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The halls of East Ridge High were quieter now—not from peace, but from fear. Blood had been spilled, and the echoes of the fight clung to the lockers like ghosts no one dared to speak to. Students whispered behind hands, eyes darting toward every member of Cobra Kai like they were predators unchained.
Miguel hadn’t returned.
The hospital room lights buzzed low and steady, machines clicking and humming with every shallow breath that kept him alive. Andrea stood at the window that overlooked the city, hands jammed in her pockets, the hospital gown Miguel wore reflected faintly in the glass.
She hadn’t spoken in an hour.
Not to Hawk, who sat with his head in his hands.
Not to Tory, who paced the length of the room like a caged animal.
Not even to Johnny, who had just entered and hadn’t even made it halfway across the room before he stopped cold at the sight of his star student—motionless, pale, broken.
Johnny didn’t say a word. He just stood there, hands shaking, jaw clenched so tightly it looked painful. His eyes never left Miguel.
When he finally spoke, it was hoarse. "What happened?"
No one answered.
He turned to Andrea.
“Andrea—what happened to him?”
She didn’t look at him. “Your son threw him down the stairs.”
The words hung in the room like smoke.
Tory stopped pacing. Hawk looked up, hollow-eyed.
Johnny's face broke—just slightly. “Robby…”
“Ran,” Hawk said bitterly. “He ran like a coward. Like he always does.”
Tory spat, “He didn’t just run. He took LaRusso’s car and vanished. You know where he is now?”
Andrea turned slowly, finally looking Johnny in the eye. Her voice was colder than it had ever been. “Juvie.”
Johnny flinched.
Then silence fell again—until the sound of the ventilator filled the gaps like distant thunder.
Back at the dojo, it was different.
There was no music. No laughs. No jokes.
Just sweat, bruises, and eyes that didn’t blink.
Andrea stood beside Hawk, fists wrapped, black hoodie tied around her waist, and something unspoken carved deep into her expression. Not grief. Not rage.
Cold.
Kenny, Bert, Kyler, and Mitch stood on the mat across from them—new recruits, freshly blooded. The fight at school had changed everything. They’d chosen a side that day, not just by throwing punches but by seeing something in Cobra Kai that called to them:
Power. Unity. Fearlessness.
“Alright,” Johnny barked. His voice was like gravel and thunder. “Let’s get something straight.”
The new recruits straightened up.
“You join Cobra Kai, you train harder than you breathe. You don’t ask questions. You strike first, strike hard, and you never let anyone take what’s yours.”
He looked at each of them in turn. “Anyone has a problem with that… walk out now.”
No one moved.
Johnny nodded slowly. “Good.”
He turned toward the others—Hawk, Andrea, Tory. “You train them. Make them ready.”
Andrea’s stare never wavered. “They will be.”
Tory smirked. “Or they’ll break trying.”
Kyler laughed, but it died quickly when Andrea stepped forward and met his eyes.
“Hit me,” she said.
He blinked. “What?”
“Come on. Hit me.”
Kyler glanced at Johnny, then shrugged and swung.
Andrea ducked the punch easily, twisted his arm behind his back, and slammed him to the mat before he could even grunt.
She stood over him, voice steady.
“You’re not Cobra Kai just because you joined. You earn it.”
At school, the tension hadn't eased. If anything, it had gotten worse.
Chris and Nate were both suspended.
Kate hadn’t been seen since the fight, but the rumors were loud—she’d bragged about putting Miguel in the hospital, even though everyone knew it was Robby’s fault.
And Demetri?
He sat in the library alone. He hadn’t talked to Hawk. Not to Andrea. He didn’t know which side he was even on anymore.
One thing was clear: lines were being drawn.
That night, Andrea walked through the dim, empty hallway of the hospital again. She entered Miguel’s room quietly, where the soft beeping of machines was the only sound.
She sat down next to him and pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket.
“I wrote you something,” she whispered.
She opened it, hands trembling slightly, and read.
“I know you can’t hear me. Or maybe you can. I don’t know how this works. But I should’ve stopped him. I should’ve seen it coming. You were the only one who saw me for who I was—before all this. Before the bruises felt good and the violence felt like power. I think I’m changing. I think we all are. And if you wake up and see me now… I don’t know if you’ll recognize me. I’m not sure I recognize myself.”
She folded the note and left it on the table by his bed.
Her fingers grazed his hand, just for a second.
“I’m sorry, Miguel,” she whispered. “But I don’t know how to stop.”
Across town, Johnny stood in the Cobra Kai dojo long after everyone had gone.
The lights were off.
He looked around the room like he didn’t recognize it anymore.
Like maybe… he didn’t recognize himself either.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc75CDw2oSq
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END OF CHAPTER 5 - Cold Is the New Code13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRQLw7wtkL
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvoOiiSTob
(I added this song from SG because It fits the scene so good LMFAO-)
