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Chapter Text

-September 7th, 2007, Ecuador-

Jericho slept soundly in his bed until he heard a loud crash. He heard his parents yelling and screaming. This couldn't be good. His mom must've said something that pissed dad off. Not that he had any reason to be pissed off. Pretty much anything sets his dad off. Jericho and his mom were often on the receiving end of his anger. Whenever he or his mom talked to him a certain way or stood up to him, he would often beat up and force them into submission. Jericho and his mom had the scars and bruises to prove it. No matter how often Jericho would try to impress him he would always be on the receiving end of his father's anger. His father always saw him as "weak" and "pathetic". Due to his father being a high-level member of the Mexican Cartel, along with his fearsome reputation, and fear of what he might do if they left him, they are forced to deal with his constant abuse. Also, due to the police having no evidence of his illegal criminal ventures, they couldn't go to the local police, so he always emerged scot-free. 

As Jericho cautiously walks to the kitchen, where the loud crash and the yelling originated from, he sees his mom and dad arguing. He hid behind the counter, watching as his parents argued. About what he couldn't tell, although considering his dad's not so legal "job", it could've been anything. 

"I'm sick and tired of living like this! Do you know how hard it is to support this family when you and your little petty gang rivalries get in the way of supporting our son?!" His mom shouted, earning a vicious glare from her husband. 

"Don't talk to me about family woman! My job keeps the food on the table and support this family! If that means making a few enemies to support this family, then so be it! If you can't handle a little bloody nose, then go back to our bed! That's all your good for you little puta!" His dad angrily ranted, smashing the bottle of tequila on the family table. 

"Joderte!" His mom angrily replied, the word roughly translates in English as "screw you", a word that his mom often uses, even when around her son. His father's eyes flashed with anger, he always hated being disrespected by those he considers beneath him. Even his own wife, whom he considers a "whore". 

SLAP!

His father slapped his mom's face hard, shouting the word "perra", which translates as "bitch". Jericho's eyes widened as he watched his father strike his mother. He had seen his father abused his mom before, but this was different. He was angrier than before, if that was even possible. He ran from the counter where he was hiding and rushed to his mom. 

"Mama!" Jericho shouted in a panic, he cupped his mom's face, seeing a large bruise forming around her face where his father struck her. His father sighed in exasperation as he turned back to his wife and son. 

"Go, Jericho, go!" His mom worriedly warned Jericho. In this state his father was capable of anything including hurting his own son, which Jericho knew very well. 

"Shut up!" His dad angrily shouted, fury in his eyes. He walks to his wife, but Jericho stands in front of his dad, shielding him from his mother, trying to protect her from any further abuse. 

"Move boy!" His dad demanded, trying to intimidate his son to move out of his way. But Jericho stood his ground, but he quivered with fear, knowing what his dad will do next. 

"No, leave mama alone!" Jericho stated, earning him an icy glare from his livid father. 

"What did you say, boy?" He snarled as he stared into Jericho's worried eyes. 

"Leave mama alone, papa!" Jericho repeated, hoping in vain, that it would convince his father to stop, but even as young and naive as he is, he knew his father wouldn't back down. 

His father huffed in annoyance, Jericho nervously swallowed, breath becoming frantic as he glared at his drunken father. His father then chuckled, unnerving, Jericho. His father shoved him out of the way, Jericho fell to the floor, and his father setting his sights back to his mother, but Jericho grabbed him from behind, removing any momentum he has between him and his mother but his father violently elbowed Jericho in the stomach, then proceeded to beat up his son. Punching him in the face and the stomach. 

"No! Stop!" His mom pleaded but his father didn't listen and proceeded to punch Jericho. He then grabbed Jericho by the hair and shoved him to the corner of the wall. He continiously punched him in the face and in the nose. Jericho's nose dripped with blood and tears. His father then kneed him in the stomach and delivered a devasting punch combination. Jericho then collapsed, hitting his head on the hard wooden floor. He then kicked him while he was down, kicking him in the face and in the stomach. Jericho curved into a ball. 

"P-Please, no more!" Jericho cried as tears dripped down from his eyes and blood dripped from his nose. Bruises formed around the poor kid's face, his lip busted from the pounding, and his eyes swollen from the beating. 

His father responded by another kick to the boy's face, and he viciously stepped on his leg. Jericho cried in pain as his father smirked sadistically at him. 

"No, Hector, please! Stop it please! You're hurting our son!" His mom cried, but his father dismissed her as if she meant nothing to him. There was nothing she could do at this point, calling the police would only provoke the cartel into retaliating and would only gain his father's wrath. Despite his dwindling success, he was still rich and powerful, and would use any method to get what he wanted, even if it means murder. 

His disgruntled and disheveled father loomed over his fallen victim, looking down on his son with disgust. 

"Always weak! No matter how hard I tried you always manage to be a disappointment! Your nothing, you will always be weak and pathetic!" Hector angrily ranted. Hector had always seen his abuse as a means of toughening up his son, which only fueled Jericho's hatred of him. 

Hector then grabbed his son by the hem of his shirt and dragged him from the wall to the kitchen room diner, he used his left hand to swing his collection of expensive tequila across the countertop, sending the empty bottles crashing to the floor. Hector then slammed his son's head onto the countertop, pinning him with his arm. Hector snarled at his son. 

"If you ever and I mean ever, interfere in our private business between me and your mother again, I will break every bone in your useless body! Do you understand?!" Hector threatened. 

"Y-Yes papa! Yes!" Jericho cried; tears fell from his cheek. He had no choice but to comply to his demands. Not that it would stop him from abusing either of them anyway. Jericho knew no matter what he would still continue to beat up him and his mom, regardless. 

Hector then shoved Jericho back into the wall, Jericho collapsed on the floor, he laid near the edge of the wall. Hector then punches Jericho over and over again as a last-minute lesson. 

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Hector kept punching and punching Jericho over and over again. Blood splatters over the corner of the wall. Jericho cries and sobs, but Hector in his usual act of cold-heartedness willfully ignores his cries and instead smirks proudly at his work. Hector huffs and stands back up. His fists covered with Jericho's blood and bruises. 

"I expect this place to be cleaned up when I get back. If it isn't then I will deal with you!" Hector threatened, pointing towards his wife as she tearfully shook her head. Hector grabbed his jacket and slammed the door behind him. Jericho sobbed loudly, putting his head in his hands, crying in pain. His mom slowly approaches her beaten and battered son, he looked up at her, tears stinging his eyes. Cupping his face, she wiped the tears from his cheeks and grabs an unused handkerchief from her pocket as she tended to his wounds, gently wiping the blood from his mouth. 

"Why-Why is papa like this? Why does he hurt me?" Jericho sobbed, he never understood why his father was so angry all the time. Why he always beats and belittles him for no reason. 

His mom gives Jericho a hug, hoping it would make him feel better. It didn't but he appreciated the gesture. He was still hurting. His mom, unlike his dad, always loved and cared for Jericho, giving him the love and support his father never could. She was always there for him when he needed it. 

"I don't know Mijo. He's just sick. But someday, someday we won't have to worry about him. One day he won't hurt any of us anymore." She said optimistically, despite the tragedy of their current lifestyle Jericho's mom had always had a sunny disposition. 

She sighed, "Now, I'll take you back into your room and I'll clean this place up before your dad gets back, okay? And then I'll make some of my famous tacos." Jericho smiled and nodded. 

Chapter Text

-Present Day, 2018- 

"You're nothing but a worthless cabron! A pathetic excuse for a human being! You're always inutil! You're weak just like you're whore of a mother!" Hector ranted as he continuously punches and beats up Jericho. Blood dripped from his mouth, bruises formed in his left eye, and his legs weaken from the harsh beatings he endured. Jericho tearfully struggled to beg his father to stop but he didn't listen. He continued to beat him senseless as Jericho struggled to fight back, but there was no point in fighting back, because Hector was bigger, tougher, more aggressive than Jericho ever was and ever could be. He screamed in pain as his father viciously stomped on his leg, nearly breaking the joint. His father sadistically looked down on him. He grabbed Jericho by the hem of his shirt, ready to start beating him all over again. Jericho closed his eyes as he was waiting for the next punch to hit his face. 

Jericho jolted awake with a start and his eyes snapped open. His head whipped around as he tried to remember where he was. It took a few moments before he remembered where he was. He and his mother were on an airplane, flying from Ecuador to their new home, sunny Los Angeles of all places. Jericho thought it was better than staying in Ecuador, getting his face busted in by his father. He hoped Los Angeles would be a better place for him. His mom hoped so too, for their sake. 

He let out a sigh and a groan, putting his head in his hands as he leaned back into the uncomfortable airplane seat. It's been nearly 5 or 6 years, Jericho wasn't really keeping count, since he was under his dad's "loving" care. He remembered all the abuse he endured from his father, he never forgot any of it. And not once had he had a decent night's sleep without being haunted by nightmares of his cruel past with his abusive father. He wasn't a little kid anymore. But as of right now he wasn't living in Ecuador anymore. But due to his dark past, whenever he was haunted by nightmares of his father's abuse, he transformed himself into that same scared little kid his father detested, feeling every punch, and kick his father thrown at him. He even remembers the feeling of his father smashing beer bottles on his head. The doctors back in Ecuador had said that he might have some form of post-traumatic-stress-disorder or PTSD for short due to his father's abuse.

16-years-old turning 17 in a couple of months, Jericho was a traditionally attractive looking boy. Or that's what he and his mom thought deep down. He was pretty tan; his slick jet-black hair was relatively short and had a traditional boy's haircut. Not that anyone would see it due to him wearing a dark blue hoodie. Jericho was always shy, especially around new people he didn't know very well. 

"You okay?" 

Jericho glanced sideways and saw his mom sitting in the seat next to him and staring at him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

"You had another nightmare again?" His mom asked, worry clearly present in her eyes. Jericho looked at her but said nothing, remaining silent. She knew exactly what he was dreaming about, for it was the exact same nightmares that haunted him over the past few years. She knows the physical, metal, psychological toll being with his father has put upon him. She was better at hiding it, but she was affected too. 

"Well, it's okay Mijo you won't ever have to worry about your papa anymore cause we're here. A fresh new start." She said optimistically as the plane had finally landed at their new home for the first time. His mom's new job would have them living in a place called "The Valley".  Jericho's nerves wracked with both anticipation and some anxiety since he and his mom never lived in any place that was outside of the Mexican border. They had always lived in Ecuador. But now, now as his mom said, it was a "fresh new start". But Jericho remained skeptical, while he agreed it was better than living in Ecuador, he didn't know what to do or how to make any friends in this new country. Even back when his father vented his frustrations and anger onto Jericho, he had a few friends. Sure, these friends were fellow "outcasts" as Jericho thought of himself as, they were always nice to him, even when his father didn't let them near their house, he'd always find a way to see them. He'd always sneak out when his father was gone and his mom busy with work to hang out with them, playing sports and playing video games. These friends always spoke Spanish, and Jericho was taught Spanish since he first learned how to speak Spanish. But now he was in America and while he did practice speaking English using an American English dictionary before they even step foot on the plane, he was still nervous as he'd never spoke English to an American before. 

Before Jericho could practice perfecting his English, they emerged from the plane shortly after, ready to disembark to LA. He and his mom remained silent as they grabbed their bags and headed towards the exit of the plane. His mom called a taxi, and they entered the vehicle, ready to head to their new homes in "The Valley". Just as Jericho grabbed his Batman comics and started to read it, the sun glared through his window, and he couldn't help but feel at awe of his surroundings. Ecuador was beautiful, even more so when his dad wasn't around to darken the skies with his tall figure, but it was nothing compared to the sunny, blissful skies of LA. Maybe moving here won't be so bad after all, Jericho thought. His mom had arranged in advance to live in a small apartment complex where they would be living together for the rest of their lives. The apartment complex was called "South Seas", a place where all newcomers go when they can't afford expensive houses to live in. Just as Jericho was in deep thought the taxi stopped and Jericho got a good look at this so called "South Seas" complex. It didn't look like much, less charming than Jericho thought it would be but not entirely unexpected. Due to being foreigners and struggling financially they couldn't afford any other nicer places to live in. They exited the taxi and grabbed their bags; his mom grabbed the keys and unlocked the front gate; Jericho was in awe as he spotted a swimming pool near them. Jericho had always liked going to the beach and playing in water. Jericho and his mom soon come across, their apartment door, 208. As soon as they entered their apartment, Amelia let's Jericho settle in first before they unpack. Amelia had, unbeknownst to her son, had secretly stashed her collection of beer, wine, tequila, and other fine alcohol beverages in the refrigerator. 

-One Week Later-

It's been nearly one week since they first moved to the San Fernando Valley and so far, it's been mundane. Since his mom has been struggling to find some financial stability, it was up to Jericho to work at a part-time job to earn some money. While his dad was an abusive prick, he'd always had money to spare but due to his "legal problems" and being in America, they had little to no income to spare. So, Jericho has been working long hours at Don Corazon's Mexican Restaurant and since they were eager to hire new employees, the manager happily accepted Jericho for the job. It helped that he was Ecuadorian and was familiar with working at a restaurant before. His dad owned a restaurant back in Ecuador and would often force him to clean the tables. After working extra hours and getting a couple of bucks from the customers he happily went home via uber. 

"Hi, mom." Jericho greeted, as he happily walked entered their apartment, but she didn't answer. At first Jericho was concerned since she almost always answers. 

As he walks into the living room, he finds his mom slouched on the couch, snoring. A familiar smell catches Jericho's attention, he soon finds a bottle of tequila on the lampstand next to her. 

A heavy sigh escapes from Jericho's lips. He puts his hand on her arm motioning for her to wake up. 

"Mom, wake up. Mom?" He said, but she was still asleep. He leans in closer. 

"Mom." He whispers in her ear. Her eyes slightly lit open, she sighed as she stretched and looks up at her son. 

"Hi, honey," she slurred. She tiredly grabs his arm. 

"Mom, have you've been drinking again?" He asks, looking directly at the empty tequila bottle. 

"Well yeah but I only had one bottle." She slurred, but Jericho wasn't buying it. If she was drunk enough to pass out on the couch, then she wasn't having only one bottle. He sternly looked at her knowing she was lying. 

"Okay, okay maybe I had three or four bottles. I-uh-I-uh I don't know I wasn't keeping count."

Jericho furrowed his brows, "Mom, we have talked about this. You can't keep drinking your sorrows away. We're not in Ecuador anymore, this is America. We have much more to lose here." 

She looked up at him, giving him a sympathetic look. "I know mijo, I'm sorry." She tries to get up but she almost trips while trying to get up. 

Jericho hastily grabs his mom. She lazily gets up, stumbling to her feet. 

"Easy their mom." They walked into the hallway; he hears her muttering to herself. Yep, she was definitely drunk. He finds his mom's room and gently places her onto her bed. 

Amelia grabs another bottle of tequila and takes a couple of sips of it before Jericho takes it away. 

"No, no, no, no more tequila." He said after grabbing the bottle, accidentally spilling some of it on her shirt. 

"Shit, mom! I'm sorry." 

"No, no, It's okay Mijo. It's n-no big deal." She murmured as she wipes the tequila from her mouth. 

She sighs as she situated herself on her bed. Amelia groans as she was having a hangover. 

"Sweetie, could you grab me an ice pack? Those tequilas are taking a toll on me." 

Jericho nodded, "Sure mom." Jericho went into the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. Returning to his mom's room he gently placed the ice pack on her head. 

"Thanks, mijo." She said, barely above a whisper.

Jericho looks down on his depressed and alcoholic mother. He was worried for her. She always had a drinking problem. She often consumed large amounts of alcohol to sooth the pain of everyday life. Sensing his emotions, she gently grabbed his arm. 

"Hey what's wrong sweetheart?" 

"Nothing mom. It's just that-well I'm worried for you." He said honestly. 

"Hey, you don't have to worry. No matter what happens. I'll be here. No matter what." 

A small smile creeped on Jericho's lips, "I know mom." Jericho looks at his mom as her eyes almost closes. 

Just before she fell asleep a small burp escaped from her lips and she dryly laughs. 

Jericho shook his head and smiles halfheartedly, "Well better get some sleep mom. You're going to need it." 

"W-wi (burp) do." Amelia slurred. Jericho wraps the blanket around her and gives her a kiss on her forehead. But before she falls asleep, she grabs Jericho's arm. 

"You okay?" Jericho asks, putting his hand on her mother's hand. 

"This could be the drinks talking but could we go to an American restaurant, later to-(burp)-day. I-I hear this place called Smitty's is p-pretty g-good." Jericho smiles at her, while normally the idea of going to a restaurant especially an American one wouldn't interest him, but he couldn't say no to his mom, not while she was drunk and depressed. 

"Sure, when do you wanna go?" 

Amelia looks at her watch, "8:00 would be nice." 

-Smitty's Diner, 8:00 PM-

Jericho and Amelia had ordered lunch. She was having one of those famous steaks, while Jericho was having a cheeseburger. It was his first time having an American meal and so far, he liked it. The only downside was the onions, which Jericho never liked. Onions always left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Just as Jericho took another bite of his cheeseburger, he notices a black girl with glasses sitting down near them. She had a bit of light and dark fuzzy hair. Jericho swears she looked familiar, he once looked online and saw some video called "badass karate girl gets revenge on bully with a front wedgie." 

A small smile creeped on the girl's lips as she notices him looking at her. He nervously glances down, hoping she didn't see him staring at her. Just as he was drinking his coke, the girl walks to his table and greets herself. 

"Hi, you must be new here. I'm Aisha, Aisha Robinson." 

His mom smiled and whispered to him, "Talk to her. Say hi." 

Jericho nodded nervously and faced Aisha. Time to put his English to good use. 

"Hola, my name is Jericho." The nervous boy said as he shook Aisha's hand. His English was rusty but so far so good. Jericho was a bit of a fast learner so while it was difficult, he learns pretty fast. Amelia smirked at his son and his "new friend" and headed towards the bathroom, leaving Jericho alone with Aisha Robinson. 

"I haven't seen you around here, have you just moved here?" She asks with a warm smile on her face. 

"Yeah, me and my mom just moved here from Ecuador." Aisha was a little stunned by his statement since her best friend was also from Ecuador. She then sat next to Jericho and smiled at him. 

"Huh, I have a friend who moved here from Ecuador." 

Now his interest was piqued. Another Ecuadorian teen. Maybe he wouldn't feel so alone here. 

"Yeah, we used to do karate together." 

Wait, this girl loved karate? Aside from Marvel/DC movies and comic-books, karate was one of his favorite subjects to talk about. Jericho had always secretly wanted to take up karate lessons but knew his mom would never allow it. 

"Wait you do karate? That's awesome!" He exclaimed, finally a friend whom he had common ground with. 

