𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘. rookie

"OK, NEXT WE WILL HEAR APPEALS FOR THE CANCELLATION of the All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament. Who would like to speak first?"

Three men stood, John Kreese, Johnny Lawrence, and Daniel LaRusso.

Ben did nothing but listen to the three bicker like schoolchildren.

The argument grew from nowhere into a tornado. The words they spoke in such well-intentioned purity triggered something in Ben that came from irritation. He guessed it was the way he was raised.

So there the three were on opposite sides of each other, blind to each other's supposed 'good hearts', and instead built barricades instead of bridges as they continued to clash. They were very different in ways, all wanted the same thing, but were lost in how to get there, blind to the paths yet trying to see.

"It is clear this karate tournament is causing a division and rivalry in our community." Councilperson Roberts yelled. "You gentlemen... have made an excellent case today as to why this tournament should not continue."

"If I may," Ben interrupted, standing as he loosened a button on his suit and placed his sunglasses in his suit's pocket. "Sorry, Ben Sparrow, Scorpion's Eye Dojo ―"

"― Badass," Johnny whispered, nodding to which Daniel scoffed.

Anyone who knew Ben had never seen him ruffled, and today was no exception. His voice had a husky drawl and every step he took was in slow motion compared to the three men who were eager to speak their appeals. His idea of hurrying is to bend his head down a little as he sauntered, the pace of his footfalls not changing one bit. That's just the way the man was, calm, can't change him, wouldn't want to.

"These men, are clearly actively using a child's karate to wage physical and psychological warfare on each other ―" of course, interrupted by the three, Ben waited it out as Roberts settled them down. "I've taught the most broken kids, the ones who were the most in pain, and you know how they dealt with it? By learning to defend themselves."

Daniel could feel the tension and hear the intensity in his tone. There was a great deal of emotion behind the words he was speaking. And he was determined to find out why.

"Life isn't so fair to all of us, some spend their whole lives on unpaved roads, while some run at full speed only to reach the edge of a cliff." His voice continued being firm, "Karate isn't a bad thing. I've seen firsthand how strong and independent it has made these kids don't take this away from them."

It was hard to follow that, and by the end of the meeting, after Miguel and Sam gave their input, the All Valley was back on. And, though he didn't look like it, Ben was ecstatic to give Jieun the great news ― after his own tournament that'll be taking place in only a few hours.

He ran his hand through his close-cropped hair three times in quick succession and fixed sunglasses in a stare that could have frozen the Pacific. He snarled more than spoke. "Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to stare?" Johnny and Daniel dropped their gaze to the floor and Johnny hooked his thumbs into his worn jeans.

"That speech back there was amazing, really, did a lot better than us." Daniel scratched his head, chuckling. "It sounded like you knew firsthand what these kids go through, like us." He gestured his hand to the two of them.

Ben laughed, "except I'm not a loser." Johnny exchanged a sneer while Daniel furrowed his eyebrows, both taken aback. "That speech was total bullshit, my kids were already strong, I just made them stronger."

"Don't piss me off, man." Johnny snapped, shooting him a dark look.

He glared at Ben and muttered something under his breath, but Ben looked mildly amused. Maybe it was because he had never seen the man before, but he was one of the few that wasn't easily intimidated, and he was willing to stand up to anyone.

"Do me a favor," Ben took a step towards him, a vein almost popping in his temple and his fists tightly clenched. The man stayed right where he was. "Don't lump me into your little duo. 'Cause, you know what I do when I'm sad or scared?" He took another step forwards, now almost nose to nose. "Fuckin' nothing. 'Cause I'm not a fucking pussy." His ride pulled up, "that's the difference between you and me."

The two men stayed still, it was bad enough that they had to deal with Kreese, but to add another was not their plan.

"Scorpion's Eye Dojo..." Daniel started. "Is that new?"

"I definitely would've heard of it, badass name, why didn't I think of that?" And Johnny mentally face-palmed as he finished. He noticed the look on his face, "what're you thinking?"

"I think his kids might be like Cobra Kai, if not worse." He stared at the car driving away.

"Why don't we just wait and see?"

