warnings: violence and mentions of death!

___

CAMERON felt hungover even though it had been days since the party. She had been texting her boyfriend, aware that if she didn't things would could get worse for them. And he was already fired up. Her Dad made her breakfast which she was grateful for. She had to get to the competition early so she could warm up and just get into the right mindset. She had slipped in her contacts, slicked up her hair and said some morning affirmations.

Alexis asked, "Got everything?"

"Yup," Cameron breathed out, wiping her mouth of any food as she stood up from the dining table.

"You're bringing the toy?" She noticed when her daughter packed her bag, the stuffed animal was in there.

Cameron nodded, taking Leo out of her bag and presenting it to her parents, "It's a Leopard. And you both need to kiss it for good luck." She shoved it in her dad's face first, "please."

He caught a whiff of something, making him inch back in his chair, "Did you spray my aftershave on this?"

"Yes. he's a boy so obviously." Cameron said in an obvious tone. Alexis took the stuffed animal and kissed then passed it to her husband, with an expectant look. "One kiss." Cameron's eyes beamed when her dad tentatively did the same, "wasn't so hard." Her quip earned a chuckle from him,  "So are you coming later?"

Blake regretfully informed, "I can't baby. But remember what I said."

Alexis sighed to herself as she took the plates from the table and carried them over to the sink.

Cameron repeated, "No regrets."

Blake hummed, "Exactly."

"Have you taken your meds?"

"Yeah," Blake answered, avoiding his wife's gaze.

"Well, I'll see you later. I love you both." Cameron pressed a kiss to his forehead and then did the same to her mom who forced a happy expression.

"I love you too, I'm so proud," Blake stated, eyes twinkling with happiness.

It was a shock to her, but she embraced it without question as she zipped up her bag.

Alexis spoke up, "I'll be in the stands baby, Lilian as well."

Cameron snorted, "She hates when you call her that."

"Which is why I do it."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

WHEN Cameron arrived outside the venue she approached her boyfriend who was angrily shadowboxing, before Hawk told him to look up.

Miguel let out a sigh of relief when Cameron weakly smiled at him, then acknowledged her friends, even little Bert. Miguel motioned, so they could speak in private.

"Here," he pulled out a packet of gummy worms from his bag, "I know it's not much. But I hope it's a start." all morning he was super aggravated, and he knew it annoyed everyone around. "I was just feeling sorry for myself. I got in my head, and got drunk and took it out on you."

"You did," Cameron agreed.

He nervously swallowed the knot in his throat, "I'm sorry."

Eyeing the candy in front of her, she begrudgingly took it.

"I'll accept your apology if you try and say sorry to Sam. You're sober now and she might appreciate the sentiment. And just because I'm not her friend, doesn't mean I'll overlook that you pushed her."

"Okay," he thought that was fair since he was behaving like an ass.

"And to calm our nerves. I brought Leo."

His face lit up, "You did? But my time with him is at the end of the week."

"I know, it's for good luck. Even sprayed some of my dad's aftershave on him," Cameron mentioned, crookedly smiling, then noticed his fond stare. "What?"

"You're cute." she playfully shoved him before he took a step closer, "and if you're hungry you should eat the gummy bears."

"They were originally called dancing bears."

"They were?" Miguel was met with a low hum. His eyes followed her every move. "So. Can I get a kiss now?"

Rolling her eyes, she conceded, "You can."

He placed a hand on the side of her face, guiding it up to lay a kiss on her lips. He smiled when she giggled and pulled him close.

"Guys!" Aisha exclaimed, making them jump back, "There are children present." she gestured to Bert who flushed under their gaze.

"And we have bigger fish to fry other than swapping spit," Hawk said, glancing between them, the couple came over, and Miguel went back to shadowboxing, but stood near his girlfriend. "Where's Sensei? The tournament's gonna start soon."

"He'll be here," Aisha was certain of that.

Bert uttered, "I don't know about that."

