¸„.-•~¹°"ˆ˜¨what it takes¨˜ˆ"°¹~•-.„¸

【SEASON 6 EPISODE 4: PART 2】

"Please welcome our guest for the weekend, Sensei Barnes."

Jules looked up at the man standing on the sparring deck with her dad and Daniel. She had never met him before, but her dad had told her all about how the man hijacked their party bus and took them to Silver's house.

Lexi seemed to recognize the man too and leaned toward Jules, keeping her eyes on him. "Isn't that the guy that was at the Silver house fight?" She whispered.

"Silence!"

Jules and Lexi jumped apart at his yell, their backs straightening up.

"In order to keep things unbiased, we brought in Sensei Barnes to observe then select our top eight." Daniel explained. Jules' eyes widened slightly. She had been sure she would go to the Sekai Takai beforehand, but with Barnes being the one to decide now, one wrong move could cost her that spot.

"During my years as the Tournament Terror, all I wanted was to be in the Sekai Takai. But I blew my chance. I am here to ensure that maximize yours." Barnes explained, starting to walk down the rows of students.

"Everyone I know who has participated in this has horror stories. This thing is intense. Unpredictable. People have died. Move!" Barnes yelled, getting right in Joey's face when he noticed he was a step out of line. Joey's eyes practically popped out of his head as he quickly moved to stand directly behind Jules.

"Who's ready for that?" The man asked, and Demetri's eyebrows furrowed. He looked to Joey beside him and leaned towards him nervously. "Wait, ready for the tournament or to die?" He whispered. Lexi, who was standing in front of him, clenched her jaw.

Lexi subtly threw her foot back and sent a warning kick to Demetri's leg, silently telling him to be quiet without Barnes noticing.

"I will do to you what the Sekai Takai will do. I will surprise you with events, I will push you to your limits. And if any of you delicate flowers feel like going to your senseis and crying, don't. I've been given full authority for these eliminations." Barnes said. Jules' eyes wandered to her dad on the sparring deck. As soon as they locked eyes, Johnny smirked, shaking his head, making Jules hold back a smile.

"Selections. Let's keep this positive." Daniel interrupted. Slowly, Barnes turned around, and Jules smirked. She subtly leaned towards Eli, who was standing next to her. "Oh... LaRusso's in trouble..." Jules sang, and Eli quickly looked down to hide his smile.

"You came to me. The deal was my way or the highway." Barnes told Daniel, and Daniel immediately backed off, nodding his head understandingly. Barnes turned back to the students, his face stone cold.

"Get on the sparring deck! Now!" He screamed. As all the students rushed to the sparring deck, Lexi looked at Demetri with a small smile, while Demetri had a nervous look. "This dude's freaky..." She muttered through a laugh, only making Demetri more nervous.

Once all the students stood on the deck, Barnes smirked. "To survive the first round, you will need to show me excellence and speed."

Sensei Barnes had the students chase a flock of chickens until someone caught one.

Jules was starting to get pissed off. She didn't know how hard she was supposed to hold a chicken without hurting it, so just as she would get close to grabbing one, it sped out of her hands.

At the same time, Kenny and Joey both caught a chicken. The two boys yelled in triumph, startling the chickens in their hands. Joey turned to Barnes, a big smile on his face that only grew more when he saw the man nod his head at him and write something down in his book.

Joey and Kenny basked in their victory, turning to each other and high-fiving as everyone else groaned at their loss. Joey gently put the chicken down as Jules and Eli watched him with wide eyes.

"How the hell did you catch that thing?" Jules asked, out of breath from all the running she did.

Joey turned to face the couple, tiredly smiling as he tightened his gi. "All wrestling is, is trying to pin down squirming dudes. This is literally what I've been doing since freshman year." He breathed out, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Strength. Endurance."

After some board-breaking, Eli, Jules, Lexi, and Joey all leaned against the wall and did wall sits while holding rocks in their hands. Lexi felt her legs shake beneath her and her elbows start to burn. The pain was sharp, shooting up from her calves and spreading through her thighs.

Lexi's breath hitched as she fought to stay in position, but her body had reached its limit. With a frustrated groan, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, the rock falling onto her lap.

