chapter nineteen, serpent or innocent flower?

tw: mention of blood
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          It's been three days.

          The last time Miguel and Izzy had a conversation by themselves was when they broke up–which got around faster than they thought it did. Everyone seemed to find out quickly, but they were quick to assume when Izzy stayed on one side of the dojo and Miguel stayed on the other side.

They would smile at each other as a way to acknowledge the other, but Miguel knew Izzy needed her distance and her time, so he was giving her that. Even though it was killing him to watch her from afar instead of being by her side like Izzy always used to be.

For the past three practices, Izzy's had to suck up the pain of using her arm, or whenever the slightest of pressure touched it. She still hasn't gone by Cobra Kai, but today was Friday, the last day she had to go in. As much as Izzy was scared to go, it was better to go than not and have to watch behind her every time she was out.

It wasn't like she was joining Cobra Kai again, she just needed to talk to Sensei Silver or Kim. Someone. Just so that Izzy could get it out of the way. It was hard for Izzy to think about how just months ago, she thought Cobra Kai saved her. Little did she know it was Miguel, but now she doesn't have either of them.

If Riley, and Cobra Kai, hadn't scared (and hurt) her into breaking up with Miguel, Izzy wouldn't think twice about choosing him for the rest of her life.

Robby had offered to pick her up on the way to Miyagi-Do so they could get to practice. The Keene boy could tell how badly this break-up was affecting them both, no matter how hard Miguel or Izzy try to disguise it. All he could do was try to act normal, because they were both probably his closest friends at the moment.

          So, when Izzy got into the passenger seat of his car, he was the one to initiate the conversation when Izzy didn't say a word. "How do you feel about Miyagi-Do?" Robby asked as he drove away from her apartment complex.

Izzy was glad he didn't ask her about Miguel, because she's already gotten enough of that from Nina and Kayla. A sigh left her lips as she glanced over at Robby after keeping her eyes on the window next to her. Robby's attention was on the road, but Izzy shrugged.

"It's.. different." Izzy muttered, looking out the front windshield to look at the streets they drove down, heading in the direction of Miyagi-Do.

"Different in a good way?" Robby asked her, this time he glanced over at Izzy before he turned a corner to go onto a different road.

The girl nodded, "Yeah. Fuck Cobra Kai." Izzy muttered, shaking her head as she thought about the old dojo she and Robby were a part of.

          A light laugh came from Robby at those three words, he knew although Izzy was in that dojo for only a few months, they overworked her and made her doubt herself more than encourage. If there was one thing about Izzy, it was that they could see right through her at times. Maybe it was because she tore all of her walls down the moment she fell in love with Miguel.

          "It sucks that Tory and Kenny are still over there. At the waterpark, I tried to get Tory to switch sides, but she.. didn't want to." Robby explained to the girl that sat in the passenger seat.

Izzy let out a quiet sigh, the mention of Tory causing Izzy to hope she sees her face when Izzy goes to Cobra Kai. They both couldn't seem to get away from Cobra Kai, so seeing each other felt comforting to know they weren't alone.

She didn't say anything else the minute or two until they got to Miyagi-Do. When the two walked into the back of the dojo, everyone was spread out doing their own thing, waiting for whatever they were going to be doing today. Miguel saw Izzy before she could see him and a sigh left his lips, looking away when her head turned to look over where he saw.

          He stood with Eli and Demetri, who were both quick to notice Miguel's stare toward Izzy until he finally looked away. Eli let out a sigh and turned to look at his friend, "Maybe she'll talk to you today." Eli spoke.

"You've told him that for the past three days and she still hasn't talked to him." Demetri pointed out, but Eli just shrugged it off.

"Yeah, but I'm getting good vibes today. That's what Moon says when she feels good about something." A smile crept onto Eli's face as he nodded, but then felt bad at the mention of his girlfriend when Miguel's just broken up with him.

Miguel saw the worried expression that came across Eli's face but he laughed, brushing the subject off. "It's fine. Izzy has some personal things she needs to figure out, so I'm respecting her space." Miguel explained, his eyes glancing over to Izzy who stood talking with Robby.

