The next day, they packed their bags and left the hostel. Hawk hit up the bank to take out enough money that his parents wouldn't be able to track his transactions on his debit card for a while. They were going true incognito.

Hawk then suggested they hitchhike their way to the Gulf "for the experience," but Miguel knew that was just asking to get them both serial-murdered, especially if they were carrying a few hundred in cash on them. And besides, the whole point was to minimize danger from now on.

So they instead purchased two bus tickets to Tecolutla.

They sat in the very back of the bus, Miguel taking the window seat while Hawk huddled up beside him. Five hours was going to be some serious time to kill. Miguel managed to make his bag of chips last him the first hour while he watched the bus leave the outskirts of Mexico City behind them.

A familiar sense of dissociation had him free-floating. It had been the same when he went on his journey from the Valley to south of the border. That familiar out-of-body experience that had him watching himself from the outside as he made decisions that would drastically alter his life. Here he was, doing it all over again. It was at the risk of becoming a habit.

"Can I ask a question?"

Miguel lifted his head from where it had been resting against the cool glass of the window, turning to glance at Hawk. "What's that?"

"The reason you came down here to find your dad, is it because of what Sensei Lawrence did at the Tournament?" asked Hawk, his face serious. "Y'know, pressuring you to keep fighting despite blowing out your back?"

Sinking some into his seat, Miguel wrapped his arms across his chest. "Yeah." Of course it wouldn't take Hawk long to start putting the puzzle together now that he'd supplied him with some of the pieces.

Miguel thought about leaving it there, especially when, after a long silence on his part, Hawk returned his attention to picking at his fingernails. Miguel knew if he kept going, it would get even more personal. Including the possibility of revealing some personal information Sensei Lawrence had told him, stuff that probably wasn't meant for Hawk's ears.

But Tecolutla was still over three hours away. And Miguel wanted to start swimming out of the dark ocean he'd been sinking in before going swimming in the real thing. He wanted to talk.

Talking about it was helping.

So Miguel continued. "It was more than that, though. When Sensei and my mom started dating, things got weird. Like, really weird. And not just because of, well, y'know. Sensei was trying to be like a real dad, and it was just weird. Then he opened up to me about all these things. He didn't have a dad growing up, either, and he put all that on Robby, which is why things between them are so messed up."

"No surprise there," Hawk remarked, looking back up at him. "Remember, the whole reason we figured out Robby was his kid in the first place was that I did that deep-dive online and read about his missing child-support payments. Sensei Lawrence didn't even tell us that himself."

"Well, he told me he felt he couldn't ever fix things with Robby," explained Miguel. Something had started thickening in his throat as he found himself admitting, "And you know what? There…There was a part of me that was glad to hear him say that. After what Robby did to me, after what he did to you, I thought maybe Sensei had finally given up on him."

His heart stung saying that, like claws had just raked themselves across it, leaving it gored. Guilt. Shame. Envy. He knew these were unkind thoughts to have, but he'd still had them regardless. And the only person on the planet who wouldn't judge him for having them was Hawk.

One look at Eli's face confirmed it. There was some confusion, but no judgment to be found. "And it sounds like he didn't, huh?"

Miguel's eyes dropped to his knees. "No," he muttered. "And I guess I realized, there must be something that makes a dad care about his son, no matter what he does. Maybe it's just part of being a dad." Miguel paused, raising his eyes at Hawk again. He hoped he didn't sound completely crazy. "I mean, it's the same with your dad, too, right?"

"Yeah, but my dad doesn't suck," retorted Hawk bluntly. "Why would you even want a deadbeat dad like Sensei Lawrence?"

I love you.

I love you, too, Robby.

Miguel's bottom lip began to tremble, thinking back to that night after the prom. He pressed his mouth in a hard line, trying to keep his jaw from quivering, but that only made it worse.

An elbow nudged him. "Hey," said Hawk. "Earlier you said you wanted to hear about my match against Robby, right? You still up for that?"

Miguel titled his head to stare at his friend. Another out. Yeah, a change in topic. Maybe that was a good idea for now.

