The first time Kai gets drunk he's nine or ten years old, he can't exactly remember. Years kind of merge together when you don't really celebrate your own birthday.
He has been working on one of the rice farms while he learns smithing on his free time.
He doesn't go to school.
There's some neighbours checking on him and Nya every now and then but for the most part the siblings are left alone. They bring leftovers or items they usually don't need or have spares to share, Kai is grateful for that.
Nya goes to school with some of the other kids.
Not everyone goes so it isn't unusual for Kai to also not attend to school.
A lot of the other kids and teens Kai sees around are either the oldest of their family, the most capable to do work or... girls, the girls a lot of the times are left at home to help with the house or the younger siblings.
Kai doesn't think much about it.
That's how things are around here, it's normal, is expected even.
He knows he could have Nya stay home like the rest of the girls but he prefers for Nya to go to school, there has to be someone in this family that knows other skills besides smithing and harvesting rice.
And that's not going to be him.
Besides he's aware she enjoys it, she likes to help running the forge and thinkering with what they can get sure, but she has a good head for academics, if they can afford it then she should do something she really enjoys.
And if that's academics so be it.
Good for them too, Kai is not good at academics, he considers himself lucky to know how to read and do math, but the numbers and letters eventually mush together, he doesn't think he would be able to run the shop properly if it's not for Nya.
And so he spends his early morning and part of the afternoon harvesting rice with other workers.
Is not a fun work but it doesn't take all day at least, by late afternoon he's back at the house.
Is Autumn, close to the harvest festival Ignacia helds yearly that he stays a bit longer than usual.
The owner of the farm helds a very small celebration because this year had been a very good one.
Kai attends with the rest of the workers, they get some food and drinks.
There isn't a lot of people but it would be rude to just leave, so he stays.
He is a lanky, thin boy whose nutrition is not the best so it makes sense for him to get drunk.
Is etiquette his brain says.
So when offered my one of the adults a beer he hesitantly takes it.
One of the older guys pats his back.
"Hey Boy! Have you ever had beer?"
"... No"
"Well, is a good time to start then! Nothing lightens the mood around other than a night of drinking!"
"..."
"C'mon boy, drink! Is a life skill around here. Y'gotta learn to hold your liquor"
Kai sighs, he doesn't want to, but is true he has seen a lot of the older teens and the adults drink and be all buddy buddy with each other.
So he takes a sip.
He makes a face if the deep laugh from the man besides him is any indication.
Is bitter, strong, and he doesn't like the taste.
He doesn't spit it.
He whines as he puts the bottle down, he feels sick.
The older man ruffles his hair.
"Hey not bad! I would've spit that when I was your age!"
Kai grumbles.
Gosh he wanna throw up so bad.
"Well, welcome to the adult world kid, cheers"
He holds his own beer and bumps both crystal bottles.
The adults drinks and Kai imitates, he still doesn't like the taste and he definitely won't be having g another one.
But by the time he has finished his first beer there's more people around, talking and joking around and another beer is pushed onto his hands.
So he drinks it.
There's other teens and kids that have arrived, a lot of them are drinking too.
So he continues.
By the time the sun is setting there's a lot of drunk people around him and a small party has started.
He feels sick.
He tries to get up, just to tumble and fall onto the dirt.
"Is late" it's what his hazy mind thinks. "Nya is gonna worry"
An older teen comes to his rescue and helps him get up, he asks questions but the only thing Kai can somewhat get out is "I've to get back home"
He can't even walk, not really, so the they guy resorts to dump a bucket of freezing water onto him.
Now that sobers him up.
The air around is chilly and as he makes a pathetic walk back to the house he's shivering like a chihuahua.
Eventually, when the sky is already dark he reaches the house, the light are on and as he glances at the forge he thing bitterly about not having opened it today.
That's fine though, he's not that good at it anyways.
He stumbles through the door, a slurred "Nya I'm home" comes out.
Nya is there in seconds, is not usual for him to be this late out and less usual to see him in such a weird state.
As she helps him lie down on the couch her nose wrinkles.
"You are drunk" She declares.
Kai is too far gone to give much of a reaction other than a whine but there's a hint of sadness and dejection on her voice.
He's gonna have to talk to her about this in the morning.
He doesn't know it but Nya spends all the night at his side as he sleeps.
The sun is the brightest thing he has seen in his life and it hurts his eyes.
The back of his head throbs.
He whines.
A hungover.
Gosh, this is horrible.
Literal torture.
The dryness on his throat and mouth make him feel as if he hasn't had water in days.
