Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing belonging to the movie or it's creators and I make no profit from playing with them in my fantasy world.
Daniel looked for the unfriendly classmate the next morning but he had yet to show by the time class began and Daniel decided he must have taken the day off to recover. Daniel could sympathize. He'd had many a 'back to school' mornings the day after a beat down back when he was in high school, which wasn't really all that long ago. Barely more than a year. He'd never skipped the next day though, despite that he knew he'd have to avoid the group of bullies as well as show his bruised face to cruel high school students. Partly because he knew himself well enough to know that if he didn't face that fear head on, he'd never get over it. Also, his mother would never have agreed to let him get away with missing school as often as he'd have needed to if he took off every day after he got beaten up. Besides, by that time he'd met Mr. Miyagi and he'd begun learning that it was best to face it with dignity rather than fear.
Because he had come to the conclusion that the guy had skipped school altogether, Daniel was surprised to see him on campus after the class they shared. Heading toward his car, Daniel spotted him on the other side of the parking lot, in the grassy area many students used for breaks, lunch and studying. He was under a large tree, and he seemed to be practicing karate. His back was to Daniel and the tree obscured some of his view, but Daniel was sure it was him.
Forget it, Daniel thought to himself. He's not interested in being friendly, so don't bother him and just go home.
Even as he was thinking it, Daniel was already pocketing his car keys and striding across the parking lot. Whether his little voice meant well or not, Daniel had perfected the art of ignoring it when his stubbornness got in the way. Sometimes that worked well for him. Sometimes not so well at all.
Daniel approached the other boy and watched for a moment. When it was obvious his arrival had gone unnoticed, Daniel leaned back against the tree and folded his arms. It was interesting, watching someone other than himself or Mr. Miyagi practice karate. Despite that Daniel was very much into the art, he did not immerse himself in the local karate element, other than the couple tournaments he participated in. He'd had little opportunity to observe others. He knew that the style of karate Mr. Miyagi taught him was not only Okinawan style, but riddled with Miyagi family styles that had been handed down for many generations from fathers to sons. Watching the guy practice, Daniel could pinpoint areas in which the style this boy had learned differed from Mr. Miyagi's. It intrigued him.
"What is that Kata called?" Daniel asked after several moments. He tried not to take too much pleasure in the way the guy jumped and spun around, surprise on his face.
"What do you want?" he said, unsurprisingly hostile.
"Nothing," Daniel answered, relaxed against the tree. "I was just curious. I saw you over here practicing. If you know karate, why didn't you use it to defend yourself against those lunk-heads yesterday?"
"What's it to you?"
"It's nothing to me. Like I said, I was just curious."
The boy stared balefully at Daniel for a moment then shook his head in disgust and pointedly turned his back to Daniel to continue where he'd left off.
"You said yesterday you know who I am," Daniel said to the boy's back. "How do you know me? I'm pretty positive I've never met you."
The only sound was the boy's huffs of exertion and the occasional quiet kiya.
"What's you're name, at least?" Daniel pushed. "You know me, seems only fair you at least tell me your name."
Several more seconds ticked by without an answer. "That's a no, then?" Daniel asked sarcastically.
The boy paused in the middle of a stance change, then after a moment of hesitation said "Teddy. My name is Teddy. And I know you because you ruined my life. Now go away and leave me alone."
The raw pain was evident even without Daniel being able to see Teddy's face, and the words had stunned Daniel into silence. He did the only thing he could upon that revelation. He went away and left him alone.
"But he said I ruined his life!" Daniel exclaimed for the third time. "How could I ruin his life when I have never even met him?"
"Miyagi not know, Daniel-San," Mr. Miyagi said with long-suffering patience and kind understanding. "You ask boy how you ruin life?"
Daniel sighed. "No. I didn't ask him. I'm curious but I'm not sure I really want to know."
"Maybe Daniel-San listen to voice in head that say be careful. If you think you not want know, maybe best Daniel-San not know."
"Maybe. But what if it's something I can fix?"
"Daniel-San, you think you fix boy's ruined life? Maybe it have nothing to do with you at all. Maybe boy have no one else to blame."
"I don't know, Mr. Miyagi," Daniel responded, confused. "Maybe. But if it has nothing to do with me, how does some guy I don't even remember ever meeting decide that I ruined his life in some way that he won't even explain to me?"
"Only boy know, Daniel-San. Come, you clean dishes. When you done, Miyagi have surprise for Daniel-San."
