"AND NOW! The moment you've all been waiting for. The Sekai Taikai tournament of champions! Welcome competitors, to the semifinal round. Each dojo will retain the points they have accumulated this far. Each match will consist of three two-minute rounds with unlimited scoring and no stoppages. 1 point for a hit, 10 for a knockdown, 20 for a knockout." He paused, "For our competitors, there's been a slight change in matches. Representing Cobra Kai, Isabella Diaz will stand in for the complications that have occurred! Let the semifinals begin!"

Miguel's eyes met with Isabella quickly from across the mat. She would be fighting Sam, and Miyagi-Do's stance of strength was slowly disheartened when they realised that their competitor was Isabella. Sam's expression was filled with doubt, and Sensei LaRusso was quickly pulling her aside.

Isabella met eyes with Johnny, and the man simply nodded at her. She would always be his kid, no matter what side of the mat she was on.

The stares from Miyagi-Do became too much, and Isabella decided to step away from the mat as the room dispersed in preparation for the boys' matches. Isabella approached Tory, who was still trying her best to ignore her. 

"Can I talk to you?" Isabella said sternly, grabbing Tory's hand and pulling her to the corner of the room. She spat, "What the fuck was that?"

Tory sighed, "Look, I didn't know that Sensei was gonna pick you to—"

"Well, she did!" Isabella argued, "I'm not ready to be Captain, Tory. It's pretty fucking selfish!"

Tory attempted, "Just calm down—"

"No!" Isabella raised her voice, "I might've been wrong about applying to college, but that gives you no fucking right to make me Captain—"

Tory frowned, "What? Issy, I didn't—"

"You're setting me up to fail, you know that, right?" Belle continued, "I can't fight Sam."

"Yes, you can!" Tory reassured, "I didn't make you Captain on purpose. I promise. Everything just always goes to shit and I needed to step away from it."

Isabella retorted, "You mean, step away from us?"

"No!" Tory shot back quickly, "No, Issy. You know I don't mean that."

Belle argued, "Well, you've been ignoring me for days." She continued angrily, "I didn't tell you about college because you were gonna talk me out of it! I wanted something for myself, to try and make myself feel okay about what happened. And it's stupid because I know it wasn't my fault but I can't help but fucking blame myself for it. And I can't sleep anymore and I'm not hungry because of my fucking meds. And everybody's mad at me because I ruin every relationship I have. But, Tory, I can't have you angry at me, too. I just... I didn't mean to ruin everything and I'm trying— I really fucking tried to be normal because I love yo—"

And abruptly, Isabella was cut off by Tory's lips colliding with hers. Tory pulled away, cupping her face gently.

"I'm sorry." A tear rolled down Isabella's cheek, as Tory rested her forehead up against hers.

"No, I'm sorry." Tory shook her head gently, wiping the tears off Isabella's cheeks, "I should've listened to you about college. If you really want to go, you can—"

"I don't." Isabella admitted quietly, "I'm really sorry about what happened with your mom, I wish I could've fixed it."

Tory's voice broke slightly, "I'm not angry at you, Issy, because it wasn't your fault. I wish I could take all your pain away."

"My pain goes away when I'm with you." Isabella smiled through her tears.

"Hey!"
A sudden eruption of shouts from the crowd around the mat interrupted the two girls. Isabella recognised that voice: Miguel.

Isabella pushed her way through the crowd. It wasn't Miguel's fight, yet the boy was being shoved by Axel. Her eyes quickly darted to who Miguel was protecting, realising that something had obviously happened to Robby.

"Issy!"

Isabella rushed onto the mat, quickly standing in front of Miguel as he climbed to his feet. Her eyes were shooting glares into the giant, Axel, in front of her; one punch from him would knock her out, yet Isabella didn't care about getting hurt when it came to her brothers.

Isabella shouted at him, "What the fuck is your problem?!" She bravely shoved him back.

Miguel panted, looking at his sister, "Thanks." He quickly continued arguing with Axel again.

Isabella's eyes shifted to the opposite end of the mat: Robby being crowded by the boys of Cobra Kai, his main target being Kwon. Tory quickly joined Isabella on the mat, grabbing her wrist, as she looked around at the tension around her,

"What the hell is happening?"

