(Aurora's P. O. V.)
"We all dress up as ninjas, and just when that kid Jack least suspects it, we attack. What do you think, Kai?" They all turned to the long haired boy.
So that's his name. Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"No," he said. The entire group stared at him. One of guys stepped up to him, eyeing him coldly.
"What do you mean, "no"?" He asked. Kai straitened his back, and looked him in the eye.
"I mean, Jack hates me, my family hates me, but I would never hurt them," he said.
"So, he knows Jack." I whispered. I wonder where he knows him from. Kai then looked down at the floor, trying to hide the sadness in his eyes. One of the guys snorted, while another laughed.
"Your best friend is gone because of your family, doesn't that make you want to get revenge?" A guy with a tattoo on his arm said. Kai looked up for a second, and his face turned cold and mean. The guy handed Kai the ski mask, and then they left.
But Kai stayed glaring at the the mask. He shook his head, and threw it on the ground. I'm confused, Kai lost his best friend, and somehow that's linked to Jack. Kai started pacing around the room, mumbling something to himself. I could barely hear him say, "I'm sorry." But the rest was too quite for me to hear.
Then we heard a scream in pain.
"Jack." We both said at the same time. Kai rushed out of the room, I hopped out of my hiding place, and glided after him, jumping on and off of objects to give me some more lift. One of the objects shattered as I jumped off of it.
"They really need to get some stronger furniture in here." I mumbled. I didn't really notice that I flew into the boys bathroom, as I saw Kai fighting the other guys in his dojo. And on the floor, there was Jack, holding his hand in pain. As the other guys ran away, Kai helped him up.
"Did those guys attack you?" Kai asked. Jack nodded.
"Yeah, I kinda feel like a jerk, I thought you were one of them," Jack said.
"Come on Jack, we're still cousins." Wait! They're cousins? That, would actually explain a few things. Like how he knew some of Jack's family moves.
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, worried.
"I think I hurt my hand." Jack groaned. He then turned and saw me watching them.
"Aurora?" He asked. Kai turned and stared at me.
"I heard you yell, I couldn't just stand around." I said. Kim and Rudy came running in moments later.
"Jack! I heard you scream! Are you okay?" Kim asked. Jack shook his head, and showed them his hand. Kim's eyes softened. Kim looked at Kai.
"Have I seen you before?" Kim asked. Kai shook his head. Kim squinted, trying to get a better look at him. Kai looked a little confused. She then shook her head.
"Well, I'm Kim, and this is Aurora," Kim said. She held out her arm, and I jumped on it. There was a little bit of suspicion in her voice.
"So you were the person who yelled at me earlier," Kai said, with a lack of emotion. There was an awkward silence, but Kim nodded. A doctor came in moments later and took Jack into another room. Kim and Rudy followed him. But I stayed with Kai.
"So, Jack's your cousin?" I said. Trying to brake the awkward silence. Kai nodded.
"What awful things did he say about me this time?" Kai asked, like he wasn't surprised if Jack said something. I tilted my head.
"Nothing," I said. Kai looked surprised.
"Oh," Kai said. The silence continued. I shifted uncomfortably. Then, the guys from his dojo burst in the room. I shrieked and hid under the sink. They circled around Kai.
"Why did you attack us?" One of the guys asked, furiously.
"I thought you were are on our side," another said. Kai had a whole bunch of questions being thrown at him, and couldn't answer any of them. Then the guy with the tattoo on his arm hushed everyone.
"Give him a chance to speak boys!" He screamed. Everyone became quiet.
"I-I guess I couldn't hear him yell in pain. Bad memories." He said fearfully. He backed away from the tattoo man.
"Because of disobeying us, if we get caught, you say that you were the one who planned the fight, or else!" The guy said. Kai nodded. They all left him there. Kai's head hung low, looking less brave and scary then before. I crept out from underneath the sink.
"You give me so much hope that you are going to save the spirit birds, when you are scared of the guys in my group," he said sarcastically. "You know you are going to face scary people then that, right?" I nodded. A couple of seconds past.
"What were the 'bad memories'?" I asked. Kai sighed, and looked up at the celling.
"This isn't the first time Jack got really hurt," he said. Then he walked away. I stood still for a moment, then I went looking for Kim, Jack, and Rudy.
I found them in a room, with Jack in a cast.
"Jack, your arm's broken. You must quit the tournament," the doctor said. Jack sprang up.
"What? I didn't come here to forfeit!" He yelled.
"I'm sorry," the doctor said. Then he left. Jack sat back down, looking heartbroken.
"I know this isn't what you wanted, but you proved you belonged here." Kim said.
"Right here. With the very best," Rudy added. "Now, if you here what sounds like an old man crying, it's probably just the pipes." Rudy said, before walking away. Then I heard the "pipes" start.
Jack stood up.
"Come on, it's time for the winner to be announced," Jack said gloomily. We all went to the room where the winner was named.
"And the winner is, Kai!" The person said, holding up the trophy. Kai walked up. He smiled as the guy handed him the trophy.
He walked back to his group, when Jack marched up at him angrily. They started talking, then the room became quiet.
"Your still just a little punk!" Kai yelled.
"And your still a liar, a cheat, and a coward!" Jack yelled. Then he walked away. Kai's eyes turned black, and it seemed like he turned a little grey.
