warnings: mentions of mature content!

___

"YOU totally did it," Lily's voice screeched the second she saw her best friend on the phone.

Cameron made the mistake of answering the Facetime call so early in the morning. Her bonnet was on the ground, as was half of her duvet. She had the best sleep of her life and Lily could tell why.

"Shut up."

Lily murmured, "I knew it. Eli owes me 20 bucks."

"You guys bet on us?" Cameron grumbled, trying to sit up but she was too tired.

And it annoyed her seeing how replenished LIly appeared at 8 am.

"Miguel asked him for advice. Which can I say is hurtful that you didn't ask me," Lily feigned offence, although she was curious why Cameron didn't mention it.

Cameron confessed, "I didn't want to tell anyone just in case it was spoiled, or either one of us did something wrong."

Lily raised a questioning brow, "And?"

Cameron's face felt like it was on fire, she couldn't fight her smile any longer, "It was... it felt special."

"Aww," Lily squealed.

Embarrassed, Cameron covered half of her face, "Shut up."

"Well, at least your first was in your bed and not a car," Lily shamelessly admitted.

Cameron made a noise of disgust, "Remind me never to get in yours or Eli's car again."

"Oh please, we've had them cleaned since then."

"I don't care."

Lily then demanded, "Details."

"So you can tell Moon?" Cameron mused.

"She probably already knows."

That was when Cameron sat up, "How?"

"Yasmine. You know from Demetri because Eli mentioned it when they were playing their Harry Potter game last night."

Cameron gritted out, "I hate you all."

"Good, now spill."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

MIGUEL couldn't seem to keep his hands off of Cameron from the moment entered his room to the second they emerged from it. Only this time she was sporting one of his hoodies. It was the orange one she loved.

She giggled and smacked his hands away as he attempted to tickle her until the couple were met with the curious looks of Carmen and Rosa.

"Hi," Cameron awkwardly waved. Miguel's hands dropped to his side. He coughed loudly to distract them but they only continued to stare. "We were just doing homework –"

"First aid," he said at the same time as her.

The couple turned to each other in disbelief, he pulled her back and whispered.

"Homework, it's summer?"

She silently cursed then whispered back, "So? That would've been more believable than first aid. You're insane."

"Like homework is so much better," he said, shaking his head.

"Obviously. I'm going home," her voice raised, "Thank you for having me Carmen and Rosa. And once again congratulations on the baby. Let's hope this one isn't an idiot like your son."

She stalked away from him and sent a smile to the Diaz ladies.

Miguel scoffed, "like you're any better. Text me when you get you're leaving for training."

"I will. I Love you," she said as she opened the door.

"I love you too," he called out as the door slammed shut. He turned back to his mom and grandmother, shrinking under their suspicious stares. "I'm gonna go and have a shower," he motioned behind him.

The two women shook their heads when he rushed to the bathroom.

"¿Cree que somos estúpida?" Rosa snickered.

"Clearly mama," Carmen snorted, "Clearly."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"YOU know that hoodie doesn't hide the hickeys Miguel left on your neck," Sam remarked, gesturing to Cameron's blotchy skin.

They were trying to stretch by a tree in the Miyagi dojo. Well, Cameron was trying to but was sweating and regretted wearing the hoodie, to begin with.

Cameron turned to Sam in annoyance, "Sam, we just started being nice to each other. There's no need to call me out."

"Why? Just because we're friendly doesn't mean I should stop now," Sam remarked.

"Oh, so if I mentioned how you seem to stammer any time you and Anala get caught talking, that would be okay," all amusement fell from Sam's face satisfying Cameron greatly.

"I do not stammer."

Cameron stifled a laugh, "I could've sworn Professor Quirrel was in front of me."

"What – did you just reference Harry Potter?" Sam's brows furrowed upon realisation.

Cameron shrugged, "The boys always play the same games and I happen to love the franchise."

"They literally have nothing better to play."

"I know right."

They two shared a laugh, still startling the other students who were so used to seeing them always at odds. The last time they were in this dojo together, they argued and all the times before, they were being held back by others, trying to prevent an ass-kicking. It was refreshing as was it confusing and slightly unsettling. The girls had a lot in common, mainly the defeated feeling they felt when they didn't come out on top during All-Valley.

Robby rocked up to them, crookedly smiling as he asked, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Boys being weird," they answered, making his eyes double in size.

