A/N: Sorry about the delay, I have been waiting to get home to throw this chapter up, don't forget to join the discord to have discussion with me and other fans on the cord.
Kreese was sitting in his offense, his desk covered in paperwork. It was boring and stuffy nonsense. Insurance for the kids, it was insurance for the building, it was regulations for the mats, it was safety standards for the dummies and equipment.
Its a whole lot of nothing
But if you want things to go your way, pretend to go along with the weak until it was time to strike. The grass would only become so shallow before you have to reveal yourself and show yourself to the world.
The world was funny like that, you often don't get what you or what you deserve, you get what you take. Right now, the world had taken the use of Miguel Diaz's legs from him.
A tragedy is what people were saying
An opportunity is what it really was
At least that was how Kreese was seeing it, in his own twisted way. it was not even about Miguel at this point. His time at the top was over, a fading light that was left flickering in the dark.
Weak will from a weak child, Johnny sunk his will into him a little too deeply.
Kreese was displeased with the brawl at the school for multiple reasons
Why would you fight in a place where everyone can see you
You let the enemy dictate the battleground and you'll lose before you throw a single punch.
Sighing, Kreese looked out the window of his office, his strongest fighter was in the hospital, with a spine injury.
A broken warrior never heals back to 100 percent
But there was more than just Diaz to this dojo, there had been more pillars when he had come back to Cobra Kai.
Tory Nichols
Was the girl a lost cause? Her inner flames had been dying down since the injury to Diaz, but that anger that she had shown Johnny at the hospital, it could help the rest of these kids get back to where they belong.
Hawk
The spiky haired kid was everything that Cobra Kai was meant to be, he was angry, he was vicious, he tended to strike fast, strike first, and show no mercy. but for all the kid brought to the table, he was missing the leadership of a Diaz or Nichols.
So, where could he turn to find someone to bring together the Dojo?
Kyler Parks was a promising prospect for the King Cobra, despite his flaws of being arrogant and having more bark than bite, he had the swagger as the kids called it.
Kreese looked up for the paperwork on his desk, his eyes wondering until they landed on the bulletin board, a pinned up photo of Johnny and a young child. Despite the youth, there is no question about who it was.
Robby
Sometimes, an outside source is needed to make the kingdom rise up again. I think we can use an injection of new blood into this decaying nest.
Kreese allowed his pen to glide over the last couple of forms that he needed to finish today before dropped the pen on the desk and walked out onto the mat portion of the dojo.
"Class, fall in" he commanded as he took his place at the head of the sparring mat, he didn't even have to raise his voice for the kids to snap their attention to him and follow orders. There was a bit of talking through the ranks but Kreese understood that you had to throw your dog a bone every now and then.
Good little soldiers, that's what I like, even if they chatter too much
"Today, i bring good news. Miguel Diaz has awake from his ... extended slumber" said Kreese, choosing his words very carefully, "But he is no longer in fighting shape, in fact, he can no longer walk"
Those words brought a hushed silence over the room, the side conversations ended and every eye in the room was locked onto his form.
All the attention and everyone is quiet, that is exactly how I like it
Kreese took a step forward, walking down the gaps in their rows, walking past each student silently, mentally preparing his speech with each step, with each student pasted.
"I know that a lot of you like Diaz, he was a good kid. Smart and bright as a student. Swift and dangerous as a fighter. He was nearly one of a kind, but he is not going to be our star anymore, his light has faded" said Kreese as he reached the back of the formation
"But i believe that we have our next great fighter already in this room. They are bold, they have the mojo to run the dojo"
Kreese's words caused several students to stiffen, but Hawk looked around, a cocky smirk on his face. While Kyler was glaring at Hawk through the corner of his eyes.
Kreese had to resist the urge to smile himself, this was working better than he thought, but now he needed to hammer in the final nail.
"Or maybe the best fighter in this dojo is laying in a bed cuddling Diaz, Tory was quite the force herself"
Kreese could hear Hawk's teeth grinding at the mention of Tory.
"I look forward to seeing one of you become the new face of the dojo, no lessons for today. I want you to go out there and act like the cream of the crop that you are. DISMISSED"
Kreese watched everyone do an about face and break off into their groups, chattering freely once more. Soon, everyone had filed out of the building besides Kreese and Hawk, the perfect opportunity to Kreese.
"Sensei, I think that I should be the one to step up and take over as the face of the dojo" said Hawk as soon as the two of them were alone.
