[SEASON SIX: EPISODE FIVE]

Ethan stood next to Sam, Demetri, and Hawk, as they all stretched out their limbs, getting ready for whatever lesson their Senseis had in store for them.

"I heard Aisha got into UC Santa Cruz. You heard anything from San Francisco?"

"Nah. I mean, I've been checking my emails, like, every day, but nothing so far." Williams explained.

"Don't stress. It'll come. I mean, Demetri hasn't heard from MIT yet, so...." Eli trailed off and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I did. I got in." The tall boy replied as they all looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Well, yeah. Why are you all so surprised? I worked my ass off and earned that spot. That would be like LeBron James getting turned down by the Lakers." Demetri said and made a pop sound with his mouth.

"Congratulations, Demetri. It's a really hard school to get into."

"Yeah, it certainly is." He nodded in agreement before turning his head to look over at Hawk.

"Especially when you don't apply. Right, Eli?"

"Real subtle."

"Hey, man, I'm just saying you miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

A few seconds later, the double doors of Mr. Miyagi's house opened as Daniel and Johnny stepped out, calling everyone to circle up around them.

"The Sakai Taikai needs our final roster in three days. And now that we know who's going, it's time for us to name our male and female captains. The captains are not just the leaders of the team. They're the ones that will be fighting in the finals if we can make it that far."

"Plus, they get to fight on live TV." Sensei added to his explanation.

"Who knows what comes after that? Wheaties boxes, chop-socky flicks, ZZ Top videos. Sky's the limit."

"You'll all get the glory if we win, but, yes, the captains will be in the spotlight. They need to represent the best that Miyagi-Do has to offer."

"And Sensei Lawrence and I want to assure you that the decision will be completely unbiased."

"That's right." The blonde man nodded in agreement.

"In two days, Sam will face Tory for the female captain spot, Robby and Ethan will fight for male captain."

"We all know you fought plenty of times before, but now that we're on the same side, this is still the best way for us to see who's progressed the most."

"All right, enough talking. It's time to train. You four, get inside. I'm gonna whip your butts into shape." Johnny instructed as the four in front of him stepped inside the dojo.

"I thought I was supposed to train them today." Daniel pointed out.

"Ah, you go tomorrow. Got some moves I wanna teach."

"Can you tell me that ahead of time? We gotta stay on the same page. Otherwise, we're gonna be sending mixed messages."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, all right? We are on the same page." He turned around and pointed at the Miyagi-Do logo with an eagle above the bonsai tree.

"Look. Miyagi-Do, remember? I even came up with my own kata."

Later in the day, over at Elizabeth's apartment, she and Johnny were discussing how the students at Miyagi-Do have come so far in their training and that they are ready for the big challenge ahead. He grabbed a beer bottle, pulled the lid off, and started drinking.

"Today was a great day at Miyagi-Do. Kids are tougher than they've ever been."

"That's good."

"They're ready to fight the best."

"I just really hope this fight between Ethan and Robby doesn't recreate a rift, you know? They've come so far, they are practically brothers at this point."

"Don't worry. They're all good. I've been watching them." He reassured her with a nod. Suddenly, Elizabeth felt the baby kick.

"Oh."

"What is it? What's wrong? You okay?"

"Yeah. She's kicking." She answered, and Lawrence placed his hand on her baby bump, wanting to feel his daughter kick.

"Damn. Girl's got power."

"Yeah."

"We should bring her to the tournament." The blonde man suggested. A few seconds later, Ethan closed the front door behind him, and the two noticed him standing there with a sad expression on his face.

"Hey, Ethan."

"Hey."

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth questioned, noticing the look on her son's face.

"My application got postponed."

"Your application got postponed? What's that mean?"

"From San Francisco. It means 'not yes'."

"But it's not a no neither, right?" She asked before the two of them walked closer up to Williams.

"Hopefully, they'll re-review your application in the spring with the other kids."

"You're still in the fight. Doesn't matter how you start. It's how you finish."

The two pulled the boy into a big hug, comforting him about his application being put on hold.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate this."

The next day, in the lunchroom of West Valley High School, Sam and Ethan were sitting together, talking about what had happened with his application to San Francisco university.

