The guys did not sleep well that evening. Kaldur had to stay in the hospital, but fortunately the doctors said he would be alright.
"If you didn't bring him in when you did, it could have been much worse," one said.
"How much worse?"
"It's possible paralysis could have been caused."
That was all Johnny remembered of the conversation. His head felt like it was spinning and it throbbed badly. That part of what the doctor had said shook him to his core.
"Was David really trying to paralyze him?" he wondered. "He said Kaldur wouldn't be in the tournament, but was he going to take it this far? I guess I shouldn't even be wondering that. We're in a hospital all because Kaldur wouldn't fight the way he wanted him to."
Johnny found himself wondering about payment for the bills, but when he asked how much everything would cost, he got a surprise.
"It's already been paid for, Mr. Lawrence."
"Was it a man with a goatee?"
"No, he was clean shaven."
Johnny frowned. "I forgot he apparently has lackeys. He could have just sent one of them in his place."
The sensei could not grasp what would possess David to behave the way he had. The rest of the night went by like a whirlwind. He got Miguel back home to his mom and abuela, but he returned to the hospital. Robby went with him. He had been given the option of staying at home, but the young man could not fathom just leaving his friend. No one else was there. If something happened–as horrible as that thought was–he did not want his friend to be completely alone. Morning came and Kaldur started to open his eyes. It hurt and he could tell they were swollen. Everything ached, but it was a relief to be able to open his eyes and see. He thought of an opponent of his father's whose sight had been lost after their battle. He supposed he should be grateful for his luck. Kaldur tried to take as many sights as he could without moving his head. In some chairs, he saw Johnny and Robby.
"They're still here?"
He wanted to thank them, but his voice was so hoarse that he was barely audible. Consequently, he rested his eyes again until he heard them getting up.
"You're up," Robby commented, relieved.
"Thanks for staying," Kaldur managed to say, through sheer determination.
"Thought we'd give you some company," Johnny told him.
Kaldur tried to clear his throat. "You both have places to be." He paused, grunting a bit in pain. "I can see you later."
The two seemed reluctant, but Kaldur's certainty eased their worries a bit. He was right. Robby had to go to work and Johnny needed to take care of some things regarding the dojo.
"I'll be back," the father said, before leaving with his son.
The ride back home was quiet and they both got ready for the day. The ride to Robby's job was almost as quiet and would have been if not for Robby.
"Thanks," he said.
Johnny turned to him, surprised. "For what?"
Robby looked almost embarrassed. "You're into karate too and tournaments, so thanks for never being as intense with it and me like Hyde is with Kaldur."
"I couldn't," Johnny told him. "I know I've been a pretty lousy dad in the past, but I couldn't imagine ever doing something like that. No matter what, you're my son. I couldn't attack someone I loved."
"Love you too, Dad."
Johnny gave him a smile that faded as his thoughts wandered back to the hospital. After the help Kaldur had given them both with their relationship, they had been completely clueless as to his own familial relationships. Johnny kept wondering if there were signs that he had missed and felt there were many. He dropped Robby off and went to Cobra Kai. He hit hand against the dashboard.
"I even brought Hyde into the dojo as a sensei," he scolded himself. "Every time he showed up, Kaldur started acting differently. It shouldn't have taken a genius to figure out something was wrong."
Sighing, he pulled up to the dojo. He unlocked the door and went inside. Johnny just wanted to clear his head for a moment. He heard someone entering and brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose, not really feeling like talking to Kreese. He did not have to. That was not the identity of the visitor. Normally, Kreese would say something when he came in. Noticing too much silence, Johnny looked around and felt temporarily blinded by rage.
"Get out," he hissed. "Get out!"
David stood by the entrance. He seemed different from the previous night but also different from the David that Johnny had grown accustomed to seeing. His eyes looked tired as though he had not slept at all.
"How's he doing?" he asked.
Johnny glared at him. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here and asking how he's recovering from the injuries you gave him."
"But is he alright?"
"Hardly. You almost paralyzed him," Johnny spat. "You're twisted, you know that? All this over a stupid tournament."
"It's more than a tournament. It's about avenging a death."
"So, to avenge your father, you'd kill your son? If there's logic in that, I can't see it."
David stopped and glanced downwards, not meeting Johnny's eyes for the first time ever. As Johnny thought of it, he had been keeping his eyes from locking with his for their entire conversation.
"Why'd you pay for the hospital bills?"
"I want him to get better."
"Then, why'd you attack him?"
"I just-I had to make him see..." He trailed off.
In the moment, it all made sense to him. Looking back, it suddenly did not seem like such a reasonable course of action.
"You didn't sleep afterwards, did you?"
David hesitated, giving Johnny his answer.
"If you haven't guessed, you're not welcome here anymore," Johnny told him.
David started to leave, appearing defeated.
"Get some help," Johnny called after him. "If any of you cares at all about Kaldur, go to therapy, get better, and make it up to him. Like this, you're only going to hurt him more. If we hadn't been there last night, who knows what would have happened. It might not even have ended in paralysis."
At his implication, David's eyes widened. "I'd never kill him."
"You say that now that you aren't angry, but enraged, I saw you. He was almost lifeless and you didn't stop attacking. Nothing was going to stop you. Even him dying might not have made you calm down."
