𐙚˙ ༘ ⋆｡ ˚( DECODE ! )
❛ VALLEY FEST ❜
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE !

THE LIGHTS FLASHED, hurting Charlie's eyes as she observed Miyagi-Do's performance from a distance. Johnny had asked them all to come, making sure they understood their roles and moment to make their move.

As Kreese approached, Charlie absentmindedly toyed with her rings. She realised what she was doing and quickly shook her hands to stop.

"Nervous?" Kreese asked, joining her.

Charlie glanced around the festival, feeling the weight of the crowd. "A little. There's a lot of people here."

Kreese nodded, his gaze shifting towards the Miyagi-do display. "Don't let it get to you. You're a champion, regardless if you won or not. You're also the daughter of one, it's in your blood."

Charlie stole a glance at her father, who was watching the performance, waiting to strike. A smile tugged at her lips as she turned back to Kreese. "Thank you."

The finale drew near, and Johnny walked over to them with a determined expression. "Now."

"Cobra Kai!"

They changed as they marched onto the stage. Charlie's eyes glanced over at Daniel, Sam and Robby and sent them a 'sorry' look. She asked her dad earlier why they couldn't just do it after but he shut her down.

The crowd began cheering as they took their places, executing some moves they did during practice.

"Cobras! Show them the true essence of karate!" Johnny's voice yelled from the edge of the stage.

Charlie was in a fight with Rickberger, both throwing punches and blocking each blow. Charlie then grabbed his arm, sweeping him to the ground before striking his chest.

From the sidelines, Charlie cheered on her teammates as they took their turns. Alyssa stood beside her; the girl had asked to sit this one out considering she only joined today.

Next, Charlie faced off against Hawk. He had the upper hand for a moment, taking her to the ground. However she quickly grabbed him with her legs and made him topple to the ground before hitting his stomach.

She extended her hand out to help him up and they were now face to face. He stared down at her, eyes flickering to each feature on her face until she heard a familiar voice cheering both their names.

Charlie turned her head and spotted Moon. She let go of his hand and moved on to find another opponent.

With the fights finished, Charlie called Alyssa to join her on stage, handing her a wooden board. Alyssa, eyes squeezed shut and braced herself for the impact. Charlie's kick landed right on target, splitting the board in two while the audience cheered for her once again.

Joined by the rest of Cobra Kai on stage, they proudly held up their Cobra Kai banners and tossed some of their headbands into the audience.

Finally, it was Johnny's turn. Stacks of slabs were arranged before him, set on fire by two of his students. He took a moment, looking down at the fire before delivering a powerful punch, breaking each slab.

Charlie's cheers mingled with the the crowd as her and the rest of cobra Kai joined Johnny on the stage.

A wide grin spread across her face; just last year she was being bullied for the way she was and now people were cheering for her just for knowing how to fight.

【☆】★【☆】

"YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND, the Mogadishu in the '90s was a hellhole. Warlords controlled whole swaths of the city. My team and I were charged with cleaning the place up." Kreese explained to Aisha, Alyssa, and Hawk, while Miguel and Charlie stretched on the floor.

"How many warlords did you kill?" Hawk asked, fully invested in the story.

"You keep track of every ant you stomped out?" Kreese retorted, as they gazed at him in awe.

Charlie and Miguel shook their heads when Hawk's said it was badass.

Kreese continued, with Charlie only fully listening when she and Miguel finished their stretching and stood up.

"They were outgunned, we were outmanned. I tell you, Rwanda was no joke."

Miguel and Charlie exchanged confused looks before Charlie spoke up, "Don't you mean Somalia?"

"Mogadishu is in Somalia, Rwanda's a whole different country." Miguel clarified to him.

Kreese gave him a once-over before turning back to continue the story, "of course, Somalia. I've spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kind of bleeds together, you know?"

They nodded their heads as Johnny exited the back room.

"listen up! I see we've got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in. In neat rows and lines. Time to see what you're made of." Johnny said while Kreese made his way to the front and everyone turned to face them.

