chapter twenty one, who am i, if not exploited?

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          The morning of the fight that determined which dojo was going to be a part of the Sekai Taikai, Izzy found herself wearing the white gi that belonged to the Miyagi-Do dojo. It was official, she was in Miyagi-Do, and Izzy loved it. She walked into Cobra Kai with the rest, but trailed behind everyone else.

Ever since Sam said that she thinks Miguel loves Izzy, it was all Izzy could think about for days. Sure, saying you love someone seems like it's no big deal, but love is a feeling that weighs heavy on Izzy. Especially when the only people who said it to Izzy were her family, not even Ethan and she had said they loved each other.

It was the same for Miguel, the feelings he felt for Izzy were strong, and he loves her, but they were two teenagers who didn't really know how to express that. Especially now when they weren't together.

And when Izzy realized that she fell in love with Miguel, it all began going downhill because she was scared he wasn't on the same page as her, but Sam's words were on repeat in her mind. Did Miguel tell Sam that? Did Sam overhear Miguel saying it to Eli, or Demetri, or someone? Did she just have that feeling? It was driving Izzy insane.

"Hey," A voice called out and Izzy realized she got so lost in her thoughts that she stopped walking while everyone disappeared into the main room. She looked in front of her to see Miguel standing there. "Are you okay?"

          He walked closer to her and Izzy just nodded, "I'm okay. I'm kind of nervous, I don't–I don't know why I'm nervous, I'm not even fighting." Izzy rambled, glancing down at the ground as Miguel approached her.

          "Hey, hey, it's okay." Miguel told her, now standing in front of the girl and he looked down at her despite Izzy not looking at him. "You gotta go in there and show them you're doing fine without Cobra Kai." Miguel told her.

Izzy's eyes shifted to look at the boy and the corner of her lips twitched upward, then she nodded her head. "You're right. I am doing fine without Cobra Kai." She spoke out loud, watching Miguel smile.

"This proves it," Miguel told her, gently pulling at the arm of the Miyagi-Do gi. "Although, I still think you should've chose Eagle Fang. You look good in red."

          The compliment made Izzy's cheek flush as she glanced down at the ground, smiling to herself. She couldn't even process what he told her fully because all Izzy could think about was how there was a chance that Miguel loves her like she did him. And now that Izzy said her goodbye to Cobra Kai, maybe she could finally be with Miguel again.

          But right now didn't seem like the best time to tell her ex-boyfriend that she wants to be with him again because she loves him.

          The girl let out a quiet sigh through her smiling lips and looked back up at Miguel. "Well, Miyagi-Do is better." She bantered, shrugging a little.

          Miguel's eyebrows raised, a grin appearing on his lips. "Really? Why, because you're in there?" He joked with her, feeding into the banter that Izzy started.

          Izzy just smirked, "Exactly." She responded.

          He smiled at her for a second before letting out a sigh, glancing behind him, and then back at Izzy. "We should get in there before they start." Miguel told her, watching her nod that she agreed.

          She watched Miguel turn to walk away, but then impulsively spoke up when he got a few steps ahead. "Wait–" Izzy saw him turn back around to look at her and Izzy immediately regretted saying anything. "Uh, thanks. Thank you. For just now." She told him, walking to catch up with him.

"Yeah, of course, you're welcome." Miguel smiled as the girl walked with him into the room where everyone else was.

As the two made their way to the side where Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do were meant to be, Izzy kept her eyes on the Cobra Kai side. She recognized Kenny in the crowd, and Devon (Izzy remembers her when she was in Eagle Fang for a short while), and she saw Evan too who waved at her and all Izzy did was smile as a response.

But then Izzy saw Tory, and the smile faded when she saw her friend standing with Cobra Kai. Even when Tory looked over at the other girl, she looked like she didn't want to be there, and it upset Izzy that she couldn't do anything about it.

