❝ i was so looking forward to roundhouse kicking all of you cobra kais. ❞
AYANE RUSHED UP TO Miguel's apartment, knocking on the door.
She was twenty minutes late, and she had to take a cab because she couldn't get an Uber in time.
At once, the door opened.
Instead of Miguel, it was his grandmother. She and Ayane had met once before, so she smiled upon seeing it was her.
"Hi. Um, is Miguel here?"
"Miggy!" she called, gesturing for Ayane to come in.
At once, Miguel came out of his room.
"Oh- I was just about to text you," he said, smiling briefly. Then, he frowned as he looked at Ayane longer, getting the feeling something was off.
"Let's go outside."
Miguel took her hand and pulled Ayane outside, shutting the door behind him.
"Are you okay?"
Ayane looked up, nodding. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
Miguel shrugged, frowning a little. "You just seemed a little... rushed. Was Mr. LaRusso holding you up?"
Ayane didn't like to lie to Miguel, but she also didn't want to tell him about the fight she had just gotten into. She feared Miguel might try to get involved and that was the last thing Ayane wanted.
"Yeah," she replied, "I was trying to teach Robby something and he just couldn't get it."
Miguel nodded after a moment. "Hm. Okay, well, now I need your help."
They walked to the center of the pavilion, where they had practiced before.
"Have you heard anything about the All Valley?" Ayane asked warily, feeling guilty once more. She had no reason to, but Ayane felt like she could have made more of an attempt to fight for it.
"Sensei went to the meeting," Miguel replied, shrugging. "I guess I'll know when he gets back."
Ayane stretched her arms, chewing her lip. "Well... I guess you just have to hope for the best."
Miguel glanced at the ground. "Yeah, I guess."
She sighed. Ayane felt terrible for him, as she could see how badly Miguel wanted to do the tournament.
"Okay, show me how this move is supposed to go."
"Right," he remembered, going to stand behind her. "So it's a hip throw, right? But I can't seem to get the grapple right."
Ayane thought, trying to remember how the move went. She turned to Miguel, poking her tongue in her cheek.
"Okay, I think I remember. Um-" Ayane sidestepped, hooking her arm around Miguel's neck and throwing him over her back.
Miguel groaned, hitting the ground with a thud.
"That's it!" She recalled with a smile, pulling Miguel up.
"As many times as you've done it, I still never get used to it," he replied, brushing himself off.
Ayane smiled softly. "Well, here. To be fair, now you get to try."
Miguel exhaled, getting in front of her and holding his hands up. She took his arm, adjusting his stance.
"Alright, I showed you how to do it. Now show me."
He hesitated. "Are you sure? This move seems like it hurts-"
"Miguel, I've been kicked in the face more times than I can count. Come on, stop being a wuss."
He rolled his eyes at her teasing, which Ayane found she was very good at. Extortion was one of her strong suits.
"Okay, okay. Here I go."
Ayane nodded curtly. With her right hand, she reached over to his left shoulder and Miguel sidestepped as she had showed him, taking his arm around her neck and throwing Ayane over his back.
She laid on the ground for a moment, feeling a shooting pain in her back. Ayane tried to ignore it, but the pain did not subside like it usually did. Grimacing, Ayane tried to get up and quickly cried out in pain.
"Ayane!" Miguel knelt beside her, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Ayane- what's wrong? What's wrong?"
She felt as if she could not move for the fear of injuring herself further.
Ayane tried to take slow deep breaths, looking up at Miguel.
"Okay, small problem. I think I hurt my back."
The girl felt tears involuntarily sting her eyes, as the pain was becoming more prevalent as her adrenaline wore away.
"Shit," Miguel stammered, looking around. He was freaking out a lot more than she was.
"What are you two doing out here?"
Ayane could not look up, but she recognized the voice as Johnny's.
"Sensei! Sensei, we have to get her to a hospital!"
