my word so you got your wish. I'll go to whatever stupid school you want and run the family business. You get your way like always." This outburst caused Odalia to roll her eyes.
"Amity, Amity, Amity. You really disappoint me. If you bothered to remember our agreement, you said if Cobra Kai won the tournament. Last I checked there was still one other non-Cobra Kai fighter in this tournament so our deal isn't complete." Odalia's explanation of the verbal contract shocked her daughter who looked over slightly to the woman. "If you can't recall your own contracts, maybe you aren't cut out for the position. Now that I think about it, Edric has been showing a lot of interest in taking over and I have to admit that he is much more accomplished than I initially thought."
"I..." Amity began to say as she couldn't find the words. "Mom I..."
Odalia sighed as she walked over closer and held Amity's hand. "Amity, I can't...I can't begin to apologize for how I've been acting. I don't expect you to forgive me but I just want you to know how sorry I am. After your father and sister..."
"I know mom. I know." Amity said as she squeezed her mother's hand. "I talked to Edric and he told me everything. Things...may take some time but I do want to try and make things better between us." She felt tears begin to dot her hand as she looked up and saw her mother crying, a smile on her face. The woman got down on her knees and stayed beside her daughter as she just let out her feelings.
Back in the arena, Luz was trying to clear her mind to prepare for the upcoming match between her and Skara as the announcements were made. "Be careful out there." Clara told her. "You can't trust these Cobra Kai jerks no matter what they say."
"Do you have to be so cynical?" Luz said as she stretched. "I believe Skara is telling the truth and that's all there is to it. I know you have your issues with Cobra Kai but they aren't all bad."
"Fine. I guess I can agree with that...for now." Clara admitted as she stood by.
On the opposite side, Skara was likewise getting herself ready. The girl looked over to Boscha who was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. "Ms. Booker." The girl turned back to see Sensei Mechant approach her. "I hope you're ready."
"Y-Yes, sensei." Skara answered hesitantly as the woman stood in front of her.
Lucy looked across to Luz and then back down to her student. "I want her out of commission."
Skara's eyes opened wide as she looked up in shock at the woman. "But sensei, I can beat her."
"Did I ask you what you could do?" The woman asked forcefully.
"But I'll be disqualified!" The gray haired girl protested.
Lucy sighed as she locked eyes with the girl. "And here I thought you were Boscha's friend. Well right now she needs a friend to help her. So why don't you be a friend and get her a win?"
"No! She doesn't need to win like this!" Skara said. "I-I won't do it!"
Lucy had a disapproving look as she again placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You know, I always thought you were far smarter than all the other students. You remember what happened to Amelia. I'm certain you aren't so foolish as to disobey my orders as well, are you?" Like before, she began to exert force on the girl's shoulder, causing her pain.
"No...No, sensei." Skara said in minor discomfort.
"Out. Of. Commission." Lucy ordered as the girl looked to the ground and gave a shameful nod. "Good. Now go."
"Next up we have Luz Noceda of Clawthorne Karate vs. Skara Booker of Cobra Kai." The two girls stepped up to the mat as Luz met her opponent in the center of the mat with a big smile.
"Don't take it easy on me just because it's my first time." Luz joked as Skara conversely had a nervous look on her face as the two bowed to the referee and then to each other.
"Fighting positions." The ref instructed as Skara looked back to her sensei who had a look that told her what would happen if she went against her wishes. She turned back to Luz as she sweated. "Fight!" The two squared off as they slowly circled each other. Skara had learned a lot of Luz's movements by watching her matches and knew what to do, even if she didn't want to in the slightest. She saw her opening and leaped forward with a flying kick that the other girl though was targeted to her body and shifted to the right. The attack was of course a misdirection as Skara's kick connected to the side of Luz's left knee.
Luz collapsed to the ground in agonizing pain as her leg fell out from under her. Camila looked shocked as she and Eda both began to go to the girl. Skara looked at her work in horror and raced over and knelt down to the girl. "Luz? Luz? I'm sorry, Luz! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, Luz!" She begged and apologized profusely.
"Get away from me!" Luz cried before the ref pulled the other girl off her. Her mother and sensei were by her side as the medical staff carried her out of the arena on the stretcher. The announcer then addressed the crowd.
"Due to that illegal kick, Skara Booker has been disqualified. Luz Noceda will be given ten minutes to return to the mat." He said as everyone cheered for Luz and booed Skara. The latter walked up to a stone-faced Lucy and stared her down. Still glaring at the woman, the teen undid her black belt and removed it and her gi top, exposing the sleeveless t-shirt underneath. She crumpled the two up and threw them at her former sensei's feet before storming passed her and out of the arena.
The girl had no idea where she was headed but she was not staying here any longer. "Skara?" She turned to see Boscha looking at her in confusion. "Where are you going?"
Skara scowled at her friend. "I'm done. With all of this."
