1. The Dark Side of Destiny: Beginnings

Chapter 19 - Secrets

Kai was still buzzing from the fight the day before. They'd finally learned Spinjitzu, and Kai felt like the grandest dreams of his childhood were now possible. Nothing could touch him or his family ever again. Kai felt invincible.

He jogged down the stairs of his humble home on his way to another training session. Sensei had been clear that Spinjitzu was only the beginning, and he was excited to see what was next. There was a whole new world of possibilities before him, and he wanted to be master of them all. When he reached the ground floor, he saw that his dad was at the forge and his sister was sitting nearby.

Nya would often sit down here to sketch out ideas and keep their father company. She was always making new things, and their dad would always fawn over her as ideas as if they were the greatest thing in the world, even when they weren't. If only Kai could show him what he'd learned. Then his father would be impressed with him, too.

When Kai came down, she glanced up at him with a strange look. What was she upset about, now? She always seemed to be annoyed with him about something, so he just ignored her.

Dad was heating up a blade that wasn't quite tapered properly. His skin glistened with sweat after working in the fires all day. "Going out again, Kai?" he asked.

Kai shrugged nonchalantly. "'Course." Really, all his dad knew was that he would leave every day to hang out with friends, but nothing more than that. In the past, Kai had never wanted to tell his parents about the secret training sessions because of their obvious disapproval at the idea of him fighting, but then he had become even more worried that red-eyed Wu and his creepy cave and his army of skeletons would get an even worse response, if his father knew.

A shadow seemed to flicker over his father's expression, but his eyes were glued to the fire and he didn't say anymore than, "Alright. Have fun."

Kai turned to leave through the wide gap in the front of the forge.

"Wait."

Kai paused and looked back at his sister. What did she want now?

But her gaze had softened and she looked at him innocently as she asked, "Kai, can you hand me my wrench?" and pointed it out. Then she shrugged. "You're closer."

Kai quirked an eyebrow, uncertain about the sudden change in attitude. Warily, Kai looked around and retrieved it for her. In retrospect, he should have been suspicious that she was asking for a wrench when she was using a pencil and paper. As he reached out to hand over the tool, Nya seized his wrist and pushed back the sleeve of his shirt.

"See!" Nya cried out triumphantly.

Beneath the sleeve she had revealed numerous bruises of all shapes and hues, mottled across his arm like some sort of disease.

"Nya!" Their father was less than impressed. "I told you to leave it alone!"

"But this is proof, Dad," she argued as Kai ripped his arm away. "Genuine proof!"

Kai tugged his sleeve back down over his wrist. "Proof of what?" he retorted. "It was from an accident!"

Nya leaned forward as she said, "Oh, don't even go there, I know you're lying! Your arms have been bruised for months at least, and they're always fresh!"

"Stay out of this, Nya," he growled. "It's none of your business!"

"Of course it is, I'm your sister."

"Enough, both of you!" Their father had left the steel blade resting near the fire and come to break up the argument. As they both fell silent, he turned to Kai, the distress clear in his eyes. Kai defensively crossed his arms and met his gaze, daring his father to accuse him as she did. Instead, he turned back to Nya. "I told you that I would take care of this."

"By doing nothing?"

"Nya, this is not the way to address the issue."

"There is no issue," Kai snarled.

"Then explain what's really going on!" his sister challenged.

"I told you, it's none of your business!"

"Kai," their father interjected again, his tone softer. "We're your family and we're worried about you. If it really is nothing, please, tells us what happened."

"It's that stupid counter upstairs," he said coolly, nodding his head to indicate. "I run into it every day. It's nothing."

Now his father was starting to get frustrated. "Kai, if you don't tell me the truth right now, I'm going to find out one way or another."

"Who are these friends that you're always with?" Nya asked. "Did they do this?"

Technically she was right, but that was just the kind of thing that came from their intense training. There wasn't anything wrong with it! Kai was starting to feel cornered by both of them, and it only made him more defensive. "It doesn't matter! There's nothing wrong!"

"I think it does matter," his father said. "It seems like your friends of yours might be a problem."

"You haven't been the same since you started hanging out with them," Nya pointed out.

"That was a long time ago," Kai argued.

"Nya's right. I've noticed it, too."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Of course, Nya's right. She's always right, isn't she?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" his sister asked incredulously.

"I mean, the only reason he believes this is because he'll believe anything you say."

"What?!"

"That's how it's always been: Nya's always right, Nya's so smart, Nya's better at everything, Nya can get away with anything!"

"That's not true!" she protested.

"It's always been about Nya and how great she is – up until now, when you have to think I'm hurt to really acknowledge me." Kai glimpsed the shock in his father's eyes but avoided both of their gazes. "No matter what I do I do, I'm not good enough for you. And now you can't even trust me."

"Kai." His father's voice was low as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I want to trust you. But right now, I'm too scared to let this go unanswered. Please tell me what's going on."

Kai was silent for a long while. All his anger towards his father that had been festering over the years was finally culminating in this moment. All he'd ever wanted to do was make his father proud, but his father never seemed to believe in him.

"I don't see why I should," Kai said evenly. "Maybe you're the one jumping to conclusions." It was a weak argument, but Kai refused to admit defeat.

His father crossed his arms. "Well then, you're not leaving this house until you tell me the truth!"

Kai didn't say a word as he turned and stormed off to his room. He wasn't going to give in, but his father wasn't aware of what all Kai was capable of. He could make threats, but he couldn't actually keep him from leaving . . . .

There was nothing that would keep Kai from his training or his friends. They were the only ones who understood him, after all. And with all of Sensei Wu's training, it would be easy to slip out of the house unnoticed. Kai wasn't about to let anything stand between him and his ambitions.