Chapter Nine: How Times Change

…

Over thirty years later, Daniel and Johnny were now the Senseis of their respective dojos. And they returned to the same exact spot they stood decades prior to agree to settle their rivalry at a tournament.

"You've challenged this dojo. We win. And this is all over. For good. You win, and that'll be the same." assured Kreese.

Daniel understood, never taking his eyes off Kreese as he back away and put his shoes back on before leaving with Miguel.

Daniel spoke to Kreese right before he left. "There's a ban on Cobra Kai on the barbarity you pulled. I'll make sure to get it lifted. Even though I'm a Sensei now, I'll support the appeal. Because I'll see you on the mat next May."

Kreese barely nodded in acknowledgment of this.

"One more thing. I hope you can tell your students to, for once, leave mine alone to focus on the tournament." Daniel requested politely.

"Alright. Prepare! Fall in behind me! Aits!"

Everyone jumped up from their spots on the mat in a collective motion so fast their GIs made a single cloth slipping sound. Everyone quickly got back into perfect rows and turned to face Daniel and Miguel again and stood in 'Junbi' the ready stance as Kreese yelled his order.

"No one touches this fragile little thing until the tournament. Is that understood!?"

All sixteen Cobra Kais barked together so loudly the walls almost seemed to shake.

"Yes Sensei!"

…

The Cobras began training harder than ever. A rival had presented itself, even if it only really had one student.

As Johnny trained the Cobras personally in how to counter front kicks and standard sparring techniques for the tournament, Kreese sat in the dojo office at the chair behind the desk.

…

I fixed my headband and walked into the office.

"Sensei Kreese. You wanted to speak to me?"

He finished a drink he had made for himself. "Sit."

I did so.

"I want you to know we're doing everything we can to make sure that LaRusso and that Diaz kid are getting the message you're not to be trifled with."

"I think they already got that message Sensei. Think LaRusso got the message the moment I took the All Valley golden trophy at fourteen."

Kreese nodded. "Even still. Weakness does not exist in this dojo. And that arm of yours, broken and in a sling and cast. Can't be taken as a sign of weakness. That doesn't mean you can't train. Just not the same as you have been."

"Really?"

"The last time Miyagi-Do challenged us. Around, at least fifteen years before you were even born." said Kreese. "We had a student. A jokester named Tommy. He um. He was talented, but not nearly as skilled as Bobby Brown and Johnny. His arm was broken during the scrap Miyagi had with my students at the time. Just like you. He had a tournament to train for, but not the arm to do it."

Kreese explained. "I want you doing the following. I want you training in everything but strikes with your arms. No jabs, reverse punches. None of that. It's time to increase your stamina, core strength, and especially your leg strength. You can't very well swim with a cast, so I recommend you start jogging regularly like you did for your last tournament."

"But the others. Won't they catch up to me?"

Kreese chuckled. "Even if you had that cast on for half a year. Miguel Diaz, or even someone with your level of experience like Robby. Would never be able to beat you at this tournament I think. You were born a Cobra Kai Schwarber. Not many people are."

I hesitated to tell him for a moment about what I learned at the roller rink recently.

But then I did it anyway as I heard Johnny yell at Dieter for not countering Hawk's jab punch in time from the glass to the rest of the dojo behind me.

"Sensei Kreese um. I overheard Sam LaRusso and Diaz talking. He said Bobby Brown has joined the efforts to help train Diaz to defeat the dojo."

Kreese stopped opening a drawer in the dojo office desk.

"What?" he asked with widening eyes.

"He's partnered to some extent with LaRusso to train him."

Kreese looked aside without any words for a moment.

"What?" I asked.

"I knew he hated me for what happened. But I never would've imagined a full blown betrayal."

"You can imagine what they're doing now."

"I can." Kreese nodded again. "What you did and are still doing. Combining both styles to become a champion. To become unstoppable."

I nodded back.

"As." Kreese sighed. "Troubling as all this is. I wouldn't be too worried. You learned the first Cobra strike, and the first um." he scoffed. "Kata from Miyagi-Do an entire year before Diaz even met LaRusso. Nothing beats experience and skill, especially in a fight at a tournament."

"What about heart? Or natural talent? Can they beat experience or skill?"

"That only happened one time," said Kreese. "LaRusso's win over Johnny was a fluke. Pure and simple. Johnny thought he was in love. With your mother ironically. Thought his win would win him back that love."

"But you know better. Don't you?"

"Yes Sensei."

"Get back to core and cardio." Kreese ordered quietly.

I nodded. "Yes Sensei." I bowed quickly before getting back on the mat and continuing to jump rope in the little area on the mat Johnny gave me.

…

At West Valley High soon after the challenge to Cobra Kai, Miguel Diaz was in high spirits.

Miguel was writing in his notebook when Sam walked up to him. The moment she saw the bruises on his face she sighed. "Wow."

"Look your dad and I took care of it-"

"I'll bet." Sam walked off quickly, Miguel following her.

"Now hold on. I said we agreed to figure it out at a tournament-"

"No matter where or how you fight those guys they'll always be bad news." Sam gripped her notebook tightly. "Speak of the devil."

Lucas, Robby, Hawk, Shawn, and Doug all approached slowly with Mikey lingering quietly behind them.

Miguel squinted slightly at Sam and shook his head. "Check this out."

Sam watched as Miguel walked right and through the Cobra Kais, taunting them. "Hey y'all. How's the eye Shawn? Rickenberger, my man, really hope that limp of yours goes away and I'm real sorry about your cheek there Hawk. Be careful guys, I hear those bikers are really something to keep your eye on. Can be real nasty sometimes."

Insulted so much that Miguel would taunt his friends so much, Lucas slammed a binder and book he was holding down onto the ground as hard as he could. His face scrunched up in complete fury and he started to walk towards Miguel to yell at him and give him a piece of his mind.

"Hold on!" said Robby, putting a hand on Lucas' chest to stop him. "Both Senseis said we gotta wait until the tournament…"

"Yeah keep walking around with that loser LaRusso!" Shawn stood up on his tiptoes to yell across the courtyard.

Hawk grinned, shook his head, and put a hand on Lucas' shoulder to help calm him down, like the other Cobras, they were hoping the tournament would be a chance for very public embarrassment at a place as well attended as the annual All Valley.