"WAIT-" Ayane tried to protest and sit up, pain shooting through her back once more. "Motherfucker!" She cried, squeezing her hand into a fist.
Johnny could see that the situation was serious.
"We have to call an ambulance," Miguel looked up at Johnny, refusing to leave Ayane's side.
Ayane was trying not to cry, but she had never experienced pain like this before. Something was definitely broken.
Johnny was calling an ambulance now, while Miguel tried to console Ayane.
"We need to call your parents," Miguel said apprehensively, pushing strands of hair out of Ayane's face. He knew she wouldn't want to.
She did not reply, shutting her eyes for a moment.
"Fine," she sighed, fumbling to pull her phone out of her pocket. "Call my mom."
Miguel took it from her, finding Liana's contact number.
"The ambulance is on the way," Johnny said, crouching down by Ayane. "Where does it hurt, kid?"
Ayane could not even begin to describe it. Her entire back felt like it had been hit with a hammer, and the concrete ground didn't help.
"I-I don't know, it's my whole back," she tried to explain, unable to move her arms without wincing.
"Mrs. Cain? I-It's Miguel. Ayane's gotten hurt and we're taking her to the hospital. Can you meet us there? Okay. She's hurt her back. Yes, ma'am. Alright."
Miguel hung up, pocketing Ayane's phone and grabbing her hand gently.
"Your mom is going to meet us at the hospital," he explained. "Just try to relax."
Tears streamed from her eyes but Ayane tried to keep from letting out a sob, as it hurt her back more.
"Can we get you into a more comfortable position?" Johnny asked, afraid to touch her.
Ayane breathed slowly, shaking her head. "N-No. I'll just stay right here."
She did for a few more minutes until the ambulance arrived, while Miguel and Johnny tried to distract her by talking.
The paramedics pulled out a stretcher and Ayane braced herself, knowing it was going to hurt like a bitch when they picked her up.
And she was right. As they transitioned her from the ground to the stretcher, Ayane nearly blacked out from the pain.
The rest of it was a blur. Ayane could barely see through her tears, and the severity of her pain was mind numbing.
It wasn't until she saw fluorescent lights that Ayane realized she was at the hospital, and Liana was looking over her.
"Your father is going to take care of you, honey," she said, squeezing Ayane's hand.
Ayane heard Ennis voice, ringing through her ears. She had never heard him so stressed.
The last person she saw was him, explaining to her that she was going to have to undergo emergency surgery.
And then, everything faded to black.
. . . .
THE FIRST PERSON AYANE saw when she woke up was Miguel.
Ayane blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was.
"Oh shit, you're awake!" Miguel exclaimed, a big grin on his face.
Ayane's neck felt stiff, until she realized it was in a brace. She was in the hospital.
"Miguel," she muttered, looking up at him slowly. "Miguel. What- what happened-"
"Take it easy," he replied, smiling softly. "You've been knocked out for twelve hours."
Ayane laid there, looking up at the ceiling. She remembered hurting her back, the ambulance, her mother and father's faces, and then nothing.
"Do you want anything?" He asked. "Some water... or?"
She sighed. Ayane didn't like people having to take care of her.
Reluctantly, she replied, "I could use some water."
"O-Okay. I'll be right back."
"Miguel."
He stopped, turning back around. "Yeah?"
Ayane licked her lips. "Where's my mom?"
"Oh- she went to get some coffee. I'll go find her if you want-"
"No, it's fine. Um- was she mad? Was my dad mad?"
Miguel slowly shook his head. "No... Ayane, why would they be mad? It was an accident. Granted, an accident that I caused and feel really guilty about, but- everything is fine. Your dad did your surgery and it all went well."
Ayane was silent for a moment.
"It wasn't your fault, Mig. It just happened."
He grimaced. "Yeah, I guess so. Oh- your water."
Ayane smiled as he hurriedly walked out. For the first time, she tried moving her arms. It hurt a little, but not much.
Liana beat Miguel back, surprised to see that Ayane was awake.