"You don't think Keene will pull something? I'll kick his ass if–"

Miguel quickly cut Eli off with a laugh, "Relax. Robby wouldn't do that. He and Izzy are friends and so are me and him. He's cool." Miguel told his two friends who nodded at his words.

          A loud whistling sound filled the air and everyone looked to where it came from, seeing Sensei Toguchi staring at them all on the platform he stood on. He yelled for them all to line up and Izzy made her way toward the front after everyone else.

          "Where are my dad and Johnny?" Sam spoke up, questioning the man that looked down at them.

          "Not here," Chozen Toguchi answered, "Today, you train with me." His voice boomed and he had yelled something in Japanese, but then followed it with 'attention!' when no one reacted to his word.

          They all stood with their arms at their sides and Sensei Toguchi yelled something out again in Japanese, but no one moved. "Bow." The man told them, like he expected them to know what he was asking them to do, but they all bowed.

"Cobra Kai gaining ground. We must prepare. Come." Sensei Toguchi walked around a table that was set up on the platform and they all made their way closer to see what he had. There were weapons set up on the table as well as a sand timer. "Now, we learn about Yanbaru Kuina."

          "What is that? Like, some top-secret karate move?" Chris asked from the middle of the group.

          Sensei Toguchi was quick to deny it, "No. It is bird. In English, it is called Okinawa rail. Endangered. Cannot fly." The man explained to the group, his eyes scanning the teenager's faces.

          Izzy heard Demetri speak up from the other side, "Hence, endangered."

Izzy's attention turned back to the Sensei who pulled out a carton of eggs and her eyebrows furrowed at the sight, but hearing Miguel's voice caused her to quickly glance over. "So these are the real eggs?" He asked.

Miguel felt eyes on him and he looked to his right, catching Izzy just as she looked away, not wanting him to notice she was staring at him.

"No. Trader Joe's. Three twenty nine." Sensei Toguchi explained about the eggs, but then he grew impatient as they all blankly stared at him. "Take egg." He quickly gestured at them.

Izzy leaned over to grab a few eggs, turning to give one to Robby and a few other students in the back. The girl turned back as she held her own egg in her hand. "What are we supposed to do with them?" Izzy questioned.

"Yanbaru Kuina must protect egg from Kume Shima habu. Poison snake. You must do same." Sensei Toguchi answered her question and told the whole group and they watched him flip the timer upside down, slowly pouring the sand to the bottom.

"Begin your preparation."

Robby spoke up before anyone dared to move. "What are we protecting them from?"

"From me." Sensei Toguchi said, pulling two swords out that was hidden away, then yelling at them to go and protect their eggs.

After they were given a few minutes to find a way to hide their egg, Sensei Toguchi began to hunt for the eggs. And after witnessing him send a throwing knife to Demetri's egg, Izzy went with her instincts and went inside the building of the dojo. She wasn't sure if it was off limits, but no one else seemed to think about going in.

The girl had to have been in there for nearly five minutes hiding away in a corner behind a shelf. She was getting used to the silence, but then she heard the door open and her gut instinct made her jump to her feet, ready to fight because she expected to see her Sensei come in and take her out.

          But it was just Miguel.

The boy raised his arms in defense when he saw how Izzy was ready to fight with her fists raised. A weary laugh left his lips as he slightly smiled at the girl. "Whoa, hey, I'm sorry– I didn't know you were in here." Miguel explained, lowering his arms when Izzy dropped hers.

"Sorry, I– I thought you were Sensei and I've.. been so on edge lately." Izzy sighed, laughing a little bit as she talked and raised her hand to tuck strands of hair behind her ear.

"Well, it's just me. I actually think we're the last two left." There was a small smile on Miguel's face as he told the girl that and she looked surprised, but then Izzy smiled.

          A sigh left her smiling lips, "I'm not surprised." Izzy responded.

