❝ you're so lucky my egg isn't broken. ❞

―

COBRA KAI HAD TAKEN OVER THE VALLEY.

New dojos were popping up left and right, opening up all over the valley. Cobra Kai was getting stronger with every passing day, forcing sides to be chosen. But for the first time, Achara felt like she had made the right choice by being on the side of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do. Cobra Kai's reign of power over her was over. Achara finally felt like she was where she belonged.

Even though she had been to Miyagi-Do before, actually training in Mr. Miyagi's backyard was hard to wrap her head around. Although she had been assured that she was wanted and accepted there, she still caught a lingering stare every once in a while from some of the others when they thought she wasn't looking.

Achara stood next to the LaRusso siblings, stretching as Sam assured Anthony that he wasn't alone in the fight against Cobra Kai. Anthony nodded his head and crossed his arms. Sam turned to face Achara and continued stretching. Achara had tried her hardest to avoid Sam, but with their newfound friendship and Sam's true feelings out in the open, she was happier than ever. For Sam, it had been nothing more than getting it off of her chest, but for Achara, it was all she could think about.

Decha stood across the dojo next to Demetri, Miguel, and Hawk. The four boys were stretching as they looked at the two girls.

"So, you and Achara back in the same dojo," Hawk said to Miguel. "Just like old times, am I right?"

"Yeah, just like old times..." Miguel sighed, not sounding too sure of himself.

"Come on, man, I thought everything was going well between you two," Hawk responded. "Don't tell me that there's trouble in paradise."

Miguel shook his head. "Everything's fine. I mean, at least I think it is. Sometimes I just can't shake the feeling that she's not telling me something."

Decha gulped. He knew exactly what Achara wasn't telling Miguel, but he couldn't just come out and say that. He didn't think it was his business to tell, and he would always be loyal to Achara before anyone else.

"Don't stress about it too much, man," Hawk told him. "I'm sure everything's fine."

"Well, I mean, you never know unless you talk to her about it," Demetri chimed in. "Take Decha and I here, for example. We went through a rough patch, but we talked things over, and now everything has worked out for the better. We made a promise to tell each other everything, and now that we don't keep things from each other, we've never been happier. Isn't that right, Dech?"

Decha nodded his head. "Actually, yeah. I tell him everything now. No secrets. He also surprisingly has an eerily good ability to know when I'm lying...so there's that."

Hawk furrowed his eyebrows at them. "And I thought you two were insufferable before..."

Decha hit Hawk on the arm.

"I was kidding!" Hawk replied.

"Because you have Water Park Girl now, huh?" Decha teased him. "You meet one girl, and suddenly whatever feelings you may or may not have had for me vanish just like that."

Hawk rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. And her name is Chae. Could you please stop calling her Water Park Girl?"

"Anyway, you know what they say," Demetri said, putting his arm around Miguel's shoulders. "You put a box of matches near some fireworks, soon enough..." Demetri imitated the sound of an explosion. "Sparks will fly."

"Yeah. Is that what they say?" Miguel asked.

Demetri patted Miguel on the back as he stared off into the distance. Miguel turned his head, causing Decha and Hawk to do the same. The four of them saw Robby walking into the backyard.

"Something tells me it's about to be the Fourth of July," Demetri said with a sigh.

Hawk rolled his eyes. "I can't believe that piece of shit's on our team."

"All right. Relax." Miguel turned to look at him. "Okay? He wants exactly what we want. We're gonna be okay."

Decha nodded his head. "He's right. Robby was my friend long before any of this karate drama happened. He was actually my best friend, other than Achara. Just give him a chance."

The sound of whistling caused all of the students in the backyard to stop what they were doing. Chozen stood on the sparring deck across the way.

"Line up!" he shouted at them.

They all made their way to the sparring deck, standing in lines as they looked up at him.

"So, where are my dad and Johnny?" Sam asked.

"Not here," Chozen responded. "Today, you train with me."

