School. You spend almost everyday of your youth in a building, hoping educators will inform you of supposedly beneficial subjects. It is good if you use what they learn, if they teach you well, and if you survive long enough. Kaldur had never realized how conditional those things were before this point. He used to not mind school. Sure, some people could be cruel, but that was life, some lessons were better to learn for yourself than trust the source, but again, life. What was bothering Kaldur was how completely futile it could all be, depending on what happened with his father. One wrong move and the grave would prove an unsuitable place for calculus. One wrong action and he would be using what he learned in Psychology to try to deescalate prison brawls.

A noise brought Kaldur out of these thoughts and he realized he had been walking to his next class in almost a stupor. Turning, he saw Hawk and some other students. They were some of Kyler's friends and they were looking as antagonistic as always. The only thing different was Hawk. As the insults were spewed out, they seemed to be gasoline for the fire burning inside of him. Kaldur could tell it would not be as easy to stop him as it was last time. At least then, it was against a friend and not old foes. Even after the showcase, the group only saw Hawk as that nerd they would bully. Kaldur went up to them and saw their demeanors change as he approached.

"We will be late if we engage." he told Hawk.

"I don't know about that, Kal." Hawk responded, stepping closer to them. "I bet we'd still make it in time."

"They are not worth the repercussions of fighting."

Kaldur kept himself between the group and Hawk. If anyone did something, he could counter it in a way that did not lead to a bigger fight. After several more moments of glaring, Hawk moved away. "You're right. When we do this, it'll be better if there's nothing holding us back like stupid school policies." His voice turned sinister. "When I'm done with you, they won't even be able to tell who I fought."

The other guys stood their ground, but Kaldur could see Hawk's confidence surprised them more than they wanted to show.

"Great. Something else to worry about." Kaldur mused on their way to class.

After class, his mind was no clearer. Luckily, it was a light day at the store. He unpacked some boxes and Robby started to notice his silence.

"Kal, is something going on?" he eventually asked.

Robby had felt a bit in his own world lately what with the showcase preparation and getting to know his father. Nevertheless, he still considered Kaldur his friend. Probably his only real one at that, though the others at the dojo seemed cool for the most part. It took Kaldur a second to answer and that did little to ease Robby's concerns.

"I apologize for seeming strange." Kaldur told him, eyes glued to the computer he had taken out of its packaging. "I have just been distracted today. It will not affect training."

"You don't have to be sorry." Robby said, taken off guard by the sudden sadness he heard. "I'm just wondering what's going on. Seems like you've been a big part of helping my life get less crazy, so maybe I can return the favor?"

Robby felt as unsure as he sounded. He really was not the type to offer advice, but he felt he owed Kaldur that. What would he have been doing otherwise? Getting forced to steal more computers, being consumed by hatred over Johnny? It seemed to him a minimum of one of those outcomes would have been the case. So, if something was going on with Kaldur that he could help with, he would. Kaldur looked up from the computer to meet Robby's gaze. For a second, the taller boy wondered what would happen if he told him. Maybe his nerves would go away, but there was that condition again. He knew by then that conditions were not things to live by, only what was certain. So, that second ended and Kaldur gave a winning smile.

"Thank you, Robby, but I am fine. Miguel and I have some upcoming tests. I suppose they could be bothering me more than I realized."

Though not completely believing him, Robby wished him luck on them. They left work together to go to the dojo. Kaldur subtly kept an eye on their surroundings. His dad already knew where he worked and that he was part of the dojo, so he decided it was useless to try to avoid Robby and the others. Clearly, he was a few steps behind, so he just needed for that to change. There were a couple more students at the dojo this time. As hoped for, the showcase popularized Cobra Kai and many wanted to enroll. Johnny looked thrilled at the new recruits and the weak were quickly weeded out as his style of teaching was shown. Of those who stayed, the longest members had to admit they had earned their respect. Then, the training came to an end. The others trickled out and Kaldur watched as his friends started to leave. He wanted to go too, but he knew he had to stay a little longer. All he needed was for them all to go. Miguel and Robby would be the issues. Robby seemed to want to stay longer and of all the nights to be willing to have a ride, he finally was. It was bad enough that Kaldur could not think of a good excuse to get Miguel away from the dojo, but two of them were not helping matters. He glanced outside and saw the darkness. Like it or not, and it was certainly a not, it was time.

"Thank you for the lesson, Sensei." he said, bowing.

