CHAPTER 48

"Argh… I think I might've broken my arm." Tory murmured to Robby as the two of them stood together after training had ended. An hour and a half of training under Chozen and both of them felt at the brink of death. They were only working on their 'fundamentals', as Chozen called them, but Chozen took Miyagi-Do fundamentals to a whole new level. Before, with Daniel, Miyagi-Do fundamentals felt like something of a routine, like a dance. Robby would know what strikes were coming and he would block them in a pre-rehearsed sequence. However, with Chozen, it definitely seemed more geared for battle. They'd block with one hand, and then all of a sudden an unexpected fist would come hurtling towards them from the other side. Chozen wasn't afraid to connect with nearly full contact either, coming close to knocking them out a couple of times in what was, without a doubt, the most grueling training session they had ever done.

Anyone else, even the other Miyagi-Dos, would've probably quit at some point. Whether it be when Chozen unloaded punch after punch, kick after kick, with less restraint than even Johnny showed. Or when Chozen changed his methods to involve weapons, and forced both of them to fight off nunchucks, bo staffs and sais using nothing but their bare hands and using only their fundamental blocks and strikes. And to make things even harder, they then had to do all of this blindfolded, a way of developing more awareness as to what was around them without having to even look.

Needless to say, by the end of the training session, both had taken so many hits all over their bodies that their arms didn't only feel broken, but they felt like they were going to fall off. Both Robby and Tory were barely standing by the end, and the only acknowledgement Chozen gave that they had done a satisfactory job was a grunt and a nod. Not a single piece of praise. Only those with the toughest of shells would've been able to survive Chozen's training, so while Robby and Tory managed to take all of it, they weren't sure if many others in Miyagi-Do would be able to.

It took every ounce of energy they had to even remain standing by the end, and as they were about to leave the dojo, they noticed someone else entering through the side gate. Robby recognized them immediately, and he felt Tory's concerned eyes fall on him. Between the waves of assault during training with Chozen, Robby and Tory had spoken a little about everything that had happened. Tory told him about how she and Sam had finally apologized to one another, and were one step closer to finally being on the same page. Meanwhile, Robby had told her about how all of the feelings of being used by Miyagi-Do had finally come bubbling up and erupted, just as Tory had predicted a few weeks ago. Which is why as Johnny Lawrence walked into the dojo, Tory was cautious to see how his son would react.

Robby, to his credit, didn't at all look angry to see him. He was quite frankly too tired to feel anything but exhaustion right now. But he was guarded, especially when Johnny walked over to him. The first thing Robby did was apologize, but thankfully Johnny didn't seem too mad about it. There was only so angry you could get when your son was gone for one night, when you had been gone for 16 years. He had been plenty concerned about Robby when he was missing, but now that he was safe, he was able to sweep all of his fear and worry aside. Now that that was out of the way, Johnny and Robby knew that they were long overdue a discussion about what had happened the day before at Miyagi-Do, what had been building up for a while now.

"Hey. Can we go for a walk?" Johnny asked his son. Robby groaned, his legs feeling like jello that was about melt into goo after the agonising training session.

"Is there any way that the walk can be a drive? Robby asked. Johnny nodded and the two left Miyagi-Do together, ready for an all-important conversation…

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Johnny drove for about 15 minutes with the two sitting in relative silence. Johnny had plenty of questions for his son, and he knew his son had a lot to say to him. So they decided to find somewhere to sit down and talk where they had each other's full attention. Instead, during the car ride, Johnny casually asked Robby about training with Chozen, and Robby had told him all about Marcos, and how he needed Chozen's help to beat him. Hearing all of this definitely stung Johnny: he was very much looking forward to finally being able to be his son's sensei, and it was hard not to be hurt by the fact that his son had decided to venture outside the dojo for help. However, Johnny could tell that there was something more to Robby's decision than just needing extra Karate coaching, which is why he didn't argue with him.

They finally arrived at their destination, and Johnny walked inside first, Robby following close behind. The place was very familiar to Johnny, having been there many times before. Little did he realize though that Robby had also been to this place as well. As they took their seats by the window, Johnny glanced outside and pointed at the building across the street.

"Do you see that building over there?" Johnny asked him, however he hesitated for a moment when he saw Robby's facial expression. He realized that Robby knew exactly where they were. "Who told you?"

