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𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐖𝐊𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐉𝐎 as Johnny stood in front of August and Stella, as the three just stared at each other in complete silence, until August spoke up. "So are we going to get the karate pajamas too?"

"QUIET!" Johnny yelled, causing the Walker siblings to flinch. "The student only speaks when spoken to, is that understood?"

"Yes sir." August replied respectfully. Nathan and Ava always taught their children to treat everyone with respect.

"Always address me as sensei. Is that understood?" Johnny said

"Yes sensei." August and Stella said in unison.

"These aren't pajamas. This is a gi, and you'll get one when you've earned it. Ready to begin your training?"

"Yes, sensei." The Walker siblings answered in unison again.

In one quick motion, Johnny rushed towards August and flipped him over. Stella didn't know whether to stay where she was, or help her brother. She couldn't deny how incredibly hot Johnny was, being nonchalant about the whole ordeal, and that he put the cowboys back home to shame, with his muscles which had slightly softened, but were still toned, his tanned skin, his perfect locks of golden blonde hair. She had to ignore the feelings she felt.

"Lesson one. Strike first. Never wait for the enemy to attack." Johnny said as he pushed himself off the ground.

"You could have at least given me a warning." August groaned as Stella helped him off the ground

"Quiet! We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here on the street, in competition, a man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy." Johnny said. Before he could even finish, he saw August taking a few puffs from his inhaler. "What is the problem, Mr. Walker?"

"What's the problem? Are you serious? You punched him you dumbass. He has asthma." Stella said as she rubbed her brother's back.

Johnny snatched the inhaler, and tossed it towards the wall, causing it to break. "Not anymore."

"You gonna buy a replacement?!" Stella spat

"We do not allow weakness in this dojo. So you two can leave your asthma and your peanut allergies and all the made-up bullshit outside. Understood?" Johnny said.

"What the fuck? I'm a nursing student, and those are real medical problems that people actually have. Now, maybe back in the late 1900's they didn't treat them, but we actually do something—" Stella feistily spat, before August elbowed his sister in the side and sighed.

"Yes sensei, understood." August said

"Cobra Kai isn't just about karate. It's about a way of life. Take that first lesson. Striking first is the initial step towards victory. Like when you're at a party and you see a hot babe. You don't wait for another guy to talk to her first, do you?" Johnny said

"I mean, I've never been to a party, so..." August said

"Big surprise." Johnny sarcastically said, and Stella rolled her eyes as he continued. "Alright look, striking first is about being aggressive, all right? If you're not aggressive, you're being a pussy, and you don't wanna be a pussy. You wanna have balls."

"Don't you think you're doing a lot on genderizing?" August asked

Giving the Walker teen a confused look, Johnny spoke. "What?" he questioned

"Oh, sorry don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing, sensei?" August corrected

"No. I—what the hell are you talking about?" Johnny said

"Oh, uh, my guidance counselor says that certain words perpetuate the sexist world view that can trigger—" August started before Johnny cut him off

"Quiet! From now on you won't listen to your guidance counselor. You're gonna listen to me." Johnny said. "Is that understood?"

"Yes sensei." August said

"Good. Now stop yapping like a little girl and give me 50 push-ups on your knuckles." Johnny said, turning to Stella, he said, "Princess, give me 50 crunches."

"Uh, yeah okay." August said

Stella rolled her eyes at the nickname, but tried to fight the flush in her cheeks as she laid down on her back to begin her crunches. As she began her crunches, Johnny himself noticed her figure, how toned she was. Then, her perfect lips, a perfect shade of natural pink. She was completely and utterly gorgeous. Pushing those thoughts aside, he turned to August, who was struggling.

"Okay, don't you have gym class or something?" Johnny asked, watching as August laid on the floor

August groaned in response, before rolling over onto his back. As he laid down, the bell above the door rang, signaling someone had come in. It was a man wearing a suit. "Howdy there, Mr. Lawrence?" the man said as he looked around the dojo?

"It's sensei." August corrected.

"August, shut up." Johnny said

Stella slightly chuckled as she continued her crunches, ignoring the conversation between Johnny and the man. "How are you so good at this, sis?" August questioned, as he struggled to sit up

"This is how I used to pump myself up before every rodeo." Stella said. "Remember when Lori and Kara used to do jumping jacks instead?"

"You two are customers, here?" The man asked, looking at the Walker siblings

"Oh no, that's just an illegal I picked up this morning, and that's my, uh, girlfriend. They're helping me set up." Johnny answered quickly.