They turned to him, and Aisha questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"I saw him last night at the mini-mall. I was buying..." he fumbled with his words, "A carton of milk." Cameron gave him an odd look as he continued,  "When I heard him in the parking lot, yelling."

The picture Bert painted was a messy one at that, making their eyes blow wide.

Hawk rolled his eyes, "Well, why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

Bert nervously rocked on his heels, "I don't know. I guess I'm just so used to seeing him drunk, it didn't seem like that big a deal."

"Well, we're here, and he's not. So it's officially a big deal." Hawk exclaimed, "What if something happened to him?

"Like what?"

Cameron rubbed the younger student's shoulder, noticing how worried he was. "Nothing." She attempted to calm him down.

Hawk angrily suggested, dismissing her, "I don't know. Like he drove his car off a cliff, or he bought a gun and blew his brains out."

Aisha scoffed at that, "No, sensei would never kill himself. It's too pussy a move."

"Whatever. I mean, we're here. We're gonna have to do it without him," Hawk was almost confident that they could win.

"Do what without me?"

The Cobra Kai's tuned to see their sober Sensei walk over, bag in hand and a determined look on his face, resulting in Miguel dropping his hands from the air.

"Sensei," Aisha expressed as he stood between them.

Hawk defended, "We didn't think you were gonna show up."

"I may not always win, but I never back out of a fight,"

"We've heard," Cameron mumbled under her breath, earning a pointed look from him. 

Miguel exclaimed, frustrated, "Great. Let's sign up."

Johnny shook his head, "Not yet. There's one more lesson I have to teach you."

An announcer spoke, "All teams report to the locker room in five minutes."

Stood outside their lock rooms, Cobra Kai listened to the wise words of their Sensei.

"You've all learned to strike first, to be aggressive, not be losers." Sensei started, "I've taught you to strike hard, put every ounce of your power behind everything you do. But I haven't taught you the third rule of Cobra Kai... No mercy. The older you get, the more you're gonna learn that life isn't fair. You wake up one morning feeling great, and then life throws a spinning heel kick to your balls. Takes a big steaming shit in your mouth." ignoring their initial disgust, they were locked in. "You get an F on a test. You get suspended. You fall in love with a girl, and some other dude comes and tries to steal her away." Miguel was trying to suppress his anger. "Your car gets set on fire. Just when you think things are going good, everything falls apart. That's how it goes. Life shows no mercy, so neither do we. We do whatever it takes to keep our heads above water. We do whatever it takes to keep moving forward. We do whatever it takes to win!" they were eating up his words. "Remember who you are. You're badass. You don't give a shit  You kick ass. You're Cobra Kai."

Miguel yelled, "Cobra Kai!"

They all screamed.

Sensei smiled, "All right, guys, let's get down there and kick the shit  out of everybody."

"Yeah!"

Miguel went to pull out his white Gi.

Sensei stopped him, "No. You're not wearing those."

Black with yellow lining were the new Gis with a yellow cobra logo and their names dotted above. They were sleeveless and more fitting. It allowed them to feel levelled up, more confident, and more powerful.

And no Mercy.

Well until Cameron pulled Miguel into the hallway after changing to smack her lips to his. Even with only minutes before they were announced, she just had to. He softly grabbed at her waist as she trailed her fingers over the small hairs at the base of his neck.

"Enough!" Johnny's voice made them jump apart, awkwardly avoiding the stares of their other teammates.

"He was helping me stretch, sorry," Cameron defended, earning some eye rolls and a mischievous grin from Hawk.

Miguel smirked as he wiped the corners of his mouth.

"Have some decorum."

They all turned to see Lily, standing there shaking her head. When she arrived, no one knew.

Johnny pointed to the girl he didn't know, who mirrored his disgust, "I don't know what she just said but yeah. Have that."

"It means then need to cut that shit out."

Johnny nodded, "Have some decor."

"Close enough." Lily blew everyone kisses and winked at Hawk. "Good luck. See you out there."

"Now let's beat their asses!" Johnny exclaimed after Lily left.

His students yelled back, "Yeah!"

