Chapter Fourteen
ALL VALLEY

     It was the day of the tournament and Mara was more ready than ever. She hadn't talked to Moon or Hawk since the party and she didn't plan on it either. Her mind was focused on the All Valley and winning.

     She had a killer hangover, but Ryan had cooked up a home remedy that cleared up her headache. Now the two were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Mara made French toast for the both of them and the two were eating in silence.

     "Are you excited for the tournament?" Ryan dumped more syrup on his French toast and looked at his sister. He didn't know what happened at the party, but he could tell it really took a toll on her. She had been glaring at everything since she sobered up, any playful attitude she had while drunk completely gone. Mara stabbed her fork into her food and looked up at him and Ryan took that as his answer. "I feel bad for whoever's at the other end of your anger."

     The front door opened and their dad walked in. He had worked the night shift at the hospital and was just now coming home from work. "Hey, kids. What's the special occasion?"

     "Mara has a karate tournament today," Ryan answered with a mouthful of food.

     "I didn't know you were taking karate, Mars."

     Mara didn't bother looking up at him. "You didn't ask."

     "Well, I'll get changed and drive you kids there. It'll be a family thing."

     Mara got up from the table and glared at him. "I don't want you there. This is the first time you've talked to me in years where you weren't insulting me and you think I want you anywhere near me?" She stormed off to her room to get ready for the tournament leaving her shocked father in the kitchen.

    Shane Abrams sighed and placed his bag down by the door. He walked down the hall and knocked on Mara's door. "Hey, Mars. Can we talk? Please?"

"Go away!"

"Look, I know I messed up. I neglected you and insulted you and what you liked to do. I was and currently am a terrible father and I'm so sorry. I want a chance to fix things between us."

"It's been six fucking years and you're just now realizing that," he heard her yell from in her room. "You're full of shit. You weren't there for me when mom died! You weren't there for me for anything! I never even knew where you were half the time! You would come home when I was asleep and leave before I woke up! The only person who ever saw you was Ryan. As far as I knew I didn't have a father!" She opened her door and he saw that she had packed her bag for the tournament. She glared at him. "And I still don't. You're only apologizing to look good and save your miserable ass."

"God. Here you go with your shit again! I tried to be nice and you're still a brat about it. Go have fun at your little karate tournament."

Mara brushed past him and grabbed Ryan from the kitchen and the twins left the house. Ryan had to drive her to the arena since her jeep was still parked at the canyon. He was taking her to pick it up after the tournament.

The twins pulled into the crowded parking lot and spotted Miguel, Hawk, Aisha, and Bert standing in the front of the building. Sensei didn't seem to be here yet.

Mars got out of the car quickly ignoring the look from her brother and walked straight up to Miguel. She put her bag down and put her hands up gesturing for Miguel to practice on her. The boy didn't protest and soon the two teens were locked in a match of punched and blocking. They had their game faces on and everyone around them looked scared and worried.

Ryan watched his sister and Miguel spar and walked over to Aisha. "What's up with him?"

"He's been pretty agro since the breakup. What's up with her?"

"She's been violent ever since the party. Do you know what happened?"

Aisha pulled Ryan away from the group so no one could hear what she was about to say, specifically Hawk. "She was going to ask Moon out and saw her and Hawk kissing. She liked both of them so it really messed her up."

"Shit." Ryan looked back at his sister who was angrily throwing punches and kicks at Miguel. "That's what she meant by she was in the same situation as Miguel. They were both having relationship struggles."

     Aisha nodded. "We should keep an eye on both of them today." Ryan nodded and the two walked back over to the group. He had to find some way to make her feel better. He knew seeing the person you had feelings for with someone else hurt, but seeing both the people you cared for with each other must have felt like a bullet to the heart.

     "What were you guys talking about," Hawk asked them. He wanted to know if it had something to do with the way Mara was acting.

     "Nothing," Ryan glared at him. He had warned this kid what would happen if he messed up again and Ryan wasn't one to break his promises. He would get what was coming to him whether it was by Ryan's hand or someone else's.

     Hawk just looked away from him and at Aisha. "Where's Sensei? The tournament's gonna start soon."

     "He'll be here."

     Bert spoke up wanting to tell the older kids what he knew. "I don't know about that."

     "What are you talking about," Aisha asked him.

     "I saw him at the mini-mall. I was buying a...carton of milk."

     "Don't lie Bert. I know you were buying that magazine I took from you," Mara cut him off still sparring with Miguel. She was on defense now and the boy was throwing punches at her.

     "Anyway. I heard him in the parking lot, yelling. He was peeing on his car and drinking a bunch of alcohol. And then he started screaming about how we were all going to die."

     "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

     "I don't know. I guess I'm so used to seeing him drunk, it didn't seem like that big a deal."

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

     "Like what," Bert asked Hawk with a slight quiver in his voice.

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

     "No, Sensei would never kill himself. That's too pussy a move."