"Stop! Stop this!" Gunther shouted into his microphone, though nobody seemed to listen; every dojo was turning on each other, and the mat became crowded with frustrated students. He added, "Everybody off the mat, now! Or this tournament is—"

Cutting the announcer off, the Sensei from Udar Tigra collided his fist into Gunther's face which knocked him out completely. This sudden act seemed to spike a sort of violence for everybody, and the whole room erupted into one big fight.

Tory knew what Isabella was going to do; she looked at her, approving, "Be careful."

And, as everybody broke out into chaos, Isabella's mind was racing with the thought of one person... Zara Malik. She spotted her within the commotion, and didn't hesitate to sprint over to her— Isabella send a kick straight into her chest, causing Zara to stumble over.

"You think I don't know what you did, bitch?" Isabella spat angrily.

The two girls fought, sending kicks and punches to each other as they took turns to defend and attack. Zara was quick, there was no denying that, and it was hard for Isabella to keep up. However, Isabella knew how to fight dirty; it wasn't her first time in Cobra Kai.

Zara had Isabella on the floor, sending repeated punches to her face which the girl attempted to block as much as she could. Isabella kicked the girl off her, managing to climb to her feet quickly; she grabbed Zara's gi, before head butting the girl directly in the nose. Zara groaned, clutching onto her bloody nose as her eyes instantly watered.

Suddenly, Zara jumped and sent a sudden kick to Isabella's face. The girl stumbled over, losing her balance as her ears started to ring. And unexpectedly, Isabella was grabbed by two girls in grey gis— more students from the Iron Dragons.

"Get off!" Isabella squirmed in their hold, as Zara took the opportunity to send repeated punches to the girls face and stomach.

Isabella's nose was running with blood and she could feel the bruises that formed on her face. Zara was shouting at her, taunting her, though Isabella couldn't hear over the muffled ring in her ears.

"Hey!"

And suddenly, Zara stopped hitting her, and the touch of the two students holding her body up was removed. Isabella stumbled to the floor weakly, watching as Tory and Sam took them out.

Sam panicked, immediately helping her to her feet, "Belle!"

"You okay?" Tory stood in front of her, quickly scanning the cuts and bruises on her face.

"Holy shit." Belle blinked, despite the throbbing pain rushing through her body, "That was badass."

Sam smiled, and it filled Isabella with a sense of relief. She had missed being friends with Sam— she was always a good friend to her, despite their often arguments.

Belle raised her fists in front of her face, standing in front of Zara with Tory and Sam beside her. Using all of her strength, Belle grabbed the collar of Zara's gi, sending repeated punches into the side of her face. Her fist hurt more with every punch, though the thought of Robby forced Belle to keep going. She need to pay for what she had done to him.

And suddenly, on her last punch, Isabella used so much force that Zara's tooth had flown out of her mouth with a puddle of blood. Zara collapsed onto the floor, too weak to fight back; she touched her mouth in shock, looking up at Isabella and immediately bursting into tears.

Isabella didn't care; she returned her cries with a smirk which translated to never fuck with my family again. She hoped Zara had got the message, because Isabella's adrenaline had faded and the girl stumbled off balance. The sudden change in her body made Isabella panic, struggling to catch her breath.

"Whoa! Whoa, hey." It was Miguel, grabbing ahold of her body gently. He was bleeding himself, though he looked concerned for the girl, "Belle, hey. Slow down. Slow down— relax. You good?"

"Yeah," Isabella panted, trying to catch her breath, "I'm sorry about... before."

"Me too." Miguel nodded, "I was an asshole, wasn't I?"

"I was, too." The girl agreed, "Maybe we should—"

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed around the room. The fighting stopped suddenly, and the attention was drawn to the middle of the mat. Miguel and Isabella both rushed towards the scene.

A boy was laying down in the middle of the circle of students. There was a pool of blood staining the mat. He was laying face down, though he was wearing a Cobra Kai gi; Isabella could recognise who he was from his styled hair. Kwon Jae-Sung.

Sensei LaRusso crouched down to turn him around, his voice timid, "Kwon?"

Isabella's breath caught in her throat, when she saw the boy's face. She had been face-to-face with death before, though every time seemed to have the same impact; Kwon's eyes were glassed over, like Tory's moms had been.

And it felt exactly like it did when Isabella was in Tory's hallway.

Miguel's arms wrapped around the girl in comfort and protection, as Isabella broke down in a fit of sobs. Kwon was dead, and despite how annoying he was, Isabella felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest— he was just a teenager.