Sky was the winner of the semifinals.

Against all odds, she had kicked Miguel's ass and scored a victory, and Hawk couldn't have been more proud, but at the same time–

This means I'm gonna have to fight her in the finals. And I can't do that. I fucking can't.

Hawk's eyes followed Sky, as she walked through the doors to a hallway that led to the locker rooms. They had a small break before the finals, and Sky had said she needed to go to the bathroom and grab a Gatorade, leaving Hawk here alone with a million things he would have wanted to say to her, wondering if they'd have time for a chat before the finals.

His wandering thoughts were interrupted, as he noticed Miguel walking toward him. In a heartbeat, he forgot all about wanting to talk to Sky, all his worries about the coming finals, and the only thing he could think about was how his fist was going to meet Miguel's face–

He was fucking gonna kill Miguel for what he had done to Sky!

Rage twisted his features, as he slammed his hands against Miguel's chest and pushed him so that he almost fell down.

"Hawk, what the fuck–?"

"That's for Sky," he spat out, clenching his fists, ready to strike. "You fucking asshole."

"Hawk–"

"Do you even realize what you did?" he snarled, the acrid taste of anger making him lick his lips. "She almost got another episode!"

"Yeah, but she didn't. She won." Miguel replied, backing away from him, but Hawk followed, his fists still clenched so tight that the nails dug into his palms.

"I'll fucking kill you for this," he hissed, tasting the rage on his lips.

That made Miguel's eyes widen, as if he only now realized how he felt. As if he only now realized what it had done to him to see Sky being hit like that, to see the pain in her eyes, the fear, the agony–

"Calm down! I knew she could take it!"

"How the fuck would you know that?"

Miguel swallowed, his eyes avoided Hawk's gaze. "Because… we've been training together. For some weeks now."

That felt like a punch to his gut. Like a fucking arrowhead through his sternum.

"What did you say?" he barely got the words out.

"You heard me," Miguel replied, very clearly. "Sky came to me and asked me to train with her, to hit her in that shoulder - every fucking day for two weeks. So yeah, I knew she could take it. It was a long shot to think I could beat her anyway."

Hawk felt like he couldn't breathe.

Sky had gone to Miguel?

For two fucking weeks? And every time Hawk had asked where she was and she had given some vague answer she'd been lying, because, in fact, she had been with Miguel, behind his back.

My girlfriend and my best friend?

Anger blinded Hawk's vision, red crept towards the center.

"Asshole!" he grunted, pushing Miguel again so that he had to take a step back to be able to stay on his feet. "I'll fucking kill you–!"

Miguel tried to answer something, but Hawk really didn't care to listen. His fists were clenched tight and no matter that Miguel was his friend - his best friend - he wanted nothing more than to punch him in his stupid face so that he would bleed, and he would hurt, for this betrayal and also for hurting Sky. He raised his fist, growling—

Someone grabbed his arm, and yanked it down with force, pinning it behind his back.

"What the Hell?" Sensei Lawrence shouted, his grip on Hawk's arm so hard it hurt. "You're gonna start a fight here?! You want us to get kicked out of the tournament?"

"I don't give a shit about the tournament," Hawk hissed, and pulled his arm free. "That asshole hurt Sky on purpose, and–"

And what was he gonna say? That he was going to beat Miguel into a bloody pulp because he'd been training with Sky? He was pretty sure Sensei wouldn't understand why he was pissed about that. Hawk stopped talking mid-sentence and swallowed hard, trying to repel the bitter taste of betrayal on his lips.

"Looks like Ginger can fight her own battles. No need for you to do it for her," Sensei noted to Hawk, and then turned his eyes to Miguel. "But Hawk has a point. Striking an opponent to her weakest point? That's not honorable. That's not the way I taught you to fight."

"You taught me to do whatever it takes to win," Miguel replied with a dark tone.

"Not if it means injuring your opponent, and in this case your fellow Cobra! You should've known better than that, Diaz."

"But–!"

"Quiet!" Sensei snapped, staring Miguel down, which Hawk thought was rather satisfactory. He still wanted to beat the crap out of Miguel, though - but maybe that could wait until after the tournament.

