❝ we give you...miyagi fang karate! ❞

―

THE THIRASAWAT TWINS SAT AT THE ISLAND COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN.

They were eating breakfast with their parents. Decha had decided to give preparing breakfast another try after doing it a year ago. If someone had walked up to him and told him that one day he'd be sitting and enjoying the breakfast that he made with his parents, Decha would have called them a liar. He would have said that there was no way that would ever happen in a million years. But it was happening, and the Thirasawats had never been more of a family.

After the fall of Cobra Kai, all seemed to be perfect in the Valley. For the first time since karate had taken over, it was peaceful. Achara still continued to go to therapy, though now it was less often. Achara felt like she was finally healing. Decha continued to go to AA meetings. He had never felt better about himself, and neither had his parents. His father even made a big deal about celebrating Decha's three—almost four-month sobriety. Kiet Thirasawat truly had never been prouder to call Decha his son.

"We should get going," Achara announced, taking a drink from her coffee mug.

Decha nodded, taking one last bite of food. "Bye, Mae. Bye, Pa."

"We'll see you after karate practice," Achara told them before she kissed them both on the cheek.

The twins walked into the living room and grabbed their backpacks off the hooks by the door. Achara untied her shoes, taking a seat on the step to put them on. A smile appeared on her face as she looked down at her shoes. They were the pair of Converse that Aisha had given to her for her birthday what seemed so long ago.

Achara had asked Aisha if it were okay if she drew on them. Aisha hadn't cared, but she insisted that she had to be the first one to draw a picture. And so, Achara made the trip to Santa Barbara to visit Aisha. The pair of shoes now had doodles from just about everyone that Achara knew. Decha, Miguel, Tory, Sam, Demetri, Hawk, Chae, Moon, Yasmine, Bert, Nate, Anthony, and Devon—even Olivia—had all added their own special touches to her Converse.

"You're running out of space on those things," Decha pointed out as they walked out the door.

Achara nodded, tossing the car keys to Decha. "I know. Pretty soon, I won't have a single white part left."

As he unlocked the doors, they opened them and took a seat inside. Although he had been sober for nearly three months, Decha was still not allowed to drive unless he was accompanied by someone else. Achara had agreed to let him drive her car, which she was surprised by the first time he had asked. The old Decha would not have been caught dead driving Achara's "mom van." He was embarrassed to even be the passenger in it, yet now he was driving it.

"I still can't believe you're driving my car," Achara said in disbelief as Decha backed out the driveway.

"You're telling me," Decha replied. "I can't wait until mom and dad finally let me have my car back."

"What a glorious day that will be," Achara quipped.

Decha rolled his eyes at her. Achara turned the radio up, and for the rest of the drive to school, the twins sang along to the radio.

After parking the car in the student-designated parking lot, the twins got out of the car. Decha locked the doors and then tossed the keys to Achara. She held her hand up, catching them just in time.

They walked up to the school, stopping in the foyer. A welcome banner was draped over the railing. A wide smile grew on Decha's face when he spotted Demetri standing beside Hawk.

"Dem!"

Demetri turned his head around, grinning at the sight of him. Decha walked up to him and instantly pulled him into a kiss. Demetri kissed him back, pulling away when Hawk and Edwin—who had now left Cobra Kai behind—made fake gagging noises. Decha flipped them off and then grabbed the back of Demetri's head and pulled him back in for another kiss, much harder than the first.

Achara leaned up against the stairs, watching the door. She perked up when she saw Miguel, Robby, and Sam walking into the school. Chae trailed behind them with Anthony. Achara smiled at the girl, sending a wave in her direction. Chae greeted her back with a smile and returned the wave before she skipped up to Hawk. His entire face lit up the second he saw her.

Sam, Miguel, and Robby approached Achara. She greeted the two boys before turning to Sam.

Achara flashed a smile. "Hey."

"Hey," Sam replied back.

"Hey," Achara repeated, smiling awkwardly.

Sam smiled back at her, just as awkward, if not even more. Despite the fact that they had hung out together a few times before school started and spent a lot of their time texting, they had not talked about the kiss that took place the night they took down Cobra Kai.

Miguel and Robby exchanged a look, their eyebrows raised at the interaction between the two girls.

"Chara, have you seen Tory?" Robby asked, having two different reasons for asking.

One was because he was actually wondering where she was. The other was because he wasn't sure he could take another second of watching Achara and Sam stare at each other with the most awkward smiles known to man on their faces. It was painful to witness.

Achara shook her head. "I haven't seen her. Sorry."

"No big deal," Robby replied, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll see you guys later, all right?"

Achara nodded, watching the boy as he walked away. Sam looked back and forth between Achara and Miguel.

"I should get to class," Sam announced. "I'll see you around."

Achara nodded her head. "For sure."

Miguel just nodded in response. Sam waved goodbye to them, giving Achara one last smile before she turned on her heels and walked away.

"If that wasn't the most excruciatingly awkward thing in the entire world, then I don't know what is," Miguel breathed out.

Achara furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"Are you joking?" Miguel asked in disbelief. "You and Sam were being so weird around each other. Haven't you literally hung out?"

