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History repeats itself
Try and you'll succeed
Never doubt that you're the one
And you can have your dreams!
Each boy woke up differently on the morning of the tournament. Johnny was up and out of his house at 5 am. He decided to jog to the Cobra Kai dojo and prepare. He looked in on his mother who was sleeping on the couch again. He didn’t expect her to come and support him, she had not done so in the past. She just didn’t understand how much karate meant to him and his life. He used it as an escape from his troubled home life and a means for eventual revenge. He knew no other way. It made him feel powerful. It made him feel invincible. He went to her side and brushed her bangs away from her face. She muttered softly in her sleep and rolled over. Johnny pulled the covers over her shoulders and left the house.
Dutch, Bobby, Tommy and Jimmy were just arriving when he showed up. They all had their game faces on and were already hyping each other about much ass they would kick that day. Of course, they were all stoked at how much pain they were going to bring to LaRusso. Bobby looked at Johnny every time his name was mentioned, but Johnny kept his features neutral. He began his daily routine and waiting for instructions from his sensei.
Daniel woke up to the sounds of his mother knocking on the door. It was after 8 am He was face down on his mattress, having slept well from his late night activities. He groaned and rolled over. He was still dressed in his clothes from the night before and they were not that comfortable.
“Wake up, wake up my darling boy...it’s a big day.” Lucille said poking her head in the door.
“What time is it, Ma?” He said groggily.
“Well...I let you get your rest, but you’ll need to get a move on the tournament starts in a couple of hours.”
Daniel blinked a few times and stared at his clock. “Holy Shit...sorry ma...I should have been up hours ago!”
He started rushing about his room, packing his bag and hopping into another pair of pants. He rushed into the bathroom to take care of things in there while his mom served him up a plate of bacon and eggs.
“Oh ...I really can’t...We gotta leave now.”
“Nonsense…you got time to eat...have a seat, Champ.”
Daniel shoved a few bites in when he heard the knock at the door. “That’s Mr. Miyagi...I’ll see ya out there later, ok?”
He hurried over and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Knock ‘em dead, Kiddo.” Lucille laughed at her own pun.
“Oi...Daniel-san tournament starting soon...no time to waste.”
-----
Daniel was full of nervous energy. This was the day he had spent months training for. This was the day that was finally here...he could avoid it no longer. The day that had started out as a request for survival, now a means to prove himself. He was capable of succeeding.
“Do you think I gotta chance?”
“Daniel-san...win, lose...no matter.”
Daniel rolled his eyes at his mentor…”You’re not much in the “amping” department are ya, Mr. Miyagi?”
They approached the large building that sponsored all of the All Valley Tournaments for the past 20 years. Daniel stared up at it in wonderment. He could sense the tension and building excitement coming from within. There were several people parking cars and entering the building. Realization was hitting Daniel hard. ‘All of these people…’
Ali put her hands on Daniel’s shoulders and gave him an encouraging rub. She was used to cheerleader championships and the crowd sizes were no big deal to her.
“Are you ok, Daniel?”
“Yeah…this is a piece of cake….” He smiled nervously at her. “I’m just gonna throw up and get it over with.”
She laughed. They were at the registration table. After securing a black belt through questionable means, Miyagi followed Daniel and Ali to the main floor.
-----
Johnny was in his element. He knew the routine like the back of his hand. When he was here, he was no longer a kid in high school worried about life and schoolwork. He was a competitor. He glanced around the room at the other schools who had attended and what competition he was up against. He smirked. He saw a lot of people he had seen in years prior. He saw people he had bested, and people that could be a challenge. He looked at his quiver of Cobras and knew they stood a good chance of winning again.
John Kreese smelled the air. Sweat and anticipation. Just right for the kill. His men were ready. He had trained them like soldiers. He didn’t believe in all that karate for defense only crap. There were hardly any blocking techniques that were involved in his methods of attack. That was how you won. That was how you succeeded in life. You struck first. Never give your opponent the opportunity for an “in”. He smugly smiled at the other senseis as they would file past with their team. He didn’t even acknowledge them. They were unimportant to his goal. He looked at his best students, the ones he personally knew had a shot at taking home the trophy for the third time. He was proud of the champion Cobra that had shot them to victory and made them the most sought after dojo in Southern California. He wasn’t really even put on the map until Johnny Lawrence walked into his dojo. He glanced at Johnny who was studying the crowd with fierce eyes. He was scanning for something. Kreese approached and stood beside him.
“Are you ready, Mr. Lawrence?”
“Yes, Sensei!”
“Good…no mercy.”
He instructed his team to keep a low profile until the tournament started. Most of the team went to a designated mat and began their warm-up exercises. Dutch, Bobby, Tommy, Jimmy and Johnny headed for the locker rooms. Dutch had a joint he wanted to hit before the match started. It had an opposite effect on him. The others wanted to share it. It took the edge off before the competition.
They turned the corner and found Daniel by himself. He was trying to figure out how to tie his gi. He had never tried it on properly before. He was nervously fiddling with the inside ties wondering for the thousandth time why he was there that day.
“Well well well…look who we have here fellas…our little friend, Danielle”
Daniel’s heart dropped to his feet. He had been dreading this confrontation for weeks. He knew the gig was up and that all his boasting about not being harassed by this group was about to come to a crashing end. He tried to ignore them.
“Well hello, Danielle…what’sa matter, Mommie not here to dress ya?”
Daniel tried to focus on the words of Mr. Miyagi. Don’t be the one that starts the fight. He ignored Dutch and continued to fix his gi.
Johnny had come into the locker room last. He saw Daniel and a small part of him was proud of him for going through with today. After all they had been through recently, he wouldn’t have blamed him if he backed out. There would be a way to move on from the tournament, but Johnny would still be unable to defend him against a group that would never understand…It would be open season. He stood silently in the door way as Dutch continued his assault.
