CHAPTER 3

Kreese's perspective

War. That's what this was. A full-blown war between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do. And in war, there are always casualties. Families are pitted against each other. Soldiers are injured. But as long as their side comes out on top, that is all that matters. Kreese knew he had the upper hand in this battle though. He had two more ruthless Cobra Kai senseis who would be arriving in the next couple of days, and Robby had promised him a lot of new hardened recruits. Oh, Robby. Kreese loved that student. He was more of a soldier than anyone he had seen in Vietnam. More of a Cobra than anyone he had ever taught. Johnny had come close, but he didn't have the killer instinct that Robby did. All of his Cobras now had that killer instinct. Robby, Tory, even Kyler was starting to develop it. After losing twice to Diaz, Kyler had finally gotten rid of any last hesitation, and he had dived right in with the Cobras. Their side of the battle was complete. It was now up to Miyagi Do to step up in time for the tournament…

Later that day, Cobra Kai training had begun, and Robby's recruits had arrived. Kreese had to say, he was impressed. Robby had really outdone himself this time, in a good way. These recruits were merciless, vicious, everything Kreese wanted in a Cobra. Leading the pack of former juvenile detention teenagers, next to Robby, was a colossal 18 year old named Shawn. He was 6'9, an absolute tank, with enormous muscles. Kreese saw a lot of potential in him, the same potential that his Army Captain had seen in him when Kreese was recruited to special ops in 'Nam. With the right training, Shawn could potentially rival Robby in fighting for the All Valley Championship. In fact, Kreese had four students whose only limit was the sky, and had the potential to be champions: Robby, Tory, Shawn and Kyler.

"There are two parts to the Cobra strike." Kreese instructed his new students and his old students later that day. "The lunge, and the bi…"

Kreese never got to finish his sentence because suddenly, the door to Cobra Kai swung open and in stepped two adults that Kreese never thought he'd see again in his lifetime. Kreese smiled his traditional evil grin and walked over to them. The teenagers were all confused. The adults were both decked in Cobra Kai gis, but not student ones - they were dressed like senseis. But who dared to step up to Kreese and take over as sensei?

"Cobras…" Kreese announced, as all of his soldiers stood at attention as stared at the men, confused. "I'd like to introduce you to your new senseis: Sensei Silver, and Sensei Barnes…"

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Miguel's Perspective

Over the next couple of weeks, Kreese's Cobra Kai was quiet. Too quiet. The Miyagi-Dos could tell the Cobras were up to something, but they didn't know what. After all, they rarely saw the Cobras at all - with Robby and Tory expelled from West Valley, Kyler was the only Cobra Kai leader who was in school, and even he knew better than to pick a fight against Sam, Miguel, Hawk, Demitri, Chris, Mitch and all of then others. He would be severely outnumbered and outmatched, even though Miguel was far from firing on all cylinders.

Miguel's training was going decently well. Over and above the group training sessions, Miguel was being given private 1 on 1 sessions with Johnny and with Daniel. Sure this seemed like a good thing on paper - being privately trained by two of the best senseis in the valley was an enviable position for any Karate student in the Valley - but it wasn't. Miguel felt like he was being pulled in two different directions - the Eagle-Fang karate methods and the Miyagi-Do methods. Of course, Miguel's loyalties lay with Johnny, but Daniel's methods had their moments too. He felt like the rivalry between Daniel and Johnny was far from over, but had just been moved underground. He just hoped he wouldn't be pulled so far apart that he would begin to undo.

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"Look at them. Looking all smug like they've already won the fight." Miguel muttered to Hawk, glancing across the field at some of the Cobra Kais as they waited for gym class to start. Miguel, Hawk, Sam, Demitri, Chris and Mitch were all in the same gym class, as well as Kyler, Brucks and a couple of other Cobras that had clearly joined after Miguel left as he didn't recognise them from anywhere other than the fight when they broke into Sam's house.