     Ryan who had been looking between the three the entire conversation had a confused expression on his face. "I worry for all of you."

     Hawk ignored him. "Whatever. I mean, we're here. We're gonna have to do it without him."

     "Do what without me?" The kids all looked to see Sensei approaching them.

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

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

     "All right," Miguel yelled at them. Mara crossed her arms and stood beside him a hard look on her face. "Let's sign up."

     "Not yet. There's one more lesson I have to teach you."

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     All of the Cobra Kai students stood in a circle around Sensei. Ryan had left to find a seat, leaving the dojo to do what they needed to do to get ready to fight.

     "You've all learned how to strike first, to be aggressive, not be losers. I 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."

     The students cringed except for Miguel and Mara who were intently listening to every word Sensei was saying.

     "You get an F on a test, you get suspended. You fall in love with a girl, and some other dude comes and steals her away." Mara subtly glared at Hawk. She knew it was partly her fault for not telling him who the person she liked was, but she couldn't help but be mad at him.

     "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! Remember who you are. You're badass! You don't give a shit! You kick ass! You're Cobra Kai."

     "Cobra Kai!" Miguel was pumped and knew he had to anything to win today.

     "Yeah!"

     "All right, guys. Let's get down there and kick the shit out of everybody!"

     Miguel pulled out his Gi, but Sensei reached a hand out to stop him. "No. You're not wearing those."

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     Ryan popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth as he sat on the bleachers in the arena. His jacket was laying beside him acting as a seat holder for Demetri and Moon who were buying their own snacks now. He wasn't very happy with Moon at the moment, but he would talk to her another time. He didn't want to start a scene. Today was supposed to be Mara's day and he wasn't going to ruin it.

     He watched as other dojos warmed up and he wondered why Cobra Kai wasn't out here too. Knowing them they were going to go the extra mile and make a big entrance. Dramatic.

     Demetri and Moon came back with their snacks and sat down next to Ryan. Ryan tried to avoid making eye contact with Moon. "Ryan, are you upset with me?"

     "Hmm let's see. You kissed my sister, told her you've liked her since you were twelve, and then turned around and kissed her best friend. So you tell me Moon. Am I mad at you? I think I have a pretty good reason to be."

     "There's more to it than that."

     "Save it for someone who cares."

     "Welcome, everyone, to the 50th annual All Valley Under 18 Karate Championship!" Everyone cheered as the announcer started to speak.

     "This has been going on for 50 years? Am I the only one that's been out of the loop?"

     Ryan smacked Demetri's arm lightly but the boy still let out a wince. "Just enjoy the show man. It's like a live action action movie."

      "All right, let's start by welcoming all the local dojos competing today. From Granada Hills, All-Star Karate."

     Ryan saw Sam walk in with her family and he excused him-self to go talk to her. "Hey, Larusso."

     Sam looked back at Ryan and waved. Mr. Larusso looked back too and an excited smile came on his face. "Ryan Abrams! How are you doing?"

     "Pretty good, Mr. Larusso."

     "Have you taken up my offer on joining Miyagi-do?"

     Ryan smiled at the older man. "Not a chance, Mr. Larusso."

     Daniel just laughed at the boy's antics. "Is Mara here too? I haven't seen her since robot camp when she was little."

     "Yeah she's competing."

     "Oh really. Who is she competing f--" Mr. Larusso was cut off by the lady beside his family screaming. Her son was in the tournament and she was showing all of her support. Maybe a little too much. "Back to my question. What dojo is she competing with?"

     Daniel got his answer when the announcer said the next dojo. "From Reseda, returning to the tournament, we have--"

     "Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!Cobra Kai!" Daniel watched as the Cobras all enetered the arena sporting their new Gis. His mouth dropped open when he saw Mara come in right behind his daughter's ex-boyfriend. The little Mara he remebered was not a violent person, but now looking at the near murderous look on her face he couldn't help but wonder.

     What had happened?

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     "Now that's what I call an entrance! And a badass name for a dojo! Let's hear it for Cobra Kai!"

     Mara smirked as the audience erupted into cheers. She stood inbetween Miguel and Hawk, the latter had been trying to gain her attention all day. She wouldn't give it to him though. She was done with boys, done with girls, done with relationships. She had to focus on the more important things in life now. Winning.

     "Go Hawk," she heard from the audience and she looked to the side to see Moon cheering next to her brother. The girl however, quickly stopped, but it wasn't Mara who did it. She hadn't even been looking at the girl. Weird.

     Mara just turned back to the announcer and cleared her mind of everything other than the tournament and winning. "And finally, fighting unaffiliated from North Hills, we have Mr. Robby Keene." A boy wearing a ponytail jogged in and Mara felt Miguel tense from beside her. He smirked as he passed Miguel and Mara felt anger bubble up inside her. She would teach this kid a lesson.

     "All right folks. Get ready. It's karate time."

