A/N: sorry for the lack of updates, here's a chapter for ya. and i just wanna say: i'm sorry for this chapter! like, really sorry. i didn't wanna do it. but for the sake of Plot, i just - i just had to, okay?!
for all you emotional folks out there, brace yourselves. this one tugs on the heartstrings a little :/
Nya is so proud of herself. Recently, she'd found a beautifully intricate bracelet, set with a smooth, red stone. It had been sitting in the back of a drawer in her mom's old desk. Kai's eyes light up when he sees it.
"I remember that," he says. "Mom never took it off. She was always wearing it."
This, of course, means Nya is going to keep it for the rest of her life. She likes the bracelet a lot and makes sure to give it the least dusty spot on her dresser, right next to a worn family photo that was taken before Nya can remember.
It's nice to have it. A piece of the past.
Things at the shop get busy for a while, and business boosts a ton. This is great! But it also means Nya doesn't visit Walter for three whole days, and normally that wouldn't be awful, but . . .
She's been getting a bad feeling, recently. Explanations be darned, Nya just knows something isn't right and it's been twisting her stomach all night. She needs to check. She needs to make sure everything's okay (which it probably is, but Nya can't be sure). Maybe it's something in the air, but Nya has a dark mist hanging over her mind, and that can only mean something bad.
So, one morning, Nya breaks their carefully constructed routine and catches Kai in the forge.
"Hey, I'm gonna head down to Walter's for a bit," she says, already passing him and stepping outside. Kai glances at her.
"Okay."
Then, evidently, his brain catches up to what she said.
"Hey, wait!" he says, running to stop her. "Already? It's early."
Nya shrugs, sticking her hands in her jean pockets. "I know, I just remembered I left my book there the other day. I'm gonna go grab it."
Kai looks torn, glancing between her and the winding road that leads down into the farmland. His protective instincts battle his "cool brother" façade for a moment, and Nya crosses her fingers.
Please say yes please say yes please say yes—
Finally Kai sighs, frowning. "Fine. But be quick, okay?"
Nya bounces once on her heels and whaps Kai on the shoulder. "Thanks, bro." She spins around right away, trotting down the road at a speed she hopes isn't suspicious. Kai's eyes follow her until her head disappears over the hill.
A strange sense of urgency washes over her as she runs, sending goosebumps up her arms. Something's wrong, she knows it. Call her crazy, go right ahead, but there's just a fragile stillness in the air that shouldn't be there. An uneasiness lingers over the whole road, surrounding her as she picks up the pace.
Nya didn't know she could run this much at once, she's never tried it. But she's doing fine, sprinting along the side of the road near the marshes, shoes kicking up bits of dirt and pebbles as she goes. All the way, there's a voice in her head, telling her she needs to go even faster.
Faster, faster, you're not fast enough-
Just before she reaches Walter's property, she catches sight of a tiny orange blob in his yard. She skids to a halt when she realizes it's Allie. Why is Allie outside? Nya raised her as an indoor cat.
Nya races forward, scooping up the cat in her arms.
"What're you doing?" she asks softly. "Something wrong, girl?"
Of course Allie can't really answer her, but Nya wishes now more than ever that she could.
Walter isn't outside. In fact, his front door is slightly ajar, which is probably how Allie escaped from the house. A sick feeling settles in Nya's stomach. She swallows.
Still holding Allie, because she's not going in there alone, Nya cautiously approaches the porch steps, glancing around with nervous eyes. No noise is coming from inside. The TV's not on. The TV is always on, why isn't it on—
"Breathe, Nya," she tells herself, but it doesn't do much good. Her heart pounds even harder than before. At this rate, it's bound to leap right out of her throat at the slightest sound-
The porch steps creak under her weight and Nya winces.
Stay cool, stay calm, you're fine, everything's fine—
There is, of course, the possibility that Walter has chosen to sleep in today, which Nya wouldn't know much about, since she visits him mostly at night. But if he's sleeping, why is the door open? The cat can't open doors. Allie is smart, but not velociraptor smart.