"Yeah, my fists, deadly weapons." She joked. Jericho laughs in amusement. He hasn't had a good laugh in a long while.  

"Wait a minute, aren't you the girl who gave that blond chick a front wedgie?" Jericho asks ecstatically.  

Aisha scoffs, "That bitch had it coming." Jericho laughs. He wished he had the courage to stand up to his fears just like she did. 

The two nerdy teenagers bonded over their love of karate and science. Jericho has always had a passion for science, they talked about their various science projects, what they liked to do and their knowledge on robotics. Aisha talks about her dad being a famous athlete, and how her family became the rich family in the Valley. But before the two could talk further Aisha's mom called her away. Due to the recent karate brawl at West Valley High, her parents kept a "tight leash" on her. 

"Well, hope we can see each other again." She smiled warmly. 

"I would like that." He said enthusiastically. The first real friend he had in ages. Since moving to San Fernando Valley, he hasn't really made a lot of friends. Jericho felt like an outcast among the more privilege kids that get to have a "normal" childhood. 

-The Next Day, Don Corazon's Mexican Restaurant. Time: 1:45 PM- 

Jericho had been working at the restaurant for a couple of days now and so far, the manager was pleased with his progress. So, he had some experiences. It also helps that he was Ecuadorian and got along with his fellow employees. Jericho had just finished mopping the floor, it was a slow day even though he only worked for a half an hour, it already felt like hours had passed. Then suddenly he saw a tall, beautiful girl with a brunette hairstyle wearing a blue shirt and skinny jeans, she was with a young woman who looked like she was in her early 30's or 40's presumably her mother. They ordered their drinks and were eating their dinner that showed up hours later. 

Just then three guys came into the restaurant, all three teenagers looked cocky and had the type of look that said that they owned the place and everyone in it. Jericho hated people like that. People who think they can just do whatever they wanted. The one in the middle rudely bumped into him without warning or apology. He glared at him, but he didn't want to get involved in an argument that would potentially get him fired or would start a fight because he looked more menacing than his two friends. Presumably he was the leader of his little posse. He was African American, tall, fairly muscular, and had a nasty look in his eyes. Jericho ignored the rude teen and continued on with his business. He approaches the two gals sitting at their table, talking amongst themselves. He whistled to the two gals. Jericho rolled his eyes in annoyance.    

"Hey sweetie, the name's Diego, but you can call me D." Diego said, winking at the brunette. Sara looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. Amanda glared at this stranger. Her face went from confusion to caution in a matter of seconds. She did not like the look of this guy or his friends. It wouldn't take a genius to realize these guys were trouble. 

"Why don't we ditch this place and go somewhere fun?" He smirked, hoping to smooth talk her, but Sara doesn't look interested at all. She clearly did not know this guy at all. 

"Uh no thanks. I'd rather stay here than go out with some random guy I don't know." She coldly stated. 

"Oh honey, but I was eager to get to know you better." He replied, a seemingly lustful look in his eyes. Sara mentally rolled her eyes at that comment. Clearly, he was not getting the message. 

"Pass", Sara raised her hands telling him to back off. But Diego just wasn't getting the message, he was still determined to do god knows what to her. Jericho admired her persistence. 

"Oh, come on honey. I can make it worth your while." Diego smirked. Sara rolls her eyes in annoyance. This guy was not getting into his thick skull that she wasn't interested.

"The answer is still no. Now, can you please leave me alone?" She demanded, slight impatience in her voice. Just as Sara and her mom was stepping out of their table and was about to leave, Diego quickly grabs her arm, holding her tightly. 

"Let go of me!" She yelled, trying to get out of his tight grasp to no avail. Some of the customers were looking at the two teenagers and were immediately uncomfortable but didn't do anything. Not wanting to get involved in business that isn't theirs. 

"Hey, most girls in this town invite me! You're lucky you're getting an invitation. Now if you start hanging out with us, you might actually get some excitement in your life." Diego impatiently snapped. It was clear this guy had absolutely no good intentions with this girl. 

"I said, let go of me!" Sara responded, trying to get out of the boy's grip but he didn't budge, a smirk creped on the teen's face. Sara then slaps Diego hard in the face, he peddled back a little. Slightly stunned by the hard slap to his face. 

"A feisty one, but I like that. I like that." He replied, smirking as he approached her, putting his right hand on her hip. Sara then tried to slap him, but he catches her hand, so she kneed him in the groin and pushed him away. 

"You little bitch!" Diego then charges at her, grabbing her shoulders. "You don't get to say no to me! Now, why don't you stop being a little bitch before my generosity expires?" He snaps, snarling at her like a rabid dog. His eyes blazing with fury. It was like facing a wild animal during a hunt. 

"Let her go!" Amanda demanded. 

Diego scoffs, "Who are you? Her grandma?" Amanda's mouth dropped; this guy was a real asshole. 

"No, I'm her mother, so let my daughter go!" She demanded again, she approaches the two teens, but Diego's two friends blocked her path. And since they were slightly taller and nastier looking, she didn't want to get into a fight, especially with some jerk holding her daughter hostage. Jericho shakes his head and walks over to the disturbance, approaching the disgruntled teen and the poor brunette in his grasp. 

"LET ME GO!" Sara shouted, but Diego ignored her, instead gripping her shoulders even harder now. 

"You heard her. Now, leave her alone and promptly leave this establishment at once." Jericho firmly stated, trying to at least look serious enough to make the teenagers leave. 

"Stay out of this cabron!" Diego sneered. His two friends looked behind them, eyeing the Ecuadorian employee, but they stayed where they were. 

"Let her go, or I'm getting my manager and I'll tell him that you're harassing the customers! And I'm sure he'll band you and your friends from ever coming back here if you don't leave right now." Jericho threatened, he thinks this guy will back off, assuming he's not as dumb as he looks. 

Diego then shoves Sara to the side, prompting Amanda to rush over to her, checking to see if she was okay. He then walks over to Jericho. Jericho noted how taller he was compared to him. He angrily glares at Jericho, but he remained relatively unfazed. 

"So, you want to play the hero, huh? Big mistake!" He spat; venom dripped from his mouth; he was annoyed by this employee standing up to him. His hands balled into fists as he was prepared to beat the shit out of him. 

"Hey Diego, not here, not now!" One of his friends said as he motioned towards one of the employees and presumably the manager.

"Stay out of this Eric!" Diego snapped to his blond-haired friend. Like sheep, Eric promptly backed off. His back-haired friend spoke up. 

"Eric's right. The Manager's right over there. Let's go before someone calls the cops!" His back-haired friend said, the customers stared at the three teenagers. 

Diego huffed, "Fine Rio." He grunted, he quickly cooled off knowing his friends are right. They don't want to end up in juvie let alone prison. Diego then locks daggers at Jericho. 

"You got lucky this time little shit, but next time you won't be so lucky." Diego said pointing his finger at him. Jericho firmly stood his ground, glaring at the asshole. "Come on guys, let's get out of this shitbag restaurant." He grunted as he leaves with his two friends. Diego rudely bumps into Jericho, more forcefully and on purpose this time, but Jericho didn't flinch. Instead, Jericho continues to glare at the teens as they were walking out of the restaurant in frustration. Amanda then approached her daughter, checking to see if she was alright. 

She then approaches the Ecuadorian teen, "Thank you for helping my daughter." She smiles at the Ecuadorian teen. 

"You're welcome." Jericho said, smiling and shaking the older woman's hand. 

As soon as the three guys left the restaurant, the brunette walks to Jericho. "Thanks for the help but I could've kicked his ass without your help." She jokingly replied, causing a dry laugh to escape from Jericho's lips. 

"Well, if it's between you or him I would bet on you." Jericho remarked, Sara laughed at his joke. With everything going on she needed a good laugh. Her sister getting into a fight with a psychopath who nearly sliced her head off, the auto dealership being a literal ghost town, and Miyagi-Do shutting down, it was nice to meet someone who made her laugh. 

He cleared his throat, "The name's Jericho." 

"Well, nice to meet you, Jericho. My name is Sara." The cute brunette said, shaking the teen's hand. 

"That's a beautiful name." Jericho smiled at the brunette. Aside from Aisha Robinson, he'd never interacted with another girl before. Sure, there a few cute girls in his class back in Ecuador, but he never talked to them. Due to his nerdy interests, like American comic-books and sci-fi movies, they never really understood him.  

"Thanks," Sara replied twirling her hair in a playful motion. 

Jericho then cleared his throat again, "So what the hell was that all about? You know that guy?" 

Sara shook her head, "Never seen him before in my life. I don't think he's even been to my school. Then again considering his low IQ I don't even think he's ever been to school at all." She sarcastically remarks. Jericho laughs at her remark. Beautiful and funny. Two things Jericho likes in a girl. 

"So, are you new here?" She asks, curious to get to know this handsome looking teen. 

"Actually yes, my mom and I just moved here from Ecuador." Sara was a taken back by his statement. She remembers her sister, Sam, told her once that Miguel and his family was also from Ecuador. Crazy coincidence Sara thought. 

"Ecuador? Why did you move here?" She asks inquisitively. While she doesn't know entirely about Miguel's family history, she remembers that they moved to the U.S. because of Miguel's dad being involved in some illegal business. She wonders if they're circumstances are the same. 

"Uh, well it-it-mainly ha-has to so with some family problems." He stuttered, even though she was cute he didn't like to tell some random stranger about his past with his dad. Afraid he might scare her off, or worse think he was some kind of freak or a pussy. 

Just before Sara could ask any further questions, her mom was honking her car horn telling her it was time to go. "Time to go Sara!" Amanda shouted. 

"I'll be there in a minute mom!" She yelled back and Amanda nodded. 

"Well, it was nice meeting you Jericho. Hope we see each other at school." Sara smiled, shaking his hand. 

Jericho smiled widely, "Yeah I would like that. Which school do you go to?" 

"West Valley High." She answered. Jericho nodded; he was going there to in a couple of weeks. 

"No way, I'm going there too!" Enthusiasm swarmed through Jericho's body. First Aisha and now Sara. Two friends in one day. Jericho thought to himself maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all. Sara left giving Jericho a playful wink goodbye. Jericho shyly waved her goodbye as her mom drove off. 

-2 Hours Later-

It was a quiet afternoon. Jericho was cleaning off the tables with a disinfecting wipe. He was very thorough; he had a strange habit of wanting everything to be perfect. Just before quitting time, the manager took Jericho aside for a few moments and asks him if he could take out the trash. Jericho agreed. 

As Jericho was taking out the trash, someone had hit him very hard on the backside of his head, sending him crashing down like a ton of bricks. Some blond kid, standing over him was holding a baseball bat. Just as Jericho surveyed his surroundings, he recognizes the tall blond kid. He was the same one who was with that douchebag Diego earlier today. Before he could get up, he was immediately grabbed by another teen. A tall, black-haired teen who was also with Diego earlier. As the two teens held Jericho, a shadowy figure appears, Jericho immediately recognizes him. The same one who was causing trouble earlier today, the one who tried to sexually assault that Sara girl, Diego. His two friends punched him in the ribs and kicked one of his knees before they made Jericho firmly stand up. 

Diego tightly grabs Jericho's hair, causing him to groan in pain. He forced Jericho to look directly at him. He was fuming with rage. 

"You should've minded your own business, little shit! Now you're gonna pay for humiliating me, shithead!" Diego snarled, he balled his right hand into a fist and repeatedly punched Jericho in the face and in the stomach. 

Jericho groaned in pain, small amounts of blood dripping from his nose. 

"Are you crying little shit?" Diego and his friends laughed as Jericho groaned weakly. 

Jericho stared into his eyes; anger flooded his body. Diego cracked a sinister grin, watching in amusement while Jericho struggled to get out of his friend's tight grip. 

Diego then kicked Jericho in the shin, hard, causing Jericho to bend down on one knee. Eric and Rio laughed then they shoved Jericho to the hard concrete ground. He then bends down and smirked. 

Diego tightly grabs his jaw and smirks. Jericho angrily spits in Diego's face. His two friends' smirk and said, "Big mistake." Diego's eyes flashed with anger as he hit Jericho, punch after punch was thrown. Jericho tried to block some of his punches, but Diego was just too fast. And Eric and Rio were attacking him from behind. Clearly it wasn't a fair fight. 

Just as Diego briefly let his guard down, Jericho took a swing at him, punching Diego right in the face. But Diego quickly shakes it off and scoffs at the teen. 

"You call that a punch? My grandma hits harder than that!" Diego mocked; Jericho ignored his taunt and got into a fighting stance. Eric and Rio laugh and pointed at the teen. They both knew how this was going to go down. 

Jericho attempted to punch Diego in the face again, but Diego blocked and dodged his punches, and he grabbed his right fist, kneeing him in the stomach and delivering a punch combination. Blood dripped from Jericho's mouth as he slowly stood up, trying to stand his ground. Diego mockingly goaded Jericho to attack him blindly and that's exactly what Jericho did, he rushed to Diego and before he knew it, Diego front kicked him in the groin and delivered a devastating uppercut. Dazed and bruised Jericho almost went down but Diego quickly grabbed the helm of his shirt and threw him across the alley, throwing him to a bunch of garbage cans. Some of the garbage cans crashed down near the injured teen. Diego and his friends viciously kicked Jericho while he was down, kicking him in the stomach and in the face. 

Jericho groaned weakly trying to summon the courage to speak, "P-Please, no more, mercy." Flashbacks of how his dad used to beat him up, etched into Jericho's mind. 

Diego and his friends laughed, "Sorry bro, but in life no one shows mercy." Diego spat, continuing to kick the defenseless teen. 

Laying on the side, of his back until Diego kicked him back up, staring at his fallen victim. Just before Diego and his friends could do any lasting damage, sirens wailed from the distance, two cop cars zoomed across the street. Rio's eyes widened seeing the red and blue color from the distance he frantically warned Diego and Eric. 

"Oh shit, it's the fuzz! We gotta go!" Rio shouted. Diego angrily glared at the bruised and bloodied teen, coughing and spitting out blood. 

"This isn't over shithead!" Diego yelled, as the two cops exited their vehicles, Diego and his two friends ran. The two cops ran towards the three running teenagers, they blew their whistle, ordering them to stop but they just kept running. The three teens jumped over a gate, evading their pursuers. Jericho saw an old flier lying next to him, a flier for a karate dojo, the dojo was called Cobra Kai. He took the flier that was lying near him, and he folded it up, putting it in his pocket. 

Jericho could barely see or hear anything but one of the cops talking into their radio transmitter. "We need an ambulance! There's a wounded teen near Don Corazon's Mexican Restaurant." Bruised, bloodied and nearly beaten to death, Jericho passes out. 

Chapter Text

-West Valley General Hospital-

Jericho laid down on the hospital bed. He could barely sleep with the injuries he sustained and the pain from said injuries. He had a mild head injury, some bruising in his abdomen. The doctors think he could've cracked his ribs, but the scans came back normal. The last thing he remembered was his mom rushing into the hospital room, desperately trying to see him but the doctors held her back until she explained that she was his mom. Jericho grabbed a mirror and observed the injuries he sustained during the one-sided beatdown he received from Diego and his punk friends. He winced as he touches the bruises around his eye, a small scar on his lip, and dry blood from his nose. Overall, according to the doctor, the injuries aren't too serious. Jericho wasn't too worried he took worse beatings than this. He remembered how his father used to smash a bottle of beer on his head, leaving glass shards on his head for his mom to clean up. Luckily those shards never penetrated his head. Though his head often bleed due to those shards. He remembered all the bruises, the blood, and the severe injuries he got from his deadbeat father. Having those injuries brought up those painful memories, memories he had desperately tried to suppress.  

"Mijo, are you alright?!" She asked in a worrying tone. She hasn't seen him this beaten up this bad...since they lived with his prick of a father back in Ecuador. Due to those horrible experiences, she was the one who patches up Jericho's wounds after pissing his father off. Seeing Jericho beaten and battered brought those memories back, she tried to bury deep down, but never forgotten. 

"Mijo, tell me what happened?" Amelia asks, wanting to know who and why he was beaten up. Jericho wasn't sure if telling her or even the cops would make a damn bit of a difference since that Diego guy seemed to be slippery one. He wasn't sure if the cops would be able to find that son of a bitch. 

"Just some guys at the restaurant, they were harassing one of the customers, so I stepped in and stopped them. Unfortunately, I-I pissed them off and they jumped me while I was taking out the trash. O-One of them hit me from behind with a baseball bat, and they started beating the shit out of me." Jericho replied, despite the injuries and his fuzzy memories he clearly remembered the incident. Tears escaped his eyes as he recounted the story to his mom. She hugged him. "Last thing I remember is that two cop cars came in and one of them checked on me, then I passed out." He said breathlessly, still in severe pain from the horrendous beatdown.

Amelia looks at her son with some pride and worry. Jericho had always been somewhat of a chivalrous young boy; she guesses that the incident could've triggered a bad memory of how his dad used to treat her before he stepped in and tried to stop him. She laid a comforting hand on Jericho's hand. 

"Well, whoever they are, they won't bother you again." Amelia replied, hoping that would cheer Jericho up. It didn't. Jericho knows bullies like him from his time in Ecuador and they don't ever leave well enough alone. Like his father never left well enough alone. He knew it was pointless. 

"Hey mom, how are you going to pay for this? We don't have enough money to pay for my injuries. It's very expensive." He asks, due to his mom's alcoholism and lack insurance he knew it was going to be difficult to pay the hospital bills. 

"That friend of yours, Aisha, was it? She offered to lend us some money to pay for your hospital bills." She explained. Jericho's jaw dropped, shock and surprise overwhelmed him. He knew Aisha was rich but her actually offering to pay his hospital bills? Jericho thought it was a dream. 

"A-Aisha's here?" Jericho asks breathlessly, "Can she see me?" Amelia nodded, despite only knowing her for a short time, this Aisha girl seemed like a sweet friend. Before Jericho woke up, Amelia pacing nervously, then she saw Aisha and she recognized his new friend's mom, she asks if everything was alright before Amelia told her about the fight he got into. Aisha was worried, very worried, first it was Miguel now it's Jericho. Amelia told Aisha to wait outside before she could come in, telling her when it will okay for her to visit. While Aisha was hesitant, she respected her enough to obey her. 

Amelia motioned to Aisha, telling her it was okay for her to enter. She enters his room and smiles at him. 

"Hi." 

"Hi", Jericho responded. He was pleasantly surprised to see her here. 

"Aisha, what-what are you doing here?" The flustered teen asks, while he didn't want to sound rude or imply, he's not happy to see her here he is kind of surprised to see her. 

"I-I came to see a friend of mine." Jericho thought, oh. "But then I recognized your mom from the diner, and she explained that some assholes beat you up and I came here. She told me to wait outside until she gives the okay to come in here." 

