Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 38: It's Me and You

Happy Hispanic & Latin Heritage Month to all my Latines!! I wrote this story for y'all (it's for everyone but it's especially dedicated to the Latines). I think I might be the only Salvi here but today is also El Salvador's Independence Day so here's a song from my mother country lol ^ LATINO GANG ❤

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Daniel and Rosalía anxiously walk into the bonsai shop. Ah, man, I'm not ready to disappoint him, the girl thinks when she sees Mr. Miyagi sweeping. The pair shares a look and Rosalía nods, urging her boyfriend to speak up. They turn back to the man and Daniel calls, "Mr. Miyagi?" The man turns around, dropping the broom when his eyes land on the destroyed tree in Daniel's arms. He stares in shock, the couple staring back with pure regret on their faces. "Daniel-san," the man softly utters, approaching the boy. "Oh... the- the, uh, the trunk's split. I- see? I- I just, uh... I put the roots in peat moss but they got saltwater on them, ya know? And I washed it off," Daniel rambles, nervously stuttering.

Mr. Miyagi takes the tree and walks to a table. "Will you be able to save it? I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm- I'm sorry," Daniel desperately apologizes while he retrieves a bucket from the other table. Rosalía remains by the entrance, silently watching the two men. She feels bad for both of them. Daniel keeps talking as he takes the bucket to Mr. Miyagi. "I... I just figured, you know, maybe we could sell it so we wouldn't have to close the shop. I didn't want it to be my fault your dream didn't come true." Mr. Miyagi places the tree in the bucket and Daniel assists him in fixing it.

"And I know whoever would buy it would take good care of it. Maybe even better care than yourself, you know?" he babbles. "Tape, tape. A wide one," Miyagi voices, looking at the other table. Rosalía rushes to the table and hands it to Daniel. "That's so stupid. How can someone take care of it better than where you left it? I just didn't mean for this to happen," the boy continues as he holds the trunk together for Mr. Miyagi. Rosalía frowns and looks at the floor, feeling awful about how upset Daniel is. "Hold," Miyagi orders him, focusing on taping the trunk.

"Rosalía told me this was a bad idea and I didn't listen. I should've listened. I'm sorry, please forgive me," the boy pleads. "Miyagi forgive you," the man replies, not ripping his eyes away from the tree. I can't tell if that was sincere or not, but he is a very forgiving man so I hope it was, the girl wonders. "You do? I'm such an idiot. Is it gonna be okay?" Daniel babbles. "Ah, depend. If root strong, tree survive," Mr. Miyagi explains. Daniel is about to respond when a new voice interrupts him, "Hey, uh, where do you want these bonsai trees?" Everyone turns around and sees a man holding two trees in each hand. Rosalía gapes at him, she knew Mr. Miyagi would come up with a solution but she didn't think it'd be this fast.

"Uh, over there on rack, okay. Thank you," the older man says, pointing across the room. "Trees?" Daniel questions, puzzled. "Peat moss, peat moss," Miyagi voices, ignoring him. Daniel goes to the other table to fetch the moss. "Trees? What? W-wha- what did you do? What, did you buy these?" he asks. "Hai," the man confirms. "With what??" Daniel questions as he approaches him. Mr. Miyagi takes the peat moss from him and begins pouring it into the pot. "Sell truck," he answers. I was right, Rosalía thinks. She sighs when she eyes her boyfriend, knowing he's going to explode.

"You sold the truck?"

"Hai."

Daniel sighs and slouches before turning and walking away. His girlfriend watches him, waiting for him to blow. "Well, why didn't you tell me that's what you were gonna do?!" he reacts. "I wake up this morning, you gone. I call Rosalía-san's house but she gone too," Miyagi calmly replies. Daniel feels his guilt multiply. "Damn it! Damn it! Why am I so stupid?!" he shouts, slamming his elbows onto the table behind him. Rosalía approaches him and places a hand on his back, soothingly rubbing it. Daniel doesn't move, staying hunched over on the table. "No worry, Daniel-san. Everything work out. Everything okay now," Mr. Miyagi assures him.