I saw a flash of red light, in my head at least. But I didn't know what it was. I shook my head, and saw Kai attack Jack. I stared in shock, as if everything Kai said about not wanting to hurt Jack seemed flutter out of his mind. Jack yelled and fell to the ground. But he got back up, and started to fight back.
The flash of red came again. Only, it wasn't just a flash of red, it was a bird. A cardinal. A very different looking cardinal.
"What's going on?" I asked myself. My vision cleared again, and I saw everyone huddled around the entrance to the outdoors. I glided towards the entrance to get a better look. Jack and Kai were still fighting.
My vision became fuzzy once more, but instead of a bird, I saw Jack and Kai, but they were younger.
"You idiot!" Kai yelled at Jack. Jack took a step back. Kai turned his back on him, and started walking away.
"What are you getting so worked up about? It was just a dumb bird." Jack muttered. Kai stopped, and turned around slowly.
"What did you say?" Kai asked.
"It was just a dumb bird!" Jack yelled louder. Kai's hands formed fists, and he walked up to him slowly.
"Smarter the you!" Kai yelled, before striking Jack in the chest.
My normal vision restored completely. I shook my head. What just happened? Should I tell Kim about it? Who was 'the bird?' All these questions were circling around my mind, when I saw Kai laying on a broken bench with his "friends" huddling around him.
I sighed. It wasn't his fault. All my friends were circled around Jack, congratulating him on... beating up someone who tried to save him? Well, I guess it was more of defending himself.
The rest of the day flew by. My friends were eating dinner where Jack and Kai fought. Inside the place where the matches were held, I saw Kai.
Making sure the others weren't watching, I hopped on over to Kai. He glanced at me, then back at the floor.
"You came to yell at me too? Alright, I guess I deserve it from planning that attack on Jack and all," he said, lacking emotion. I stepped closer to him.
"But you didn't plan it," I said. Kai stared at me for a moment.
"Yes I did," Kai snapped. "Didn't you hear me confess when I was about to fall to my death?" I blinked.
"Uh, no?" What did I miss? Kai nodded. One awkward moment later, I looked him in the eye.
"Who was the bird?" I asked. Kai looked very confused. Honestly, I had no idea what I was saying either.
"The red bird, the cardinal, the one who was smarter then Jack?" I almost yelled. Kai gasped.
"How did you-?" He started.
"While you and Jack were fighting, I got this weird vision-type thing. Like the ones Kim gets, except she only gets them in dreams. I saw a cardinal, then I saw you getting angry at Jack before striking him in the chest," I explained, kind of. "So, who was he?"
Kai took a couple breaths, and looked at the celling.
"That bird, that bird. He was an amazing bird, my spirit bird," He said. I jumped back.
"What?" I yelled. Kai shushed me.
"His name was Falon, the Shaolin Warriors gave him to me when he was just learning to fly," he said.
"Kim got me when I was just an egg," I said. Kai looked at me strangely.
"Huh, usually they wait until you were older, I guess they didn't with you." Kai said. I tilted my head curiously. I never really asked where I was from, and I never really cared.
"Anyway, I had to keep him a secret from my parents, they hate spirit birds for some reason, most likely because they didn't have one," Kai snickered. "I loved that bird, more then anything in the world, he helped me calm down when I was upset, and kept me from hurting people," he smiled, recalling all the times they spent together.
"So, what happened?" I asked.
"Jack came for a visit a couple years later, and saw Falon. He is the angel in the family, but also a tattle tale," tears started forming in his eyes. "He told my parents about him. Enraged, my parents took him away, and sold him. That was when I fought Jack, I didn't think clearly. Since then, I guess I never did."
"Oh, I-I don't know what to say. I'm sorry," I said.
"All I have left of him is the little necklace, which has turned coal black. Do you know what it means when the necklace turns like that?" He asked. I looked down. I knew what it meant. But I didn't have the heart to tell him. Instead, I hugged him gently.
"Don't worry Kai, I'll get him back. I promise," I said. A tear ran down his cheek, but he wiped it off and smiled.
"I believe you," he said. I smiled, and glided back to Kim.
She was not very happy with me. At all.
"You have been disappearing, and reappearing all day! I don't know what you were doing, but I want an explanation! You had me worried sick!" Kim yelled.
"I'm sorry," I said. "A friend needed my help."
Kim was about to ask who my friend was, when talons wrapped around me, and lifted me into the sky.
"Aurora!" Kim yelled.
"Kim!" I yelled back. I watched them grow farther away. I struggled to get free, but the grip was too strong. I was completely helpless. They lowered until we were right above the trees.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked in bird language. They looked down at me, and knew what bird they were.
Golden eagles, I thought. They were one of the largest and strongest birds of prey ever. I gulped.
They landed in a hole in a tree, and released me. I tumbled across the floor, and got up slowly. Talons grabbed me again, only this time, I was looking into the eyes of a bald eagle. She looked at me and smiled.
"Hmm, lets see. Healthy eyes, healthy beak," She said. The bald eagle lifted up my wing. "Healthy feathers, they're coming in nicely. Wait, hold on," she took one feathers in her mouth, and pulled it out.
"Ow!" I yelled.
"Sorry," she said with the feather still in her mouth, then she spit it out. "Dead feather."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Liberty." She smiled.
A.N.: Hello! Um, yeah, I like Kai. Don't hate me please! Sorry this chapter took so long, I was very busy. The question about the title still remains. Remember to review! Bye!