My Karate Kid 3

Chapter 11 ~ The tournament

Marie bit her thumb nail as she watched Mike Barnes face off against some poor guy who was getting his ass handed to him. Marie's gaze continually shifted over to Kreese and Silver, who were smiled as Barnes won his match.

"You're next, LaRusso. I own your ass." Barnes called, earning a glare from Marie. If she could, she would have definitely competed just to kick his ass.

"While we wait for the challenger to catch his breath...I'd like to thank a new patron of ours for the purchase and donation...of the permanent home of the All Valley Championships. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of Dyna-tox Industries, Mr. Terry Silver." Marie groaned as Silver walked onto the mat with a large smile.

"Thank you, John. Thank you very much." Silver thanked, taking the microphone. "I've always lived my life by the rule: 'If you get, you give.' For the last 20 years, I've gotten from karate. I've gotten discipline...health, self-confidence...inner peace. Everything that makes me what I am today. And today, it's time for me to give back. It's my pleasure to announce my partnership with the greatest...karate man I have ever known, Sensei John Kreese."

Marie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as people began cheering for Kreese. "Together, we are about to open a chain of Cobra Kai dojos..." Marie's heart dropped in her chest. "...where young people can come and learn the same values I've learned: Honesty...compassion...and fair play. Thank you all for coming. Enjoy the final match."

"Thank you, Mr. Silver. And thank you again for your most generous contribution." Marie took a deep breath as Terry Silver walked off the mat, nerves spiking through her body.

"Representing the Cobra Kai, the challenger, Mike Barnes." As Mike Barnes jogged onto the mat, Marie rested a hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"You've got this Daniel." Marie spoke with a gentle smile.

"And in this corner, someone who needs no introduction, the defending champion from the Miyagi dojo...Daniel LaRusso." Daniel jogged onto the mat as the crowd cheered his name. "This match will have a three-minute time limit. The first fighter to score three points will be designated this year's...All Valley Under-18 Champion." The announcer called. Fighters to your marks!"

Marie stood besides Mr Miyagi anxiously, biting her thumb nail. The two bowed to the ref before bowing to eachother, squaring up. As the match started, Mike threw four kicks at Daniel, pushing him out of bounds and stopping the match. "Out of the ring. No point." The ref brought them back into the ring, allowing them to square up. "Begin."

Mike threw the first few punches, which Daniel was able to block before Mike landed a rib strike, making Daniel turn his back and earn a strike to the back. "Point, Barnes! Score: 1-0." Maire winced, sighing as Daniel held his ribs and his back. "One point Barnes for the punch. Fighting positions. Begin!"

Daniel easily doged past Mike and threw a kick that Mike easily caught. Maire involentarily gasped as Mike kicked Daniel between the legs, covering her mouth. A Cobra Kai came to the side of the mat, sneering something in Daniel's ear as he recovered on the ground. Daniel pulled the guys arm, causing the man to fall before lundging at Daniel.

The ref grabbed him and threw him off the mat, shouting at him. The cheers were becoming too much for Marie to really hear anything, but she knew Mike had lost his point because of the kick. "Illegal groin kick will cost Barnes his previous point!" The announcer confirmed. "Score is now 0-0!"

"Don't they want to win?" Marie asked Mr Miygai. "Why are they smiling?"

It was strange is Marie why Kreese and Silver were happy that Mike had lost his point. "Kick to the groin. Penalty point. Score is 0-0!" The ref explained. "Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!"

Just as Mike turned to strike first, Daniel ducked and ran to the other side, turning as Mike moved to stike once again. He dodged the first bunch of attempts before being caught off guard as Mike struck him in the chest. "Barnes scores the point. Reverse punch." Marie glared straight across at Kreese as Daniel struggled to stand with the wind knocked out of him.

"Point Barnes. Score is 1-0. Ready?" The ref annouced. "Begin!" The match started again with Daniel dodging past Mike before pushing him down to the mat, spotting his inbalance. He lunged to attack but Mike stuck his foot out to stop him. "Break, break! On you line!" Daniel walked past Mike to return to his line when Mike suddenly struck him in the face, making Daniel fall to the ground. "That's it Barnes. One more violation and you're disqualified."

"That illegal punch will cost Barnes one point. The score is again 0-0." Marie took an shaky breath, tapping her foot against the ground anxiously. Intentional face contact, penalty point. Score is 0-0. Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!"

Daniel didn't have the oppertunity to move before Mike forced him right into Silver and Kreese. Marie saw they were telling him something, but she couldn't tell what. It couldn't be good though. That much was obvious.

"That's a warning for running out of the right. Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!" Daniel finally attempted to throw a strike, only for Mike to catch his fist and hold him still as he struck him four times in the back, making him drop.

Marie tried to keep a confident face, but failed as Daniel was once again beaten in the next turn, holding his chest as he struggled to breath from Mike striking him three times in the sternum. "What's the matter? You can't breath?" Mike teased.

Marie was beginning to panic, not because Daniel could lose the title, she could give a shit about some title. She was worried he was going to get seriously injured. The sounds began to drown out as Marie could only focus on the fight that was about to insue. "Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!"

Daniel had barely stepped forwards before Mike grabbed his arm and began kicking him over and over in the shoulder, the buzzer from the time limit doing nothing to stop him. Once the ref finally broke them apart and Daniel fell to the floor, Marie was running to his side with Mr Miyagi.

"Daniel-san!" Mr Miyagi exclaimed as the two dropped to his side.

"Mr Miyagi, it's over!" Daniel shouted. His tone broke Marie's heart as her hands shook.

"No!"

"I'm afraid, lets go. I want to go home." Daniel argued.

"Can't! You must not!" Mr Miyagi responded loudly. "Is okay to lose to opponent. Must not lose to fear!"

"I'm afraid of him, all right? What do you want me to do?" Daniel was sputtering, Marie was panicking and it was absoulute chaos.

"Hai!" His volume shocked both Marie and Daniel, making them freeze. "You stay focused." Mr Miyagi said sternly. "Daniel-san, your best karate is still inside you. Now time let out!" The buzzer rang out, annoucing the end of the break time.

As Mr Miyagi and Marie stood to leave, Marie heard Mike start shouting insults at Daniel. "Marie-san, no." Mr Miyagi held her arm as she moved back towards him. She complied, keeping her eyes on Mike as they walked, barely able to hear whatever insults he was spitting at Daniel.

Or maybe she didn't want to.

Finally, Daniel stood, with a new sense of determination on his face. Determination and anger. "Fighting positions. Ready?" Instead of a usual position, Daniel moved into kata formation. "Begin!"

Mike moved to attack, but Daniel began to go through the kata formation. Marie noticed with a smile as Silver and Mike's faces dropped. Mike looked over to Silver for assistance. "Get the point! Get the point!"

Mike lunged forwards to strike, allowing Daniel to grab his wrist and flip him over onto his back. Without hesitation, Daniel stuck Mike once in the ribs, winning the point and finally ending the fight. "Winner!" A large smile grew on Marie's face as Daniel limped over to them.

"Mr Miyagi, forget about it!" Daniel tried to bow, but grabbed Marie and Mr Miyagi, pulling them into a tight hug. "We did it! We did it!" Mr Miyagi held his students, smiling and laughing, enjoying this perfect moment.

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