Chapter Three: Miyagi-Dojo
…
Cobra Kai OST: Miyagi-Do
…
Lucas Schwarber opened the front door to the Mills Manor.
"You here to lecture me again?" he asked tiredly.
Daniel shook his head slightly. "Come with me."
Daniel drove Lucas for a bit in his ostentatious car to an abandoned home.
The entire property was a dilapidated mess, no one had lived there in decades. All the old cars had covers on them, and there wasn't one part of the property that wasn't run down.
"Wait a minute, is this?" Lucas closed the passenger side to the car after Daniel parked on the front yard's gravel. "Is this where I think it is?"
"Yup. Welcome to Miyagi-Do," said Daniel.
"Why am I here?"
Daniel smiled at him, walking closer to him. "You wanted an internship? Well, here's your internship."
"A karate internship?"
Daniel shook his head. "No."
Lucas looked around the property as Daniel spoke. "This was Mr. Miyagi's home at one point, and it will be yours too now. You will spend every single day of the rest of your summer if necessary bringing this property back to life. To what it once looked like."
Lucas squinted, looking at the cans of paint and soap everywhere. "Wait. You want me doing basic kata again?"
"Among other things."
"I'm an All Valley champion." chuckled Lucas. "I know every form, every move in Miyagi-Do. The spinning hands, the fly catching counter, everything. Why am I doing fundamentals again?"
"Because you broke your own fundamentals. Miyagi-Do's fundamentals."
Daniel nodded to Lucas slightly.
"Trust."
Lucas looked away.
"I know you and your parents have a, complicated relationship. And you have an even more complicated one with John Kreese."
He was looking down at his shoes.
"But the most essential part of Miyagi-Do, is the promise. The promise that you'll trust my teachings, you'll trust what you can learn. Without that, none of the karate matters. None of what you do, or practice here, matters."
Lucas met Daniel's eyes.
"I promise I'll leave Cobra Kai behind. You-"
"I can't trust that. Trust takes time to build." Daniel looked around Mr. Miyagi's house. "And you've got a long road ahead of you, you better get started."
Lucas nodded and walked to the front porch, about to open the traditional sliding wooden door.
"Oh no." Daniel chuckled. "You won't be going in there for a long time."
"Until when?"
"Until you've made it clear you've properly appreciated what I can teach you. You're an incredible fighter Lucas, you know the physical side of karate in and out." Daniel winced for a moment. "But I'm here to properly give you morals, teach you about life. That was Miyagi-Do's essence, it was never about fighting."
Lucas was confused. "But you said no one could do it like I could."
"Yup, no one could win an All Valley as young or as well as you did. But there's something you have to know."
A teenage Daniel was walking along the beach in an orange towel, speaking to Miyagi about the crane kick. "Could you teach me?"
"First learn stand. Then learn fly, nature rule Daniel-san, not mine."
Daniel echoed his old mentor to Ali's son. "First learn stand, then learn fly."
"What in the world does that mean?"
"You gotta be patient and observant. Then, everything will make sense."
Daniel turned around and began to drive back to LaRusso Auto. "If you go inside that house before I tell you, I won't ever let you near Miyagi-Do again Luke."
Lucas froze, but still picked up the paint can and paint brush as Daniel drove back.
When Daniel returned, he found Lucas wearing a tank top with his jacket tied around his waist, he was kneeling, practicing Paint the Fence.
Daniel smiled as he parked the car and remembered his own teenage years as Mr. Miyagi taught him to Paint the Fence as well.
Lucas' hand went up, and down, breathing in, and out.
The June sun was sweltering and hot, Lucas spent hours painting the entire fence line just the Miyagi-Do way.
Daniel reminisced, of the Pact he made with Mr. Miyagi, of his first months learning karate.
Lucas was a completely different teenager entirely, and Daniel knew this, but he watched Lucas closely as he painted and painted.
