Chapter 24
A/N: Sorry guys I've been so inconsistent with updating. As I mentioned earlier, I procrastinate hard when it's the last little bit.
- - - - - - - -
It had come to the final rounds. After beating extremely tough opponents, Miguel had made it to the final round. Fair and square. An envious (Y/N)'s mouth gaped open, shocked how he managed to make it to finals without maiming his opponent.
"I don't believe this!" she huffed, facing Kreese who kept a stoic expression upon his face in response to her anger.
"Sweep the leg" he responded, pointing to his good leg. "It's his good leg. Sweep that one, specifically."
Fighting dirty had been the only thing drilled into her head, ever since she found Kreese. She'd been thinking with her heart, given she'd known him longer than the others.
"Up next, we'll have (L/N), coached by Mr. John Kreese, former army veteran." the host announced, loud and clear for the audience to grasp.
He bowed over to Kreese to pay his respects.
"And Miguel Diaz, from Cobra Kai..." he continued.
The duo jogged over to the mats, facing eachother in order to respectfully bow before their fight. Although they weren't on the best of terms, the respect was still there.
"I can't believe you kept me from finding my dad. Prepare to lose." she threatened, enough for him to foreshadow his outcome during the fight.
"Bring it on! You're too clouded by emotions to see he's keeping you from all of us." he back-fired.
As the referee blew the whistle wrapped around his neck like a chain, Miguel instantaneously positioned himself for defence.
(Y/N) struck first with her classic front kick, sending Miguel straight to the floor. He winced for a split second, forgetting to block that move. Miguel rose to his feet, striking back with a jab to her chin. (Y/N) successfully avoided it. He spun, throwing a high kick her way.
(Y/N) once again dodged it, throwing in a body kick of her own. Miguel grabbed her by the leg, pulling her close. Struggling to balance, she gritted her teeth. Her piercing gaze met his soft, yet merciless pair of eyes.
"Forget him, (Y/N). He's corrupted you." he whispered, holding her in that same position as he spoke to her. "I'd rather you leave him and hate me forever than lose you to him."
His words did not help. (Y/N) elbowed Miguel in the face, moving back to her stance. He snarled in pain, almost blacking out. (Y/N)'s expressions softened, realising what she did. This was when she turned to Kreese to read his expressions. It helped her become decisive in the heat of the moment.
"Sweep the leg...." he mouthed whilst nodding his head.
(Y/N) nodded and did exactly what she'd interpreted. Miguel was now laying on his back. He was still in a fair bit of pain, given she'd elbowed him in the face. Hard. It was the perfect opportunity for (Y/N) to roll him over. As she did, she grasped his arm, taking it behind his back.
Once again, she turned to Kreese after sweeping his leg. If (Y/N) pressed any further, she knew she'd be more than capable of breaking his arm.
"(Y/N) no no no... this is not you... Don't do it." he pleaded, almost in tears. "Please don't listen to Kreese."
She ignored Miguel at first.
"Before you do this. I-I want you to know the first time I met you, I knew you had something special..." he croaked, coughing up the words. "I want to fight FOR you. Not against you. If you give me a chance and trust me, you'll be safe. Always."
(Y/N) inhaled deeply, glancing over at Kreese, who'd given her multiple gestures to finish her opponent off.
"Just loosen your grip. You have about 8 seconds. I'll take it from here and make it look like I counter-attacked you." he instructed, aware that Kreese was watching.
(Y/N) quickly followed Miguel's direction, finding herself on the floor. He had grabbed her by the leg with his free arm, pulling her forward with all his strength. She grunted, when her body weight hit the floor.
"Ok now I'm going to put you in a chokehold. Don't fight it, just tap out." he added.
Miguel slid across the mat, grabbing her by the neck as his legs were wrapped around the waist. His free arm cupped the other. (Y/N) felt his grip tighten. She hadn't tapped out yet.
