𝐉𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭 | 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞 (DISCONTINUED)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 25

Alora threw her bag on the floor of Finlay's room, spreading herself out in a starfish beside it. She looked up toward the ceiling with a dreamy sigh. She had just recounted the whole day for Finlay whose expression grew more concerned the more she talked. "After the fight, Sensei Kim said that I was wonderful and that I was the meaning of no mercy," she practically squealed.

All she's ever wanted was to belong somewhere and now she did. She belonged to Cobra Kai and it belonged to her too. And it would stay that way, even if she had to lose everything for it.

Finlay's eyebrows furrowed, "Good job?" He wasn't quite sure how to handle this situation but luckily she didn't pick up on his hesitation or if she did, she didn't mention it.

She looked over at him with the biggest smile he'd seen on her in forever. His face softened, smiling back at her. He just couldn't pop her little happy bubble. So, he just changed the topic and let her babble on about something else. But, no matter how much she talked about other stuff, what she told him never left his mind. Sensei Kim hitting Tory and pushing her to hurt Devon even worse, the way she applauded and encouraged Alora's aggression and lack of empathy. This whole thing was starting to feel like a colossal mistake.

The next day, they were stretching at practice talking amongst themselves. Kyler walked away from the snack bar holding a bag of protein bites.

"Hey, these snake bites are fire! Can't stop eating em'. It's like crack," he said, pouring a bunch of them into his mouth. Alora's jaw dropped, Finlay holding back a laugh.

"Bro, they're pure protein. You're only supposed to eat one or two," Kenny told him, almost in disbelief.

"For real?" Kyler whispered. Alora facepalmed.

"Come on, dude," Kenny shook his head. Alora reached over and snatched the bag from Kyler.

"If you eat any more of these, your kidneys might fail," she rolled her eyes, putting them away in her bag.

Kyler made an 'O' shape with his mouth. He looked over to the front door and hit Alora's shoulder to get her attention. "Yo, look who's here."

Devon was walking in wearing a Cobra Kai gi and holding a duffel bag. Finlay and Alora shared a look as Tory got up and walked over to Devon. Alora scrutinized them for a moment before averting her gaze. She wasn't going to concern herself with other things that didn't involve her anymore. She breathed in and out deeply, finishing up her stretching just as Sensei Silver called for the start of practice.

After practice ended, she was still at a dummy practicing her spinning back heel kick. The last person had just left so Sensei Sanchez came up beside her along with Sensei Kim. She didn't stop her reps until Sensei Sanchez lifted up a hand for her to stop.

"You're getting quicker," he said.

"But it's not nearly hard enough. You're weak," Sensei Kim interjected. "But that's fixable. We all have high expectations for you. The question is can you succeed them?"

Alora automatically nodded. "Yes, Sensei."

"By any means necessary?"

She hesitated for a short moment and then nodded again. "Yes, Sensei."

"Good," Sensei Kim said, walking away. "Come." Alora followed her to the weight room in the back. There were two piles of large slabs of concrete and a thick rubber rope on the floor.

"To start, carry all of the concrete slabs to the other side of the room. This rope will be around your waist and I will be pulling you back this way. If you fall, come back and start again," Sensei Sanchez ordered.