Chapter 5: Opening Up

The next morning, Kai was the first one awake in his team's dorm room. He yawned and got up slowly from his bed so to not to disturb his sleeping comrades. He scratched his head and slowly crept his way to the door. He opened it and entered the hallway. He noticed that Team RWBY's dorm room was slightly ajar. He decided to avoid causing a problem and walked directly downstairs. When he reached the first floor, he noticed the kitchen light was on. He looked at a clock hanging on the wall and noticed that it was seven thirty in the morning. He walked into the kitchen and saw that Lie Ren was making breakfast. Ren heard someone walk in and looked up from his cooking. He gave Kai a smile and nodded in his direction. Kai returned the nod, but remained monotone.

Ren: "Morning Kai."

Kai: "You talk?"

Ren chuckled a bit & replied: "Yeah, surprising enough right? I don't speak much because I have Nora for that.

Kai gave a rare laugh and walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk. Kai then walked over to one of the cabinets containing bowls, and then to the pantry containing cereal boxes and other foods in it. Once he got a bowl ready, he sat down in the dining table next to the kitchen area. While eating, Ren cooked and conversed with him for a bit. The two actually got to know the other pretty well, but Kai made sure to keep certain things from being made known for the moment. After a few minutes, another presence entered the kitchen. It was Nora.

Nora: "Hi Renny!"

Ren: "Morning Nora."

Nora gave Ren a hug and then noticed Kai sitting at the table by himself. She let go of Ren and walked up to him. Kai noticed her and looked at her. She gave him a smile, which again he returned surprisingly.

Nora: "Morning Kaicchi!:

Kai: "Kaicchi?"

Nora: "Yep!"

Kai sighed and got up to get a second bowl of cereal. Nora sat across from where Kai was waiting for Ren to finish up the pancakes that he was making. Another few minutes went by before Jaune and Pyrrha came down stairs. They too bid good morning to the trio that was already awake, and they then took their respective seats at the table, right next to each other. Ren made a stack of twelve pancakes which was getting to the other four present. Just then, there was a loud thud and then another set of banging noises. Kai sighed and got up.

Jaune: "What is that?"

Kai (pinched the bridge of his noise): "That's Kyle..."

Pyrrha: "Kyle?"

Kai: "Yeah, he gets like that when it comes to food."

Nora: "Pancakes!"

Kai: "Like that..."

Weiss: "What's going on here!"

Kai: "And she's awake... great..."

Kyle: "Food! I smell food!"

Alex: "Calm down you food craving maniac!"

Weiss: "Who disturbed me from my beauty sleep?!"

Kai: "Beauty sleep?"

Kyle: "Must find source!"

Mason: "Kyle, calm down, it's just food."

Kyle: "How dare you sir!"

Kai: "Dear lord..."

Kyle came rushing into the kitchen like a dog that hasn't eaten in a week. Kai sighed and simply walked up to the tongue lolling Kyle. He held one pancake that Ren made out of the first stack out in front of Kyle's face. Kyle then literally turned his attention towards the pancake.

Kai sighed & said: "Kyle, sit."

Kyle quickly got into one of the chairs in the dining room and sat in it without taking his eyes off of the pancake. Kai walked over and placed the pancake on the plate in front of him.

Kai: "Good, now stay and bon appetite."

Kyle nodded graciously and began to devour the pancake. Kai decided to grab two more from Ren's stack to ensure that Kyle doesn't go into lunatic mode. Moments later, Team RWBY and the remainder of the assassins came downstairs in their pajamas ready for breakfast. Kai was finished with his, so he got up from his place at the table and put his silverware and bowl away in the dishwasher. He was about to leave the room when he and Yang almost bumped into each other. Kai tried to spin around her, but he ended up tripping on his own feet and fell flat on his (censored). Alex noticed this and burst out laughing. Kyle and Mason tried to hold in their laughter, but failed. Kai sighed and looked up to see Yang offering a hand to help him up.

Kai grabbed it & replied: "Thanks."

Yang: "No problem, although, what was that you were trying to do just now?"

Kai: "Spin around you."

Alex: "Sure you did."

Kai looked at him & replied: "I'm not sure what you saw, but that was my intention."

Alex: "Chill out bro, I was just messin' with ya."

Kai sighed and turned his attention back to the blonde brawler.

Kai: "Thanks for the help."

Yang: "You're welcome, just try to not spin around me next time. After all, I am Kaiable."

Alex: "Boo. That was weak."

Weiss: "Dear lord..."

Kai sighed and began to head upstairs when Yang stopped him again.

Yang: "Kai wait."

Kai turned back around & asked: "Yeah, what is it?"

Yang: "Why don't you stay down here with us?"

Kai: "I have some personal matter to attend to at the moment, perhaps at lunch time."

Yang smiled & said: "Are you finally opening up to us?"

Kai smirked back and replied: "Not hardly."

He then vanished into the second floor. Yang seemed a bit disappointed, but Kyle decided to speak up.

Kyle: "Don't worry Yang, he gets like this at times. In fact, this reminds me of the time he started to open up to us a bit more, despite the fact he denies so."

Mason: "I agree, that just shows that he likes you."

Ruby: "Wait, likes Yang?"

Alex: "Not actually in terms of dating Ruby, but more like he finds Yang as an interesting person, and she is someone he may open himself up to more."

Kyle: "But only time will tell of his decision."

Mason: "And on how you approach him."

Alex: "His past is off limits."

Kyle: "Very much so."

Alex: "We've tried to ask him about it, but he either ignores us or angrily pushes us away."

Mason: "But honestly Yang, I think you can change him."

Yang: "What do you mean?"

Alex: "Mason here believes that you can break that shell of his and save him from himself."

Blake: "Is that a bad thing?"

Alex: "What?"

Pyrrha: "Kai being Kai."

Alex, Kyle and Mason looked at each other, and looked back towards the stairs where Kai vanished. They then nodded in agreement and turned back towards the others with serious looks on their faces.

Alex: "We'll tell you this one thing."

Kyle: "This is the only thing he's mentioned to us about his past."

Weiss: "I thought you said that he hasn't told you guys anything about it?"

Mason: "Just this one thing, because he wants us to stay out of his way."

Kyle: "He is seeking vengeance against someone."

Alex: "They know about Shangzu already Kyle."

Jaune: "Who is he?"

Kyle: "The boy is about our age, if not slightly older. He is one of Kai's last known surviving family."

Alex: "Full name is Shangzu Tetsuya. I heard that he's a deadly opponent to face."

Yang: "Why does he seek vengeance against his own cousin?"

Kyle: "You know that scar that runs down Kai's right side of his face?"

Yang: "Yeah, it's clearly visible."

Alex: "Well lass, that be the reason."

Pyrrha: "Is there any history behind that scar?"

Alex: "That's a topic you'll have to talk to him about on your own."

Kyle: "Again it's not our place to speak of his life's history."

Yang: 'Come on Kai, open up to us. We wanna help you.'

Upstairs...

Kai: 'Open up huh? That's what I did last time before I met the guys, and how did that turn out? (He clenched his fists.) Into a catastrophe... Damn that girl, damn fate for having me met her... Damn it all... Am I really opening up? I hope not...'