A/N: I started a new job, so I might not have as much time to write as I'd like. I will still try and upload one or two chapters a month (more or less), so it's not as if I'll just drop off the face of the earth or anything.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.

First Day

Johnny walked out of the police station just as a cop was leading someone inside.

He walked into the California sunshine and covered his eyes with his right hand.

Sid had bailed him out.

Johnny still thought that the old man was completely repulsive, but he had his uses.

If Sid hadn't have bailed him out, then Bobby would have had to bail him out again. And he didn't want to unnecessarily put a strain on their friendship.

It wasn't the first time that he had spent the night in a cell.

Even if he kind of got arrested because he defended some kid from getting picked on. Which was pretty unusual for him.

But what was that kid's name?

It was probably something Hispanic or Latin sounding. Like Miguel. Maybe.

He scratched his head before calling a cab.

His car was still parked at that strip mall in Reseda where the fight between him, Kreese's grandson and those annoying teenagers had happened. And there was no other way of getting to that strip mall.

Johnny finds somewhere to sit down while he waits for the cab to show up.

Besides, there was no way in hell that he would tip the cab driver, even if he had the money to do so.

It was somewhere between twenty minutes and half an hour when the cab arrived.

"Where do you want to go?" The cab driver asks.

Johnny opens the door and gets into the passenger seat. "There's this strip mall in Reseda where my car is. It's got this kebab place or whatever, a mini-mart and a vape store. Oh, and there's some empty space there too. You know it?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. So, you're in luck." The cab driver answers.

Johnny buckles his seatbelt. "Good."

The cab driver nods before driving off.

Johnny isn't quite sure what to say in terms of small talk, so he just looks out the window.

The driver turns on the radio and has it tuned to a decent station.

Which is a first.

He almost starts counting down the time it takes the cab driver to drive from where he waited for a cab to the strip mall in Reseda.

The day, or the first part of it, could only get better from here.

….

Miguel had been waiting most of the morning for the homeless looking blonde guy who fought Kyler and his friends with Jason last night to show up.

His mom had to go to work and Yaya was still kind of ill.

Which meant that he had the morning to spend waiting.

Well, after eating breakfast.

Eventually, the red Pontiac Firebird from last night pulled up and came to a complete stop.

Miguel watched as the door opened and the guy from last night stepped out of it.

He walks up to him.

"Hey! Are you going to teach me those moves you and Jason did during that fight last night?" Miguel asks.

The guy gives him an exasperated look. "I don't know, kid. I'm not even sure that I'm allowed to be around kids right now."

"Those guys are going to make my life miserable. I was kind of hoping that you could teach me how to defend myself. And maybe I could wear those karate pyjamas or whatever, too." Miguel says.

The guy shakes his head. "First of all, it's called a Gi. And second of all, you just don't get handed a Gi. You have to earn it. And…."

"I don't need to learn karate in order to defend myself?" Miguel asks.

The guy sighs. "I didn't quite say that. Look, if you want me to teach you and that other kid that badly, then I'll do it. But you're going to have to listen to me. And we're going to have to find a place to train."

"If we don't have a place to train, then you won't be able to teach me?" Miguel wonders.

The guy nods. "Yeah. And I don't know where I'll get the money to buy or rent a place. Sorry to get your hopes up, kid."

"Don't worry about it." Miguel tries to sound reassuring.

The guy just ignores him and opens the door to his apartment before going inside and closing it.

Miguel isn't sure if he should tell Jason the good news because it's too early to say whether the guy from last night will train them or not.

He walks back to his apartment and opens the door before closing it.

The only thing he could do now was wait.

….

Johnny closed the door to his apartment and walked into the living room.

To his surprise, he saw Sid's care assistant Rhonda sitting on the couch watching some judge show on TV.

Which meant that Sid was here.

Johnny noticed Sid practically leaning over the countertop.

"What the hell do you want, Sid?" Johnny asks.

Sid frowns. "I bailed you out of jail again and this is the thanks I get?"

"You showed up at my apartment unannounced. I'm not sure how you expected me to react." Johnny retorts.

Sid's frown became more pronounced. "When I promised your mother that I'd take care of you, I didn't think that I'd have to take care of you into my old age. Which brings me to why I came here."

