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AFTER AN INTENSE EVENING WITH SENSEI KIM, y/n felt like she was running on fumes. The meeting had stretched well past dinner, with the older woman meticulously dissecting video clips and explaining the tactics she planned to drill into them during their early-morning training session. It was mentally exhausting, and though the girl usually thrived under pressure, this level of preparation was pushing her limits.
Still, she understood the stakes. The sponsors' insights into the upcoming events were one of Cobra Kai's biggest advantages. They didn't know the exact details, but the outline was enough to give them an edge. Tomorrow's schedule was clear: two elimination events. The first was a one-on-one, straightforward enough, but the second—a two-on-two—was where things would get tricky. And that also happened to be the event which would determine who would go big, and who would go home...
That was what Kim had focused on, emphasizing the importance of synchronization and strategy between y/n and Kwon, two of her most promising fighters.
Now, as she exited Kim's hotel room and made her way to the elevator, exhaustion weighed heavily on her. Her feet dragged slightly with each step, her mind replaying the clips and instructions like a broken record. Reaching the elevator, she pressed the button and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes for just a moment.
The soft ding of the elevator's arrival pulled her from her thoughts. Straightening up, she stepped forward—only to freeze in her tracks as the doors slid open.
Inside, standing side by side, were Sam Larusso and Devon Lee from Miyagi-do.
The tension hit her like a wall. Sam's eyes widened slightly before narrowing in recognition, and Devon's lips pressed into a tight, annoyed line. The hostility was palpable, radiating off all three of them in waves. y/n felt her stomach twist, a surge of old grudges and rivalries bubbling to the surface.
For a split second, she considered turning around and taking the stairs. Anything to avoid the suffocating tension that would inevitably fill the tiny space. But as her eyes flicked to the staircase sign, the idea of climbing twelve flights to her room on the fourteenth floor made her shoulders sag.
With a resigned sigh, she stepped into the elevator, her movements slow and deliberate. The doors slid shut behind her with a soft thud, sealing them all inside.
Sam and Devon didn't say a word, but y/n could feel their judgmental gazes burning into her side. She stared straight ahead, her face a mask of indifference, though her jaw tightened ever so slightly.
