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THE MATCH BEGAN WITH PALPABLE TENSION, the air thick as the crowd murmured and cheered intermittently. Yoon shook off Kreese's distraction from earlier, when the older man managed to piss Gunther off by attacking a peculiar ponytailed bastard... his focus on Vlad, the towering Russian who seemed unfazed and determined.

The boy launched a precise back kick aimed for Vlad's chest, but the Russian sidestepped effortlessly, countering with a powerful flying kick that struck Yoon squarely in the chest, sending him stumbling backward.

"POINT!" the referee announced, signaling Vlad's early lead.

Kwon's sharp eyes followed the movement, his jaw tightening. "Do-jin, focus!" he barked in Korean.

Turning slightly, he leaned toward y/n and murmured under his breath. "This guy's not playing to win this round; he's playing to tag her in." His eyes flicked toward Svetlana, the girl warming up on the sidelines. "You've beaten her before. If it happens, you'll need to finish this."

Y/n nodded slightly, her gaze unwavering as she assessed Vlad's movements.

But before she could strategize further, Kreese's voice cut through. "Yoon, tag Nichols!"

Yoon hesitated, his eyes darting toward Kreese with confusion. That wasn't the plan. They'd agreed to wear down Vlad and avoid a tag-out. Still, Kreese's commands weren't up for debate.

Before the boy could react, Vlad charged at him again with a flurry of strikes—a double kick, both expertly dodged, but Yoon couldn't counter effectively. The Russian's sheer strength and agility were overwhelming, forcing the Korean on the defensive.

Kwon stepped closer to the mat's edge, his frustration evident. "Ignore him!" he muttered under his breath, though he knew Yoon wouldn't.

The opportunity came: Vlad overextended, leaving himself open for a split second. Yoon saw it and prepared to strike, but Kreese's voice thundered again. "Yoon, tag her now!"

Yoon's hesitation cost him the advantage. Gritting his teeth, he obeyed, retreating to slap Tory's hand.

Tory, looking momentarily thrown, stepped onto the mat. Her reluctance was palpable, but she quickly masked it, squaring off against Vlad. The boy wasted no time, lunging at her with a straight punch that she sidestepped.

Her movements were quick but hesitant as she launched a kick toward Vlad's side. He blocked it with ease, forcing her to adjust. Tory attempted a sweeping leg kick, aiming for his balance, but Vlad dodged smoothly, keeping her on the defensive.

Finally, she landed a clean kick to his gut, forcing him back.

"POINT! 1-1," the referee called out.

The Cobra Kai team cheered lightly, though the tension remained thick. Kreese's interruption of the plan had thrown them off, and Kwon's glare toward their sensei didn't go unnoticed by y/n.

As Tory prepared for Vlad's next move, y/n leaned toward Kwon, her voice low and biting. "You think this is part of his grand plan, or is he just trying to prove something?"

Kwon's expression hardened, but he didn't answer, his focus shifting back to the match as Vlad's movements grew sharper, more calculated.

The fight was far from over, and the stakes were only getting higher.

The cheers from the audience were short-lived as the Russian sensei's booming reprimand echoed through the arena. Vlad, visibly shaken, responded with renewed aggression, launching a barrage of punches at Tory. She managed to block them with practiced ease, but when he transitioned to kicks, his long legs and immense strength forced her to stay on high alert.

Tory nearly connected with a kick to his face, but Vlad flipped back just in time, retreating to tag in his teammate, the Russian captain, Svetlana.

The brunette strode onto the mat with an air of dominance, her sharp gaze locked on her opponent as she assumed an aggressive stance. Tory met her with a combination of two quick punches, both expertly blocked. Svetlana retaliated by kicking at Tory's legs, forcing her to stagger.

The Russian captain followed up with a swift swing at Tory's face, but Tory blocked and countered with a roundhouse kick. Svetlana ducked smoothly beneath it and surged forward, landing a decisive punch to Tory's chest that knocked the wind out of her.

"POINT!" the referee announced, the scoreboard shifting in favor of the Tigers.

Frustrated groans rippled through the Cobra Kai team as Tory doubled over, struggling to catch her breath.

"Something's not right..." Park muttered, his sharp eyes narrowing. "Tory has high tolerance. That Russian girl doesn't hit that hard."

