Chapter Twenty: Mercy or Emotions
…
After another terrible month at school, Lucas Schwarber found that the only thing he enjoyed about staying in the Valley was karate.
It was March of 2018, the 50th All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, rebranded as the 1st California USA Karate State Championships by the All Valley board, was less than two months away.
Lucas hated school, no one talked to him there but the teachers.
And Daniel LaRusso soon found out why.
…
Sam was sitting at home after school for the fourth time, in her room, merely typing on her computer.
"Everything okay?" Daniel stopped by her room.
"Yeah," she said dryly.
"No cheer practice again? Your captain still sick?"
Sam closed her laptop, turning to her father while sitting on her bed. "Can I tell you the truth about everything that's happening?"
"Yeah absolutely, what's going on?" Daniel sat on her bed next to her.
"Dad," Sam paused. "I quit the cheer team two weeks ago."
"Really? Why?"
"I got into a fight with Mackenzie, as well as Yas and Moon. We haven't seen each other since outside of classes."
"Must've been a really bad fight if you haven't talked for weeks." noted Daniel with a nod. "What happened?"
Sam looked very guilty.
"What?"
"It involves Lucas."
"And you didn't want to tell me to complicate things between him and I."
Sam nodded slowly.
"What exactly did Lucas do?" Daniel squinted slightly.
"Well nothing, at least, not to me. I found out Lucas fooled around with a ton of people on the cheer team, Moon, Yas, and even Lindsay Martin. And no one ever told me."
"Sam, why would you have to know that?"
Sam shyly crossed her arms. "Because I. Like, or, liked him."
"Was this involved with the whole party catastrophe that split Luke and Johnny's kid apart?"
Sam nodded quietly.
Daniel sighed. "I don't to make any excuses, but he wasn't thinking right. His family's going to send him back to Denver if he doesn't quit karate, and-"
"Dad, because of him, Robby's the only person who'll talk to me at school. He's the only one who doesn't believe any of the rumors Yas started about me after everything that happened." said Sam. "I know you want to look after him, but he's done nothing but hurt people since he got here."
Daniel frowned.
"He hurt his two other best friends after this, he hurt Robby. I know he makes mistakes, but maybe going back to Denver would be best for him." Sam squinted at Daniel a bit. "Why're you the only person left who is willing to give him a chance?"
"Because I feel like he needs me," Daniel admitted. "And, I think I need him."
"To do what? Karate?" asked Sam. "Dad, I don't think he's a bad person, but I don't see how you could need him. I get karate's important for you, but, aren't I more important?"
"You will always be important to me," Daniel said kindly. "But Sam, Luke's connection to Miyagi-Do is special. And not just because his mom, because, Ali and my own mother were the only ones there for me when I met Mr. Miyagi. It's because I feel like Lucas is meant to learn Miyagi-Do."
Daniel looked down for a second. "He understands the lessons, not just the physical part. He gets everything, everything."
Sam saw the look in Daniel's eye. "I will never let anyone take that away from him."
"I understand. Just, please understand what he put me through."
…
Lucas was practicing Sand the Floor on the wooden decks in Mr. Miyagi's backyard.
Daniel entered through the patio.
"Hey Mr. LaRusso, everything okay?"
He offered Lucas a water bottle. "We need to talk."
Lucas saw the serious look on his face. "Oh, about?"
A short while later, Lucas drank from the plastic bottle as Daniel spoke to him. "Why didn't you tell me what happened between you and Sam?" they were speaking while sitting on the wooden decks Lucas finished sanding.
"Besides the fact that I didn't want my karate to be affected," Lucas said quietly. "I didn't want you to find out the only person who still talked to me anymore was you."
"Luke, I made it very very clear last summer. I will never give up on training you."
"I know but, I just." he sighed quickly. "I just feel so ashamed."
Daniel listened patiently. "I messed up everything, everyone at school calls me some sort of fuck boy. Even, the actual fuck boys don't want to talk to me anymore."
