CHAPTER 173

RING!

So it begins! The bell rang loudly around the now completely silent arena, erupting it into raptures. The games were about to begin, and the audience didn't have to wait long before they were greeted with their first bit of action. Johnny shot out of the gate like a racehorse, lunging towards his opponent with a vengeance. Daniel was very nearly knocked out immediately, caught out by the sheer aggression that Johnny was charging at him with. He really wasn't fighting the slightly, slightly more controlled Eagle-Fang Johnny Lawrence that he had come to know and trust in the past year. No… this was Cobra Kai Johnny, the vicious, ruthless, merciless teenager who had butted heads with him all those years ago, but with all of the skills of having learned both Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do now.

It was a certainly a terrifying prospect to have to deal with for Daniel, which was why he was initially taken aback. That led to Johnny being allowed to send an undefended combination of punches in his direction. Thankfully, Daniel managed to block the killer blow, but Johnny's follow-up still connected with his jaw with a satisfying THUD!

Daniel stumbled backwards, clutching his jaw. Neither of them wearing any gloves or headgear, the Miyagi-Do sensei had been forced to feel every ounce of power in the blow. If he had been hit with Johnny's first strike, there was a good chance that Daniel would've been knocked out then and there, and Johnny knew that too, which was why as Daniel was sent reeling, Johnny charged once again with even more fervor.

This time though, Daniel was more prepared for it. He managed to block everything that Johnny unleashed upon him, and even managed to counter with some moves of his own. Daniel wasn't the largest or strongest man in the world. That was no secret. Physically, he was inferior to his opponent. But it had been the same against Silver, and he had still won. The reason why? Because Daniel was a wily old fox. He had an immense amount of experience, never having quit Karate in the way that Johnny had for 35 years, so he was able to almost predict everything that Johnny threw. Not only that, but he was helped by the fact that he even had experience fighting this Johnny Lawrence before, as it appeared to be the same emotionally-driven Johnny Lawrence in front of him now as it had been 40 years ago.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The counter that Daniel threw was a product of lightning-fast reflexes and incredibly intelligent fighting. Faking a low sweep, Daniel sent Johnny to block the sweep that never came, instead attacking the blonde sensei's head and stomach with three punches that sent Johnny stumbling back to the corner of the mat. Daniel had settled the score right now, there was no doubt about that. He had managed to squander whatever advantage that Johnny had gained in the opening minute of the fight, and instead shifted the momentum in his favor.

This exact combination of steps occurred for the rest of the first round. Johnny attacked; Daniel defended. Then Daniel countered and Johnny defended. It was like a game of Table Tennis, neither of them able to gain the upper hand for longer than a second or two. They were so evenly matched, even with the wildcard of flaring emotions in the midst, and both of them were all too aware that for this reason, there was a large chance that the fight would end up lasting for the entire 5 rounds.

RING!

Another bell rang, signaling the end of round 1. 5 minutes gone; potentially 20 more to go. That was unless someone managed to win the fight earlier than that. The two senseis walked back to their corners, their minds in two totally different places. Johnny was still a bundle of emotion and Daniel was still desperately trying to fight back his own feelings that were threatening to creep up on him.

Despite the fact that the senseis were given a full 90 seconds to rest and regroup, neither one of them were really listening to the sensei in their corner. They had been enveloped by the all-encompassing nature of the fight between them, so anything that Chozen and Barnes told them went in through one ear and out the other. The only use for the quick rest for them was to physically regroup and prepare for another wave of attack and defense respectively. There would be 4 more rounds of this, and both men knew that they weren't in the exact physical condition to be able to survive 20 more minutes of this intensity. It was in their best interests to knock each other out anytime before exhaustion kicked in.

RING!

Round 2 began… And as it did, something quickly became glaringly obvious to all of the Miyagi-Dos and Eagle-Fangs alike who were watching the fight, including Chozen and Barnes. Only Daniel and Johnny didn't realize what was going on, or rather what was lacking from both of the fighters. Johnny needed more defense; Daniel needed more offense. It was ironic. At this moment, Daniel and Johnny would have killed to have each other in their respective corners, as their opponent's speciality was exactly what was missing from their game. Two polar opposites, there needed to be a way for them to realize what they needed to do, because it was clear that whatever was going on right now, it wasn't working for either of them.

Nothing much happened in the 2nd round of the fight. It was more or less the same as round 1. Both of them took heavy hits, but neither of them came through with the breakthrough that they desperately wanted and needed to open the fight up in their favor.

Johnny wasn't even close to finding one. As he felt the fight drag on for longer and longer, he could feel his mind drifting more and more, being sucked in by his emotion and causing him to feel all kinds of extremely powerful feelings. He definitely wasn't the calm state of mind that would've been optimal when looking for a weakness when fighting Daniel. He swung at him more and more erratically, letting out a bellow of anger as he charged at Daniel for what must've been the hundredth time, Daniel still swatting him away with ease.

At times, it was like the audience weren't watching a fight between two fighters, but instead the battle of a bull and a matador. Johnny continuously charged at Daniel with his brute strength and power, while Daniel managed to side-step him and sting him in response with perfectly timed and placed shots of his own.

RING!

Round 2 was over. Another step closer to the end, with neither fighter any closer to knocking their opponent out than before. All the first 2 rounds had done was elevate the frustration and anger levels between them to a new high. Johnny in particular was fuming as he stormed back to his corner, Daniel equally livid. He thought that Johnny had changed. Johnny had proven himself in the past year to be more than just the bully he was back in the 80s. But as Daniel was stuck dodging and blocking every ferocious blow, pure menace in Johnny's eyes, Daniel felt more and more like Johnny had merely deceived him for the past year and a half and this was actually who he was. Once a bully, always a bully? Could that possibly be the case? He hoped it wasn't, because that would go against everything he believed in and stood for.

When Johnny returned to his corner for a 90 second break, he was in for a shock. There had been a modification in his corner. Not from a sensei's perspective, but instead from a student's. The 3 students - Miguel, Hawk and Tory - who had been standing in Johnny's corner throughout the fight - had been joined by a fourth student. One of Daniel's students had decided to venture to the other corner offer Johnny some feedback: none other than his son himself.

"What are you doing here?" Johnny snapped, annoyed, in the heat of the moment none too thrilled to see him. "I thought you left!"

"Yeah, well, turnabout's fair play." Robby shot back, not particularly pleased with Johnny's hostile reaction to see him and sending a low block his way in return, a slightly uncalled for one as he referenced the 17 years that Johnny had abandoned him for.

Robby sighed.

"I'm sorry. For saying that, not for choosing their side. I'm still Mr. Larusso's student and I don't regret choosing the corner I did. But I'm also your son and I want to help you." Robby said. "Look, dad, if you keep fighting in the way that you are, you're going to end up with history repeating itself. You're fighting like a Cobra Kai, and you know what happens when the Cobra Kai champion goes up against Daniel Larusso."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice. I didn't pick my opponent." Johnny remarked. Robby nodded.

"I know. But you're not helping yourself by fighting the exact same way you used to. All offense; no defense. It's not going to end well. The only way you can win like this is by a lucky shot landing. Otherwise, the fight's going to go to decision and he's going to win it, or he's going to find a lucky shot of his own." Robby told him.

"So what do you suggest I do?" Johnny asked him, genuinely looking for advice. Robby smiled faintly at him, eagerly awaiting the look on Johnny's face as he responded…

"Miyagi-Do."