LXIII. Heartbreak Weather
When Odessa arrived at the dojo, she felt some relief that her dad's car wasn't there. She didn't see any of her Senseis cars, actually, which made her wonder what they were doing today. What she did see was Robby and she held her breath as they made eye contact. "Hey, Dess." He greeted first with a small smile.
Robby now being apart of the team made things slightly awkward. They were on good terms. Odessa didn't have a problem with him like others did, especially Eli, which made her nervous to think about. "Hey, Robby." She said back with a smile as well.
He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts. He could feel the awkward tension that was still between them. "So, uh. . ."
She cleared her throat. "I'm really glad you're back." She said out loud.
His eyes widened in the slightest. "Yeah?"
"Of course I am. I'm glad the feuding is all over. I just hope all of us being together goes smoothly." She hoped.
Robby nodded. "Yeah, I totally agree."
When they entered the backyard, Eli spotted them from where he was standing with the guys. His face fell slightly but it was noticeable. To Odessa, anyway. "Let's hope there's not another mall fight part 2." Robby said as a joke.
She laughed slightly. "Crossing my fingers." She replied with raised her crossed fingers.
From across the backyard, Oliver watched Eli's facial expression change five times while he watched the pair have a conversation. "I can literally see the wheels turning in your head, dude."
Grayson came up behind him and slapped him on the back, making Eli flinch. "Yeah. Are you worried that your girlfriend's ex is here?" He teased him.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not worried. I just can't believe that piece of shit's on our team." He spoke bitterly.
"Oh, so not worried. Just bitter." Oliver pointed out and he and Grayson laughed. Demetri nudged his ribs.
Miguel rolled his eyes at them. "All right. Relax. Okay? He wants exactly what we want. Gonna be okay."
"What's gonna be okay?" Odessa voiced when she joined them.
Their heads turned to her. "Nothing, babe—"
"Eli's bitter that Robby's apart of the team now." Demetri interrupted, causing Oliver to slip out a loud laugh.
"I'm not bitter!" Eli snapped.
Grayson pinched his fingers together. "Only slightly bitter."
Odessa smiled slightly and leaned into Eli, her arms going around his neck. "You have nothing to be worried out. Robby's doing the right thing. Right, Miguel?"
Miguel quickly nodded. "Right."
"I'm going to find Hailey. Don't start anything." She warned and patted Eli's cheek before walking off to go stand with Hailey.
Hailey paused her stretching and smiled at her friend. "Morning, blondie." She noticed the discomfort on her face. "Uh oh. What's that look for?"
"I'm kind of worried about Robby being here. It's like the boy still have a vendetta against him. Especially Eli." Odessa admitted.
"Dess, Eli loves you. You love him. He and everyone else here knows that Robby can't come between you." Hailey assured her. "So stop worrying, okay? We have bigger fish to fry."
"You hate fish."
"I also hate being here when I could've booked a hair appointment for this day, but, one step at a time."
Chozen whistled and it grabbed all of their attention. "Line up!" He shouted and everyone huddled together in front of him.
"So, where are my dad and Johnny?" Sam spoke with her hands behind her back.
"And my dad?" Odessa added, cringing slightly.
"Not here." Chozen answered them both.
Grayson's eyes widened. "Are they dead?"
They all looked at him like he was crazy.
"What? No."
"Jesus, Grey." Odessa exhaled and whacked him on the arm.
"Sorry! Intrusive thoughts."
"Today, you train with me." Chozen moved on. He shouted something in Japanese. "Attention." He shouted again in Japanese. The teenagers remained still. "Bow."
They bowed to him.
"Cobra Kai gaining ground. We must prepare. Come."
He moved out of the way and revealed a table of weapons.
"This is gonna be badass. Check out that throwing knife." Odessa heard Mitch say to Chris from behind her.
"Now, we learn Yanbaru Kuina," Chozen told them.
"What is that? Like, some top-secret karate move?" Chris asked with a hopeful smile. "Like a throat rip?" He imitated slicing his throat and he choked.
Odessa and Hailey chuckled. "No. It is bird. I'm English called Okinawa rail. Endangered. Cannot fly." Chozen went into detail.
"Hence, endangered." Demetri stated.
Oliver patted his back. "Thanks for that clarification, babe."
The Sensei pulled something wrapping in cloth from under the table. When he took off the cloth, the students saw a tray of eggs. "So these are the real eggs?" Asked Miguel.
"No. Trader Joe's. $3.29."
"For eggs? Damn, my mom needs to shop at a different store." Hailey blurted out. "She bought a whole carton of eggs at Vons for six bucks."
"Go when there's deal. Worth every penny." Chozen told her with a smile. "Take egg." He instructed them all.
Eli and Miguel started to pass out the eggs. Odessa took one and examined it. "Sooo, what are we doing exactly?" She questioned.
"Are we about to have a egg war?" Asked Oliver.
Grayson gasped and leaned forward to see him. "Oh, shit. Fifth grade rematch?"
"What happened in fifth grade?" Robby asked them, his eyes narrowed.
