The next day, training went on as usual, but Johnny's attention was split between the recruits and the events of the previous night. To Aisha, it seemed like nothing was wrong. Miguel felt something was off even though he could not put his finger on what. Still, Kaldur became aware of something when the second troubled glance was sent his way.
"He seems even more upset than he did yesterday." Kaldur thought. "What else could have-no, that couldn't be it, could it?"
Before he could decide whether this was the case, the door to the dojo opened and the mood seemed to change. A teenager with his hair in a mohawk entered with authority. He promptly removed his shoes and got on the mat. This earned him a look from Johnny who marched up to the newcomer. The man opened his mouth to speak, then paused to take a harder look.
"Lip?" he asked, disbelievingly.
Eli looked frustrated. "It's Hawk now. And I'm not a waste of anyone's time."
Johnny's hard look stayed for a bit before turning into a small smile. "Then join the others and prove it."
Hawk had a brief grin before he decided a cooler response would be a nod. He went to the others and received a happy expression from Miguel and Kaldur. That night, the door opened one more time and Johnny's face lit up like he had witnessed a miracle. Though late, Robby had come. If he had been anyone else, the sensei would have chewed him out, but he was too overwhelmed with a combination of joy and surprise to do that. Next time maybe, but not now. Robby went to the others and shared a greeting look with Kaldur. They restarted the training and continued this way. Robby had to admit to himself that he was having fun. When they were finished, he caught up with Kaldur before the latter left.
"Kal," he started, causing the other boy to stop.
Robby looked hesitant but like he wanted to say something. It did not take long for Kaldur to guess what it was.
"I'm glad you came too." he said, with a warm smile.
Robby looked surprised, then let a tiny grin come over his face. After the others left, he stayed behind. Johnny somehow managed to look even happier due to this.
"So, could you see yourself continuing with these lessons?" the father asked, desperately hoping for one answer in particular.
The young man paused. Some of him wanted to say no-make Johnny feel the pain of almost having gotten him back in his life just to lose him again. That would be payback for all those years Robby had spent without him. Yet, even more of Robby wanted to keep doing the classes. It annoyed him to feel this way, but he still did.
"I could see myself trying out some more classes. I don't know if it'll be permanent or anything."
"We can figure that out later." Johnny happily said, just elated over not having been told no.
Robby started to head towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Johnny said the same and could not recall a time when he was happier. When he went to the back room, his joy faded and he remembered what he had wanted to say to Kaldur. The following day before training, Kaldur came in and found Johnny in the back room.
"Hello, Sensei Lawrence." Kaldur greeted.
Johnny glanced up and the youth saw the same look from the previous day. Trying to ignore it, he handed Johnny an envelope.
"That's the payment for the lessons."
Johnny did not accept it. "I wanted to talk to you about this actually. Someone came a couple days ago and paid for them in cash."
Kaldur's hand tensed and the envelope crinkled in his grip. His face remained calm. "Was a name left?"
"No, but he said he's your dad."
There was a silence, Johnny waiting to hear what Kaldur had to say and the teenager being too horrified by the information to supply him with a reply.
"He knows I come here. He could be out there, just waiting." Another, more troubling thought came to mind. "Who knows what he'll do to the others."
"Kaldur," Johnny said, no longer waiting and snapping him out of his thoughts, "if something's wrong…" He was not sure exactly how to end that, but he hoped the sentiment had gotten through.
"Then this can be for the next payment." Kaldur said, putting the envelope back on the desk. "Please be careful. Also, if he comes back, could you tell me?"
"'Careful?'" Johnny questioned. He gave a hard look at the youth and saw the cuts and bruises again. He gestured to his face. "Where did you say you got those from again?"
Kaldur frowned slightly. "From an encounter. I will be out on the mat, Sensei."
He left and the concern in Johnny only grew. If Kaldur wanted to keep his business private, maybe he should respect that; he also did not like the implications surrounding the sixteen-year-old and his family. But he also had no idea what was going on, so his assumptions could have been wrong. Training that day was slightly tense between Johnny and Kaldur. When it ended, Miguel went up to his friend.
