❝ i'm not in cobra kai, and i don't plan on joining. ❞

AYANE LEFT THE DOJO, but someone followed her out.

"Ayane."

She recognized Miguel's voice with no mistake. Turning, Ayane's mouth quirked up into a smile.

"Hey. What's up?"

Miguel drew his lips in, frowning a little. He was trying to think of the right words to say.

"Are you... okay? I-I feel like I haven't really asked lately. I just want to know how you are."

Ayane laughed a little. "I'm fine, Mig. Why wouldn't I be?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Where do I begin?"

She sighed, shaking her head with a little smile. "Despite the whole 'my dad being in jail' thing. And the 'my mom doesn't want me' thing. Not the point. But I'm fine. Honestly."

Miguel was not buying that. He could read Ayane better than she thought.

"Ayane. I know you better than that. Tell me the truth."

She paused, her smile fading. Ayane glanced at the doors of the dojo, then back to Miguel.

"Fine. It's Kreese. That man is- there's something that I really don't like about him."

"You and me both," Miguel replied, folding his arms.

Ayane tapped her foot. "Yeah, but... I went and talked to my dad."

Miguel quickly looked up but Ayane continued.

"He knew Kreese. A long time ago. And... I've met Kreese before."

Ayane trailed away as she thought about her little brother again. The little brother that no one had ever known existed.

"Holy shit," Miguel said, shaking his head slowly. "Does that mean Kreese is crazy too? No offense-"

"Definitely none taken," Ayane replied, laughing dryly.

She shrugged. "I don't know. My dad told me that Kreese was the one who encouraged him to teach me martial arts. And while my dad may be a piece of shit, he wouldn't lie about something like that."

Before Miguel could reply, the doors of the dojo opened.

Kreese walked out, looking between the two teenagers.

"You mind if I talk to Miss Cain for a minute?" he asked Miguel. Though it didn't really sound like a question.

Miguel exchanged a look with Ayane, who gave him a curt nod.

"I'll talk to you later."

With a nod, Miguel walked back inside. Ayane looked up at Kreese, analyzing him. She was not afraid of him, she just had a lot of questions.

Kreese pulled out a cigar and lit it up, taking a drag.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you've figured out where you've seen me before."

Ayane swallowed her dry throat. "Yeah. You know Ennis?"

Kreese chuckled. "Know him? He was one of my best friends during 'Nam. Thought he was one of 'em until he stinted my broken arm."

Ayane looked at him blankly, as she really did not care.

"How is your old man, anyway?" Kreese asked after a moment.

She crossed her arms, looking out at the street. "He's in jail."

"I'll be damned," Kreese laughed again. "I don't whether I should be surprised or not? What'd he do?"

Ayane inhaled sharply. "Assault. Of a minor."

Kreese found this much more amusing than she, which rightfully pissed off Ayane.

"What's so funny about that?" she snapped, staring at Kreese.

He gave her a look. "It's funny... 'cause it seems likely." Kreese took another drag of his cigar. "Is that where the bruise on your face came from?"

Ayane had almost forgotten about that. "Yep," she replied.

"And how's your mom?"

She almost laughed. "Couldn't tell you. I don't live with her anymore."

Kreese nodded, as if he had expected that. "Good choice. She's a bitch."

Ayane raised her eyebrows in surprise, as she agreed with that statement. Nonetheless, she was ready for this conversation to be over.

"And your brother? He's gotta be, what- fourteen now?"

That made Ayane go quiet for a long time. She stared at the concrete sidewalk.

"He's dead."

Kreese, for a flickering moment, was sympathetic. He had definitely not been expecting that answer.

"That's... that's too bad," he finally replied. "What happened?"

Ayane chewed her inner lip. "Brain tumor. He was only three."

Kreese was quiet for a moment, fiddling with the cigar in his fingers.

"Why'd your old man decide to move across the country?" he finally continued.

Ayane laughed dryly. "For karate. Correction: for me to learn karate and win the All Valley Tournament."

"Which you basically did."

She looked up, frowning. "No I didn't. I lost."

"By your own choice," Kreese continued, "a stupid decision, if you ask me. Winning is more important than a boyfriend, don't you think?"

Ayane scoffed. "It wasn't for Miguel. It was for me."

Kreese could not exactly understand Ayane's reasoning, so he dismissed it.