…

I wrote down the last bit of notes for Chemistry before the bell rang and I started to walk out from my Chem class.

"Isn't this interesting?" Yasmine was looking at the class rankings in terms of grades posted in the hallway bulletin right outside the lab room.

I hated teachers for posting those. And I hated Yasmine's outfits. We get it. Your parents design clothes Yas.

How was she ranked first in the class!? Chem was never really my thing but still.

None of this made sense really.

Yasmine, whose last name I found out was Mitchell after unfortunately being assigned as her lab partner one afternoon, was surprising pretty good at school.

She actually knew her stuff. I don't think she was absurdly intelligent, she probably just had a good study ethic and routine.

"I thought you hated acting like a nerd."

"Oh I do. Except when it gives me better grades than um. People like you who apparently are running the school now." said Yasmine. "Got to have some power left here."

Was everyone at this school stuck in some sort of time warp with the eighties?

I sighed, remembering how she had Demetri make that Lego sculpture of the Jurassic era for her. "I thought you could just charm nerdy guys into doing stuff for you."

"Not anymore. Ever since you and your little Cobra Kais have half the nerds in the school scared you'll wedgie them if they go near me. I've been all out of luck."

She had to be joking.

"Now who said that? Who started that?"

"Let's see. I had this guy. Demetri. He was a regular customer. Now he thinks he'll get attacked by your Cobras if he goes anywhere near me. You don't even need to have your arm not broken to crack the whip. Respect." Yasmine nodded slightly.

She was still the Yasmine I knew and at least partially hated. Just not a complete bully.

I sighed. "That's not what- You know what. I don't even care."

"I don't either. Mr. Number Three." Yasmine said slowly.

If she was gonna pull this 'I'm a better student than you get destroyed' card every class we had together I'd get sick of it real fast.

If she wasn't a girl I her and I would've had a major problem.

"Yeah, that's right keep walking Bitchell," Charlotte said in an interpretation of her last name that always made me laugh. "One of these days."

I smiled. "Don't worry about her."

"I think she's jealous."

"I just think she's dumb."

Char shrugged. "Maybe we're both right."

"Funny funny funny," I muttered before kissing her in the middle of the hallway.

Quickly I heard someone clear their voice.

Robby was pointing towards the cafeteria, the rest of the guys with them.

I put an arm around Charlotte's shoulder and started walking with them.

…

Aisha spoke on the other end of the table. "What's this I hear about you guys getting revenge? You know Miguel's cool right? I have him in Bio. He's not the greatest guy in the world but. He's no monster."

"Cool my ass," said Hawk quickly. "He started a fight he needed someone else to finish for him. That's not what we learned."

"One on one. No problem. I mean, four on one. Bit of a problem." I admitted.

"You're really sticking up for that twerp? After he taunted you after third today?" asked Hawk. "We all saw how mad you got. You had every right."

I sighed. "At some point I just think this whole thing escalated way too fast." I said, eating a slice of pizza I brought from home.

"I'm with Luke," said Aisha. "I like Sensei Lawrence as much as you guys. But Sensei Kreese always seems to go a little too overboard. He's old school and I get that, that's fine, but still."

"Hold on," I said. "You do realize I'm the guy who convinced Sensei Kreese to teach again right? I never question his lessons."

Both Hawk and Aisha were still arguing.

"Then why do you think Rhea deserves a chance? He's the enemy. He's Miyagi-Do." said Hawk.

"He's the only Miyagi-Do. What kind of threat do you think he can be?" countered Aisha before I could answer Hawk.

Hawk leaned forward and spoke to Aisha across the lunch table. "Cobra Kai has only had one rival ever in tournaments. Miyagi-Do. Of course he's the enemy."

I muttered in Charlotte's ear. "At what point do you think they'll realize they've gone nowhere with this argument after five minutes of it?"

Charlotte laughed as Aisha had had enough and left the table.

Tory shrugged. "I don't get what her problem is. He deserved everything he got."

"Jesus it's like you're all having some sort of Cobra Kai roid rage these days." I sighed, continuing to use my left hand to eat like always now as it wasn't the one in a cast. "Diaz tried to get a cheap shot on Hawk and runoff. Fine. Uncool. But running him down three to one? Please."

"He started a fight and we had to end it." Tory shrugged. "No mercy."

Robby shifted uncomfortably, he looked unhappy.

"Even your boyfriend disagrees on the proper application of our third creed."

The table laughed collectively as Tory and Robby quickly picked separate tables to sit at and eat lunch now.

I looked towards Hawk. "How come Demetri and all the nerds of the school can't do homework for Yasmine or Moon or any of the others?"

Hawk look guilty but nearly as much as Shawn and Doug.

"You dumbasses," I muttered. "Tell me you didn't threaten them."

"I mean." Rickenberger sighed. "We're kinda kings of the school here Luke. The cheerleaders and their type. Should be our territory."

These idiots.

"Dude. You kicked the shit out of Kyler and all his douchebag friends when you were still in like. What? Your fourth or fifth month of training or something right? You've become an All Valley champ, the most well known of all time. Even the football jocks are scared of us." Hawk said.

"So you use my clout to get chicks?"

And you got mad at Demetri for doing the same in the show's second season.

I shook my head and spoke quietly. "Diaz and all of them. They're just not worth the time man."

"We're just messing around," said Shawn as Hawk nodded.

"I said. They're not worth the time okay? Just drop it."

Charlotte pecked me on the lips before she had to take care of something for her French class and left before fifth period could start.

I swung by Miguel's table and spoke before I left. "Hey."

Demetri, Nate, and a few others turned towards me, amazed I was speaking to them for some reason.

"If Hawk gives you any trouble. Just come talk to me okay?"

I started to walk away and Demetri spoke out. "You do realize you said the exact same thing about Kyler last year right?"

I began to turn around and mutter. "Yeah. I do."

…

I heard my doorbell ring that afternoon.

"Luke if more of those karate people keep swinging around I'll start calling the cops!" barked Grandpa who was reading something in the family library.

"I heard you Pops."

I walked downstairs and opened the door.

"Mr. LaRusso."

"Still remember this house." said Daniel. "Never realized how close to Ali's place I always was."

I looked at him. "Can I help you?"

