❝ trouble in paradise already? ❞

―

PRACTICE AT A JUNKYARD WAS BY FAR SENSEI'S MOST INSANE IDEA.

Nonetheless, Achara and Decha stood with their fellow Cobra Kai members, surrounded by wrecked and out of commission cars. Personally, Decha thought it was far too early and bright outside to be having practice especially on a weekend. Achara had to quite literally drag him out of bed by his ankles. She had to push him down the stairs and fight him to get in the car as if he were a child. He was still wearing his pajamas as he stood next wedged between Achara and Hawk.

He squinted up at their sensei as he stood on top of van and stared at him as he cracked open a can of beer, chugging it down. Decha kinda wished he had one at that moment.

He let out a big yawn as Sensei Lawrence started talking. "You've trained hard. You've gotten stronger, tougher, faster. You've done your best. You're ready for this tournament, am I right?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

He threw his can of beer at them. "Wrong! Your best ain't shit! If you wanna win the All Valley Under-18 Tournament, you gotta give me better than your best. Which is why from now on, you're gonna get my worst. Do you understand?"

"What were we getting before?" Decha whispered to Achara, receiving an elbow to the side.

"Yes, Sensei!"

Decha just rolled his eyes. If all their other training sessions weren't him at his worst, Decha didn't even want to imagine what his worst was.

"Are you losers?"

"No, Sensei!"

"Are you nerds?"

"No, Sensei!"

"Are you sure?"

"No, Sensei!"

Decha's face scrunched up as he looked around. He still thought the whole "Yes, Sensei" and "No, Sensei" thing was weird. Now, it was just sad. Sensei face-palmed and Decha was right there with him.

He jumped down from the van and instructed them to all go find a tire and bring it back. They all scurried off like little ants to search for tires while Decha just stood there for a moment, looking around. Right in front of him, sitting leaned up against the van Sensei had been standing on just moments before was a tire. He took no more than a few steps and grabbed the tire, looping his arm through it. Sensei watched him carefully as he did so. Decha walked back to where he was standing and dropped the tire at his feet.

He crossed his arms on his chest and stared at his Sensei. He stared back at him, looking as if he wasn't sure if he should be impressed that he had found a tire so easily while barely moving a muscle or if he should be disappointed that he hadn't run off to search like everyone else and break a sweat.

It seemed like Decha had been waiting forever before his fellow dojo-mates came back with the tires that they found.

"How'd you get back so fast?" Achara asked, surprised that the same boy she had to drag out of bed was one of the first ones back.

"There was literally a tire right there," Decha gestured to the van.

They all watched as Sensei rearranged the tires. "One after the other, jump from tire to tire."

They all looked at him with confused expressions.

"Don't just stand around like grandmas at a pharmacy," Sensei said. "First six, go!"

They went in order of how they were standing. Aisha was the first. She jumped from tire to tire as Miguel followed suit. Achara went next, then Decha—as much as he didn't see the point—and Hawk after him. A boy with glasses that Decha didn't know that name of went after him.

The process of jumping from tire to tire and then running back repeated several times before Aisha fell, causing a series of tumbles. Miguel fell on top of Aisha, Achara fell on him, Decha fell on her, Hawk fell on him, and the boy—who Decha had learned was named Bert—fell onto Hawk.

The next groups went and once they were done, Sensei cleared the tires.

"Next up, everyone grab anything you can find that you can hit things with," Sensei instructed them. "A pipe, a rod, a broken piece of furniture."

Once they all had either a pipe belonging to a car or table or chair legs, or any other piece of scrap metal and equipment they had found, they waited to hear their next instruction. Decha held what looked to be a rod that holds up street signs, while Achara had managed to find an old metal pipe.

He handed them each safety glasses. "Your enemies are all around you, destroy them."

Now that was what Decha was talking about. Getting to destroy things and smash through car windows was right up his alley. He was having far too much fun with it and was actually disappointed when Sensei asked them to reconvene for the next task that he had planned. Decha took one last swing at a car window, smashing it into pieces before he followed the rest of the group to where Sensei stood in front an old, rusted bin.

