❛ I have fought every single
one of you in this room. ❜

Everyone piled into the locker room per Ayane's demand, the girl asking the senseis if they could hang back.

She paced the room, everyone looking up at her expectantly. The girl was visibly frustrated, and it showed in every step she took.

Ayane finally stopped pacing, bringing her hands to her hips.

"Listen. I am not the type for motivational speeches, and I'm not really planning on giving one. But every single one of you in this room is much more capable than how you're performing right now."

She pointedly looked at Robby as she said that, continuing, "Do you guys realize who we're fighting next? We're going up against Cobra Kai. And if we don't beat them, then we're going home. We're done."

There was silence. Ayane dropped her hands from her hips, wringing them together.

"I have fought every single one of you in this room. And I've fought you at your best. Half of these people out here don't even come close to you guys. And I'll be damned if we don't go out fighting like the fighters I know you can be."

The kids all looked up at her, seemingly gaining some confidence by her words. Miguel began to smile at her.

"We beat Cobra Kai before," he said. "Let's do it one more time. Let's send our captains into the finals."

Ayane looked over at him, returning his smile.

"One last time," Sam spoke up, Ayane noticing her chin trembling a little. "Win or lose, this is the last time we'll ever fight together as a team."

Ayane had not even considered that. She suddenly got a strange feeling, realizing that there were some involuntary tears in her eyes. These were all her friends, the closest people she had in her life.

"Damn, I guess I never thought about it like that," Miguel replied, letting out a shaky breath. "After everything we've been through, this is... this is it."

He gave a slight chuckle, a tear falling down his face. Ayane brought her hands to her eyes to wipe away her own tears, not wanting the others to see her cry.

She drew in a sharp breath. "Alright, alright. My mascara's gonna get all over the place."

They all laughed a little, Ayane sniffling. Miguel stood up and, to Ayane's surprise, went in to hug her.

The girl hugged him back, and the others began to get up and join. Ayane realized they were all joining in for her, because of what she had gone through before she got here.

"We love you, Ayane," Miguel said as Sam hugged Ayane from her other side. "And we need you here more than anything."

Ayane was fighting back tears even harder, the others finally pulling away from their group hug.

She looked over at Robby, who had been quiet this entire time. Ayane wanted to have a talk with him one on one before they fought Cobra Kai.

Looking back to all the others, Ayane gave a soft grin.

"Who are we?"

"Miyagi-Do," they all replied, Ayane tilting her head at them.

"Oh come on. Who are we?"

"Miyagi-Do," they repeated, growing louder this time.

Ayane's smile grew as her voice did, not realizing the senseis were watching from the door.

"I said who are we?"

"Miyagi-Do!" they all chanted in unison, excitement buzzing from their words.

Ayane laughed a little, catching Miguel's eyes. She reached over and gave him a playful push.

The senseis entered the room just then, Daniel saying, "You know, we did have one real doozy of an inspirational speech planned."

"Looks like you guys beat us to it," Johnny added.

Ayane stepped toward them, looking between Daniel and Johnny. "We learned from the very best. I couldn't ask for better senseis."

They both smiled, Johnny then saying, "Alright. Enough of this kumbaya crap. It's time to get out there, and kick some Cobra Kai ass!"

The students erupted into shouts of joy, clapping their hands together. Ayane's smile began to fade at once, however, when she thought about Jae.

Whatever the outcome of this match, it was only going to hurt their relationship more.

All of the students left the locker room at once, Ayane following them out. She tailed behind Robby, grabbing his sleeve.

"Hey," she said, the boy turning to face her.

Robby's heart jumped a little, growing nervous. "Uh, hey."

Ayane eyed Robby precariously, chewing her inner lip.

"So, uh... how much do you remember from last night, exactly?"

He inhaled slowly, dropping his gaze. This is what he had been afraid of.

"Enough. Enough to know that I screwed up pretty badly."

Ayane gave a wary look, moving her head to the side slightly. "Yeah... it was– it was a lot. And Robby... I do love you. As a friend. I mean, almost like a brother."

Robby raised his head with a sigh, Ayane knowing that had to have been the worst possible thing for him to hear.