"Tap out (Y/N)." he emphasised. "You have no choice, do it now."
She had threatened to hold her breath, still not listening to him. (Y/N) continued to struggle out of his grip, despite knowing he had her under his control.
"(Y/N)... tap out"
As the timer continued, Miguel slowly loosened his grip, subconsciously realising he'd kept her in a chokehold for longer than necessary.
"(Y/N)!" he exclaimed, immediately releasing her.
Shaking her awake rapidly, he panicked. He laid her on the ground as the referee came over to witness the incident.
"What happened?" he prompted, holding his whistle in order to conclude the match.
The crowd gasped, looking over the front row's shoulders to find her passed out. Miguel pumped her chest, simultaneously placing his ear close to her mouth and nose. He proceeded to perform various CPR methods as there was still a chance to wake her up.
He pinched her nose, inhaling deeply at the same time. Placing his lips to hers, he exhaled to check if this method helped.
A second later, (Y/N) immediately threw him off, aggressively coughing. She unexpectedly found herself in Miguel's arms as hot tears escaped.
"You're so stubborn, you know that?" he whispered in her ear, holding her hand, holding it in the air to indicate she was okay. "You worry me, (Y/N) (L/N)!"
"Yeah... I should've tapped out." she coughed, catching her breath.
"No shit!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The referee dragged Miguel by the arm to pull him up and claim him as the winner of the All Valley Championship. Again.
As the microphone was handed to him, he held up his trophy to once again commemorate the important people in his life. (Y/N) clapped, smiling with tears in her eyes as he returned the favour.
"I just wanna thank, my sensei. Sensei Lawrence." he panted, pointing the trophy to his direction.
Johnny couldn't be any more proud.
"And someone special who'd been a part of my life. I love her so much. Yes- my mom... and yaya... But another person who's been nothing but good to me."
Miguel placed his trophy down, walking over to (Y/N), covered in tear stains after her final fight. Right in front of the crowd.
"I've never made it official. So..." he announced, kneeling in front of her.
Meanwhile, the crowd presumed his gesture, throwing in screams and roars, followed by whistles.
"(Y/N), will you officially be my girlfriend?" he panted through the microphone, holding out his hand.
She glanced over to Kreese once again who'd shot her an alternative expression - that of a death stare. Clearing her throat, she took a moment to decide what-- and who had really mattered to her.
"Mig-Miguel..." she stuttered, suddenly changing her tone. "YES!"
She took his hand, dragging him towards her. He'd embraced her tightly, right in front of the audience who'd applauded his bold gesture. The audience continued with their cheering, congratulating the pair.
"I love you, (Y/N)." he whispered into her ear, ignoring the audience to get those words out. "I don't care, I will wait for you to say it--"
"Shh, I love you too, dummy." she reassured, laughing.
Her expression, however, changed when she observed Kreese's reaction to her being with Miguel. She looked a little less optimistic and a little more frightened, given her eyes bulging, along with her inconsistent breathing.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Dad..." she spoke in a soft tone, approaching him with her runner-up trophy. "Are you proud of me?"
Kreese didn't respond. He looked down at her, immediately snatching the trophy off of her hands. He broke the trophy in half.
"No daughter of mine is a runner-up. Don't bother looking for me." he scoffed, walking away.
In the distance, as Johnny and Miguel celebrated, they'd approached (Y/N) and Kreese in the middle of their conversation. Johnny intervened, proceeding to punch Kreese in the face. They were right to protect her from his toxic behaviour.
"You were right, Miguel. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." she weeped, holding his arm.
He comforted her until Kreese eventually gave up, leaving her in the dark again.
"I really thought he came back for me." she added, while her voice broke.
"She's your daughter, Kreese." Johnny spat. "I wonder what on Earth you were thinking adopting a kid."
And since the tournament, that was the last of John Kreese. He'd once again left (Y/N) in the dark - Precisely as he did for the past four years.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top