"Oh? and do tell why?" questioned Kreese
"I've been here the longest outside of Miguel, nobody can beat me in a fight now than he's done for" reasoned Hawk
"All good points, but the king of the hill isn't chosen by the king himself. You want it, go out there and take it son. I don't choose who is next, you do" said Kreese with a slap on Hawk's shoulder before he walked back towards his office.
Later that night: Tory
The night air felt great on her skin as she coasted on her bike, her hair whipped around because of the wind. She didn't have a care in the world as she had one of the best 24 hours of her life.
Miguel was up, awake and in reasonably good health. Her job was going to let her switch from being a waitress to a dish washer on the weekends, allowing her to get the needed wages that would definitely help her family.
Life was good
But nothing this good was ever meant to last because as Tory slowed down, approaching her home, she saw a figure leaning up against the edge of the railing in front of her apartment.
She was already frowning before she stopped and her eyes narrowed through the darkness as she knew who it was before she came to a stop and swung her leg off of her bike, looking at the figure.
"What are you doing here?" she asked
"I can't come to see one of my prized students?"
"No, no you can't" she replied
"How your words wound me more than you would ever know Nichols"
"I really don't care" spat Tory
"I think I don't like your attitude, you need a refresher in manners"
"I'm only going to ask you one more time, what are you doing here?" snarled Tory, her anger bubbling up inside of her was starting to overflow from inside her into her words.
The figure reached into his open coat, left hand in air to show that he meant no harm as his right hand reached into a pocket inside the inner lining of the coat.
When he pulled his hand out of the coat, he was holding a sizable stack of money.
"What is that?" asked Tory with her eyes trained on the money, her mind racing.
I have money at the moment, but more has never hurt a situation
"This is 7 thousand dollars, enough to cover everything you and your family needs for 3 to 4 months" said Kreese as he put his hand out towards Tory, gesturing for her to take the money.
"Why?" questioned Tory
"Why not" replied Kreese
"Give me an actual reason before I ignore you and you just walk inside" said Tory
"Fine" said Kreese, "You need the money and I need you"
"You need me? I thought you didn't need anyone but yourself"
Kreese resisted the urge to allow his face to twist into one of displeasure.
"I need you to light a fire inside the other students in the dojo. Without Diaz, Hawk and Kyler think they're the best the dojo has to offer. But if you were to come back, you would easily be at the top of the food chain. You command their respect Nichols"
Tory allowed herself to process Kreese's words, he was asking her to rally the rest of the dojo. But for what reason? Miguel was the one who had held their respect more than she had. They knew better than to cross her as she was just as talented as Miguel in many aspects of fighting, her aggression carried her in many ways.
"What do you want me to do? Yell at your other students for money?" asked Tory
"No, i want you to come back to the dojo and lay down the law. Show them that you're still the best in town and that they're all fighting for 2nd place" replied Kreese.
Tory was torn by the offer that Kreese was offering her.
With that type of money, I would be free. I could pay rent, I could buy food. I wouldn't have to work as hard for a while.
Kreese could smell blood and he leapt at it
"This is just to get you in the door" said Kreese
"What?" asked Tory
"Think of this as nothing more than a down payment. I could give you 1000 a week starting next weekend. I can take all of the pressure of your life off of your shoulders. Imagine a life, where you are on equal footing as all of these other spoiled brats in the valley" said Kreese, "But you need more than just money. You work so far away, you need a bigger incentive"
Tory kept silent, unsure with how to respond to what Kreese was saying, his words were slick and each one seemed to have a purpose, even if Tory couldn't figure out what his game was. She knew that he was dangerous, like an oiled up snake.
"You ride your bike 40 miles down to that beach to go to work and then bike 40 miles back up here" started Kreese
"How do you know that? Are you stalking me?" asked Tory
"No, I talked to your social worker, I had to check up on my student" answered Kreese
This raised only more questions in Tory's mind but then again, this entire conversation was confusing.
"I don't want you to take a risk like that, it is a dangerous world out there Nichols" said Kreese, a parody of a smile sliding onto his face, "Despite how cold and uncaring that I appear to be, I tend to make sure that my students are taken care of"
"I don't get what you're saying"
Kreese pulled a single key on a ring from his pocket and tossed it to Tory. She caught it without thinking as her reflexes kicked in. She looked at the key in her hand, it had a black guard and a symmetrical key ridging. The black guard had a faded white word scribbled on to, but Tory could still make out the word Jeep on the key.
"What is this?" asked Tory
"It's a car key" answered Kreese as if it was the obvious thing in the world
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"You have a license Nichols but no card. That doesn't make sense. Even if you don't return to the dojo, I still want what is best for you. I'm not the richest man in the world, but I do have some assets. That key is for the 2005 Black Jeep Wrangler out front, the car is already insured for a year and registered in your name" said Kreese as he put the money on the railing.
