CHAPTER 172

After the Rock's introduction, there was a short break before the action officially started. It was a break that was DJed by none other than the iconic dutch DJ Martin Garrix, but unfortunately the competitors didn't get to enjoy the mini concert that was being put on. Instead, they returned to their back rooms to get ready for the matchups that were about to begin.

The first fight of the night was a big one. To be honest, all 3 of the matchups were big ones, but this one in particular was colossal. It was Johnny Lawrence vs. Daniel Larusso. A repeat of the 1984 All-Valley final, although this fight was an all-Miyagi-Do fight, that didn't take away from any of the unpredictability and tension going into the matchup.

That wasn't just from an audience's perspective either. Even affairs amongst the two fighters/senseis were extraordinarily tense, more fractious than they had been in years now. But this was always going to be the case. They were mere minutes away from fighting for the biggest prize in the world of Karate. Fighting against their eternal rival no less. There were bound to be fireworks, that was for sure…

The split down the middle of the Miyagi-Do dojo occurred from the moment they retreated to their waiting room, ready to be called to the mat for the first fight. As soon as they walked in, Johnny segregated himself to the corner of the room, away from Daniel and the rest of the group, closing his eyes and shadow boxing with his face to the wall. He wasn't even going to look at Daniel right now. He knew that if he did, emotions would immediately boil over. A combination of misery from their first matchup; fury from all of their in-fighting and arguing that occurred for years before their eventual team up; as well as desperation to get his hands on the Taikai trophy and claim the win over the Miyagi-Do student that he should have gotten 40 years ago… all of these emotions stewed inside him like a pressure cooker, threatening to burst forth.

The tension in the room was palpable. It was tangible. With the fine enough blade, you could probably slice through it with a knife. The students stood around awkwardly, unsure of what exactly to do, as they watched their two senseis revert back to the hungry, determined teenagers they had been in 1984, ready for a second round of their iconic All-Valley final. The temperature of the room rose with every passing second, creeping close and closer to a boiling point. And that boiling point did indeed come before any of them had set foot on the mat…

"Can Daniel Larusso and his corner please approach the arena entrance tunnel now?" A clear voice echoed through the intercom system in the Miyagi-Do waiting room, calling for Daniel, the sensei coaching him, as well as any students who would be supporting and advising him from his corner.

Daniel walked towards the door, closely followed by Chozen, who was the sensei designated to coach Daniel for his big final. It was then time for any student that wished to be on Daniel's side to support him during the fight to follow Daniel.

Each of the students would be picking a corner to watch the fight from: either on team Daniel or team Johnny. While initially this hadn't exactly been something on the forefront of any of their minds, with all of the built up agitation in the room between the two fighters, it seemed like a much bigger decision now. They were effectively choosing which of their students they liked more, and given the returning animosity between Daniel and Johnny, seeing who each student chose had the potential to pour gasoline over the fire.

"Alright, who's going with who?" Daniel asked, before turning to the group of 6 students, who were watching all of this unfold anxiously.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Larusso. I'm staying here with Sensei Lawrence." Miguel was the first to speak up. That wasn't much of a surprise to anyone. Miguel was Johnny's boy, through and through. It was only right that he would be there for Johnny, just like Johnny had been there for him time and time again.

"I'm coming with you, dad." Sam was the next person to declare her side of the line. Although she thoroughly enjoyed training with Johnny as well, Daniel was her father. He was the man who had been there for her for 17 years. Nothing in her life would've been possible without him. Blood was certainly thicker than water, at least for the Larusso family, so it was almost a no-brainer for her to side with her father.

"I'm staying here too." Tory spoke up, signing her allegiance with Johnny. Honestly, Tory would've rather stuck with neither side as since her defection, she hadn't connected with either sensei nearly as much as Chozen. But given that that wasn't possible, out of the two senseis, she decided to follow her former Cobra Kai sensei to his corner.

"Me too." Hawk nodded. This was a tough one for him. On one hand, Miyagi-Do had helped lead him to an All-Valley championship, one of the greatest moments of his life. But on the other, going back to Eagle-Fang had allowed him to enjoy the thrill of offense so much more than simply defending, which was why he also decided to side with his former Sensei.

"I'm going with Mr. Larusso." Demetri announced. By the look on Johnny's face, it didn't seem like he was too cut up about that. However, he was about to be hit with a shockwave as he turned to the only person in the room who hadn't pledged their allegiance just yet, and had stayed completely silent as all of this had unfolded.

"Robby?" Johnny snapped, looking at his son questioningly. Robby's eyes flickered back and forth, Daniel to Johnny, over and over again. He couldn't make up his mind for an eternity. He wished more than anything that he didn't have to make this decision, but he didn't exactly have any other choice. Eventually, Robby sighed and gave his answer…

"I'm sorry, dad. I'm going with Mr. Larusso."