"Use that pent-up energy to win Diaz," Johnny said quietly to him.

Miguel hid his bashfulness with a grin, "Yes Sensei."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

MOON, much to Lily's chagrin sat next to her, interrupting her conversation with Alexis to introduce herself. Carmen and Rosa joined them as they all spoke about their anxiousness for their loved ones.

"Welcome, everyone, to the 50th annual All Valley Under 18 Karate Championship!" Daryl announced as everyone cheered and applauded.

"This has been going on for 50 years? Am I the only one that's been out of the loop?" Demetri expressed from the other side of Moon.

Lily was amazed by the turnout, "No. No, you are not."

"You love the new mats." Daryl laughed into his microphone from where he stood, looking up at the crowds, "All right, let's start by welcoming all the local dojos competing today. From Granada Hills, All-Star Karate..."

"I'm so nervous. What if he gets hurt? What... what if he loses?" Carmen said, all jittery.

Alexis replied, "Have faith, Carmen."

"How can you be so calm?"

Alexis shot her a strained smile, "Trust me. I'm good at staying composed."

"I need to get me some of that."

Alexis let a forced chuckle, as she checked her phone, still not seeing a response from her husband.

"Pase lo que pase. Él lo hará. Además, me fumé un porro antes de venir." Rosa said, with a shrug looking away from her daughter's wary stare.

Extreme Martial Arts. Krunch Karate. Topanga Karate was lined up, and a mom from the latter team yelled her son's name like he was God's gift to them all.

"From Reseda, returning to the tournament, we have... " Daryl trailed off when he heard students chanting.

"Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!" they jogged in, with their sensei trailing behind them, embracing the cheers and screams they heard. "Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Huh!"

Now stood on the mat, parallel to the other teams, and they had their game faces on.

"Now that's what I call an entrance! And a badass name for a dojo." Johnny soaked up the compliment as stared directly into the eyes of Daniel LaRusso. "Let's hear it for Cobra Kai!"

Cheers and applause followed.

"Whoo! Let's go!" Lily yelled, as Moon waved a large foam finger she got at the front of the entrance.

Miguel inhaled deeply as he scanned the crowd, trailing his eyes over to where his friend Sam sat, who ignored him. He would apologise because he knew it was the right thing to do. And it would make his girlfriend happy also.

"And finally, fighting unaffiliated from North Hills, we have Mr. Robby Keene," Dayl introduced

The crowd applauded the boy as he jogged over, with a white Gi and hair tied back passing Miguel's angered stare and the rest of the Cobra's.

Cameron raised a brow, and nudged her boyfriend, "Focus. You got this."

His eyes softened, "So do you."

"All right, folks. Get ready. It's karate time!" Daryl exclaimed as he walked off the mat to the jeers of the audience.

When names were called and matches started. The atmosphere changed.

It was win or lose.

And the Cobra Kai's were making sure it was the former.

Johnny whispered something to Miguel before he was called up to the mat to meet his first opponent.

"You got this Miguel," Cameron whispered, watching him intently.

The referee instructed, "Face each other. Bow. Ready?" Miguel raised his left leg as he stared at the opposition, "And fight!"

When Miguel was rushed at, he bounced on his leg, letting his other foot drive forward to kick his opponent in the face, sending him to the mat.

Screams and cheers bounded off the walls as Miguel dragged him before walking back to his place.

The referee stated, "Point! That's one point, Diaz."

Fighting commenced, Robby won his round, and Cameron bested someone in five minutes with kicks and a fierce uppercut. So did Aisha who took down her opponent with a slide of the heel and punch to the chest and then the face. Shortly after Hawk's fist tore through the air ensuring his opponent met the ground.

He roared through the air, taking off the top half of his Gi as the crowd applauded.

"Damn," Lily uttered, sneaking a picture with her phone, making Moon giggle.

The Cobra's cheered when Bert started his fight, doing his best to support him when his opponent jumped through the air and flipped over him, making him disoriented, before getting kicked to the ground, losing the round.

"And that brings us to the quarterfinals," Daryl announced.

