CHAPTER 25

The taxi pulled up to Miguel's compound about 15 minutes later, and Miguel got out of the car, nearly falling flat on his face as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle. His body was so knackered, so exhausted, so worn. He had no idea how he was even still standing at this point. He wanted to get inside as soon as possible so he hobbled through the compound, towards his house. However, in the middle of the compound, he stopped, turning towards Johnny's house for a moment. Should he go knock on Johnny's door? Apologise for pushing him away in Mexico? Would Johnny even want anything to do with him anymore?

As Miguel lay in his hospital bed, just a few hours after getting out of surgery, he reached for his phone. He couldn't move his lower body so he had to rely on stretching his arm out as long as possible for him to try and grab it. But he couldn't. His fingers stopped, inches short. He tried for several moments, stretching as far as his body would allow, but he was just too far away. Miguel let out a loud groan of frustration and threw his head back against the pillows. So close yet so far.

"You want the phone?"

A voice caused Miguel's head to whip sideways, as he turned to see Johnny standing in the doorway. Miguel sighed. So this was how his life was going to be now. Relying on others to help him do even the most menial of tasks. He couldn't sit up for himself; how the hell was he ever supposed to live alone?!

But Miguel sucked in his pride and eventually nodded.

"Yes." He grumbled quietly, too tired to fight it anymore. So Johnny walked over to the table that his phone was resting on and he made like he was going to grab it, but instead he threw the table towards the other side of the room.

"Go get it." Johnny instructed him. Miguel glared at him. The hell was the point of this? This wasn't something that he was too weak, or too unmotivated to do. Every fibre of his being wished that he could get up and walk over to get the phone for himself. But he couldn't! His body literally couldn't! Johnny needed to get that through his head!

"I can't walk!" Miguel snapped. "Even with the surgery, I might never be able to…"

"QUIET!"

Johnny's bellowing bark immediately shut Miguel up, a far cry from the broken sensei he had seen the night before. Miguel was taken aback, and he looked at Johnny, shocked.

"Never. Can't. Those are just words! They're meaningless! It's time for you to get out of that bed and do something! You're not a kid anymore! The world isn't just gonna hand it to you! You want something? You're going to have to crawl across the floor, use your damn teeth if you have to! You're going to do whatever it takes! And I'm always going to be right here next to you. Because I'll always be your teacher…"

I'll always be your teacher. That's what Johnny had told him, on multiple occasions too. He had promised to always have Miguel's back no matter what. That was what Miguel needed to gather the courage to slowly turn and walk towards apartment number 2. His legs were screaming in agony. All he wanted to do was curl up in his bed and fall asleep, but he knew that he needed to do this first. He owed Johnny an apology.

So Miguel channelled all the strength he had to stumble over to the door, and he raised a hand to knock on the door. However, he felt his hand freeze in midair as he heard people talking inside.

"So… how are you feeling?" He heard Johnny ask inside.

"Alright. Confused as to how the hell walking on hot coals is karate training, but not too banged up yet."

Miguel immediately felt rage bubble up inside him, ready to erupt like a volcano, as he heard Robby's voice inside. So Robby was training with Johnny now. He was in Eagle-Fang.

"Oh, it's to instil some balls into you group of pussies you call eagles."

Miguel listened to the two of them chuckling for a while and then lapsing into silence. Miguel was about to turn around and go home when he suddenly heard Johnny's voice again.

"Robby, I'm so, so sorry." Johnny murmured.

"For what, dad?" Robby asked, surprised, Miguel feeling the same way as he eavesdropped on the conversation, too intrigued to turn away now.

"For not being there for so long. For not having the balls to do the bare minimum in being a father to you. For standing by and not doing more as Kreese and Silver manipulated you."

"Dad, it's fine. We made it to this point eventually in the end." Robby replied.

"Yeah." Johnny murmured. "Look, I want you to know that no matter what happens in the future for either of us, I'll always be on your side, and I am ALWAYS going to have your back."

"Good, huh? Secret is the chopped onions. Sal keeps it simple. Just a hot grill and some quality chuck."

As Miguel looked at Johnny, sitting across from him at the burger place, he was confused. What in God's name was he doing here? For one, he was still reeling at the news that Robby Keene was Sensei's son! And when he had confronted Johnny about it, the man had absolutely blown up on him and Hawk. It was none of their business, he had told them. Well, it kind of was Miguel's business now. No chance Sensei would have his best interests at heart if his feud was with his own son.

"Sensei, what are we doing here?" Miguel murmured. Johnny, who was shifting around in his seat uneasily, pointed beside him out the window.

"You see that building over there?" He asked. Miguel turned to look out the window, and he nodded.

"Yeah, the hospital?"

"That's where Robby was born." Johnny revealed. Miguel's eyes widened. "February 4th, 2002. It was a Monday. His mom was in labor for 17 hours."

Miguel raised an eyebrow. From what little information he knew about having a baby, he knew that that was a lot.

"Damn. It must have been crazy." He remarked. Johnny took in a shaky breath as Miguel, alarmed, watched his sensei on the brink of tears.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was. I wasn't there." He murmured in a voice no louder than a whisper. "My mom had just died. I was a real mess. I never knew my father so she was all I had. Next thing I know I'm going to be a dad. Scared the shit out of me. So instead of being up there, welcoming him into the world… I was down here, soaking up the booze from a 3 day bender, trying to get the courage to walk across the street. I never got there."

Johnny paused for a long time as a solitary tear rolled down his cheek.

"I failed my kid…" Johnny's voice cracked a bit. "On his very first day in this world. And I've been failing him every dad since."

"Sensei, this is personal stuff. You don't have to tell me." Miguel stammered. Johnny shook his head.

"No, I… um, I should've told you a long time ago. It's one of the most painful things of my life." He responded, before pausing again for a while to recollect himself. "But one of the best things has been teaching you. And I want you to know that no matter what happens, I promise I'll always be on your side and I'll always have your best interests at heart."

Miguel felt tears dripping down his cheeks as he listened to Johnny telling the exact words he had told Miguel just about a year ago. It told the story right there. Robby was an Eagle-Fang now. Robby was Johnny's protege. Robby had basically Miguel's place in this part of his life, Miguel had lost everything. And the weirdest part… Miguel didn't care. He honestly didn't care. He was so done with this karate war, done with karate in general. If nothing else, this trip to Juarez had set his priorities straight. This was it. He was out…