Once the tournament started, Sky quickly forgot everything else - even the distracting hotness of her boyfriend.

The floor under her bare soles, the sounds of feet slamming the mat, of fast breathing, fists meeting flesh, the sharp cries, and low grunts—

It all melted into an ocean of sounds that surrounded Sky and made her feel like she was home. If she closed her eyes, if she imagined there was music too, she could almost think she was home - sparring with Kat, like she had done a million times.

But this wasn't home - this was a new beginning - and she was burning bright like a star in the night sky.

She easily won the first couple of matches, the opponents who were clearly underestimating her skills. And seeing them go down, hearing the referee announce her as the winner - it felt amazing.

As expected, Miguel also won fight after fight, steadily making his way towards the finals. He was fighting like he meant business - aggressive, angry, brutal, and Sky wasn't thrilled by all the moves she noticed him using. He wasn't fighting completely clean, and the emotion that radiated from him was... dangerous. As if he wanted to fight for all the wrong reasons - and when Sky noticed him glancing towards Sam or Robby from time to time, her suspicions were confirmed.

Miguel was out for blood. And Sky feared it wouldn't end pretty.

And Hawk... well, he was winning his fights too, but something about the way he did it made Sky's stomach turn into tight knots.

This was a whole new side of him, and Sky wasn't all that sure she liked it. It was like he was on the edge, so full of adrenaline that everything in him was sharp, violent, volatile. He was the Hawk and watching him strike down one opponent after another, flexing his impressive muscles and showing off his tattoo - well, it was hard to even remember the boy who had been called Eli.

The boy Sky had fallen in love with.

Of course, he was hot to look at. So damn hot, that Sky almost wished they could sneak somewhere, maybe to the girls' locker room which probably would be empty because there weren't that many girls competing—

Snap out of it! You're here to fight - not to make out with Hawk.

"Sky, shit—" Miguel said by her ear. "Look!"

She had finished a fight some minutes ago, and the opponent had managed to kick her into her shoulder. It was now painful and raw and Sky was just tentatively rolling it to see if anything was amiss, while watching Hawk beat the crap out of his current opponent on the mat. Miguel's voice brought her back to the moment and she looked up, to see the names on the wall.

"But..." she tried to find the right words, fear suddenly gathering in her belly. "But that can't be right!"

She stared in disbelief as Hawk's name was lifted up too. The truth began to sink in as the announcer holding the mic walked to the center of the stage and started talking.

"What a tournament!" The man bellowed. "What a night! In the final four, we have three people from the same dojo, the new dojo that only entered the tournament this year! From the infamous Cobra Kai, we have O'Brian fighting her teammate Miguel Diaz. And from the same dojo comes Hawk who will fight unaffiliated Robby Keene. One of these four will be the winner of this year's All Valley under 18 tournament–!"

It had been Miguel to point the situation to Sky, but her eyes instantly turned to Hawk, who was now standing by her side, taking big gulps of water from a bottle he held on his lips.

"Shit!" she breathed. "If I win Miguel and you win Robby—"

She didn't want to finish that sentence.

Hawk's throat bobbed. When he turned to look at Sky, there was a hint of panic in his blue eyes.

"I don't wanna fight you," he rasped.

"Looks like you might have to."

The muscles on Hawk's jaw worked as he swallowed. He took another sip of water, closed the bottle, and tossed it away. "Only if you beat Miguel. And I'll have to fight Robby first too."

"You'll win him, though." Sky replied, deciding not to comment on her own chances of winning Miguel. "I know you will."

"Yeah, well, give that asshole Hell for me," said Miguel's voice. "One of us should kick his ass."

That made Hawk smirk. "I will."

Sky didn't like the venomous tone of their voices. She understood that Miguel held a grudge against Robby for what had happened with Sam, but this sure as Hell wasn't the time nor the place to get revenge for that. Sky had been doing martial arts since she was a toddler, and Kat's dad had been a tough teacher - they had been training super hard and on the mat, the fights had been brutal. But never, ever had they been fuelled by anger, rage, or revenge. Kat's dad had always taught them that capoeira was a sport, it was art and it was self-defense, and that thought had stuck with Sky. Capoeira, like karate, was a dangerous weapon if used incorrectly, and a tournament sure as Hell was not a place for that.

She was pretty sure Sensei Lawrence hadn't meant that either, even if he had taught them to strike first, strike hard, and show no mercy. As Sky glanced at Sensei, she noticed him staring at the names on the wall with a worried look on his face, his blond brows furrowed.

