Happy Halloween, guys! xD

13. Someone You Can Trust

The second thing that Kai felt upon contact, something soft and silky cavorting the cartilage at the end of his nose, was the sudden backdrop of his shoulder blades hitting something in which beforehand had played with nothing but the material of his shirt, now becoming one with something steely under his body. A thunderous thud shook his collected wits out of their container. What else could he have done but become startled by his sudden push downwards, introduced by the shove of someone else's body barreling into his with great strength behind the jump it took to get there? Kai's head spun, having cracked hard to the floor, in circles that wouldn't stop, not even long enough to quite recollect the distinct smell of ash and soap that went flying into his nose. He knew the smell, strangely enough, and had a nebulous thought as to whose pale sandy hair was rustling against his nose—but he wasn't quite ready to face the consequences of deductive reasoning just yet. Kai waited for the storm in his head to calm first.

Meanwhile, the paperweight holding him down wrapped two strong arms around him and squeezed for dear life, no doubt some sort of attack to try and take down the last of Kai's breath, rendering him unconscious. It may have been years since Kai even needed to use his own inner defensive system, and he might've been disabled now (there was a high-pitched ringing in his good ear and his only eye was blurry), but his body already acted on itself without waiting to recover after the slam. His muscles tensed prematurely for what his mind, uncovering dust over the ninja-defense rulebook that he'd tried so hard to stuff into a corner, began to activate. I'd been bullied time and time again by danger, a thought sparked the fire in his eye. Time and time again, I've been knocked down when I thought I was at my strongest. I was vulnerable moments ago—I let my guard down.

Idiot, your guard has BEEN down. The resentful voice of misfeasor lashed out, the devil on his shoulder. Kai had no time to listen to a pointy-tailed nuisance bicker with a halo-hidden bird hovering over his arms. Within seconds, without even being able to know that he was moving quicker than a bolt of lightning, Kai's body took out the rest, doing what it had done three years ago to every jump or scare he got: whanging on whatever had done something to him, be it real or not. As someone so negatively effected by the events in his past, Kai often was jumpy; he'd begun to relax a little after he had met Anya, but now… Sheesh. Talk about a relapse.

Kai flipped the familiar weight off him, untangling the arms of the blonde-headed assailant from around him and pinning them to the ground, slamming them to the wood so hard that he heard the familiar split of the boards underneath him screaming his name. The muscles under his light work shirt tightened for the first sign of defense on his assailant's part. To lessen the chances of that, Kai pinned him at the hips by straddling the pale pair of white pants he saw clad to his jumper, digging inwards his nails to the retaliator's wrists to cause them reason to not wait for more. His face automatically twisted into a nasty snarl of scorn to add to his quick attack. I haven't done this in a long time, Kai thought, mind flashing back to the news he'd received from Anya yesterday morning about her nefarious brother planning to strike against Kai for marrying his sister. Something that, ages ago, Kai might've thought about once or twice—if he hadn't known Jay beforehand.

Kai was ready to do what he could to hold off before he could find a way to call the police—let them handle an arbitrary hugger however they wanted; he certainly wouldn't dictate this in his own hands—when his brain finally connected the image in front of him to cognition. A pair of wide, petrified icy blue eyes stared up at him under parted, thin bangs, almost asking him, What the hell are you DOING? Kai finally understood how to put a name to the scent, light boned face, pale hair, and the not-really-making-a-dent squeeze around his waist. But by the time Kai's own usable eye grew wide, seizing knowledge of who had jumped him, there was the sudden jerk of his slacked fingers around his old friend's wrists that freed them. A second later, the heels of two hands shoved roughly into his chest—daresay knocking the wind out of him—and Kai went flying backwards through the air, crashing into the table just behind them. His head, again, knocked against the wood so hard that he did hear ringing in his final ear, church bells singing some err tune with the drums protected by sinew. He gasped out loud. God, that hurt so much. The stinging in his head wouldn't give way first.

