[SEASON TWO: EPISODE SEVEN]

On a beautiful Saturday morning, Daniel hangs up on his wife and walks towards the Miyagi-Do dojo. Suddenly, he hears someone attacking a punching bag. The Sensei smirks and starts walking over to the backyard double screen doors.

"Robby?"

"I get the early bird catches the wind—" He started, immediately loses his smirk, as he surprisingly sees none other than John Kreese.

"It's a cute little place you hear. Do you teach karate or gardening?" The old man asked, taking a pipe and smiling before lighting it in his mouth.

"So, this is what it's comes to? Breaking and entering?"

"I'm just here to say thank you." Kreese answered.

"Thank me for what?"

"Well, taking our weakest soldiers from our ranks. That was kind."

"Soldiers, they're kids." Daniel retorted.

"We we're all kids once. You may think you got the best of Johnny Lawrence. But I promise, this time, I won't let him lose."

"Like what? This isn't war." He said in disbelief.

"Sure, it is. War never ends. Peace is just the lull between battles."

"Did you really think you can attack Cobra Kai and there wouldn't be any consequences?"

"You better hope that your students are ready. Because I promise you, ours will be. And I've watched that former student of yours, I'll admit he's got the potential to become a true Cobra. Regards to Mr. Miyagi." Kreese said, with disrespect, snuffing out his cigarette on the dirt of a nearby bonsai tree. He exits the dojo, leaving LaRusso alone behind himself.

Meanwhile, at the LaRusso house in Sam's bedroom, she and Moon were wearing summer clothes. She gives her a green drink and the brunette took a sip of it.

"It's good."

"It has fresh açaí, organic kale, and free trade hemp oil." She explained to her.

"Hemp oil? I mean, this isn't gonna get me high, is it?" Sam asked, looking down at the drink skeptically.

"I don't think so, it's supposed to balance your kinetic energy."

"I'm really glad you called. I miss hanging out with you." She said, gratefully.

"So, which do you like better? I've been wearing the white top a lot."

"Why does it matter? You're gonna get all sweaty." Moon replied. Sam seems to agree, but gave a passionate sigh and gazed at the wall.

"Wait.... do you have a crush?"

"I don't have a crush." She stated, denying it outwardly, but on the inside, she knew she was lying.

"Is it Robby or Ethan?" She asked. Sam closed her bedroom door, then sat down on the edge of the bed with her. She didn't answer, but she knew instantly that she was right.

"Oh my god, how long have you and Robby been....."

"We haven't, but we almost."

"Does Ethan know?" Moon asked.

"There's nothing he needs to know. It's crazy. After last year, I got back into karate to get away from all the drama."

"Well, my mom's therapist always says you can't hide from your heart. I think you should go with the blue. It matches your eyes." She said.

At the Cobra Kai dojo, everyone circled around each other in groups. Johnny opened the front door with a bag over his shoulder as Ethan rushed over to him.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about your loss, I'm sure that he was great man."

"Thanks."

"How was the funeral?" He asked.

"As good as any funeral could be."

"So, how'd it go around here while, I was gone?"

"It was great. Kreese is pretty tough, but he knows what it takes to win."

Johnny walked back into his office, dropped his bag down, and stepped out to where everyone else was.

"Everyone, get your gis on." He ordered, as some of them had a confused looked on their faces.

"Training starts in five minutes."

"Gis on?"

"What?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Johnny demanded.

"Nothing's wrong. I just thought we were going to the woods for some special training today." Ethan said, sounding a little unsurely.

Sensei quickly looked at his former teacher, then back at them.

"What's happening in the woods?"

"I thought it was a good time to separate the men from the boys." Kresse stepped forward, his voice trailed off when he caught the girls' questioning looks.

"And the girls, too, I suppose."

"How?" Johnny asked, lowly.

"Coyote Creek."

"I'm not sure they're ready for that."

"There's only one way to found out."

"We're ready, Sensei." Hawk stated firmly, his hands behind his back respectively. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

"We want to prove ourselves."

"It's up to Sensei Lawrence." Kreese said, and it put pressure on the man.