Izzy was just about to look elsewhere before she saw Riley's face and Izzy froze, watching as Riley's eyes shifted to meet with Izzy's and all Riley did was smile and wave. Izzy felt scared, and angry, and Izzy seriously wished it was her and Riley fighting today.

          Thankfully, someone standing beside Izzy diverted her attention to next to her, seeing Eli standing there and Izzy looked up at him. "You nervous?" She asked out of curiosity, unable to read how he was feeling.

She watched him make a face like Izzy had just said something delusional. "Not at all," Eli shrugged, a confident grin on his lips when he looked over at Izzy. "It would've been cool if you were fighting too, since we're both champs." He told her.

Izzy smiled, a quiet laugh leaving her lips. "Yeah, but.. Sam's gonna win this. So will you." She responded, noticing his grin turn into a smile.

          Before anything else could be said, it was time to begin the fight, and it was Eli versus Kenny. Izzy watched Eli walk onto the mat and she glanced back to see Miguel and she shifted her way over to where he stood so that she wasn't standing by herself.

          When Miguel noticed Izzy move to stand next to him, a hint of a smile appeared on his lips as he looked at the girl, but her eyes were set on the fight that was starting. And Miguel eventually tore his eyes away from Izzy to watch Eli and Kenny fight.

Izzy felt eyes burning through her and her first instinct was to glance up at Miguel, but when she saw that he wasn't staring at her like she thought he was, a sigh left her lips. Hearing the referee call out the 'fight' that allowed the boys to begin, Izzy looked back over.

          Kenny's movements were quick and aggressive and from what Izzy could remember from when he first joined Cobra Kai, this definitely seemed to be Silver's techniques. Kenny scored a point when he kicked Eli in the side, causing the Cobra Kai students to erupt in applause.

          They started again, and Eli seemed to have the upper hand during this fight, his moves becoming too quick for Kenny to try and block. Eli turned and kicked him, and when it was clear that it deserved a point, the referee still declared it out of bounds.

          "What? Are you serious?" Eli scoffed, just as shocked as the rest on the Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do side.

          And Johnny made sure to call the referee out, "That's horseshit! He made contact in bounds." Johnny spoke up, but the referee didn't agree.

          "No point. Back on the line." The referee spat as Eli looked back at the group behind him, for some sort of reassurance.

          Izzy had her eyes on the referee, her eyebrows furrowing when she noticed the man share a look with Silver who discreetly nodded at him. Izzy tensed up, feeling her heart stop for a moment when the realization hit her that Silver rigged this fight as well. The girl's eyes shifted over to look at Tory, and Tory glanced over at Izzy as well, like they both knew the same thing.

          "Ready? Fight!" The referee told the boys and Izzy turned her attention to the fight, hoping that she was wrong and Silver didn't pay for Cobra Kai to win.

          Kenny's moves were sharp and quick, but Eli still managed to block them swiftly. When Eli went to kick his leg at Kenny's side, Kenny grabbed ahold of his calf and sent his elbow behind Eli's knee, hurting the boy enough to send him to the ground.

          "Illegal strike!" The referee announced, "That's a warning." He said to the Payne boy.

          "Warning? He should be disqualified!" Sensei LaRusso said through gritted teeth as Eli turned to walk toward their sensei.

          A shaky breath left Izzy's lips as Miguel looked down at her, noticing how tense she seemed with how her hands were curled into loose fists. "What's wrong?" Miguel asked her quietly.

          Izzy glanced up at him, but she shook her head, reassuring him that it was nothing. "I just don't want to see them win." She shrugged, her eyes shifting over across the room to look at Silver.

          The boy beside her frowned a little bit, knowing that he couldn't do anything to help, but before Miguel could even spew out something to make her feel better, Eli's voice caught their attention.

          "It's fine. He just caught me off-guard." Eli responded to Sensei LaRusso's comment to the referee, trying not to seem phased by what Kenny had just pulled.

          Sensei LaRusso still seemed worried, though. "Are you sure, Eli?" He questioned the boy.

"No more Eli," The boy answered, "It's time to uncage the Hawk." He told the two sensei's he stood in front of.