Jericho smiles at her. "T-Thanks Aisha. I'm okay. I'm stronger than I look." Aisha laughs dryly, this situation reminded her of Miguel Diaz, except Jericho was lucky to not be in a coma from which he could never wake up. "Besides I took beatings worse than this. Trust me." He said, trying to reassure her that it was no big deal. Aisha looks at him with worry, he reminded her of Miguel Diaz. 

"Hey, I got you a get well-card." Aisha handed Jericho her get-well card, it had a tiger on the front of it. He smiled widely; tigers were his favorite animals, so he appreciated the gesture. A small tear escaped from his eye; he quickly wiped it away before anyone could see it. 

"Thank you, Aisha." A warm smile appeared on Jericho's face. He's never had a friend like Aisha. 

Just then the doctors came in. Doctor Tracey appears. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I would like to ask you a few questions?" Amelia nodded and looked at Aisha, silently telling her to leave. 

"Well, hope we can see each other again and feel better." Aisha said, a small smile appears on her lips. 

Jericho nodded, "Thanks Aisha. I would like that." 

Before Aisha leaves the room, she gives Jericho a reassuring pat on his shoulder. Doctor Tracey approaches Jericho and Amelia with a notepad in her hands. 

"So, we've gone over test results and according to the lab, your son has some chromosomes that matches with another of our patients." 

Jericho and Amelia looked at each other, confused. Jericho was by no means an expert but if some people have the exact same chromosomes than that means his mom had a second child or something. But that would be impossible since his mom hasn't been with another man since his dad. 

"That's impossible. The only child I have is my sweet boy Jericho." She explained. She might be an alcoholic, but one thing is for sure is that she never been with another man before and she never had any children before Jericho. She's had a few men before his father, but they never went that far, and they always use protection. 

Doctor Tracey noted the expressions on their faces and jotted it down on her notebook. She believed them, and since they checked her hospital records from Ecuador, they have confirmed that she hasn't had any other children besides Jericho. 

"Well, there's one other possibility. Is that either the test results are wrong or..." 

"Or..." Amelia said intently. 

"Or you have a half-brother." 

Jericho and Amelia's eyes widened. A half-brother, Jericho knows siblings who are half-brothers or sisters have same fathers and different mothers. 

"I-I have a half-brother?" Jericho could hardly believe it. Excitement overwhelmed him. He slightly stood up from his bed. Ever since moving to America he's felt like an outsider, he always felt alone, but now with the revelation that he has a half-brother maybe he wouldn't feel so alone anymore.

Jericho darted his eyes to his mom and smiled, "This-this is great!" Amelia looked at her son, somewhat confused. "Don't you see mom? I have a half-brother! A family member here, in the Valley! Maybe, maybe I wouldn't feel so alone anymore." Amelia looks at her son, she smiles at him. Thinking if they were in the same position she'd be just as excited. 

"Can-Can I see him?" He asks, sincerely wanting to meet with him. Doctor Tracey looks at Jericho, noting the excitement in his eyes, telling him no would be like kicking a dog. 

"Well-Okay. You can see him." Jericho mouthed, "thank you" and Amelia and Tracey helped Jericho get on his feet. Despite his injuries Jericho was willing to ignore them for the sake of meeting his half-sibling. They helped him walk through the vast corridors of the hospital, trying to find his room. After a couple minutes of walking Jericho finally made it to his half-siblings room. Jericho asked his mom to wait outside, and she agreed. He wanted to talk to his brother alone. The smile that was visibly clear on Jericho's face disappeared for what he saw shocked him. 

He found Miguel in the ICU hooked up to equipment, he wasn't moving, he was breathing but he was unconscious. He was in critical condition, beeps from the heart monitor beeped loudly. Lying unconscious on his gurney, his head strapped to a neck brace. Jericho's mouth dropped open. This was his half-brother? He thought to himself. Jericho slowly limped towards his unconscious half-brother. He couldn't believe it. 

"He-he's my half-brother?" Jericho asks, shocked at seeing that his supposed half-brother was critically injured and lying unconscious. 

"What happened to him?" He asks, Doctor Tracey looked at Jericho, the insistence in his voice and the stern look in his eyes made her reluctantly agree. 

"A school fight at West Valley High School. It was a horrible accident." Jericho nodded; he appreciated her telling him. Sadness overtook him but it was quickly replaced with anger. He wanted to know who injured him and why. He believed the doctor, but he senses that she isn't telling him the whole story. He's heard about Miguel Diaz, the All-Valley Champion who won his first trophy. Since Jericho was relatively new in the Valley, he was ignorant of the local high school brawl. 

"Who did this to him?" He asks, some semblance of anger in his voice. If someone manage to cripple the All-Valley Champion, it had to be someone who was just as tough and skilled as a fighter as him. He watched YouTube Videos of the All-Valley Tournament and Miguel was good. 

Doctor Tracey looked at him sympathetically, "I'm sorry but I can't say."

Jericho nodded; "Will he ever wake up?" 

"I don't know, his back has been severely broken, and he's been in a coma for a week since...the fight. I'm not sure if he'll ever wake up." 

Jericho nodded, silently acknowledging the doctor's statement. He could barely believe it, his brother whom he so wanted to meet is in a coma. And since even the doctors there wasn't sure if he could pull through or not, the next couple of weeks would be critical. For all he knows, Miguel could never reawaken and be in a coma forever or worse he could be dead. "I'm-I'm sorry to break such sad news to you." Doctor Tracey said, sympathizing with Jericho, sincerity in her voice. To Jericho it all felt like someone kicked him in the head. And he knew how that felt, his dad used to kick him in the head all the time. But this, this was different. Him getting hurt was one thing but a family member, a half-brother he never knew about? That was completely different. 

"I'll give you some time alone." the blond doctor responded, she exits the room, leaving Jericho alone to be with his comatose half-brother. He places a hand on his brother's hand and quietly sobs to himself, tears flooded from his eyes. Just when everything was going good for him, it all turns to shit. Just then the teen discovers the TV was on. Jericho sighs and was about to turn off the TV when he faintly heard the news report on the school fight. So, naturally by instinct he turned the volume on. 

"It's been nearly a week since what can only be called an all-out karate riot that caught students and faculty off guard. Parents and teachers are concerned on whether or not they would take the necessary step to make sure this doesn't happen again. Since the karate brawl started by two parties, Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, parents are wondering if any karate dojos will be a safe place to train their students. Regarding if karate will be a safe place this is what Daniel LaRusso had to say." The news shows a video of Daniel LaRusso walking out of West Valley High General Hospital, cameras flashed at him as he tries to cover his eyes, and news reporters all up in his face. He was in no mood to talk.

"Mr. LaRusso! Mr. LaRusso!" One reporter said trying to get past the swarm of other reporters. "Is it true that Miyagi-Do is directly responsible for the karate brawl?" Daniel wasn't in the mood to talk, with everything going on he was exasperated. He tries to get into his car, but the news reporters swarmed him like a pack of vultures. Daniel reluctantly faced the crowd of news reporters. 

"Look, what happened at the high school was a total accident. I trained those students to defend themselves. What happened was a clear act of aggression caused by Cobra Kai." He huffed, narrowing his eyes away from the swarm of new reporters.

"But wasn't a Miyagi-Do student that injured Miguel Diaz in the first place?" One reporter asks, Daniel shook his head. Jericho's eyes widened, looking at Miguel's hospital bed and back at the TV, listening to the news report intently. 

"That was an accident. At least I hope it was. Robby made one mistake that doesn't mean his life should be over because of it." He got into his car and slammed the door shut while the reporters all bellowed, "Mr. LaRusso! Mr. LaRusso!" Daniel drove off. 

"Still no word from Robby Keene, who ran away after kicking fellow student Miguel Diaz off of the second-floor balcony. If you see this kid call the cops immediately." The news caster replied before ending the report. Jericho's eyebrows furrowed, anger flooded his body, his hands balled into tight fists. He was furious, now he knows who injured him and now he wanted revenge. He darted his eyes back to his brother. 

"Don't worry little bro. The Miyagi-Do's, the LaRusso's, Robby Keene, they'll all pay dearly for what they did to you! I promise it! They will pay." He vowed; venom dripped from his lips. Now he has a purpose, now he was going to make the Miyagi-Do's and the LaRusso's pay for what they did to Miguel Diaz. Despite his vow to make Robby Keene pay he knew he wouldn't be able to get revenge on him; Robby knew karate, he wouldn't stand a chance against him. If his half-brother who also knew karate could be defeated by some punk kid, then he had no hope of defeating him. Then an idea popped into Jericho's head. He remembered the flier in his pocket, he unfolded it. 

"Learn to fight. Join Cobra Kai." Jericho read quietly. If he was ever going to have a chance to get his revenge this was the best way to do it, by joining Cobra Kai. Now all he needs to do is convince his mother to let him join and that won't be an easy task. 

-Meanwhile at the Cobra Kai Dojo-

The students had just completed their training. It wasn't too long ago that Johnny had quit following the school brawl, now the dojo was under its new owner, and new sensei, John Kreese. Most of the students were happy to train under Sensei Kreese, especially Hawk. After their former sensei failed them, he was happy to train under him. And now Hawk was the only top student in the dojo, his champion. With Miguel in the hospital, Tory on probation for starting the school fight, Stingray arrested, and their dojo down to a couple of students, there was only a handful of remaining students left. 

Just as Kreese was about to train his students, Aisha walks in the dojo, she was late. Kreese didn't entirely like his students being late. If they were going to be the perfect soldiers, he needed them to be punctual. 

"Miss Robinson, you're late." Kreese snarled, folding his arms. 

"Oh, I'm sorry-Sen..." Aisha looks at her sensei, but she was confused as to why Sensei Lawrence wasn't there. Due to her parents grounding her for the school fight and unaware of Kreese taking over the dojo, Aisha didn't know he left after Kreese kicked him out. 

"Where's-where's Sensei Lawrence?" She asks, looking around the dojo only seeing Sensei Kreese and the other students in the dojo, and Johnny Lawrence is nowhere to be seen. 

"He's resolving some issues, but he'll be back, don't worry Miss Robinson. So right now, I'm your sensei." Kreese answered, he knew how loyal Aisha was to Johnny, so he naturally kept her in the dark about why he really left. Aisha may not have been the best fighter but right now she was all he has until he could get some new recruits or until he could get Tory back.

Aisha stared at Kreese nervously, she wasn't sure what to make of this situation, Sensei Lawrence was the reason that she became a confident badass in the first place. 

"Do you have a problem with that, Miss Robinson?" Kreese snarled, holding his Gi, posing. 

"No sensei." She responded. 

Kreese smirked, "Good, because we need all the best fighters if we are going to make the Miyagi-Do's pay for what they did to Diaz." Aisha nodded, while she was all for getting payback on Robby, she wasn't sure how Sam would react if he got hurt. Despite Robby being responsible for hurting Miguel, she didn't hate Sam. 

Aisha puts down her backpack and heads towards the back room, she sees Hawk doing his punching exercises, until he spots her from the corner of his eye and promptly greets her. 

"Hey, Aisha." Hawk said excitedly, giving Aisha a playful fist bump. "Haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" Aisha smiles at Hawk. 

"I'm great, Hawk. Sorry I'm late I was just at the hospital." She explained. 

"Visiting Miguel?" 

"That and visiting another friend of mine." Aisha murmured, thinking about Jericho. 

Hawk nodded, "Oh, maybe he can stop by the dojo sometime and train with us. We all need some new students after...well...you know." 

"Maybe." Aisha solemnly replied, sensing her emotions Hawk placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" He asks her as he examines her facial features. 

"I don't know, it's just that well..." She bit the side of her lip. "I-I just wonder if Sensei Lawrence will ever come back. He'd seemed pretty broken up after the school fight." 

The spikey-haired teen nodded, "I doubt he's ever coming back. And frankly this dojo doesn't need him." 

"What?" She exclaimed, shocked to hear this from Hawk. 

"If he hadn't taught Miguel mercy than he wouldn't have shown Robby mercy then Miguel wouldn't be in the hospital right now!" He shouted, bitter and anger overtook him. 

"Yeah-but." 

"And if Robby Keene wasn't his son, then he would've have told us to beat the shit out him!" 

Aisha didn't know what to say. Sure, Sensei Lawrence taught them mercy but that doesn't mean it's his fault that Miguel was in the hospital. 

"Look, I'm sorry Aisha, with everything going on I'm on edge. Look, I know how much Sensei Lawrence means to you but right now we need to focus on getting back at those Miyagi-Do pussies for what they did to Miguel." 

Aisha nodded, the two began their punching exercises. 

Chapter Text

-South Seas Apartment Complex-

It was only two days after Jericho was released from the hospital. He has spent nearly a half an hour looking at the YouTube video of the infamous school fight some random kid at West Valley High recorded. What really caught his attention was the fact that Miguel had Robby pinned and he could've finished the fight then and there, instead for some reason, he chose to let him go, and Robby Keene instead of accepting defeat, he attacks Miguel when he had his guard down and kicked him off the balcony, shattering his spine. That video only made Jericho angrier and more determined to get revenge on him. He looked up the school fight on his computer and the details of the fight were sketchy at best. Some people blamed Miyagi-Do, specifically that LaRusso girl for starting the fight, some people blamed one of the Cobra Kai students for starting the fight, and some people blamed karate altogether. But Jericho knew better than take the word of some inaccurate online sources, written by the public who's often so easily swayed by propaganda. As his dad always told him, "Son, history is often written by the victors or people too stupid to accept the truth. They'll always paint you as the villain. But the real truth is that you're only a villain if other people made you out to be." 

While his dad was nothing more than a useless drunk, he did have some points. His father tended to see everyone and everything as potential threats against him. He even thought his mother was just after his money. But the truth is his father is the only one who gives a shit about money, not his mom. And he had some points, some members of little cartel were secretly working with rival cartels that threatened his "business". He knows because his father often went on a drunken rage, ranting his problems to Jericho and Jericho didn't understand it but he continued to support him. 

Jericho then looked up old photos of the All-Valley, and clicked on a video of Miguel defeating Xander Stone, the former champion who fought for Topanga Karate. And Jericho was impressed. This Xander kid was good, but Miguel was better. If he took those lessons, maybe he could kick some major ass too. Now, normally the idea of doing karate would baffle Jericho, maybe even cause further damage to his self-esteem but he had no choice. Like he tried to tell his mom at the hospital, those thugs won't leave him alone. Jericho then went back to watch the vid of Miguel getting kicked over the balcony, he watched it over and over again, watching the vid only further fueled his anger and he slammed his laptop in anger. It took all of Jericho's restraint to not smash his laptop. Just as the disgruntled teen gathered his thoughts, he remembered the flier in his pocket. The Cobra Kai flier that was in the trash cans, laying there rotting next to the other trash in the bins, was now in his pocket. He took the flier out of his pocket and unfolded it. The flier had some blond guy or whatever, he couldn't tell since the flier was all yellow, making a fist directly at you, with the words, "Learn to fight, join Cobra Kai". He spotted the address near the bottom of the flier, "25002 Victory Blvd. Van Nuys CA 9104". Jericho then got right back on his laptop and looked up the dojo's address. Curiously enough there was only one dojo, and it was slightly nearby. Now all he had to do was convince his mom to have him take up karate lessons. Jericho sighs heavily knowing that it wouldn't be an easy task. 

Jericho then closes his laptop and exits his room. He walks to the living room, seeing his mom sitting on the couch in the living room, eating chips, drinking wine, and watching TV. He held the flier firmly in his hands. 

"Hey, mom can I talk to you for a second?" He asks, his mom responds with the usual "of course Mijo." And she shuts off the TV and directs her attention to her son. 

"What's up?" She replies, crossing her leg, putting her right leg onto her left one. 

"Um, I-I-uh, I just wanted to say, well." Jericho stumbled in his words; he wasn't quite sure how to tell his mom that he wanted to take up karate lessons. He knew how much she hated violence and, in her eyes, taking karate would be like joining some gang. 

"Well, I uh, you know no matter what h-happens I-will always be the same Jericho you see today." 

"Mijo." His mom gently cupped his face and gave him a reassuring look. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?" Jericho nodded, even when he's nervous as shit, she is always trying to alleviate his anxiety. Jericho had always been socially awkward. "Now, tell me, what were you going to say." She responded, giving Jericho a loving mother's look. She then grabs a bottle and takes a sip of it. 

Jericho scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I would like to take up karate lessons." Amelia's eyes widened and she spits out her drink in shock, spraying Jericho's face. He then sarcastically comments, "refreshing", trying to make light out her apparent shock. 

"Mijo, why do you want to take karate lessons? What brought this up?" 

Jericho bit the inside of his gum, "Well momma you know how much I love karate, and I-I think t-taking up karate could be a good thing for me. I-I can finally defend myself." Jericho stuttered, nervous on what his mom will say. 

Amelia lets out an exasperated sigh and puts her hands on her forehead. She didn't know what to make of Jericho's sudden interest in taking up karate. He was always satisfied just playing video games, reading comic-books and other teenage boy things. 

"I don't know Mijo, we moved to America to get away from the violence, to start fresh, to start a new life without all the gangs, the beatings, the hardships from Ecuador and now you're asking me to let you take up karate lessons? I'm sorry Mijo but the answer is no." Amelia sternly replied. 

Jericho let out an exasperated sigh, and he stroked the back of his head, "Mom, If I don't take up karate lessons then those guys who beat me up are just going to beat me up some more! By taking up karate I wouldn't be a punching bag anymore. I would be an un toro." 

Amelia lets out a heavy sigh, "You don't know that Mijo. For all we know the ones that beat you up are in prison!" 

Jericho rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Oh really, if they did then the cops would've told us by now. Mom you and I both know that thugs like him don't leave well enough alone, especially guys like him. If-If-If those douchebags are still out there, they're going to make my life miserable." 

"Oh Mijo." Amelia puts her hands on his shoulders. "The last thing I want to see is you getting hurt. Now, if you take up karate lessons then you are going to get really hurt." 

Jericho shook his head hotly, "Not seriously hurt! Besides, there are sensei's there to prevent you from getting hurt." 

Amelia frowned, "Mijo, even if I wanted you to take up karate, it's too expensive for us to enroll you into those karate schools." 

"It's called a dojo, and it's not that expensive. According to Cobra Kai's website, it doesn't cost that much only like $15.00 for a lesson." 

Amelia lets out another heavy sigh, she spots the Cobra Kai flier and asks Jericho to give it to her. She scoffs, "Nice rattlesnake." She says sarcastically, Jericho rolled his eyes.

"It's not a rattlesnake, it's a cobra." Jericho clarified.  

"I don't think karate will be a good thing for you. I don't want you getting into a karate brawl." She sternly replies. 

"Mom, I'm not going to get into a karate brawl mom. Besides karate is about self-defense, gaining confidence and unlocking your inner strength." 

