Chapter Text
“Mark my words, son.” Kreese says, leaning back in his chair. “Within a year, you’ll see Cobra Kai billboards all over the Valley. We’ll take it to heights your father never even imagined.”
Everyone has dreams for the future… even this old man with one foot in the grave has big plans to accomplish before he dies.
Everyone… except him.
Robby doesn’t know what he wants from life - other than the obvious of course. Food to eat, a warm place to sleep, some new clothes every now and then… and maybe some assurance that things won’t turn to shit overnight. If that’s not too much to ask.
He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he can tell that that’s just survival, not life. To live you need a goal… some purpose to fulfill.
It doesn’t have to be something grand… it can be something small like a dream of a better life. But whatever is it, it has to be yours. It has to mean something to you.
You can’t live on someone else’s borrowed dream… he’d tried that with Mr. LaRusso and look at how that turned out.
He had tried having a dream of his own once… and he’d almost succeeded in having one. But then someone else had come along and stolen it… and already made it a reality.
His dad and Mr. LaRusso are together now, standing in Mr. Miyagi’s garden. They train side by side, complimenting their students… and thanking them for helping them put their rivalry aside. Someone else has managed to fulfill Robby’s dream that he barely thought possible with a speed he never could.
That’s why it was better not to have dreams at all… but if he doesn’t have them, what is he left with?
Kreese keeps talking, interrupting his thoughts. Robby mostly tunes him out but when he gets to the new batch of students…
“No offense, Sensei, but paying people to be your students sounds dumb.” Robby can’t help but speak up. “That’s like the opposite of how a business is run.”
There is a hint of mockery on Sensei’s lips… and a hint of offense in his eyes.
“Really?”
“I’m not saying don’t get new talent.” Robby clarifies. “But you need to find a better way. You can’t just throw money at it.”
“Alright, young man.” Kreese smirks. “You have some ideas on how I can expand my business? I’m all ears.”
Robby knows he is being set up for mockery. Kreese is going to tear his ideas apart and show him how stupid he is. But the inability to back down from a challenge is one of the things he inherited from his father.
“You gotta give up your obsession with Miyagi-Do.” He tells him. “And my dad. You can’t keep going after them over and over again.”
“You want me to… surrender?” Kreese quirks an eyebrow.
“No...” Robby shakes his head. That ship sailed last December. “We have no option but to win the All-Valley. But once we do, leave them alone. You can’t keep fighting the same fight over and over again and expect to get anywhere. So, let them move on with their lives and focus on what’s important.”
“Which is…?”
“This dojo. Your dojo.” Robby replies. “I know Sensei Silver has the financials covered, but you gotta put that money to good use. Otherwise it’ll all fall apart the moment some other Miyagi comes along.”
Kreese leans forward, apparently interested.
“If you really want to grow your business, you’ll need to hire people.” Robby goes on. “You can’t handle a hundred students every day and still do everything else. And you can’t be at ten different dojo locations yourself. You’ll need to figure a lot of stuff out… make budgets for equipment and salaries… set something aside for advertising...”
He goes on and on and on. He doesn’t even know where he is pulling half of this crap from. He knows he is bullshitting his way through it - just like he has bullshitted his way through most of his life. Sensei Kreese will see through it any moment now… and then the laughter will start.
“... and you need a whole plan for that.” Robby finishes and waits for the blow to fall.
It never does.
“So… come up with a plan.” Kreese tells him with narrowed eyes.
Robby is left speechless… but apparently Kreese doesn’t need him to speak.
“I knew I made the right choice picking you.” He says, pointing at him. “You are going to do great things in the future, son.”
Great things?
No, that’s not him. It’s Sensei Kreese’s vision that’s great. What Robby is offering is some grunt work to make it a reality.
And that all he’s good for, right? Grunt work? He might not have dreams of his own, but if he can help make others’ dreams a reality then that would make him… useful?
Mr. LaRusso rejected his ideas and his dad never wanted him in the first place… but Sensei Kreese is accepting his help. He is acting like he wants it. Like he actually needs him.
My dream… my wish... is that I was important to someone… anyone...
It’s not the dream he thought he’d have… but it’s something. Even if it's not about him but what he can do for them, it’d mean that he won’t be thrown away like trash. As long as he stays important, he can feel… safe. That something.
Right?