"Dammit!" Lexi muttered, trying to catch her breath as Barnes shook his head and scribbled in his notebook.

Jules glanced at Eli beside her and smirked. "How you holding up, tough guy?" She breathed out, trying her hardest not to laugh.

Eli grinned through the strain, his face flushed from the workout. "Not great." He muttered through gritted teeth. Jules chuckled, the pain in her own arms growing. "What's killing you more? Legs or arms?" She asked, keeping her head focused in front of her.

"Legs, for sure." Eli breathed out. He turned his head to look at Jules, his body shaking. "You?" He asked even though he could see how much more her arms were shaking than her legs.

Jules licked her lips and pressed her fingertips into the rock to keep her grip on it. "I don't think I'll be able to feel my arms for the next month." She breathed out.

Eli chuckled, his eyes shutting in pain. Jules noticed this out of the corner of her eye and carefully turned her head to face him.

"You breaking?" Jules asked, wanting to do nothing more than move the hair that had stuck to her face, but she couldn't. Eli gave a breathless laugh, his legs quivering.

"Not a chance. I'm just warming up." He said, but in seconds, his legs buckled, and he dropped the rocks as he fell to the floor with a groan. "Okay, maybe a little chance."

Jules shook her head, still managing to keep herself upright, though the strain was becoming unbearable. Joey, on the other side of Lexi, was visibly struggling too. He bit his lip and his arms flexed, but he slumped to the ground a moment later, letting out a low groan of frustration as he smacked the grass underneath him.

"You can't be good at everything." Lexi grumbled under her breath, earning a middle finger from her brother.

Jules exhaled, trying to block out the burning in her muscles. She glanced to her right, where another group of four was doing the same workout. She noticed Devon was the last one still standing from that group. Jules couldn't help but be impressed; Devon was holding on strong, her face filled with determination.

Devon felt eyes on her and turned her head slightly, locking eyes with Jules. Devon's jaw clenched, but she smiled. Jules responded with a determined stare of her own, refusing to be the one to break first.

The silent yet playful standoff between the two was interrupted by the sound of Barnes' voice. "Alright, that's enough! I've seen what I needed to see!"

Jules let out a relieved breath, her body falling against the wall as she dropped the rock to the floor next to her, the tension draining from her body.

"And teamwork."

Barnes had all the students stand in a circle, and one by one, he'd call up two people to stand in the middle and work together to fight everyone standing in the circle.

After watching Chris and Bert fight, Jules had to stop herself from laughing. Barnes then called up her and Lexi. Jules was so grateful but hid her excitement; they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses more than they knew anyone else's. She couldn't have been partnered with anyone better.

When they got into the center, everyone in the circle immediately came at them. Jules and Lexi exchanged a glance, and after a quick nod, Jules grabbed Lexi's arms and spun her around. Lexi extended her legs, kicking out in a circle as Jules spun her. Each kick connected with someone, and when Jules put Lexi back on the ground, four people were already down.

They turned to each other, out-of-breath smiles on their faces. Robby smirked, using this time to run at them. He raised his fists, aiming to punch Jules.

Jules turned her head at the sound of someone running at her, and her eyes widened when she saw Robby. She ducked under his fists, and Lexi put her hand on Jules' back and jumped over her, kicking Robby in the chest and sending him stumbling back into the circle.

Chris ran in from the side, targeting Lexi. Jules ran towards him, blocking the hit with her forearm before spinning around and kicking him in the stomach. As he stumbled, Lexi grabbed Jules's arm and whipped her around, using her as leverage to roundhouse kick him.

With not many students left in the circle, they moved closer, closing Jules and Lexi in.

Jules and Lexi pressed their backs together, their fists raised.

"Left!" Lexi yelled, and Jules turned, catching Sam's kick with her forearm. She twisted her body, pulling Sam off balance, and Lexi took the opportunity to sweep her legs out from under her.

Demetri and Hawk lunged at them at the same time. Jules and Lexi exchanged a quick look and, with a silent nod, turned back to the boys. Not wanting to hurt their own boyfriends, Lexi dropped to the floor, spinning with her leg extended, sweeping Hawk off his feet. As he fell, Jules intercepted Demetri's punch, countering with an elbow strike that forced him to the ground.