"You sure can. I um. Heard you tried to call off your friends from retaliating and bullying Miguel for everything's that happened."

"He didn't make it easy. He taunted us for not being able to do anything just to impress Sam."

Daniel laughed. "Well, I know what that's like."

I knew what he was talking about.

"Look I just wanted to ask. If you're so deadset on making things right. And doing things the right way. Why stay in Cobra Kai?"

"Simple reason. I respected Mr. Miyagi's legacy as much as Kim Sun-Yung's."

"That name sounds familiar."

"Well, he's the founder of the art that evolved into Cobra Kai. Needless to say but um. I found his ways as useful and helpful. Just as much as Mr. Miyagi's."

Daniel scoffed. "You're saying Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy is valid?"

"No more or less valid than Defense Only. Or any of the kata. It's just karate. All karate is karate."

"No, it's not. Some of it is just violence justified by supposed karate." Daniel sighed. "I know what Cobra Kai does to people. You're making the right choices Luke by trying to stop the bullying in its tracks. So, see, and acknowledge John Kreese for who he is before it's too late."

"Do you not get it? You had every right to seek and find a mentor. A father figure in Mr. Miyagi. Just as much as I do in Sensei Kreese."

"They are the exact opposite person. Kreese. Is a monster. Mr. Miyagi wasn't perfect. But he taught karate the right way. Kreese didn't. And he'll hurt you to get to me."

"You know one day you'll realize that it's not about the creed. Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy. It's about how you live by it. I live by this almost every day. And like you've said. I haven't hurt anyone."

"It's a matter of time before you wake up and realize that using your anger to fight. Makes you lose before a punch is even thrown."

I shrugged. "Is that why you're willing to team up with Bobby Brown just to strike back? To give Miguel the tools I was given? Because that's the first thing you learn in Cobra Kai. To strike with everything you got. Everything."

Daniel was quietly shocked.

"I heard about that. You want to win so badly against me. That the very creed you wave in my face as something I've betrayed. Is something you're willing to sacrifice just so Miguel can win against me at this upcoming tournament."

"So everything I taught you. About balance. And how to be a better person. You're just going to throw it all out the window?"

"Both you and Sensei Kreese turned your backs on me the moment I showed signs of being trained by the other. At least Sensei Kreese was willing to see I knew a thing or two about karate."

Daniel sighed. "You're right Lucas. He might have lower principles than I do. But you will always carry that lesson in you. We both know you will. One way or another. You'll wake up and realize what Cobra Kai will do to you. Or move on and continue to let it do so."

"That lesson has helped me greatly. To see that passion. Is. Principle. At Cobra Kai, our passion is our principle. We train with that in mind. To be passionate about what we do. To always strike first against what threatens us."

"So that's why I had to rescue Miguel from your pals? Why he had to be bullied into learning karate and fighting at a tournament to save himself like I was?"

"He's trying to prove he can overcome Cobra Kai. No one's taking my title from me Mr. LaRusso."

He nodded slowly and repeatedly. "We'll see about that."

…

The guys soon came over after we all went to practice, or, at least I tried to practice what I could and they trained completely, and we all worked out in my garage and maintained our bikes.

"It's Charlotte's birthday next week." I worked out my legs with a little machine I had in the garage. "Have no clue what I should get her."

"You've only been on two dates right? You've been dating for barely any time at all." said Doug.

"So?" I asked.

"So then don't worry too much about it. She'll go with whatever you accept." Rickenberger muttered as he continued to make sure his dirt bike engine was still in good shape with a monkey wrench.

He was onto something but I still had no idea what to get her.

"Exactly," Hawk said, curling a dumbbell. "So just give her your dick man. Best birthday present she can get."

He laughed loudly with his tongue out before Robby walked by and shoved his head away. "Needless to say. But don't listen to him."

"Hey, you wanna try that again?-"

Robby just looked at him calmly after Hawk stopped working his arm out and stood up to face him. "What?"

Hawk shrunk a little. "What?" Robby repeated.

Hawk sat back down. He was improving in the dojo along with everyone else, but Robby outranked him in terms of so much experience it would be a while before Hawk even stood a chance.

"Char's cool," Robby said. "I'm with Rick on this one. She'll be fine with whatever you get her."

Doug sighed. "I never said I was cool with that nickname," he said wiping grease off his hands that got from working on his dirtbike.

It was just a shortening of his last name after all.

"Would you rather we call you Dickenberger?" Shawn wiped the sweat off his arms from hitting the punching bag in my garage with a towel he brought.

Hawk chuckled. "Let's go with that."

"No. No no no. Rick's fine." said Doug.

"I think I know what I'm gonna get her."

…

Smitty's Diner was known locally for the hangout spot of pretty much every Cobra Kai. It was a sort of hub for us since it was down the street from the Cobra Kai dojo on Lankershim and Magnolia, and it was conveniently located somewhat between the main places all of us lived at and went to school at West Valley.

Just for endorsing the diner with a few shoutouts online I was given the choice of a free milkshake or basket of fries twice a week. Those were their only good items in my opinion, and the vanilla milkshake they made was the best in town by a longshot since they were the only place in LA that still used the old recipe from the fifties.

I sat down on a Wednesday afternoon after I was done with school and training for a bit and had my milkshake in my regular booth.

No way.

Miguel Diaz walked in, and he was wearing the headband Daniel LaRusso. Not just a regular lotus one, it looked as old as the one I was wearing. This was likely the exact headband Daniel was given by Mr. Miyagi himself decades prior.

I would've been jealous if Johnny didn't see me as Cobra Kai's torch passer as much as Miyagi-Do's torch passer was Miguel now to Daniel.

Miguel sat down in the booth across from me. "I was hoping to talk to you."

"So you conveniently tracked me down here?"

"I wasn't stalking. Everyone knows you're a regular here."

I shrugged. "What do you want?" I sipped my milkshake.

"I wanted to thank you for. Everything."

"It's my buddies that are the ones who got you into this."

Miguel frowned. "I um. Taunted you, when I knew you couldn't do anything."

I chuckled. "To be fair. We had that coming after the ass beating you had to take on Halloween."

Miguel smiled lightly.

"How's your training coming along at Miyagi-Do?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Why do this?"

"Why do what?"