"School field day on the soccer field. Mrs. Tucker ran the egg war. Gray hit me in the face with an egg and I got a shell in my eye." Oliver explained. He shook his head. "Had to wear an eyepatch for three days."
"That's when he had to get glasses." Odessa added in and sent him a funny grin.
"Yeah. Made me look like a fucking need. No offense, babe."
Demetri's jaw dropped open.
"No egg war. Yanbaru Kuina must protect egg." Chozen interrupted. "From Kume Shima habu. Poison snake. You must do the same." He picked up the hour glass and turned it around, the sand now falling. "Begin your preparation."
"What are we protecting them from?" Asked Robby.
"From me." He grabbed his weapons and waved them around while yelling. He shouted again in Japanese.
"Oh, shit!" Grayson said loudly and took off running. The students spread out around the dojo.
Christian followed behind Johnny and Daniel into the prison. His skin had been crawling all day. On the drive there and as he looked around, he almost felt nauseas. "Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" He voiced out loud.
"Yeah, maybe this was a bad idea." Johnny agreed. "I'm not if Chris shouldn't be here—"
Daniel raised his hand, cutting him off. "You think I want to be here? But Amanda's right. If anyone knows what Silver's up to, it's Kreese."
"Who's to say he'll even help us? He's never helped us before." Christian said with a scoff. He sat in the visitation room and glanced around at the inmates with their families. His skin continued to feel like it was crawling the more and more he thought about seeing Kreese.
"Hopefully, this place has taken him down a few pegs. Maybe he's ready to talk." Johnny said with hopefulness.
"I doubt it."
"Sure he's had a rude awakening. Old man in a place like this. I almost feel sorry for him." Said Daniel.
"I don't—"
"I hope he rots while he's here."
Johnny and Christian looked at each other and Daniel looked between them. "I said almost," he stated. ". . . Maybe not quite that far."
Christian hadn't seen John Kreese since he was eighteen years old. But every memory of the days he spent in Cobra Kai still lingered, the good and the bad. Somehow the bad always managed to cut deep inside him. Maybe it was because all Christian knew was bad. Even when he had good, like Johnny and his family, the bad always managed to eat him alive. And seeing John Kreese just made the feeling worse.
His eyes shifted to Johnny. Then, they shifted to Daniel. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"You should be thanking me for getting you out of your cell," said Daniel.
Kreese's eyes finally landed on a quiet Christian, who's hands were locked together on the table. Then, he realized. "Christian Beaumont, is that you?" He said out loud then laughed. "Wow. It's been years."
Christian shifted uncomfortable. "This was a bad idea." He said to the other two.
"Guys, I know there's a lot of bad blood here, but the fact is, we have a common enemy," Daniel played peacemaker. "Silver's planning something and we need to figure out what it is."
"He doesn't know jack shit. He's been caged up in here the whole time." Johnny sneered.
"I know exactly what Terry's planning." Kreese stated, matter of fact.
Christian's straightened up slightly.
"But if you think I'm gonna help you, then you two don't know jack shit." He continued. He looked at Christian again. "And you. What part do you play in this? If I remember correctly, you disappeared."
He tightened his locked hands together even more. "You don't know jack shit, so stop acting like you do." He jeered with a hateful stare. He turned to Johnny and Daniel. "I shouldn't be here."
"You have a right to be here, Chris." Daniel stated firmly. He looked back at Kreese. "Look, if you know what Silver's planning, why not tell us so we can stop him?"
"As if you even could. You've already failed even after I gave you a lead." Kreese said back.
Daniel nodded slightly when he realized. "The newspaper clipping. I should've known it was you. Who helped you get that to my house?"
"I got my ways."
Johnny and Christian looked at each other again.
"Yeah, well, following it led me into a trap. Silver blindsided me."
"Well, that wasn't my plan. But it was a nice consolation prize." Kreese with an arrogant smile.
Daniel glared at him and Johnny held him back before he could lunge. "Now you know why we can't trust him. Alright, we should leave him where he belongs."
"I don't belong here. I'm innocent."
Once again, Christian scoffed. "Innocent?" He repeated the word and they looked at him. "You're many things in this world John Kreese but innocent isn't one of them."
The corner of Kreese's mouth twitched. It went silent between all of them. Christian stared at the man with anger. "It's been a long time, Christian," he repeated what he said earlier. "Tell me. How's life been for you?" He taunted him.
Glaring, Christian lunged forward but Johnny quickly held him back. "Hey, hey, hey!"
Heads turned in their direction and Christian's face went red.
"Chris, stop!" Johnny almost shouted.
He broke out of Johnny's grasp and stormed out of the room. He pressed his back against a nearby wall and inhaled and exhaled deeply to the point he felt like he was going to pass out. Anger and resentment went hand and hand and they battled one another in Christian's mind. He could kill Kreese if he wanted to. He deserved the opportunity. John Kreese put him through hell. He put Johnny through hell. He deserved to rot in a prison cell. The world would be a better place without him.
As Chozen got more and more people out of the game, the number of students were decreasing. Oliver stood slumped with his arms crossed, egg yolk covering his hoodie. "Well, this blows." He huffed.