Izzy smiled at his words, watching him return to the line just as Kenny did. "Ready?" The referee questioned, but Izzy noticed Kenny's starting stance was different, standing to the side with his arms crossed at the wrist with his hands flat instead of curled into fists.

"Fight!"

Just as Hawk went to throw his arm out to hit Kenny with his fist, the whole room erupted into gasps the moment Kenny sent his hand into Hawk's abdomen, hitting him at a certain spot that sent him to the ground.

         "Point! Two-zero, Payne." The referee announced, holding his arm out to Cobra Kai's side to show that they had received the point.

          They could hear Hawk gasping from the floor, like there was something stopping him from breathing and it seemed to worry the entire group when Hawk didn't get back up right away.

          "Hawk?" Miguel called out, quickly looking over at the two Sensei's just as Johnny and Daniel hurried over to Hawk.

          "Hawk. What's wrong?" Johnny asked the boy that was laying on the floor.

          A few more gasps came from Hawk before he could get words out, "I can't.. can't.. can't breathe." He stuttered out, trying to catch his breath as much as he could.

          "Can you continue?" The referee asked, staring down at the boy like he expected an answer, but when Hawk tried to push himself up, he just fell back to the floor.

          Johnny looked up and then around frantically. "Where's the medic?" He called out.

         The moment the medic approached Hawk to help, the referee was quick to speak up. "That's a forfeit. Winner, Payne!" The referee declared, holding Kenny's arm up. The side that Cobra Kai stood on erupted in cheering, but the other side of the room seemed confused more than anything.

          Izzy's mouth slightly fell open out of shock, realizing she was right. Silver had rigged this fight just like the All Valley. "What?" Miguel asked, like all of this didn't make any sense, because it didn't.

"He's okay. Just got the wind knocked out of him." The medic explained to the two Sensei's beside Hawk, but he was loud enough for the others to hear over the cheering of Cobra Kai.

          Izzy shifted her gaze to Silver and even from how far she was, Izzy could see the smug grin he was trying to hide on his lips. Her eyes darted over to Tory who was looking at him as well, but when she felt someone else staring, Tory looked across the room at Izzy.

But, Izzy looked away and over to Hawk who was being helped up by Johnny and the medic, walking away with the boy while Sensei LaRusso stayed behind.

"We begin our girls' fight. Samantha LaRusso and Tory Nichols, please take the mat." The judge spoke.

Tory had disappeared and Izzy assumed she didn't want to go through with the fight, so Cobra Kai had to choose another female to fight. Before Sam took her place on the mat, Izzy quickly stopped her.

"Hey," Izzy spoke up, Sam glancing back at her, "Good luck." Izzy told her and a smile tugged at the corner of Sam's lips, nodding her head before turning to go onto the mat.

Sam took her place, but Tory has yet to show up. "Tory Nichols?" The judge called out, waiting for her to appear.

It was quiet, but then Robby shifted closer to Izzy so that he could whisper to her, "Tory's not here. Something happened." Robby told the girl next to him.

Izzy glanced up at him and then a quiet sigh left her lips, knowing exactly what it must've been. Izzy didn't say a word, watching Silver enter the room after his quest to find Tory, but he came back by himself. They all waited around for a few more seconds, Cobra Kai now stuck on which female fighter was going to fight Sam.

"I'll do it." The familiar voice caused Izzy to look over, seeing Riley approach the mat, her eyes on the judges.

Sam immediately glanced back at Izzy the moment they allowed Riley to fight in place of Tory, and when Izzy looked at Sam, the LaRusso girl slightly nodded her head almost like she was telling Izzy she wouldn't hold back.

After they bowed, Izzy watched as the two girls got into the starting positions, and there was a confident look on Riley's face like she was going to win this. If Riley could take down Izzy, she could easily take down Sam, that was Riley's thought process right now.

          "Fight!"