Miguel beat his opponent sending him straight to the semi-finals.

"Told you," Cameron nudged him, earning a smile.

"Your turn, you got this," Miguel was sure of it. After Aisha lost, Cameron was the last girl in the tournament and she had to make her mark.

"Come on CJ!" Lily screamed, cupping her mouth, "You're gonna fail Stone,"

Xander's mom, Patricia yelled, "Hey!"

"Come on Baby!" Alexis stood, cheering her on.

Cameron exhaled deeply as Johnny stood in front of her, "Leave everything on the mat kid. Don't let him out of your sight." he knew kicks were what led her to this point. "No mercy."

"Yes, Sensei."

She stepped on the mat, hearing the chanting from her teammates, the loudest was her boyfriend.

The referee instructor, "Face each other. Bow." they did, Blake's voice echoed through Cameron as she stared at Xander, "Ready? And fight!"

Cheering was heard all around, Xander was the first to attack, rushing forward, only for Cameron to swerve him, downward blocking a punch, and another and another.

"Come on James!" Sensei Lawrence screamed, "Attack!"

Xander thought she would drop back, but she slapped the mat as she pivoted and thrust out her heel, driving it to his jaw.

"Point! James!" The referee stated, voice carrying through the excited screams.

Alexis took out her phone to record, briefly hit with a wave of realisation as an hour passed and her husband hadn't responded. Nevertheless, she hit record and bounced on her heel, overly proud of her daughter.

"Yes CJ!" Aisha and Hawk screamed from where they stood.

Miguel flashed her a grin as she returned to her corner.

"Ready? And fight!" The referee instructed.

"Come on Xander!" Patricia cheered on her son seemed more fired open. "Block her! Tear her a new one!"

"Don't make me come down there, ma'am!" Alexis screamed back as she scoffed, turning back to her daughter who was too slow in evading a punch to her chest.

The referee stated, "Point! Stone!"

"Shit!" Lily cursed, glaring down at Xander's mom.

"I feel like this cannot be real," Demetri felt uncomfortable by the intensity of the competition. "Is this real?"

Cameron rubbed at her chest, then snapped her fingers as she tried composing herself.

She narrowed her eyes as the referee's voice tore through the air, seeing as Xander sprinted forward, extending his leg for her to jump, tumbling forward and landing on her hands, before rising.

"Come on Roni!" Miguel harshly clapped as he eyed his girlfriend, his jaw dropped when she bent her knees as her arms went overhead she leapt upwards, back arching as she propelled herself backwards, driving her left foot to Xander's cheek, sending him to the mat. "Hell Yeah!" she's amazing. "So hot," he mumbled, earning a chuckle from Hawk who cheered.

"Point! James!"

Cameron breathily laughed as she landed, wiping her face as the crowd went wild, but so did the look on Xander's face as he jumped from the ground and paced back to his corner.

"Keep it up James," Sensei Lawrence instructed, amazed by what she was able to do. He glanced up to see her friends and family overly thrilled by her talent.

"Fight!"

Xander exploded onto the mat, delivering a punch only for it to be dodged again. His mom's chanting aided in his attack as did the blow to the face.

Cameron grunted when he landed a hit to the side.

"Point! Stone!"

The next point was the winner and they were becoming worn out.

It was all about who wanted it more.

"Fight!"

Cameron drove forward, going to deliver an axe kick, only for it to be evaded. Xander swept out his leg, but she landed on her hand, before finding her footing, pivoting to block yet another punch to the side.

Yells were heard.

Fists were thrown.

And energy was running out.

Mustering up the strength to deliver a front thrust kick, Xander protected his chest with a down block. He moved his hand to land a hit to her face, but she dodged again and again.

Everyone stared in anticipation, mouths parting and eyes wide.

"Point! Winner!" the referee held up Xander's hand after he landed a punch to her ribs.

Cameron held her side as walked off to her teammates, who despite their sadness, congratulated her for coming this far.

"Good job Cami!" Alexis screamed, clapping for her daughter. She would somehow get pictures out of her videos and frame them all.