Demetri put a hand on his shoulder. "I told you trying to climb the roof wasn't a good idea." He told him.
"It wasn't my fault he threw a weapon at me and made me fall." The red head scoffed and rubbed the back of his head, which still hurt from falling on the ground. "Dudes got eyes like a fucking eagle."
Grayson showed up with dirt covering his clothes. They all watched him breath heavily as he made his way to the sparring deck. "Okay. Maybe trying to dig a hole wasn't the best idea."
Chris gave him an odd look. "Ya think?"
They stood around miserably as more of their teammates got out. Robby came over and joined them with a pouty expression. "How'd you get out, Keene?" Asked Oliver.
"Tried to dig a hole."
Grayson threw up his hands. "See?" He expressed dramatically.
Eli was the next to get out of the game. He came into the backyard and joined them on the sparring deck, right next to Robby. He tried to ignore him. "Has anyone seen Dess?" He asked them.
"Nope. She's still as hidden as ever." Oliver answered. "She's always been the best at hide and seek."
Grayson nodded. "Yeah. When we were kids, she hid inside my dad's chicken coop. Couldn't find her for like two hours."
"How'd he take you out?" Asked Robby.
Eli gave him a look. "Shut up. Don't talk to me."
"Here we go again." Demetri muttered to himself.
"Dude, if this is about the mohawk, I'm sorry. But if anybody knows how Cobra Kai can turn you into an asshole, it's you."
Oliver sucked in a breath. "Uh oh. Fourth of July might be early this year."
"Oh, so I'm an asshole?" Eli threw at him.
"Yeah, well, let's see. Uh, you attached me, Sam, Oliver, and Odessa at the mall. Y-You broke Demetri's arm. You trashed this entire dojo. You slut shamed your own girlfriend—"
That got under Eli's skin. "Don't talk about her!"
"Guys! Guys!" Grayson shouted over them.
"Gosh, you two are so immature," Hailey's bold voice cut them off. Everyone looked over to see she had gotten out of the game. She rolled her eyes at them. "Do we really have to be having the same conversation over and over again?" She questioned as she stood in front of them. She clasped her hands together and pointed between the two boys. "You were an asshole and you were an asshole." She pointed at Eli. "You turned into a raging psycho and ruined your own relationship." She pointed at Robby. "And you went to juvie and ruined your own relationship. But everything worked out how it was supposed to. Everything's okay now. So can we please move on and stop bringing my best friend into every petty argument you two little boys have?"
It got really quiet. Everyone's eyes flickered between the three of them. Grayson looked proud. Robby and Eli gave each other the side eye but still didn't say anything to each other.
"Hailey's right. Like always," Demetri chimed in, making her smile. "You're both ex-assholes now. Great. But can we focus on the issue at hand? There is a madman out there using weapons on us."
"Who's even left?" Asked Chris.
Oliver looked around and everyone who was on the sparring deck. "Looks like Sam, Miguel, and Odessa. Where the hell is she?"
Johnny know how hard seeing Kreese again was for Christian. He thought it was hard for him but Chris endured more torture in Cobra Kai then him or anyone else in the dojo had. He had the right to be angry. When he stepped outside into the hall, he saw Christian standing there, leaned against the wall with his head titled back. "You okay?"
Christian lifted his head and exhaled again. "Yeah, I guess."
"You don't have to lie to me, Chris. I know you better than that." Johnny told him and went and stood beside him.
He sighed. "I thought I could do it. But, seeing him is like someone's dragging a knife across my skin. It fucking hurts."
Johnny nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to go back in there. I understand even if Larusso doesn't. Nobody else has to know but me. And Thalia, of course. But you're a lot stronger than what you think you are, Christian. I've always known you to be. You've faced a shit ton of more obstacles than Kreese. Don't let me hurt you again."
Christian looked at him again with the same vulnerable blue eyes he had since high school. He always felt so weak. So lifeless, like he wasn't a real man. What kind of real man leaves his family? What kind of real man just takes off like he did? What kind of real man's afraid to face his past like he was?
But Johnny was his best friend. Through all the bad shit, he was always there for him. Christian nodded slightly. He followed Johnny back into the visitation room.
When Sam and Miguel got out of the game, Chozen followed them out of the dojo. "Pathetic." He spat. "Not grasp the concept of lesson."
All of the students stood on the sparring deck, looking disappointed in themselves.
Chozen noticed someone was missing. "Ai, where's Dessa-son?"
As they all looked at one another and they looked around the large backyard, none of them could spot the blonde. "I don't know where she is." Hailey said out loud."
Then, they heard the sound of rustling and a figure jumped down from the tree above them. Oliver shrieked and clutched onto Demetri. Odessa stood straight and a smile appeared on her face, her egg clutched in her hand.
"Alright, Dess!" Grayson praised and they clapped for her.
She looked over at them and Eli winked at her properly, making her smile widen. She faced Chozen and he stood in front of her with his hands behind his back. She almost felt scared, not knowing what to expect, until he bowed at her. "Good work, Dessa-son." He praised.
She smiled again.