Jules and Lexi continued to fight, backing each other up. When one blocked, the other attacked; when one struck, the other was ready to follow through.

Miguel and Joey were the last two standing. They charged at the girls, who turned to each other for another nod before facing their opponents. In perfect sync, they spun and raised their legs, their kicks landing right on the boys' chests, sending them to the floor.

As they caught their breath, Jules glanced at Barnes. His expression remained unreadable, but he nodded and scribbled something in his notebook.

Jules and Lexi turned to each other, exchanging tired but happy smiles before bursting into laughter and high-fiving.

...

After tallying up the scores, Barnes gathered all the students, plus Johnny and Daniel, to announce his decisions.

"Congratulations. You didn't die. But still, half of you wouldn't last one match at the Sekai Takai." He yelled. Jules glanced nervously at Eli beside her.

Barnes pulled out his notebook. "To the fifteen who might, join me up here when I call your name." He flipped through the pages before stopping on one.

"Julianna."

The tension in Jules's shoulders immediately disappeared, replaced by a big smile as everyone around her cheered.

As she made her way to the sparring deck, Eli grabbed her shoulders and gave it a playful shake, causing her to stumble slightly before she caught herself and took her place on the end of the sparring deck.

"Hawk."

Jules locked eyes with Eli, who smiled widely, his hands modestly behind his back. As everyone applauded, Eli ran up to the deck, standing beside Jules. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and kissed her temple.

"Robby, Miguel, Sam, Tory, Lexi." Barnes read out. Jules bounced on her toes in excitement. When Lexi joined them on the step below Jules, Jules wrapped her arms around her from behind, pressing their cheeks together in excitement.

Barnes interrupted their hug. "You two," he said, nodding at them. Jules and Lexi turned their heads to look at him. "It was like you were reading each other's thoughts."

Jules and Lexi smiled at the compliment, Jules giving Lexi an extra squeeze.

"Muscles."

As whispers spread through the crowd, Jules slowly let go of Lexi, furrowing her brows as she tried to figure out who Barnes was talking about.

Barnes looked into the row of students and nodded at Mitch. "Yeah, you." Mitch's eyes widened.

"I have a new nickname?" Mitch asked. Barnes, having no clue what the boy was talking about, rolled his eyes. "Get up here." The man insisted and Mitch let out a loud laugh.

"I have a new nickname!" He yelled, running toward the sparring deck. Jules smirked and leaned down to whisper in Lexi's ear.

"You calling him Muscles?" She asked. Lexi immediately scoffed out a laugh. "Hell no." Lexi muttered back just as Mitch came up to stand beside her.

He grinned at the girls, extending his hand for them to shake. "What's up, ladies? Name's Muscles. Nice to meet you." Mitch said, the grin in his face never leaving. Jules and Lexi just laughed at the boys words while Hawk rolled his eyes. Without looking, Hawk playfully pushed Mitch's head away,, holding back his own laugh.

"Joey." Barnes announced, and Lexi squealed in excitement for her brother.

"Kenny." Barnes called next, and once Kenny stood beside Joey, Barnes turned to them. "Kenny, Joey, good job. No one ever catches the chickens." He gave them a proud nod. Kenny smiled wide at the words and Joey chuckled.

"Nate, Chris." Barnes continued. Jules's brows furrowed. Only three spots were left, and Demetri still hadn't been called. She looked into the crowd of students waiting, locking eyes with Demetri.

It was like he could read her thoughts. Not expecting to be chosen, Demetri gave her a bittersweet smile and shook his head.

"Demetri."

Jules watched as color returned to Demetri's face, his shoulders relaxing.

Lexi's smile grew wider than when her own name was called as Demetri made his way to the front. His eyes met Lexi's, and though he tried not to get his hopes up, her joy made him more eager for a spot in the top eight.

Jules turned back to Barnes, waiting to see who the last two names would be. Barnes reopened his notebook and then groaned, quickly slapping it shut. "Oh, right. Devon and the last name, Anthony."

Julianna cheered for the two younger students. When Anthony looked at the other fourteen chosen, hoping for some cheers, his eyes met Jules's. She gave him a proud smile and two thumbs up, mouthing, "Nice job!"

