Chapter Text
She had missed the sun.
The cover for her jeep was abandoned as soon as she’d crossed the state line, since the forecast predicted clear skies for the next two weeks. Of course, she knew to be cautious of California weather predictions, but she didn’t care. After two weeks in Scotland, a month in France, and another three weeks in London, she was desperate for that American sunshine.
And a very greasy cheeseburger with a vanilla shake.
After securing her meal, the dark-haired woman sipped happily on the smooth, creamy snack as she drove down the freeway, bobbing along to the music on her radio as the exit came up. She felt her stomach flip in excitement and took it, smoothly changing lanes and taking the necessary right turn.
The regular, mediocre houses of California slowly disappeared, spacing out considerably and giving way to much larger, more grand buildings. Mansions, sprawling estates, and cars she could only ever dream of. But despite the unfamiliar territory, she felt her face split into a wide grin at the sight of one particular house.
Parking along the curb, she jumped out, her ponytail swinging against her lower back and hips as she approached the front door. She popped her knuckles, an old habit, before knocking a firm three times. She then stepped back, taking a deep breath.
When the door opened, it wasn’t who she’d hoped it would be, but it thrilled her none-the-less.
Amanda’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open before she smiled brightly. “Nadia?”
The two surged forward, hugging tightly. Amanda pulled away first, putting her hands on the younger woman’s shoulder’s. “Oh my god, Nadia, I thought you were in London!”
“I was.” Nadia LaRusso nodded, shrugging. “But I put in for some time off after our last performance, and after I told the director I would be visiting family in the valley, she told me all about how she needs another ballet director at her new studio, so…” She grinned widely and stuck her hands out. “Here I am!”
Amanda laughed and hugged the girl again. “Oh, Dia, I’m so happy to see you! We’ve missed you!”
“Ugh, me too.” Nadia pulled back, shaking her head and grimacing. “I can only take so much of Europe, especially the British.” (No hate to my British people). She looked around. “So, where’s Danny? Where’s my Sam?”
“Oh, they’re, uh, they’re actually training.” Amanda responded, and Nadia didn’t miss the annoyance in her face. “They’re at the dojo. Daniel is a sensei; he’s training Sam and some other kids for the All Valley tournament.”
“That’s great!” Nadia exclaimed, “I’m so glad Sam is training with him. Who are they fighting?”
This time, Amana scoffed. “You’ll never guess. Cobra Kai.”
Nadia snorted, then her eyes widened when she realized Amanda wasn’t laughing with her. “Holy crap, you’re serious? How- I mean, I thought it was dead. Who’s even running it?”
Her friend sighed and opened the door wider. “Come in. You’ve missed quite a bit these past few years.”
After a glass of wine and a very long conversation, Nadia found herself back in her jeep and driving over to the dojo.
It had been over five years since she’d seen Daniel in person. He’d practically raised her. Her only paternal cousin, Nadia’s dad has passed when she wasn’t even a year old yet. Her mother had walked out not too long before and surrendered all parental rights, which left baby Nadia at the mercy of the courts. However, her dad’s younger sister, Daniel’s mother, agreed to take her in. By then, Daniel was almost moved out. She was way too young to remember everything that had gone down before Daniel came back from college, but she did remember him. He always came around for every birthday, every holiday. He was always there; he helped his mother put Nadia in ballet class. And when it became clear she was a walking prodigy, he paid for everything. Her classes, costumes, summer intensives, the countless pairs of dance shoes.
And eventually, it paid off. Nadia was currently touring with an international ballet/contemporary group for the last five years, going all over the world. But time on the road gets tiring. And with her director offering the chance to teach at the new studio in the valley, she couldn’t help but take it. She missed her niece and nephew, and she missed Daniel.
She missed her family.
Parking her jeep, she paused as she jumped out, taking a moment to appreciate the cars in front of her. Mr. Miyagi had passed away when she was a teenager, but she always remembered his presence. She’d always liked being at the dojo, it felt so safe and secure. Even when no one else was there.
Stepping in, she looked around, smiling. Everything in there was exactly how she remembered it; Daniel hadn’t touched a thing. She drifted towards the bonsai trees, her lips tilting upwards as she raised her finger to brush over the leaves.
“Can I help you?”
Daniel’s voice was startled and guarded. Nadia turned, smirking as his face went slack.
“I don’t know, Danny. Can you?”
Daniel froze for a second, almost not recognizing the young woman in front of him. Her rounded face was bright and glowing, brown eyes happy to see him. Her black hair, which had only been brushing her shoulders the last time he saw her, was now pulled into a ponytail high on her head as the end brushed against her lower back.