"I'm having a little competition sometime for Cobra Kai down at Coyote Creek. Think you might want to tag along with that boyfriend of yours?"

Ayane furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not in Cobra Kai, and I don't plan on joining."

Kreese put out his cigar against the wall, glancing at Ayane once more.

"All in due time."

. . . .

WHEN AYANE GOT BACK TO the LaRusso's, Amanda and Anthony were back.

"Oh, there you are," Amanda said as Ayane walked inside. "Daniel told me you weren't with him but I couldn't find you here."

"I just went for a run," Ayane explained, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Well, now that you're back, how would you like to go to the beach club with us?"

Ayane turned, shrugging slowly. "Yeah, sure."

She changed into shorts and a tank top with her swimsuit underneath and sandals, pulling her hair back into a braid. Anthony got in the back of the car, immersed in his video game. Ayane wondered if he ever did anything else.

They arrived at the beach club not too long after. It was a huge, lavish place. It looked like something Liana would like.

Ayane followed Amanda, examining the place. It was not exactly her style.

She found Sam and Robby by the pool, laying in pool chairs.

"What are you bums doing?" she asked, walking up to them.

"Oh, you're here," Sam looked up. "My mom didn't force you to come, did she?"

Ayane laughed, sitting down in the chair beside her and pulling out sunscreen. "No, no. I'm just in a better mood, now."

Sam nodded with a smile, turning her head up. Ayane's eyes traveled up to see what she was looking at.

Squinting, Ayane saw Aisha and who she thought to be Tory on the deck. Ayane frowned a little, looking back to Sam.

"Aisha doesn't hate you, you know," Ayane told her.

Sam looked over, pursing her lips. "Yeah, well she certainly acts differently. I just- I don't get how she could be a part of Cobra Kai."

Ayane was quiet for a moment. She had not told anyone about her frequent visits to the dojo.

"You should go talk to her," Robby suggested.

Ayane nodded in agreement. She wanted to go talk to Tory as well. The girl seemed pretty badass.

"I'll go with you," Ayane stood, offering a hand to Sam.

At once, Sam took it and Ayane helped her up.

The two walked up there together, but when they got there Tory was gone.

Ayane frowned, looking around for her.

Then, Ayane spotted her at the bar. She walked over, Tory not even noticing her until Ayane was right beside her.

Ayane noticed Tory putting something in her bag.

"Whatcha got there?" Ayane asked, looking up at her.

Tory turned, startled for a moment. "Oh- Ayane? What are you doing here?"

Ayane raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing. I didn't know you were a rich girl."

Tory snorted, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder. "Yeah, right. No, Aisha invited me. What about you? Who are you here with?"

Ayane glanced at Tory's bag, seeing the label for vodka sticking out. She ignored it, answering, "The LaRusso family."

"LaRusso? Isn't that the guy who owns the dealership in North Hollywood?"

"That's the one," Ayane replied with a curt nod. "That's who I take karate with."

Tory looked over at her as they walked along. "Why? Something wrong with Cobra Kai? Is it too aggressive for you?"

Ayane narrowed her eyes with a smirk. "Did you forget how I kicked your ass that quick?"

"If I remember correctly, I kicked your ass first," Tory replied, raising an eyebrow.

They both laughed, walking up to Sam and Aisha.

"Look what I swiped from the bar," Tory said to Aisha, showing the bottle of vodka in her bag.

Aisha grinned, but Sam was frowning.

"You should put that back, you could get in big trouble," Sam said, staring at the bottle with disdain.

Tory turned to her, scoffing a little. "And you are..."

"Oh, Sam, this is Tory. Tory, Sam."

Sam nodded curtly, then looked at Ayane. "Wait- how do you guys know each other?"

Ayane's heart skipped a beat for a moment as she tried to think of a cover.

"We just met, over at the bar," Ayane lied, giving Tory a knowing look. Tory didn't say anything.

"Like anyone's gonna miss one bottle of vodka," Tory continued, rolling her eyes. "I could swipe half the silverware in this place before anyone would notice."

"You shouldn't steal anything," Sam replied defensively, shaking her head.

Ayane looked between them. Sam did have a point. Sure, they wouldn't notice, but stealing was not exactly a hobby.

"What are you, a nun?" Tory snapped back, giving Sam a challenging look. She turned back to Aisha at once.

"So? Are we gonna drink or not?"

Aisha stood there, conflicted for a moment. "Okay. One drink."

