CHAPTER 11
"Seriously Johnny? You go AWOL for three weeks after an all-out riot between our dojos, ignore your imprisoned son, then show up to my house, asking for my help, saying that Kreese has "taken over" Cobra Kai. Like what the hell does that even mean? I thought you kicked Kreese out a while ago." Daniel asked, as he swung the door open slightly, letting Johnny into the house and leading him through to the dining room, where the two sat face to face. Daniel's resentment was now overcome with confusion.
"The night of the school fight, Kreese took over the dojo. Shoved me out. Managed to make a deal with the landlord to have me evicted, and then manipulated all of my old students into taking his side rather than mine."
"And this concerns me, how?" Daniel asked, shortly. "This is your problem to sort out, not mine. Clean up your own damn messes."
"Fuck you, Larusso. You know, you can hate me all you want, but I happen to know that there are a couple of people in the Valley you care about, and don't want to see hurt." Johnny said, his eyes pointing to a picture of Daniel and Sam that was on the wall. Daniel followed Johnny's gaze and understood what Johnny was saying, a small tremor of fear running up his spine. "Kreese's Cobra Kai is going to take over the Valley. It's inevitable. And people are going to get hurt. I know how Kreese works. I was his student for just under 10 years. What he does is he targets any threat to him and Cobra Kai, and picks them off one by one. Why do you think we picked on you so much back in high school when there was a whole school of punchable nerds to pick on? And who do you think is going to be targeted first… some random nobody that no one gives a fuck about, or the daughter of the former Miyagi-Do sensei and the lead student of Miyagi-Do, the girl who these Cobras believe along with Robby is responsible for the school fight and Miguel's injury?"
The two men stared at each other in silence for several moments, silently sizing each other up and trying to feel out where the other one was emotionally. Eventually, Daniel broke the silence.
"So what do you want me to do?" Daniel asked. Johnny looked up and made eye contact with Daniel again. Never in a million years did he believe that he'd be saying this to his arch rival but drastic times call for drastic measures…
"Reopen Miyagi-Do." Johnny murmured. Daniel's jaw practically hit the floor in shock, and it was only Johnny's grim expression that made Daniel realise that he was actually being serious.
"Excuse me?" Daniel stammered, not being able to stifle a chuckle of disbelief. As Johnny looked at Daniel laughing at him, a flash of anger surged through his body and he had the immediate urge to slam Daniel through the table. But he held himself back. He had to, for the sake of the teenagers in the Valley.
"You heard me." Johnny snapped. "You need to stop thinking about just you and your family, and start thinking about the Valley as a whole. Because if you did, you would realise that Kreese's Cobra Kai is a threat to everyone, and your Miyagi-Do are the only people who can stand up to them. You need to continue to train your kids, and anyone from Cobra Kai that makes it over to your side of the wall. Please."
The two of them lapsed into silence for several more moments as Daniel's mind raced. Johnny had to have been seriously spooked by something to have come running to him and asking him to reopen the dojo that had brought him so much hell.
"What's changed, Johnny?" Daniel asked, curiously.
"Huh?" Johnny grunted.
"It's been 3 weeks since the school fight. No one has seen you in that time. Hell, you weren't even there when your son turned himself in and got sent to juvie. Something has clearly changed for you to be here right now, today. So I ask you again… what has changed?"
Johnny sighed and decided to tell the truth. He had nothing to lose anyways, and everything to gain.
"Kreese, he… he got Miguel." Johnny admitted. "He's managed to suck Miguel into his Cobra Kai blackhole by feeding on all of Miguel's anger towards me and towards your dojo. He also volunteered to pay to send Miguel to the best recovery facility in the country, so Miguel's now undoubtedly going to feel like he owes Kreese so he is much less likely to ever leave Cobra Kai, let alone trust me again. I was thinking that with Miyagi-Do back in the Valley, maybe Miguel could realise that he has alternate dojo options that are, and I can't believe I'm saying this, are better than Kreese's Cobra Kai."
As Johnny finished talking, he couldn't help but start laughing loudly. Johnny glared daggers at him.
"What?" Johnny snarled. Daniel shrugged.
"Sorry. It's sweet how much you care about Miguel. It's just… you have some nerve to come down on me for wanting to protect my daughter, when you are trying to convince me to reopen Miyagi-Do for a boy who hates your guts, and for the record ISN'T EVEN YOUR REAL SON! Your real son is stuck rotting in juvie, with his own father not even caring enough to go see him!"
"Hey, you shut your mouth Larusso before I knock your teeth in!" Johnny shouted. Daniel laughed.t
"No, you won't. Because you need me." Daniel grinned. He was absolutely loving this. Having his rival in the palm of his hand, practically begging him for help. "You need me to reopen Miyagi-Do, or…"
"Woah, woah, woah, reopen Miyagi-Do?" A loud voice came from the doorway as Amanda walked into the room. As she saw the two men facing off and staring daggers at each other, Amanda did a double take when she saw the blonde. "Johnny? What are you doing here?" Amanda asked, shocked.
So Daniel and Johnny briefed her on everything that was going on, and by the end, Amanda had a hard expression on her face.
"No." She said, turning to her husband. "You can't reopen Miyagi-Do, Daniel."
"But Cobra Kai…" Daniel started, but his wife interrupted him.
"But Cobra Kai what? They are taking over the Valley and you need to teach kids how to defend themselves?" Amanda asked.
"Something like that." Daniel murmured.
"Don't you see, Daniel? You've gone full circle! This is exactly what you said one year ago when you found out that Johnny had opened Cobra Kai! The only difference now is that Johnny has been substituted for Kreese, Robby is in juvie, Miguel is in a wheelchair, and all of those kids have been scarred from that school brawl. So you reopening Miyagi-Do is just restarting the cycle again, and who knows who is going to get injured this time around, or worse."