"That wasn't creepy at all."

Over on the other side of the dojo, Miguel was shooting glances at his girlfriend.

Demetri and Eli noticed how different they looked and how intently Miguel stared at Cameron. Even more so than usual.

"You have the glow," Demetri commented, throwing his arm around Miguel, and shaking him.

Miguel shrugged him off, "What glow?"

"You know man, the sex glow," Eli smirked, motioning to his face.

Miguel senselessly touched his face before waving them off, "What? I do not."

"Cut the crap, we all know," Eli deadpanned, earning a pregnant sigh.

Miguel narrowed his eyes at him, "Dude I told you in confidence."

Eli scrunched his face, "You told me when we were playing the new Harry Potter game."

"Whatever, just keep it on the low."

Miguel didn't want them to tease Cameron the same way they teased him. It would be inappropriate and she didn't need that attention.

Demetri waited expectedly, "So..."

"So what?" Miguel asked, getting impatient.

Demetri nudged him, "How was it?"

"I'm not saying anything."

The binary brothers exchanged a look before their mouths gaped open.

Eli reeled back, "That good?"

"I didn't say anything," Miguel stressed, even though it was amazing he would not give them the satisfaction of knowing.

"Wow, winning on and off the mat," Demetri praised him.

Miguel warned, "Stop."

They all turned to see Robby approaching where Sam and Cameron were.

Eli scoffed, "Can't believe that piece of shit's on our team."

"All right. Relax. Okay? He wants exactly what we want." Miguel reasoned, turning to him. "It's gonna be okay."

All chatter was halted when Chozen whistled, drawing their attention.

"Line up!" he yelled, bringing them in front of him where he stood on the training deck.

"So where are my dad and Johnny?" Sam asked what everyone else was thinking.

"Not here. Today, you train with me," he then yelled in Japanese. "Attention." They stood straighter. When he spoke in Japanese, they didn't move until he said, " Bow." They complied. "Cobra Kai gaining ground. We must prepare. Come."

He manoeuvred around the deck, showing off the various weapons.

"This is gonna be badass. Check out that throwing knife," Mitch marvelled at Chris.

An hourglass was next to the intricately detailed throwing knives.

"Now, we learn about Yanbaru Kuina," he announced.

"What is that? Like, some top-secret karate move? Like a throat rip?" Chris imitated choking drawing some eye rolls.

"No. It is bird." Chozen stated bluntly. "In English called Okinawa rail. Endangered. Cannot fly."

"Hence, endangered," Demetri drawled as Chozen placed a pack of eggs next to the hourglass.

"So these are the real eggs?" Miguel pointed at them.

"No. Trader Joe's. $3.29." Cameron suppressed her smile at Chozen's response. "Take egg."

The first line of students picked them up.

"So what do we do with them?" Sam asked, helping pass out a few more eggs.

"Yanbaru Kuina must protect egg. From Kume Shima habu. Poison snake. You must do same." Chozen then turned the hourglass over. "Begin your preparation."

Robby spoke up, "What are we protecting them from?"

"From me," Chozen yelled, picking up Sai's startling the class. "Go! Go!"

They quickly rushed off.

"I see many little birds spread in wind! Many dead eggs."

Cameron could hear Chozen from the distance. At first, she thought about hiding her egg in her bag, but that would be like a target on her back. But if he couldn't see her, he wouldn't see the egg. She needed to use one of her strengths.

Agility.

Since she couldn't fly she would have to keep running.

Chozen's whistle did little to deter her.

Demetri was out first. Mitch was quickly overpowered then was Chris, he crashed down from his hiding spot in the tree. Nathaniel and Bert lost to gravity and water. Robby was Chozen's next victim after thinking burying his egg would buy him time. It didn't.

Cameron managed to rush away from the front of the dojo when Chozen was confronted by an overconfident Eli. She held onto her egg firmly, although she was working against her sweaty palms.

She quickly placed it on her elbow to wipe her hands.

"Shit, shit," she cursed, hearing footsteps approaching.

And just as she was running away, holding onto the egg, she heard the brief sound of a sai flying across the air and then squelching.

Cameron glanced down and saw a yolk staining her hands. She snapped her head up, glaring at the grinning man.

"Not fast enough," he mocked then went on his way.

She gritted her teeth and then wrung out her hands," Disgusting."