“Hey I’m talkin’ to you…” A hard shove and Daniel whipped around and got into a stance.
“COME ON, COME ON…MAKE A MOVE!” Dutch was an animal. Johnny was about to step forward in between the pair when the referee came into the locker room.
“HEY!! Save it for the ring…come on!”
“Right…”
The referee began ushering the boys out of the locker room and Dutch left with a parting shot.
“You know, points…or no points….you’re dead meat….dead meat!” The hyenas laughed and left the room.
Daniel sagged against the locker room bench. His head was spinning. He exhaled a trapped breath and studied his feet. He saw two feet standing in front of him and he quickly looked up expecting to see another one of the Cobras ready to threaten him, further weakening his resolve.
“Hey…”
“Oh…hey…” He said standing up and turning his back away from him. Nothing to be concerned about here…just his biggest uncertainty of the day.
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah…why wouldn’t I be…I almost got splattered all over the locker room walls.”
“He’s over the top today…someone spiked his Cheerios.”
“Coulda’ fooled me…I thought he was rather tame.” He shook his head.
Quiet laughter behind him. A pair of arms encircling his waist, a firm body pressed against his back and a head nuzzled into Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel closed his eyes. “Johnny…this is a really bad idea right now.”
“You look adorable…”
“Stop it…I’m finding it very hard to concentrate as it is. You don’t help.” He elbowed Johnny in the ribs playfully and turned to look at him. “It’s gonna be hard to fight you today…I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Well aren’t you the cocky one….who says you’re even getting as far as the first level?" He smiled ruefully. "There’s that LaRusso arrogance…er charm…that makes me remember why I like you.”
“What...you don’t think I gotta chance to face off with you?”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, LaRusso…he smirked at him and scruffed his head.”
“Knock it off.”
“I gotta get back…look…it’s not going to be easy out there…you gotta understand that. Especially with those guys…they are out for blood.”
“Are you?”
Johnny looked at him seriously and finished tying Daniel's gi in place. “Just do what you gotta do…and don’t worry about the rest.”
Daniel picked up his bag putting the last of his street clothes inside. Johnny noticed something dangling from the zipper, it was the surfboard keychain he had given Daniel their night on the beach. He fingered it and looked up at Daniel who was watching him with his ever luminous brown eyes. He couldn’t afford to get trapped there. He smiled and left the room.
-------
The main room was more intimidating than Daniel realized it would be. He trailed Miyagi and Ali around just gaping in wonder. Ali tied his black belt around his waist and was shouting about what ring they needed to be in and what time and when the event started. He was startled back into reality as a line of Cobra Kai pushed past him, shouting “COBRA KAI…COBRA KAI…COBRA KAI!” Johnny was leading the group around the room. Daniel turned to watch the group as they paraded about intimidating anything in their paths.
“Why don’t you guys grow up?!” Ali shouted at them.
Daniel didn’t have time to be concerned. He was rushed into a ring.
“Wait…what am I doing?”
“Don’t know…first time you, first time me!” Miyagi said looking equally lost in the large crowd.
After Ali explained the rules and Daniel hesitantly got his first win, things became a little easier. A little repetitive. He kept humming a mantra in his head. “You’re the best…you’re the best…”
Fight ‘til the end
Cause your life will depend
On the strength that you have inside you
Ah you gotta be proud
Starin' out in the cloud
When the odds in the game defy you
Daniel felt the Cobras presence throughout the day. He could see from the corner of his eye, Johnny and Kreese standing together, talking, arms folded and looking at him. They watched him face off with some lower level Cobras and shrug when he bested them. He looked to Mr. Miyagi often who was also watching him like a hawk. His eyes focused on Daniel’s every move. He smiled proudly while Ali shouted encouraging words to him when he delivered a kick to the ribs or to the side, earning a point. His mom showed up and he waved without looking at her. He was too busy studying the fighters on the mat. He followed the itinerary around the room, sometimes fighting Cobras sometimes watching them as they aggressively took down each of their opponents and steadily moved up the leader board.
Johnny and Bobby were doing well. They seemed to dominate the room, Johnny’s intensity was a force all its own. He barely glanced in Daniel’s direction, only to note how far he was progressing. His game face was ON and he would not be distracted. Bobby was matching him, taking out opponents, barely holding back from the double tap. He looked to Kreese for support and was rewarded with a “kick ass” tough look. He felt like he had a chance of taking the top spot this year. He knew that wouldn’t be possible, because Johnny was right where he should be at number one. He would happily come in second to him. He smiled and actually enjoyed proving the point that he was a winner.
Daniel took his share of injuries…but he kept moving. He wasn’t going to lie…it hurt to be punched in the ribs, it hurt to be kicked in the face. But those arrogant assholes got what was coming to them when he took them both down and won his matches against Dutch and Tommy. Dutch came after him and tackled Daniel to the ground after Daniel scored his winning point. He was in his face and had to be wrestled off of Daniel by three referees. He was sent to the locker room for a time out until the final match started. Kreese and Johnny had walked away from him and he was led away screaming obscenities at the room. Mr. Miyagi was at Daniel’s side helping him up and checking to see if he was ok.
“Daniel-san…!”
“I’m ok, Mr. Miyagi…I’m ok…” He allowed the older man to tape up his bruised side. He looked at the leader board. He had made it to the semi-finals. His mouth dropped in awe… “Mr. Miyagi…what just happened?? How did I get this far?”
“Good question, Daniel-san…when Miyagi have answer…will let know.” He chuckled and patted the boy on the back helping him back out to the floor. Ali rushed up saying that the semifinals were about to start and that Daniel needed to move it or he would be penalized.
They quickly rushed to the main stage and listened as the announcer call the first match.