"Is something wrong with you and Sensei? It didn't seem like you were mad at each other, but it was weird."
"It's just about this one guy who came to the dojo. If you see anybody strange, could you be careful?" Kaldur directed the second sentence to the others.
They seemed uncertain, but still, they agreed they would be on their guard. Not wanting any more questions asked, Kaldur left the group to return home. At school the next day during lunch, Miguel came up to him in a panic.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that Sensei Lawrence is going to lose it! Did you see this ad?"
Miguel turned his phone to Kaldur and played a video with Daniel LaRusso talking about his new dojo. Miguel was right and Kaldur knew it. Whenever Johnny did see the video, assuming him being hard of using technology would not prevent him, he might do something reckless. Suddenly, the other student looked as though he had an idea.
"I think I have an idea for what might help." Miguel told. "Later today, I'll bring it up and see what everyone thinks."
When the time came, the teenager cleared his throat.
"Have a cold, Diaz?" Johnny asked.
"Uh, no. I have an idea to get more students for the dojo." Miguel's expression turned doubtful and Aisha gave him an encouraging smile. "I was thinking we could do a showcase. That way, everyone sees what he can do and will want to join."
The others agreed that it sounded like fun and Johnny considered it. "We do need some more. So far, we've just got 3 ex-losers, one by association, and Robby."
Aisha shrugged. "At least the 'ex' got added."
"So, when is this going to be, Sensei?" Hawk inquired.
"Probably in two weeks." Johnny told them. He looked at Robby. "Does that work for everyone?"
They all confirmed it did, and the remainder of the day was spent working on what they would do. Johnny was pleasantly surprised by how well they were doing. They had promise-all five of them. By the time they were done with the showcase, he was sure the whole high school would be ready to enroll. The only thing that surprised him was how random this was. What could have provoked Diaz into suggesting this? When they were done, he took Miguel aside.
"This idea of yours, it's not terrible."
"Thanks, Sensei." Miguel beamed, accustomed to the Johnny-style compliments.
He and Johnny planned on heading out at the same time since the latter could provide transportation that would be faster, though arguably less safe, than walking. Robby did not seem ready for a ride yet, but Johnny would take the fact that he was even there at the dojo. Hopefully, all three would leave some day in the future, but for the time being, this had to suffice. Robby almost looked like he was about to smile as he told his dad goodbye. Even with all this joy, the sensei did not forget about what had happened earlier. Kaldur and Robby were about to leave, but he called the trainee in question. Reluctantly, Kaldur stopped.
"Diaz, mind waiting in the car for me?"
Miguel took the hint and gave Kaldur a pat on the shoulder before exiting. Likewise, Robby looked surprised and tried to see if he could tell what was wrong, but he could never read Kaldur's expression. When he was out of earshot, Johnny began, albeit clumsily.
"Look, I don't know much about your home life, but if you're getting roughed up, I could help."
The boy had to repress a laugh at the idea. "Thank you, Sensei, but I'm fine. Have a nice evening."
With that, Kaldur left. Though he had appeared confident, he was feeling anything but since he heard about his father coming. It felt like eyes were on him, watching every step he took. He half-expected to see either his father or some of his lackies materialize out of thin air. Fortunately, science ruled in his favor and this was not the outcome. He still wished his focus could be elsewhere. Johnny was almost as troubled as he and Miguel drove. The young man wanted to ask what had happened even though he also wanted to respect Kaldur's privacy. Still, maybe he could help. The ride ended before he decided which path he would take.
"Night, Diaz. Sleep well. You'll need it for tomorrow's training." Johnny warned.
Miguel nodded despite his disappointment in himself for not having made his inquiry. He watched as Johnny went across the concrete and to his own home. Defeated, Miguel entered his. When Johnny got inside, he reconnected with a long-time friend, Coors. That pal always seemed to make his worries less stressful, if not exactly better. He turned on the TV and randomly flipped through channels.
