❝ you can be better than cobra kai. ❞

MIGUEL DID NOT REALIZE how serious Ayane was about everyone hating her.

They sat together in Chemistry, though everyone kept sending her dirty looks and whispered if they passed by her. Everyone except Moon, of course.

"What the hell is everyone's problem?" Miguel finally said, throwing down his pencil.

Ayane laughed a little. "I told you. They hate me. I have the Cobra Kais, in part, to thank for that. They've spread the most rumors around about me. And then the other people just think I'm crazy."

Miguel shook his head, frowning.

"That's bullshit. It was self defense, anyone could see that."

She shrugged, continuing to write in her notebook.

"It's not a great look when you're in the same dojo as a delinquent that kicked someone over a railing. That also tends to push some people away from you."

Miguel tapped his foot, as he had not even thought about Robby since all of this had happened.

"Have you heard anything... from Robby?" he slowly asked, as Miguel knew that Keene was a rather sensitive subject to Ayane.

She paused for a moment, still looking down at her notebook. Ayane shrugged once more.

"As far as I know he's still in juvie. I haven't talked to him."

"And by 'I haven't' you mean you don't want to," Miguel replied knowingly.

Ayane finally looked up at him. "No, Miguel, I don't want to talk to Robby. I- I don't know if I can forgive him for what he did, and that's just that."

Before Miguel could reply, the bell rang for class to be dismissed.

He followed Ayane out of the classroom, both stopping by their lockers before going to lunch.

"Have you talked to Hawk?" she asked, walking alongside Miguel.

He shook his head bitterly. "No. I haven't exactly decided what I'm going to say to him. One, he broke Demetri's arm. And two, he's been nothing but an asshole to you."

Ayane smiled a little, stopping at her locker and opening it.

"I wish I had never given him that stupid nickname. That combined with Cobra Kai is what made him into the little monster he is today."

Miguel nodded at once, agreeing. "Yeah. Come on, let's get to lunch."

They walked to the cafeteria together, and both laid eyes on Hawk as soon as they entered. He stood up and Miguel did not hesitate to approach him.

"Hey, man-"

"I heard about what happened with Demetri. How could you do that?"

Hawk's smile fell. "You should be thanking me for getting revenge on Miyagi-Do. Besides, they're the ones who started the fight. We finished it."

Miguel clenched his jaw. "That doesn't excuse you literally breaking someone's arm. And the way that you've been treating Ayane? Spreading lies about her?"

Ayane stood a little further behind Miguel, glancing around awkwardly.

Hawk rolled his eyes. "I haven't told any lies. Because calling her crazy isn't a lie."

Miguel suddenly shoved Hawk, drawing everyone's attention. Ayane quickly stepped over and grabbed him.

"Miguel, don't do it. Come on, let's go."

Hawk glared between the two, shaking his head.

"I don't know what little Romeo and Juliet, 'us against the world' thing you guys have going on, but it won't be long before all of that crumbles. Because I know who you really are, Cain. Kreese has told me everything."

"Kreese has told you lies," Ayane shot back, remaining calm. "You're better than this, Hawk. You can be better than Cobra Kai."

Miguel rolled his eyes, turning his head to her. "Forget it. Let's just go."

Hawk looked like he wanted to continue their debate, but Kyler suddenly announced something on the other side of the cafeteria.

He held up Demetri's arm, plastered in a cast and having a penis drawn on it in black Sharpie. Most everyone began to laugh, though some shook their heads in disdain.

Demetri stormed out of the cafeteria one way, and then Ayane and Miguel the other.

"Like I said. Cobra Kai has convinced the whole school they're saints," Ayane said, shaking her head. "And it's all because of fucking Kreese."

Miguel paced the hallway a little, visibly discouraged and upset.

"Well if they won't leave Cobra Kai, then we'll just have to show everyone that this new dojo is much, much better."

Ayane folded her arms, slowly smiling.

"You're right. Now it's just a matter of getting more than two kids on board."

. . . .

AFTER SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY, Ayane and Miguel went to Johnny's 'new dojo.'

Which wasn't actually a dojo. They were at the park.

