CHAPTER 6: THE COBRA AWAKENS
POV: Ivyn Mikaelson
The strip mall on Vineland Avenue looks smaller in person. Sadder. The Cobra Kai sign is faded, letters barely visible against weathered wood. But I'd know it anywhere. This place is burned into my memory from a screen, and now it's real, solid, waiting.
Johnny Lawrence stands outside the door, beer in hand at 2 PM on a Tuesday, wrestling with a lock that doesn't want to cooperate. He's thinner than I expected. Older. Broken in ways the show captured but couldn't fully convey.
This is the moment. Everything hinges on this.
[QUEST ACTIVE: JOIN COBRA KAI]
[Timing: Critical]
[Objective: Become Member #3]
[Reward: +10% XP gain for all martial arts training]
[Warning: Relationship complications imminent]
I cross the street in workout clothes, timing my jog to look accidental. Like I just happened to be running past. Like fate isn't compressed into this single moment.
"Cobra Kai?" I stop, breathing heavy from the run I actually did to sell the appearance. "Is that a karate school?"
Johnny turns. His eyes are red-rimmed, suspicious. "Karate dojo. And yeah, opening soon. Why, you interested or just being nosy?"
I make a show of considering. Let silence work. The System says he responds better to people who don't fill every gap with nervous talking.
"I've been looking for a place to train. Boxing gyms are expensive."
"You ever study martial arts?"
"No, Sensei."
The title makes his eyes sharpen. Interest where there was only suspicion.
"I haven't even started teaching yet. Got one student—kid got his ass kicked, needs to learn to fight back."
Miguel. He's talking about Miguel.
"Sometimes that's the best motivation. When you're tired of being pushed around."
Johnny studies me. I can see him cataloging details—orphan lean, hungry eyes, the particular edge of someone who's known survival. He's looking for himself in me, whether he knows it or not.
"Alright. Classes start next week. Fifty bucks a month. I don't do participation trophies or safe-space bullshit. You want to learn Cobra Kai, you work for it."
"Yes, Sensei."
He nods once and goes back to the lock. Dismissed. I jog away, feeling the weight of a decision made, a path chosen, a lie about to begin.
[QUEST COMPLETE: JOIN COBRA KAI]
[REWARD UNLOCKED: +10% XP gain for all martial arts training]
[NEW PASSIVE: Cobra Kai Conditioning (+5% physical stat gains when training at dojo)]
[WARNING: Relationship Status - Sam LaRusso: Complications imminent. Manage carefully.]
Back at my apartment, I stare at my phone for twenty minutes.
Sam's contact photo stares back. Her laughing at some joke I made, genuine and unguarded. We've been together a month. New enough that secrets are betrayals. Old enough that honesty matters.
I should tell her.
The thought circles like a vulture. I should tell her I joined a dojo. That I'm training to fight. That her father's worst enemy just agreed to teach me everything he knows.
But if I tell her now, she'll ask questions. Maybe ask me not to join. Maybe tell Daniel, who will absolutely interfere. And I need to be in that dojo. Need to watch for Kreese's arrival. Need to guide Johnny away from his worst instincts. Need to be positioned to prevent the school fight.
The ends justify the means.
The rationalization tastes like poison, but I swallow it anyway.
I text instead of calling: "Weird question—how would you feel if I started working out more seriously? Thinking about joining a gym."
Her response comes fast: "Whatever makes you happy :) Just don't become a meathead lol"
I type and delete five responses before settling on: "No promises."
[DECEPTION IN RELATIONSHIPS DETECTED]
[EMPATHY: 63 → 58 (-5)]
[NEW SKILL DEVELOPING: COMPARTMENTALIZATION 0/1000 XP]
[Note: Omission is still deception. Consequences will follow.]
I close my eyes and accept the stat loss. Accept the new skill I don't want. Accept that I'm choosing this path knowing exactly where it leads.
"Physical pain is easier than emotional devastation," I think. "I'll deal with the consequences when they come."
The System offers no judgment. Just data. Cold and clinical and honest in ways I'm not.
