CHAPTER 145

The night was almost over. It had felt like it had lasted an eternity with the emotional turmoil and roller coaster they had been through, as well as the physical strain it had taken on all of them. Thank God that tomorrow they were given a break day in preparation for the round of 16 the day after. A rest was much needed for all of them after the incredibly intense 48 hours it had been.

There was one thing left to do though before they could leave the arena and return to the accommodation: the round of 16 draw. All 16 qualified fighters from each division were instructed to stand at the front of the mats, facing the wild audience, as the commentators of the Taikai read out who they'd be fighting in 2 days time.

In the round of 16, unlike other rounds, the matchups were already seeded and predetermined, so there wasn't a random draw like there would be in the quarters and semis. Another bonus for the Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kais: given the way that the prelims had shaken out, none of them would be up against each other in the round of 16. That didn't mean that they weren't against greatly skilled opponents from vastly experienced dojos though. It just meant that they managed to make it another day without the rivalry rearing its ugly head.

After the official announcement of the round of 16 was over, the fighters and senseis were all dismissed and told that the buses were waiting to take them back to Hogwarts. But before they left, Daniel turned to address his entire group of Miyagi-Do students.

"Alright everyone, listen up. I know after we get to the facility, we're probably not going to see each other until tomorrow morning so I'm going to say this to you all now." Daniel said. "I just want to say that I am so, so proud of all of you. Of everything you've all achieved just in the past few days alone. Every single one of you managed to win at least a couple of fights in your first time ever competing in this tournament. Many of you fought opponents who trained up to a decade longer than you have, and yet you still managed to take the fight to them and sometimes win. That's truly something to be proud of for all of you. You stepped out of your comfort zones, pushed yourselves further than you thought you could go, and look at the result. Let me be the first one to say that no matter what happens after this point, we've already won."

"That doesn't mean that there's not room for improvement though." Barnes chimed in. "You all put on a fighting clinic, especially today, but there are things that we can certainly improve on. Things we'll need to improve on if we want to go all the way and win this thing. I noticed a few things myself and I know that the other senseis did too. It's going to take training our asses off between rounds, even at times when you guys feel dead-tired and want to just lay down and relax."

"Daniel-san and Mike-san are right." Chozen added. "You all did amazing today. You've all done Miyagi-Do proud by just showing up and honoring our dojo, win or lose. But I'm sure all of you still fighting want to win this thing. That's going to take a lot of hard work from all of you. See, we didn't come close to the top in any of the 3 divisions in the prelims. There are people better than us right now in all divisions. But that doesn't have to stay that way. If we work hard, we have the potential to be better than all of them."

"But not tonight." Johnny continued. "You are all probably really tired after the past 2 days of fighting, so you're excused from training for tonight. Go rest and recharge for the round of 16. I heard there's some party for you guys back at the castle too. Enjoy yourselves, but be prepared to work your asses off tomorrow."

"Exactly. The other senseis have said it perfectly." Daniel agreed. "We're either lucky or unlucky, depending on how you see it, not to have to fight a Cobra Kai in any division in the round of 16. But luck doesn't last forever. Soon, it will be solely up to skill to push us through to the next round and the round after and eventually the final. We need to be ready for all of that. But tonight… go have some fun! You've earned it!"

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And that's exactly what the Miyagi-Dos did that night. Johnny was right when he mentioned that there was a party back at the castle. Apparently, it was a tradition that occurred every year on the night the prelims ended: because they wouldn't be fighting in the round of 16 until 2 days later, the competitors took advantage of the opportunity and threw a massive party in the castle's outside grounds. Bringing in alcohol was technically against the rules of the Taikai, but the committee organizers always turned a blind eye that night, as they knew how much it meant to all of the competitors. Not only was it a night to have some much needed fun after all of the stress of the past few days, but it was also an opportunity to meet a bunch of new people. And nothing bonded 2 strangers like the power of alcohol.

The Miyagi-Dos were no strangers to house parties and the like, but just like everything else here at the Taikai, things were a whole other level. In the center of the main courtyard of the facility was a bonfire, already raging by the time the teenagers returned home from the arena. And as all of the competitors made it back too, the number of people surrounding the bonfire in the area expanded greatly, until there were hundreds of people all there - almost every single competing young adult was present. Unless you physically had eyes on the people you knew, it was almost impossible to spot them amid the throngs of manic, dancing teenagers and young adults, all of them fueled by beer, vodka and more.

