The Eagle Fangs stood around their "dojo" while their Sensei got ready for the lesson ahead. That usually meant going over the plan with Miguel and letting him do all of the setup. The tension didn't come from there, though, because Miguel liked working with Sensei Lawrence. Instead, it came from the new presence among the group - Devon Lee.
Those who knew her didn't want to talk to her in fear of saying the wrong thing and those who didn't know her didn't know how to talk to her. Perhaps none of them knew how to talk to a girl at all and therefore kept their mouths shut, which seemed fine by her. So the boys stayed close to each other, talking about whatever was on their minds, while Devon kept to herself as they waited.
Then Sensei Lawrence called for their attention and everyone quieted down. "Listen up! I want you all to meet your new teammate who is going to crush the female competition at the All Valley!"
Everyone looked at Devon and gave small greetings awkwardly. It was as if they'd never had a female teammate, or as if they couldn't remember the times they did. Eagle Fang had been so exclusively a guy's thing that they were unsure of how to act around her. She was one of them but at the same time not. It made her roll her eyes.
"Now, she needs to be run through the basics, so we're gonna train her in some of the basics while building your resilience," Johnny went on to say. He looked at them all firmly, nodding as if he'd said something profound. "Cobra Kai likes to pull dirty tricks, so you have to be ready for anything. That's why I'm having you-"
He was cut off by a door opening and slamming shut. The noise echoed through the abandoned factory he'd chosen for his dojo and brought everyone's attention to the side. Footsteps followed and from around a corner, KT walked into the meeting point of the dojo members.
"KT," Miguel said, a little surprised by her presence, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to join, can't you tell?" she asked.
She was wearing a pair of tight workout leggings and a snug tank top, all black. Her hair was pulled back into a tight, high ponytail. She also wore a red headband to not only keep the stray baby hairs at bay but soak up sweat. It wasn't her clothes that made her appear ready though, but the fierce look in her eyes.
Johnny smirked and nodded. "Good timing because we're just about to give Devon here a quick run-through of the basics."
"I don't need a starting course," KT told him firmly. She wasn't about to be told what she needed. She knew what she needed.
Sensei Lawrence gave her a scrutinizing look. "Look, everyone has to start from the beginning, and that includes-"
"I've already got my basics," she told him, crossing her arms. She stared him down, lips forming a fine line as she stood her ground. "If you don't believe me, let me show you."
Miguel looked apprehensive about the situation, looking worriedly at KT. "Are you sure you want to do this? We've been training a lot longer than you and-"
"No offense, Miguel, but I can hold my own," she told him. She looked at him, feeling a little bad for cutting him off the way she had. However, she wasn't there to be treated like a girl in a karate dojo. She looked at Johnny pointedly. "Let me show you."
He stared at her for a moment. He stared into her fierce, motivated eyes. Then he nodded and turned to Miguel. "Grab the mats. Hurry up."
Miguel nodded and grabbed Bert to help him. They grabbed the training mats Johnny had gotten half-off and laid them up on the floor. It was oblivious they were a little worn but they'd get the job done. It was better than the factory concrete floors at the very least.
Once they were set up, Miguel and the other students made a semi-circle around one side of the mats, then turned to Sensei Lawrence for future instruction.
He was watching KT closely. "Shoes off on the mat."
"I know," she said, kicking off her shoes and putting them to the side neatly. Then she stepped onto the mat and asked, "So, what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to fight," he told her sternly. He looked out at his students, looking them over one by one. "Penis Breath, get up there."
"Yes, Sensei," he said and kicked his shoes off. He left them on the wayside as if abandoned. He then stepped onto the mat and faced KT. "Wait a minute, you're Hawk's girl, right?"
"Yeah, I am," she said.
He looked at his sensei. "I don't know if I can do this."
"Fight me," she said, catching his attention. Her voice cut through the air sharp and smooth, making everything fall quiet. "It doesn't matter who my boyfriend is. He's not here."
He nodded, agreeing with her, though a little timid.
"Mitch, right?"
He nodded again. "Yeah."
She faced him and bowed. He stared at her for a moment, then did the same.
"You two gonna show me how much you respect each other or are you gonna fight?" Sensei Lawrence said. They looked at him and nodded. "Then get on with it!"
They took their fighting stances and waited for his official signal. The small talk was nice, good sportsmanship always made sense to KT but in this environment, it gave her another advantage; she was able to size up her opponent. Mitch was bigger than her, both in height and girth, but he was worried about hurting her because she was Hawk's girl.
