Note: Sorry this is so long, I just felt when writing this that there was no real breaking point. Hope you enjoy!

Thud! Sounded the bus as it came to a sudden stop, throwing all of its passengers lurching forward. Miguel felt his stomach churn unevenly as he opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep during the drive.

Luckily, I haven't eaten too much in the last few days.

For the third time in the past week, Miguel heard the familiar yells of a bus driver telling their passengers to exit the bus. He grabbed his backpack from a nearby seat and turned to see if Snake had taken off yet. Even though they'd spent the whole bus ride talking (or more accurately, Miguel listening to Snake talk about himself), it seemed like hardly enough time to gather all the information he needed about if and how this man knew his father. He kept running through the important parts of their conversion in his head, searching for any clues.

"Back in the day, I was quite the karate champ. Busting any heads that dared to fight me," Snake had said, making a fist playfully.

Is it possible that my dad took karate?

"That's cool. I actually take karate too," Miguel had added, trying to put on his most convincing smile.

"Okay. What belt level are ya?" asked Snake, spitting tiny bits of doritos out of his mouth as he spoke.

"A black belt, got it in ten months. My sensei said I earned it faster than even he did."

"You must be some good fighter then," Snake had scoffed, disbelieveingly.

He remembered how much he hated having to just shrug jokingly when he was clearly disrespecting him and his senseis.

I bet Sensei Lawrence or Sensei LaRusso could run circles around you in an actual fight.

"So, you mentioned you were meeting a friend in Mexico City, what are they like?" asked Miguel, curiously.

Hopefully, it isn't too obvious to why I'm asking.

"Yeah, he's just an old friend. Have some unfinished business with im, if ya know what I mean," smirked Snake, knowingly as he had stuffed another chip into his mouth.

Miguel remembered the sinking sensation he had felt in his chest vividly.

Unfinished business?

"But that's all boring stuff, let's talk more about karate. What dojo are ya part of?"

Miguel had to shake himself out of his thoughts.

"Oh, it's this new dojo, you probably wouldn't know it," Miguel had said, dismissively.

The less he knows about me, the better. At least, until I know more about him.

Snake had nodded, understandingly.

"I was part of the coolest dojo out there. Cobra Kai."

The words had lingered in the air for a few seconds. They still ringed through Miguel's ears.

Cobra Kai?! That means he's even more dangerous than I thought. And what if my dad was a cobra too?

The thought of sharing anything with his father seemed a distant idea. But would that make him as bad as the other cobras? Or was it possible that he would be a good person like Johnny is?

"Move it, kid," snapped a tourist, angrily as they shoved through Miguel and stomped out of the bus.

He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he was standing in the middle of two rows of seats, blocking the people behind him.

"Sorry," he shouted back, apologetically as he stepped aside and let the rest of the annoyed passengers exit.

He looked around and saw that the bus was empty except, for the bus driver.

Did he leave without me?

Technically, Miguel had never asked him if they could travel the rest of the trip together.

"Snake!" called Miguel, poking his head out of the bus.

"You need to leave, please," urged the bus driver, agitatedly.

There was no response. He thought it more likely that he had left the bus, but he wanted to do one final check because there was no way that he'd be able to get back on the bus on the off chance that Snake was still on it somewhere.

"Snake!" he called once more, rushing back and checking the back seats in case he had missed him.

"Would ya shut up already, I'm right here!" scolded Snake, lazily as he got out of a seat in the middle row.

He looked out of it. Drunk maybe?

He must have stayed up all night drinking.

"Finally, you two are leaving!" exclaimed the bus driver feeling relieved as he hit a button and the swing door slammed shut behind them.

The second they stepped out of the bus, Miguel's sight was filled with beautiful pastel colors. The bus had dropped them off on the sidewalk of a quiet town street. On both sides of him stood two to three story houses painted in bright yellows, oranges, and blues. Tall, thin trees towered over, swaying in the soft blowing breeze. Parents walked with their children down the sidewalk, smiling.

It's amazing!

Miguel had to stop himself from staring at the vibrant new scenery surrounding him. He hoisted his backpack and Snake's duffle bag onto his shoulders and they started to make their way deeper into the city, Snake stumbling beside him.

"What happened to you last night?" asked Miguel as he helped to steady Snake.

"I just had a little fun," smirked Snake.

I don't know what would be worse, if this guy was friends with my dad or if this guy wasn't and I've been having to deal with him all this time for nothing.

It felt like hours had passed as they trudged along through the city, the blazing heat burning their skin. It especially didn't help that Miguel had to practically carry Snake the entire way while he muttered things like, "Do you remember when we dated those hot rich ladies or I'm sure one more beer wouldn't hurt." The streets slowly seemed to become more deserted as they moved forward, almost in an ominous way.

I'm kinda regretting leaving the bus early.

He'd wanted to avoid spending too much of the little money he had saved on transportation alone. With every step, his feet grew more sore and his stomach became hungrier until he was forced to stop and take a breath.