Johnny returned the bow and smiled, too excited to have both his "sons" to notice the trepidation. This only hurt Kaldur more. They looked like a family, and he hated to be the one to mess up this moment; however, this was undoubtedly the best way for it to go. Kaldur exited the building and not two seconds had gone by before he knew eyes were on him. As he stepped forward, they watched every move. One by one, the people appeared. Kaldur quickly counted six, but he knew roughly five more were hidden just out of sight in case they were needed. They started to surround him and he got ready to fight. Two were in front of him on the sides, two to his left at a diagonal behind him, and the last two were behind him on the right side. At once, they lunged. Kaldur managed to slip between some and grab onto one arm, flinging the person into one of his allies. Unlike usual, they were not quiet. Each attack was accented with a vocal noise that promptly caught the attention of those in the dojo. Kaldur could not keep from tensing as he saw Johnny and his friends witness what was happening. Quickly, they joined him and began fighting off the group. Kaldur held back during the battle, letting himself receive several punches he knew he would regret later. The attackers were good enough fighters that it was simple to pretend they had gotten the upper hand and that was good. He had to make it look real. If he did not, the whole point would have been missed. A slow dodge here and there, supposedly getting backed into a corner, and he had his convincing injuries.

The six opponents were taken down by Robby and Miguel each taking one and Johnny and Kaldur both fighting two. Kaldur kept an eye out for the other five, but they never came. The six left in worse shape than they arrived and their target would have been lying if he told anybody it did not bring a smile to his face.

"Are you three all right?" he asked, looking at each ally of his to make sure they were fine.

They all confirmed they were. Apparently, Kaldur had not been the only fighter there holding back his full potential. Johnny pointed after where they had gone.

"Were they the ones who attacked you last time?"

Kaldur nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what they want, but they have been following me around for a while. I thought that I had gotten away from them by coming here, but I guess I was wrong. It seems like I will never be left alone." With all lies, an element of truth sold this the most. Simply by replacing them in his mind with the true culprit, Kaldur was able to be sincere. "I am sorry for bringing them your way."

"I don't want to hear any of that crap." Johnny told him, frowning. "If those jerks have been coming after you, I'm glad they got a taste of their own medicine here. It's easy to go after someone who's alone."

Miguel and Robby backed him up on this. Kaldur was a little surprised by how quickly they had come to his aid. They acted without a moment's hesitation. That scared him. Who else would they fight if they thought it meant it would help him? Johnny saw the expression there and so did the other recruits.

"If they come back, just let us know." Miguel told him. "You don't have to fight them alone."

Kaldur gave an appreciative smile. Johnny offered him a ride as well that he wanted to decline for fear of who might be waiting for them at his home. Despite this, it was clear neither Johnny nor his other friends were going to take no as an answer. He was getting a ride if he had to be strapped to the seat. Though the worry balled itself into a clump that remained in his stomach for the duration of the trip, Kaldur was grateful. He was even more grateful to see that when they reached his place, they were the only ones there. The boy thanked the three for everything and got out the car. He went inside and let out a sigh, but the breath got caught in his chest. Slowly turning, he saw his father relaxing in a chair. His head was against the rest and his eyes were closed.

"You did well." he said, keeping his eyes closed. "Keep this up and they will be safe."

If Kaldur had known him less, he would have tried to strangle him or at least knock him out while his eyes were shut. He knew him, though, and knew how stupid an action that would be for him to take. Waiting long enough to make his point, his father got out of the chair and walked past Kaldur, stopping at the door.

"We'll be on the same side one way or another, Son."

Kaldur ate nothing that night. The visit had successfully ruined his appetite. Still, he felt better the next day than he had that one. When it was time to go to the dojo, even more students had come to enroll. It looked like almost everyone from the high school had come. There was another narrowing down process that ensued, but more stayed this time. Once the training came to an end, the students began to go, walking past a man who entered. Johnny's back was turned as he collected his keys.

"We're closed, pal. If you want to enroll somebody, we can talk, but otherwise you'll have to come back tomorrow."

"What if I wanted to apply for a sensei job?"

Johnny spun around at the sound of the voice and his eyes narrowed when he saw the older man standing in front of him.

"Kreese." he seethed.

Kreese smiled. "You sound so upset, and yet, you did all this to invite me back. There's no reason to not be civil. I just want to talk. That's not too much even for a busy man like yourself."