Amelia then gives Jericho a stern look, "And what about that big karate brawl that happened at West Valley High! Those kids took up karate and one of them is in a coma! All because they took karate and incited violence! I don't you to end up in a coma or worse because of some karate gangs!" 

Jericho's face slightly darkens at her words. Anger began to pour into Jericho but then he calmed himself down. Yes, Miguel, his half-brother, took up karate and ended up in the hospital but because of Robby Keene he was in the hospital not because he took up karate. 

"Mom! You don't need to make karate sound like joining a gang, karate is about defending yourself from other bullies, like those cabrons who beat the shit out of me!" He spat, the image of them beating him up was etched into his mind. 

"Mijo, you don't know if they're gonna show up again anytime soon. Who knows? They probably skipped town after the cops chased them out of the alley. Besides it's only been like what? A couple of days since they beat you up? I don't think they'll hold a grudge for that long." Jericho shook his head in disbelief. Considering they ambushed and beat him up for like "nothing", Jericho knew she wasn't seeing the big picture. 

"Just like dad didn't hold a grudge when he beat me up and you stood there and watch?!" Jericho spat; anger poured out of his system. His dad never ever let things go, whenever someone or something angers him, he would do anything he could to punish those who trampled on his success. 

Amelia's mouth dropped open, she never heard Jericho respond like that, especially to her in a disrespectful tone. "Hey! I've done everything I could to protect you from your father! Now, my decision is made! You're not getting karate lessons and that's the end of it!"

"But mom!" Jericho pleaded but Amelia shook her head vehemently. 

"I said that's the end of it!" Amelia shouted, Jericho huffed and went to his room slamming the door shut. He sat at the edge of his door, putting his head onto his hands. 

-6 hours later, 5:00pm- 

After working another late shift at Don Corazon's Mexican Restaurant, Jericho took an uber home since his mom was working the late shift. Before he could walk safely to his apartment his vision was clouded by two guys, standing between him and the gate, walking towards him. Jericho didn't like the looks of this. The two of them were wearing large, hooded sweatshirts and long dark torn jeans. As they came into sight Jericho immediately recognized them. The two punks who were at the restaurant two days ago, the same day he and his pair of assholes beat the living shit out of him. Jericho ran towards the gate, trying to evade the two, but he felt one of them grabbing his jacket, and slammed him up against the gate. Eric grabbed him and held him tightly while Rio punched him in the side. Jericho groaned in pain. Then Eric punched him in the side. They threw a bunch of combinations, punching and kicking him. The two of them laughed at his misfortune. They tightly grabbed Jericho, holding him tightly, waiting for their leader to show up. Jericho muttered to himself, "Oh shit." 

Diego slowly approaches the teen with a sadistic smile on his face. He was wearing a dark, grey jacket, and dark blue worn out jeans. Jericho's eyes widened, knowing what's about to happen next. 

"Diego?" 

Diego laughs, "Ah the cabron recognizes me. I'm almost touched." Diego chuckled, his two friends chuckling and laughing wildly. Diego then lowered his hoodie, revealing that ugly mug of his. 

"Oh, come on. You already kicked my ass already, why do want to beat me up again?" Jericho groaned. Diego looked at his two friends, they both smirked evilly at each other and Diego chuckles. He grabs the defenseless teen by the jaw.

"Why? Because we aren't done with you yet, bitch. You humiliated me at the restaurant and now you're gonna pay!" Diego snarled, grabbing Jericho by the hem of his shirt.

"You already did last time!" Jericho exclaimed with frustration. Diego laughs dryly, Jericho warned his mom that he wasn't going to leave him alone, he's not the guy who's willing to let things go just because it's convenient for him. Diego was too arrogant and too petty to ever let things go. 

"Last time was just a warmup. This time I won't go so easy on you bitch!" The angry teen spat. 

"Oh, come on please, mercy!" He pleaded but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Instead, Diego punched him hard. He groaned in pain as Diego and his friends laugh at their helpless victim. Diego kneed him in the stomach, then proceeded to do kick him in the face. 

"Sorry bro but like I said before, life shows no mercy!" Diego shouted, grunting as he punched Jericho in the stomach. "So, neither do I." 

Eric proceeds to pick up the bruised and tired teen. Due to being on the receiving end of multiple punches and kicks from those assholes, he could barely stand up. 

"Do a front kick Diego!" Rio said giddily. 

Diego smirks, he then proceeds to do a front kick, knocking Jericho to the gate. He groaned, and quickly falls down, but Diego's two friends pick the poor teen back up, showing that they aren't done with him yet. Jericho then spits out a small dab of blood. 

"Is that all you got? I took worse beatings than this." Jericho laughs weakly, Diego stared at him with an unreadable expression on his face. 

"Oh, that was just a warmup cabron." Diego grinned menacingly, spitting Jericho in the face. His two friends shoved Jericho right towards Diego who stood there with a cocky grin on his face, cracking his knuckles. Jericho then gets into a fighting position, but he's too weakened to put up a real fight. He took a swing at Diego, but one of his friends kicked his left leg, and the other punched him in the face hard, and Diego headbutted him. Severely dazed Jericho fell backwards, grabbing the gate. Ready to receive the next blow. His face darkened, Diego opened his jacket, getting a golden brass knuckle. Jericho's eyes widened. Jesus this guy was insane! This was more than just a little payback; he was really trying to hurt him. Diego then grabbed the beaten and battered boy by the hair, he smirked sinisterly, knowing what the next hit would do to him. Tears escaped from Jericho's eyes as the hits he took really took a toll on him, physically and emotionally. 

"I've beaten up smart-ass punks like you before." Diego bragged, clearly, he was proud of his achievements. Jericho wasn't surprised.  

But before he could land a hit on him, bright lights strobed through the neighborhood, a dark grey Nissan Sentra appeared, and a shadowy figure came out of the car. 

"Hey, what the hell are you doing to my son!?" The women shouted. Jericho immediately recognize the voice; it was his mom. 

"Oh shit! We gotta run!" Eric shouted. Diego huffed in annoyance. First it was the cops, now it's his mom. 

Diego then grabbed a bottle from his pocket and poured booze all over Jericho's head. Then proceeded to kick Jericho while he was down. Diego then grabs Jericho's face and punched him repeatedly.

"You're nothing but a pathetic loser!" Diego spat, earning an angry stare from his fallen victim. 

Diego and friends ran away, laughing over what they did to Jericho. His mom rushed over to Jericho, she held his head up and checked to see if he was okay. Jericho could barely see or hear anything for that matter. 

A couple of hours later Jericho woke up on the sofa with an ice pack on his head. Everything was a blur, but as soon as he got his bearings, he remembered what happened. Diego and his punk friends beat the living shit out of him, again. 

Jericho sighs, he heard footsteps, it was his mom with a medication bottle. 

She opened the lid and grabbed a cup of water. 

"Here, these will help with the pain." She said, Jericho took the pills swallowing them with water.  

"Painkillers?" He asks, he used to take pain killers whenever his dad beat him up. He was all too familiar with the taste of painkillers. She nodded, sadness in her eyes. 

"Mijo, did they hurt you again? Did those pendejo's from the restaurant hurt you again?" Jericho nodded. Amelia sighs, tears stinged in her eyes. 

"Mijo, I'm so so sorry. I-I should've listened to you when you said that they wouldn't leave you alone. I-It's my fault. If I listened to you then you wouldn't have been hurt, twice! If I would've just let you take karate lessons then-!" Her voiced cracked. Jericho wiped the tear with his left arm.

"Hey, it's not your fault, it's them. They did this because they think that I'm weak and can't fight back." 

Amelia frowns and she stood up, pacing the floor, closing her eyes and exhaled, something was going on in her mind. 

"Mom, can I take karate lessons?" Jericho asks, Amelia stared at Jericho, she sighs in contentment. 

Amelia nods, "Okay Mijo, you can take up karate lessons." 

Jericho smiles, finally his dream was coming true. He was going to join Cobra Kai. Finally. 

Chapter Text

-Cobra Kai Dojo-

Jericho rode his bike to the Reseda strip mall, since his mom was working a late shift, he had to ride his bike to the strip mall by himself. He stared in awe of the Cobra Kai Dojo sign; the photos don't do it justice. He had looked online at the photos for the dojo, but it couldn't compare to the real thing. He thought the sign looked badass and a little scary at the same time. He chained his bike to a nearby pole and ditched his helmet. He stepped foot in the dojo for the first time and out of the hot humidity outside. He looked around, surveying the area. He heard some of the students chanting as they were doing some form of punching exercises. He then looked at the words on the wall on his left, "FEAR DOES NOT EXIST IN THIS DOJO", looking at the words only made Jericho more anxious, he gulped nervously, but took a deep breath to calm himself, hoping to relieve some anxiety. He somehow knew this wasn't going to be easy, as some of the students looked like actual fighters compared to him, some of them looked very intimidating, especially the one student with the spikey-red mohawk, who seemed to be leading the class in their punching exercise. As Jericho edged a little closer towards the center, some of the students ignored him and continued to do their punching exercises, it's as if they didn't even notice that he was there or even acknowledge his existence. Some of the other students that did notice him had temporarily stopped their punching exercises and glared at the new kid. 

He heard some of the students' whisper something, but he couldn't really make out what exactly. He heard some of them chuckle, he heard some of them saying, "Who's this guy?" and even heard one of them say, "Looks like we got some fresh meat huh boys?" Quiet chuckles escaped from their mouths. His nerves were wracked with tension. These guys looked like fighters; Jericho soon began to doubt his abilities to stand out amongst the crowd of angry looking teenagers. Hawk, Mitch, Doug Rickenburger, Bert, and Mikey were talking and laughing, their conversation quickly came to an end as soon as Hawk saw the new kid, a devious smirk appears on his face. 

"Hey guys check this out," Hawk said, pointing at the seemingly vulnerable kid, as he looks around anxiously. He then looks at Mitch and says, "Looks like we got a fresh fish." Mitch chuckled at Hawk's remark. They all knew what Hawk was going to do and they were happy to follow along. Hawk and his gang slowly approach the new kid.

"Well, well, well, look what we got here." Hawk said, catching Jericho's attention as he looks nervously at the spikey-haired teen and his gang. "Hey, let me get that bag for you." 

Jericho smiled a small smile, "Thanks." Jericho happily let Hawk grab his bag, he took it to the back dojo and Hawk kicks the bag, kicking like it was an empty soda can. Jericho stared at Hawk with confusion and some anger. 

"What did you do that for?" He asks, a little perturbed that he kicked his bag for no reason. 

"Sorry," Hawk said in an insincere and mocking tone. Jericho wasn't happy, but he quickly let it go. He thought that maybe these guys were just messing with him. Maybe he thought they were just playing around. 

"Hey kid, you know if you want to be a Cobra Kai you gotta have a badass nickname." Hawk suggested, Mitch and the others smirked and quietly chuckled. 

Jericho nodded foolishly thinking that he was going to pick a good nickname for him. "W-what w-would y-you pick?" 

Hawk put his finger on his chin, in a way most kids do when they're in deep thought, then a devious smirk appeared on his lips. 

"How about...shit-face." Hawk laughed; his friends laughed in response. Jericho's face went from happy to mildly annoyed. He glared at the teens mocking him. 

"I was thinking douchebag or pussytoes." Mitch chimed in. Jericho did not like those nicknames at all. First it was his dad, then Diego and now he has to contend with these jerks. Maybe this was a bad idea after all, Jericho thought. But then he realized if he quit, he wouldn't be able to get his revenge on Robby Keene or the Miyagi-Do's for what they did to Miguel. So, Jericho decides to suck it up and tell them his real name before they decide to pick whatever demeaning nicknames they could come up with and choose to call him that as his "real" name. 

"Well, I-I'm Jeri-Jeri-Jericho." He stuttered nervously, feeling embarrassed and shy to reveal his name. 

"I-I-I'm..." Hawk mocking his stutter. "Speak! Or is your tongue all twisted!" He shouted, glaring at the new kid. There was no doubt in his mind that this kid was a weakling. He couldn't even speak up or assert himself. Since joining Cobra Kai, he had to assert his dominance over the weaker, vulnerable new kids. He couldn't tell who was weaker him or that pansy Demetri. 

"Maybe he doesn't know how to speak proper English." Mitch chuckled, as his friends chuckled at his comment. Hawk snorts. 

"Maybe he's too retarded to speak." Doug Rickenburger joined in laughing as he is mocking Jericho's stutter and lack of confidence, earning an angry glare from Jericho.

The Ecuadorian teen bawled his hands into fists, giving Hawk and his friends an angry glare, narrowing his eyes up and down at the spikey-red haired teen. 

"What?! What are you going to do? Huh pussy!" Hawk said angrily shoving Jericho, causing him to back up a little bit. 

Jericho then backs up, not wanting to get in a fight with him. From the way he shoved him, this guy was pretty strong to say the least. He knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the guy with the spikey red mohawk. So, he walks away, shaking his head disapprovingly. It wasn't worth it. 

"Wise choice newbie. But this dojo doesn't accept pussies." Hawk chuckled as he and his friends high fived each other. 

"Shithead." Mitch muttered, earning laughs from his friends. Jericho heard his insult but ignored it. 

"Don't worry about it. They're just messing around. They'll warm up to you, eventually," Jericho turned around and saw the owner of the voice, Aisha Robinson. His face lit up as soon as he saw her. He watched last year's All-Valley and saw Aisha's match against Xander Stone, but he was still a little surprised she was in Cobra Kai. But at the same time, he was a little excited that his new friend Aisha Robinson was going to be in Cobra Kai with him. 

Just then Jericho heard footsteps behind him. A tall elderly man whom looked like he was in his late 50's stepped forward. Jericho turned around and gulped nervously at this guy. He looked like the type of person who would kill you just by looking at you. He looked commanding, authoritative, and had a killer look in his eyes. He gave Jericho an icy glare then spoke up. 

"Can I help you, young man?" Kreese asks, holding his Gi tightly. 

"Uh you're-you're the karate teacher?" Jericho asks, Kreese looks at the nervous teen with some contempt. 

"Yes, I'm John Kreese. Sensei John Kreese of the Cobra Kai Dojo." Kreese replies. Jericho furrowed his brows in confusion. He expected to see the blond guy from the flier at this dojo, not some elderly man who claims to be the sensei of Cobra Kai. 

"Y-You're the sensei? I thought Sensei Lawrence was the sensei of Cobra Kai?" Jericho questioned, showing him the old Cobra Kai flier. 

"Sensei Lawrence had some thinking to do, so he left the dojo to me. I'm the sensei of Cobra Kai." Kreese replies, a stern look appears as he stares down at the teen. 

"Uh, my name is Jeri-Jeri-Jericho...I-I-I want to sign up and take up some karate lessons." Jericho couldn't help but stutter nervously. 

"Is that so?" Kreese chuckled, raising his eyebrow slightly. "Well, you've come to the right place young man. But if you want to join Cobra Kai, you'll have to prove yourself worthy." 

"H-H-How do I do that?" 

"Take your shoes off and get on the mat." Kreese ordered. Jericho nodded and got on the mat.

"Class! Prepare for combat!" Kreese shouted; the students immediately formed a circle around Jericho. Hawk and the others smirked at each other and Jericho, knowing what Kreese had in mind. Aisha however looks concerned for Jericho, hoping he'd at least be tough enough to past her sensei's expectations. 

"Now the rules are simple. If you are able to score three points against an existing member of this dojo, then you're accepted among our ranks. If, however, your opponent manages to score three points against you then you lose and won't be allowed to train in this dojo. Do you understand?" Kreese stated, after the school fight Kreese wanted to weed out the weak and wanted the best fighters in his dojo to prepare for the inevitable battle against Miyagi-Do. 

Jericho nodded, though uneasiness and apprehension swarmed in his thoughts. As far as he'd knew he has never been in a fight before, let alone been in one where he actually won. The last fight he was in was with that douchebag Diego and his posse, but it wasn't much of a fight more like a one-sided beatdown and he lost. Sure, his father taught him "lessons" on how to fight but other than that, he'd never had any experience in winning a fight just getting beaten up. 

"Let's see if you have what it takes to be a Cobra Kai. Red on the mat." Kreese ordered. Jericho was more nervous than ever, he thought he was going up against the kid with the spikey-red mohawk, but he was wrong. Some tall kid with fuzzy red hair got on the mat, with a cocky smirk on his face. He was tall and looked like a natural athlete, Jericho was unsure of how he was going to fight someone bigger than him. 

"W-w-wait, wait, wait, how am I supposed to fight if I hadn't even had any training yet?" 

"If you want to be a Cobra Kai, you'll have to prove yourself worthy of joining our ranks. You'll have to prove that you have a killer instinct and the best way to do that is through combat." Kreese explained. Jericho nodded but he still wasn't quite sure how he was going to beat Big Red without any proper training. Big Red still had that same smug smirk on his face, probably sensing the uneasy tension written all over the newbie's face.

"Fighting positions!" Kreese shouted. Jericho nervously puts up his fists, while Big Red cracked his knuckles and got into a fighting stance. "Ready? Aye!" Kreese shouted. At first Big Red toyed with Jericho, making him flinch whenever he moved towards him. He was very intimidated by Big Red, due to his size and muscular build. Hawk and his friends chuckled, they bet Big Red would mop the floor with him. Big Red then threw punch after punch at Jericho but Jericho managed to block and dodge some of his punches. Kreese was slightly impressed, but if he truly wanted to prove himself, he needed to show some aggression, land a hit on his opponent. Big Red pressed on the attack, but Jericho remain steadfast, managing to slip away from the next attack, but then Big Red heel-kicked him in the jaw, the boy landed the mat with a thud, and he slowly got up tending to his bruised jaw. 

One of the students put up a red flag indicating that Big Red scored the first point. It was 1-0, not a good way to start for Jericho. Big Red then approached his opponent, he got on one knee, crouching to his opponent. 

"Aw, what's the matter? Did I hurt you? Do you need your mommy to kiss your boo boo?" Bid Red laughed, mocking the teenager. Hawk and the other students laughed and mockingly pointed at the new kid. Everyone was laughing at Jericho, except for Aisha and Bert, the latter looked at Jericho with pity and sadness was evidence in her eyes. She knows what it's like to be bullied, so she took no pleasure in seeing Jericho humiliated. While Bert was uneasy, even though he barely knew the kid, he looked like the one guy who seemed to be one without a friend, and Bert knew what that was like. Before Cobra Kai he used to have very little friends outside of his classmates in school. So, seeing Jericho being bullied brought some flashbacks of how he was bullied for his small stature. 

Jericho glared at Big Red; flashbacks of Diego's mocking laughter echoed into his ears, clearly annoyed by Big Red's laughter. Jericho then sums up some courage to get up much to the surprise of Big Red and the other students who looked at each other and whispered. But Big Red was unfazed and instead smirks at him. 