"And why did you come here?" Johnny asks.

Sid reaches into his coat pocket and takes out a cheque. "I'm buying you out of my life, kid. I think that amount is pretty generous. Wouldn't you agree?"

"So, I should be grateful for a little handout? Is that it?" Johnny asks.

Sid shakes his head. "You can call it whatever you want. I'm done with bailing you out. Even your mother would understand."

"Fine. I guess you got what you came for, then. Now get out." Johnny says.

Sid leaves the cheque on the countertop and walks towards the door. "Rhonda! Call Art's and see if they've got that belly lox!"

Rhonda rolls her eyes and turns off the TV before rising to her feet.

It's obvious that Sid wasn't exactly the easiest person to look after.

Johnny watches as Sid opens the door and closes it behind him.

Rhonda just about managed to make it out of the door before it closed.

Johnny walks over to where Sid left the cheque and takes it before walking back to the couch and sitting down.

He looks at the cheque.

The amount of money that the cheque is worth was surprisingly generous for something that Sid, of all people, had given him.

He sits forward and inspects the cheque while recalling his earlier conversation with that Hispanic kid. Or, Miguel, if that's what his name was.

Johnny puts the cheque to one side and walks to the fridge in order to grab a Coors Banquet.

He opens it and takes a drink, taking care not to spill any of it on the cheque.

The cheque could be enough to buy or rent a dojo, or somewhere that had the space necessary to teach people karate. He wasn't going to teach people karate in a YMCA or a park.

Johnny turns on the TV while he thinks of what to say to Miguel. Or, at least that's what that kid's name was. If it wasn't, he would have to think of something else to call him or risk embarrassing himself.

He flicked through the channels until he saw something that he could watch. All while drinking his beer.

The channel that he happened to land on was showing a familiar commercial.

Johnny turns off the TV in disgust and goes to get another beer.

He takes the cheque and inspects it again.

If anything, Sid might have been a little too generous.

After finishing his second beer, he decides to put the cheque back on the countertop.

He grabs his keys and walks towards the door before opening it.

Johnny closes the door behind him and walks across to where he assumes Miguel's apartment is.

When he gets to the apartment, he knocks on the door and waits.

The door opens after a couple of minutes.

"So, did you change your mind?" Miguel asks.

Johnny nods. "Something like that, kid."

"Are you going to be our teacher?" Miguel asks.

Johnny shakes his head. "No. I'm going to be your Sensei."

"Holy shit! Thank you so much! You're not going to regret this, I swear!" Miguel exclaims.

Johnny smiles awkwardly. "I hope not. So, what's your name?"

"It's Miguel." Miguel replies.

Johnny lets out a sigh of relief. "That was kind of my guess."

"What's your name? And, when can we start training?" Miguel asks.

Johnny shrugs. "My name's Johnny, Johnny Lawrence. But it's not going to matter. We can start training as soon as tomorrow if you wanted to. I just need to make a couple calls first. Are you going to tell Jason?"

"Yeah. And, how do you know Jason's name?" Miguel wonders.

Johnny scratches his head. "Um. Well. A friend told me."

"Some friend." Miguel says.

Johnny nods. "Yeah. I better get going. Got calls to make, after all."

Miguel watches as Johnny walks back to his apartment.

It might be a good idea for him to call Jason and tell him about his conversation with Johnny.

And he decides to do just that.

….

Jason hadn't expected Miguel to call him so soon.

He was in his car, so he had to park it and take the call.

Jason took his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hey! Jason! I've got some good news!" Miguel sounds excited.

Jason seems a little surprised. "Really? Good news about what?"

"You remember that guy from last night?" Miguel asks.

Jason nods. "Kind of? He's the guy who got arrested, right?"

"Yeah. But that's beside the point. He's agreed to teach us karate. Well, more so me than you. But he did agree to teach both of us. And he said that we could start training as soon as tomorrow." Miguel answers.

Jason seems surprised. "Tomorrow? So, he's found a place to train already?"

"Yeah. There was a unit for sale or rent at that strip mall where that bodega is. I'm guessing that he's either bought it or rented it." Miguel replies.

Jason nods. "Oh. Well. That probably would explain it."

"Yeah." Miguel says.