"Teenagers." He slurred, grumpily after several "friends" had been spoken to. "You'd think he'd want help…but..no, not…"
Johnny trailed off as an all too familiar face popped onto his screen. The empty can of beer became crushed in his hand before getting thrown.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Johnny yelled, almost more exasperated than furious. "LaRusso's starting a dojo? No wonder Diaz suggested this." Starting to sober back up, an idea came to the man. "If he's first with the video, we'll just have to be first with showing what we can do."
He gave a smile full of contempt and lifted a newly opened can to the TV. "To the best dojo-Cobra Kai."
That night was spent with many cans and little else. Johnny was out cold when Miguel left for school that morning. During the school day, Kaldur's mind was still clouded with concerns he could not shake.
"Would he go after one of the others to get to me?" he wondered. As Kaldur thought over this, his peripheral vision caught Hawk arguing with Demetri. "I don't think I've seen them get into a heated argument before."
Hawk genuinely looked angry with whatever Demetri had said. From the gesticulations, Kaldur surmised the topic was the new do the teenager was sporting. Demetri seemed like the only person who could not tell how angry it was making Hawk, or maybe he just did not care. Kaldur could not tell, but he did appear to be oblivious of the hands that were being balled into fists. Coming up from the side, Kaldur put a gentle but firm hand on Hawk's shoulder.
"Are you ready for the practice tonight?" he asked, watching Hawk's expression change from bloodthirsty to excited in the span of a few seconds.
"Born ready." Hawk told him, proudly. "We'll show people like him that Cobra Kai isn't something to look down on." Demetri rolled his eyes, but by this point, Hawk had calmed down enough that no one seemed in danger of a black eye or expulsion.
After Kaldur went to join Miguel and Aisha, Kyler slapped the tray out of a student's hands. It fell to the floor with a crash that nearly made Kaldur jump out of his skin. To his personal hatred, a slight tremble started, feeling the contained nerves had earned the right to finally be released.
"Are you okay?" Aisha asked, looking more concerned than Kaldur would have liked.
He gave a quick nod in response, choosing to remain quiet. "I'm getting too stressed out about this. I'm on edge with even a noise like that sending me into a panic. Just calm down or you will raise suspicion with the others."
The rest of the day went by without much wrong. When the group met up for the training, Johnny still did not look his best, but they supposed he probably never did. The only thing that really stood out was how angry he appeared. Then, it hit them. He had seen the ad.
"Looks like we have 'friendly' competition." Johnny started. "LaRusso thinks he can get the monopoly on everything in this town, but he's wrong. Forget what I said about in two weeks. We're doing the showcase this Friday and I want to see the word being spread. I don't care if a video's gotta be made or a billboard. We're pulling more students than that illegal move-using cheater."
Venom came with each word out of the sensei's mouth. The others could feel his hatred like it was their own. Are we going to be ready by Friday?" Robby asked.
"Yes." Johnny answered, matter-of-factly. "Because if you're not, it won't matter because all the potential students will be gone and you all aren't enough to keep this dojo going. I've been considering threatening that rent collector as it is." The five looked unsure, but Johnny clapped his hands together. "Let's get started!"
It was a rough day of training; however, it was productive. They were getting better each time they redid a move, so they had to be at least 200x better than when they had started. The deadline also kept Robby coming back each time. Miguel and Kaldur could see how happy that made Johnny even throughout all the fury he was feeling at LaRusso. He and Miguel would spend time together after the dojo and he and Robby would spend time together at the dojo. Maybe this would not be such an awful thing. They spread the word with as many ways they could think of: videos, word of mouth, posters, etc. Unfortunately, this popularity caught the attention of Sam who must have told her father. Just when people were really starting to talk about Cobra Kai, there was commotion about a battle of the dojos. Apparently, LaRusso's new dojo, Miyagi-Do, would be using the same park on the same night to showcase their karate. Johnny did not love that, but Robby managed to give him a new perspective.
"It could be okay." he said, feeling the daggers visually sent his way afterwards. "If people see the two dojos side to side, it'll be easier to compare. We have to be better than Miyagi-Do, so it should be easy to prove we deserve the new recruits."
Johnny's eyes widened and a devilish grin formed.
"That's a good point. Ha! LaRusso just set himself up for failure. All we have to do is be awesome-something which comes naturally for some of us."