Alyssa stood next to Charlie, leaning to the side with a wide grin, "I'm so excited!"

"Johnny's not that special," Charlie chuckled quietly, as all attention shifted to the two men at the front.

"You two, quiet!" Johnny yelled after noticing the girls talking. They immediately stopped their laughter and nodded.

"Sorry, parents can't stay for class. It's an insurance thing," Johnny remarked seeing a man trying to blend in with the class.

"I'm not a dad, I... I'm here to kick some ass, sir!" the man proudly proclaimed, making Charlie, Alyssa, and Aisha laugh a little.

Johnny squinted his eyes at the man, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh yeah, uh... I sold you the mirror," the man explained, pointing behind him at the replaced mirror. "We kind of bonded, talked about rock bands."

Johnny exhaled before addressing him again, "look, you're little old. This is a class for teenagers."

"Well, I can take 'em. I'm not afraid of kids, sir," he confidently said while Charlie shook her head "And my mom, she doesn't charge me rent, so I've got a lot of cash to burn."

"Yeah?" Johnny snatched the money from his hand and walked forward. "We'll consider this a trial run."

"I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic. But if you do what I tell you to do, you'll at least have a chance of becoming a fighter. But to do that, you gotta fight. So which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?"

Charlie raised her hand slightly, "I don't have balls, but I-"

"Not you, we know you can fight," Johnny chuckled before turning back to the group in front of him. "Anyone?"

"I'll take him on."

Everyone turned to see a girl with a cropped jumper and dark roots.

"Oh, you will, huh?" Johnny responded after seeing her.

She nodded, "I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show, but can you actually fight?"

Charlie raised her eyebrows with a smirk, already liking her.

"That sounds like a challenge."

"I like a challenge."

Johnny nodded as he walked back to the front, "Mr. Diaz, show little miss hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about."

Everyone spread out, giving the two some space.

"Do you think she'll win?" Alyssa leaned in, but before Charlie could respond, Hawk interjected, "Nah, Miguel's clearly gonna have it."

"I don't know," Charlie added, "she seems like she can put up a good fight. My money's on her."

"You want to bet?" Hawk smirked, and she squinted her eyes at him. "You'll lose."

"Yeah, we'll see," Charlie smiled at the girl who was preparing to fight. "Twenty?"

"You're on," he said as they bumped fists.

"Look, are you sure you want to do th-" Miguel began to speak, but she kicked him in the stomach. "Alright, game on."

The two began their fight, and gasps filled the room when Miguel threw her to the ground. The girl quickly regained her footing and threw herself at him. He dodged all her strikes before nudging her leg, causing her to stumble.

"Look who's losing," Hawk whispered in her ear with a singing tone. She kept her gaze fixed on the fight, observing every move. "The fight isn't over yet, pigeon."

Hawk let out a sigh. "Can you please stop calling me that?"

"Only because you said please, pigeon." Charlie laughed making him give her deadpanned face, "I'm joking!"

"Did you see that?" the girl fighting asked, now stood over Miguel.

Charlie grinned with a gratified nod. "I want my money, Eli." He didn't say anything when she called him that. He gets mad at everyone else for not calling him Hawk so she was confused why he didn't come at her for it.

"Ahh," he sighed, but Miguel rose to his feet. "Not so fast."

Miguel took Tory to the ground, wrapping his legs around her waist. Hawk nodded this time and mocked her, "I want my money, Charls."

Charlie groaned and promised to give it to him when they got their bags.

"My name's Miguel," he introduced himself, extending his hand. "Tory."

Tory grabbed his hand and effortlessly flipped him over her shoulder, restraining his arm while pressing his head into the ground. "With a 'Y'."

Charlie chuckled in shock, and Hawk huffed, "Haha! I told you!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Hawk rolled his eyes as he handed her a twenty. However, a smile graced his lips at her smile when she wasn't looking.

✧  •   •  𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚  •  •  ✧ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

okay I really like this chapter. I've got such a good idea on how to write their build up after him and moon break up 😋😋

please comment and vote !