Anthony grinned at her encouragement, standing next to Devon and looking ahead at the students who weren't selected. Barnes pointed to the fifteen students he chose. "Congratulations, top 15. Meet me back here tomorrow for round two. The rest of you, you're out. Better luck next time."

The students who didn't make the top 15 began to leave the dojo, while those who did started celebrating.

Jules turned to Eli, ready to hug him, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw her dad coming towards her. She gave him a big smile and opened her arms for a hug.

Johnny chuckled into his daughter's hair as he wrapped his arms around her. "I knew you could do it." Johnny muttered, lifting her off the ground a little.

When he put Jules back on the ground, they pulled apart, and Jules shook her head with a small laugh. "I just made the top 15. I still have to make the top eight." She shrugged, not wanting to jinx anything even though she felt confident.

Eli rolled his eyes and stood beside Johnny. "There's no way you're not going." He said, and Johnny nodded in agreement, pointing to Eli. "Kid's right. There's no way you're not going."

Jules looked back and forth between her boyfriend and her dad, her smile growing wider with every passing second. Finally, she let out a happy squeal and jumped into Eli's arms, happy she made it to the top 15.

...

The 15 students stayed at Miyagi-Do, training, sparring, and getting as much practice as they could before the next test.

Jules and Lexi sparred, Joey reffing. Demetri stood beside Joey, watching the fight instead of training.

After they finished sparring, with Jules winning 3-2, Demetri walked up to Lexi, a big smile on his face. "So... you ready for our date? I got us a table at Islands and everything." He asked, grabbing her hands and giving them a small squeeze.

Lexi's eyebrows furrowed as she pulled Demetri away from Jules and Joey, looking up at him. "I thought we were going to reschedule that? Make tonight a training session for whatever Sensei Barnes throws at us tomorrow." Lexi said, a tired smile on her face as she let go of one of Demetri's hands to push some hair out of her face.

Demetri pursed his lips and shrugged. "Well, you've got this fight in the bag no matter what. For me, disappointment is easiest to manage when you don't expect too much of yourself to begin with. I've come as far as I'm gonna go. I can live with that." He reassured, no sadness in his voice.

Lexi's jaw fell, but Demetri didn't seem to notice. He started to walk toward the exit of the dojo, pulling Lexi along. "Now, let's go! They're not gonna hold the table all night."

"What? Dem, no." Lexi stopped, making Demetri to turn back to her. "You can't say that about yourself. You have a chance in this competition just as much as anyone else. You were picked for a reason!" Lexi insisted, her voice firm as she stepped closer to him.

Demetri's face scrunched as Lexi walked up to him, letting go of his hands and cupping his face instead. "I believe in you, and I really think you have a shot at this. But what I think doesn't matter if you don't try! You have to try!" Lexi said, gently shaking his head as if trying to knock some sense into him.

"Yeah..." muttered, nodding slowly as he really listened to Lexi. A small smile began to spread across his face, excitement flickering in his eyes. "Yeah, you're right." He said, and Lexi's smile widened.

"We're gonna go out there, I'm gonna train as long as it takes and I'm gonna win this whole freaking thing." Demetri said, his confidence building. Lexi nodded, her cheeks hurting from how hard she was smiling.

"There we go!" Lexi cheered, going onto her toes to pull Demetri down for a kiss. Demetri's hands moved to rest on her hips, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss before they finally pulled away.

"Now, let's go train." Lexi said, pulling Demetri back to the group to spar.

...

The next day, the fifteen students stood in the backyard of Miyagi-Do. Everyone was sore and tired from the previous day's training. Johnny had driven Jules, Robby, Miguel, Hawk, and Tory home at one in the morning.

Now, Barnes had all of the students stick flags to their arms, legs, and backs. Although he hadn't explained the test, it wasn't hard for them to guess they were about to play some version of capture the flag.

As Jules helped Eli place a flag on his back, he glanced at Demetri, who was standing in front of him with Lexi helping him with his flags. "Ready for the big day?" Eli asked, and Demetri smiled.

"Oh, I was born ready. Just like MIT, you're not going to Barcelona without me." Demetri said, patting Eli on the shoulder before walking away. Jules moved to stand beside Eli, noticing his face fall at the mention of MIT.