"Why?" Boscha asked her. "Noceda's out of the tournament. We won." She said with a smile.
"No, you and Ms. Mechant won." Skara corrected. "I hope you can live with that kind of victory."
Boscha was even more confused now. "What are you talking about?"
"She told me to take Luz out like I did." The gray haired girl told her as Boscha's eyes opened wide and she slowly began to shake her head. "She ordered me to do it and I was too weak to say no to her. I let her scare me into doing what she wanted and look what happened."
"What does it matter? Noceda is done and now she knows that we're the best."
Boscha's upbeat tone only reinforced what Skara was feeling. "Do you even hear yourself? Wake up, Boscha!" Skara's harsh tone and elevated voice caused her friend to step back. "Don't you get it? Sensei didn't think you could win."
"That-That's a lie." Boscha looked at her in disbelief at hearing it.
"Boscha, it's the truth. She didn't think you could beat Luz on your own so she made me take her out of the fight so you could win."
The redhead's eyes were wide as her face had a look of disbelief. "No, she believes in me! She wouldn't do that. You're just saying that because you're jealous."
"Jealous?" Skara looked taken aback by the accusation.
"You've seen what I can do now that sensei is training me, how far I've come. And it's all because I used my anger instead of listening to you and just letting it go. Ever since that day you've been weak and all you want to do is bring me down to your level."
Skara was visibly hurt by this but she stood firm. "Boscha, listen to me. That's not you talking, it's Ms. Mechant. She doesn't care about you."
"Stop it, Skara." Boscha ordered but the other girl refused.
"The only thing that matters to her is victory and she doesn't care who gets hurt."
"I said stop it." The redhead's voice elevated as she was quickly becoming more irritated.
"Not Luz, not Amelia, not me and not you. You're just a means to an ends."
"Shut up!" Boscha had reached her limit and her anger caused her to slap Skara across the face, the force knocking the other girl to the ground. It didn't take long for the Hargreaves girl to realize just what she had done as she looked down to the other girl. "I...I..."
Skara was silent for a moment as she felt her face. She looked up to the other girl still who had a look of guilt and confusion. "They always called me smart but I was so stupid, because I started all of this. I should have never taken you to Cobra Kai. Back then I was so angry and full of hate. When I met you I knew we were the same and that Cobra Kai was what you needed to get a hold of all that rage."
The girl slowly rose to her feet and approached the other girl. "But I was wrong about all of it. I realized that all of the hate I had for my dad and then for my mom for letting him back into our lives it was nothing but a waste. The only person I was hurting was myself. I should have left then and there...and I should have taken you with me." She took Boscha by the hands. "But I'm asking you now. Just forget this..all of it and let's leave. Forget about Luz and Amity and all this anger and let me help you. Please."
Boscha looked down to her hands. As she did, all she could think about were her sensei's words about the girl in front of her and without warning yanked her hands away. Skara looked up as Boscha had a disapproving scowl, her gray-blue eyes giving an intense stare. "All you've ever done was hold me back... and I don't need you anymore."
Skara's heart nearly skipped a beat at hearing this before she turned her head away from Boscha. "I guess that's it then. I didn't want to believe it, but they were right about you...and about me. I wasted so much time thinking you'd change. And you won't...not even for me. But I always knew why and I could never admit it to myself."
"I guess I never could figure the why of it. Amity. You always called her your best friend for whatever reason. "Why, when I was there for you when your dad died, when you had all those fights with your mom? Amity never wanted to be a part of your life and yet you always put her over me and everyone else, despite everything I did for you." She waited for a reply that never came.
"I sacrificed so much for you, even at the cost of my own happiness and I can't do that anymore. Now I see that you don't want to change and I can't waste the best part of my life holding out for the chance that you will." Skara turned and began to walk away. She then paused for a moment. "If you think this means I don't care about you, you're wrong. But if you keep going down this path, keep playing with fire, you are going to get burned. And despite everything, I love you too much to watch that happen."
Boscha stood there for a moment with the same angered look on her face before she reached up to her forehead again. Unlike all the other times before, she pulled off the headband and to Skara's shock, threw it on the ground. "You can have that back. Never meant anything to me anyway." Boscha turned and left back into the arena. Once she was gone, the gray haired girl, tears forming in her eyes slowly walked over and picked up the discarded item before taking her own leave.
I sadly didn't want to do it but I had originally worked out a short fight between Luz and Skara before the kick happened but cut it as I didn't feel like Sensei Mechant's aggressive "persuasion" would let the latter get that far.
If you didn't already know, Skara is the Bobby Brown of this story and I even included the deleted scene concept where he throws down his belt at Kreese's feet. I felt this is something that Skara has wanted to do for a long time. The song I picked for her to train to is "Don't Turn Me Away" by Glady's Knight and the Pips. I felt the title and lyrics describes the point in Skara and Boscha's relationship that they are at.