❝ what's with the tiny child? ❞

―

VINCENT'S TRAINING HAD OFFICIALLY BEGUN.

He stood in Miyagi-Do alongside Demetri, staring at the fence in front of them. Daniel had just got done telling the two joys that he wanted them to paint the fence, an instruction that Vincent and Demetri were confused about. If he was being honest, he didn't understand what painting the fence had to do with karate.

But Robby had told him that Daniel's teaching methods paid off, so he figured there was an important lesson to be learned from such a simple and seemingly meaningless task.

"You want us to paint the whole fence?" Demetri asked, staring in disbelief. "That's like, 1,200 square feet."

"Uh, actually, times two," Daniel walked up behind the two boys. "You forgot about the other side."

Demetri groaned as he garaged the paintbrush Daniel handed him. He handed another one to Vincent.

"Oh, okay, I get it. You're teaching me muscle memory," Demetri spoke. "Do it a bunch of times, develop unconscious karate techniques. How about we just cut to the chase, and you show me the moves?"

Demetri placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder as he held the paintbrush out in front of him. Daniel didn't respond. He just shook his head and patted Demetri on the back before he started to walk away.

Demetri turned to Vincent. "And you're just okay with this? Painting an entire fence?"

Vincent shrugged. "It'll pay off. Robby and Sam went through the same thing."

Demetri sighed. "It better."

Vincent chuckled at him, shaking his head at the ground before looking back up at him. "So, how do you wanna do this? I could take one side and you could take the other."

"Sure," Demetri nodded.

Vincent nodded back. "All right then. Let's get started."

Vincent reached down to grab one of the cans of paint. With his paintbrush and the paint can in hand, he made his way to the richer side of the yard. He set the paint can down and dipped the brush in, beginning to paint just like Daniel had showed them to. He made sure to be precise with his hand movements, painting the fence up and down carefully.

Daniel walked up to him, stopping once he stood beside him. "Very good, Vincent. It's all in the wrist. Up, down. Make sure not to lock your knees. Try to bend them a little bit."

Vincent nodded his head, bending his knees as he was instructed to.

"There you go," Daniel told him. "And remember, small board, left hand. Big board, right hand."

"Got it," Vincent nodded.

Daniel pat him on the back before going to check on Demetri. Vincent looked over his shoulder, immediately seeing Demetri begin complaining. Vincent could only assume that he was whining about how tedious the work was.

When the fence and the house were finished being painted and Daniel had given him his seal of approval, they moved on to the next lesson.

They stood in front of the house, watching Daniel as he practiced his kata moves. Vincent and Demetri were told to try and copy his movements, but they both found it much more difficult than they thought it would be.

"I'm not exactly the most flexible," Demetri spoke. "And I have a little trouble maintaining balance. Hope that's not an issue." He held his arms out and started waving them. "Disproportionate limbs."

Vincent's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he watched him shake his arms.

"Why don't we just move on?" Daniel asked.

He walked towards the backyard, with the two boys following behind him.

"This lesson is called Sand the Floor," Daniel told them.

"Let me guess, you want us to sand the deck?" Vincent asked.

Daniel nodded his head. "You'd be correct."

Daniel handed both him and Demetri a pair of sanders. Vincent and Demetri just stared at him, waiting for him to tell them what to do next.

"What are you waiting for?" Daniel questioned, glancing back and forth between them. "Sand the floor."

Vincent kneeled down on the deck, starting to sand it like he was told. Demetri followed suit, as Daniel stood idly by.

"Is there a specific way you want us to do this or...?" Vincent asked. "I mean, painting the fence was up and down. Painting the house was side to side. How's this supposed to go?"

"Here, let me show you," Daniel placed his hands on top of Vincent's, guiding them. "Right circle. Left circle. Breath in. Breathe out. Right circle. Left circle. Got it?"

Vincent nodded his head. "Yeah. I got it."

Daniel stepped back and watched Vincent's hand movements. "Very good. Demetri, how's it going?"

Demetri sighed. "Can we please just bypass all the housework? I think we've got it by now."

Demetri continued to complain, but Vincent just tuned him out.

