SECOND BEST

030.

SCARLETT and Tory had decided to visit Kreese to discuss what they were going to do about the fight the next day. The two sat opposite the man as Tory explained what was happening. Scarlett was stuck in her own head. If she won, it would help the place she was trying to claw her way out of. 

"They're expecting her to fight, but if she wins, it helps Cobra Kai," Tory stated, saying the same thing Scarlett had been thinking, "So what do we do?"

"You do what's right for you," Kreese said, glancing toward the girl. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scarlett questioned in confusion, her face mirroring her emotions. 

"You said it yourself. Winning gives you new opportunities."

"What the hell are you talking about," the two chorused. Tory continued, "I thought the plan was to stop Silver and get you out of here."

"We're not doing anything like that anymore. Nothing we do is gonna get me out of here," Kreese said slowly as if they were children needing to understand something important. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? We've been helping you this whole time. We've kept secrets from everyone we know. I broke up with Robby because you told me that we needed to take Silver down. And what? Now you're just done?" Scarlett asked incredulously with a scoff. 

Kreese had the right to look guilty, but he didn't. His face was passive as he responded, "I've put you through enough. The best thing you can do right now is look after yourselves."

"Fuck you."

"Screw this. This is what we get for putting our trust in anyone but ourselves. Come on, Scar, we'll do everything ourselves, just like always."

The two stood angrily and stormed out of the prison. 

The next morning, Scarlett stood in the dojo preparing for the fight against her father's dojo. Some of the students surrounded her, watching as she mercilessly pounded her fists into the punching dummy. Silver stood on the other side giving slight corrections to her form, but her mind was so clouded that she was barely listening to a word. 

The rival dojo entered the room, marvelling at the beauty of the dojo. They stopped to watch the girl who had claimed the winning prize in the All Valley. Her punches were swift and her kicks brutal. They could tell she was angry from the way she drove her fists into the fake body, clearly wishing to cause some harm. And she did. With a final blow, her hand met the dummy and the cloth ripped, causing her hand to meet the hard silicon behind it. 

Scarlett winced only slightly and shook her hand from it's pain. 

Silver patted her on the shoulder, sending Daniel and obviously smug smirk. Scarlett turned away from her family toward Sensei Kim who had called her over. 

"You beat her before. Make this fight quick."

Scarlett gave a small nod, glaning back to Sam. Even though she desired to leave Cobra Kai, she still felt that seed in the pit of her stomach to beat the crap out of her sister. She already proved she was the best but she wanted to do it again. She needed to. It was an itch she couldn't scratch, the desire to show her parents that she was just as good as Sam if not better. 

The Sekai Taikai members entered and the dojo owners lined up opposite them. 

"Thank you Sensei Silver, for offering to host these matches in your dojo on such short notice," Gunther stated. 

Daniel scoffed, "Offering or demanding?"

"Well we do have actual tournament regulation mats here, so it really was the only option," Silver shrugged. Daniel frowned and sent the man a glare. 

"We'll begin with the boys fight. We have invited the local referee to ensure impartiality," Gunther stated, motioning to the man who bowed at the Senseis, "First to three points wins."

They separated and the dojos divided into opposite sides of the room. The Sekai Taikai took their seats and Gunther spoke, "Time to begin. Eli Moskowitz and Kenny Payne, please take the mat."

The two boys stepped up and the referee stopped in front of them, "Face me. Bow. Face each other. Bow. Ready? Fight!"

Kenny started off strong with movements in quick succession. Eli skillfully dodged them but was unable to get a hit on the boy himself. As he attempted to do so, Kenny landed a kick to his side. "Point! 1-0, Payne."

Cobra Kai clapped and cheered. The two boys went back to their spots and they started again. Kenny began once more but this time Eli managed to learn from his mistakes, dodging and block simultaneously. As he pushed Kenny toward the team, he jumped up with a spinning kick, landing the blow to the boy's shoulder. 

The rival dojos cheered but the referee called, "Out of bounds. No point."

"What? What, are you serious?" Eli questioned angrily. Scarlett frowned, her eyes travelling between Silver and the referee as the other team called out the bullshit. As the match started once more, Scarlett swallowed deeply as she took in the referees face. This was the same man who'd directed hers and Sam's fight earlier that year. Meaning, he was on Silver's payroll and had purposely called an out of bounds. 

The boys began again, the movements quick and hard, making contact against blocks. As Eli moved in with a kick, Kenny grabbed his leg and stuck down on the back of his knee. 

"Illegal strict. That's a warning," the referee called. 

"Warning? He should be disqualified," Daniel called. 

"It's fine. He just caught me off guard," Eli stated, though he was limping slightly. 

Scarlett turned to Tory and pulled her off to the side, "I can't do this."

"What?" Tory whispered loudly causing some of their team members to turn their way in confusion. 

Scarlett shook her head, "I can't. I can't cheat again, Tory. I'm done. You need to do this fight because I am leaving and going home." They glanced toward the fight where Kenny stuck Eli with a punch to the chest. It seemed severe as the boy began to gasp and writhe on the ground. 

"I can't deal with this anymore, Tory. I feel so guilty. If I win this against Sam and I win it because I cheated and I wouldn't have proved I'm better. I would've proved that I'm a liar. So please, do this for me." Tory sighed and nodded, hugging her tightly. Scarlett felt as though the blonde was the only person she could confide in. That she really understood what it felt like to be overlooked. And she understood why Scarlett was doing what she was. 

Cobra Kai celebrated as Kenny was announced the winner by default. During this time, Scarlett slipped out of the door and toward the street.