Johnny earned an eye roll for that, but he was too excited to care. When the fateful day came, they actually felt pretty good about it. The rumors were true about Miyagi-Do. There they were across from them on another stage. They even had started first, but it did not matter. When Cobra Kai came, they came in strong. The focus of the crowd quickly shifted and the newcomers could not help feeling energized thanks to them. From spars to individual moments, they were shining. Hawk was soaking it all up. For once, him being the center of attention was not a humiliating experience. He broke a board in two with a clean kick that even impressed himself. The young man happily watched his friends excel in their areas as well. Aisha's punches were nothing to ignore and the boards seemed like they wanted to break just to stop some of the impact. As for Kaldur and Miguel, neither their agility nor speed could be matched. They were the ones to spar and they received many "ooh''s from the crowd. All their training had paid off. Once they finished, it felt like it had come and gone too soon. What brought it home was Johnny's finale when he punched through flaming cement. The audience went wild with that one. The six stood and looked out to the crowd before bowing. They saw faces that reflected their own passion for the craft and others who looked like they wanted to know how it was to feel that way. There were also faces that fell into neither category and stood out to Kaldur like a rose in the desert. His face paled.
"There are so many." he thought, breaths becoming heavier.
Kaldur tried hard not to panic, but it only felt like it was making it worse. As soon as they got off the stage, his left knee gave out on him, but he recovered quickly enough for only Johnny to notice. Kaldur had to leave and he had to leave quickly. If he did, there would be no reason for them all to stay there. Also, if he seemed too chummy with the others, that could put them at risk. He gave them sincere albeit quick congratulations on their job that evening and began to leave. Johnny caught his sleeve before he could go too far.
"Something happened out there."
"A lot did, Sensei. What do you mean?"
Kaldur did his best to play dumb and it would have been convincing for anyone who had been around him less. It did not work for Johnny. He saw the antsy behavior and something he had never seen behind the teenager's eyes before-fear. What seemed even more shocking was that he felt it was not fear for himself. Kaldur kept glancing at the others, around them, then back at the others. If he stayed there any longer, he was not sure what danger it could spell for them.
"I really have to go, Sensei. This was fun, though, I am glad we did it."
Swiftly removing Johnny's hand, Kaldur got free and hurried off. He needed to lead them away. He knew the general area they were in, and he saw how many there were. As long as he kept track, he could be sure none of them were going after his friends. He went through the crowd and took a detour to not exactly end up at home. He sensed his followers and knew his plan was working. Pride might have crept in if dread had not been so strong. Suddenly, he saw someone cut off where he was going on the sidewalk. His father was there and looked both pleased and annoyed.
"I saw the showcase today. You did well. A shame it's for them." He stated. The man waited for a response that did not come. "I will ask you this once more, will you join me instead?"
Even though Kaldur knew there had to be a catch, the prospect of this being the last time was beautiful.
"No, I won't continue your grudges."
"Oh, but you'll do that for Lawrence? Everyone knows about his feud with LaRusso. What makes mine different?"
Kaldur looked shocked. "What makes yours different are the depths of depravity you are willing to wallow in to accomplish your goals. No one was hurt by what we did."
The man's expression turned frustrated. "It is fighting. Someone's always going to get hurt."
"Not to the point you want." Kaldur countered. "I do not fight dirty."
His father looked ready to explode, then to Kaldur's further concern, he calmed. A smile spread over his face.
"No, Kaldur, you never were willing to do the necessary things for success. I on the other hand…" he snapped his fingers.
When he did, people emerged from around them. Kaldur got ready for a fight, but it did not start. He suspiciously looked at his father.
"I don't need to go after you this time." He told him.
"Those other members of the dojo-you seem to be close. It would be terrible if anything were to happen to them. Even your Sensei could not deal with us and I would just loathe the idea of you feeling their fates were your fault." The man paused. "I know what you are thinking and no, I am not going to use this to force you to join me. Threatening you into it would only make you unable to do your best and I would still lose in the end." He went up to Kaldur and glared at him. "No, I will not do that, but I understand some unsavory rumors are starting about me." He grinned again. "I hope you are a good actor."