He tries to get up but his head is pounding so he lays down too.
Nya is soon by his side, a water glass on her hands.
She helps him sit upright as he gulps the water glass.
Is fresh and Kai can't help but gulp it down as fast as possible.
His throat feel dry and soon he's chungin down two more full glasses.
Nya doesn't say anything , she just brings him some rice and beans to eat.
He tries to get up soon after, but he's feeling like shit.
"Rest up" Nya tells him as he whine and lays down again, the room is still too bright so he closes his eyes.
His sister threws something above him, is warm so he curls up under.
Nya opens the blacksmith shop that day.
They don't really bring the subject up.
Nya is acting like usual the next day and Kai follow suit.
She goes to school, stopping before running off so he can ruffle her hair and kiss her goodbye.
She hugs him and she's off.
He goes to the rice plantation to work some more.
People work mostly quietly, chatter here and there.
He stays silent, finish his work, gets paid and goes back home.
He cooks and opens the blacksmith shop, waiting for Nya to come back.
They day kept on going, the drinking incident almost forgotten.
Is months after when Kai tries smoking, an old man is waiting for some tools to be fixed so he steps out to have a smoke.
Kai works, it's been days of work but the pay is good and it's been so worth it.
Is not weapons but is something to hone his skills with.
As he finishes and steps out a bit he makes a face as the smoke reaches him.
The client laughs a bit.
"Not used to smoking eh boy?"
Kai shrugs.
"No Sir"
Kai licks his lips, he has to always remember to be respectful of he adults whether they're his liking or not.
He's been smacked on the back of his head more times than he can count for not addressing an adult properly. Nya too.
"Here"
He hands him cigarette.
Kai takes it, it would be rude not to. He can't deny him.
He turns it around with his fingers and the man laughs, entertained by the confusion of the young boy.
Kai puts it in his mouth, he kinda wants to bite it.
There's fire and the cigarette is light up.
Smoke fill his mouth, he can't inhale properly, he ends taking out the cigarette, coughing.
There's that deep laugh again.
Kai sighs, resting his head against the shop wall before putting the vigarette on his mouth again.
He has an idea of what to do this time.
He kinda gets it.
Kai coughs less this time around.
By the time he finishes his cigarette the man has already taken out cash so Kai throws the cigarette butt onto the ground and steps on it before going inside to get the tools.
The man is pleased and the payment is good, Kai feels at ease, they won't have to worry about money for a bit.
He's expecting the man to leave and him to go back onto the forge to work on some of his weapon making skills.
So he's surprised when a small box is pushed onto his hands alongside the money.
"This is a good work kid, take it as a tip"
And then he leaves.
Kai looks down just to notice a white half-full box of cigarettes on his hands.
He doesn't know what to do.
He should've throw it onto the trash can right there and there.
But he doesn't.
Instead he shoves it into his pocket and goes back inside the forge.
Later that night he shoves it on the deep end of one of his drawers.
Hopefully he will forget about it.
Nya and him get into a fight, is early in the morning so both leave the house angry.
Kai goes to work on the rice farms.
He usually despises getting his feet wet but this time he doesn't even shudder.
He's just... Sad.
He's not angry, not right now, he was, sure, he got riled up, just like Nya, but now? Now he just feels sad.
He works mindlessly.
He thinks mostly about what she said to him, over and over.
Is easy really.
This work at this point is automatic so he can let his mind wander around.
Usually that's good.
Not today though.
He feels tears on his eyes and he sniffles, reminding himself he shouldn't be crying.
He cleans them with the sleeve and continues working.
He just wants to protect and take care of her, is that so bad?
She thinks so.
Maybe he has been a bit overbearing but he just doesn't want to see her hurt.
He doesn't want her to be hurt by the world around them.
When he finishes work he goes to collect his payment for the day, and notices a box of beer sitting there.
Making sure no one sees him he takes three beers.
Nya arrives late that night. It's been raining so she's drenched, it also seems she has been crying.
Kai? Kai drank those three beers. He got a bit drunk, probably didn't help he hadn't eaten all day.
He probably looks like a mess, he didn't bother changing clothes when he first arrived home let alone open the blacksmith.
Despite him feeling sick, tired and like everything is spiraling around he gets up to help Nya get dry.
No one talks, they fall asleep together on the couch.
Kai decides that morning while running on a small hangover that he should probably be a bit more lenient with Nya.
If any beer happens to disappear whenever Nya gets a bit too much on his nerves no one comments on it.