Nya creeps up to the door, peeking in with one side of her face. The paneled entryway is dim, only lit by the light from outside, and there's muddy splotches on the floor. Upon a closer look, she realizes they're footprints. She freezes.
Nya takes a moment to reevaluate her options here. She could run back home and get Kai, but he'd make her stay home and then she wouldn't know what's happening. The police might not be reachable from way out here, they might not make it in time . . .
Town is miles away . . .
And she's a thirteen year old girl, standing here with a cat.
Take no shit, Nya reminds herself firmly. She's strong, she's not scared, she can handle this.
Nya hauls Allie over to the porch swing and deposits her there, whispering a strict, "Stay." The cat curls up and watches Nya with curious eyes, blinking sleepily. Nya glances over the porch one more time, just to make sure nothing is amiss, then steps quietly over to the entrance.
Still no noise from inside the house. Maybe that's a good sign! Maybe Walter is just . . . out for a walk. Or maybe he went to town early today. The innocent possibilities are endless, but Nya isn't feeling any better about this. So she swallows once and pushes the door open all the way, peering into the dark entryway. She crouches down to look at the footprints again.
The mud is . . . not dry yet.
Nya realizes this is much too similar to the climax of a horror movie, and she should really get out of here and find someone more qualified to investigate. But if it all turns out to be nothing, Nya doesn't want to look stupid. She doesn't want to be the silly little girl that cried wolf. It's fine, she can do it herself.
Casting one last glance at the countryside, Nya slips inside the house and closes the door behind her—but not all the way, duh, she knows all the dumb mistakes people make in horror movies. She steps lightly, carefully, almost fearfully, unconsciously holding her breath so the only sound is the whirring of a fan on the ceiling. The living room looks oddly abandoned, lacking its usual vibrancy. Her designated pile of books from a few days ago is still where she left it, next to the empty sofa.
Nya's heart beats faster. Usually the kitchen is full of life, the smell of home, a burning stove. But now it's as dark as everything else, dim morning light filtering in through the window above the sink. It's spooky, Nya thinks. This isn't right. This isn't right at all.
As she reaches the staircase, an abrupt clattering rings out from upstairs and Nya stops cold. She's pretty sure she forgets how to breathe for a solid four seconds, not that she's scared because—
Screw that, Nya is terrified.
But—it's too late to turn back now. She's already on the bottom step, she's already walking up the stairs because Nya is crazy and she's probably going to get herself killed—
More clattering. A thud. A muffled voice. Nya squeezes her eyes shut for half a moment, then continues up the staircase, stepping in the corners so the steps don't squeak. The noise gets louder as she climbs—or crawls, that's probably a better word for it. Nya wonders what's possessing her to keep going. The knot in her stomach pulls tighter with every little step, her hands shaking even as she tries to calm them.
At the top of the staircase, Nya pauses. In the past few years, she's never been up here. It's not that Walter didn't allow it, but she's never had any desire to explore the upstairs. She knows there's a bedroom up here, and a bathroom, but that's it. It's uncharted territory. Foreign land. Mysterious.
And from what she can tell, there's someone up here with her.
Wincing, Nya pokes her head over the banister and glances around. A hallway and three doors. One of the doors is open. And the muddy footprints lead straight into that room.
The horror movie vibe increases dramatically.
Again, Nya swallows down the terror rising in her throat and emerges from the staircase, standing out in the hallway, exposed and obvious to anyone else that may be up here. But Nya is confident that this isn't a big deal, probably. She's overthinking it. Walter is in his room, making some noise, and she's just completely overreacting—
"Walter?" she asks. It should've been quiet, but it echoes across the empty hallway—and now that Nya's paying attention, she notices that it's not empty at all. In fact, everything has been tipped over, broken or messed up. Books are strewn over the floor, along with a wooden chair and a potted plant that's been knocked off a shelf.