The brush strokes were careful and long and thick. Lucas knew the kata extremely well, the trick was to keep the hand steady and to be calm and precise.
It took two days almost, but Lucas painted both sides of Mr. Miyagi's fence line, and he was only a fraction of the way through reviving the entire property back to its former glory.
…
Lucas put the finishing touches on the last fence board and then sat back down.
Daniel would always pop in every few hours to check in on his progress, occasionally bringing snacks and food.
"Good job."
Lucas sat on the front porch of Mr. Miyagi's home, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
He took the half sandwich and water bottle Daniel handed to him, and then offered a piece back.
Daniel didn't accept it.
Instead, he spoke. "You went into the house didn't you?"
"No."
"You did."
"No I didn't, I swear."
Daniel watched Lucas closely again, he didn't flinch or get angry or scared, he merely raised his hands and shook his head.
Lucas watched as Daniel stood up and went inside his old mentor's house.
After a moment, he returned and spoke, sitting back down to him.
There was silence between the two for a moment.
"You listened to me."
Lucas nodded a bit, hiding how shocked he was that Daniel could just tell. "Maybe."
"If you were inside the house, what would you want to see?"
"Pictures. Just, of what it was like for you to be with Mr. Miyagi when you were a kid."
Daniel shifted where he sat on the front porch next to Lucas.
"I'm curious though. I know you're so defensive about it because of what happened between us, but still, how come I can never go in?"
Daniel spoke calmly. "I technically never brought anyone here."
"Really?"
"Mr. Miyagi trained Sam a little bit when she was very young at the home dojo. But this place, this place was special."
Lucas and Daniel then silently sat together as Lucas finished his sandwich.
Daniel spoke. "You absorb the techniques of Miyagi-Do better than I've ever seen them. But I aim to teach you to trust, to trust me, to trust the way life can just be sometimes."
Lucas listened.
"What Mr. Miyagi taught me ironically helped me deal with his passing more than anything else."
"Life can happen, but that's alright."
Daniel glanced at Lucas.
"Yes. Life can happen."
A bird twittered above, when it fluttered from branch to branch above Mr. Miyagi's home.
"You lying to me about Kreese hurt." admitted Daniel. "But not as much as you lying to me to begin with."
Daniel frowned. "I know Cobra Kai can have its, attraction. Believe me, everyone wanted to be a Cobra Kai when I was in high school."
Daniel squinted at Lucas, who nodded. "But you have to sacrifice a part of yourself for power. Always. Especially that kind, don't lose who you are Luke, because I thought you did, I almost lost trust in you for good."
He said nothing.
"I still don't know if you're ready to join Miyagi-Do again yet. But I'll give you this, I do recognize how much you truly seem to care these days."
"Thank you Mr. LaRusso."
"I'll let you spend some time again with Anthony and Sam. Besides, you've earned it."
Lucas then smiled.
…
Daniel and Lucas walked inside the LaRusso home where Amanda was fixing her earring.
"Hey honey, we gotta go now. The Robinsons are already there." Amanda smiled quickly. "Hey, Lucas. Long time no see."
"Hey Mrs. L." Lucas smiled back slightly. "Already, where?"
"The annual summer party at the country club. I think your grandparents are coming, I'll let them know you're not going." said Daniel.
Amanda looked at Daniel. "It almost sounds like you forgot."
"Uh. Something came up, can we get going?"
Already playing a game on his iPad, Anthony waddled past. "Hey Luke."
He nodded to him and Amanda spoke to Lucas. "It was nice seeing you again, Sam's up in her room."
"She's not coming with us?"
"Her friends are coming over." said Amanda.
As Anthony walked to the car Amanda and Daniel had a hurried discussion in the hallway of their front yard.
"Are you sure it's a good idea leaving two teenagers alone together?" asked Daniel.
Amanda scoffed. "Oh please, I don't think anything will happen considering what's happened."
