LIFE WAS strange.

One minute you can go from a nerd who knows nothing to an asshole to thinks they know everything.

Sometimes you make friends to lose them in seconds.

Other times, you lie in bed and question what you've done to make you the person you are today.

Rory Brewer laid in bed and began to wonder what could've been different about her life. Maybe staying in Seaford would've been good for her. Maybe living in the Valley wasn't so bad.

She didn't really know what she wanted... not right now anyway. She was confused and kind of hurt.

Her friends had gone out of their way to hurt someone to win and she wasn't with that. She didn't want to win that way and she was never taught to win in such a way.

That was one thing Jack wanted both Belly and Rory to know.

There was a sudden knock on her door and she shut her eyes to pretend that she was asleep.

The door opened and Layla peaked her head inside with a soft smile. She stepped inside her room and sat down next to the "sleeping" girl.

Layla ran her hand up and down Rory's back as a sign of reassurance

"Your dad said he might've found a dojo for you." She spoke softly, "Miyagi-Do. Said it was run by Daniel LaRusso."

Rory didn't respond, only keeping her eyes shut as Layla continued to rub her daughter's back.

"You start tomorrow, if you want to go." Layla continued, "I know that all this Cobra Kai mess with your friends is frustrating, but you can't keep laying around like this. You gotta get up."

"I'm up." She muttered.

"Up and out of the bed." Layla softly smiled, pressing a kiss against her temple, "Mr. LaRusso is willing to see you today if your up for it. Consider it."

Layla finally stood to her feet and left Rory alone with her thoughts once more. She held her eyes shut with a sigh before sitting upright.

She grabbed a random hair tie from her bed and slipped on a random pair of sneakers.

It wouldn't hurt to check out Miyagi-Do.

She opened her bedroom door, making sure to grab her duffle bag before leaving and heading out of the house.

Jack left the den area and peaked out of the window, seeing Rory sitting in one of his cars with her head pressed against the stirring wheel before heading off.

Layla approached from behind, resting her chin against Jack's shoulder.

"I saw those Cobra Kai kids, Layla." Jack said, "Some of them were ruthless. Nothing like the Wasabi Warriors."

"Maybe Miyagi-Do is different." She reassured, "This will be good for her."

They could only hope that this would be good for Rory. To find her footing in Reseda like Belly had. They hoped that Rory would find herself again.

RORY STEPPED out of the car and shut the door behind her. Taking slow steps into the dojo as she reminded herself that this wasn't the Wasabi Warrior.

She truthfully didn't have to leave her last behind, but she had to move forward or else she would continue to compare new dojos of her old one.

She stepped inside the area, it was comforting in ways with the large, outdoorsy feel.

Robby and Sam turned as they heard footsteps approaching and Rory sent them a small wave.

She didn't know that Sam would be practicing in this. She had no problem with the girl. She didn't really know Sam. She was more so friends with Belly rather than her.

"Hi." Sam softly smiled, "We haven't properly met. I'm Sam."

Rory return the small smile, introducing herself to the brunette and gave a small nod towards Robby.

"Hey, guys." Mr. LaRusso called, "Ms. Brewer." He smiled, "Welcome. Perfect attendance on day one."

"So, what's our first lesson?" Sam asked.

"We're starting right now?" Rory asked.

Daniel turned, "Will that be a problem, Ms. Brewer?"

She simply shook her head and sat her duffel bag down as he instructed for the three to follow him. i

They followed him towards the front of the dojo and watched his Daniel poured sand onto the ground into a circle.

"If we're gonna play on sand, can't we go to the beach?" Sam asked.

"No, not today." Daniel answered, "It's been a long time since this dojo's had more than one student, and you figure with three people, you have three times the defense, right? Wrong. One of the cornerstones of Miyagi-Do Karate is always moving in a circle. And with the wheel technique, you'll soon see that three people can be as strong as 20. Now, are you ready?"

For an hour or so, Daniel began to teach and/or reteach techniques that he viewed as best for his three students.

But in Rory's eyes, it felt more like meditation rather than karate. That wasn't a bad thing, it was her first day with a new Sensei and she wasn't going to judge so quickly.

"Now, show me the wheel." Mr. LaRusso called.

As they began to move within the circle, Mr. LaRusso told them that they had to move in sync or else it wouldn't work.

"Technique?" Robby questioned, "This feels more like a dance."

"At what point do we do the hokey pokey and turn ourselves around?" Sam asked jokingly.

He sighed, "Ok, guys, trust me. You master this, no one's gonna mess with you. Come on. Let's try it again."

Once again, they were all out of sync and Mr. LaRusso said that they needed to be able to sense each other to be able to have this concept work.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Rory asked.

Before her question was answered, Mr. LaRusso said he had to run off to help his wife, Amanda LaRusso, with something.

"Just... feel it, all right? I'll be back as soon as I can." He said, "Keep it up."

Mr. LaRusso didn't return and the trio decided to head home for the day.

Rory made her way home and inside of her home, leaving her days keys by the front door.

"How was it?" Jack asked.

Rory made her way into the kitchen and sat down by the island next to Jack.