"If he says it okay, then, and only then, is it okay."

All eyes turned to him, and Johnny looked at them for a few seconds, contemplating his decision. Then clear his throat.

"All right, what are you waiting for? Let's go."

The sounds of birds chirping and fallen leaves crunching against the soles of their footwears filled their ears. The two Sensei's splitted them into two groups; Red and Black. They wore some homemade headbands around their heads with their team color.

Ethan got a black headband around his brown wavy hair as he stood beside Tory. Johnny and Kreese were standing in the middle.

"Gentlemen, ladies." The old man said, as he walked forward with a red headband in his hand.

"Welcome to Coyote Creek."

"You've been split up into two different teams. Red and black. The goal is to capture as many headbands as possible from the other side. Today, the people across from you are not your friends. They're not your brothers. They are the enemy."

Tory shared a look with Aisha, who was on the opposite team and on the old man's side. Johnny watched his former Sensei cautiously, like an eagle in a forest.

"Last team standing.... wins."

"How would we get the headbands?" Ethan asked, curiosity.

"By any means possible. No rules." Kresse answered.

"Use your judgment." The blonde corrected his words as he looked their way.

"This is just a training exercise."

"Correct, but remember, this is our life." The old man said, lowly, hanging a red headband loosely from his hand.

"You lose it, your die."

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late. Traffic on the 118 was a real bitch. Put Coyote Creek into the nav. Nothing came up." Someone grumbled as he trudged towards them, wearing a golden rimmed sunglasses, a sleeveless leather jacket, and a red shirt underneath. He looked about the same, maybe a little different, through not too much.

"What have you done to yourself?" Johnny asked, incredulously.

"Oh, the, yeah, you know what, I just decided to flip the script, Hawk-style. Respect." Ray pointed at the teenager, who didn't seem impressed, staring at him with distaste.

"Heretofore, you can refer to me, as Stingray."

"Yeah, all right, Chubs." Sensei deadpanned, and nodded his head at Kreese, who was beside him.

"He's on your team."

"Terrific." The old man muttered.

"So, what happens at the end of this, if it's only me and you?" Ethan asked, a playful grin appeared on his lips.

"Then I guess I'll have to rip that pretty headband off your head." Tory smirked.

"You don't need to worry, because this headband is staying on the whole time." He chuckled.

They immediately stopped when they heard some leaves rustled from behind them. They turned around to see someone from the other team. Mickey cursed underneath his breath, already accepting his fate.

Tory chuckled as the pair took a few steps back, their eyes trained on the enemy, circling around him like he's a prey about to be mauled.

The boy turned to him and squared up, but Ethan smirked, nodding his head towards the girl on the other side. Then, he turned around to face her.

He send a kick towards her, but she simply blocked it with her thigh. Then he came for her face, which left him vulnerable on his upper body.

She snatched a hard punch on the boy's chest, making him bend down. Tory then delivered a simple spinning back kick to his head.

"He's all yours." She said as the boy stumbled over his feet, facing him, and letting out a little laugh.

"Nah, ladies are always first." He chuckled, and she watched Mickey launched at him with a punch, but he blocked it all and then he simply caught the boy's leg.

When he tried to kick him, Williams shoved him forward, and Tory quickly acted, sending a harsh kick on his chest.

Before she grabs the boy's headband around his forehead, he staggered on his feet, heaving out deep breaths from the pain coming from all over his body.

"Thanks. No hard feelings." She said hastily, then finished him off with a roundhouse kick.

"Yeah. No mercy, punk." He spates out, and the pair left to found the others. Little did they know, Johnny saw everything and wasn't too happy about it.

After 30 or 40 minutes, Tory finally got eliminated after she splited with Ethan. She was now back at the place they were supposed to meet up, alongside Aisha and a few others.

Back in the woods, Ethan saw Hawk run off with the Medal of Honor, the one that Daniel accused them for stealing it. And for once, he was actually right.

He clenched his fist in anger, leaving off with a furious expression on his face. He was gonna to get it and rightfully give it back to the LaRusso's, but especially to Daniel for good.

