JACK AND Layla watched as Rory continuously punched the punching bag in the backyard.

Rory had received text after text from Miguel and Hawk, but she didn't respond. They even restored to calling Belly, but she would help her sister out by denying her presence at home.

"This isn't healthy for her." Layla muttered, holding her coffee cup close, "I've never seen her so... angry."

Jack sat in silence as Rory continued punching the bag. She wouldn't stop until San stopped by to pick her up for practice.

Rory being angry wasn't common. She was normally pretty calm and had no troubles with anyone. She kept to herself along with her peace.

"Maybe she should just drop karate all together?" Layla spoke.

"She's not going to do that. You and I both know that." Jack said, "She'd do anything to do karate."

"Why though?" Layla questioned.

The answer was vague for her parents but pretty clear to Rory if anyone asked.

There was a sudden honk and Rory stopped punching the bag and grabbed it to hold it still.

She grabbed her duffel bag from close by and turned towards her parents.

"I'm leaving."

Jack stood up and made his way towards Rory, "Take it easy today, okay? Don't get so worked up."

Rory only nodded and went on her way. Layla stoped her grabbing the girls' hand as she made her way close.

Rory looked down and Layla gave her a small smile which Rory returned and made her way outside to meet Sam at her car.

"Hey." Rory smiled once she settled in Sam's car. She began throwing her hair into a ponytail with a sigh, "Thanks for picking me up. I really appreciate it."

Sam smiled, "It's no problem. You seemed stressed out."

"Didn't know I could sound so negative over text."

"It's not a negative thing." She reassured, "You've just seemed tense since Vally Fest."

Rory rolled her eyes and sat back in the seat, "I just wished things played out differently. It was my first time in forever showing of my skills and it was ruined."

"I'm sorry about that." Sam softly spoke, "But, hey, it could've been worse. You could've completely fainted or something."

Rory gave Sam a soft smile. It was obvious that she was only trying to make the girl feel better, but she felt humiliated by Cobra Kai and the stunt they pulled.

Pretty much a slap in the face.

The duo finally pulled into Miyagi-Do and entered, stretching as Robby continuously punched the punching bag in front of him.

"Maybe we should take a video of us sparring and post it on Instagram." Robby suggested.

"They saw enough at Valley Fest. No one's gonna care." Rory said.

"You know what the problem is? Miyagi-Do's all about defense." Robby said.

"Defense wins championships." Sam added.

"Yeah, but people show up for the offense. That's why Cobra Kai is more popular." He defended, "All right? We need to show them we can fight too."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Rory asked, "Mr. LaRusso isn't going to let us do any of that. It's not like we can just go out somewhere and pick a fight and hopes some catches it on camera. This isn't Ridiculousness."

"It's not the worst idea." Robby said.

"It's a terrible idea." Sam scoffed.

Sam soon stood to her feet and made her way out to the front to speak to her father.

Rory soon stood to her feet, "Come on." She called, "Let's spar."

Rory slipped her shoes off and adjusted her ponytail.

Robby stepped away from the punching bag, slipping his own shoes off and stood facing Rory.

"We might not be able to show them how badass we are but it doesn't hurt to practice." She smiled, "Besides, I know you're just as upset as I am about how things went down. Doesn't hurt to get the anger out."

Robby gave her a small smile and bowed in front of her.

The two of them took their positions and began sparring back and forth before Robby was able to kick his foot near Rory, sideswiping her, causing her to fall to the ground.

She hit it with a small thud and laid there for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Robby quickly asked.

She only nodded as he held his hand out for her to grab, as she did so she pulled herself up, catching Robby in a vulnerable state and flipped him onto the ground.

"Never let them know your next move." She smiled.

She let him lose from her grab and joined him on the ground.

Robby looked over at with a small smile. She laid there, breathing heavy as she shut her eyes with a small smile.

"It's sucks about Valley Fest."

She turned, "I know."

"You stormed off before they finished."

"I was... excited to show everyone what I could do." She explained, "I've worked my ass of in Seaford and with Miyagi-Do just to be humiliated by people who I thought were my friends."

