Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 47: Daniel VS. Mike Part 2

"Begin!"

Mike lunges at Daniel, who blocks his kick and shoves him to the floor. Mike falls but quickly kicks his leg up. "Break! Break!" the referee yells, making the two boys pause. Mike stands back up and the ref orders, "on your line! On your line!" The two move toward the center and Mike suddenly punches Daniel in the face, sending him to the floor again. The audience boos and Rosalía shrieks, "Yo, what the hell?!" Rage takes over her as she watches Mike's smug facial expression. "That's it, Barnes! One more violation and you're disqualified!" the referee warns.

The girl's eyes land on Kreese and Terry, who are laughing, clearly enjoying the show. Ooo, I want to wipe those nasty smirks off their faces so bad, she thinks. Mr. Miyagi sets a hand on her upper back, making her glance at him. He pats her back and gives her a look that says, "calm down." Rosalía takes a deep breath, trying to cool down. "That illegal punch will cost Barnes one point," the announcer informs. Mike turns to Terry and places his hand over his cheek as if to say, "oops" sarcastically. The girl scoffs when she sees this. What the fuck is he playing at?

"The score is again 0-0."

"You alright, LaRusso?" the referee questions Daniel. The boy just stumbles around, trying to recompose himself. The ref turns to Mike and pipes up, "intentional face contact, penalty point!" Mike turns around to look at Terry, who nods his head at him. "Perfect," he praises. "Score is nothing-nothing. Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!" the referee declares while the two competitors get in their stances. Mike runs at Daniel, chasing him out of the ring. Terry catches him by the arms and threatens, "now the real pain begins, Danny-boy."

Daniel just gawks at him in a mixture of shock and fear. He has no idea what that means but he knows he'll find out soon, whether he wants to or not. Rosalía watches them curiously, wondering what Terry said to her boyfriend. Mike is still standing behind him and shoves him. Daniel pushes his hand away while Terry and Kreese smile menacingly at him. "On your lines!" the referee calls out as Daniel steps away from the two demented men. "That's a warning for running out of the ring," the ref speaks again while they get back on their lines.

"Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!"

"Go, Daniel!" Rosalía shouts. Mike lunges at Daniel again and he catches his arm. However, Mike ends up kicking him on the back repeatedly. He lands one more kick to his upper back, making Daniel cry out in pain and fall to the mat. "Break! Break! On your line!" the referee speaks up. Rosalía's heart drops as she views her boyfriend laying on the floor and holding his back. She's at a loss for words, she's never seen him look so defeated but she knows he still has a chance. "LaRusso, on your line," the referee orders. Despite the pain, Daniel gets back up, causing cheers to erupt all over the arena. "Yes, Daniel! You can do it!" his girlfriend shouts.

"No point for kick to the back."

"No point scored," the announcer declares. Rosalía locks her fingers together and brings her connected hands up to her closed mouth nervously. Come on, Daniel, don't let fear hold you back, she thinks. Across the room, Terry comments to Kreese, "this is beautiful! It's beautiful!" His plan is going exactly the way he wants. "Fighting positions. Ready? Begin!" the referee voices. Mike grabs Daniel and sends punch after punch to his stomach. He lets all his anger toward him out through every hit. The referee steps in to make him stop. "Break! Break!" he yells, trying to pull Mike off of Daniel. Mike tosses the boy to the ground and the ref holds him back to keep him from hurting Daniel even further.

"What's the matter, sweetheart? You having trouble breathing?" Mike pokes fun. "On your line...! On your line!" the referee commands. Rosalía and Mr. Miyagi observe the boy rolling around on the floor, desperately wanting him to get up. "No clean technique on that exchange. No point scored. The score remains 0-0. Ten seconds left in the match," the announcer's voice sounds throughout the arena. Relief travels through the girl's body when Daniel stands up and walks back to his line. Although it's not enough to get rid of her worries. She frowns when she notices the miserable look on Daniel's face. She can tell that he'd rather be anywhere but here. "You're strong, Daniel! Focus!" she yells.