"Fight!" Sensei Lawrence's voice echoed through the factory.
It was quickly followed by Mitch's grunt of assertiveness as he went for the first strike, which she dodged because he hesitated. She moved around him and waited for him to turn, quickly kicking and landing a hit on his stomach. He stumbled but stayed on his feet, giving KT the time to take a step toward him. She brought her foot up again and kicked him in the side, then in the stomach. He fell onto his back and she planted her feet on the ground, never taking her eyes off of him, knowing that she shouldn't underestimate her enemy because they were down. She wasn't going to give Mitch the advantage of catching her off guard.
The students watching were watching quietly, though Bert was and a couple of others were yelling for Mitch to get up, that he could do this, to "don't let her win." If she looked over, KT would find Devon with a certain light in her eyes as she watched quietly, observing the fight. The encouragements were enough, though, as Mitch brought himself back onto his feet and took an offensive stance.
He charged at her, no holding back. He threw his fists again and again and again, but she blocked each of them as he sent them toward her. Finally, she caught one of his arms and used it to push him away from her. Then she spun fast and kicked him hard, knocking him back. Then she swept his legs from under him and he hit the ground with a loud thud. He groaned loudly, turned onto his side, and curled up.
She stood tall over him, watching, waiting, but he didn't do anything. He didn't try to get up again and Miguel called the fight. Once it was officially over, KT looked over at Sensei Lawrence. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well?"
He stared at her, a mix of confusion and amazement. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She smirked but it was short-lived as she went back to the seriousness she'd entered the building with. "So, what are we doing today, Sensei?"
He clapped his hands together and grabbed everyone's attention, even Mitch as he picked himself up off the floor. "Dirty tricks and how to handle them. Cobra Kai is gonna try everything they can to throw you off their game. Miguel, get the guys ready."
He slapped Miguel on the shoulder and he nodded, going to the guys and leading them a short distance away while Johnny talked to the girls. It was a quick rundown of the basics that KT found herself nodding along to and blocking out. It was muscle memory to her now, everything she'd already learned from Eli. She didn't need to hear it again because she already knew she was good at them.
Then Sensei Lawrence took up too karate belts. "Now tuck your good arm in and hold still."
He tied their dominant arms to their bodies almost as if they were in slings. KT had little to no wiggle room and it was a little uncomfortable but she imagined that was part of the point. He led them over to the others, who were similarly restrained, and he had them line up. Miguel joined their ranks.
"Now, I'm gonna put you through the wringer today. It's not going to be easy but that is because Cobra Kai won't make it easy! You're all going to feel the burn!" he said, looking at his line of students. When he got to Miguel, he motioned him forward. "Except for you, Diaz."
"What?" he asked incredulously.
"Tournament's right around the corner, can't have you getting hurt," Johnny said. Miguel begrudgingly followed the order and stepped out of line. He went to stand with his sensei again, but he didn't look too thrilled about it. He got a pat on the back. "You'll be my co-sensei today."
That's not right, KT thought, lightly shaking her head. It was then that she noticed no one had tied up Miguel's arm and she recognized the preferential treatment their Sensei had for her friend. He's gonna hurt him in the long run.
"Devon, Bert, get up here," he said, calling them forward.
They stood between the sensei and co-sensei and the other students, facing each other. When the fight started, Sensei Lawrence gave pointers to them about fighting with one arm in case Cobra Kai dislocated their shoulder. Devon was closing distance and Bert was backing up. Devon went for a kick and missed, prompting Johnny to tell her what went wrong, which she quickly followed through with and learned from her mistake.
When it was KT's turn, she ensured she had her balance before going all in. She blocked a few of his attacks with her good arm before faking out Tyler with a jab before striking his side. Then she dealt the final blow with a hard kick to his stomach. He doubled over until he dropped.
Johnny clapped loudly from the side and yelled, "Good job! Keep it up!"
The next dirty trick was less obvious as they moved on to what seemed like normal one-on-one sparring. However, just as Mitch seemed to be winning, Sensei Lawrence threw sand in his face. It effectively blinded him and he held his eyes, trying to get the stinging to stop. Sensei told him to use his other senses and once that was thrown out into the air, Mitch tried to focus on the fight. It only led him to nearly knock himself out by running into a sturdy metal shelf when his teammate dodged his punch.