"I am sorry, my brother, but you seem to be a bit jumpy," said that kind, level voice that Kai had forsaken since the day he'd attended Jay and Nya's wedding, camouflaged in the background. The one that Kai had sort of missed to hear the most, wishing he could take advice from the young-but-wise friend of his that had lived more than one life. Kai waited for his leftover vision to stop blurring, blotting out with dots, while thinking about what he was supposed to say. "I'm sorry"? Was he supposed to gasp and cry and smile? What was he supposed to do?

How did Zane get so strong? Procrastinating having to answer how to behave, Kai suddenly realized that though Zane had been tough, he had never been physically capable of, well, shoving one of his friends by the chest and making him fly four feet back. Sure, he could pack a punch, but—this was overdoing it.

And to think, Zane didn't even know that Kai was deaf or blind in one ear. Continue this, and he might completely lose all ties to the real world.

"I hope I did not injure you," Zane continued, crawling into vision by the corner of Kai's good eye, which lay fixed over the boards decorating the ceiling. Zane didn't look quite the same as he had been when Kai left him at the cemetery five years ago, nor at the wedding. His hair was the biggest change that he could see from down here on the floor, trying to chase his stilted breathing that wanted to, automatically, spit euphemisms at Zane for being so rough with him, despite the fact that he knew he deserved it after the draconian welcome. The Zane that Kai had only ever known had a buzz cut that he pulled off with a cheesy, dorky smile. The Zane now had longer hair that fell over his forehead, tousled at the nape of his neck, pin-straight and lightly-colored like bleach. When he moved, so did his locks, whisping in small clumps over the sides of his face, like a forevermore wind was gently ruffling them every time he moved out of a statue's locus. And it seemed like Zane's face had, for the first time since Kai had evermet him, aged. He did not look like a little kid anymore. He didn't give off the curious, childlike manner that before had made people want to wave their hand at him, laughing off anything he said. He gave off a more mature, I-know-what-I'm-doing-now soundwave that startled Kai just as much as his strength. I really missed a lot, he thought. I missed you aging, growing up, letting go of your inner kid…I can feel that you're not the way you used to be anymore. You're different.

What else could I have missed?

Zane reached out a hand, wrapping Kai's around it and helping him into a painful sitting position. At a loss for words, Kai did nothing but move with the pull taking him up, now regretting not thinking of what he was supposed to say. It was no easy question. How do you answer to this? What do you do? Hug him? Would that be weird? I'm happy to see you, but it's been so long that I feel like I'm not welcome enough to do that. Besides, if you knew…what's become of me…Kai's throat tightened. I can't tell you what's wrong with me. I can't. It'll either make you pity me, cry, or something like that. Even if you're grown up now, I can't tell you. He propped himself by the hands, staring at Zane through a haze that did not release him from its heavy, clinging fog, wrapping its tendrils around his limbs and narrowing his chances of escape or self-willed movement. He stared into Zane's pale blue eyes, looking for whatever he could find. Some answer. He leaned back as Zane, sitting on his knees with his hands on them, stared at him without showing anything he might've dropped hint to so many years ago, deepening the change that he'd undergone since Kai had seen him.

And then, Zane smiled. It was the goofy smile that was so big it looked like his face would pop off any second now, hiding his teeth behind his lips, brightened his cheeks and lighting his eyes like a Christmas tree through a window. You look so old, Kai thought, feeling his tense body drop a decimal of his arrested muscles, but you still smile life a goofball.

I can't believe I didn't realize…How much I missed you.

"Brother!" Zane breathed, exhaling relief, and leaning forward, he wrapped both arms around Kai's, pinning them against his body, but crushing him to his chest. Zane's chin rested on Kai's relaxing shoulder. His hug, this time, was tight—Kai was at moment stung by surprise, but glad that no matter the distance of time separating them, Zane would always be the classic one who loved hugs more than cooking. Kai's heart pounded. He had yet to wrap his head sensibly around the idea that Zane was here. In Four Weapons, hugging him. The real question was why, but he'd save that for later. Kai picked up his hands from the dirty floor and wrapped them around Zane's small body lacking second thought, taking in the solid feel of his friend being held to him, laughing into his ear like the old friends they were. Kai didn't think, ever, that he'd be holding Zane so soon, didn't think he'd have the strength in him to even look into his face without remorse. He surprised himself by being the one to ask to hold onto him just a little while longer. I've put myself through constant training to rid myself of all this. I made myself grow immune to thoughts of ninjas, of my friends, and to the pain that those thoughts bring. I've trained myself to stop hurting so much. But I never thought I'd trained myself enough to be able to face them—and without breaking apart right in front of them. Here I am…and I'm not broken down. Maybe it's because I'm still processing it…