"I mean, I've been checking their websites, and the thing is they only accept 10% of the people they postpone."

"Anything you can do between now and April is only gonna help your chances. Extracurriculars are huge."

"They didn't seem to care about me winning the All Valley. But why would they even care about the Sekai Taikai?"

"Because it's international. It's one thing to be the best town. It's another to be the best in the world." She explained, before grabbing his hand in a comforting gesture.

"Yeah. You're right." He nodded, just as he looked up to notice Robby, who had stepped inside the lunchroom.

"It just means I'm gonna have to fight my brother again. I don't want to, but I guess I have to."

"Hey." Keene greeted them, walking up to their table.

"Uh, have you guys seen Tory? We're supposed to train at the park later."

"No, not since yesterday. But I thought you were coming with us to the dojo to train."

"Well, we figured since we're fighting each other, it would be best not to show each other our moves."

"Yeah. That makes sense."

"You better watch out. You're going down this time, El Serpentine." The boy said, tapping his fist on the table before walking away.

"If they are gonna train together, so are we. Just like old times, Sammy."

Later in the day, in the woods, Ethan and Sam were practicing their kata for their big fight for team captain. Daniel stood next to them, analyzing and reviewing their technique.

"How I am doing, Mr. LaRusso?"

"Your form is great. Just remember to clear your mind and breathe."

Williams nodded and continued to practice the technique as LaRusso walked over to his daughter.

"Ethan's dialed in. He must really want that male captain slot."

"It's his best shot at San Francisco University."

"What about you? We know Tory's gonna give you a good fight. But what are you fighting for?"

"Closure." She answered truthfully.

"Tory beat me at the All Valley, but it was tainted. For both of us. I wanna prove how good I really am. To myself."

"Closure's good. It means the outcome isn't what matters. If you wanna find your closure, you just have to give it your all. Just lay it out there."

The two bowed to each other, and they all continued to practice the technique together.

"Hup. Hup. Hup."

"Uh, you guys keep going, okay? I'll.... I'll be right back."

Daniel stopped when he noticed Johnny standing there. He walked over to him, and they took a few steps behind a big rock, away from the two who were training.

"What the hell, man?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Basic training at the dojo, huh?" Lawrence questioned, with a raised eyebrow.

"You kept me at work to get me out of the way."

"No. That was not the intent."

"Save it, all right. Some partnership."

"Listen, I don't have to defend how I train these kids. I'm reviewing kata." He stated before noticing a man with glasses stepped his foot in the mud.

"Who's that?"

"Ah hell!"

"My test drive." The blonde man answered, turning around to look back at the man in front of him.

"Don't change the subject."

"That is beyond unprofessional. Please go back to the car and finish the test drive."

"I got a better idea. How about you finish the test drive, and I'll train the kids."

"You've had your day of training, okay? And forcing a client to hike through the woods so you could swear at your boss is bad for business. So take him back. Now." Daniel explained.

"You're the boss."

"Yeah, I am."

Johnny back turned around to look back at the client before making his way to the test car.

"Move it or lose it, dude. I'm driving."

A few hours later, evening rolled around, outside Johnny's apartment complex, Robby was training for tomorrow for the fight for the male captain slot. He started throwing a barrage of punches, and high kicks in the air.

"Ais! Ais!"

As memories of fighting Ethan in the 2018 All Valley and getting defeated by Hawk in the 2019 Tournament all flashed in his mind.

"Second place. Second. Second place."

He yelled loudly and finished with a high kick in the air, just as his brother walked up to him.

"Hey, you're still training."

"Yeah. What about you? You get some work in?"

"Eh, a little bit." He shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Look, Robby, I just wanted you to know no matter what happens on the mat tomorrow, I don't have any beef with you, bro. Okay?"

"I just really need this."

"And I don't?" Keene questioned.

"That's not what I'm trying to say. I'm just, um.... I'm thinking about San Francisco University. You know? They look at my college application again, and this could be my only chance to become a Senesi after I graduate from college."

"So because I'm not going to college, my life isn't worth changing?"

"That's not—" Ethan began to say, as his mother opened the front door, and noticed the two having a conversation about their futures.

"Hey, guys. I made spaghetti."

