𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 ~ T. Nichols

Mercy

Theo gently tapped to the beat as 'I Want It All' by Queen played in the AirPod of his left ear as he stood near the entrance to wear the All Valley tournament would take place. Ever since he punched Miguel he had been avoiding him like the plague, not to mention he had been trying to tell the class for a week that he was already a two-time All Valley champion, but no one seemed to listen.

"Yo, Miguel, calm down, man," Hawk tried to calm the boy down, who was busy punching the air.v"Save some for the tournament."

"Hey, don't even bother," Theo said, standing between Hawk and Aisha. "If he wants to have his ass handed to him because he blew himself up before the tournament, let him."

"He's been super aggro ever since the breakup," Aisha told him.

"Well, where's sensei?" Hawk asked, looking at both of them. "The tournament's gonna start soon."

"He'll be here," Theo and Aisha nodded.

"I don't know about that," Bert spoke up.

"What are you talking about?" Theo asked, putting his AirPod back in the case.

"I saw him last night at the mini mall. I was buying... a carton of milk," Hawk and Theo shared a look. "When I heard him in the parking lot, yelling.

"Well, why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Aisha asked him.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just so used to seeing him drunk, it didn't seem like that big a deal.{

"Well, we're here, and he's not. So it's officially a big deal," Hawk shook his head. "What if something happened to him?"

"Like what?" Aisha and Theo asked at the same time.

"I don't know," Hawk shrugged. "Like he drove his car off a cliff, or he bought a gun and blew his brains out."

"Don't be stupid," Theo shook his head, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"No, sensei would never kill himself," Aisha agreed. "It's too pussy a move."

"Whatever. I mean, we're here. We're gonna have to do it without him," Hawk sighed.

"Do what without me?" Johnny said from behind them.

"Sensei," Aisha said in shock.

"We didn't think you were gonna show up," Hawk added.

"I may not always win, but I never back out of a fight," said Johnny, fist-bumping Theo.

"Great," said Miguel, shrugging. "Let's sign up."

"Not yet," said Johnny, motioning for them to follow him into the building. "There's one more lesson I have to teach you," they gathered in a circle with Johnny walking in the middle of them. "You've all learned to strike first, to be aggressive, not be losers. I've taught you to strike hard, put every ounce of your power behind everything you do. But I haven't taught you the third rule of Cobra Kai..." said Johnny, looking mainly at Theo as he said this next part. "No mercy. The older you get, the more you're gonna learn that life isn't fair. You wake up one morning feeling great, and then life throws a spinning heel kick to your balls. Takes a big steaming shit in your mouth. You get an F on a test. You get suspended. You fall in love with a girl, and some other dude comes and steals her away."

Theo smirked, covering his mouth to hide the laugh escaping his lips.

"Your car gets set on fire. Just when you think things are going good, everything falls apart. That's how it goes. Life shows no mercy, so neither do we. We do whatever it takes to keep our heads above water. We do whatever it takes to keep moving forward. We do whatever it takes to win!" Theo nodded. "Remember who you are. You're badass. You don't give a shit. You kick ass. You're Cobra Kai!"