Kai just held on tighter to Zane. I guess you were finally done with me avoiding your guys' phone calls, huh? He laughed into Zane's shoulder, taken aback by the feel of hard muscle underneath the material of his shirt. More than meets the eye must've changed…

"Kai? Is everything okay? I heard crashing—Kai?"

He had almost completely forgotten his wife in his struggle to in-claim his own relief, the relief engaged to the sight of Zane, who did not come with any strings attached to being right here, right now. He almost didn't hear her because she was on his left side where the deaf ear embargoed him, but what gave away her sudden company to the room was the perk of Zane's head away from Kai's body, insinuating that he was taken by something else. He partitioned from his long-missed friend to tilt back his head, twisting it so that his right ear could pick up on anything said, while watching his wife come into view from around the table he'd knocked his head on. The margins of his eye saw Zane lean back, queerly looking up at her with his hands pawed on his knees again. He pursed his lips.

Anya's eyes looked blown when she saw Kai lying on the floor with Zane. I'm totally sending the wrong message. He scrambled to his feet, as if that made nothing more suspicious than what she'd already caught him doing—not that he was doing anything—to sweep his arm around her waist and proudly bring her closer to Zane. Zane was more elegant in finding his feet, less dizzy than Kai, who'd taken two hits impossibly to the floor in a matter of time. He dusted off his hands.

Anya looked up at Kai through skeptical eyes, looking a little peeved. "What's this?" she asked, sounding like the defeatist she could sinlessly change into when she happened to fall over something she wasn't so pertinacious about. That was what Kai could continue to fall in love with: Her struck magnetism.

So early did he not believe he'd be bringing face to face an old friend that he'd vented to Anya about over and over again since they met with the wife he adored. Zane piqued with the honorable ardor that defined him. Eyes lighting up, Zane shook his hair out of his eyes, stretching out his hand to Anya like there was not a huge secret sitting between them, the enigma that involved wedding bells in which Zane was never invited to hear. Kai had always been a nervous wreck about the day he'd have to face his friends, having to spit the truth that he was married eventually thereafter; it would never be easy saying that your four old best friends weren't invited to one of the greatest days of your life. He knew they'd be upset.

But facing Zane now, he didn't feel ambivalent to the idea. In fact, he felt eager to introduce the love of his life to Zane. He was proud of Anya, proud to be her husband—why not show off that he was happy?

Kai's face twisted into a smile. He brought Anya a step closer to Zane, arm around her, so she could meet his form of first greeting. She was hesitant to lift up her own hand and shake his, especially since Kai hadn't told her who he was or what they'd been doing on the floor yet. "Zane," he said pompously, seeing Anya's contentious look in remark to the name that she remembered hearing more than once over the years. Her head snapped back towards Zane with a frown. Zane continued to, in a way that sometimes freaked people out, smile. Kai watched them shake hands with awkward vibes coming from Anya's end and friendly from Zane's. "This is my wife, Anya."

Zane's eyes snapped towards his. "Wife?" he asked, startled. I knew that would be coming, Kai intoned inwardly. He held his breath. But so far, so good. You're not trying to kill me yet; that might be a good sign.

"…Yeah." He kept his arm steady around Anya, who had the same frown on her face. "Anya, this is my old friend from the past, Zane." He didn't have to specify which part of his past he meant. She was already aware.

"How do you do." She sounded bizarre. Not quite understanding yet. Okay…

Zane stared at her. "I didn't know you had a wife. Do the others know?" His eyes did not slip from Anya to Kai, rather taking in the looks of her right there, sizing up what he hadn't been able to see. Kai's guilt ebbed in his stomach. Or intestines. Somewhere down there it was aching, and he didn't like the butterflies doing the tango in his stomach.