"Oh, you're awake. I was starting to worry. How do you feel?"
Ayane swallowed, furrowing her eyebrows. "I'm fine. Still hurts a little but- you know."
Liana nodded, glancing around. "I should probably go get the nurse to check your vitals. I'll be right back."
"Hey- where's dad?"
"Oh, he had another emergency surgery that he had to do. But I expect he should be here to check on you soon."
Ayane nodded as much as she could, which was not a lot. She wanted to tear off the stupid neck brace she was in.
Just as Liana was leaving, Miguel was walking back in. He smiled curtly at her, then walked over to Ayane and handed her a cup of water.
"Thanks," she took the cup, drinking it quickly.
"Did you stay here all night?" She asked, just realizing that it was a little past eight in the morning.
Miguel rubbed his arm, shrugging. "Yeah. I-It's okay though, because my mom is here too."
And right at that moment, Liana and Miguel's mother, Carmen, came in the room.
Carmen smiled as she walked over to Ayane. "I'm glad you're awake, I was afraid I was going to have to do it myself. Let's check your vitals."
After she did everything she needed to do, Carmen said, "Now. Tell me again how this happened?"
Ayane and Miguel looked at each other, wondering if they were going to get in trouble.
"Me and Miguel were practicing," Ayane explained at once, "and I guess it wasn't very smart of us to do it on concrete."
Though Ayane was trying to lighten up the situation, it didn't seem to work very well.
"You two are going to get each other into serious trouble some day," Carmen sighed, shaking her head.
"I'm going to check with your dad and see if he's done with surgery yet. I'll be back."
Ayane smiled, looking over at Miguel.
Then, with a sudden pit in her stomach, Ayane remembered the All Valley Tournament. Was she going to be okay to compete?
"The All Valley," she blurted, "am I going to be able to compete?"
Liana exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment. She had been hoping to avoid this question for as long as she could.
"Honey, I don't know. It all depends on what your dad says. I-I don't know how fast you'll heal."
Ayane's heart sank. She looked at Miguel again, who was averting her gaze.
"What did Johnny say?" She asked quietly. "Is Cobra Kai back in the tournament?"
Miguel looked at her like he didn't want to answer. Which was enough of an answer for Ayane.
"Yeah. The committee voted on it, and the ban has been lifted," Miguel admitted, nodding his head.
Ayane bit her lip. "Well... at least there's good news for someone."
Ennis suddenly appeared, walking in the room.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking down at the clipboard in his hands.
Ayane shifted as much as she could. "Better. Much better."
Her dad nodded busily, scribbling something on the clipboard. Ennis knew what Ayane was wanting to ask, but he didn't like the answer.
"Am I gonna be able to compete?" She asked slowly, holding her breath.
Ennis' expression grew soft. He set down the clipboard, looking up at his daughter.
"The odds are... fifty fifty. As much as I want you to, your health comes first."
Ayane clenched her jaw. "I-I can start physical therapy. As soon as I can. I can do something-"
"Ayane."
She looked up at her dad, going quiet.
"I'm going to do everything I can. You know that. For now, you just need rest."
Ennis glanced down, then left the room. Liana followed him and Ayane watched from the window as they talked. She couldn't tell if it was good or bad.
"You'll get better," Miguel reassured. "I mean- you're the most badass person I know. Don't tell Sensei I said that."
Ayane found herself laughing for the first time since she woke up, finding it easy ignore everything bad while Miguel was there.
"I hope so. I was so looking forward to roundhouse kicking all of you Cobra Kais."
Miguel laughed softly and sat at the edge of the hospital bed, taking her hand. He moved his thumb over hers, going quiet for a moment.
"Seriously, though. I thought about it, and..."
He trailed off, then continued.
"If you aren't better by the time the tournament comes around, then I'm gonna forfeit."
NOTES!
i am so so sorry about this unexpected turn of events- but i had to add some ✨suspense✨