A/N: I've got some things planned for Season 2, but those plans are being kept under wraps for now. What I will say is that one or two characters from Season 6 might be making a cameo appearance.

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

Johnny had gotten up early to go and buy a mirror to replace the one that had been broken during his fight with Kreese.

He'd spent an hour or two putting the mirror back where the previous mirror had been.

It was a relatively straightforward job compared to some of the jobs he'd taken when he was still a handyman, but that wasn't the point.

He just needed to do something that would kill time before he had to go and meet Kreese.

Johnny parks the Dodge Challenger in a parking space outside of Smitty's Diner.

He takes the key out of the ignition and puts it in his pocket before he gets out of the car, taking his jacket with him.

Johnny walks over to the diner and opens the door.

He walks past the jukebox and sees Kreese sitting alone at a booth.

Johnny walks down to the booth and sits across from Kreese.

"Thanks for coming. I didn't think that you were going to show up. But I guess that I was wrong." Kreese says.

Johnny is quick to respond. "Let's make this fast. Because I don't plan on staying here for long."

He's about to say something else when he's interrupted by a waitress.

"Do you know what you want?" The waitress asks.

Johnny shakes his head. "I'm fine, thanks."

"How's the corned beef hash?" Kreese asks.

The waitress's answer is fairly short. "It's fine."

"I'll have it well done. And bring me a cup of Sanka. Red hot. Just like you, Doll face." Kreese answers.

The waitress nods, not reacting to Kreese's attempt at flirting with her. "Right."

Kreese watches as the waitress walks away, while Johnny keeps his attention focused on his former Sensei.

"She reminds me of a girl I knew back in Panama. I spent some time there back in '89 helping Delta Force get that son of a bitch Noriega…." Kreese starts.

Johnny isn't impressed. "What the hell do you want, old man?"

"Are you familiar with the concept of brumation?" Kreese asks.

Johnny shakes his head. "I'm not."

"Some animals bury themselves in a hole during the winter and sleep there until spring." Kreese explains.

Johnny still isn't convinced. "Isn't that called hibernation?"

"No. That's for warm-blooded creatures. For cold-blooded creatures, like snakes, it's brumation. A snake would bury itself in a hole just like a warm-blooded creature would. The only difference is that the snake doesn't sleep. It stays awake for the entire winter, waiting for the right moment to emerge. And that moment is now." Kreese answers.

Johnny is not convinced. "Oh? Is it?"

"I've travelled all over the world. After Cobra Kai shut down again in '85, I knew that I had to fight to survive. So, I re-enlisted. I ran strikes in Desert Storm, and I trained Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Strictly off the books, of course. Buried. Waiting. But when I climbed out of my hole, the world had changed completely. Society has gotten weak. The kids of today are completely spoiled and coddled. They get awarded trophies just for showing up. Something has to be done. Someone has to step in and stop the ass kissing and start the ass kicking. Which is why we're here. The world is crying out for Cobra Kai." Kreese replies.

Johnny is nonplussed. "That was a nice speech. The only problem with it is that there is no "We." And there never will be. Not after what you did."

"All I'm saying is that I can help you." Kreese retorts.

Johnny shakes his head. "I don't need it."

"That's the thing. You might not think you need my help, but your students…." Kreese is about to say something.

Johnny bangs his hand against the table. "Stay the hell away from my students, you understand? You completely ruined my life!"

"We might have had our disagreements, but I didn't ruin your life. You had no life before you met me, and your life was circling the drain before my grandson and that Mexican came into it. You might not remember the person you were before you joined Cobra Kai, but I still remember that you were a weak little child." Kreese says.

Johnny nods. "Yeah. I remember. I also remember you doing back then what you're doing now. You're poking and prodding trying to find my weaknesses. But I'm not a weak little kid anymore. And you're not my Sensei. In fact, you haven't been my Sensei since you tried to kill me after the All-Valley in '84. There's only one Sensei in Cobra Kai, and that's me. Which is how it's going to stay."

