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It was an hour after dawn in the San Fernando Valley. Samantha LaRusso stood on the sparring deck of the Miyagi-do Karate Dojo. The sunshine glinted off the sweat streaming down her face. She’d gotten up and come to the dojo at sunrise to practice by herself, and by now she’d lost count of how many times she’d run through her kata. For the first time in a long time, she felt relaxed and invigorated all at once. For the first time in a long time, she could practice her karate purely for focus and balance - the way Mr. Miyagi had first taught it to her - without anticipation of a fight. Cobra Kai had finally gone down. Working together, Sam, her father, her friends, and even Tory Nichols - of all people - had put a stop to Terry Silver and his plans to spread his abusive and manipulative brand of karate across the Valley and beyond. It was a good feeling, Sam thought. She and all her friends and family could finally breathe a little easier. On that note, she took a deep breath, let it out slowly from her diaphragm, and began her kata once again. And just as she finished and bowed, a familiar voice called out from behind her.
“Nice form, LaRusso.”
Sam spun around, eyes wide with surprise, and watched as Tory walked slowly into the yard, hands clasped behind her back, smiling shyly.
“Tory, hi!” She waved with one hand, while with the other she mopped her brow with the hem of her t-shirt. “What’s up? And how’s the hand?”
Tory’s smile widened slightly as she waved back with her right hand. Sam could see the swelling had gone down and the abrasions were healing well. “Doing much better, thanks,” Tory replied. “And honestly, I just wanted to come see you. I never got a chance to thank you the other night… for helping me hold off Sensei Kim, take down Cobra Kai, all of it.”
“That’s alright. We all had so much going on. And really, I should be thanking you. We never could’ve done it without you.”
“Don’t sell yourself short; we all did our part.” Tory made her way over to the sparring deck. “Also, I wanted to give you this.” With her good hand, she held out from behind her back her All-Valley championship trophy. “I grabbed it from the flagship dojo just before the cops got their investigation going.”
Sam stared at it closely for a moment, then looked Tory in the eye and shook her head. “You don’t have to do that. It belongs to you. Our match was so close it really could’ve gone either way.”
“Yeah, but we talked about this the other night at my place. This thing means nothing to me.” Tory climbed the steps onto the sparring deck and carefully set the trophy down between her and Sam. “But I thought it might be a fitting token of apology.” She gazed into Sam’s baby blue eyes for a moment, and when Sam didn’t respond right away, she continued. “I’ve owed you an apology for a very long time. I did terrible things to you, took things way too far, for no reason. And I regret it all, so much. I can’t take any of it back, but I can tell you that I’m really, truly sorry, Sam. Believe me, I am.”
Sam’s eyes misted over and she felt a lump form in her throat as Tory’s words sunk in. “I do believe you, Tory.” She practically choked on her words. “I appreciate it so much, and I owe you an apology too. I was such a bitch to you before the All-Valley.” She could still picture the humiliation she’d caused Tory, that time she’d taunted her at work.
Tory smiled. “Forget about it. I had it coming.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Sam swallowed hard and tried to force back her tears. “And besides, two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“Let it go, Sam,” Tory said softly, “for your own sake. I don’t hold any of it against you, honestly. We’ve had our issues, but really, you’re not so bad.” She looked Sam’s tight body up and down. “Not so bad at all.”
Sam shifted slightly where she stood, feeling Tory’s eyes on her, and laughed softly, nervously even. “And you’re definitely not as evil as I thought you were.” She moved closer and picked up the trophy in both hands. “Tell you what. Why don’t we share this? I can keep it here if you don’t want to look at it, but let’s share it… as a reminder of how we were the two best karate girls in the Valley that day.”
This time it was Tory who laughed softly. She stared at the trophy for a moment, then looked away, over at the sun glinting off the koi pond. Finally, she looked back at Sam. “You really are a sweet girl, Sam… so sweet you almost make me sick sometimes.” She moved closer and put a hand on the trophy, so that they could hold it between them. “But I like that idea,” she said. She smiled at Sam and added, “I really do.”
Sam shivered, even though the sun was up and Tory was warm standing near her. Tory was so pretty when she smiled, Sam thought. She nodded in the direction of the interior dojo. “Come on, let’s go inside. I know just where to put it.”
They made their way down from the sparring deck to the indoor dojo. Sam placed the trophy between two bonsai trees on a low shelf, while Tory stared in fascination at the various training implements and cultural artifacts adorning the walls and shelves.
“This place is really cool,” she said. “Quaint, but badass in its own way.” Her eyes fell on the vertical scrolls with their Japanese text hanging on the far wall. “What do those say?”
“Oh, those are the rules of Miyagi-do Karate.”
“The rules?” Tory raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me that says ‘Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy,’ in Japanese!”
“No!” Sam giggled. “Quite the opposite, actually.” She walked to the far wall and gestured to the scroll on the right. “Rule One: Karate is for defense only.”
“Touché,” Tory smirked.
Sam moved over and gestured to the scroll on the left. “Rule Two: First learn Rule One.”
“What? Is that some kind of inside joke?”
Sam shook her head. “No, that’s actually a loose translation of the second scroll. Or so my dad says. It’s all about defense only.”
“And yet I’ve seen you mount some serious offense, time and again.”
“Well, Sensei Toguchi says ‘defense takes many forms.’ And Sensei Lawrence always said the best defense is a good offense.”
“That’s right, he did.” Tory grinned in remembrance. “He taught you well.”