Most of the Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kais dived right into the partying from the moment they arrived back at the compound. However, two of them didn't make a beeline for the ice boxes of alcohol like the rest of their friends. They hung back a little, and shortly after, made eye contact. The two people, whose tumultuous relationship was more layered and complicated than one could imagine, decided to walk over to one another and take a seat a little bit further away from the bonfire and partiers, sitting on the top of a hill that overlooked it all.

One Cobra Kai; one Miyagi-Do, sitting together in perfect harmony, two of the few people who weren't casualties to the infectious rivalry and hatred between their two sides. Unlike the rest of the teenagers at the party, the two of them held bottles of water in their hands, rather than other more mind-affecting liquids.

"You're not drinking?" Marcos asked, questioningly, pointing at Robby's bottle of water. Robby shuddered slightly and shook his head.

"I don't drink." He replied. Even though Robby didn't elaborate further than that, Marcos knew exactly what Robby was thinking about. Robby knew the sheer damage that alcohol could cause, as he had been forced to watch it rip apart both of his parents, two people he loved so much. And Marcos only knew that because it was the exact same feeling for himself: watching his father descend into a drunken, abusive state was something that was burned into his memory for the rest of his life, and was enough to never allow a drink to ever be placed in his hand again.

"Me neither." Marcos said, not questioning Robby any further than that. "Not that you'd probably believe me after how I acted at Moon's party a while back."

It took Robby a few moments to remember, but eventually as he recollected the events of a few months ago, around 6 months to be precise, realization dawned on him.

"Oh yeah." Robby chuckled. "That was right before we fought, right? At the canyon with Hawk?"

"Well… it was the third time we fought I think." Marcos remarked, before shaking his head. "Wait, no. That's wrong. Third time we fought was in February, just me and you, and then the whole brawl happened after. First time was at Coyote Creek. So it must've been before the second time we fought I think."

"We've fought a lot." Robby commented drily, causing both boys to chuckle. That much was true. It felt like they had fought a hundred battles in the past year. While Robby and Miguel's rivalry had been spread over multiple years, everything between Robby and Marcos had occurred in a much shorter span of time, so was a lot more condensed and felt a lot more heavy for that reason.

"Well, here's to hoping we fight one more time." Marcos said, raising his bottle as he referred, of course, to the grand final of the Sekai Taikai. Robby laughed as the two boys clinked bottles.

"I don't know about that. I think Miguel and Hawk might have something to say about that one. Shawn too." Robby pointed out. Marcos shrugged.

"Come on, man. I love Shawn. And I know Miguel and Hawk are great fighters. But let's be honest… it was always coming down to the two of us. Mark my words"

Robby shrugged.

"Don't underestimate them, man, or the final could easily become between Miguel and I or Hawk and I, with you watching from the side." Robby warned him. Marcos nodded.

"Trust me, I'm not. The worst fighter on your team, no disrespect to him, managed to score on me today. And I got absolutely whalloped around in some of my other fights, even the ones I won. I'm not underestimating anyone." Marcos remarked. "Congrats, by the way, in making the round of 16. Don't think I managed to say it earlier."

"Yeah, you too." Robby replied.

There was a long, comfortable silence that overtook the two of them for a while as they stared at the party and the bonfire that was raging below them. With the insanely tough childhoods both had been through, the fact that they made it here, to a mind-blowingly lavish castle in Tokyo, competing in a global karate tournament, surrounded by people they loved… it was absolutely surreal.

"You know what I kinda regret?" Marcos suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence between them. Robby turned his head slightly to face Marcos beside him again.

"What?" Robby asked.

"With all of the fights we've had against each other, we've never gotten to actually fight alongside each other." Marcos pointed out. Maybe it was the exhaustion talking. Maybe it was the relief of making the knockouts. Whatever it was, it was breaking down Marcos' walls and making him admit things that he probably wouldn't normally admit to his opponent.

"That's not true. I think we fought together once after Coyote Creek, that night when you tried to recruit me to Cobra Kai." Robby corrected him. Marcos remembered that night and nodded.

"Come on, though. That doesn't count. Those were just a bunch of stupid goons." Marcos said. "I'm talking like a proper fight that we get to fight alongside each other for."

"Well how about this? How about we make a deal?" Robby suggested. "After the tournament, no matter the result, when we go back to the Valley, we train together once for fun. Maybe we can even get Miguel and Hawk too and have a bit of a 2 vs. 2 going. We can finally fight on the same side for once."

Marcos smiled faintly and nodded.

"You have yourself a deal."

Little did the two teenagers know that in less than a month, they would indeed be fighting alongside one another, fighting on the same side. However, it was in much, much grimmer and darker circumstances than either could've possibly imagined…