Mr. Payne had surprised Kreese more than once that day. He was far from the first student he had kicked out of his dojo, but he was among the first to return. He had a new attitude. Perhaps the cobra in him was ready to come out.
Had he come at a different time, Kreese might have been willing to give him the chance. But the All-Valley was was eight weeks away. He didn't have the time to teach a beginner.
But once again, Robby stood up for Mr. Payne. Clearly Robby had seen something in the boy. Kreese couldn't risk Robby seeing him as someone who refused to help him. He needed Robby here. He needed him as his star student. Robby was his only chance to get through to Johnny and then he'd understand Kreese had only been trying to help him, once his real son defeated that substitute Diaz.
But in order for that to happen, Kreese needed Robby here. So he gave Mr. Payne that other shot he had come back for.
At first the boy had once again resorted to running away and Kreese had been ready to tell him to get out once again.
But then Kreese got his second surprise of the day when Mr. Payne decked Mr. Park in the face when nobody had expected it.
What a way to strike hard.
Perhaps bringing out the cobra in this young man wouldn't take so long after all.
But Kreese didn't miss the looks Mr. Payne and Robby gave each other. He recognised it as friendship
Friendship could be dangerous. Especially while training for war. Hawk could attest to that. Kreese couldn't stop the affection Hawk had for Diaz. He thought he had when Robby first showed up to Cobra Kai.
He tried to make it clear in Hawk's head that Diaz was now the enemy and Robby wasn't. After their mission retrieving the cobra, Kreese was certain he'd gotten through to Hawk. But that same night Hawk betrayed Cobra Kai for Diaz. So apparently not.
But whatever friendship Robby had with Mr. Payne, Kreese would have to make sure it didn't stand in the way of Robby's victory at the tournament.
For a while there was no problem. In fact, Cobra Kai had been given a few advantages. Terry had come back. His students struck back against Hawk for betraying Cobra Kai. They had cut off his mohawk. Kreese suspected they cut off his confidence with it.
Johnny and LaRusso even put an end to their partnership. That was interesting.
Then there was the changes made to the All-Valley itself. Sklls competitions. Kreese's students had the board breaking and weapons display down no problem and Robby had been teaching them kata.
Then there was the separate male and female divisions. With Johnny and LaRusso training their students individually, they were guaranteed a loss.
Johnny had Hawk and Diaz but he very much doubted either of those boys could be champions in time for the tournament after what happened to both of them.
He also had no female students. Apparently he hadn't learned from teaching Robinson and Nichols.
As for LaRusso? His daughter may be a fighter, but all she had was natural talent from learning the same old crap. Natural talent that Nichols would break through.
As for his boys, Kreese had seen them all before LaRusso had them. They were not champions.
Kreese and Terry got a bunch of new students but between Robby and Nichols, they had this tournament in the bag.
Terry coming back, Hawk losing his mohawk and confidence, Johnny and LaRusso splitting up and the tournament changes could really not have happened at a better time.
Kreese was still watching over Robby and Mr. Payne. One day during practice, Robby had gone easy on the younger boy. So Kreese ordered him to take him down. Robby had not listened and Mr. Payne won.
Kreese would have to keep an even closer eye on this friendship apparently.
Once the time came for the tournament, Kreese was ready. So were his students. They fought like true cobras. Kreese had brief moments of Nostalgia as he saw Robby take down his opponents 3-0, just like his father.
It had been a surprise to see Hawk fighting for Miyagi-Do, but an inconsequential one, when the boy had shown he was clearly not the fighter he used to be.
Johnny had gotten a female fighter of his own. She had potential but Kreese could tell she was still learning. Nichols would have no problem against her.
Then there was Diaz. The boy was doing better than Kreese expected him to, but he knew once he had his real challenge against Robby, his perfect win record would come to an end.
Diaz and Nichols made it to the semi-finals with no hassle. Hawk's confidence had somehow returned and Kreese had to watch Mr. Park, a natural athlete, suffer a really humiliating defeat against a Miyagi-Do. It was 3-0. Kreese was quite tempted to kick Mr. Park out now.
Then there was the match between Robby and Mr. Payne. Kreese watched that match very closely. Mr. Payne had scored the first point. Kreese had not been hoping to see that. He called a timeout.
He could not let this friendship destroy his chance to bring true karate back to this valley. Robby had so much talent. It could not be squandered as Johnny's had been. If Robby's emotions clouded his judgement, it would all be over.
He didn't need Cobra Kai to win. He needed Robby to win. If Robby won, Johnny would see it with his own eyes. He would see his son win as a Cobra Kai after losing as a Miyagi-Do.
He would truly see that the only way was the way of the fist.
So that's why Kreese told Robby the words he had to say to turn him into a true Cobra Kai.
"Are you fighting your friend or your opponent? I thought you wanted to be a champion."