"Well, yeah, but there were usually other people there to make it less awkward," Achara told him. "And it's not like that over text."

"Have you talked at all about the kiss or about your feelings?" Miguel questioned.

Achara shook her head in response.

A smirk spread on Miguel's lips. "Then I think it's my job as your wingman to move this relationship forward. For the sake of everyone around's mental wellbeing."

Achara rolled her eyes, lightly punching Miguel on the shoulder.

"Hey, what was that for?" Miguel asked.

"For the hundredth time, I don't need you to be my wingman," Achara said as they began to walk down the hallway.

"If the encounter five minutes ago is anything to go by, then you most definitely do," Miguel responded. "And lucky for you, I have a few ideas up my sleeve."

Achara raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I be scared?"

Miguel shook his head. "Of course not."

Achara sighed. It didn't seem to Miguel how many times she tried to tell him she didn't need his help. He remained adamant that he was going to be, as he had said a few days ago, "The best damn wingman that the Valley—no, the world—has ever seen." So far, he has not been much help.

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Achara stood on the grass near the fence in between Sam and Chae. The Korean girl was looking at the other two girls, trying to copy their moves as they taught her the kata. It looked a lot harder to grasp than Chae originally thought it would be, but she was getting the hang of it. Achara and Sam were very patient teachers.

The three girls stopped practicing and waited for class to start.

"Hawk keeps looking over here," Achara pointed out.

"I see that," Chae replied.

"Well, what's the deal with you two?" Achara asked.

Chae shrugged. "I don't know. We've been spending a lot of time together, and we know that we like each other, but it's like neither one of us wants to take the next step."

Achara turned her head toward Sam to see the girl already looking her way.

"I just don't want to say anything and ruin everything, you know? I mean, we are good as friends—great even," Chae continued. "What if we decide to take that next step and it ruins everything?"

Achara nodded her head, letting out a small sigh. She knew exactly what Chae meant. That thought had begun to linger in the back of her mind every moment that she spent with Sam. They were great friends, and it had been a long road to get there. Achara didn't want all of that to be ruined.

Sam was the one who looked away first and spoke to Chae. "I'm sure that won't happen. I mean, if there's one thing I've learned since you've been living with me and my family, it's that you're great, Chae. He'd have to be crazy to not want to take that extra step."

Achara nodded her head in agreement. "One hundred percent."

Chae smiled at the two girls. "Thank you both. Do you think... maybe I should be the one to step up?"

Achara nodded her head. "If he won't, then you definitely should."

Sam's ears perked up at that. Her eyes quickly darted to Achara and stayed there for a few seconds before she directed her attention back to Chae.

"I agree," Sam nodded.

When Chae glanced back over to where Hawk stood, he was no longer there. Only Anthony remained, the other three boys walking in the direction of the meditation room to speak with their senseis.

Hawk pushed open the sliding doors, and the three of them stepped inside the doorway.

"Uh, Sensei, Sensei, Sensei," Hawk greeted the three men as he bowed.

"We'll start in a minute, guys," Daniel told them.

"Well, actually, um, we've got something we wanna show you before training," Demetri replied.

Daniel exchanged a look with Johnny and Chozen. They both shook their heads, not knowing what was going on. The three boys turned around and exited the meditation room. Demetri clapped his hands together, gathering the attention of everyone as he walked to the sparring deck.

"May we have everyone's attention up here, please?" Demetri asked as he stood on the deck.

Hawk and Decha followed after him, stepping up into the sparring deck. Demetri and Decha stood on one side of the easel covered by a sheet while Hawk stood on the other. Everyone else, including their senseis, began gathering in front of the deck, looking up at the three boys.

"It's been a long road, but we're finally all on the same side," Hawk started, followed by a smile. "And as a reward? The toughest test any of us have ever had to face."

"The Sekai Taikai is the most prestigious karate tournament in modern martial arts history," Demetri continued from where Hawk left off. "For over a century, fighters from across the globe have gathered every two years to compete for the title of World's Best."

"If the All Valley is March Madness, this is the Olympics," Decha added.

"Plus the gladiator games and the kumite from Bloodsport all rolled into one," Hawk chimed in.

"If we win—" Demetri began, pausing when Hawk cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said before correcting himself. "When we win, the spoils will be life-changing."

"But it's gonna take all of our focus and all the wisdom our senseis have to offer," Decha said, smiling at the three men in the front row.

Demetri nodded his head. "Yes, which is why we decided to take at least one thing off your plates. Coming up with a new dojo name."

"Yes!" Hawk exclaimed. "After some spirited brainstorming and ad hoc focus-grouping, and also a dojo-wide vote, we have a winner."

"We give you..." Demetri and Hawk spoke in unison, pulling the sheet off the easel.

"Miyagi Fang Karate!" Demetri, Hawk, and Decha announced, revealing the new logo.

Achara's face scrunched up in disgust when she saw the logo. The last thing she ever expected to see was Mr. Miyagi's head attached to the body of an eagle with bloody fangs perched atop a fire. As the rest of the dojo clapped and cheered, Achara and Chae both turned their heads to look at each other. Both girls were glad to see that they weren't the only ones who hated it.