"Not…really."

Zane's face was unreadable. What's he thinking? Is he mad? Kai's breath stayed in his lungs, stuck there with agog filling him up as if he were being stuffed as a trophy to place on a man's mantle of his greatest kill. He couldn't tell, couldn't see what Zane was thinking. His face was illegible.

Zane's voice was quieter than the last it had been the final day Kai saw him five years ago. He felt his stomach get even tenser. "How come you didn't tell me?" he whispered, finally taking his eyes off Anya. He continued to remain moribund of some sign of what he was thinking, light irises chastised by their own flat feature, boring into Kai's face with such uncomfort that his face lit to flames under his skin. He felt Anya's eyes on him too.

"I wasn't…ready."

"Ready or not, you can't just hide this from us!" Zane exploded. He didn't yell, but his calm voice raised to beyond hysterical. Kai flinched. Now, he could see everything Zane was thinking as it careened his face through all his hidden thoughts: How could you do this to me? Why would you? We were friends; I would've told YOU! How could you? What's the matter with you? This is outrageous; what were you THINKING? Kai jerked slightly with every different thing he noticed switched over on Zane's face. He suddenly lost his confidence. "We are your brothers! You cannot simply get married without telling us that you've done so; we would've liked to know that you are in a relationship so serious! I do not even know how long you've been married, but whatever amount of time it still feeds my disappointment in you!" Zane's scornful look told Kai that this wasn't going to get better. Hurt, betrayal, and anger made his two white hands curl into fists at his sides, hardening just as his icy eyes did. A trickle of light blue danced under his skin in the design of his veins. The Ice inside of him. "And did you ever stop to think that perhaps we would've enjoyed being a part of your life, too? It's quite hilarious how you let a woman into your life like this while you push us away every time we tried with you; you pushed us and pushed us and demanded that we stay out of your life, while you are doing exactly the thing we would've wanted to know about?! It would've been nice if you checked in with us every once in a while, even gave us a heads up about yourself, saying something around the venue of 'I am okay' or even, hey, 'I AM IN A RELATIONSHIP!'" Zane yelled loudly. Kai felt the power of his words slap him in the face. His friend's anger was explosive in a way that was so uncharacteristic of Zane, who normally never ever ever got mad like this over anything. His face was pale, icy cold in pure anger. Betrayal swathed his mask. "How can you not inform us of this?! You know how much we love you, supported you as you healed yourself from all this—we gave you time, we left you voicemails that let you know that we were okay so that we may empower you to know that it IS possible to get better—we still believed you were hurting, that you were having a hard time healing, that you were struggling to move on, but NOOOOO! YOU WERE ACTUALLY GETTING MARRIED BEHIND OUR BACKS AND COMPLETELY IGNORING US WHILE YOU HAD A CLANDESTINE LOVE LIFE! YOU WERE HEALED! PERFECTLY FINE! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL US YOU WERE OKAY!WE WORRIED OVER YOU CONSTANTLY, TRIED TO HELP YOU, LEFT YOU BIRTHDAY GIFTS AND HOME-COOKED MEALS AND LETTERS ON YOUR PORCH, HOPING TO GET THROUGH TO YOU, AND THIS WHOLE TIME YOU WERE ACTUALLY MOVING ON WITH YOUR LIFE?!YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE GUTS TO SAY TO OUR FACES THAT YOU NO LONGER WANTED US ANYMORE!"

The last part was a shriek. Zane never yelled, but suddenly, the whole shop was filled with his scream. It captured in the cauldron, danced off the metal, filled the samurai helmets with a face of rage, was sucked into the walls and vomited back out by the insulation. He was panting, body heaving with the anger that he was feeling. Tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes. When he blinked they became true.

Kai felt so ashamed. He's right, he thought, shaking so hard that Anya brooded her arm around him to keep him on his feet. This is what I expected, but I didn't want it to happen like this. I didn't want this to happen this way. He bent his head, wishing he could melt into the floor forever.

"Hey," Anya said, her own tone hard. She scolded. "Don't freak out on him like that. He doesn't deserve you flipping out on him for showing you how happy he is."

