❝ i know how to handle myself. ❞

AYANE HAD TO LEAVE not long after to get to Moon's, so they could start on their project.

She could tell that Miguel was frustrated with his failed attempts at walking and Ayane was frustrated because she didn't know how to help him.

Moon's house wasn't far from the LaRusso's. She walked up to the front door and rang the bell, waiting patiently.

Ayane was suddenly reminded of what happened on this very front porch, what she had witnessed on that night of Moon's party.

It had been awhile since the thought even crossed Ayane's mind, as she was trying her best to forget it and Tory.

A moment later, Moon opened the door with a smile on her face.

"Hey! Come on in."

She followed Moon inside, looking around for a moment.

"Do you want anything to drink or anything at all?" Moon asked, turning to Ayane.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. You ready to get to work?"

An hour later, that was all they had done; work. Moon did not bother wasting any time.

She finally allowed them to take a break, shutting her Chemistry textbook as they sat on her bed.

"I think this project is going to turn out great!"

Ayane nodded. "You seem to know what you're talking about. You're doing a lot better than me."

Moon laughed, shrugging. "It's funny- I actually love science but people think I'm too dumb for it."

Ayane frowned.

"That's their loss. We're going to have the best damn project West Valley ever saw."

Moon grinned. "I hope so." She paused looking at Ayane curiously, then continued, "Can I ask you something?"

Ayane nodded. "Of course."

"So... Demetri told me you quit karate. I guess I was just... wondering why? I-I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want-"

"It's fine," Ayane cut her off, smiling briefly. She brought her legs into a crisscross and began explaining.

"I haven't felt the same... since the fight. Since- what happened to Miguel. I've been so scared to do anything that might get him hurt again, and karate is what got him hurt in the first place."

Ayane's voice wavered, as if it were about to break. She bit her tongue, trying to stop the tears from welling in her eyes.

She continued. "I-I haven't really told anyone this, but... I'm scared, Moon. I'm scared that Miguel will never be able to walk again and that it's all my fault-"

And she broke off, placing a hand over her mouth to cover her choked tears.

Moon quickly scooted over, placing her arms around Ayane and trying to console her.

"It's okay, Ayane. It's okay. This isn't your fault. None of it. Okay?"

Ayane drew in a deep breath, trying to make herself stop crying. God, she hated crying in front of people.

She tried to nod her head, looking up away from Moon and wiping her eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry for just randomly breaking down like this-"

"Don't apologize," Moon said sternly. "You're my friend. And it's okay to be vulnerable sometimes."

Moon got up and walked into her bathroom, returning a moment later with tissues and handing them to Ayane.

Her words resonated with Ayane, that it was okay to be vulnerable. Ayane had never been told that before.

Moon sat down again, facing Ayane.

"You deserve a break. So you can stay away from karate as long as you need to, and if no one else supports that decision then I will."

Ayane raised her eyebrows, smiling at once.

"I think you're one of the best friends I've ever had," she admitted.

Moon clutched her chest.

"That means a lot to me."

. . . .

AYANE HAD BARELY GOTTEN back to the LaRusso's when she got a phone call from Miguel.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Come outside. Don't ask questions."

He hung up before she could even begin to wonder what was happening. Ayane furrowed her eyebrows, shoving her phone in her pocket and walking outside.

There, Johnny's car was in the driveway.

Ayane slowly walked over, a suspicious look on her face. Johnny rolled down the window.

"Come on. Get in."

She raised her eyebrows. "Am I being kidnapped?"

"What, got something better to do?" Johnny retorted. "Just get in the car."

Ayane saw Miguel sitting in the passenger seat, leaning over and smiling at her.

"Hey."

She shook her head, opening the back door and getting in.

Wherever they were supposed to be, Ayane had no idea what is was. They were in a sketchy area of L.A. no doubt, but these people looked like straight up criminals.

Ayane followed alongside Johnny as he pushed Miguel in his wheelchair, entering the building. The people stared as they walked by.

"Don't you think this place is a little... shady?" Ayane asked, glancing around.

"Don't be a pansy," Johnny said, throwing a black bag into her arms. "Hold this. Both of you follow my lead."