Jason has an idea. "I think that we should celebrate."

"And how should we do that?" Miguel asks.

Jason thinks about it. "Well, we could buy sodas at the bodega? Or do you want to do something else?"

"Sodas would sound good." Miguel replies.

Jason smiles. "Great."

"See you later." Miguel hangs up.

Jason puts his phone down before turning on the radio.

He starts the Dodge Viper and drives to Silver's house, only stopping to get gas.

It would be a good idea to tell Silver that he would be training with somebody and that training would possibly interfere with his job.

….

The gate in front of Silver's house had been opened prior to Jason's arrival.

He parked the Dodge Viper and stopped the car.

Jason got out of the Dodge Viper and closed the door behind him.

He walked up to the door and knocked.

The door was opened after about a minute.

"Jason. It's good to see you. And, it would seem that we have much to discuss. So, come in." Silver looks out with an expectant look in his eyes.

Jason nods. "Alright. So, where's Cheyenne?"

"She's busy. And, she knows her place even if she wasn't." Silver replies.

Jason watches as Silver walked past him and sits down at a table that looked like it had been transported into the house for the occasion.

He sits down at the other end of the table. "So, do you want to get this started or should I start talking?"

"You got into a fight yesterday at some bodega in Reseda." Silver states.

Jason nods. "Yep. Against four idiots who couldn't leave well enough alone."

"But you didn't fight them alone, did you?" Silver asks.

Jason shakes his head. "There was this blonde guy who looked like a hobo or something. He busted out the same moves that Grampa Kreese taught me along with some stuff that he didn't teach me."

"That man's name is Johnny Lawrence. And he was one of John's top students a long time ago. I thought that he quit karate, but apparently not." Silver says.

Jason absorbs this particular piece of information. "Okay. And, I've kind of got something else to tell you."

"What is it?" Silver wonders.

Jason scratches his head. "Well, that Johnny Lawrence guy is going to be training me and some other kid. So, I might not be able to work for you as much. If that's okay."

"I understand. You've already done so much, after all. But that doesn't mean we have to stop working with each other entirely." Silver remarks.

Jason is a bit confused. "Really?"

"Perhaps you could spy on Mr Lawrence for me. Or would I be asking a little bit too much?" Silver muses.

Jason thinks about it. "I don't know. I think he'd figure it out pretty quickly if I did spy on him."

"I didn't think of that. But John would be very interested in hearing that his best student might be resurrecting Cobra Kai without him or myself." A smile crosses Silver's face.

Jason nods. "He probably would be. So, I guess that covers it?"

"I think so. You're free to leave. Enjoy the rest of your day." Silver replies.

Jason pushes back his chair and walks out of the room.

He closes the door behind him and walks over to the Dodge Viper and unlocks it.

Jason gets into the car and turns on the radio before starting it and driving off.

He thinks about what Silver told him.

The fact that he was being trained by one of Kreese's students, and one of his top students at that, wouldn't change anything.

At least, that's what he assumed.

….

Jason had dinner before driving to Miguel's apartment in Reseda.

He parked the Dodge Viper a close distance away from where Miguel's apartment was and got out.

Jason walked up to the door and knocked.

He knocked a few times before the door opened.

"Hey, Jason." Miguel leans against the open door.

Jason nods. "Hey. You ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'll just tell my mom and Yaya that I'm heading out. If that's okay." Miguel replies.

Jason agrees. "Sure."

He waits as Miguel partly closes the door before walking back into his apartment.

After a few minutes, Miguel re-emerges and closes the door fully behind him.

"I'm kind of new to the Valley, so I wonder if you wouldn't mind showing me around?" Miguel asks.

Jason smiles. "Sure. I know just the place."

"Awesome." Miguel sounds happy.

They walk over to the Dodge Viper and Jason unlocks it.

Miguel gets in the passenger seat and Jason gets in the driver seat.

He starts the car and turns on the radio.

They drive off.

The Valley was a surprisingly big place and Miguel needed help navigating it.

Besides, helping each other was what friends did.

….

Jason drives Miguel to the strip mall where the bodega was.

He parks the Dodge Viper beside a familiar red Pontiac Firebird.

"I'm guessing that Johnny, or Sensei Lawrence, is setting up the dojo." Miguel observes.

