CHAPTER 60

As Miguel looked at Shawn for the first time, he remarked to himself that Kenny hadn't exaggerated when describing his older brother. This was a pretty fearsome looking guy. Standing at probably close to 6'2, Shawn was much larger and more muscular than any other fighter Miguel had seen in the Valley. He was 17 years old according to Kenny, and had been in juvie for the past year for defending Kenny from being attacked by a former friend of his that was stealing money from their family. Miguel knew, without Shawn saying a word, that this guy was tougher than anyone else in this dojo. He had the look in his eye that Miguel had recently begun to see in his own… that he had been through hell. That he had experienced things other 17 year olds couldn't even fathom. That after all of the shit that he had gone through, he had come out with no one left by his side. That he knew that now that he had no one looking over his shoulder anymore, he needed to be his own guardian, and would fight tooth and nail to do so.

"We hope that Mr. Payne, like his brother, can be a valuable member of this dojo." Barnes stated, nodding at Shawn. "However, just like anyone else, he has to earn his place in this dojo. Circle up!"

Immediately, the class made their traditional sparring circle, spreading to stand on the outskirts of the mats and giving Shawn and his opponent plenty of room to fight.

"Alright, and fighting Mr. Payne will be… Diaz!"

This time, Miguel wasn't exactly surprised. He had been asked to fight pretty much every one of the new recruits during yesterday's training, so he figured now would be no different. Hopping from foot to foot to loosen up his muscles and concentrate his mind on the upcoming fight, Miguel stepped onto the mat.

"So you're Miguel Diaz." Shawn remarked quietly to him as they stood opposite one another before the fight.

"Nice to meet you, man." Miguel mumbled, not really paying much attention to the words as he got into the right mindset for the fight.

"You sure you are? You look pretty skinny to be the champion." Shawn commented. Miguel scowled slightly.

"Yeah? Talk to me after the fight." Miguel snapped quietly, before completely shutting out all noise around him, the only sound he was hearing was his own steady breathing. Something Miguel had noticed about himself was that he was never calmer, more at ease, then in that moment before a training spar. Karate had not become not only a hobby but such a large part of his identity that the dojo was his safe place. Somewhere he didn't have to worry about hatred and rivalry, and could fight in the least emotion-driven way possible.

"And… fight!"

When the fight started, Miguel didn't really mount any early charge. Not that he could've, because as soon as the bell went, Shawn lunged at him like a bull to a matador. It was good for Miguel too, as it gave him the opportunity to learn about his opponent and new teammate. From the first punch, Miguel realised that Shawn was head and shoulders above any of the other new recruits, and probably close to the level of both Hawk and Robby. There was something different about him to everyone else… he truly was a born fighter. There was no rhyme or reason to his combinations, so it meant that the punches were unexpected to Miguel too. In addition, he was the strongest teenager Miguel had ever fought. Whatever weight training Shawn had done in juvie had clearly been effective as when Miguel blocked Shawn's first punch, he felt his whole arm tremor in shock. Instantly, Miguel realised that he wasn't going to win this fight with strength. Shawn was definitely a lot stronger than him so clashing with him on that front would only mean death for Miguel. He needed to rely on speed.

This wasn't a brawl. It was a point spar, which meant that all Miguel needed were 3 light pokes to win the fight. He wasn't trying to knock Shawn out, which was good, as he didn't know if he physically could. The boy was built like a brickhouse, and so Miguel knew he wouldn't go down easily. That being said though, Miguel used his skill and speed advantage to dance around Shawn's attacks, weaving his way around the strikes like he was sprinting down a freeway and dodging cars. He waited patiently for an opening and soon enough, he got one. As Shawn let loose a right punch that narrowly skimmed by Miguel's ear, the bigger boy accidentally put a bit too much weight into it, ever so slightly losing his balance. That was all Miguel needed to then grab the extended arm and pull Shawn forwards, moving the off-balanced boy towards him, right into Miguel's waiting other hand.

"Point red! 1-0!" Silver barked as the two boys backed away from each other a moment, giving one another a chance to breathe before the fight continued.

Miguel cracked a grin at Shawn.

"Uh oh. Looks like that skinny little champion has a few moves." Miguel remarked. Shawn scowled at him.

"Enjoy it. Because it's the last point you're going to get." Shawn snapped back as the two retook their sides and the next round began…

To Shawn's credit and to Miguel's slight surprise, he didn't make the same mistake again. He might have been a novice with no formal training, but he was certainly calculated when it came to cleaning up errors. Immediately, this was the telling sign for Miguel that Shawn was going to make a great student. The way that he corrected an error midway through the fight, without doing any drills to patch it up was commendable. He was much more careful now with his balance, not letting a sudden urge to lunge affect his control over his lower body. The two circled for a while, both trying to figure out a next move, waiting for the other to strike. It was a mind game, a game of patience, as they both waited for the other to crack and attack. Miguel ended up winning, as it was Shawn who broke his defensive formation and decided to attack first. Miguel went back to dodging Shawn's strikes as he came up with an idea to use against Shawn.