"Better than what I expected." She answered, "Wasn't anything like Cobra Kai."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

Jack gently nudged Rory's shoulder, giving her a small smile as she looked up at him.

"You'll get use to things." He reassured, "You'll figure out if you want to stay or go. It's a process."

Rory only nodded and rested her head against her father's arm.

She would give Miyagi-Do a chance, it's what her dad would want. And all she wanted to do was show him that she cared.

The next day, Rory would get up, get ready for her day, and head to Miyagi-Do.

But, she was asked to make a stop.

She sat outside of an apartment complex for a moment before Robby made his way outside and into the car.

Rory gave him a small smile, which he didn't return, but she didn't question it and made the drive to the dojo.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"I've had better days."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said, "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

Rory nodded, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as she continued to drive.

She wouldn't push. though she was curious. They sat in silence for a moment, the sound of the radio being the only thing heard.

"Are you still friends with those Cobra Kai's?"

"I actually haven't spoken to any of them in a while."

Which was true, he had heard from Hawk of Miguel as much as she previously had before quitting the dojo. She had heard from Demetri though, which was strange because they weren't the best of friends... they were possibly the worst of the two to talk to each other, and yet they did so because, as of now, they only had each other.

Another silence arose between them and they soon arrived at Miyagi-Do and Robby quickly exited the vehicle and into the dojo.

Rory sighed and shut the door behind her, pulling her duffel bag close to her body as she made her way inside.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?" Sam asked.

Rory only shrugged her shoulders and the two girls made their way inside the dojo, leaving their belongings behind as they made their way further inside and seeing Mr. LaRusso moving a bonsai tree from the water.

"Dad? What are you doing?" Sam called.

"Mr. Miyagi built this a few years before he died. He said it was a monument to balance." He explained, "But today, it's not gonna balance bonsais. It's going to help you three learn the wheel technique. Hop in."

"You want us to get into that dirty water?" Rory asked.

"Yeah."

"Could've told us to bring our swimsuits." Robby said.

"Come on. A little water never hurt anyone."

One by one they made their way into the water and onto the circle platform.

"There you go. Sense each other. There you go." He reassured, "Ok, take your starting positions."

They wobbled some and after a moment the three of them fell into the water.

"All right. Not a bad start, ok? You're finding your footing."

Rory spit out some of the water. Squeezing the ends of her hair. Because of her hair texture, it would be a dread to try and wash and blow dry it later on.

She was frustrated with it and held her eyes shut for a moment. Mr. LaRusso instructed them to get back into the platform and after awhile the trio were slowly getting the hang of it.

They would continue to fall in the water, but not as much as they were the first time around.

They eventually got the hang out it and Mr. LaRusso let them go for today.

Rory took a quick shower, changing into her clothes and letting her hair dry as much as possible before Layla could shout at her about it.

She stepped out with a towel around her neck and stopped in front of Sam and Robby.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Yeah." Robby softly smiled.

The duo waved Sam off, she seemed down, but it wasn't questioned by the others.

Rory and Robby sat in her car for a moment before pulling off.

"Are you heading home?" She asked.

He nodded and didn't say much else as the ride continued.

He turned towards her, "I'm sorry if I seemed off earlier."

Rory turned slightly, shaking her head, "Don't worry about it." She softly smiled.

"It's just... my mom took off recently... so, I'm trying to figure some shit out."

Rory nodded, "Are you sure you want to be at home?"

Robby turned towards Rory, not saying anything. Rory gave him a small smile and turned into a random parking lot and making her way home with Robby in tow.

RORY STOOD with her parents as Robby and Belly sat in the kitchen talking about whatever they wanted or whatever Belly wanted to.

Layla turned towards Rory, "You're a good kid, but he's staying with Daniel after this."

Layla and Jack agreed that Robby could stay... but for two days. Which was more than enough for Robby. Anything to stay away form his apartment.

Robby apparently told Sam about the situation and Mr. LaRusso went to go after him, but he was at the Brewer household.

Jack and Daniel came to an agreement and for two days he'd stay with the Brewer's and the LaRusso's for however long they wanted.

Robby was thankful and couldn't ask for anything more.

Rory nodded towards her mother and stepped to the side, grabbing the clothes her father had worn years prior and made her way towards Robby.

The two of them spoke for a moment before disappearing upstairs.

"And you know nothing else about him?" Layla asked Jack, "Other than the fact he does karate for Daniel?"

"He doesn't seem like a bad kid, Layla." Jack sighed, "We trust Aurora. If Aurora likes him... he can't be too bad, can he?"

Layla sighed and turned back towards the steps.

They did trust Rory and she was a good kid. She was putting her heart out on the line for a kid and his safety.

Aurora Brewer was a good person.

— lucy has something to say !!

uncle milton appearance?

also let's pretend the circle is big okay 😝

confession: i use to be a sam larusso hater 😱 i know shocked so shocked hated her to my core but silly girl kelly made me not hate her anymore and the tiktoks i saw so slay to that (mind you i still haven't seen half of season 3 🧍 i'm getting to it)

bye :))))