(Kai POV)
It's begun to snow. The wind whips through my gi. I feel like it's going to tear me to pieces. I force myself to move on. My hands and feet have become numb a long time ago. My legs trudge through the freezing snow. I can't do much else than walk. The snow in my eyes is keeping me from seeing anything in front of me. I'm blind, cold, injured. Won't someone come and find me?
I can't take it anymore. My muscles are too weak to continue. I hardly feel myself falling into the thick snow. All I can think about is my life flashing in my eyes. I can barely remember my parents. They were so distant in my life. Did they even want us? I had been the parents that Nya had never had all those years we were growing up. They had disappeared, and no one knew a thing about what happened to them.
Dad was a blacksmith. I would often play on the stone floor in my parents' shop with Nya, listening to the pounding of an anvil on a hammer. It was a satisfying sound to my ears, one that I had grown to love. And Mom, she was the one who would pull me into a hug when I had fallen, or tucked me in late at night when I was supposed to have fallen asleep a long time ago. She was so forgiving, so caring. I could never remember what they told me, what they did; I could only remember how they made me feel: loved.
Then they had left. I woke up one morning to find they had disappeared. Dad's tools were still laid on his blacksmith's table. I would normally wake up to the sound of the tools, but not this morning. Nor any other morning after that.
I had run into my parents' bedroom in the back of the house, hoping all of this was a big joke, and they would pop out and hug me and tell me everything was alright. The dream had become the nightmare. Nya and I grew up never knowing what had happened to them. I had taken care of her as best I could. I never wanted the local orphanage to take us in any more than they had to. As soon as I was able, I picked up the family business and began supporting for Nya and myself. I had never wanted anyone's help in my entire life, especially not some place that made you feel sorry for children who had no one to cry on.
Then Sensei Wu arrived. Calm, reassuring, an old man still, but for sure wise beyond his years. It wasn't until the possibility of losing the only family member I had left when Nya was taken came along was I able to humble myself to the point of obeying my teacher and becoming a ninja. Which, by the way, had always been my destiny; I had just been living in denial up until that point.
Those young men I met afterwards grew to be my best friends, my family. Cole, the one who I could rely on to keep a secret, or help me out when I needed it, the one who would stand by me no matter what. Jay, the only one that could make me laugh, even in the toughest situations, the one who could talk to me about anything. Zane, the calm one who always kept me in check, laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder when tough times were ahead, the one who understood my deepest thoughts by simply looking at me. Lloyd, who could lead the team, the one I had used to be jealous of then had grown to care for as a little brother. It felt too good to be true when I was finally able to warm up to those guys, that Nya didn't have to be the only one I went to for family. They were all my family.
And now I would never see them again. I was going to die here, alone, in the cold, with no one to help me. I was too weak to say anything. I only thought about my best times with them, as I slowly lost consciousness.
I will try posting one chapter every Thursday, maybe more when I have the time. I felt like this was a good place to stop, seeing as I could slow down and focus more on Kai. I love Kai; he's not my favorite, but I love his character, and I hope I get to write about him more in the future. Everyone enjoy! Ardhoniel out! (I got to do ACT prep, ugh.) :)