He said something in Japanese that they didn't understand, causing them to look at him in confusion.

"Attention!" Chozen repeated in English.

They stood up straighter, placing their arms at their sides. He spoke Japanese again, causing more confusion to spread amongst the students as they stood there, unsure of what he wanted them to do.

Chozen rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Bow."

They all leaned forward and bowed, maintaining eye contact with him before standing up straight once more.

"Cobra Kai gaining ground," Chozen spoke. "We must prepare. Come."

Chozen walked around the small table that was placed on the sparring deck.

"Oh, this is gonna be badass. Check out that throwing knife," Achara heard Mitch whisper from behind her.

"Now, we learn about Yanbaru Kuina," Chozen continued with the lesson.

"What is that?" Chris asked. "Like, some top-secret karate move? Like a throat rip?" He started to make
choking sounds.

"No," Chozen spoke flatly before explaining. "It is bird. In English called Okinawa rail. Endangered. Cannot fly."

"Hence, endangered," Demetri said.

Chozen placed something on the table covered with a burlap cloth. He uncovered it, revealing a carton of eggs to the students.

"So these are the real eggs?" Miguel asked, pointing to the carton.

"No," Chozen responded. "Trader Joe's. $3.29."

Decha let out a snort. Miguel turned his head to give him a glare. Decha furrowed his eyebrows at him.

"What?" he asked. "I thought that was funny..."

Miguel shook his head at him. The two boys turned their attention back toward Chozen.

"Take egg," Chozen instructed them.

Miguel, Sam, and Hawk reached for the eggs and began to pass them out to the others. Achara grabbed an egg from Sam, causing their hands to brush against each other slightly. Achara could have sworn she saw a pink flush on Sam's cheek.

"So, what do we do with them?" Sam asked.

"Yanbaru Kuina must protect egg," Chozen explained. "From Kume Shima Habu. Poison snake. You must do same."

Chozen grabbed the hourglass on the tap and turned it around before placing it back down. "Begin your preparation."

Decha stared down at his egg and then back up at Chozen. "What exactly are we protecting the eggs from?"

"From me," Chozen replied.

He let out a yell as he pulled two sais from the table and swung them. He held them out in front of him as he gave them another instruction in Japanese.

"Go! Go!" Chozen yelled.

They all ran, dispersing themselves through the backyard. Decha nearly bumped into Demetri, causing his egg to fall. Decha managed to catch the egg before it fell to the ground.

...

"I see many little birds spread in wind!" Chozen shouted from the sparring deck.

Decha sat gathered around with Demetri, Miguel, and Eli. Decha had no idea what to do with his egg. He was hoping that the other boys would have an idea that could prove to be helpful. For now, Decha kept his egg tucked away in the pocket of his hoodie until he could figure out what to do with it.

Chozen whistled, signaling that their time to prepare had come to an end.

"Looks like the Hunger Games have begun," Demetri said as he stood up.

The other three boys followed suit. Hawk and Miguel glanced down at the eggs in their hands as Decha stuffed his hands in his hoodie pocket, grabbing the egg carefully.

"Luckily, I have eggs-ecuted the perfect plan," Demetri spoke confidently. "When I win, everyone will have egg on their face. They'll be shell-shocked. The yolk will—"

"Okay, I love you, but can you get to the point?" Decha interrupted him.

Hawk nodded his head. "Yeah. What's your plan?"

"I'm glad you asked," Demetri replied. "I have created a protective covering. I made it out of my college prep book for blunt force impact, and I tied the whole thing together with an old spool of dental floss and...my left shoelace."

Demetri raised his foot. Decha looked down at his foot, and sure enough, his shoe was missing its lace.

Demetri nodded his head proudly as he placed his egg on top of the logs on the deck."Yup. It's pretty durable."

