Little time had passed since Johnny and Carmen's wedding, and now it was time to go back to school, for some it was their senior year of high school, but for Kenny and Anthony it was their freshman year, and the Karate Kids believed that during school they would be safe, but the Cobra Kai students had other plans.
To make matters worse, the two new Cobra Kai students were also enrolled in the same school, really, it looks like there will be a second school brawl.
Kyler: Here we are, day one, round two, let's show them hell, ain't you buddy?
Yoon: That's right bro, just like master Kim taught.
Yoon and Kyler didn't get along well when they first met, but after a few weeks of training, they started talking, and saw that they had a lot in common, so they became best friends.
Min was also enrolled at the school, and she got along well with Piper and Sarah, but then Robby saw someone he hadn't seen since the dojo fight, it was Kenny, and he was with other Cobra Kai students, Robby certainly wasn't happy to see this.
Robby: Kenny, I... I thought you left Cobra Kai after the Silver thing.
Kenny: Yeah, I thought about leaving, but sensei Kreese made me realize that despite everything, what I learned from Silver made me stronger, Cobra Kai made me stronger, and that's why I came back.
Robby: Kenny, trust me, I know you think Kreese and the others care about you, I've been there, but the truth is that in Cobra Kai, we're just soldiers, they turn you into someone you're not, so unless you want to end up hurting someone important to you, get out of there now, and I assure you, there is another way.
Tory: Listen to him, he only wants what's best for you.
Kenny: Oh, but there IS someone who cares about me there.
It was then that Cobra Kai's newest student appeared, someone Robby hadn't seen since his time in juvie.
Robby: Shawn?!
Shawn: Hey Robby, it's been a while since I saw you, and I heard everything that happened, I heard about how you helped my brother get stronger, but then you betrayed him.
Robby: No, you don't understand...
Shawn: I told Kenny to come to you, because he didn't have anyone from his family, and also because I respected you, but after what you did to him, you lost all the respect I had for you, and besides, Kenny doesn't need you anymore, he's with his family now, so stay the hell away from him, or we'll fight, just like we did in juvie.
Hearing that, Robby walked away, not that he was afraid of Shawn, but because he didn't want to cause any more unnecessary fights, he was heartbroken, but there was no other way, Kenny had made his decision, and Robby had to accept.
During lunchtime, Demetri and Yasmine were talking.
Demetri: I know we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together this summer, because of everything going on, with my new job, and Cobra Kai, and this new tournament we're training for, but as soon as possible we'll have a our night alone.
Yasmine: I can't wait, and this time I guarantee that nothing will stop me from seeing you at the tournament.
Demetri: To be honest, I don't know if it makes me more or less relieved.
Yasmine: What do you mean by that? You do not want me to go?
Demetri: Of course I do but... I didn't want my girlfriend to see me getting my ass kicked.
Yasmine: You're underestimating yourself, I'm sure you'll do great.
She gives him a kiss, which makes Demetri feel much better, but then Kyler and Yoon show up.
Yoon: Seriously, A hot girl like her is dating a piece of shit like him?
Kyler: I know right, I told you she was kinda nuts.
Yoon: Yeah, you were right, luckily I like the crazy ones...
Yoon tries to touch Yasmine in a... intimate way, and she clearly wasn't happy about it, and Demetri noticed, so he grabbed the Korean boy's arm and said:
Demetri: Hey, get your hands off her!
Kyler: What's the matter, you got pissed? Talk to my friend about it.
A fight was about to ensue, and clearly Demetri was at a disadvantage, but then Hawk appeared.
Hawk: If you want to hit him, you have to hit me first.
Kenny: Stay out of this, Faux-Hawk.
Miguel: Nobody called you here.
Shawn: Repeat that, but this time looking at me.
Miguel: Okay, no one called you here either!
And as everything indicated, another school brawl was about to happen, Miguel, Hawk, Demetri, Kenny, Shawn, Kyler and Yoon were in fighting stances, luckily, Tory was there to intervene.
Tory: Guys, stop it, we'll beat them on the mat, there's no reason for us to cause a school brawl.
But Cobra Kai still hadn't finished messing with his opponents, Piper was nearby and heard Tory's comment, and knowing the events of the past year she laughed.