Riley was aggressive from the first kick, letting out grunts with each punch she sent to try and score a point. Sam managed to block each kick and hit Riley tried to send, and Sam was able to kick her leg up and kick Riley just below her shoulder, but the referee quickly spoke up.

"No point. That's shoulder. No point." The referee explained. "Keep fighting."

"What?" Izzy scoffed, her eyes on the referee who glanced over at Silver and Izzy felt her jaw clench.

Riley had a smirk on her lips, going to taunt Sam and say something to get in her head, but Sam kicked her leg out before Riley could even open her mouth. Riley swung her leg out, but Sam blocked her foot from kicking her, however the referee rose his arm toward Cobra Kai's side.

"Point! One-zero, Donovan." The referee declared.

          Izzy's eyes rolled just as Sensei LaRusso spoke up. "What? There was no contact!" He exclaimed, but Sam was quick to form a 'T' with her hands, requesting a timeout.

          "Time-out. Go to your Sensei." The referee said to Riley who huffed, turning to go to Silver.

          Sam approached her dad and Sensei Toguchi, clearly stressed out by this fight. "I blocked that, and I swear I just got her below the shoulder!" Sam stressed to her dad.

          "Alright, look, not every point is going to go our way–"

          The LaRusso girl was quick to cut him off, "Those calls put me down a point. I should be up one." Sam told her dad and Sensei Toguchi.

          Izzy had her eyes on the girl and she felt guilty knowing that this fight was rigged, and so was the All Valley, and Izzy was tempted to confess everything right now. From what it looks like, Cobra Kai wasn't going to walk out of here as a loser, but Izzy was going to make sure that Miyagi-Do wasn't either.

          But, she couldn't bring herself to tell them the truth, and Izzy feared there would be consequences to that action, but she needed to help Sam.

          "Sam," Izzy spoke up, going over to the girl, "Okay, I know we literally just started getting along a few days ago, but.. fuck the referee. He's being stupid–and fuck Cobra Kai. You are the better fighter and you have all of us supporting you." She reassured Sam who smiled at the girl's words.

          Miguel stood near Izzy, smiling to himself at how much Izzy has changed since the day he got into her car and she asked him to fake having a relationship with her. But he hasn't changed, he was still just as in love with her as he was then. Well–Miguel felt like over the past few weeks, he found himself falling more in love with her, and he felt ridiculous.

          "Referee is moron. Must not leave room for error." Sensei Toguchi told Sam.

          Sensei LaRusso was quick to agree, "He's right. You make every point undeniable." He said to his daughter.

          Sam nodded at their words, but before she turned to go back to the mat, Izzy reached to grab her arm and stop Sam. "Give her hell." Izzy told the LaRusso girl.

          "I will." Sam smiled, Izzy dropping her arm to let her return to the line just as Riley did.

Izzy anxiously bit down on her lip, hearing the referee call out for them to fight. She watched as Sam dodged the attempted hits that Riley sent, both girls letting out grunts at their quick movements. When Riley kicked her leg up, Sam ducked down, sweeping her leg underneath Riley to send her to the mat. Sam then hit the other girl's abdomen with her fist, scoring an obvious point.

Izzy gasped, a smile appearing on her face as the others around her began cheering. It was clear the referee hesitated, even looking at Silver, but he held up his arm to Miyagi-Do. "Point, LaRusso! One-one." The referee announced.

          A frustrated grunt left Riley's lips as she hit the ground, pushing herself back up to face Sam. "Ready? Fight!" The referee called out.

Riley was pissed-off, her moves becoming more sharp and hard as Sam moved just as quick to dodge and block Riley's kicks and hits. Sam turned, sending her to Riley's abdomen and hit her clearly.

"Point. Two-one, LaRusso." The referee spoke.

Izzy couldn't get the smile off of her face, putting all of her faith into Sam to score this final point. The two girls went back to their starting positions, the referee calling out for them to fight once more. Izzy watched as their fight went on, both of them clearly wanting to come out as a winner, and Izzy hoped that it was Sam.

