CHAPTER TWENTY:
COBRA KAI NEVER DIES
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Maddie stands next to Miguel in the old Cobra Kai dojo while Johnny stands in front of them. A wave of nostalgia washes over the LaRusso girl as she glances towards the Diaz boy. Memories of when the two had first met flooding her mind as she looks at him. A small smile forms on her face, glad that the both of them had made it this far.

Snapping the brunette out of her thoughts is the Lawrence man as he begins to speak, "This is where it all started." He begins, diverting his gaze to the entire dojo while he continues, "Diaz, you were my first student. And Mads, you were the first LaRusso I actually liked."

The two students laugh at the man's joke while he begins to slowly pace back and forth, "I taught you the style of karate that was taught to me. We've been through a lot of Cobra Kai bullshit since then. But none of that matters. Because this is our Cobra Kai."

Miguel and Maddie nod in unison, waiting for Johnny to continue his speech, "And tomorrow, we're gonna show the world that nobody strikes harder than us. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei!" The pair shout, causing a smile to form on Johnny's face, clearly glad to be back where it all began.

He slowly nods his head, looking between both students, "Good. Now let's show these international assholes how we do things in the Valley."

Once those words left Johnny's mouth, the training had begun. Maddie and Miguel started doing similar drills and training techniques from when Johnny had first opened the dojo, "Imagine your opponents face!" Johnny instructs, causing the both of them to punch and kick the dummy even harder than before.

After they were done with that exercise, they moved onto doing pushups on their knuckles, "Keep going, fifty more, fifty more!" Johnny yells, making both teenagers push through the pain as they feel the sweat forming on their foreheads, "Come on, don't be pussies. Let's go!"

Maddie's attention is drawn when she hears the bell to the door chiming, "Oh hell yeah! Now we're talking!" Johnny enthusiastically says as the LaRusso girl makes eye contact with her family. Daniel and Sam offer the girl a proud smile, watching as she continues training for the biggest fight of her life.

After the new equipment was all set up, Maddie and Miguel began blocking every ball that was thrown at them which helps improve their defense, "Nice!" Johnny exclaims, proud of the two for keeping up with his exercises.

It wasn't long after when all of her friends and teammates came in with piles of wood, "Alright, it's time to lay some wood." The Lawrence man instructs, causing everyone to stand around and hold a piece of wood in the air for the two to break.

"Ais," Maddie shouts, kicking the first wood in half that was being held by Bianca. Once it was snapped in half, she turns towards Sam before punching the second piece. She quickly spun around, a yell escaping her lips as her foot breaks Tory's board, adrenaline pumping through her veins when she does so.

After they were done with the boards, Miguel began practicing and training with Noah, Hawk, and Kenny while Maddie was with Bianca, Tory, and Sam. The LaRusso girl sends a kick towards the Nichols girl who blocks it with her forearm, "That's nice, that's nice." Johnny mumbles, circling the girls as he inspects the fight between them.

The brunette then turns towards her sister, shoving her attacks away which causes Johnny to speak up when he notices her defense was sort of lacking, "Hands up!" He tells her, earning a nod in response before using her Miyagi-Do techniques to block the rest of Sam's attacks. While also keeping her mind focused on winning that trophy to make her friends and family proud.

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After a long couple hours of training, Maddie finally made it back home. She pulls out her keys from her purse to unlock the front door to her home. A groan escapes her mouth when she drops the keys onto the ground which causes her to bend down to pick them up.

However as she does so, she hears movement from behind her, making the LaRusso girl instantly swing at the stranger who immediately caught her punch. The girl instantly relaxes when she sees Axel standing there. He gently lets go of her wrist before mumbling, "Guess I deserve that."

Maddie quickly shakes her head, disregarding the Kovačević boy's comment, "Axel I don't want to fight. I've had a long day of training and I really just want to shower and go to bed." She tells him, earning a slow nod from the boy before he speaks.

"I won't take long. I just need you to hear me out. Please?" He pleads, making the LaRusso girl inhale sharply before finally giving him the look to continue. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mads, for everything that happened yesterday." He pauses, earning soften eyes from Maddie before he continues, "But I need you to understand that I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice?" She asks, her eyebrows furrowing when she spoke and causing Axel to take a deep breath before responding.

