CHAPTER 126
"Can't… feel… legs!" By the time Robby had completed his turn as the handicapped dummy, his entire body was on fire in pain. During their 5 minute spar, after taking a countless number of hits in the first minute and being knocked to the ground several times, Robby had come up with a strategy. With his arms useless, tied behind his back, he was going to be forced to rely on his legs, for both offense and defense. While at first that worked, Robby very quickly realized that using his legs to block Miguel's punches was a really stupid idea as it required pin-point kicking accuracy, accuracy that he wasn't able to keep up for long. Sure enough, as Robby misplaced a kick, Miguel was able to capitalize and launch an attack against Robby's defenseless body. No matter how Robby tried to strategise and fight with his legs, he couldn't. Fighting with 2 limbs against 4 was a simply impossible task.
Sure enough, Miguel ended up having exactly the same troubles. He went through the same thing Robby did, forced to take hit after hit, punch after punch, kick after kick, unable to defend himself as his arms had been rendered useless. It took all of his inner strength not to end up getting knocked to the ground by the other teenager. It took a hell of a lot of effort, but 10 minutes later, both teenagers had gone through a 5 minute spar with their arms behind their back so the drill was over.
Wanting water, they were very quickly disappointed as Johnny was already preparing for their next drill. The middle-aged sensei had grabbed a long, thick rope from his car, and was now tying one end around Miguel's waist and the other around Robby's. After he had tightly knotted it around both of them, the two teenagers stepped away from each other but found that the maximum distance they could get away from each other was around two meters before the rope prevented them from going any further.
"Okay, what in the world is this?" Miguel asked. Johnny grinned.
"In the past, you two have been the superior fighter in almost every single fight you've been in. You've been up against the small, insignificant fighters in the Valley, so of course you're going to dominate. You've been able and allowed to dictate the tempo of the fight, dictate the distance from your opponent. But what happens when that's out of your control? What happens if you're up against someone better and they become the one dictating the flow? You no longer have the ability to step back if you want a breather, move around the ring to get away from them. You're forced to get stuck in with them from the moment the bell rings to the moment it rings again. We're simulating that here. You two are going to fight for another 10 minutes. But this time, you're unable to get more than 2 meters away from each other because of the rope. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sensei."
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An entire day of this. Excruciating drill after excruciating drill. Robby and Miguel were put through the ringer more so than ever before, with only a few miniscule sips of water every so often to keep them upright and conscious, but no more than that. Dehydration and exhaustion were still the most pressing issues on Miguel and Robby's minds, both of them on the brink of collapse but Johnny not allowing them to.
Soon, around 7 hours after they had begun the incredibly strenuous day, they arrived at one of the last exercises Johnny had in store for them. Once again, Johnny traced a large box in the sand, this time being around about 10 feet in diameter. After he had done so, he walked back to his car, leaving Robby and Miguel alone for a short while.
"You know what I need?" Robby told Miguel.
"Water?" Miguel suggested in a hoarse croak, his throat dry as the desert around him. Robby shook his head though.
"No. I need a signature move. For the Taikai. Something that no one will see coming." He stated. Miguel raised an eyebrow.
"That's really what you're thinking about right now?" Miguel laughed incredulously. Robby shrugged.
"I don't know, man. I'm exhausted. My whole body hurts. My mind's done." Robby complained. "Just entertain it for a second. Imagine the finals of the Sekai Taikai, winning the fight in the final seconds with a signature move like a superman punch, with millions of people watching."
"I think dehydration's starting to get to you because you're dreaming, man." Miguel chuckled. "For one, you're not winning the Taikai. I am. And two, even if you do win, it's sure as hell not going to be with a superman punch."
At that moment, Johnny returned to the two boys, now wielding two shovels. He quickly tossed them to the teenagers.
"Dig. 5 feet deep." A simple instruction, one emphasized as Johnny pointed out the 10 feet wide circular marking that he had made in the sand. Both Robby and Miguel groaned as they looked at their sensei.
"Seriously, dad? It's basically all stone! How are we supposed to break through it?" Robby complained.
"Find a way." Johnny grunted in reply. "You'll get water as soon as you're done."
"This is going to take us all afternoon." Miguel grumbled quietly to Robby, but Johnny heard him.
"Get started fast then. I don't have all day." Johnny instructed.
Robby and Miguel had little choice but to begin digging. As Robby had predicted, after a thin layer of sand, all that waited for them below was stone. Incredibly hard stone that took every ounce of effort the boys had to even chip, let alone dig into. It was like they were trying to break solid steel. At various points, the boys feared that their shovels would snap in half from the sheer effort of it. Still the blistering sun beat down on them as the boys were forced to dig, making progress at a snail-like pace.