But they managed to get a few more kids there, the ones who had been shunned by Cobra Kai and while they didn't like Ayane, they trusted Miguel.

And so now, they all stood in one row and faced Johnny.

"They said we needed a roof and four walls. Screw that!"

Ayane folded her arms behind her back and sighed, trying to be patient with Johnny. She had no idea how Miguel did it.

"This park will be our new dojo. Because you don't need a dojo to be a dojo," Johnny continued. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei!" everyone replied, except for Ayane who was caught off guard.

Johnny nodded slowly, looking at all of them.

"I started a dojo with one nerd," he pointed at Miguel. "This is a step up."

Ayane squinted, but did not say anything still.

"And if we're gonna be taken seriously, we need a name that commands respect. Cobras are strong. But there's only one animal that can kill a snake."

"A mongoose?" Bert cut in, frowning.

Johnny stared at him. "A real animal, Bert."

He turned around, opening the box he brought with him and picking something up. Johnny turned around, revealing a red t-shirt with a rather poorly done graphic design on it.

"Welcome to Eagle Fang Karate."

Ayane and Miguel exchanged a look, both of them sighing.

"Eagles don't have fangs-" Johnny cut the boy off by throwing a shirt at him, then tossing shirts to the rest of them.

"Put 'em on!"

Ayane pulled the red t-shirt over her black long-sleeved one, shrugging a little. Sure it was a dumb name, but a free shirt was cool.

"Everybody- fall in!"

They all did, and then Ayane looked past Johnny and noticed Hawk and some others standing there.

"Sensei, look," Miguel said with some hopefulness.

Ayane rolled her eyes, then immediately tensed up as she saw Tory and Kyler come around the corner. Her two worst enemies, of course together.

Tory's eyes flitted between Ayane and Miguel, clenching her jaw. Ayane could feel her fist tightening, a habit whenever she saw Tory.

Their confusion was short lived, as right behind Tory and Kyler came none other than John Kreese.

Ayane scoffed, looking down and tapping her foot rapidly. She couldn't believe the fucking audacity of this old man.

Kreese approached Johnny with a nasty smile on his face, pulling off his sunglasses as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Johnny. I'm not here for a fight."

"Yeah, well then why the hell are you here?"

Kreese continued, "I'd like to make you another offer to come back to Cobra Kai. You have the two best students, well- best and former best, considering Diaz's accident- in the Valley. If you come back, and bring them with you, Cobra Kai will be the most unstoppable dojo anyone has ever seen."

Johnny laughed dryly. "Not a chance. These kids are a million times better here than they'll ever be with you. The garbage you're feeding them, the shit they're pulling..."

He shook his head, looking at all of the students behind Kreese.

"It's messed up!" his voice raised. Johnny nodded toward Kreese. "And you're to blame for that."

Kreese paused for a moment before finally replying, "I have to disagree with you there. I care about my students. They're strong, and they're true fighters. And they wouldn't make the mistake of showing mercy and ending up in a coma!"

Miguel stepped forward at those words, as did Hawk on Kreese's side. Ayane stayed where she was, almost feeling... afraid.

"This is it, Johnny," Kreese said. "There's not gonna be another chance."

"Good," Johnny spat back.

Kreese finally nodded. "You made your choice. And you are gonna regret it."

He took a step back, then pointed at Ayane who was staring at the ground.

"As for you, Miss Cain." She looked up, her face hardening as she looked into a face of pure evil. "I'll be in touch with you sooner or later. That six month sentence is almost up."

Her stomach dropped and Ayane went visibly pale, as everyone knew he was talking about Ennis.

Ayane did not reply like she normally would have, only looking back down and staring at her feet.

They finally left, and Ayane let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding.

Miguel placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ayane? Are you okay?"

She nodded, forcing herself to look up at him.

"Yep. Actually- I think I might head home. I'm just- not feeling it today."

He nodded in understanding. "Yeah, sure. I'll talk to you later."

Ayane got back to the LaRusso's and pulled off the red t-shirt before anyone noticed, going up to her room for a bit. Not too long after, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Daniel opened the door, smiling softly at Ayane as he walked in.

