CHAPTER 29

"My arms! I can't lift my arms." Demetri outwardly cried out at the end of Miyagi-Do training that day. Quite possibly their most grueling session yet, Johnny and Daniel worked them so hard it was a miracle they were still standing by the end. It was an unrelenting combination of sparring, physical training and technique training, and it resulted in all of them on the brink of passing out.

It was an optional training session that weekend, so many had opted to stay at home or spend their weekend doing other things. Only 6 people were present for the extra training session that afternoon: Miguel, Robby, Sam, Tory, Hawk and Demetri. The 6 student leaders of the dojo as it were.

Demetri's exclamation was a sentiment that was echoed by every other student in the dojo. Even those at the very peak physical condition - Robby and Hawk - were having to grab onto the walls for support to keep them from collapsing at the end. This was what Johnny and Daniel had told them. They were going to put them all through a physical hell for the next few months. If any of them wanted to stand a chance at beating young adults from all over the world in the Taikai, they needed to improve their physical strength. And this was the only way for them to do that. All of the Miyagi-Dos knew that, which was why despite how painful the training was, none of them even came close to quitting. They all gritted their teeth and bared it all together.

Thankfully, Johnny and Daniel called training to an end at around noon that Saturday afternoon, retreating into the dojo to have a conversation about how training had gone, as all of the students attempted to recover and recuperate outside in the backyard. Daniel and Johnny returned a few moments later, standing before their students. The sound of loud moaning and groaning in pain still filled the air, at least until...

"QUIET!" Johnny's familiar bark forced all of the students to immediately shut up.

"Look, Johnny and I just wanted to let you all know that we're really proud of you today." Daniel told them. "You all did an amazing job. I know it wasn't the easiest practice, but I guarantee that if you stick with it, you'll feel stronger than ever before, limitless, and that will be the most incredible feeling."

"But that doesn't come unless your lazy asses work for it!" Johnny continued. "Which is what every single one of you did today. You should all be proud of yourselves."

Daniel nodded.

"On that note, there is one more thing we had planned for today." Daniel said.

"Oh, God! Please, no more training! I am about 75% certain that my organs are starting to shut down!" Demetri exclaimed, but all it took was a glare from Johnny to shut him up. He knew full well that Johnny had no reservations about tying him up and using him as a punching bag for their next training session.

"It's not more working out." Daniel chuckled as a collective sigh of relief rang through the dojo. "But it is equally important to your training as anything else: relaxations. You guys need a break. You deserve a break, after all the great work! So I just got off the phone with the Beach Club. I managed to convince the manager to let all of you in as guests for the day. If you want to, that is."

Wide smiles appeared on the faces of every single member of the group. A lowkey afternoon at the beach club, where the only thing on their minds was hanging out with their friends, where they could forget about Cobra Kai for a while… that was exactly what they needed…

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"I still don't know why I'm wearing this." Marcos remarked, as he and Sarah walked into the beach club together, hand in hand.

"Because like I told you, you're not getting into the beach club wearing your holey hoodie and sweatpants." Sarah replied. "Besides, why would you even want to? What kind of person comes to a beach and doesn't wear swim trunks?"

"The kind that isn't able to go home to get some until later tonight." Marcos responded. He was borrowing Sarah's father's long-sleeved linen beach shirt and a pair of swim shorts. Although Marcos packed more muscle than Mr. Gledhill, given that the middle-aged man was slightly overweight, the shirt still fit him pretty well. The shorts on the other hand… Marcos was not one to ever skip a leg day, and the result of that was that the shorts were so tight they looked almost painted on. "I swear, as soon as I take another step these shorts are gonna tear."

"Wouldn't be the worst view." Sarah joked back, hitting him playfully on the rear. As the couple walked further into the country club, Marcos - not for the first time - was stunned at how luxurious his surroundings were. A mini basketball court, a massive cocktail bar, multiple pools and an army of comfortable deck chairs were just some of what the beach club had to offer. Every time Marcos came to a place as expensive and luxurious as this, it always sent waves of determination crashing through him, reminding him of what he could achieve if he made it as a professional fighter, the joys he'd be able to provide him and his family with. They could be living this life, rather than being stuck pickpocketing to even be able to afford food, like he had done on numerous occasions during his childhood.

