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“I know you’re not happy.”
Tory’s mouth tugs downwards in a frown, her brow furrowing as she looks towards the driver’s seat. Silver’s gaze is fixed on the road, focused behind the dark sunglasses that he wears. She’s not unaccustomed to being pinned like this, but she hadn’t been expecting it today. “What do you mean?” She asks, pretending not to know exactly what he refers to. It’s been plain to see for everyone that she hasn’t been right since the All-Valley — but he is the only one that knows exactly why.
“Don’t be coy with me, Nichols.” Were his tone harsh, she might have taken it badly — but as it is, his voice is soft, sympathetic, almost casual, and it catches her off guard. “I know you better than that.” Does he? They’ve spent quite a bit of time together on the mat, yes, but she wouldn’t say that they know each other well.
Looking forward at the road, she watches as the tall palms and streetlights whip past, gazes of the people on the sidewalk drawn to the car as Silver navigates the Ferrari down Ventura. It’s understandable — the car is sleek, red, eye-catching, the purr of the engine almost seductive as it rolls down the road with ease. With someone else, it might have made her feel anxious to be seen in such a vehicle — but Silver has driven her many times before, and so she feels oddly at ease, even though she doesn’t trust him as far as she can throw him. She glances down at her phone where it rests in her lap, screen up, tapping it lightly to activate it. 1:27pm. It’s going to be at least another twenty minutes to Topanga Karate — she can already feel her body tensing with anxiety at the thought of where the conversation could steer in that time. “I’m not unhappy,” she lies finally, a touch of disdain in her tone.
At the edge of her vision, she can see him shaking his head slightly, a rueful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The car slows as the light turns red up ahead, smoothly arriving at the stop line, and she tenses as she sees him turn to look at her. “Come on — you don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you?” He sighs, shaking his head as he turns his attention the temperature controls, adjusting the knobs. The cool air blows from the vents with a little more strength, pushing and twisting at the smaller locks of her bangs at the sides of her face. “I know we haven’t had time to continue that conversation we had last month. I would hate to leave you with the impression that it doesn’t matter to me.” Her hands ball into fists against her thighs, knuckles smoothing over the fabric of her zubon, feeling a spike in her heart rate at his words. Not this bullshit again. “I’ve been busy with the expansion, I haven’t been able to pull you aside and ask you how you feel about it.” It’s not so much an apology as an explanation — that’s usually his way, isn’t it?
Tory shrugs. “What’s there to say? I already made my decision.” Her tone is flat, dismissive, clearly not interested in continuing the conversation. On most days, that would be enough for him to get the message and leave her alone, but he seems either exceptionally dense today, or he’s ignoring it intentionally.
“Yes,” he agrees, “and I’m very glad that you chose to stay.” Returning his hand to the top of the steering wheel, the silver of his ring glints in the sunlight. “I was afraid that you might leave Cobra Kai. That would have been a huge blow.”
Her brow furrows as she looks at him, finding his face tilted towards her. She cannot see his eyes behind his sunglasses from this angle, but she swears that she can feel them on her, the blue still somehow piercing through the tinted lenses. The intensity is too much, and with a frown she looks forward again. “There’s plenty of kids in the Valley that are into karate — you’re not exactly going to have a shortage of students.”
“Sure,” he agrees easily as the light switches to green, slowly accelerating across the grid, “but there’s only one Tory Nichols.”
That is perhaps the strangest thing he’s said so far, and she has to work hard to keep her expression neutral. Does he think that flattery is going to keep her quiet? She already implicitly agreed to keep her mouth shut about the bribe — why does he feel like he has to say this?
As if reading her mind, he glances at her again when she’s quiet for too long, and says “What? You don’t believe me?” He smirks. “Like it or not, you’re one of a kind.”
She snorts, gazing out of the passenger window now, not allowing herself the opportunity to steal small glances at him, afraid of looking for too long. “I think you don’t get out much. Girls like me aren’t that hard to come by.”
“Oh I get out plenty, Nichols — don’t you worry.” He smiles, looking over his shoulder before switching lanes to pass an Impala going too slow for his tastes. “I don’t say things lightly — you’ve got real fire, a determination and discipline that others strive for, but always fall short of in comparison. You’re a real champion.”