…
Lucas walked up to Sam's room, where she was wrapping up a video call with her friends.
She looked up with a frown to see Lucas in her bedroom door frame.
"Hey."
Sam nodded a bit. "Hey. What have you been up to lately?"
"Your dad gave me an internship again."
"Nice," Sam said flatly. "What's it like?"
"Plenty of yardwork."
Sam was confused. "Yardwork?"
"Oh um." Lucas sighed quickly. "How have you been? Haven't seen you since the start of summer."
"Just been hanging out with Moon and Yas, they're coming over in a second."
Sam tutted.
"Speaking of which, can you help me with something?"
"Sure."
…
Sam and Lucas were setting up snacks and drinks in the LaRusso's backyard pool area.
"So you're having company?"
"Yup." Sam kept her back turned to Lucas, wearing a pink swimsuit beneath a long white t-shirt.
Lucas took a beer out of the ice cooler Sam had. "Ah. Bold I see."
"Don't give me that look, I'm not the only one lying to my dad."
Lucas tossed the beer back inside the ice cooler. "Gotta get some more chips," he mumbled, walking back towards the kitchen.
"Sorry I mean."
Lucas frowned. "I know what you meant Sam, it's all good."
Sam let Lucas come back with more chips in a large plastic bowl and then spoke to him. "So, we're good?"
He ignored the question with his own. "Trying to impress someone?" Lucas tapped the ice cooler with his bare foot. "A guy maybe?"
Sam looked away, holding her arms. "Kyler?" asked Lucas.
"It's none of your business."
"It's cool if you are, he's great at wrestling. He's funny too."
"Stop it."
Lucas chuckled. "I'm just messing with you, the beers don't bother me."
Sam checked her phone. "Moon just pulled up."
Four members of West Valley High school's cheer squad entered the LaRusso's backyard all in bikinis.
Yasmine, Moon, and two other girls, Mackenzie and Lindsay all walked in, clearly good friends with Sam already.
Lucas sat there awkwardly checking his phone while sitting on a couch by the pool.
"Oh my gosh Luke, where have you been all summer?"
Surprised Moon was acting like they were friends, Lucas smiled. "Um. Doing, stuff, for. An internship, it's with Sam's dad."
"Sounds awesome."
Lucas and Moon talked and Lucas noted out of the corner of his eye that Sam was still wearing her white top.
Was Sam shy over her body? He didn't truly mind, but he noted it fast.
Lucas took off his tank top quickly. "I'm gonna just, hop in the pool really quick." he said wearing swim trunks he brought with him from home.
Before Moon could react, Lucas jumped into the LaRusso's pool using a trampoline.
"Guess he got nervous." Yasmine sat down next to Moon on the couch laughing. "Nice abs though."
The two girls giggled and chatted, and Sam awkwardly joined, sitting next to them.
Eventually, Rory, Kyler, Brucks, and a few other of his friends joined the party.
Kyler's face had a burn mark on it and his wrist was in a very tight cast. His other friends were injured too.
Lucas was still running laps like crazy in Sam's pool until eventually, he stopped.
He got out of the pool and Sam walked over, holding a towel.
"Hey. Getting tired yet?"
Lucas laughed. "A little bit."
"Hope you don't mind that Kyler came over."
"Not at all," he said instantly, wrapping the towel around his shoulders.
Brucks burped loudly, sitting in a pool floatie with a black eye. "Yo Schwarber, catch man!"
Lucas barely missed an ice cold beer can to the face.
Brucks and Rory laughed with each other and Lucas nodded. "Thanks dude."
He cracked open the beer can and took a sip.
"Mackenzie had something she wanted to show you on her phone Sam." Moon appeared with a kind smile, and Sam left the side of the pool to join her other friends.
"So." Moon slipped her bare legs into the pool next to Lucas. "Anything else going on this summer besides your internship?"
"It might sound kinda nerdy. But Eli and Demetri and I have been working on a few Lego sets as well as coding a few video games."
