✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"𝐁𝐘𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐃!" Rebecca called as she opened the front door to leave. It was the next day, and she was heading to Daniel's apartment so they could ride to school together, just like they usually did. "I'll see you after school."

"Bye, kiddo. Have a good day at school," Dean replied, walking down the hall to get ready for his shift at the auto shop.

Rebecca smiled and gently closed the door behind her. She grabbed her bike from the garage, hopped on, and pedaled toward the South Seas Apartments. When she arrived, she leaned her bike against the gate and stepped inside—only to notice Daniel's bike was already gone.

"That's odd, he was fine yesterday," she thought, furrowing her brow as she climbed the steps to his apartment.

She knocked on the door and was greeted by Lucille. "Hi, Rebecca," Lucille said with a warm smile.

"Hi Mrs. LaRusso. Is Daniel here? I'm here to ride to school with him," Rebecca smiled

"Sweetie, I told you before—call me Lucille. And I'm sorry, but he went on to school," Lucille said apologetically.

"Oh, all right. I'll see you later," Rebecca smiled again.

"Bye sweetie. Have a good day at school," Lucille added kindly, then kissed her forehead

"Thank you," Rebecca said softly before turning to leave.

She walked down the steps, exited the gate, and mounted her bike. As she rode off, she took out her Walkman and popped in her favorite Stevie Nicks cassette and Edge of Seventeen began to play.

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

After her second-period English class, Rebecca stood at her locker, pulling out her book and notebook for Mr. Harris' third-period history class. As she turned, she caught sight of Daniel approaching. What she didn't see—at first—was the huge scuff on his face.

"Hey Becca." Daniel said

"Hey Daniel. I missed riding bikes with you this morning," Rebecca replied, smiling. But as she turned fully to face him, the smile quickly vanished. Her eyes widened at the scuff marks on his forehead. Panic set in. "Daniel, what on earth happened? Who did this to you?"

"I fell off my bike and hit a curb," Daniel lied.

Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "Daniel, I know that's what you told your mom, but I don't believe you. I'm your best friend, you're mine, and I want the truth." she said

Daniel sighed in defeat. "Last night after I left the restaurant, those Cobra Kai assholes came out of nowhere on their motorcycles and pushed me off the road, and they told me to stay away from you. I fell down the hill and I broke my bike." Daniel said embarrassed.

"Daniel..." Rebecca began, but he cut her off

"I'll see you later, okay?" Daniel smiled softly, evidently embarrassed by the entire incident.

Rebecca simply stood there, arms folded, a melancholy expression on her face as she watched him go.

Later, at the end of the school day, Rebecca walked down the hallway with Ali, Susan, and Barbara, her backpack slung over her left shoulder. Rebecca was on one side of Ali, with Susan to the other, and Barbara beside her.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't shake what the Cobras had done to Daniel. Bobby had promised they'd leave him alone.

"I'll tell you girls everything he said," Barbara grinned as they neared the library.

"You better," Ali laughed, as she and Susan waved goodbye.

"Bye," Barbara smiled.

"Bye. See you later," Ali added, then turned to Rebecca. "Would you like to come to the arcade with us, Becca?" But Rebecca, clearly distracted by Daniel's injuries, didn't respond. "Becca?" Ali repeated, gently tapping her shoulder.

Rebecca, clutching her backpack strap, turned. "I'm so sorry. Did you say something?"

"Would you like to go to the arcade with us?" Ali asked again, Susan smiling beside her.

"Oh, maybe next time," Rebecca smiled faintly. "But thank you for the invite."

As the girls continued walking Ali felt someone tap her on the shoulder. The blonde turned to see Daniel and her features brightened. "Hey." Daniel smiled

"Hi." Ali smiled brightly

"How ya doin?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, what happened to your forehead?" Ali asked in concern

"Oh, it was terrible, it was this gigantic runaway zit." Daniel joked and Ali laughed

Susan scrunched her nose in disgust. "That's gross."

"Daniel this is Susan." Ali said introducing them in between laughs

"Hi." Daniel smiled as he waved to Susan

"Charmed." Susan said sarcastically

"No come on—what really happened?" Ali asked

"I got in a bike accident. But I'm okay," Daniel said. Rebecca just shook her head, and Ali shot him a look of concern.