“He’s a really cool guy and a great teacher. I’m so glad he and my dad are working together again.” Sam paused and looked around the dojo for a moment. She took a deep breath and then turned back to Tory. “Do you think you might come with Robby to Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang, now that we got rid of Cobra Kai?”
“I really don’t know.” Tory sighed and shrugged. “Robby asked me the same thing, but I haven’t even had a chance to think about my karate future. I’ve actually been wondering if I should take a break from it all, keep my head down for a while and just focus on paying the rent and my mom’s medical bills.”
“I get it.” Sam nodded slowly. “I actually did the same thing recently. After the All-Valley, when my dad closed the dojo, I walked away from karate for a little while. I needed some time to try and figure out who I really was, away from the whole dojo war.”
“But you didn’t stay away for long. What brought you back?”
Sam gestured at the pictures of Mr. Miyagi and his ancestors hanging on the wall. “I think it was a sense of honor, really. Being able to protect myself and those close to me, standing up for what I believe is right, even fighting for it when necessary… that’s all really important to me, and a big part of who I am. And, maybe it’s not for me to say, but I think you’re the same way.”
Tory walked over to Mr. Miyagi’s picture and gazed at it for a moment. She quietly made her way along the wall of portraits, staring at each in turn, before facing Sam once again. “Well, you’re not wrong. In fact, when your Sensei Toguchi posed as one of Silver’s job applicants, he talked about honor and how important it is. I really liked him, actually. I’m just not sure what I need to do next, not sure of anything really, right now.”
“I understand. Just know that you’ll always be welcome here.”
“Thank you, Sam. Thank you so much, for everything. I’ll never forget how we worked together, you and me, when we took down Cobra Kai.”
Tory slowly headed for the door, and Sam’s chin quivered. She suddenly thought her heart was going to burst.
“Hey, Tory?” she called out softly.
Tory turned back. “Yeah, Sam?”
“Could you… stay a little longer?” Tears welled up in Sam’s eyes. A few rolled down her cheeks, and she brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle a sob.
“Of course.” Tory took a few steps closer. “Are you alright?”
Sam nodded, even as the tears streamed down her face. She took a long deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve just been so angry at you for so long,” she said, looking down at her sneakers, “and scared to death of you, too. And I’m so tired of that feeling. I just want it all to be over, for things to be good and normal again, the way they were before Cobra Kai.”
“I know.” Tory moved to Sam’s side and laid her good hand on Sam’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I am so, so tired too. Of fighting, of being someone I don’t want to be, of stressing over my mom and brother… all of it.”
Sam looked up at Tory and tried to dry her eyes, though the tears kept flowing. “You’ve had it much harder than any of us, Tory,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t truly understand that until now.”
At that, Tory’s eyes misted over as well. She blinked and swallowed, and rubbed Sam’s upper back in a slow, circular motion. “Sam, it’s okay. You couldn’t have known, really, until you got that glimpse of my place the other night.”
Sam was crying freely now, so Tory pulled her close and wrapped both arms around her. The scent of Sam’s skin and hair, though sweaty from her morning workout, was familiar and soothing, Tory thought. Sam put her arms around Tory as well, clasping tightly, as her soft cries gave way to wracking sobs.
“Let it all out, Sam,” Tory whispered. “You have every right to be angry with me, after everything I did to you. I was… I was a psycho bitch.” It now was Tory who nearly choked on her words. “I was jealous of you, and I got so pissed off that I just took out all my shit on you. Sam, I am so, so sorry. I don’t know if I can ever make it up to you, but I can promise you now that you don’t have to be afraid of me anymore… that I’ll never, ever hurt you again.” She kissed Sam softly on the forehead and added, “Do you believe me?” Sam nodded and buried her face against Tory’s breast, still sobbing. Tory held her even tighter and continued to rub her back, and began to cry as well.
The girls clung to each other as they wept, rubbing each other’s backs and stroking each other’s hair all the while. Eventually, their tears subsided and their breath settled. They held onto each other snugly, and their slow, steady heartbeats seemed indistinguishable from one another. Finally, they each took a deep breath, Sam sniffling cutely, and straightened up to face each other. They both looked like hell, eyes puffy and red, cheeks streaked and soaked, but they hardly cared.
“Is it all over?” Sam asked in a small voice. “Are we… really okay now, you and me?”
Tory nodded. “Yeah, we are, Sam. We really, really are.” Sam let out her breath as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, and Tory dabbed them away with the cuff of her plaid shirt.
They stood quietly for a moment, arms still around each other. Then Sam said, “Tory, I know this is a lot to ask right now, but please, please come and join Miyagi-do with Robby and Miguel and me. It would mean so much to me to have you with us, after everything we've been through.”
Tory laughed and dried her eyes. “I don’t think I could possibly say no to that.” She leaned down and kissed Sam on the cheek. She gently tousled her hair as well.
Sam blushed as she was kissed, but couldn’t keep from giggling as she felt Tory’s fingers in her hair. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I am. You were right… karate is a big part of who I am, just like you. Walking away for a while won’t change anything. And I’ll be happy to be training the right way, with my real friends, once again.”
“I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.” Sam sighed. “And, speaking of friends, I know this’ll sound completely lame, but, I don’t know… I feel like this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between you and me.”
Tory leaned back and laughed again. “Oh, I know it is. After everything we went through, we took down Cobra Kai… together. That means a lot to me, Sam. A hell of a lot.” They hugged each other close once again, even tighter than before. Tory gave Sam another little kiss and whispered in her ear, “I’m with you, baby. From now on!”