Moon laughed, holding a plastic red cup she sipped from. "That sounds awesome actually!"
"Really?"
"Yeah." Lucas gulped, struggling to take his eyes off Moon's perfectly tanned body in a purple bikini. "Can you do me a favor?" Moon smiled, then holding her phone.
"Sure."
"Can you do a flip into the pool for me?"
Lucas nodded and put his beer down.
He then did a back flip off the trampoline into a flying kick that made the whole party cheer.
Both Rory and Brucks high fived him. "Nice man!"
Moon chuckled, handing Lucas his towel when he left.
"That was great, perfect for my Insta. How come you don't follow me?"
Sam began to take notice from nearby, chatting with a few of the other girls.
"Uh. I don't really use Instagram except to promote my stuff for karate."
"You should try it, put yourself out there more." Moon giggled and then pushed Lucas' shoulder slightly, and the two laughed together.
Sam tried laughing with Kyler and pushing his shoulder too when he came by to make gross pool related humor, and he just found it odd.
Sam took a deep breath and then spoke. "Hey Luke, want to race in my pool?"
"Heck yeah I do!" Moon seemed perfectly enthusiastic about the idea too.
Sam looked ready to take her shirt off and race Lucas in her bikini. His eyes even seemed to widen in anticipation.
Before they could though, Daniel LaRusso appeared.
"Alright. Party's over."
He saw Rory exiting the pool. "Is that my swimsuit? Are you all, wearing my swimsuits?"
Lucas was quietly exiting the pool area as quietly as he could.
As Sam and Daniel began to speak, Daniel raised his voice over the leaving teenagers. "Lucas, Mills, Schwarber!" he enunciated each word perfectly.
He turned around slowly.
"Don't think I didn't see you, we'll talk later." Daniel slightly raised an eyebrow.
Lucas winced, turning back around and leaving awkwardly.
"Who are all these people?" asked Daniel.
"My friends." Sam crossed her arms. "I thought you and Mom would be out until later tonight."
"I mean-" Daniel sighed. "Just, clean this all up."
Sam nodded and began to do so before he and Amanda spoke in their kitchen.
…
Daniel frowned. "So I guess something did happen."
"It's not like he and Sam were in the pool together-"
"Don't! Even put that image in my head." Daniel shook his head, rubbing his temples.
Amanda sighed. "Look Sam wants to abandon her old look from middle school. All her friends are cheerleaders, I know how vicious teen girls can be. I think it's healthy for her to fit into that crowd."
"Maybe that old look would be great. Science, karate. Just like Luke, and he gets along perfectly with those kids."
"He doesn't, he used to beat them all up." Amanda deadpanned as Daniel winced painfully at the memory. "And so now Luke does karate again?" Amanda leaned on her kitchen island marble.
Daniel looked away with a slight groan.
"Is that where you were today?"
"Is that wrong?"
"No," said Amanda. "Just that the last time you did karate with him you ended up yelling swear words during a tournament. Never seen you like that before."
"I just want Sam to be safe, teen boys aren't much better than teen girls sometimes."
Amanda laughed. "Don't need to remind me about that either. Just, accept the changes our daughter is going through. You went through the same ones."
Amanda began to put a dish away from the sink. "Maybe spending so much time with Lucas will make you appreciate what it was like to be young once."
Daniel nodded, looking away.
…
Daniel entered Sam's room when she was done video chatting with Moon and Yas and spoke.
"I'm sorry about earlier."
"Don't be," Sam said. "I shouldn't have thrown a party without telling you first."
"Is there a reason why beer was involved?"
Sam frowned. "Not really. It's just." she passed her hand through her hair, brushing it back behind her ear. "Kyler's been having a rough time lately. He got jumped by some homeless guy at a strip mall and-"
"Wait, what the hell happened?"