Kai gets in trouble for stealing, eventually.
He's beaten up.
It hurts and Kai decides right there that beer is not worth getting his hands swollen and bleeding.
He has become more anxious.
Nya notices so she's been a bit more careful around him.
Not like he would ever harm her, she knows that, but Kai is not in a good space and she doesn't want to see him get worse.
So she tries her hand and taking care of him if only a little bit.
It helps.
Kai will never admit he likes to be pampered.
Is on one of the days we're he's having a particular anxious day.
Work was okay but he had messed up on the forge, and he messed up a work too.
He got paid sure but he had messed up and that's probably one client less.
They're in no position to be losing customers.
Internally he admonishes himself about it, repeating he should've let Nya do the work instead of him. (But the forge is dangerous, she could get burned)
He's pacing silently, or he was.
Until Nya pretty growled at him to quiet down as it was past midnight, and it was a Monday.
The next best thing was to try and fiddle with something.
Thats when he discovers the long forgotten cigarette box.
He takes it and goes outside.
He smokes two of the five cigarettes.
He finds out it helps him calm down.
So he saves the other three, just in case.
Kai gets onto his... usual medical checkup, provided by the kind doctor of the village.
He and Nya aren't regulars but they do at least once a year.
He mentions some... Unusual stuff about him and Nya that lefts Kai praying is nothing serious.
Irregular breathing patterns, feelings of being burning up, strange sensation, etc etc.
The doctor writes them down and promises to check on it.
Kai wouldn't have mention if it was only affecting him, but it was also affecting Nya.
He really hopes it's just puberty.
They can't afford Healthcare.
He smokes another cigarette after that visit.
It would turn out is just the dormant effects of their elemental heritage.
But they won't know that for a more few years.
He discovers fighting is a better way to dealing with his conflicting emotions, or whatever trouble is going on inside his head.
Honestly the first time is kind of an accident.
Is quite late at night and he is running late around the village.
He grimaces, knowing well by the time he reaches the house its gonna be very dark and Nya is gonna chide him.
He's just running some late errands, and he's also kinda avoiding going home.
Is Day of the Departed and he's not feeling in the mood to light a lantern to his parents.
It's been a few difficult last months so you'll have to excuse him for not wanting to homenage the people that put him in this spot in the first place.
Some old kids are around and Kai has heard of them.
Troublemakers as the elders say.
Kai ignores them and passes around.
They end up following him and is not long before they try and take the little money he has on him, alongside the groceries.
Kai fights back.
He bites, kick and punches.
But he doesn't stop just at just defending himself.
He finds some ecstasy on fighting them until they surrender, until someone pries him away from them.
All the involved teens leave with considerable markings.
As he picks up his things from the floor one of the guys he hit statoys back and looks as he starts to walk again.
"You're a good fighter" He hears, he keeps on walking.
"You should go to the brink of the forest, you'll find a lot of interesting people there"
Kai turns back, just to find no one there.
Nya is all worried once he's back and she helps mending him up.
He only talks about the important parts.
She doesn't need to know he's craving for violence.
Kai would later find out is more like a fighting and bet rink than anything else.
And the guy that told him about it is the one running it.
Very few adults know and the one they know don't care.
Kai makes a bit of a extra cash there.
He spends just a bit on cigarette on alcohol.
It helps numb his body and mind.
It keeps him running around a bit more.
It not the best but he has to keep running.
He can't leave Nya alone.
Not yet. (Or ever)
Nya knows he scurries out at night, he know she does the same.
They don't talk about it, not after that fight.
They just let the other do as they want as long as it's not something dangerous.
Kai has to wonder is she knows he's going out to fight other kids.
She probably does.
He rarely comes unscathed out of those.
But they've settled onto a dynamic.
Kai still frets over Nya and she let's him.
But he has also started to just give her her space.
It hurts, but is something she needs.
If there's something she just doesn't want to tell him then he will try to not pry onto it.
He doesn't want a repeat of last time.
She does almost everything in her own now.
Kai can't exactly say hows their relationship now.
Is more amicable, and they have found a common ground.
But that common ground comes with personal secrets.
He won't pry on hers.
So he hopes she won't pry on his.
Is after one of the fights that tries weed for the first time.
He's... Thirteen probably, he had scurried out to the nearby forest where he knows a lot of the older teens enjoy tussling around.
There's a fight, he gets thrown onto the lake.
He panics.
He can't swim.
And he's rapidly starting to drown.
Someone gets him out and leaves him there on the mud to rest.
Coughs are heard as he tries to get as much of the water out as possible.