The moment Sam had kicked Riley in the abdomen, sending the girl out of bounds, the room erupted into cheering knowing that it was another point. A bright smile was on Izzy's face as the Cobra Kai side stayed silent, the referee sharing one last look with Silver before speaking up.

"Point. Winner, LaRusso." The referee held up Sam's arms as the room erupted into cheers, this time all from the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang side.

They all celebrated Sam's victory for a few minutes, but then reality set in when the judges determined which dojo would go forward to Sekai Taikai. Everyone stood around in silence until each of the judges stood up, and all eyes went to them.

          "We have reached an agreement. As expected, we were impressed with the skills, precision, and discipline of the new Sekai Taikai qualifier." The man announced, looking to both sides of the room.

Izzy glanced up to her right, looking at Miguel and when he saw her looking at him out of the corner of his eye, Miguel glanced down at her. He smiled at her as some sort of reassurance and all Izzy could do was smile to herself, looking away from the boy and back to the judge.

"Cobra Kai." The judge then announced, the entire side across the room cheering and hollering.

Izzy felt her heart drop as a sigh left her lips, closing her eyes briefly, hoping this was some sort of mix-up. She felt guilty for not speaking up earlier, admitting to her Sensei's what she knew and that was why Tory had disappeared.

"As for our other dojo, we admired your unusual mix of styles and underdog spirit.." The judge spoke to the three Sensei's standing with Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang. Izzy opened her eyes but kept her gaze on the floor, not wanting to look at anyone.

"And we think you could be a unique addition to the competition. Therefore, we've decided that your dojo has also qualified."

Izzy felt her heart drop again, her eyes moving up from the ground as she heard cheering fill the room. A bright smile appeared on her lips, feeling someone spin her around to pull her into a hug, and when Izzy registered it was Miguel out of pure excitement, she didn't complain and just hugged him back.

          When Miguel pulled away, his hands came up to cup Izzy's face and she could've sworn he was about to kiss her (or at least she really wanted him to), but Hawk had pulled them apart to pull Miguel into a hug.

          Izzy let out a very happy sigh, turning around just as Sam did and Sam was quick to hug Izzy. The Vera girl smiled as they hugged–it was a very weird feeling, but it was a nice feeling that Izzy didn't have to complain about.

          Although Izzy wishes that it had been her fighting Riley, so that she could get her revenge, but seeing Sam defeat her was enough for Izzy to forget about that thirst for revenge–at least for tonight.

After the celebration ended and the judges officially welcomed them all to the Sekai Taiki, all of the Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do students stood together in front of the three sensei's. Izzy stood in between Hawk and Sam, talking with them both before Sensei LaRusso spoke up.

"Hey, we've all earned this. Each and every one of you brought your A-game." Sensei LaRusso told the students.

Sensei Toguchi was quick to add, "Could not be more proud." The man smiled.

"With this tournament in our future, we've got a lot of work to do. But tonight.." Sensei LaRusso trailed off, a smile appearing on his lips. "Tonight, go celebrate!"

As they all erupted into cheers once again, Izzy tried to hold back a smile when Hawk wrapped his arm around Izzy's shoulder, pulling her in for a hug as he joined in on the cheering. Izzy was happy, genuinely happy, because now she didn't have to worry about Cobra Kai anymore.

And with talk rising about Miguel and Robby hosting a party at their apartment complex while Johnny goes out, Izzy promised herself she was going to tell Miguel she wants to be with him again, and that she loves him.

Izzy had a good feeling about tonight, and she just hoped she wasn't going into this blind.

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authors note.
half of me likes this chapter, the other half of me absolutely hates it </3 i hope you guys enjoyed it tho!! sam and izzy's unexpected friendship means so much to me

next chapter is the chapter where y'all hate me the most but drama, am i right?

also there's like 3-4 more chapters left until i finish season 5 and this book?? this is the closest i've ever gotten to finishing a book, i'm kind of proud shddhdjd

( gif made by saevrz )