He gets up and is about to leave before he has one more thing to say.

"But you're right. The world might need Cobra Kai, but we don't need you. And my students definitely don't need you. By the way, Miguel is from Ecuador. Not Mexico." Johnny finishes.

He takes his jacket with him as he leaves the diner.

Johnny walks over to the Dodge Challenger and unlocks it.

He puts his jacket on the passenger seat of the car before putting the key in the ignition.

Johnny turns on the radio as he drives off.

He needs something to take his mind off his meeting with his former Sensei. And it almost doesn't matter what it is as long as it's something.

….

Jason and Hawk were sitting at the table in Hawk's house studying. There were books and notes in front of them. Hawk might have flipped the script, but he was still a better student than Jason was.

"I know it's only Monday, but you must really be looking forward to finals being over, right?" Hawk asks.

Jason nods. "Yeah. It's a good thing that I've got smart friends like you, Demetri, Miguel and Aisha. And, of course, Claire. Or, I'd be looking at summer school or something."

"So, your mom is back in the Valley for good, right? That must be kind of weird given that she abandoned you and everything. And she's got a whole other family, too." Hawk says.

Jason nods. "Mom is back in the Valley for good. Which means that Brad and Philip are going to be in the Valley for good, too."

"It must be a pretty big change for you to have parents and a sibling when you didn't really have anybody for seven or eight years. But it's fine if you don't want to talk about it." Hawk tries to change the subject.

Jason shakes his head. "It's okay. Besides, I'm sure that you're going to meet Philip at some point during the summer."

"Cool. Summer is going to be awesome. Especially because you, Miguel and I all have girlfriends now." Hawk quickly changes the subject.

Jason smiles. "Yeah."

"I don't think you and Claire have gotten physical yet. Unless something's happened to change that…." Hawk trails off.

Jason shakes his head. "We've kissed in her room, but that's all. So, how are things going with you and Moon?"

"Things are pretty good. Obviously, we haven't gotten there yet, but there's still plenty of time. And we're not going to rush into anything." Hawk replies.

Jason understands. "It wouldn't make sense to just rush into it. Have you met her parents yet?"

"I think it's just her and her mom because her parents got divorced. I haven't met her mom yet. You met Claire's parents and they both seem to like you. Plus, her dad was in the old Cobra Kai with Sensei, so he's like a godfather to her." Hawk answers.

Jason is about to say something when Beth enters the room.

Beth looks at both of them. "We're going to be having dinner soon, so would you mind clearing the table? You can study after dinner. If you want to."

"Cool. Thanks, Mom." Hawk says.

Jason and Hawk clear their notes and books off the table.

They put their notes and books back in their backpacks and move them out of the way.

Jason checks his phone and sees a text from Philip.

Philip: Hey, Jace! Is it okay if I call you "Jace?" We're practically family now, so I figured that nicknames would be a good icebreaker. I'm just texting you to let you know that I joined Miyagi-Do. I met this kid around our age called Robby, and he showed me where the Miyagi-Do dojo was. I helped him do some chores and stuff around the dojo, which is an actual house! That somebody lived in! Mr LaRusso, sorry, Daniel showed up at the dojo to check in but we were doing just fine. Hope finals are going well. And, I'm sorry for the huge wall of text. It's just that a lot of stuff happened today.

He looks over at Hawk. "I got a text from Philip. He's joined Miyagi-Do as of today, and he was just wondering how finals week is going so far. I'll just tell him that the start of it is going okay. It's just going to be a long couple of days. And then I'll be back at my house either on Friday night or Saturday morning."

"Cool. I'll be in the basement. My mom's going to be starting dinner soon and my dad's going to be home from work. I think my mom's making Frutti Di Mare pasta." Hawk answers.

Jason watches as Hawk leaves the room and heads for the basement.

He replies to Philip's text before he leaves the room.

Jason walks to the basement, where Hawk is already waiting for him.

He notices that Hawk is sitting on one of the chairs.