In a split second decision, Nya grabs the pot and shakes the dirt off of it. If someone is in here, she wants a weapon. Always be able to defend yourself, that's what Kai taught her.
There's silence. No one answers her call, but the noise has ceased altogether. An eerie hush falls over the house and Nya's pulse kicks into overdrive. Her chest rises and falls rapidly to match the pace of her heartbeat, which has ditched healthy levels a long time ago. She can't breathe—
If she breathes, they'll hear her—
Walter is definitely not here—
Nya decides she's done with this freaking haunted house. Kai can deal with this. Or the police. And the devastation she's feeling at the absence of Walter is turning her vision red, there's a fiery sort of anxiety that's biting at her. She edges back to the staircase, eyes never leaving the open doorway, because she's always hated jump-scares—
She blinks once. Only once. But when she opens her eyes again after that split second, there's a face staring back at her, white and skeletal, eyes glowing a deep red—
Nya screams. The creature growls. The pot crashes to the floor as all caution is thrown right out the window and Nya tears down the steps at the speed of light, slipping and tumbling down the last few. She bolts through the entryway, seeing daylight, heart leaping in her chest—
Something grabs her leg and Nya yelps, falling flat on her stomach. The creature is unlike anything she's ever seen, it's tall and made out of bones, just like a skeleton, but—but it's far more horrifying than any regular skeleton she's seen in books or movies. This one is huge, with broad shoulders and some type of oriental armor plastered across its front—
Nya doesn't spend more than a second looking at it. She just screams some more and kicks sharply up, knocking the skeleton right below the bony jaw. It makes a grunting sound and crashes into the wall, letting her go. Panting, heart in her throat, Nya scrambles up off the floor and dashes right out the door, snatching up Allie and making a break for the road. She runs faster than before, faster than ever.
Serene countryside passes in a blur, her feet flying across the pavement so fast that she barely feels the ground underneath her. Nya tosses a fleeting look behind her, only to see the skeletal monster throw the house's door open and fix its glowing eyes on her.
She doesn't wait to see if it follows. Nya's over the hill and out of the property in seconds, just leaving a cloud of dust and pebbles in her wake.
"Kai! Kai!" she shrieks, chest heaving from the energy she's spending on running so fast. "KAI!"
He meets her halfway, which is impressive, because he must've heard Nya from all the way down the road. But Nya doesn't stop. She just zooms right past him, grabbing his arm on the way and dragging him along. He has no choice but to follow, yelling a startled, "Hey—!"
Nya's crying, even though she hopes Kai can't tell. A dark, looming fear has attached itself to her, whispering in her ear that this is far more serious than she wants to believe. Walter—she can't—what if—what if she was too—
Too late—
Nya chokes on a sob and Kai hears that. He gives her a look, but she can't return the gesture. She needs to keep going, she needs to get home—
Four Weapons is just ahead. The siblings skid through the door and Nya slams it shut behind them.
"Close the shop," Nya hollers, taking off to bang the windows shut and lock the door. Kai spins around as she circles the house.
"Nya, what happened, what—"
"JUST DO IT!"
Kai doesn't hesitate anymore. He rushes into the forge and locks everything up until Nya feels like the house is secure. She leaves him in the living room and darts to her own room, collapsing onto her bed in a trembling heap. No amount of blankets can fix this. Kai can't fix this. Nya can't fix this and she's furious with herself.
"Should've gone yesterday," she whispers to herself through a fresh wave of angry tears. This is her fault, Walter might be gone and it's because she waited too long—
She knows what happened. Nya's not a little kid anymore, she knows what death is. She knows it's real and happens all the time.
And she knows that scary skeleton warriors don't intrude in someone's house for no reason and then leave the resident alive. Not from what she saw. Not from what she heard. It must've been looking for something, something in Walter's house, and when he tried to defend himself-
Her heart, which has held on alright until now, promptly shatters into an infinite amount of tiny pieces. She lets it.
