[SEASON TWO: EPISODE THREE]

It felt like years since Ethan had been to a public beach, the last time being almost ten years ago.

It was also one of his favorite places to go when was dealing with drama. The bad thoughts would immediately dissipate, while the good ones lingered forever.

"Hawk." He greeted his great friend, who was near a volleyball net, where previously playing with Demetri.

"There's the man." Hawk grinned, and exchanged fist-bumps with him. Then, his smile faded, noticing the sulking frown on his face.

"No. No more of this."

Williams had been quite moody the past few days, often falling into the bad habits of internalizing problems from other people. There were times when he felt particularly guilty or pressured by various matters.

"Look, it's a beautiful day out, the beach is packed with babes. No more sulking about Sam."

"I'm not sulking and it has nothing to do with her."

"Is this about his rap sheet? My parents read it online. I think it makes him more badass." He said, unsurely.

"No, not that. It has something to do about Robby Keene."

The boys were back at the dojo, sitting on the mat alongside a few students, engaged in various warm up exercises. Ethan stretched his legs out with Hawk beside him, both mirroring the same movements as they awaited for class to start.

"So, I did a deep-dive online, and you were right. Sensei is definitely Keene's father."

"I just don't understand he wouldn't say anything to us or even me for that matter."

"But that explains why he's giving us shit for kicking Keene's ass in the tournament." Hawk scoffed.

"Show no mercy, unless it's his son. Then we've gotta be pussies."

"You guys, have you seen the commercial?" Aisha asked, standing in front of them.

"Sam's dad started his own dojo and he disses Cobra Kai."

She pulled out her phone, prompting the two boys to glance at her with a confused look on their faces. Then, Ethan stood up, grabbed the phone, and silently watched what it contents.

"Because at Miyagi-Do, it's not about the money, it's about the karate." Daniel LaRusso said in the clip.

"There's a lot of talk going around the Valley about free karate. But everyone knows that in life you get what you paid for. You really wanna kick the competition?"

Williams observed as Sensei spoke in front of the class. Aisha filmed him, gradually shifting to the side with her phone in her hands.

Apparently, Johnny decided to do the same thing as Daniel did. He kicked a pot held by one of his students, and the dirt washed over the boy's face. It was evident that the video was already a complete mess.

"Then, you need to get your ass over at Cobra Kai. Screw that lame meditation bullshit. What you need is bone-crunching, face smashing, good old American karate. Enough about self defense. Learn self offense. Don't be a pussy. Join Cobra Kai and let me teach you the way of the fist."

"And cut." Aisha stated, stopping the recording.

"All right, did we get it?" Johnny asked.

"I think so." She replied.

"Great. Make sure the Cobra Kai snake comes at the end, all right? I want it to really pop. Make it chrome. And throw Thunderstruck under it." He instructed, as he started walking back towards the backroom.

"I'm pretty sure, the rights for that song, cost too much."

"No, I already own it. The cassette's in the car. Oh, and put one of those hash browns at the very end. You know like, 'Hash brown Team Cobra Kai' or something, and then, send it to the internet!" Johnny shouted, before stepping out to the back.

Ethan and Hawk ventured into the backroom, where their sensei was supervising some men moving items out of the dojo.

"Sensei, can we ask you about something?"

"If it's about the informercial. I already know." He replied.

"It's not about the commercial. It's about Robby Keene." Hawk stated, and the blonde man glanced between them, while looking a bit confused.

"What about him?"

"I was a photo of him on your refrigerator. I wasn't snooping around or anything. But we know he's your son."

"And, that's why you got mad at us for the tournament, right?" He asked, as his tone dripped with annoyance.

"Is that what you think?" Sensei questioned, looking angry at both of them. The boy started to open his mouth but stopped, uncertain of how to answer.

"Yeah, Robby's my son. But that has nothing to do with how I run my dojo. It's also not of your damn business. Do you understand?"

Williams's mouth fell open in shock, recognizing that Johnny was certainly acting strangely.

"Yes, Sensei."

"But, Sensei I—"

"But, nothing. Get out. You two clean mats for the rest of the week." He snapped, cutting him off completely.

The mohawk boy gave an annoyed sigh, bowed, and exited the room in a huff, leaving the two of them alone. Ethan stepped closer towards Sensei, appearing like he wanted to say something.

"Something else, Mr. Williams?" Johnny asked, angrily.

"No." The boy mumbled, and bowed to his teacher, then left the room.

When class was finished, Ethan returned to his mother's apartment, sitting down in the living room, and watching an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Suddenly, a loud knock was coming from the front door. He opened the front to reveal Johnny standing there.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Let's go for a ride." He replied, gesturing to them both. They walked towards his car.

