Chapter Twelve: The Mills Legacy

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Author's Note: I've kinda reconsidered, Ed Begley Jr. might be a better fit for Ali Mills' dad than his original actor from the first Karate Kid film in this fanfic.

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Sensei Garcia's Combine went by rather well.

Johnny was surprised to find out that just by attending the karate seminar both him and his son qualified to compete in karate in southern california.

Daniel, Kreese, and Johnny were all surprised too, that they found out their best students were decently ahead of most kids their own age in sparring.

Miguel was the newest to the sport of karate, but he did great. He sparred with confidence, agility, speed, and ferocity. Unlike Aisha, he knew when not to be aggressive, and also, when to be aggressive.

It was clear however, that out of the dozens and dozens of karatekas aged between six and fifty six more or less, the best male fighters were two teenage boys.

Robby Keene and Lucas Schwarber, ironically newcomers to karate who had only been competing for over a year.

Robby was a noticeably tiny step behind Lucas, the two didn't spar for the entire seminar, but it was clear during the formal sparring matches, that Lucas was incredibly skilled.

Several black belt boys aged anywhere from fourteen to as old as seventeen sparred with Lucas.

Kicks were two points if they were to the torso, or three if they were to the head, all straight punches except the jab to the body were a single point, and the sweep followed up by any sort of clean strike was three points.

The boys Lucas, Miguel, and Robby sparred at the combine had years of experience competing in karate both in Southern California and abroad. None of them came remotely close to any of them, especially Lucas and Robby.

Every Sensei there noticed this, and was a bit shocked but still pleasantly surprised.

It got to the point where a female fighter out of Santa Ana California, a young woman mostly visiting while finishing her last semesters of nursing school in Nevada, by the name of Amy Song, part of an extremely prestigious Shito-Ryu karate school, had to get her gloves on.

Amy had retired from formal sparring competitions for years and had won international medals in the highest level of competition in tournaments, starting to compete since the age of thirteen, until she retired over a decade later at twenty four already about to receive a degree in nursing and formally aid her school in building new karatekas.

She was known widely, as the Sensei Song.

While Sensei Garcia and even Johnny Lawrence a little bit had already known who she was, the whole dojo, the entire karate combine, over seventy people visiting from several different dojos to practice forms and sparring, stood completely silent when Amy challenged Lucas to a formal point sparring match.

She politely requested that Daniel not participate in any coaching.

Robby, Miguel, Aisha, and everyone there watched as a Pan American, or Karate Olympic medalist fought Lucas.

To his credit, he actually gave her a much better fight than he was expecting.

Sensei Garcia presided over the match with aid from four judges sitting with blue and red flags.

The match was not filmed out of respect to Lucas, as Amy insisted.

Amy sent a message to all the teens watching about what it took to be a real competitor in karate. That it took effort, skill, and years and years and years of practice to perfect.

Lucas lost 7 points to nothing, and in Daniel's opinion, the judging was completely fine.

Lucas had no chance from the second the match began but still tried his best.

Amy only scored three times. She was able to time Lucas' head movement and ring positioning so well, that within a split second she convinced Lucas he had to move in one direction just to move in a different one to avoid one kick.

To be hit in the head with another, all within a single second.

The kick was perfectly controlled, but it was so snappy that her footguard smacked Lucas' head slightly back for a moment.

Down three points to nothing, Lucas stayed calm but remained outmatched.

Lucas had no idea how a Vietnamese girl a full head shorter than him moved like some sort of superhuman.

No matter what Lucas did, he was countered, blocked, or dodged.

Amy's attacks were so precise and well timed that Lucas barely had a split second to avoid being struck, and that was even if Amy felt like attacking.

She got Lucas anxious enough to land his own, and first point, that he spun himself out of the ring to get a warning.

Amy somehow had some sort of instinct that could predict Lucas would jab, and she hit him with a reverse punch to the kidneys so powerful and so well timed that it instantly winded him.

The match continued four points to nothing, and eventually Amy managed to tie up Lucas easily at close range to sweep him later on in the fight to score another three points.

