Eye of the tiger — survivor

  SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ALL VALLEY TOURNAMENT FELT wrong for Cynthia to be apart of. She knew it was because she was with Cobra Kai but, a year ago, being a part of Cobra Kai was the best thing that had happened to her. Nonetheless, here she was, competing against every single one of her friends.

"This next dojo took last year's title. Now, they're under new management. Can they reign supreme once more? and last year's runner up. He may be wearing a new gi but one thing is for sure, Robby Keene and his team are ready to strike! Hailing from Reseda, defending champions, and still the most badass name for a dojo, here comes Cobra Kai!" The announcer spoke in to his microphone, the crowd cheering loudly.

Cynthia sighed as smoke rose from the tunnel they were in, and the group of Cobra Kai's (including her) began to walk out to the mats.

In any other circumstance, she would have been happy to come out here. With the cheering, the people clapping, her friends all around her, family in the crowd but, no, not here, not in this place.

"Miguel Diaz!" She heard, they must have started announcing Eagle Fang as soon as she stepped on the mat. Cynthia wished so badly she was with them, instead of being forced to be on the team ran by Silver and Kreese.

"I love you." Miguel mouthed as he ran passed her, the group going to the other side of the mats.

She smiled, and knew she didn't have to say it back for him to know it was true.

"At the end of the day, only one of these dojos can be crowned Grand Champion. Welcome, to the 51st annual All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament!" The announcer screamed, only riling up the crowd even more. "It's karate time."

The lights died down, and each of the dojos stepped to the side of the mat to regroup. As they did, the Cobra Kai's split up into their groups to talk to their friends, and Cynthia was alone. She stood there, and looked around the room, and it seemed like everyone there was happy but her.

She looked at the Eagle Fangs, where Miguel and Theo chatted amongst themselves. Then, at the Miyagi-do's where Sam chatted with Demetri, and Eli. Last of all, she looked at her own dojo, where once again, everyone had someone.

She knew they were singling her out on purpose, and to hurt her feelings and, it was working.

"Alright everyone, gather around." Kreese spoke, everyone following his orders and forming a circle around him and Silver. "All your training has brought you to this moment. Remember, if you win, you don't just get a trophy. You get the glory and you get to know forever, that you are a champion. I have had students with all the talent in the world squander their moment. Do not let history repeat itself. Do not let your emotions cloud your judgment and above all, do not let anything stand in the way of your victory."

"... and just to be clear, that's not a pep talk. That's an order and we're all gonna follow Sensei Kreese's orders today, aren't we?" Silver looked directly into Cynthia's eyes, and it sent shivers down her spine.

"Yes Sensei." Everyone spoke except for her.

"I'm sorry, I don't think that everyone answered. Aren't we?" Silver spoke yet again.

"Yes, Sensei." Cynthia finally said, along with the rest of the dojo, knowing he wouldn't stop until she said it.

"Let's go win this, come on!" He yelled, the Cobra Kai's began to cheer but, Cyn's stomach sank into her stomach as he ushered her over, away from the group. "I trust that you listened to what I was saying."

"I did." Cynthia replied, nodding her head.

"So you know that if you try and throw a fight, or go easy on a friend on yours, there will be repercussions that i've already talked to your mother about." Terry wore a grin on his face, and the Sari girl cursed beneath her breath.

"Yes." The Sari girl gritted her teeth at this next part. "Sensei."

Silvers grin grew even wider, "good" he walked away after that, leaving the girl on her own.

Well shit, this wasn't going to be good.

  THE SKILLS PORTION OF THE COMPETITION honestly went exactly how Cynthia expected. Cobra Kai won, which only made sense because of all the money they had put into equipment. She could only hope that during the fighting rounds, Miyagi-do or Eagle Fang could beat them out so the two dojos didn't have to close down. 

Currently, she was standing in front of her first match up, a girl she had fought before at the last All-Valley. The Sari girl fastened the head band sensei Lawrence had given her over a year ago, wanting him to know that she had learned all this from him, and she would never forget it. He wore this at a tournament, and now she was doing the same.

"Fight!" The referee yelled, the girl lunging at Cynthia immediately.