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History was repeating itself. In so many more ways than just 1. For starters, less than 10 minutes later, Johnny and Daniel found themselves standing face to face on a mat, ready to fight for a championship for the first time in 4 decades. But their bout in 1984 hadn't been the only time they had seriously exchanged blows. As they stood in their respective corners of the mat, the sound of the crowd diminishing to mere silence in their ears as they tuned out everything around them but their opponent, their minds also casted back to the second time they had thrown hands in a somewhat official manner: their spar in the dojo a few months before the 2019 All-Valley, the fateful night where they had ended their partnership for what they thought was permanently.

It felt like this fight, the Sekai Taikai final, was a mixture between the two fights. They were fighting for a championship, what they believed to be the most coveted prize in the world, just like they had been in 1984. But there was more to it than just that. Similar to their most recent fight, jealousy and animosity had broken free in the mind of the blonde man, particularly as he saw Robby dressed in his white Miyagi-Do gi, standing in Daniel's corner, ready to support him during the fight. It had been Miguel last time, and Robby this time. Although both men had definitely grown, developed and learned plenty since their previous encounters, being put in such an emotionally overwhelming situation had led to them slipping back further and further until they were their teenage selves once again.

Daniel was the boy who had been harassed, bullied and assaulted on numerous occasions by his now opponent. He was the sensei who had been forced to watch his students get hurt, watch his daughter nearly get murdered, due to the lessons that Johnny had been teaching his students at the time. He needed to show Johnny, needed to show the students, needed to show the world that Miyagi-Do was the right way. Mr. Miyagi had been right all along with his philosophy and his teachings, and the only way to prove that would mean snatching the title out of Johnny's grasp and lifting the trophy in the air himself.

Meanwhile, Johnny was once again rendered the 1984 All-Valley runner up. The boy who had been knocked out by undeniably the most iconic kick in All-Valley history. The boy who had lost everything to Daniel: his title, his girlfriend, his dignity. It had taken Johnny 4 years to get over the loss - hell, he still wasn't over it - because it hadn't just been a matter of losing the 3 points. He had lost everything that night. And now, as he prepared to exchange fists with Daniel once more, 4 decades worth of resentment came rushing back, filling his lungs with a fire that could only be quenched by knocking Daniel out and winning the fight.

As the two fighters stood on opposite sides of the mat, they received final words from their respective senseis.

"Calm. Breathe. Relax." Chozen instructed Daniel. "I know you want to win. I know you have a history with Johnny. But you need to let go of that if you want to apply the Miyagi-Do lessons properly and win this fight. Karate is for defense only, but you must not be afraid to attack at times, or eventually he will overcome your defense and you will have nothing. You must not let him control the fight. Yes?"

"Yes." Daniel nodded, closing his eyes and allowing his heart rate to steady to a normal pace, if that was even possible. He forced himself to ignore the gravity of the situation. He forced himself to ignore all of the unknowns, like the fact that he had never fought an official fight with this ruleset. All he knew, all he forced through his mind was that this was a karate fight on a mat with Johnny Lawrence. Effectively, that was all it was. Nothing more. And Daniel knew what it took to beat Johnny. He could do it again.

In the other corner, Johnny prepared to start fighting too. He did not say a word to Barnes, nor to any of the students in his corner. He was still completely silent, something very much unlike him. He allowed all of the emotions inside of him to swirl around. 40 years. 40 years he had been waiting for this. 40 years he had been waiting for a chance to even the scoreboard on Daniel Larusso, who had walked away from that All-Valley with everything, while Johnny had found himself with nothing.

So much anger coursed through Johnny's body as he hopped from foot to foot, ready to begin. There was so much resentment towards so many people. An overwhelming resentment towards Daniel; resentment towards Ali for choosing Daniel over him, just like Robby had just done now and Miguel had done the previous year; resentment towards Kreese; resentment towards his stepfather, Sid; resentment towards his mom for keeping his biological father from him; resentment towards Silver. All of the emotion bubbled in a cauldron deep inside his gut. He was winning this thing. He needed to win this thing. And he wouldn't accept any other outcome.

All of a sudden, Johnny was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the referee calling them over to clarify rules. The fight was about to begin…

A/N

The first final is about to start! So happy to finally have managed to make it here! I think I've got an idea of who wins this fight, but this is the only fight that I actually haven't confirmed it yet as I've been flip-flopping back and forth between the 2 fighters. Who do you think is winning this one?

Arguments for Daniel - Miyagi-Do is supposedly the "right way"; Daniel is the Karate Kid himself; the whole point of Johnny's 'redemption' is that losing in 1984 doesn't define him so him having to win to complete his redemption negates that fact

Arguments for Johnny - he hasn't beaten Daniel yet in the movies, the show or this story; would be the perfect cherry on top for his redemption; shows that without Cobra Kai bringing him down, he is capable of so much; he has finally gotten to the point where he isn't a villain because he isn't a bully and he's made right with Robby

Neutral arguments - both of them have won 2 championships so it's not like 1 fighter has been completely dominant over the other; neither character's arc is defined by winning anymore - both have priorities that are their families rather than winning trophies

Am I missing anything important?