So Miguel nodded.

Taking that as his cue to continue, Eli went on. "Well, Robby got in the first point. I shouldn't have let him strike first. I was trying to do it how they do things in Miyagi-Do. Wait to be provoked. That was pretty dumb, I guess. Opened myself up for attack. That's when I knew I wouldn't be able to beat him with Miyagi-Do style. Robby knew all that stuff, he'd trained there longer. So that's when Mr. LaRusso told me to go at him with Cobra Kai style. And I did!"

The longer Hawk kept talking, the more excitement crept into his voice, the more his face started to brighten, and now he was smirking. And that had a small smile curling around the edges of Miguel's mouth, too. "I bet Robby didn't see that coming," he remarked, imagining the look on Robby's face when Cobra Kai style was turned against him.

"You bet your ass he didn't!" exclaimed Hawk, rubbing his hands together. "I came at him like a hurricane, and nailed him with this flying kick! After that, holy fuck, I can barely even remember what happened. He tried to go back on offense, but I blocked each of his hits and threw them right back in his face. And then I got him down on the mats and was about to score a second point, but that's when the buzzer hit."

Miguel's brows furrowed. "Wait, with a one-one tie?"

Hawk nodded. "Yeah, we settled it in sudden-death overtime; they haven't had one of those since, like, 1985. And, oh, dude, I wish you could've seen it. I can't even describe it, it was like, I dunno, fighting a mirror or something. He'd come at me, I'd go at him. He's got some mad skills with his kicks, but I got better air. It was just him and me, back and forth with each other. And finally, I was able to knock him down with me to the mats again, and bam! Slammed my heel down on him for the winning point!"

Miguel listened through all of it, completely enthralled, wishing he could have witnessed such an epic fight with his own eyes. The unkind, petty part of him was just glad Robby lost, but an even bigger, more empathetic part of him was happier for what that win meant for Hawk. "That sounds incredible, man," he told Eli, voice firm but his expression softening in sympathy. "And I'm so glad you were able to get back at Robby for what he did to you."

There was still a smile on Hawk's face, but it didn't look so victorious anymore. "Mr. LaRusso told me not to think of it that way. He said the biggest battle is the one within, not the one against Robby."

"Oh." Miguel's brows pinched together again, and he rattled his brain to understand what Mr. LaRusso must have meant by that. Mr. LaRusso was always trying to give them profound advice, so it had to have meant something, though Miguel couldn't imagine what that something was, at the moment. "Um, did that help you?"

Hawk was still staring at him, and yet he wasn't anymore. "He used a straight razor, y'know?"

Miguel frowned. "Huh? Who did?"

Hawk just kept staring right past him, not even through the window, but at absolutely nothing. "Did I ever tell you that? No, I guess I didn't. Robby, when he…." He paused for a second, making a vague gesture to his hair. "He used a straight razor. It…It took him a while. And that whole time, I couldn't even…."

He paused, and now Hawk's nostrils were flaring as his breathing had steadily picked up. Miguel thought he also detected a slight tremor in his shoulders. He wondered whether a comforting touch would be helpful or not because he didn't want Hawk to think he was pitying him. And while his hand twitched, indecisive as to whether it should move, he tried to think of something encouraging to say.

"Hey, no matter what Mr. LaRusso meant by it, I'm still happy you beat Robby in the finals. And I'm sorry I wasn't there to see it happen. You deserved that trophy."

"Deserved, yeah…." Eli blinked, his eyes darting when the bus came to a sudden stop, and he rubbed his brow ridge. "Oh hey, guess it's time for a pit stop. Good timing, I need to hit the bathroom. I could use some candy, too. Hope they got those bomb Pulparindos."

When Hawk stood up, Miguel finally reached out, grabbing his arm, concerned. "Hawk?"

Hawk shrugged. "Huh? You want anything while I'm out there?"

Miguel wanted to tell him, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't there after it happened. There was just so much…. But I'm here now!

But the conversation was over for now, and he knew it. So he released Hawk's arm, sinking back in his seat. "No, thanks," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I'm good."