Forbidden Things || Cobra Kai

21 Divided

Demetri wasn't second guessing joining Miyagi-Do, he just wished the decision came with less pain. So far, he's gotten three splinters and kicked more times than he can count on both hands. He didn't feel any changes happening to his body, the whole muscle memory thing feeling like a bust. However, he continued with the lessons with Mr. LaRusso's encouragement. It was free anyway, so it wasn't hurting his mom's wallet. Plus he wasn't in long lasting pain like he had been when walking out of Cobra Kai.

He was laying in the hammock in his backyard, reading the last issue of Dungeon Lord before the next one came out soon. While he'd much rather be inside, the shade from the trees would have to do since his house smelled heavily of spices and boiled eggs. He'd come home to her cooking, which was not unusual, but he didn't want to be questioned about his lessons. So, he grabbed an ice pack, a drink, and walked into the backyard before she could ask.

The comic was short and he should have been done with it a while ago, but he liked observing all the pictures. He'd always liked taking his time to look at all the art when he was a kid and that had yet to change. Comics were such a great experience because he got to examine the scenes as they played out on the page. On the second (or eighth) reread it was still exciting. It would never get old.

He heard some sort of commotion from the otherside of the fence, which broke his concentration as he was reading a monologue from one of his favorite characters. Looking over, he was only met with the tall fence that divided his yard from the Harris-Bishop's yard, which only made him think of Mr. LaRusso's fence that he had to paint. He couldn't see over the fence, but from what he heard, it sounded as if someone had just entered the other yard very loudly.

It quieted down, so he went back to reading. However, it only took about a minute or two for someone to start grunting. It made Demetri turn pink as certain images entered his mind, because they were distinctly feminine grunts coming over the fence and meeting his ears. He had a feeling he knew who was there, which made his stomach do a flip.

He tried to get out of the hammock quietly, wishing to go inside to get away from the sounds and thoughts invading his mind. However, he struggled and nearly fell onto the ground. He managed to catch himself and stand up straight, at which point he could kind of see into the neighboring yard.

For months, that yard had been barren, the grass only kept alive because the realtors really wanted to sell the place. Now he could see a number of things back there that were new and intriguing; a grill, a table set with a large umbrella shading it, a few large terracotta pots that sat empty along the other fence. It was refreshing to see something new on the other side, but he didn't see anyone in the yard. It piqued his interest and he forgot all about going inside.

He walked over and once he got close enough to actually look over the fence, Demetri's suspicions of who was grunting in their backyard were confirmed.

Frankie held a mean glare as she punched the air hard. She seemed to put all her weight into each strike, letting out low grunts with each blow. Though she had no target, she had excellent precision from what Demetri could see. He felt bad for whatever, or whoever, her imaginary enemy was because the look in her eye honestly sent chills through him.

However, it wasn't the bad kind of chills, like the ones he got when mentally preparing himself for mockery or a schoolyard beating. This one went straight to his gut and he had no idea why.

He didn't know for how long he stood there, watching Frankie, but he knew better than to test his luck. Being as well aware of the Cobras training schedule as he was, he knew she had just come home from today's session. So why was she going straight back into training mode? Shouldn't she be relaxing and cooling down? Didn't she need a break? All those questions and more only fueled his growing worry, for himself and for her, as Frankie was always on offense and not somebody he wanted to cross. But he wondered why she was still putting herself through the sweaty, hard workout...