"And I'm sorry," she continued. "I never knew you felt that way. I feel like in a way, I might've encouraged it without knowing. Hearing this probably sucks ass, too, but... I figured you should know how I feel."

The Keene boy stared at the ground, burning with embarrassment at his actions from the night before. Ayane could tell he felt guilty for all of it.

"Thank you, for telling me," he finally replied. "I... am really sorry, Ayane. What I did was– it wasn't fair to you. You weren't prepared for that, I know. I just... I feel like you're easy to talk to, and that you actually care about me... and I guess that's kinda why I started to have feelings for you."

Ayane nodded after a moment, reaching out and hitting his arm lightly. "I do care about you, Robby. You've gotten me through some really tough times, too. But... I've kind of just always considered you a friend. My best friend, actually."

The words stung Robby a little, but he also felt a sense of relief. This could have gone a lot worse.

"You're my best friend, too," he replied, smiling a little. "And I-I don't wanna screw that up. If it's not already too late, anyway."

Ayane knit her brows. "Are you kidding? You're still my friend, loser. However, if you keep sucking ass out there on the mat, I might have to reconsider."

Robby laughed a little as he glanced down shaking his head.

"Yeah, I've had a lot on my mind. I'm sorry. I've been kind of a shitty captain."

She shrugged curtly. "You're the captain for a reason, though. Don't forget that. I know what you're capable of. Focus on yourself."

Robby met her eyes, beginning to nod. Now that he and Ayane had this conversation, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. Even if she didn't feel the same way.

"You ever thought about becoming a sensei?" he asked, turning and beginning to walk over to the others.

Ayane chuckled a little as she followed alongside him. "I've had it suggested to me more than once, yeah. But... to be honest with you, I've never really liked karate all that much. I only ever did it because other people wanted me to."

Robby frowned a little, not aware of this.

"So what are you gonna do after this is over?"

Ayane raised her shoulders, rejoining with the group.

"I'm gonna start living."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

     "Because both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai are one and one, whoever wins this match advances."

Ayane stood amongst her teammates as she looked over at her opponents. Jae and Tory stood side by side, Ayane trying her best to set aside her feelings for this.

"Whoever loses... is eliminated," the official continued.

Ayane saw Jae talking to Ennis, looking away from them. She turned to her own senseis instead, gathering in a circle.

"Alright, remember. Trust, tag, teamwork," Daniel spoke to the six.

"You got this," Johnny said. "Who's in first?"

Everyone looked to Ayane, but she shook her head.

"Not me. It should be Robby."

Miguel frowned a little at this, wondering where that came from. He had seen them talking just a few minutes ago, too.

He dismissed it nonetheless, Robby turning at once and stepping into the circle.

Ayane stood between two Cobra Kais, watching as Jae began to step on the mat. Tory, however, pushed past him and stepped into the circle before he could. Ayane raised her eyebrows, wondering what had happened.

Tory raised her fists as the referee stood between them, Ayane watching nervously.

"Ready!" he called, holding out a hand. "Fight!"

Almost immediately, Tory put forward a jump kick at Robby, the boy blocking. He defended more strikes as she came at him, then went forward and grabbed her. Turning the two of them around, Tory broke his hold and kicked him onto his ass, right in front of Sam.

"Robby, tag me in!" the LaRusso girl said, Robby doing just that.

Sam jumped in, taking on Tory. Ayane was even more surprised at this, watching the two of them go at each other. There seemed to be visible anger between the two, causing Ayane to wonder what had happened.

Both girls seemed absolutely ruthless, Sam finally getting Tory in a hold and throwing her to the ground.

With a hand laid out, Jae reached down and smacked it.

He hopped in to go against Sam, Ayane growing a bit nervous. Sam could hold her own against Kwon, but she saw fire in his eyes.

With a kick, he scored a point against the girl, Sam stumbling back into Miguel. She tagged him in, Miguel stepping up against Jae.

Ayane was even more nerve wracked for this, the two people she cared about most going against one another.

Jae finally stepped back when he saw that Miguel had the upper hand, tagging in his teammate. The next guy went in, but did not last very long before Miguel spun into a kick that hit his chest.