Decha scanned their senseis faces. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Daniel absolutely hated it. That observation was proved even more when Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen retreated to the meditation room to talk in private.

Decha exchanged a look with Hawk and Demetri, glaring at them as he folded his arms across his chest. "I told you this logo was awful, but noooo! Don't listen to Decha—the guy who wanted to go with an eagle flying over a bonsai tree. But you two..." he pointed at them, "wanted me to create this monstrosity. Put his head on an eagle, Decha! Give him fangs, Decha!"

"That is the worst thing I think I have ever witnessed," Achara said, followed by a laugh.

Chae tilted her head to the side. "For some reason, I cannot look away even though I really want to."

Sam nodded her head, having remained silent. "You and me both. I had no idea it was that awful."

Decha hopped down from the sparring deck and approached the three girls. "Do you hate it as much as I do?"

"It's..." Achara trailed off, trying to find the right world. "It's, um, it's certainly something."

"That's putting it nicely," Chae answered. "Ttong syoibnida—or as you say in America—it's a shitshow."

Achara nodded. "I second that."

"I third that," Sam agreed.

Decha groaned and then looked at Demetri and Hawk, who stood with Miguel and Robby. He walked up to them, nodding his head toward them as a way of saying that he wanted to hear their opinions.

"Dude, it's hideous," Robby admitted.

"Is there a stronger word for hideous?" Miguel asked. "Because that's what it is."

Decha glared at Demetri and Hawk.

Demetri sighed in defeat. "Go on, say that you told us so."

"Gladly," Decha replied before crossing his arms and stepping close to the two boys. "I told you so! I told you both!" He flicked them both on the forehead. "How about we learn to listen to Decha next time?"

Miguel and Robby both burst into laughter. Decha stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. Miguel shook his head at him before he turned, glancing at Achara. When Sam turned and walked away with Chae, Miguel jogged up to Achara.

"So, I might have an idea on how to get you and Sam together," Miguel spoke. "Or at least how to get you to
talk about your relationship."

Achara raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Okay, so I was thinking that we could have a little group hangout. Me, you, Sam, Robby, and Tory," Miguel told her. "Not only would it help you and Sam, but it'll also help all of us put our differences aside. What do you think?"

"I think that's a terrible idea," Achara admitted.

Miguel's face fell. "Why? I already talked to Robby and Tory, and they're both on board. Well, Robby said that Tory took a lot of convincing, but she agreed."

"And what does Sam think about this?" Achara asked.

Miguel shrugged. "I haven't talked to her about it yet. I wanted to run it by you first as your loyal and honest wingman. So, what do you say?"

Achara sighed. "You're not taking no for an answer, are you?"

Miguel shook his head. "No. No, I am not."

"Then..." Achara sighed again. "I guess."

Miguel smiled at her. "Awesome! I'll go talk to Sam."

Achara shook her head and rolled her eyes at him as he started jogging up to Sam. With his hands in his pockets, Robby walked up to her.

"He told you about the hangout, huh?" Robby asked.

"Yeah," Achara replied. "You seriously convinced Tory to go? How'd you manage that one?"

Robby shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. But I think Miguel's right. Maybe hanging out together could be helpful. I mean, there's so much history to be fixed. Between you, Sam, and Tory. Me and you..."

"I thought we already decided that we were good," Achara responded. "The past is the past, remember? And you don't have to worry at all about me when it comes to your relationship with Tory. I'm okay with it. I've told you that a million times."

Robby nodded. "I know. It's just... sometimes I still feel guilty for promising to be by your side and then letting Cobra Kai get to my head."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," Achara reassured him. "It got to my head too, but we're skate buddies for life, remember?"

Robby chuckled. "Yeah. Skate buddies for life."

"Speaking of which, we totally need to go to the skatepark sometime," Achara told him.

"Definitely," Robby said, nodding his head. "How about after the hangout? If it's a total disaster, we can go and skate our frustration away."

Achara laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

"Chara!" Miguel shouted from across the dojo, rubbing over to her. "Great news! Sam is on board."

"Fantastic..."

Miguel smiled. "Operation get Samchara together is a go."

Achara and Robby exchanged a confused look.

Achara glanced back at Miguel. "Operation what?"

"Samchara," Miguel repeated. "It's your names mashed together. You know, a ship name."

"Why?" Achara questioned.

Miguel shrugged. "Well, Operation Achara and Sam doesn't have a nice ring to it."

Robby tried to stifle his laugh but failed miserably and let out a snort. "Dude, that's so bad."

Miguel frowned. "Well, you two are no fun. Anyway, see you guys later!"

Achara sighed as Miguel began to walk away. She turned her head to Robby.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Achara asked.

"I have no idea," Robby replied, shaking his head.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

heeeyyyy we are sooo back. it's miguel just the cutest? i'm sorry if the samchara bit was cringe. i just couldn't resist and i thought it would be funny to throw in there.

have no fear, sam and achara & hawk and chae will be together very soon!

also if the korean part is wrong, then i do apologize. i used deepl to translate it bc ive found that its usually pretty accurate.

alternative: chaos twins are back again