Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 34: Terry Silver

Rosalía is inside Mr. Miyagi's house while said man and Daniel are in the backyard doing karate. She would love to be sitting outside with them but she knows it would distract her boyfriend, so instead, she looks through the open doors every once in a while, curious about what Daniel is learning. The phone suddenly rings, making her walk away from the door. She nears the phone and picks it up. "Miyagi residence," she says into the receiver. "Rosalía??" a woman's voice sounds from the other side of the line, making the girl's eyes widen in fear. Oh, fuck, she thinks.

"Um... hi, Mami [mom]," she tensely answers. "Y vos qué haces ahí? No tenés clases hoy? [What are you doing there? Don't you have classes today?]" her mother questions her. Rosalía internally panics. She can't get caught yet. "Fui a una pero la otra se canceló [I went to one but the other one was canceled]," the girl quickly lies. She nervously taps her foot, praying that her mom believes it. She knows her mother eventually finds out about everything but she really hopes to maintain this charade for as long as possible.

"Mm... sólo dos tenías hoy? [You only had two today?]" the older woman asks. "Sí porque hoy es miércoles. Por qué estás llamando? [Yes, because today is Wednesday. Why are you calling?]" Rosalía quickly changes the subject. "Quiero preguntarle a Mr. Miyagi si puede arreglar la estufa [I want to ask Mr. Miyagi if he can fix the stove]," her mom answers. Relief fills the girl's body, thankful that they moved on from the previous topic.

"Oh, está afuera ahorita. Quieres que le hable? [He's outside right now. Want me to call him?]" Rosalía asks, to which her mom agrees. She informs the woman that she'll be back before setting the phone down and heading outside.

When she walks out, she spots an unfamiliar man talking to Daniel and Miyagi. His back is turned to her as he continues making conversation and the girl slowly approaches, not wanting to interrupt them. She hears the man speaking but can't make out what he said. Judging by the look on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi's faces, however, she can tell it's something shocking. She stops a few feet behind the man, waiting for an opportunity to talk to Mr. Miyagi to open. "He's dead? What happened?" Daniel asks the man.

Rosalía eyes them all in confusion, wondering who died. "His doctor said it was cardiac arrest but I knew John better than anyone. Karate was his life. And after he lost all his students, i-it... it just broke his heart," the pony-tailed man explains. At first, Rosalía got scared when she heard the name "John" and "karate," thinking he could've meant Johnny Lawrence. However, after hearing the last sentence, she realized he's talking about John Kreese. Wow, I never liked the guy but it's really sad that he's dead, she thinks.

"John was a hero. He wasn't always like what you saw. He saved my life in Vietnam. War does something to a man... You had to have been there to know what I mean," the man continues. I guess that explains why he was like that, Rosalía thinks, lightly shaking her head. "Have been. Do know," Mr. Miyagi affirms. The man gives him a shocked look before asking, "442nd?" Miyagi firmly nods and responds, "hai." The man seems impressed by this. "Oh, man. More medals of honor came out of the 442nd than all of World War II put together," he claims, making Mr. Miyagi slightly grin and nod again. "I bet you've been there," he notes before glancing at Daniel.