Sky stood in front of the door for at least five minutes before having the courage to knock on it. Somehow this had all felt easier at home, after the endorphin rush she'd gotten from the jog, but now that she was actually staring at this plain, ugly door at the shady apartment complex in Reseda—

Fuck it!

Am I a Phoenix or not?

She took a breath, raised her hand, and knocked on the door, her heart ticking in her throat as if she had swallowed a living hummingbird.

She didn't have to wait for long before the door was yanked open, and Johnny Lawrence appeared in the doorway, wearing worn jeans and a band T-shirt, chewing on beef jerky, smelling like beer. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, as he took in the sight of Sky in her jogging clothes standing at his door at 10 pm on a Monday night.

"Hi, Ginger," he said, after a short but awkward silence. "What's up?"

He looked different here, less sharp, more tired. Older.

Somehow that, and the lingering smell of beer, made Sky nervous.

"Hi, Sensei—" Sky said. "I'm sorry to bother you, I realize it's late, but I was wondering if... if we could talk."

Sensei finished his mouthful of meat, stuffed the wrapping in the back pocket of his jeans, and leaned on the doorframe. "Alright. What is it?"

"I want to come back to Cobra Kai.

Sensei tilted up his chin, and Sky couldn't help noticing the two-day stubble. "That so?"

"Yeah," she breathed, fidgeting the car keys in her restless fingers. "I'm sorry I just bailed after... after what happened. But I really need this, Sensei. Please, let me come back."

He squinted his eyes, taking a good look at her.

"Hawk tells me you've been through some rough shit," he said after a small silence.

"Yeah."

"That gonna hold you back?"

Sky shrugged. "I hope not."

"You hope not?" he scoffed. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Ginger. Where the hell is your spunk? Didn't I tell you that it doesn't matter how many times the world kicks you down, the only thing that matters is how many times you get up? So are you done feeling sorry for yourself?"

Is that what I've been doing?

Have I been just feeling sorry for myself?

Can I really just snap out of this, just decide that enough is enough and that I'm never gonna fall again?

Sky was pretty sure it wasn't that simple, but she also knew that if she didn't try, she'd be stuck forever.

"Yes, sensei," Sky breathed, meeting his surprisingly sharp ice-blue eyes.

"Do you mean that?"

"I do, Sensei."

"And you're ready to start kicking ass again?"

That made Sky smirk. "Absolutely."

Sensei replied with a crooked smile of his own and crossed his arms on his chest. "Then that's all that matters, Ginger. You are stronger than you think you are. Just come to the dojo tomorrow, and we'll get you ready for the tournament."

As the door closed and she turned to leave, Sky realized this was exactly what she needed - someone who knew what had happened to her, but who wouldn't give a shit about it.

She was so fucking tired of being the victim.

Of hiding what had happened to her or angsting about what people thought about it.

Sensei's attitude was like a breath of fresh air, and suddenly Sky felt stronger.

All she needed to do now, was to keep her end of the bargain and get her shit together so that she could start kicking ass again.

With that thought in her mind, Sky crossed the small patio to the opposite door, and before having time for second thoughts, knocked on it.

The approaching footsteps were soft and feminine - a big contrast to the Sensei's footsteps she'd heard at the other door, and she wasn't surprised to see it was Miguel's Mom who opened the door.

She gave Sky a smile, but was clearly surprised to see her - Sky couldn't blame her, it really was too late to just pop by.

"Sky, is everything alright?" Miguel's mom asked.

"Hi, Ms. Diaz," Sky replied, suddenly hoping she had at least taken a shower before coming here. She felt sweaty and dirty compared to Miguel's Mom, who always looked amazing.

"No, please, call me Carmen," she said with a gentle tone. "How are you? I heard that you have been going through a lot."

Sky blushed at that. She did appreciate Carmen's concern, but at the same time, she didn't want to talk to her about this.

"I'm fine," she assured. "Really. Just... I know it's late, but can I talk to Miguel? I wanted to ask him something—"

"Alright," Carmen said smiling, "I'll go and get him. Do you want to come in?"

Sky shook her head, answering the smile. "No, thanks. This won't take long."

Carmen walked back in, to get Miguel, and Sky waited at the door, glancing at the small apartment. She had never been at Miguel's, even if they'd been friends for months now - and now she realized why. Miguel's home was pretty small and simple - it didn't look like there was much room in there to hang out with friends, and suddenly Sky felt a sting in her heart.

