A/N: As I continue to edit and revise my stories I will, when possible, replace the old, choppy chapters with the new and freshly edited ones as soon as they are to my standards. You will see this note, along with possible variations of it, above all the chapters I have edited. Once all chapters are completely edited I will remove all author notes pertaining to the revision of the story.
I guess I should've put a disclaimer on this thing before I even started. Sorry. It didn't even occur to me that some people might find any of my fic triggering. Anyway, this is still a T rated fic. That means: most of what's on the lists below will be not be written in extreme detail. A trigger warning will be atop any chapter that contains triggering material; regardless of how much or how little detail I wrote it in. If something is triggering to you, the reader, and I neglected to mention it, please let me know in a review or PM.
Disclaimer: The following situations and characters are a work of fiction. Any similarities between real or actual events or people are purely coincidental, and are in no way intended to offend or appropriate the subjects they have adapted to these particular circumstances.
Readers may encounter some ideologically sensitive material such as isolation, depression, PTSD, drug and alcohol use, homophobia/transphobia, hate crimes, violence, sexually compromising situations, coercion, and terminal illness.
On a cool summer day, two young girls sat meditating, shaded by a tree, in the Garth of the monastery located in the forests of China. As they mediated, a peaceful air of tranquility surrounded them; isolated them from outside distractions. The sky seemed to reflect the mood of the scene. Its soft, fluffy white clouds hung in the blue sky. Even though the sun shined down with all its might, it could not assert its power enough to ruin the day with its scorching heat. No, how could it? After all, the constant cool breeze that passed through monastery's grounds prevented the heat from beating down on them.
Both girls were being trained in the art and mastery of Kairu; the primal power of the universe. To harness this mystic energy, it takes skill and many years of training. Once a Kairu Warrior is able to channel this powerful energy they gain incredible strength, lightning-fast speed, and near superhuman mental powers. With further discipline of their minds and bodies, they can create elemental energies to use as attacks as well as transform into monsters, physical manifestations of unimaginable power.
They hoped that one day they would become powerful Kairu Masters and join the ranks of the Redakai, the Kairu Council. But for now, they would have to settle with being Kairu Warriors.
The youngest, Maya, was the age of eight. She had a dark skin tone with sky-blue hair that was tied back. On her face, just below her light-brown eyes, were light-blue colored markings that resembled the eye black sports players wear to reduce glare but also looked quite like lightning bolts. She wore pale orange training robes that all Kairu Warriors in training wore.
Next to her was her best friend, Nox Kenway. Nox was fourteen years old. She, unlike Maya, had a much paler skin tone. This gave people the false impression that Nox was always sick. Her white-blonde hair was short and messy. Her eyes were a mysterious pale blue that often, in the right lighting, appeared to be violet. She, just like Maya, wore the pale orange training robes. The only thing different about the two outfits was that Nox chose to wear the arm wraps that came with them and Maya did not.
Just then, an older man of sixty-three walked into the garden light-footedly. He donned the simple, comfortable, long, and flowing robes that all Redakai wore. It consisted of a red overtunic, dark-brown undertunic, and a grey tabard with a dark-brown trim. Around his waist was a dark-brown obi and on it was the golden emblem of the Redakai. His hair was jet black and tied back in a bun. The old man had stone grey eyes. This was Master Boaddai, a very well respected Redakai. In fact, he had once been Head Redakai. But his term had long since ended. His grey eyes took note of the light-blue aura that had begun to surround each girl. They had begun to tap into their Inner Kairu. He observed silently, he did not want to disturb their progress, as both girls channeled the Kairu inside of their own bodies and harmonized it with the Kairu surrounding them.
Fifteen minutes passed by when Boaddai finally believed it was the right time to speak up. "I see you two are training hard," he said in a smooth, soft voice.
"Hello, Master Boaddai," Maya said gleefully as she looked up at him.
"What's up, Master B.?" Nox asked casually.
Boaddai smiled down at his two students. "I just came to check on my students, who seem to be training hard," he said with pride. "Perhaps the both of you should take a break as a reward."
Maya stood up frowning, "But didn't you say a good Kairu Warrior never stops training?"
Before Boaddai could answer, Nox let out a playful laugh, "Maya, taking a break isn't a bad thing!" The albino girl stood up. "You've got to stop and smell the roses…" she took in a big whiff of air to demonstrate and said lucidly, "You know? A relaxed body and mind can do a Kairu Warrior a load of good."
With a sigh Boaddai smiled, "Nox, your humor never ceases to amaze me." Though Nox was, in fact, one of his most prized students, he marveled the her unique way of telling jokes with a sass that nearly got on his nerves but never quite crossed the line.
She smiled goofily up at Boaddai, "Sometimes I amaze myself." Nox glanced at Maya to see her trying to hide her amusement with a pout.
Just then, Mookee walked into the garden holding a silver tray with two glasses filled with lemonade. Mookee was a small orange alien who was just a bit taller than the average eight-year-old. His big orange eyes clashed wildly with his light-orange skin and made the headset located on his left ear seem a bit strange and awkward. His ears were long and thin. He had a long pale-orange mustache atop his upper lip and a long, thin, pale-orange beard to match his mustache that made him look like a catfish. Mookee was the only known survivor from his home planet, Nervod.
About a year ago, during the Great Cataclysm event, his planet was attacked and ultimately destroyed, wiping out his entire race, by a dark Kairu Master named Lokar.
Lokar, a former Redakai, gave into the temptation of the dark side and begun to separate good Kairu from bad Kairu in secret from the others. Once the rest of the Redakai found out, Lokar was expelled from the Redakai. In his wrath, he stole a large quantity of Kairu and laid waste to Nervod. This marked the beginning of the Great War of Kairu.