"I have no idea. All I know is that it took place in Reseda, and now his parents are having some kind of legal trouble with a place called Cobra Kai."
Daniel's eyes widened, as if he was having very violent flashbacks.
"Dad, are you okay?" asked Sam.
Daniel blinked rapidly. "I got to, I got to go."
Sam then watched her father almost run out of her room, she hadn't ever seen him like this.
…
John Kreese nodded with pride at Miguel Diaz, doing knuckle pushups on the mat.
"And up!"
Miguel exploded upwards off his knuckles, sweat dripping off his head.
"Good. And up!"
He bounced upwards again, even managing to land with both feet and both knuckles on the mat once more.
"Perfect that makes fifty five. Aaand, time."
Miguel panted.
"You're improving, good work Diaz."
"Thank you Sensei." he exasperated.
Miguel answered a call from his mother.
They chatted in Spanish for a moment and then Kreese spoke.
"Who was that?"
"My mom, wants me to pick up some groceries on my way back home."
Kreese raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't your father help?" he asked, turning around to start stacking mats away.
"I actually um." Miguel cleared his throat. "Never met him so."
Kreese froze with his back turned to Miguel.
"Did you ever um, meet yours or." Miguel tutted. "Sorry I shouldn't ask."
Kreese mumbled. "You did well tonight son. Go home and get some rest."
"Yes Sensei."
The bell to Reseda's strip mall Cobra Kai karate dojo rang.
"I see old habits die hard."
Kreese turned to look at Daniel.
Miguel stood there awkwardly.
"Old habits include working for a living LaRusso," Kreese muttered. "Not all of us can enjoy lofty car dealerships floating on a silver cloud."
"Didn't know old habits included beating up kids out there." Daniel nodded over his shoulder towards the liquor store nearby.
Kreese nodded towards Miguel. "They were beating up a helpless Mr. Diaz here, now I have to teach him the way of the fist to protect himself."
Miguel smiled awkwardly. "Hi." he waved.
Daniel turned towards Kreese.
"Didn't know you ever protected kids from bullies. Being one yourself."
"You never knew me very well anyway kid." Kreese smirked at Daniel, Miguel added to the sentiment.
Daniel turned towards Miguel now. "Look I'm sorry you got mixed up in this. But if you want to know what an absolute monster this person is, ask someone named Johnny Lawrence what he'd do to his students."
Daniel took a deep breath. "If you want to learn true karate, you can always learn for free at Miyagi-Do."
"Miyagi-what?" Miguel was confused, balling his fists and nearing Daniel.
His Sensei stuck a hand out, stopping Miguel. Kreese inched towards Daniel.
Neither man batted an eye.
"You made a mistake coming here. I opened this place so I can make enough money for legal counsel against the Parks in the assault of their son. But I assure you, I won't have Johnny fighting my battles for me anymore."
Daniel nodded a bit. "You're in for a rude awakening, I promise."
"Anytime LaRusso, anywhere." he chuckled. "Any challenge you have, I'll match it."
Daniel shook his head and left.
Miguel turned to Kreese. "What was that about a Johnny Lawrence?"
"You can find out on your own, I don't really care." Kreese glanced at Miguel before he began to walk to the backroom of the dojo.
Miguel raised an eyebrow and Kreese began to finish speaking. "Again, go home kid. It's been a long day."
Miguel picked up his bicycle outside the Cobra Kai strip mall dojo and began to ride home. "Who in the world is Johnny Lawrence?" he mumbled to himself.
…
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A/N:
Hey everyone, I wanted to say real quick that I still have decided on the actor in my head when writing Frank Mills' scenes to be his original actor from the first Karate Kid film William Bassett.
Lucas was and will always be Dylan Minnette, I don't know why he fits so well, and his grandmother is also Deborah May, the actress Season 3 of Cobra Kai gave us.
Other than that, there are no original characters or characters who did not make an appearance in the Cobra Kai show here.
Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you all soon!