Nya dissolves into the kind of crying that isn't so much crying as it is screaming. The sobs come fast and sharp, sometimes in hiccups, sometimes in rage-filled wails that she does a lousy job of hiding. Kai's there, suddenly. To his credit, he doesn't ask any questions yet. He knows better. Kai just sits next to her on the bed and reaches for her hand.
She latches on and holds tight.
Later that night, when Nya's eyes are red and her throat hurts from crying, she tells Kai what happened. Everything from the bad feeling to the creature chasing her down the stairs. His eyes widen as she goes. Sometimes he tries to speak but doesn't get any words out. Nya doesn't blame him, really. It's a miracle she's able to talk.
He hugs her afterward and says something to her, probably, "I'm glad you're okay," but Nya doesn't really hear it. The only thing she hears is Walter's gentle voice, telling her he's proud of her. Saying he believes in her.
Nya sinks lower. He believed in her, but when it mattered, she couldn't—she wasn't—
Kai must be going through his own internal process right now, but he sticks close to Nya anyway, keeping up light conversation and trying to distract her from what she knows will never change.
That night it rains. Like, really rains. It's a torrential downpour, heavier and lasting longer than any storm they've gotten in months, but there's no thunder. No lightning, either. Just hours of pelting droplets, pattering against the roof so loudly that Nya can't sleep. So she listens to the rain, wishing it could wash away all the evil in the world.
A week goes by. Walter doesn't walk up to their house with a stack of books or any new tools for Nya to try. Nya lapses into denial, sitting by the window at all hours, watching for someone—anyone—to approach the house. A few times, she fools herself into believing it's really only been a couple days. This method doesn't work for very long, though.
Kai has to coax her away from the window every night, usually saying something like, "C'mon, Nya, you need to sleep."
"What if he comes back?" she says. Does she mean Walter or the skeleton? It's unclear.
As it often does, the grief lessens over time and by the next week, Nya is mostly herself again. The knowledge never leaves her, but she sees Kai struggling to uphold the shop on his own, and she can't leave him like that. So, though she realizes it's probably unhealthy, Nya takes the depression and shoves it under a metaphorical rug. She'll deal with it later.
At town that week, Nya takes Allie in her bag, knowing what she has to do. They can't afford to keep a cat in the house anymore, what with food expenses and other pet care. Allie needs a new home, and Nya knows just the person (if she can find him, that is).
While Kai is busy haggling over prices with an old woman (something he's not very good at), Nya wanders away and starts roaming through the crowds, keeping an eye out for one boy in particular. It's been a while since she's seen him, but it wasn't that long ago. Most people from town come to the market every week, he's gotta be here. He's gotta live in Jamanakai Village. He probably looks the same, just taller and—
There he is. That has to be him. His face is still exactly the same, and he's got the same strawberry blond hair, though it's longer than Nya remembers. He's leaning casually against a wall with two other boys, their parents talking in a similar huddle nearby. Oh, yikes. Nya's not great at . . . social stuff. Talking to other teenagers is scary. Will she be interrupting? She doesn't want to be rude . . .
Allie pokes her head out of Nya's backpack, mewing. Ugh, who is Nya kidding, she's gotta do this.
"Aiden?" she says, inching up to the group. His head turns to her. Everyone stops talking.
They're all looking at her.
Nya clears her throat, shifting the bag's strap around her shoulder. "Uhm—hi. I'm Nya. You probably don't remember me. From—from that time in the alley—and the cat . . . ?"
Aiden frowns for a moment, looking extremely confused, and Nya is two seconds away from running the other direction. But then something like recognition dawns in his expression and he gives a burst of appreciative laughter.
"Oh my god, you're the girl that hit Cam Meyers in the head with a board!"
The other two boys' mouths drop open as their gazes turn impressed. One of them stutters out a, "Wait, seriously?"
Aiden grins at her. "Man, that was great. Haven't seen you in, what, three years now?"
"Something like that."
"Whoa. You're taller now. Where've you been, what's up?"