Jason nods. "Yeah. I didn't think he'd have a lot to set up, though."

"Maybe. But I don't really feel like going and asking him." Miguel says.

Jason agrees. "Me neither."

They get out of the car and Jason locks it.

He walks into the bodega ahead of Miguel.

The cashier doesn't seem to recognise them. Or, he doesn't call attention to the fact that he recognises them if he does.

Jason buys some snacks and two sodas.

He pays for the snacks and sodas before him and Miguel leave the bodega.

"So, where in the Valley are you taking me?" Miguel asks.

Jason grins. "It's a surprise."

"Okay. So, you're just not going to tell me." Miguel rolls his eyes.

Jason nods. "I'm not."

He starts the Dodge Viper and they drive off.

The snacks and sodas are kept somewhere safe, so they're not falling around all over the place.

….

Jason parks the Dodge Viper across from the All Valley Sports Arena, but parks it so that any passing cars won't drive into it.

He opens the door on the driver's side and grabs half the snacks and a soda.

Jason closes the door of the car and watches as Miguel grabs the other snacks and his soda before closing the door.

They lean against the car and start eating.

"So, why exactly did you bring me here?" Miguel asks.

Jason looks at him. "Well, that guy from last night said that he'd train us. I thought it would be a good idea to see where that training could take us."

"To a building that's obviously not open at night?" Miguel retorts.

Jason gives Miguel a slight nudge. "Hey! That wasn't the point!"

"So, what was the point?" Miguel wonders.

Jason smiles. "I was hoping you'd ask. The All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament is a pretty big deal. And it's got some of the best karate dojos in the Valley competing in it. Maybe the dojo that Johnny guy starts to train us will be in it. You never know."

"And you're going to try and suggest that one of us could win the next one?" Miguel remarks.

Jason nods. "Kind of. Obviously, it's not going to happen overnight. It's a gradual process."

"To gradual processes, then." Miguel makes a sort of toast with his can of soda.

Jason nods. "To gradual processes!"

They finish their snacks and sodas before Jason puts the empty wrappers and cans on the backseats of the Dodge Viper.

He'll remember to get rid of them when he drives back to his house. But for now, there's no issue.

"So, how long are we going to stand around here for?" Miguel asks.

Jason shrugs. "Just a little bit longer."

They stand around for a few more minutes before getting back into the Dodge Viper and driving off.

Jason makes sure that another car won't drive into them.

He drives back to where Miguel's apartment is so he can drop Miguel off before driving back to his house.

Tomorrow was another day, after all.

And it was going to be the start of something new.

….

Johnny had spent hours setting up the dojo.

He painted the Cobra Kai logo on the wall nearest to the door and painted "Defeat Does Not Exist" on the other side.

On the wall across from a wall of mirrors, he painted a familiar slogan; "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy."

Johnny woke up feeling refreshed and, arguably, happier than he had been in months. Or years.

It felt good to have a purpose in life again.

And he wasn't even hungover. Well, he was a bit hungover, but it wasn't nearly so bad.

Johnny got dressed and shaved whatever facial hair had been accumulating the last few weeks.

He also brushed his teeth.

Johnny walked out of his room and walked past the door to the spare room he maintained in the vain hope that Robby could spend a weekend with him.

He got to the kitchen and looked through his fridge.

Johnny settled on making fried bologna and eating that with hot sauce or whatever he had laying around.

When he was finished cooking and eating, he put the plate and cutlery in the dishwasher before sitting on his sofa.

He runs through everything he's going to say to that Miguel kid and Jason.

Everything he knew about being a Sensei came from Kreese, and that clearly wasn't a good thing.

So, he would have to try a different approach.

He gets up and walks to the fridge and takes out a Coors Banquet.

Johnny opens it and, uncharacteristically, sips his beer in thought.

He wondered if it would be worth telling Bobby, Tommy, Jimmy and possibly even Dutch if he managed to arrange a visit with him that he'd not only opened a karate dojo but also brought back Cobra Kai.

There was a chance that could open up some memories for them.

So, he decided against it.

For now, at least.

He had to see what Miguel and Jason were made of first.

Johnny walks back over to the fridge and takes out a Coors Banquet.

