Musaki then breaks down Manny's wall because he relates to the same tragic memory of his parents.

Chapter 6: Trying to Bond

As the next day comes around, Musaki was hoping that he can start fresh with Manny and that they can at least bond for a while. After their first meeting, Musaki was looking forward to helping him open up this time around the bend. He was walking towards the village and he spots Kiba walking past him and he caught up with him and he said, "Hey, Kiba."

Kiba turns around and he sees Musaki coming in and he walked up towards him and he said, "Hey, Musaki. When did you get here?"

Musaki let out a big exhale and he replied, "Only yesterday. I had to come in and see how the whole's family doing, you know, coping with this recent family tragedy."

Kiba took a deep sigh of emotional pain as he stared at Musaki's eyes for a bit and the news made a huge hit on him that it almost made it impossible for him to put it into words. He then said, "It's just really sad."

"I know, right? My grandfather told me everything about his parents. One minute, they're happy and everything's cool and the next thing you know, they hate each other's guts and Manny's caught in the crossfire." Musaki added.

Kiba clicked his tongue and said, "Yeah, he told me the same thing too. I've never met the kid yet and already I feel really sorry for him."

"Yeah, when we met each other for the first time, he never spoke a word to me and I could tell that this tragedy has made a huge mark on him. Not to mention, he saw me as a stranger when my grandfather told him that I'm his half-cousin."

Kiba looked surprised to hear that Manny is Musaki's half-cousin and he asked, "Half-cousin?"

"Yeah, I just found out when I received a message from my grandfather a few days ago before I came here." Musaki answered.

Kiba didn't know what else to say other than the fact that Manny had a half cousin and he didn't even know it. He lets out a big exhale and he said, "Man, you really need to keep up with your family relatives."

Musaki chuckled amusedly at this and he said, "How's your pack?"

"Fine. All three of them were really saddened by this tragedy and Toboe...he seemed to be the most saddened by this because he met Manny and he sent out his condolences to him." Kiba answered.

"Like...how?" asked Musaki, curiously.

"Toboe saw the bodies of Manny's parents on their house and when almost everyone brought it out, Manny just lost it. He started sobbing uncontrollably and he could tell that the tragic death hit him the hardest. He went up to him and just said that he was sorry to hear about this and hugged him tightly. I think...it was very straightforward and courageous for him to do that because he knows what it feels like to lose someone you care about. I'm sorta that way too because if my pack died tomorrow or any other day, it would be the most tragic day of my life...by far." Kiba added.

Musaki lets out a deep breath and he asked, "How do you get over something like this?"

"Getting over grief is hard, but trying to move on is much harder. But we feel each other's pain by sensing it through another's eyes and try to understand it so we can give the person some closure in hopes of finding peace."

Hearing those words reminded him of something Shifu would say to him, but it somehow stuck with him and hopes that it would help Manny get through this and he said, "I guess I'll keep that in mind, then."

Kiba nodded his head and he then told Musaki, "If you see Manny, tell him I said 'hi' and keep his head up, okay?"

"Okay."

Kiba walks off and Musaki did the same thing and Kiba's words embedded on his head and he hopes that it'll be a good way to let Manny know that he understands where he's coming from with situations like this.

Later that day, Manny was looking over the valley on a view in a big hill and he looks up at the sky with tears still on his eyes and wishes that it was all a bad dream and that maybe everything will be okay. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't a dream. He buried his face with his hands as he started crying softly.

He was totally unaware that Musaki was standing behind him and when he looked up, he sees his half-cousin standing there. He lets out a soft sigh as his eyes were focused on the view of the valley. Musaki then sat down next to him, not sure what to say to him and he was hoping to start over again and he said, "We kinda...got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I'm Xing-Fu Musaki Ko-Kanji Bushido Akio-Meng Cheng Xi-Wang. But everyone calls me 'Musaki' for short."

Manny barely looked at him because he was't sure what to say around his half-cousin and remained mute for a while and Musaki wanted to just bond with him. He then asked, "So...surprised to hear that you got a half-cousin, huh? I know. It surprised me too. I mean, I've never met you nor your parents either. But my grandfather told me everything about it yesterday."

Suddenly, Manny looked at Musaki and he only blinked a few times and said, "How much?"

"From the split to the bitter custody battle to River Fever. I mean...I was completely freaked out to hear something like this." Musaki added.

Then, he stopped himself and realized that Manny just talked. Another minute of silence purged in and Musaki asked, "Why didn't you say anything before when we first met?"

"I was still coping with the loss of my parents. But I didn't think that I'd say anything to you because we just met and that you wouldn't understand the pain I'm feeling." Manny replied.

The fact that Manny said that Musaki couldn't understand the pain he's feeling made him a little surprised to know that and he does feel his pain because lost both parents as well. He then asked, "What would make you think that I wouldn't understand?"

"Because you don't!" Manny shouted.

Manny looked very heated about this and that made Musaki a little uncomfortable to see him like this, but knows that he's still grieving over his loss. Manny then went on to say, "You don't know what it feels like to go through so many things in your life while you're watching what's in front of you! It's just so frustrating and I'm the reason for it! I'm the reason on how they split up and that custody battle that's been on for years! What am I doing wrong?"

Then, Musaki looked into Manny's eyes and sees that there are more tears coming out and he continued on with his angry grief, saying, "And who are you to tell me you might understand the pain I'm feeling? No, you don't! You just don't! So don't you come here telling me that you understand because YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!"

Musaki then stood up and got really angry and said, "You think you're the only one that's dealing with losing two parents? Think again, dude! Because I know what it feels like to lose both parents right in front of you when you see it actually happen in your own eyes!"

Suddenly, Manny looks at Musaki and he turned from angry to shock and confusion for a second after he heard what Musaki said to him and softened his face a little bit and all he could say is, "You lost your parents too?"

Musaki nodded his head and his eyes grew misty-eyed in a second and he said, "14 years ago, my parents were killed by the hands of Tai Lung. I was actually there to witness it and there were moments that I wished that I could've done something to stop it. I had to live with that ever since then and I was placed in an orphanage for 10 years. I didn't know how to get over something like this and even then, I was grieving over the loss of the two people that were so close to me...the two people that I love with my heart. That day when they died...was the most painful experience I had in my life."

Musaki was on the verge of crying and Manny felt a huge amount of sympathy for him after hearing his entire story. Then he realized that he indeed did get why Musaki understood what it's like to lose two parents. He sighed with regret and he said, "I'm sorry for blowing up at you. I always thought that you wouldn't understand what I'm feeling...but after hearing about how you lost both parents, I think we share the same pain."

Musaki then looks at Manny and he said, "That's what I'm here for...to be there for you and to help you get through this."

Manny lets out a deep sigh and he said, "I'm just afraid that I might forget about them."

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

Musaki sticks out his hand, hoping for a handshake from Manny and tells him, "You'll just have to trust me."

Manny was a little reluctant to trust his half-cousin, but the look on Musaki's face made him think that maybe he can try to open up a little bit and he shook his hand and took his word for it and he said, "Can we start off as friends?"

Musaki nodded his head in understanding to know that Manny might need him as a friend and he said, "This is a good start."

Good start to open up, huh? Sorry if I made this too quickly. Anyways...here's more!