"What's a fuck boy?" Daniel was confused.
"Male slut." Lucas shrugged.
"Ah." Daniel winced.
…
Cobra Kai OST: Bonsai Lessons
…
"My point is, I know I messed up when even Kyler didn't want to congratulate me on what happened with the cheer team. And heck, he's a terrible person," said Lucas. "I really don't know how to fix any of this."
Lucas looked over at the nearby pond filled with real koi fish as Daniel spoke. "You know when I met your mother, I didn't have a lot of friends."
Lucas glanced back at Daniel. "I had a neighbor, Freddy Fernandez, him and all his buddies avoided me like the plague the second Johnny beat me up. Flipped like a dime, they went from being my friends, to wanting nothing to do with me. Ali, and all of her friends, they'd make fun of me and avoid me too, at school and everywhere else."
Lucas nodded.
"The second I won the All Valley, all that changed for me."
Lucas squinted at Daniel. "Well, why?"
"Besides Ali, who was there for me from the start, I realized pretty soon, that it wasn't about them. About getting any sort of honor back, or getting the respect of everyone else at my high school. It wasn't even about Ali and Johnny anymore."
Lucas watched as Daniel looked at Lucas in the eyes. "I told Mr. Miyagi this before he fixed my leg so I could compete in the finals. I didn't want to win for a medal or a trophy, or for anyone else."
"Daniel, you would've won if they hadn't cheated." Ali, Lucas' mother, said decades prior in the locker rooms of the 1984 All Valley.
"J-Just leave me alone for a minute okay?" said a teenage Daniel LaRusso, lying on his back.
"Can you fix my leg, w-with that thing you do?" Daniel asked Mr. Miyagi.
"No need fight anymore, you prove point." he said.
"What, that I can take a beating? I mean every time I'm gonna see those guys they're gonna know they got the best of me." Daniel shook his head. "I'll never have balance that way. Not with them, not with Ali. Not with me." Daniel looked aside.
Daniel remembered that with a sad shake of his head. "Karate isn't about proving anything to anyone else. Not to your parents, or even your teacher. It's about proving something to yourself."
"About proving what?"
"That you can find balance," said Daniel. "Lucas, you made a difference in Robby Keene's life. You took him away from his friends, who were criminals. And reunited him with his father."
Lucas nodded. "Yeah."
"Got him back in school, and for all of that. You ruined everything, apparently."
"Apparently?" scoffed Lucas.
"This isn't about you and Robby. This is about proving to yourself that you can face Robby on your own terms, that you can confront your mistakes. And admittedly, if you need to, to lose to him if necessary, to prove that he was the better person when it mattered. That he wasn't the one who started all of this, you were."
Lucas was quiet.
"My struggle was the same when I was your age. That day on the beach, I felt like I had something to prove. That I was tougher than Johnny, that I was the one to defend Ali."
Daniel shrugged, shaking his head with a smile. "After I won the All Valley, I realized I found out something much more important."
"What?"
"That I had nothing to prove."
Lucas was confused. "Then, doesn't that mean that I have nothing to prove?"
"No, you do have something to prove." said Daniel. "It's to yourself but still. I promise, regardless of how you do at the tournament. If you show up and do your best, all this pain, uncertainty, and guilt inside of you. It'll all go away. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, yeah it does."
Daniel smiled back at his only student. "Great, let's go trim some bonsai."
"Let's."
…
Lucas actually began to walk around West Valley High a happier person.
All the rumors about him didn't seem to affect him anymore, Daniel's words seemed to make a difference.
Even Eli and Demetri ignoring him didn't hurt him, as well as the painful reminders seeing Sam, Yasmine, and Moon all separated being his fault also didn't bother him.
His smile disappeared in an instant however, the moment he saw Sam and Robby talking in a corridor along the lockers.
They were smiling and laughing together.
