___

"SENSEI." Cameron jogged over to him, as he stared down at her. "Listen. I won't bother with any of that sappy shit." They both knew that it wasn't for them, well when regarding something as grim as death. "I just wanted to ask... in your friend's final moments, was he happy?"

A flood of emotions reached his eyes as he stiffly nodded, "He was."

Cameron flashed him a small smile, "Good."

It was Miguel's turn to talk to him when Cameron left to speak to Tory and Aisha.

"So you passed your test?" Tory asked, eyes lighting up.

"Yes, finally." Cameron's answer brought smiles to the girls' faces, "All on Lily. Drew drives like a madman."

Tory agreed, "He really does."

"Don't tell me, he's taking you out tonight?" Cameron warily questioned.

Tory seemed unsure now, "Is that okay with you?"

She didn't want to mess up a friendship just as it began.

Cameron chuckled, "I'm not his keeper. It would be exhausting to do that honestly. Besides you're a big girl if you wanna get involved with him then that's on you." She said raising her hands. Aisha laughed, "So he is taking you out?"

Tory nodded, "Yup."

"Send us pics of your outfit," Aisha requested, stretching her arms.

"Of who's outfit?" Hawk said, strolling over with Miguel.

The Diaz boy stood right next to his girlfriend who sent him a wink.

He smirked in return.

Aisha answered, "Tory's got a date tonight."

The boys asked in unison, "Drew?"

Tory softly scoffed, "Who else?"

Despite her excitement, she needed to make sure her brother could stay over at a friend's house and that her mom was okay.

Cameron nudged Miguel, pressing him, "Hey, when are you gonna take me out? We have to celebrate me getting my license."

"Oh shit, twinning," Hawk expressed.

She and Hawk high-fived each other.

Miguel told her, "Well I told my mom about it and she wanted to cook for us again, well, you, your mom, even your cousin."

She gushed, "Aww, well tell her I'm in. I love her food. And not to set a place for Drew, she and Tory will be doing..." She glanced at her friend who stifled a laugh, "I really don't wanna know."

They all snickered.

Johnny walked out of his office, instructing, "Everybody get your gis on. Training starts in five minutes." He was confused when everyone murmured in disbelief and strolled over to him. "Yeah, what's wrong"

"Nothing is wrong. I just thought we were going to the woods for special training today," Miguel sheepishly replied.

Glancing behind him, Sensei Lawrence questioned his class, "What's happening in the woods?"

"Not murder," Cameron said, assuring him, much to his confusion.

"I thought it was a good time to separate the men from the boys." Kreese informed, then received looks from the female students, "And the girls, too, I suppose."

"How?" Sensei Lawrence quietly questioned.

"Coyote Creek."

Sighing, Sensei Lawrence looked around, "I'm not sure they're ready for that."

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

Hawk spoke up, clasping his hands behind his back,  "We're ready, Sensei. We want to prove ourselves."

Kreese applied pressure, "It's up to Sensei Lawrence. If he says it's okay, then, and only then, is it okay." 

Seeing the pleading expressions from most of the class, Sensei Lawrence gave in.

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

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

STOOD in separate teams, one red, one black, the class stared at their temporary opposition.

Cameron, Tory and Miguel wore their black headbands proudly, whilst Aisha and Hawk embraced their red ones.

"Gentlemen, ladies." Kreese started, walking through the teams, "Welcome to Coyote Creek. You've been split into two 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." Each friend exchanged a challenging look. "They're not your brothers or sisters. They are the enemy.  The last team standing wins."

"How do we get the headbands?" Miguel asked, confidant in himself.

"By any means possible. No rules." Kreese answered, gripping the red band in his hands.

For some reason that excited Cameron, "None?"

Her eyes sparkled as she met Kreese's gaze, but before he could nod, Sensei Lawrence interrupted.

"Use your judgement. This is just a training exercise."

"Correct, but remember, this is your life." Kreese held a red band up. "You lose it, you die."

Snapping them out of their concentration, Raymond ran over, wearing shades and a slightly different look.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late. Traffic on the 118 was a real bitch." He said apologetically in the middle of Miguel and Sensei Lawrence. Everyone stared at his beard that was sculpted into a gelled strand, yet some were distracted by his bruised nose — Cameron's doing, "Put Coyote Creek into the nav. Nothing came up."

Sensei Lawrence spoke everyone's thoughts, "What have you done to yourself?"

"Oh, the..." Richmond gestured to his appearance, as he pulled off his shades, "Yeah, you know what, I just decided to flip the script, Hawk-style." He gestured over to the boy who appeared disturbed by the comparison. "Respect. Heretofore, you can refer to me as Stingray." He announced, twirling his beard.