Amy had been watching Miguel, Robby, Lucas, and another kid sparring the entire day, and after it was more or less shown to them with their own eyes just who she was, she told them.

"Every new day, is a chance to grow. You all have potential, just listen to your Senseis, work hard, never let one medal or one day determine the rest of your journey in karate."

Instantly, the boys bowed their heads, said 'Oss' and shook Amy's hand.

And like that, Amy returned to Nevada the next day, and Johnny knew, driving his son home, Robby wanted to be just like that girl.

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Months passed, Lucas flirted with several girls, more or less tugging the heartstrings of Lindsay Martin, Moon, Yasmine, and Samantha LaRusso when she and Miguel had a falling out. He had begun leading them on with the promise of becoming their boyfriend, while having cute dates and sexy flirts on the side with all of them.

Despite joining Miyagi-Do, little had changed besides his karate allegiance in Lucas.

Shortly after Thanksgiving break, Lucas was studying for his AP Physics exam when his grandfather knocked on his door.

"You got a minute?"

"Yeah Pops, one second." he closed his laptop quickly.

Frank Anthony 'Pops' Mills did not have a study like Lucas' room.

No karate posters and gear about, no printed out picture of his day at Sensei Garcia's historic combine, nothing but some photos, of the most important medical professionals in the country shaking Frank's hand.

Lucas sat down in the chair opposite Frank's desk.

It was cold out already, so Frank fixed some logs in the fireplace as Donnie Junior panted.

"So what's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you." the old man fixed his glasses. "About your karate obsession. And that incident that happened in the arcade a while ago."

"What about it?"

"I think it's time I talked to you seriously about your future son."

Frank crossed his hands and sat down in his chair, Lucas listened quietly.

"I need to tell you something neither of your parents had neither the time nor the interest to do so."

Lucas shrugged, rubbing his nose.

"You are an incredibly gifted kid. You're at the top of your class, you have a good sport, good friends that I more than approve of. But-"

"But what?"

Frank sighed.

"Your mother was in the middle of this karate obsession, this, this weird phase back in the day. It wasn't healthy. Both the boys she dated basically ruined her last year of highschool with it."

Lucas scoffed. "So? The eighties had karate fights over girls, that was stupid. I'm not that dumb."

"No son, you're much stupider."

"What are you talking about?"

"You beat up your classmates in an arcade over a karate feud. Over a dojo feud. You're repeating the same mistakes kids your age were making years ago. Over nothing, mistakes that could poorly affect the rest of your entire life."

Lucas sighed and Frank continued. "I've known John Kreese, your karate teacher Dan LaRusso, and Johnny Lawrence, for decades before you were born. Karate, is just one giant waste of time."

"Is it?" Lucas shifted angrily in his chair. "Is that why you gave that loan to Kreese?"

"Who told you that?" Frank scratched his stubble.

"He did. Quite honestly Gramps, the fuck's wrong with you?"

"Watch your tone."

"You're talking to me about stupidity? Why would you even give him any money?"

Frank explained. "To end this nonsense once and for all. He'd get out of everyone's hair if he did as I asked."

"You spent thousands of dollars of our families money to open that absolute mess of a place. That place responsible for like, nothing! Nothing but suffering." Lucas said. "That place is the only reason why I had to fight anyone at the arcade in the first place."

"Luke John Kreese has handled our agreement fairly from what I understand. You're the one who needs to make peace."

"I'm not apologizing for defending myself from a group of douchebags wanting to beat me up."

Frank raised a finger and an eyebrow. "One day, you need to be the one sitting in this chair. You have to make the right decisions Lucas. You quit karate, actually take your hopes for medical school seriously someday. And I guarantee that John Kreese will be an issue of tomorrow for you."

Lucas chuckled. "And here you are, you reached your point."

"Son." Frank scoffed, fixing his glasses again. "Your sister is smart, and talented, and kind. But she has no real interest or skill in science. Ava's great, but she'll never be a doctor."

"And I need to be one?"

"You have the financial and intellectual capacity to actually do some good in your community. To become a better person, to live up to the name Mills."

Lucas shook his head. "I came to LA to do karate. Not to be your puppet Gramps."