          It was quiet for a few seconds, Izzy struggling to avoid eye contact as Miguel kept his eyes on her. "So, uh.. how have you been? I–" He wanted to tell her that in the three days they haven't talked to each other once, he's seen Izzy everywhere.

          It was raining the other night and all he could think about was Izzy. A Taylor Swift came up on one of his playlists and he thought of Izzy. He felt stupid because he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel or if he should even have hope that they will get back to get together. Miguel does miss talking to her, so he was going to enjoy right now as much as he could.

"I've been okay," Izzy nodded, "Yeah, I couldn't sleep the other night because it was storming." She quietly laughed, going to cross her arms over her chest and winced when her hand brushed against the sensitive part of her arm where the cut was.

"I was going to text you to check on you. I–I know you're scared of them and it was all I could think about, so I just–" Miguel spoke quickly, becoming nervous and rambling, but then he let out a sigh and paused before speaking again. "I'm sorry–"

Izzy cut him off. "It's okay. It's nice to know you thought about it though." She smiled at him and seeing her smile was enough to ease Miguel's nerves, even though she was the main reason why he was nervous.

A smile tugged at the corner of Miguel's lips at her words before she spoke again. "How have you been?" Izzy then asked.

Miguel opened his mouth to speak, but he sounded like he didn't believe much in his words. "I've been doing good. Yeah, Robby and I get along now, and karate seems to be going fine, but–" He explained, cutting himself off before he said something stupid along the lines of 'but I'm not with you anymore, so I'm not that good'.

Izzy was going to ask him what he was going to say, but was interrupted when their Sensei snuck in and let out a yell, using a long wooden stick to knock Miguel down and off his feet. The boy let out a groan and felt his egg get crushed in his pocket, cringing at the feeling when he went to go pull it out.

          The girl's fists raised, but Sensei Toguchi let out an entertained laugh as he retrieved an egg from his gi and Izzy's eyebrows furrowed. She reached into her cardigan pocket to find out her egg was no longer in there.

          "How did you–"

          She internally cursed herself out as Izzy looked back to her Sensei, watching him crack the egg in his hand just as Miguel got up off of the floor. Their Sensei sighed in disappointment, shaking his head at the two before walking out of the dojo.

Izzy sent the boy a look and their eyes met, but didn't say a word as Izzy followed after the man to accept her defeat.

Miguel rolled his eyes at himself for feeling like he had fucked up his first chance at talking to Izzy since they broke up, but he trailed behind her, thinking about their conversation in his head.

          The rest of practice went by smoothly, they all managed to work as a team to protect one egg, and Izzy had never really been big on teamwork. Miyagi-Do was surprisingly being good to her, it was like her whole outlook was shifting from what it used to be, and it felt refreshing.

          After everyone was dismissed to go home, Izzy was one of the last few, having to wait for Robby since he had given her a ride. When they made their way out to go to Robby's car, she noticed Miguel standing on his phone like he was waiting for something. Robby quickly noticed too, but he didn't hesitate to call out to Miguel.

          "Hey, you need a ride?" Robby asked, causing Miguel to look up from his phone.

          "Uh, sure. I was gonna wait for my mom–"

          Robby laughed it off, "It's cool. We just have to drop Izzy off first," The boy said, gesturing to Izzy.

          Miguel glanced over to have his eyes meet with Izzy's but she just pressed her lips together to form a thin smile. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine." He shrugged, watching Robby nod and head over to where he parked his car.

          The Diaz boy walked after Robby and a huff left Izzy's lips, knowing this car ride was going to be more awkward than the one coming back from Mexico. She trailed behind Miguel who got into the backseat, letting Izzy sit in the front with Robby instead of taking it for himself.

          Izzy got into the car and didn't say a word to either of the two boys, Robby tried to start a conversation but Miguel would only respond, and when he did it was just short answers that didn't hold the conversation.

          It wasn't awkward because they broke up, it was awkward because it was obvious that what they felt for each other was still strong, and didn't show any signs of going away, no matter how hard they both tried.