"Sawyer threatened you. She said if I didn't listen to what Wolf had wanted me to do then she would hurt you again," He explains, making Maddie bite the inside of her cheek. Even though she didn't agree with his actions, at least it wasn't just because he wanted to win.

However, it didn't change the fact that he still hurt her friend. The LaRusso girl inhales sharply, thinking of the right words to say, "Maybe this is just a wake up call for us. We're from two completely different dojos who both desperately want to win tomorrow. So this...whatever this is." She begins, motioning between herself and the Kovačević boy before continuing, "It's over."

The Iron Dragons captain slowly shakes his head, inching closer towards the Miyagi-Do captain in front of him, "What if I don't want it to be over?" He questions, causing Maddie's heartbeat to rise as her cheeks turn a shade of pink.

The LaRusso girl looks down to the ground before taking a step back towards her front door, "Until you can show me that I can trust you again, there's nothing else to talk about." She tells him, making him nod at her words and understanding where she was coming from.

The two fall into an awkward silence as Maddie inhales sharply before breaking it, "Good luck tomorrow." She says, causing the brunette to slowly nod his head.

"You too," He mumbles, offering her one last smile in which she returns as she unlocks her front door and enters her house. As soon as Maddie was inside, her mind began filling of thoughts about tomorrow. She didn't know what to except from the Iron Dragons, especially after's Axel's confession. So now, she was even more nervous than ever.

Once she had taken a shower, she curls up in her bed, putting her headphones in and trying to drown out her own thoughts. The girl's music being so loud that she didn't even hear her own father knock on her bedroom door.

Daniel slowly creaks the door open after not getting a response, causing Maddie's head to instantly lift up which makes her quickly take out her earbuds, "Sorry, I didn't hear you knock." The LaRusso girl tells him, earning a slow nod in response as he goes to sit in front of her on the bed.

"Everything okay?" He asks, noticing his daughter's unusual behavior as he looks over her sadden facial features.

Maddie inhales sharply before placing her phone on her nightstand and turning back to face Daniel, "Yeah, I just spoke with Axel." She tells him, making her father raise an eyebrow as he waits for the LaRusso girl to continue. A sigh escapes Maddie's mouth before speaking, "He told me why he did what he did yesterday."

"So? Why'd he do it?" Daniel questions, causing Maddie to glance towards the turtle stuffed animal the Kovačević boy had gotten her when they first met.

A sad smile forms on her lips, "For me." She mumbles, making the LaRusso man furrow his eyebrows. Maddie notices his behavior and continues speaking, "Apparently Wolf is the one who told Axel to injury Robby. And Sawyer said if he didn't listen, she would end up hurting me instead."

Daniel's eyes widen, underestimating the Kovačević boy's feelings for his daughter. Of course he could tell something was forming between the two of them, especially when Maddie was in the hospital. But now, the LaRusso man could finally see what was blossoming between the two teenagers, love.

Her father inhales sharply, thinking of the right words to say in this situation, "Normally, I would tell you not to get involved with our opponents." He begins, earning a slow nod in response from Maddie as she glances back down towards her hands. "However...Mr.Miyagi once told me that there's no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher."

Maddie nods again at her father's words, waiting for him to continue his thoughts, "And it sounds like Sensei Wolf is just another prime example of that." He says, causing the LaRusso girl to remember the moment she had saw Axel getting hit repeatedly by his sensei.

"If Axel truly wants to learn from his mistakes, he'll prove himself. They always do," Daniel adds, thinking back to where his relationship with his former rival, Johnny Lawrence, first started out. The LaRusso girl smiles softly, knowing who her father was talking about when he spoke, "Now, how about we get some rest, okay? You've got a big day tomorrow."

Maddie slowly nods, getting under her covers and grabbing the plush turtle as she begins to get comfortable in her bed. Daniel gently kisses the top of her head, "Good night, Mads." He mutters before walking towards her bedroom door and turning the lights off to allow the LaRusso girl to slowly fall asleep.

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AUTHORS NOTE

Hey guys and welcome to chapter twenty of I Can See You !! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are ready for the final fights. Also, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who's been reading this story. I can't wait to share these last few chapters with you all.

Now, I did look over this chapter before publishing, but if there are any mistakes I should know about please let me know.

And don't forget to vote and comment as well, it helps me stay motivated to write, and it's fun to see all the engagement <33

— Brooke