"You told them that you were in Miyagi-Do?"

"No, but do I have to?" She asked, "They have every chance to change their minds once they saw me on that stage with you guys."

Robby sat up, propping his arm up so his hand was holding his head up, "You did great."

"That doesn't matter." She muttered, "My dad was there. It was first time in forever performing and I completely missed my chance to show him what I can do."

"He was your Sensei wasn't he?"

"Yeah... but beside him and Rudy... I've never had another one. I wanted to show him that can do this without his help. That I am capable of doing this without his guidance. I just want to him what I can do. To impress him. That I'm not just given the belts or the rewards."

Rory wanted Jack's praise more than anything. He was the reason she was so passionate about martial arts. She wanted nothing more than to see a smile on his face when she leveled up or when she won a tournament. Rory wanted to show him that his hard work wasn't for nothing.

That she wasn't a failure.

The two sat in a comfortable silence as they brewed in thought.

"I think he would've been proud."

"He's Jack Brewer." Rory muttered, "It's not easy to impress him."

They returned to their silence and Robby glanced down at Rory.

Her naturally curly hair spread out from her ponytail and small beads of sweat rolled down her face. But she was naturally beautiful.

Her skin glowed in the sunlight. He found himself drawn to the delicate contours of her face, the subtle blush that adorned her cheeks, and the way her eyes sparkled with a captivating combination of warmth and curiosity. It was in moments like these that Robby realized the true definition of beauty extended far beyond physical appearances.

"Guys!" Sam called, "My dad's gonna take us for a ride! Come on."

Robby stood up, holding his hand out for Rory to grab. She latched her hand with his and pulled her up with ease.

With that, they head towards the car and Mr. LaRusso drove them to the beach.

"I still don't understand how going to the beach is gonna help us get students." Robby said.

"It's not the students that I'm after." Mr. LaRusso answered, "It's the parents."

"So, you're counting on kids listening to their parents?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm counting on parents doing whatever it takes to protect their kids. Look, I've tried everything else to promote Miyagi-Do. If this doesn't work... nothing will."

They pulled into a hotel that was apart of a beach club.

The plan was Mr. LaRusso would work some sort of magic and leave the teens to relax for the day. That was it.

They had been there for a handful of minutes and Rory separated herself from Robby and Sam.

She stood at the dessert table looking for anything that looked pleasing to her eyes. As she scavenged the table she felt a presence looking over at her.

She looked over and saw a girl with dark brown roots with blonde ends looking over at her.

"Hi." Rory softly spoke.

"Shit. I'm— I'm sorry." The girl laughed, "I didn't mean to stare... you just... look familiar."

"I'm Aurora. Aurora Brewer. You either know my mom or my dad or both if you're lucky."

"Holy shit." The girl gasped, "I think I read their story in Vogue or something. They met doing karate, right?"

"Yep."

"That's pretty... I'm Tory by the way."

Rory gave the girl a small smile, "I assume you're into modeling... or karate. Maybe both if you're reading Vogue."

Tory chuckled, "I'm more into karate rather than the modeling stuff. I just so happened to be waiting in line and picked up something to read." She admitted, "I think it's cool to have parents like that."

"It can be, I guess." Rory responded, "I assume that you're new to Reseda?"

Tory smiled, "How'd you know?"

The two of them shared a small laugh before the conversation continued.

"My family and I have been here for almost a year now." Rory said.

"Do you like it here?" Tory asked.

"It's fine. I can't say it's like my hometown, but it's fine."

Tory gave the girl a small smile and their conversation went on with ease, but Tory soon spotted Aisha and left Rory alone, giving her number to the girl before heading off.

Rory looked over at the duo sharing a laugh. She hadn't spoken to anyone from Cobra Kai in a while and yet, she had the opportunity to speak to Aisha and tell the girl how she felt about the ambush... but she wouldn't.

Instead, she made her way back to the poolside with a snack in her hands and joined Robby's side.

He looked over at her with a small smile. She held her plate out, offering one of her snacks to him. He gladly picked on up and Rory soon took her plate back.