Miguel shrugged across the booth from me. "Why start a petty rivalry with me when you're clearly past all that?"

"I'm not."

"Then why are you supposed to be the big rival against me in a dojo war neither of us are enjoying? It seems like your friends are the only one trying to cause any trouble?"

I sipped from and pushed my milkshake glass quietly across the table away from me.

"You know most people often don't understand why someone who grew up as comfortably as I did back in Denver would ever try to become a karate champion. And not just a karate champion. But the champion. To this day, right now. Still. No one really gets it. But the reason's simple Diaz."

I leaned forward and spoke to Miguel. "In life. You earn what you deserve. I deserved that trophy. I have no envy or hatred towards you at all. No misgivings or vitriol. But the moment. That you joined Miyagi-Do, you automatically threatened the most important thing I've built in my life up until this point."

"Cobra Kai?" Miguel was confused.

I shook my head. "My title."

He understood quietly.

"Look I'm sorry you got caught up in all this. But I will spend the next two years making sure there's only one person known as the All Valley karate champion. Myself."

"But don't you see what your dojo's doing? Chris, Demetri, Nate. Sam! All these people I know who have every right to train in Miyagi-Do right now. Can't! Because your dojo's really big rivals with it. Losing, seems like a really steep price after the beating your buds gave me."

I sighed as Miguel went on. "Sam was trained when she was five in Miyagi-Do. And she can't go back now that it's back. Because your friend Tory seems like a pretty nasty person. How much longer are you going to play peacemaker? To hold back everything your dojo gives?"

"Not much longer than the upcoming tournament. See this was in part inevitable. If someone got a fraction of the clout I got after the tournament something like this would happen. I can only do so much anyway."

Miguel scoffed. "So now you're enabling it?"

"Diaz I've done plenty until now. And I won't do more. Or less. Until now, you haven't done anything at all to me. Even if you've meant well, you challenged me. You challenged Cobra Kai, and I promised myself to always be a student of Cobra Kai."

I had a level of respect for John Kreese no one else attained.

"So that's it? Either I win this tournament next May. Or it's being bullied from junior to senior year?"

"At this point Hawk and Shawn and all of them won't be able to touch you until we all settle this on the mat. But honestly, you'll have more than enough tools to defend yourself against them by that point."

"Some friends you have then," said Miguel.

"Can you see us being friends?" I meant this as a rhetorical question to show why my hands were starting to be tied.

Miguel shook his head quietly. "Not as long as you're in Cobra Kai. For, many reasons actually."

I could see Tory approaching the diner from the sidewalk.

"I'll leave you with this. Even if you think I can snap my fingers and fix every problem you have right now. The truth is Diaz, that I just can't. You may think you're alone in all this because of me. But you're not. You have a two time championship winning karate master as a mentor and friend. That's more tools than several people in your position have. Use them well."

Tory appeared at the diner booth before Miguel could start to speak.

He quickly left and Tory spoke out. "You better watch your back."

"Ignore her," I said quickly as I nodded to Miguel when he looked at me. "Please."

Tory took the spot where Miguel was just sitting as he walked out of the diner. "I'm getting sick of this you know. Of you."

"What a way to start a conversation Nichols." I chuckled, sipping from my milkshake. "I think you can't stand the fact that you're probably not going to be able to get revenge on Diaz properly in the tournament in May."

"And you know what I think? You're straddling the fence."

It surprised me sometimes how these people I knew as people, repeated lines they otherwise wouldn't have. A fictional character, against a real person I knew.

"How am I straddling the fence?"

"You're the lead student of the dojo. Favorite of both our Senseis. Yet you get mad at us for trying to put Diaz in his place. It's like you're still Miyagi-Do. Pretending to be Cobra Kai. I was on your side until you went against what Sensei Kreese said about Diaz being our enemy."

I chuckled. "Me. Disloyal to the dojo? When I'm the one who found Sensei John Kreese and convinced him to return to karate in the first place."

Tory was shocked. "What?"

"He never told you? He has every right to and. I respect the man more than anything else in the world. But what we started. Cobra Kai, the constant drive to train to win the next championship. And the next. We started it together again. Think about that the next time you want to call me disloyal."

Tory leaned back in the booth chair with her arms crossed.

I didn't bother looking at her, I checked something on my phone and sipped my milkshake.

"If that's true. Why do you go against Sensei's teachings?"

"Sensei Kreese is a man of his word, that's why I respect him so much. Because he's fair. We made a deal to not fight Miyagi-Do until the tournament. I mean to honor it. You want to give me a bad name for beating up Sam or whoever Miguel happens to be friends with to send a message? You're lucky. Because you're not the face of the dojo."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tory I'm the most well recognized high schooler in the Valley right now. I've got Champion, Nike, and even Yamaha Motors wanting to sponsor me and Cobra Kai. The dojo gets bad publicity, I get blamed for it first. The Senseis are adults, sure. But I'm the one who got the dojo this much attention in the first place."

Tory shook her head. "So you get to enjoy free milkshakes and all the publicity. But none of the responsibilities of actually choosing a side in this?"

"Miguel Diaz became a legitimate threat to my title the day I broke my arm. I get that, he's the only student of the only real rival dojo Cobra Kai has. But if you doubt the fact that I'm not being fair about all this, and that I don't understand what the implications of what being in Cobra Kai means. Then there's no point talking about it."

"Then tournaments and trophies? All this press you've been getting. This is what it's all about? That's the point of Cobra Kai for you?"

I turned and looked at a few cars passing by on Lankershim boulevard for a moment.

"Not in the slightest." I looked back at Tory, right in her eyes. "But it definitely isn't about feuds for me. I started this dojo to prove I had what it took to make history. Three. Times. Over. That karate is about more than fighting. But it definitely isn't about there being only one way to fight or do things."

I finished my milkshake and pushed it aside. "I trained in Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do for the first time in decades. At least in Cobra Kai's part, LaRusso taught his daughter for a bit but still."

"Sam's been trained in Miyagi-Do?" Tory's eyes lit up.

"Listen okay?" I said raising my left palm over the table. "In Cobra Kai. The first thing you're taught. Is to strike first. And to strike first only. You want to strike first against Miguel for starting the soccer match with us that led to me accidentally breaking my own arm? Sure. Go ahead. Damn the consequences. No dice."