They approached a big scary looking guy, Johnny trying to walk past him but being stopped.

"Nice try. Come back when they're twenty-one."

Johnny shook his head. "Yeah that's gonna be tough. He'll be dead by then."

Ayane made a face, watching as Miguel suddenly pretended to be some feeble Make-A-Wish kid.

"He should be dead already," Johnny continued. "Every day is a gift."

Miguel faked a cough, and Ayane nearly started laughing but she held it in.

The bodyguard looked at them, then nodded at Ayane. "Who are you? I don't see anything wrong with you."

"Don't be racist, man," Johnny shook his head. "She's an orphan who's never gotten to experience anything outside of a box."

Ayane shot Johnny a look, then played along and put on an innocent face.

The bodyguard hesitated, then gave in. "Alright, you can go in. Take care of yourselves."

Ayane maintained her innocent face until the got past the door, her eyes going wide with what she saw.

There was a large crowd cheering over the sound of a rock song. Ayane exchanged a look with Miguel, who had a surprised look on his face. They got as close as they could, barely able to hear each other over the noise.

"This is Dee Snider!" Johnny explained loudly over the song. "He's the most badass rocker ever!"

Ayane tapped her foot along, folding her arms. "How is this supposed to be helping Miguel?" she replied, squinting.

Johnny took the black bag from Ayane and unzipped it, pulling out three cans of beer and tossing one to her. "It's not. We're here to forget about all that and have some fun!"

She looked down at Miguel, who did appear to be having fun. Ayane smiled, shaking her head.

As long as he was happy.

Ayane was also enjoying herself because, she didn't notice the many notifications from Sam on her phone.

Miguel held his phone up to take a picture, Ayane and Johnny both leaning in for it.

"Send me a copy of that!" Johnny said, nodding his head along to the music.

Ayane closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. Old people and technology.

"I'll just tag you guys!" Miguel replied, and Ayane pulled out her phone just then to see not only that, but all of Sam's texts.

She frowned as she read them, her eyes going wide.

Hawk broke Demetri's arm.

Ayane's stomach lurched. She did not reply to Sam, putting her phone away and trying not to think about it for the next little while.

"I hear that there's a Make-A-Wish kid in the house tonight," the singer said as the song ended.

Johnny began cheering, pointing to Miguel. Ayane covered her face, not wanting to be part of this.

"Ladies..." the singer said, gesturing to a group of young women to their left, "let's make that kid's wish come true."

Miguel's face flushed with embarrassment, looking at Ayane with a small shrug. She rolled her eyes, messing up his hair.

"You're lucky you're cute, Make-A-Wish," she said.

He scrunched his nose, smiling up at her.

The next song began playing, one that Ayane surprisingly knew.

She jammed out to the song, looking down and suddenly noticing something that made her heart skip a beat.

Miguel's foot was moving.

Ayane began hitting him on the arm excitedly, stammering to get the words out.

"Your foot, your foot!"

Miguel looked down, seeing his foot tapping along to the rhythm. He looked up between her and Johnny with his mouth wide open, pumping his arms into the air.

"YES!"

After the concert ended, Johnny dropped Ayane off at the LaRusso's. Her smile faded when she remembered Sam's texts, entering the house.

"Sam?" she called as she went into the living room.

Amanda walked in at once. "Ayane, hi honey. Um- Sam isn't here right now. She went to stay with her grandmother. Where have you been?"

Ayane frowned. "Um- I went to this concert with Miguel. His foot- it moved. He's making progress."

Amanda nodded slowly. "That's wonderful news. Are you... feeling okay? Is everything going alright?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Ayane replied, "Yeah... I mean, I still have a few nightmares every now and then but- I'm fine. I actually haven't talked to you guys about this yet but- would Mr. LaRusso be okay if I took a break from Miyagi-Do? I mean, I know you aren't a fan of it. But I just- haven't really felt up to karate lately."

Amanda nodded quickly, walking closer to Ayane. "Believe me, that's perfectly fine. Whatever makes you happiest. And Daniel will understand completely. He'll be back tomorrow."

Ayane licked her lips, looking up at Amanda.

"Did Sam tell you what they did to Demetri?"

