Cobra Kai: The Dragon Warrior

A promise is what my wife and I made when we realized we would be parents. The news came suddenly, but it was something we expected because there was no reason to avoid having a baby.

At that time, we were young; my wife and I swore we would never be like our parents, and despite inheriting many talents, we also inherited the weakness that gradually consumed us.

When Dash was born, we soon realized his problem. We knew he wouldn't live long if his illness started to worsen, but we still tried to save him with the best medical care.

There was no lack of money; we had more than we could spend in our lifetimes, but legally, we couldn't save our son's life.

"If only we weren't weak, we..." Frederick lamented greatly about his only son's condition.

"Frederick, don't say that. We promised to be the best parents to our children." Elena took her husband's hand, hoping he would commit to sharing that promise they had made for their children.

Perhaps mental strength was an important factor, but as the years passed, Dash grew, and for a while, they could keep him at home because his medical condition wasn't so bad.

Years passed, and Elena became pregnant again. Years later, Dash relapsed and was admitted to the hospital at the age of eight, where he would spend the rest of his life.

The lungs Dash needed couldn't find compatible donors, not legally, as it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Everything could have been different if they had found a random donor, something that would happen if he used his power to steal two lungs for his son.

But all that would result in asking for help from his father, which of course he wouldn't do; he would never go back to the man he abandoned for mental freedom and self-love.

"Dash is getting worse; I can't even look him in the eyes when I visit him at the hospital. The kids ask where I'm going, but we can't tell them about their older brother because we don't know when he'll pass away." Frederick knew what he had to do at that moment; he had to get lungs for his son by any means necessary. He had been delaying this moment for too long, but he couldn't bear the mental pressure and guilt of not doing everything that was within his reach.

"You have scorned me, forgotten all the lessons I've taught you, and now you come to me on your knees for a pair of lungs for your sick son. Do you expect me to help you?" An elderly man with white hair looked at his son Frederick on his knees.

"He's your grandson."

"I don't recognize your family from the day you chose happiness, love, and feelings over power. Look at how your son is now; he's screaming for a pair of lungs that you haven't been able to provide for all these years due to your damn incompetence."

Frederick expected this; he had abandoned his father and with it all responsibility because he preferred to be happy than to be a demon like his father.

What would he gain by being like his father and treating his son Dash like a product in evolution?

"I shouldn't have come..." Frederick stood up from the floor; he wanted to leave, but he knew that if he walked out that door, he would be killing his son.

Frederick's father stared at him and said, "You are my only descendant; I'll have to leave you everything I have, so come and introduce me to your children."

"I won't let you lay a hand on my children." Frederick said, gritting his teeth with fury at the sight of his father.

"What are you so afraid of? You'll have your lungs for your sick son; I hope they arrive in time. It would be a damn waste to kill a child for your son if he ends up dying."

Frederick expected this; where else would they find good lungs if not in the human organ trafficking business?

"Thank you..."

When Frederick returned home, he found his wife and told her everything; she was very happy that their eldest son could have those pair of lungs he needed because she didn't know anything about how they would be obtained.

Those lungs didn't take long to arrive; the morning they landed at the hospital, they heard that their son was still strong and most likely could withstand the operation.

But at that moment, when they saw their son outside looking at the Sakura tree in front of him, they only saw his smile and wet tears marked in his eyes.

They could see how the doctors rushed towards Dash to revive him, but at that moment, it was too late because he had died.

Frederick walked towards his son and murmured, "If I had preferred power over happiness, you wouldn't be dead, my son, I'm so sorry..."

Dash's fragile body lay in the wheelchair; his solitary appearance shattered Frederick and Elena into a thousand pieces.

They wished with all their hearts that their son could have a better life after death, an incredible life where he could run and be happy.

Maybe one where his parents were strong...

One where the Sakura trees never dried up...

End.