"They got you out, too?" Tory asked, when Aisha approached her, standing not too from the others.

"Yeah, I guess it's Ethan and Hawk left." She sighed.

Williams leaned up against a tree as he waited for Hawk to appear. And when he finally did, he detached himself from the tree truck, clenching his jaw, as he faced the teenager with a red mohawk.

"Finally a worthy opponent." He smirked, standing in a safe distance away from him.

"I should've known you were the who lead the attack on Miyagi-Do, right?" Ethan asked, and for a second, Hawk looked nervous, but it quickly washed away like his old self.

"They're the enemy. I had to put them in their place."

"Just because their the 'enemy' doesn't mean you have the right to go and trash their dojo. And steal Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor?" He asked, incredulously, as anger was flashing over his face.

"That wasn't yours to begin with!"

"Why did you do care? Just because you have a thing for Sam, doesn't mean I have to go soft." Hawk said, snidely, and that's when the boy snapped.

"I used to go to that dojo when I was a kid. It was a place where I could call home. This isn't about her." Ethan stated through gritted teeth as he shook his head.

"Sure it isn't. You want the medal so bad, come and take it." He said, smugly, holding out the medal underneath his shirt.

They both glanced at one another, and the two teenagers got in a fighting stance, facing each other with deep scowls on their faces. He launched forward, sending some kicks, but Williams hastily blocked all of them.

He moved out of the way, as Hawk rammed his foot on a tree truck. Finally, Ethan got the advantage, then delivered multiple kicks, but Hawk kept stepping backward. When he closed the gap between them, he quickly punched him in the stomach continuously.

Then slammed him down on the ground covered with tree barks and fallen dead leaves. A loud pained sound emitted from Hawk's lips.

"That's all I've got. You brought this upon yourself, not me."

"Is that Ethan and Hawk?" Someone mumbled, as the group started walking towards the sound of that voice.

Once they arrived at the scene, Ethan was pretty out of breath and held a red headband in his hand.

"Finish him." Kreese said, gesturing to him, lying down on the ground.

All of a sudden, Williams did a low spinning back kick, finishing Hawk. Johnny was about to stop him, but was too late. The deed had been done. He turned around and faced them once more, breathing heavily.

"The Black team is the winner!" He shouted to the top of his lungs, raising the only headband that was left. They cheered in victory, rushing over towards him.

"Looks like that champion of yours is developing a killer instinct." Kresse said, the words flew from his mouth. Suddenly, someone emerged from the ground, underneath thousands of dead leaves.

"What the—"

"You know the thing about stringrays is, they lie and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike!" Stringray yelled through ragged breaths and held the boy in a choke-hold.

"The red team just won!" He grabbed the black headband from Ethan's forehead and threw him back over to his other teammates. Then, he stepped closer to Kresse with the black headband in his mouth.

"Good work, Stringray."

"Thank you, Sensei." He replied, as his teammates walked over to him to congratulate him on winning.

"What was that? That's not how I taught you to fight." Johnny spated, looking straight at the boy.

"Sensei Kreese is right. This isn't about fighting in a tournament. It's the real world out here." Ethan stated.

"Is that how you wanna live your life?" He questioned, then walked away from him.

Later in the day, Ethan was going to return the Medal of Honor that rightfully belong to Daniel and his family.

He walked up towards the house and knocked on the front door. He didn't expect to see Robby at the steps inside the LaRusso's home. As soon as it opened, Keene narrowed his eyes at him.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, trying to be quiet, and to not let Sam or anyone else hear what was going on.

"Relax, man. I'm just here to give something back to its rightfully owner." Ethan said, and raise the Medal of Honor in his hand.

"I know you took it." Robby scoffed.

"You got all wrong. I would never take something like that's important to Mr. LaRusso and neither did I trash the dojo."

"Not all of us, are jerks. Tell Sammy I'm sorry about what happened." He straightened up, looking down at the boy. Robby took it from his hand and kept a stoic expression on his face, although he nodded his head.

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EDITED: 2/25/2024

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