By the time they finished sanding the floor, it was nightfall. Daniel allowed them to go home, which after a long day and an aching shoulder, Vincent was more than happy to do.

Veronica was standing in front of the stove when Vincent walked through the door. Myra sat on the couch, watching a show on the television.

"Vincent, how was karate practice?" Veronica turned around and asked.

Vincent shrugged, sliding his shoes off his feet. "It was fine."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Veronica smiled at him.

Vincent plopped down on the couch next to Myra, ignoring Veronica as she continued to talk to him.

"You could be a little nicer to her you know," Myra whispered in his ear.

Vincent sighed. At just twelve, Myra still had that innocent, childlike belief that there was good in everyone. She knew that Veronica had problems, but she didn't really understand them. Not in the way Vincent did. Myra had only been eight years old when they had moved in with their grandmother.

Myra didn't see how much the alcohol had affected Veronica or how it changed her. She didn't see all the times that Vincent had to help Veronica get into her bed or when he found her passed out on the couch with a bottle in her hand.

Myra wanted to see the good in Veronica and have faith that things were going to be better this time around, but Vincent couldn't. He was just waiting for the moment where everything came crashing down and he had to pick up the pieces of Myra's crushed heart. Just like he did three years ago.

"Dinner's ready," Veronica announced.

Myra turned the tv off and together, she and Vincent made their way to the table. Tonight's dinner was nothing special. It was a simple meal of boxed Mac and Cheese. It was a meal that Vincent had grown accustomed to from all the times he had to make dinner for himself and Myra because Veronica couldn't.

"Hey, so, I was wondering if Myra could go to that karate dojo of yours tomorrow?" Veronica asked. "I picked up an extra shift at work and won't be able to watch her."

Vincent stared down at his plate, poking at his Mac and Cheese. "I'll have to ask Mr. LaRusso if it's okay, but I don't think he'll mind."

"Can I learn karate too?" Myra asked, her eyes lit up with excitement.

Vincent chuckled. "Sure. But don't go around getting into fights."

Myra gasped dramatically, placing her hand on her chest as she pretended to be offended. "Me? Get into fights? How could you even say that?"

Vincent and Veronica laughed at the same time, causing Vincent to abruptly stop. He hated that he share such a similar laugh to his mother.

Vincent cleared his throat. "Anyway, the others and I are planning on going to the mall after practice. Maybe you could come with us."

Myra nodded. "I love the mall! Can we go to Candy Corner?"

Vincent shrugged. "We don't really have any money."

Myra frowned. "Oh..."

"I could give you some money to buy candy," Veronica offered. "It's really not a problem at all."

Vincent didn't press it any further. Another thing he got from her was his stubbornness. There was nothing that he could say that would change her mind.

────────────

Vincent walked into Miyagi-Do the next day with Myra in tow. He had called Daniel after dinner the night before to ask if it was okay, and as Vincent expected, he was okay with it.

As they entered the backyard, Myra's eyes were wide open as she looked around amazed. Vincent's gaze fell on the pond, where Robby and Sam stood on a wooden platform as they tried to balance. Vincent had to force himself to look away upon seeing a shirtless Robby.

"This is where you do karate?" Myra questioned, her eyes gleaming. "I thought you were kidding when you said there was a pond in the middle of the dojo."

Vincent laughed. "Why would I lie about that?"

Myra shrugged as Demetri entered the backyard. He waved at Vincent and then pointed down at Myra.

"What's with the tiny child?" Demetri asked.

"This is my little sister," Vincent responded. "My mom couldn't watch her today."

"The name's Myra," Myra grabbed Demetri by the hand and started shaking it rapidly. "I assume you're Demetri. Tall, lanky, and whiny."

Vincent nudged Myra in the arm with his elbow.

Demetri raised an eyebrow, looking at Vincent. "Whiny?"

"I didn't say you were whiny," Vincent told him. "All I said was that you complain a lot, which you can't even deny because you do."

"So in other words...whiny," Myra added.

"Hey, Vinny!"

Vincent turned his head, seeing Robby give him a slight wave. Vincent waved back and smiled. His smile faded as Robby grabbed Sam's arm to keep her from falling in the water, but quickly caught his balance.