"Thanks, Ms. Jones. I'm not hungry." Robby declined, before turning back around to glance at the boy in front of him.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Williams nodded, and walked into his mother's apartment.

It was a Saturday morning, at Miyagi-Do, everyone was getting ready to watch the four remaining competitors fight for both male and female captains.

"Hey." Johnny said, getting the boy's attention as he walked up to him.

"Just give it your all. Whether you win or lose, I believe in you. Okay?"

"Thanks." Ethan nodded, and Sensei stepped over to Robby, who was getting ready for the fight.

"Hey. Just give it your all. Whether you win or lose, I believe in you. Okay?"

"Sensei Lawrence, a word, please?"

The blonde man stepped over to where Daniel was as they stood near the balance beam.

"Hey, Johnny, listen. About yesterday—"

"It's fine. I get it. You're the boss. And I know you've been dealing with some shit."

"No, it's not fine, okay? I may be your boss at the dealership, I am your partner in karate."

"So, I was thinking, what if I referred Robby and Ethan? Keep you out of the middle of your boys. And you ref Sam and Tory."

"Sounds fair." Johnny agreed.

"It's gonna be a rough day for these kids. We just need to be there for them." He stated, as the two shook each other hands.

"Ethan, Robby, you're up first."

"First to three points wins. Face each other. Bow."

The two boys got up on the sparring desk and bowed to one another before getting into a fighting stance.

"Fighting positions."

"Ready? Fight."

They exchanged punches and blocks until Williams sweep his opponent's feet, making him fall down on the ground as he land a hit on the chest, earning a point.

"Point, Williams."

Keene looked around at the other students, hoping Tory would show up, but she didn't. Then he got back into a fighting stance.

"One point, Williams. Zero points, Keene."

"Ready? Fight."

His brother lunged forward, trying to land a swift kick followed by a high kick. The two fighters exchanged quick jabs and kicks before Ethan got down on the floor, delivered a two-legged kick to his enemy, who fell flat on the mat.

"Point, Williams. Two points. One more, and he wins."

A few seconds later, Nichols finally showed up to the dojo and walked up to the rest of the students who were watching the boys fight for male captain.

"That's two points to zero."

"Ready? Fight."

They slowly circled around each other. He sent a barrage of kicks, which his opponent blocked easily. Then, Ethan tried to excuse a sweep kick, but Keene jumped over it and landed a hit on his enemy's chest.

"Point, Keene."

"Two to one. Ready? Fight."

Williams quickly turned around, using the flying tornado kick but ultimately missed, and they exchanged blows and blocks once more until Robby landed a spinning back kick to his opponent, who groaned in pain and fell to the mat.

"Point, Keene."

"Don't worry, Ethan. No matter what happens, everything's gonna be okay." Sam stated reassuringly.

"No, I need to do this. I need to prove to everyone that I'm the best." He replied with a determined look on his face.

"All right. Two to two. Next point wins." Daniel said, and the two took their fighting stances one final time.

They swapped blocks and hits before both of them went down to the ground, trying to land a kick on one another. The two rolled around onto the mat for a few seconds, but they got down on one knee. Ethan lunged forward and jumped in the air, going for a jab punch to the face, but totally missed.

Keene was sent a flurry of punches his way, but he blocked them all, and got pushed back. The boy went for a high kick, but his opponent grabbed his leg, threw him down on the mat and hit him in the chest, earning a point.

"Point. Winner."

"No hard feelings?" He asked his brother, who just stood back up on his feet. The two fist-bumped one another.

"Nah, bro. We good."

"Congratulations, Robby."

"Thanks, Mr. LaRusso." LaRusso announced, holding up Robby's arm in the air.

"Your male captain. Robby Keene."

"Good job, Robby. Sorry, Ethan."

As Williams walked off the sparring desk, he was stopped by Johnny, who wanted to make sure he was alright after the intense fight.

"Hey, you were a badass out there. Today just wasn't your day."

"Thanks, Sensei." The boy nodded before stepping off the deck.

"LaRusso, Nichols. Bow to me. Bow to each other."

The two girls hopped on the sparring deck, bowed to Sensei and then turned to bow to one another. The brunette walked up to Nichols, holding her fist out to her.