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          After being dropped off back home by Robby, Izzy waited until he and Miguel were gone to get in her car and head to Cobra Kai, and the closer she got the more nauseated she felt. She felt like she was betraying Miyagi-Do somehow and with her luck, someone would find out Izzy was here and let everyone know.

She sat in her car for a minute, trying to calm herself down as she put off going inside. Izzy was so scared to see Riley, and it was horrible, Izzy hated feeling scared. She hated when fear won.

           It didn't sit well with the fact that Silver paid for Izzy to be champion. Also, the fact Izzy completely bailed on Cobra Kai at the tournament when she chose Miguel. She could assume Silver was still mad about that, especially when he hasn't seen her face since Izzy came back.

The girl finally got out, though. As she made her way back to the main room of the dojo, Izzy quickly realized that there was no one there. It was quiet, and there were no signs of any students. When Izzy got to where she was heading, she noticed what seemed to be Senseis she didn't recognize lined up and a woman standing there.

The woman let out an amused 'hm' sound, almost like she expected more out of Izzy from what she's heard in the dojo. Izzy pieced it together rather quickly that this woman was Sensei Kim, the one that Riley was going on.

          "You must be Isobel Vera. Cobra Kai's champion." The dark-haired woman spoke and that was when Izzy noticed someone enter the room and she glanced over to see Silver walk in.

"It's nice to have you back Izzy." Silver spoke, a smile appearing on his lips.

Izzy let out a sigh at his words. "I'm not back. Riley.. told me to come here to talk. So I'm here." She shrugged.

Just as the other Senseis in the room rolled out some sort of makeshift person made out of what seemed to be stone, Silver spoke up again. "I heard you and Mr. Diaz aren't together anymore."

Izzy let out a pathetic laugh, "Do you keep tabs on me or something?" She questioned, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Silver laughed, his arms crossed behind his back. "I care about my students." He twisted her words, a smile sticking to his lips.

"I'm not your student." Izzy stated.

Another laugh left Silver's lips. "You're my champion."

Izzy looked at him like he was unbelievable, like his words meant nothing to her. "Didn't you pay for that to happen?" She spat at him.

His smile faded, quickly glancing over at the other senseis in the room that were setting up what they brought out. Silver just laughed, "Tory told you." He muttered.

"Tory didn't tell me anything." Izzy lied to him.

Silver just nodded, taking a step away from the girl and turning to Sensei Kim. "Show her how champions are supposed to be." He told the other before taking a quick bow and walking out of the room. He left quickly, like he had better things to deal with than the girl who betrayed her dojo.

Izzy's eyes shifted to the makeshift dummy made out of pieces of stone. "What even is this?" The girl asked.

"This is your enemy. I want you to destroy it," Sensei Kim told her, "If you destroy it, you'll prove to be a champion like everyone says you are."

An uneasy laugh came from Izzy as she pointed to the stone, "That's stone. It'll break my hand. I–I can't–" Izzy cut herself off, staring at the stone and she felt a lump form in her throat.

          Sensei Kim tilted her head at the girl. "You can't?" She scoffed, "Those are not words of a champion." She was trying to strike a nerve with Izzy, to provoke the girl to get angry enough.

Izzy shook her head. "No. No. I'm going home." She scoffed at the dark-haired woman. Just as Izzy turned to leave, the four senseis standing there blocked the exit, essentially trapping Izzy in.

The girl turned to look back at Sensei Kim, but she gave Izzy a look like this was serious. Izzy let out a quiet sigh, walking in front of the stone. She glared over at Sensei Kim, but the woman stared at her, waiting for Izzy to do something.

Izzy looked back at the stone, knowing this was the only way she could leave, and Izzy didn't have the energy to fight her way out. So, the girl raised her fists and lined her right fist up with the center of the stone that was meant to be a head. She inhaled, quickly drawing her hand back and sent it into the stone, a painful gasp leaving Izzy's lips at the feeling.

"Again. To break it, you must be strong. Powerful." Sensei Kim instructed her, watching Izzy wince as she tightened her hand into a fist again, going to punch the stone.