Marcos and Sarah found a couple of deckchairs in a secluded area of the beach club, right by one of the pools and overlooking the ocean. It was incredibly peaceful, serene even, exactly what they needed after the whirlwind of a month September had been, as they were both exhausted. Marcos even closed his eyes as he lay on the comfy deckchair, close to falling asleep, fatigue from all of his training threatening to catch up with him. However, almost as soon as he did, his eyes snapped open once more as loud voices cut through the air of the beach club. Familiar voices. Taking off his sunglasses, he slowly turned sideways to glance at Sarah, and it was clear that she recognized them too. They just couldn't remember exactly where they recognized the voices from. They were coming from behind them anyways, so it was only when the couple stood up and turned around that they saw who it was…

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"Fluke!" Hawk exclaimed as the group of 6 Miyagi-Dos trudged up from the beach volleyball courts just outside the beach club, back into the beach club itself.

"Fluke? How was that a fluke?!" Robby laughed.

"It's a fluke, because there's no way you were actually aiming to send the ball that way!" Hawk snapped. "It's not possible!"

"Maybe for you." Robby replied jokingly. The game-winning point that Robby had scored in their 3 on 3 volleyball game most definitely had been a fluke. But he wasn't going to let Hawk know that obviously. "But for a Volleyball expert like me…"

"Shut up." Hawk grumbled. "I'm gonna go get something to drink. Do any of you want anything?"

As the other Miyagi-Dos shook their head, Hawk turned around to walk to the cocktail bar. However, just as he was turning around, something at the corner of the beach club caught his eye. There was a couple laying in two deckchairs in the corner of the beach club, mostly out of their sight but seemingly starting to rise out of their chairs. They were a little bit far away, so Hawk couldn't quite make out who they were until they had fully stood up and turned in their direction, but when they had done so, there was no mistaking them.

You want to continue that sentence?

Hawk had memorized every inch of his face. Those cold, unblinking eyes. The dark hair. The way he stood with a presence so ominous.

Just so you know, that no fighting deal you wanted to make… done

Their last encounter with him had definitely been less than pleasant. Hawk had egged him, goaded him into showing his true colors, exposing his fangs. Hawk got the Cobra Kai champion to drop the ridiculously fake peaceful facade before it got him or his friends injured.

Karma's a bitch. Because when it comes time to actually fight, I'm going to embarrass you. All of you

Those were his last words. Those were his last words to Hawk or any of the other Miyagi-Dos, and although they had seen the boy around school and in classes since, they hadn't said a single word to each other since. They were both painfully aware of what the other side was doing: working to the bone to get strong enough to face them in battle, both in the Taikai and in any fights that occurred before that point. Well there hadn't been any fights between them just yet - the strict policy at West Valley preventing that. But right now, they were out of school, away from the authorities and powers that be. A perfect battleground…

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"Oh, God." Miguel murmured quietly. He was the next to lay eyes on the people on the other side of the beach club. The back of his head, the place where Marcos had laid him out onto a month earlier, tingled a little in memory.

Miguel knew that he had improved very much both physically and technically since the beatdown he had received a month ago at the hands of Marcos. Problem was that by the looks of things, so had Marcos. The Cobra Kai wasn't wearing a shirt as he was just in his swim trunks, so Miguel could see that the boy was at very top form physically. Robby was probably in the best shape of everyone in Miyagi-Do, but it seemed that Marcos possessed just as much muscle as him, if not more. Seeing him there, locking eyes with the Miyagi-Dos… it was daunting for all of them, but at least they had the comfort in knowing that while the Miyagi-Dos were all together, Marcos probably wasn't dumb enough to start a 2 on 6 fight.

"You reckon he sees us?" Robby murmured quietly to Tory beside him. Tory raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, then looked at Marcos, then looked back at her boyfriend, gesturing in front of her. Robby looked and saw that both Marcos and Cobra Kai's female champion were on their feet, walking swiftly over to them.

"I don't know. You tell me." She replied.