"Point! One, one, Miyagi-Do!"

Ayane clapped, looking across the mat at her brother. It was going to come between them, sooner or later.

Eli went in after Miguel, going against Cobra Kai's third best fighter. They were evenly matched, Eli sliding out of the way of a kick and tagging Kenny.

The Payne boy was more than ready, charging into the circle against the Cobra Kai fighter. He threw punches, his strong suit, until he bested the fighter by knocking him to the ground.

"Point! Two, one, Miyagi-Do!"

Ayane had never felt more proud. Kenny then turned, running over to her. He tagged Ayane's hand, the girl stepping into the circle.

The former opponent was crawling to his feet, smacking the hand of Jae.

The boy stepped in, circling around the ring. Ayane did the same, finally coming to a stopping point.

"You gonna quit playing ring around the Rosie?" she called out, raising her fists and assuming her fighting stance.

Jae smirked, doing the same. She waited, letting him come to her.

Kwon lunged immediately, wasting no time. His movements were quick and relentless. Ayane sidestepped his first punch, her footwork light and precise, but Jae anticipated her movement. He spun into a back kick, his heel slamming into her side. The impact sent Ayane stumbling back as the referee's whistle blew.

"Point! Two, two, Cobra Kai! Next point wins!"

Ayane swore to herself, hearing a voice behind her just then.

"Ayane, you've got this," Miguel said. "Don't let him get to you."

Ayane took a deep breath, centering herself. She raised her fists again, bouncing on her feet.

She knew that this was her last chance.

Kwon charged again, this time feinting high before launching a sweep toward Ayane's legs. She leapt over his sweep and countered with a quick jab to his shoulder, forcing him to retreat. They exchanged a series of rapid strikes and blocks, their movements a dance of attack and defense.

Jae grew frustrated, his strikes becoming sloppier as he tried to break through Ayane's calm defense. Seeing her chance, Ayane executed a feint of her own. She stepped forward as if to strike with her right hand, drawing Jae's guard up. Then, with a swift shift of her weight, she spun into a flying tornado kick, her foot connecting with Kwon's chest. The force sent him stumbling to the ground.

"Point! Miyagi-Do wins!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as Ayane realized what had just happened. Ayane was overtaken by her teammates, being lifted off the ground and looking down to see Miguel holding her while the others surrounded them.

He brought her back to the ground and, without warning, grabbed both sides of her face and pulled her into a kiss.

Ayane, though shocked, kissed him back. Miguel pulled away, his face changing as he realized what he just did.

"Oh shit, sorry, I–"

The girl cut him off, pulling him into another kiss. Their friends began to cheer for them, Ayane breaking away at once with a smile that was met by Miguel's stupid lopsided grin.

She turned around then, looking at her brother. He had a death stare directed at her, Ayane's smile fading. Her eyes then went to Ennis, who had a similar look to Jae.

Ayane drew in a breath, trying to ignore the aching in her chest.

Cobra Kai was done for, but that meant her brother was gone. And she had been the one to send him home.

At once, the girl began to walk over to the Cobra Kai students. Jae had his back turned to her, the girl reaching out and tapping him on the shoulder.

Jae turned, and immediately glared. He started to walk away, but Ayane stepped in front of him.

"Hey," she said forcefully, making him meet her gaze. "Listen. I know you don't understand why I chose Miyagi-Do, and that's okay. But I want you to know how damn proud I am of you. You– you may not realize it, Jae, but you're the one chance I have left at having family."

Jae seemed visibly conflicted, not replying right away. He raised his head, his eyes traveling over to Ennis. Ayane looked over as well at him, then back to Jae.

He met her eyes, his expression hardening once more. Jae leaned down closer to her, his face cold and cruel.

"You will never be family."

Notes.
that last part was brutal

anyway, AYANE AND MIGUEL KISS!!! were you guys expecting that?? idk i thought it just felt right and i knew y'all would be happy so

also really happy with the way her and robby handle that whole fiasco, hopefully they'll go back to being a brotp again

also that first scene literally made me start crying so much that i had to take a break after writing it. i've literally been dreading writing it because i hate the finality of it

now who's ready for the brawl!!! not me