          When her fist collided with the stone, another painful yell left her mouth and she held her wrist, grunting through gritted teeth as the burning sensation went all up her arm. As Izzy looked at her knuckles that were bleeding, she could hear a laugh come from Sensei Kim who looked amused when Izzy glanced up.

          "Are you even trying?" Sensei Kim taunted, a hint of a laugh in her words.

          Izzy could feel the tears begin to form in her eyes. This was her trying, but it didn't seem to be enough to please the woman watching her every move. Izzy felt herself get angry and she took all of her rage into punching the stone, but failed to break it and instead got cut-up knuckles that were dripping blood onto the floor.

          The girl felt a few tears finally leave her eyes, grunting in pain and holding her wrist as her hand was squeezed shut. Izzy fell to the floor, landing on her knees and tried her hardest to not start crying because of the pain. She winced at how painful it was to even hold her hand into a fist, but Sensei Kim didn't seem phased that Izzy was in pain right now.

"Is there something holding you back?" Sensei Kim asked the girl, "There must be."

Izzy stayed quiet, watching the blood pour from her knuckles through her tear-filled eyes. Sensei Kim didn't stop there, though.

"It's the boy, isn't it?" The woman then questioned, "Mr. Diaz." The mention of Miguel made Izzy glance up, but Izzy shook her head.

"No. I–I broke up with him." Izzy's voice cracked, trying to remain calm, but her words didn't seem to please Sensei Kim like Izzy thought they would.

"Then why is he still on your mind?" Sensei Kim's words were aggressive and it angered Izzy, because she had all of these people telling her what to do with her life.

"You're weak. You love to act strong, but you are not. It's pathetic." The words poured out of the woman's mouth, but she didn't stop. "Maybe Sensei Silver was right. You are not good enough."

          Those last five words were Izzy's breaking point and despite the pain she was feeling, she stood to her and the anger had consumed her at this point. Izzy didn't even say anything, instead, the girl sent her fist for Sensei Kim's face, but the woman moved out of the way and watched as Izzy's fist collided with the stone.

          The stone shattered, falling to pieces onto the floor just as Izzy did. Sobs left her mouth, the girl couldn't even feel her hand at this point, but her other hand squeezed her wrist to try and keep it up as much as she could. If Izzy thought Riley cutting her arm hurt, this was a cruel awakening for pain to Izzy.

          "Lesson over," Sensei Kim spat, "Try not to get your blood all over the dojo." She spoke before walking off, leaving Izzy alone in the large room.

          She sat there for a few more minutes, crying to herself and trying to find the little strength she had left to get up and leave. Izzy didn't even know how she was going to drive with her hand like this, but she managed to push herself off of the floor and blink the tears away, heading in the direction of the exit.

Before the girl could even get to the doors to leave Cobra Kai, she saw someone turn a corner and they immediately noticed Izzy's current state. Through her blurry vision, she could recognize the person as Evan.

"Holy shit, Izzy." He muttered, looking down at her hand and then at the crying girl. "What happened?" The boy asked, taking a step closer to Izzy but she took a step back.

"I'm–I'm fine. I just want to go home." Izzy's voice was weak and when she tried to go and walk past Evan, he stopped her.

"Do you want me to take you? I don't think you can drive like that Izzy. It.. it looks bad." Evan pointed out, but Izzy didn't dare to look at her hand which was throbbing in pain.

A shaky breath left Izzy's lips. "What–what are you even doing here? I–I thought practice was over." She sounded like she couldn't think straight, because her thoughts were a whirlwind in her mind.

"I forgot my bag, Ethan's out there waiting for me–it doesn't matter. You need to get home, Izzy." Evan told the girl, going to help her out of the dojo, and to where her car was parked.

They didn't get to Izzy's car before Ethan had gotten out of the passenger side of what Izzy assumed to be Evan's car. He could see Izzy's hurt hand from the short distance and Ethan made his way over to the two heading to Izzy's car.

"Hey—whoa, what the fuck happened?" Ethan asked as he approached them, looking at Izzy's hand.