I turned another hand over. "In Miyagi-Do. You're taught the opposite. Even if some guy is spitting in your face calling you names and embarrassing you. Turn the other cheek until you're forced to fight the moment he hits you. It'll only get you bullied until someone else decides to actually do something."

"These two extremes create people either too Zen and pacifistic to actually do anything in a fight or at all really. Or the exact opposite. Who always do too much."

I clapped my hands together quietly. "You combine them. You achieve balance. That's why I'm so much better at fighting than the entire dojo. Because I know what's necessary when it's necessary. In a fight or otherwise. If I really wanted to wage war against Miyagi-Do, like an actual war, within a day this feud with Miyagi-Do? Is instantly over. You know how?"

Tory shook her head.

"We find Miguel and beat his ass so badly that no one in their right mind will go anywhere near Miyagi-Do ever again. Think the Halloween fight but much worse. After that, if he's stupid enough to take the mat against us in May we cheat during every match we have with him to injure him and he won't last the first three rounds. If by some miracle he's in good enough condition to somehow beat either Robby or myself in the finals. It's over for us, we were facing some sort of deity with magical powers anyway."

I went on. "Before that though. We find Miyagi-Do, the dojo itself. Burn it all down or trash it. And there. What the hell is Daniel LaRusso even supposed to do at that point? He has no students nor dojo in good enough shape to withstand let alone beat the best trained karate fighters in the entire Valley in any sort of contest. But you know what Tory? That's not what No Mercy is. You have to know the correct amount of pressure to apply to any given situation."

"Because No Mercy is for people who truly intend harm. I like winning more than anyone. I just really know what it truly takes to win. I can say that even with a cast on my arm."

I then shrugged at her.

Tory sighed. "I just. I still don't like them. LaRusso or his daughter. And Diaz. They just really bother me. Like a lot."

"Trust me. I'm not friends with them either."

"You sure seemed friendly talking with Diaz a few minutes ago. And you were the first student LaRusso had in years. You said it yourself."

"Then I guess you missed the entire point of what I've been trying to tell you."

"So what? LaRusso insults our dojo by trying to settle this at a tournament when they started it instead of apologizing? They live in that big fancy house at the hills and we're the ones to blame for reminding them the true way of the fist?"

"I suggest talking to these people. It might not be fun. But it's a sane thing to do when you're claiming they've attacked you like in a war."

Tory stood up in the booth. "You can be really patronizing. You know that?"

"I'm not given anything I want just because I'm rich. That trophy I got was the first real thing I earned for myself. You want to continue thinking Sam LaRusso gets handed everything? Go ahead."

…

I knocked on the door to Rickenberger's house. I had started to tutor him in Biology ever since it became my strongest subject and Doug's weakest.

He then texted me to just come in to his house and his family was cool with it.

A man wearing a hat and socks with his feet up on the coffee table was sipping a beer and watching his TV in the living room.

I closed the metal grille door behind me. "You must be Mr. Rickenberger."

"Call me Greg." he didn't look away from his TV. "You must be one of Doug's karate friends? The champ huh?"

"Yup. His tutor too actually."

I saw what he was watching. Judging by the massive lead the two race leaders had over the rest of the field this was either Bill Elliots' Cup win or the one he had in a different race.

"The '85 Daytona 500? '84?" I asked.

Greg Rickenberger cracked open another beer as he finished the one he was holding. "Not bad. The '85. Good race huh? I still got the tape on it."

"One of the best. Bill Elliot was so on pace I think the announcers were impressed for all three hours."

"He was incredible." He nodded. "What do you think is about to happen?"

This must've been lap 140 or something.

"I think Kirby's going to go for and fail a pass down the inside."

The announcers were ecsatic seeing Cale Yarborough be held back for the fiftieth lap in a row by Bill Elliot.

"What the hell is Kirby?"

I chuckled. "Um. It's short and colloquial for Cale Yarborough."

"Colloquial?"

"Urban way of saying stuff."

Greg chuckled. "That's a fun way of putting it. How the hell do kids your age know so much about Nascar?"

"I like both Formula 1 and Nascar. At least good Nascar, like classic Nascar from the seventies to the very early two thousands. They made the sport safer, but they still made it boring. That's what killed it. All the greats are gone. Dale Earnhardt, may he rest in peace. Richard Petty, Darryl Waltrip. Gone. Same thing that happened to karate. It just got boring now, no way but the classic way."

Greg nodded. "Very true. Very true."

"They lowered the pole position speed of the top driver by well over fifty miles an hour. If you ask me, stock cars flying around a track at over two hundred miles an hour might've been what made Nascar dangerous. But it's also what made it interesting. The speed they'd hit the corner required very precise throttle, steering, braking, and shifting. They just got rid of that now, and no one cares anymore."

"That Formula 1 shit you mentioned. That ain't racing though. For fancy ass folk driving fancy ass cars. Unless daddy dearest paid your way in with millions, you ain't racing."

It had actual corners though.

"Still. Got respect for a kid your age who knows this much about Nascar."

I nodded to him and Greg nodded back.

I walked to Doug's room and knocked on the door.

He opened it. "Hey man."

I gripped hands and bumped shoulders with him. "Hey. Let's get this done."

"Please."

…

I sat at the chair at his desk while he flipped through his Bio textbook laying on his bed. Then he looked at me. "Go ahead man."

"Let's start with your basics." I took out a stack of flashcards that I used with Robby before his grades started to improve. "Micro and Macromolecules?"

"Micro make Macromolecules."

"Good. Difference between monomers and polymers?"

"Monomers make specific polymers together."

I nodded.

"Okay. DNA?"

"Deoxyribo. Nucleic Acid?"

"Perfect. Monomers of DNA?"

"Nucleotides."

"What are the four nucleotides of DNA?"

"ATGC. So, the purines are Adenine and Guanine. And Thymine and Cytosine are the pyrimidines."

I now flipped through three different flashcards from how well he got them.

"The Nucleotides of RNA?"

"Same four except Uracil replaces…" Doug winced. "Cytosine?"

"Thymine," I said looking at the other side of the flashcard. "How do they pair?"

"A always goes with T and G always goes with C. Except in RNA, A always goes with U."

