This is the coolest part of this story; friendship. Skywalker and Musaki getting along, doing yoga and getting to know each other. It's heartwarming.
Chapter 7: Yoga
The next morning, Skywalker woke up after a long day of training yesterday and he sighed heavily, just to get over the love-hate relationship with his stepdad, Edgar. He puts his hands on his head to relieve some stress and anxiety he's been keeping to himself. He hopped out of his bed and went outside the hallway to get some fresh air. When he stepped outside, he sees Musaki doing some yoga.
Skywalker was amazed to see how Musaki does some yoga. He sees him lifting one leg in the air and his paw on the ground and one paw in the air and his leg staying on the ground. Skywalker gave out some quiet gasps from Musaki's yoga-bending moves and didn't know if he could really do that.
Musaki lifts his head up and when he sees Skywalker standing there, he didn't know how to react to that and chuckled nervously. He asked, "How long have you been standing there?"
"A few seconds. That was so cool!" Skywalker exclaimed.
"Thanks. It's what I do every morning. Yoga helps me relax a lot and it just keeps me going to get through the day."
"How do you get through the day?"
"Just try to have a good day and don't make it into a bad day, because that's when the stress builds you up more and a lot of anger fuels up and you start to get really intense, like you want to blow up and take it out on everyone. Nobody wants to get their feelings hurt because you had a bad day. Don't get offended if they say anything behind your back. You just have to avoid what they say and move on with it."
Skywalker sighed heavily and noticed that Musaki is an expert in yoga and he asked, "How long have you been doing yoga?"
"I've been doing yoga since I was about seven or eight and it really just made me realize that whatever comes my way, I can just keep it in a positive note and not worry about anything negative throughout the day. Just keep my head up and look at the bright side of things."
"Does it work for you?"
"Pretty much."
Skywalker sighed and asked, "Can I join you or were you just finished?"
"I'm still in the middle of yoga, but you're welcome to participate if you want."
Skywalker walked towards Musaki and did some yoga together. Musaki looked at him and asked, "Do what I do, okay?"
"Sure, why not."
Skywalker watched what Musaki did and he tries to do the same thing, but misses a few turns. Musaki looked at him and realize that he's struggling a little. Skywalker looks at him and said, "I'm so sorry. I'll try to get it right."
"Dude, it's okay. Sometimes it can be difficult to try yoga for the first time. If you made a mistake, don't worry about it. Just try it again until you got it down pat."
"Okay."
Musaki puts his hands together, closes his eyes, raised them up in the air and puts them down below his chest and raises his left leg and holds it to his ankle. Skywalker did the same thing and is pretty much learning from it. He was impressed that he actually did it, without any screw-ups. Then, they contined on with the yoga process. Musaki and Skywalker sat down on the ground together, crossed their legs, closed their eyes and and think some peaceful thoughts.
Musaki's thoughts were going through the rest of the day without any problems and hang out with the rest of the Five and also being a part of the team. Skywalker's thoughts were pursing his dreams and being a master of kung-fu and excel at it. He sighs softly and sees that he's being relaxed for the first time. All the thoughts about Edgar were slowly fading away, but the negative voices on his head won't go away.
He opened his eyes and looks around and sees Musaki still doing yoga and he said, "I don't feel anything."
Musaki opened his eyes and told him, "Do you feel relaxed?"
"Yeah, I do. But I don't see any changes in me."
"That's the form of yoga. You can be relaxed and live out your day, but you're still you. It doesn't change anything you are on the inside, but you can also be relaxed on the outside as well."
"You really know this much about it, don't ya?"
"Of course. See, when I have a bad day, I can just do some yoga, or write some songs, head over to the Sacred Peach Tree and do some thinking. There's a lot of things that keeps you happy and you can have some alone time or if you need some quiet space."
Skywalker chuckled and told him, "I guess this is a reason I came. I can do some kung-fu, but I can unwind myself and learn more about the excellence of self."
"My point exactly."
Skywalker has something that's been hidden for a while and although Po told him, he thought that it would be a good time to tell Musaki about it. He turned to him and asked, "Can I tell you something....personal?"
Musaki looked at him and asked, "Personal how?"
"Well, I don't know to tell you this, but....I ran away from home and came here to just get away from my stepdad."
"Your stepdad?"
"Yep."
"What about your stepdad? Do you guys fight?"
"Most of the time. He doesn't apporve of me doing kung-fu and music in my future. He says it's a waste of a dream."
Musaki gasped and said, "Seriously?"
"Yep."
"What does he want you to do?"
"Follow his dream; run his library. I couldn't tell him how I felt about it, because it will disappoint him."
"Did you tell him?"
"I tried to, but he ends up beating me down, scratching me, punching me, slapping me, kicking me, everything."
Musaki gasped in horror and couldn't believe what Skywalker just said about it. He asked, "Did he really do that to you?"
"Yeah, he did. He gets so angry that if I don't follow his dream and go after mine, he'd beat me up really bad. And that doesn't make any sense at all."
"Absoultely not. Why would he do something like that?"
"I don't know! I guess it's just a way to do what he wants me to do. There's nothing wrong with following my dream and choosing my future. I didn't do anything to him."
"What happens after that?"
"I've been brutally beaten up, scarred, scratched, kicked and pushed around on walls and such. It really hurts so bad, but does he care? Nope."
"How long did he do that?"
"When I was 13."
"13? I'm glad that he didn't do it you when you were younger."
"That's because I kept myself away from him after my mom married him and after my dad died. Since I got older, he wanted me to spend time with him and it's like all he can talk about is me taking over the library and I don't want to do that."
"Do you talk to someone who understands you?"
"Only my mom. She's the only one that supports what I do."
Musaki blinked twice and said, "You need a hug, dude."
"I seriously do."
Skywalker leaped to him and hugged him tightly. Tears were pouring down his eyes and Musaki wiped it for him. Musaki told him, "I never grew up in something like that before. But, don't worry. Hopefully, he'll come around. Maybe he'll realize how important to you and just maybe, he'll understand."
"Forget it. Whatever I do, for him, it's never good enough."
"Don't say that. You are good enough. You are in charge of your own future."
"I know I am."
"You can't let someone do what they want you to do. Decide for yourself."
Skywalker sniffled twice and wiped his eyes and said, "You're a good friend, Musaki."
Musaki smiled at him and said, "Thanks. I'm not like Po, but he always makes me feel better, so I take it from him, I guess."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm really embarassed to say it, but it's true."
He puts his hand on his shoulder and said, "Let's go inside, kid."
They both stood up and went back inside the bunkhouse together. At that point, Skywalker finally feels like he really found a true friend that he can talk to, hang out with and also releases his true feelings that he has. Musaki feels the same way and they're both starting to become really good friends throughout the whole experience and Skywalker can do anything he wants to do and he has a strong amount of support.
Musaki is a good friend. Everyone else in the Five will get to know Skywalker in this next chapter. Stay tuned!