"I don't–I don't know. She needs to get home." Evan explained while Izzy didn't say a word, the only thing her mind could focus on was the pain, and how the only person she wanted to see right now, she couldn't.

Ethan nodded, not asking another question. "I can take her." He told the other boy who nodded as well, but Evan helped Izzy into the passenger side of the car before leaving.

          Normally Izzy would refuse to have Ethan take her home, especially after what he pulled on prom night, because the things he said still sit in the back of Izzy's mind. She managed to get her car keys out, throwing them at Ethan when he got into the car.

Neither of them said a word as Ethan pulled away from Cobra Kai, driving in the direction of Izzy's house, trying to remember the directions. After being in the car for a minute or two, Ethan finally spoke up.

"What happened?" He asked like he expected an answer.

Izzy glared over at him, "Like you give a shit." She muttered under her breath.

A sigh left Ethan's mouth, not responding to the girl and he was quiet for another minute before Ethan spoke up again. "Hey, I'm–I'm really sorry for what I said and did at prom. I know my apology probably doesn't mean shit because I said some fucked-up things, but.. I realized that Miguel was good for you. Miyagi-Do is good for you."

What he said couldn't even register in Izzy's mind, mostly because the pain was distracting her, but after she processed it, the girl looked over.

Izzy just stared at him as she questioned him, "Why are you saying that?" She sounded annoyed, yet curious at the same time.

"Uh–" Ethan breathed out, a nervous laugh leaving his lips, "I'm leaving Cobra Kai. I– my parents are getting a divorce and I wanted to go with my dad to New York while my mom stays here, and then Sensei Silver tried to bribe my dad with money to get me to live with my mom, so I can stay at the dojo. I told him no." He explained, laughing a little bit like he thought it was ridiculous.

          Izzy couldn't believe it, but then everything began to piece together when she thought about Silver paying the referee at the All Valley. She didn't dare tell him about that, instead, the girl just looked back out of her window and let out a sigh.

          "Silver doesn't care about anyone but himself." Izzy admitted, "Besides, New York seems cool. The farther away from him, the better." She trailed off as she referred to Silver, her eyes shifting down to look at her hand, hearing a laugh come from Ethan. 

          It was quiet again as they got to Reseda and closer to where Izzy lived. On the way there, they passed by the apartment complex Miguel lived in and Izzy's eyes stuck to it, being forced to look away when they turned a corner to go onto a different street. A quiet sigh left her lips, hearing Ethan's voice fill the awkward silence in the car.

          "So.. you and Miguel aren't together anymore?" Ethan asked.

          "I really don't want to talk about this," Izzy told him, looking straight ahead at the front windshield. "Especially with you."

          Ethan nodded, "Fair enough." He muttered and turned yet another corner, finally reaching Izzy's apartments she lived in.

          Once the car was parked, Ethan took the keys out and they both got out of the car. The boy handed her the keys, watching her take them in the hand that wasn't hurt. "Do you need any help?" He asked, but Izzy shook her head.

          "Uh, no. I can take care of this myself. Thanks for driving me." Izzy forced a smile to her lips, but then she furrowed her eyebrows. "How are you getting home?" She asked, the boy remembering that he drove her car.

          "Oh, I can call Evan or something, I'll wait out front." Ethan shrugged.

          Izzy nodded, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I guess I'll see you later. Hopefully New York is fun." She said her goodbye to Ethan.

          Before turning around and walking off, Ethan smiled and muttered a 'see you later'. Izzy didn't wait to watch him leave, instead, she locked her car and turned to head back to her apartment. She didn't see Kayla's car outside which meant she had to have left for work, so Izzy didn't have to tell her sister about what happened.

          The hard part was that this was just another thing she had to hide from Miguel and Izzy had a feeling keeping these things from him was going to backfire on her.

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authors note.
this chapter got surprisingly long and i don't rly like this chapter LMAO but i hope you guys enjoyed it!! ignore any typos cause this was a lot <3

but there's an angsty mizzy scene in the next chapter and it's going to hurt, this forbidden love trope is too much for me fr

( gif made by saevrz )