We take some advice from a certain wolf who knows what it feels like to lose someone that's close to him. Maybe that might help Manny out. Also, we reveal Musaki's favorite fruit.
Chapter 8: Advice from Shin Hai
Early morning comes in and Musaki was asleep in his bed as the sun shone through his eyes, causing him to let out a low groan and slowly woke up and just sat up, letting out a huge yawn, scratching his back and gets himself up out of the bed and walked around the hallway but not before making a stop to Manny's room to see how he's doing. He quietly went inside his room and he could see that he's okay, but could see some dried tears on his bed sheets and he immediately discovered that he had been crying from his sleep that night.
Musaki took a deep sigh and just patted his shoulder and whispered, "It'll be okay, Manny. You'll see."
Then, he quietly left the room and had Manny on his thoughts and he's hoping that there might be life after this so that when he returns to the Valley of Peace, he's hoping that this family will have a chance to heal. He makes a walk to the kitchen and saw his grandmother bringing in some fruit and he said, "Hey, grandma."
She was surprised to see Musaki and she went in for a deep hug and he held onto her so closely as if he doesn't want to let her go at all. She looked at him and she asked, "How's my grandson doing?"
"Pretty good. You?" asked Musaki.
"Doing fine. I just brought in some fruit if you want some." his grandmother said.
Musaki nodded his head quickly and he sees the hugest bag of fruit she brought in; strawberry, grape, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, apples, oranges, mango, papayas and kiwi, his favorite fruit. When he spotted the kiwi, Musaki immediately wanted a piece of it and he just peeled the layers and just took a bite of it. The sweet taste of it made Musaki completely happy and he asked, "How'd you know it was my favorite?"
"Your father used to love kiwi...and strawberries. I can recall a time that you wanted some kiwi when you were a little cub." his grandmother said.
Musaki lets out a small chuckle when she starts bringing up the time Musaki was a cub and he said, "That part I can barely remember. Plus, I love fruit."
"Yes, you did. So...I see you're here for the funeral, I see."
Musaki nodded his head at that and he said, "I have a full week-off of kung-fu training just to come here to see how everyone's doing. I haven't met my half-aunt and uncle, but I can tell that they were good people."
"Yes, they were...until the terrible divorce and the custody battle on who gets Manny. I can tell that that child was traumatized." his grandmother mentioned.
Musaki nodded his head in understanding and could completely see how it made a huge effect on Manny personally and he said, "What were they like before they were married?"
"Like any other couple. They had ups and downs and it was a no shortage of either. They were good people and sometimes they can turn into a different person of who they are. When they got married, I had always had high hopes for both of them and it started off really well and even after they had Manny, I figured that they were happy. But...as the years went on, they had their fights and sometimes it would get into an intoxicating love/hate fest when it comes to each other. When I heard that they were getting divorced, I could tell that it affected Manny the most and both of them had to fight each other...physical violence was how they deal with and I just wanted to take Manny in because he couldn't deal with that. He would often come over to our house and there was one moment when he asked me and your grandfather to live with us because he ran away from home one night." his grandmother explained.
Musaki's eyes completely widened when he heard that Manny ran away from home while he was dealing with the divorce and it was scary to hear that. Then he asked, "So what did you do?"
"I wasn't quite sure because me and your grandfather would get into arguments with his parents about Manny coming here and I told them to straighten themselves out and they didn't care if Manny was affected, they just wanted him back. I could see the ultimate pain on his face that he doesn't want to come back to an apparently unhappy home. I just felt so sorry for Manny and I just knew it was a matter of time that it would one day be too late."
"Right now, I just feel so sorry for him." Musaki added.
"We all are, but I'm just everything will be fine in the future." his grandmother said, patting Musaki in the shoulder.
Musaki then takes another kiwi and when he ate it, he could taste another ounce of sweetness coming in and he kept stuffing his face with kiwi, which made his grandmother started laughing and she said, "Your father used to do that."
"Do what?" Musaki asked, with mouth full.
Soon enough, Oak Sung walked in the house and then, he sees his grandson's face stuffed with kiwi and he started chuckling to himself and he said, "I always thought that your father would be that into kiwi and I see you got it from him."
Musaki started laughing as well after hearing this from his grandfather and he said, "I do love fruit."
"I bet they don't have any of these in the Valley of Peace." Oak Sung added.
"They only have bananas, oranges, apples, berries and other things. I'm not sure if they have kiwi yet. The other fruits are good, but I suddenly got a huge craving for kiwi and I hope they have it soon. Berries are my second fruit as well, but it's nothing compared to kiwi." Musaki said.
Oak Sung nodded his head as he started laughing and he said, "Shin Hai just asked me about you."
"How's he doing?" asked Musaki.
"Doing well. I think you should take Manny to meet him as he tells you about how he coped with the loss that he's faced in his life." Oak Sung added.
Musaki thought about this and it would be interesting to hear some of Shin Hai's words because since their reunion, it was like he was another family member to him, like a second father. He nodded his head and he said, "That'd be cool."
"I figured you'd like that idea." Oak Sung said, with a smile.
Later that day, Musaki and Manny headed on their way to Shin Hai's place and it made Manny really nervous to see who he's like and he asked, "You sure this is a good idea?"
"I'm positive. He was friends with my dad and I'm sure he'll be cool with you." Musaki replied.