“Nadia?” He whispered, but his face slowly pulled back into a grin. “Oh my god, Nadia!”
The two smiled as they hugged, and Nadia felt the same feeling of comfort as she smelled her cousin, her older brother. Finally, they pulled back, Daniel’s hands on her shoulders.
“Holy crap, Nadia, when did you get here? I thought you were heading to New York after you guys were done in London!”
“Well, we were, but that was before my director offered me a teaching position at her newest studio.” Nadia shrugged, smiling. “Sorry, Danny boy, but you’re stuck with me for a while.”
Daniel laughed, pulling her back in for another hug. “That’s great, Dia, it’s amazing. Oh, Sam’s going to be over the moon, Anthony, too.”
“Yeah,” she stopped him from turning towards the door, “speaking of which, what’s this Amanda told me about your guys’ house being attacked? And a karate tournament?”
Daniel sighed, holding up his hands. “That’s a very long story. I’m sure Amanda caught you up on the big picture, but I promise, I’ll explain it all later after we go see Sam.”
Nada hummed, but finally shook her head. “Fine. Only cause I want to see my girl.”
He laughed, leading her outside. As they walked out onto the back patio, they both heard a male voice say angrily, “You just poked the bear! What do you think is gonna happen? You think they’re just gonna leave well enough alone?”
“Who’s poking bears in California?” Nadia half-joked, trying to ease some tension. A group of teenagers were all stretching as a man with blond hair and a red and black shirt addressed them. He didn’t sound happy.
At the sound of her voice, all heads turned their way, and Nadia saw Sam’s face split into a bright smile. “Aunt Nadia!”
The older girl returned the grin, holding out her arms and hugging the teen as she ran towards her. “What are you doing here?”
“What? A girl can’t visit her family?” Nadia teased, tugging on one of Sam’s curls.
The rest of the students watched, confused. “Yo,” Hawk leaned towards Demetri, “who is that?”
The woman looked like she was late twenties, maybe just barely thirty. Her long, black hair was brushing her butt, even in a ponytail, and her tanned skin was glowing. She looked glamorous and graceful, even in jeans and a plaid shirt with a tank top.
“I think that’s Sensei LaRusso’s cousin.” Miguel answered quietly, “Sam told me about her. Said she travels with the professional ballet company all over the world.”
“Are we sure she’s related to Mr. LaRusso?” Demetri questioned, “She’s…well, I mean-“
“Crazy hot.” Hawk finished, but frowned when he saw all the looks he was getting. “What?”
“Who’s the chick?” Johnny demanded, irritated with the situation at hand and now the new interruption. Nadia cocked her eyebrow at his tone, looking away from Sam to meet his gaze head on.
“The chick’s name is Nadia. Did you hear Sam, or is your age affecting your hearing?” She snapped back, not at all liking his attitude. Johnny immediately felt the same way, taking a step forward.
“Hey, how about you watch your tone in my dojo?” He warned lowly.
“Our dojo.” Daniel stepped in, raising his hand. “Johnny, Nadia, please. Everyone, this is Nadia LaRusso, my cousin. She came by to see the dojo and meet everyone.”
The students all waved, and she waved back, but she didn’t miss the way Daniel was glaring at the blond man. Sighing, he gestured to him. “Nadia, this is my fellow sensei, Johnny Lawrence.”
“Hi.” Johnny deadpanned, and Nadia raised her eyebrows.
“Lawrence? As in, the one who’s ass you kicked in that first tournament?”
“Hey-“ Johnny took a step forward, but Daniel jumped between them.
“Woah, woah, woah. Look, Johnny and I are teaching together now. The past is the past.” He tried to reassure his cousin.
But Nadia wasn’t stupid. She saw the way Johnny was glaring at Daniel, she saw the tensing in his shoulders. He looked as far away from teammate as you could go.
She didn’t say anything, instead stepping away as the two faced each other again.
“Speaking of which,” Johnny turned back to Daniel, “we really need to talk about their little stunt with Cobra Kai and the sprinklers.”
“Oh, I know all about-“ Daniel’s sentence died, and Nadia turned to see him staring at the side yard entrance. His face had gone slack and pale, eyes widening in shock. She and Johnny followed his gaze, seeing two men approaching.
They were old, or at least, older than Daniel and Johnny. Late fifties, early sixties maybe. One was short, stocky, with buzzcut salt-and-pepper hair and mean brown eyes. He looked like an old man you tried to rob on the subway and instead got beat half to death.
The other, the one Daniel seemed most upset at, was much taller than the other. Hell, he was taller than everyone there. He was thinner than the other man, but he didn’t look frail. His own hair was long and pale silver, pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He dressed like money, like the old couples who came to the ballet companies higher-end shows; Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, things like that.