As Shawn threw a kick at Miguel, one that the champion dodged pretty easily with his arm. However, as he blocked it, Miguel fell to the ground from the impact of the kick, dropping to his hands and knees. Shawn grinned, sensing an opportunity to score his point on Miguel so he charged at the boy, his defense completely falling in his haste to score. But as soon as Shawn came close, Miguel suddenly unleashed his own left foot, a roundhouse as he was on his hands and knees that slapped against the side of Shawn's head.

"Point red! 2-0!" Silver announced as Miguel rolled to his feet, grinning at Shawn. He might not be as strong as the guy, but he had been training for much longer so was much smarter.

"Oof. What happened to that whole 'I'm not going to score another point' charade, big guy?" Miguel grinned at him, not trying to mock Shawn, but indeed trying to get into his head. If Silver had taught him anything, it was that mind games and the opponent's mental state were just as important as their physical state in a fight. By getting into someone's head, you get them off their game and it's impossible for them to perform at their peak level.

As Shawn glared daggers at him and Miguel's smile grew wider, suddenly, the words from Vanessa earlier rang through his head…

All this fighting, all this rivalry… you enjoy it, don't you?

All of a sudden, as the words came rushing back to him, he stopped for a moment and thought about them. Could Vanessa have a point? Trying to get into the head of a teenager during a friendly spar, and enjoying it so much… was she right? Did he seriously find home in the chaos?

When the fight restarted, Miguel was completely off his game. He was distracted, thrown by the words of his therapist earlier. Was there something wrong with him? While Miguel could've fought with his mind elsewhere if he was fighting a lesser opponent, he already knew that it wouldn't be possible when fighting against Shawn. Miguel got sloppy, only split seconds later than he would normally be, but even those miniscule margins made all the difference. Miguel wasn't fully concentrated, which meant that he was forced to make in-fight decisions that he wouldn't normally make. That led to him eventually being trapped by Shawn and forced into a brutal punch to the abdomen.

"Point white! 1-2!" Barnes called, raising his flag. Miguel punched the ground in frustration as he shot to his feet, his fury increased as he saw Shawn smirking triumphantly at him.

Okay, tough guy. You want to fight? Let's fight, Miguel told himself. However, right after he did so, he was reminded of yet more of Vanessa's words.

What eventually happens is that when they can't get back to the battlefield, they bring the battle to them

More of Vanessa's words that Miguel had originally painted as a load of bull came back to him. Once again, could she have a point? Miguel didn't hate Shawn. He had nothing against him. After all, he had just met the guy. But the way Miguel was fighting and acting right now… he was treating his opponent like he was Robby or Hawk. He was taking out his frustration towards them on his opponent. And if Vanessa was right and this was just the beginning, what was going to happen now if he continued?

Needless to say, Miguel's mind was even more fucked as the 4th round began. Silver was definitely correct. The mind mattered much more than the body when it came to a fight. Miguel proved that right there. While his body was the same as it had been for the first two rounds, both of which he had scored in, his mind had changed and it had completely thrown him off-course in the fight. He was a sitting duck to Shawn's next point, unable to completely block and skirt away from the combination and ending up being caught by a vicious hook punch to the ear.

"Point white! 2-2!" Barnes announced, just as surprised as the rest of the dojo at this sudden turn of events. Their newest recruit, after exactly 0 minutes of karate training, was on the brink of beating their champion, a boy who had been training for nearly 2 years.

Miguel's mind was completely out of it. He didn't want to be in this fight right now. He wanted to be somewhere alone with his thoughts to reflect on all of this. However, he wasn't given that chance. He was stuck in the middle of combat, and it didn't take long for Shawn to score the winner. Miguel hardly even noticed as the final punch landed.

"Point white! 3-2! Winner!" Barnes exclaimed. At that moment, you could hear a pin drop in the dojo. Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed. All of the students stared at Shawn with a mixture of shock, confusion and eye in their wide eyes. Miguel had been beaten, by a new student no less!

Cobra Kai, in the way its students functioned, was not dissimilar to a gang. While there wasn't a formal hierarchy amongst the students, there was certainly an unwritten one. He who was the best fighter was the most respected. The most honoured. The most feared. And he was the one who gained the respect and loyalty from his peers. It was basically a leader without the official title. And up until this point, it had been Miguel. He was the former champion. He had beaten almost every member of the dojo in a spar yesterday so had rightfully seated himself at the head of the table. However now, with a brand new student beating the old champion, in a matter of seconds, that loyalty immediately shifted from old to new. They had a new leader…