[SEASON 1: EPISODE 8]

IN the LaRusso house, Anthony, Katherine and Samantha were all sitting on the couch. They were all on their phones, Anthony playing a game, Katherine scrolling through TikTok and Sam looking at photos of her and Miguel. And when the door bell rang, Anthony shot up and yelled, "Grandma!" He ran over and opened the door.

Katherine and Samantha also got up as Lucille LaRusso stood in the doorway. "Hey, cutie, give me a hug." She hugged Anthony and looked at Sam. "Oh Sammie. When are you gonna stop getting so pretty?" Anthony and Lucille pulled away and her eyes landed on Katherine. "Kathy, baby, look at you, all grown up into a woman." She smiled widely when Daniel came down the stairs. "There are those baby browns. Get over here." Lucille and Daniel hugged each other, "Hey, Ma." He said as Lucille kissed Daniel's head.

Louie came in as well and they all went outside to have lunch. Katherine sat across from Samantha. "You know it's bad enough that this monster is teaching kids. Now he's somehow convinced the All Valley Board to let Cobra Kai back in the tournament." Daniel said as he cooked the sausages, glancing back at Lucille.

"Oh, that's horrible. They can't let them back. Oh, they're nothing but a bunch of bullies." Lucille said. Sam and Kat shared a look, knowing that they had friends who were in Cobra Kai. "They can't all be bullies, right?" Sam asked.

"Trust me, sweetheart, you don't know the half of it. Those Cobra jerks made my little boy's life miserable. Tell them how they pushed you down that hill." Lucille said just as Amanda walked in, sitting down on the empty chair next to Samantha.

"Well, they've already heard it, Ma."

"I thought it was a cliff." Anthony looked at Katherine.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not the one who pushed him." Katherine scowled, noticing Anthony's questionable stare.

"You want pasta salad?" Amanda offered Lucille, holding out the box.

"Oh, no, thank you. I don't like that prepackaged stuff from the store. It's..." Lucille fake shudders.

"Oh, well, I would've made some, but I got home late from the dealership."

"Oh no. That's ok. I get it. It's tough being a working mom, but at least you have a partner. Remember how I used to come home from work and then started cooking from scratch?" Lucille bragged, and Katherine rolled her eyes at that.

"Yeah, Ma." Daniel sighed.

"You know, that son of a bitch has a lot of nerve entering the tournament. Especially after everything he's done to you. And you fixed his car for free. I don't know, man. I say we get the car back. You know, I could find out where he lives." Louie spoke, adjusting himself on the chair.

"Dad, what if Cobra Kai has changed? I mean, there's some kids from my school who are in it, and that doesn't automatically make them bad, right?" Samantha remarked, a hopeful glint in her eye.

"Yeah, I mean, my friends are in it, and as far as I know, they've only gotten better." Katherine added with a small smile.

Daniel looked between both girls with a look of disbelief. "Please, Cobra Kai will never change. Promise me you both will stay away from the kids who are associated with it. All right?" He looked at both of them.

The two sisters shared a look, nodding slightly but they both knew deep down that they wouldn't.

♡♡♡♡

SOON after they were done eating, they were eating dessert. Amanda had gotten up to take a phone call. "Hey, I heard you've gotten back into karate." Lucille said to Daniel with a smile.

"Yeah, it had been too long. There's this kid, Robby, who works at the dealership. We train together. Ma, I tell you, I just didn't realize I missed it so much. Missed him so much."

"Mr. Miyagi. He was so good to us."

"Oh, Ma, the best."

Amanda walked in and sat down. "Well, I just got a call from the dealership. Sheila just said that a couple of sketchy guys rolled up on motorcycles looking for Louie." She fixed her gaze on said man, a questionable stare lingering on her face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I met these bikers when I was at the auto convention in Vegas. We got hammered at the Palms. We were drinking boilermakers. It was a sick time. Anyway, long story short, when they found out who I was, we came up with this great idea. LaRusso Luxury Motorcycles." Louie explained casually.

"What are you talking about?" Amanda asked, exasperated.

"Relax, I just said we'd start with four, and then work our way from there."