There was nothing else to describe how Lucas felt but jealous.
Not just because how he and Sam got along previously, but also because his best friend was talking to someone who wasn't him now instead.
He couldn't help it, he tried remembering Daniel's words, but Lucas' hand balled into a fist.
"Cobra Kai, is about eliminating weaknesses." John Kreese said in the Cobra Kai dojo.
…
Later that day, Kreese walked along the rows of kneeling karatekas.
In Seiza, Miguel Diaz, Aisha Robinson, and a number of others were all sitting on their shins and ankles, as Kreese walked amongst them and spoke.
"Specifically, the weaknesses humans have," Kreese explained. "Fear, pain, defeat. These are things any human being can have. But not a Cobra Kai."
Miguel kept staring forward, calmly.
Every Cobra Kai there was still sweating from all the sparring practice. Some were wearing rashguards, others white Cobra Kai GIs with an assortment of blue, purple, green, and yellow belts.
"Becoming Cobra Kai, means shedding every weakness an average person may have. At a tournament, or in the street, or any other place you face a challenge. You strike first, hard, and without mercy."
Kreese kept stalking through the lines. "In life, nothing is given to you, you have to take things. And in this upcoming tournament especially, you have to take victory. No matter what, is that understood?"
"Yes Sensei!" the class barked.
"Dismissed." Kreese bowed his head slightly and every Cobra Kai there bowed their head to the mat.
Miguel took off his gloves and put them in his bag, entering Kreese's office dojo.
"Can I help you Mr. Diaz?"
Miguel noticed the pictures on the walls of Kreese in his old Green Beret uniform. "You competed yourself in karate right?"
"Decades ago."
"How different was karate back then?"
"Very different, alien to what you know now." said Kreese. "Now you have mouthguards, gloves and such. Back then, the only equipment you were expected to bring to a tournament was a GI."
"Really?"
"Why do you ask?"
Miguel shrugged. "I was wondering if your past experiences competing could help us now, if you had any specific advice."
Kreese glanced at a picture on his desk, of Terry Silver posing in their army camp during the Vietnam War in Kreese's old army unit.
"It was a different era," said Kreese. "Karate was a lot more brutal. People would get bloody noses and such, some would even be carried out on stretchers."
Miguel was surprised, but said nothing.
"No one died of course." Kreese shrugged, shaking his head. "But still, my first three competitions were in a very old kind of tournament. They don't exist anymore. The U.S. Army would host karate competitions, people of all styles from every branch of the military could compete."
Kreese kept explaining, looking around his office. "I got first place all three years. In 1970, '71, and '72. These weren't easy tournaments, in fact, they were the only ones I competed in personally in my entire life and the best fighters I've faced in the ring were during the Army Tournaments."
"How'd you win then?"
"By following the Cobra Kai motto. Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy." Kreese said. "I opened the Cobra Kai dojo shortly after I left the army, and from then we won the All Valley four times."
"Four?"
Kreese looked at Miguel patiently. "I understand how seriously you're taking the All Valley, but why're you so interested in Cobra Kai's history?"
"Because I want to absorb how many wins the dojo's had in the past, hopefully, I can bring the same thing to the new tournament."
Kreese merely shook his head. "All you have to do is keep training, and follow everything I've taught you. And then, you'll do fine."
"Oh, ok. Thank you Sensei."
Miguel was going to turn and leave and Kreese spoke out. "You know, I hope you don't mind asking the wrong sources for Cobra Kai's history."
"What do you mean?" asked Miguel.
"I know Johnny Lawrence is your neighbor. Technically speaking, he's competing against us, and, that makes him the enemy in a way."
"I thought Miyagi-Do was the enemy."
"You'll learn this very fast moving forward Mr. Diaz." Kreese said. "Everyone who isn't your friend, or the enemy of your enemy. Is your enemy."
