Fighting Against Yourself : A Cobra Kai Story

Chapter 2 - Strike First

"I mean, I can do like 3," Y/N replied before getting into the push-up position. Miguel struggled to do one, prompting Sensei Lawrence to change their exercise to crunches. That's when the dojo door opened.

"Howdy there, Mr. Lawrence?" The man asked.

"It's Sensei," Miguel said, and Y/N simply shook his head.

"Miguel, shut up," Mr. Lawrence told him.

"What brings you in? Looking to lose that gut and learn how to kick some ass?" Sensei Lawrence questioned, gesturing to the man's stomach.

"No. I'm from the city health department. This is a list of requirements needed to open up an exercise studio," he replied, handing Sensei a sheet of paper.

"This isn't an exercise studio. This is a karate dojo," he replied.

"Yeah, same deal. Wow. This place needs a lot of work. You're not open for business, are you? You two, you customers here?" The man asked, pointing to Y/N and Miguel who stayed quiet.

"No, that's just two illegals I picked up this morning. They're helping me set up," Sensei replied.

"I don't need to know about all that. My job is just to make sure this place is up to code. You don't want a scabies outbreak like that hot yoga place over on Tujunga," the man said as he looked around the dojo.

"Wait, so I have to do all this crap before I even open?" Sensei asked, surprised as he flipped through the page.

"No, you need to do all that to get the certificate that's required to get the insurance you need to open. But you knew that when you signed your lease, right?" He replied, turning to leave.

"Right, yeah," Sensei replied quickly.

"I'll drop in next week for another inspection," the man went to leave, looking at the logo on the wall, "Huh, cool rattlesnake."

"It's a cobra," Sensei replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, right, duh. I'm such an idiot. Cobra 'Kai.'"

Y/N and Miguel were scrubbing mats as Sensei reentered the dojo.

"Looking good. Make sure you get both sides. After you're done with that, you can take care of these exposed wires. That's going to be a lot of work," he told the pair as he went into his office.

"Yeah, but what does any of this have to do with karate, Sensei?" Miguel asked.

"Do not question my methods. Just be thankful you're not a sumo wrestler. Those guys have to wipe their Sensei's asses. Plus, this will cover your guys' subs. Normally, it costs a boatload," he said, laughing.

"So, I see you were a karate champion, Sensei," Miguel asked, looking at the trophies in the corner of the room.

"You don't have to call me 'Sensei' every time," he replied. Y/N ignored the conversation, thinking about Sam's party. Usually, he would be there right now. If she wasn't such a... he thought. He resented Sam for how easily she had thrown him away, as soon as she gained a small amount of popularity, she cast him aside like a ragdoll.

"What about you? Does your family care about you getting beat up?" Sensei asked him, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Well, they barely care about my existence, so probably not..." This was met with confused looks from the others. "I haven't seen them in two months. Kind of skipped town and left me behind. They still send me money and pay for my rent."

"All right, well, stop standing there. Get back to training," Sensei told him, cutting the awkward silence that followed Y/N's statement.

The next day was Monday, which meant back to school for Y/N. Y/N was sitting with Demetri and Eli at lunch when he saw Miguel on the other side of the cafeteria, looking lost.