CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
disclaimer! unedited! heh. enjoy.

People who would sue Daniel LaRusso for emotional damage (a list by Sierra Basilio):
    1    Sierra Basilio
    2    Tory Nichols
    3    Miguel Diaz
    4    Robby Keene
    5    Kenny Payne
    6    Johnny Lawrence
    7    (New!) Valentine Song

For the longest time, Sierra has always found some random way to hate Daniel LaRusso– as cliche as she sounds. Apparently she wasn't the only one, which made the girl all the more happy. But this utmost despise has been brewing since the dawn of time (the day her parents decided she, Valentine, and Sam would become friends). It started when she was seven, Daniel decided to attempt to cook Filipino food after deciding to ask Mrs. Basilio for some recipes. Except the tanginess and the sour taste of the sinigang came out bland, and the lechon manok barely 'lechon-ing'— from that moment on, Sierra swore that Mr. LaRusso was out to get her.

Later on, she labeled it "cultural appropriation" because what was an Italian man trying to do with her food? Valentine has told her it's not that big of a deal, but when that man is using bonsai trees and karate to promote his car dealership, Sierra decided to die on her hill of an opinion. "What does Spaghetti Man know about karate?"

"Sierra, your mom is white."

"Don't deny me of my heritage," the girl would snap back at Francis (back before they were dating... well, she still does this around him).

Her apparent hate continued to fester, though, as soon as she heard the conversation the older man had with her best friend.

You've got a way of shaking things up, my ass.

If Sierra had a monocle, a mustache, and a smoking pipe, she'd call herself Sherlock Holmes. But right now she's just Nancy Drew— which still checks out her boxes, she's just missing out on a cool costume. "Sierra," Francis' voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Why are you just standing at the corner?"

"Hush!" Sierra dragged Francis by the collar of his shirt, hiding him from the open view. "I might get caught for being a nosy bitch again!"

"Then what are you–"

"There's definitely a reason why Val's still on the team."

Francis raised his eyebrow at her. "Because she replaced Demetri...?"

"No, because Daniel needs her in the team for something else– complicated, I'll explain on the way."

Before the boy could ask about anything, or protest to her words, he was already being dragged by the arm. He could only sigh, following closely behind Sierra– I mean, this is why he fell for her in the first place. "Do you think we could stop by the vending machines first?"

"Why?"

"I missed the free breakfast this morning."

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

Axel watched from across the room, his eyes fixed on Valentine who stood right behind Robby. At this point, the pair have been more attached to the hip than Valentine has been with Sierra during the entire competition. It wasn't just the fact that she stood behind him that made his blood boil, it was the way her eyes were on him– with a look he could've read years ago.

He watched as Robby leaned to hear what Valentine was whispering, a small smile appearing on her lips while her hand gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. At this point, Axel couldn't even bother to worry about the rules– what they had to do for that segment of the competition. Because if he ever got to face Miyagi- Do, Robby was the first to go.

It was all simple really, some tag team bullshit.

Earn three points, tag your teammate in or out, the whole shebang. Axel knew this was going to be too easy, but would it be for Valentine?

Miyagi- Do was up against Furia de Pantera, and Axel's body tensed when he saw Valentine step up against Diego– like of all people, who decided to put her in first? What conversation took place to put her first? Because she was standing there across from him like she actually had a shot. "Hey," Zara's voice cut through his thoughts. "What's your deal?"

Axel barely turned his head, his eyes still glued to Valentine. "Nothing."

"You look like you could drive a knife into someone."

He ignored her, jaw tightening once more as the referee signaled for the match to begin. Valentine took a deep breath, shifting into her stance– her stance, not some perfect, polished Miyagi- Do technique. There was hesitation in the way she moved, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. But Axel knew she wasn't backing down.

Diego was ruthless, as expected. His lunges forward were too calculated and precise, feinting to the left before he began to sweep low. Valentine barely dodged in time, her feet skidding against the mat as she threw a sloppy block.