Kreese spoke a bit more. "I say technically regarding Johnny Lawrence, since, it's clear he mainly wants to beat Daniel LaRusso at this upcoming tournament. But until he sees that we're the only way to do karate in the Valley, he's not our ally."
"The only way?"
"There is only one way," said Kreese. "The way of the fist."
Miguel smiled a bit. "Yes Sensei."
Kreese then dismissed Miguel with a nod of his head.
…
Soon, Daniel's mother Lucille visited the LaRusso's.
"Grandma!"
Anthony greeted his grandmother, followed closely by Daniel's cousin behind her.
Sam walked downstairs, smiling when she hugged Lucille.
Daniel and Lucas returned from the home dojo finished with their kata, Sam shifted uncomfortably where she stood.
"Ah," said Louie with a grin. "Mr. Sarcasm."
"Hey there Louie," Lucas said painfully.
"Haven't seen you around the dealership lately, I-" Louie said, Lucille brushed past him without blinking an eye.
"Hm." Lucas was weirded out as the woman studied his face. "I don't even need an introduction."
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.
"The resemblance is clear, you're Ali's son!" she grinned.
Lucille hugged Lucas as if he was her own grandchild.
Lucas pulled away from hugging Daniel's mother. "Y-Yeah, I am."
…
Daniel started a barbeque in his backyard as Lucille spoke. "Dan, how did you ever get a living teenager to start karate with you?" she asked. "I know you've wanted to go back to doing it for such a long time."
"Luke actually sought me out," Daniel explained. "After Sam saying no for ages, it was a breath of fresh air."
Sam rolled her eyes, on her phone.
"What's this I hear about Cobra Kai coming back?" Lucille asked.
"Luke can explain," grumbled Daniel.
She looked at the boy sitting next to her, and Lucille listened. "Gramps decided to bail Kreese out of jail, he was sure keeping him in debt somehow would convince to change who Kreese was."
"Oh," Lucille waved a hand. "Frank always was a meddler. Frowning down on my little boy for not being rich enough to date your mother, and always wanting her to date that bully Johnny Lawrence."
"Ironically," Amanda smiled painfully sitting down next to her son. "Even living a few blocks away from them doesn't let them approve of Daniel's karate obsession. Or Luke being involved in it."
"Are you going to stay in town for the tournament?" asked Daniel.
"I can't sweetheart," Lucille said.
"Doesn't karate get exhausting?"
"It used to a little," Lucille muttered. "Not anymore, honestly what I find exhausting is this prepackaged pasta salad."
Amanda was going to say something but Lucas intervened. "Um, I think Nana actually brought some of her own, I think I can go get it from the fridge in the kitchen."
"Oh, how is Olivia doing dear?" asked Lucille. "I always liked her."
"She's doing fine." Lucas smiled at Amanda. "Mrs. L, do you wanna help me go get the salad I brought?"
"Sure." Amanda seemed to be very enthusiastic about the idea of getting as far away from Lucille as possible.
"No need, I'll get it myself," said Lucille. "Sam, why don't you come help me?"
"Alright," Sam liked the idea of leaving the table too.
…
Lucille opened the fridge and placed the pasta salad Lucas brought on the kitchen counter. "You haven't looked up from your phone all evening. Normal for kids your age, but still."
"Sorry, I've been texting someone."
"Is it a boy?"
Sam said nothing.
"I haven't seen you this tense at a family dinner in ages. What's going on?"
"I, kinda, wished Lucas wasn't here."
"He's been a delight," said Lucille incredulously. "What's the matter?"
"This guy I'm texting, he used to be Luke's best friend. And I think he wants to go out with me."
Lucille chuckled. "The karate rivalries never change, even decades later. Find someone new to talk to, and fast."
"But, why?"
Lucille smiled sweetly. "It's just not worth the trouble, trust me, these things only go from bad to worse."
"From bad to worse?"
"Your father never told you exactly what happened between him and Johnny Lawrence did he?"
