CHAPTER 78
Snapped out of his daze by the sound of the voice behind him, Marcos spun around to see a middle-aged Japanese woman staring at him, extremely concerned. He stared at her for a moment before remembering what he had been doing, what she had seen, so his face blushed crimson.
"Are you okay?" The woman, an Okinawan local dance teacher, asked him.
"I… I… I'm fine." Marcos managed to stammer in response, struggling to get a sentence out in the aftermath of his emotional breakdown. Unfortunately, he wasn't fooling anyone. His bruised knuckles, bloodshot eyes and panting breath were too much to ignore, and the lady noticed it immediately.
"Are you sure? You seem… upset." The woman commented. Marcos couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle at this. Upset? Upset didn't even begin to cover it.
"Sorry for scaring you. I'm fine." Marcos replied. "Just been a pretty shitty day, that's all."
"I understand." The woman responded kindly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Marcos shook his head.
"I don't think so. Not unless you happen to know the guy running Miyagi-Do." Marcos muttered the last part under his breath, but the woman still heard it, faint as it was. She raised an eyebrow.
"I might, actually." She remarked, and Marcos' head immediately shot up. There it was. A flicker. A flicker in the flames of hope that had all but been extinguished already. This would be a hail mary, unlikely to work out but better than the alternative, which was inevitable failure.
"You… you do?" Marcos stammered, taken aback. The lady nodded.
"I have a long history with the dojo actually." She replied. "I know the senseis. I know the students. I'm sorry, how rude of me. I am Kumiko by the way."
"Julio." Marcos lied, shaking Kumiko's hand. Kumiko nodded.
"Tell me, Julio… what can I do for you? Why are you interested in Miyagi-Do?"
Marcos forced himself to remain calm, remain honest. He knew that now more than ever, standing opposite someone who clearly knew Miyagi-Do and could potentially know people in the dojo in the Valley, he needed to keep his cover intact. He needed to lie his ass off, but still make her believe his story.
"I've always loved Martial Arts. I've been an enthusiast my entire life. I'm here on a two week trip with my college to study Marine Biology, and I heard that Miyagi-Do was like the biggest dojo around. I was curious to try it out."
"Neat. What college are you studying with?" Kumiko asked. It was a simple question, asked in a completely casual way. However, with Marcos head still not screwed on quite straight after his breakdown, he wasn't thinking as fast as he normally did. The very basic question stumped him.
"Uh…" Marcos couldn't formulate a reply. His mind completely blanked. He couldn't think of a single fucking college in the entire word! As Kumiko watched this unfold, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"You're lying." Kumiko commented, not asking but instead simply telling him. "I'm sorry. But I won't help someone who can't tell me the truth."
She began to turn around and walked away but before she could get too far, Marcos made a decision. He needed to do this. For the sake of Cobra Kai. For the sake of their chances at the Taikai, and the sake of whatever chance he had at winning and earning a professional fighting contract. Fuck the consequences. He couldn't afford to think about them now. He just needed to concentrate on the task at hand.
"You want the truth?! I'll give you the truth!" Marcos called. Kumiko slowly turned around to face him once more, and she took a few steps towards him again.
"Go ahead." She encouraged him. Marcos swallowed in fear and took a deep breath. Here it goes.
"Look, my name really is Julio." Marcos began. That was one thing he knew he needed to lie about, probably the only lie he'd have to keep telling. Because if they found out his real name and that somehow got to the people back in the Valley, who knew what would happen next? "I'm here with my girlfriend. Not for a college trip or anything like that."
"Why are you here then?" Kumiko asked, genuinely curious now.
"We're competing in a fighting tournament next year in Mexico." Marcos explained. At least part of that was true. "We heard online that this dojo won a bunch of championships in the past, so we figured we'd be able to learn a thing or two from the dojo."
"You came all the way out here… to train for a tournament?" Kumiko asked, shocked. Marcos slowly shook his head.
"At least, that's what my girlfriend thinks we're doing here." Marcos said.
"It's not true?" Kumiko questioned. Marcos took a deep breath. This next part had the potential to backfire horrendously and fall back on him in a tragic way. But he knew he needed to say it if he wanted any chance of being allowed to train with the dojo. Clearly Kumiko wasn't quite convinced with his tournament story.
"No. I didn't come all the way out here to train for some tournament." Marcos muttered. He looked down, barely able to make eye contact with Kumiko for this part. "It's my fucking dad."
"Your father? What about him? Is he okay?" Kumiko asked, concerned. Marcos looked down, tears threatening to spill over his eyes.
"No." Marcos eventually replied, taking a few calming breaths to prevent himself from breaking down again. "No, he's not okay. Not okay at all. He's sick in the head. He… he hurts me."
