TW ! : mentions of attempted self harm

TEN.
( that's the moral of the story. )

"Wait, so you just left? Like you packed all your stuff and left the house? Is that even legal?"

Emmy sighed, eyes on her phone as she read the dozens of messages Anthony had sent her from the night before. She quietly shook her head, shutting her phone off. "Yep. And I don't know. All I know is that father dearest hasn't bothered to contact me."

Hawk comfortingly rubbed her shoulder before wrapping an arm around it. "I'm sorry, Em. He's a dick."

The girl just huffed and nodded. "A dick who can cancel my phone plan."

"Is that all you care about?"

The two best friends furrowed their eyebrows and turned around, seeing Bert staring at Emmy with lifted ones. 

"Shut up, Bert," Emmy said. "Or I'm changing the dojo Wifi password."

The younger boy gaped at her. "You wouldn't. You don't have the authority."

"Really?" Emmy folded her arms over her chest. "Because last I can recall, I'm Sensei's favorite. And he owes me like a million favors."

Bert pouted like a small child, looking off to the other side, making Emmy hum. She smiled at his turned head, and ruffled his hair a bit before turning back to her conversation with Hawk and Aisha. 

"Wait," Aisha looked like she had a revelation. "You don't know how to drive, you don't have a bike, and there's no way your parents drove you to Miguel's. How'd you even get there?"

Emmy stilled, pursing her lips. "Um. Would you believe me if I said I walked?"

The other two glanced at each other before shaking their heads simultaneously. 

"Fine," Emmy sighed, giving up easily. "This guy, Shawn, gave me lift because I was crying in front of his house."

Hawk gave her a judging look. "You got into a random guy's car? At night? Dude, what if he kidnapped you or something?"

"Huh," Emmy looked off to the side. "I didn't really think about that."

Aisha rolled her eyes. "Why do you always get yourself into weird situations?"

The LaRusso girl sucked in a breath. "That is also something that I do not know."

"Well, your parents are gonna be here, aren't they? You gonna be okay?" Hawk looked down at her in concern. 

"They're gonna be front row. Of course I'm not gonna be okay."

"Right," he winced. "Stupid question."

Emmy sighed, lightly patting him on the face before taking a step back. That was when she felt a gust of air go by the back of her head, and she turned her head to see what it was, only to yelp and jump back when a fist almost struck in the face. "What the hell?"

She stumbled back, eyes glaring into an angry looking Miguel. He either ignored the fact that he almost punched her, or didn't even notice because he didn't stop to apologize for almost hitting her. 

"Wrong sister to be punching," she snapped, taking a few more steps back to avoid being in his line of sight. 

"Yo, Miguel, calm down, man. Save some for the tournament," Hawk nodded toward his friend.

"Don't even bother," Aisha cut in. "He's been super aggro ever since the breakup."

"No, really? Not like the bitch almost punched me," Emmy threw another glare over her shoulder. 

Hawk stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, looking around. "Where's Sensei? The tournament's gonna start soon."

"He'll be here," Aisha reassured. 

"He better be," Emmy scoffed. "I've got a bone to pick with him."

"I don't know about that," Bert said from beside Emmy. 

Aisha looked him up and down, Emmy and Hawk looking at the boy in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw him last night at the mini-mall. I was buying...a carton of milk. When I heard him in the parking lot, yelling. He was peeing on some car and yelling about how we were all gonna die."

"Wait, was this car like red and super fancy looking?" Emmy suddenly asked. 

Bert racked through his memory, before slowly nodding. "Yeah. How'd you know that?"

Emmy's shoulders slumped. "My dad gave him that car. Which means my dad must have done something to piss him off. And why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm used to seeing him drunk, it didn't seem like that big a deal."

Emmy nodded. "Okay, yeah. He has a point there."

"Well, we're here, and he's not. So, it's officially a big deal," Hawk told him. 

Emmy wrapped an arm around Bert's shoulder, pulling him to her side. "Hey. No yelling at my nephew."

"I'm just saying. What if something happened to him?"

Bert moved closer to Emmy. "Like what?"

"Like he drove his car off a cliff, or bought a gun and blew his brains out."

Aisha quickly shook her head in response. "No, Sensei would never kill himself. That's too pussy a move."

"I mean, you never know what someone could be going through. Our mental health can make us do crazy things. Like, when you're 12 and you get into an argument with your dad over how your sister spilt orange juice all over your white sheets, but he takes her side so you put a knife to your throat and threaten to slice it if he doesn't ground her," Emmy rambled. By the end of it, they all looked at her with bugged eyes. "What?"

"Emmy that's, like, not normal. That's actually really bad," Aisha explained, looking at her friend with a perplexed look. 

Emmy felt confused, looking around at the three like a lost child before her eyes landed on Hawk's. "I need a lot of help, don't I?"

He sighed, hugging her to his side to try and comfort her. "We're here for you. And I guess we're just gonna have to do it with him then."

"Do what without me?" they all turned, relief flooding them at the the sight of their sensei. 

"We didn't think you were gonna show up," Hawk told him. 

Johnny's eyes then went to Emmy's, and the way she was looking at him made his stomach drop to his ass. The memory of what he had told Daniel the night before made its way into his mind, and there was a pang in his chest at the thought of what happened when Emmy came home. 

"I may not always win, but I never back out of a fight," he tore his eyes away from her, swallowing thickly. 

"All right," Miguel spoke up for the first time, and Emmy couldn't help but look back at him. "Let's sign up."

"Not yet. There's one more lesson I have to teach you."

✸

Emmy had her arms crossed as she stood in between Miguel and Hawk, eyes following Johnny as he slowly walked around, having gathering them in a cricle. 

"You've all learned to strike first, to be aggressive, not be losers. I taught you to strike hard, put every ounce of your power behind everything you do. But I haven't taught you the third rule of Cobra Kai. No mercy. The older you get, the more you're gonna learn that life isn't fair. You wake up one morning feeling great, then life throws a spinning heel kick to your balls, takes a big steaming shit in your mouth."

Emmy reeled back in disgust. 

"You get an F on a test, you get suspended. You fall in love with a girl, some other dude comes and steals her away. Car gets set on fire. Your parents are assholes. Just when you think things are going good, everything falls apart."

Emmy clenched her fist. 

"That's how it goes. Life shows no mercy, so neither do we. We do whatever it takes to keep our heads above water. We do whatever it takes to keep moving forward. We do whatever it takes to win! Remember who you are. You're badass! You don't give a shit! You kick ass! You're Cobra Kai."

"Cobra Kai!" Miguel shouted out, hyping everyone up. 

"All right, guys. Let's get you down there and kick the shit out of everybody!" Johnny yelled, and everyone unzipped their bags to pull out the white gis they had worn almost everyday. "No. You're not wearing those."

✸

Emmy peaked through the curtains as the tournament was getting ready, and she was dreading it already. 

Word had gotten out that the LaRusso family had arrived, mainly because her parents' business was a main sponsor, and Emmy was waiting to see them sit. She could see four empty seats in the front row, and it made her nervous. 

"PinkyPie."

She looked over her shoulder, seeing Johnny standing awkwardly behind her. Her mood was brought down even more, and she turned her head back around. "Sensei."

Sensing why she was being cold towards him, Johnny sighed. "Look, you gotta talk to me at some point."

"Says who?" Emmy continued to look out the curtain, watching as watchers piled into the arena. 

He huffed, placing his hands on his hips. "You're acting like a child. We don't have time for that."

Emmy finally turned around, folding her arms across her chest. "You ratted me out to my own dad."

"Well, your own dad pissed me off," Johnny defended himself. 

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't wanna know what my dad did for you to be so mad, and frankly, I don't care, but it was a really shitty move."

Johnny remained quiet, and Emmy took it as a sign for her to keep talking. "I know that he can be the most infuriating person in the world, but that doesn't mean you can use me as a way to make him mad. Because last night, was literally the worst night of my life."

His face softened at her words, and his hands fell from his hips. Deep down, he admits that he did feel guilty after leaving the LaRusso house. As he left, he spotted Emmy with Moon and Hawk on the way to her house, and his heart clenched. He could only imagine the emotions she went through that night. 

"Can I ask what happened?" he quietly asked. 

Emmy pressed her lips into a thin line, and she shifted her weight onto her right leg. "We had a fight, a big one, and I packed all my things and left."

"Left? Where'd you go?"

"Miguel's," she simply answered. "A friend drove me."

There was an unfamiliar feeling as Johnny thought about Emmy breaking down in an apartment not too far from his. 

He took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Emmy. I was angry at your dad, and I said something that wasn't my place to say."

The girl looked at him in shock. One, because he had never called her Emmy. Two, because he was apologizing to her. Things she would have never imagined him doing. 

"Thank you, Sensei," she said, not being able to hide her surprise. 

Johnny caught it and rolled his eyes. "Don't sound so shocked."

She shrugged with a smile. "You're being nice for once. I'm cherishing it."

"Whatever," he waved her off. "If you get tired of Diaz, ask him for my place."

Emmy couldn't hold back her grin. "Aw, Sensei. You're such a softie."

He then pointed a stern finger at her. "Shut your mouth. Go stretch."

✸

"Nervous?"

Emmy adjusted her gi for what felt like the millionth time, and glanced to her left to see Miguel looking at her with amusement. "Is it obvious?"

"We might as well give you sweat bucket," he joked, earning a sharp jab to his side. 

"It's not funny!" she exclaimed. "My family is here in the front row and I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I really did not think this through."

Suddenly, she felt something grab her hand from her left, and she snapped her head down, seeing Miguel's interlaced his hand with hers. Her face grew hot, and she looked back up at him. 

"What's this for?" she nervously chuckled. 

"You said you were nervous," Miguel shrugged. "I want to make you less nervous."

Well, you're not doing a very good job at that, she thought.

"Thanks," she said, her voice an octave higher than normal. Her face must have resembled a tomato by now. 

The two stayed like that for the next several minutes as the multiple karate dojos were introduced. Miguel would occasionally swipe his thumb across her hand, and Emmy had to find it in herself to keep calm, cool and collected. 

"Ready now?"

"Yeah."

"From Reseda, returning to the tournament, we have ⎯ "

Emmy and Miguel gave a quick squeeze to each other's hands before letting go and pushing past the curtain. "Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!"

The teens jogged along the line, faces filled with a burning passion for winning the tournament. They stood in place, hands placed in front of them as they faced the crowd. 

"Now, that's what I call an entrance! And a badass name for a dojo! Let's hear it for Cobra Kai!"

The spectators around the arena began to cheer for the students, giving Emmy time to look around. It was when she turned to her right, she froze. 

Daniel, Amanda, Anthony, and Sam were sitting front row right next to her. 

Miguel must have seen them too, because he placed his hand on her back as a way to tell her to look away and not distract herself. She made brief eye contact with her father before thickly swallowing and facing forward. 

"And finally, fighting unaffiliated from North Hills, we have Mr. Robby Keene."

And of course, life just had to throw another curveball. 

As Robby jogged past the Cobra Kai students, Emmy's eyes followed him as he went past her. She felt her blood grow hot, and an anger bloom in her chest. 

"What the hell is he doing here?" she spoke through gritted teeth, eyes glaring into his smug face. She had never hated him in that moment. 

"All right, folks," the announcer, Daryl, said. "Get ready. It's karate time."

✸

Emmy watched as Miguel fought with his opponent first, observing his moves as a way to try and improve hers. And she had to admit, he looked so good doing it.

"Do you know who you're going up against?" Johnny asked her, stepping next to her and into her dad's line of view. 

"Yeah, some smughead from Topanga Karate. He keeps trying to psych me out," Emmy said, stretching out her arms as she watched the boy she was going to fight throw continuous punches to one of teammates right in her face. 

"Don't let that get to you," Johnny pat her shoulder. 

Emmy scoffed, craning her neck side to side. "As if."

A referee then came up to her, and gestured to the mat in front of her. "Step onto the mat, please."

She complied, taking confident steps onto black and blue. Her face was nonchalant, as if she wasn't about to fight her first ever karate match. But inside, Emmy's was heart was about to pop out of her chest. 

Was is even possible for someone to be this nervous?

She subtly wiped her sweaty hands on her gi, standing up straighter as her opponent stepped up too.  

"Bow," the referee instructed, and they quickly bowed to each other before bowing to the ref. 

Emmy's hands curled up, and she pulled herself into a fighting stance, causing the boy to follow after her. She narrowed her eyes at him, not liking the way he looked so proud of himself. He hadn't even won.

"And fight!"

He struck first, throwing out his fist to catch her in the face, but Emmy's reflexes kicked in and she grabbed his arm, ducking over and stood behind him. His arm bent in a weird way, causing him to yelp and jump around. 

Emmy smirked before kicking the back of his knee, making his left leg buckle beneath him. So now, he was quiet literally kneeling down in front of her. She gave a faux smile before reeling back her fist and slammed it into his chest. 

They were forced apart as she had gained the point. "Point! LaRusso."

She watched as he stood up, hands on his chest with a look of pain and shock on his face. He wasn't expecting her to be any good.

"Guess you should have thought strategy instead of trying to be smug dick," she commented, going back to a fighting stance. 

The boy glared at her, taking his hands away from his aching chest and pulled his fists out in front of him. 

"Ready, and...fight!"

Emmy made the first move this time, a little annoyed that she only got one hit on him. She flung a kick his way, which he jumped back in surprise from, before he quickly started to block her attacks. 

Seeing him act this way made Emmy a bit confused. It was like once she started fight back, he forgot everything he was ever taught and looked like lost, flailing child. 

And she thought to herself, do I really want to waste all of my energy on this guy?

"Come on, Pinky!" she heard Johnny yell from behind her. 

That was the confirmation she needed before dropping low and swept his legs out from under him. The distressed look on his face made her want to laugh, but she restrained herself. Her foot then came down on his chest, earning her another point. "Point! LaRusso."

She let him get up on his own, taking light steps back and stood back in her place. "Still think you're all that now?"

"Shut your mouth," he snapped, practically seething with anger and embarrassment. 

She just smiled at him, getting back into a fighting stance. She already knew that she was going to win this match. It was just a matter of how quickly she wanted to end it. 

"Ready, and...fight!"

He charged at her, but was knocked down when Emmy lifted up her leg and brought it down onto his face. 

Guess she decided to end it quickly. 

"Point! Winner!" the referee raised up her arm, and there was a gust of cheers around the stage. 

She could hear the loud cheers of teammates, and she turned around to face them, a wide grin on her face to express her happiness. 

✸

"There can be only one true winner, and he, or she, is standing on this right now," Emmy, Miguel, and Hawk glanced at each other with proud smiles, happy that they were the ones to have made it. "Will it be Miguel Diaz from Cobra Kai karate? Will it be Emmy LaRusso from Cobra Karate, whose father is two-time All Valley champ, Daniel LaRusso?"

Emmy lightly winced at the mention of her dad, already feeling the air around her thicken. 

"Will it be Hawk...well, I guess it's just Hawk, from Cobra Kai karate?  Will it be Robby Keene, unaffiliated? And last, but certainly not least, last years champion, fighting out of Topanga Karate, Xander Stone?"

Xander did a flip across the stage and took the microphone from Daryl. 

Emmy raised her eyebrows up in surprise, turning to Miguel who returned her confused look. 

"I just wanted that even though I love to fight, we all need to fight together against hatred. And as I looked around this arena, I pray for every race, religion, and gender that we can all live together in peace. Please join me in a moment of silence as we strive to end intolerance in our time."

The arena turned dead silent, and people bowed down their heads. 

Johnny, who was standing behind Emmy and Miguel, leaned in between them. "Hey, kick that pansy bitch in the face."

Emmy snorted. "Oh, you don't even have to ask."

Johnny nodded with her attitude, patting her on the shoulder. 

Daryl took back his microphone. "All right! First up, Stone vs. LaRusso."

Emmy took a deep breath as she stayed on the mat, Hawk clapping her on the back as a way to encourage her. 

"You got this. Don't let them ruin this for you," he said into her ear. She knew who he was talking about. 

She nodded, patting his lower back before he walked off and stood with the rest of the Cobra Kai's. 

Emmy sucked in a big breath, slowly exhaling it as a way to try and calm herself down. Xander stood in front of her, and unlike her other competitors, he actually seemed like a nice guy. 

They bowed to each other holding out their fists in front of themselves. This was a big moment for them. Xander could be on the road to another championship, and Emmy could be on the road to her first ever one. 