After a short break, it was time for the first semi-final, and her heart in her throat, Sky watched as Hawk exchanged a fist-bump handshake with Miguel, and jumped on the mat. As Hawk walked towards Robby, his eyes narrowed, his whole posture changed - he looked like a predator, and Sky felt a pang of worry.

The boys bowed to the referee, then to each other, but Sky could feel there was no respect between them - there hadn't been since the tournament had started and Miguel had recognized Robby as the boy who had stolen Sam from him. Sky couldn't have cared less about that stupid relationship drama, but Hawk - always loyal to Miguel - had instantly shared his aggression towards Robby. Sky had a bad feeling about this fight, and Sensei Lawrence's nervous silence didn't make her feel any better.

As the fight began, Robby immediately attacked with a fierce series of kicks, forcing Hawk to back down and block his attempts. Hawk was the first one to score a point, though, as he threw Robby on the mat and struck him on the chest with one, fast blow.

"Yay, Hawk!" Sky cheered, and he glanced over his shoulder to flash her a crooked grin before the fight continued.

Sky held her breath as the opponents circled each other on the mat, her eyes drawn to Hawk.

Watching him fight was like watching a force of nature. Everything about him was sharp, fast, and furious, and he was incredibly beautiful to look at. His strong, wiry arms, the hard muscle under smooth skin, the control he had over the movements of his lean body - he was perfection. Sky couldn't draw her eyes off him, even if she was so anxious that she could barely stand the suspense.

Robby scored the next point by landing a kick in Hawk's face, and Sky let out a frightened cry as he went down on the mat.

"He's fine," said Sensei reassuringly, and true enough Hawk got back on his feet, tentatively touching his face as if to feel if something was broken.

"No he's not," Sky said, seeing how he was looking at Robby.

"That was a lucky point. It's gonna be your last," Hawk snarled at his face.

"Why? Leaving early to fix that stupid haircut?" Robby mocked, and Sky realized things were going to go straight to Hell. She noticed how hate twisted Hawk's features, saw the narrowed gaze, the clenching fists, and the slight change in his posture as Robby turned his back to walk away, and--

"Eli, no!" Sky cried, realizing what was about to happen.

Hawk froze on his feet and turned to look at her - his chest heaving with angry inhales.

"What, you want me to be a pussy?" He spat out.

"Time-out!" Sensei shouted, and Sky had never been as grateful for his intervention in her life.

Hawk walked to their side of the mat, his fists clenched, his whole posture tense like a string.

"Were you gonna attack an opponent when his back was turned?" Sensei asked, pointing a finger at his chest. "What the fuck?"

"That asshole started it—!"

"I don't fucking care! That's not how I taught you to fight! Don't you get that you're gonna get disqualified if you do shit like that!"

Sensei was clearly outraged, even more so than Sky would've thought - but she agreed wholeheartedly.

"Hawk, come on," she pleaded and laid a calming hand on his bare arm. "He's clearly an asshole. Who cares what he thinks about your hair? Just kick his ass fairly, that's gonna piss him off a lot more than you getting disqualified."

Hawk's throat bobbed but he turned his eyes to meet her gaze. He didn't say anything, there was still anger and hurt in his eyes - maybe towards her too, for she had called him Eli in front of everyone - so she did the only thing she could think of. She leaned closer and tiptoed to place a soft kiss on his lips. The stiffness on his body softened, and when she broke the kiss he let out a shaky breath.

"Please," she said softly, her hands still lingering on his toned arms. "I want to see you win. Don't fuck it up just because some idiot tries to provoke you."

He didn't reply, just rested his brow against hers.

"Besides, he's the one with the stupid haircut," Sky added with a smirk. "Your mohawk is sexy as Hell and you know it."

That made the confident smile crawl back on his perfect lips and he tilted up his chin. His hands found hers, their fingers entwined. "So you think my hair is sexy?"

"Hell, yes I think it's sexy," she purred, giving a final squeeze to his fingers. "Now go and kick ass."

With a cocky grin, Hawk turned and hopped back on the mat, that single move so controlled and sharp that it took Sky's breath away.

"What the Hell, Ginger?" Sensei grunted. "I was gonna yell the crap out of him, and then you start sucking his face?"

"Sorry," Sky said, her cheeks heating. She hadn't even stopped to think that everyone was watching.

