❝so, there's this dance tomorrow at school.❞

AYANE WAS ANNOYED WITH MIGUEL.

He finally learned how to punch, and started acting like he was the shit.

She did not stay around much longer afterwards; she had to get to the LaRusso's. Ayane had to admit that she was kind of dreading it, afraid she would be staining more fences.

As the Uber dropped her off at the house, she saw another teenager standing outside.

Her eyes went wide with infuriation.

It was Kyler.

Ayane breathed in slowly, walking up to the house and trying to ignore Sam and Kyler. What the hell was he doing here?

She was quickly answered, however, when Sam called her over.

Ayane's shoulders slumped, halfway to the door now. She slowly turned, plastering a fake smile on her face and walking over.

"Hey, so you remember Kyler, right?"

Kyler did not even glance at Ayane.

"How could I forget?"

Sam looked between them, until she remembered the cafeteria scene. Now, she did not know what do.

"Um- yeah. He came over to eat dinner with us."

Ayane nodded, uninterested. All she knew was that if Kyler came close to her, she was drop kicking him into the pool.

"I'm gonna go inside," Ayane finally broke the awkward silence, turning and almost jogging to the door.

She walked inside, Anthony passing by as she did. The two had become somewhat acquainted, though Anthony did not seem to give a shit about her.

He glanced up from his tablet, then glanced back down and kept walking.

Ayane pursed her lips, walking further into the house. She had not gotten to see all of it, only Samantha's room and the dojo, really.

Before she knew it, Ayane was in the kitchen. There, Amanda and Daniel were both preparing dinner.

"Ayane, hi dear!" Amanda smiled, wiping her hands off. "We were just discussing this, but would you like to have dinner with us?"

"We're having sashimi," Daniel looked up at her with a smile.

Ayane nodded slowly. "Sashimi. Interesting. Um- I guess I could. You know, since I don't have anything better to do."

Amanda smiled once more, although it almost seemed like a sympathetic one. Ayane hated that look.

"Great!" Daniel replied. Then, he looked at her with hesitation. "Do you- do you know Kyler?"

Ayane chewed her inner lip. She could, on one hand, completely snitch on Kyler and tell the truth about him. But that would severely damage her relationship with Sam, she guessed.

"I do. We take the same gym class."

Daniel was lost in his thoughts. Amanda looked over at him, trying to discreetly tell him not to push it.

"That's nice. Is he- is he an okay guy?"

Ayane clenched her jaw, biting down on her tongue.

"Mm... yep."

After that, she tried not to talk anymore. But things only got worse at dinner.

They all sat down at the table, minus Anthony, Ayane seating herself between Amanda and Sam. That was as far as she could get from Kyler.

Mr. LaRusso explained what sashimi was as he served it, Ayane patiently waiting. She did not mind eating sashimi, but that was the only meat she ate.

That was when Kyler told Daniel, "I... I don't eat sushi, sir."

Ayane quirked an eyebrow, hiding her smirk. She wondered how this was going to go.

"Oh. Well, don't you want to at least try it?" Mr. LaRusso pushed, furrowing his eyebrows.

Sam looked uncomfortable, but Ayane was reveling in this situation.

"It's really good, Kyler," she leaned forward and said, taking her chopsticks and eating the sushi roll.

Kyler almost glared at her, but glanced away at once.

"Uh- nah, I'm good."

Mr. LaRusso seemed irritated now. Ayane could have laughed, but she simply ate the sushi. Hey, it was good. And free.

"Well what do you eat?" Mr. LaRusso aggressively asked, setting the knife down.

Amanda intervened before the situation got anymore tense.

"Um, why don't we go find something Kyler will eat? Sam?"

The two LaRusso women stood from their chairs, leaving the other three in the dining room.

Ayane could feel the awkwardness, but she simply ignored it and continued to eat.

"Would you like some more?" Daniel asked, offering her the plate.

She shrugged, taking more sashimi rolls with her chopsticks.

Kyler watched, fully glaring at her now. Ayane could feel it, but she ignored him. If she caught him giving her a dirty look, she would undoubtedly reach across the table and punch him.

"You going to the Halloween dance?" Ayane asked, looking over at him.

Kyler nodded curtly. "Yeah. You?"

Ayane shrugged. "Maybe."

There was more silence for a moment, and then Daniel began asking questions.

"So, Kyler. Where'd you get that shiner from?

"Oh, uh, wrestling."

"Really? Is that what happened to your hand, too?"

Ayane tapped her feet, looking over at Kyler's hand. It was pretty banged up.

Kyler went quiet for a moment, Ayane narrowing her eyes.

"I get it," Mr. LaRusso continued, "I got into my fair share of fights at school-"

"No- no it's not that. It's..."

Ayane tilted her head, wondering why he was so hesitant.

"Is everything okay at home?"

Kyler quickly shook his head. "Oh, no, it's not that. It's just..." he sighed. "My friends and I got into it with this homeless looking guy at the mini-mart one night. We were trying to get... protein bars, and he just started giving us a hard time."

Ayane looked at Mr. LaRusso. Surely he was not buying this.

"Really? Was- was everyone okay?"

Kyler shrugged, sitting back. "I don't know. He went crazy on us, started doing karate or something."

Ayane's eyes went as big as saucers. Mr. LaRusso quickly realized, shaking his head with anger.

They both knew who did it.

. . . .

DANIEL AND AYANE DID NOT do training that night.

Instead, they both went to the Cobra Kai dojo.

Ayane did not mention the fact that she had been going to the dojo for the past three days, and simply hoped Mr. LaRusso would not figure that out.

Because if he did, and he told her parents, Ayane was done for.