"Uh, hey, are—are we doing shirts versus skins?" Demetri called out to them. "'Cause I prefer to be a shirt. Not saying that you have to be a skin unless you want to. I support your right to choose."

"Demetri, Vincent," Daniel said from behind them. "Over here."

They stepped up onto one of the decks, with Myra close behind Vincent.

"You must be Myra," Daniel greeted her, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Myra nodded, grabbing a hold of his hand. "You too."

Daniel's eyebrows raised. "That's quite the shake you've got there."

"I've been told that on multiple occasions," Myra replied.

Daniel laughed before clapping his hands together. "All right, now..."

"Mr. L, before we begin..." Demetri said, pulling a note out of his pocket and handed it to Daniel.

"What's..." Daniel looked down at the note.

"It's a note from my mom excusing me from any extensive arm and leg movements," Demetri replied.

Myra's eyebrows scrunched together, and she turned her head to Vincent, looking up at him. Vincent looked down at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Boy..." Myra turned to Demetri. "You're kidding, right?"

"Myra..." Vincent shook his head at her.

"What?" Myra asked. "It's karate. It's all extensive arm and leg movements."

Demetri ignored her, continuing to talk to Daniel. "So, uh, if there's an alternative lesson I could do...Maybe a workbook."

Myra had to bite her tongue to not say anything.

"Show me sand the floor," Daniel told him.

"You want me to sand it again?" Demetri groaned. "It's pretty smooth."

"No, no, not actually..." Daniel responded. "The movement. Show me the movement. Remember?"

Vincent placed his hands on Myra's shoulders and started walking to the side of the deck, pushing her with him. The two siblings watched from the sidelines as Daniel got into fighting position and then proceeded to kick Demetri in the side. Myra snorted, trying not to laugh.

Demetri groaned in pain and grabbed his thigh. "You kicked me!"

"Why didn't you block, Demetri?" Daniel asked. "You know this. This is the muscle memory."

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't have muscles," Demetri complained.

"Do you want to be here, Demetri?" Daniel asked him.

"Not really," Demetri replied quickly.

"Then why are you here?" Daniel questioned.

"My whole life I've been, let's just say, less than popular. But at least I had a few friends," Demetri explained. "And then Cobra Kai comes to town, and next thing I know, my friends are taking karate and becoming alpha jerks. I'm literally being threatened by my best friend. I just wanted to show that I could fight back."

"Look..." Daniel sighed. "I understand what you're going through. I do. But Miyagi-Do isn't about showing off. It's about self—"

"Self-defense," Demetri interjected. "I—I know. Problem is, my 'self' is too weak."

Demetri stepped off the deck and proceeded to walk
away. Daniel sighed, turning to Vincent.

"Your turn, Vincent," Daniel waved him over.

"What about Demetri?" Vincent asked.

"Let's just give him a few minutes to cool off," Daniel responded.

Vincent nodded his head as he stood in front of Daniel, waiting to be told what to do.

"Show me sand the door."

As Daniel raised his leg to kick him, Vincent quickly
blocked the hit. With every hit that Daniel tried to send his way, Vincent's reflexes were quick.

"Good, good," Daniel commented. "Show me paint the fence."

Vincent nodded his head, blocking Daniel's hits as he moved his wrists up, down, and side to side. He even remembered to bend his knees a little like Daniel had told him to.

"Show me wax on, wax off."

Vincent almost didn't block Daniel's hit in time, but he raised his arm air in the time and avoided being hit.

A smile appeared on Daniel's face. "You're a natural."

"Wait, seriously?" Vincent asked.

Daniel nodded. "Seriously."

Myra walked over to them, looking up at Daniel. "Can I learn how to do that?"

Daniel looked down at her. "Of course you can. You're never too young to learn karate."

Myra grinned, her eyes glistening with joy.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

splitting the episode up with the mall fight being in the next chapter for the sake of having more chapters due to the story starting later in the season.

there wasn't too much vincent/robby interaction in this chapter but that's okay. there will be more next chapter.

myra's nickname is now officially "the bonsai baby"

also myra being demetri's biggest hater is so funny to me...

fun fact: the original draft title was 'our last summer' after the song by abba