I nodded. "Yup. Okay, number of Hydrogen bond pairs between A and T?"

"Two. And, three, for G and C."

I nodded again and went through the whole stack of flashcards.

Doug's vocab was actually pretty decent. So I don't know what his issue was.

"Why do you have a C?"

"Because I don't get the concepts. Like how these all work together."

"Let me see your notes."

Doug was one of the worst note takers I think I could've possibly imagined. I wasn't the best note taker either but wow, this was bad.

I nodded slowly. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. Before your mid term in three weeks. We're going to make a chart. A chart of every concept you have know."

"That's a lot."

"It's the only way you can visualize this properly. It's how it worked for me. DNA replication and repair. Protein synthesis. Then both Photosynthesis and cellular respiration. We have to buy some really long stretches of paper and markers, and then start from scratch."

"How long will that take?"

"A few days to put it together. An afternoon to learn it all." I sighed. "You know what. I'll just let you borrow mine. You memorize them, you'll ace your test."

"Thanks." Doug nodded. "Well that was a good hour on this. Wanna play some X Box?"

"Why not?"

…

We played Halo online together on the TV Doug had in his room while we talked.

"Dude Senseis are kicking our asses really hard. This tournament means everything to them. I know you think your cast is a curse, but this training gets so hard. Might be a blessing in disguise."

Considering I already trained harder for the forty ninth All Valley than everyone was for the fiftieth, I'd say it wasn't much of a blessing.

"Yeah no shit," I said. "Did you forget the part where both of them never beat LaRusso at a tournament?"

"All that old beef. I don't care about it. I'm just here to kick some major ass on the mat in May."

I nodded. "You do really well though. Your jab punch is a little eh. Other than that you move well around the ring."

"Yeah I mean, I do well. But not nearly as well as you or Robby."

"Okay but." I traded kills with Doug so I walked right into enemy fire and got my health lowered significantly to draw them out so Doug could rifle them. "You're still better than most of the class. Which is saying a lot, we're probably better than most of the dojos we'll face at the All Valley."

"How will the girls work? Are we fighting against them?" Doug chuckled. "Dude. If I went up against Tory man. It'd be great."

"Why's that?"

"She's a solid dime Luke. A rack big and thick enough to punch through a battleship. I'm talking cannonball titties, those are huuuge."

Doug made me laugh with how dumb he was sometimes.

"I already checked their website man. They're keeping the classic red mats with the white fist. They wanted to switch over to blue and gold but um. I might've put a word in."

He grinned at me. "That's what I'm talking about." He nodded.

"Apparently seven girls have signed up for the tournament this year. It's a record. They're going to have a smaller division where they compete separately. But the championship isn't affected."

"How's that?" asked Doug.

"They'll give them a medal or something. They basically have a mini tournament happen to sort of sweep them under the rug."

"Sounds a bit sexist."

"You were the one talking about Tory's chest like three seconds ago!"

"Come on." Doug looked over at me. "Why haven't you hit that?"

"Because I've been with Char since before I won my tournament."

"But like. Keep Tory as your side piece you know. And then date Charlotte regularly. Tory's chill. She won't mind."

She would. I would, I do have an issue with it. I had an issue with it even in hypothetical terms. She'd be disgusted that I was ever hitting on her while already having a steady girlfriend, I was even disgusted by doing it.

"Right, that sounds awful. Like, an awful thing to do. Not to mention what that'll do to the dojo."

Doug sighed. "This is why you don't date chicks who are other Cobras. Don't let them mingle. I plan on having like a chain like a rotation. You know those hot dog spinners." Doug made a rotating motion with one finger towards himself as we waited for the next round to arrive after we won pretty easily. "Every month you know. New one."

A full rotation by finals? I liked Doug but I saw why he got along so well with Hawk and Shawn.

"I got Charlotte a book on horse riding for her birthday. As well as some tennis stuff."

"Sounds nice. But aren't you loaded? Could've gotten her a way better gift."

"I'm not going to do that."

Doug laughed. "Think about this. You're the youngest All Valley champion who ever lived. Not to mention you hold almost every record possible. You win the next tournament, you are one tournament away from holding every record ever. You can have any chick you want."

Doug went on as we queued into the next match. "You're richer than anyone at school. Even if your arm's broken you still work out a lot. Why limit yourself to one girl?"

"Dude Charlotte was the only person interested in me before I won my title. I won't be able to find anyone that genuine now that I'm this famous."

Doug scoffed. "You don't know that! Maybe people would legitimately like you if you gave them a chance."

"I think it's a bad idea anyway. I'm not going anywhere near Tory dude. Think about what that would do for Robby."

"Oh my God." Doug sighed as we started annihilating the other team now. "If he didn't strike first. Then you have to. Tory's way outta my league anyway. You've got something man, use it."

"Really?"

"Of course. Got a hillbilly, redneck ass family that shingles and paints houses for a living. It's probably what I'm gonna end up doing even if I get through college somehow. I'm as poor and average in everything else as it gets, think I can land a girl as hot as her?"

I shrugged. "I still think you're cool man."

"Thanks but. I'm just saying. Don't let an opportunity like that go to waste. Most people would kill to be in your position. So enjoy it."

"I'm still not going to betray myself. My girlfriend. And all my close friends."

"I do still wonder by how much we're going to win this tournament."

"I'll tell you what I told Diaz. The moment I broke my arm. Miyagi-Do can contest my title."

Doug chuckled. "Yeah right. And don't talk to Diaz man. It looks bad."

Tory certainly agreed. I didn't.

"Besides. Not like that little twerp will actually be able to beat us. We're Cobra Kai!" chuckled Doug. "Cobra Kai. Never dies!"

I nodded. "Cobra Kai never dies. Hell yeah."

…

OST: Separate Ways - Journey

…

Miguel Diaz woke up every morning and started to do pushups on his knuckles.

His grandmother cooked him breakfasts rich in protein every morning and then he went for a jog. He jogged by a water tower, he jogged past his entire neighborhood. And then jogged back home before his mother drove him to West Valley High School.

After he got home from school and studied for a bit. Miguel jogged all the way from his house in Reseda almost an entire hour all the way to Mr. Miyagi's house in Canoga Park.

In Mr. Miyagi's backyard, Miguel bowed to his two Senseis.