"May the best woman win."

She looked at her fist, then tapped it with her own and got into a fighting position, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She remembered the words her mother told her about being a fighter.

"It's okay, sweetie. Life dealt us a bad hand. But we can change that. Cause we're fighters now."

"Ready? Fight."

Letting out a yell, she delivered a high kick followed by a quick jab and a few more kicks, all of that were blocked. Sam got on the ground quickly, sweeping her enemy's leg, making her fall down on the ground. She landed a strike to the girl's chest, earning the first point.

"Point, LaRusso."

"Fighting positions. Ready?"

Sensei didn't even get to finish what he was saying as Tory lunged forward aggressively, throwing a barrage of punches at her opponent, which all of it was blocked, before landing a hook kick right to her face. She then turned around and quickly delivered another kick to her chest.

"Point, Nichols."

"Hey, Ref. That's a little overkill. That should be no point." Daniel pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm handling it." Johnny reassured him.

"I'm.... I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Listen, that's a warning. Next one's a deduction."

"It's one to one. Fighting positions. Ready? Fight."

The two circled around one another, exchanging blows and blocks, as Sam delivered a swift kick to her opponent's ribs.

"Point, LaRusso. Two to one."

"Fighting positions. Ready? Fight."

"We need to stop the fight." Amanda whispered, as her husband looked at her with a confusing look on his face before someone decided to answer for him.

"I'm on it, Mrs. LaRusso."

They swapped hits and blocks before Tory raised her fist in the air, getting ready to end her opponent. Suddenly, just as she went in to land the attack, Ethan jumped in front of the brunette and caught Nichols's fist, preventing her from reaching his girlfriend.

"Tory, it's alright. The fight's over."

"That's not fair. That could been a point." She said in disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing, Williams? I'm the ref. You're only a Sensei in training. I'll decide when the fight's over."

"We'll explain everything. I promise." Daniel jumped in the conversation, hoping to get everyone to stop.

"Don't stop the fight. Please."

"We can't do it in front of everybody."

"I'm fine, guys. Really." Sam stated.

"No, Sam. It's not that. It's not that. Come on. Please, girls. Off the deck. Let's go."

"Don't tell them what to do. I'm their Sensei too."

"Well, then, end the fight."

"Why?" Johnny asked.

"Because my mother died." Tory blurted out, as everyone looked to her in shock and sadness.

"Tory. I'm.... I'm so sorry for your loss. But we can't continue this fight. This is not the time."

"Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I have to fight now."

"No. Tory. I wanna fight, too, but this is not right." The brunette explained.

"Sensei Lawrence, some help here, please." He slightly glanced at the man behind him, hoping to get some assistance to diffuse the situation.

"It's not up to us. If Nichols wants to fight, she should."

"We'll find another way to appoint the captain."

"Find a way? No. No! You do not understand. None of you understand!"

"But I do, Tory." Ethan said, making everyone turn their attention toward him.

"I understand what you're going through. I felt the same way when Mr. Miyagi died. I had this anger built up inside me and didn't hold back my punches for the first time. I even had a bloody hand at one point. Then I remembered all the good moments I had with him: the lessons, the memories, the laughs. That's the most important things after losing a loved one."

As he tried to make her feel better, Tory ignored him and turned to face Robby and Amanda.

"My mom would have wanted this. If I don't fight.... I have to do this. I have to do this for her. I have to fight."

"Tory, let's just a second and—" Keene tried to get her to calm down, but she still wasn't letting anyone help her.

"Robby, no."

"Just breathe." He said.

"Tory, I know what you're feeling, okay? But I also know that you're not in the right headspace to decide."

"You don't want me to beat your daughter."

"No."

"Because when push comes to shove, you're gonna choose her over me."

"No, it's not that, Tory." Daniel stated.

"Hey, we're not taking sides." Amanda replied.

"You sure about that?" Lawrence questioned as the man in front of him gave him a look of disbelief.

"Johnny."

"You want this fight to be over? Fine it's over." She walked off the sparring deck without saying a single word to anyone and exited the dojo.

"Tory, where are you going?"

"I'm done!"