This is a madhouse, KT thought as she watched Mitch get dragged to the side for a break. She looked over at Miguel to gauge his reaction to all of this, but he only seemed concerned that he wasn't included in the "wringer" of exercises his sensei had set up for the day. It was sad to see him sad. This was all he wanted after all, and at the end of the day, KT was certain he'd proved himself already. He could be doing everything that his teammates were doing.
After a few more rounds of throwing sand around like they were in a sandbox, they moved on to their final lesson of the day, but only the guys sans Miguel were lined up for this one. As they stood shoulder to shoulder, KT and Devon were on either side of the line of boys and were ready when their sensei called for them to start. However, what they were instructed to do didn't feel right.
"There's no trick too dirty or blow too low for them," Johnny said, walking behind the guys. "We have to be ready for anything."
He looked at KT and Devon, who were a little apprehensive but nodded to him anyway. They took their fighting stances on their respective ends of the line, facing their male teammates, who looked like they were scared, about to be sick, or some sad mixture of both. They braced themselves as the girls started kicking. Devon went straight for their crotches, going down the line rather quickly and shaking off her guilt before she got to the center. She punctuated each hit with a loud "Ha!" that echoed through the factory.
KT, on the other hand, was sending a strong kick to their stomachs before bending her knee and changing the trajectory before swiftly kicking them in the balls. She remained quiet while they groaned and went to grab their stomachs first, making them forget about her actual target until it was too late. They all dropped to the ground and as Mitch watched all of his buddies fall, he got more and more scared.
The worst part of his day was that he was KT's to deal with. As she came to the end of the line, to him, he shook his head in a desperate attempt to get out of this exercise. She did not grant his wish, seeing her mini mission through to the end despite his continued torture throughout the day. She kept her face neutral and breathed through her nose, then kicked him in the gut, then the balls.
Mitch fell to the ground with a loud groan. "My McNuggets!"
KT grimaced, feeling bad but not so bad that she apologized. If anything, it should be Sensei Lawrence who was sorry for putting them through this harsh lesson. He had at least warmed then in the beginning. The wringer was intense.
He watched the floor as his students held themselves, heaving and almost crying. "If you feel like you're gonna vomit, swallow it!"
At that, KT tuned him out. She didn't want to hear about any of the manly advice he had to give them after he was the reason they got kicked in the groin. However, she was soon pulled back into the swing of things when he clapped her on the back.
"You did great out there, kid. You're a natural at this," he said, awkwardly patting her back. She let him until he decided it was enough, two pats too many. "You've got some serious power with your kicks but you should be ready for anything, so I want you training your arms too."
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Sensei," he corrected.
She offered a smile. "Right, Sensei."
He nodded proudly. Then he turned to walk away, but she stopped him when she noticed everyone else was packing up to leave - at least those who had picked themselves up off the floor.
"Sensei Lawrence, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.
He turned back to her and gave her his full attention. "What about?"
There were a lot of things she could say to him, but she only had one pressing matter on her mind. She kept her voice low so it would hopefully only be a conversation between the two of them. "About Miguel."
"What about Miguel?"
"Excluding him today wasn't the right move."
He fixed her with a stern look but she stood tall, taking it but not receiving it. "Look, I don't know how they do things on the track field, but here I call the shots. He didn't need to be a part of all this today."
"Well, as a team captain, I know what's good for my track team, I'd like to think I can apply that knowledge here. I'm a leader, too, and leaders don't exclude any of their teammates for any reason," she told him.
He shook his head and she knew he was hearing her but not listening. "Look, he's been through a lot. He still needs to take it easy after what happened."
"You mean the accident at school," she said and he nodded. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips into a tight line. "Don't treat him differently just because of that. Giving him special treatment isn't going to help him."
"It's not special treatment. He just needs to be careful after his recovery. He-"
"I was in that accident too," she cut him off. She stared at him for a long time, watching his eyes soften and his lips part. He wanted to say something but didn't, and she wished he had. "I had to deal with that, he has too, and believe me, he's stronger for it. You're coddling him and if you don't stop now, he won't be ready for the tournament."
With that, she turned and left him with that to think about. She didn't want him to resist her thoughts and ideas. She wasn't talking to him as a student, she was talking to him as Miguel's equal. Someone had to say it to him, now the ball was in his court to do something about it.
~~~
What do you think of KT joining Eagle Fang Karate? How's this going to play out?
What do you think will happen next? Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns?
Also, side note, Happy Birthday to Jacob Bertrand 💜💜💜 Yay!