A knife went flying in front of Decha's face. He quickly stepped out of the way, watching as the knife stabbed through Demetri's protective case. Demetri stared at his egg in shock. Miguel and Hawk started to run away. Decha turned his head, watching as Chozen started to approach Demetri. He turned back to Demetri and gave him a quick pat on the back.

"Rak na!" Decha told him before he took off running, leaving Demetri by himself.

Decha ran through the backyard and jumped onto the deck leading to the meditation room. He opened the doors and stepped inside before sliding them closed. Decha glanced around the room, making sure to be extra careful of his surroundings. He was walking backwards through the room and entered the bedroom. As he walked past the bed, he felt something grab his ankle, causing him to jump. He let out a yelp as he felt his ankle being pulled before he fell to the floor.

Decha groaned in pain, turning his head to the side, when he heard the sound of familiar laughter.

"Alai wa?" Decha asked. "Achara?"

"I'm sorry," Achara said, continuing to laugh. "I didn't know it was you. For all I know, you could have been Chozen."

"Well, I'm not," Decha rolled his eyes as he sat up and pushed himself off the ground.

Decha reached into his hoodie pocket and felt around for his egg. He breathed a sigh of relief when his hand touched a perfectly intact egg.

"You're so lucky my egg isn't broken," Decha told Achara.

Achara poked her head out from underneath the bed. "Would you mind going somewhere else? I've managed to last this long. I don't need you luring Chozen in here with your loud mouth and giving him the satisfaction of both our eggs getting smashed."

Decha gave her a confused look. "Luring? What is luring?"

Achara rolled her eyes. "Are you an idiot? Luring. As in lure. You know, tempting him to come in here."

"Why could you not just say that?" Decha questioned. "Luring? Who even says luring?"

"Me," Acahra responded. "Now, please, go away. I will not let my egg get smashed because of y—"

Achara was cut off by the sound of a yell. Both of their eyes went wide as they shared a terrified look.

"What was that?" Decha asked.

"I believe that was Chozen," Achara replied. "If you'll excuse me..."

Achara quickly slid back under the bed and held her egg in her hands. The door to the room swung open, causing Decha to jump. Chozen stood in the doorway, staring at him with a fierce grin.

"You and your sister last ones left," Chozen told him. "Too bad egg is in your pocket."

Decha glanced down at his pocket and back up at Chozen. "You want the egg? Come and get it."

Decha got into fighting position. Chozen grinned at him, letting out a chuckle as he started to walk towards him. Chozen raised his leg, trying to kick Decha's stomach to break his egg. But Decha quickly moved out of the way, avoiding the path of his foot. Chozen turned around, using the bo staff in his hands to aid him in fighting.

Chozen almost hit him with the bo staff in an attempt to smash his egg, but Decha was quick to reach into his pocket and grab his egg before it could be broken. But when he reached into his pocket, the egg wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" Chozen asked, holding up his egg.

Decha's mouth fell slightly agape. "Wha—wh—how?"

"You get too cocky," Chozen told him. "Leave yourself wide open."

Decha sighed as he watched Chozen crush his egg. He walked outside the house and into the backyard. He was met with the rest of the members of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do, minus Achara.

"He got you too, huh? I'm sorry," Demetri asked, patting him on the back. "How'd he get you out?"

Decha huffed. "Sneak attack. He says, I'm too cocky and leave myself wide open during a fight."

Demetri hummed in response. "Don't worry about it. The guy's like a ninja."

"Is Achara the last one left?" Miguel asked.

Decha nodded. "Yeah. We were in the same room. I'm surprised that she's not out here yet."

"I'm not," Sam said from beside Miguel.

As if on cue, Achara emerged from the house, her hands and her shirt covered in yolk. Chozen had managed to get her too. Achara shook her hands, causing yolk to fling off her hands. She wiped the remains on a clean spot of her shirt, not caring since it was already covered in egg.

Miguel smiled at her. "You did great, Superstar."