"What kind of bike do you have, Daniel? A Honda? Suzuki? What?" Susan asked curiously

"Uh, no, it's a, like a Miyaji turbo, actually." Daniel said

"Yeah?" Ali smiled as the group turned the corner

"Oh really?" Susan said sarcastically.

"We're going to the arcade. You want to come?" Ali asked.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds great to me," Daniel said. Rebecca smiled at the interaction between her two best friends.

"Good. They've got this new game I want to show you," Ali said.

But Daniel suddenly stopped, spotting the Cobra Kais gathered around Johnny's bike.

"Listen, I just remembered I forgot something. I'll catch up with you guys later," he said nervously, backing away.

"Daniel, you don't have to run away," Ali said gently.

"I'm not running away from anything."

"Hey, look—we've got to deal with this," Ali insisted.

"You deal with things your way. I'll deal with them mine, okay? I'll see you. I gotta go."

"Daniel..." Ali called after him.

"Get off my case!" he snapped, then disappeared around the corner.

Ali turned to her best friend and Susan who just shrugged their shoulders, then continued walking down the hallway. "Well, I guess I'll see you two later." Rebecca said

"You sure you don't want us to wait?" Ali asked

"I'm sure. You girls go ahead." Rebecca smiled

Ali embraced her best friend, who returned the embrace. "Call me." the blonde smiled. "I will." Rebecca smiled as she pulled away from the embrace

"Bye!" Ali and Susan smiled as they walked down the hall

Rebecca watched them disappear before doing the unthinkable: she approached the group of boys  her face filled with anger and hurt. Johnny was sitting on the motorcycle, while the others engaged in conversation.

Bobby was the first to notice Rebecca and his eyes lit up with recognition. He took a step forward, but he didn't see how pissed and hurt she was. "Hey Bec," he greeted her with a smile. This gesture caught the attention of the other Cobras, who turned around and smiled at her. However, Rebecca simply glared back.

"What the fuck did you do to my friend Daniel LaRusso?!" Rebecca demanded

"What are you talking about?" Johnny asked

"You know good and goddamn well what I'm talking about, Johnny. All of you pushed my friend down a hill! What the fuck?! Are you guys insane?! You could have killed him!"

"Rebecca..." Bobby started.

"I don't want to hear it. I'm disappointed in you Bobby. I thought you were the better one. I thought all of you were my friends. Friends don't do this to other friends. They don't hurt other friends either. All of hurt my one of my dear friends and that hurts me." Rebecca said, her voice shaking. "What's this I hear you telling Daniel to stay away from me?"

"Because LaRusso's a loser. We did you a favor," Johnny said smugly.

The Cobra Kais arrogantly laughed with Johnny, even Bobby, who gave Johnny a low five. Rebecca didn't find it funny at all. "You guys are assholes." she tearfully spat

"Come on Rebecca, take a joke." Bobby arrogantly said

"You see me laughing? I don't find that shit funny. Do you not remember me telling you assholes that I live in Reseda too?" Rebecca spat angrily

"What's the matter with you? Why are you and Ali always defending him?" Johnny asked

Rebecca sighed and angrily rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you why. I treat everyone the same. You never know what someone is going through until you've walked a mile in their shoes. You said Daniel is a loser, so I guess I'm a loser too." she said as her tears fell

"No, that's not—" Bobby tried to interject, his heart aching that she is crying because of him. That's his worst nightmare.

"I think that's exactly what you meant. The next time all of you think about picking on someone that isn't on your level, maybe think about what you have and be fucking grateful for it. Not all of us are blessed to come from the same upbringing as the rest of you, but we appreciate what we have, because we're taught to, as it's the only life we've ever known." Rebecca said

"I didn't mean any disrespect." Johnny said as he felt his heart clench in his chest at the thought of Rebecca hating him

"What a crock of shit. You sure as fuck meant it—because you said it." Her words were like daggers.