Miguel gave a grudging bow at Sensei and then turned his eyes back at Hawk.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry, man."

"Like Hell you are," he replied, tilting up his chin. "And we're not done yet."

That made sensei grab his arm again, and pull him further away from Miguel - who seemed to read the signal right, as he retreated and started walking away like a fucking coward.

"Let me go–!" Hawk managed through clenched teeth, but Sensei's grip held until Miguel was out of sight.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sensei asked, trying to keep his voice low. "Yeah, Diaz hit her a bit too hard, but that's karate. People get hurt! If you can't take it, you shouldn't have brought your girlfriend to Cobra Kai."

Hawk cleared his throat and swallowed hard. "Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have."

"Too late for that now," Sensei noted. "You're gonna fight her in the finals in no time."

At his words, all the anger suddenly left Hawk's system, it melted away like ice cream on a hot day of August, leaving behind only a sticky pool of emotion he couldn't quite name.

"I'm not gonna fight her," he said silently, the right words finally finding him. His fists unclenched on his sides as he realized what he had to do.

"What the fuck do you mean you're not going to fight her?"

He looked up, his own blue eyes meeting Sensei's ice-cold stare.

"I'll yield," he replied. "Let Sky have the trophy."

Sky, unaware of all the drama that was unfolding in the main hall, was walking out of the locker rooms with a bottle of blue Gatorade in her hands and an ice bag on her shoulder, as she noticed Sam leaning on the wall as if she was waiting for her.

For a moment she felt awkward. She had only talked to Sam a couple of times since her breakup with Miguel, as Sam had made it pretty clear what she thought about Cobra Kai and all the people in it - but suddenly all that felt meaningless, and Sky couldn't help a smile on her lips as Sam lifted a hand in an awkward wave.

"I noticed you in the audience." Sky said. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, my dad is one of the main sponsors, so–" Sam shrugged. "Besides, practically everyone I know is competing."

"Aisha told me you used to do karate too," Sky said and took a sip of her Gatorade. "Ever thought of getting back into it? And no, I'm not trying to recruit you to Cobra Kai - just saying that we could use another girl out there."

"It seems to me you've got it covered. You kicked Miguel's ass! I had no idea you were that good."

"I'm not," Sky replied, Sam's praise making her embarrassed. "I just got lucky. And got some good advice."

Advice from Kat. Sky still didn't know what to think about that. Kat's voice in her head had gone silent, and even if she'd tried to communicate with it again in the bathroom, no answer had come. The silence was impenetrable, as if that voice had never existed at all, and Sky couldn't help thinking she had only imagined it. That it hadn't been a sign of the afterlife after all, just some desperate shadow, created by her own, overactive imagination.

But something in her heart refused to believe that.

She had been ready to give up, to let Miguel beat the crap out of her. And Kat had come to her aid, as she had always come to her when she'd needed her the most. She wanted to believe, wanted to believe so very badly, even against all reason and hope.

"That wasn't luck. You deserved to win that fight." Sam said and glanced at the ice bag Sky had thrown over her shoulder. "Miguel was fighting dirty, hitting you where it hurts. Did you injure your shoulder in one of the previous fights?"

Right. Sky had never told Sam about her injury, about what had happened. Suddenly that made her feel bad - Sam had been nice to her when she had been the new girl with no friends - and all she had ever given back was lies and secrets. She had tried to slither into Sam's circle of friends revealing nothing real about herself, so maybe it shouldn't have come as such a surprise that it had ended badly.

With a sigh she removed the ice bag and pulled up the short sleeve of her gi, revealing the mutilated shoulder, the star-shaped scar, and the sore, red tissue that surrounded it.

Sam's eyes widened, but she didn't look shocked or disgusted like most people did when they saw it, and Sky greatly appreciated that.

"My crazy ex shot me," Sky said, and pulled the short sleeve back so that it covered most of the scar if not all of it, and placed the ice bag over the wound. "About a year ago."