LaRusso closed the double doors after bringing Ethan and Johnny inside Mr. Miyagi's house to discuss what just happened outside.

"Great work, guys. Y'all just lost one of our best fighters."

"Why the hell didn't you back us up?"

"Because she wanted to fight!"

"Her mother just died, Sensei. What's wrong with you?" Williams asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She was working through it!"

"When my mom died, all I wanted to do was get on a mat for three rounds. It would have helped me then. It would have helped her now." Sensei explained.

"We don't teach these kids to fight with anger. That's.... That's not the Miyagi-Do way."

"Oh, please. I'm so sick of hearing that name. You guys act so high and mighty, like Miyagi was some perfect angel. But he wasn't."

"I heard about his dirty little box of secrets. Mr. Miyagi was a liar and a thief."

Daniel threw a punch to his face before realizing what he had done. Ethan got in between them, trying to separate the two.

"Guys, enough."

"Shit. Johnny, I.... I'm sorry."

"Quiet!" The blonde man shouted loudly, grabbing their attention.

"I'm gonna coach the tournament with you. For the kids. Not for you. Not for this dojo. For them. But once we win. You and I are done. For good."

Johnny walked back outside to where everyone else was, with the two followed behind him. He and LaRusso stood on the sparring deck, while the boy stood between Sam and Robby.

"Training for the Sekai Taikai has been hard on all of us. But now training is over. While most of you won't be going to Barcelona, we know you'll be there with us in spirit."

"Since Tory won't be going with us, we've decided Hawk will take her spot."

Everyone clapped in applause as Hawk, with a surprise look on his face, stepped to the front and stood with the other five fighters were.

"You six will be fighting for Miyagi-Do. It will be the toughest challenge you've faced yet. And to win, we're all gonna need to be there for each other."

"All of us. As a team." Sensei added.

"Captains, step forward."

Sam and Robby both stepped forward as the two grown men walked off the sparring deck and stood in front of them.

"Chris, bring up the official Sekai Taikai captain headbands."

Chris made his way over to the group with a black box of the captain headbands. Johnny took the first one out and walked over to his son, wrapping the headband around his forehead. As Daniel began to wrap the other one, he noticed the headband looked oddly familiar.

"Dad, what's wrong?" The brunette asked.

LaRusso rushed back inside the dojo and headed straight to Mr. Miyagi's room. He pulled out the large box from before, opened it, and went looking for something. A few seconds later, he found the same captain headband, except it was worn out.

"Mr. Miyagi fought in the Sekai Taikai?"

He unraveled it and noticed there was dry up blood on the ends of it.

A plane landed in Barcelona, Spain. Dojos from all around the globe ranging, from Europe to the United States, made their way to the Sekai Taikai tournament arena. They walked down the stairs and got in their respective spots around the big mat.

The Miyagi-Dos looked around the arena in awe before turning their attention to three people wearing fully black out Cobra Kai gis with a Korean flag on it. They walked to their spot on the side of the mat. A few seconds later, two familiar faces stood next to them: John Kresse and Sensei Kim De-Eum. The two looked like they were waiting for someone.

Tory stepped next to the two, wearing the same black gi as the other students. She placed her hands behind her back and kept quiet, not saying a single word.

Everyone had mixed feelings and opinions about her betrayal, but what stood out the most was the angry look on Ethan's face. He clenched his fist tightly.

"Let the games begin." Kreese said, with his hands in his gi pockets.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE AND LEAVE AND FEEDBACK YOU GUYS HAVE :)

I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE GONNA BE ASKING WHY DIDNT ETHAN WIN THE FIGHT FOR MALE CAPTAIN?

WELL PUT IT THIS WAY, ETHAN CAN BEAT AN UNFOCUS ROBBY AND KEENE CAN DEFEAT AN UNFOCUS WILLIAMS.
BUT IF THEY ARE BOTH FOCUSED AT THE SAME TIME, THEN THEY WOULD JUST TIRE EACH OTHER OUT. IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE TO YALL, I HOPE IT DOES.

CLEARLY ETHAN IS BETTER FIGHTER, BUT YOU HAVE REMEMBER YOU CAN'T WIN EVERYTHING IN LIFE.

SEE YALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!