Here's where Musaki finds out a little bit more about Manny.
Chapter 5: About Manny
Later on, Oak Sung was on the back of his house doing some tai chi movements for a while to ease his flow and to get himself in position to cope with the tragedy. He was unaware that Musaki was walking towards him, but he could sense his grandson's footsteps coming in at any moment. He then said to him, "Xing-Fu, what brings you by?"
It was like deja vu...Oak Sung noticed Musaki's here without even looking kinda the same way Shifu did when he's at the Jade Palace and without hesitation, Musaki asked, "What are Manny's parents like?"
Giving the fact that it's the only reason for coming, Oak Sung turns around, opens his eyes and sees his grandson standing in front of him waiting for answers. He lets out a heavy sigh and he responded, "Let us talk inside."
When they headed inside, Oak Sung was sitting on his chair while Musaki sat down on the couch, anxiously waiting to hear the story of Manny's parents and from the sense of it all, it doesn't appear to be a good one. Oak Sung took out a picture of Manny's parents and he gives it to Musaki and when he looked at them, he could see that this was a very special family all the while. Oak Sung then explains, "Your half-aunt and uncle were a part of your mother's side. When they got married, everyone thought that it might last forever but beneath the surface, their relationship became somewhat tumultous later on. At first, they seemed to be a picture-perfect couple and they always had love for each other, especially since they gave birth to Manny sometime later."
Oak Sung took out a picture of Manny as a baby and he could see how cute he looked like when he was born and it was like something he's never quite expected to see before. He smiled at it and he then said, "Bet there were some happy times, huh?"
"Oh, yes. There were some happy times. But as the years progressed, their relationship became a downfall. Arguments followed and it was like they didn't want to be around each other based on several differences. Your half-uncle is part japanese and part chinese just like you and your father and your half-aunt is all chinese and unfortunately, their personalities would often clash with each other and it had a solid effect on Manny. Witnessing fights and watching them be like that was too much for him. When Manny turned 8, their parents split up and he was in the middle of a bitter custody battle that was never even settled and one day, both of them got a fatal disease that would last through Manny's early teen years." Oak Sung added.
Musaki was surprised to hear about what kind of fatal disease they might have and he asked, "What was the disease?"
"River Fever." Oak Sung replied.
Musaki widened his eyes to hear those two words come out of his grandfather's mouth and it was like something he never expected to listen. He then asked, "That's where adults die from it, right?"
"Yes. When Manny heard about this, he just wanted to find a way to make them feel better so they would live. He was gonna head to the Valley of Peace to get the Sacred Sun Orchid but he never got a chance to go because they died yesterday afternoon. I'm guessing the bitter custody battle took its toll on Manny and felt like he was blaming himself for trying not to stop it." Oak Sung said.
Musaki let out a deep sigh after hearing this huge tragic thing that might've occured. The fact that Manny lost both parents was devastating, but even more devastating was how much more dysfunction could Manny take? His heart bled for his half-cousin and he wanted to give him a huge hug and some comforting words to help him get through this difficult time in his life. But he wasn't quite sure how to ease his emotional pain any further.
He looked at his grandfather and he asked, "What do I do to help him?"
Oak Sung stared at his grandson for a minute and he figured that it might be a big challenge for Musaki to take and he lets out a big sigh and replied, "It's very hard for him to let others in, especially with a tragic loss as big as this...but I know for a fact that you know what it feels like to lose both parents. If anyone can relate to something like this, it's you. And I know my grandson will do whatever it takes to make sure Manny isn't alone."
Hearing this made Musaki very happy and also very pleased to know that he'll do what he can to comnfort his half-cousin. He's not sure how it'll happen, but it's a challenge he'll have to take. He said, "As long as I'm here, I can at least make sure he'll be okay."
"Yes, you will. I told Manny that he could live here and make sure he gets plenty of love and make sure that he still needs stability."
"That helps."
Oak Sung looks at him for a second and he said, "Thank you, Xing-Fu."
Muskai nodded his head and he said, "Family is everything."
Family really is everything, huh? If you don't have your family, where would you be? Next up, Manny and Musaki start bonding. Wonder how Musaki will plan to break the ice.