It took almost three whole hours before the teenagers were finally able to let up. They weren't five feet deep yet, but were at least up to their ribs, breaking apart the sand stone and tossing it out of the hole. Dehydration and exhaustion crept nearer and nearer as they worked until finally, just as Johnny had pushed them to the very brink once more, two mostly empty water bottles were dangled above their heads and Johnny gestured for them to exit the hole.
That in itself was a massive task. They were too deep in the hole and too wary to just hop out. Try as they might, they couldn't summon the strength to drag themselves out of the hole, and God forbid Johnny actually helped them. It took a while for Robby and Miguel to come up with a plan: the taller of the two, Miguel would exit the hole first, aided by a boost from Robby. He would then help pull Robby up himself. This worked, although almost as soon as it had, the two boys stood up and almost collapsed right back into the hole, threatening to black out.
They accepted the water from Johnny gratefully, before they were forced to stand up and prepare for the final drill of the day, quite possibly the hardest one yet.
"Robby, get back in the hole." Johnny demanded. Slightly confused, Robby did as he was told and slipped back down into the hole before raising an eyebrow at his sensei.
"Why am I doing this, dad?" Robby asked. Johnny sighed.
"Because from the pathetic scene I just witnessed, Miguel's not strong enough to get out of the hole himself. He needs someone to help boost him up to get him out. That's going to be your job."
"So am I going to get back into the hole too?" Miguel asked, trying to understand the task at hand. Johnny, however, shook his head.
"I am. Or at least, you're going to try and get me in there." Johnny told them. "We're going to spar, and we're going to keep sparring until you've managed to knock me into that hole."
"Oh God." Miguel murmured. "Wait… so if I'm sparring you, what is Robby doing in the hole?"
"Well just like you're going to be trying to knock me into the hole, I'm going to be trying to do the same to you. The fight's only over when you knock me in, so you could be falling in about a thousand times before that happens. When you finally get me in, you and Robby switch roles."
"How is this supposed to be possible?" Robby remarked. "You haven't been working all day in the hot sun like we have. You haven't been deprived of water like we have. This is a near impossible task…"
"QUIET!" Johnny snapped. "You're telling me this is unfair?!'
"It most definitely is." Miguel chimed in. "You're already a better fighter than us. Adding all of these extra circumstances, I don't know how you expect us to…"
"QUIET!" Johnny yelled, even louder this time. "You think the Taikai give a shit if you get drawn against the best fighter, second best fighter and third best fighter in the whole tournament during the prelims, back to back to back?! You think they'll care how tired you are from the previous fight when you have to fight the next prelim?! NO! They don't give a shit about you or your wellbeing! You could be on death's door and you still have to fight! Show me right now that you can push through! Unless you're too weak…"
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THUD!
Finally it happened. It might have taken almost an entire hour of exhausting, body-shattering fighting, but Robby finally managed to follow Miguel's example and knock his father into the hole. Faking an over-extended punch, Johnny fell into the trap and before he could react, Robby swept the back of his leg and sent the man tumbling down into the hole.
Success! Fireworks burst inside Robby's mind in celebration as he watched Johnny clamber out of the hole, a pleased smile on the sensei's face at the fact that both of his students had finally completed their final task of the day. Sure both looked sickly pale right now, forced to squint as the sun burned a hole right through their dehydrated minds, and they were barely able to stand up straight, but they had done it!
Extremely proud of what his sons had achieved, Johnny was more than happy to hand them finally full water bottles, the liquid feeling like heaven to the teenagers as they chugged the entire thing within seconds.
"Well done. You boys did well today." Johnny told them. "I pushed you both to your limits. Gave you some really tough tasks. But neither of you gave up. You should be proud of yourselves."
"Please don't tell me we have to run home. Because I legitimately think I might die before I even make it back to L.A." Miguel remarked. Johnny chuckled and shook his head.
"No. You two can get in the car this time. You need to get all the fucking sand off you first so it doesn't get in my car, but I'm not going to make you run anymore. You're done for today."
Thank God. It was nearing 5 pm, meaning that they had been training for almost 12 full hours now, a record for any of the students, especially given that neither had eaten anything and they had only drank minimal water. Their bodies felt like absolute shit; today definitely hadn't been about making physical gains. Instead, Johnny had worked wonders on both of their minds. He had filled them with genuine belief that they could do this, that they could win the Taikai. He helped them unlock the mental barrier in their minds that prevented them from pushing to the absolute maximum in fear of what it would do to their bodies. They were ready to lay their bodies on the line for the title of World Champion, undeterred by whatever hardships lay ahead. Two monstrously good fighters, unrecognizable from the fighters they had been even just a few months ago. If Marcos and Cobra Kai wanted any chance of claiming the title for themselves, they would sure as hell have to bring their A game as if they did anything less, the two lions would eat them alive…