Lexi and Miguel also noticed and looked at him with confused expression.

"What's going on with you?" Lexi asked, and Eli's eyes widened as he realized he was making it too obvious. Miguel let out a confused laugh, nodding in agreement with Lexi as he moved to stand next to her. "Lex is right. Every time he mentions MIT, you go gray."

Eli bit his lip, nervously looking at Jules beside him. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, encouraging him to speak up. Eli sighed and turned back to Lexi and Miguel. "I didn't apply." He admitted.

Lexi and Miguel's eyes widened in shock. "What? Why?" Miguel asked, glancing at Jules, who didn't seem surprised. He figured Eli had already told her.

"That frat party we went to made me realize I never even looked at any other schools. We picked MIT before all this karate stuff. I just wanna see if there's better options." Eli explained, shrugging nervously. Miguel nodded, understanding.

said, and Lexi still stared at Eli in disbelief. "Amazing, actually. And you still could've applied!" She pointed out. Eli immediately shook his head, holding his hands out as if to stop her.

"I still might! Just not early action." He muttered. Lexi frowned, watching him closely. She knew how much MIT meant to both of them and could see that his guilt was really weighing on him.

But she also knew how much it would hurt Demetri. Lexi looked to Demetri across the backyard and sighed. She turned back to Eli, tilting her head. "You should tell him." She suggested, and Eli frowned, looking at the ground.

"Top 15, get ready!" Barnes yelled from the sparring deck.

Lexi and Miguel gave one last bittersweet smile with Eli before walking away.

Jules looked up at Eli and gave him a small smile. "You okay?" she asked, and Eli sighed. "Lex is right. I need to tell him." Before Jules could say anything else, Eli walked away. Jules sighed and followed him to the sparring deck.

She lined up between Eli and Devon, with Robby standing across from her and Barnes at the end of the line of students. "Today's challenge is a Battle Royale. The rules are simple. Protect your flags. Steal the others. Lose your flags, and you're out."

Jules looked across the row and locked eyes with Robby, who gave her a playful glare. Jules immediately returned it.

"The ones with the most flags at the end go to Barcelona. The rest of you will be judged on performance. You have two minutes. Ready?" Barnes said. The students bowed to him, then to each other, before getting into their fighting stances.

Barnes scanned the group, making sure they were all ready before stepping out of their way. "And fight!"

Immediately, everyone scattered. Lexi ran toward the closest person, Kenny. As soon as they locked eyes, they charged at each other.

Lexi threw a kick, but Kenny raised his arms to block it, sending her a competitive glare. "Come on, Gomez. Pick on someone your own size."

Lexi laughed, blocking Kenny's punch. "Dude, you're like half a foot taller than me." She retorted, making Kenny straighten up and check. When he was distracted, Lexi smirked. She slid on the ground just before she would have rammed into him, ripping one of his flags off his leg.

As she stood back up, Lexi yanked the flag off Kenny's back just before he turned around. Kenny stared at her in shock, but Lexi just smirked, stuffing his flags into her gi.

"And you still lost these." Lexi taunted, running away. Kenny watched her go, growing angrier by the second. "I'm coming for you, Gomez!" He yelled, bolting after her.

Lexi laughed, sprinting toward Miguel, Hawk, and Robby, who were already fighting each other. Her eyes widened, not wanting to get caught in their battle.

But Hawk spotted Lexi and grabbed one of her arm flags as she ran past. Lexi groaned but kept running, trying to stay ahead of Kenny, who was catching up on her. While Hawk was busy snatching her flag, Miguel and Robby each grabbed one of Hawk's.

"Shit!" Hawk screamed as Miguel and Robby turned to run away. Miguel's eyes landed on Jules, who had just snatched a flag off Chris.

When their eyes locked, Jules cursed under her breath and immediately ran. Miguel was the only one to run after her, yelling a "Sorry, buddy!" over his shoulder to Eli.

As Jules ran from Miguel, she got closer and closer to Devon, who was distracted by the senseis' conversation. Jules smirked, picking up speed and snatching the flag off Devon's back.

"What? Jules!" Devon yelled as Jules continued running. The blonde looked back at her and sent a small smile. "Thanks, Dev!" Jules yelled over her shoulder before crashing into someone.

