little bird // r.keene

i. the champion.

The loneliness of feeling unseen by others is as fundamental a pain as a physical injury, but it doesn't show on the outside. Emotional loneliness is a vague and private experience. Not easy to see or describe.

Johnny knew what this felt like.

He was sitting in the office of the dojo, Wren in the other room training on a punching bag in the back, she had asked to blow off some steam before she went home. Johnny had asked why she didn't want to celebrate, he received a vague answer and moved on. Both were too drained, too tired to do anything else.

Wren grunted as she kicked and kicked again, harder and harder. Johnny had noticed how worn down the punching bags were becoming, he knew she sometimes trained at night, after training was over for the day but he hadn't realised how much practise she was putting in until he witnessed how Hawk and Miguel couldn't score one point against her. Not one.

Johnny knocked back the end of his drink and heard the front door to the dojo open and shut. He stood from his chair and poked his head through the doorway of the office.
"Miguel?" He called out, wondering if he had come to see him after today.

Despite her aggressive training, Wren heard Johnny call out and began to unwrap her hands and, like Johnny, walked around through the office to see who was at the door.

"Congratulations." An aged, deep voice said, Johnny took a few steps closer to the silhouetted stranger and Wren remained silent in the doorway. "You did what I always thought you could do." Said the man, "You won."

"Sensei." Wren said in a low voice, reminding him she was there all together and Johnny sidestepped so the man in the door could see the teenager, showing him they weren't alone.

"And it's all thanks to you." Said the man, taking a few more steps into the dojo towards Johnny and Wren. Her eyes flickered to Johnny, who just stared at the man. "What's your name, champion?" He asked, twirling what she thought was a cigar between his fingers.

"Wren, Wren Evans." She replied curtly, giving the man a cautious look.

"Wren, I think it's time you went home." Johnny intervened, his eyes fixed on the man.
"Yes, sensei." She answered obediently, not knowing what about the man that made Johnny so silent but understanding they had a past. A past Johnny may not want to share. She promptly gathered her belonging and walked passed Johnny, they exchanged a brief nod.

Will you be okay?

Yeah. I will be fine.

Though neither knew which had asked the question and which had given the answer. Maybe one, maybe the other, maybe both.

Wren pulled her bag over her shoulder and was about to pass the man when he cleared his throat abruptly, causing her to look up at him.

"You have enemies, miss Evans?" His words caught her off guard and he could see it on her face. He lifted one of his hands and gestured to his eye, by now the skin was purple and bruised and there was a straight cut on her cheekbone, "Your eye. You didn't get that at the tournament, you didn't even let your teammates come close to getting a point... Someone out there has it in for you, don't they?" His words were smooth, like sand falling through your hands.

"Yes." She told him, "Yes, I do have enemies." She said simply, narrowing her eyes, not entirely sure where he was going with this. Wren glanced back at Johnny, but he hadn't moved.

"Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." She didn't reply, "If you don't mind, I do need to discuss some matters with you sensei... Good night, Miss Evans." The man said and Wren looked from him to Johnny.
"It's okay Wren, I'll see you on Monday." Johnny said in a flat voice, no emotion, as if afraid to give something away.

"Goodnight." Was all she said before pushing her way through the glass door of the dojo and out into the night.

"I gotta say, it's nice to be at a victory party." Demitri said, piling up sauces on a nacho, looking from Aisha to Hawk and raising it to his mouth.
"Yeah, except you had nothing to do with the victory." Hawk told him, swiping the nacho and eating it himself.

"Yeah, did you see Wren out there, she was amazing!" Moon smiled as she set her drink back down. "I am right thinking you and Miguel didn't score one point on her, right?" She said innocently, looking over to Hawk who remained silent with his elbows pressed on the table's surface.

"Hey, where is she anyway? Hawk, you said she would meet us here." Aisha pointed out.
"She's not coming." He said simply, slinging his arm around the back of his chair, letting his arm sit comfortably behind Moon.

"Why not?" Demitri asked, between chewing another nacho. "She's the reason we won." He pointed out.
"She didn't let me or Miguel score one point, team mates don't do that to each other. We all should have been teaming up against Robby Keene and Xavier." He protested, leaning forward.

"Would you have done anything different if you actually could score a point on her? She won in the name of Cobra Kai, Hawk." Aisha told him.

"She embarrassed me and Miguel, he would agree with me." Hawk told them and Moon sat up slightly and began to look around the restaurant.

"Where is Miguel, his wings are getting cold." She pointed out and the four friends looked over to where Miguel perched on another table on his phone.

"El Serpiente, there you are." Hawk called out as he and Aisha trailed over to his table, Miguel set down his phone and let a sorrowful expression plague his face, one Aisha and Hawk found difficult to ignore.
"This is how you celebrate Cobra Kai's win?" Aisha asked, resting her elbows on the table whilst Hawk sat on the chair opposite to her.

"Why should we? The champion isn't even here." He said in a bleak voice, "And Sam blocked me."

"So, what happens when you get blocked? You counterpunch." Hawk said enthusiastically, "Except maybe don't yell at her drunk this time." He chuckled and Aisha threw him a warning stare to which he pulled back, "What? Too soon? Look, all I'm saying is don't give up." Hawk added encouragingly.

"What I don't understand is why would she come today, when she told me she wasn't, if she was just going to block me? Was she trying to give me false hope?" He asked his friends, his hands knotted on the table in front of them.

"Wren didn't tell you?" Aisha said suddenly and Miguel felt a sudden surge of guilt at the mere mention of her name. He felt ashamed for everything he had said to Wren that day, every last part. He knew he had been cold and distant, he had meant to be... He was resentful because of her apparent bond with Robby which she had kept secret, that she had seemingly chosen to side with him against her own team, against him as he thought they were best friends.

"Told Miguel what?" Hawk chimed in, leaning in on his elbows.
"I spoke to Sam after I was eliminated and we were just talking and I asked her what made her change her mind about coming today. She told me Wren had convinced her, she went to Sam's house this morning and told her to come because of how much it would mean to you." Aisha told them and she saw Miguel's shoulders visibly soften.

"Damn- Didn't see that one coming." Hawk said softly.