"Well, they're about to be real disappointed then 'cause there's no way in hell they're winning the All Valley." Hawk replied as he laced up his cleats. "How's your back by the way? You ready to throw down yet? I need a sparring partner! I'm tired of beating up Bert!"

Miguel laughed.

"Soon, man. Soon. Sensei Lawrence and Sensei Larusso have been putting a lot of work into me so I just hope to God I can compete after all. I'm like 50% right now but I know I can do a lot better."

"Why do you train so much with Sensei Larusso?" Hawk asked. "I mean I know he's your girlfriend's dad, but his methods are so pussy! I mean all this defense, no offense crap is fine to an extent, but when someone challenges you to a fight and there's no escaping it, you can't just wait for them to throw the first punch!"

"I agree with you, buddy, and that's why I also have Sensei Lawrence in my corner. Sensei Lawrence might be my mentor, but it would be stupid to have Sensei Larusso available and not take advantage. He did win the All-Valley. Twice. Oh, and he also brought a student to the All-Valley final last year, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, clearly he was an amazing role model. We all know how his student turned out." Hawk growled, clenching his jaw. He still absolutely loathed Robby for what he did to Miguel, more so than even Miguel did. Miguel knew that despite what had happened with Robby before and after the school fight, the kick over the railing had been accidental. Or at least he hoped it was.

"Dude, come on. Robby's just one. There are others. Demitri. Chris. Sam."

"Look, all I'm saying is don't trust him too much." Hawk said. "The man absolutely hates Sensei Lawrence and he's already proven that he'd do anything and everything to take him down. Who knows what he's gonna do now to gain control over Johnny and Kreese, the two people he hates most in the world?"

"Whatever dude. I'll keep it in mind." Miguel chuckled, shrugging off Hawk's warnings. Moments later, they had tied their laces and walked over to the bench of the field, where Sam, Chris, Mitch and Demitri were sitting, glaring at the cocky, overconfident Cobras.

"Look at them. Someone needs to take them down a peg." Sam grumbled. Hawk smirked.

"Funny, Miguel and I were just saying the same thing." Hawk said. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"We were?" Miguel asked. "I just said that they're assholes. I'm not strong enough yet to fight back."

"Are you sure? Because last I checked Robby and Tory aren't here, and you've beaten Kyler in a fight so many times. Besides, we can't fight them. Counselor Blatt will butt in."

"Oh, yeah. Her." Demitri spat, his voice dripping with disdain. He HATED Counselor Blatt.

"So what are we doing?" Miguel asked.

"Well, we could play a dirty, illegal game of soccer like we did last time." Hawk suggested.

"Yeah, and as I recall, that worked out sooooooo well for us last time." Sam remarked, sarcastically, thinking about her storm out from last time.

"True, but last time you guys weren't careful. You idiots straight up kicked us, with the ball nowhere near us. We made our hits a lot more discreet. Why do you think we got off scot-free while you guys were stuck eating shit?" Hawk stated.

"So what do we do?" Chris asked.

"Well, we could 'accidentally' kick the ball straight at them. We could trip them up and twist their ankles as they challenge for the ball. Chris, you as the goalie could come out to punch the ball and 'accidentally' punch the attackers in the head."

"This doesn't seem like a good idea, Hawk. I mean, as proven by last time, none of us are remotely good at soccer."

"Yeah, and last time you didn't have El Serpiente and The Hawk." Hawk declared, confidently. Miguel groaned.

"Could you please stop calling me that? I'm not a Cobra Kai anymore. My name is Miguel."

"Negative, El Serpiente." Hawk grinned. Miguel rolled his eyes and Mitch turned to him.

"Miguel, you're good at soccer?" He asked. Miguel chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm Ecuadorian, bud. Football is less of a sport, more of a religion down there." Miguel replied, as he expertly kicked up a soccer ball and started doing keepy ups with Hawk.

"So, are we doing this?" Sam asked, looking at Miguel for confirmation. Although Miguel didn't want to admit it, he had been made the unofficial leader of the group. They all often looked at him for guidance and affirmation. As Miguel looked over at a hollering Kyler, he clenched his jaw.