Daniel parked the car right in front of Cobra Kai, storming up to the door. Ayane followed warily, silently praying.

"Welcome to Cobra Kai," Johnny's voice rang out, he himself appearing in the doorway of his office.

His face fell upon seeing Daniel, and Ayane with him.

"Wait, did you bring him here?" He pointed at Ayane, and her heart stopped.

Daniel looked between the two of them.

"How- how do you know each other?"

Ayane felt sick to her stomach. Her heart was racing. She gave Johnny a look, a pleading look.

"I don't, I was making a joke," Johnny finally said, looking back at Daniel.

"Why are you here?"

Daniel took a step forward, clenching his jaw.

Just then, Miguel appeared from the other room, pulling out his earbuds.

His eyes flitted over to Ayane, shaking his head in confusion.

She chewed her inner lip anxiously, then pulled out her phone and texted him.

Miguel checked his phone, coming to understand the situation. He glanced up, unsure of what to do. Both of the teens stood there, behind their respective sensei.

Daniel took a few more steps closer to Johnny, tense.

"This is far from over," he spat. "But stay away from my daughter's friends."

Ayane frowned, and she really wanted to tell Mr. LaRusso the truth. Of course, Johnny did not deserve that. He was an ass.

She glanced back at Miguel, shrugging. He offered a small smile, shaking his head.

Their sensei may have been at war, but they were the complete opposite.

. . . .

WHEN AYANE GOT HOME, she had to do some quick thinking.

She was an hour later than usual, and she also wanted to ask about the Halloween dance.

Liana was the only one home, of course. So Ayane walked into the living room, standing there until her mother looked up.

"Hey, mom," she said, walking over to the couch and sitting down.

"Hello, dear," Liana muttered, busying herself with her book.

Ayane folded her hands in her lap. "So, there's this dance tomorrow at school. A Halloween dance. And-"

"And you want to go."

Liana finally closed her book, looking up at her daughter. The two had barely spoken since the incident in the car, their first day here.

"Well... yeah. If- if that's okay."

Liana pursed her lips. She honestly didn't care what Ayane did, but is was Ennis who would have to make the decision.

"You'll have to ask your father, dear."

And it was left at that. Ayane went up to her room, shutting the door and pulling out her computer. She wanted to find a Halloween costume.

Then, as she sat there with Google open, she did something else.

Ayane began researching superheroes.

She immediately became very interested in them, both Marvel and DC. Ayane considered texting Miguel, but she held off. She did not want to seem desperate.

Ayane found herself going down a rabbit hole of superheroes, comics, and everything in between. She felt like she had been missing out her entire life.

She ended up watching five Marvel movies, not going to sleep until four in the morning. Still, Ayane was dying to text Miguel and tell him about it.

Finally, she allowed herself to go to sleep, being that she had to be up in four hours when Ennis got home. They had to do taekwondo.

Ayane felt like she slept for five minutes, before her alarm was going off. The girl groaned, smacking her phone until it shut off.

With a yawn, she pushed back the blankets and got up to get ready for the day.

Ennis was waiting for her downstairs, in his new 'dojo'. That was what he called it, anyway. But you had to be a real sensei to actually have a dojo.

The first thing he said as she came in was, "Your mother tells me you want to go to this... Halloween dance."

Ayane tensed, taking slow steps in.

"Um... well- well, I did. Only if you think it's okay-"

"I've thought about it. You seem to be adjusting very well to school and lessons, Mr. LaRusso tells me. So, I've decided that I will allow you to go-"

"Yes, yes yes!" Ayane said excitedly, going forward and hugging her father.

"I'm not finished."

Ayane pulled away, folding her arms behind her back. "Sorry."

Ennis smoothed out his shirt, clearing his throat.

"I have some rules. You will be home by ten-thirty, and Mr. LaRusso will make sure of that. You will not accept any drinks that someone offers you. And the last rule," he inhaled sharply.

Ayane looked up nervously.

"No fighting."

The girl exhaled, relieved. "Of course, dad. I would never."

Ennis could have laughed. "I would say otherwise, considering that temper of yours. Now, warm up."

. . . .

AYANE AND LIANA WENT OUT after lunch, looking for a costume for Ayane.

"Why don't you want to be a bumblebee?" Liana asked, huffing. "It's cute!"

Ayane closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head.

"I'm not over the moon about bees, mom, that's why. How about this?"

Ayane held up a black coat with a white corset and a black body shirt, with fishnets and a top hat as well.

Liana frowned, tilting her head. "What is that supposed to be?"

"It's a magician costume," Ayane rolled her eyes. "I want this one."

Her mother was still not completely thralled, however. "It's a little... showy, don't you think?"

Ayane simply shook her head. "No, not really. Trust me, there will be girls there with much worse."

With that, Liana just rolled her eyes and bought the costume. It was only for one night, anyway.

A few hours later, it was almost time to go. Ayane took one last look in the mirror, nodding to herself with approval. She was nervous, but in a good way.

Ennis was in his office, but he came out as Ayane walked downstairs. And quickly, he frowned.

"What in the world are you supposed to be?"

Ayane gripped the stair rail. "A-A magician."

Liana walked into the foyer, her keys jingling in her hand.

"Alright, let's go."

Ayane had never been happier to hear those words. Before Ennis could protest further, Ayane followed her mom to the car.

They arrived at West Valley High just as the sun was going down, kids already all over the place.

Ayane turned her mom. "I'll see you when I get home. Bye."

Liana could not get a word out before Ayane grabbed her phone and top hat, speeding out of the car. She walked up to the doors, putting the hat on her head.

Drawing in a breath, she walked inside.

NOTES!
make your predictions about the halloween dance!! shit may or may not hit the fan 👀