Nya POV: When Cole came to say that Sensei would talk with Kai, I had to go for a walk to somewhat relax. I know and trust Wu, but I can't help but worry about my brother. And I'm also frustrated that I don't know what exactly was happening. Cole still won't talk and says that Kai should be the one to tell us. I appreciate how loyal he is, but I'm not at all patient when my older brother is involved.
I found myself walking through the halls and I ran into Master Wu, who was exiting his room. When he saw me he said, "Are you alright, Nya?"
"I'm good, but how's Kai? Is he okay?" I asked, sounding very impatient.
"He will be, but perhaps you should speak with him. It would do him so good." he suggested, and he gestured towards his room.
I nodded at him and quickly went to the door. But I paused before I gently knocked on the door. I barely heard him say come in, and I found him on the floor against the wall. He looked so worn out and was hugging himself, but he tried to seem fine and let himself go almost as soon as I walked in.
"What's up?" he asked, moving to stand up.
But I sat down next to him instead. Making him stay right where he was.
"Kai, would you tell me if anything was bothering you right? " I came right out and asked. Being direct with him always seems to work.
He immediately started to get nervous and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Cole mentioned that something happened. He didn't give any details, but I was hoping that we could talk?" I asked, gently, he just looked away.
"I… just don't want to talk about it." he said, whispering a little.
I sighed a little. Why can he just tell me? He's my brother, and I wouldn't judge him for anything. Why can he see that?
"Please Kai. Trust me." I whispered, and he peaked at me. But he still didn't say anything. He slowly hugged himself again.
I was going to tap his shoulder, but he started to get up and he said, "I'm fine, I promise."
He tried to go to the bathroom, but I quickly grabbed his hand and said, "Kai. Please talk with me. Nothing you can say will turn me away."
I just had a feeling to say that, and he froze when I said that. I must have hit the nail on the head. I slowly let him go and stood up all the way. But I waited for him to say something. However, he just started shaking, and he wasn't looking at me.
I was about to say something when I saw it, his tears. He was silently crying as he stood there. I was shocked, I've never seen him cry before and I hugged him from behind. He hugged himself and started crying more, but he was still quiet. Though he started shaking really hard, and tightened my grip in response.
I wanted answers more than ever, but right now he needs, and he needs us to stay like this.
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Kai POV: It took me about two hours to stop crying. Now Nya and I leaned against each other in our previous spot. I was so tired, but I didn't want to sleep yet. I can't believe I cried like that in front of her. I usually can keep myself together around the others. But what Nya said broke something and I couldn't control the tears. Thankfully she hasn't said anything yet and I appreciate the silence.
After a while she finally asked, "Feeling better?"
"A bit." I hated how tired I sounded.
"Do you… want to talk about it?" she asked, but I didn't answer her. What can I say?
"I… I can't, Nya. I don't want to burden you." I couldn't look at her as I said that.
"Kai… you don't have to be afraid to talk with me. You're my brother and nothing is ever going to change that. All I want is to help you." she said, all while she laid her head on my shoulder.
I know she was just trying to comfort me, but it was making me so conflicted. Like I said, I didn't want to burden her or anyone else. But, after talking with Master Wu, the weight of this was really starting to hurt. And I was just so tired from all of this secret keeping.
I hesitated a little before saying, "I… it's hard to talk about. But…"
"It's okay, take your time." she said gently, almost whispering.
I took a deep breath and started with asking, "Do… do you remember when I… left for that forge training?"
She looked a little surprised by that, but she answered, "Yeah, I remember. You were gone for a year."
I took another, more shaky breath and pulled my legs close to me before saying, "That was a lie."
Again, she was surprised. I was also surprised that I actually admitted something related to… this.
"Why did you lie?" she asked. She didn't get mad, which I was grateful for, but I feel hear all the questions she wanted to ask.
"It was easier, I guess. What actually happened… I just can't explain fully. Even now." I responded, not looking at her.
"I… guess I can see where you're coming from." she said, as she leaned more on me.
"I know that, but… it's hard to talk about something…" I couldn't finish because of all the feelings inside me that were welling up.
She didn't respond and just gave me a small hug. I glanced at her and saw nothing but a caring look on her face. Nothing else, and that made me relax some more. At least this was going better than I expected.
Then she asked, "Are you comfortable talking about it now? I'm not going to pressure you. I just want to help."
I didn't say anything right away. Honestly, maybe I could since it was fine so far. But at the same time I still don't feel ready to tell her everything. I don't even want to say anything yet, and that was a little frustrating. But… maybe I could do something else…
"Well, I could show you something instead." I said quietly
She was a little confused but said, "Alright."
I let go of my legs and grabbed the sleeve on my left arm. I took a deep breath and before I could lose my nerve I rolled it up. I didn't look at her, but I heard her gasp a little. Which didn't surprise me since now she could see them.
The scars all over my arm. I had a lot of scars from their claws and a couple that were from giant talons. But the most prominent one was the large bite mark that covered all of my forearm. They weren't red anymore, but they still look like they're painful.
She was, of course, shocked when she saw them. She took my arm and looked them over before she looked at me. I was nervous as she did, but she just hugged me tightly.
"You're okay, right?" she asked. She tried to sound fine, but I could hear the pain in her voice.
I just hugged her back without saying anything. Normally, I would say that I'm fine. But now I don't know anymore. I don't think I ever was since I left that place.