"What else are you going to do with your life then huh? Tell me. Are you going to do karate professionally?"

"I don't know yet. I can't, I literally am halfway through sophomore year at West Valley."

Frank smiled. "That's okay. I get that, I promise you, there's no rush to decide anything now. I just need you to do one thing. Part ways with Daniel LaRusso, say goodbye to karate. And you'll be safer."

"What?"

"Kreese and those hooligans will give up on going after you the second you leave this karate nonsense behind. With that out of the way, you can actually become who have to be. Who you were destined to be."

Frank stood up and so did Lucas.

Frank put a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"Medicine is just a part of your journey in life. But karate is useless. It's a martial art that only caused pointless fights and trouble when your mother was a girl, and now that you're in highschool too. It's doing the same."

Lucas was quiet.

"Isn't it?"

The look on Lucas' face agreed almost completely with everything Frank was saying, but was still conflicted.

"You can become the man you were meant to be son. It will take years, and I'll give you all the advice you need. My father was the personal physician to LA's most popular mayor in history, and everyone we know told me I was always the better doctor, same you can be someday. I was asked to help be on medical advisory boards from San Diego to Palm Springs even after my retirement."

Frank gripped Lucas' shoulder slightly harder, smiling to him, nodding.

"I only want to help you Luke. You're a responsible kid, smart, applied, good natured. Why ruin that with fights? And nonsense that's really gonna get you nowhere? That's all karate is, or can be?"

"You don't approve of Daniel LaRusso. When we're practically neighbors with him."

"Daniel LaRusso got to where he is because of karate. It was a brand, a gimmick." said Frank. "Medicine doesn't need gimmicks. You don't need gimmicks either, that's not who you are."

Lucas nodded for a little bit.

"If you can't see what Mr. LaRusso is trying to do for me then there's no point in explaining it to you."

"Lucas."

Frank paused and Lucas kept listening.

"A day might come when this house, or our safety might be threatened because of John Kreese. I gave him that loan under the assumption you too would leave this behind and let Kreese conduct his business in peace."

"You were the only way he could teach that crap."

"Crap you enable by still doing karate. Quit son, quit karate and then-"

"And then what? I still go to school with all of Kreese's students. My friends are gonna be harassed every day if I don't know how to defend myself. It's hard to put a leash on a rabid dog if you keep feeding it, and that's what you did by giving him that money."

Lucas sighed, shaking his head and walking towards the door.

Frank called out. "It tears me apart to see you waste your teenage years like this. Your mother didn't do this, she knew exactly where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do."

Lucas firmly let go of the doorknob.

"I'll let you compete in this tournament you said you had next May. Let this be your last one ever. Because you'll never live under my roof again after that Lucas while you still do karate. I've seen what it does to people, and what it did to John Lawrence? What John Kreese did to this town?"

Lucas sighed, knowing the point his grandfather was making.

"Was sacrilige."

Frank sighed as well, shaking his head. "What kind of hobby or sport takes this much? Needs you to fight, and lie. Do basketball players brawl by the half dozen in mini golf courses? That's…"

Frank trailed.

"Literally insane. A sport is simple, even those in combat sports like the martial arts." Frank shook his head. "You pay a fee, you have a coach. You compete. Here, it's as if." Frank put his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"It's as if you're literally at war with these people to compete against them. In karate. War, like John Kreese might as well send his kids to Dan LaRusso's house to set things on fire over a karate based disagreement."

Lucas looked at his grandfather for a moment as if he might have been completely right.

"Lucas. I'm not asking you to drop sports, or even stop doing martial arts if that's what you and all your friends are into. Just to stay away from LaRusso, Lawrence, and Kreese. They're just bad news son. And I think you know they are."

Lucas said nothing, and then he left.

Frank watched him leave, and when he did, he pulled his iPhone out of his desk drawer.

When he did so, he opened it, and then called his daughter.

"We need to talk."

Ali's voice wasn't heard over the phone.

"Yup, the kid's trouble. He's been in two fights in as many school semesters. My guess is." Frank turned in his desk chair, rubbing the top of a smiling Donnie Junior's head. "That number is bound to go up."

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