"In this bin is a bunch of scrap metal and glass," Sensei announced. "Walk across the beam and don't fall. I don't want to have to call mommy and daddy because you have no balance."

Decha and Achara stood on the sidelines, watching as their peers walked across the flat metal beam connecting the ends of the bed of the bin.

"There's nothing to fear except fear itself," Sensei shouted as Hawk walked across the beam. "That, and falling into sharp metal and broken glass, so don't do that!"

Right as he said that, one of Hawk's feet slipped off the side, but he managed to stay on and gain his balance.

Achara went next. She thought it looked like child's play. She had skated across metal bars that were smaller and narrower than that. She stepped into the flat metal and began to walk across it. She had no trouble getting across at all. There was no faltering of balance or even the slightest hint of falling over.

"Nice one, Tiredsarat!" Sensei praised her.

It was Decha's turn. He stared down at the metal and the glass. He gulped nervously. It wasn't falling and getting hurt that he was scared of. He acted like he wasn't afraid of anything, but for as long as he could remember, he'd been afraid of heights. Even though the semi-truck wasn't that tall, Decha didn't like the fact that he had to look down at his sister in order to see her. That meant that it was high enough.

Decha started breathing rapidly, his chest rising and falling with every breath. He just stared at the beam.

"Get on a move on, Boyband!" Sensei Lawrence shouted at him. "Don't be a pussy!"

Decha didn't budge. He turned to look at Achara.

"What's wrong with him?" Miguel asked her.

"He's afraid of heights," Achara told him.

"Oh..."

"You've got this, Decha!" Achara encouraged him. "You can do it! Take your time."

He looked away from her and at the beam again.

"Decha! Decha! Decha!" Achara started to chant.

Miguel, Aisha, and Hawk joined her. Pretty soon, every single member of Cobra Kai was chanting his name. Decha took a deep breath and put his arms out to the side. He started to walk as slowly as he could, careful to maintain his balance. He started to pick up the pace once he reached the end and breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped off the beam.

Achara started clapping, leading the rest of Cobra Kai into an applause. Decha walked over to his sister, receiving pats on the back and congratulatory words of support.

"Thank you," he said to Achara.

"Anytime," Achara replied. "You know that."

Finally, after four more students crossed the beam, it was over and the last part of training commenced. 

"You wanna win?" Sensei handed out pieces of beef jerky. "You gotta be hungry. You guys hungry?"

An overlapping chorus of "Yes, Sensei!" broke out.

"Good," Sensei replied, pulling a small whistle from his pocket. "'Cause so are they."

They just stood there, glancing around at each other with confused looks on their faces. In the distance, dogs started barking. It wasn't until Aisha uttered an "Oh, shit" that the group realized that the dogs were running straight at them. A series of screams erupted as they scattered, going every which way to avoid the dogs. Decha looked down at the beef jerky in his hand and chuckled it before he started to run. Decha climbed on the hood of a car and watched as the dogs started chasing everyone else around was screaming and climbing over cars and scrap metal to get away from them.

Achara jumped on the roof of a truck and threw her beef jerky, causing a dog that was chasing her to go running after it instead.

The twins turned their head at the sound of a scream. One of the dogs had bitten Hawk. Decha cringed and Achara just stared, wide eyed and mouth agape.

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Achara and Miguel were the only ones at the dojo that following afternoon. Miguel was hitting a punching bag as Achara was practicing her jab punches, pushing her fists into the air over and over again.

"Okay, okay, that's enough you two," Sensei spoke, causing them both to stop. "Save some for the tournament."

"Why are we the only ones here, Sensei?" Miguel asked.

"'Cause let's face it, you two are the only chance I got at winning this thing," Sensei replied.

"You think I could win?" Achara asked.

"That ballet shit you do is actually an advantage," Sensei admitted. "Do that at the tournament and you'll catch all your opponents off guard."

Achara smiled.

"But if I had to put my money on anyone, it'd be Diaz," Sensei said.

Achara's smile faded.

