Like A Phoenix ➳ Cobra Kai

Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks (29)

In the mid-afternoon of a relatively uneventful day, Kat curled up with a blanket and watched reruns of Magnum PI. Of course, as far as her grandma knew, they were newly released episodes. The act of being cooped up in a house with her mentally absent guardian was nothing short of depressing. In her defense, living with her grandma was almost as exhausting as dating Nick, let alone Hawk.

Still, she found appreciation in the silence of it all. That was until her phone buzzed beneath her blanket. "What is that, dear?" her grandma croaked.

"Oh, nothing. It's probably the microwave." Kat replied.

She slowly removed her phone from her pocket, gliding the hunk of plastic against the fabric to her view. Sam Larusso. Kat swiped to answer the call before tossing her blanket to the side and excusing herself from the room. "Uh, hi. Is this about the mall thing? Because I had nothing to do with that—"

Sam cut her off. "No, it's not. My family woke up today to Miyagi-Do's dojo ransacked and Mr. Miyagi's yellow beetle spray painted, "Cobra Kai Never Dies." It's even worse...." The girl's voice shook. "They took Mr. Miyagi's medal of honor from the military. I'm sure it wasn't you, but my dad is devastated, and rightfully so!"

For a moment, Kat squeezed her eyes shut and cursed silently to herself. She took a deep breath before responding, "I think I have an idea of who it might be. I can't promise you anything, but I will do everything in my power to reclaim the medal of honor. I don't know about the car, or the dojo, but I'll try."

"Thank you, and Kat..."

"Yeah?"

"Be safe. I don't trust them." Sam remarked with slight hesitation.

Kat hung up the phone and grabbed her bag filled with her freshly washed gi, and a pocket knife. Throwing her bag in the backseat of her mom's old corvette, she swerved out of the driveway and made her way to the dojo.

The anger she felt towards Cobra Kai is like a pot of stew, and with every added ounce of despair, heartbreak, and betrayal, she begins to boil over, and over, until one day...

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

First Cobra Kai corrupted Eli, then they allowed her ex, an arsonist and parole into the dojo. God, she's had enough of these assholes.

She swung the door to the dojo open and threw her bag like a rag doll in the corner of the room. Still boiling red with fury, Kat diverted her eyes from looking at her fellow peers. The sight alone brought a wave of nausea to her senses.

While staring blankly at the dojo's bleak, concrete floor, the squeak of the dojo's door swung open to reveal Daniel. Her mouth hung agape at the sight. Yes, Sam mentioned how devastated her dad was, but she didn't think of Mr. LaRusso as a confrontational man. Whoever Mr. Miyagi was must've meant a lot to him.

Daniel marched through the doors with a grief-stricken grimace as his chest heaved. "Is this who we are? What? Are you teaching your students to be unethical now? How dare you come into my dojo, trash Mr. Miyagi's car, ruin my dojo, then steal his medal of honor. I'm not mad at the fact that Cobra Kai cost my property thousands of dollars in damages. No, I'm pissed, disappointed, and enraged that you stole his medal of honor! Listen, just because you steal a medal of honor, it doesn't mean you've earned it." Daniel hissed as his eyes narrowed with tears.

The room went silent. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. If one of my students did what you're saying, I'll deal with them. That's not who we are." Johnny exclaimed with a straight face.

On the other side of the room, Kat observed Hawk's mannerisms, how he cocked his eyebrow, held back a tight smirk—it was him.

Daniel turned his attention to the rest of the Cobra Kai students, "It's not too late. You don't have to learn how to be juvenile delinquents, or express your indifferences in a hostile, unethical manner. If you want to be taught in a safe and comfortable environment, come to Miyagi-Do. Everyone is welcome."