"It's been so long since we've been here!" Moms voice echoed through the old, dusty building. "Yeah, Kai and I tried to keep it up and running, but balancing being a ninja and running the shop wasn't easy." Nya picked up one of the swords that was on the ground. "I'm impressed, after we left; I was sure this place wouldn't be here when we got back." My father picked up another sword, examining it. "You can thank Kai for that, when you guys disappeared he worked day and night to learn how to make a sword so he could keep the shop running." I glared at Nya, motioning for her to zip her mouth shut. I don't need them feeling worse about everything. I don't need them knowing about how much we really struggled. I don't need you finding out how much I struggled. Mom popped out from upstairs. "You did that?" Her voice was laced in a tone I know too well. I quickly plastered a smile on my face. "Of course I did! I couldn't let this place fall to ruin, besides; it wasn't too hard to keep the place running." I glanced at Nya who raised an eyebrow, quickly giving her a glare. She dropped her face and nodded with a smile. "Yeah, from what I can remember, there weren't a lot of issues." Our parents glanced at each other before deciding to let it go. "Did you make this blade?" Dad handed me the blade he was examining. I looked at the blade number I etched into the blades I made. "Yeah, this was one of my first ones that actually looked like a blade." I gave it back to him with a small grin. I remember how happy I was when I first made it, now though, all I can see is the mistakes. "This is very good for one of your older blades!" I froze, caught off guard by the sudden praise. "It is?" I watched my dad as he nodded with a grin. "Absolutely, this blade is obviously really sturdy if it lasted this long in the shop without anyone taking care of it, not to mention the lack of rust and bending. While the blade may be dull and may not be aesthetically pleasing, every other quality would make this blade incredibly valuable!" I stood in silence, not knowing how to respond. Mom walked over to us. "I say we bring it back to the monastery with us and you should hang it under your first blade in the shop Ray." Nya almost jumped up to that thought. "I love that idea!" I gave them a smile, still not knowing how to respond to all the sudden praise. "Oh! Hun, how about we show them; out back!" Mom seemed to jump up at the thought. I looked at her confused. "Out back?" Dad put the blade in his bag he brought and nodded. "I think that's an amazing idea!" He walked out the door, mom motioned for us to follow. Soon we found ourselves walking in the back forest. Nya had gone ahead of mom and I and was talking to dad about one of her inventions. It wasn't long before dad stopped, "I'm going to show Nya something off the trail real quick, you guys can continue down the path." Mom nodded and they were gone. We continued to walk in silence for a little bit before mom suddenly stopped. "Deary, come here real quick." I raised a brow but did as she asked. She cupped my face and made me look her in the eye. "Your father and I know it wasn't as easy as you make it out to be. It was hard for us to keep it running even as experienced as we were; so please, stop trying to hide things from us. We just want to help you both now that we can do something." She let go of my face, letting me look down as I bit my lip. "I talked to your friends when I was trying to learn more about you and Nya. Jay told me some things that interested me." Her tone was soft, calm. Yet I could hear the hint of sadness and worry. "You don't have to tell me everything now, I don't expect you to. I just want you to know that when you are ready, I'll always listen." I nodded. "Ok." We both continued walking down the path. "Where was dad taking Nya anyways?" I asked, trying to start up a normal conversation again. Mom laughed. "Oh he's going to show her one of my bikes I made. Unfortunately it got stuck in a ton of vines and I haven't been able to get it out since." I gave her a smile. She paused again before motioning me to follow her into a cave. "Why a cave?" I tilted my head slightly. "Because we wanted to show you what's inside. Come! You'll love it!" Without any more questions, I decided to follow her. We walked down into the cave, a small light in front of us; guiding us. Mom glanced at me with a grin. "I present to you, our underground oasis!" She motioned her arms, as we stepped through the light, revealing a lit up cave that had a waterfall flowing down from the surface, glowing crystals lit up the walls and plants grew from the ground. "Isn't it beautiful? I remember the first time we found this place. It was