"Because I would rather prepare for the worst before the worst happens. And I don't know specifically what that means but I think it means we have another dojo to worry about, another set of kids that might hurt ours."

JIEUN WAS AMAZED AT HOW MANY people turned up for this fight Ben had arranged, and she could immediately tell who the beginners were just by how uncoordinated their movements were ― how they had been performing the same exercises in an awkward fashion, clearly none had been trained by Ben himself.

The changes in her body and mind were incremental over the year of training and it was only after the arcade fight had she realized just how much she changed.

It was at that moment that she grasped how much of a learning experience Ben's teaching was, the importance of breathing properly, and how a shout is used to enhance the power of a technique, in a manner similar to that of field athletes and weight-lifters as they expel air during a moment of intense exertion.

Everyone there wanted to secure victory, they had their own personal ambitions that drove them on; Yujin was the most outstanding example of this. He had lost the first time around, as many of the others in the room did ― familiar faces to him since there could only be one victor, after all.

He became aware that his training regime had to be refined yet further if he wanted to succeed. In many ways, he was re-programming his reflexes and muscle memory and was a model of extraordinary single-mindedness. He continued to train by himself, a few others stood around him.

"Who is she?" One said.

"Maybe she's a snack?" Another next to him said, laughing. "For us to feed on when we're bored?"

Yujin stopped to look at who they were talking about, and in a room full of men it wasn't hard to figure it out. "She's a kid." He said, knowing they were the same age.

"Exactly. So we'll raise her well, then eat her."

Yujin shoved the two back, "she's a member, not a snack. Disgusting perverts." The two men scoffed as he left, hearing one mutter a 'gosh, he must like her, bastard.' To which he rolled his eyes. "I got to move up because of you," he started, which confused the girl, he smiled softly. "I was the youngest until now, for two whole years."

Jieun said nothing, she wasn't interested in talking to anyone and mentally begged for Ben to arrive so she can fight and get it over with.

Ben was very convincing. Join the fight, win, and his organization will protect her from any potential threats. Lose, try again the next time if she wanted. It felt like a movie, she was a teenager who lost her father now she was in the midst of joining a gang.

To her, the boy looked just like any other guy walking down the street in his jeans and t-shirt. There was something a little royal about him, from the way he moved to his hair.

He had the appearance of one who had learned the look of confidence as a survival skill.

He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. There was a softness to his appearance, a kind of warmth married to a shyness. It was the look of an honest soul and at that moment she knew she'd found a friend. Though, not needed.

"Why did you come here?" She stared at him for him to continue. "A girl."

She cleared her throat, which caught a few people's attention, but not many. "To get stronger." She raised her voice slightly to try to be heard over the buzz of conversation and training going on around them.

Yujin nodded and patted her shoulder. "I bid you good luck."

Not long after did Ben arrive and everyone in the room stood in the ring to face one another.

Jieun was terrified. All the times she had fought another individual it was either Ben or a teenager. These were grown-ass men, fighting for a place in Ben's organization. And it terrified her to the core.

But she knew she couldn't give off into the air any timidity or fear ― the very things that should not be shown when entering a combat situation. She mustered up and stood her ground. Looking at the spaces between each man rather than their faces.

Because had she looked, how much more fearful she would have been; they were like a pride of hungry lions who had just spotted their next meal.

The sound of a bell rang and fights broke out in every corner of the room.

The men in the room gave her no mercy, and she had been the target of almost everyone in there. After knocking one out immediately came another, at first, the man smirked, but it soon gave way to a grimace.

Staring at him, she experienced a similar hatred to the one she had previously fought. The two trembled with anger and adrenaline before rushing toward each other.

Her physical health was depleting and she could feel the open wound above her eye, she couldn't imagine the number of stitches she'd have to get once this whole thing was over. And the man took full advantage of her weakness and her attempts to regain her breath after taking such powerful kicks to the stomach.

She had been hit by two consecutive attacks, a kick, and a punch, the sight of her blood seemed to spur onto the floor in front of her. The man's punches and kicks came faster and harder as he continued to take advantage of her weakened state. And she took it personally.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Remember that." Ben's words echoed in her mind as she in one swift motion switched positions so she was on the offense and knocked him out with a punch and axe kick.