Axel felt his body react on instinct, his muscles tensed as if he were the one fighting. She's too slow. She's leaving her left open. She needs to–

"Val, tag me in!" Eli yelled, his hand sticking out to the girl in desperation. She reacted too little too late, her hand being kicked out of the way before she could tag out. Diego struck again, trying to go for her ribs. The girl staggered back, sucking in a sharp breath– barely blocking the blow.

Axel's teeth gritted.

For a split second, their eyes met across the mat. Axel could see the flicker of doubt in her face– just for a moment, before she set her jaw and turned back to Diego. That's when he knew she wasn't giving up just yet. That pissed him off even more.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

Valentine could feel the eyes on her. She didn't have to look to know that Axel was watching. She didn't have to hear to know that Sierra was losing her mind from the stands. And she definitely didn't have to turn around to know that Daniel Larusso was expecting her to figure this out– because of course he was.

Fuck, she thought bitterly, shaking out her stinging arms. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

But then she looked at Robby. He wasn't yelling like everyone else, his hand wasn't out like Eli's or Kenny's. He wasn't pacing or worrying. He was just watching– calm, steady, trusting. And that to Valentine? Call her dramatic or cliche, but that was enough.

So she exhaled, resetting her stance.

Diego came at her again, this time aiming high. She ducked, pivoted, and struck out– not a perfect hit, but it was something. She caught him off guard, the briefest look of surprise flashing across his face before he recovered.

"Yeah, Val! Hit him where it hurts!" Valentine heard Sierra scream from afar. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

The other fighter wasn't going to let her get another lucky shot. He attacked with even more force, Valentine's muscles were already moving before she could think. If she stayed still, she'd get wrecked. If she hesitated, she'd lose. She had to stay in the fight. She didn't realize what she was doing until she heard the whistle.

"Point, Miyagi- Do!"

Valentine blinked.

Wait... what?

She looked around, confused, before catching Robby's grin. She'd actually scored a point.

"Tag out, Val!"

Right– right, know your limits.

She quickly reached back, tagging Sam's hand. She stepped forward as she stepped back, shaking out her arms. At that moment, Valentine had hopes that they'd win this round.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

"What the hell was that?!"

"We can't trust Kenny!"

"Bullshit!" Valentine spat at Eli, her face tired.

"Why didn't you tag in Kenny when you had the chance?" Miguel asked in confusion.

Eli scrunched his nose. "He just got here, you expect us to trust him already–"

"Trust me to what?" Kenny interrupted. "Not get my ass kicked like you and Robby? You have to be serious– I fly all the way here to help us win and you won't give me a chance? Now everybody was laughing at me in the woods, but somehow I'm the bad guy, right?!"

"You see? He's still pissed, it makes sense he'd want revenge."

"Say something you–"

"Hey!" Robby broke off the conversation. "This isn't about Kenny. I'm the one who lost the match. Me."

"Robby," Miguel called, but he was already pushing past Kenny and Eli. He was following him, witnessing Axel shove past Robby which brought a strange look to Miguel's face.

Axel barely registered the way Robby's shoulder bumped against him. He wasn't thinking about sportsmanship, about how it would look, about what the others might say. His mind was clouded, tangled up in thoughts he didn't want to be having, emotions he really didn't want to be feeling.

He was supposed to be focused on winning. Not on Valentine fucking Song.

Not on the way she and Robby had been moving like their hands were tied together. No in the way she smiled at him, the way she stared at him when he began to walk away– with the look of the need to comfort Robby in every way possible.

But when Valentine caught up with Axel in the hallway, her fingers curling around his wrist for just a second before he stopped in his tracks, Axel knew he had officially lost all control over his own thoughts.

"What the hell was that?" Valentine demanded, her breath still a little uneven from the match.

"What was what?"

She let out a short, humorless laugh, stepping closer. "Don't play dumb with me, Kovacevic. You just plowed through Robby like he was nothing."