Daniel LaRusso and Bobby Brown proudly and slowly bowed back to Miguel.

Bobby and Miguel circled each other on the back patio of Mr. Miyagi's home, Bobby had striking mitts on his hands.

"Jab."

Miguel punched it with his left hand, acting as his front hand.

"Jab right."

Miguel threw the one two straight punch combination.

"Be aggressive! Hit it, come on!" Miguel was quickly poked on the forehead by Bobby's mitt covered hand. "Keep your hands up Diaz."

Miguel shook his head after he stumbled backwards a little. Daniel didn't seem to appreciate at all how much Bobby pushed Miguel every day when they trained.

To be aggressive, to be assertive. In how he fought, in how he lived.

Daniel taught the opposite throughout Mr. Miyagi's backyard.

How to be patient, how to breathe. How to stay balanced.

Daniel took Miguel on fishing trips, teaching him to balance on the bow of the boat despite the tipping of the boat if the water rocked it about.

He taught him how to breathe through his kata. To sand the floor, wax on wax off, paint the fence, paint the house, how to trim bonsai.

Miguel jogged uphill, panting, knowing how much training he had left before he ever stood a chance at defeating Cobra Kai.

The daily reminder was there every time he went to school at West Valley.

The Cobra Kai were everywhere.

In front of the school, every day talking. In the cafeteria at lunch, in his classes.

During their Physics class, Miguel looked back to check the clock on the wall when he glanced Hawk glaring daggers at him.

When Miguel looked back at Hawk again he was taking notes.

Miguel uncomfortably returned to taking notes. And in the hallway outside when Hawk and Doug walked past him laughing and talking Miguel shrank and almost flinched for a second.

He was still afraid after being beaten so badly on Halloween.

Miguel's hand balled into a fist and he went home as quickly as he could after his last class.

Bobby made Miguel hang from the roof above Mr. Miyagi's back porch by his hands as he punched him repeatedly in the chest wearing a boxing glove.

"Toughen up! Tighten your core Diaz!"

Miguel winced continuing to take hits.

After a particularly strong blow caught him right in the solar plexus, Miguel groaned and dropped.

When a few minutes of that exercise passed, Bobby made Miguel do sit ups, pushups, and run around the street by Mr. Miyagi's house repeatedly.

While Bobby's training was only mental to toughen up Miguel and the rest purely physical, Daniel trained the opposite way.

Most of his training was made to ensure Miguel was always balanced, and focused.

Miguel was made to throw kicks from a balanced stance all across a fallen tree in a forest. Then made to focus all of his body into a single punch on a target Daniel wore a catcher's armor and mask.

"Hiya!"

"Again. Hut!"

He wore his lotus headband Daniel had worn for decades prior with pride. Miguel was training harder than ever to combine both Daniel and Bobby's styles to honor Mr. Miyagi the best he could.

Whether it was kata, constant physical conditioning, and above all, mitt work to help Miguel develop good reflexes and strike technique.

To ensure Miguel was trained as holistically as possible combining both styles, Bobby trained in Miyagi-Do as Daniel learned Bobby's methods and karate.

Miguel got off his bicycle one afternoon for regular training to see Bobby applying a new coat of paint to the fence.

Meanwhile, Daniel was practicing sweeping a leg by spinning a low kick through a wooden board Bobby had placed in a special metal holster.

Miguel got right to work and Bobby and Daniel continued to train him day after day for his entire fall semester of sophomore year.

From early August to late November, Miguel learned how to strike first under Bobby's methods.

How to be aggressive while he moved around the makeshift ring acting as a mat with just a few strings making a large square on Mr. Miyagi's back porch. Miguel learned how to make openings in his opponents guard to score.

How to throw the jab punch to the face, the reverse punch to the chest and head, the round kick and front kick, how to throw a side kick and under Bobby's direction when he was ready. Specifically how to sweep the leg.

Daniel didn't like seeing Miguel fight with anger at all, trying to score very fast points, but he didn't say anything as he watched Bobby teach Miguel what he knew on fighting like a Cobra Kai.

Daniel's style was passed on to Miguel as well.

Specific counters from each of the kata were applied carefully.

After many months of doing nothing but mostly chores under Daniel, Miguel was finally ready to begin using the counters the kata applied.

Each block was applied to a specific blow, and a precise counter was needed for each one. Needing to wax off leading a punch to the chest, as did sand the floor.

Miguel carefully began to combine both styles, and despite how much Bobby and Daniel liked seeing Miguel grow stronger, more confident, faster, more skilled, and above all, a far better fighter than he was months prior.

They could deny that they only preferred seeing Miguel train in one style. Theirs.

As the days went on, Bobby and Daniel still enjoyed becoming Miyagi-Do's new Senseis. They shared coffee and sandwiches talking about ways to combine their styles, and while it seemed that they always preferred their style to lead Miguel's training, they still strategized thoroughly.

Miguel Diaz woke up the morning of December 4th, 2017 a very balanced, yet still inexperienced fighter.

He had trained for months in Miyagi-Do, and an entire semester in both Bobby's Brown's much more merciful Cobra Kai and Daniel's teachings combined with it.

Miguel now walked the halls of West Valley High School with Sam standing much taller usually, much calmer. Unlike his friends, wasn't afraid of Cobra Kai in the slightest. And pretended they weren't there at all despite how much they were and how much he knew they trained.

Miguel Diaz was just a few months away from being ready to take on the fiftieth All Valley Under 18 Karate Championships. From confronting Cobra Kai on the mat and settling his rivalry with the entire dojo.

…

Amanda was cutting lettuce with the back of her hand pressing a knife downward on a wooden cutting board as Anthony played a game on his laptop in the kitchen.

Daniel walked in slightly sweaty with a towel over his shoulder and water bottle in his hand. "Hey. I'm home."

"Yet another week of training huh Sensei?" asked Amanda.

"Actually Mr. Miyagi never asked me to call him Sensei. He was my teacher but um. Anyway it doesn't matter." Daniel waved a hand. "How's everything?"

"Good. Sam's upstairs video chatting with. Who knows with. Anth just won another soccer tournament today." Anthony raised a proud fist from the table, however was not taking his eyes off his screen. "So I decided to cook dinner for us and the kids."