"So, what? I'm your best student?" Miguel grinned.

"Don't flatter yourself," Sensei responded.

Miguel walked over to Achara and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They walked over to the metal chairs where they had set their belongings down. Miguel smiled at her and gave her a small peck on the lips. Achara smiled back.

"Wait, what?"

They both turned to see their sensei confused.

"You two are dating?" he asked. "What happened to that one girl? The one that likes karate and is super hot?"

"Uh...I was talking about Achara," Miguel told him.

"Tiredsarat is the girl you were talking about?" Sensei asked, receiving a nod from Miguel. "Well, shit..."

Achara rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone off the chair. She had a text message from Aisha. She would have just left it alone and responded later if it weren't for what the message said. I can't believe this!! Check out Sam's latest post.

Achara furrowed her eyebrows and opened up Instagram. She searched for Sam's profile and clicked on it. The first thing she saw was a photo of Sam smiling as she held up a pig stuffed animal. She tapped the photo. The caption read; This little piggy doesn't give up!

Achara scoffed aggressively.

"What's wrong?" Miguel asked.

Achara showed him her phone.

"Are you kidding?" Miguel asked. "You don't have to worry, okay?"

Achara nodded.

"Don't have to worry?" Sensei asked. "Trouble in paradise already?"

Miguel shook his head. "No, it's just this girl. You know, the one I defended when I beat up those guys in the cafeteria?"

"The famous cafeteria brawl," Sensei said proudly. "How could I forget?"

"Yeah, well, she likes me now and she doesn't seem to be happy that Achara and I are dating," Miguel told him.

"Shit, you have two babes fighting over you?" Sensei asked.

Achara gave him a disgusted look.

"What's this girl look like?" Sensei asked. Achara showed him her phone only for her to snatch it from him. "Wait a second. Is that Daniel LaRusso's daughter?"

"Yeah, you know Samantha?" Miguel asked.

"Your competition is a LaRusso?" Sensei asked Achara.

"Not her competition," Miguel said and turned to reassure Achara. "She's not your competition."

"I know," Achara replied.

"Is something wrong?" Miguel asked Sensei.

"We need to talk," Sensei responded.

"I've got to get going. My parents are expecting me home," Achara told them. She kissed Miguel's cheek. "Fill me in later?"

Miguel nodded. Achara grabbed her things and then waved goodbye as she walked out the door, the bell dinging above her head.

────────────

Achara called Miguel later that night after her family had finished dinner.

"Hey," Miguel greeted her.

"Hey," Achara replied. "So, what's the deal with Sam? Why'd Sensei seem so shaken up about her?"

"She's the daughter of his old karate rival from high school," Miguel told her.

"Shit, really?" Achara asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy," Miguel responded.

A knock on Achara's door startled her. Her door opened and her mother appeared on the other side. "Chai, mae?"

Achara held her phone to her chest. Her mother said something in Thai that Miguel didn't understand. Achara responded. He tried to listen to what they were saying, but he didn't understand. Achara had been teaching him lots of words and phrases, but they were speaking too fast and using words he didn't know.

Achara's face appeared in frame again. "Sorry about that."

"What's going on? Everything okay?" Miguel asked.

Achara nodded. "Oh, yeah. It's nothing to worry about."

Her voice didn't sound too convincing. There was something about her tone of voice that didn't quite match the words that came from her mouth.

"I've got to go, okay?" Achara told him. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Uh, hey, wait," Miguel said quickly. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Achara repeated. "I can't."

"Why?" Miguel questioned.

"My family and I are going to the temple tomorrow," Achara told him. "It's a custom in Thailand to go to the temple to make merit."

"What's making merit?" Miguel asked.

"It's a Buddhist custom. We got to the temple and make offerings to the monks and the temple. Usually food, clothing, toiletries, and other items like that," Achara explained. "Merit is the good deeds that you do. By making merit, Thai people believe that it will provide them with good karma. It helps determines the quality of your next life."

"You teach me something new every day," Miguel smiled. When Achara didn't respond, Miguel took it upon himself. "Does that last all day or..."