Nya thinks back to the events of the past week. "Uh, ya know. Nothin' much." Before the conversation can get awkward, Nya pulls the bag off her shoulder and holds it out. "I actually—I had a favor to ask."
Aiden's still smiling, but a little more subdued now. "Okay . . . ?"
Promptly, Allie's head peeks out again, and she lays her eyes on Aiden. Nya lifts her out of the bag and holds Allie in both arms.
"Well, uh . . . that kitten, from the alley? I . . . kinda kept her?"
Aiden's eyes widen as he gapes at the cat. Something is shifting in his expression, like he's trying not to burst out crying in front of everyone.
"You—this is her?"
"Yeah. And uh, well, we can't really . . . take care of her anymore. So I was wondering . . . would you wanna, like, adopt her?" Hastily, Nya adds, "For free, duh, I don't want, like, money or anything, I just—I want her to have a good home."
Aiden meets her eyes, appearing slightly shocked but . . . not entirely opposed to the idea. Then he surprises Nya and gently takes Allie from her arms. The cat adapts easily, placing an orange paw right on Aiden's chest. He cracks a smile.
"I . . . wow. Thank you. Thanks for, like, remembering me and—and for everything."
Relieved, Nya nods. "Of course! Thanks for not being a jerk."
She's running out of casual things to say, so Nya turns around to leave, seeing as her job is officially accomplished. But Aiden calls out her name and, "Hey, wait!"
Nya turns back. "Yeah?"
The corner of Aiden's mouth quirks up quickly in a little half-smile. "I'll—see you around?"
Her heart does a little jumpy thing. "Um. Yeah! Yeah. See you around."
And she leaves feeling slightly better than before. She doesn't even think about Walter for the rest of the day. The grief disappears momentarily.
But it still sits there, deep in her stomach, popping up when it's least convenient, like late at night, when she's alone in the dark. She sees faces of angry skeletons and hears Walter's voice—in the nightmares, he's never kind. He's angry and harsh, telling her she—
She failed.
Nya grows angry with the skeleton monster, whatever the heck it was. She develops a festering, boiling hatred for it. And somewhere in there, a hatred for herself grows, too. She failed. She wasn't fast enough. Not strong enough. Not enough, period.
She still sees the skeleton's face in her mind's eye. So, naturally, Nya wants to learn more about it. With Kai hovering next to her, Nya soon returns to Walter's house, which has grown cold and lifeless over the weeks. They're hesitant to enter, but this time it's truly empty. Nya finds what she's looking for and hastily emerges with a heavy, leather-bound book, the cover adorned with the image of what looks like a demonic spider.
Not exactly reassuring, but she knows what's in the book. Walter used to tell her to stay away from that one, it's full of dark things that she shouldn't worry about.
Well. Now seems like a pretty decent time to worry about them.
Skulkin. That's what they're called, but Nya can't decide what the creatures are. The book has a single picture, hand-drawn. The image isn't half as scary as the real thing, and Nya slams the book shut frustratedly. Where'd the skeleton monster come from, anyway? The sewer? The circus? And more importantly, where is it now?
Kai doesn't like to talk about it. Everytime Nya tries to discuss the Skulkin, Kai gets nervous and his eyes adopt a worried look. He has enough to think about, so Nya stops bringing it up. But she's still curious, and still mad. No, she's more than mad. She's downright enraged—if she ever gets the chance—she'll show that freaky Skulkin just how upset she is.
Oddly enough, Nya doesn't have to wait that long.
It starts as a pretty average morning. Well—average by Nya's standards, anyways. She wakes up to the sound of Kai clanking around in the forge, restocking for the day. As she yawns, rolling out of bed and trying to fix her hair into some semblance of order, she hears a loud crash and an even louder curse from Kai.
Nya rolls her eyes. He knows he's not skilled in the whole making swords area, he should've just waited for her to wake up. She should probably go help him out before he burns the whole house down. Fire has a tendency to get out of control when Kai's around.
Shuffling across the hall, Nya drags a hand over her face. Ugh. She's just tired and she wishes time would stop for a day. She wishes she could have just one day to relax, not worry about money or Walter or the future or—or anything.