She knew Carmen worked long days as a nurse at the local hospital, but Sky had never really thought about the fact that she had to earn enough money to raise Miguel alone and also take care of Yaya. It probably meant just barely making the ends meet, which explained the small apartment and the shady neighborhood.

Sky's dad was also a single parent, but they had never had these kinds of problems. Dad had earned quite well as a professor at Harvard - and Sky's mom had been wealthy. She had left all her earthly possessions to Dad and Sky when she had passed, which meant they could afford holidays in Europe, and that Sky's future college was already paid for.

Sky was just pondering Miguel's possible college opportunities when he noticed Miguel had stepped out of his room and gave her a surprised smile.

"Sky, hey–" he said, walking towards the door, where she stood waiting for him. He was wearing sweats and a T-shirt and he looked like he had just showered, his shiny, black hair was still wet. "What are you doing here?"

"I just had a talk with Sensei," Sky gestured towards the opposite door. "And it occurred to me that you might be able to help me with something."

"Oh," Miguel said, with slightly furrowed brows. "Okay, what can I do?"

"I've decided to start karate again," Sky replied. "Sensei says he's cool with it."

"That's great!" Miguel's face broke into a wide, friendly smile. "We've really missed you at the dojo. So, what do you need help with?"

Sky hesitated, she heard Carmen talking with someone in the background, another voice asking with an amused tone: "¿Quien es esa niña? ¿La nueva novia de Miguel?"

Miguel blushed at that and closed the door so that they wouldn't be overheard. "Sorry about Yaya," he muttered. "Since Sam broke up with me, she's been trying to get me to date someone."

Sky gave her a smirk. "I get it. I think you should date someone too."

Miguel stuffed his hands in the pockets of his sweats, and avoided Sky's eyes, suddenly looking miserable. "I only wanna date Sam, but she still won't talk to me."

This was a discussion Sky really didn't want to get into. She knew Miguel hadn't meant to hit Sam, but the truth remained that he had been aggressive, had started a fight because he'd been jealous and he'd ended up hurting his girlfriend. Sky couldn't blame Sam for dumping Miguel because of it - Hell, Sky only hoped she'd been as smart as Sam and had dumped Matt after the first punch too.

But still - Miguel was not Matt, he wasn't a violent asshole, and he was her friend.

"I'm sorry, Miguel," Sky replied, giving him a sympathetic look. "I tried talking to her, but she seems quite determined."

"Yeah, well, it is what it is," Miguel said, clearly wanting to move to the next topic, and Sky was more than fine with it. "So, what did you need help with?"

"I need you to train with me."

"Me? Why not ask Hawk—?"

"Because he doesn't wanna hit me so that it hurts." Sky said, meeting Miguel's dark eyes.

Miguel looked clearly uncomfortable. "Well, I'm not thrilled by that idea either—"

"But you're not scared, are you?"

"Well, no—"

"Then please," Sky said, looking him in the eye. "Help me."

Miguel's brows furrowed. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the door was really closed and no one could hear this weird exchange of words.

"Like, right now?" he asked, clearly confused.

Sky shrugged. "Why not? If I'm to come to Cobra Kai tomorrow, I'm gonna need to be prepared."

But Miguel still seemed hesitant, and suddenly Sky felt angered. With a frustrated sigh, she rolled up the sleeve of her T-shirt, revealing the ugly, red scar on her shoulder.

"I need you to hit me here," she explained. "So that it hurts."

"Shit, Sky–"

"Miguel, please," Sky was almost begging. "If I'm gonna compete in the tournament, I need to know that I can take this. Whoever I fight there is going to go straight at this shoulder once they realize it's my weak point. I need to be fucking prepared for that. Will you help me or not?"

Miguel met her eyes, his lips a tight line across his severe face. He straightened his back and gave a sharp nod.

"Okay," he said. "If you're sure."

"Go ahead," Sky replied, and took a deep breath as she softened her knees and took a wide stance.

Miguel swallowed, then clenched his jaw, and Sky had barely time to tighten her core, as he already punched her in the shoulder, and pain flashed through her like a bolt of lightning.

She cried out and drew in a sharp breath between her teeth. The darkness crept around her, and she tasted blood. Blood bubbling on my lips, blood on the cold, tiled floor, blood dripping down Kat's chin–

She placed a hand on that shoulder, pressed tightly, breathed in four counts, out six, and then straightened her back, met Miguel's wide-eyed stare through the tears that flooded her eyes.

