Cold Hearted ⭒ Cobra Kai

6.4.5

"I am not a woman, I'm a God. I am not a martyr, I'm a problem. I am not a legend, I'm a fraud. So keep your heart, 'cause I already got one."

~I am not a woman, I'm a god by Halsey~

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A/N: God, I loved writing this chapter. I hope you'll love reading it!

Also I didn't give Hawk the Amerihawk because A) I forgot tbh and B) it's ugly af.

Warnings: abuse, addiction, anxiety, homophobia, depression, domestic violence, grief, gun violence, language, panic attacks, sexual harassment/assault, violence, weapons, and other mature themes

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Third Person POV

That night, Johnny takes in a deep breath as looks at Mike Barnes' new furniture store. Then he walks in to the back room. After a talk with Daniel about what happened today, he decided to come down and talk out the final standings face-to-face. 

When Barnes sees Johnny, he stops the sander and takes off his glasses.

"Hey, man, I just wanted to talk. First off, apologize for, you know, stepping on your toes earlier."

"It's all right. I get it," Mike replies, a hint of cockiness in his voice. "I mean, it's gotta be hard for an alpha like you to battle a bigger one."

Johnny stares at Mike in slight confusion. Then, "Well, I wouldn't put it like that."

"You didn't come to apologize. You came to see if Devon made the cut," Mike realizes.

"And Z," Johnny nods.

"Oh," Mike smiles in amusement. "Look, I get it. She's your son's girlfriend." Johnny slightly frowns. "You have an emotional connection to both of them, sure. But that's why you brought me in, right? To put biases aside."

"But are you? Unbiased?" Johnny questions. "Did they make the cut?"

"No," Mike says. "As a matter of fact, Devon was at the bottom of my list. Is she new to karate?"

"They're all new to karate, but yeah, she's a quick study," Johnny admits.

"As for Ambrose, she's got the power and technique, sure," Barnes acknowledges, "but she's missing the discipline."

"You were out of line today. We both know what Silver and Kreese taught was bullshit," Johnny says.

"But does that change the fact that she's a loose cannon?"

"When she's pushed, sure, she gets aggressive," Johnny defends her. "I wouldn't say that makes her uncontrollable or is a bad thing."

"It will be at the Sekai Taikai," Mike says knowingly. "There are panels and panels of judges, countless international teams, and shit ton of rules. She could throw off your entire team."

Johnny narrows his eyes at the man, "Or she could be the next female champion."

Barnes sighs, annoyed that the man isn't understanding his point. So he tries something new, "She's a former Cobra, too, right?" Johnny nods. "Yeah, I can tell. It's amazing what I can tell about each of your students."

"No you can't. You don't know any of them or what they've been through."

"I know enough," Mike states. "I know you Miyagi-Dos are good at kata, mediation, that kind of crap. Doesn't exactly produce powerhouse students, though, does it? Take Devon or LaRusso's boy for example."