"Back for more, eh?" Big Red stated, still having the same cocky smirk on his face. Just before Big Red could land a hit on Jericho, Jericho punched him hard in the jaw, shocking both the students and his opponent. Kreese raised his left eyebrow slightly, taken aback by him landing a punch on one of his students. Then a smirk appeared on his face, thinking maybe this new kid wasn't such a weakling after all. 

Big Red was slightly taken back by the punch, but he quickly shook it off and tried to punch Jericho in the face, but he blocked most of them, using his elbow as a shield. Jericho then grabbed Big Red's arm and punched him in the stomach. 1-2, that was the score. Just one more hit and Jericho could win. 

Big Red attempted to do a crescent kick, but Jericho grabs his right leg and slammed him on the mat. Kreese smirked, impressed by this kid's spirit, even though his fighting style was lacking any form of technique or skill, the fact that he was able to slam a student half his size was impressive. The boy smiled triumphantly, still holding Big Red down and still had his fist in the air. 

"Finish him." Kreese instructed; Jericho looked at Kreese in confusion. Finish him? He already scored a point against him. Why did he need to finish him? Jericho thought. 

"Sensei?" Jericho asks, baffled by his next order. Kreese then walks closer to him. 

"Do you have a problem with that?" Kreese said, a coldness in his voice. 

"W-Well, I just scored a point w-w-why do I need to hit him again?" 

"You don't stop until your enemy is defeated." Kreese clarified. "You do whatever it takes to win." 

But before Jericho could respond Big Red kicked Jericho off of him. Jericho then tries to punch Big Red, but he swirled around him and wrapped his arms around his neck. Before Jericho could elbow him his chest, Big Red performed a vicious takedown slamming him on the mat and punched Jericho hard in the face, wincing in pain. Big Red walked away triumphant over his victory. 

Kreese shook his head in disappointment. He really thought he found a potential new student with the aggressiveness his other students had only to find out he was too weak to truly embody what it means to be a Cobra Kai. In Kreese's eyes showing mercy to your opponent, even sparring partner can leave you vulnerable to attack allowing the enemy to gain the advantage and Jericho proved that mindset well. After the school fight, Kreese was searching for soldiers not weaklings. 

"Get up!" Kreese barked, Jericho slowly back gets up and composes himself. 

"You hesitated to strike your opponent while he was down and that cost you a point." Kreese huffed, expressing his disappointment in Jericho. 

"B-but sensei, I already scored the last point. There was no need to finish him." Jericho stuttered. Kreese coldly glares at the teen.

"If you're unwilling to do whatever it takes to finish your opponent than you have no place in my dojo." Kreese sneers, giving Jericho an icy stare.

"What?! B-b-but that's not fair! I haven't even had any training yet! I was outmatched!" Jericho shouted, anger and frustration evident in his voice. 

Kreese steps a little closer to Jericho, "Listen son, the last person who showed mercy to an opponent paid the price for it. He was our champion, the star pupil of this dojo! Like you he had his opponent pinned but then he hesitated to finish him and now he's in a coma because of it!" Jericho looks down, he knew who he was talking about that's the reason why he came to this dojo in the first place. To get revenge on Robby Keene for what he did to Miguel. 

"Sensei, please give me another chance. I'll prove to you that I have what it takes to be a Cobra Kai!" Jericho begged but Kreese shook his head. 

"I don't train weaklings in this dojo! Some of these students have been through hell just to get here! I'll bet you never been in a fight before."

Jericho scoffs, "Actually I have. I've been in plenty of fights. That's why I'm here."

"Is that the only reason? So, tell me, why are you so invested in joining Cobra Kai?" 

Jericho sighs, he thought if the sensei heard his story maybe he would change his mind. "Because, back in Ecuador where I grew up my dad, h-he used to beat me and my mom up. Every single day I was constantly abused by that useless drunk I called a father. That's why me and my mom moved here. To start fresh and then I got bullied by a bunch of assholes who think that I'm weak. That's why I want to join Cobra Kai. To become stronger." 

Kreese narrowed his eyes up and down at the boy. Being in the military he knew when someone was holding back crucial information, information those are seldom to withdraw. That was his story, but he sensed it wasn't the whole story, Kreese could see in his eyes that he was hiding something. 

"Ah, but that's not the whole story, is it?" Kreese remarked, Jericho furrowed his brows in confusion. "You see I fought in the Vietnam War and one thing I learned there was to observe when someone in your unit is hiding something. Experience has taught me if one of your men is hiding some crucial information, it will lead to your teammates getting killed. So, tell me why you are really here?" Kreese crossed his arms. 

Jericho lets out a heavy sigh, "Because your student, Miguel Diaz, the one that got hurt during the school fight. H-he's, my half-brother." The other students gasped and whispered to each other, shocked at this revelation. Hawk especially looked utterly shocked by his statement. Since he and Miguel were best friends, he never told him about having a brother.

"I didn't know Miguel had a brother." Hawk replied, Jericho glanced at Hawk then returns his attention back to Kreese. 

"I doubt he knows either. I only found out recently while I was in the hospital. Same dad, different mothers. That's the real reason that I'm here. To get revenge on the one who crippled my half-brother; Robby Keene." Jericho stated. Hawk looks down, reflecting on what he just told them. 

Kreese looked at Jericho, he could see the anger in his eyes, but still it wasn't enough to change his mind. Anger wasn't enough, discipline, technique, power, willingness to do what is necessary is what Kreese views as a perfect soldier.

"I'm sorry, but if you can't do whatever it takes to show your enemy no mercy, then you'll end up exactly like Diaz. In a coma! So, take your shit and get out of my dojo!" Kreese yelled. Upset, angry, humiliated and embarrassed, he goes to the backroom in a huff. Hawk noted the look on the kid's face. The same scared, innocent look he had when he first joined the dojo. Hawk noted the angry look on his face, it was the same look he had after Sensei Lawrence told him to flip the script. Then he realized, this scrawny wimpy kid reminded him of himself when he first joined the dojo. Hawk then began to realize maybe he was too hard on him. Hawk asks Kreese if he could take a water break and Kreese allowed it, since Hawk is currently his top student, he gave him some privileges other students didn't have. 

Jericho walks into the backroom; anger still present within him. His hands balled into fists, and his face contorted with fury. Standing near him was a B.O.B. dummy, he punched it hard. He sat down against the hard wall behind him, putting his hands onto his hands, brooding over his failure. Just then he heard footsteps from behind him. He immediately recognizes who it was, the same spikey-red hair teen that bullied him earlier. Jericho stumbled, struggling to get away from Hawk.

"Woah settle down their tiger." Hawk laughed, putting his hands up. "I didn't come here to fight I just came here to talk." Hawk sat next to Jericho, but Jericho said nothing and ignored him. 

"Look, I'm sorry about Sensei Kreese. He's tough but he makes us tough. He just doesn't want to show any weaknesses." Hawk said, a sincere tone in his voice but Jericho didn't believe it. He gave Hawk an icy glare. 

"Why do you suddenly give a fuck? A minute ago, you were telling me how much of a loser and a pussy I am." Jericho snarled; a coldness laced the sound of his voice. 

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It-It's just that..." Hawk let out a heavy sigh. "After the school fight with Miguel in the hospital I'm on edge and I guess..." 

"You guess you could vent your anger by bullying a kid who didn't have any friends." Jericho interrupted. Hawk looked at Jericho, feeling some pity for him. 

"Look, I get that you want revenge. I really do. Miguel was my best friend. I want revenge on Robby just as much as you do." Hawk answered. 

"Yeah, well seems like I'll never get that chance since Sensei Kreese kicked me out for being weak. And he's right, I'm just a kid who can't even stand up for himself. Heck, I got beaten up by assholes who don't even leave well enough alone." Jericho huffed. The idea of getting revenge, the hopes of becoming a karate student quickly went away with Sensei Kreese's harsh words and he was right. Jericho knew that he would never get revenge on Robby. Not now, not ever. 

"I understand what you're going through. As hard as it is to believe but I was once bullied." Hawk replied. Jericho thought he heard him wrong. He got bullied? The kid with the spikey-red hair who knows karate was bullied? He could hardly believe it. 

"Really? You were bullied? You?" Jericho exclaimed, shocked by his statement. He could hardly believe he of all people used to be bullied. But Jericho noted the look in his eye, full of bitterness and resentment and he realized he was telling the truth.

"Believe it or not before I got the mohawk, before I joined Cobra Kai, I was like you. Before Hawk I was Eli Moskowitz. I was this scrawny loser kid who got bullied because of the scar on my lip. The assholes that bullied me used to call me 'freak', 'loser', 'shit-lip'. They bullied me every day. Some of them even told me to kill myself." He replied. 

"Jesus dude." Jericho said. "I'm sorry. That's rough man. But hey, I think that scar is cool. It makes you look badass." Hawk nodded, aside from Demetri no one has ever thought his scar was cool. 

"And that's why I joined Cobra Kai. To not get bullied by those assholes anymore and it worked. I shed my loser skin and I became the badass you see before you today." Hawk laughed; Jericho smiled a small smile. 

Jericho looked down and looked straight back at Hawk, "How? How did you do it? How did you shed your 'loser skin'?" He asks, using air quotes around 'loser skin'. 

"By flipping the script. I got something that would make my peers focus on something other than the scar on my lip. I dyed my hair red, then I got myself a back tattoo. After I got this badass mohawk and back tattoo, I was no longer bullied. For the first time in my life, I wasn't getting bullied anymore. When people look at me, they don't see a kid with a weird lip, they don't see some pathetic nerd who watches nerd shit and read comics, they see a badass who could kick all of their asses if he wanted too. Cobra Kai help me shed my weaknesses to become stronger." He replied, impressing Jericho. 

"Yeah well, I'm not like you. I will never be badass." He replied, sorrow in his eyes. 

"Hey, come on let's go." Hawk replied, getting up. 

"Go? Where?" Jericho asks, dumbfounded. 

"If you want to flip the script. I'm taking to where Hawk was born. Now, come on." He said, insistence in his voice.

Jericho and Hawk existed the Cobra Kai Dojo, taking him to Rico's tattoo parlor. 

"Eli-Hawk, what are we doing here?" 

Hawk sighs, "Welcome to Rico's tattoo parlor, you asked how I flipped the script, how I became stronger well this is the place." Jericho looks around, of course this is where Hawk got his haircut and tattoo. 

"I don't know Hawk. I mean, I'm all for 'flipping the script' and becoming badass, but I'm not sure if I can afford to even get a tattoo. Not with my budget." 

Hawk shrugged, "Don't worry I got you covered." Hawk wrapped his arm around Jericho. "Rico is an old friend and I can vouch for you." Hawk then grabs his wallet and took his money out.

"You'd actually pay for this?" He asks, astonished by the lengths he's willing to go to for him. 

"Of course, man. We're Cobra Kai." Hawk smiles at Jericho giving him a friendly bump on his shoulder. 

"Hey Hawk? What inspired you to take up the name, Hawk? Just curious." 

A small smirk appeared on Hawk's face, "Well, after I got this badass mohawk, some of my friends including my sensei, started calling me "Hawk". And that's what got me to get a hawk tattoo. Plus, hawks are badass. They're considered to be one of the most ferocious predators in the world." Jericho nodded, maybe Hawk wasn't such a douchebag after all. 

He then pointed at the millions of posters Rico had on the wall. "You can pick any tattoo you want. It can be a bear, a lion, a rattlesnake, a falcon, a couguar, a dinosaur, a dragon. It can be anything you want. Just not a hawk." Jericho chuckles. Jericho looked at some of the options, there were plenty of animals to choose from, but none of them were his ideal animal. 

"So, you got an idea for your tattoo?" 

Jericho thought long and hard about his tattoo and then it popped into his head. He knew if he was going to be respected and feared, he was going to have to pick one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. One specifically suited for him. It was bold, it was unexpected. It was perfect for him. 

Jericho smirks at Hawk, "Yeah, I think I do."

-Meanwhile at the LaRusso House-

It's been nearly days since the incident at Don Corazon's Mexican Restaurant. After Sara's unpleasant encounter with that Diego guy, Daniel has been worried over his daughter, first it was Tory, the sick, twisted psycho she is, and now it was just some weirdo street thug who wanted to get inside her pants. But Sara wasn't worried. She's faced worse people, like some of those Cobra Kai students. In fact, she was more worried for her sister. Ever since the school fight, Sam LaRusso hasn't been the same. She hid it pretty well from her parents, who are dealing with other issues right now, and Anthony, well, he couldn't care less about the situation as he's more focused on getting a high score on his video games than anything. For other people it would be nearly impossible to read Sam's emotions, but being her sister Sara could subtly detect that something was wrong with her. 

Sara walks to Sam's room and sees her covering her scars. She looks on with worry, with everything going on, Miyagi-Do, the LaRusso name being a curse in the valley, Cobra Kai still on the loose, Sara hasn't really hung out with her sister in a while, though she tries to. 

Sara knocks on her door; Sam shoots up and stares at her. 

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were mom or dad." 

"No, just me. Just came by to check on you. Is everything alright?" Sara asks, Sam smiles at her. 

"Don't worry Sara, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." 

Sara gives Sam a side brow, "Look, Sam, I know with everything going on we're all just trying to move on and try not to concentrate on our lives, but the truth is we don't have the luxury of forgetting." Sam nodded thoughtfully. "Especially after what that Tory psycho did to you." 

Sam stuttered at the name, what Sara doesn't realize is that Sam has been haunted by nightmares of the fight and nightmares of her. "Oh, I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought up her name." 

"No, it's okay. I'm...trying to not let her win." Sam admitted.

"If it we're up to me I would kick her sorry ass for what she did to you!" She exclaimed with a fiery passion. She absolutely hated Tory for what she did to her. Sam giggled, hiding the fact that she's worried. 

"There's that laugh I know and love." Sara giggled, since the school fight Sam has been down, and she didn't like that. It's been a while since she's seen her happy. She hasn't been happy since...she was with Miguel and later Robby. "Hey, why don't we have a girl's night before you're exile from school ends?" 

Sam smiled sweetly at her. "Sure." 

-Later at the Cobra Kai Dojo-

It's been nearly an hour since Jericho was humiliated and left the dojo with his tail tucked between his legs. At least that's what some of the students thought that happened. Hawk returns to the Cobra Kai Dojo, eager to learn from his new sensei. Hawk actually liked training with Sensei Kreese more than he did with Johnny. Unlike Johnny, he didn't become soft and teach them mercy. 

"Alright class!" Kreese shouted; the class stood in attention, almost like a military unit. Kreese held his Gi tightly. "Today's lesson is about learning to fight your own battles. If you can't fight your battles, then you have no chance of fighting in the real world." Just as Kreese was teaching the class, Hawk was glancing at the door, waiting for Jericho to come back, but nothing, there wasn't a single person at the doorway. Aisha also glanced at the doorway, she felt bad about not comforting Jericho after he failed to impress Kreese. But they have to remain focus on their training. 

As Kreese was preparing the class, the door jingles, catching the students attention. "Welcome to Cobra Kai." Kreese greeted, seemingly unrecognizing this curious stranger who enters his dojo. Once the students scanned his attire, his face, and the familiar skin color, they are in awe to who it is. Aisha's mouth dropped, upon seeing him. 

"Jericho? Is that you? What happened?" Aisha asks, baffled by his suddenly new haircut and seemingly newfound confidence. 

Jericho smirks confidently, "I'm doing what my sensei told me to do. I'm shedding my weaknesses to become stronger." Jericho explains, sporting a new faux-hawk haircut which was dyed orange. It wasn't just the haircut, but Jericho had a newfound sense of confidence even his voice sounded different. Louder, more confident. It was like he was a completely different person. A far cry from the scared kid that only appeared hours ago. 

Kreese smirks at the teen, impressed by his transformation, "Well, well, well, look who it is." Kreese said in a slightly amused tone, "You see that class." Kreese said pointing at Jericho, "This is how Cobra Kai makes you stronger. This is the finest example of what Cobra Kai does, it sheds your weaknesses and turns it into strength. And that strength is what we need to destroy Miyagi-Do and the LaRusso's." Jericho smirks, impressed with himself that he managed to impress Sensei Kreese. 

"I'm impressed that you've come back and shed your weaknesses." 

Jericho shook his head, "With all due respect Sensei Kreese it wasn't all my doing. Thanks to Hawk, I've shed my weakness to become stronger." Hawk smiles at Jericho, which he reciprocates by giving him a nod of respect. 

"Badass!" Mitch said in awe of Jericho's transformation. 

"Alright Jericho fall in." Kreese motioned him to his spot. Jericho shook his head. Inspired by his new friend, Hawk, he wanted a badass nickname, a name that commanded respect.

"Not Jericho. Jericho was weak, pathetic, a coward. Call me Tiger." Jericho replied.

Some of the students looked at him with pride. Impressed by his transformation and his newfound confidence. 

Kreese raises an eyebrow but indulges him anyway, "Alright 'Tiger' get on your spot." Kreese orders. 

"Tiger" took his shoes off and walked to the mat, proudly standing next to Hawk whom gave him the traditional Cobra Kai fist bump and Tiger stood on the mat, like a soldier waiting for his next orders. Tiger smirks, now gaining a purpose. Now he was ready to learn the way of the fist. 

Chapter Text

-Cobra Kai Dojo-

It's been nearly a week since Jericho "flipped the script". Hawk has been kind enough to take "Tiger" under his wing. Hawk has been teaching him how to punch, kick and most importantly block. But despite his newfound attitude, it wasn't going to make him an instant fighter. In the backroom, Hawk has been teaching Tiger. At first the training was difficult to say the least, he often leaves himself open to attack, which his sparring partners exploited. Hawk even holds a wooden board for him, and Tiger tries to punch it, but he couldn't even dent it. After a couple days of weightlifting, punching the punching bag, doing a couple of pushups and sit-ups, he gradually builds up his muscles, becoming stronger and stronger by the day. Exercising at home and in the dojo. Tiger has even learned to fight smart, using his speed to outmaneuver his opponents as he did when he was training against Mikey, Bert, Aisha, and even Doug Rickenburger. 

He even sparred with Hawk on a few occasions. Even managing to land a few solid blows, but still he was no match for him. Hawk sweep his leg and punches him in the face. Hard. Hawk then outstretches his hand, helping Tiger up. 

"Thanks." The teen said. 

Hawk smirks at him, "No problem. We're Cobra Kai." Despite Hawk's aggressive attitude and need for dominance he was a good sport. For all of Hawk's bravado he has more in common with Jericho than he likes to think. Aside from Bert, Aisha, and some of the other students he and Hawk bonded over their similar interests, like karate, comic-books, sci-fi movies, and video games. While Hawk hates to admit it, he still enjoys engaging in his old hobbies. 