"Miguel." Robby admitted. "We were around here at the public library to study, and then we came here for a bite to eat after. He briefly mentioned that he came with you, and you told him about how I was born in the hospital across the street while you were in here eating after a bender."

Johnny averted his gaze slightly in shame, although thankfully their relationship wasn't at a place anymore that Robby was going to blow his top about it, even if he completely had the right to. It can't have been an easy thing to hear - that Johnny had been right across the street when he had been born but had chosen not to come. Noticing the look on Johnny's face, Robby decided to change the subject.

"How was training today?" Robby asked. Tory had mentioned that her and Sam had apologized to one another, so Robby assumed that it had occurred during training that day. He had no idea that it had been called off.

"Oh, uh… we cancelled it." Johnny said, not really giving the reason why, so as not to put unnecessary guilt on Robby's shoulders. "Decided to give the kids a day off."

"That's good." Robby said. Johnny shook his head.

"No. It isn't." He replied. "Look, I know that you want to train with Chozen. I respect that. But we still want… we still need you to be part of Miyagi-Do with the rest of the students. The things that you bring to the dojo are different to everyone else there."

"Really? Because last I heard, the only thing I'm doing for Miyagi-Do is spying on them to help Cobra Kai." Robby remarked. Johnny sighed.

"Look, I know Hawk went over the top. Larusso and I already talked to him. It won't happen again. We know you're not a spy, and I'm sorry none of us said more to back you up earlier."

"I appreciate it." Robby murmured. Johnny smiled faintly at him and nodded.

"Good. So you'll come back?" He asked. Robby's face immediately knitted into a scowl.

"What? No! Dad, I'm not going back!" Robby exclaimed.

"Can I ask why not?" Johnny asked. Robby sighed.

"Because what happened with Hawk is just one incident. Have you seen how the rest of them treat me, both now and in the past?" Robby responded. "They treat me like shit, and yet somehow I'm always the one apologizing for everything. I'm sick and tired of always having to be the bigger man. Having to ignore how I feel in favor of others, or 'just to keep the group together'. And honestly… I'm over it. I'm done. I'm done caring about what's best for the team, if the team is doing nothing in return but shit all over me and not giving a damn about me in return. I really want to keep training with Chozen so that's what I'm going to do."

The firmness in Robby's voice expressed that that was the end of it. There would be no argument about it. Not that Johnny would have argued further right now. What Robby had said had stunned him into a thoughtful silence, where he deeply pondered everything that had happened through Robby's point of view, from the moment his life had begun to intertwine with Karate until now. He thought about how much Robby had been vilified before he had even joined Cobra Kai: by Larusso after he found out that Robby was Johnny's son; by the entire Valley after the school fight. He had been branded the kid who had almost murdered Miguel by almost the entire Valley, and had been abandoned even by people who he considered close to him. The very same people who he was now being made to train with in Miyagi-Do. Now that Johnny was sitting opposite his son and for the first time in an eternity, they weren't sucked up by the rush of training, wedding planning and everything else that was going on, which meant that Johnny could truly stop and empathize, feel for what his son had had to go through, what he was asking the boy to do right now. He could tell that Robby had just about reached his breaking point with the rest of Miyagi-Do and he definitely wasn't comfortable going back so soon, and Johnny completely understood.

However, it was when Johnny turned his attention from how the students had been treating Robby to how he himself had been treating Robby that he was most affected. He realized that he had been living a lie. He had told himself that now that things were better between them and they had lived the summer under the same roof, everything was good between them. But it wasn't. It was becoming clear to him just how poorly he had treated Robby - ignoring his opinion, blaming him for things that he didn't deserve blame for, not standing up for him or calling out any of the shit that was going on around them. As Johnny thought about all of this, he realized just how badly he had screwed up. He honestly didn't blame Robby for wanting to train separately with Chozen. He was surprised Robby hadn't decided to quit Karate entirely. It took Johnny a while to finally find the words to speak again, and when he did, the first words he said were…

"Robby, I'm so sorry…"

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After that day, everything changed. Johnny had apologized profusely to Robby for everything that he had been forced to endure at the hands of the people who were supposed to be on his side. He completely respected Robby's decision to train separately from the rest of the group. Not only this, but when Johnny had relayed what Robby had said to the other Miyagi-Do students, it had provoked much thought from all of them, a lot of regret at how shitty they had treated not just Robby, but all of the other Miyagi-Do students. The amount of problems they had within the dojo was insane. All of this finally opened the students' eyes enough to all apologize to one another, for the things they had done in the past, and the things they were currently doing to each other. Although Hawk was no less aggressive than before, he had indeed sacked up and apologized for his accusations towards Robby. At the end of the day, Robby was a teammate. He wasn't the enemy.