Jason sits down on the sofa. "So, your mom doesn't mind cooking?"

"No. Mom's a pretty good cook, and she enjoys it. Especially if there's guests." Hawk replies.

Jason nods. "Cool."

"Anyway, you want to play a round or two of Super Smash Bros?" Hawk asks.

Jason smiles. "Sure. Final Destination, Three Stocks and no Items? Right?"

"For sure." Hawk gets up to turn on one of the consoles that's connected to the TV. He turns on the Nintendo Switch this time.

Jason sits back in the sofa. "I'm not sure if I've said it already, but thanks for letting me crash at your house for a few days. Going from winning the All-Valley to Mom showing up and then having to do finals has been a lot to handle.

"No problem. I know you're the leader of Cobra Kai and everything, but you're human just like the rest of us. And that's okay. We're not expecting you to be some sort of superhero." Hawk says.

They each take a controller, or more accurately a Joycon, and sit back in the sofa.

There was still time before dinner.

Which meant that they had time to play video games and relax after one round of studying for finals.

Jason was lucky that some of his friends, and his girlfriend, were fairly academically gifted.

Because he wasn't sure what he'd do without them.

….

Dinner was over and Miguel had decided to study at the table again after helping Mom and Yaya clear it.

The first day of finals had gone fairly smoothly.

There was a review session after lunch for anybody who wanted to stay that was sandwiched in between two different finals.

Miguel had always gotten good grades.

But he didn't really have friends prior to his move to the Valley from Riverside.

And he didn't have a girlfriend, either.

Everything changed for him when he joined Cobra Kai.

Jason had joined Cobra Kai along with him and they quickly became friends.

He counted Jason as one of his closest friends, even though they were very different people.

Miguel turned his attention back to studying.

Mom and Yaya had let him use the table for his notes. Even though they might not have enough space themselves.

His phone rings.

Miguel quickly answers it.

"Hey, Miguel!" Sam says.

Miguel sits back in his chair. "Hey, Sam."

"How did the first day of finals go for you?" Sam asks.

Miguel scratches his head. "It didn't go too badly. I think I did enough to do well. What about you?"

"I think I did enough. But it's hard to tell. Hopefully everything goes well and I can just focus on enjoying the summer." Sam replies.

Miguel is quick to reassure her. "I'm sure you did great. Even if it's only the first day."

"Thanks. And, speaking of summer…." Sam starts.

Miguel interrupts. "Is your family travelling?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I'll be joining Miyagi-Do after finals are over. Which means that I'll be the third student of the new Miyagi-Do dojo after Robby and Jason's stepbrother." Sam replies.

Miguel is surprised by this particular news. "I thought you stopped doing karate? And when did Jason's stepbrother join Miyagi-Do?"

"Well, I've been thinking about doing karate again for a while. Plus, Aisha's win was pretty inspiring. Especially given that Aisha and I have been friends since we were kids. Philip only really joined Miyagi-Do today. He was helping out at the Miyagi-Do dojo doing chores." Sam answers.

Miguel nods. "Oh. Okay. I guess your dad will be trying to get more students to join Miyagi-Do. Which means that he'll be competing with Sensei and Cobra Kai."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Your Sensei, I mean Johnny, reopened Cobra Kai eight or nine months ago. And there were more students in Cobra Kai at the start than there were in Miyagi-Do. Not only that, but you guys won the All-Valley. There's going to be people lining up to join Cobra Kai." Sam says.

Miguel agrees. "Definitely. It's kind of a good thing that there's a week between the All-Valley and training starting up again. Because things are going to get a bit hectic. And not just because it's the start of summer."

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Sam answers.

Miguel nods. "Hopefully."

"Cool. Well, I'm going to study for a bit more. See you tomorrow." Sam says.

Miguel smiles. "See you tomorrow."

They both end the call at the same time.

Miguel turns his attention back to studying after he puts his phone back in his pocket.

Even if he's already thinking of the summer.