He sits back down and opens the Coors Banquet, flicking the bottle cap away as he does so.

Johnny was only limiting himself to one alcoholic drink.

Mainly because he wanted to completely savour the moment of actually teaching people.

….

Jason parks the Dodge Viper outside of the Cobra Kai dojo.

He gets out of the car and notices Miguel waiting outside the dojo.

"I think we might be early." Miguel says.

Jason looks around. "You might be right. I don't see the Pontiac Firebird anywhere."

"Me neither." Miguel looks for any sign of the Pontiac Firebird.

Eventually, the Pontiac Firebird pulls up outside the dojo and stops.

Jason and Miguel both watch as Johnny, or Sensei, get out of the car and walks towards the door of the dojo.

He unlocks it and walks in.

Jason and Miguel look at each other and nod before walking into the dojo.

They notice a cobra painted on the wall with what they assume is the Cobra Kai dojo.

On the other wall is a slogan stating that "Defeat Does Not Exist."

They walk further into the dojo and can see a wall with mirrors on it.

Opposite that wall is the motto "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy."

Standing in the centre of the room is the man who was going to be their Sensei.

"I didn't think you would show up." Sensei says.

Miguel shakes his head. "We weren't going to pass up on a chance to learn actual karate."

"That's the spirit. So, what are your names?" Sensei asks.

Jason couldn't help but think that Sensei already knew their names.

But he went along with it. "My name is Jason Kreese."

"My name is Miguel Diaz. And I think I introduced myself to you yesterday." Miguel says.

Sensei nods. "Okay. Whenever you're in this dojo, you will refer to me as "Sensei." Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei!" Miguel and Jason shout.

Sensei smiles. "Good. I want to see where you're at. And there's only one way of doing that."

"Which is what exactly?" Miguel asks.

Sensei claps his hands together. "Sparring. So, get into a fighting stance."

Jason gets into a fighting stance.

Miguel gets into a fighting stance as well.

"I'm guessing this is the part where we fight, right? It's nothing personal." Jason remarks.

Miguel nods. "Yeah."

Jason lands a punch to Miguel's stomach and it causes him to almost double up in pain.

Miguel takes out an inhaler and takes a few puffs on it.

"What seems to be the problem, Mr Diaz?" Sensei asks.

Miguel takes a deep breath. "Well, he hit me and I have asthma. So…"

"Not anymore you don't. You can take asthma, peanut allergies and all that other made-up crap and leave it outside. Because those things don't exist in this dojo." Sensei takes the inhaler out of Miguel's hands and throws it against the wall.

Jason and Miguel watch as the inhaler breaks.

Miguel looks at Sensei with a confused expression on his face. "But those are real things, though?"

"Real pussy things." Sensei retorts.

Miguel sighs. "Don't you think you're doing a lot of gendering?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Diaz?" Sensei asks.

Miguel takes a deep breath. "Well, my guidance counsellor says that gendered language perpetuates a sexist world view that…."

"QUIET! You don't listen to your guidance counsellor in here. You listen to me. And that goes for both of you." Sensei interrupts him.

Jason is about to say something but is interrupted by the door opening.

An overweight, officious looking man with a beard wearing jeans, black shoes and a buttoned-up shirt steps into the dojo.

Sensei looks at him. "Are you looking to get into shape?"

"No." The man answers.

Sensei sighs. "Alright. So, why are you here?"

"You haven't opened yet, right? Because there's a lot of things that you would need to do before you can open. I'll just give you some of these forms." The man hands Sensei the aforementioned forms.

Sensei looks at the forms. "I haven't opened yet. The two people here aren't my students. They're an illegal I hired this morning and my nephew."

"I don't care about that. I'm just making sure that you know what you have to do in order to officially open. Nice snake, by the way." The man makes his way over to the door and opens it.

They watch as the man leaves.

Sensei looks at Miguel and Jason. "Your first job as Cobra Kai students is to get this dojo up to code so it can open. Can you handle it?"

"Yes, Sensei!" Miguel and Jason exclaim.

They train for a little bit before class ends.

Sensei goes to his office which is located at the back of the dojo.

This leaves Jason and Miguel to start getting the dojo up to code.

It shouldn't be too much of a difficult process with two people.

That's what they hoped, at least.