CHAPTER 127

August 25th 2019. That was the exact day when Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do had come to blows in their qualification match for the Sekai Taikai, and had both been granted a spot in the prestigious global tournament.

Today, it was May 30th 2020. Exactly 9 months and 5 days since that fateful day in August, and it was finally time for battle to commence between the two sides, quite possibly for the final time. It had been a rollercoaster of a ride in those 9 months, filled with training, brawling and everything else the students could possibly think of. Relations between the two sides had ranged from steering clear of each other to actively trying to kill each other, bouncing back and forth to the various ends of the spectrum several times before they had finally arrived at this day.

They weren't in Japan. Not yet anyways. It was the night of the 30th, and the flight that all of the students and senseis would be getting on took off early the following morning. With this in mind, both dojos had called their respective students to a meeting to have some final words with them before they went back home and attempted to sleep, inevitably unsuccessfully due to the growing nerves.

The 6 competing Cobra Kai students, along with their two senseis, stood in the center of the Encino dojo that evening, the students standing shoulder the shoulder as all of them were thinking exactly the same thing: about how in less than 48 hours, they'd be in Japan, fighting in the tournament that they had spent almost an entire year preparing for.

"Alright everyone, listen up." Kreese demanded. Not that he needed to. The dojo was dead silent already, with all of the students too nervous to say a word. "I'm sure you all know, the flight tomorrow is at 8 am. I expect all of you to arrive at the airport no later than 5. So depending on where you live, I suggest you make the necessary arrangements from now to allow you to…"

"Scratch that." Silver suddenly interrupted his co-sensei. "All of you come to this dojo any time before 4:30 am. I've already arranged for a limo to pick all of us up from here and take us to the airport."

Kreese glanced sideways at his co-sensei and former ally for a moment, still slightly distrusting of the man beside him. Every move felt like a trap. He knew Silver, knew him better than anyone, and so he wasn't buying the fact that the man was simply back to play his part in taking down Miyagi-Do. There was an end goal in mind for sure. Kreese just wasn't sure what.

He had relayed his mistrust in the other sensei to his protege, and Marcos had been equally suspicious of the man's presence. From what Kreese had told him, and simply the vibe that the man had exuded… this wasn't just some innocent old man. The maliciousness within him could be sensed from a mile away, so Marcos very much had his guard up when he was around Silver, despite how welcoming Silver had seemed to be to him.

Kreese eventually nodded.

"Aright. You heard Sensei Silver. Everyone here by 4:30 sharp. If you aren't here by then, you're being left behind, and you'll never be allowed to set foot in this dojo again." Kreese stated. Silver nodded.

"Sensei Kreese is absolutely right." Silver echoed. "Representing this dojo in the Taikai… it's a privilege for all of us. We have the opportunity to be ambassadors for our style of Karate, the right style of Karate, on a global scale. We have the opportunity to take the way of the fist to heights it's never even been close to before."

All of the students nodded. The burden and the weight that came with representing the dojo was not lost on any of them. Even putting the bet with Miyagi-Do that dictated the future of their dojo aside, they would be thrust onto a global stage for the first time, there to be watched by thousands upon thousands of people. If they didn't do as well as they had been hoping for, they not only let down their teammates and senseis, but they had let down the entire style of Karate that they were advocating.

"With that in mind…" Silver continued. "I want all of you to remember that as soon as we set foot outside this dojo and head to the airport, we're representing this dojo. How we act, how we look, how we speak… it all reflects good or bad on this dojo. Which is why I've bought you all tailor-made suits, which you will all wear to the airport and during the flight. We're going to look presentable upon arrival… show the world that we're winners, before we even step on the mat."

With that, Silver quickly walked into the dojo's back office, before returning a few moments later with 6 boxes in his hands. Each jet-black box, with the Cobra Kai logo on top of all of them, had the name of who they were addressed to, and they contained a shirt, pants, black leather shoes, a tie, and a jacket with a small, discreet gold cobra pinned to the label. For the girls, they'd be wearing slightly different but equally formal clothing. It was clear from the moment the soft, undeniably expensive material touched their hands that Silver meant business. He was going to be pulling out all of the stops, cutting absolutely no corners in their journey to become World Champions.

"Now…" Kreese took over from his co-sensei. "You know exactly what's in store for you over the next two weeks. You know what we're trying to do. What we've been training for for almost a full year now. Well it's time to show the world who we are. Show them the way of the fist. And if we do that successfully, there's not a fighter on earth capable of beating us."

"Go home." Silver took over seamlessly from Kreese. For two feuding senseis, they still sure as hell made a great partnership. "Get some rest if you can. We'll see you all tomorrow morning."

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"I still can't believe you decided to move back in here." Sarah murmured as she looked around Marcos' apartment later that evening. She ran her hand gently along the walls of the apartment and, knowing the horrors that had occurred within a few months ago, they almost felt poisoned to touch. She couldn't believe that Marcos had even wanted to return for a day, let alone live there for the past month.

Marcos and Sarah were in Marcos' living room later that evening as he packed his suitcase for the tournament. It didn't take that much work to be honest, as Marcos had barely finished unpacking from when he had arrived from Brazil exactly a month earlier. All of his travel documents were together, his clothes already folded and the rest of his stuff was pretty easy to locate and throw into a bag.