"Louie, what did I say about using my name to make deals?" Daniel asked, looking over at him.

"I'm sorry, cuz. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Where have we heard that before?" Amanda said sarcastically.

"Hey, be nice. He just made a mistake." Lucille looked at Amanda. Here we go again, Katherine thought, lightly shaking her head.

"A mistake is forgetting to lock up work, which he has done several times. This is interfering with our business, so just stay out of it." Amanda retorted irritably.

"'Stay out of it.' Yeah. That's a very nice way to talk to your mother-in-law."

Daniel sighed at the two of them. "Ma, she didn't mean it that way. See, he's done this―"

"No, I meant it that way, ok? Because if it wasn't for her, we never would've hired Louie in the first place." Amanda cut off Daniel, her voice raising slightly in exasperation that made Katherine raise her eyebrows at the scene unfolding.

"Amanda." Daniel said sternly at the same time Louie said, "hey!"

"He's family, and you always take care of family." Lucille raised her own voice at Amanda.

"We do take care of family. Because not only did we hire Louie, we also host Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter―"

"Host? Oh, come on. It's easy to host when everything is catered!" There was a hint of irritation in Lucille's voice as she glared at Amanda.

Amanda chuckled humorlessly, "is this about the pasta salad? What do you want, Lucille? Whatever you want, I will go into that kitchen and make it right now." She fumed, pointing in the direction of the kitchen all while staring at Lucille.

"Forget it." Lucille lightly shook her head in disbelief.

"If you're going to the kitchen, I'll take another Yoo-hoo." Anthony piped up.

"Anthony!" Katherine kicked his shin, shaking her head at his horrible timing.

"Ow." Anthony mumbled, kicking her shin back. The girl winced, holding her leg up to rub at the spot to make it feel better.

"Oh my god, Anthony, you make everything worse." Samantha said at the same time, dropping her fork down on her plate.

Anthony looked at Samantha with an annoyed glare. "Shut up."

"Don't say shut up." Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Don't say that word. I don't like that word." Lucille added. And then, everyone started arguing, talking over everybody.

So much for a nice family dinner.

♡♡♡♡

FOLLOWING day, Sam and Kat were resting by the pool area, after a stressful day of school. That is until they heard the bamboo ornaments rattling. Opening her eyes, she caught sight of Robby which made her smile. He was staring right back at her with a warm smile.

"Oh, hey." Sam said as they both stood up.

"Hi." Robby replied with a smile before looking at Kat again. "Hey, Katherine."

She smiled, "hi." The girl sent a small wave.

"Sorry, I was...  I was looking for Mr. LaRusso. He's been training me back here in the dojo." Robby said to both girls, pointing back in the direction of the dojo.

"Then I should thank you. He tried roping me into it." Sam smiled at Robby.

Robby laughed a little bit, "so you must be the other daughter he talks about all the time."

"I would hope so. I'm Samantha." She smiled.

"Robby."

"Oh, look at this. My current student and my former student. You know, if you wanna join us, Sam, there's still time." Daniel approached.

"I'm actually going to the mall with mom and grandma. But Kat can totally come with you guys."

Kat's head snapped to Sam, giving her a 'what the hell?' look. Sam smirked at her and in response, Katherine rolled her eyes. "Kat's coming? Great." Daniel said with a cheerful smile. "Just text me if there's any bloodshed. Robby, give me a hand with this. We're gonna take the SUV. Bye-bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, Dad. Have fun." Sam replied.

"It was nice meeting you." Robby spoke up.

"You too. And, uh... Good luck with the tree." Sam smirked.

"Robby, Kat." Daniel called out for them, gesturing for the two to follow him to the car. Katherine put on her tank top before she followed Robby. "Tree? What tree? Where are we going?" Robby asked, looking between them.

"Don't worry. You'll see." Daniel walked off.

Robby looked at Katherine, "Don't look at me." She put her hands in mock surrender before walking off as well, Robby hot on her trail.

♡♡♡♡

AS they were in the car, Daniel started telling a story. "When I was a kid, Mr. Miyagi took me to this beautiful lake up north to train. I tried to take Katherine and Samantha there once, but after the drought, it's become more of a puddle. So, I found this spot instead."