"You're right," Zane snapped. Kai glanced up quickly. His body was rigid, a statue, face leaking tears, looking like he was disgusted with the sight of Kai. What have I done? I didn't know that my actions would turn into something so horrible. I didn't think it would turn out like this. Zane's tears dropped off his face, and he stared at Kai so hard that he felt like a bug pinned to a plate under a microscope. His voice crackled. "He doesn't deserve me or my friendship."

He turned on his heel and stomped for the exit.

No, Kai's desperate leap for him, reaching out his hand from this far away, grabbing at Zane's collar through his line of vision but actually not being close enough to touch him. Zane continued to walk. "Zane, wait—"

Then, there was a loud wail.

Kai froze, for a second thinking that Zane was making that noise—but by the way his friend stopped dead in his tracks said it wasn't. Kai located the source of the sound coming from over his shoulder. He looked backwards where the sound was torching from, and he felt his heart plunge down to his feet.

Anya had left the door to their house, connected to the shop, swinging wide open in her worry to come out and find out what happened to Kai after the serious of thuds and crashing. And the scream was coming from a lonely Alex, somewhere inside the house, screaming her fool head off as she cried for her mother.

Kai's eyes swapped back to Zane. Pleading with his eyes. Zane, hips twisted so that he could stare back at Kai, had his lip slightly curled in duplicity. His eyes continued to stream tears down his cheeks, nostrils quivering in cry. He knew what that crying was. It was the wail of a baby, and Zane knew that wail very well. His face said, I can't believe you would DO this to me, after everything I have done for you. Kai knew what shame he should be put to, for that was exactly what he should be charged with. He made out to be ungrateful for all they have done for him. Kai's guilt was a virus, taking him down like the influenza that killed his mother. Zane shook his head at him. Then, breaking the tension for a split second, he sneezed. He rubbed his nose crisply, shooting darts out his eyes, shaking his head again. "And the sick thing is," he said, "you could live with doing that to us."

And he turned around and walked away.

"Zane!" Kai called, beseeching him, but Zane continued to walk. Do I go after him? He thought, reaching out his hand, hearing Alex wailing in the background. Zane walked away from the path. His figure was gone. Do I go? Do I chase him? But what do I say? Do I let him mull over this and call him later?

In the end, Kai let him go.

He'd call him later. He had his number, waiting to be used… Kai opened up shop dreary and forlorn, wishing that he could crawl into bed and forget all this. Anya came to check on him thirty minutes later, at which point he'd only served 2 customers looking for custom-made weapons and worthy tools for harvest. She wandered out of the house, pulled him into a hug, and let him hold her for support, as he had done all the years he'd lived in love with her…secretly.

"He'll forgive you," she whispered in his ear. "He needs time to think about it."

"I don't know about that," Kai croaked. He cleaved to her.

Anya, arms wrapped around his neck, pulled back, softly lying a hand on his cheek so that she could give him the tender smile that was only for him (and for Alex), that he won when he asked her to marry him. She was his, and though he felt bad for keeping secret of this affair from his brothers, Kai did not regret falling in love with her—or marrying her as his wife. He handled this unprofessionally. He needed to give Zane time to think. No doubt he'd spread the word to the others about what he learned, that Kai was married and a father, and the others would be just as mad, but selfishly that would take the burden off of Kai and allow him to explain himself in any way that wouldn't make him sound like an ass.

Anya stood on her toes to kiss him. "I love you," she said. "Don't worry about this; you'll figure it out. You're strong enough, Kai, to know why you never told them, why you wanted to keep it from them. You don't need to feel ridden by guilt to where you lose all your nickels about it. If they really love you, they'll understand. Just give them time." She smiled wisely. Anya, he thought, pulling her lips to his, always knowing what to say. He wrapped his hands around her cheeks, deepening their kiss, hoping to stay heady in her distraction forever so he'd never have to face this…

"What kind of customer service is this? I walk up and the first thing I see is you gnacking off my sister's face, you asshole. That earns you four extra bullets in your forehead when I'm done with you."