"Oh my God," Sam breathed. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"It's okay," Sky replied. "I mean… obviously it's not okay, but I'm dealing with it. And it's getting better."

And for the first time, she actually believed it - maybe it was because she'd seen Paulo earlier, or maybe it was something else, just the merciless flow of time that now stretched between her and the moment when she should have died, but whatever the reason, Sky realized it was true.

"I wish you'd told me," Sam said, her eyes meeting hers again.

"Yeah, well. This kind of shit isn't something you wanna reveal on your first day in the new school."

"Right," Sam said with a small smile. "I get it."

"You know, I've missed you." Sky replied. "You were my first friend here. You were nice to me when I had nobody. And I hate it that things got weird between us just because you broke up with Miguel. Besides - I totally get why you are mad at him."

"You do?" Sam looked surprised. "I thought you guys were friends."

Sky rolled her eyes. "Yeah - he's my friend but from what I've heard, he acted like a jerk that night."

"And you're not gonna try to get me to forgive him?"

"Hey - I'm pissed at him at the moment too! And whether you forgive him or not is totally up to you," Sky said. "I can tell that he's honestly sorry and that he missed you like Hell, though."

Sam's eyes turned serious. "I miss him too," she said silently. "But sometimes that just isn't enough. I don't need that kind of aggressive shit in my life."

"Yeah, I can relate." Sky said with a laugh. "But you know what? I would love to hang out sometime. We used to have so much fun. We could go to that nail salon again, with Moon if she wants to. Gods, it's been ages since I went there, my nails look like shit—"

A wide, genuine smile lit up Sam's face. "Isn't it weird to talk about nails while you're about to kick ass in the finals of a karate tournament?"

"Why would it be weird?" Sky laughed. "I can kick ass and have pretty nails."

"It's a deal, then," Sam replied - and then, taking a look at her expensive-looking wristwatch, "But hey, shouldn't you get going, finalist?"

That made Sky suddenly serious again. The fucking finals, she had almost forgotten! She was supposed to fight Hawk, and just the thought of that made something clench tight in her chest.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe I should just give up. I really don't wanna fight Hawk."

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "You can't give up! This tournament has never had a female winner. You are our only hope! You have to fight, and you have to win."

"But–"

"No buts! I'll be there, cheering for you." Sam said with a wide smile.

"Really? Even if I'm in Cobra Kai?"

"Of course," Sam's smile didn't falter. "Yeah, I'm still not a huge fan of your dojo, but you are my friend. And I have to admit that gi is badass."

That made Sky grin too. "It is, isn't it?"

"Now, go and kick your boyfriend's ass," Sam said. "I'll see you later."

When Sky walked back to the big hall, she instantly noticed Hawk and Sensei, who seemed to have a shouting match.

Her smile died, as she quickly made her way toward them.

"You can't yield! That's not how Cobras do it!"

Sky's stomach clenched tight.

Yield? What the fuck–?

"Who's yielding?" she asked, stepping to Sensei's side, glancing from him to Hawk and back. "And why?"

"I am," Hawk said with his low and raspy voice. His throat worked as he swallowed hard. "You can have the trophy."

Suddenly Sky felt like she would choke like someone had punched her gut and the air had left her lungs.

"What the fuck?" she asked. "You fucking asshole - you think I wanna win like that? No fucking way! If you quit, then I quit too, and let Miguel and Robby fight for the victory."

That made Sensei let out a frustrated groan.

"You are both idiots!" he exclaimed, giving angry glances to both of them. "Any kind of quitting is out of the question - you hear me? Cobras are not quitters! I don't give a shit how you do it, but work this shit out. You've got 10 minutes."

With those words Sensei turned his back on them, leaving Sky and Hawk standing together in awkward silence in a crowded hall full of people, music, and noise. The announcer was shouting in his mic, the music was blasting and the audience cheering - everyone waiting for the grand final, and all Sky could think about was the way Hawk was looking at her as if he would carve the beating heart out of his chest with his bare hands, rather than hurt her.

"Hawk–" she started, but he interrupted her.

"You trained with Miguel?" he asked, and the muscles on his jaw clenched tight. "Behind my back?"