Achara smiled at the nickname as Chozen instructed them to get off the sparring deck. They watched his every move as he grabbed a frying pan and a portable burner. He placed them down on the deck and cracked open an egg on the pan.

"You are not good at good Yanbaru Kuina," Chozen said as the egg cooked. "Snakes will take you down. One by one. I have tried to tell you what you must do. But you do not listen. You must learn to adapt. Or soon you will be extinct. Take new eggs. Try again."

Sam walked up to the sparring deck and grabbed a carton of eggs. She held them out in front of the group. One by one, they reached for an egg.

"Sensei Toguchi's real cryptic like Mr. LaRusso," Demetri spoke. "But aggressive like Sensei Lawrence."

Chris nodded his head. "It's like the hardest part of both styles."

"Can't wait to get our asses kicked again," Mitch sighed.

They all began to disperse once again, waking toward different areas of the backyard.

"Uh, no. No, um...G-guys, uh, wait," Anthony spoke, causing them to turn back and look at him. "He said that the snakes will take us down one by one. Right? Yeah...just like he took us down one by one, but... but what if we weren't a bunch of ones? You know? Like, what if we were..."

"Together," Achara finished for him.

Anthony nodded his head, smiling at her. "Yeah, exactly. Like, um, like a raiding party in Dungeon Lord."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Demetri chimed in. "I—I mean, even if you're a level 85, you can't mount an attack in the grand realm alone."

Decha nodded his head in agreement. "Exactly. You need a team."

"And everybody has a special role," Hawk added.

"The only way we win is if we work together," Anthony said to the group. "As one."

They shared glances with each other, nodding their heads to affirm the plan. As a group, they walked to the sparring deck, and one by one, they placed their eggs into a hat that belonged to one of the dojo members. They gathered around on the deck in front of the eggs.

"So, we're sure we want to put all our eggs in one basket?" Demetri asked. "You're specifically not supposed to do that."

"This is gonna work," Anthony assured him.

The sound of a piercing whistle rang in their ears, signaling that Chozen was near and preparing to attack.

"Oh no, oh no. Oh, God," Mitch started to freak out.

"Get it together, Penis Breath," Hawk told him.

"Has anyone seen him yet?" Sam asked.

They all scanned the backyard, looking for any sign of Chozen. Achara spotted him running in front of the Koi pond and making his way around it.

"There!" Achara pointed in his direction.

He appeared to be carrying something in his hand, but from the way the sunlight was cascading down onto the yard, it was hard to tell what he was holding.

Chozen started running towards them. As he got closer, the students were able to see that he was holding a bo staff. Chozen started to pick up speed.

"Oh, shit," Miguel muttered.

Chozen let out a yell as he ran toward them at full speed. They got into fighting position.

"Ready?" Miguel asked.

Chozen jumped onto the sparring deck, swinging the bo staff in Hawk's direction. He was able to block it before it had the chance to hit him. Robby kicked Chozen's wrist and quickly stepped out of the way. Chozen swung the bo staff towards the group of teens. They all leaned back or stepped to the side to avoid it. Robby stepped forward and made an attempt to fight Chozen off, but Chozen kicked him in the stomach.

Robby fell backwards onto the deck. Hawk grabbed ahold of the bo staff and tugged on it, trying to get it out of Chozen's grasp. Chozen swung the staff, dragging Hawk along with it. He kicked Hawk in the stomach, sending him flying backward. Decha reached his hands out and caught Hawk before he fell.

"Grab the bo!" Hawk yelled.

Multiple students reached for the bo staff and tried to pull it away from Chozen. They managed to get the staff out of his hands. It clattered to the deck and rolled off the side. As Chozen made eye contact with Anthony and lunged for the eggs, Achara began to fight him. She raised her leg to kick him in the stomach, but he quickly blocked her attack. She kept sending punches his way, trying her hardest to land a hit.