"Yeah, well," Sensei muttered. "Whatever works."

It was as if the kiss had given Hawk the calm he needed. With newfound confidence he quickly scored another point by landing a front kick on Robby's chest, knocking him over. As Robby slowly got back on his feet, Sky could tell that he was clearly pissed too.

Still, it was anybody's game - either one of them could win. Sky couldn't deny that Robby was good - better than good, he was one of the best fighters she had seen so far and his fighting style was graceful, balanced, and beautiful. Sky found it intriguing, it looked like something she would want to learn too.

Watching the fight was nerve-wracking. As Hawk and Robby attacked and retreated, circling the mat trying to find each other's weakness, Sky could barely breathe. She wanted Hawk to win so badly, and yet—

If he beats Robby and I do the same with Miguel... then I'm going to have to fight Hawk in the finals.

Just the thought of it made her panic.

She took a deep breath, then another. It was really too early to stress about that. Sky was pretty sure she couldn't beat Miguel - at least not anymore. During the past two weeks, she had revealed all her weak points to Miguel, and he knew too well how to hit her so that she went down, pain blinding her vision.

None of the kids she had faced on the mat so far had managed to hit her like that - the kick on her shoulder in the latest match had been rather mild, as Sky had managed partially to block it. Sensei's advice on how not to get hit had been invaluable - thank fuck for that pitching machine! But Sky knew she wouldn't be able to fool Miguel. He would beat the crap out of her, and then—

Then he's gonna fight Hawk in the finals. And I won't have to do it.

Her thoughts had rushed so deep into the possible turns of events, that she had almost forgotten to watch the fight that took place in front of her - and was only dragged back at the moment when Hawk aimed a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of Robby's head. Robby went down on the mat and—

"Yes! Oh my God, Yes!" Sky was shrieking as the referee grabbed Hawk's arm and raised it up in the air announcing him the winner.

For a short moment, the look on Hawk's face was pure disbelief, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped - and then it seemed to hit him. He had made it to the finals! He let out a loud cry, and with one swift move, he stripped off his gi and threw it on the mat. He showed off the ripped muscles and the giant tattoo, rolling his shoulders and making the hawk on his back fly.

At that sight, Sky lost the gift of speech.

She feared she would spontaneously combust, just for checking him out like this. But Oh God, she had never seen anything as hot in her entire life, and for a short moment, she couldn't think about anything but how that body felt on top of her, when he pinned her down on the bed, and–

Still not the time for that.

Her cheeks burning, Sky pushed that thought away.

"Only three competitors left!" The announcer shouted in his mic." And all of them are from the same dojo! Now it's safe to say that Cobra Kai - the badass dojo from Reseda - will be the winner of this year's tournament!"

All the Cobras were shouting and jumping as the truth sank in. They were the only finalists, they were already winners. Sky was jumping and screaming with the rest of them, but as soon as Hawk stepped down from the mat, she pulled him into her arms and kissed him, snaking her arms around his waist, her hands running up and down the sweaty, naked skin of his back.

"My finalist," she breathed, breaking the kiss slightly out of breath. "I'm so fucking proud of you."

He swallowed hard, and took a look at her face, suddenly turning serious. "I couldn't have done this without you. Sky—"

But whatever he'd been about to say was lost, as the announcer told it was time for the other semifinal - calling Sky and Miguel to step on the mat.

Sky's heart was suddenly in her throat, ticking fast and uneven as she released herself from Hawk's arms. Her palms felt hot and sweaty and she wiped them on her pants.

Miguel's eyes were dark and the smile had left them as they both stepped on the mat, and something in his eyes made Sky anxious. This boy in front of her was not her friend, this was not the funny, caring, and gentle guy she had learned to know - this was someone else entirely. He looked dangerous.

"You know how to hit me," she said nevertheless. "Don't you dare to hold back."

"Oh, I'm not gonna," Miguel replied darkly.

They were told to bow at the referee, then at each other. The sharp "Fight!" echoed in the hall that was suddenly very quiet.

The time slowed down. Sky could hear her heartbeat in her ears, the flow of blood rushing through her veins. The audience disappeared, and all that remained was the brightly lit circle where she stood facing Miguel, her knees bent, her fists up, meeting his obsidian stare. His throat bobbed, he clenched his jaw and drew in a sharp breath.

And then he launched himself at her, his first punch cutting right through her defenses, straight to her shoulder, and Sky went down.

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