Mookee, alone and homeless, was eventually taken in by Boaddai. To show his gratitude, Mookee served as an expert mechanic and a cook. Though, his culinary creations in the kitchen are often highly inedible, Mookee still proved to be a valuable asset.
"I thought you two might be thirsty," Mookee squeaked in his high pitched voice. "So I brought you gals some drinks!" He held out the tray so the each girl could take one. Despite the tragedies in his past, he still held on to his positive and sweet natured personality though he is more easily frightened now.
"Thanks, Mookee! What would we do without you?" Nox said with a warm and friendly smile.
"You're welcome, Nox!" he replied, flashing a big goofy smile. He always liked getting compliments from the Nox. She always made him feel appreciated. This was a big deal for Mookee. He was a bit insecure about himself, especially because he always wanted to be a Kairu Warrior but never made the cut.
Maya took a sip of the beverage. Flavor teased her taste buds. It tasted sweet and the flavor stuck to her tongue in a way that made you crave another sip. "You always make the best lemonade!" she said happily before taking another large swig.
"I'm glad you gals like it!" Mookee blushed as he rubbed the back of his head. This made him feel important; which he was, but never believed.
Both girls finished their drinks quickly. Mookee, who was a bit of a neat-freak, immediately said, "I'll take care of those right away!" With that, he took the empty glasses and left to return to the kitchen, one of his crazy concoctions needed to be attended to.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Boaddai smiled down at the two girls.
"Master Boaddai," Nox looked at their teacher with curiosity, "You seem like you've got something important to say."
Boaddai let out a small laugh. He always enjoyed Nox's uncanny way of knowing things. "Yes," he began, "as a matter of fact I do. There is a Kairu tournament coming up." Boaddai placed a hand on each of the girl's shoulders. "I want the both of you to attend. Perhaps seeing other kairu warrior's battling styles may improve your own."
"A Kairu tournament?" Nox repeated softly to herself. She frowned slightly and began to think about whether or not she liked the idea of a tournament.
Maya's eyes lit up with excitement. "A Kairu tournament?! When?" she asked energetically.
"Later this week," Boaddai replied with a small smile at Maya's excitement. "Kairu Warriors travel from distant worlds and galaxies just to compete in this tournament for a chance of gaining glory and a grand prize." He removed his hands from the girls' shoulders and watched their reactions to the news. While Maya was obviously excited about the tournament, Nox seemed indifferent about the whole subject.
"That sounds nice and all," Nox mumbled, "but do we have to go?"
Maya gasped in indignation, "How could you not want to go to a Kairu tournament? N, Kairu Warriors from all over coming together to compete for a grand prize is exciting!"
Boaddai raised an eyebrow at Nox's remark. "Would you prefer if you were able to participate?" he asked earnestly. "You are eligible to compete." His grey eyes studied Nox.
Nox looked up at Boaddai and said smugly, "Get in on the action, eh?"
Boaddai fought the urge to shake his head at her behavior. He, however, was able to control his emotions and listened intently as the girl continued.
"I don't know," Nox began pensively, "I mean, tournaments don't really sound like something I would be into." She felt her heart quicken as she tried to think of another reason why she shouldn't partake in the tournament. She quickly came up with an arbitrary reason out of thin air, "Plus, I wouldn't want to leave Maya sitting all alone in the stands."
"Nox," Boaddai frowned, "You've been complaining about not being able to participate in any of the Kairu events the Redakai plans. Now that you have the chance to participate in one, you turn down the opportunity. Why is that?"
"Well," she began, a half-smile danced upon her lips, "What can I say? People want what they can't have and when they can have it they don't want it any more. People are weird like that."
She spoke in such a profound and serious manner that Boaddai couldn't resist a slight smile. He let out a sigh of defeat. "All right, Nox, you've won," he held up his hands slightly to mimic a person surrendering, "You don't have to participate in the tournament. Though I do believe watching other Kairu Warriors battle would help you both develop your skills, it is not mandatory that you go. But like you said, you wouldn't want to leave Maya sitting all by herself." He watched Nox's expression carefully then said, "You two enjoy the rest of this beautiful day." He turned on his heal and left the garden.
As he walked he silently thought to himself, A very witty comment. She will make a great Kairu Master one day.
Once Boaddai had left Maya poked Nox in the arm and asked, "Why don't you want to be in the tournament?" Her brown eyes were full of confusion and curiosity.
Nox laughed, "To be honest, mainly because I don't want to. Also I've never been in a tournament before so I'm a little," she paused for a moment to think of a word an eight-year-old could understand. One popped into her head and she began again, "scared about it."
"Scared? Why? You never get scared!" Maya gaped.
"Sometimes…" Nox mumbled. But a sudden realization hit her. Flattered that Maya though so highly about her, Nox felt the need to use a more appropriate word. "It's not as much as a scared feeling," she corrected previous statement. "Nervous. More like apprehensive to be exact."
"Oh, okay," Maya said. She didn't quite understand what apprehensive meant but she decided to look it up later rather than ask Nox what it meant. "But next time there's a tournament you're going to be in it. Even if I have to make you!" she joked.
"Okay! Okay! Calm down!" Nox chuckled. "Fine, I'll be in the next one." She ruffled Maya's light blue hair. She wanted to change the subject but didn't want to make it seem to obvious. "We should probably go see if Mookee needs any help," she said suddenly. "After all, who knows what he might end up making?! Mookee might succeed at creating a living thing just like Victor Frankenstein!"
Despite not understanding Nox's reference, Maya laughed anyway. "Or he might end up making something blander than Master Boaddai's humor," she giggled.
"That's a good one! I think my sassiness is beginning to rub off on you," she smiled proudly.
Maya flashed Nox a big goofy smile as they began to walk off to save all of humanity from Mookee's monstrous creations.