Placing a hand to her head, Amanda nodded. "Yeah. I have to tell Daniel about that, too. But you're okay, right? They're not messing with you, are they?"

Ayane shook her head, a partial lie. She recalled what happened on the soccer field, and her three Saturday detentions she would have to explain.

"I'm fine. I just- I don't want them messing with the others and me not do anything about it. Although I'm already in trouble because of them and don't need to get in anymore."

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

Ayane drew in a breath.

"Saturday detention. For swearing. It's not a big deal."

Amanda pursed her lips, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"As long as you're safe. That's my top priority."

The girl nodded. "Don't worry, I'm fine. And I know how to handle it if they do start messing with me."

Amanda smiled, laughing a little.

"Oh, I know."

Ayane went up to get ready for bed, smiling as she laid there and looked at the pictures Miguel posted. She was just so happy that he was happy, and that something good had happened for once.

For the first time in awhile, Ayane went to sleep with ease and didn't have a single nightmare.

. . . .

THE NEXT DAY, Ayane got up and got dressed, going downstairs to see that Mr. LaRusso was back.

"Hi, Mr. LaRusso!" she greeted, walking out into the front room.

"Oh, hey Ayane! How are you?"

She smiled. "Pretty good, actually. I was just about to head over to Reseda, if that's alright?"

Ayane looked between Daniel and Amanda, and they both nodded.

"You know, maybe it's time you should start learning how to drive," Daniel said. "I hate that you have to walk everywhere."

She shrugged. "Eh, it's good exercise. And besides, I've never been behind a steering wheel in my life. Bye!"

Ayane left before she could be coerced into driving lessons. The thought of driving kind of scared her, honestly.

She was at Reseda in no time, going up to Miguel's apartment and knocking.

His grandmother answered it, seeing who it was and saying, "Miggy is at Johnny's."

Ayane nodded in understanding, turning and walking over a few steps to Johnny's apartment.

She knocked a few times, then finally just turned the knob and walked in.

Miguel was sitting on the floor, wearing some kind of harness with a rope attached to the ceiling.

"Why the hell are you on the floor?" she asked, shaking her head in confusion.

Johnny walked from the hallway into the room at that moment, seeing Ayane.

"New method I'm trying," Johnny said, sitting down on the couch.

Ayane walked over and sat down beside Miguel, peering over to see why he was looking at the computer in front of him.

"Is this your diary?" Ayane asked, looking up at Johnny.

He rolled his eyes, turning the computer around. "I'm not the teenage girl here, now am I? It's a Facebook message."

Ayane exchanged a look with Miguel.

"To who?" Miguel said cautiously.

"Uh, Ali."

Miguel raised his eyebrows. "The Ali?"

Ayane frowned in confusion as Johnny nodded, not following.

"Who- who is Ali?"

Miguel smirked. "Sensei's high school sweetheart. Your sensei stole him away from her."

"He did not-" Johnny pursed his lips, shaking his head. "He didn't steal her. He tried to."

Ayane laughed a little. "Yeah, well I don't think you'll be winning her back with that novel you got there. And why is it in all caps?"

Miguel nodded in agreement. He reached over and turned the computer back around.

"Okay, she says she wants to know what you've been up to. This is good, we can salvage this. Let's just make you a kick-ass profile, and then you'll be sending your message from a position of strength."

Ayane squinted. "Miguel, what the hell are you talking about?"

He turned his head to her. "What?"

She snorted.

"You guys know nothing about women. Why are you putting in all this effort? Just be casual, to the point and truthful."

Johnny paused, thinking for a moment.

"Nah, I think I like Diaz's way better."

Ayane rolled her eyes, mocking Miguel's smug face.

"Do you have any photos?" Miguel asked Johnny, looking back over at him.

"Photos?" Johnny nodded at once. "Yeah, I do. Don't move."

He stood up and walked away, laughing to himself.

"Heh, I said don't move."

NOTES!
LIKE I SAID, ICONIC TRIO

ALSO SINCE THEY'RE SO ICONIC LOOK WHAT I MADE

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH IT HURTS. anyway hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! i'm probably going to try and wrap things up in the next five chapters, even though i don't want it to end 🥲