It will all be worth it when I finally get to meet my dad. Wait, what am I going to say to him when I find him?

He had been focusing so much on meeting his father that he hadn't even considered what he was going to say when he did. Would he tell him immediately that he was his son or try to get to know him first?

I think I should feel out the territory first. Maybe learn a few things about him, make sure he is my dad and then, I'll tell him. But I don't wanna push it off too long because I don't know how much time we'll have together.

"Are your legs broken or something? Get a move on!" demanded Snake, yelling in Miguel's ear.

He rolled his eyes as he adjusted the angle of Snake's arm over his shoulder and pushed forward.

"No, I think you're right where you need to be," boomed a man in a trench coat as he got out of a beaten up SUV parked nearby.

He had broad, muscular shoulders and his hair was shaven down to little thin gay hairs on the top of his head. His most protruding feature was his two bronze front teeth. He walked towards Miguel and Snake, twirling a knife in his left hand as two other men fell in line with his steps.

Miguel felt all his limbs start to go numb. Of course, he'd expected to be on the trail of something dangerous from the moment he started this journey, but now that he was looking straight at it, everything seemed much scarier than he'd first thought.

"Hey look, kid, it's one of my best buds from the glory days!" laughed Snake, play-hitting Miguel in the shoulder, drunkenly.

Miguel swallowed hard as he surveyed his surroundings. Beside the man in the trenchcoat, the other three men had two knives on each side of their baggy cargo pants.

"Let's just make this easy on all of us, shall we?" offered the man, smirking.

Miguel didn't respond, rather shifted uneasily in place.

This guy must be after my dad so, if I'm going to help him, I need to do something.

But what could he really do? They not only outnumbered him, but they also had weapons.

"If you give me your friend there, I'll let you off with only a few scars," stated the man, generously.

"And what'll you do otherwise?" scoffed Snake, sarcastically as his knees wobbled.

I don't want to know the alternative.

"Well, then unfortunately, we'll have to kill you both."

The man and his cronies laughed in unison as they waited for Miguel to respond.

Okay, Miguel, think! The only way we're going to get out of this alive is if I can somehow get past them and steal one of their cars.

Steal.

It felt wrong to even consider it, but there was no other choice.

Without a second's thought, Miguel quickly kicked the man's power blade knife out of his hands and knocked him backwards.

"I see how it is," snapped the man as he signaled for his followers to attack.

It must have been by instinct but somehow, Miguel dodged all of their lunges with relative ease, sending one of the men stumbling backwards into a nearby tamale stand. Snake on the other hand, took a punch to the face, knocking him to the floor which despite being deserved, would not help Miguel overall. While his men rebounded, the man in the trench coat slashed at Miguel viciously. He ducked and blocked a few times but eventually, his right leg was cut above the knee.

Minor pain started to stem from his leg.

Hopefully, it was just a scratch.

He didn't have time to assess his injury before he was forced to duck as one of the goons attempted to grab him.

"You go, kid!" shouted Snake, happily as he jumped to his feet.

Miguel whipped his head around just in time to see the largest of the men running at Snake, knives gripped in both hands.

Couldn't he just stay on the ground?!

Miguel flipped backwards and kicked the goon in the chin, sending him sliding onto the ground, unconscious.

That hit harder than I expected.

Then from behind, Miguel was kicked in the back by a strong-soled boot which sent him face first into the ground.

Waves of fiery pain flooded his body as he tried to stand up. He'd been kicked in the exact spot on his back where a scar resided from his injury during the school brawl.

You have to get up!

"Gotta admit, you put up a bigger fight than I would've expected," said the man as he walked towards Miguel.

"I never even got to meet my dad," thought Miguel as he closed his eyes.

Pow! reverberated a loud sound through his ears. He carefully rolled over and opened his eyes to see Snake standing over the man.

"If only he could see his own face!" smirked Snake, pointing down at the man.

Miguel smiled back feebly as he pushed himself to his feet.

"C'mon, let's go," instructed Miguel as he guided Snake to the goons' car.

With every step, the pain in his back seemed to become more unbearable, but they couldn't stop.

I'm sure there's more criminals after my dad.

It took an hour more of driving, but they finally found their desired location. As he and Snake stepped out of the car, the sight of the Diazes' old house immediately came into view or at least, something that resembled it. It stood three stories tall with a slightly slanted roof. It looked like it used to be painted a bright turquoise color, but bits of the paint was chipped off in various spots, giving it a striking resemblance of clouds in the sky. There were broken wooden railed stairs that lead up to the second floor on the right side of the house. The most glaring feature of the house was its rotting wooden front door which dangled half-way on its hinges. It looked as though no one had stepped foot on the property for years.

He has to be here.

But if he wasn't, how would he find him?

"C'mon, we have to go check," insisted Miguel as he started to walk down the path leading to the entrance when he heard the opening of a creaky old door.