The reaction to the opening of Chozen's branch of Miyagi-Do was mixed. Most crucially, both Johnny and Daniel were more than happy that Chozen was sticking around for longer, and that he was training their students to be better than ever. After all, at the end of the day, no matter who trained each student, they would all still be fighting alongside each other in the Taikai and in whatever conflicts with Cobra Kai came before. They would also still be training as a whole group at least once a week, something all three senseis had insisted upon to maintain unity within the group. Although Johnny was slightly sad that he wasn't able to mentor his son, he respected Robby's decision, and he didn't go overly jealous like he had when Daniel was coaching Miguel all those months ago. He had grown plenty since, and it showed. Not only this, but Robby's words from the restaurant were still rattling through his head, and remorse was still plentiful within him.

Growth was also evident on the parts of all of the students. Before, if you had told them that a few of their students were splitting off to train separately, with a separate sensei at that, they would've taken it as a sign of betrayal. They would've escalated it into a heated confrontation, one where there were no winners. However, this time, they actually handled it with dignity. It had certainly been a shock. Everything that had happened with Robby had run a shockwave through all of their systems, and ended up leaving them all a little bit more mature because of it. Chozen had insisted that the offer to train with him was open to anyone, but surprisingly nobody besides Robby and Tory took him up on the offer. A lot of it was loyalty to senseis. The likes of Miguel and Devon were fiercely loyal to Johnny. The likes of Demetri and the rest of Miyagi-Do were fiercely loyal to Daniel. Robby still had a strong bond with both of them, which meant that he wasn't immensely loyal towards just one, and the fact that Tory had only started training with them very recently, meant that the two of them probably had the weakest roots tying them down to one sensei. This meant that they took up Chozen's opportunity and joined his class. Not only this, but a couple of the other students tried training once or twice with Chozen, but his methods just weren't for them. They could've probably handled his tough methods if they really wanted to, but the problem was none of them were motivated enough to do so. Why would they put themselves through all of it if they would rather be training with Daniel and Johnny, equally capable senseis, anyways? Chozen didn't mind that he only had 2 students. He wouldn't have minded if he only had 1. All that mattered was that these were two kids who needed his help, needed his guidance, and he intended to give it to them.

So that was what happened over the next month and a half. Although Miyagi-Do had seemingly begun to separate, things were more united than they had ever been. They were finally all on the same page, having managed to work through all of their issues with each other and truly start on a new slate. They were also able to train most of the week with the sensei they most wanted to train with: they weren't forced to train with one that they didn't want to.

It was an intriguing new concept that Johnny, Daniel and Chozen had decided to try out. Rather than having them all train together with all of the senseis as one large group, they decided to have Miyagi-Do, Eagle-Fang and Chozen's karate all open for training at the same time, and it was up to the individual students which style they wanted to learn on any particular day. It was the exact opposite to their leadup to the last All-Valley, where Johnny and Daniel's pressure had been something that had turned many of the students away. It allowed more freedom within the dojo, and that was something that every single student appreciated.

Though Robby and Tory were delighted to be training with Chozen, they still made the effort to, on occasion, go and train with Johnny and Daniel. There were unique skills that they could pick up from each sensei that the other couldn't provide them with. This was the case for every student. Or at least, amongst the top students. Miguel spent most of his time with Johnny, but still spent a little bit of time with Daniel and occasionally Chozen as well. Likewise, Hawk spent most of his time with Miyagi-Do, but a little bit of Eagle-Fang to develop his aggressive style of offense was very much appreciated, Samantha doing pretty similar to that as well.

They were working extremely hard, putting every ounce of energy into their training. This new, revolutionary method that their dojo was using to train was working brilliantly, so by the time a month and a half had passed and they were going into the Christmas holiday, they were all infinitely better fighters than they had ever been before…

A/N

Just so you aren't confused, next chapter will be a time jump of a month and a half. The next chapter is set on December 23rd. In the time that's past, nothing much has happened. Both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai are training hard. That's about all you need to know. Hope you are enjoying the story so far! Christmas holiday in this story will be pretty big, so stay tuned for more!