"Harder," she breathed.

"Sky, come on–"

"I said, hit me harder!" Sky managed through clenched teeth. "Or are you too pussy to do it?"

"Hawk's gonna kick my ass for this," Miguel muttered, but took a fighting position again, clenching his fists.

"Then let's not tell him," Sky replied. "Just hit me."

And Miguel did, throwing a punch that almost made Sky fall to the ground. The pain was blinding, and she couldn't help a cry that left her throat and echoed in the yard.

And somebody is screaming, Sky doesn't know who. The nausea is making her stomach turn, and there is Matt, blood on those white Adidas sneakers–

Snap out of it! It's not real, not real, not real–

She breathed in, breathed through the pain, remembered Kat's lifeless eyes, the taste of blood, the smell of the tiled floor and copper, but she didn't fall. She breathed it in, then out, slowly, in control.

They are just memories. They can't drown me unless I let them.

She drew in a shaky breath, wiped her tears, stood up again, straightening her back, and met Miguel's worried, dark eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his face pale.

"Better than okay," Sky managed an answer. Her body was trembling, but she kept breathing, in and out, in and out, and she knew she wasn't going to slip.

"Once more," she said. "Make it hurt, Miguel."

"I really don't want to–" Miguel started protesting, but stopped mid-sentence seeing the look in Sky's burning eyes.

"Please," she asked silently. "I trust you."

Reluctantly, Miguel clenched his fists again and took the fighting stance. He met Sky's eyes, and Sky gave him a sharp nod, relaxing her knees and tightening her core. "Just do it."

The punch that met Sky's shoulder was hard, and the pain shot through Sky's body like a burning arrow, making her scream again. She went down on one knee, the pain making her vision blur, and again she was tasting blood, her mouth was full of it–

And Kat's eyes are so dark, but there is no life in them. At that moment Sky's heart stops. Her life is flowing out of her, the pool of blood around her is growing larger, and she feels the crushing pain in her chest, and knows that Kat's death is going to be her death too. Because there is nothing, nothing worth living for if she's gone.

The ground was hard under her knee, Sky leaned on it with both hands, and tears were running down her face. Her breathing came in sharp inhales, shaky outhales, as the pain radiated through her body, the pain from Miguel's punch, the pain of her heart stopping, the unbearable pain of being alive when for so long she had wanted nothing but death.

"Miggy, what's going on here–" came a voice that cut through Sky's senses. "Oh, Dios Mio, Sky are you alright?"

And then Carmen's hands were on her, helping her up, and Sky managed a nod, wiped her cheeks that were covered in tears.

"Mom, it's not what it looks like–!" Miguel started, but Sky interrupted him.

"It's okay, we were just training," she breathed, trying hard to keep her voice steady. "I just... I needed Miguel to show me this new strike Sensei's been trying to teach us."

Now both Miguel's Mom and his grandmother were fussing around Sky, and her cheeks heated from embarrassment.

"But you are hurting–" Carmen said, brushing Sky's hair off her face and helping her back up.

"It's karate," Sky replied with a weak smile. "It's supposed to hurt."

"Oh!" Exclaimed Miguel's grandmother, but with a laugh. "Miguel, las niñas no te van a querer si las golpeas."

"Yaya–!" Miguel blushed, and stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else than here, and Sky almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

Sky took a deep breath and brushed her knees.

Carmen was right - she was hurting, and as she tentatively rolled her shoulder, the pain made her wince, and she knew she'd have to drive home using one hand only, but–

I didn't lose control.

Sensei was right. I am stronger than I thought I was.

She flashed a smile to Miguel's family, brushing off her embarrassment like it was nothing more than the dust on her stained knees.

"We're doing that again tomorrow," Sky said to Miguel, tilting up her chin in a stubborn gesture.

Miguel's eyes widened. "No, we're not."

"Yes, we are," Sky replied. "And we're doing this every day until the tournament. Or are you scared you're gonna make me so tough I'll win?"

"Right," Miguel said with a small laugh, looking more relaxed already. "I'm still gonna win the thing."

"I guess we'll see about that. Anyway, thanks. I know who I am now."

"Yeah?" Miguel asked. "And who's that?"

Sky grinned and started walking away.

"I'm Phoenix - the girl who's gonna win the whole fucking thing."

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