But his eyes were what startled her. They weren’t mean and straight forward like the other man. They were bright, wide, and almost crazy looking.
She was immediately unsettled.
“Gentlemen.” The taller man greeted, then his eyes fell on her. She felt her skin crawl. “And lady. It seems we have a few things to discuss.”
Daniel placed his hand on Nadia’s shoulder. “Nadia, please take the kids inside.” She felt her stomach jolt at his tone. It was tense, upset, and… afraid?
The thought of any man scaring Daniel, the hero of her upbringing, didn’t sound right. It almost sounded terrifying. But she didn’t argue.
“You heard him, guys. Let’s go.” She addressed the kids softly but firmly, knowing she wasn’t their teacher but also not wanting them to be there for this. The teens all seemed too confused to argue and stepped into the dojo. Nadia followed up the rear, but instead of going inside with them, she simply smiled softly.
“Warm up, your sensei’s will come get you when class is ready.” She instructed, then slid the dojo doors shut. She turned, folding her arms and watching the scene with narrowed eyes.
“Daniel LaRusso.” The tall man greeted, “It’s good to see you again.”
“Yeah, right.” Daniel stepped forward, “Bullshit.”
The man grimaced, “Fair enough. I’d probably react the same way if I were you. My past behavior was…” he trailed off, then sighed. “Inexcusable. If I could go back, and undo it all, I would. But all I can say now is, I’m truly sorry.”
Nadia saw right through the apology. She’d dated her fair share of manipulative dirt bags in her twenties, and they all apologized the same way. Daniel appeared to share her sentiment.
“I don’t know what padded room you crawled out of, Silver, or what twisted game you two are playing.” He looked between the man, Silver, and his shorter companion and began to step closer, hands curling into fists. “But if you don’t get off my property, right now, I swear to God-“
“Danny.” Nadia stepped in, placing her hand on his shoulder as he stepped towards the man. Daniel didn’t look at her but allowed himself to be pushed back a few steps.
“Ok.” The man said quietly, nodding. “Ok, I tried. We’ll still hold our students to a moratorium on the fighting before the tournament, for what it’s worth.” He then raised his eyebrows, smirking. “Provided, of course, you do the same.”
He was baiting them.
“Just remember our deal,” the shorter man spoke up, “if Cobra Kai wins the All Valley, you two are done teaching.”
So, this is who they’re up against. Nadia frowned. These two looked like the type of guys that would hit an athlete with a car to win a fight. No wonder Daniel seemed so shaken.
“Well, that’s not gonna happen.” She spoke up, everyone’s eyes going to her. “You heard him. Private property. Beat it.”
The taller man, Silver, cocked an interested eyebrow as he turned to her. “Hiring new sensei’s already? Is it becoming too much for you two to handle?”
“She’s not a part of this.” Daniel snapped back, and Nadia got the vague sense he was trying to convince more than just Silver. “Do not ever speak to or about her, you hear me?”
Silver raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, and Nadia followed Johnny and Daniel as Daniel all but chased them off the property. As the two men got into a sleek black car and drove off, Johnny turned to her cousin.
“Who the hell was that?”
Daniel sighed, and she saw the wrinkles around his face looked a lot more pronounced.
“Someone awful.”
“So, let me get this straight.” Nadia set her water down and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “You two started a dick measuring contest against each other all because of some karate tournament for kids that ended over three decades ago, then you,” she pointed at Johnny, “brought in your old, very abusive former karate teacher to help you train children, and you,” she then turned to Daniel, “were so upset that you started up Miyagi-Do out of spite. So, now you’ve both seen the error of your ways and understand that Jonathan Kreese is a psychotic asshole, but now, he’s brought in an equally, if not more, psychopathic partner to help him run Cobra Kai and you both willingly agreed to let him train all of the kids in the valley if he wins a tournament?”
Johnny and Daniel both shifted, looking defensive, and started speaking at once.
“Well, no-“
“Look, when you put it that way-“
“Plus, you weren’t there when-“
Nadia shook her head and waved her hands, “No, no, please.” She let his hands slap against her thighs, sighing. “If we keep talking about this, my head is going to explode, and I have to be to the studio in,” she glanced at her watch and cursed, “now. Shit, ok, I’ll see you later Danny!”
She hugged her cousin and kissed Sam on the forehead before jumping into her jeep and driving off, shaking her head as if to get it rid of the karate drama.
She had a dance studio to focus on.