Stella and August exchanged confused looks as the man looked around. "I don't need to know all of that. My job is to make sure this place is up to code. You don't want a scabies outbreak like that hot yoga place over on Tujunga." The man said

"Gross." Stella whispered

"Stella, I think sensei—" August started, but was cut off by Johnny, who was flipping through the packet in his hand.

"Wait, wait. So, I have to do all this crap before I even open?" Johnny asked.

"No, you need to do all that to get the certificate that's required to get the insurance you need to open. But you knew that when you signed your lease, right?" The man asked

"Right, yeah." Johnny said as the the man walked towards the door

"I'll stop by next week for another inspection." The man said as he walked over to the poster on the wall and stared at it. "Cool rattle snake."

"It's a cobra." Johnny snapped

"Oh right, duh. I'm such an idiot. Cobra Kay." The man said before leaving the dojo.

──────

The next day, August and Stella started scrubbing the mats while Johnny walked in with grocery bags from the mini-mart.

"Looking good. Make sure you get both sides. After you're done with that, you can take care of these exposed wires." Johnny said as he walked into the office

Rolling her eyes, Stella retorted, "Ok, first of all, that's dangerous, and a fire hazard. Secondly, we're not electricians. We can talk to our dad about hiring one. It would be safer."

"What does any of this have to do with karate sensei?" August questioned

"Do not question my methods." Johnny said as he opened her beer. "Just be thankful you're not a sumo wrestler, those guys have to wipe their sensei's asses." he said as he flicked the cap

"Okay, you'll have to show me how to do that." Stella smiled and Johnny laughed slightly

August stood up and walked to the box which held Johnny's karate trophies from the past. "So, I, uh, see you were a karate champion."

"I won a couple All Valley tournaments." Johnny said. "Didn't lose a single point in my junior year."

"All right! What happened in your senior year?" August asked

"This isn't 20 questions, get back to scrubbing." Johnny said.

Before anything else could be said, August's phone began to ring, which was George Strait's Check Yes or No and Johnny looked around confused. "Where's that garbage coming from? You hear that?"

Stella furrowed her brows in confusion and turned to the blonde. "You've never heard of George Strait?"

"Hey, yeah. Sorry. I know. Stella's at Lori and Kara's and debate's running late. Uh, okay. Yeah, we love you too. Be safe. Okay, bye."

"So, your dad's okay with this?" Johnny said

"Actually, I told him I joined the debate team, 'cause he doesn't approve of violence. He's the chief of police." August said

"He's not kidding." Stella said as she wiped her hands on a towel

"What about your mom? She okay with you getting your ass kicked up and down Reseda Boulevard?" Johnny asked, taking a sip of his beer. "I'm sure she's real proud wherever she is."

The Walker siblings shared a look, then the room went silent. "She passed away over the summer." August said. Stella had to keep from crying, so she turned her head away, and got down to help her brother scrub mats. Ava's death affected her the most.

"Alright well, stop standing there. Get back to training." Johnny said, and August nodded then helped his sister scrub mats. "And change that ringtone. Get some Guns N' Roses or something."

"What's Guns N' Roses?" August asked, his brows furrowed.

While Stella was a carbon copy of her mother when it came to music, a lover of 70's and 80's rock, August was a carbon copy of his father when it came to music, a lover of 80s and 90s country music.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that." Johnny said as he walked to the office

"Hey, are you okay sis?" August asked

"Yeah, I'm fine." Stella said as she wiped her tears. "Just missing mom is all."

August wrapped his arm around his sister and laid his head against her's, while she laid her head against his shoulder, allowing the silent tears to fall.

What the Walker siblings didn't realize, Johnny stood at the window of the office. He saw Stella laying her head against her brother's shoulder, he could hear her sniffling and softly crying, and talking about her dearly departed mother. "I just miss her so much, August. I just don't understand why it had to be her. She was so gentle."

"You're a dumbass, why can't you keep your mouth shut?" Johnny thought to himself as he ran his hands over his face.

   ──────

Stella sat on the couch in the living room, getting some last minute studying in while August and Nathan were out school clothes shopping and getting dinner. As she finished writing notes down in her notebook, there was a loud knock at the door, pulling her from her thoughts.

Getting up from the comfort of the couch, Stella walked to the front door, and was surprised to see Johnny. "Oh, hi Johnny." the beautiful brunette softly  smiled

"Hi Stella." Johnny said. "I was wondering if you had a second to talk?"

Stella looked back at the coffee table which had her books and notebooks scattered all over the place, then turned back to the blonde and said, "Sure. Come on in."