It was a long day of constantly training. Tiger has been learning some new skills he otherwise wouldn't have from the other dojos in the Valley. While those dojos had some fine students, they weren't Cobra Kai. After an hour of training Sensei Kreese decides to test his newfound skills by putting him up against one of his finest students, Big Red. Tiger smirks, relishing the opportunity for a proper rematch. Tiger and Big Red stood on the mat, both of them getting into a fighting stance. 

The sparring session was intense. More intense than it had been. Tiger's newfound fighting style made it difficult for Big Red to anticipate. Tiger manages to land two blows on him, but Big Red was not to be underestimated. He landed two blows onto Tiger. The score was even, it was 2-2. Just one more point and one of them would be the winner. Big Red threw a combination of punches, but Tiger manages to block some of them. Tiger then uses his momentum to strike Big Red's knee, causing him to seethe in pain. Tiger then sweeps his leg, causing Big Red to fall flat on his back then Tiger grabs the hem of Gi and punches him in the face hard, causing Big Red to wince in pain. The students stood in awe of Tiger's victory. Aisha winces a little. While she was happy for Jericho's newfound confidence and his improved fighting style, she couldn't help but feel bad for Big Red. 

Kreese smiles wickedly at this new student. He never would've thought that this same pathetic teenager who whined about a "fair fight" and cried like a pussy just a couple of days ago would become one of his most promising fighters, next to Hawk, Doug Rickenburger and their former student Tory Nichols. He was what he expected his students to do; shed their weaknesses and become stronger. The perfect example of Cobra Kai's philosophy. Tiger then stretches out his right hand, helping Big Red up. The big ginger teen got up on his feet. 

"Don't take it personally Red. You're a good fighter. Hell, you're one of the best fighters here. But fighting for belts and trophies in tournaments isn't the same as fighting for survival on the streets." Tiger gives Big Red a friendly pat on the shoulder. Unlike some of his fellow students he's been fighting for most of his life, never once getting anything for free. "You see. We are more than just students. We are more than just friends. We are family, and when one member of our family prospers, we all proper. Because we are Cobra Kai. And Cobra Kai is for life. Cobra Kai never dies." Tiger stated to the students. Some of them nodded and appears motivated by his speech. 

"He's good." Hawk commented. Genuinely impressed by Tiger's progress. 

Kreese raised an eyebrow and clinched his Gi, "He's a little rough around the edges but he's got potential." Kreese replied, thoroughly impressed by this new student's progress. In some ways he reminded him of young Johnny back in the day. How he went from a scrawny loser to a hardened warrior. 

Still though, Kreese was determined on finding a champion for his dojo. While Tiger had the protentional to be a champion he was still a raw, inexperienced student. But he was relatively satisfied with this new student and what he could bring to the dojo. However, Kreese wanted students who were just as tough and skilled as Hawk, Tiger, Doug Rickenburger, and Tory Nichols were. Maybe he could find new students with athletic backgrounds. They were tough, experienced, aggressively competitive when it came to it. He wanted his dojo to be like a military unit, like an army, he wanted them to be unified, tough, unflinching group of fighters, fighters willing to do whatever they can to win at all costs. 

-A Few Hours Later-

It's been a long day of training. While Tiger feels he's been improving, he still felt anger inside of him, still feeling the pain of his encounters with Diego. Tiger punches the punching bag with sheer force and brutality. Flashbacks of his father's abuse and his two unpleasant encounters with Diego was still thoroughly etched in his mind, their mocking voices, their pathetic displays of superiority, their smug attitudes. Tiger wanted to make them pay. Despite his seemingly new skill set and hardened attitude he still felt his skills were thoroughly lacking. Lacking enough to get revenge on his tormentor. Pain was thoroughly etched into his brain. The humiliation. The bruises of the beatdowns. It was like being with his father all over again. Sweat drips down from Tiger's forehead. He grabs one of the unused towels to wipe the sweat from his brow, then quickly got back to practicing his roundhouse kicks. Hawk watches Tiger's exercise, folding his arms as he stood near the main dojo's entrance door as Tiger punches the punching bag. 

"You alright man?" Hawk asks, catching Tiger's attention. 

Tiger shrugs, "Just practicing my punches." 

Hawk scoffs, "Could've fooled me." He replied sarcastically. "Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to wait until you break our punching bag?" 

Tiger sighs heavily, "It-It's just that well-I've been practicing and practicing all day and yet I can't get all this anger out of me. I-I just want to make the assholes pay for what they did, but I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to do it. They're big, tough, and ruthless." 

"Hey, don't think like that. Self-doubt is for pussies. And you don't want to be a pussy, do you?" Hawk replied, Tiger shakes his head. "Look, I get it. After all I wanted payback on the assholes that bullied me all of my life. But if you channel all that hate inside of you, you will be unstoppable." Hawk answers, he angrily punches the punching bad as a little demonstration for Tiger. Tiger nods, watching Hawk's demonstration, smiling as he watches. Unbeknownst to either of them Kreese watches them from the distance, eavesdropping on their little conversation. 

"Hawk's right, Tiger." Kreese enters the back room, standing in front of his two Cobra's. "If there's one thing, I learned during Vietnam is that you can never afford to doubt yourself. If you do, then you'll leave yourself vulnerable. But if you use your anger, use your rage, that alone with an agile mind and you'll always come out on top. You will be unstoppable. Just remember the fighting isn't over until your enemy is finished, for good. You show your enemy no fear, no weaknesses and no mercy." 

Tiger nods, reflecting on Kreese's words. He might be ruthless but compared to his father, he does have his best interests at heart. From what Tiger explains about those assholes that kept hassling him, Kreese tells him that while they're tough, they're truly unskilled and leave themselves open for attack. Kreese later teaches him how to exploit it. 

-Later in an abandoned alley-way-

Taking Kreese's advice to heart, and learning from what Hawk has taught him, Tiger decides to settle some old scores. He realized that to defeat the Miyagi-Do's, he has to shed any weaknesses including any concepts of "mercy". Tiger strode around in an abandoned alleyway, wearing his signature blue hoodie and jet-black pants. It wasn't a pleasant place. It was dirty, filthy, grimiest looking neighborhood he's ever seen. And that's saying a lot cause back in Ecuador, he has lived in less charming places than this. In Ecuador there were neighborhoods like these, very dirty, slimy and grimy. Hell, Jericho once found someone passed out on the street. So, he was no stranger to bad looking neighborhoods. Any normal person who wasn't trained in karate would be asking to get robbed, beaten up, or worse. Luckily, none of the thugs even acknowledged him, they just continued doing shit like smoking and pissing in corners. After walking for about a minute he finally found the ones he was looking for, but he was smart enough to not let them see him. If they saw him before he could do anything, then he would get creamed or worse. In an abandoned alleyway, three teens were in the in the alley. Laughing as they were smoking marijuana, bragging about something but Jericho couldn't hear them, but he didn't care. One of them stood in a fake fighting stance, laughing and raising their fists, pretending to fight. Tiger then walks out his hiding spot, and he walks into the shady looking alley. Just as the three teens were laughing and taking another puff of marijuana, Eric spots this stranger seemingly trespassing in their spot, unrecognizing the punk. 

"Hey, Diego, look." Eric said, pointing at Jericho, immediately catching his leader's attention. Diego looks to his right and sees him slowly walking towards them. At first the three of them didn't recognize him but once they properly scanned his attire, his eyes color (dark brown), and the familiar skin color it immediately donned on them. The guy who was stupidly "trespassing" onto their spot was the same weakling they beaten up. 

"Well, well, well if it isn't the cabron from the restaurant." Diego sneered, earning laughs from his two friends. "What the hell are you doing in our spot jack hole? Come here for another beating?" He said, his voice laced with the same cocky tone he had during their last two encounters. They were about to get a rude awakening. 

Tiger sneered at them, "No, I'm just here for a little payback for what you assholes did to me!" Tiger spat, anger evident in his voice. For the first time he wasn't afraid. Afraid of getting beaten up. Afraid of what they would do to him for talking to them like that. His tone wasn't fear, anxiety, or cowardice instead it was calm, collected and headstrong. A far cry from the wimpy, stuttering, cowardly kid he was. 

Diego and his friends scoffed at him, not taking him seriously at all. It was clear they don't see him as a threat. They're about to learn the hard way. They're amazed by his stupidity, that he was talking smack to them. It was a 3-to-1 advantage, so that made them confident to take on anybody. Guarded by the fact that Diego and his friends were slightly taller than him, even if Jericho was an inch shorter than them, he was no pushover. Not anymore.  

"You hear this guy?" He laughed pointing at Jericho, his friends smirked and folded their arms. "Looks like someone needs a reminder what happened last time. I kicked your ass twice without breaking a sweat." He cracked his knuckles, trying to intimidate Jericho, but it wasn't working, remaining unfazed. "This time I won't go so easy on you. That little bitch isn't here to save your stupid ass this time." He mocked; he knew he was talking about his mom or that Sara girl. Jericho then pulled down his hoodie revealing his new orange faux-hawk haircut. Eric and Rio were caught off guard by his haircut, but remained where they were. Diego wasn't impressed, arrogantly thinking that this was going to be an easy fight. Thinking he's still the same weak dumbass he was. Still not taking the "cabron" seriously. 

"Ha, you think your stupid little haircut scares me, cabron? You're still the same whiny, pathetic, loser no matter how many stupid haircuts you get! Bet your going to go cry to your bitchy mommy after we're done with you." Diego mused, Eric and Rio laughed and guffawing wildly. Anger swelled up inside him as the three of them continued laughing and jeering at him. The sound of their mocking laughter echoed into his ears. Flashbacks of their last two encounters, the same mocking laughter, ringed in his ears. And flashbacks of his first sparring match with Big Red also echoed in his ears, remembering the Cobra Kai students' mocking laughter after Big Red nearly knocked him out.  

Before Diego knew it, Tiger punched him square in the face, causing Diego to take a couple of steps backwards, holding his nose in pain. His two friends were shocked and taken aback by how his punch caused Diego of all people to stumble backwards a little bit. From the way they reacted he's never been punched like that before, until now. 

But Diego regained his footing and locked daggers on him. "You'll pay for that!" Diego shouted, he threw a combination of punches, but Tiger blocked them all. Tiger then threw his own combinations of punches, punching him in the face and in the stomach. His tall blond friend Eric tried to charge at him, but Tiger easily manages to swing to the right and performed a heel-kick to his face knocking him down. Falling face first to the ground, he groaned in pain. 

His black-haired friend Rio tried to summon the courage to attack Jericho, but he was slightly hesitant since he just witnessed how easily he was able to defeat his two friends without breaking a sweat. But Rio quickly shook it off and got into a fighting position. Tiger did the same. Eric threw a combination of punches at Tiger, but Tiger manages to block and dodge some of them. He then delivered a devastating side kick to his abdomen, followed by an axe kick that sent him crashing to the ground like a stone. Rio then grabs Tiger from behind. Remembering his lesson from Hawk on how to get out of such chokeholds, he performs a takedown. Rio lays his hand on Tiger trying to get up, but Tiger twists his arm and kicks it, Rio screams in pain while Tiger disturbingly takes pleasure in hearing him scream, then Tiger gives Rio a vicious right-hook to his face, knocking him down. 

Before Tiger knew it, Diego quickly recovered and ran towards his attacker, charging at him like an angry bull and Tiger was the red flag. He spotted Diego from the corner of his eye, but he was too quick to do anything. Diego grabs Tiger and shoved him to the cold brick wall, delivering a series of punches to his face and stomach. He felt helpless to defend himself against Diego. He was fast. Faster than he originally thought. Then he grabbed Tiger's face holding it tightly. 

"You may have learned some new moves and gained some balls but that won't save you!" He angrily announced, foolishly believing that he was going to beat him. Just before Diego raises his fists and punched Tiger, he grabs his fist, tightly gripping his right hand and kicks him off of him. Diego attempts to lunge at him but Tiger easily anticipates it and grabs Diego, kneeing him in the stomach and delivering a fast fury of punches to his face. But one of Diego's friends, Eric, manages to get Tiger off of him and tackles him to the ground, and kicks him in the side, Tiger groans at the contact. Eric then lifts him up by the hem of his hoodie and wraps his arm around Tiger's neck. Tiger was unable to get out of the big brute's chokehold. 

"I got him Diego, get him!" Eric eagerly announced. Tiger continued to struggle to get out of his grip, but he couldn't. Despite being trained to get out of such chokeholds Eric was too strong and he was slightly weakened by his kick to his side. 

Diego smirks and wipes a small dab of blood from his mouth. He walks over to Jericho and pulls out his brass knuckles in his dark grey sweat jacket. He grabs Tiger by his hair, forcing him to look directly at him. 

"You should've left when you had the chance asshole! Now, now you're going to pay!" He shouted, Eric smirks evilly. Tiger's eyes widened; he was in deep shit now. But before Diego could throw a fatal blow to his face, Tiger back kick Eric's leg, causing him to groan and he slithered down underneath him, knocking his friend out and not Tiger. Rio then tries to attack him, but Tiger sweeps his leg, causing him to be knocked down. Eric then places a hand on Tiger while he was kneeling, Tiger then grabs his arm, twisting it and putting it in a scissor-like arm lock, then knocks him out with a single punch to his face and Tiger viciously stomps on his face with his right foot, causing Eric to be knocked out cold, this time. Blood drips from Rio's and Eric's faces.

Momentarily shocked by this Diego stood there dumbfounded but quickly shook it off and attempted to attack Tiger. Tiger avoided his fury of punches, dodging his incoming punches, Tiger then punches Diego in the ribs, hard. Diego seethes in pain. 

"Is that all you got?" Tiger said, trying to bruise Diego's ego and pride by outright insulting him. This only infuriated him as he recklessly charged at him, trying to punch him in the face, but Tiger quickly got out of the way and hilariously Diego punched the brick wall, getting one of his brass knuckles stuck on the wall. Diego tries to get it out of the wall, so that he could seriously injure his victim, but to no avail. Tiger mockingly laughs at him. 

"What's the matter? Can't fight without relying on your precious brass knuckles?" Tiger jeered, earning Diego's ire. He then let's go off his brass knuckles and faces Tiger, fury in his eyes. 

"I don't need brass knuckles to beat you!" He sneered; he wasn't messing around. Tiger cracks his neck, getting into a fighting stance. Diego charges at Tiger with reckless abandon, sending a fury of punches to him but Tiger manages to block some of them. Diego tries to kick him, but Tiger grabs his leg sent him down on the ground. But Diego wasn't giving up, he gets back up and Tiger kicks him straight to a nearby window, sending him flying to the window, glass shatters around him. Diego laid on the ground, blood drips from his head while he's getting rid of the broken glass from his clothes. He smirks as he spots a broken glass shard near him, he grabs the broken shard and gets back up. 

Diego takes a swing at Tiger, trying to kill the young teen. Luckily Tiger manages to dodge the shard, but the shard grazed his left shoulder, while there was no blood, it made a slight tear through the fabric of his sleeve. 

Tiger then dodges another swing from Diego. He kicks the shard out of his hand and proceeds to punch Diego in the ribs. Tiger delivered a fury of punches to Diego's face and when Diego tried to grab his arm Tiger grabbed it and hit it with his elbow. Then he performed a spinning heel-kick to his face, knocking him down face first to the cold hard ground, a sickening crack filled the air as he fell. Oh, the irony when they first met, he lied on the ground, crying like a pussy. Now the roles were reversed, now it was Diego on the ground. Oh, the sweet, sweet, irony. Tiger relishes the irony. 

Diego tries to crawl away from Tiger, trying to crawl towards the broken glass shard but Tiger stomped on his hand hard causing Diego to scream in pain. 

"AHHHHHH!" Diego screamed as his hand was getting crushed by Tiger's heel. Tiger smirks sadistically, reveling in his screams. 

He kicks the shard away, then he viciously kicks Diego in the face and in the stomach, forcing the fallen brute on his backside. Bruised, bloodied and beaten Diego wasn't getting back up. Blood trickled down his lips, bruises formed around his face and eyes, and his lip was busted from the numerous punches he received. His grey and black sweatshirt was covered with blood, his own and from Tiger's blood. Tiger then crouched down, a devious smirk on his face. 

"Not so tough when your victims fight back huh?" Tiger smirked widely as he starred at his fallen bully. Diego was utterly shocked that Jericho of all people beat him, trying to grasp that this shy, nerdy kid beat him and his friends without breaking a sweat. 

"P-p-please, n-no more. I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry! M-m-mercy!" Diego pleaded; cowardice now laced his once tough, cocky veneer. Tiger scoffs at him. He's beaten to a pulp and now he was begging for mercy? This only proves what he knew all along; Diego is nothing but a sniveling coward. Tiger kneels down to his fallen bully and smirks at him. Oh, the irony. Just a few days ago it was him who was relentlessly beaten to a bloody pulp and Jericho would pathetically beg for mercy and Diego wouldn't show him any. Now it was his turn. 

"Sorry 'bro' but I was taught that life shows no mercy, so neither will I." Tiger replied, his hands balled into fists as he was ready to show Diego what he learned in Cobra Kai; "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy." Like Kreese taught him; "If you hesitate even for a second your enemy would take advantage of it and show you no mercy. However, if you never let you guard down and show your enemy no mercy, even if he seems to be down for the count, he would never be given the chance to strike you down when you're vulnerable." 

"W-w-w-wait, wait, J-J-Jericho." Diego pleaded but it was cut short. 

"Call me Tiger." He responded, raising his fist mid-air preparing to punch Diego. 

THUD! THUD! THUD! 

Tiger then threw punch after punch on Diego, grunting with each punch, almost sounding animal-like, almost savage, brutal. Definitely not the same sounds Jericho would make. Blood splatters over the pavement, Tiger didn't stop, he didn't want to stop, he continued beating Diego, primal screams exited his mouth as he was bashing Diego's already bruised and blooded face. Normally due to his PTSD, he would have intense flashbacks of how his father would beat him up and caused him to shut down but due to his rage and desire for revenge he was too angry, to consumed with revenge to even shut down. He continues to punch Diego in the face. All that pent up rage was finally going somewhere. 

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Tiger panted heavily, nearly wore himself out from all the punches he had thrown. Diego lied on the ground unconscious, his eyes swollen, his lip busted, his face covered with bruises and his grey and black sweatshirt covered with his own blood. Tiger stood up and staring at Diego's unconscious body. 

"Pussy." Tiger proudly muttered to himself, walking away triumphantly. He stops for a second examining his bruised and bloodied fists. Smiling widely at his victory. Now he and his two dumb friends will never bother him or anyone else again. Now he shows no fear, no weakness, and most importantly no mercy. 