"It's my home, Sarah. Nobody's taking that away from me. Especially not him." Marcos replied. That had been his method of attempting to get over the trauma from his father's abuse: simply powering through it. It hadn't been easy at first at all. He had kept his father's bedroom door permanently locked and had sometimes found himself curled up in a ball in the corner of his room at the slightest sound, fearing that his father had returned. However, slowly but surely, Marcos could feel himself breaking through the cruel grip of trauma. He was able to live through it all, and that in itself was a blessing. He was still here. He was still alive. And now he was surrounded by the most incredible people, including the girl who was standing with him in the living room.

"How do I look?" Marcos asked as he put on the customized Cobra Kai suit jacket, completing the expensive, all-black suit that Silver had made especially for him. 'Only the best for our champion', Silver had told him as he had given him the clothes that evening at the dojo. Everyone else was wearing a traditional black and white suit except Marcos, who had been given an all-black attire, the gold Cobra Kai pin on his lapel standing out even more.

Sarah looked up and saw Marcos dressed so formally and for a moment, she did a double take.

"Wow…" She murmured, unable to say anything else for a few seconds as she looked him up and down hungrily. Marcos raised an eyebrow.

"That bad?" He remarked. Sarah shook her head.

"No, no, no." She stammered. "You look… hot."

"Gee thanks." Marcos laughed. "I feel like an absolute fraud wearing this though. Feel like you need a certain income level to be allowed to dress in something like this."

"Is that why you insist on wearing nothing but athletic gear 24/7?" Sarah laughed. Marcos nodded.

"Come on. Look at me! I look like one of the phonies from your neighborhood! All that's missing is a gold watch and a private school diploma!" Marcos commented, staring at himself in the small mirror in the corner of the room. Sarah chuckled as she reached into the box labeled Oliveira and, as if on cue, pulled out a gold watch, tossing it to him.

Catching it easily, Marcos looked down to see what it was and he groaned.

"No! No! I'm not wearing it!" He exclaimed. "Not a chance!"

"Yes, you are!" Sarah responded, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a long kiss. "I don't know what you're talking about. You look really, really good in that suit."

"I look like an idiot!" Marcos argued. In his eyes, as he stared himself in the mirror, he looked like a sheep attempting to look like a wolf. This wasn't who he was. At all.

"You don't, Marcos." Sarah reassured him. "Maybe you just think they look bad because you feel out of place in them. Because to me, you look absolutely incredible."

She was right. Silver had selected the perfect suit for him. It wasn't as stuffy and formal as some of the other suits that the students had been given. It was all black, without even a tie for him to have to wear. It was simply a jet-black jacket, a smart black button-up shirt, a belt, pants and shoes. He looked smart yet dangerous. His muscles rippled gently against the folds of the suit. It was a great look, and Sarah genuinely didn't understand why he was so opposed to it.

"I shouldn't be wearing this." Marcos eventually said. "This isn't for people like me."

"Well news flash, sweetie… it's going to be. Pretty soon too. In two weeks' time, you're going to be the world karate champion. You're going to be a public figure, bigger than even a few celebrities. You're going to be well on your way to the UFC. This'll become a new normal for you. You just need the confidence in yourself to pull it off."

Marcos stared long and hard at himself in the mirror and he realized that his girlfriend was right. She was absolutely right. These fancy, expensive things… he had always pushed them away, not because he hated them, but because he knew that he could never afford anything like that. They were a constant reminder of what he and his family didn't have. But as he looked at himself, he realized that now that he had them, they actually weren't the worst thing in the world. Hell, he actually looked good! He looked like a man. No longer the young, poor boy from the slums of Rio he once was.

Turning to face Sarah once more, now finding himself much, much more comfortable in his skin, he smiled widely at her and kissed her.

"You're incredible." Marcos murmured into her lips as they eventually broke apart.

"I know I am." Sarah smiled at him. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Seriously. What would I do without you?" Marcos remarked. For a moment, both of them went silent for a moment as the same thought crossed their minds: they thought about just how downhills their lives had both gone in the few months they had been forced apart. Marcos in Brazil and Sarah in L.A… both of them thanked their lucky stars that Marcos had managed to make it back, as there was no telling just how shitty their lives would have ended up becoming had they not reunited. Neither looked to be getting over the other anytime soon, that was for sure.

Given that Marcos had already finished packing his suitcase, the couple found themselves making out and stumbling towards the bedroom before Sarah eventually stopped him.

"Stop. We can't." She murmured. "I have to get home now. My parents wanted me home for dinner by 8 as it's the last night before we leave for Japan. They invited you too if you want to come."

Ever since Marcos' return to the Valley, Sarah's family had invited him over for dinner almost every night. He was like a son to them, and when they had found out about the fact that he was currently living alone in his apartment, they had insisted on him eating at their place every few days, 'to get at least one good meal in him' they told him. And who was Marcos to decline that offer? The offer of amazing food in the company of truly, truly good people. He knew that even that was a blessing that he couldn't belittle, as he had seen first-hand how quickly it could go away.

"Dinner at your parents' place?" Marcos remarked. "I'd love to."