David seemed like he wanted to protest, but he also looked horrified.
"We got lucky that we were in the area. Next time, we might not be. Don't let there be a next time," Johnny said.
The other sensei dejectedly left and Johnny finally had his moment to think. As David was leaving, he was noticed by Kreese.
"What's wrong, David?" he asked.
"Something happened with Kaldur last night," he said quietly. "In short, we have had our last days training the students together."
"Don't let Johnny confuse you," Kreese said. "He doesn't have it in him to make the hard choices sometimes. When it comes to strengthening your students, nothing is out of the question."
"I am not sure if I believe that anymore," David admitted. "I put him in the hospital."
"He will be better for it. Resilience is what we all need."
David regarded the older man with furrowed brows. Not saying much else, he bid farewell to Kreese and left the area. He needed to think. What was done was done, so he could not change that. He needed to decide what he would do going forward. That night, the other students came back to Cobra Kai. They could not ignore how different it felt. Aisha went over to Miguel and Robby–both of whom looked completely depressed.
"What happened?" she asked. "You and Sensei seem like someone died." Her eyes started to widen. "Where's Kaldur?"
Before either could respond, Johnny went before the class. He took a breath and began.
"From this point on, it'll just be Sensei Kreese and me who are your instructors."
There was some muttering, but Johnny did not even have it in him to yell at them to be quiet.
"Why is Sensei Hyde not coming back?" someone inquired.
"It's just a temporary situation," Kreese stated, prompting Johnny to regard him in surprise.
"He's not getting back in this dojo," Johnny told him.
Kreese stayed calm. "Let's not make such hasty decisions. When you think about it more, you'll see that he is good for this dojo."
"No one who did what he did is good for Cobra Kai."
Johnny's voice was starting to raise, but it was not yet a yell. He could hardly believe his ears.
"We need to talk," he said, storming into the back room.
Kreese followed him and Johnny closed the door. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, too angry for words. So, Kreese started.
"You are wondering why I don't appear disappointed in David's actions."
"You don't know what he did."
"He told me the result, but I will admit I don't know the details."
Johnny blandly blinked at him. "You know that Kaldur's in the hospital right now? David could have killed him last night…and you still are fine with him being here with our students? You'd endanger Kaldur and all these other kids?!" Johnny glared at him, then stopped. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You never went as far as he did, but maybe you would have."
"If it's for the betterment of the dojo, that's what you should concern yourself with."
Johnny marched past him and back out to the students. "Forget what I just said, class. I'm going to be your only Sensei again."
This caused even more talking, but the man had regained his fire.
"Quiet!" he shouted, making them all listen. "Cobra Kai used to be a place where students became strong, but it was also a place where the senseis would abuse their power. I'm not letting that last part happen again. No sensei who would put a tournament over you all will stay here; and if any of you would prefer to be tossed aside as soon as your use is gone, you can leave too because that's not how I'm running this dojo. It's mine now and these are my rules." He pointed to the exit. "Door's right there if you don't want to be part of this."
Glaring, Kreese went towards the door. "You'll realize you need me," he said.
As he left, several of the students left with him. One looked between him and the others. Hawk's eyes kept shifting to the groups and he went over to Miguel.
"What really happened?" he asked quietly. "This couldn't have been over some argument."
Eyes still sad, Miguel answered, "Sensei Hyde put Kaldur in the hospital last night. From the sounds of this, Sensei Kreese thinks what he did was right."
When he met his fellow student's eyes, Miguel saw that Hawk was shocked.
"Hawk," a voice called to him. It belonged to Kreese.
Hawk turned behind him after a moment. Kreese had a harsh glare and his eyes were cold. For the first time, Hawk saw him. He was not someone who truly cared about any of them. He just wanted to win and if the students could ensure him that success, then they mattered.
"Hawk," Kreese repeated.
The teenager turned to Kreese, but he stayed next to Miguel.
"I see you've made your decision," Kreese told him, coldly. "You'll all learn to change your mind when you realize you want to win."
He left with the small group and when he did, Miguel turned to Hawk.
"I didn't expect you to stick with us," he admitted.
Hawk glanced downwards. "Kreese wasn't who I thought he was."
Aisha gave him an understanding smile. "Glad to have you back, Hawk."
This made the boy grin and Miguel clapped a hand on his back. It felt like so long since their group had been back together. He just wished it could have been under better circumstances. As this was going on, David was in the hospital parking lot. He kept looking at the building from his car. He wondered if his description had been given to the authorities. He also wondered how Kaldur was doing. The sensei wanted more than anything to go in there and make sure he was alright. Still, he did not trust himself. David put his head in his hand and grunted.
"Was it worth it?" he mumbled to himself. "A tournament–an idiotic sensei–over his life."
He looked back up at the hospital. Then, David got on his phone to do some research. He stayed on it for a short while before making a call.
"Hello," he greeted, glancing again at the building's doors. "My name is David Hyde. I was hoping I could meet with Dr. Dinah Lance for a session. She's available tomorrow at 6? Yes, I would like to meet with her then. Thank you. Good bye."
He sighed and leaned back in the seat. It would be something new for him, but if it meant he would not be a danger to Kaldur's life, maybe this really was worth it.