No Mercy

Snitches get Stitches

It was an interesting and quite memorable week. The Cobra Kai squad had learned that Robby from Miyagi Do was indeed Sensei Lawrence's son. Miguel had spoke to him about it and it didn't affect how Johnny treated the dojo whatsoever. In fact they recently had a demonstration at the Valley Fest that interrupted the Miyagi Do's ice cold presentation. Of course this only made the rivalry between the two dojos greater and caused Sam and Miguel's relationship to crumble even further. Demetri was actually impressed by the performance they gave, especially Hawk's presence. He was courageous, strong and everything he wish he could be. At first he was startled by Hawk's behavior upon being yanked to the stage thinking he was going to get beaten up in some way. However to his surprise he was only there to hold a hard piece of wood which Hawk teared in two after an impressive flip. Demetri had always questioned Hawk's new behavior but in this moment he was in awe as he watched his best friend smile proudly as the crowd cheered and clapped for him. That was the moment that finally hit him. He should attempt to join Cobra Kai. This may not only toughen his demeanor but also potentially save their falling friendship. It was a challenge and a risk but it was definitely worth taking. Of course Demetri still had his list of rules when joining the dojo as that was inevitable.

It was a regular morning like no other. Demetri woke up early as usual to prepare for his daily activities. He was accustomed to waking up at an early time due to school even though it was summer break. Still, he liked to make the most of his day by waking up at a reasonable time. Demetri readied himself to go out and it wasn't a regular trip to the comic shop or of that kind. It was time for him to join the dojo. He decided to skip on breakfast as he was too nervous and butterflies formed inside of his stomach. Without too much hesitation, he exits his home and made his way to the deadly dojo.

Upon arriving he didn't expect anyone to be there other than Sensei Lawrence as it wasn't time for practice. Hesitantly he knocks on the glass door before pulling it open and poked his head inside calling out for someone. He sees nobody except for an old looking man appear from the back office. A great weight has been lifted off his shoulders upon not seeing Johnny.

"Oh thank God." A sigh of relief escaped Demetri's mouth. "I was a little afraid  you'd be the other guy." He slowly removed his bag and let it slide onto the floor. "... he's a little unhinged."

The man watches Demetri carefully as the teen accidentally steps onto the mat with his shoes on. Demetri notices the mistake and takes a step back. "Oh..." he begins to remove his shoes attempting not to fall as he hops on one leg at a time. "I saw your little demonstration at the Valley Fest." He managed to remove one shoe. "Couple of the guys have been requesting I come join the club." He finally removes his other shoe. "So, uh, I feel like it's time to give it another go." He tosses his shoes to the side before stepping on the mat making himself rather comfortable. "But I've got some ground rules. I prefer to take a flag-football approach at my karate training."

The man was not amused as he crosses his arms listening to Demetri.

"Ideally, learning to hit and kick without actually being hit or kicked." Demetri explained as he walks around the mat. "Part and parcel with that, I have a but of a thing about personal space. The other Cobras are just gonna have to accept that." Demetri stops as he notices something on the man's arm. "Wow! That is quite the tattoo." He takes a couple steps closer. "Oh, not to nitpick here, but I'm not sure it's anatomically correct." Gently but without asking he places his pale cold hands onto the man's arm where his tattoo was. "You see, the hood of the indo Chinese spitting cobra is much smaller and their pupils are actually round not vertical type your artist opted for. Demetri explains as kindly as he could to the elderly man. "You know, probably an easy enough fix to correct the..." As Demetri made eye contact with the man his previous nerves that he had lost came back. The man had an eerie yet unreadable expression that Demetri had to force himself to finish the sentence. He took a huge gulp before finishing. "...pupils..."

Before Demetri could take a step back, the old man struck first just like the dojo's motto. His big sharp fist connected to Demetri's nose cause it to make a crackling sound. Demetri fell to the ground nearly bumping his head on the hard floor mat. The room spun while ringing filled his ear drums, breath quickening as he attempts to go back on his feet. Demetri didn't hesitate to stumble his way out of the dojo without looking back once. He regains his proper vision and place his hand on his crooked nose. His hand traced his nose, as he pulls away a crimson color spread on his fingertips.

"Shit!" Demetri cried out.

"Shit!"

"Shit!"

Without turning his head once he bolts away from the dojo completely horrified that an adult let alone sensei had just physically hurt him. Was this where Eli was going to learn karate? No wonder he was changing so fast. Demetri needed to get Eli out of that dojo even if it was the last thing he did.

*timelapse*

The day went on and Hawk went to the dojo to practice like he usually does in the late afternoon. Hawk changes out of his gi, grabbing his phone as he exits the bathroom. As he walks he notices his phone had a bunch of notifications. To no surprise they were all from Demetri. Immediately, Hawk's happy expression changed into an irritated one.  Upon walking out the dojo he saw he had 10 missed calls, 7 text messages, and 2 missed video calls.

"This kid..." He muttered in annoyance.

He hesitated on whether or not he should call him back, but before he could make a decision his phone began to ring. Of course. It was a video call from Demetri. Hawk sighs as he taps the green button to see an extremly upset Demetri with some bandage on his nose.

"The hell happen to you?" Hawk rose his left eyebrow.

"Oh, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about!" Demetri spoke rather loudly causing Hawk to cringe slightly.

"Can you not yell?"

"Oh, I'm sorry did I hurt your ears?" Demetri responded sarcastically. "Next time I'll be more considerate of others while I have a broken nose!"

"Ugh," Hawk groaned. "What happened?"

"Some new Sensei at your karate class decided it was a nice idea to welcome a new student with a knuckle sandwich to my nostrils!" Demetri explained. "He literally just connected his fist to my nose bridge and broke it!"

"So, you got pushed around so what? Get over it." Hawk spat. "It's a karate dojo. That's the point."

"That's aggravated assault, Eli." The troubled teen replied causing Hawk to nod in disapproval. "I looked it up. That's a year in prison and a ten thousand dollar fine."

"Stop being such a bitch, Demetri." Hawks words stung like acid. "You know what happens to snitches."

"They get immunity?" It almost sounded like a question more than a statement.

"Snitches get Stitches." Hawk corrected.

"I have stitches!" Demetri retorted as he gestures towards his face. "I got several stitches!"

"Don't do anything stupid." Hawk warned him as Miguel appeared behind him."You'll regret it."

Before Demetri could even react Hawk ended the call. Again, his best friend ignored him and Miguel was in the picture. Demetri had a sour taste in his mouth, but he wasn't sure if it was because Hawk ignored his cries or because Miguel was taking up his best friend's time, again. Demetri angrily tossed his phone on his bed contemplating if Eli was even still his friend.

On Hawk's end, Miguel was asking him what had happened and he played it off as if Demetri was whining over silly stuff again. Despite, Hawk brushing off what Demetri told him thinking he was overreacting, he couldn't help but feel some strange emptiness in his stomach and a strong tug at his chest. Regardless, Hawk decided to pay no mind to it much longer and continued about his day.

Ahhh it's a super short and kinda lame chapter but I'm back! I'm so sorry this took forever but I got a new job and I work all day but I managed to make time and update! I'm gonna try to be more active here and consistent with my updates. I hope you all kinda enjoy it even though it's short. Anyway I hope everyone is okay and have a great rest of your day!