Eight: Season 4

Episode 94: Haunted

Shoto-
I rubbed my eyes. "You look like shit." Hanta said.
"I'm just exhausted." I said, gripping the bridge of my nose.
  Hanta sighed and we sat down. "Listen to me man, I know you want to deal with your choice alone...but I'm worried as hell about you." Hanta said.
  I sighed, pushing my hands into my eyes. "Do you think I made the right choice?" I asked.
  "You're asking the most mortally gray person at this camp if you made the right choice?" Hanta asked.
  I chuckled, exasperated, but nodded. Hanta took a deep breath. "I think you made the only choice you possibly could, Shoto. Your parents were cruel and wrong, Toya saving your other older siblings was a small oversight...but you did the right thing. And I dunno, maybe I'm partial because they tortured me and the guys. Shoto, we may not have been in there long...but they tortured the fuck out of us. It felt like years even if it was only a few hours." Hanta said.
"I just...what if I made more enemies?" I asked.
"Toya has always been an enemy Shoto, but even he knows when he'd lose a fight. Your power was enough to force them to retreat, and Toya may hate your guts for killing your parents...but who cares? Toya, Natsuo, Fuyumi, they all three tortured you just as much as your parents did, maybe even more so, on Earth. Toya tortured and raped Jade for no fucking reason other than he enjoyed it, for a whole year. He's always been an enemy." Hanta said.
I took a deep breath. "You're right." I said.
"I usually am." Hanta said.
I chuckled and smiled at him. "Now, I think you're overdue to see Jade. Take today off, go spend it with her. I can handle whatever leadership things need to be handled today." Hanta said.
I smiled, and quickly hugged him. "Thanks Hanta." I said, and we did our secret handshake.
Hanta nodded and I ran off to the Jareau family tent since Jade was fully recovered now. "Is Jade home?" I asked.
"I think she's in the shack." Seth said.
"Thanks Seth." I said, and I ran towards the shack, one of the buildings that survived Xia's attack.
I slowed to a walk as I got to the entrance. "Nnnggg, grr..." Jade cried, as she did her knee exercises.
She dropped down and exhaled, leaned over and gripped her knees. I saw her shoulders shutter and I frowned and walked in. "It's ok." I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.
She sniffled and stood to her full height. "Hey Shoto." She whispered, and I turned her to me and hugged her.
She closed her eyes and hugged me tightly. "What brings you here? I mean I'm happy to see you but..." Jade began, taking a deep breath and sniffling when she exhaled.
"Hanta forced me to take a day off to be with you." I said.
Jade laughed. "What a good friend." Jade said, and I smiled at her.
"You wanna go?" I asked.
"What'd you have in mind?" Jade asked.
I took her hand. "I don't know, I just wanted to be with you." I said.
Jade smiled and interlocked her fingers with mine, kissing the top of my hand as we walked out of the shack. I glanced at her neck...she was still wearing the necklace. I smiled, and I looked at her. She took another deep breath, closing her eyes, as the sun touched her face. I smiled at her. "Jade..." I began.
"Hmm?" Jade asked, looking at me.
I smiled and then sighed. "It's nothing, I just...you look happy." I said.
"Sun's out, no one is trying to murder us, everyone is here and no one is getting tortured. And...I'm with the man I—" she began, blushing and looking down and away, I smiled at her, and she cleared her throat. "And I'm with you...so yeah, I'm happy." Jade said.
I chuckled. "You're wearing the necklace." I said.
"Huh!? Oh! Yeah, I just...yeah." Jade said, awkwardly.
I looked at her. "You know how we told each other we'd stop keeping secrets and share our feelings?" I asked.
"Yeah." Jade said.
"That day, in the grotto, I was down and you...you brought me back up. I was scared to rely on you because, well you've been through a lot, and I didn't want to add more shit to your stuff." I said.
"Shoto...I'm always gonna be here for you. Whether it's for advice or a shoulder to lean on when you need someone." Jade said.
I sighed. "I haven't been sleeping at night since I killed my parents. I keep...wrestling with my choices...it's tearing me apart." I said.
Jade sighed. "Enji and Rei may have been cruel and twisted, and they may have tortured you growing up...but at the end of the day, they're still your parents. You still love them...even if they're flawed...albeit very flawed, but...you still loved them. That's why you're struggling." Jade said, and to me it felt like she was speaking from experience.
  I sighed. "I hate that you're right." I said.
  "Usually am." Jade said, and I chuckled.
  "Yeah." I said, sniffling.
  "Eventually, you'll remember...you did this to protect the people you care about. It'll hurt for a while, and you need to give yourself time to grieve." Jade said.
  I nodded and we walked to the grotto, a place where we both felt safe. We sat down and I just let the pain wash over me like a 10 ton brick.
  I buried my head into her chest and just cried...I hadn't done that in a while. Jade just held me, rubbing my back and brushing her fingers through my hair as she pressed her lips into my forehead and just held me as I cried until I fell right to sleep on her breasts once more.