so breathtaking and calming." Mom sat on a couple rocks before plating with the clearest water I've ever seen. I sat beside her, taking a deep breath. "Yeah." We both sat in silence for a little bit. I glanced at her through the corner of my eye as she continued to play with the water. I looked back at the water, staring into my reflection. Without thinking, I spoke. "It wasn't easy, still isint." Mom paused, slowly looking up at me as I continued. "It was so hard keeping everything a secret from Nya growing up. I didn't want her to know how much we were struggling, I wanted to give her a normal life. She believed it too, at least until she told Jay about our childhood. She still hasn't forgiven me for that, I don't think she really understands. I haven't told her much either." I took another deep breath. "I didn't want to tell you, and there are still things I don't want to tell you because I don't want you to feel bad for not being there, because it wasn't your fault…" I looked up, feeling a hand on my right shoulder. Dad stood there with a sulem expression, before sitting beside me. I took a breath, giving them both a smile as Nya hugged my side, leaning against me for support. "But we are together now, and that's all that matters to me. Nya and I have been looking for answers for so long, it's nice to finally have them." Nya nodded, humming in agreement. "Absolutely!" Mom glanced at Ray before giving us a small smile. She reached out and joined our hug as dad hugged us from behind. "This is all we dreamed of too."
I relished the darkness that shrouded my vision, it was comforting in a way. I took another deep breath, holding it while listening to the other voice in the room. "Steady, breath." I let out the breath slowly. "Open your eyes Morro." I did as I was told. Wu was sitting infront of me like I expected. He poured both of us cups of tea, handing mine to me with a small smile. We both sat in silence for a bit, sipping our tea. I fiddled with my cup, trying to distract myself from the tension in the room. "You have been doing well Morro." Wu broke the silence, I glanced at him, noting the strained smile he gave me. "Right." I mumbled, taking another sip. We both sat in silence, the tension remaining in the air, thick enough to suffocate anyone here if they had lungs. I hummed to myself and glanced down at my tea, looking at my reflection. It's been so long since I've had a body, I don't remember what it felt like. I glanced back up at Wu, pausing at the stare he was giving me, his eyes borrowing into my own as if searching for something. He took a deep breath. "What's on your mind Morro?" I sat up a bit more, contemplating on what to say as I bit my lip- not that I could feel it, just like everything else. "I know something is bothering you Morro," Wu continued, before taking a sip of his tea. I decided to remain silent, then he might just let it go like every other time we talked about this. After a few moments he sighed. He stood up, looking down at me. "On your feet Morro." Confused, I did as he ordered, preparing myself for some kind of lecture. We both stood there as he just stared at me. I held my breath. Is he mad at me? What did I do now? I knew I couldn't change! Wu took a step forward Cautiously, searching my face as I zoned back into reality. I don't fully know what happened, everything just became a blur before I seemed to connect back with reality. Wu was hugging me, despite the fact I was a ghost and couldn't feel it. I paused, keeping my arms raised in shock before moving to embrace him, almost crying at the lack of contact. "I don't know what's been going through your head Morro, I don't know what it's been like for you since we separated and I don't know how to help you right now…" his voice was low, soft. He pulled away slightly to look me in the eye. "But what I do know is you are my son, blood or not and I will do anything in my power to help you if you will allow me. So please, stop hiding from me and let me help you." He took a step back to meet my eyes again. I took another shaky breath before giving him a smile. "You're already helping sensei, you decided to let me stay here after everything I've done. I know I have a lot to work on and I'm willing to put the work in to do what I have to do but I rather work on our issues with you other than without you. I don't know what I would have done if you decided to keep me away." There was a moment of silence between us as I looked back at the floor before I 'felt' another hug from Wu. "I don't know what i would have done if you refused to stay with us Morro." Another small smile appeared on my lips as I attempted to embrace him again, despite the lack of genuine touch.