"Hey, Ayane. I feel like we haven't talked much these past few days, how you doing kiddo?"

She shrugged, smiling a little. "I'm okay. Just- trying to sort things out."

Daniel nodded understandingly, glancing around for a moment.

"Ah, well- I just wanted to let you know that it's no pressure, but I'm opening back up Miyagi-Do if you still care to join. Again, no pressure at all- only if you're up for it."

Ayane nodded back, a little surprised to hear this. She thought that surely Miyagi-Do would never see the light of day again.

"Thank you, Mr. LaRusso. I-I'll consider it."

Daniel smiled briefly, then walked out.

Ayane groaned, throwing herself back and staring up at the ceiling. How was she supposed to break it to Mr. LaRusso that she quit Miyagi-Do to join Johnny Lawrence's dojo?

And the answer was, she couldn't. Ayane was still not even sure that she wanted to join- she was just there to support Miguel.

All she really wanted was to run away from her problems.

So, she did. Ayane went for a run around the block, not realizing how hard she was pushing herself until she could barely breathe. She looked up at once, seeing that she had stopped right in front of the Cain residence. Ayane wondered if it had always looked that cold and uninviting.

After a moment, Ayane walked up to the front door. She was not sure what made her do it, but she was curious to see what Liana could possibly be up to in this huge house all alone.

Ayane rang the doorbell, waiting for a moment.

The door opened and Liana was not the one who answered. Ayane raised her eyebrows, eyeing a man who could not have been older than thirty. He was undoubtedly Caucasian, with curly brown hair and kind eyes and a small, mischievous smile on his face.

"Hi," he said. "Can I help you?"

Ayane frowned a little, confused. Who the hell was this dude?

She finally stammered, "Um- Liana. Is- is she here?"

The stranger nodded at once, smiling curtly. "Why yes she is. Do you want to speak with her?"

Ayane tilted her head a little, unsure of what to think of Curly here. He certainly was an interesting character.

"If she doesn't mind. And if you don't mind, um- who are you?"

Smiling once more, the guy stepped aside to allow Ayane in and introduced himself. "I'm Finn. And you are...?"

"Ayane," she replied back, following Finn through the house before he halted.

"Wait- the Ayane? You're Liana's daughter?"

Ayane shrugged slowly. "Well I'm not sure how many other Ayanes my mom knows, so..."

Finn began to laugh after a moment, finding her sarcasm amusing. He continued walking, replying, "Yep, you're definitely her. Liana's told me all about you."

The girl raised her eyebrows, shocked by this piece of information. "She has?"

Finn nodded matter-of-factly. "Mhm. She says you're a good kid- oh, speak of the Devil."

Liana walked out of Ennis' study, though she appeared to have made it her own- glancing between Ayane and Finn for a moment.

"Ayane. What are you doing here?" Liana did not sound upset or annoyed, simply curious.

Ayane shrugged a little. "I was just... out for a run and thought I might stop by. It's been awhile."

Liana cleared her throat, glancing over at Finn who took this as his cue to leave. Ayane waited until he was out of earshot, then immediately exploded with questions.

"Who's that?"

Her mother sighed a little, gesturing for Ayane to come into the office. She did so, taking a seat and looking up at Liana expectantly.

"I met Finn... at a group therapy session. I started going no too long after Ennis was- incarcerated. Finn has been a very good friend to me since your father's been gone."

Ayane tilted her head down knowingly. "And by 'very good friend' you mean-"

"More than friends, yes," Liana nodded with a small sigh. "I... I know you may not approve of this relationship, though I honestly wasn't expecting you to care enough to know. But I've finally found someone that- makes me happy."

Ayane could not even bring herself to be upset or angry. Hell, she was even happy for her mom.

"I think that's great," she finally replied. "But what about dad?"

Liana pursed her lips, glancing away for a moment.

"Ennis, right. Well, honestly dear, I plan on divorcing the bastard."

NOTES!
i'm not saying i love liana but... i love liana's character development

also i imagine finn as matthew gray gubler but imagine him as whoever u want xx

make some predictions about what you think will happen in the final chapters!! i'm very curious to see what yall think :)