"Who knew she could fight like that," Carmen praised, showing her support.

Miguel closely looked over his girlfriend.

"Good Job Kid," Sensei Lawrence believed she only lost because of her lack of endurance. Which he would work with her on. "Next time."

"He didn't get my face," she breathily joked.

Sensei Lawrence amusedly agreed, "You got that right."

Cameron nodded along, then caught Miguel's aggravation, "It's okay. I'm not mad. It doesn't hurt that bad."

Miguel merely hummed, then shared a look with Hawk.

"Where's Aisha?" Cameron asked but didn't receive an answer.

Those who reached the semi-finals were told to come onto the mat.

Cameron left in search of her friend, who had been there for the beginning of her match.

She found her sitting, rather defeated looking at a parallel wall as Sam tried comforting her.

"Aisha," she called out.

"Hey CJ," Aisha rubbed at her nose, "I'm sorry I left. I was just annoyed."

"I get it. It sucks to lose." Cameron stepped closer, her side was still aching. "But trust me. Getting back at those punks will be better."

Sam furrowed her brows, "It's only a competition guys." she glanced up at the quarterfinalist. "You did really well Cameron. Especially with that backflip. I forgot how talented you were at gymnastics."

Cameron sucked in a deep breath as she acknowledged all she said.

"Thanks. But next competition I won't be losing." she paused, "and Miguel will apologise to you. I promise that." Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "My boyfriend isn't a bitch, only an idiot at times. But not today," a grin appeared on her face as she turned back to Aisha. "'Cause Cobra Kai isn't for quitters right?"

"Right," Aisha looked more determined.

"Or pussies," Cameron added, "I would tell you to join Samantha. But you did say we were all terrible people right?" Her grin morphed into a smirk when Aisha stood up and moved away from Sam's apologetic words. "Cheer us on though. We love our fans."

As the female Cobra Kai students walked back in, they were confused as to why Xander had the microphone in hand.

"I pray for every race, religion, and gender that we can all live together in peace. Please join me in a moment of silence as we strive to end intolerance in our time."

Although many people were unsure, they joined in, bowing their heads in solidarity.

"Is he for real?" Lily asked Alexis, who simply just hushed her and suppressed a smile.

From the mat, Johnny whispered to Miguel, "Hey, kick that pansy bitch in the face."

He quietly chuckled, "Yes, Sensei."

Daryl waited long enough and grabbed the microphone, "All right!" cheers and applause flooded the room, "First up, Stone versus Diaz!"

Johnny knew how fired up his star student was from watching his girlfriend get defeated by Xander. So Miguel wouldn't be taking any prisoners.

Miguel was on offence, yelling and ducking as Xander continued his advance, making Carmen, hide behind her mother in the stands out of her fear that he would be injured.

"Come on Miguel!" Cameron yelled, cheering when he extended his leg so high, it brought Xander to tumble down. Earning a point. "Go Mig!"

He yelled at Xander, who palmed his machine face that had been struck in the same spot by Cameron.

"That's 2-1 Diaz." the referee stated, as Miguel got in his stance, mirroring Xander. "And fight."

"He's so hot," Cameron shamelessly stared at her boyfriend, as the Cobra Kai's chanted his name.

"Let's go Diaz don't let him trick you," Sensei Lawrence yelled, as the two boys stopped circling each other and attacked. Xander flipped and Miguel slid across the mat, before rising to deliver a jumping sidekick to Xander's ribs., knocking him down. "Yes!"

"Point! Winner,"  the referee held up Miguel's hand as Xander's mother Patricia screeched in dismay.

"Miguel Diaz is headed to the finals!" Daryl announced.

Carmen embraced her mother, proud of her son as Alexis continued to film, beaming at how talented they all were.

"If he wins, he'll be on my good side," Lily said, half-shrugging as if she wasn't excited to see it.

"And he loses?" Demetri dared to question.