But no one took it seriously.

"Yeah, all right, Chubs. He's in your team." Sensei Lawrence said to Kreese since the Black team was already full. 

Kreese uttered sarcastically, "Terrific."

The teams had split, submerging into the forest, Miguel and Cameron strolled through, waving away any flies and making sure they didn't step on any shit.

"You think you could take me if it ended up just you and me?"

"Sure," Cameron said confidently, "I mean I know all your weak spots."

He deeply chuckled, "And know yours."

She hummed, feeling her cheeks heat up as she eyed him and then swiftly turned to the side.

"What?" He cockily asked, but before being hushed by her.

The rustling of leaves caught their attention.

A member of the red team came out only to be disheartened to see the couple who laughed as they they prepped their stance.

Thinking he would test Cameron first, she blocked his kick with a downward punch, and sent a jab to his side, sending him tumbling to a chuckling Miguel's chest.

"He's yours, ladies, first and all," he sent the poor guy back to his girlfriend, who backhanded the boy onto the ground.

"And they say chivalry is dead," she quipped, tearing the red headband off his head as they walked past him groaning on the forest floor. "It's nothing personal."

"No mercy," Miguel said gruffly before they walked off.

The couple missed the hard look on Sensei Lawrence's face, who stood at a distance.

"Hey, I know only dumbasses say this, but let's split up. I wanna get some bands of my own," Cameron proposed.

"Go ahead," Miguel understood. "Remember what we were taught."

"Don't worry," she leaned in close, "no one's gonna touch this —"

"Pretty face," he pecked her lips, "but me."

She grinned and ran away.

Cameron knew what to do.

Play smart but also hard.

One red band down.

It was a good thing she wore earthier colours today, she blended into her surroundings.

When the sound of a twig snapping echoed near her, she stiffened, then jumped just in time as an arm reached across her, making her spin around and advance.

"Aisha," her amusement grew when her friend held up two bands she caught. "Well done girl."

"No hard feelings right?" Aisha's brow arched.

Cameron hummed as she got into position, "Strike first."

She blocked the first few hits, only to be pushed to the ground.

Aisha went to reach for her band only to be kicked off when Cameron accomplished a kip-up onto her feet.

Cameron heard her friend groan in her place as she tore the band off her head.

"You good?"

Aisha huffed, rubbing her stomach, "Nu-uh, but go finish this."

Grinning, Cameron pocketed another band, helping her friend off the ground and sprinted off.

She had no doubt Hawk was still in the game, and Miguel since the Creek grew quieter.

Until grunts and punches tore through the air.

It was Miguel and Hawk, battling each other but it seemed so personal.

They fought, and those who had been taken down rushed to go and investigate them, gawking when Miguel brought Hawk to the ground as he twisted his arm, rendering him an aching mess.

The victor took the headband as well as the medal of honour from his neck.

"That's all I've got," Miguel hissed to his friend.

He then turned to walk to the other Cobra Kai's, looking at Kreese as he held up the headband.

"Finish him," the older Sensei whispered.

Miguel sharply nodded then sent a mule kick to Hawk's face just as he was getting up.

"Team black," Miguel yelled, holding up the red band with pride, extracting whoops and cheers from his team.

They all rushed toward him, to congratulate him, making him miss the rustling leaves.

They revealed a concealed Stingray who rushed toward Miguel who had his back turned, putting him in a headlock.

"You know the thing about stingrays is, they lie and what for the perfect opportunity, to strike," he snatched the headband off Miguel's head. Then pushed him away. "The red team just won!"

He roared as his glee lit up in his team's face.

But before they could celebrate, Cameron appeared from behind a tree, with narrowed eyes.

No one on the red team could warn Stingray as she was too quick.

She sprinted over, sending a kick to Stingray's back, sending him to the ground, and promptly ripping the band from his head.

Team Black screamed in excitement.

"Always watch your back, old man," she grinned down at his dirt-covered face. "Should've watched your surroundings before celebrating." She warned, glancing up at Kreese who's eyes told her what to do. "And now look at you." She spun and delivered one last kick to his aching face, nearly knocking him out. "No mercy!"

"No mercy!" The black team yelled, rushing over to her and making her squeal when they picked her up.

That chant carried throughout the Creek. Johnny eyed them all dubiously.

When Cameron was settled down, Kreese took the red band from her.

"Well done James."

She beamed up at him as he walked off.

"What the hell was that?" Johnny questioned her when she strolled away from the chanting. "That's not how I taught you to fight," Miguel materialised behind his girlfriend and his proud smile faltered, "either of you."

"It's what Sensei Kreese taught us." Miguel rushed out.

