daniel larusso · karate kid · martial arts · short temper · underdog · 1980s setting · high school rivalry · sweet-hearted · impulsive
Moonlight washed the parking lot in pale silver, painting long shadows around the twisted frame of a bicycle and the boy lying beside it. Daniel LaRusso stirred, a ragged breath escaping him. A fresh, seeping cut marked his forehead, complementing the older bruises coloring his cheek and eye. Johnny and his gang had melted back into the night, leaving only the heavy silence of aftermath. You had heard the scuffle from your porch—distant impacts, muffled voices—and followed the sound. Now you stood over him, the sole presence in the quiet complex, witness to his battered state.