Kai broke away from Anya immediately. Standing in the doorway of his shop was a dark haired man, in his late twenties, with a mop of unruly dark hair mussed over his scalp. His skin was tanned—a surfer's tan, no doubt—down to the collar of his black shirt, hidden under a black jacket and ripped, torn up jeans, down to the dirty shoes on his feet. In his hands, he was holding a pair of completely black sunglasses that were taken off, showing out his starch black eyes, jet in anger. His mouth was curled into an ornery sneer. Out for blood, his lazy posture screamed murder him with your hands, his whole body showing off a large amount of power over others and total control over situations around him, inflated by an ego that would never drown. He flexed his fingers in the air, and through the movement, Kai saw scars up the sleeves of his jacket. Many, many, many scars.

He already had a sinking feeling he knew who this was.

Kai pushed Anya behind him, trying to protect her from this guy, but she moved around him, already angry at what she saw. "Get the hell out of here!" she yelled, her voice hinting that she was scared. Kai grabbed onto her wrist. The eyes of the man flexed, his lips curling into a cocky smile detestably towards her words while he clipped his sunglasses onto the collar of his shirt. He grinned lazily at her after his cocky flirt disappeared.

"That's no way to say hello, dear sister," he said. His voice was smooth, lower, but came out of his mouth like musical notes. He sounded like a man who seduced people more than one time per day. Kai didn't like him off the bat, grabbing Anya without letting her jump out this time while he put her behind him, then crossed his arms over his chest so he could glare out at the man that Anya had feared over yesterday morning. You're not laying a hand on her, he thought. His face twisted, lip half-curling downward so his eyes could narrow, brows furrow.

The man looked at him, feigning to be boredly entertained by Kai's attempt to protect his wife. He tilted a head to the side and flicked his tongue out his lips, snake-like, over his lips, ready for spilled blood. He's going to cause trouble, Kai thought. What a wonderful day. He's going to try to hurt us. "Anya," Kai commanded, "get inside. Now."

"Kai—"

"Now. Go to Alex, Anya." He wasn't asking anymore. His command made the soft hand on his shoulder slip down.

The man's eyes fell on her, watching her retreat like an ordered puppy. He watched her, smirking fittedly. "Yes, dear sister; run away so that you won't have to watch me slaughter your filthy husband."

"If you dare lay one hand on him—" Anya snapped from the doorway.

"What will you do? Bite me?" The man laughed.

"Hey, Sassafrass," Kai snarled, dragging the attention off Anya so she would, hopefully, go inside and call the police, letting them deal with this. The man cocked an eyebrow. "Why don't you leave her alone and pick on someone your own size, huh, shorty?"

The man tried to cover up his tweeze at the jab of his height with a frown. "Are we really going to say that? Are you in any position to be threatening me?" His shoes made slow, anticipated, purposeful steps along the floorboards, threading his way around the table in the middle of the shop towards Kai, who stood towards the tail end of it. He didn't show anything on his face but determination. The man reached into his pocket, fumbling for something without the jerky movements of one who was fumbling. His shoes made heel-toe thuds to the floor. He looked tempted with hatred. Kai clenched his fits.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," he said lowly, feeling his hands begin to get warm. The man pulled out of his pocket a hand-knife. That was when Kai pulled out his hands and showed to this threatening bastard the flame that danced over his palms, nailed together his fingertips with their fluid trickle of pure fire, hoping for a fearful reaction out of the man that would put off any kind of fight long enough for the police to arrive. Assuming Anya called them, which knowing her brains, she did. Kai clenched his teeth. So not my day, he thought. He spat out, "Jeremy."

"I will carve my name into your corpse," snarled Anya's brother. "You will be forever marked with my title—the title of who killed you."

Okay…Maybe words won't procrastinate how he's coming towards me… Kai felt sweat gather on his forehead. He prepared for battle, fiery hands shaken. He only had a few things to say to this dick, and he wasn't real keen on wasting his breath for him, but the words needed to be said, otherwise this wouldn't start right. "Bring it."

So...there it is. It's not as good as candy, but it's something, right? xD

Go have an AWESOME, spooky day/night! xD