Cobra Kai: New life

David picked up his phone during his work break and saw the notification: [Let's meet at my house today] ~Sam Larusso. This message had been sent through the Miyagi-Do chat. David simply replied with a [🤙], signaling he would be there.

A few days had passed since he started his job, and he would always accompany Tory to her other job. She had told him about the Miyagi-Do kids stirring up fights and all that. David mentioned that he had joined that dojo, but he made it clear that their friendship and the dojo were separate matters. In competitions, they could be the fiercest rivals, but outside of them, they treated each other with respect and even a hint of affection.

"Hey, looks like the guys are meeting at Sam's house today. But never mind that, want me to go with you to your other job today?" David asked Tory, who was sitting next to him.

"No, I'm not going today. I have to take care of my mom," Tory said, trying to avoid his gaze.

"That's fine, Tigress. I'll walk you home then—I think we live close by," David said.

"I've never told you where I live. How do you know we live close by?" Tory questioned.

"Hmn, I'm using my legendary cleaning powers to guess where you live," David replied.

"Hah," Tory sighed. "Fine, I'll let you walk me home after work."

"Great. Well, break's over—back to work," David said with a grin.

Later, when their shift ended, Tory and David walked together through various streets, chatting about different topics.

"By the way, that scar of yours—how'd you get it?" Tory asked.

"Oh, this?" David said, pointing to his scar. "I fought off a pack of stray dogs while defending my grandpa's livestock."

"Wow, the legendary cleaning dragon taken down by stray dogs. What a joke!" Tory laughed, her laughter echoing loudly.

"Nah, just kidding. On my grandpa's farm, while they were teaching us how to use machetes to cut grass, I made a mistake. And, well, mistakes have consequences. It was a superficial wound, but it left me with this scar," David explained, touching the mark.

"I thought you got it in gang fights or something. I mean, you fit the description of someone who'd do that. By the way, can I touch your scar?" Tory asked.

"Sure, go ahead. If this were five years ago, I'd say no, but now it just makes me more attractive," David joked.

Tory slowly reached out her hand toward his face and touched his scar. To David, her touch felt warm, like the finest fabric. His eyes locked onto her bright ones, and he leaned in a bit closer to her face, attempting to kiss her. Their lips met, the kiss was somewhat innocent—there was no passion, only love, or at least what David interpreted as love.

Tory was the first to pull away, looking stunned. Her eyes went blank as if her brain was rebooting. Then she said nervously, "Looks like we're here, haha."

"Yeah, looks like it," David replied, his eyes still fixed on Tory.

"Talk to you later, cleaning dragon," Tory said.

"Sure, see you later, Tigress," David said, watching Tory enter her apartment building. He then checked Google Maps and muttered to himself, "This is way farther from my house. I guess I guessed wrong."

David quickly called a taxi to Sam's house. About 40 minutes later, he found the Miyagi-Do kids and the Eagle Fang kids discussing how to get Sensei Larusso and Sensei Lawrence to set aside their differences. After 30 minutes of fruitless discussion, a cat's meow was heard outside.

"Your cat wants to come in. Bring it inside," one of the kids said.

"You have a cat?" Miguel asked, confused.

"We don't have a cat," Sam replied, equally puzzled.

Just as they said that, the kid who went to check on the "cat" was thrown through the window. Everyone rushed over to see if he was okay, but all he could say was, "There's no cat," before the Cobra Kai kids burst through the door.

David, who had just stepped out of the bathroom after hearing the commotion, only saw the chaos caused by the Cobra Kai kids—it looked like a WWE Royal Rumble. David sighed and then heard that Sam was fighting Tory. He had to step in.

As he moved through the crowd of kids fighting—be it Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, or Eagle Fang—he struck them to separate them and, if necessary, knocked them out using only karate.

He saw two kids holding Dimitri while telling Hawk to hit him. David was about to intervene when he saw Hawk switch sides and help Dimitri. Knowing his side would win, David focused on stopping Sam and Tory, who were fighting with weapons—Sam with a staff and Tory with nunchakus.

David quickly grabbed Tory from behind and said, "Sam, stop! NOW!" Sam didn't listen and tried to hit Tory, but David used his shoulder to block the blow. At that moment, the other kids entered what appeared to be Mr. Larusso's personal dojo and stopped Sam.

Carrying Tory, David walked out of the house, ignoring the others calling after him. He set Tory down on a chair in the yard and then sat across from her.

"Tory, why did you do that?"

"Because they're our enemies. We have to strike first and without mercy," Tory replied.

"Tory, look me in the eyes and tell me again why you did that," David said firmly.

"I already told you, David. You don't have to talk to me like you've known me my whole life. You don't know anything about me, about what I've been through, or my circumstances!" Tory snapped.

David, still sitting across from her, smiled softly. He knew it was just her anger and frustration speaking.

"You know, that's what I like about you—your way of talking, your strong attitude, the way you carry all your responsibilities and problems," David said as he gently cupped her cheeks. "I'm not saying I can solve all your problems or that you should suddenly change—hell no! And maybe I don't know everything about you, but I'd like to learn if you give me the chance."

After saying those words, David leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I'll walk you home, just don't do something crazy like that again. I'll try talking to Mr. Larusso to make sure they don't call the cops."

"You don't have to do so much for me. I can handle it myself," Tory said.

"I know you can, but I still want to help," David replied as his phone rang. "Oh, hey guys, sorry for leaving like that. I had to deal with something."

In the background, Dimitri's voice was heard saying, "Does he even know that we all saw him leave with Tory?"

David just hung up. "So… that kiss felt good to me."

"It did to me too," Tory admitted.

"Just trust me more and don't start a fight with someone that ends with me in a coma, okay? I mean, I like that you're a little crazy, but I still want to be conscious so I can see your face every day," David joked.

"You're an idiot," Tory said, playfully punching his shoulder before hopping on his back. "Onward, my cleaning dragon! I, Tigress, member of the Furious Five Cleaners, will be your partner."

David burst out laughing as he ran with her on his back.

"Oh, by the way," he said, "you lied about taking care of your mom. But it's fine—this cleaning dragon will forgive you just this once."