As Daniel looked down, defeated, Johnny decided to speak up.
"Um… Amanda? I want you to think about something, okay?" Johnny asked. Amanda nodded and Johnny continued. "I want you to picture what it would be like if your daughter or your son were in Miguel or Robby's place. You know that the situation they are in is completely not their fault. It is all your husband's fault for opening Miyagi-Do. If he hadn't, we wouldn't have restarted our feud, and Cobra Kai could've trained in peace."
"Excuse me?!" Daniel snapped.
"Shut up, Danielle." Johnny said, raising a hand to effectively silence an indignant Daniel. "Him and I screwed up, but these kids are the ones suffering the consequences. How would you react if tomorrow, your daughter was stuck in a wheelchair, unable to move for possibly the rest of her life? And if your son was suddenly locked in jail for something that was completely accidental and not entirely his fault? Things are only going to get worse if Kreese's Cobra Kai are allowed to dominate freely in the Valley. We are in a fucked up situation, and the only way to get ourselves out of the hole is just to keep digging. Miguel and Robby in particular, but everyone in the Valley is going to need Miyagi-Do as a dojo to rise up against Kreese. Please, Amanda. For those innocent kids."
Amanda glared at both of them for several moments, weighing up the options, before finally sighing in defeat.
"Okay, fine. Daniel, go ahead and reopen Miyagi-Do." Amanda relented. "BUT, as the only person with any common sense around here, I want to be involved this time around."
With that, Amanada left the room, leaving just Johnny and Daniel still sitting there, considerably happier. Daniel walked Johnny to the door and the two stood at the front porch and faced each other.
"Wow. Your wife really keeps you on a short leash, Larusso. I think I can guess who the dominant one in bed is." Johnny commented snarkily. Daniel glared at him.
"Shut it, Johnny." Daniel snapped, before sighing. "Yeah, she's been really pissed since the school fight. And she has the right to be. We took things way too far this summer, pitting our kids against one another. The way we were going… it was always going to end like this."
Johnny nodded, looking down at the floor in guilt. Although he liked to make it seem like he blamed Larusso, he definitely wore a lot of the burden of everything that had happened on his shoulders. HE had brought karate back to the Valley. HE had let Kreese back into their lives. He felt responsible for the positions Miguel and Robby were in, and he was finally taking action about it.
"Hey, Johnny? Can I ask you something?" Daniel asked.
"What?" Johnny grumbled.
"Why are you here?" Daniel questioned. Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"I swear we've covered this like 5 times, Larusso. Knew you were brainless, didn't know you were deaf." Johnny spat. Daniel rolled his eyes.
"No, dumbass. Just shut up and listen for once in your life." Daniel snapped, getting tired of Johnny's sarcastic remarks. "I mean, why are you telling ME to reopen Miyagi-Do? Why wouldn't you just start your own dojo? I'm sure you'd have at least a few kids joining you, like they did when you first started Cobra Kai."
Johnny sighed and looked down.
"Well, as much as I want to stay here and start my own dojo, I can't. At least not yet." Johnny murmured. "Because I'm going out of town for a bit."
Daniel glared at him.
"Seriously, Johnny? Are you that irresponsible? You have Robby and Miguel here who need you. You just finished telling me about how all of these kids are in grave danger under Kreese, and you're just going to leave all of them to go out of town?"
Johnny shook his head.
"You don't get it. I'm doing this for them." Johnny mumbled quietly. Daniel raised an eyebrow at Johnny's unusually low tone. "I'm going to rehab. Check in tonight."
Daniel's jaw dropped as he stared at the dishevelled blonde man. There was no doubt that Johnny needed help for his alcohol addiction, but Daniel never in a million years believed that Johnny would actually get the help he so desperately needed.
"You… You are?" Daniel stammered. Johnny nodded.
"Figured I'd be absolutely no help to Miguel or Robby or anyone if I keep on doing what I'm doing and get blackout drunk every time something goes wrong. As fun as drinking is, I think it might be time to put away the shot glasses once and for all."
Daniel was floored. For the first time ever, he actually had nothing but respect for the man who had plagued his entire high school life.
"Wow, um… Johnny. That's great!" Daniel exclaimed, before realising what he had said. "I mean, not the fact that you have an alcohol problem. I… um… I mean that you're getting help."
Johnny for once bit back his retort and just accepted the compliment.
"Yeah, uh… thanks, Larusso." Johnny replied. "Just know that the second I get out of there, I'm right back to making your life miserable!"
Daniel chuckled. Finally, the two of them realised that this karate war was no longer about them, and as crazy as they drove each other, they both had a common enemy: Kreese. Although they would NEVER be on the same side, for once, they saw a flicker of something. They may actually be able to live harmoniously.
"I look forward to it." Daniel replied, before holding out a hand for Johnny to shake.
The two men shook hands and there was a moment of mutual respect that rushed through both of them.
"Well, can I drive you to your rehab place?" Daniel asked. Johnny shook his head.
"No, I'm fine. I've got to make one stop first." Johnny replied. Daniel nodded and Johnny left the Encino house, walking down the street and hailing down a taxi. He got in and nodded at the driver.
"Howdy there, sir! Where can I take you this fine afternoon?" The driver asked cheerfully. Johnny, however, wasn't smiling. His face was overcome with nerves. Now that he had had the successful visit to the Larusso house, he only had one more stop to make before he left for rehab.
"Could you take me to the Southern California Juvenile Detention Center?"