Always Been You- Eli Moskowitz

Chapter 32- Hurting

The air inside the Cobra Kai dojo still felt thick with the tension that had settled there after Sensei Kreese's announcement that Cobra Kai was going on offense. The class had barely recovered from the shock of it. Students still whispered to each other in low voices while stretching along the edges of the mat, glancing occasionally toward the center of the room where Robby Keene now stood. The afternoon sun filtered weakly through the dusty windows high along the walls, throwing long beams of light across the worn red mats. Sweat, leather, and cleaning chemicals lingered in the air, and the quiet squeak of bare feet shifting against the mat echoed through the room.

Michelle Diaz stood near the front of the class with her arms folded tightly across her chest, her posture stiff and defensive. She didn't try to hide the scowl etched across her face as she watched Robby. Seeing him here—wearing a Cobra Kai gi, standing where a leader should stand—still made her stomach twist with anger. Every time she looked at him she saw the moment her brother had fallen from that school railing, Miguel's body hitting the staircase below, the horror of watching paramedics rush him away while she stood frozen in shock.

Next to her, Tory Nichols rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms behind her back. She seemed calmer than Michelle, though there was still a restless energy humming beneath her movements, like a storm cloud waiting for the right moment to break.

Across the room, Kreese stood quietly near the office door, his hands folded behind his back as he observed the students with the patient stillness of a predator studying its surroundings. His eyes flicked between them all—measuring, evaluating—before finally settling on Robby.

Robby cleared his throat and clapped his hands once, the sound snapping through the room sharply.

"Alright," he said evenly. "Everyone line up."

The murmuring died down as the students moved into rows across the mat. Michelle reluctantly dropped her arms and stepped into place beside Tory, though she kept her gaze fixed on Robby with open hostility.

Robby began pacing slowly in front of the class, his hands clasped behind his back in a posture that looked eerily natural for someone Michelle had only known as the reckless kid who had nearly destroyed her brother's life.

"You all know how Cobra Kai fights," he began. "Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy."

Kyler grinned smugly from the second row. "Yeah. Obviously."

Robby barely spared him a glance.

"But the problem with that approach," he continued calmly, "is Miyagi-Do."

The room grew a little quieter.

Robby raised his arms and demonstrated a slow, controlled movement with his forearm, guiding an imaginary strike away from his body.

"Miyagi-Do isn't built around attacking," he explained. "Their whole style is based on defense. They wait for you to make the first move, then they use your own momentum against you."

He repeated the movement, slower this time, the circular block flowing smoothly through the air.

"These blocks are incredibly precise," Robby said. "They're not about stopping the attack. They're about redirecting it."

Michelle watched carefully despite herself. The motion was fluid, controlled, almost effortless.

Kreese stepped forward then, his boots pressing softly against the mat as he joined Robby at the front of the class.

"And that," Kreese said slowly, his voice low and gravelly, "is exactly why it can be used against them."

The class turned their attention fully toward him.