When she joined the others on the sparring down she realised that only Miguel and Sam were left.

"How did he get you?" Robby asked before Eli could.

"I wasn't fast enough apparently," she said, sighing.

The faint smell of egg wafted through the air.

Robby made a face, "Really? You looked it. Didn't realise how fast you were."

"Yeah well, I need to work on that," she huffed.

"They'll need to change your name from The Danger to –"

She suggested, "The speedy?"

"I was gonna say 'sprightly' but yours sounds better."

She laughed alongside him, missing the scowl on Eli's face.

Demetri groaned, "And I thought my contraption was gonna work."

"At least you didn't try burying your egg," Robby remarked.

"Eli, how did he get you?" Cameron asked.

He begrudgingly told her, "Smashed it against the car out front."

"Yikes," Cameron replied. "I guess we have to change our methods." They turned to see Miguel and Sam emerge from inside irritated and Chozen trailed behind them. "All of us."

It wasn't long until they were all lined up again in front of Chozen who crouched over the eggs he was frying on the sparring deck.

"You are not good Yanbaru Kuina." he stated, looking up from the pan. He stood up and walked forward. "Snakes will take you down one by one." he gesticulated. "I have tried to tell you what you must do. But you do not listen. You must learn to adapt. Or soon, you will be extinct. Take new eggs. Try again."

Sam took them off the deck and brought them over to the class where they picked one.

"Sensei Toguchi's real cryptic, like Mr. LaRusso, but aggressive like Sensei Lawrence," Demetri grumbled.

"It's like the hardest part of both styles," Chris agreed.

Mitch drawled, "Can't wait to get our asses kicked again."

Anthony's voice prevented them from dispersing, "Uh, no. No, um... G-Guys, uh, wait." They turned to him, "He said that the snakes will take us down one by one. Right? Just like he took us down one by one, but... But what if we weren't a bunch of ones? Like, what if we were..."

Sam finished his thought, "Together."

"Yeah, exactly. Like, um, a raiding party in Dungeon Lords."

Demetri eagerly nodded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Even if you're a level 85, you can't mount an attack on the grand realm alone."

"You need a team. Everybody has a special role," Eli pointed out.

"The only way we win is if we work together. As one," Anthony continued.

"And that's how we adapt," Cameron realised, as did the rest of them.

Their new plan was decided. Their eggs would remain in a hat on the sparring deck replacing where Chozen once was. They made a barrier around it.

"So we're sure we want to put all our eggs in one basket? You're specifically not supposed to do that," Demetri voiced his concern as they anxiously waited.

Anthony assured, "This is gonna work."

A whistle tore through the dojo making them slightly panic, especially when they couldn't see where Chozen went.

"Oh no, oh no. Oh, God," Mitch stressed, getting into a fighting stance.

Eli snapped, "Get it together, penis breath."

"Has anyone seen him yet?" Sam asked.

The sun was blinding.

"I should've worn my glasses," Cameron muttered, the light was irritating her contacts, but she managed to see a silhouette flicker through.

Miguel cursed, "Oh shit."

Chozen was running toward them with a Bō.

"Ready!" Miguel yelled.

Robby and Eli were the first to defend, deflecting the Bō, before getting thrown back.

"Grab the bō! Get the bō," Eli instructed, driving most of them forward, to disarm their sensei.

It worked only for him to see an opening and almost reach for the eggs.

Cameron and Sam jumped into action, grunting with their every attack, bombarding Chozen.

Miguel was next when the two girls were deflected, then Robby and Eli.

Chris almost took him down, but shortly after they all stood guard, ready and waiting around the hat of eggs.  They shifted and shuffled when Chozen moved, antagonising them only to realise he had no opening.

That's when he stood, hands to his side, "Snake concede."

He bowed.

"Dude, it worked!" Eli spun around, praising Anthony as the others cheered and congratulated him.

Chozen clapped, despite his exhaustion, "This is what we have that Cobra Kai does not. Their movement mile wide, but only inch deep. But our movement, inch wide, but mile deep." The students smiled.  "Now that you have learned to work together, I will teach you how to master your defence. Yoshi! Kiotsuke!" he ordered in Japanese, "Hai."

And with that, they bowed.

Class may have been difficult but they were evolving, moving as one. They remained on the sparring deck, listening to his guidance as he taught them a new method of mastering their defence. Together as one.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

a/n: