TW !: themes of anxiety/anxiety/panic attacks

THIRTY NINE.
( cause we never go out of style. )

"Point! LaRusso! Winner!"

Emmy let out a breath as her arm was raised up in the air. She turned to Sam, who was looking back at her with narrowed eyes. She pulled her arm away from the ref and walked off the mat without another word.

"LaRusso!" she looked over her shoulder and saw Silver waving her over.

She sighed, jogging over to him.

"Great job," he smiled. "Now, all you have to do win is this match against the other LaRusso, and Cobra Kai has a guaranteed win."

"Yeah," she replied shortly.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her, and nudged her shoulder. "Hey. What's the matter? You're about to win this whole thing. Be happy."

Emmy shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, how do you know that Tory isn't gonna win? Or even Sam?"

"Hey," he lightly smacked the side of her head. "You are going to win this. What's with this talk?"

"I just...don't know why any of this is even significant anymore," she gathered her hair and tied it into a ponytail again.

Silver shook his head in disbelief and confusion. "It's significant because you winning means that Cobra Kai wins. Do you not want that?"

"I'm not saying that," she quickly defended. "Look, sorry if it sounds weird or confusing, I've just had a really long day."

"Fix your head," he advised her. "The last thing any of us need is a distracted student that blows this whole thing. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sensei," she muttered and he walked away, finally allowing herself to breathe. "Dick."

"Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do are neck-and-neck on the leaderboard. But there's a dark horse... Or should I say a dark bird?...that still had a chance. Will Eagle Fang Karate stay alive in our dojo race? We're about to find out. Miguel Diaz has one minute to return to the mat!"

Emmy's head snapped over to the announcer, suddenly remembering seeing Miguel in the infirmary. Had he not come back yet?

There was then a countdown timer put on the screen, and she rolled her eyes. This was a bit much.

"Hey," she turned and saw Robby jogging over to her. "Kenny just told me what happened. Are you good?"

She let out a long breath as she placed her head in her hands. "I don't even want to think about that right now."

Robby furrowed his eyebrows at her, noticing her different demeanor. "Hey. Are you okay? Do you need to sit down? Do you need water?"

"No, I'm fine," she waved him off. "Just a bit more nervous than usual. It's been like this the whole day. I'm fine."

Robby didn't seemed to believe her, but knew better. "All right. Just don't stress yourself out so much. You're doing great."

He rubbed her shoulder in a comforting manner, staying next to her.

"Well, it looks like Miguel Diaz is not gonna fight. Which means that the winner by default is Eli Moskowitz, who advances to the finals, where he will face Robby Keene. And up next, we have two LaRussos going up against each other to see who will advance to the finals and face Tory Nichols!"

Emmy sighed, rolling back her shoulders. "That's my cue."

"Emmy," she turned to Tory. "Can't wait to fight you."

She mustered up her best smile. "Me too."

"LaRusso," Kreese called her over and she quietly walked over to him. "This is it. You win, and Cobra Kai wins. That's what you're aiming for, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "Of course it is."

"Excellent," he pat her on the back. "See you in the finals."

She gave him a bow before stepping up onto the mat, seeing Sam doing the same from across her. She suddenly felt a wave of nausea, clenching her hands together to try and suppress it.

Johnny furrowed his eyebrows, watching her. "Something isn't right with her."

"Who? Sam?" Devon looked at him oddly. "I personally think she's fine."

"No, not that LaRusso. The other one," he corrected. "She doesn't look okay."

And he wasn't the only one.

"Is it just me or does Emmy look a lot more pale?" Demetri frowned.

"Definitely not just you," Eli added on.

"Face me. Bow."

Emmy and Sam turned to the referee, placing their arms flat at their sides, bending over and bowing. "Face each other. Bow." They turned back to each other, doing the same thing. "Ready? Fight!"

Sam dove in first, throwing a kick at her sister who immediately backed away. Emmy then charged forward, throwing her own punches that Sam skillfully blocked. The younger girl clenched her jaw, trying to channel all the anger she had for her sister.

Her eyes turned into slits, and she quickly ducked down, sweeping Sam's legs from under her and causing the older girl to tumble onto the mat. Emmy tried to stomp her foot onto her chest, but Sam quickly rolled out of the way and got back to her feet.

Emmy let out a shout, spinning a kick towards her, causing Sam to block it before it hit the side of her head. Emmy quickly grabbed that arm, jabbing her heel into Sam's ankle, causing her to get on one knee. Emmy then thrusted her fist forward, hitting Sam's chest.

"Point! Cobra Kai!"

Emmy let go of her sister, stepping back and fixed the belt around her gi. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Silver and Kreese looking at her intensely. She thickly swallowed, quickly shaking her head before getting back into her fighting positions. Just breathe in and out.

"Ready? Fight!"

Emmy lunged towards Sam, swinging her fist at her before Sam ducked, rushing to her other side and wrapped her arms around her waist. Emmy struggled, using her elbow and struck Sam's mid section. Sam's grip faltered, and Emmy made the fast decision, bending forward and grabbed onto Sam's legs, flipping her over her back.

She jammed her foot into her chest once again, and she backed away, almost smiling.

"Point! Cobra Kai!"

"Let's go, Emmy!" Robby cheered her on.

Sam groaned in frustration, calling a time out and rushed over to her dad. Emmy walked back to her Senseis, craning her neck side to side.

Silver was practically shining with glee. "Good work. This may be the only time I allow personal feelings to cloud you. Nice job."

"Thank you, Sensei," she breathed, turning around and saw Daniel and Sam having a serious conversation. "I don't think I'll have a problem with this one."

"Me either," Silver chuckled. "You have her in the palm of your hand. Finish it well. Don't hold back."

"I won't," she briefly bowed at him before walking back to her place, Sam doing the same. There were no spoken words between them, only glares in their eyes.

"Ready? Fight!"

Sam gave a loud shout, hopping up on one foot before quickly jumping, her foot striking Emmy right on the nose. Emmy stumbled back at the sudden contact. She brought her palm up to her nose, checking to see if there was blood.

"Point! Miyagi-Do!"

Emmy looked over at Sam, who wore a smug smirk. She scoffed, getting back into her fighting position.

"Ready? Fight!"

Emmy swung for Sam, causing the girl to duck out of the way and kicked the girl's back, causing her to stumble forward. Emmy then yelped as she felt Sam grab her leg, yanking it down and causing her to fall flat on her face. She quickly rolled out of the way, jumping up right as Sam went to kick her.

She backed out of the way, arms coming up to block her moves before swinging at her again. Sam stopped her arm and gripped, thrusting her fist forward and struck her sister's chest.

Emmy grunted at the impact, pulling her arm away from Sam.

"Point! Miyagi-Do!"

Emmy felt her frustration rise and she turned to the ref. "Time out."

He nodded and she jogged over to Kreese and Silver.

"What the hell did I just watch?" Silver snapped, grabbing onto her wrist and yanking her towards him.

"I just wasn't expecting it," she snapped back, yanking her arm back from him. "I can do this."

"I don't care about what you can do," he growled. "You will win. Because you have to. Because you need to. Everything relies on you winning and you're completely blowing it! Get your act together. You can not afford to lose right now. You won once, so you have to do it again."

"Is that what my worth is?" she asked. "Because I won the first time, I have to win this time or else I'll be nothing?"

"Exactly," Silver said. "You're nothing without this title."

She looked up at him with flickering eyes, before looking down at the ground.

"I need to see the Emmy that started that house fight or wasn't afraid to get back at her sister for hurting her friend. Where's the Emmy that cornered her best friend and took back her control? I need to see that Emmy. Because the Emmy that I'm seeing right now is worth nothing."

Emmy swallowed back her tears. "Yes, Sensei."

"Don't screw this up," he gave a few particularly rough pats onto her shoulder before pushing her forward.

Emmy took a sharp inhale of breath, stepping back onto the mat. Sam also stepped back, a new found confidence in her face and steps. Emmy felt her anger flare, knowing that their dad only gave Sam encouraging words.

Her fists clenched tightly, and tensely got back into her fighting position. Sam followed, slightly faltering at the look on her face. A small bit of fear bloomed inside her.

"Ready? Fight!"

Emmy gave a loud cry, charging at Sam and tackled her to the floor. Sam screamed in surprise, quickly trying to block all of Emmy's advances before pushing her off of her. She let out a few quick breaths, not expecting the brute violence.

Emmy didn't hesitate to come at her again, feeling out with anger. She flung a kick at Sam's head, causing the girl to shove it away. Emmy then aimed another kick for her stomach, but Sam barely managed to block it with her hands.

Emmy then lunged for her, wrapping her arms around her waist and tossed her onto the ground. Sam groaned at the hard impact, eyes wide with fear as Emmy sat on top of her, holding her leg up in the air was holding her fist in the air.

Sam shut her eyes, waiting for the impact.

And for Emmy, it felt like time suddenly stilled. She looked down at her sister with clenched teeth and angry eyes, but seeing the pure look of fear in Sam's face should have made her feel satisfied. But it didn't. Emmy faltered.

"You're nothing without this title."

"I'm glad that you know your worth. It's refreshing to have such a devoted student."

"I'm not here to give you pressure, but for you to realize your worth."

"For you to be successful, you need to know your worth. Finding that in yourself is what'll make you win against your enemies."

"Find the fire that made you who you are."

"Don't talk to me. I never wanna see you again!"

Silence filled the arena as everyone watched Emmy jumped away from Sam, scrambling back on her hands, eyes wide as if she had just seen a ghost. Sam sat up, eyebrows furrowing.

Emmy let out short gasps as she got to her feet, and sprinted off the mat, running past Cobra Kai and pushed through the door.

Murmurs filled the arena, Sam getting to her feet. Her face was imprinted with concern, and she turned to her father. Daniel had the same look on his face.

Emmy felt like the bile rise up in her throat, her inhale and exhale coming in short gasps. Her face twisted as she walked down the hallway, hearing the door behind her open.

"Emmy! Emmy, hey, hey," she felt someone grab her shoulder and turn her towards them. Robby's face was in full blown panic and concern. He had no idea that she was going to run off.

"I ⎯ " she couldn't form the words, only continuing to breath heavily and shortly. "I don't want to be worth nothing. I can't be worth nothing."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, hands resting on her arms to try and calm her down.

"They said that I have to win but I can't. I just can't," tears began to form in her eyes, and she placed a hand on her forehead. "I don't want to be worth nothing."

"You're not," he tried to reassure her, but Emmy pulled away from him.

"No, but I am!" she exclaimed. "I'm worth nothing without the stupid All Valley title or being known as some vicious bitch from Cobra Kai. That's all I am."

"Emmy," he tried to reach for her again, but she took a step back.

"I couldn't win," she breathed out. "I looked at her and she just looked so scared. She didn't even tried to fight back! Oh, God, I made her so scared. I've made everybody scared!"

"I'm not scared," Robby continued, wanting her to not have a full blown breakdown in the middle of the hallway. "Tory's not scared. Kenny's not scared."

"But Sam is," she placed a hand over her mouth, as if everything she had done was coming back to bite her. "And Eli, and Demetri, and Miguel. My mom, my dad. Even my little brother. I made my brother scared of me. I made all of them scared."

"Hey," he firmly said, taking a bit step towards her and grabbed her face, holding her still. He could hear how rapid her breathing is. "I need you to breathe. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

"I don't know," she croaked out, taking a sharp inhale.

"Okay, then just try to copy me. All right? Come on," Robby did a slow inhale of air, willing Emmy to copy him. It took her a few tries, but he could slowly begin to hear her nose exhaling air out slower and nodded. "That's it."

Emmy looked up at him, hands holding onto his gi tightly to try and ground herself. Her heart was still beating faster than it should, but she could feel her breathing grow more slow and even.

"Good," Robby softly said. "Keep going like that."

He let go of her face, and she let go of his gi. She took a big inhale, feeling the air go into her lungs. "I fucked everything up."

"You did not," he shook his head.

"But I did!" she exclaimed. "I hurt so many people because of what? Because of a boy?"

"No," he took a step closer to her. "You've been shoved behind your sister your entire life. You found something to help you, but it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. You didn't fuck up, Emmy. You've just been hurt too many times."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I should've done the things that I did. I made the choices that I made. All of it is my fault."

"No," Robby clenched his jaw, taking another step towards her, and they now stood chest to chest. "None of this is your fault. It's his. He took advantage of you, Emmy. He knew that you wanted stability and manipulated you into thinking that you had that."

Emmy didn't say anything. She wasn't even sure how to respond to that.

"Don't put the blame on you. You're just gonna protect him."

And then it hit her. She had always protected him. He used her like a shield because he knew that the others wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He pushed her past her limits and broke her until she was something that he could control.

She really was his soldier.

"I'm protecting him," she muttered.

Robby nodded. "He's using you, Emmy. That man, he's taken too much from you. He's made you into what he and Silver are."

"But, he said that all he wanted was for me to happy," Emmy couldn't even begin to wrap her head around this.

Robby huffed. "Let me ask you a question. If Kreese asked you to kill for him, what would you say?"

"Of course," the words came flying out with absolutely no hesitation. and Emmy's eyes widened. "Oh, my God."

"The relationship you have with Kreese is not normal," he told her. "No matter how many times he says it, he doesn't actually want what's best for you. He's just turning you into the bullets for his gun. He's not giving you worth. He's stripping you of it.

Emmy scoffed in disbelief, hand running down her face. "So I guess I'm really worth nothing, huh? I let some old man control me, because I thought he wanted what was best for me, and he turned me into some Cobra Kai soldier that does everything he wants. Great, just fucking great."

"Hey," he grabbed her hands away from her face, holding them in his. "You are not worth nothing. You are worth everything."

"What does that even mean?" she shook her head, not believing it herself.

Robby looked at her for a moment, like he was thinking about something, before licking his lips, dropping her hands and grabbed her face, their lips connecting softly.

Emmy felt like time stopped, her heart stopped beating, and her eyes widened. She was so shocked that she didn't have the thought to reciprocate it before Robby pulled away.

"It means that to me," he softly looked at her. "You're worth everything. Every word, every action, everything. You are everything to me, Emmy. From the moment I found you crying at that first All Valley, I knew. Maybe I didn't know it then but I definitely know it now."

Emmy, for the first time, was speechless. She just continued to look at him, lips parted in shock.

"You never gave up on me," he continued. "Even after I kicked the guy you liked over a railing, you visited me in juvie, or when I first joined Cobra Kai and you made sure that no one did or said anything to me. So, you don't need Cobra Kai to feel like any type of worth. Because to me, you are worth more than anything in my life."

Emmy felt her breath hitch, and she was sure Robby could hear it.

"Up next, is the boys final! Who will take home the title of today's male champion? Well, we're about to find out!"

Robby sighed, taking a step back from her. "I gotta go."

And when he turned around and began to walk away, it was like a switch flipped inside Emmy. She quickly followed after him, grabbing his wrist and spun him back around. Robby furrowed his eyebrows.

Emmy took a deep breath, hands going to the back of his neck and pulled her towards him, taking him back into a kiss. Robby immediately responded, his gripping her waist as he pulled her in closer.

Emmy pulled away after a few seconds, eyes full of emotion as they looked into his. "You're worth everything to me too."

Robby's eyes widened, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth.

"Mr. Keene."

Emmy immediately removed her hands from his face, taking a step back while Robby jumped around. Kreese stood in front of the doors. "I do believe you have a match to be winning right now."

"Uh, right," Robby walked away and past Kreese, leaving him and Emmy in the hallway.

She clenched her jaw, but couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"Quite the show you put out there," he said in amusement. "You had her right where you wanted her, but you ran away."

"I refuse to win for the wrong reasons," she said, finally bringing her eyes up to him. 

"Wrong reasons?" he questioned.

"Yes," she firmly said. "I realized that I wasn't trying to win for me, but for you. I was winning to make you feel better about yourself, and I'm not gonna give you that satisfaction. I used to think that your approval was what defined me but now I know that that was a stupid thought to think.

His eyes narrowed at her.

"I don't need you to feel worthy," she walked up closer to him. "Because I don't want to be some soldier that you can put on the frontlines and take all of your falls. You've already done that to me enough. With Johnny, my dad, their dojos. All of them tie me to you and I don't want that anymore."

"Oh, really?" he raised an eyebrow at her. "Because from where I see it, you've always had that side to you, Emmy. You happily did all of those things for me. Why? Because you wanted to."

"No, I didn't!" she exclaimed, starting to frustrated. "You made me do all of those things. You twisted some shit in my head and you turned me into some crazy psycho who nobody can look at normally anymore."

"I didn't make you do anything. Like when you cornered Hawk. That was all you."

"Don't put all of that on me," tears of frustration formed in her eyes. "You're the one who put gaining control over him into my head."

"I didn't ask you to do that."

"You handed me the fucking blade!"

"I didn't tell you to do anything with it."

"You ⎯ " Emmy's voice got caught in her throat, her brain racking through the conversation she had with Kreese in his office that day. Going through each and every word he said. He was right. He never explicitly said to do anything with it. He just handed it to her. She was the one who made the plan of cutting of his mohawk.

Kreese hummed as he knew that she couldn't say anything else. "I didn't ask you engage in a school against your own sister or break into your own home and attack Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang. That was all you. I just simply ignited the fire that was already burning."

"I didn't want any of that to happen," she tried, but her mind was conflicting with her words.

"Of course you did, Emmy," he smirked. "Violence like that doesn't come from a place of nothing. You've always had that desire to destroy everything and everyone who had wronged you. I've known since the moment I met you."

More bile rose up in her throat, and she quickly swallowed it back, almost cringing at the rough feeling. "I wouldn't have acted on all of those fucking desires if you hadn't put all this bullshit into my head."

"You can keep telling yourself that," he shrugged. "But we both know that you are capable of more than you think."

He then walked back through those doors, Emmy biting the inside of her cheek. Then, the doors came flying open again, and she saw Silver storming up to her. She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Fuck."

His face was almost red with anger, and she glared at him. "What the hell do you want? Huh? Because I have had enough of your guys' bullshit ⎯ "

Emmy's words were cut off by her own gasp as a tight grip forced her against the wall, and she looked up at Silver in disbelief. "What the hell? Get off of me!"

"What the hell was that out there? Huh? You could have won this whole thing but you blew it," he spoke through clenched teeth.

"I'm not winning for you grown ass men to feel good about yourselves," she spat out, not being intimidated by him the slightest. She had been through worse than a man trying to overpower her. "I want to win because I want that accomplishment. Not because you're making me win."

"You screwed everything up!" he exclaimed in her face.

"In case you're forgetting, I'm not the only Cobra Kai girl. Tory's got this," she glared at him.

"No, I put everything on your win!"

Her eyebrows knitted together. "What are you talking about?"

"Hey! Get away from her!"

Silver was suddenly pushed off of her, and she watched him stumble back before turning to Johnny with wide eyes. "Why is everyone coming over here?"

Johnny only stared at Silver. "Don't you put your hands on her. She's your student. Not a toy."

Silver just scoffed, fixing his gi before looking at Emmy. "You're gonna regret walking away."

"I won't," she said, watching him storm off. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be attending to your students?"

"I am right now."

"I'm not your student anymore," she muttered.

"You're really gonna stay in Cobra Kai after that?" he asked in disbelief.

"And what if I did?" she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm already used to egotistical senseis who only care about themselves."

Johnny looked down.

"Oh, not you! My dad," she waved him off.

"Oh," he looked back up.

Emmy rolled her eyes at him. "So Miguel didn't compete."

"I thought he would but no," Johnny sighed. "And now I have no idea where he is so..."

"Well, that sounds like a you problem. I would try the girl's restroom. Sometimes he can't tell the difference between the female sign and the male sign."

He looked at her oddly, but slowly nodded and walked away. "Thanks, Pinky."

She sighed, reaching up and untying her ponytail to try and relieve her blooming headache. Her feet dragged against the floor as she was about to head back to that she could watch Robby's match, but right as she reached the door, it flew open, and she jumped back in shock.

"Robby?" he walked past her, and she latched onto his arm, stopping him from going any farther. "Hey, I thought you had a match."

"I did. It just finished."

"But you don't have ⎯ " her face fell. "Wait, does that mean ⎯ "

"Yeah, he won," Robby sighed.

"Oh, Robby, I'm sorry," her hand traveled down to his own, holding it. "Why is your gi untied?"

He just huffed, pulling his hand away from hers. "I'm gonna go clear my head."

"Yeah, go ahead," he walked away from her and out the building.

Emmy ran a hand through her hair. "What the fuck just happened?"

She took a deep breath before heading back over to the tournament, knowing that Tory needed all of the support she could get.

"What better way to cap off this exciting exhibition of karate than with a final match for the ages?"

"Hey," Emmy came up from behind Tory, the latter jumping from the sudden voice.

"Emmy!" Tory placed a hand on her arm. "Are you good? You just ran out without saying anything."

"I just had a moment," Emmy waved her off, not wanting to worry her before she went up for her final fight. "But now I'm here to cheer you on. It's yours to win."

Tory lightly punched her shoulder. "You know, I was really looking forward to fighting you."

Emmy chuckled. "Me too. I'll be standing right here if you need any extra motivation."

Tory smiled, bringing her in for a short hug before turning around and stepping up onto the mat.

"Representing Cobra Kai, the Queen Cobra herself, Tory Nichols! Coached by her senseis John Kreese and Terry Silver."

Tory looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with Emmy with mouthed, "That's you."

Emmy rolled her eyes with a smile, mouthing back, "That's you too."

"And representing Miyagi-Do Karate, the Bonsai Badass, Samantha LaRusso! Coached by her father and sensei, two-time All Valley champion Daniel LaRusso, who I've just been informed will be joined by Sensei Johnny Lawrence. Oh, I stand corrected. Fellow two-time All Valley champion, Sensei Johnny Lawrence! Let's go!"

"Don't worry about them," Kreese spoke up. "You've been fighting all your life. Now it's time for all that struggle to pay off. Use all that fire inside you."

"Yes, Sensei," Tory said firmly.

Emmy's tongue poked the side of her cheek and she looked down. Even though she knew that whatever came out of his mouth was bullshit, she still wanted to believe him.

"Hey," her head turned to the side, seeing Robby back from his little break. He gave her a small smile, grabbing her hand in his before turning to Tory. "Good luck."

"We love you," Emmy told Tory, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Competitors, take your positions," Tory then walked to her spot.

Robby looked down at his and Emmy's interlocked hands, feeling her tight grip. "Nervous?"

"Extremely," she breathed out. "But I believe in her. She's got this."

"Ladies, good luck. Face this way. Bow. Face each other. Bow. Ready? And fight!"

The two girls bounced in their spots for a couple seconds before Tory struck first, giving Sam a kick that she blocked with her own kick. Their knees then collided, giving Sam the chance to start her attack, raising a kick towards Tory who ducked and attempted to sweep her legs out from under her. Sam blocked it, letting out a shout and kicked her straight across the face.

"Point! LaRusso. Score, on-zero."

Tory rushed back over to Silver and Kreese. "She's not using Miyagi-Do. She's fighting aggressive."

"I can only imagine who taught her that," Emmy scoffed, glaring at Johnny from the other side of the mat.

"You get more aggressive," Silver said. "I've seen what's inside you. Let it out!"

"You got this, Tory!" Emmy cheered, loudly clapping her hands.

Tory and Sam went back to their spots again, the former now having more rage filled energy in her. "Ready? And fight!"

Tory didn't hesitate, stomping a kick Sam's way, only for the LaRusso girl to shove it away, and backed away when Tory swung at her. Sam then gave her own kick, Tory quickly blocking it, charging forward and threw a flurry of punches towards her. Sam then moved to the side, jumping up to kick her but Tory strongly punched her gut, gaining the point. "Point, Nichols! Score, one-one."

The point gave Tory even more fuel, feeling her confidence growing. The two girls got back into their fighting stances, eyes glaring into each other. "Ready? Fight!"

Sam threw the first kick, doing a double one that Tory immediately backed away from. She threw another one, which Tory blocked and pushed away. The two then spun around, doing spinning kicks at each other that didn't land. Sam rose up another kick that Tory blocked, and the latter spun around again, landing a kick square at her chest. "Point! Two-one, Nichols."

"Damn it!" Sam exclaimed, running back to her senseis. The three talked for about a minute before both girls returned to the center of the mat.

"Ready? And fight!"

Tory went first, lunging forward and threw a kick at Sam, the girl blocking it. She threw another one, but Sam backed away. She then spun on her heel, her foot going for Sam's face but Sam blocked it with her arm. Sam then swung a couple punches, both of them being blocked by Tory. She then kicked at her, Tory ducking under her leg and gave her own punch, Sam backing away.

Sam grunted as she spun a kick at Tory, the latter taking a step back and ducking for extra measure. The two girls were then back on their original spots, staring at each other.

"Come on, Tory!" Emmy shouted.

Tory let out a shout, doing a spinning kick that Sam ducked under, before doing another one that Sam blocked. The two then exchanged punches, Tory coming dangerously close to the out of bounds. Sam then landed a punch at her chest, then Tory's foot touched the black border.

"No point. Out of bounds," the ref concluded.

"What?" Sam was in disbelief.

Emmy furrowed her eyebrows, glancing over at Silver who looked smug. Her eyes narrowed at him, thinking back to their conversation.

"You screwed everything up!"

"I put everything on your win!"

Emmy's eyes widened.

Tory and Sam's fight continued, the latter clearly thrown off by what had just happened. "Ready? And fight!"

Sam jumped forward, kicking at Tory who quickly blocked it. She then threw a combination of punches at her, before Tory charged forward, throwing a kick her way. Sam quickly backed away, going back to her series of swings and punches, aiming a kick for Tory's chest but the girl shoved it away with a grunt.

They stopped for a moment before Tory went after her again, jumping up and kicked at her but Sam blocked it and countered it with a backwards punch. Sam then went to kick at her, but Tory pushed it away with an angry face. The latter than started to close in on her, not letting up her punches or kicks. But when she did for a split second, Sam gathered up both of her fists and thrusted at her, striking her chest. "Point, LaRusso. Score's two to two. Next point wins. Ready? Fight!"

Tory aimed a double kick at Sam, but the LaRusso girl blocked it with her hands, arms coming up and blocking all of Tory's punches before thrusting a kick at her, Tory placing her hands in front of herself so it wouldn't land. Tory struck again, aiming another kick that Sam blocked, and then the two engaged in a series of arm blocks, practically stacking their arms.

Sam then struck a kick again, but Tory grabbed her leg, bringing the both of them down onto the mat. The two rolled over, Sam raising her fist to hit Tory's chest but Tory rolled out of the way. But then Sam flipped over her, trying to flip Tory onto her back, but then Tory's elbow hit her eye, and Sam quickly let her go.

"Warning. Elbow to the face. Go to your senseis."

"I didn't mean to. No, it was an accident," Emmy heard Tory plead.

"Tory!" she called out, and her friend came rushing over, a desperate look on her face.

"She comes in like that again, give her a shot to the other eye," Silver advised her. "She can't see, she can't fight."

"Are you trying to get her disqualified?" Emmy roughly elbowed him.

"Why? She ran into her elbow," he said. "Do exactly what you just did, disguise it in a counter. Worst you'll get is another warning. Trust me. This ref will never end this match on a technicality."

Emmy's face slowly dropped, and began to morph into subtle horror.

"It was an accident. I don't need to cheat to win," Tory said.

"Since when do you disobey an order?"

"Let her do what she wants," Kreese spoke up. "You've come this far. This is your fight now. So whatever happens, it's up to you."

Emmy furrowed her eyebrows at him. Tory nodded and bowed at him before returning to her spot. Emmy glanced back at Silver, anger flaring in her.

Sam's eyes had now began to bruise, and she was clearly struggling to keep it open. "Ready? And fight!"

Tory went to strike first, but Sam beat her to it, throwing a kick, only for Tory to block it and push it away. Tory then began to circle her, Sam keeping an intense, glaring eye as she awaited for her attack. Tory made several faux moves, but Sam was not fazed by them. Tory then grew impatient, shouting and tossed a kick at her, but Sam blocked it.

Tory then threw a series of punches, but Sam used her Miyagi-Do knowledge and skillfully blocked them. Sam then kicked at her, only making contact with her chest but Tory blocked it with her arm. The two then exchanged more punches, Sam almost curling into Tory's chest, but quickly backed away. Tory then swung her face, but Sam grunted and pushed it away.

Tory then raised her arm to block one of Sam's punches, exposing her chest. Sam went to kick her, but Tory raised her other arm, blocking that move. Tory then kicked at Sam's back, causing the girl to shout, and kicked her back, gaining another shout. Then Tory got down low, spinning a kick that landed into Sam's stomach. Sam fell back onto the mat, face scrunched up.

The lights started to flash in the arena, and cheers erupted from all around. Emmy watched as Tory walked up to Sam, seemingly talking to her, and by the look of confusion on Sam's face, it was unexpected.

All of the Cobra Kais rushed past Emmy as they headed for Tory, lifting her up and cheering on her victory. But Emmy couldn't move, her feet cemented to the ground beneath her.

"Give it up for your second ever female champion, Tory Nichols! And the winner of the Grand Champion trophy and still the baddest dojo in the Valley, Cobra Kai!"

Emmy watched as they handed both trophies, before Silver stepped up and took Daryl's microphone. "Thank you. Thank you. We couldn't be prouder of our hard-won victory. And we're just as proud to announce we'll soon be opening Cobra Kai franchises throughout the entire Valley, so every one of you young men and woman here can be part of our championship dojo and learn Cobra Kai's Way of the Fist! And this project would not be possible without our leading lady, Emmy LaRusso!"

Emmy felt like her entire world was crumbling from under her, and she swallowed back her tears as she stepped up onto the mat and next to Silver.

He placed a head on her back. "This would not have been possible with Ms. LaRusso here, who is the first ever female champion in the All Valley tournament. My fellow sensei here came to me, and told me that a bright student of his had the great suggestion of expanding Cobra Kai. And we have fulfilled Emmy's wishes by doing so!"

Emmy felt her breath hitch, and glanced back at Kreese. She remembered that moment.

"Do you know what would be so cool? If there were multiple Cobra Kai dojos."

But she didn't actually mean it. It was a thought that passed her mind and she just decided to say it out loud.

Oh fuck.

✸

"Hey! Hey, victory party at my place. Queen Cobra, you coming or what?"

Tory smiled and nodded at Kyler. "Yeah. Emmy and I just have to grab our bags from the locker room."

Kyler and the others all laughed and nodded, walking away while chanting their dojo name.

Emmy sighed and shook her head. "Yeah. I am not going over to his house again. The last thing I need is his mom trying to get us to marry again."

Tory chuckled, looking down at her trophy in pride. "Yeah, I figured you weren't. You're gonna go hang out with Robby."

Emmy snorted as she opened the door for the both of them. "In fact, I am. And we're gonna make out. A lot."

Tory shoved her in amusement, and the two began to walk down the hall.

"I almost thought you were gonna back out of our deal a few times. You know what? You played it just right."

Emmy and Tory looked at each other with furrowed eyebrows, walking up to a blinded window and saw Silver talking with the ref for the tournament.