Daniel, Robby and Katherine were walking through the forest, when Daniel piped up, "you hear that? Hmm? You hear that? I want you to close your eyes and just listen." Robby and Katherine both did as told, closing their eyes. "What do you hear?" Daniel asked after a moment.

"Um... Nothing?" Kat said strangely as Robby laughed at her bluntness.

"Exactly. No phone calls, no internet, no family arguments. Just you and mother nature. That's why we're here. This is what Miyagi-Do karate is all about. "

Robby and Kat smiled, "come on." Daniel said and they both followed him. They both started practicing moves, following Daniel's every step.

"Ok, like I told you, make as strong front stance." Daniel instructed to Robby.  "When you throw, you're gonna twist your hips, snap the punch. All the power right here, in this one inch, ok?" Daniel demonstrated and they started doing punches just as he had said. 

Robby did the punches like a natural, and they continued doing the moves. After they were done, they were following Daniel deeper into the forest.

"Wow, I feel like, I'm, like, Jackie Chan." Robby broke the silence.

Katherine laughed, not noticing the way Robby stared at her side profile.

"I've got to admit, you're more of a natural than I was. But don't get too cocky, there's always another lesson to be learned." Daniel replied, snapping Robby out of his daze.

"Is that a Mr. Miyagi saying?" Katherine asked, quirking a brow.

"No, I just made that one up on the fly. Not bad, right?" Daniel looked at her with a smirk.

Katherine laughed in response while Robby asked, "so, we headed home?"

"You wish. Training ain't over yet. You may know the moves, but none of that matters unless you have balance." Daniel explained.

"I balance on my skateboard every day."

"I didn't mean balancing your body. I mean balancing your life. Look, Robby, I know it's hard growing up without a dad, believe me. Mine died when I was young, so I know. But when those bad feelings all weigh you down, you gotta search inside for the good stuff, you know, and just... Because then you can find some balance in your life. You understand? It's not easy, but, you'll do it." Daniel explained.

"Mr. LaRusso, I―I need to tell you something." Robby spoke after a short moment of silence.

"Sure. What is it?" Daniel inquired. Robby hesitated for a moment, "thanks for teaching me."

"No, don't thank me yet. You're about to hate me. Shed that duffle bag and get up on this tree right here."

"Come on. Find your balance. All right, now show me what we learned today. Let's start with a front kick." Robby did it like a natural.  "Not bad, try a round kick." Robby did that with ease. "Is this supposed to be hard?" He asked, glancing at Daniel.

"All right, hotshot. Show me a hook kick." Robby did it, but at the end, he fell down. Katherine rushed to him, asking if he was okay. He nodded, and Kat helped him up. "There it is. You all right?"

"Yeah. What do I do now?" Robby asked.

"You get back up, and you try it again. You let me know when you can do all the kicks without falling. Katherine here is gonna supervise you." Daniel started walking away when Katherine asked, "where are you going?"

"The Devils are playing the Islanders on the East Coast. I'm gonna move to a spot with better service." Daniel yelled out, continuing to walk away.

Katherine's mouth fell agape in disbelief, "what happened to no distractions?" She yelled out, holding her hands up in exasperation.

"Hockey doesn't count." Daniel shrugged. Katherine scoffed playfully, "of course he'd say that." Robby and Katherine both shared a laugh.

After Robby kept practicing, eventually, he started getting better, and soon, he did all of the moves without falling. "Good job. You did it." Kat praised. She thought of something for a moment before she spoke again, "About our lunch date, would you want to go tomorrow?" She asked nervously. Robby looked at her and chuckled softly, nodding. "It's about time. I'm down." He got off the tree and they both started looking for Daniel.

He was balancing on one hand, both feet in the air. "Mr. LaRusso?" Robby asked, making Daniel ultimately fall down. They both rushed to him. "I almost did it. Almost."

 "What were you doing?" Robby asked.

"One of the last things Mr. Miyagi ever taught me. The most powerful kick in Miyagi-Do karate."

"How do you do it?" Katherine asked, interested.