A real champion. It’s hard to believe that she’s the genuine article when her title was paid for by the man next to her — the man who is now trying to convince her that she’s somehow unique. She chews on the inside of her cheek, catching sight of herself in the side mirror, doing a double take when she does. Fried blonde hair, all the way to the roots, recently bleached. Light makeup, haphazardly thrown on in under 3 minutes before she dragged herself to the dojo. Bags under her eyes. A permanent frown that is more defeated than it is angry. It feels weird sometimes, seeing her reflection. Every day, she feels like she recognizes herself less and less.
“It was never you that I was worried about when it came to winning,” he says after a long silence, switching back to the right lane. “I only had a couple of months to turn around the situation at Cobra Kai and bring the green students that Sensei Kreese recruited up to speed — but aside from your penchant for off-mat fighting, you never gave me cause for concern.”
Fuck you, Silver. She thinks it, but it has less venom than it usually does — as if it’s out of habit more than out of anger. “Okay,” she says stiffly, sensing that if she’s quiet he’s just going to keep talking about it. He sighs, slowing the car again as they approach another red light.
“I know you’re upset with me. I don’t hold that against you either.” As the Ferrari stops, his grip on the steering wheel tightens, his gaze still fixed forward. “I know it’s going to take some time for me to earn your trust back, Nichols — I understand and I accept that. You can think what you want about me and what I did at the All-Valley — I won’t hold that against you either.” He looks over at her, his gaze lingering this time. “But if you’re going to stay, then you should know that I will always do what I have to.”
Like framing Sensei Kreese? Like taking over other dojos? Like beating Daniel LaRusso? She shrugs, feeling uncomfortable in this conversation. “I know,” she says. “You don’t need to explain it.”
“Nichols,” he says, pausing in a way that makes her sense that he wants her full attention. After a moment, she gives it, turning her head to face him. His gaze still feels heavy, even shielded as it is. He is always so, so intense. She had thought that her solo conversations with Kreese were a lot, but there is something different about Silver, something that cuts deeper. “I don’t want you here to just blindly follow orders.” Her frown deepens. “I expect a certain degree of obedience, yes — but you’re more than that.”
“What do you mean?” She dares to ask, uncertain that she’s going to like the answer. She rarely likes what he has to say — not because it is exceptionally cruel or harsh, but rather because it’s all so unsettling. It’s unmooring.
He’s quiet for a moment before he wets his lips, returning his gaze forward as the light changes, once again accelerating. “Sensei Kim and her crew are going to be bringing about a lot of changes — things are going to be a lot harder over the next year, and the next couple of months especially. Not all of our students will have what it takes.” He glances at her meaningfully, passing another slow car. “They will need strong leadership to succeed, leadership that will keep them on the right track.”
“For what?” She asks, confused by his intensity. It’s high school karate, after all. “You’re taking over everything, right? If Cobra Kai is the only dojo in the Valley, how hard will the All-Valley really be?” It’s a jab, one at which he only smiles.
“True enough,” he agrees. “Not really fair, is it?” She quirks her eyebrow as if in agreement, her thoughts on the matter remaining unsaid as she glances out the windshield before continuing her turn to look out the passenger side again. How many more fucking lights left? Too many. “There are things coming up that are far bigger than the All-Valley,” he says, surprising her and pulling her attention back to him. “I won’t go into it too much since things are still in the works, but…” He lets out a breathy laugh. “…strong leadership will be very important.”
Where is this going? It’s always so hard to tell with him. “Makes sense that you’re bringing in Sensei Kim and everyone else,” she says almost offhandedly.
“And you, Nichols.”
“Me?”
“Of course.”
Confused, she shakes her head slightly. “I'm a student.”
His smile widens as he shifts into the left lane. “For now. I fully believe in your abilities.” Indeed, when he needs to step away or give another student more individual attention, isn't it always Tory that he asks to lead the class? “When I said that I will make you the future of this dojo, that wasn't just talk.” So, what? He thinks she can teach? Or, at least he thinks that she has the potential to one day. If she is honest with herself, isn't that what she wanted? Someone to believe in her? To prove her worth to?
She pushes the thought away. It's too tempting, and she's already seen beyond his mask, even if a lot of what she knows beyond the bribe is secondhand from Kreese. Nevertheless, she knows what kind of man Silver is, and she knows better than to trust a word he says. Another red light, another stop. She watches as his fingers tap idly on the steering wheel, a small, companionable silence falling between them. Apparently, he knows that his point has been made, that he need not press it further — he just lets her mull over it.
Tory leans back in the passenger seat, playing at being comfortable. It almost feels like how it had been during the early days, when he was training her with the katana, driving her home in the dark afterwards. It's almost casual. Glancing at him, she exhales. “What is it that's coming up? Another tournament?”
