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Y/N L/N STOOD ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CROWD, arms crossed, her jaw set tight as her eyes fixed on the captains standing front and center. Tory's smug posture and Kwon's trademark glower were impossible to miss. She didn't envy them-not exactly. It was more the isolation, the feeling of being sidelined, that gnawed at her. The captains basked in their spotlight, leaving the rest of the group to blend into the background like afterthoughts.

Tory managed a forced smile for the camera, though the y/h/c-haired girl could see her discomfort in the tightness of her jaw. Kwon, on the other hand, didn't even bother pretending. Arms crossed, head slightly tilted, he muttered something under his breath in Korean. Probably something disparaging about how the "skill-less peasants" didn't deserve to share the same space as him.

"Now everybody smile and say 'Barthelona!'" the photographer instructed, his voice painfully cheery.

A smattering of half-hearted voices echoed the word, save for Sam, whose enthusiastic "Barcelona!" rang above the rest like she was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial.

"Louder!" the photographer coaxed, waving his hand dramatically. The group complied begrudgingly.

"Sexy," the photographer added with a grin, snapping a few more shots. The captains endured the moment, Tory rolling her eyes so hard y/n swore she could hear it.

"Some of these boys are pretty cute, don't you think?" a short girl teased, nudging the blonde captain standing next to Kwon with a playful grin.

"Don't. Even. Think. About it." Kwon shot back sharply, his tone cutting through her excitement. Her smile vanished as he turned his glare toward the cameraman, his jaw tightening with irritation.

Behind the cluster, Eli leaned toward his friends, muttering loud enough to carry, "Wow. They're really going out of their way to make sure we know just how special the captains are."

Y/m, standing a few feet away, let out a quiet snort. "Special's one word for it. Interesting choices for captains, though. Kinda like that... new hairdo of yours, Eli. Really leaning into that mid-life crisis vibe, aren't we?"

Her voice sliced through the air like a whip. The unsuspecting trio jolted as if someone had physically shoved them. Their heads turned in unison, their expressions a mix of disbelief and guarded curiosity.

Eli's eyes narrowed, the sharp edges of his old Hawk persona rising to the surface. "y/n/n?" His voice was low, almost disbelieving.

Demetri, standing a step behind him, adjusted his glasses nervously. "Well, this is... unexpected. Even though we saw you a few hours ago and very much discussed your presence the entire time after."

Miguel's reaction was different. A flicker of something warm-relief? Nostalgia?-crossed his face before he managed to contain it. "I guess some things never change," he said softly, the corner of his mouth tugging into a faint smile.

"You never lost your tongue, huh?" he said, his voice low but warm enough to cut through the frost.

Y/n turned to him, her smirk softening, but only slightly. "And you never lost your legs. Congrats on the upgrade."

The words hung in the air for a second too long, but before she could change the topic after feeling a pang of guilt hit her square in the chest, the hispanic boy let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "Touché..."

Eli stepped forward, his expression hardening. "So what, you're just back now? After everything? After you left us-"

"I didn't leave," y/n snapped, her tone sharp but underlined with pain. "I was forced to move. My parents didn't exactly give me a choice."

"And what, you just decided to ghost all of us in the process?" he shot back, his voice rising. "You didn't even say goodbye. Not to Miguel, not to me, not to anyone."

"Yeah, well, saying goodbye wasn't exactly an option when you're getting shipped off to another continent overnight," y/n retorted, her tone defensive but cracking at the edges. "I didn't want to leave, okay? I didn't want to leave any of you."

"Could've fooled me," Demetri muttered, his voice barely audible but cutting all the same.

Y/n's gaze shifted to him, her eyes narrowing. "You think I wanted this?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "You think I wanted to leave everything behind-my friends, my life-just so I could start over in a place where I knew no one? You think that was easy for me? To give up everything that lead to my expulsion, not knowing whether my best friend was even going to be alive?"

Demetri flinched slightly, but Eli wasn't done. "You're fighting on their side," he said, his voice bitter, motioning toward the group of Cobra Kai students assembling behind her. "You were one of us, and now--"

"Now what, Eli?" The girl snapped, cutting him off, her voice sharp enough to slice through the tension. Her y/e/c orbs burned with fierce defiance, her posture rigid. "Let me guess-you were expecting an apology? For what? For staying loyal to my dojo? For not flipping sides the second things got hard?"

The boy scoffed, crossing his arms as his trademark Hawk glare resurfaced. "Loyal? To them?" He gestured toward the Cobra Kai group, his tone dripping with disdain. "The people who've spent years tormenting everyone who wasn't them?"

"That's rich coming from you," y/n shot back, stepping closer. Her voice was calm, but the undertone of fury was unmistakable. "Weren't you the one carving mohawked hawks into your skin every second month, and terrorizing anyone who so much as looked at you funny? Or did switching sides magically erase all that?"

Eli's jaw tightened, his hands balling into fists. Demetri, standing behind him, opened his mouth to interject, but y/n didn't give him the chance.

"Say what you want about Cobra Kai, but at least we don't betray our roots the second it's convenient," she continued, her voice rising. "You're all so quick to judge me for staying, but let's not forget-you teamed up with Keene." Her eyes flicked to Miguel, her tone laced with incredulity. "After everything he did to you, Diaz? You seriously joined forces with him?"