She backed away, throwing a punch of her own which was also dodged. Taking a breath, the Sari girl centered herself and remembered, that if it even looked like she was loosing on purpose, there would be "repercussions" she was not ready for. Quickly, she got back in the game, and swept the girls leg making her fall to the ground, she then sent a punch to the girls chest, the round ending just like that.

"Point, Sari!" As the referee yelled, she helped the other girl up, and they went to their places opposite of each other on the mat. "Fight!"

This time, Cyn was the first to attack, and her kick failed, her opponent backing up too quickly. The girl then made her move as Cynthia was in shock, and sent a hit to her shoulder. She had gained a point, and Cyn had gained an angry look from Silver and Kreese.

"Point, Jameson!" The two girls once again went back to their places. "Fight!"

Both of them leaped forward at the same time, both of them accidentally running past one another. It took everything in the Sari girl not to laugh at the moment, knowing it would make her look bad. A few seconds of the girls hitting and dodging seemed like it was hours, and Cynthia was growing tired of it all.

Then finally, she took the initiative and, as quick as she could, landed a punch to the other girls arm.

"Point, Sari!" This was the last round now, and Cyn hoped she could at least win one to appease Silver. If she didn't, she had no idea what he was capable of. Moving away, never letting her go out, to be honest, he had all the power against her. "Fight!"

With that in mind, she took no time launching forward, and springing upward into a kick that knocked the other girl on the ground.

"Point, Sari! Winner!"

  WATCHING ROBBY KICK KENNY IN THE FACE WAS almost painful in a way to Cynthia. She knew how much the Keene boy cared for him, you could see it by just looking at the two but, someone must've gotten into his head about this fight. She frowned as Kenny pushed passed her and towards the locker room, fighting tears.

She went to run after him but was held by the shoulder, making her grit her teeth.

"Sari, i'd like to talk to you." Kreese pulled the girl to the side, her eyes meeting Miguel's across the room, the boy looking very concerned for her.

"Yeah, what about?" Cyn asked dryly, running her tongue across her teeth.

"Your next match." The older man knit his hands together in front of him. "If you win against Larusso's daughter, Cobra Kai wins."

It hadn't dawned on the girl that the final would be her and Tory if she won this fight, meaning her friends dojos would have to shut down entirely.

"Now, I know Sensei Silver has already talked to you about consequences if you try to throw the fight..." Kreese wore a bone chilling grin. "But I just want to reiterate that things won't end well."

"Do you make it a habit of threatening teenagers, sensei?" Cynthia questioned, a challenging brow raised.

"Just think about what I said." The man patted her roughly on the shoulder, and walked off without another word.

The Sari girl gulped slightly and made her way towards the back area, where the crowd couldn't see the people who were up to fight next. In a few minutes, she would be on the mat with Sam, and making the hardest decision of her life. She didn't know whether to throw things, or actually try to win.

It was her, or her friends at this point.

"Mouth." Johnny spoke as he approached, waving curtly. "You nervous?"

"I am starting to feel like i'm going to barf so, yeah." Cynthia placed a hand on her hip and breathed out loudly.

"Hey, kid. Don't worry about anything else. When you're on the mat, it's gonna be you, Sam, and karate. Can't think about what happens after that." The man shrugged lightly.

"So, you're saying that I should try to win?" Cyn was surprised by the encouragement but, also not all at the same time.

"I'm saying that if that's what you want, yes, you should." Johnny nodded, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Nice headband."

"Thank you, sensei. For everything."

  CYNTHIA BRACED HERSELF TO FIGHT ONE OF HER closest friends. Her and Sam had been through their fair share of ups and downs, but neither expected to go against each other in the All-Valley's, not like this, and under these circumstances. Cyn felt weird fighting against Sam, felt weird wearing a Cobra Kai uniform, and part of her wanted this all to be a dream.

It wasn't.

"Don't go easy on me." The Sari girl commented with a light hearted smile.

"No way." Sam responded back, seeming in a less than joking mood at this point.

"On your marks." The girls stepped back into their places, not taking their eyes off each other. "Face me, bow."