Jules gasped, jumping back to avoid losing any of her flags before realizing it was Eli.

She smirked, tilting her head at her boyfriend. "Hey, baby." Jules sang as Eli started to smirk. She took slow steps back as he walked toward her, his eyes flicking over her, noticing that she still had all of her flags.

"Saw no one's taken any of your flags yet." Eli remarked, and Jules looked down, smiling proudly when she realized he was right. "Yeah..."

Jules looked Eli up and down, a fake pout forming when she saw he only had two flags left. "Can't say the same for you."

Suddenly, her back hit the dojo wall, and Eli cornered her.

"You gonna let me have any, Sunshine?" Eli asked, his hand falling on her shoulder. As he started to run his fingers down her arm, Jules smirked.

"Oh, you gotta fight for it." Jules muttered. Eli's eyes sparkled with amusement as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against her cheek. "Is that a challenge, baby?" He whispered, his voice low and teasing.

Jules's smirk grew. "Only if you're up for it." She replied, tilting her head playfully.

Eli chuckled, his hand lingering on her arm before suddenly reaching for one of the flags tied around her bicep. Jules saw it coming and dodged his grasp with a spin, stepping to the side, laughing as she put some distance between them.

Eli's smirk returned as he got into his fighting stance, ready to make his next move. Jules moved to the right, and Eli mirrored her, blocking her movements.

Jules darted forward, aiming for the flag on Eli's arm. She got close, her fingers brushing the edge of it, but Eli twisted away at the last second, grabbing the flag tied to her arm instead.

Before Jules could react, Eli yanked it free, holding it up triumphantly. "Gotcha." He muttered, twirling the flag between his fingers.

"Time! That's it!" Barnes yelled as Jules laughed, rolling her eyes. She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to catch her breath. Walking up to Eli, she pulled out the flags she'd stuffed in her bra strap out to count.

"How many do you have?" Jules asked as she counted her ninth flag.

"Five," Eli answered. Without thinking, she looked up at him with a smile. "Each hand?" She asked, but Eli's smile faltered as he looked at the ground. "Uh, total..." He admitted, glancing down at all the flags in Jules's hands.

Jules cringed, guilt racing through her. She shook her head and gave Eli a small smile. "Hey, it's okay. There's no way you're not going." She said, laughing. "You're one of our best fighters. I think Daniel and my dad would lose it if you don't go."

Eli chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Daniel more than your dad probably." He said and Jules laughed, nodding her head. "As long as we don't share a room, I think my dad will be fine."

"Let me see those flags! Come on!" Barnes yelled, motioning for the students who still had flags left to come toward him. Sam, Miguel, Tory, Robby, Jules, Hawk, Demetri, Lexi, Kenny, Devon, and Joey all lined up in that order, the eleven of them being the only ones who hadn't lost their flags.

Barnes looked at the line of students and nodded his head, jotting something down in his book. "All right, we've clearly got our top six."

Jules looked down the line of students to see who he was talking about. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw how few flags Lexi and Demetri had. What also shocked Jules was that Joey, at the end of the line, had just as many flags as she did.

"Joey, Julianna, Tory, Robby, Sam, Miguel," Barnes listed, each of them smiling. "You six are going to Barcelona."

Jules wanted to keep her celebrating to a minimum since Lexi, Eli, and Demetri didn't make it, but when Robby wrapped his arms around her and lifted her in the air, she couldn't contain her smile.

She wrapped her arms around him so she wouldn't fall out of his grasp as Barnes turned to Lexi, Eli, Demetri, Devon, and Kenny. "You bottom five are tied. I'll go back tonight, review my notes, and re-tally the scores. I'll announce the final two in the morning."

When Barnes walked away, Lexi, Demetri, and Eli all turned to each other. Lexi's eyebrows raised anxiously while Demetri and Eli's furrowed. "If there's only two spots left..." She muttered and Demetri sighed, looking between Eli and Lexi. "One of us won't get to go."

—even though they barely had any interaction i need to make it known that anthony is jules's second son.

what am i plotting? you're just gonna have to wait🥱🥱 there's only eight spots though so... say goodbye to someone....