Tory smiled, then turned to Ayane. "What about you, you in?"

Ayane narrowed her eyes in the sunlight. "I'll be there in a second."

Tory shrugged, throwing an arm around Aisha and walking off with her.

Ayane turned to Sam. "Tory didn't really mean anything by that," she explained with a reassuring smile. "She's actually pretty cool."

Sam frowned, looking up at Ayane. "I don't know, she seems... off."

Ayane rolled her eyes. "Let's use my judgment today, okay? It's called 'no judgment'. It'll be fine, alright? Let's go throw Robby in the pool or something."

After awhile, when they were getting ready to leave, Amanda walked up to them whilst digging through her purse.

"Hey, have any of you seen my wallet? I can't find it and I've looked everywhere."

They all frowned, shaking their heads.

"I'll go check the beach," Robby said, "maybe someone turned it in to the lifeguard."

Ayane was about to go with him when Sam grabbed her arm. Turning around, Sam leaned over and said, "Could it have been Tory?"

"I don't think so-"

But Sam was already walking off, going up to Tory and Aisha.

Ayane pinched the bridge of her nose, quickly following to stop Sam before things escalated.

"Sam-"

"Hey," Sam said, confronting Tory and Aisha. She looked at the taller girl. "My mom's missing her wallet."

Tory laughed a little. "Sucks for her."

Ayane stood there, shaking her head. "Sam, let's go look for it first."

But Sam continued, "You wouldn't know anything about that?"

Tory's smile faded quickly.

"Wait," Aisha said, "what are you saying?"

"Just give me the wallet, and I won't tell security," Sam snapped, glaring at Tory.

Ayane shot her a look. "Sam, you can't just-"

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Tory replied, scoffing. "Listen, I didn't rob your mom bitch."

Ayane pursed her lips, shaking her head. She grabbed Sam's arm. "Sam, come on."

Tory looked at Ayane, then rolled her eyes and turned around to walk away.

But Sam impulsively stepped forward, grabbing Tory's bag. Tory quickly whipped around.

"Get off of me!" she yelled, shoving Sam hard. Sam fell backwards, crashing into a table of food behind her.

Ayane stood there, turning back to Tory with a frown.

Tory noticed her look, saying, "Why are you even friends with her?"

Aisha and Tory walked away at that. Ayane turned back to Sam, walking over and offering a hand. She pulled Sam up, picking food off of her.

"Why would you accuse her of that?" Ayane asked quietly, shaking her head.

Sam scoffed a little. "She stole a bottle of vodka and said she would steal half the silverware. That doesn't sound a little suspicious to you?"

Ayane did not reply, handing Sam paper towels.

. . . .

THE NEXT DAY, Robby explained to Ayane and Sam what happened at the beach and who really had Amanda's wallet.

Ayane could tell Sam felt guilty, so she did not bring up the Tory situation.

"It was Trey and Cruz?" Ayane asked. They were all sitting outside the dojo, waiting for Mr. LaRusso to get done with his meditation.

"Yeah, and some other guy. He whacked me in the head with a paddle," Robby explained, holding out his phone to show Ayane and Sam a video.

Ayane raised her eyebrows. "Holy shit, you got this on video? This could bring in, like- dozens of students if we posted it."

Robby nodded, putting his phone away with a sigh.

"Yeah. But Mr. LaRusso said no."

Ayane frowned, shaking her head. She was about to ask why when Daniel himself came out of the dojo.

He was about to say something when, walking in behind him was the last person Ayane would have expected.

"Demetri?" She stood up, approaching him. He had stitches on his nose.

"What are you doing here?"

Demetri squinted. "Ah, well- essentially, I'm here to learn karate."

Ayane laughed a little. "Is that so? How come you didn't want to stick with Cobra Kai?"

Demetri gave her a look. "Do you see my face?"

She laughed again, then frowned.

"Wait- who did that to you? It wasn't Miguel or someone, was it?"

Demetri scratched his head. "Uh, no. It was- some old guy."

Ayane realized quickly who had done it. She could not say she was surprised.

"Well," she dismissed it, turning to the others while throwing an arm around Demetri.

"Looks like we've got to get to work."

NOTES!
i felt like there was a lack of ayane & miguel scenes in this chapter... gotta fix that ✋

also what did y'all think about ayane's conversation with kreese?? y'all think he might get into her head? 🌝