Y/n, standing at the edge of the mat, had been thinking the same thing. "Maybe gym?" Lee suggested.

"No gains or losses in muscle mass," the y/h/c-haired girl replied, her tone clipped as she observed Svetlana's movements carefully.

Kwon, kneeling beside Yoon, kept his focus split between massaging his teammate's solar plexus to ease the pain and analyzing the fight. His jaw tightened. "She's not stronger," he murmured. "She's timing her attacks perfectly."

The Russian sensei smirked, folding her arms as she addressed the Cobras. "Maybe your fighters need to pay more attention," she taunted, drawing laughter from her team.

Y/n's fists clenched, her frustration boiling over. "Tory, tag me in!" she called, her voice sharp and unwavering.

Svetlana's head snapped toward the girl, her expression briefly flickering with tension. She had noticed the y/n'd outstretched hand in the corner of her eye, and her intentions became immediately clear. Without hesitation, Svetlana attacked Tory again, not giving her the chance to tag out.

Tory barely managed to dodge Svetlana's strike, still trying to recover her breath as Svetlana pressed forward, aiming to land another point. y/n's heart raced as she watched, knowing she had to act quickly.

"Tory, don't fight her game!" y/n shouted, her voice cutting through the commotion.

Tory grit her teeth, narrowly dodging another punch. She locked eyes with her friend, a flicker of understanding passing between them, and started to pivot toward the Cobra Kai corner.

But Svetlana wasn't letting up. Her moves became more erratic and aggressive, her aim clear: to keep Tory cornered and overwhelmed long enough to secure another point and end the round in the her team's favor.

Her movements were a calculated display of power and precision. She grabbed Tory's arm, twisting it sharply before throwing her down onto the mat. With an unyielding grip, Svetlana pinned Tory's shoulder, locking her into place as the blonde struggled against the hold.

"Tory!" Yoon shouted from the sidelines, his voice cutting through the tension. "What does a cobra do?"

The words jolted Tory's memory, recalling her first lesson at Cobra Kai—the same one y/n had learned from Miguel and Sensei Johnny. The first one the Koreans had learned from Kreese...

A cobra never gets cornered; it slithers, it strikes, it survives.

Something clicked. Tory's eyes focused, her movements becoming more fluid. She spotted an opening and slithered out of Svetlana's hold with a quick twist of her body, freeing herself from the Russian captain's grasp.

"Nichols, focus!" Kim shouted, her tone sharp and commanding. Tory scrambled to her feet, getting back into her fighting stance, her breath uneven but her resolve seemingly steadier.

Svetlana smirked, circling her opponent like a predator. "Your heart's not in this, is it?" she snarled.

Her words hit harder than any strike, making Tory's stance falter. Her gaze drifted, distracted and unsure, her arms lowering ever so slightly. Sensing the lapse, Svetlana didn't hesitate. She drove a kick into Tory's ribs, which the blonde blocked weakly. But the Russian captain wasn't finished. She followed up with a punch, square to Tory's face, then grabbed her arm once more and threw her down decisively.

"POINT!"

The referee's call echoed in the stunned silence that followed. Cobra Kai, undefeated since their first match against Iron Dragons—a loss dismissed as a fluke—had been decisively beaten.

The crowd was hushed, the air thick with disbelief. Even the commentators, usually quick to fill the silence, were momentarily at a loss.

"Did you see that?" one commentator finally broke the silence.

"I didn't," the other replied, his tone flustered but tinged with humor. "Mr. Gunther's been breathing down my neck about staying fair—I was watching Iron Dragons vs. Hirobukan instead."

"Fair enough," the first commentator quipped, but his tone quickly grew serious. "Tiger Strike secures their first win, while Cobra Kai drops to 1-1. One more loss, and they're out of the tournament."

The referee raised Svetlana's hand high. "TIGER STRIKE, WINNER!"

The Russian team erupted in cheers, their energy palpable. Meanwhile, Yoon rushed to Tory's side, helping her up as the blonde swayed unsteadily on her feet.

The Cobra Kai corner stood in silence, each member grappling with the weight of the loss. For the first time in the tournament, doubt crept into their ranks. 

The path ahead suddenly seemed far less certain...

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