"Let's do it…"

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15 minutes later…

"Well that was a bad idea." Miguel remarked as they stood outside the Principal's office 15 minutes later. As could be expected, their 'soccer game' had escalated into almost another brawl, but before it could happen, they were all separated and sent to the Principal's office. Although Miguel and Hawk were skilled enough at soccer to not use illegal tactics so would probably not be punished, the others, as well as the Cobra Kais, did not do the same. They were practically throwing punches and kicks at each other when the game was stopped. Moments later, Counselor Blatt stepped out of her office, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Counselor Blatt…" Miguel said, stepping forward before she could say anything. "I just want to say I take responsibility for my friends' part in the game."

Miguel's friends all looked at him, perplexed. Miguel knew that his record was the cleanest out of all of them, and he often got special treatment due to his injury in the school fight, so if anyone were to take the blame, it should be him. Miguel could see Hawk about to step forward and take the blame alongside him, but Miguel discreetly elbowed him in the ribs and stepped on his foot to shut him up.

"I'll take whatever punishment you're dishing out to them. My idea, my problem, my responsibility. And I think that Kyler, their leader, should do the same." Miguel finished, smirking and winking at a furious Kyler. Counsellor Blatt nodded.

"Okay. Miguel, Kyler, my office. The rest of you can go." Counsellor Blatt stated. Kyler glared at Miguel, and Miguel nodded at his grateful-looking friends, before walking into the office. Kyler and Miguel sat side-by-side, their rivalry temporarily forgotten, as they awaited their fate.

"So, how many weeks of detention?" Kyler suddenly asked, rather rudely. Miguel looked at him, and then looked at Counselor Blatt for the answer. She shook her head.

"No. You and your friends have all had rehabilitative detentions and suspensions before. Clearly they haven't done any good. So we're switching up our tactic."

"You could let us go?" Miguel suggested.

"Yeah, you could let us go." Kyler grinned. Counsellor Blatt chuckled.

"Ha. It's not that easy." She remarked. "No. Detention has not been working for you guys, and we believe that it is because you both have a lack of discipline."

"I mean, we both do Karate religiously. That takes discipline." Miguel stated, calmly and politely. Kyler nodded at him.

"I know you both do Karate, and that may well be the problem." Counsellor Blatt said. "I was at the town hall to petition for my new Hugs Not Hits initiative to be used Valley-wide and right before me was the hearing for the All-Valley Karate Tournament. I watched as your teachers…"

"Senseis." Kyler interrupted. "They're called senseis."

Counsellor Blatt blushed and rolled her eyes, and Miguel glared at him. Seriously? Now was not the time.

"Yeah. I saw your 'senseis' and I realised that the school fight and all of the ensuing chaos was not your fault. You all have spent so much time with bad influences that it has rubbed off on you."

"Hey! Sensei Lawrence is NOT a bad influence!" Miguel snapped, indignantly. Counsellor Blatt sighed, sympathy in her eyes.

"I know you might think that, but trust me, this school has your best interests at heart and we now have decided that rather than punishing you, we are going to grant you the opportunity to take part in one co-curricular activity. It would be good for you both to spend time training and working alongside some good influences for a chance."

Miguel and Kyler looked at each other and shrugged. That wasn't too bad at all.

"Okay, that's fine. I'll just join the soccer team." Miguel said.

"Yeah, and I'll rejoin the wrestling team." Kyler added. The two boys started to stand up but Counselor Blatt shook her head.

"Sit down." She snapped. The two guys reluctantly sat back down in their seats. "It is nearly February. All sports teams are in the middle of their respective season. You can't join a team now."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Miguel asked, cautiously. Counsellor Blatt took out a brochure from her desk and handed it to Miguel and Kyler. They looked at it and their eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, you have got to be joking!" Miguel exclaimed. "The Lion King school play?!"