After a silent car ride, Johnny stopped at burger place that across the street from a hospital. They got out and went inside, taking a seat at two person table. After placing their orders, and receiving their food, they began to eat.

"Good, huh?" He asked, glancing over at the teenage boy.

"Yep." Ethan replied, biting down more on his burger.

"The secret's the chopped onions. Sal keeps it simple. None of that veggie crap. Just a hot grill and some quality chunk." Johnny stated, while continuing to stare at something across the street from the fast food restaurant.

"You see that building over there?"

"What, the hospital?" He asked, curiosity, as Sensei nodded his head.

"That's where Robby was born. February 4th, 2002. It was a Monday. His mom was in labor for seventeen hours."

"That must've been really wild." Ethan said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah, I'm sure was. I wasn't there and my mom had just died. I was a real mess. I never knew my father, so she was all I had. Next thing, I know I'm gonna be a dad. Scared the shit out of me."

"So, instead of welcoming him into the world, I was down here, soaking up the booze from a three-day bender, trying to get the courage to walk across the street. And I never got there." Johnny said, appearing as if he was on the verge of tears.

"I failed my kid.... on his very first day in this world.... and I've been failing him every day since." He stuttered, and his voice cracking as his eyes became glassy.

"Sensei, look this is personal stuff. You don't have to tell me." Ethan reasoned with him.

"No, I.... I should've told you along time ago. It's one of the most painful things in my life."

"But one of the best things is teaching you. And I want you to know, no matter what happens, I promise.... I'll always be on your side.... and I'll always have your best interests at heart." Johnny said, as the boy looked almost like he was going to cry.

"Thank you, but there's something else I need to say."

"Well, what is it?"

"I've known Mr. Miyagi and the LaRusso family, since I was 5 years old. From that moment onwards, they basically taught me everything about defending myself." Ethan stated, and Sensei looked a little concerned.

"Then, why let me train you?"

"Because, what of he told me about what happened at the All Valley in 84. You showed no mercy to your enemies, and you were too aggressive toward others."

"And why I came to you is.... because I wanted to see for myself if it was true. And it's not. You really do care about me and the other students, you just have a hard time showing it."

"Okay." Johnny answered, and suddenly Ethan's phone vibrated, meant he had a text message.

"What is it?"

"It's Aisha. She heard that the Miyagi-Do's are doing some sort of thing at Valley Fest." He said, looking down at his telephone.

"Oh, they are, huh?"

A few hours later, at Valley Festival, the most awaited time in the summer. Everyone stood in the packed area; kids, teens, adults, and even older people, gathering around in their own little groups.

"Coming up next, I have a treat for you." The female MC beamed, as the singer had finished his presentation.

"Please direct your attention to the LaRusso Auto Group for a special presentation from Miyagi-Do karate."

They clapped their hands, with a few others watching the two students, Sam and Robby, along with their teacher, Daniel LaRusso.

The lights were completely off, and the attention was on them. Calm music blasted from the speakers, and the three started to move their arms, executing slow but graceful movements.

For anyone unfamiliar with karate, they might immediately perceive it as boring and stupid.

The crowd clapped their hands when they finished the first few moves.

"Is there gonna be any fighting?" Moon asked, confusingly.

"I think so?" Demetri answered, but it sounded more like a question.

As the performance ended, there were a lot of hollering and numerous people clapping for them.

"And, now time for the grand finale." He announced.

It took all of their willpower to watch LaRusso pushed a table to the front with some thick ice blocks. The smiles on their faces faded when suddenly, every light turned off, and the sound of the mic deafened everyone's ears for only a second.

"COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI! COBRA KAI!"

A small smirk undeniably appeared on their faces, as the Cobra Kai students started marching towards the main stage. That's how the whole crowd ran after Cobra Kai, leaving Miyagi-Do unattended.

"Cobras, show them what real karate looks like!" Johnny shouted from beside the stage, and they immediately got into positions.

Hawk and Williams went after the other kids, defeating each and every one of them.

Then, at the very end, Ethan was the only one standing. He faced the crowd, spotted Sam, and give her a smirk, which she completely ignored.

Now it was Johnny's time to shine.

A stack of hollow blocks were set right in front of him. He made the students light it up with fire.

Sensei delivered a knife-hand strike on the blazing hollow blocks, successfully breaking them in half. It earned a lot of applause, even more than before.

Finally, the students were done, as all of them came on the stage with wide smiles on their faces.

"You did it." Ethan grinned, looking up at the person who was basically now, someone he could look up to.

"No, we did it." Johnny stated firmly.

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EDITED; 2/23/2024

SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT ONE!!!!