Finally he settles down on his back and just looks at the sky.
He doesn't move but he knows someone is getting closer.
They peak at him from above.
Kai doesn't know them but he can tell they're older, by two years at least.
"That was stupid of you"
Kai doesn't knowledges them more than a "mhm"
"You seems to like fighting, I've see you around picking fights at the market"
Kai has yet to move. He keeps looking at the starry sky.
"I'm surprised your sister doesn't know" He moves his head, just enough so he can glare at him.
The slight older teen smirks, there's missing teeth.
"Or maybe she knows and just doesn't care about you"
Kai tries to throw a punch but his body is too tired and he only manages to turn onto his side.
Now all he can look at is dirt.
Wonderful.
"That looks like it hurts"
Kai frowns, wondering what he's talking about before a hand is pressed against his back.
The wet clothing doesn't make it any better and he hisses in pain.
"Yep, just as I thought"
The older teen sits down and he takes out something out of one of his pockets.
It stinks.
Kai is starting to see a pattern.
The older teen makes a cigarette and starts to smoke it in front of him, Kai only watches.
"Say kid, why do you fight?"
He blinks, he hasn't really thought about it.
He hasn't been thinking a lot lately.
So he does the next best thing, he shrugs.
His companion seems to Hve expected that.
"Mhm, yeah, you seem like the type"
Kai frowns, what the hell does that even mean.
"Say then, what does it hurt more? You body or your mind?"
That's... Not what was expecting.
The teen looks down, smiling, the moon behind him shines brightly.
He offers him a cigarette.
... Really?
Kai grunts and he's on his back again.
He sighs.
"Here"
And the cigarette is on his hands.
Is handmade, that Kai can tell, and whatever is inside is not tobacco.
It smells weird too.
"You know, the neighbor town is the one that grows it, my older brother works there, he uh... He has some friends and he gets it easily from them"
For a moment the spiky haired boy has to wonder, who would subject their sibling to this? Especially if they're younger.
He would never do that to Nya, he might smoke and drink but he would never wish her to start doing the same.
He just can't wrap his head around it. Why would you let your younger sibling to follow your self-destructive tendencies?
Isn't your job to protect and care for them?
He decided this dude's older brother is not a good influence. At least he's not dragging Nya down with him.
He sighs from his position on the ground, he can't stay on the mud and dirt all night.
Kai painstakingly starts to get up, it takes too long until he's in a sitting position.
His newfound... pal? Stays there, he doesn't help but he doesn't leave either.
Once he's sitting Kai takes the cigarette to his nose and smells it, is a peculiar smell.
"Try it"
Kai looks at this side, the older teen is on his second cigarette, the first one lays consumed and discarded between them.
"Here, let me lit it"
And he does.
The smell gets stronger.
He's being watched.
"Have you ever smoked before?"
"Yes"
It came out hoarse, barely a whisper.
There's a laugh.
"And here I thought you were mute"
Kai scoffs.
"How old are you anyways?"
"Thirteen... I think"
"You think?" He cackles "You don't even know you own age?"
Kai shrugs, before deciding to put the cigarette in his mouth.
Yeah this is not tobacco.
It's not bad, or so he thinks.
His partner for the night stays with him, smoking.
"Is good" He's told. "When everything hurts this might be the only thing that calms you down"
Kai only listens. He keeps smoking.
He has a restless night and he just arrives at the crack of dawn to wake up Nya (not that she needs that anymore, but old habits die hard), shower and change so he can go to the rice fields to works during the morning.
Kai doesn't see that guy again, he didn't even get his name.
But at least the effects of that cigarette accompanies him for a while.
Later he would hear chatter around the market, about how someone was shot in the village next to them.
Kai shudders at that.
He really doesn't want to think about it.
He has been getting better at blacksmithing so he doesn't go as much to the rice fields as he used to.
Nya's still a bit better than him but now both are able to make a moreless stable income.
He feels at peace.
It's been months since he has hung out with the rowdy kids of the village too.
Months since he has been on a fight.
Months since he has smoked or drink.
He feels good.
For the first time in a long time he looks forward to a new day.
It's still a difficult life and he's gonna keep on working if it means there's a possibility Nya will have a brighter future.
The days feel slow, but he has began to fall in love with the blacksmith life.
He doesn't feel as trapped as before.
Is calm, and he can see himself spending the rest of the time continuing the legacy of his family.
Is in one of a chilly autumn afternoon that an old man walks all the way up to his shop.
And he's thrown in for a loop again.