"Counsellor Blatt! There's gotta be another way. We'll do the time we would spend in the play in detention instead! Please! Don't make us do this!" Kyler begged. Counsellor Blatt shook her head.

"I'm sorry, boys. This is not the first time you both have been involved in fights. Maybe this will teach you to sort out your problems with hands, rather than your fists…"

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"What the hell, 'Rhea?! This is all your fault!" Kyler shouted as him and Miguel walked out of the office in defeat moments later.

"So sue me." Miguel declared as he walked down the corridor and away from Kyler. Kyler wasn't done though. He ran after Miguel and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Miguel immediately spun around, his arms raised, ready to fight.

"Really? You want to fight me? You want to go 0 for 3?" Miguel growled. Kyler chuckled.

"Not yet, 'Rhea. Not yet." Kyler stated cryptically, in a tone not too dissimilar to Kreese.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miguel snapped. Kyler smirked at him evilly.

"I just wanted to give you a heads up." Kyler said. "One of our troops put you in the hospital last time but you woke up. This time, when the fight finally comes, you're not going to. Whether it be Robby, or Tory, or me, or Shawn…"

"Who's Shawn?" Miguel asked, confused, interrupting Kyler. Kyler raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Oh, you don't know Shawn? Trust me, you're going to get to know him soon." Kyler snarled. "We're going to kill you, 'Rhea." He growled. "We're going to kill you and there's nothing you, your family, your friends or your senseis can do about it."

With that, Kyler turned and started walking away from Miguel. Miguel smirked and spread his arms wide.

"You know where to find me!" Miguel called after him, before turning and walking away himself…

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"There he is! Barbra Streisand in the flesh!" Johnny laughed as Miguel walked into the Miyagi-Do dojo later that day. Miguel glared at him and threw his backpack onto the ground.

"Shut up!" Miguel snapped. "I don't want to do this! Those idiots somehow believe that standing there, not saying a word, not moving, acting as a background tree is more beneficial than Karate!"

"Wait, you're a tree?!" Hawk exclaimed, gleefully. Miguel sighed and nodded.

"You sure you don't want to take my place? I broke my back last year!" Miguel exclaimed.

"And that is relevant how?" Hawk remarked. "How long are you going to be milking that injury?"

"For as long as I have to be a fucking tree in the Lion King." Miguel snapped. "Come on? Demitri?"

"Sorry, bud." Demitri laughed.

"Mitch?" Miguel pleaded.

"There isn't enough money in the world that would convince me to do that." Mitch replied.

"Sam?" Miguel begged. Sam shook her head and laughed.

"Sorry, Miguel. I really like you, but I don't like you that much." She replied. He groaned and accepted his fate. He was going to have his time waste for around 6 hours a week standing around like a lemon when he could be training for the All-Valley.

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Later that night, as Miguel sat on his computer working, he finally started to re-think about the events of the afternoon. He remembered what Kyler had said…

Whether it be Robby, or Tory, or me, or Shawn…

Who in God's name was Shawn? From the way Kyler said his name, and because Kyler had said his name in the same sentence as Robby and Tory, he clearly was a threat. However, Miguel had no idea who he was and he didn't like that at all. He didn't like being in the dark about a potential threat to him and his friends. Miguel quickly went onto instagram and searched all of his followers for a Shawn. Nothing. Then he searched Kyler's followers. Nothing. Finally, Miguel had an idea. He found Robby's profile after a lot of searching and scrolled through all of his posts. There weren't many so it was pretty easy. Miguel eventually found a post that Robby had taken a week or so ago. It was captioned 'The Boys are Back Together', and the picture was of Robby and three massive behemoths in Cobra Kai gis. Miguel had a sinking feeling as he clicked on the image to see the profiles tagged. He felt like he knew what he was about to see but he hoped to God he was wrong. He wasn't. He was absolutely right. Standing in the middle of the group, a 6'9, 300 pound giant, was a man named ShawnTheKiller. Miguel put his head in his hands as he stared at the picture of the mountain of a man. This was not good. Not good at all…