Marcos spoke in a tone barely louder than a whisper, trying to make sure nobody was able to overhear him, but it was loud enough for Kumiko to take in his words. Her eyes widened in horror, more so when Marcos rolled up his shirt a little and Kumiko saw a plethora of scars, bruises and gashes on his abdomen, reminders of various previous run-ins with his father.
"He beats the fucking shit out of me every day. No mercy. No relief. He goes, gets drunk after work, comes home and fucks me up. And the worst part… I have no idea what to do. No idea what I can do. I'm too weak to fight back. He's too big. Too strong. There's nothing I can do to stop him."
"You should go to the police." Kumiko said. Marcos quickly shook his head.
"I can't. I live in New York in the U.S but I'm not a citizen. If I go to the police and I'm taken away from his custody, I get deported back to Mexico and I lose all of the opportunities I've been given in America."
Kumiko listened sympathetically as Marcos spoke. It honestly felt great for Marcos, letting someone in on the massive secret that had been weighing on him. More likely than not, she would refuse to help him and he'd never see her again, so there was very little to lose at this point, provided he kept his cover of course.
"I will help you." Kumiko eventually replied after a long silence. Immediately, the air changed. The hopelessness and powerlessness that Marcos was feeling alleviated for a moment, replaced by hope.
"You will?" Marcos stammered. Kumiko nodded.
"I am not a member of Miyagi-Do myself, but I have had many conversations with those who are. And do you know what all of them have told me?" She asked. Marcos shrugged. "The purpose of Miyagi-Do's existence is to provide help for those who truly need it. Not need it to gain power or status. Not just need it to win fights or championships. But those who genuinely, really need it. Clearly, you need Miyagi-Do, so Miyagi-Do will help you."
"Thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate this." Marcos said, grinning widely with relief. Kumiko nodded, her face not matching his smile though.
"I also think you should still talk to someone about what is going on back home." Kumiko told him. "I do not know you. I do not know the nature of your situation. But those who do might be able to give you some better advice. You mentioned that your girlfriend is here with you. Maybe talk to her about it?"
Marcos' face paled in alarm at the thought of telling Sarah about what was going on, and he vehemently shook his head.
"No, no, no. I can't tell her. And you can't either. Please, please, please don't tell her." Marcos begged. "She can't know! I don't know what she'll do if she finds out, so please don't tell her."
As Marcos said this, little did he realize a lone tear trickling down his cheek. He was so overwhelmed, he didn't know how much more of this he could take. All the lying, all the hiding, at what point would this finally end? At what point would he finally be honest about everything, because the guilt was starting to wholly consume him?
Kumiko didn't hesitate to reach out and pull the young boy into a comforting hug.
"I won't tell anyone." Kumiko reassured him. "Although I do think you should."
"I can't." Marcos muttered, and Kumiko nodded.
"I know. And I can't completely understand why you might feel that way given what is happening to you. But if you put your faith in the right people, they'll always come through in the end."
Marcos nodded, although he knew that he wasn't going to tell Sarah about any of it. At least, not right now. And Kumiko respected that. She understood, and she still agreed to help him anyways.
"I might not be able to get you into the main Miyagi-Do dojo itself." Kumiko warned him. "That dojo is incredibly exclusive. They don't just teach anyone."
Marcos' shoulders slumped in defeat, but Kumiko held up a hand to stop him.
"But… I do happen to know one or two other senseis around who I'm sure could teach you. Just leave it to me. I'll make it happen. Come back here tomorrow at this time, and I promise it will all be sorted out."
"Thank you so, so, so much." Marcos thanked her profusely, still in shock about how this guardian angel had come out of nowhere and agreed to help them. It was a miracle, the smallest of signs from God to show him that he was still indeed up there, and Marcos was over the moon about it.
A short while later, Kumiko and Marcos went their separate ways, just in time too as Marcos saw Sarah coming around the corner, just having returned from the bathroom. Masking his face from anything that had just been said between him and Kumiko, Marcos smiled jubilantly at Sarah, a rare sight for him nowadays.
"I did it!" Marcos told her triumphantly.
"Huh?" Sarah grunted, confused. Marcos' smile spread from ear to ear.
"I convinced someone to help us. Someone knew Miyagi-Do and they agreed to teach us for the next 2 weeks!" Marcos stated. Sarah hardly heard him though as she looked down and her eyes widened, taking his hand in her own and pointing at his banged up knuckles.
"What did you do? Beat them into submission and force them to help?" Sarah asked, suspiciously. Marcos' eyes flashed with alarm as he looked down at his bruised, beat up hands from when he had been punching the wall.
"Oh, uh… those? I accidentally slipped over and landed on my hands. Nothing major." He lied. It was clear that that wasn't at all what had happened, but Sarah also knew that that was probably all she was going to get from him right now. He wasn't going to release any more information. It caused Sarah's suspicion to skyrocket as she followed her boyfriend out of the main village square. Something wasn't right with him still. Something wasn't right at all…