Whatever she had been waiting for him to say, it sure wasn't this. Sky cursed Miguel in her mind, Miguel and his stupid big mouth. Yeah, maybe she should've told Hawk about their training sessions, and yeah she had intended to do it after the tournament - but for him to find out like this?

She got why he was upset.

"Yeah," she admitted. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

The look in his eyes was like broken glass and it hurt to even look at it.

"Why?"

"Because I needed someone to hit me so that it hurts, and I knew you wouldn't do it." Sky said silently, turning her eyes down. "Or am I wrong?"

Hawk swallowed. He shifted on his feet, as if nervous, at a loss of words. "You're… not wrong." he finally said. "Still, you should've told me."

"After all the jealousy episodes?" Sky replied more pointedly than she had meant to. "No thanks. I didn't wanna deal with more alpha shit."

Hawk looked like he wanted to say something mean, the look on his face was suddenly hard. But he swallowed and turned his eyes away - his restless gaze flickered to the floor, to the mat, to the wall that still held their names, the only ones left. Sky turned to look too - the heaviness of that sight dragging her down.

"We can talk about that later," she said. "We have to decide what we're gonna do about the finals."

That seemed to bring Hawk back to the moment too. A soft sound - a sight or a laugh left his lips, and he shook his head, turning the gaze of his vast, blue eyes back at her.

"That's simple," he said silently. "I give up. I want you to win."

Sky's throat felt thick when she answered. "And I want you to win."

That made Hawk let out a small, dry laugh. "That's not gonna happen. I can't fight you Sky, I cannot. I will not. I could never hurt you–"

"But you are hurting me!" she said, almost desperately. "I don't want to win like this. I won't take the trophy if you're just gonna give up and let me have it. Don't you see how fucking… condescending that is?"

"Yeah, well, I don't even care," he said, not meeting her eyes. "Just watching Miguel hit you, was… fucking horrible. I can't do it. I fucking can't hurt you, no matter what you say."

At that moment Sky realized she was angry.

She was angry at Matt for being an alpha asshole and ruining her life. She was angry at Kat for dying. She was angry at Miguel for fighting dirty. And she was so fucking angry at Hawk, for being a jealous asshole who thought he knew what was best for her.

As if she couldn't decide it for herself.

"I'll never forgive you if you give up," Sky breathed, barely getting the words out. "I need you to fight me. And I need you to do it with everything you got."

But Hawk was still shaking his head. "Sky, come on… I can't. I can't fucking hit you!"

"You can, and you fucking will," she snarled. "My dad is watching, all my friends are watching - Hell, Paulo is watching and I hope to God that Kat is looking down on me too! And I'm not gonna win this thing because my boyfriend is an overprotective ass who thinks I can't do this. Fucking Hell, I'm gonna break up with you if you don't promise that you'll fight me like you mean it!"

Her words made him flinch, his throat bobbed. "You'd really do that? You'd break up with me over Karate?"

"You wanna find out?" she asked, her eyes burning.

"No," he rasped. "Please don't break up with me."

"Then you'd better fight me like you fucking mean it." Sky said. "Cause I'm about to do the same."

He still looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't say more. Instead, he raised a hand and cupped her face, leaning in to kiss her. His lips on hers were soft and gentle, so hot, and Sky felt the scar pressing against her upper lip, that beautiful scar that had once defined who he was, but not anymore.

"At least I have a worthy opponent," he said throatily as he finally broke the kiss.

"No mercy," Sky replied. She stepped away from him and flashed him a wicked grin. "But if you win, I know just the way to celebrate."

His eyes widened slightly and his throat bobbed. "Yeah? What's that?"

"It involves your dick and my lips, but let's talk about that later, shall we?" she replied and the way his jaw dropped at her words made something melt in her core.

"Sky–"

"Later," she laughed and walked to the mat. "You've got a fight to win, champ."

Jeez, I don't know what's taking me this long, but I promise the next chapter will reveal the winner of All Valley. And after that we can FINALLY move to season 2.

As always, please follow, fav, and write a review.