I DO NOT OWN COBRA KAI OR THE KARATE KID. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF CHILD ABUSE. READER DISCREATION IS ADVISED.
The next day, Ellie arrived at the Larusso home as she had been instructed. Daniel had told her that the next part of her training would take place in nature. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Ellie went out to the backyard and as she looked through the open area, she saw the angel from school. She was sitting near the pool and she was sunbathing. Ellie breathed heavily as she watched this beauty. It was amazing until her head bumped into a set of wind chimes.
"Crap!" Ellie exclaimed as the girl turned to see her.
"Oh, hey." She said.
"Hi." Ellie replied. "Sorry, I was I was looking for Mr. LaRusso. He's been training me in karate."
"Then I should thank you." She stated. "He tried roping me into it."
"Really?" Ellie asked, not sure who this girl was.
"I'm his daughter: Samantha." Sam said, introducing herself.
"Ellie." She said in return as Daniel came out of the pool house.
"Oh, look at this." He said with pride. "My current student and my former student. You know, if you want to join us, Sam, there's still time.
"I'm actually going to the mall with Mom and Grandma." Sam explained.
"Oh, that's good, just text me if there's any bloodshed." Daniel said as he began carrying stuff in his arms. "Ellie, give me a hand with this, we're gonna take the SUV."
"Yes sensei." Ellie said as she took the stuff and began loading it.
"Bye-bye, sweetheart." Daniel called as he waved.
"Bye, Dad. Have fun, Good luck!" Sam called back.
"It was nice meeting you." Ellie said.
"You too." Sam agreed. "And, uh, good luck with the tree."
"Tree? What tree?" Ellie inquired. "Where are we going?"
"Don't worry, you'll see." Mr. Larusso replied as they got in the SUV. They drove for about twenty minutes until they came to a wooded area. They hiked for another ten minutes until they got to a beautiful lake with a boardwalk.
"When I was a kid, Mr. Miyagi took me to this beautiful lake up North to train." Daniel explained.
"Mr. Miyagi?" Ellie asked.
"He was my sensei. The best there ever was."I tried to take Samantha there once, but after the draught, it's become more of a puddle. So I found this spot instead. You hear that?"
"Hmm?" Ellie wondered.
"You hear that?" Daniel repeated. "I want you to close your eyes and just listen. What do you hear?" Ellie tried to listen, but she didn't hear anything special.
"Um, Nothing."
"Exactly. No phone calls, no internet, no family arguments, just you and Mother Nature. That's why we're here. This is what Miyagi-do karate is all about." Ellie opened her eyes as she began to appreciate the beauty and serenity that nature offered her.
"It's beautiful." She agreed.
"Come on." Daniel said as they began their training.
Daniel and Ellie began their training, by learning fighting stances and proper punches and kicks. They moved together in perfect harmony.
"Okay, like I told you, make a strong front stance." He said as he put on protective gear. Okay? When you throw, you're gonna twist your hips, snap the punch. All the power right here, in this one inch, okay? You got it?"
"Yes sensei." Ellie said as she prepared to punch. She wound up and snapped the punch as he showed her.
"Hi!"
"Hiyah!"
"Hi!"
"Hiyah!" After several minutes, Ellie felt as though she was getting stronger.
"Wow, I feel like I'm like I'm Sonya Blade or something." Ellie said with delight.
"I've got to admit, you're more of a natural than I was." Mr. Larusso said with pride. "But don't get too cocky, there's always another lesson to be learned."
"Is that a Mr. Miyagi saying?" She asked.
"Nah, I just made that one up on the fly." he admitted. "Not bad, right?"
"So we headed home?"
"You wish. Training ain't over yet. You may know the moves, but none of that matters unless you have balance."
"You mean like, on one foot?" Ellie inquired.
"I didn't mean balancing your body. I mean balancing your life." Mr. Larusso explained. "Look, Ellie, I'm not sure what's going on with your dad, but at least you have one; Believe me, mine died when I was young, so I know. But when those bad feelings all weigh you down, you gotta you gotta search inside for the good stuff, you know, and just because then you can find some balance in your life. You understand? It's not easy, but you'll do it." Ellie thought about what Daniel said and decided that she needed to come clean.
"Mr. LaRusso, I need to tell you something." She said.
"Sure, what is it?" He asked. Ellie thought about where to start and decided to show, not tell. She turned around and raised up her shirt to show a cigarette burn on her back.
"Ow, that looks bad." Daniel said in surprise. "What happened?"
"My dad...sometimes, he beats me and burns me with cigarettes." Ellie said as she turned back around to face a floored Daniel Larusso.
"Oh my God...Ellie." He stuttered. "I didn't know."
"Mom says it's the family secret." Ellie exclaimed. "It happens to my brother too."
"I'm so sorry Ellie, you don't deserve to be treated like that."Daniel said as he wrapped his arms around Ellie and embraced her. Ellie she'd a tear as she felt safe in his arms.
"Thanks for teaching me sensei." She said as she wiped the tear away.
"No, don't thank me yet." Daniel said as he let her go. "You're about to hate me. Shed that duffel bag and get up on this tree right here." He helped her up the tree as she tried to stand on one of the branches.
"OK, this is high." She said nervously.
"Come on! All right, now find your balance. All right, now show me what we learned today. Let's start with a front kick."
"Hiyah." Ellie said as she did a front kick.
"Not bad, try a round kick."
"Hiyah." She said as she did a round kick. "Is this supposed to be hard?"
"All right, hot shot." He replied. "Show me a hook kick." Ellie tried to do it, but she finally fell off.
"Ah! Oof!" Ellie said as she fell on her ass. "There it is."
"You all right?"
"Yeah. What do I do now?"
"You get back up and you try it again. You let me know when you can do all the kicks without falling."
"Where are you going?" Ellie asked.
"The Devils are playing the Islanders on the East Coast." Daniel pointed out. "I'm gonna move to a spot with better service."
"What happened to no distractions?"
"Hockey doesn't count!"
NEXT TIME, ELLIE GSTS AQUAINTED WITH THE LARUSSO FAMILY...AND SAM'S BOYFRIEND. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.