In an unexpected turn, he does not evade her question, but rather smiles at her. “Yes. Another tournament.”
She's almost surprised. It makes sense — she's googled around a bit, saw that there are other tournaments around the country. It makes sense that if he wants to continue expanding, Cobra Kai will be entered in competitions that have more national recognition. “So, like... regional or something?” Her impulse is to pretend not to be interested, but she can't help it — she does feel excited at the idea of something more, something beyond the Valley. Even though she knows that Silver will be out before anything happens, she cannot help but feel an anticipatory thrill at the idea of taking her shot at another championship — especially if Sam LaRusso isn’t in the way.
He glances at her, his smile widening as he does. “Bigger.”
She really can't help it — she can feel her heart beating faster as she nods, looking out the windshield, focusing on the license plate on the truck in front of them. “Alright.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.“ She can tell that he's pleased from the warmth of his voice. “You and I — I fully believe that we're going to go very far, Nichols.”
You, me, and your new friend Sensei Kim. She furrows her brow. Where did that thought come from? And why was it so bitter? She pushes it away, not wanting to think too hard about it. The implications are frightening if she examines them too closely.
Silver falls silent again as he navigates them through the next light, and the one after. Several minutes pass without a word until at last he is pulling into the left turn lane, looking at her once the Ferrari has stopped.
“You want the roof down?”
She feels a twisting in her gut. The last time that she had ridden in the Ferrari with the roof down, it had been with Robby on the night of prom. Don't think about him. It doesn't matter. You've got bigger fish to fry. “Sure.”
He hits a button and the machinery in the roof begins shifting, the sun beaming down on them as it's revealed. As the hard top slides back into its compartment, Silver rolls down the windows. Again, Tory cannot stop herself — she watches curiously as he perches his elbow on the door, his hand elegantly straddling the slot where the glass had slipped down. The way with which he carries himself is so comfortable and easy, it is almost strange how it is still so careful, so particular. He's not like any other man she's known — and that is what she points to when she finds her gaze lingering too long on his features (his mouth especially,) or when her mind wanders to him while she's daydreaming during class.
It's just curiosity.
There's no room for that kind of indulgence behind enemy lines.
“I must confess, Nichols — I think it's a shame that they changed the rules for the All-Valley.” He looks at her, eyebrows lifting as he does. “You know — how they split off the girls from the boys.” She looks back at him oddly, bracing herself for whatever he'll say next — and how it will almost certainly throw her off. “If there had just been the one division, I have no doubt that you would be the champion — no qualifiers.”
The champion.
It stalls her breath — that confidence. Embarrassingly, she feels a pricking behind her eyes — but even still, she cannot help but continue staring at him. Kreese had never said anything like that to her — he had appreciated her fire like Silver, yes, but after a point he made her feel like an afterthought. That, and he never promised her the future — he only ever promised to get revenge for himself against Silver. He only ever promised that she is not a means to an end — but what has he done to prove that? Certainly, he never took her into his confidence. With a twisting feeling in her gut, it occurs to her that Silver has prioritized Tory in a way that no one else has, other than her own mother.
And she's working with Kreese to take him down.
She swallows hard, nodding — acting far more stern and brave than she feels. “Thank you, Sensei.”
He smiles at her, and says no more of it. Seemingly unaware of the effect he has had on her, he continues to smile to himself as the light changes and he makes the turn, the wind lifting and moving both of their ponytails as it blows into the cab, the air on the edge of cool and smelling like sun and grilled meat. As he completes the turn and straightens the wheel, he hits the power button for the stereo and then the forward button, skipping to the next track. The familiar cacophonous sound of Depeche Mode plays, growing louder as he turns the knob on the volume, audible over the wind. He plays it loud, because he knows she likes this song too — that knowledge sits sharply in her chest.
I'm taking a ride with my best friend / I hope he never lets me down again.
Forcing herself to look away from him, she focuses instead on the trees and bushes that line the road as they move away from the busier streets, the wind whipping her bangs across her face, lifting the collar of her uwagi away from her chest. A means to an end. Surely that's what Silver sees her as. Surely. It has to be. Anything else is too hard of a pill to swallow.
He knows where he's taking me / Taking me where I want to be.
Closing her eyes, she does not allow herself to ruminate on Silver any longer. She just lets him steer her, content to go along for the ride — at least for now. What more can she do?