"Keene was in my way."

"You're actually so full of shit right now."

"Watch it," he warned, but there was no real bite to his words. Valentine studied him, her head tilted slightly. He wasn't meeting her gaze directly anymore– if she didn't know any better, she'd think he was uncomfortable. "That fight– you hesitated, you let Diego get too many shots in."

"Yeah, thanks for the play-by-play, coach," she muttered under her breath.

"I'm serious, Val–"

"Like you care," those three words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it. She hadn't meant to say it– hadn't even thought about it, really– but once it was out there, Valentine knew she couldn't take it back.

For a second, Axel didn't answer.

"I don't."

"Right, and that's why you just shoved past Robby like he personally offended your entire bloodline."

Axel rolled his eyes, looking away as he clenched his fists. "Didn't realize I had to be nice to the guy you've been glued to this entire tournament."

Valentine blinked, thrown off by his words. "Excuse me?"

Axel scoffed. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Val. You and Robby, laughing together, training together, whispering in corners like you're in one of those... those rom-com whatever you call it movies of yours–"

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"You know what," he said, taking a step even closer towards her. "Are you back with him?"

The girl recoiled slightly, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Back with–? Axel, what the fuck are you talking about?"

His frustration was already boiling over the edge. "Don't act like I'm an idiot, alright? Sierra told me–"

"Sierra?" Valentine paused before exhaling sharply, suddenly understanding what he meant. "Oh my god, you believed her? You believed Sierra– out of all people?"

Axel hesitated, his posture growing stiff. He watched as Valentine ran a hand down her face, letting out a dry laugh. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You're telling me there's nothing going on?"

Her face then hardened. "No. There's not."

The boy studied her for a second, searching for something– some kind of crack in the surface– but all he found was irritation, and maybe a little hurt. He knew that look, he's seen it before, years ago. But he never thought it would come back to haunt him.

Valentine took a breath, clearly trying to steady her thoughts. "You– you don't get to do this, Axel. You can't just act like you care about who I spend my time with when– oh! Newsflash! You dumped me, and we're at some dumb, stupid, idiotic tournament so you can't just– yeah!"

"Val–"

"Oh, wait, hold on, let me guess. It's totally fine if you move on, if you break up with me without so much as a second thought, but the second you see me with someone else, suddenly you're interested again?"

"That's not–"

"You're literally full of bullshit right now."

Her voice was sharp, causing Axel to feel his stomach twist at the way her eyes flashed, at the way she held herself like she was bracing for impact. "You're the one who left, Axel. You don't get to storm off like a jealous ex when you ended this."

Valentine's words hit harder than he expected, knocking the wind out of him in a way he didn't know how to recover from. He's learned every block, every kick, every technique in the book when it comes to karate. But this? This was foreign.

Axel swallowed hard. He did care. He cared more than he wanted to admit, more than he should. That's the thing, he never stopped caring. It wasn't over for him, for the past few years it never was. But how was he supposed to tell her that?

How was he supposed to tell her the truth when it wouldn't change the fact that he broke what they had?

His silence must've been enough of an answer, because Valentine shook her head, her lips pressing into a thin line. "That's what I thought."

She had turned to leave, but Axel reached out, grabbing her wrist gently– just enough to stop her. Valentine froze– his grip was loose, hesitant, like he was afraid she'd slip through his fingers again. The girl should've pulled away, should've yanked her arm back, shoved him off, told him exactly where to stuff his sudden interest in her life. But she didn't.

Her breath hitched, her heart pounding against her ribs as she turned her head, just barely, enough to meet his gaze.

And damn him.

Damn Axel Kovacevic for looking at her like that.

Like he felt it too.

Like this wasn't just some stupid fight in some stupid tournament surrounded by stupid people who didn't know how to mind their own stupid business. Like it was them again– messy and reckless and hanging on by the edge of something dangerous. Valentine knew she should've said something, anything.

But before she could, Axel moved.

And then his lips were on hers.