Chapter Text

-Yesterday, Cobra Kai Dojo-

Tiger walks back into the dojo, full of pride. He finally did it. He finally conquered his fears and faced them head on. No, he did more than that. He showed no fear and most importantly no mercy. Having shed any concepts of mercy, a concept his enemies will not share. Tiger walks into the double doors, catching everyone's attention. He still had some bruises during his fight with Diego, so naturally everyone was concerned about him. Aisha especially looked the most worried. 

"Jeri-Tiger what happened?" Aisha asks, noticing the hideous bruise on his eye. Hawk rushes over to Tiger. 

"Bro, you alright? What the hell happened to you?" Hawk exclaimed, almost a hint of anger in his voice upon seeing of Tiger's bruises. It wasn't serious though. Just very noticeable. 

A small devious smirk appears on Tiger's lips. "You remember those assholes I told you about?" Hawk and the gang nodded their heads, if they beat up Tiger again then they would be happy to avenge him by finding them and beat the shit out of them for him. Despite only getting to know him, he's still Cobra Kai, and Cobra Kai is their family, it's like Sensei Kreese once said, "Cobra Kai is not a hobby. It's not a club. It's your brothers and sisters. If the enemy attacks one of you, they attack all of you." 

"I just followed Sensei Kreese's and Hawk's advice. I confronted my enemies and I beat the shit out of them!" Tiger proudly stated. "I doubt those assholes are gonna be messing with me or anyone else ever again." Tiger proudly stated. Kreese walks up to Tiger, impressed by his show of strength. 

"Well, done Mr. Tiger. Perhaps you're not such a weakling after all." Kreese stated, in a somewhat cold manner. Tiger nodded, although he still didn't like the way Sensei Kreese was giving him the cold shoulder treatment, at this point he grew accustomed to it. His father often talked to him in the same, cold manner but it didn't bother him, until he started telling him how useless and pathetic, he was, and he would be crying like a pansy-ass baby, after his father kicks his ass. The old Jericho may have been a pussy; but not Tiger. Not anymore. Tiger vowed to never feel weak ever again. 

Hawk gives Tiger a light bro-tap on his shoulder. "Congrats, Tiger. It's not everyday Sensei Kreese is impressed, and he's not so easily impressed." Tiger shrugs.

"So, I've noticed." Tiger mused. 

"If you think that was impressive, you'll like this." Tiger takes his shirt off, revealing a large tiger head tattoo on his back. 

"Holy shit." Hawk exclaimed, impressed by how badass his tattoo looked. Obviously, it couldn't compare to his badass tattoo, but it was impressive, nonetheless. Hawk was glad he didn't copy him and got a hawk tattoo. 

"That is badass, man!" Mitch giddily said, in awe of Tiger's tattoo. 

"Right! It took nearly 14 hours, and the needles were fucking painful, but it was worth it!" Tiger explained, flexing his back tattoo while making grunting noises. Aisha stood in awe of Tiger's back tattoo. 

"Wait, is your mom okay with that?" Aisha asks.

"Oh, she has no idea. Probably going to wear t-shirt until college maybe longer. So, please don't tell her. She will kill me if she finds out. Like dig a hole and bury me in it." Tiger said, explaining his worry to his friends. The faux-hawk and the orange dye was one thing, but a tattoo is another. She will probably have a heart attack if she ever finds out. 

Mitch chuckles, "What? Scared of your mom?" 

Tiger shakes his head, "No. I'm not scared of my mom." He scoffed, but Mitch and the gang weren't buying it. Knowing his mom, she's probably passed out drunk on the couch again as we speak, but so far, she has been sober enough to take some notice of her son. 

-Early Morning, LaRusso Houshold- 

Daniel continues to worry about Robby Keene. Ever since the school fight, he hasn't seen him since. He has looked for almost every place, every corner, even his old apartment, but he wasn't there. It was almost as if Robby had disappeared off of the face of the earth. Considering what happened he didn't blame him. Sitting at the breakfast table Daniel texted Robby a dozen times, no response. Anthony was just at the table eating his favorite cereal, reses's peanut butter puffs with a tablet he's playing on, next to him. Sara and Sam were getting dressed and ready for school. Just as Amanda was preparing her pot of coffee, for her and Daniel, she senses his grief and tries to comfort him. 

"You know Robby probably ditches his phone. That's why he's not texting you back." Amanda said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. 

Daniel sighs, "I know. I just wish there was more I could do." He trailed off. "I can't stand it. I gotta find him. I just...shouldn't have been so harsh to him. You know I was so mad at him about everything, I lost control, and he took the brunt of it. Maybe if that didn't happen-" He trailed off again. Ever since the school fight Daniel had a lot of time to reflect on his actions prior to...that fight. And he feels that if he hadn't been so harsh with Robby and had he'd taught him properly none of this would have happened. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Amanda said as she rubs her husband's back. "It's not your fault. Look let's just try to think positively. Runaways usually come back." 

"Or they get caught doing something illegal to stay afloat. Or they're found dead." Anthony sarcastically remarked, earning a weird look from his parents. "What? It's true look it up." 

Amanda ignored Anthony's morbid comment and concentrated on helping Daniel. "Maybe you should try reaching out to Johnny again?" 

He shook his head. "Six messages isn't enough? He obviously doesn't want to talk to me." Daniel sighs, not knowing that Johnny threw his phone away after the school fight in a drunken filled rage and depression, feeling guilty over Miguel's state. "You know if we're gonna find Robby, we're gonna have to find him ourselves." As confident as Daniel sounded, Amanda was somewhat unconvinced that he could find him all by himself. Sure, aside from Johnny, he knew Robby better than anyone, but still there was only so much one person can do. It would probably take days, weeks or even months to find a fugitive during his one-man hunt. Plus, Amanda was more worried about if he does find him, then what? The cops would still be on his tail and if they find him, he would possibly be arrested for harboring a fugitive from the law. 

Just then Sam and Sara walks into the kitchen. Daniel's face lit up as soon as he saw his two beautiful daughters. "Hey, good morning sweethearts." 

"Hey," Sam cheerfully responds. Sara silently acknowledges her parents. 

Daniel asks how their doing as he gives both of them a soft kiss on their foreheads. 

"Baby you sleep, okay?" Amanda asks, concerned over Sam not getting enough sleep, after the fight. Not that she can blame her after all the shit she's been through. 

"Yeah, better." Sam says, lying through her teeth. Sara could tell that's bullshit but didn't say anything. Ever since the school fight Sam hasn't been sleeping well. Haunted by nightmares of the fight, Miguel getting kicked off of the balcony, Tory threatening to slice her face off and worst of all the constant reminders of her scars, courtesy of Tory Fucking Nichols. Oh, how Sara wanted her to pay, but she doubts Sam, or her parents would approve of her going after Tory. Besides she didn't even know where she lives, so finding her was goanna be like a needle in a haystack.

"You know if I got suspended for starting a karate war, something tells me you guys wouldn't be this nice to me." Anthony said sarcastically, Sara rolls her eyes in annoyance. Like Anthony will ever get into a karate fight. Nah, he would rather play video games than fight. 

"Just eat your coco puffs." Amanda responded. 

"They're Reses's peanut butter puffs." Anthony shot back. Sara rolled her eyes again, giving Anthony a middle finger without her parents noticing. Anthony shook his head and gave her the middle finger back. 

"So, first day back, you gals ready?" He asks, enthusiastically, despite with all the shit that's currently happening. 

"Yeah, definitely," Sam replied confidently. But secretly she wasn't ready to go back at all. Fully aware of her family name, especially hers are being dragged through the mud. She's aware of how infamous their names are now. Ever since the school fight many people blame the LaRusso's and especially hers for "starting the fight", some have even blamed Sam for "tramping around with that other girl's boyfriend." But the truth is it was Tory who started that fight over something as petty as a kiss. 

"Well, I'm not. I was just enjoying my exile from school. No class, no overcrowded hallways, no homework and especially no Cobra Kai assholes." Sara joked, trying to lighten the mood with her usual sarcastic wit.  

"Language!" Amanda retorted. 

"Sorry." She said innocently. 

Sam giggled while Daniel rolls his eyes. Even when things are shitty Sara's always maintained her witty sense of humor. Guess she gets it from her mother. 

-Later, West Valley High School-

Well, this is it. Jericho's first time in West Valley High School. He hasn't been in an American school before, let alone any American school before, so this was new territory for him. He initially found the prospect of going to an American high school, nerve wracking but with his new friends going with him all that anxiety went away for a while. He knew moving to a new school would cause some drama, especially among his peers. He does have some knowledge of how he will be treated. Some kids might even try to bully him, humiliate him, even beat him up for even the smallest of sights, but with him and his new band of Cobra's, nobody would dare touch them. No one would dare to even think of messing with him. Now that he knows karate. If they did, he would do to them what he did to that pussy Diego, show them no mercy. Just like life showed him no mercy. For once in his life, he didn't go to school with a black eye, claiming it was an "accident", an accident named "dad". But now he didn't have to worry about lying to the teachers about his scars and bruises he gets from his violent alcoholic dad. Tiger has been dreaming of this day, a day where he no longer has to deal with his dad. And that dream came true. It was like waking up from a seemingly unending nightmare. There was one thing Tiger didn't count on though: the new security guards. Since the infamous fight, there was a round-the-clock security in this place. It was almost like a school shooting happened there recently. Fortunately, there were never any school shootings in West Valley High at all, just an all-out karate brawl that went out of control. Tiger was still confused on why karate was being cast at the villain when the Miyagi-Do's were the real villains. They started the fight, and they're paying the price for it. After all, if it wasn't for Miyagi-Do, there wouldn't have been a fight in the first place.

After checking with security, the security guards searched him, scanning his backpack for any hidden potential weapons he could be carrying, they finally let him pass. Tiger is free to greet his two friends, Hawk and Mitch. Standing next to his friends as they wait for their mutual friend to show up, Bert. After the guards finished searching his backpack, he was free to pass, he walks towards the three Cobra's. 

"Hey guys." Bert gleefully greeted the three Cobra's. 

"There's the man." Hawk said happily as he gave Bert a friendly handshake. Mitch gave him a friendly tap on his shoulder. Tiger gives Bert they're signature fist bump. 

"This is the year. Day 1, round 2. Let's get it boys." Hawk stated, determined for this year to work in their favor without a hitch. While Tiger was ignorant to some of the events that happened at West Valley, outside of the infamous karate brawl, since he was still new to the Valley and the school, he shared Hawk's sentiment. Wanting to make his first year in West Valley High School a good one. Even with all of the shit he's been through. 

"Ooh freshman babes, eleven o'clock." Mitch said, as three cute girls, led by a beautiful brunette walking near them. 

A devious smirk appears on Hawk's lips, "Hey ladies." He said, getting the three-gals attention. "I know freshman year can be kinda scary, so if anybody gives you any trouble, just come to me. I'm the guy-." But Hawk's next words were quickly interrupted. 

"Who wets the bed and got kicked into the trophy case." The brunette interrupted; Hawk's cocky smirk quickly disappears at her snide comment. "Yeah, we know." She responded snidely, the three girls walk away, unimpressed by Hawk's attempted smooth flirting. If she wasn't a girl, Hawk would normally kick her ass for saying shit to him like that, but she is a girl and lucky for her, if she was a guy then Hawk would show him no mercy. 

"Oh shit." Mitch chuckled, but he quickly stops when Hawk intimidates him into silence. While Tiger chuckled a little bit, he remained stoic and thought she was a little bitchy for brushing off Hawk's generous offer. Granted he felt he could've done slightly better but still that girl was rude. 

"Hey, Demetri." The brunette said in a flirty manner, passing a tall, scrawny white kid with black hair, walking next to a large black kid wearing a strange black and purple shirt with an alien on it.

"Someone knows who I am. A human female." Demetri responded giddily, truly flabbergasted that a cute girl was taking notice of him. Him of all people. A nerd no less. No girl had ever taken notice of him in his life. It wouldn't be the first time someone took notice of him. Earlier some of the male students have been giving him high fives and complimenting him, which is something Demetri wasn't used to since most kids in West Valley High would either ignore him or tease him for his nerdy interests, or even downright bully him. Ever since he kicked Hawk into the trophy case his popularity was steadily rising. He could get used to this. It was kinda nice for people to actually take him seriously for once. 

"You're famous now 'meat." Chris replied, giving Demetri a friendly tap on the shoulder. Ever since he kicked Hawk into the trophy case, he has since been getting a lot of attention. More attention than he was normally used to. Some of the kids didn't even bother to bully him anymore. And it was great, for him anyway. 

The three Cobra's soon faced their respective rivals, Hawk faced Demetri, Mitch faced Chris, Bert faced Nate. Tiger stood right behind them, facing the Miyagi-Do's, glaring at all three of them. While their main focus was on their rivals, Demetri briefly glanced at Tiger while Tiger stood there with a stoic look on his face, then he returned his focus to Hawk, unfazed by his former best-friend-turned-rival. 

"Got something to say?" Mitch mockingly asks, while making a waving hand gesture to his face, a form of challenge. 

"Yeah, check out my new Lit book. Lots of hard-hitting shit right here, if you know what I mean?" Chris replied, Mitch's cocky smirk faded once he saw the book, having a flashback of the school fight where Chris hits him and knocks him out with that stupid book. Mitch glares at Chris in annoyance, bitter of his defeat at the hands of this traitor.  

"All the security isn't enough to protect your scrawny ass." Hawk snarled. Tiger glares at the scrawny teen, sizing him up, to see what he was up against. Tiger doubts this "nerd" would be much of a threat to him, Hawk or any of his friends. In fact, aside from the big guy the Miyagi-Do students looks pathetic compared to them. 

Demetri remained unfazed, no longer intimidated by his former best-friend-turned-tormentor. "I don't need security." He replied, taking a few inches closer to Hawk. Hawk has flashbacks of his humiliating defeat at the hands of the nerd. The nerd who kicked him into the trophy case. Tiger saw the fight on YouTube, this only makes him angry at this scrawny nerd. He didn't like him at all. Bragging about his ill-conceived victory then rubbing it in his face. If Hawk hadn't got cocky and underestimated the nerd, then he would've won. Tiger glares at the scrawny kid, his hands balled into fists. Oh, how he wanted to punch this kid in his stupid face. 

Hawk continues to glare at Demetri. It almost looked like there was gonna be another brawl happening on his first day of school. While the old Jericho would pussy out and avoid any potential fights; Tiger would happily engage in one to fight for his Cobra Kai friends. 

"Everything alright here?" Somebody said, an unfamiliar voice came up to them. Unfamiliar to Tiger but not to the rest of the guys. They seemingly knew who this woman was. She appeared to be a teacher or whatever. 

"Oh, we're all buddies here." Demetri said, standing between Hawk and Mitch, wrapping his arms around both their shoulders. "Isn't that right fellas?" 

Confused at first, but Hawk played along. "Yeah." He replied, trying to make it look convincing. Tiger nodded his head; he knew how to play it smart.

"Don't you all have somewhere to be?" The lady said in a firm, stern voice. 

"Yes, Councilor Blatt." Nate responded, submissively. Wow, even though Tiger was new to West Valley, Councilor Blatt sounded like a real bitch. Tiger immediately took a disliking to her. He's dealt with teachers like that since Ecuador. They were real bitches. Still though, it was probably a blessing in disguise, Tiger thought. Even though he has gained a tougher exterior, he wasn't stupid. If another fight were to break out, then the school would have legitimate reasons to expel them. But should a fight happen with no one else around and no security cameras, well accidents do happen. But for now, Tiger had to think of finding his first period class. He and his mom took a tour here recently and the school's staff were kind enough to let Tiger familiarize himself with the place. And thankfully Hawk and Tiger shared the same first period, so he didn't have to worry about getting lost in a big school like this. 

"Sup front wedgie?" Nate said to Yasmine, Chris haughty laughs as they walk by the two girls. Yasmine ignored them and gave Moon an annoyed look. 

"What happened to this place? I go to Paris for one summer and the losers are running this school?" Yasmine ranted. Before karate, the "losers" in this school wouldn't even dare to talk to her like that. Not when she and Kyler ran this school. Half of the kids knew their place. Now, things have changed and not for the better. 

"I'd be a little nicer if I were you. Half the kids in school knows karate now." Moon warned, but Yasmine remained unconcerned. 

"Does that make Aisha queen bitch?" She snidely remarked, still bitter of that little "incident," at the canyon. Even though she was still cool with Aisha despite everything that had happened, she didn't like Yasmine calling her such names. 

"Actually, Aisha's parents have restricted her from getting into another fight, if she does then they might move to another city." Moon responded. 

"Let's hope she gets into another karate fight then." She laughs. Moon gives her a concerned look. 

"I hope not. Her and Sam have been friends since they were little. I couldn't imagine losing a friend cause of some karate war." Moon replied honestly. Despite her and Yasmine being friends again, she still cared about Aisha a lot. She's worried though about what her reaction would be of them being friends again considering their history. Yasmine remained unconcerned, still bitter about the front wedgie incident and Sam "betraying" her to those karate losers. The only reason why she accepted Moon back was because they've known each other for a long time, and she was still rich so that's one reason why she likes her.

Plus, ever since the front wedgie incident, she doesn't have a lot of friends left. 

Meanwhile, Sam and Sara had just entered the school, the two brunettes were getting some unwanted attention from their fellow classmates. Since the school fight, their names have become poison in the Valley. Some of them despised them for their role in the fight. Some have even spread hurtful rumors of Sam being a slut for cheating on Robby and kissing Miguel. It wasn't the first time some idiots spread false rumors of her being a slut. But this was different. Last time it was just some attention-grabbing idiot trying to slut shame her out of spite. This time the rumors were backed up by facts. Sam was drunk and kissed Miguel. So, this time Sam couldn't deny anything. 

"There they are." One girl scoffed to her friends. The girls gossiped and whispered to each other. While another group rolled their eyes and started whispering to each other too. No doubt they were gossiping about the same shit, saying shit about them to their dumb friends. 

"Ignore those bitches." Sara whispered to Sam. "They have nothing else to do but say shit. If you like I can tell them to back off." She responded, starting to walk over to the gossiping bitches. But Sam quickly grabs her arm, pulling her back.

"No, don't." Sam said, Sara furrowed her brows in confusion. "You'll only make it worse. We already got suspended once; we don't need to get suspended again." 

Sara sighs heavily, she reluctantly agreed. "Okay, but if anyone gives you any trouble, I'll kick their asses! Suspension or no suspension." 

Sam chuckled. Sara always had a bit of a temper, she never liked anyone she cares about getting shit on, least of all those Cobra Kai assholes. If she wasn't her sister, she would be the perfect candidate for Cobra Kai. Luckily, she is, and she hates Cobra Kai with a passion, perhaps just as much as she and their dad does. Ever since Cobra Kai came into town, things haven't been the same for her or her family. 

Just as Sam was about to go to her class upstairs, her breath suddenly became erratic. Flashbacks of the fight and Miguel's fall swarmed into her mind. She suddenly grips the railing harder. 

