Hot For Sensei

Chapter Seventy-One

The talk with Miguel had gone better than she expected, but it was still pretty bad. There were tears spilt, accusations of betrayal, and the pouring out of hearts, but in the end Miguel relented. He may not have liked it, but he understood her choices and promised her a victory so that she could come back. Once calmed down, they had their bestie day, but there was a somber undertone that lingered between them.

Now, the next afternoon, she was at the mini mall near Cobra Kai, even though she didn't want to be. She had gone to see Eli everyday since he lost his mohawk, but her pushing and prodding at him to get out of his pity party had only resulted in arguments and nights spent alone. This time, she decided she was just going to mope with him to avoid a fight, and she wanted to bring him his favorite candy as a peace offering, a candy that could only be found at the convenience store near the Cobra Kai Dojo. She made her run for the candy quick, not wanting to run into any of her rivals. With the lemon-flavored Twizzlers in hand, she made to bolt for her truck, only to see something strange out in front of the Dojo.

Tory was standing outside in her street clothes, her karate bag slung over her shoulder as she clutched the strap tightly in her hand. An older, mangey looking brunette woman in an outdated Canadian tuxedo was bent forward to yell in her face, and the tone she was using rubbed Ivy the wrong way. That, and the look on Tory's face was vulnerable, something Ivy had never seen before, so she couldn't help but move a little closer to eaves drop. The woman was threatening her, something about Tory's mom dying and custody of someone and disability payments. Ivy could only hear bits and pieces of it, but it was enough to put the story together. She remembered that Tory was taking care of her little brother in addition to her mom who was extremely ill, and she could only surmise that this woman was somehow trying to take it all away from her. Bile and anger stung at the back of her throat, and before she knew it, she was setting the candy on the hood of her trunk so she could stalk over to confront the weird woman.

"So you're the hag that's been giving Tory trouble." Ivy spat, standing next to Tory protectively.

"Who the fuck are you?" the woman snapped as Tory watched Ivy with wide eyes.

"The reaper come to collect if you don't back the fuck off." Ivy narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, you're very funny." The woman scoffed a laugh and then looked to Tory, "One of your little punk karate friends, huh?"

"No." Tory shook her head plainly.

"Then who-"

"I heard what you said about court, and I know a leech when I see one." Ivy cut her off with a growl, taking another step forward, "But you won't even make it to court, because Tory has friends in all the right places. So I suggest you beat feet and stay the hell away from her, cause you do not want to play fuck around and find out with me."

"Oh, you're so scary!" the woman mocked her, but there was a twinge of doubt in her eyes, "Alright, I'm gone. Until the funeral, that is."

The woman gave Tory a wink like she had already won, and then turned to disappear from the mini mall. Ivy crossed her arms and let out a long breath to relieve some of the tension from her body, and the fire seemed to come back to Tory as she placed herself sharply in front of her.

"What the hell was that?" Tory threw her arms out to the side.

"No, who was that?" Ivy asked calmly.

"That was...my aunt." Tory's voice faded to a whisper of shame, but her anger quickly returned, "I was handling it just fine, why did you intervene? We're not friends!"