Your dojo, Miyagi-Do, earned their well deserved spot in the Sekai Taikai and you were proud to be able to gain your place as the female captain on the team. But there was one problem.

Cobra Kai.

You’d been with the dojo long enough to experience several fights both on and off the mat with clear, unbridled tension, but you didn’t try to focus on that right now. There were more dojos participating, meaning you were facing more opponents than just Cobra Kai.

The atmosphere inside the hotel was welcoming and friendly, but the lingering threat of Kreese’s dojo still hung in the air. Your senseis—Johnny and Daniel—got all your teammates their hotel rooms. You were sharing one with Devon and Sam. Everything seemed to be going smoothly after what had happened in the Valley.

Not anymore.

After the first event of the tournament, you’d witnessed firsthand how aggressive the dojos here were, but you’d noticed a change in Cobra Kai. This wasn’t the Cobra Kai you fought off back in the Valley—this was Korean Cobra Kai, one that both Sensei Kreese and Sensei Kim were coaching together. Kim. The woman’s name was new to you, one you’d never heard of, but from the look of her, your instincts screamed danger. She exuded sadism without even trying to hide it.

Meanwhile, Kwon Jae-sung—an arrogant prick—also stood out as the team’s male captain. He was the one who had eventually defeated a distracted Robby Keene in the captain’s war.

But to keep your mind off recent events, the organizers of the tournament held a buffet for Senseis, students, and sponsors. Sam—a great friend of yours, who gave you a good and worthwhile fight for the captain’s spot—decided to join you for a meal there. After all, you needed fuel to perform at your absolute best.

The both of you got your trays handed to you and headed toward an unoccupied table to sit at, until you felt a broad shoulder bump into you from behind. Though, the movement felt too deliberate, like it was done on purpose.

“Sorry,” came the voice of a young man that bordered on mockery, who was walking past you.

You and Sam witnessed as the guy who bumped into you turned around, a very clear expression of amusement etched on his face as he whispered to two of his teammates who were trailing after him: Yoon and Chung-hee.

It was Kwon.

They all looked like they were around your age. Kwon just smirked at you—the same smirk he had on his face when he took down Robby in the first event. You noticed the other two teammates behind him continuing to joke around as their gaze were fixed on you and Sam.

The uncomfortable silence stretched as you and Sam exchanged a glance. “Let’s just go.” she said, her calm tone indicating she didn’t want to cause trouble, especially not during the most important time of your lives. If a fight broke out, you could be disqualified, making Miyagi-Do lose automatically without even having to step on the mat.

“Leaving so soon? Wow, Miyagi-Do really is full of cowards, isn’t it?” Kwon replied, earning two scoffs from his followers who were reveling in your discomfort. Kwon was waiting for you to bite back, but Sam quietly shot you a look that silently said you had to de-escalate this situation before it got any worse. Kwon knew exactly what he was doing, trying to get you two riled up like this before the next event.