When they made it to the village, he can see one of Shin Hai's kids and one of them is a 18 year-old grey wolf with hazel-green eyes, weighing in at 153 pounds, 5'9, wearing only khaki shorts and a tattoo of an eagle on his left arm and when Musaki walked over to the house, the young wolf looked up and he asked, "You're Xing-Fu, aren't you?"
Musaki looked at Manny for a second and then turned his attention back to the young wolf and he replied, "Yeah. Most people call me Musaki, so..."
He stands up and shook his hand and said, "My name's Shao. My dad has told me a lot about you and how he was friends with your father."
Musaki said, "How'd you know my dad?"
Shao took a deep breath when he scratched his head and replied, "I first saw him when I was born and he was the greatest person ever. Not to mention, he was like a second dad to me as well."
To hear that come from one of Shin Hai's offsprings made Musaki feel like he's most respected and also more appreciated than ever. He looked at Shao and he asked, "Well, I've known your dad, actually. We just reunited like last year due to my self-discovery. He never mentioned you before because I always thought they were like little pups."
Shao chuckled softly and he said, "Mostly, I've been around the village and stuff and at home, I guess."
"Well, is he here?"
"Yeah, he is."
Musaki and Manny were behind Shao as they walked in the house and almost immediately, in comes Shin Hai out of the room and he was surprised to see Musaki there and he went over and gave a huge hug and he said, "How you doing, Xing-Fu?"
"Pretty good, Shin. You?" asked Musaki.
Shin Hai took a deep sigh and he replied, "A little rough, but I'm okay. I heard about this kid's family and...it was a sheer tragedy."
Then, Shin sees Manny and he gives out a hug and Manny didn't know what to make of Shin Hai, but he accepted his hug anyway and his condolences. Shao chuckled softly and he said, "I'm gonna check on my sibs for a sec."
Musaki looks up at Shao and he said, "It was nice meeting you."
"Same to you. Hope we see each other again." Shao replied.
As Shao walks off, Shin Hai sits both Musaki and Manny down and the subject of loss is the hardest thing he had to explain. He takes a deep sigh and he looked up at Manny and he said, "When I heard that your parents died due to a fatal illness, it was really hard for me to hear this. I've know your dad personally because we were such good friends, but he never told me about this appararent custody battle before because I thought that he was fine."
"Why didn't he tell you?" asked Manny.
"I didn't know at the time until Oak Sung told me days before they died and I was really shocked. I mean, I know they divorced and all but I never thought it'd be that huge. Plus when he said that they had River Fever, I could tell that it was really serious. The fact that they both died at the same time was unbearable." Shin Hai continued.
Musaki then told Manny, "Shin Hai knows all about losses he had to endure most of his life and what it feels like."
Shin Hai nodded his head at this and he said, "Trust me, I've suffered huge losses since I was a pup. I lost my mom after I was born and my dad like abandoned me then later died and I felt like I was alone and that I never needed anyone to be there for me. When I started my pack, I was determined not to let anything happen to them because they've been through the same things I went through. The biggest loss I had to endure was my best friend's death...and it still hits me to this day."
Manny was curious to know who was Shin Hai's best friend that died and he asked, "Who was he?"
"Sakamoto Bushido-Akio." Shin Hai replied, with a strained voice.
"A.K.A...my father." Musaki added.
Manny was immediately surprised to hear that Musaki's dad was best friends with Shin Hai and hearing this made it a little more amazed and real it had become. The look on Shin Hai's face was damaging to see and he said, "Every night...for 14 years, I think of that day when Sakamoto and his wife was killed by that Tai Lung monster. If I had been there to save him, he'd still be alive. To lose my parents is one thing...but to lose my best friend and his wife made a huge impact on me. I felt so guilty and so bitter, I started blaming myself for letting this happen and my life was on a downward spiral...depression, drugs, alcohol seeped in and mounds of anger and paranoia messed me up so much that the image of the tragedy got the best of me. I was the one hurting myself and most of my pack members wanted me to get some help so they sent me to the Valley of Peace to help me cope with moving on with the loss of Sakamoto and I'll never forget that person...the one responsible for putting my life back on track; Master Oogway. If it wasn't for him...or Xing-Fu's joyful picture of him, I wouldn't be here right now. I lost my two wives and mostly, the people in my life were gone away from me in short amount of time."
Hearing this made both Musaki and Manny think about how life is very precious and time is way too short to be so sad all the time. Manny then asked, "What kept you going?"
"What keeps me going...my kids, mostly. They make me get up and just live. And what really keeps me going is the spirit of my best friend that continues to live on. Though the people in your life are gone, their spirit is still here...in your heart." Shin Hai replied.
Manny looked down on his chest and almost understood what it meant and Musaki said, "I had the same feeling I had when one of my guardians told me the same thing. I know my parents wouldn't want me to be miserable for the rest of my life and feel sad all the time because of their loss. They're still alive in my heart and I'll never let it go...no matter what."
Looking at both Shin Hai and Musaki, it made Manny realize that all of this meant that their spirits will live on and on forever and maybe his parents' spirit will be there too. He nodded his head in agreement about this and he said, "I never thought about it before."
"Death is a natural part of life, kid. We just live our lives and that our loved ones will always looking down at us, waiting for them to join us someday." Shin Hai said, patting Manny's head.
"I was gonna say the same thing." Musaki added.
Manny was extremely glad that Musaki talked him into going and though he still misses his parents, he felt like they'll always be there for him in his heart no matter what life throws at him.
Very heartfelt, right? More on the way!