Daniel watched as Mr. Miyagi stood from their low table, having finished his supper, and headed out to the back garden. Daniel's mind was still consumed with thoughts of Teddy and how he'd come to the conclusion that Daniel had ruined his life, but Daniel made quick work of washing their few dinner dishes. He was curious, and a bit excited, about the surprise Mr. Miyagi had mentioned. Mr. Miyagi's surprises tended toward significant.
"Mr. Miyagi?" Daniel called out a while later as he entered the softly lit back garden. He knew Mr. Miyagi was out there but he didn't immediately see him.
Just as Daniel stepped around the fountain, scanning the shadows for the familiar form of his friend, a loud and distinctive yell, Mr. Miyagi's trademark 'Kaia', resounded from Daniel's left, giving him almost no time to rally. Daniel instinctively dropped into a defensive stance, but the attack he expected that would test his skills never came. Mr. Miyagi's deceptively lithe form form landed lightly in front of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi simultaneously tossed something that Daniel caught just before it hit his face.
Daniel paused for a moment, waiting for Mr. Miyagi's sign that he would not be expected to fend off a mock attack and at his Sensei's nod Daniel stood, holding what appeared to be a long stick.
"What's this?" he asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Daniel-San do well with training. Much more to learn. But Miyagi think time to learn weapon, add technique to what Daniel-San know already."
Daniel stared at Mr. Miyagi in disbelief for a moment, then excitement bubbled forth. Weapons? Finally? He'd been begging Mr. Miyagi to begin teaching him weaponry of some sort since Okinawa, but Mr. Miyagi had always insisted Daniel had a long way to go before he'd be ready to add weapons to his training. The idea that Mr. Miyagi thought he was ready, despite that Daniel was only a few years into karate, was more than exciting. It was something to be proud of. Finally!
"Yes! Yes! Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Miyagi!" Daniel bowed his thanks, which Mr. Miyagi returned with a smile, and Daniel danced from foot to foot in his usual over-excited manner. It was a habit he had yet to outgrow.
"So what do I get to learn? Spear?" Daniel examined the implement he held, looking for a clue as to what kind of weapon it might be. "It's just a stick," he remarked with some disappointment.
"Spear come later, perhaps; learn with Bo first. No sharp point for beginner, Daniel-San," Mr. Miyagi joked.
"Yeah, I got it," Daniel laughed, too excited to care too much that the first weapon Mr. Miyagi was going to introduce into his training amounted to not much more than a thin tree limb, as far as he could tell.
"So how do you use these things?" Daniel asked curiously, spinning it around ineffectually. He took on a batter's stance and held the Bo in the manner of one about to hit a baseball. "Here, batta batta batta!"
"Ba!" Mr. Miyagi impatiently waved his hands in a gesture of beckoning and he took the Bo from Daniel's hands in that manner he had that said 'knock it off' . He held up one finger sternly, catching Daniel's sober attention. "Watch," he ordered.
Daniel watched with a fascination that soon turned to awe as Mr. Miyagi demonstrated an efficient and fast paced example of how the Bo could be used. The older man took a comfortable back stance and spun the simple weapon in arcs and jabs that Daniel's eyes sometimes barely followed for the speed that was achieved. Mr. Miyagi ended the demonstration by neatly clipping four leaves from an overhanging tree branch with the tip of the staff. Mr. Miyagi was already straightening up, finished with his display, by the time the first of the floating leaves touched the ground.
"That was great!" Daniel exclaimed. "Can we start now?"
"Tomorrow," Mr. Miyagi stated, heading back toward the house.
"Aw, c'mon!" Daniel pleaded, following. "You can't show it to me then say tomorrow! Just one move," he negotiated as he maintained pace a step behind Mr. Miyagi. "Please? Just one. C'mon, Mr. Miyagi! Please?"
Mr. Miyagi halted with a sigh. Daniel stopped just short of bumping into him, holding his breath in hopes of agreement.
"Daniel-San do homework yet?" Mr. Miyagi asked.
Daniel's shoulders sagged a bit, knowing now what Mr. Miyagi's answer would be. "No, not yet," he sighed.
"Then begin tomorrow. Homework tonight." Mr. Miyagi entered the house and slid the door shut behind him, leaving Daniel standing on the wooden walk. Daniel groaned, but long practice told him that if Mr. Miyagi didn't initially give into his pleas, then his chance was lost. And he did have homework that needed to be done before tomorrow's class.
With resignation, Daniel turned and headed to his own room, a few feet away from the main house, and slid the door shut behind him. His lights burned for a couple of hours before they were extinguished. He did not notice that barely a minute after his lights were out, Mr. Miyagi's lights went out as well.