CHAPTER 53: DRUNK SENSEI WISDOM
The Cobra Kai dojo was dark when I arrived.
Not closed-dark—the kind of dark that happens when someone deliberately turns off the lights and sits in the shadows drinking themselves into oblivion. A single lamp illuminated Johnny's office, casting long shadows across the empty training floor.
I found him surrounded by beer cans. Twelve-pack territory, maybe more.
"Sensei." I approached carefully, the way you'd approach a wounded animal. "We need to talk."
"Everybody wants to talk." Johnny's words slurred at the edges. "LaRusso wants to talk. Robby wants to talk. Now you want to talk." He raised his current can in a sarcastic toast. "Talking's overrated."
"It's about Terry Silver."
The can paused halfway to his lips. "Terry who?"
"Your old sensei's friend? Kreese's war buddy?" I pulled up a chair, sat across from him. "He bought me breakfast this morning."
Beer sprayed across the desk.
"WHAT?"
"Yeah, that was my reaction too."
Johnny was on his feet—swaying, but on his feet—wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Terry Silver bought you breakfast. Terry goddamn Silver."
"Black Mercedes. Beverly Hills restaurant. Eggs benedict with a side of recruitment pitch."
"He can interest himself in my FIST!" Johnny punched the air, overbalanced, caught himself on the desk. "That psychopath—do you know what he did? Back in '85?"
"I know some of it."
"He pretended to be LaRusso's friend. Trained him. Got inside his head. Then tried to destroy him from the inside out." Johnny's eyes, bloodshot and unfocused, found mine with surprising intensity. "Silver doesn't recruit, kid. He corrupts. Whatever he offered you—"
"I turned it down."
"Good." He collapsed back into his chair. "Good. That's... that's good."
I waited while he processed. The office clock ticked. Outside, a car passed on the street.
"How'd he even know about you?" Johnny asked finally.
"The video. The underground fight. Someone posted it, it went viral, apparently billionaire psychopaths watch YouTube."
"Of course they do." Johnny laughed bitterly. "Can't have anything nice in this valley. Can't rebuild Cobra Kai without the ghosts showing up to take a dump on everything."
He grabbed another beer. I didn't stop him.
"You know what's weird?" Johnny said, cracking the tab. "You. You're weird."
"Thanks?"
"No, I mean—" He waved vaguely. "You know stuff. Like... future stuff. Sometimes you look at people like you've seen their whole story already. Like you're reading a book nobody else can see."
My blood went cold.
"That's called observation, Sensei. Good fighters—"
"No, it's like..." He squinted at me, drunk intuition cutting through the alcohol haze. "Prophecy stuff. Prophet!" He laughed at his own joke. "That's why they call you that, isn't it? Because you see things coming."
"I'm just observant."
"You're hiding something." Johnny pointed his beer at me. "We all got secrets. I've got secrets. LaRusso's got secrets. Hell, even Kreese has secrets, and that man's soul is basically a haunted house." He took a long drink. "But yours are different. Bigger, maybe."
I didn't respond. Couldn't respond. Because what was I supposed to say? Yes, Sensei, I'm actually from another dimension where your life is a TV show and I know everything that's going to happen except I keep changing things and now a major villain showed up years early and I have no idea what I'm doing?
"Whatever." Johnny waved dismissively. "Keep your secrets. Just don't let Silver have them."
He stood up, swayed, and attempted to demonstrate what I recognized as a crane kick.
"Know why this works?" He almost toppled over. "Balance. But real balance isn't physical." He caught himself on the desk. "It's knowing when to stand and when to fall."
He fell. I caught him.
"Silver never learned that," Johnny mumbled against my shoulder. "Always standing. Never falling. Never learning." He pressed something into my hand—his beer. "Don't be Silver."
"I won't, Sensei."
I half-carried him to the office couch, the one he probably slept on more than his actual bed. Found a spare gi to use as a blanket. Left water and aspirin on the desk.
An old photo on the wall caught my attention. Three young men in Cobra Kai gis—Johnny, Kreese, and someone I recognized from the show. Silver. Younger, hair shorter, but the same predator smile.
I took a picture of it. Evidence. Context. Proof that this wasn't just paranoia.
"Sleep it off, Sensei." I headed for the door. "War's coming whether you remember this conversation or not."
My phone buzzed before I reached my car.
Tory: Why emergency meeting? Someone die?
I typed back: Not yet. That's why we're meeting.
Tomorrow, I'd explain. Tonight, I had planning to do.
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ Cobra Kai: Leveling Up ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
with exclusive access to 20+ and more chapters on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $6/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers,In The Vikings With Deja Vu System,Stranger Things Demogorgon Tamer ...].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!