"Not all the details, no."
…
Soon, Lucille was speaking with Daniel, back around all the plates of food.
"So you got back into karate."
"Yeah, Lucas has a tournament coming up, the All Valley. They changed the rules, but, it's more or less the same thing." Daniel smiled. "I had no idea I missed it so much. Missed Mr. Miyagi so much."
"He was great to us," said Lucille.
Amanda and Louie began to discuss a biker gang that had wanted to do business with LaRusso Auto.
"If it wasn't for her." Amanda pointed to Lucille. "We never would've hired Louie in the first place."
"Amanda-" Daniel sighed.
"Hey!" Louie shrugged.
"He's family, and you always take care of family," said Lucille. "Look at Lucas," the boy had been eating his steak silently this whole time. "His mother lives all the way out in Denver, and I bet he'd have stayed here if he couldn't with his grandparents when he moved out here."
He chewed his steak without a word, looking more uncomfortable by the second.
"We do take care of family, we always take care of family. Hiring Louie, hosting every holiday you can think of-"
"How can you call buying everything catered, good hosting?" Lucille chuckled. "Your own guest brings home cooked meals, and you buy things from the store."
The LaRussos all began to argue with each other, making Lucas uncomfortable enough to the point that it seemed he wanted to leave.
…
Miguel called out when he opened the door to his apartment. "Ma, I'm home from karate!"
He turned around, seeing Johnny Lawrence and Robby Keene sitting at his dinner table. "What are-"
"Oh, hey Miggy. I invited our neighbors over for dinner, Mr. Lawrence here helped us with our electrical outlets."
Miguel looked very confused. "I, didn't know he could."
"I'm still a full time handyman, didn't charge your mother when she asked for some help," Johnny shrugged. "She insisted."
Robby looked equally awkward about the whole situation.
Miguel's Yaya made steak, beans, and rice along with cheese, with heated tortillas to make fajitas.
"Okay." Miguel put his karate bag in his room and then washed his hands.
He spoke calmly, reaching across the dinner table when his mother served him a plate. "You're a handyman?"
"Yup, I still manage to find time to train Robby." his son nodded next to him. "He competed at the last All Valley, need to keep him in shape for the next one."
"Miguel already told me about the tournament," said Carmen. "Apparently his dojo were champions more than any others there."
"Mm, interesting," Johnny said.
Robby, looked up at Carmen calmly. "My dad actually used to compete along Miguel's team."
Johnny glared at his son, putting his fajita down.
"Really? I had no idea," Carmen said. "I know you did karate but, I didn't know you did karate with Miguel's Sensei."
"It was a long time ago." Johnny answered. "No need to dig up old history."
Carmen and Rosa spoke in Spanish for a moment when Robby and Miguel finished their dinners first.
"Miggy, why don't you and Robby take out the trash together? Might help get to know our neighbors a bit better."
Both boys awkwardly walked outside after they cleaned their plates in the sink.
Carmen waited for Robby and Miguel to leave. "I never liked Miguel's Sensei, he takes competition way too seriously. The last thing I want is for Miguel to get hurt, and it seems Mr. Kreese has no regards for Miguel's safety at all."
Johnny looked up from his dinner plate, wiping his face with a napkin. "Then why keep him there?"
"I always wanted a good male role model for Miguel, his father was." Carmen sighed. "Not the best person."
Johnny looked around the Diaz household, then at Carmen. He seemed unsure of what to say.
"If you ever feel like Miguel's safety is ever threatened with Kreese, let me know and I'll talk to him," said Johnny calmly. "I know I'd do the same for Robby. Again, if you don't like Kreese, why let Miguel keep training with him?"
"I've never liked karate as a hobby for Miguel to begin with. But this is the first time I've ever seen Miguel so passionate about anything." Carmen admitted.
Johnny shrugged. "It's what helps Robby and I get along well at all."