Daniel shakes his head. "Mr. Miyagi, I signed to fight in the tournament," he confesses. This makes the man turn his head. "Oh, shit," Rosalía murmurs, feeling the tension rise. Mr. Miyagi stays silent for a moment, making the girl turn to him. They make eye contact and Rosalía's eyes soften when she notices his disappointed expression. He slowly turns back to look at the table and asks, "why?" Daniel instantly yaks, "why? Why? Why? I don't know why. Because I'm not you, that's why. Because I don't always have the right answers." He straightens up and makes his way over to the man, who's gone back to focusing on the tree. "We were at the bottom-"

Rosalía immediately grips his arm and cuts him off. "Okay, Daniel? Daniel, hey," she speaks, getting him to stop talking. "What?" he questions, looking at her. "Why don't I explain it? Hmm?" she suggests. The boy sighs and nods his head. The girl smiles kindly at him and gently pushes him back so she could stand next to Mr. Miyagi. She turns to the older man and begins explaining. "It was extortion," she bluntly states. "Extortion?" Miyagi repeats, confused. The girl nods.

"Yeah. We were down in the pit where the tide comes in and those perros [dogs] who stole our stock showed up and pulled our ropes up so we couldn't get out. They refused to pull us up until Daniel signed the application and the pit was about to fill up with water. So in a moment of panic, Daniel signed it," she summarizes. She glances at her boyfriend, who vigorously nods. "I know I made the wrong decision but what else was I supposed to do??" he claims. Mr. Miyagi simply says, "understand." Rosalía nods. It's a good thing I explained it. "You do?" Daniel hopefully asks.

"Hai."

Daniel steps closer, making Rosalía move back to give him room. "Listen, Mr. Miyagi, I gotta be honest with you. I don't stand a chance against this guy unless you train me," Daniel admits. "Understand," Miyagi says again, nodding. "W-w-well then, you'll train me, right?" Daniel inquires. Mr. Miyagi picks up the tree and turns to walk away. He glances up at the boy and states, "Daniel-san, Miyagi always train you." Daniel sighs in relief. His girlfriend, on the other hand, can sense a "but" coming. "But for tournament... cannot," he finishes. The girl's jaw drops as she stares at the man as he saunters off.

"Cannot?" the boy asks in disbelief. He follows him while Rosalía stays behind, still in shock. "Cannot? What? What do you mean, cannot? Mr. Miyagi? Why not??" he demands. He stands in front of the open door, gazing after the older man. He suddenly spins around and furiously kicks the yellow bag on the floor behind him. Rosalía sighs when she sees this, knowing he's quite the hothead. The boy glances at her and his eyes soften. He sighs as he shuffles over to her, wrapping his arms around her. He's always found comfort in her arms when he's upset, and he definitely needs it now.

Rosalía circles her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry. I should've listened to you. I always screw up when I don't listen to you, I should've learned that by now. None of this would've happened if I had just listened. God, I'm so stupid," he sadly apologizes. Well, at least he finally realized it and apologized, the girl thinks. "You're not stupid... okay, maybe a little," she pipes up, making her boyfriend chuckle. They pull away just enough to look at each other without letting go. "Just... when we don't agree on something, just consider my opinion, okay? Instead of just staying set in your own ways. That's all I ask," she tells him.

Daniel gives her a sweet smile and nods. "Of course. You know I do value your opinions, right?" he clarifies, hoping she doesn't think that he doesn't care. Rosalía nods, returning the smile. "I know. You're just really stubborn," she replies, giggling slightly. "Yeah," Daniel mutters, chuckling. "And about the tournament... if he doesn't want to train you, I'm sure we can figure something out," she claims. The boy sighs, sadness taking over his features. "Hey," Rosalía whispers, taking his face in her right hand. This makes him meet her eyes and she continues, "you know I'm here for you, no matter what. That hasn't changed."

Daniel's eyes brighten and he gleams at her. "How lucky am I?" he suddenly voices, placing his hands on the girl's hips. "You were there at my first tournament and a year later, you're still here for my second and final one," he says. Rosalía feels her face heating up as a broad grin forms on her face. "Yeah. I mean, time after time... it's me and you," she softly answers. Daniel's smile widens as he stares at her lovingly and replies, "the way it should be."