Musaki now heads back to his relatives' hometown to find out what the buzz is all about.
Chapter 3: Family Grief
The next day came around and Musaki was all set to go to Shanghai Secluded Valley to see his family and he had a huge heavy heart over this tragic news. He lets out a very nervous sigh as he set foot out of the door, but garnered enough strength to give this family some comfort. When he walked to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, he sees most of the Five coming in with his emotional moral support and to him, it felt like he was gonna get through this like everything else.
He walked up to all of them and one-by-one, each of the Five gave him a huge hug to let them know that there will be hope after this. And to his surprise, Tigress hugged him as well, which was still weird for him, but it helped ease his nervousness as well. They looked at each other for a minute there and she said, "I hope you'll be okay."
"I'll be fine. I already know what it feels like losing two people I'm very close with. Sometimes you need someone to help ease the pain you go through." Musaki added.
Just then, Arizona looks over to see if Musaki's okay and he walked up to him with a very heavy heart after he heard about the tragedy from one of the masters and he said, "Shifu told me about what happened with your family. I'm really sorry."
Musaki nodded his head in understanding to know that Arizona was giving him comfort and to offer his family's condolences. Musaki replied, "Thanks, Zona. I'm hoping that when I meet my half-cousin, I might be able to give him some comfort and just to let him know that I understand his position on how it feels to lose two parents."
Arizona stared at him for a while and he said, "It's the worst feeling in the world."
Arizona then went over and hugged him tightly to let him know that he's got a lot of support throughout this difficult time in his family's life. He then whispered, "Be strong, okay?"
"I already am." Musaki added.
Soon enough, Musaki walks out of the palace, but not before looking back and see the rest of the masters looking at him and they bowed down to him as Shifu said, "Hope you come back in a week feeling all right."
"I plan on it." Musaki added, as he stepped out of the door.
The fact that Musaki's got a lot of support and sympathy over this tagedy made him feel like they really cared that much about him and that family always does come first more than anything in the world. As he walked all the way down to the bottom of the stairs, he then walks past his uncle's house and surprisingly, he sees Uncle Mako there. He looks up and comes over to him as he went inside and said, "Hey, Uncle."
Mako stared at Musaki smiling at him as he reached in for a hug. Mako patted him on the shoulder and he told him, "I'm so glad you're able to come with us."
"I heard about the tragedy as soon as I got the scroll from my grandfather." Musaki added.
Mako lets out a huge sigh and he felt a huge bag of emotions over this and he said, "I've personally never met them before either, but from what I heard, they were pretty good people."
Just then, Musaki, Uncle Mako and the rest of the kids went out of the Valley of Peace and headed towards the forest where they met up with some of Mako's traveling dragons waiting for them to take-off to Shanghai Secluded Valley. As they got on the dragons, they immediately flew to the skies and Musaki took one look up at the sky and he could tell that his parents are watching over him and that they're there for him.
Musaki lets out a big sigh as he looks up at the sky and suddenly, Mako puts his hand on his shoulder and he asked, "You okay?"
Musaki turns to him and he replied, "I was just thinking about my parents. You know...I look up at the clouds and it's like I can feel their presence from a close range."
Mako understood what he was saying and he said, "Your parents are always there for you and I just thought about them too. It's like...I can hear your father talking to me from out there. And I know for a fact that he is very proud of you."
Musaki nodded his head in understanding and then he felt a sense of nervousness about what's about to happen next and he also asked Mako, "My grandfather mentioned that my half-aunt and uncle have one son."
"Yeah, they did. From what I can tell, your grandfather told me on the scroll that the kid is taking the tragic loss of his parents really, really hard. It's like...he couldn't even believe that it actually happened and wished that it was a nightmare." Mako explained.
Musaki never met the kid and already he felt really sorry for him because of the way Mako pointed out about his reaction. He lets out a quiet shudder and it's like he can relate to the kid in one way possible. He lets out another sigh and realized that this was gonna be a big challenge for him, but he knows how it is...losing two parents and how the reaction can have an affect on anyone and it's something that will never go away. The one bright side is that he can have someone to know what that's all about and maybe with a few encouraging, heartfelt comforting words might give his half-cousin hope.
Musaki then responded, "I bet I can help him."
Mako turns to Musaki in a surprised manner and he asked, "Why so?"
"I lost my parents when I was three and have ben on grieving depression mode for nearly 10 years. But once in a while...you have to realize that while they're not physically here, their spirit will always be alive." Musaki replied.
Mako looks up at his nephew and realize that he has gotten very wise since they reunited almost a year and a half ago...which pretty much surprised him because it would usually be something Master Shifu would say. But then he could see where he got most of it from...his father. He then thought to himself, 'Even at 16 years old, he's wiser than my brother.'
Soon enough, they all landed to Shanghai Secluded Valley where most of Musaki's relatives were really glad that he was here and as Mako and his kids got off, everyone received hugs and comforting words to ease this emotional pain. Soon enough, his grandfather came in front of him and he hugged him tightly. His grandfather then said, "I'm so glad you were able to come."
"I came as soon as I heard the news." Musaki replied.
Then, Mako comes in and he gives his dad a hug as well and he said, "Hey, dad. How are you?"
"Fine." Oak Sung replied.
Mako lets out a grieving sigh and he asked, "How's the family holding up?"
"Not so good. This tragedy hit them really hard since yesterday." Oak Sung replied.
Both of them nodded in understandment over this humongous grief and then Oak Sung turned to Musaki and he said, "Since you're here, you can head over to my place where you'll meet your half-cousin."
Musaki felt a little excited and also nervous at the same time because he didn't know what he was gonna be like or what he was gonna look like. Was he gonna be angry or was he gonna be a person that is very distant from everyone else because of the tragedy, but whatever it is, he's hoping that he can understand what it feels like to lose someone that special.
Stay tuned as Musaki meets his half-cousin for the first time! How will that go? Stick around!