But that's not possible, is it? She's gotta keep going, for Kai, if not for herself. They need each other. Nya knows that much.
When she reaches the forge, Kai is entirely focused on his latest creation, hammering away as morning sunlight streams through the open storefront. It's a nice temperature today, but the sky is blurred with thick, black clouds in the distance. Huh. Weird. Maybe they're due for another storm.
"Morning," Nya greets, blinking sleep from her eyes.
Kai glances at her briefly. "Oh, hey. Came to watch the master at work, huh?"
Nya rolls her eyes for the second time that morning. "Right. I'm surprised you're up this early."
"Ah, you know. Early worm gets the dirt, or—however that saying goes."
"That's exactly how it goes," Nya teases, somehow keeping a straight face. Kai laughs and reaches out to ruffle her hair as she passes.
"Aw c'mon, I just brushed it," she exclaims, squirming away indignantly. "No respect in this house."
Yeah, she can act irritated all she wants, but Nya knows Kai is trying to help. Serious situations reveal parts of him she never knew existed. Sometimes he handles things with an odd sort of tenderness, and sometimes he copes with humor. Nya understands. And she'd be thoroughly lost without him, so she's grateful that he's trying, even if its effect is only subpar.
"How'd you sleep?" Kai asks. His tone is casual, but Nya hears the tinge of concern that's behind the words.
"I dunno. Fine, I guess." A lie.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." A pause. Nya hangs her head. "Okay, maybe a little less than fine."
Kai's expression softens a bit and he sighs deeply, setting the hammer down so it rests on the anvil. Then his eyes light up again.
"Well, hey. Why don't you come over and watch. You could learn a thing or two." His sarcasm is pathetic, but refreshing. Nya shakes her head amusedly and steps over to stand closer, watching with exaggerated interest.
"Observe," Kai instructs, holding the sword over the burning coals. He hammers it again, dramatically beginning his demonstration. "To forge the perfect weapon, you first need the right metal and plenty of heat."
He sticks the sword in a bucket of water and Nya winces at the sizzle. Is it supposed to sizzle? Probably not. Her swords never do that. You're supposed to wait for the sword to cool on its own for a while. But she keeps that to herself.
"Cool it off. Aaaaand . . . presto!" Kai whips the sword out. His eyes go wide and he groans. The blade is mangled and twisted beyond belief, bent in a way only Kai could ever manage. Nya really tries not to laugh, but a giggle slips out anyway, against her better judgement.
Nya probably needs to say something now, because Kai looks like he wants to toss the sword right through the window
"You made it too quickly, Kai," she says, sobering up. "Be patient." Then she thinks of something Walter told her, a few months ago, during a particularly rough night working on the samurai suit.
She says, "If Father was still here, he'd say—"
Groaning, Kai cuts her off. He's heard the saying, too. "I know—'No matter how much fire you have, experience isn't something you learn overnight.' That may work for you, Nya, but I'm gonna be a better blacksmith than Dad ever was."
Nya would really love to argue that point—and she almost does, but Kai's latest "sword" kinda debunks his statement on its own. She has no doubt he'll improve in time, but right now . . . he has a long way to go, let's just leave it at that.
The morning comes alive with the distant chirping of crickets and sparrows, warm autumn sunshine weaving its way through red and orange leaves. Fall in Ignacia is always the prettiest season, Nya thinks. It'd be a perfect morning, if not for the looming gray clouds in the distance.
But little do the siblings know, a supposed storm isn't the only thing on the way.
A/N: *pokes head in* please don't come at me to avenge Walter, i promise it's for Plot! trust me on this one.
anyway! we're about to transition into the pilot episodes and stuff that is canon, but after that, it'll drop into AU again. i'm trying to focus on Nya moments that we didn't see in the show ;) fixing holes in the storyline and all that.
review, share with your friends, share with your mom, share with your siblings! have a good one, folks!