Piper: It's funny to hear that from the girl who started the fight last year, you better watch out, or some guy will kick your boyfriend off the second floor and you'll end up sleeping with him.
Even Moon was amazed at how low her ex-girlfriend had descended just because of a dojo rivalry, and Tory knew she had to control her anger, but after what Piper said about Miguel and Robby she couldn't take it, she went towards Piper and pushed her... Bad idea, the counselor was passing by at this very moment, and she saw everything.
Counselor: Ms. Nichols, you know our guidelines about physical contact, to the principal's office, now.
Tory: I didn't do anything, it was her...
Demetri: Tory's right this time, they're the ones who started it, it's all that asshole's fault.
Counselor: Mr. Alexopoulos, this is not how we express ourselves here, consider this a warning, next time you will be suspended.
Demetri thought about saying something else, but he knew it would only cause more problems, but then he saw Yoon laughing at him.
Demetri: No! I'm sick of this bullshit, take a look at this guy, it was all his fault, if you don't see this you're blind, he started harassing my girlfriend, and then Piper insulted Tory.
Counselor: This is a very serious accusation, Mr. Alexopoulos, Mr. Yoon, Miss. Elswith, how do you plead?
Suddenly Yoon's tone of voice changed completely, and it even looked like he felt bad for what he had done.
Yoon: It wasn't my intention, I'm sorry Yasmine, I didn't mean to disrespect you...
Demetri on the other hand, didn't fall for the Korean boy's act, and accused him again.
Demetri: He's lying, he's straight up lying, anyone with an ounce of brains can see that.
Counselor: Mr. Alexopoulos, this behavior will not be tolerated here, perhaps a week of suspension will help you to reflect on this, and as for you Ms. Elswith, what do you have to say?
Piper: I didn't do anything, I just wanted to avoid a fight.
Tory and Demetri: LIAR!
Counselor: Enough, Nichols and Alexopoulos, to the principal's office, now.
And so, Tory and Demetri were taken to the principal's office, and Tory was suspended for a week with a warning, next time she would be expelled, but the big surprise was with Demetri, until that moment he was the perfect student, never had a bad grade, and he had never even been called into the principal's office, but after what happened he was also suspended, for TWO weeks.
As they were leaving, Tory thanked Demetri for what he had done.
Tory: About earlier today, thanks for helping me out, and sorry for the way it ended for you.
Demetri: No need to thank me, these assholes think they can threaten us and we won't do anything, if I had to do it all over again I would.
As she had been suspended, Tory spent the days with her mother at the Larusso house, unfortunately, she was not getting better, on the contrary, she was getting worse every day, and Tory began to fear the worst.
Demetri on the other hand had other toughts, he realized that this Yoon kid would be a much worse bully than Kyler ever dreamed of being, especially now that he and Kyler have become friends, Kyler sure told about the times Demetri and the others kicked his ass, and while Miguel, Hawk and Robby had a shot against him in a fight, Demetri was afraid of what could happen if him and Yoon found themselves alone, he needed to learn more, learn something that went against everything he'd learned since he started doing karate, he had to learn to strike first.
He then went to Johnny's house to see if he could teach him a few things, but Johnny wasn't home, Demetri then assumed he was at the dojo, so that's where he went, but when he got there, there was no sign of Johnny either, he was thinking about leaving, when he heard a noise inside the dojo, it looked like someone was training, he went to see who it was, and there he was, karate's bad boy, Mike Barnes.
Mike soon realized that there was someone else there, so he stopped training and went to see who it was, he was surprised to see it was Demetri.
Mike: Hey, Demetri... It's Demetri, isn't it?
Demetri: Yeah, is Johnny there?
Mike: No, Carmen had to go to the doctor today, so he went with her, and Daniel is working at the dealership, it's just me and...
Chozen: Mike-San, who's there?
Mike: It's Demetri, wait, shouldn't you be at school?
Demetri: I was kind of suspended for two weeks, all because of a Cobra Kai guy, that's why I was looking for Johnny.
Chozen: Maybe we can help you, what do you want?
Demetri: I... have to learn to strike first.
Chozen and Mike were confused by Demetri's idea, I mean, they've seen him fight, and while his defense is great, offense is definitely not his best feature, but it's not just because he's not good at offense, but by the fact that he has NEVER shown any interest in offense.
Mike: May I ask, why?