They followed the usual formatting of the match but, both teens were quite obviously nervous and distraught.

"Face each other, bow." After doing so, both girls got into their fighting positions. "Fight!"

The two circled each other briefly before Sam took a kick forward, Cyn backing up just enough for it to be blocked. Cynthia looked into the crowd where her family was, Simon and Bianca in the stands, and then all the way on the other side sat Penelope. It distracted her, and did so enough for sam to send her a punch straight so the arm.

"Point, Larusso!"

The girls went back to their places, and once again followed the orders of the ref. "Fight!"

Cynthia moved forward first in one swift motion to throw a punch but Sam blocked it. They moved across the mat together, now Sam trying to throw one that was also blocked. She threw one again, and the Sari girl dunked, the Larusso one missing her entirely.

They went tit for tat, one throwing a punch and getting blocked, then switching to kicks which were each unsuccessful. It turned into a flurry of blocked moves, until finally, they both grew out of breath. Using her remaining strength, Cyn kicked upwards, landing it onto Samantha's chest and knocking her backwards.

She had decided she wasn't going to throw this fight, if she was meant to lose, or meant to win, so be it.

"Point, Sari!" The referee called out.

"You okay?" Cynthia questioned thoughtfully, looking at her friend who simply nodded and went back to her spot, the Sari girl doing the same.

This was it, the round that would determine everything, and things were obviously tense.

"Fight!"

The girls ran at each other at the same time, and to their surprise, both blocked each other in the same movement. Their arms locked, and they swung each other around, pushing away from each other and to opposite sides of the mat. Cynthia moved first, and kicked her leg upwards, her movement blocked by a Miyagi-do tactic.

It was clear that pit of the two of them, Cynthia was the more aggressive fighter, usually throwing the first punch or making the first move. She slowly took a deep breath, and like her Miyagi-do lesson, she moved herself slowly in a circle. Sam's eyes darted back and forth, scared that at any moment she would make a move,

When she didn't, the Larusso girl ran forward to try to land a hit, and as she did, Cyn extended her arm, and instead of blocking, hit her in the arm before she was able to. On complete accident, she had just won this match but, all of that hit her at once, and she realized what that really meant. No more Eagle Fang, no more Miyagi-do, just Cobra Kai.

"Winner, Sari!"

This was certainly bittersweet.

CYNTHIA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING READY for her match against Tory but that was most certainly the last thing on her mind. Miguel was going against Hawk to get into the final, and it was obvious she had to be there for that. Silver and Kreese had kept her away from Miguel's matches all day but, not this one, no way.

The couple met eyes and smiled at each other as the match began, in which Miguel straightened up and started to fight.

The Sari girl was most certainly feeling guilt in that moment. She felt as if this fight was for nothing when the main goal of this All-Valley was for Eagle Fang and Miyagi-do to stay open. She knew it was a long shot but, hoped in some way that something would change somehow.

Until then, she was going to cheer for her boyfriend, and be as supportive as she could.

The fight was intense to say the least. Miguel and Hawk used to be the best fighters in Cobra Kai so, it was no surprise they were doing so well. It was head to head at the moment, and neither boys were going easy on each other. Everyone who watched was biting their fingernails in anticipation.

Every punch, kick, and block was done so effortlessly it was hard to tell who would win.

Finally, Miguel kicked forward, and for a moment, it seemed like he got a point.

"Block!" The ref called out, sending the boys back to the original spots, the crowd letting out a collective sigh. "Fight!"

A few punches were thrown before Miguel backed up a few feet, ran forward slightly, jumped into a spin in the air to try to perform a spiral kick.

"Ahhh!" and the sound of bones cracking was all Cynthia heard as she watched her boyfriend fall to the ground in pain.

His screams and the sound of him yelling her name sending a chill down her spine.

AUTHORS NOTE —
Helllooo everyone! This will be the second to last chapter of "Tickets to my Downfall" i'm sorry this was so bad but writing fights and tournaments are my worst enemy.

Anyways, book two will come out soon after this ends (maybe a week or two, still deciding) and it will be called "Bittersweet Endings" since unfortunately the next season is the last of Cobra Kai.

Hope you enjoyed!