"I wish I could show you. Only Mr. Miyagi could do it. You have to balance your whole on one hand, which frees up two legs for the kick. I almost did it once when I was in my 20s, so the fact that I got this close today... Pretty damn awesome." He breathed out with a smile. "How'd you do on the tree?"

"I did all the moves without falling." Robby chuckled. Daniel looked at Katherine and she nodded, confirming that Robby did do all of the moves without falling. "Good. Now that you've mastered that, you're ready for the next challenge."

"What's that?" Robby furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Daniel jumped down from rock, "finding the car. This place is like a maze." Katherine and Robby chuckled, walking down the forest, trying to find the way out.

♡♡♡♡

ONCE they made it home, they started heading to the kitchen and what surprised Katherine was that Amanda and Lucille were getting along, and they were making dinner. Together. "How did they not kill each other?" She asked her dad and he shrugged in response, raising his eyebrows.

"Stick a finger in, tell me if it's good. What do you think?" Lucille asked.

"It's disgusting." Amanda joked.

"Oh, stop!" Lucille laughed out.

"It's delicious, what are you talking about? It couldn't get any better than that. What are you talking about?" Amanda and Lucille laughed together.

"Look who's here. Come on in." Lucille said, noticing Robby, Daniel and Katherine.

"Hey." Amanda greeted.

"Amanda and I are making dinner."

"Your mom made her famous chicken cacciatore." She placed the dish on the table.

"Yes, but with the help of your beautiful wife." Lucille complimented, giving a wine glass to Amanda.

"Oh, stop it." She chuckled out, clinking her glass with Lucille's.

"You owe me, big time" Samantha announced, walking in with a smirk plastered on her face. 

"Wait. How did you do it? Hey. You know what? I don't even care." Daniel approached the girl. 

Katherine walked to Sam. "How the hell do you have the skills to do that? I swear." She whispered to Sam, snatching the girl's glass of orange juice out of her hands.

Samantha chuckled, glaring at her playfully as she took another glass of orange juice from the table.

"I'm hungry. Hey, you hungry? You wanna stay for dinner?" Daniel asked Robby who was standing in the doorway awkwardly. He looked at Kat who nodded eagerly. "Uh, sure. Yeah, thanks." He smiled.

"Hey, Ma, where's Louie?" Daniel glanced back at his mom.

"Uh... he said he couldn't make it tonight." Replied Lucille, frowning a bit.

"Keeps getting better." Daniel drank his wine.

"Oh! Thank god." Katherine groaned out, making sure Lucille didn't hear. Samantha and Robby laughed at her antics.

♡♡♡♡

THEY were all sitting outside, enjoying dinner. Katherine was sitting beside Robby, who had the biggest smile in a while. "You had to have fallen off more than once." Sam retorted.

"Look, I slipped once, but you know, I caught myself and climbed back up, so that doesn't count." Robby countered.

"That actually still counts as falling." Katherine added, raising an eyebrow.

Robby looked at her with a playful glare and Katherine laughed. Robby smiled, loving the way her blue eyes would sparkle in the moonlight. "Yeah, that totally counts as falling!" Samantha laughed out.

"You got to tell them about the handstand." Robby looked over at Daniel.

"Oh yeah! And when Dad fell, I literally tried to hold in my laughter." Katherine laughed out. Daniel looked at her, his mouth agape, until he gave in, and nodded while laughing.

"I almost did it this time. I got this close." He used his index finger and thumb to make small pinch, indicating how close he was to making the handstand.

"It was incredible." Robby breathed out, the corners of his lips turning upwards.

"Uh-huh. How much did he pay you to say that?" Sam chuckled.

"Don't start with that." Robby pointed his fork at her.

"I think he payed, like, a thousand dollars? They were negotiating a lot. I almost fell asleep." Katherine said jokingly as Robby and Samantha laughed.

"See! I knew it." Samantha pointed her own fork at Robby. And so, they all enjoyed dinner together, talking and laughing. But little did they know, Miguel Diaz was witnessing the entire scene between Samantha and Robby, taking it in the wrong way.

♤♤♤♤

A/N: took about ten thousand years to write!!!!! but i enjoyed this chapter

(edited: 26/01/25)