"What happened to you Rebecca? Why are you so angry?" Tommy questioned

"That's none of your fucking business Tommy!" Rebecca spat. "All of you just leave me and my friends the fuck alone. I fucking mean it!"

Rebecca's chest tightened. She felt like she might fall apart right there. Without another word, she turned and walked away.

"We really messed up." Jimmy said

"Yeah. We did. We really did." Bobby agreed as he felt his heart fall to his stomach, and watched as Rebecca wiped her tears and walked away

The Cobra Kais stood in stunned silence, Rebecca's words echoing in their minds. She wasn't a loser. She was the kindest, most beautiful girl in school—even more than Ali. And now, they had screwed it up. She was the only one who didn't scream at them, and now they have fucked it up. Bad. Bobby looked miserable. His heart ached and longed for her. His friends took notice.

"Bobby, I'm sorry man I didn't mean what I said to her." Johnny said

"You don't owe the apology to me. You owe it to her. We all do. God, I'm such an asshole." Bobby said

"It's gonna be okay man." Jimmy said

Rebecca was furious that they had broken a promise. She rode her bike home, tears streaming down her face, wishing her mother were there to offer comfort and advice. But deep down, she already knew what Lisa would've said: forgive them and give them another chance.

Still, Rebecca didn't head straight home. Instead, she rode to Daniel's apartment complex to check on him. She wanted to make sure he was okay. As she got off her bike, she spotted Daniel walking up to the gate.

"Hey, Daniel," she greeted, no longer crying.

"Oh, hey Becca. What are you doing here?" Daniel asked.

"I came to check on you," she said simply.

"I'm all right. Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Sure," Rebecca smiled.

They walked into the complex together and stopped short when they noticed something surprising.

"Who fixed your bike?" Rebecca asked, pointing.

"Come with me," Daniel said.

Rebecca followed him to a set of green doors, where the older man she'd seen before was sitting, carefully trimming tiny trees. They stopped in front of the screen door.

"Hey, did you fix my bike?" Daniel asked.

"Hai," the man answered.

"Thank you." Daniel said

"Welcome." the man said

"Hey, are those real trees?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"You like see? Come inside," the man offered.

Daniel and Rebecca exchanged a quick glance, then pushed open the door and stepped inside cautiously.

"How did they get so small?" Daniel asked as Rebecca leaned in to study the bonsai trees.

"I trim. Clip here, trim here, tie here," the man explained.

"Where'd you learn that?" Daniel asked.

"Okinawa," he answered.

"Where's that?" Daniel asked.

"My country," the man said, using his hand like a map. "Uh, China here. Japan here. Okinawa... here."

"Did you go to school for this?" Daniel asked.

"Father teach," the man said.

"Was he a gardener?" Rebecca asked.

"Fisherman." the man said

"Fisherman?" Daniel echoed.

Rebecca gently traced her fingers along the branches of a tiny tree, enchanted by its delicate beauty. "These are really beautiful. My name's Rebecca, by the way," she said softly.

"Mr. Miyagi," he replied, then gestured to a small table where two bonsai trees waited. "Come. You try."

"Oh, I don't know how to do this stuff," Daniel hesitated.

"Me neither," Rebecca added.

"No. Sit down," Mr. Miyagi encouraged, and the two teens sat down.

"No, no. I may mess it up. I don't want to mess it up," Daniel said.

"Close eye. Trust," Mr. Miyagi instructed. Rebecca and Daniel closed their eyes. "Concentrate. Think only tree. Make a perfect picture, down to the last pine needle. Wipe mind clean of everything but tree." He gently turned their faces toward the bonsai. "Nothing exists whole world. Only tree. You got it?"

"Yes," Rebecca said, and Daniel nodded.

"Open eye," he instructed, and they obeyed.

"Remember picture?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, and Rebecca nodded again.

"Make like picture." Mr. Miyagi handed them trimming scissors. "Just trust picture." He returned to his own tree, calmly snipping away.

"But how do I know if my picture's the right one?" Daniel asked.

"If come from inside you, always right one," Mr. Miyagi answered.

Rebecca smiled to herself. He's so wise. I'll definitely be coming to visit him again.