"Death," she joked, making Moon laugh. "Oh shit. Hawk's facing Dora." The two stepped onto the mat, well Hawk jumped after fist-bumping Miguel. He had a mean grin on his face as he approached. "Come on Hawk!"

The first point went to Hawk, who threw Robby to the ground and delivered a punch to the stomach.

"One point! Hawk!" the referee stated.

With encouraging words from Mr LaRusso, Robby inhaled deeply, perplexing Hawk, who charged forward but ultimately received a roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him down for a second.

"Shit," Cameron grimaced.

Harsh words between the opponents were exchanged, causing Hawk to push the Referee to the side and charge at Robby who had his back turned with a kick to the shoulder, making him drop the ground.

Outrage followed.

"That's enough! Illegal contact. You're disqualified." The Referee yelled as he pushed Hawk.

Hawk gritted out, "Bullshit!"

Cameron watched on as Sensei Lawrence went to check on Robby for some reason before he was pushed away by the Referee.

"What the hell are you thinking, man?" Sensei slapped Hawk on the arm as they walked back.

Hawk scoffed, "What was I supposed to do, be a pussy?"

Miguel yanked him off the mat, glaring at his friend, "I can't believe you just did that."

Hawk grunted, yanking his arm away.

Cameron rolled her eyes, "You're an idiot."

"Well now that bitch is injured, it's hunting season," Hawk retorted, smirking.

"You do realise you're not actually a Hawk right?"

"No, we're Cobra's," Hawk replied, turning out his hands and ignoring the disbelief on Cameron and Aisha's faces. As Robby was helped off the mat. Due to the Illegal Contact, he was automatically through to the finals. "Shit."

"Well done. Now go cool off." she turned to her boyfriend, who let out a pregnant sigh, "Want me to help you stretch?"

"Eww," Aisha did not want to hear this and went over to the stands to talk to Lily.

"Properly this time?" Miguel raised a teasing brow.

"Yes, properly."

Now sitting on the mat, he extended his feet as she pressed down on them.

"I spoke to Sam," she informed as everyone readied themselves for the finals. "Didn't go as planned. I might have ruined her friendship with Aisha."

"Why?"

"Not on purpose," Cameron defended, annoyed at the face he made. "Look. I only mentioned what she said the other night about all of us being terrible people. I never said anything that wasn't true."

"So you struck first?" although his eyes were narrowed, amusement swam in them when she innocently shrugged. He stood up, forcing her to look up, "I'll apologise then." he saw Sam standing alone by the side.

"Good boy."

He laughed, shaking his head as he jogged over to the LaRusso girl.

"Sam." he greeted cautiously. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened the other night."

She replied, "You mean when you pushed me?"

"It was an accident. I wasn't trying to push you," he explained.

"You shouldn't have been trying to push anyone," She expressed, causing Miguel's face to contort. "Like at all."

"That guy was flirting with my girlfriend. And you expect me to be okay with that?"

"I expect you to act like a normal person. You don't even know Robby, and you were trying to start a fight with him."

"You have to strike first. You don't wait for the enemy to attack," he recited the lore of Cobra Kai.

Astonished, Sam uttered, "The enemy? Do you even hear yourself? What is wrong with you?"

For a split second, Miguel stared at her, biting back his anger before saying, "Well, just wait. Watch what I do to Robby in the finals. And so I can fit your terrible person agenda."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"NO Mercy," Cameron instructed Miguel who nodded in all his stoicness. "Sin piedad." Surprise flashed through his gaze at her accurate pronunciation. "Yeah, Duolingo helps. But forget that and win this shit."

She left him to stand with Aisha.

"This is it, folks. The moment we've all been waiting for. The final match to determine who will be victor and champion. Will it be Miguel Diaz from Cobra Kai Karate?" Daryl questioned in the microphone as flashing lights circled the venue. "Will it be Robby Keene, unaffili... " he trailed off, after being whispered to, "Daniel LaRusso's gonna coach? Daniel LaRusso is gonna coach!"  cheers flooded when Daniel stepped up onto the mat beside Robby. "I'm sorry, folks, there's been a change. Robby Keene will now be fighting for Miyagi-Do Karate with former champion Daniel LaRusso as his sensei! How about that? Good luck, gentlemen."