"Took you long enough." Robby teased.

"Finding the appropriate snack could take hours." She joked, "You're lucky I returned with something for you."

Robby turned, his head resting against the chair. Looking over at Rory as the sun beamed down on her once more, her tanned, brown skin glowing in the sunlight as she wore a black string bikini top with matching bottoms.

She pulled her rectangle sunglasses down as she bit into her cake bar.

She hadn't noticed Robby staring at her, too engrossed with her snack to even notice.

He glanced down and noticed the necklaces laying on top of each other. One necklace had two glass beads on them and the other was a simple pearl necklace.

"Didn't know you had those."

Rory looked over as Robby's hand traveled further than his mind. He lifted a small part of one of the necklaces, his fingers grazing her skin gently.

"My uncle bought it for me." She smiled, "A going away gift." Rory lifted the other necklace up, the one with the two glass beads, "My parents bought Belly and I matching necklaces for our birthday last year. Pink and red to show our differences, but how similar we our underneath. Very symbolic of them."

Robby smiled, moving his hand back into his own space, "They're beautiful. They fit you."

"Thank you." She smiled.

Soon, it was time to go. Mrs. LaRusso came over, digging in her bag asking if anyone had seen her wallet.

She asked if the trio could split off and help find the wallet and they did so.

Rory hadn't been separated from the group long, but it was long enough for her to make her way down to the beach and finding Robby in a chokehold as someone else held a pocket knife, playing with it in his hands.

Rory spotted Mr. LaRusso and the two of them approached them.

Mr. LaRusso gesturing for Rory to come further in when gestured towards.

"Let him go." Mr. LaRusso said.

"Don't listen to him." Trey replied, "All right, Grandpa. Let's do it."

Mr. LaRusso waved his hand down and Rory came rushing in, grabbing Trey's fist as he lifted it up to punch Mr. LaRusso in the face.

She twisted his arm, causing him to groan. She was able to turn him around, letting go of his fist, lifting her own and hitting Trey straight in the jaw.

The other guy rushed towards Mr. LaRusso and a small fight broke out between the group until Trey and one of his friends laid in the sand.

Their other friend let go of Robby and stood in front of Mr. LaRusso and Rory.

They were able to double team him with ease and he to, would be laying in the sand next to his friends.

Mr. LaRusso glanced down at the boys once more before rushing Rory and Robby out of the scene.

And unknown to them, the whole thing had been filmed.

BACK AT Miyagi-Do, Rory threw her duffle bag into her car. They were almost done for the day, but she wanted to stay behind a little longer before heading back home.

As she backed away from her car, she heard footsteps entering the dojo. She turned and saw Demetri entering with a bandage over his nose.

"Demetri?" She called, "What are you doing here?"

She jogged towards him and he lifted his head at the sound of her voice.

"And what the hell is on your nose?" She asked.

"That psycho over at Cobra Kai punched in the face. He's lucky I'm not suing him."

"Who?"

"Some guy named Kresse. He's apparently another Sensei they have."

Rory furrowed her brows, "Did you tell anyone?"

"I told Eli, but he told me that snitches get stitches."

"He threatened you?" She asked, "And you just let that slide?"

"What was I supposed to do, Aurora?" Demetri asked.

"Not take on Eli's bullshit, that's what." She answered.

"I am." He replied, "I want to learn karate here."

"You do?"

Demetri only nodded and Rory gave him a small smile.

"You'll like it here." She reassured, "You'll get the hang of it in no time. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others."

She turned her heels to allow Demetri to follow her inside, but he called out to her and she turned.

"We're friends... right?"

Rory sighed, "Yeah, we're friends." She answered, "Now, come on. You can't learn anything by standing there."

Demetri followed Rory inside. He was quickly distracted by the koi pond, but later found himself speaking on joining the dojo.

The team was slowly growing.

Everything was going according to plan.

— lucy has something to say !!

let me tell you when peyton list stepped onto the screen i was GAGGED she had me GAGGING LIKE SLAYY

bye :))))