"Why don't you coach both your son and Miguel at the upcoming tournament?"
"It's not right for me to get involved that far," said Johnny. "I know Kreese might be dangerous. But until now, since he's come back, I've never seen him do anything particularly threatening to me directly. I know Miguel trusts him a whole lot."
"He does," Carmen said. "Do you think he'll be alright?"
"I was Kreese's student once too, and only if Miguel's smart." sighed out Johnny. "Maybe."
…
"You mind telling me why you decided to bring that up to Miguel's mom?"
Robby watched his father turn around from closing the apartment door. "Because it seemed relevant."
"Relevant or not, Carmen doesn't need to know that."
Robby looked at Johnny. "We live across the hall from Kreese's star student. Why not tell her you used to be his too?"
"Because I'm not proud of that, and neither should Miguel."
"If it wasn't for Kreese and Miguel, Luke would've gotten away scot-free with all the shit he pulled off at the party."
"How?"
Robby scoffed. "Miguel and his buddies stopped Luke from running away when I wanted to fight him."
"Yeah and they attacked him for no reason at Golf 'N Stuff," said Johnny. "You're acting like this is a good thing, you almost got suspended because of that fight."
"Luke Schwarber ruined school for me, Sam's the only person left who'll talk to me." Robby just barely raised his voice. "Say whatever you want about Cobra Kai, but at least they know to put him in his place."
"You think I don't want you to beat him either?" Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"I know you do," said Robby. "But honestly, I don't feel anything towards Cobra Kai. But Luke? I hate him."
"Hate?"
"Yeah Dad." Robby said. "I hate him, and the worst part is that I could at least try to move if he'd admit everything was his fault."
Robby then walked to his room, shutting the door close, leaving Johnny a bit quiet and confused.
…
Lucille and Daniel were just done with flipping through a picture book, and Sam appeared near the fireplace.
"Grandma?"
Lucille turned to Sam. "Yeah sweetie?"
"Can you tell me what happened between Dad and Luke's mom?"
"Well, I thought you knew everything."
Sam shook her head, sitting down on the couch next to Lucille when she finished stoking the fire.
"I only know the gist of it, but not why it's important to me directly. About Luke and Robby."
Lucille smiled, thinking for a moment before speaking to Sam. "Your father and Johnny Lawrence hated each other in high school because of Ali Mills. Their whole fight was started because of her."
"Really?" asked Sam.
"Yes, she's the reason they ever met, let alone why Johnny bullied Daniel for so long afterward," Lucille said. "Johnny and Ali dated for years before Daniel met either of them. Johnny was jealous of course when he found out Ali had feelings for your father, and that's how this all started."
"You think. That Robby and Luke will fight over me, the same way Luke's mom, Dad, and Robby's dad fought?"
Lucille shook her head, putting a hand over Sam's. "No."
She took a deep breath. "All three of you are very different people than your parents. My only advice with boys is to not confuse things, feelings can get hurt, and it's always over nothing."
Sam frowned.
"Look what happened between you and your friends over a boy."
"Dad told you?" Sam asked, then holding her arm.
"He told me enough." Lucille shook her head. "What are your real intentions with Robby?"
"Luke hurt me so much over what happened with Yas and Moon. I wanted him to know how much it hurt."
"By getting revenge on him with who used to be his best friend."
Sam nodded quietly.
"Then that only means one thing," said Lucille. "If you're willing to go to such lengths just to make Lucas feel how you felt. Betrayed, lonely, and sad. Then that means you still have feelings for him."
"No I don't." Sam scoffed.
"Then why try to torture him so much sweetie? Why would you even consider romance with Robby after everything that's happened?"
Sam was a little confused by the question.
"You can do whatever you want, you're a young woman now. But ask yourself if you really would want to keep flirting with Robby, or if you're just ignoring how you really feel?"
Sam then stared into the fire after her grandmother's words.
…
…
…