Achara shrugged. "I've got to get going."

"Okay," Miguel replied. "Talk to you later?"

"Talk to you later," Achara replied.

Miguel hung up. He sighed and leaned against his mattress. Achara was acting strangely, and Miguel wasn't sure why.

────────────

Decha lay on the couch in the living room, watching his favorite movie for the umpteenth time. His parents had gone out after they had gotten home from making merit and hadn't been home since. He wasn't sure where they had gone.

Achara had left about an hour prior to the start of the movie. She was going to meet Robby at the skatepark, leaving Decha to have the house to himself.

A knock on the door snapped Decha's attention away from the television screen. He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. He stood up to answer the door, not sure who he would see on the other side.

"Miguel?" Decha asked.

"Oh, hey," Miguel replied. "Is Achara home?"

Decha shook her head. "She's actually at the skatepark."

"Oh, okay," Miguel nodded, seeming extra jittery. "I'll just get going then."

"Are you okay?" Decha asked him.

Miguel nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you later."

Miguel didn't give Decha a chance to respond before he grabbed his bike and started to ride away. Decha furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay..."

He shut the door and walked back to the couch. He pressed play on the movie and laid back down on the couch.

Seconds later, Decha sat up abruptly. "Shit!"

Achara was at the skatepark...with Robby.

After Robby had spent hours rambling about how he saw Miguel with his dad at Cobra Kai, Achara had gone through great lengths to keep Robby from knowing that she was dating Miguel. If he found out that she was dating the guy who, as Robby had put it, "stole his dad" then he was sure to have a conniption fit.

She had made plans to go skateboarding with Robby days ago, long before Robby had found out about Miguel and his dad. Not wanting to cancel on Robby, Achara had told Miguel she couldn't go to the movies with him. She just left out the all of the reasons why.

Decha grabbed his phone and texted Achara with lighting speed, warning her that Miguel was on his way. He really hoped she was able to read it before Miguel got there.

────────────

Achara giggled as she almost fell off her skateboard, trying to learn the new trick Robby was trying to teach her. Robby reached out and grabbed her hands to keep her from falling.

Needing a break, they walked over to a nearby bench and took a seat.

"So did you really join karate with my dad?" Robby asked.

Achara nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

Robby shrugged. "It is what it is. But you know, there's always the possibility of learning karate from Mr. LaRusso."

"I can't do that," Achara replied.

"Why?" Robby asked.

"I just can't," Achara said.

"Because you like learning karate from my dad? Because of what? Some stupid karate rivalry from the eighties? Because you're afraid to switch sides?" Robby questioned her.

"Robby..." Achara said. "It's more complicated than that."

"Then tell me, what's the big secret? Why can't you just tell me?" Robby asked.

"I have a boyfriend," Achara blurted out, tired of getting the third degree. "He's in Cobra Kai. I can't just leave Cobra Kai and take lessons with Mr. LaRusso. And it's complicated with me and Sam...she likes my boyfriend and it's just..."

Tears were starting to stain her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, hey," Robby whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Achara wiped her eyes. "It's fine."

Robby wrapped his arm around Achara's and rubbed her shoulder. Achara rested her head on his shoulder for a brief second before lifting it.

"How about you finish teaching me that trick?" Achara asked.

Robby nodded. "Let's do it."

Achara didn't know it, but that one brief second occurred at the exact moment Miguel pulled up on his bike.

That one brief second was all it took for Miguel to get the wrong idea.

— EMILIA'S NOTES + TRANSLATIONS

trying to extend the whole junkyard training montage was so hard like whewww

and lol not me making sam petty. look, i had to figure out some way to make achara continue to dislike her and spice things up. hey, my fic, my rules okay??

also DRAMA DRAMMAAA DRAMMMMAAAAA

i spent too long trying to name this chapter....

alternative chapter title: ACHARA WHHHHYYYYYY????

until next time 😈

TRANSLATIONS:
- chai
chai means yes.

- mae
mae means mom. this should just be a refresher at this point. :)