"Ready, and...Fight!"

With a grunt, Emmy charged froward, throwing a heavy punch his way, which he barely managed to duck out from. He could practically feel the anger radiating off of her. 

Xander managed to hold off one of her punches, and flipped her onto the mat and onto her back. She grounded her teeth together to try and ignore how much the landing hurt, and she saw him raise his foot up. 

With a yelp, she rolled towards him, making him step over her. Using this as an advantage, she grabbed the leg he used and yanked it back, making him fall face first. She then surged forward, rolling him onto his back and struck him in the chest. 

Xander doubled over on the ground, while Emmy sprung up from the mat, staring down at him while her chest heaved up and down rapidly. 

"Point! LaRusso."

"Let's go, Emmy!" she heard Moon shout from the crowd. She breathlessly glanced up, catching the girl clapping for her. She flashed her a quick wink before stepping back as Xander got to his feet. 

"I see your father taught you well," Xander commented, getting in his fighting stance. 

Emmy tensed up, clenching her jaw as she followed after him. "My dad didn't teach me anything."

Xander looked a bit confused and his mouth opened to speak again, but the ref had already left his hand from in between them, signaling that the match has started again. 

Feeling more confident now, Emmy threw a kick in Xander's way. He was quick to block it, shoving away or blocking her attacks fairly well. 

Emmy had to admit. He was good. She could see why he was a popular champion. 

"Don't be scared! Come on, Pinky!" Johnny shouted from his spot. 

And for some reason, hearing Johnny Lawrence encourage her was more empowering than anything to Emmy LaRusso. 

While giving Xander another kick, he caught it with his hand, and with a leap of faith, and bounced off her free leg, and sent that one flying into the side of his face. She used her hands to catch herself as she fell onto the mat, but there was a sense of pride in her chest. 

"Point! LaRusso."

She quickly gathered herself and got back to her feet, swallowing up the cheers for her. 

"You may not have learned anything from your dad, but you certainly fight like him," Xander chuckled. Emmy knew he meant it has a compliment, but she certainly didn't take it that way. 

Being compared to her father felt like a punch to the gut. 

It threw her off, and she faltered a bit. 

Johnny could see just from her body language that whatever Xander said to her effected her enough. It made him clench his fists together. "Come on, Emmy! I know you got this."

Emmy. 

Emmy?

That was the second time that day. Johnny was really counting on her.

She took in a deep breath, reminding herself to calm down and remember where she was. As much as she wanted to, she could curl up into a ball and forget that this was even happening. 

"Ready, and...Fight!"

This time, Xander was the one to strike first, sweeping her off her legs and she landed onto the mat. Emmy could feel her face burning with embarrassment. No one liked to be sent to the mat as soon as the match started. 

She then quickly crawled back and out of the way from more of Xander's attacks, going back far enough until there enough distance between them and she go at least stand up. But Xander was fast, and didn't hesitate to run at her and send a flying kick. 

Emmy rolled out of the way, reappearing behind him and continued to block his kicks. She figured he was more comfortable fighting with his legs, and an idea sprang in her mind. 

She stopped blocking his kicks, and instead sent one back, which caught him off guard. She dug further, sending more and more kicks, causing him to block with his arms and hands. 

"Give it to him!" Hawk yelled out. 

Emmy then abruptly stopped her kicks, catching Xander's arms and held them firmly in place. A grin formed on her face and she launched her fist into his nose. 

"Point! Winner!"

She felt her arm be raised up in the air, but her eyes never left Xander. It was admirable how he held his head up high. Emmy saw the impressed look on his face and he nodded towards her in acknowledgment. She subtly nodded back before walking back to her teammates. 

She glanced to her left, and made eye contact with her family. It was bittersweet considering the events that had happened the night before. But except now, there wasn't a gaping emotion in her heart she couldn't feel. Because now, she didn't feel anything for them at all. 

Her face was blank as she looked at them, stepping next to Miguel. 

"You okay?" he softly asked. 

"Yeah," she sighed, straining her eyes away from her family. "Just wishing I was kicking someone else's ass right now."

✸ AUTHOR'S NOTE ! ngl this chapter is not all that interesting but the next chapter...oh im excited

also season one is almost done you guys :(((((