Decha attacked him from behind, kicking him in the back. Chozen turned around and started blocking the hits that Decha was sending his way. As Achara continued to try and kick him, Chozen turned to the side and started blocking both of their shots.

Decha grabbed his arm and pulled it back. He made eye contact with Achara and nodded. She nodded back before she raised her leg and launched a kick at Chozen. She managed to land a kick to his chest. Chozen stumbled, but he was still not giving up. Sam launched an attack on him next, and she managed to get a few hits in before he pushed her back.

Next, Robby and Hawk worked together to try and stop him, swinging kicks over his head. They all stood in a line once more, standing in front of the eggs. Chozen scanned the teens in front of him as if he were trying to think of his next move.

He moved to the side to try and get to the eggs, hoping to find a break in the line. But the students were quick to react, stepping forward along with him and blocking him from getting the eggs. He swiftly darted to the other side, but it was no use.

Chozen stood up straighter and scanned their faces in defeat. "Snake concede."

They all cheered, congratulating Anthony on coming up with the idea. Anthony smiled, buzzing with excitement.

"This is what we have that Cobra Kai does not," Chozen said. "Their movement mile wide, but only inch deep. But our movement, inch wide but mile deep. Now that you have learned to work together, I will teach you how to master your defense."

────────────

After practice was over, Decha and Achara walked alongside Hawk, Demetri, and Miguel to the front of the house. The group of five was trying to plan a time to hang out with each other but kept running into conflicting schedules.

"I can't do today," Hawk told them. "I'm hanging out with Chae in about two hours, and I've got to get home and shower beforehand."

"Oooh," Decha teased him. "Hawky's got a date with Water Park Girl."

Hawk rolled his eyes. "Would you stop calling her that? And it's not a date. We're just...going to hang out."

"It's totally a date," Achara continued the teasing.

Hawk sighed. "Call it whatever you want. Could we just get back to making plans, please? How's Saturday?"

Demetri shook his head. "Nope. No can do. Dech and I have a date. It's our first official date since getting back together. How about Sunday?"

"Sunday doesn't work," Achara said, shaking her head. "Decha and I have to go to the temple to make merit, and then Mae wants to have a family night. Monday after practice?"

Demetri nodded his head. "That works for me."

"Yeah, me too," Hawk nodded.

"Same here," Miguel said.

Achara smiled. "Monday after practice, it is then."

She turned to Miguel and stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. He smiled down at her, kissing the top of her head.

"Call me later?" Miguel asked.

Achara nodded. "You know I will. Bye."

"Bye," Miguel replied.

Achara walked towards her car and sat inside, turning on the car for air conditioning as she waited for Decha. She caught sight of Sam walking out of the backyard. Achara's mind wandered back to the night that Sam had confessed to her. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was so fixated on Sam that she hadn't realized that Decha had gotten in the car. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he called out her name.

"Woah, are you okay?" Decha asked. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Achara inhaled a quick breath. "I'm fine. I was just zoned out."

Decha raised an eyebrow. "Zoned out looking at Sam?"

Achara rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore him and not say anything as she pulled out of Miyagi-Do. But she didn't stop thinking about it the entire drive home.

She couldn't like Sam. She couldn't do that to Miguel. She just couldn't...

— EMILIA'S NOTES

the achara & decha gif at the top helloooo?? since they were both in this chapter and it wasn't specifically about one of them, i decided to combine the gifs :)

i am evil. evil i tell you. but hey, the comments & tiktok seem to be liking samchara endgame so hmm...

achara going back under the bed after hearing chozen reminds me of when homer simpson disappeared back into the bush...

chae centric chapter next with hawk & chae's not-date

also i just wanna say that i am so beyond grateful for 21.7k reads!! this fic means so much to me. writing it has helped me through a not so great time & got me out of my almost 2 year long writing slump. i'm so happy that you're all enjoying it! your support means everything to me. thank you <3

alternative chapter title: decha insisting on calling chae water park girl for 10 minutes straight.