Daniel kissed Amanda on the cheek. "Alright. Sounds great."

"Um, honey. Is this karate thing permanent? I can't run trades in the late afternoon by myself forever you know."

"I'll talk to Anoush about getting him a few extra hours to help you." Daniel waved a hand before putting a hand on the chair Anthony was sitting in. "How about you join Miyagi-Do with Bobby and Miguel and I?"

"No thanks. Hey, why can't we ask Luke to spectate my next championship? He's the one who got me back into soccer."

Daniel and Amanda looked at each other for a moment.

"Lucas is." Daniel trailed.

Amanda smiled and spoke honestly to her son. "Lucas is training with your father's old high school bully and his teacher honey. Your father won't be on good terms with him for a while."

"Oh." Anthony folded his laptop under his arm and walked away.

"Anth wait-"

"Daniel."

Amanda put the knife she was using to cut lettuce into a nearby small wooden crate.

Daniel turned around to speak to his wife.

"You abandoned a teenager. To go train with, according to you. An apparently psychopathic and violent monster. When are you going to forget about this karate stuff and start acting like a rational human being again?" asked Amanda with her arms crossed.

"Honey I swear. I had no idea Lucas considered a man like John Kreese to be like a father to him?"

"He said that?"

Daniel nodded quietly.

Amanda sighed. "Then talk to him."

"I already did. Honestly what happened with Miguel was inevitable. Now we just have to win this tournament to get Lucas and his friends to leave Miguel alone. And this will all be over."

Amanda scoffed. "You get how ridiculous this all sounds right? You made a deal with your childhood karate rival to stop kids from beating each other up? All over. A karate tournament."

"It might sound a little out there. But this is all for the kids."

"Is it?" asked Amanda. "Dan we opened up the dealership to run it together. If you're not there it's not a partnership. It's me doing all the work when you clock out early every day to go teach karate to a teenage boy."

"The sooner we deal with Cobra Kai. The sooner everything can go back to normal. I already beat them twice before. I can do it again."

"Can you?"

Daniel was confused. "I think I'm the expert here."

"Clearly you're not. Daniel, I know how much this Miyagi-Do stuff means to you. But a kid was violently assaulted while you chaperoned at that dance. Our daughter found you panicking over teenagers wearing Halloween costumes. Something is going on with you. And your solution to all of this, is more karate."

"It's what worked back then. It has to work now."

"Honey. The logical solution isn't to go to the same place where those kids learned all that stuff and challenge Johnny to a fight. Tournament or anywhere. We go to the schools, we go to the parents, where normal people solve their problems. What is this about?"

Daniel thought quietly for a moment.

"It's about a lot of things. Keeping Miguel, Sam, and whoever else Cobra Kai might bully or threaten safe. But if I'm being honest."

"All of this, started with Mr. Miyagi being there for me. Is in a way, this is all about when it started again, about Lucas. My first real student. I wanted to give him the exact same opportunity I was given. To do more than just learn karate to win a trophy. It was to become a better person. For Mr. Miyagi's wisdom to help Lucas grow into a man I could one day respect."

Daniel sighed. "Instead. He went and did the opposite. He sought the wrong path just to spite me."

"Then why didn't you ask for his forgiveness after the tournament? I get you had a falling out. But you're a grown man and he's fifteen Daniel. You were his mentor. He will listen to reason and this. Will all be over."

"The truth is it probably won't, not at this point. To see that kid fall into the exact same trap I once did. To scorn Mr. Miyagi's ways to seek violence. It pains me. It really does."

Amanda rubbed Daniel's shoulder.

"I want to show this kid that my way. Is the right way. I understand it truly is tragic that Miguel is forced to do this to prove that in a way. But if I can't stop Cobra Kai from winning. Then all of this was for nothing."

Daniel looked right at Amanda. "I can't let that bastard Kreese take him away from Miyagi-Do. That was what he wanted I'm sure. For him to become a good friend of the family, to both the kids. And then to betray me. I can't give him what he wants."

"Miguel deserves better than to be bullied at school. To suffer for mistakes Johnny and I made decades ago."

"I understand honey. Really I do. But let's say this happens. Let's say you manage to win when the tournament comes around. Miguel, has definitely gotten into better shape than when we met him. He beats the most athletic kids at his school his age in the karate championships."

"All Valley." Daniel corrected quietly.

Amanda nodded. "Right. What then? After you beat Lucas and his entire dojo he'll magically forgive you? All his friends will come running to your side too? If the kid's a lost cause then let him be. You need to be there for Miguel. I don't know anything about all the bullying, or the karate. But if one of these two kids has the sense to see you as a teacher and not that psychopath you told me about? You need to be there for him."

"You're right. I'll do that. I'll be there for him. I've been there for him."

"No Daniel. Not just as a karate teacher." said Amanda. "You need to really be there for this kid. I see how much this all means to you. Be a father to him if it honestly means that much."

"Now hold on-"

"I get you just met this year. I get it might be awkward with Sam basically being his only friend and them being. Teenagers. But if things are as dire as you're saying. He needs a father right now. He needs you."

Daniel muttered. "Maybe that's what I've been afraid of. I tried being a mentor to someone the same way Mr. Miyagi was to me, and it backfired pretty hard. I'll do it again."

Amanda smiled. "Not so bad huh?"

They kissed quietly.

"I'll go get the kids for dinner." Amanda said.

Daniel watched his wife walk back upstairs and was in deep thought.

...

...

...

Author's Note: Okay. We're heading into the final third of the book by now. Above all I'm curious as to what you all want to see and are looking forward to. I've checked the reviews and am surprised to see monroekeishan84 thinking Lucas is "Blake" in his review of Chapter 6. Odd mistake to me, as Blake Murphy is a great character but from a different book written by Dontatme420 think he just got confused.

Anyway, I saw he and a few others wanted to see Bobby Brown team up with Daniel to train Miguel, I have and will include that a fair bit more.

I will address the requests in subsequent chapters and the AVT is only about 2-3 chapters away at this pace. Maybe four. I'm trying to get a handle on which characters and character dynamics people want to see most of. Lucas will be training now that his cast time is basically up as the story went from August to December and four months already and other things will occur quickly like Sam and Miguel being a pairing.

Thank you all so much for the comments and support and I will see you all soon.