"Even though little LaRusso screwed it up by running off, no one suspects a thing," Silver continued, fixing his coat on. "Money will be in your account tomorrow morning."

Silver then walked out of the room, and the two girl looked at each other.

"He paid the fucking ref off?" Emmy whispered.

"Seems like it," Tory whispered back, looking down at her trophy.

I fucking knew it, Emmy thought.

✸

Emmy tugged her jacket closer to her body as she waited for Robby to come pulling up, having a seat on a near by bench. Then, from the corner of her eye, she could see someone taking a seat at the other end of the bench, both ends now occupied.

She glanced over instinctively, eyes widening a bit as she quickly glanced away. There was a couple minutes of silence, and Emmy was starting to wonder if she should just walk away.

"Hey."

She quickly looked at him before looking away. "Hey."

Eli pressed his lips into a thin line, adjusting the neck of his hoodie. "You did really good out there. I actually thought you were gonna win the whole thing again."

"Thanks," she gave a brief small smile. "You did really good too. Congrats on your win by the way."

"Thanks," he breathed out while nodding. "I bet you're not too happy I beat Robby though."

"I mean, of course it wasn't what I had in mind, but I'm not not happy for you," Emmy told him. "You deserve it, Eli."

His eyes widened. He hadn't heard her call him "Eli" in a long time. "Thanks, Emmy. It feels good hearing that from a former champ."

Emmy snorted. "Yeah, well, it feels nice talking to a current one."

She paused, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth. She stopped talking, placing her hands at the edge of the bench. Eli had a small smile on his face at her words, and looked at her, but his smile slowly dropped, seeing her timid demeanor. "I miss this."

Her head whipped to the side.

Eli continued. "I miss talking to you. I miss things being so effortlessly between us. I miss you, Emmy."

"Why would you miss me?" Emmy scoffed, shaking her head at herself. "I hurt you in the worse possible way."

"Because I think I understand better than anyone that that wasn't you," he quickly countered. "You're not the only one who Kreese made do bad things."

She sighed, swallowing thickly. "I know. It's just... I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't hurt you, and then he started saying how you took all the forgiveness and other kinds of bullshit from me and that I should take control over you. God, when I say it out loud it sounds so stupid."

"It kind of is," Eli chuckled.

"Hey!" without thinking, she shoved his arm, chuckling back. "You are not supposed to be making fun of me right now."

"All right, all right," he looked at her fondly. "But seriously, I miss you. I miss having my best friend over at my house every weekend where we fight over what movie to watch."

"That's what you miss?" Emmy snickered.

"I'm serious! I've rewatched "Me Before You" so many times."

"Really?" Emmy looked at him oddly. "You must have missed me a whole lot then."

"You have no idea."

Emmy went to open her mouth to speak, but then an expensive looking car pulled up in front of her, and the window rolled down. "Emmy. Let's go."

She gave Robby a tight lipped smile, and stood up from the bench, hiking her bag onto her shoulder. "Bye, Eli."

Eli didn't say anything, only watching her walk over to passenger seat. Then, his legs pushed him up. "Emmy!"

The girl stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

He nervous bit his lip. "Your hair's still red."

Instinctively, Emmy reached to the red section of her hair, running her fingers through it. "Yeah. Haven't had any time to do anything to it."

He awkwardly glanced off to the side, swallowing thickly. "And... do you wanna come over tomorrow maybe? It's just, Demetri and I are having a game day and it'd be cool if you were there."

There was a ghost smile on Emmy's face as she remembered the years and years of previous game nights. "Why? So I can yell at you guys to shut up and pull the plug off your controllers when you don't?"

Eli chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, actually. And eat all of our popcorn."

Emmy rolled her eyes. "You always had my favorite brand."

"My mom always gets it just for you," Eli admitted, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "So, what do you say?"

"Um..." Emmy glanced over at Robby, who looked at her encouragingly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Awesome," Eli tried to hide his excitement. "I'll let Demetri know."

"Okay," Emmy gave him a shy smile. "Good night, Eli."

"Good night, Emmy."

Emmy then turned back around, opening the passenger side door and climbed inside. Robby sped off shortly after. "Hey, do you mind if I drop you off at mine first? I'm just gonna go get some food."

"Sure," she smiled at him, taking his free hand and interlocking their fingers.

Robby looked down, smiling brightly at her. "What are you thinking about?"

"That I think...there are good things out for us."

"And what's that?"

She looked at him lovingly, her grip on his hand tightening. "Me and you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE !

this is the longest chapter i have ever written you guys its over 7k words

but who cares because my babies are finally together!!!

and don't worry this isn't the end of our fav era of emmy