Hours passed in peaceful silence. Then came a knock at the door—it was Lucille. Rebecca glanced at the clock. It was 9:00. Dean would definitely be worried.

"I didn't even realize the time," she said, rising from her seat. "I've gotta get home before my father starts to worry. Thank you so much for this, Mr. Miyagi."

He nodded, then walked over to a tree, picked it up, and handed it to her.

"Please," he said warmly.

Rebecca's smile turned soft as she accepted the gift. "Thank you."

"Welcome." Mr. Miyagi said

"Hi, Lucille," Rebecca greeted.

"Hi, sweetie," Lucille replied.

"Goodnight, you guys."

"Goodnight, sweetie," Lucille said.

"Goodnight, Becca," Daniel added.

"Goodnight, Rebecca-san," Mr. Miyagi said with a small bow.

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

Rebecca arrived home and walked through the door just as Dean emerged from the kitchen. "Rebecca, where have you been?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"I'm sorry. Daniel ran his bike off the hill. I stopped to check on him. But at his apartment, the maintenance man—Mr. Miyagi—has these bonsai trees," she explained. "He's a lovely man. He showed me how to trim it. That's what took me so long."

"Well, it's all right, kiddo. I've got some leftover dinner on the stove if you're hungry."

"That's okay, Dad. I'm not hungry. I'll see you in the morning though."

"Kiddo, are you all right?" Dean asked gently.

"Yeah, Daddy. I'm fine. Just tired." Rebecca said

She kissed his cheek and made her way down the hall. Dean watched her go, sensing something deeper was wrong—but he let it be, for now.

Later that night, Rebecca sat at her vanity, freshly showered, brushing her damp hair. Tammy Wynette's The World's Most Broken Heart played softly in the background. Her chest tightened as her thoughts drifted back to the confrontation with the Cobra Kais.

All I want is my mom, she thought.

Flashback
— Winchester Family Home; Lebanon, KS; October, 1973

Six-year-old Rebecca Winchester sat cross-legged on her bed, wrapped in her favorite blanket, as the soft tune of Once Upon a December drifted from her music box. The gentle glow of her nightlight cast golden stars on the walls.

Lisa sat beside her, running a brush slowly through Rebecca's fine hair, each stroke calming and familiar.

"I love it when you brush my hair, Momma," Rebecca said with a sleepy smile.

Lisa smiled, her voice gentle and warm. "Momma believes there's nothing more comforting in this whole world than having your hair brushed by someone who loves you. It's how we say 'I'm here. You're safe.'"

Rebecca crawled under her blanket, snuggling in with her favorite stuffed bunny as Lisa tucked the edges around her. She stared at the nightlight for a moment, its gentle glow making her feel secure.

"Momma," Rebecca whispered, "can anything get me after the nightlight is lit?"

Lisa shook her head gently and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. "No, precious. The nightlight is special—it's the eyes a mother leaves behind to guard her children, even when she's not right beside them."

Rebecca blinked, fighting off sleep, her voice small and full of longing. "You promise you'll never leave me, Mama?"

Lisa leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, and held her close for a moment longer.

"I promise, my darling," she whispered. "I promise."

End of Flashback 

Rebecca wiped her tears and continued brushing her hair. Her eyelids grew heavy, and as the lullaby of Tammy's voice carried through the room, she finally let herself rest—heart heavy, but safe.

As Rebecca's eyelids fluttered shut, her brush slowed until it slipped from her fingers and clattered softly onto the vanity. The soft strains of Tammy Wynette faded into the background as her head gently tipped against the cushioned back of her chair. Sleep had come to her like a wave—quiet, heavy, and full of heartache.

Down the hall, Dean peeked into her room. He noticed the dim lamp still glowing on her vanity, her damp hair cascading over her shoulders, and the faint trace of dried tears on her cheeks. His heart ached for her, but he said nothing. Quietly, he stepped into the room, picked her up, and placed her in the bed, and turned off the light.

He picked up the small bonsai tree she had brought home and placed it on her windowsill, where the early morning sun would catch it perfectly. With a soft sigh, he turned and looked at his daughter one last time before exiting the room.

"Goodnight, kiddo," he whispered.