First class is everything I expected and nothing I was prepared for.
The dojo smells like old sweat and fresh paint. Miguel's already there, nervous energy barely contained. And Aisha Robinson—quiet at school, frequently bullied, carrying herself like someone who decided being small was no longer an option.
Johnny stands at the front in a gi that fits perfectly, and when he speaks, it's with authority I haven't seen from him before.
"Cobra Kai isn't about points in tournaments or respect bows. It's about winning. About being the baddest son of a bitch in the Valley."
He makes us run. Laps around the dojo until my lungs burn. Until Miguel vomits in the corner and has to lean against the wall, gasping. Until Aisha's face is red and her legs shake.
[ENDURANCE TEST: In Progress]
[Current Cardio: 23/100]
[Warning: Approaching exhaustion threshold]
I push through. Because stopping means failing, and I can't fail here.
Horse stance next. Thighs burning. Arms extended. Johnny walks around correcting posture with rough hands and rougher words.
"Lower. You think an enemy's gonna wait while you find your balance? Lower!"
Pushups until my arms give out. Situps until my core cramps. Everything hurts in ways I've trained for but can't quite prepare for.
And then, finally, technique.
"Basic jab," Johnny demonstrates. Fast. Clean. Snapping back to guard. "This is your foundation. Everything builds from here."
He corrects my form, hands positioning my shoulder, adjusting my hip. "Tighter. Snap it. You're not asking permission, you're taking territory."
The phrase will become familiar. But right now it's revelation.
[SKILL UNLOCKED: JAB]
[Current XP: 0 → 35]
[Category: Punches]
[Level: Beginner]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: FRONT KICK]
[Current XP: 0 → 20]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: HORSE STANCE]
[Current XP: 0 → 40]
[TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE]
[Strength (Upper): 19 → 20]
[Endurance (Cardio): 23 → 24]
[Willpower: 68 → 71]
After, covered in sweat, muscles screaming, Miguel approaches.
"Dude, you're at West Valley, right? Why didn't you tell me you were joining?"
"Wanted to see if I'd survive first day."
He laughs. Genuine relief that he's not alone in this.
Aisha joins us, breathing hard but grinning. "So we're actually doing this? Learning to fight?"
We nod. Three lost teenagers finding purpose in a strip mall dojo. Standing at the beginning of something we can't fully understand yet.
"A war," I think. "We're standing at the beginning of a war, and only I know it's coming."
[RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED:]
[JOHNNY LAWRENCE: Sensei-Student (Neutral, Observing)]
[AISHA ROBINSON: Dojo Companion (Friendly)]
That night, every muscle screams. I complete my Daily Quest through stubbornness and spite. The System logs it all, XP bonuses stacking with Cobra Kai conditioning for growth I need desperately.
Sam texts: "How was the gym?"
I stare at the message. Three words. Simple question. Minefield of implications.
"Good. Intense. Feeling it now."
"Don't overdo it. You're perfect as you are <3"
The heart emoji makes guilt sit heavier in my chest. Because she trusts me. Completely. And I'm lying with every carefully curated response.
[RELATIONSHIP STATUS UPDATE:]
[SAM LARUSSO: Girlfriend (Committed but Incomplete Transparency)]
[Trust Level: High (Based on false foundation)]
[Deception Accumulation: Moderate]
[Warning: Truth revelation will cause significant damage. Manage timeline carefully.]
I fall asleep reviewing kata videos on my phone. Techniques I haven't learned yet but will. Combinations that exist in Johnny's teaching and my foreknowledge.
The dreams come like they always do now. The school fight. Miguel falling. Blood on linoleum. Sam's face when she discovers the truth—not about Cobra Kai, but about everything. Who I really am. What I really know.
I wake at 4 AM gasping, t-shirt soaked with sweat.
Training starts early. Before the sun. Before thought can catch up with action. Pushups until failure. Miles until my legs forget how to work. Kata I'm teaching myself from videos because I can't afford to wait for Johnny's curriculum.
Physical pain is easier than emotional devastation.
I repeat it like a mantra.
And I train until I believe it.
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