"Sam?" Sara said, but no answer. This wasn't looking good. Not good at all. Something was wrong but Sam won't tell her. 

Just then she felt someone's arm on her shoulder, and she quickly snaps out of her trance. 

"Woah. Easy there Captain Marvel. Same team remember?" Demetri responded. 

"I-I have to go." Sam frantically ran out the school doors. 

"Sam, wait! Where are you going? Sam!" Sara shouted but Sam ignores her, she keeps walking towards the doorway. She was out of earshot. 

Sara looks on as she watchers her sister. She was worried for her. Something was going on, but Sam refused to tell her anything, so she had no clue on what to do or how to help Sam. At this point there was nothing she can do. Maybe it was because of those girls, or the security that freaked her out or maybe it was being in school again.

"What was that about?" Sara asked facing Demetri. Demetri shrugged. 

"I have no idea." Demetri responded honestly. In truth, even though they hung out a few times, he still was completely ignorant as to what was troubling Sam. He thought it was the school fight or the fact that Miguel was in the hospital. "She's your sister, do you have any idea what's going on with her?" 

"No, she hasn't told me anything. Every time I'd ask what's wrong, she either dodges the question with "I'm fine, Sara, don't worry" or she just doesn't say anything at all." 

Demetri shrugs, "Well, whatever is happening with her, she'll tell us when she's ready but for now let's just be patient and wait until she's ready to tell us." Sara nods, although the idea of waiting didn't sit well with her considering the fact that she hated the idea of doing nothing while her sister is suffering in silence and can't do anything about it. But Demetri was right, she'll tell her when she wants to tell her. 

As Sara goes to her locker, she soon spots a familiar face; Jericho. She hasn't seen him since...since the incident at Don Corazon's Mexican restaurant. She never forgot what he did. 

"Hey," She happily greeted, allowing Tiger to meet her gaze. 

"Oh, hey Sara. What's up?" Tiger replied, happy to see this cute brunette again. Besides Hawk, Mitch, Bert, and the rest of the Cobra Kai's it was nice to see a familiar face in this unfamiliar school. 

Sara's eyes widened as soon as she sees Jericho's new orange dyed faux-hawk haircut. A little bit surprised at his new haircut. Granted, it looked good on him but she kinda grew accustomed to his old jet-black slick hairstyle he had when they first met at the restaurant. She thought it was kind of cute. She thought it brought those chocolate brown eyes of his. 

"Jericho?" Sara gasped. "What happened to your hair? Did you join a punk band or something?" She sarcastically remarked, Tiger playfully rolled his eyes. 

"Oh this? I just decided to change it. It's just that-" He trailed off mid-sentence. "I was so tired of being bullied that I decided to give myself a badass haircut so that I wouldn't be bullied anymore. And so far, it's working." 

Sara nodded, but she frowned, while she supported his new hairstyle, at the same time she felt bad for him. It wouldn't be the first time an insecure, shy, nerdy teen decided to change his hairstyle so that he wouldn't get bullied anymore. Sara's eyebrows furrowed as she notices the bruises on Jericho's face. 

"What?" Tiger asks, noticing Sara staring at him or more specifically his bruised eye. 

Sara places a gentle hand on Tiger's face, "What happened to your eye. It's all black and swollen. Who did this?" Sara accidentally touches his bruised eye, causing Tiger to seethe with some slight discomfort at the contact.  

"Oh, I-I'm sorry I-I d-didn't mean to-" Sara stuttered. Tiger shook his head. 

"No, no it's alright. I'm tougher than I look." Tiger gently grabs Sara's hand; he scratches the back of his head. "You remember those assholes from the restaurant?" Sara nodded her head. "Well, after I threatened to tell the manager on them, they beat the shit out of me, over and over again. Before they could do any lasting damage two cop cars appeared and took me to the hospital. Then a couple of days later they cornered me outside of my apartment and they...beat the shit out of me...again." 

Sara shook her head in disgust. She had no idea what he's been going through. If she knew what was going on she would have visited him at the hospital and comforted him. Or better yet she would've confronted those assholes and beat the shit out of them for what they did to him. If there's one thing she hated the most; it was bullies. Or even invite him to her house to have her dad teach him karate. Sara knows of her dad's history of getting bullied so he would be open to helping a kid who's being relentlessly bullied. 

"Oh my god Jericho. I-I'm so, so sorry you had to go through that. If I had known I would've-" She trailed off, before Tiger interrupts her. 

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. It's those assholes. They wouldn't leave well enough alone. But I managed to give them a few bruises myself." Tiger joked as he playfully did a punching motion. Sara chuckles. 

"Hey, my dad owned a dojo. Maybe you could stop by at our place so that we could teach you some karate moves." Sara said, even though her dad no longer taught karate anymore due to the school fight and with what happened with Robby, she would be more than happy to teach him some moves to defend himself. Plus, if Mr. and Mrs. LaRusso heard Jericho's story maybe this would change her mother's opinion on her new anti-karate stance and let her dad reopen Miyagi-Do. 

Tiger raises an eyebrow, "Wait you do karate?" 

Sara smiles, "Hell yeah. Not to brag but let's just say I was the top of my class, next to my sister. My fists and feat were deadly weapons." Sara bragged, Tiger laughs, impressed by her, he'd always admired a badass woman. "Well at least I used to before my dad was forced to shut down for the...incident." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. That sucks, cause karate is badass and people casting karate as the villain is bullshit!" Tiger exclaims. In truth, Tiger did have a point. Karate being casted as the villain for one incident is incredibly ridiculous. Before karate, kids in West Valley High were relentlessly bullied to no end. Then karate became the most popular thing in the Valley and kids were finally able to stand up for themselves. Those kids felt unique. 

"Right! And yeah, maybe you could stop by our dojo, and we can teach you how to defend yourself." Sara generously offered. Now, if they could rally some of the Miyagi-Do students they could finally fight back against Cobra Kai's bullying. Sara doesn't care if her mom doesn't approve of karate anymore. In her eyes as long as Cobra Kai was dominating the valley, no one was safe. 

Tiger smiles at her, grateful for her generous offer but has to decline her offer, "Thank you Sara, I appreciate the offer but I'm already part of a dojo. I've been taking lessons they're recently." Tiger humbly says. 

A small smile appeared on the side of her lip, "Really? That's great Jericho! I'm so happy for you! What's it called?" 

"It's called-" 

*Dinging* Dinging* *Dinging* 

The first period bell rings, interrupting Tiger's sentence. And Tiger couldn't afford missing first period on his first day of school. His mom would be pissed if he missed a class on his first day of school. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise since Cobra Kai was being villainized for what happened. 

"Sorry Sara, I can't be late for my first period. Can we talk later?" Tiger smiled as he grabs his stuff from his locker and puts it in his backpack. 

"No, no, it's fine. We can talk later." Sara smiles, waving to Jericho as he walks away, Tiger turns his head back slightly and waves back to her. While Sara was happy for him taking karate lessons at whatever dojo he was in. Still though, she was a little sad and disappointed that he couldn't be in the same dojo with her. Nonetheless, she decides to support him all the way. Tiger watches intently as Sara walks away, smiling like an idiot. 

Just before Tiger walks into class he spots Hawk standing next to one of the lockers, leaning against them. Hawk cockily smirks at Tiger with his arms crossed. 

"I see your making friends with the locals, huh?" Hawk sarcastically responded, earning a dry laugh from Tiger, as he looked down to his feet and smiled. Hawk's face grimaced as he got a long, good look at his "friend". His jaw dropped as soon as he got a good look at his new friend. He recognizes her tall figure, the way she moved her body, the blueish nail polish, her brownish hair. It was none other than Sara Fucking LaRusso. Second daughter of that prick Daniel LaRusso and twin sister to that slut Sam LaRusso, the girlfriend to that prick who hurt Miguel. 

"Wait, your friends with that girl?" Hawk asks as he pointed at Sara, who kept walking. "You're friends with Sara?" Hawk's face darkens, due to her history, Hawk hated Sara with a passion, just as much as he hated Demetri, Sam and the rest of those Miyagi-Do's. He blamed her for what happened to Miguel. While her sister did start it by harassing Tory and kissing Miguel, Sara was just another bitch to him. Worse she was a LaRusso. 

"Yeah? Why? What's the problem?" Tiger asks, confusion written all over his face. He was still relatively new to West Valley and didn't know everyone. Still relatively ignorant of Cobra Kai's feud with the Miyagi-Do's. Outside of what Hawk and Sensei Kreese told him. 

Hawk sighs, "You do know who that is, right?" Tiger still looks at Hawk dumbfounded and shrugs his shoulders; he had no clue who he was talking about.

"That's Sara LaRusso. Miyagi-Do's top bitch, second daughter to Daniel LaRusso, and Sam's twin sister." Hawk scowled, venom dripped from his mouth as soon as he completed his sentence and disdain for the LaRusso family. Tiger was in shock. He couldn't believe it. He thought Hawk was either lying or got the wrong Sara. But Hawk has never lied to him. 

"What?!" Tiger yelled, shocked at this revelation. His face contorted, thinking he could be wrong. What if this isn't the same Sara? Maybe he could've had the wrong Sara. I mean, there were a couple of Sara's in the Valley, right? Tiger thought. "Are you sure Hawk? I mean, are you sure you got the right Sara? There are hundreds of Sara's in the world, are you sure this is the same Sara?" Tiger asks, in denial to the fact that he's acquainted to a Miyagi-Do student and worst of all a LaRusso.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Hawk said gruffly. "She's Miyagi-Do's top student and was one of the Miyagi-Do's that started the fight that got your brother, my best friend, injured!" Hawk yelled, bitterness and anger in his voice. 

Tiger reflected on what he said. Thinking he might be telling the truth. She never did tell him her last name. Now he knows why. Her family's name is infamous. Why shouldn't it be? They're the ones who started the fight, Cobra Kai was just fighting back. Just then Hawk pulled out his phone and showed him a Facebook picture of Sara, with her mom, her sister Samantha LaRusso, her brother, and her father Daniel LaRusso. 

Tiger's face flushed with anger and betrayal. He recognizes the woman in the picture. He met her once at Don Corazon's Mexican Restaurant. He never forgot her face. And he recognizes the male adult in that photo; Daniel LaRusso, the man who founded Miyagi-Do and the one who trained Robby Fucking Keene. Tiger saw his cringe car commercials and both Hawk and Kreese told him about him. Tiger's nose cringed with anger; he hated the LaRusso family with a strong fiery passion. Hawk then flips to another image; a gif of Sara LaRusso breaking a wooden board with her feet. Tiger's hands balled into fists; he punched the locker wall hard. 

"Hey, didn't you hear the first period bell? Class is starting!" A teacher yelled, frustrated at Jericho and Eli for nearly missing class. 

"Sorry sir, it's my first day here." Tiger innocently replied. 

"Alright since your new here I'll let it slide, today." He said factly, "But next time don't dilly dally." The teacher sternly told Tiger. Tiger and Hawk walks into class, Tiger huffed, while he liked the idea of being in first period with Hawk, he dreaded the amount of classwork their teacher was going to make them do. 

-A couple of hours later, last period-

Tiger happily walks out of class, ready to get back to the dojo to train. Just as he was grabbing his stuff from his locker, he feels a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around seeing a familiar face. It was Sara LaRusso, beaming him with her beautiful smile. Tiger smiles back at her, containing his anger, his hatred towards her family. He wanted to play the "long game", until the time was right to strike. Just like real life tigers, he is a patient hunter, waiting for the right moment to sink their teeth into their prey. 

"Hey, Sara, what's up?" Tiger cheerfully asks, hiding his newfound aggressive demeanor. While he was still internally angry at even interacting with a fucking LaRusso, he still sticks to the plan of concealing his true nature, until the need to drop his bullshit becomes absolutely necessary. Tiger internally scoffs at himself. He was starting to sound like a supervillain from a comic-book, ones who maintain their facade to lull their enemies into a false sense of security, until the time is right to strike. 

"Well," The brunette trailed off a bit, twirling her hair in a playful motion, "I know we barely know each other at all, but I was just wondering if you would like to come to our house for a visit." Tiger quirked an eyebrow, this was sudden and very unexpected. No girl has ever invited him to their house ever, so this was a surprise. "I-I know this is all sudden since, well...but I just thought we should hang out sometime. Maybe my dad could teach you some self-defense moves." The brunette playfully teased as she playfully puts her hands up in a defense position. 

Tiger nervously scratches the back of his neck, "Uh, about that." The faux-hawk teen trailed off, while the brunette gives him the cute puppy dog look. "I'm sorry Sara, but I can't, you see I've already got plans. I'm hanging out with a couple of my friends after school's over." 

Sara quirked an eyebrow as she smiles, "Oh, it's okay I understand. Glad you're making some friends here. Just out of curiosity who are these friends?" 

Tiger looks behind him, seeing his friends walking in the hallways, "Oh, here they are now." Tiger points out to Sara. She smiles at the prospect of meeting Jericho's friends. She got the impression due to just moving to LA, he hasn't made a couple of friends, so she was happy for Jericho finally making some friends. 

But as soon as she gets a good look at Jericho's "friends" her smile quickly fades as soon as she saw a certain spikey-red hair teen leading his group of Cobra Kai's, some of whom she's unfortunately encountered before. She recognizes Aisha Robinson and Bert, her former friends. Oh no. They were his new friends? Jericho new friends are those Cobra Kai assholes? Does this mean he's a Cobra Kai? No, he couldn't be. Could he? Sara worriedly thought. Just then a horrible revelation crossed her face. Could Jericho be part of Cobra Kai? 

Sara's face darkens and her hands balled into fists, she puts her hand onto Jericho's shoulder, "Those are your new friends? Them?!" Sara exclaims, truly shocked that sweet, kind, innocent Jericho would be friends with those bullies. 

Tiger raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, why?" Feigning confusion over why Sara suddenly didn't like his friends. Sara's thoughts were immediately swarmed with worry, if he's joined Cobra Kai then that would be bad. Cobra Kai's already taking over the Valley now that her dad shut down Miyagi-Do, if they were recruiting more students, then it would breed more assholes and that's the last thing they needed. Hell, it's the last thing the Valley needed. 

"Jericho, those guys are not your friends. They're bullies! They'll attack anyone who even looks at them the wrong way. All because of their bullshit philosophy of striking first, striking hard, and showing no mercy to anyone. Not even to their friends. These "friends" of yours are not the type of people you should be associating with." She stated as a matter of factly. Normally she wouldn't say such things or judge other people so harshly, but she was worried about the influence his so-called friends would have on him, especially since these friends were the school's biggest bullies since Kyler Fucking Park and his gang of assholes. And unlike those idiots, the Cobra Kai's led by Hawk are way worse than they ever were. 

Tiger raises an eyebrow, "Look, Sara I know your trying to look out for me, but these guys are my friends, they've helped me when I was going through shit. And it's not really your place to decide who I choose to hang out with." Tiger coldly stated, Sara's mouth widened in shock at Jericho's harsh tone. He never said anything so coldly to her. This is what she feared. They were becoming a bad influence on him, just like with Hawk. 

Tiger looks at her sympathetically, "Look, I'm sorry. I know your just looking out for me. It's just that...well." The faux-hawk teen said trailing off. "Before you and those guys, I was a loser. Back in Ecuador I had no friends. I used to be bullied a lot back then and then I come to the Valley and now after becoming friends with those guys I-I wasn't getting bullied anymore. For the first time in my life, I was getting respect." Tiger stated honestly, or at least his version of being honest. Leaving out some parts like his dad being a gangster and used to use him as a punching bag whenever he felt like it. 

In truth Sara did understand what he's going through. Before taking up karate, she used to be bullied by her peers for not having the same "girly" interests as them, most girls would spend time in malls, talking about boys and other stuff while she often hung out with the "unpopular" crowd like Eli and Demetri. Until Yasmine came along and befriended her sister, then those bitches stopped bullying her for being friends with the "queen" of the school. Then it turns out Yasmine was no better and started bullying other people who weren't in the same social class, and it didn't sit right with her. 

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so judgmental. It's just that the difference between you and me is that I know some of those guys and I've had a lot of bad experiences with them." She tutted; flashbacks of the school fight washed over her mind. Unlike Sam, Sara wasn't entirely affected by the fight, but it still haunted her, especially the screams of her sister as Tory was about to kill her with a fucking spiked bracelet. Just before Sara could say anything else, her phone pinged. It was her dad. 

"Well, gotta go, my dad is waiting for me. Maybe we can hang out some other time." She responded hopefully as she walks away. Tiger smiles. 

"I would like that." Tiger said, waving Sara goodbye. Just as Sara had her backed turned, Tiger's friendly smile quickly dissipates, turning into a small scowl. Glaring at the brunette. From the distance Hawk had been watching him and Sara talk, he glares at their new teammate. 

Tiger than walks up to the gang, giving them high fives and fist bumps. Hawk gives Tiger the traditional Cobra Kai fist bump before folding his arms and frowning at Tiger. 

Hawk then spoke up, "Why are you talking to that LaRusso bitch? She's the enemy." Hawk stated coldly. 

"I know that I'm just keeping my enemy's close. Right now, she trusts me. Besides, you said Robby used to live with the LaRusso's last summer, right?" Hawk nodded but wasn't sure where this is going. "And she's been training with Robby during that same time, right? Then that means, she knows Robby better than anybody. She might even know where he is. And if she does, then we can get that son of a bitch before the cops do!" Tiger seethes, desperately wanting revenge on Robby. 

Hawk nodded but while Tiger's plan is smart, there were a few holes to that plan. "Look, I want to find Robby just as much as you do, but if Sara or any of those LaRusso's knew where he was then he would be in juvie by now." Tiger nodded, mentally face-palming himself for Hawk to point out such a glaring and obvious flaw to his plan. 

"Shit! Why didn't I think of that?" Tiger said, embarrassed.

Hawk looks at him sympathetically, "Hey, don't worry about it. We'll get that son of a bitch soon!" Hawk vengefully declared. 

Then Hawk's phone pinged, his eyes lit up as soon as he saw the notification. 

"What is it?" Tiger asked. 

"I just got a message from the hospital." Hawk said, looking at the group. 

"What is it? Is Miguel, okay?" Tiger asks, worried something might've happened to Miguel. What if he was in a coma forever? Or worse what if he just died? The crowd soon inches a little closer to Hawk, anticipating or dreading what he's going to say next. 

Hawk's eyes darted back to the Cobra's, "Miguel just woke up." The group of Cobra's took a collective sigh of relief. Tiger and Aisha were especially glad to hear of Miguel's recovery. Ever since Miguel's injury they all feared that he wouldn't wake up, but now they're concerns are now alleviated. 

Relief cast over the faux-hawk teen. His brother was finally awake. Now he was going to meet his brother face-to-face for the first time.