Wasn't the brightest idea on her part she'd soon realize as the man stumbled and fell right on top of her.

Cheers filled the room, Jieun struggled beneath the man to muster any strength to push him off.

"Yujin Choi wins!" She heard, "Your reward is a week's vacation and a cash prize of ten thousand dollars."

Yujin, all bloodied, dragged himself towards where all the guards were, clapping. He felt relief wash over him at his name being called out.

Ben flicked his lighter, open and close. Then, lit his cigarette. "I think the rookie's still left." He said, and with that Jieun pushed the unconscious man off her, groaning.

It was as if Yujin retreated inside of himself; instead of being there with Jieun, he was watching in the same way he watched television. It was as if the sounds around him were arriving in his brain from far, far away, and his touch was somehow disconnected.

They stared at each other, bloody and beaten. Attempting to ignore the pain in their bodies, Jieun stumbled before lifting her hands to her face.

When the fight got underway, she found that her opponent anticipated her movements extremely well and she couldn't figure out if he had been watching her fight or if he figured out a way to counter her style just by the seconds of fighting one another.

His offense had her baffled. His attacks were launched from unorthodox stances and almost caught her off guard. She only just managed to evade his punches and kicks, and the fear that she might lose the fight entered her head for the first time.

The two continued to shuffle around the floor, and she thought about what tactic she should employ next when a lightening fast fist struck with his front hand and slammed against the side of her forehead, close to her cut.

He was gaining in confidence and looked to quickly capitalize on his advantage with another attack. she didn't see it coming but instinctively she moved her head and the bottom of his heel scraped the other side of her face as he attempted to hit her with an axe kick.

Now, she was livid.

She had gotten this far by fighting to her strengths and now she was thinking too much. She had to strive for no mind so that the body could react without the conscious thoughts that made the actions too ponderous to be effective. In that instant, she decided to revert to the aggressive use of the techniques that Ben had honed her.

The fight continued and Jieun thought about how to make Yujin pay for trying to embarrass her.

She threw a feint, he reacted, and she smirked to herself; now she had him.

Another feint and he pulled away slightly. The first two punches of her combination only met thin air but the third landed on his chest with a thud. She had found his weakness and no sooner was she back at him.

The stinging pain above her eye dictated her next move. Mimicking his technique, she hit him on the side of his face using her fist and immediately followed it up with another powerful reverse punch to his chest.

She didn't allow him to settle after that and continued to force him back until he was met with the metal mesh that surrounded them.

Yujin's heartbeat quickened, trying not to look across at his opponent. He couldn't lose, he wouldn't. But his vision was blurry and he didn't know how much he could take before completely blacking out.

His legs and arms started to tingle as they both took a step back. He could feel a bead of sweat trickle down the hollow of his back. His calves tightened as he readied himself to spring.

They shared a similar aggressive style of fighting. He would punch and she would equalize shortly after with a front kick that would drive the air straight out of him.

He quickly recovered his breath and managed to throw in another punch to her body; she did likewise. He changed stance and fought with his right foot forward, his hands constantly moving.

She attacked, and another punch landed on her body, high up near her shoulder. He tried to press home his advantage and attacked with a high kick. But she sidestepped and he had moved out of reach by the time she threw a counterattack that brushed his black tank.

He bounced around on the balls of his feet, still moving his hands in a threatening way, but he made no attempt to attack. He was playing for time; time that was rushing. She moved forward, throwing punches to his head and body. He swayed and parried. Her foot swept his front leg away and had him tumbling to the floor.

The fall knocked him out as his head made contact with the floor.

And in those few moments, everything was silent. Black specs clouded her vision and she struggled to stand, swaying. She felt like her insides were about to collapse.

Ben walked over and grabbed her arm, raising it above her head and the members around them cheered.

She was officially a part of the organization, and she hadn't heard about the news about the All Valley just yet, but Ben knew he had just won the lottery.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄

and that concludes s3 !!!! thank goddd

johnny and daniel meeting ben and he called them losers ouch lolololololo

yuijin lost so sad but jiji is just better like sorry not sorry

dw thats not the last we'll see of him tho !!

much love,