The Sensei's approached each other as their students stayed to the side.

"It doesn't matter Mig," Cameron tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, you can do this," Aisha added.

"Kick his ass, Miguel," Hawk growled out, staring directly at his friend.

The Referee instructed, "All right, senseis, let's take your corners."

Sensei Lawrence approached Miguel, "You know what to do. You've trained all year for this."

Miguel said unflinchingly, "Don't worry, Sensei. I won't let LaRusso or that kid go home a winner."

Cameron clapped loudly as she watched Miguel walk toward the centre of the mat. "Come on Miguel!

The Referee directed, "Face me. Bow. Each other. Bow. Fighting positions." they mirrored each other's stances, as Miguel let out a shout. "Ready? And fight!"

"Hiyah!" Miguel yelled, advancing Robby who was all about defence.

Blocking Miguel's blows, he pushed him away, before delivering a kick to his chest, pushing him to the ground.

"Point!" The Referee stated.

Cameron groaned in annoyance as her boyfriend slapped the mat, "It's okay Miguel."

Daryl announced, "Keene and Miyagi-Do get the first point."

"One point," Johnny tried calming him, "It's just one point."

Aisha yelled, "No mercy!"

"Strike hard!" Cameron called out as they returned to their fighting positions.

"You got it!" Hawk encouraged.

The Referee spoke, "Positions."

"Remember the pitching machine. Don't get hit," Sensei Lawrence reminded him.

"Ready? And fight!" The Referee said.

Remembering his training, Miguel dodged every advance, swing and kick, before landing an overhead kick to Robby's shoulder and a punch to his gut.

"One point!"

Aisha cheered, "Yeah!"

"Yes, Miguel!" Cameron was happy with the equaliser.

Daryl announced, through the cheers, "Diaz and Cobra Kai with the point. Now it's 1-1."

"Ready? And... fight!" The referee instructed.

Boy students approached each other, Miguel with more aggression, bearing his braced teeth as he took a shot at Robby's injury, flipping onto the ground and swiping his feet, causing him to land on his back before striking him again.

"Point!"

"Yeah!" Hawk screamed.

"You got this!" Cameron cheered as Aisha happily bounced on her feet.

Daryl announced, "That makes it two points for Diaz."

"Time! Time," Daniel yelled, signalling for it to stop.

"Time?" Miguel scoffed before the referee guided him to his corner as Robby went over to Daniel, wincing and grabbing his shoulder.

Cameron locked eyes with Miguel as he sat down on the edge.

The referee didn't waste time and called Robby back into the fight. 

"All right, Diaz. Let's go," Miguel jumped up and made his way over, getting to his fighting position,  "Fighting positions."

"What the fuck is he doing?" Cameron questioned, eyeing Robby in confusion.

"Pussy shit," Hawk answered.

"Come on Miguel!" Moon and Demetri turned to Lily in shock who immediately backtracked, "Never tell him I ever cheered him on."

"And fight!" The referee instructed, and Miguel advanced, unphased that his kick was blocked but was hastily brought to the floor by Robby. "Stop! Out of bounds.  Out of bounds. No point. Out of bounds." they resumed the round, "Ready?  And fight!"

Miguel was relentless, pushing Robby to the ground, bringing his foot down onto his injury once, but before he could do it again, Robby placed his hand on the ground and kicked his legs up to drive Miguel backwards.

Daryl announced,  "How about that? A two-legged kick."

Miguel was frustrated, so when Robby strolled over to help him up, he pulled his injured arm down, sending him down as he rose,

Aisha yelled, "Come on!"

"Yeah!" Hawk screamed.

"Come on Miguel!" Cameron screamed, ignoring the booing from the crowd.

"That's one warning for unsportsmanlike contact," the referee stated, acknowledging Daniel's dismay.

Miguel walked up to Sensei Lawrence, "I found his weakness, Sensei. It's his shoulder."