"And it ensured a win," Cameron retorted, "Cobra Kai's aren't losers." Her eye drifted to where Stingray got off the ground. "Not all of us anyways."

"Because this isn't a tournament, this is real life."

Johnny's eyes darted between the two of them, growing more worried with every second.

"Is that how you wanna live your life?"

The question didn't settle for long before the swarm of Cobra Kai's ambushed them, with cheers and yells of excitement.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

MIGUEL returned the medal of honour to Miyagi-do, no, he returned it to an aggravated Robby after Sensei Lawrence's question weighed on his mind.

He got back just in time to shower and then take all the food his mom and Yaya prepared to take over to his girlfriend's house.

The James' residence had been more lively as of late. It felt good.

Cameron retold the story of what took place today to them all, holding his hand across the table. Miguel had to sit on an extra seat, whilst she made herself comfortable on her dad's dinner chair and sported one of his football shirts that was tucked into a skirt.

"So you won this thing?"

"Yes," Cameron answered her mom's question, "honestly, I don't know we Kreese hadn't tried it before."

Alexis questioned sceptically, "And the grown man..."

"Stingray," Miguel finished her mom's train of thought.

"Suena como un vagabundo," Rosa expressed, shaking her head as the kids laughed.

Cameron's comprehension was improving a lot.

"He's a stay-at-home son, so yeah he's a bum," she filled out the holes for her mom, who couldn't help but agree. "I couldn't let him put Miguel in a headlock and get away with it."

Carmen stared her at son in disbelief, "Miggy!"

"Mama," Miguel stressed. "It was nothing. I'm fine."

Shooting him an apologetic look, Cameron added, "Miguel's the champ, Carmen. He's all good. But his ego's definitely bruised."

Miguel snorted, "Like Stingray's face after that kick?"

The couple chuckled, Rosa was the only adult to join in as she ate.

Alexis dared to ask, "What kick?"

"A spin kick," Miguel replied, remembering it all so well.

Cameron hummed, "Even though Sensei Kreese —"

"Who?" Both moms glanced at each other reeling from all the information. "What happened to Johnny?" Carmen also asked. 

"He's still our Sensei, don't worry," Miguel answered.

Cameron additionally informed, "Kreese was his Sensei."

"Our grand sensei," Miguel used the term his girlfriend coined, much to her satisfaction.

She squeezed his hand and he squeezed hers back.

"Both bounce off of each other. It's good for us," Cameron voiced before biting into her tacos.

Exchanging an uneasy look with Carmen, Alexis responded, "If you say so."

"The kick landed on Stingray's face was so sick. Surprise he didn't bleed like before," Miguel mentioned, marvelling at Cameron's skills.

She nodded as she put her hand over her mouth to talk. 

"Oh god," Carmen grimaced, seriously considering putting her pozole to the side.

Cameron retort was muffled by her hand, "Oh well, he lost, I had to get back at him, just like you got back at Xander."

Miguel grinned, "Thank you amor."

"De Nada," Cameron stunned herself with her Spanish.

Rosa applauded her as she sipped on her lemonade.

Despite their clear concern and disbelief for the activities their children were participating in, Alexis and Carmen thought it was nice to see them so loved up, even if it reminded them of what they lost.

What had forgotten them...

Love.

The front door opened, and in walked through the hall with a cheeky grin was Drew.

"Wassup family," he greeted them warmly, then patted the Diaz boy on the back as he settled his hands on his chair, "Miguel."

Miguel tilted his head up to acknowledge him, "Drew."

"Carmen, Miss Rosa, I would've got you some flowers if I knew you were coming 'round," Drew said, touching his chest and gently he shaking his head.

Rosa happily clasped her hands together, "Chico guapo, tiene tal manera con las palabras."

Miguel playfully rolled his eyes at his grandma.

"Not to worry Drew," Carmen gestured to the food, "help yourself."

He sadly denied the spread, "Nah, no can do. I'm full. Me and my date really ate too much."

"And judging by your smile it was more than just that," Miguel remarked.

He couldn't help but chuckle, "Got that right man."

Alexis warned, "Boys."

Cameron's eyes flickered between the boys in disgust, "Eugh, did Tory get home safely?"

"Of course. I'm a gentleman. A gentleman who is tired, I've got work in the morning. Night to all. Even Miguel."

Miguel huffed, "Yeah yeah."

"Que lindo chico," Rosa praised as Drew walked down the hall.

Suddenly, Miguel remembered, "Did you know Moon likes Lily?"

Cameron choked on her taco, "What?!"

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

a/n:

i was laughing the entire time writing this shit. imagining cameron in the show just doing this shit had me in stitches. like imagine her appearing behind a tree and kicking stingray from the back is too much. but she avenged miguel just like he did in season one with xander.