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Miguel was up first. He was going against a tall blond boy. Sensei whispered something in his ear and then lightly pushed Miguel onto the mat. The referee made them bow and then let them fight. Miguel got into the crane kick position and Mara smirked knowing Sensei was making him do this to piss of Sam's dad. The boy charged at Miguel and he kicked him straight in the face, knocking him down. He won the next two rounds and the referee grabbed Miguel's hand declaring him the winner.

Mara was next and she stepped onto the mat and faced her opponent. He was slightly shorter than Miguel's opponent but still bigger than Mara. The girl wasn't scared. She had trained for this. She was strong from years of running and doing pole-vaulting and karate only increased those strengths. She bowed to the referee and then bowed to the boy and got in a fighting position.

     The boy charged at her and Mars ducked under his outstretched arm that he used to try and punch her. The boy turned around with an angry look on his face. "Enough defense!" She heard Sensei yell. She came at the boy this time and he tried to throw another punch at her. She grabbed his arm and turned around in a kneel, flipping him over her shoulder. When he collapsed on the ground in front of her she punched him in the face, earring herself a point.

     They both stood up for the next round and Mara could see the fury dancing in her opponent's eyes. Mara just smirked at him and sent him a wink. When the ref allowed them to go the boy quickly charged at Mara. Again. This was gonna be too easy. She backed up causing his kick to miss her and then she ran forward kicking one of his legs so he was off balance. She then sent a spinning-heel kick to the side of his neck, knocking him out cold. Mara felt the ref grab her arm and hold it above her head declaring her the winner. She looked up into the stands to see her brother smiling down at her with a thumbs up. She just snorted at him and fell back into line beside Miguel.

More rounds went by and the only ones who were left in the tournament were Miguel, Mara, Hawk, Robby, and another boy. Mara was going against Robby next and she couldn't help but feel excited. Miguel gave her a fist bump and she hopped on the mat.

Mara and Robby bowed to the ref and then to each other before getting into position. Mara charged at him first and Robby had a hard time keeping up with the amount of kicks the girl was throwing his way. He managed to block all but one and a pain erupted in his gut at the strong kick that had been planted there. He fell to one knee holding his abdomen and the referee asked him if he was ok to continue. He nodded and stood up. He knew this girl's strongest move was kicking. She was obviously a natural athlete from how strong her legs were but he could tell her arms weren't as strong since she barely threw punches.

The second round started and Robby waited for her to charge at him again. She went to kick him again but he grabbed her leg and pushed it away sending her slightly off balance. She was surprised which left him an opening to throw a punch to her stomach, sending her backwards. He then swept her leg sending her to the floor and landed a kick on her abdomen.

     The two went on and Robby and Mara both ended up winning another match. Whoever wins this one would move on and Robby was going to make sure it was him. When the girl charged at him this time, before she even had the chance to kick him he dropped to the ground and swept both of her legs. He punched her in the stomach and the referee declared him the winner.

     He walked up to girl who's name he hadn't learned yet and held out his hand to help her up. "You did good. Just don't rely so much on your legs next time."

     Mara scoffed and slapped his hand away getting up herself. Robby just sighed not understanding where this girl's anger towards him was coming from. "I'm not trying to be rude. You're a good fighter. Maybe one day we'll be on the same team."

     "I doubt it," she spat before walking off the mat. She passed by Hawk who tried to reach out to her, but she just glared at him and kept walking. She went out into the hallway and saw Aisha and Sam talking and laughing. She walked over to them and sat down on the floor in front of the bench they were sitting on.

     "You lost too," Aisha asked the girl. Mara just nodded.

     "You did really good today Mara." Sam was telling the complete truth. She thought Mara was really talented and was surprised to see how good the girl actually was at karate.

     "Thanks Sam. I need to work on strengthening my arms though. I rely too much on kicking." She grumbled knowing she was just repeating what Robby said to her. As much as she didn't like to admit it, he was right.

     "Well that's ok. It's normal to want to use what your strong at to win, but what makes the best fighter is one who is strong everywhere. Physically and mentally."

     "Yeah. I guess your right."

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To say Ryan was enjoying himself would be an understatement. He never knew Karate could be so fun. Every kick and punch had him on the edge of his seat waiting to see who would turn out to be the winner.

Mara had lost already and Ryan was angry that out of all people she lost to Robby. However, he knew his sister was still learning and it was ok for her to lose. He just hoped she wasn't too upset. He saw her storm out of the arena and he hoped she would find Sam and Aisha out there and talk with them.

The semi-finals were over now and Miguel and Robby were going head to head. Ryan was obviously cheering for Miguel.

     He looked to where the Hispanic boy was stretching to see his sister, Aisha, and Sam walk back in. Mara seemed better and her and Aisha were laughing. All of her anger from earlier seemed to have disappeared, but knowing Mara she just buried it deep down like she does with all of the feelings she doesn't want to deal with.

      Miguel stopped Sam and Ryan looked away not wanting to see them rekindle their relationship. It would only hurt him more so he just decided to