Miguel's face tightened at the mention of Robby, but he said nothing. The silence spoke volumes.

"Yeah, I can see your honorable leader right fucking now." y/n said, her voice biting. "All this talk about loyalty, and yet you're out here playing happy families with the guy who nearly killed you. But sure, I'm the one who's lost her way."

"Enough, y/n/n," Miguel said finally, his voice low but firm. His expression was tense, but there was no anger in his eyes-only disappointment. "It's not that simple."

"Oh, isn't it?" the girl challenged, folding her arms. "Let me guess-you're gonna tell me it's all about peace and forgiveness now, right? That suddenly all those rivalries and betrayals don't matter anymore because Mr. Bonsai La-Racist says it's time to hold hands and sing kumbaya?"

"You don't get it," Eli muttered, his voice barely audible but brimming with frustration. "It's not about picking sides anymore. It's about moving forward."

"Moving forward?" y/n repeated, her tone incredulous. "That's what you're calling it? Moving forward by abandoning everything that made you who you are? By turning your back on the dojo that gave you strength when no one else believed in you? And most importantly, holding my forceful departure against my sole existence?"

Eli stepped forward, his face inches from hers. "Cobra Kai didn't give us strength. Sensei Lawrence did. The minute Kreese showed up-it turned us into monsters."

Y/n didn't flinch. "No, it turned you into a monster. The rest of us? We chose to take that strength and make something of it. And yeah, maybe Cobra Kai's not perfect. Maybe our senseis aren't saints. But at least we don't pretend to be something we're not."

Miguel's shoulders sagged slightly, the weight of her words pressing down on him. "y/n," he said softly, his tone almost pleading, "it's not about pretending. It's about trying to be better."

Y/n hesitated, her sharp exterior cracking for just a moment. "And you think I'm not trying?" she asked, her voice quieter now but no less intense. "I've fought for everything I have-every inch, every step. And yeah, I stayed with Cobra Kai, because no matter who the sensei is, that dojo is part of me. It's where I learned to fight. It's where I learned to survive. And I'll defend it-and my team-with everything I've got."

The tension between them hung heavy in the air, unspoken emotions bubbling just beneath the surface. The girl's chest rose and fell with the weight of her anger, her frustration, and something deeper-something closer to pain.

Miguel sighed, his expression softening. "You're right about one thing," he said quietly. "Cobra Kai is part of you. Just like it's part of all of us. But that doesn't mean we have to let it define us."

Y/n didn't respond right away. Her gaze flicked between Miguel, Eli, and Demetri, her eyes searching theirs for something she couldn't quite name. Finally, she shook her head, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.

"Funny," she said, her voice dripping with irony. "You're all so eager to leave Cobra Kai behind, but you can't seem to stop acting like it. The judging, the assumptions, the holier-than-thou attitude... sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it?"

Y/n's head throbbed as she stood her ground, her words still hanging in the air like a storm cloud. The tension between her and her old friends was suffocating, and for a moment, no one spoke. The weight of their accusations, their disbelief, their disappointment-it all pressed down on her, heavier than she cared to admit.

She caught a flicker of movement in her peripheral vision and turned her head slightly.

Park and Lee, standing a few feet away, had stopped mid-conversation, their gazes locked on her. Their expressions were a mix of confusion and curiosity, their usual stoic demeanor faltering as they took in the scene. They didn't know about her past. No one except Tory did. And for the first time, y/n felt the sharp sting of being a stranger in two worlds.

Her heart twisted as she looked at Miguel, Eli, and Demetri standing together-united, even against her. These were the people she'd once bled for, fought for. People she'd called her family. And now? They were strangers, too. Seeing them like this, against her, stirred something deep in her chest, an ache she couldn't name.

For the briefest moment, doubt crept in. Had she been fighting for the wrong side all this time?

The question cut through her, sharper than any insult they could have hurled at her. But before the doubt could take root, her eyes darted to the side, catching sight of Kwon standing among the other captains. He wasn't glaring like he usually did, nor was he smirking. He was simply watching her, his dark eyes steady and unreadable.

And that was all it took.

Whatever fragile crack had formed in her resolve sealed over, hardening into steel. The boy's gaze reminded her of who she was, of the team she fought for, the dojo she'd sworn loyalty to. The doubts in her chest evaporated, replaced by cold determination.

They would never understand her, and she would never understand them.

Talking to them was like shouting into the void, and she was done wasting her breath. Y/n turned back to her old friends, her gaze colder now, her expression unreadable. She let the silence stretch, the weight of it suffocating, before finally breaking it with a low, steady voice.

"Consider this a warning," she said, her tone chilling in its calmness. "I might have a softer spot for you guys than the rest of my team does. But when the time comes to fight?" She stepped closer, her words sharp and deliberate. "I won't hold back. And I don't expect you to, either."

Her eyes lingered on Miguel for a fraction of a second longer than the others, her expression softening just slightly-just enough to remind him that there was still something human left in her, even if she refused to show it fully. Then, without another word, she turned on her heel, her head held high, and walked away, leaving them standing in stunned silence.

As she strode past Park and Lee, their confused stares followed her, but she didn't look back. Her steps were firm, her posture unwavering, but deep down, the ache in her chest hadn't disappeared. It was just buried, hidden under the layers of armor she'd built to protect herself.

And for now, that was strong enough to keep her going.

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