"So, are we going to get the karate pajamas, too?" Miguel asked, eyeing Johnny's unusual attire.
"Quiet!" Johnny barked, causing Y/N to instinctively cover his ears.
"Damn, that was loud," Y/N complained, still wincing from the noise.
"The student only speaks when spoken to. Is that understood?" Johnny demanded.
"Yes," Miguel replied, but Johnny remained silent.
"Yes, sir?" Y/N asked.
"You will always address me as 'Sensei.' Is that understood?" Sensei Lawrence corrected them.
"Yes, Sensei," Y/N and Miguel replied in unison.
"These aren't pajamas; this is a gi, and you'll get one when you've earned it. All right, are you ready to begin your training?" Sensei Lawrence inquired. Y/N glanced at Miguel.
"Yes, Sensei," they both shouted back before being swiftly taken to the ground. Y/N's head thumped against the ground, causing dizziness.
"What the—" Miguel began.
"Is going on?" Y/N finished.
"Lesson one, strike first. Never wait for the enemy to attack," Sensei Lawrence declared, leaving the two newcomers puzzled.
"You could have given us, like, a warning," Miguel pleaded.
"Yeah, man, I could have seriously injured myself," Y/N added, gingerly touching the back of his head.
"Quiet! We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. On the street, in competition, a man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy. What is the problem, Mr. Diaz?" Sensei Lawrence asked, noticing the inhaler in Miguel's hand.
"There's no problem, Sensei. You punched me, and I have asthma, so..." Miguel started before the inhaler was snatched from his grasp and thrown against the wall.
"Not anymore. We do not allow weakness in this dojo. So leave your asthma and peanut allergies and all that other stuff outside. Is that understood?" Sensei asked.
"Yes, Sensei," they both replied, feeling defeated.
"Cobra Kai isn't just about karate. It's about a way of life. Take that first lesson. Striking first is the initial step towards victory. Okay, like when you're at a party and you see a hot babe. You don't wait for some other guy to go talk to her first, do you?" Sensei Lawrence challenged the pair.
"Hell no," Y/N replied.
"I mean, I've never been to a party, so..." Miguel's response was quite different.
"Big surprise. All right, look... striking first is about being aggressive, all right? If you're not aggressive, then you're being weak, and you don't want to be weak. You want to have courage." Sensei Lawrence explained once more.
"Don't you think you're using a lot of gendered language?" Miguel asked, while Y/N decided to stay out of it.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Johnny demanded.
"Oh, my guidance counselor says that certain words perpetuate a sexist worldview that can be triggering—" Miguel started to explain but was cut off.
"Quiet! From now on, you won't listen to your guidance counselor. You're going to listen to me. Is that understood?" Sensei Lawrence insisted.
"Uh, yes, Sensei," Miguel replied.
"Now, stop yapping like little girls and give me 50 push-ups on your knuckles," the Sensei ordered.
"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.
"Miguel!" He shouted, catching the boy's attention.
"Is it cool if I sit here?" Miguel asked as he stood at the table.
"Ooh, sorry, the table is really blowing up right now. I can put you on the waitlist, but it's probably next semester at the earliest," Demetri joked.
"Okay," Miguel turned to leave.
"No, I'm kidding. Sit," Demetri replied, chuckling.
"Miguel."
"Demetri. This is Eli, he's a man of few words. And I guess you and Y/N have met?" Demetri said just as a group of girls walked past, catching Miguel's eye.
"Dude, don't torture yourself. Those are the rich girls," Demetri told him.
"Do you ever talk to them or...?" Miguel asked.
"Oh, yeah, all the time. We hang out after school. Make out, give each other hand jobs. Eli here is the homecoming king. Gets laid more than anyone. Isn't that right, Eli? But in all seriousness, Y/N dated one last term, before she got popular. Samantha Larusso," Demetri told him, causing Y/N to look down at his plate.
"What happened?" Miguel questioned.
"Well, she got popular. Y/N didn't, so she dumped him," Demetri replied.
"Oh, sh*t, Yasmine's looking at us. Probably just making fun of me," Eli said quietly.
"I don't think she's making fun of you. I mean, just because they're hot doesn't mean they're mean," Miguel responded.
"I don't care if Yasmine is the meanest girl at school. I'd kill all three of you just to get her to spit in my face," he said, causing Y/N to give him a weird look.
"Yeah, well, if you don't make a move, you're never going to have a shot with her," Miguel replied.
"True, but I'll also never suffer a humiliating rejection like my guy over here," he said, nudging Y/N, who simply stayed quiet as his anger seemed to rise. "I'm at peace with my depression. The last thing I need to be is suicidal. What are you doing?"
"Striking first," Miguel responded as he walked over to the girls' table.
"See you later, 'Rhea. Tell Y/N Sam and I said hi," Kyler told him as he walked toward the table. After school, Y/N and Miguel went to the dojo. Sensei had set up two dummies for them.
"You can't strike first if you don't know how to strike. The cobra strike is composed of two parts, the lunge which requires the use of the whole body, and the bite, which is everything that happens after you make contact, all right? You don't stop here where the knuckle hits the bone. You punch through the bone, like the guy you really want to hit is standing behind this asshole. All right?" He explained using the dummy. "Strike here, you bloody his nose. Strike here, you break his teeth. Strike here, you could severely damage his trachea. Obviously, that's only for extreme situations. All right, line up. Focus. I want you to practice. Keep practicing. Punch through the dummy."
Y/N and Miguel started punching the dummy, both going lightly, while Sensei took a phone call. He later returned.
"You're both doing it all wrong. What do you want, those kids at school to keep dumping sh*t on your heads? You want all the girls to think you're a pair of losers? Because you can stop your training right now and you can walk outside and let the whole world know you're a pair of losers. Or you can plant your feet, look your enemy in the eyes, and punch him in the face! Picture your enemy." Y/N and Miguel both thought of Kyler. "All right, you have a picture in your mind? What are you going to do?"
Y/N and Miguel struck the dummy hard.
"Again!" He shouted, "Are you losers?"
"No, Sensei!" The pair shouted back, hitting the dummy hard again and again.
"Hey Sensei, is there any particular way you want us to wash these windows?" Miguel asked.
"No, I don't give a sh*t. Whatever's easiest. You know what? Just go clean the toilet, and we'll call it a night. Okay. And do that one on your hands and knees," he laughed as Y/N and Miguel headed to the bathroom. Y/N heard shouting from outside, so he went to investigate.
"Hey Sensei, everything okay-" Y/N stopped speaking as he walked out of the bathroom, "Larusso."
"Sensei? Y/N? What happened to you?" The man across from Sensei asked.
"Your daughter happened," Y/N said, raising his voice.
"What... You and Sam were great together," Mr. Larusso said, confused.
"Until she decided to dump me for a bully," Y/N replied. Mr. Larusso was at a loss for words.
"You and me, this isn't over," he said as he left pointing at Sensei Lawrence.