Johnny sighed as he stepped away from the cracked open door.

"So Terry's pulling the strings now. Surprised, Kreese let him do it." thought Johnny as he dropped down onto the living room couch. He felt tired but not in the literal sense. Everything had been going so well. With the dojo, with Carmen, with Miguel until a week ago.

If LaRusso and I had just sucked it up and worked together for the tournament then none of this would have happened!

He threw his head backwards against the couch in frustration. It seemed like every time his life was heading in the right direction, he'd be crane-kicked all over again.

"Dad, you alright?" asked Robby, breaking Johnny's train of thought.

"Yeah, of course," answered Johnny vaguely.

"Did the phone call go okay?" asked Johnny as he cleaned up the kitchen which for him basically meant tossing the dishes into the sink for them to pile up until Miguel or Carmen came over to clean them.

"I guess," shrugged Robby, pushing his hands into his pockets, a distant expression covering his face.

I can never tell with these kids if that's an actual yes or not.

Johnny wasn't the type of person to open up easily so he couldn't expect Robby to be either, especially with their strained relationship but still, it would have been much easier if he was.

There were a few moments of silence, aside from clanking of the dirty dishes in the sink as they wobbled side to side.

"I have to go to Mexico to look for Miguel, but I was thinking maybe you might want to come with me?" offered Johnny, staring directly into Robby's hazel eyes.

He could feel the guilt that Robby felt.

I've felt that same guilt.

"I can't, sorry, " responded Robby quickly before looking away.

"C'mon, Robby, you don't have to blame yourself for what happened," continued Johnny, trying to place his hand on Robby's shoulder but he pulled away ever so slightly that it looked more like a failed attempt at a high-five.

"It's not about that, there's people I care about in Cobra Kai, my friends," explained Robby, quietly.

He knew the look of responsibility that laid on Robby's face. He shared the same look when he thought of Miguel.

"Is this about that Kenny kid?" questioned Johnny.

There was no response.

"You can't help the kid if you can't help yourself, trust me," assured Johnny.

He had tried to keep his voice understanding but it had sounded more annoyed than anything.

"I got him into Cobra Kai, I have to get him out," argued Robby firmly.

After everything we've been through, why won't he just understand?

"We'll find a way to help this kid okay but right now, I just need to know you're safe," sighed Johnny, exasperatedly.

"What you need?" snapped Robby, jerking his head back to stare into his dad's eyes.

"Robby, that's not what I-" but he was abruptly cut off.

"Save it," scowled Robby, looking his dad up and down with a look of resentment.

A sudden surge of pain ripped through Johnny's heart. He had seen that look before. Johnny, himself had given that exact look to John Kreese mere months back.

"Look, we can figure this out," reasoned Johnny, a tinge of desperation lingering in his voice.

"This was a mistake," stated Robby.

He grabbed his backpack from next to the door before slamming it shut. Johnny slumped back down on the couch and grabbed the half drunk beer bottle from the scuffed up coffee table.

It took every bit of his might not to just run after his son but he knew it would only make things worse.

Let him cool off.

He flipped on the TV aimlessly when he saw a familiar face on the screen.

John Kreese.