"Look, I know we want to win, but it's got to be the right way. We don't have to fight dirty."

Miguel scrunched up his face, "Dirty? There's nothing dirty about winning, Sensei. You taught me that. Don't worry. I got this. No mercy."

Daryl stated, "Whoever wins the next point will be our new champion!"

The crowd jeered as the students returned to the mat.

"It's 2-2. Next point wins," the referee said, "Okay, good luck to both of you."

"Go, Miguel!" Aisha cheered, clapping.

"Ready? And fight!"

They advanced each other, Robby pushed Miguel aside, before readying a harsh kick. But Miguel captured his leg, kicking at his injury again, driving him away.

He spun on his heel, giving one last kick to Robby's chest, sending him to the mat, earning screams from the Cobra Kai's.

"Point! Winner,"  the referee held up Miguel's hand as reality washed over him.

The venue stood up, cheering as the Cobra Kai students rushed over to him, clapping his shoulders and yelling in his face.

"Let's go! Sensei, we did it!" Miguel grabbed at Sensei before he could take a step further.

Sensei nodded, "Yeah!"

"Miguel!" Cameron jumped on him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "You did it."

"Who saw that coming, ah? I know I didn't" Daryl announced into the microphone as he stood between the Karate Dojo, with the trophy, "Without further ado, let me present the trophy to this year's new champion, Miguel Diaz and the Cobra Kai dojo!" Miguel took it after gently letting his girlfriend go and yelled, holding it up as everyone celebrated around him. He heard the screams from his mom and grandmother. "Yeah! Miguel! Is there anything you want to say to the people, son?"

Miguel to the microphone and said, "I just want to say that if it wasn't for my sensei, I wouldn't be here, so this is for Sensei Johnny Lawrence and Cobra Kai!"

"Yeah!" Sensei Lawrence stood stoically as his students yelled, "Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!"

"Oh my god!" someone let out a gutwrenching scream from outside the venue, earning everyone's attention.

The crowd along with the students rushed out to see, by the entrance hall the television that played the local news.

Murmurs and gasps were heard as the Cobra Kai's pushed through as did their family members.

Everyone's faces dropped as Cameron thrashed around in Miguel's arms. Alexis collapsed on her knees as Carmen comforted her.

The news anchor announced "Local teacher Blake James found. His body washed up after he jumped from Victory Boulevard Bridge. Witnesses say that there was no talking him down. He declared that he loved his wife and daughter before jumping."

Cameron screamed, "Dad! Daddy! No. No. No."

Johnny shut his eyes as he uttered, "I'm sorry Cameron."

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END OF SEASON 1

a/n:

rip blake james! i had been planning this since the start. there were signs of this throughout the book. i wanted to make them subtle, but at times i was very literal, especially with blake removing the money from his private pension fund and placing it into cameron's college fund. the constant fights between him and alexis and just him losing the motivation to leave the house. i researched clinical depression and how far it changed blake's life, him leaving his job and even not being able to pull himself out of his state. you'll see the aftermath of this in season two of this story.

i wanted cameron to lose in the quarter-finals, so she could progress much later in the story. it would've been unrealistic for her to be the winner.  i'm aware of how gymnastics and flips in karate are mainly seen in movies but are not really encouraged in actual tournaments because of the risks involved. but acrobatics are prominent regardless. it is a part of cameron's past and i want to continue to implement it throughout this book. she's not the best at karate yet.

along with the grief and how the james' will handle themselves next season, you'll see. relationship dynamics might become strained or strengthened. cameron's mental state will be morphed for real, especially with kreese coming into the picture. because the last few chapters cameron's personality was gradually changing particularly with how conflict isn't phasing her like it used to.

as i start writing the new chapters, please be patient as i am a student and have a personal life, despite the fact i have planned and written a lot so far (i love this story)

feel free to reread, or inquire about any theories you have. don't ask when i'll update because i won't respond. you can look at my other stories, and check my tiktok and tumblr.

thank you for the support, votes and comments.

- liv