Johnny softly smiled as he walked into the Walker apartment and he admired the family photos. He smiled at one of Stella on her horse, which was taken at a rodeo in Fort Worth.

"You done admiring our photos, Lawrence?" Stella teased as she walked to the kitchen to get him a drink

Johnny chuckled, before he spoke. "I didn't realize you were into horses."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Stella laughed. "Would you like something to drink? We have iced tea, water, coffee, juice, we don't have beer unfortunately."

"Whatever you have is fine." Johnny said

After pouring him and herself a glass of iced tea, she and Johnny sat on the couch, and awkwardly sat in silence, before he broke it. "Listen, I didn't know about your mom, Stella. I'm so sorry." Johnny said

Feeling her heartache, and a lump form in her throat, Stella gave him a watery smile and looked down at her tea glass, then set it down on the coffee table. "Yeah, me too." Stella said

"You want to talk about her?" Johnny questioned

"What can you say about a wonderful mother like her, other than she had a gentle spirit, a radiant smile, and a captivating presence that caught the attention of everyone around her, including my father? She was a devoted, grounded, and nurturing mother to August and I, even though she was active in the rodeo community." Stella said. "I'm not just saying this because she's my mother, but she had the most exquisite face I've ever seen. She was so gentle-hearted, and not only was she physically exquisite, but her heart, her soul, her kindness, her humanity - all of that was as beautiful as the exterior. She was gentle, she was kind, she was loving, and she was giving. She had a unique quality to make anybody, and I mean anybody, feel as if they were the only person that mattered in the world, and that could be a beggar in the street. She just had a very warm personal and genuine concern for people."

"When August and I were sick, she would make us tomato and rice soup, because that's what her mother made for her my aunt. And instead of a lullaby, she used to sing Hey Jude, because that was her favorite Beatles song." Stella said as she fiddled with the strings on her shirt. "For movie nights, instead of actual movies, we watched Little House on the Prairie, because she loved Michael Landon."

"She sounds like an amazing mother. What happened to her Stella?" Johnny said

"Rodeo accident. She was barrel racing, and as she was getting off her horse. Horses get spooked easily. Her's did. It took off, drug her through the arena, she hit her head on one of the gates. She was in a coma for a few days with a subdural hematoma. My dad finally made the decision to take her off the vent. It was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, but he did it. Sometimes, I can still see the wind in my mother's golden hair. She always told us life's about changing and nothing ever stays the same, but it still hurts so bad."

Johnny nodded and stayed silent. He empathized with her due to the loss of his own mother, one he loved so much, and, like Ava, had a gentle spirit.

"She's actually the one who loved 70's and 80's rock." Stella smiled. "Poison and Ratt were her favorite."

"She had awesome music taste." Johnny smiled

"Yeah, my dad would cringe everytime we took vacations and she would put in her cassettes from high school. I loved them, but my dad and brother have always been George Jones and George Strait fans." Stella smiled.

"And you? Are you a fan of this Jones George?" Johnny said, saying his name incorrectly

Stella laughed radiantly, and Johnny felt feelings he hadn't felt since high school, with his first love, Ali, and he didn't even feel these feelings with her. "You mean, George Jones. Yes, I do. Actually." she said

Johnny laughed then softly chuckled. "I have to ask, where did you learn how to fight?"

Stella smiled, then crossed her legs as she turned to face him. "August and I are fifth generation Texas ranchers. Growing up on the ranch and rodeoing around asshole cowboys, you learn how to defend yourself. Johnny, I'm only doing this for my brother, and to be honest, I don't know if I even want to do it, as I'll be so busy with school." the brunette said, as she looked at the blonde beside her

"Yeah, I get it." Johnny said.

"How long have you been in karate?" Stella asked

"Well, I joined Cobra Kai in seventh grade, until my senior year." Johnny said. "After I lost the tournament in '84, my sensei tried to kill me, my buddies and I left."

"Johnny, that's awful." Stella said. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Johnny said.

"Listen, I'll be at the dojo after class tomorrow, but I'll have to get my schedule for clinicals. On the nights and days I have clinicals, I won't be there." Stella said. "Besides, I think my poor brother needs the training more than me." she teased

Johnny chuckled, then hesitantly reached out to touch her hand, and she in return held his hand as the pair gave each other comforting smiles.

The blonde could see her brokenness, and her shattered soul, as well as a fire in her eyes that use to burn so bright, and he would give anything to bring that back. And he was going to, one way or another.