Love and Shadows (Gear Hearts Book 6/Spinoff) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 24: The Tale Of Secret Best Friends

Chi POV 

The sound of footsteps made him turn around. Nan and Thomas were coming down the hallway. Chi leaned back on the column and crossed his arms. "Chi, are you all right?" Nan said, reaching for him. 
Chi didn't want to keep a string of complaints, he threw his hands to ward Nan off. A profound hurt went across his face. "Okay, maybe I deserve that."

"I don't expect you to trust us" said Thomas. 
"That's good. Because I don't trust either of you." Chi said coldly. 
"What? We're your best friends, Chi." Nan said as gently as he could. "You trust us. You trust me your whole life."

Chi's heart spluttered as he met Nan's eyes.  He didn't reply. Could they stop asking him? If so, they should leave him here to gloat. Chi didn't blame them for skepticism. Thomas was mostly neutral right now. No childish jokes. Nan had the dominant energy over him, he was always the leader of the Espionage Club.  Everyone looked up to him.

"I suppose it won't be bad if you tell us about Kira." Thomas said.
Nan gave Chi's shoulder a squeeze. "You've got to tell us about her or else we'll never figure it out why she's here."
Chi startled, not in confusion, but in surprise. "Kira and I..." He forgot a moment to be furious. "We have the same power. We got it from those demons that terrorized our village. I didn't know how or didn't know why."

"But if you both have a dark fire magic. Then, why didn't the killer go after you?" Thomas, looking curious. 

"I don't know. Maybe he's after ordinary fire magic users. The magic I have...it's poisoning my mind." Chi said flatly. He sank his teeth into his lip. He could feel Nan's gaze on him. 

"So, what's the story between you and Kira?" Nan asked.
 "It's a long story. It's okay if you don't want me to tell you." Chi said softly.
"Don't worry." Nan assured him. "you can always talk to me about anything, right?"
Chi glanced over at Thomas, who was staring at him. He nodded. Chi sighed. "Okay, as I said, it's a long story but I think we still have time for that."

Nan narrowed his eyes. "So, what happened?"

Chi sipped from the mango milkshake before he started. His other hand curled around the column. "I've known Kira since we were nine.  We were best friends, keeping as a secret didn't end well either, our parents were rivals as combat trainers in the Wings and Sparrow Academy and in the magic shop business. She, her older sister, Nakiva and I used to go to the river to play. The Changs were the most popular water users in school. They were smart,  dedicated, genuine, and they were fierce warriors. I was nothing like that when I was nine. I was always curious about nature and I've grown to love it. I struggled with my studies. I thought sometimes it was better off if I hadn't been born in an abusive family." Thomas covered his mouth, shocked by the story. He didn't say anything, so Chi continued. "Nan knew about that. We were a very public best friends. I worshipped Nakiva, she helped me pass the exams, and train me with my sword magic. Under her teachings, I've become a great wizard. I've had honors, became top 1 in my class. Kira and I didn't even argue about the honors because we were both good. Then, came the night before the attack, our parents found out about our secret. They began hurting each other, and Kira blamed me."

"What did your dad do?" Nan asked. Knowing that his biological mother was kind-hearted.
"It was mom. She used her air magic to throw a bucket of water at Kira's mom."

"That's why she blamed you. That's a petty reason to take out her anger on you. She's here for some petty revenge." Thomas was shaking his head.

"She was pissed because her mom got hurt." Chi said as he watched three kids running towards their parents at the second floor. "When the attack came, there was a portal, not the ones that Trae Marvel has summoned, behind us. Nakiva threw herself at me when a demon pierced a sword through her abdomen, saving me. Kira saw the whole thing right in front of her. She screamed and screamed until she killed the demon with her water magic. Then, instead of mourning over her sister first, she tackled me to the ground while I was sobbing." Chi didn't know how to feel about that anymore but he refused to be caged, a crow that was meant to soar. He just stared at the cloudless sky, it was time to break free and fly. "I couldn't clearly remember why I got the powers, but there was something...painful that struck at our backs and we fainted. When I woke up, Nan was there."