Strike Hard: Miguel Diaz x Female!Reader

Chapter 84- The New Era

Flashback:

A knock at the door made Y/N lookup. Terry was standing in the door, hesitance in his face. "Can I come in?" He asked. "Sure." Y/N replied. Terry walked into the room and stopped in front of Y/N. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, his voice filled with worry. Y/N nodded. "Yeah it was nothing serious just a pulled muscle." She replied. "That's good. You can still fight then." He smiled. Y/N looked down at her hands that were resting in her lap. "I suppose."

Terry, noticing the unsureness in her voice, rose an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Do you not want to continue fighting?" He questioned. "I do it's just-I don't know I feel like I'm not doing this for me anymore." She admitted. "What do you mean?" He asked. Y/N sighed before answering. "I never wanted to do the tournament in the first place but da-er I mean Sensei Lawrence kept pressuring me. He knew I didn't want to, what with my past and everything but he just kept pushing and pushing until I gave in. He kept telling me that it was up to me to win this, to bring home the trophy and stop Cobra Kai for good. I felt like I owed him, ya know? After everything he's done for me. And yes I do love doing karate, I never wanted to put it on display like some performer in a show. And now that it hurts me to even move, he's telling me that I have to. But what gives him the right? After the shit he's put me through over the past few days, do I still owe him?"

Y/N's eyes were brimming with tears as she tried to catch her breath after her ramble. She didn't mean to spill everything to Terry but it felt...nice. She had kept her emotions bottled up for a long time and it felt nice to be able to tell someone, to be able to open the bottle. And who else was actually willing to listen to her? Miguel maybe but when it came to Johnny, he was protective over his sensei. Even if he was in the wrong.

Terry felt his heartbreak at the sight of Y/N in tears, crying over the man who was supposed to protect her. Technically, he should've been the one to protect her but he didn't. And now that Johnny had taken up the role of dad, he was supposed to take Terry's place. He was doing a shit job of it Terry's opinion.

"Y/N, sweetheart, you don't owe anyone anything, alright? If you don't think you should fight, then don't do it. Especially if you're still in pain. I promise you, no one will hate you for your decision, not even Lawrence. And if he does, then he doesn't deserve a daughter like you." Terry reassured, his voice soft.

"Are you just saying all this because you don't want me to fight because you know I'll beat Tory?" Y/N teased with a watery smile. Terry gave a chuckle. "You caught me, kid. I knew that with my blood in your veins, you'd knock Nichols right on her ass." He joked, earning a laugh from Y/N. Terry always loved hearing her laugh.

The room fell into a silence, but it was a comfortable one. "Well I better go back to John before he wonders where I've went but good luck out there, kid. And no matter what decision you make, just know that I'm proud of you either way." Terry said with a smile. Y/N doesn't know what comes over her but she suddenly flings her arms around Terry's waist, hugging him.

Terry is shocked by this before quickly recovering and hugging her back. He hasn't hugged her in so long, it felt so warm and comforting. Y/N felt the same way as Terry held her gently with only the type of gentleness a parent would hold their child with.

"Thank you." She whispered. Terry smiled. "Anytime, kid. I'll always be here for you when you need me to." He replied. Y/N squeezed her eyes shut, trying to fight the tears that threaten to pour from her eyes. Terry gave her one last squeeze before reluctantly letting her go, causing Y/N to unwrap her arms from his waist.

"I have to go now but remember, I'll always be here for you. If you ever need somewhere to go, my door is always open to you." He said with a smile. Y/N nodded. "Thank you, I really appreciate it." She replied. Terry shrugged. "What are dads for?"