Nadia’s ballet company director, a very old, Japanese American woman by the name of Elizabeth Takahashi, was a very successful and accomplished choreographer. She’d sent more students onto Broadway, Ballet West, Julliard, and NYU than Nadia had ever seen. She was also incredibly terrifying. She stood at maybe five-foot-nothing and looked like a strong breeze would knock her over, but once she started coaching you, you learned a healthy dose of fear at her voice.
Which was why Nadia worked very hard at this new job. She was the primary ballet instructor; she had a team of eight coaches under her and over one hundred students, and all had to run choreography by her. She was a little young for the role at thirty, but she was well-respected. Miss Takahashi had made it clear to question Nadia was to question her.
Almost a week after the incident at the dojo, Nadia sat in her office; mouth set in a thin line as she looked over the lesson plan for her advanced students tomorrow. She only taught one class, the seniors. The one’s who were planning to dance professionally after they graduated high school. She was about to order a pizza when her phone rang. Glancing at it, she smiled before answering.
“Hey, Amanda.”
“Hey! I was hoping I caught you before you had dinner; do you want to come over? Daniel’s making garlic bread and pasta.”
Nadia looked back down at the stack of forms in front of her and sighed, shuffling them and beginning to load them into their folders. “That sounds delicious; I’ve been stuck doing paperwork all day. I’m just barely leaving the studio, I’ll be there in twenty.”
“Wait, so now, you guys are back to enemies?”
Daniel sighed as he looked up from the onions he was cutting; his cousin was perched on the counter a few feet away, sipping wine from her glass and one leg crossed over the other.
Nadia had always been more of his sister than anything. Hell, he’d practically raised her. He’d put her through ballet classes, school, bailed her out of jail that one time in her junior year and pretty much guided her throughout her whole life. He knew her better than anyone.
He also knew how she could come across. Nadia was petite. More than petite, she was just plain small. She barely reached his shoulders, and she was by no means stocky or particularly intimidating. This was unusual, seeing as she’d been selected for prima ballerina before she was twenty-five. But the girl was a natural.
Even now, she was the picture of ease. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, a few errant strands over her cheeks as she lounged in denim cut-offs and a crop-top with a lacy overthrow to give the picture of rich, drunk aunt. But Daniel had seen her argue, he’d seen her fight. It was one of his deepest regrets not teaching her karate; when he refused to teach her how to fight, she’d gone out and found her own ways. Meaner, grittier, and less controlled ways.
“Yeah, well, if he can’t accept that we need to work together, that’s his problem.” Daniel shrugged, trying not to look bothered. Nadia raised her eyebrows, but didn’t respond, merely taking a sip from her glass again. Daniel narrows his eyes.
“What was that look?”
“What look?”
“That look, the one you always do when you want to say something mean but you hold back cause you think it’s gonna hurt my feelings.”
“I don’t have a look.”
“Yes, you do!”
“No I don’t!”
“Nadia, if you have something to say, I wish you’d just say it.”
She sighed, lowering her wine glass. “Ok, listen, Danny. I love you; you are my cousin, my big brother, and my best friend. You know I would follow you to the ends of the earth, no questions asked.
“But if I’m being honest, you have this thing about constantly needing control, and if you don’t have it, you don’t want to do anything.”
“What- that’s ridiculous, and untrue!” Daniel protested, gesturing wildly with his kitchen knife. Nadia cocked an eyebrow.
“Really? What about that time I was only allowed to dance a certain studio, despite telling you multiple times that it wouldn’t further my career in the slightest? Oh, and then there was the whole Jeremy thing when I was in high school-“
“Hey, I had every reason not to like that kid-“ Daniel started, but Nadia scoffed.
“Oh, please, you hated him because he wouldn’t give you an hourly update of all our dates.”
“I was keeping you safe!”
“Danny,” Nadia held up her hand, shaking her head. “Look, the point still stands. Johnny is a good fighter, you said so yourself. He’s been giving quite a bit, it seems. Don’t you think maybe you should give back?”
Daniel was quiet this time, and she saw she’d gotten to him. As she raised her glass to her lips again, a thought occurred.
“Oh, I know!”
“What?”
“You guys need a dance class!”
Daniel paused in his dicing of the garlic, turning to her with wide eyes. “What?”
“Come on, a ton of pro athletes take ballet classes. It teaches strength, flexibility, pain tolerance, balance, everything you need for your karate stuff!”
Daniel’s face slowly drew into a smile. “You know what? That’s not a half-bad idea, Dia.”
“Thank you.” Nadia flipped her hair arrogantly, giggling as Daniel rolled his eyes. “Bring them to the studio on Wednesday at seven; our last class is at six on that day.”