Demetri: Well, there's this Cobra Kai guy, he's been a pain in my ass at school, he's also been harassing my girlfriend, and while my friends are certainly able to fight him, I think I still need to learn a few things. .
Chozen: I see, in that case I think we can teach you a few things.
And so were Demetri's days while he was suspended, he left the house and went to the dojo, however, several days passed and it looked like he wasn't making any progress.
Chozen: Don't give up, some learn faster than others.
Demetri: Oh, let's face it, I'm not good at striking first...
Mike: Well... I wasn't either.
Demetri: What?
Mike: There was a time when I wasn't known as karate's bad boy, you know what they called me back then? Scrawny Barnes.
Demetri: Really?
Mike: Really, but that changed when I realized that no one is just one thing, I realized that I could be more than Scrawny Barnes, that's when I got into karate and worked hard, I was lucky to have my dad by my side, he taught me a lot of what i know.
Demetri: He must be a great man.
Mike: He was...
Demetri: Oh, I'm sorry.
Mike: Well, it's been a long time, but what I learned from him, I'll take for the rest of my life, but as I was saying, if you want to get anywhere, first you have to have confidence in yourself.
Chozen: Mike-San is right, trust is key.
Mike: Let's try again, when Chozen says "FIGHT" you come at me and attack me, and I'll do the same thing.
Demetri nodded and they went to the sparring deck, both got into fighting stance, and waited for Chozen.
Chozen: FIGHT!
Demetri prepares to attack Mike, but as soon as he tried to attack Mike, he attacked too, so Demetri ran away.
Mike: Hey, calm down, it's just training.
Demetri: Sorry, I panicked and...
Chozen: Demetri-San, you have two great weapons with you, but you're not using them right.
Mike: Chozen is right, you're very fast, few people can run away from me like that.
Demetri: I've kind of trained for this my whole life, I have a lot of experience running away from bullies.
Chozen: Just like you use your speed to escape and defend, use it to attack.
Mike: Also, I heard you're pretty smart, so use that intelligence during fights.
Chozen: Understand your opponent's style, look for weaknesses, and come up with a strategy, ok, let's try again.
They return to the sparring deck, and Demetri and Mike get into fighting stance.
Chozen: FIGHT!
This time, Demetri follows the advice of his senseis, and goes towards Mike, attacking with a quick sequence of punches, Mike blocks some of the attacks and tries to hit Demetri with a kick, but Demetri dodges and hits Mike with a kick to the chest. .
Mike: Yeah! that's what I'm talking about!
Chozen: If you learn to use your speed and your inteligence the right way, even your friends will have to watch out.
After training, Demetri came home happy, he knew he was getting stronger, and he would keep getting stronger, if that Korean boy thought he could mess with him or Yasmine, he was very wrong.
Tory, on the other hand, took advantage of that week of suspension to spend more time with her mother, as mentioned earlier, her situation was not good, and one day, while preparing something for her mother to eat, Tory saw her in the kitchen too.
Tory: Mom, what are you doing here?
Tory's Mom: I was thirsty, I came here to get a glass of water.
Tory: If you were thirsty you could have told me, the doctor said you shouldn't make any effort.
Tory's Mom: I'm feeling stronger today, I think I'm a little better.
Tory: That's good, I think things are finally working out for us, the Larusso family has been helping us a lot lately, even after everything that happened between me and Samantha.
Tory's Mom: They're good people, and I'm looking forward to seeing you compete in the tournament.
Tory: I can't wait, it might be my only chance to get us a better life.
Tory's Mom: You've done a lot for us since I got sick, whatever happens at the tournament, know that I'm proud of you, I love you.
Tory: I love you too mom.
They hug, but then, something unexpected happens, Tory's mom... Faints in her arms.
And so this chapter ends, as you can see there's a part that talks a little bit about Mike Barnes' past, because as far as I know, we don't know anything about him before the events of Karate Kid 3, so I decided to add that, maybe, further in the story I'll explore more his past, as we can see now Demetri is finally learning to strike first, something he has refused to do for a long time, could he be able to reach the same level as his friends? About Tory's mom... I think you can already imagine what will happen to her, how will this impact Tory's life? What is she going to do about her aunt who wants custody of Brandon just for the money? What do you think will happen? Find out IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.