"Think about it" said Kreese as he turned away from Tory, leaving her holding the car key and staring at the money, her good day gone and her mind state in shambles.
2 days later:
Miguel was awoken by the knocking on his door, his eyes were slow to open as he was still tired.
"Hello Diaz" said a voice that caused Miguel to actually open his eyes
"Sensei Kreese?" asked Miguel as he looked at the man who had joined their dojo ... rejoined the dojo.
"Yes, it is me" said Kreese, "Can't a man come to check on his student"
"Yeah, but I'm not your student. Johnny was my sense" retorted Miguel causing Kreese's jaw to tense as he struck a nerve.
"Oh how your words wound me, Diaz" quipped Kreese with an unimpressed look on his face, "How could you say that to an old man such as myself?"
Miguel snorted, "I opened my mouth and thought about what I think about you. You're a liar and snake oil salesmen. You are as my grandma would say 'prÃncipe de las mentiras'. I don't like you and I don't trust you"
Kreese did the last thing that Miguel was expecting, he started to laugh, his voice echoing throughout the room.
"You are right to be cautious when dealing with someone such as myself Diaz" admitted Kreese.
Miguel looked at Kreese and asked "Why are you here?"
"I came to talk to you" said Kreese honestly, "You suffered a traumatic experience and I am here to tell you that you need to keep your opinion to yourself"
"What?"
"You're weak, you're a pathetic little shit that doesn't have what it takes to be a true member of Cobra Kai. The fact that you were ever seen as the leader of the dojo is a disgrace" said Kreese
"Are you insane? I did what was right" hissed Diaz
"No, you did what you thought was right. But what you think doesn't matter. You made a choice, but it's a wrong decision. A weak decision by a weak person" spat Kreese
"Get out of my room" snarled Diaz
"Only after you agree to stay away from my students, I do not need them being infected by your weakness. I need you to promise to stay away from the rest of my students. Most of them still have a future and all of them still have use of their legs" said Kreese
"GET THE FUCK OUT" roared Diaz
Kreese held up his hands as if he didn't understand why Miguel would be upset and walked out of the room, a large sly smile on his face as he did everything that he needed to do.
Miguel was still fuming when Tory arrived at noon, dressed in her Cobra Kai gi.
"What are you wearing?" asked Miguel
"Why you like it?" asked Tory as she struck a pose, "I'm going back to Cobra Kai today"
"Take it off" said Miguel in a heated tone
"Um what?" asked a taken back Tory, "If this is how you are trying to ask to cop a feel, your delivery needs some work"
"Cobra Kai is full of shit, they're evil" said Miguel
Tory made a face
"Uh no they're not. We are both Cobra Kai members, we're not evil Miguel" said Tory, gesturing to both herself and her bedridden boyfriend
"Not us Tory, Them" said Miguel
"You're not making any sense" admitted Tory, "Sensei Kreese said you were a little out of it when he stopped by earlier. Are they giving you too much pain meds?"
Miguel could hear the concern in her voice, he knew that she cared about him. But the mere mention of Kreese caused a tsunami of rage to flood his mind.
"You were talking to that fucking lunatic?" asked Miguel
"He's a bit weird, but he's nice enough Miguel" replied Tory confused
"How can you say that?"
"Because he paid my rent for damn near the entire year. He got me a car so that I don't have to bike 80 miles every work day" answered Tory, "I don't know what is going on between the two of you, he said you were hostile earlier. I think you need to get some rest"
"Tory, that man came in here and called me weak, told me to stay away from Cobra Kai. If you chose to hang out with them, you are telling me that you're choosing them over me" said Miguel, tears in his eyes
"I think you need to get some rest Miguel, I'll come back tomorrow" said Tory as she walked over to his bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
A/N: This chapter was supposed to be out earlier but I forgot my laptop charger and unfortunately, the traffic was fucking terrible.
Kreese is a complex character, he's equally smart and crafty, yet at times he is very honest with what he thinks. I want you to think of his actions in this chapter, he's using his info on Tory to try and buy her to come back. He visited Miguel and said outrageous shit, but go to Tory first and said Miguel was delusional and out of it. He wormed his way into Tory's mind as a guy who is trying to help, but was honest with Miguel about his distaste in his actions.
Is he OOC? Maybe, but the difference in events is going to cause him to react in a different manner. He hasn't won over Tory and the group like canon, he trying to get results, he doesn't have them like in the show at the start of season 3.
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Until next time, HighKey_Mars