Chapter 8:

Chapter 8: — “Eye in the Pry"

Shattered Chains


The apartment was quiet in that heavy way that made every small sound feel loud. Kael stood by the door, tying his shoelaces and pretending this was normal. “I’ll be back,” he said, grabbing his jacket. “Just going to the store.”

Yui sat on the couch with her stuffed rabbit, swinging her feet. “Onii-chan, can you get the strawberry milk?” she asked, bright-eyed.

“Maybe,” Kael said with a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Sakura watched him from the arm of the couch, frowning a little. Lately, he’d been leaving at the same time in the evening. He never brought home many groceries. Sometimes none at all. He always came back tired, like he’d been running for miles. “Don’t be long,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“I won’t,” he said, already opening the door.

Hina waited until it shut, then scooted closer to Sakura. “That’s the third night,” she whispered. “He didn’t even ask what we needed.”

Yui hugged her bunny to her chest. “Maybe he just needs fresh air.” She said it softly, but her little face looked worried.

Sakura folded her arms, thinking. “I don’t like it. He looks worn out. And he’s hiding something.” Her voice was calm, but her heart picked up speed. Secrets were not new in this house. Most secrets here hurt.

Hina glanced at the clock. “If we wait too long, we’ll lose him.”

Yui’s eyes went wide. “Lose him? Where is he going?”

Sakura stood. “I don’t know,” she said, “but we’re going to find out.”

Hina hesitated. “If he sees us, he’ll be mad.”

“Better mad than hurt,” Sakura said. “Get your shoes.”

Yui swallowed and slid off the couch. “This is a bad idea,” she mumbled, but she was already tugging on her sneakers. She looked at the door and then at her sisters. “Please don’t let me be last. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You won’t be,” Sakura said. She held the door open, listened for their parents—it was quiet—and led the way into the dim hallway.

They slipped down the stairs, three small shadows chasing one bigger one, hearts pounding for reasons they didn’t fully understand.

Outside, the evening air was cool. Kael was a block ahead, walking fast with his hands in his jacket pockets. The girls ducked behind a parked car, peeking over the hood like little spies in a movie.

“Okay,” Sakura whispered, “rule one: we stay two corners behind him. Rule two: we don’t talk loud. Rule three: if he turns, we hide.”

Hina nodded seriously. “Got it.”

Yui lifted her hand. “Um… rule four: if a cat appears, I’m going to pet it.”

“No cats,” Sakura said.

Yui pouted, but she didn’t argue. She hugged the rabbit and stuck close.

Kael turned right at the end of the block. The girls hurried after him, sticking to fences and hedges. Hina almost tripped over a loose tile on the sidewalk; Sakura grabbed her arm before she fell. “Careful,” Sakura breathed.

“I’m okay,” Hina said, cheeks red.

They stopped at the corner and peeked out. Kael was still moving fast, a shape in the streetlights. He didn’t look around. He walked like someone with a secret destination and a timer in his head.

Yui felt a mix of fear and excitement. “Do you think he’s meeting someone?” she whispered.

Sakura shook her head. “It’s not like that. Look at how he moves. He’s tense. He’s not happy to go. He’s… forcing himself.”

“Why?” Hina asked.

Sakura didn’t answer. She had a guess, but she didn’t like it. The memory of Kael’s bandaged arm, the bruises he tried to hide, the way he flinched if a door slammed too hard—these things sat heavy in her chest. He was doing something for them. She just knew it.

They crossed another street and followed him down a narrow side road. The brick walls rose on both sides like a tunnel. Yui shivered. “Can we go home?” she asked, voice small.

Sakura squeezed her hand. “Soon. I promise. We just need to know. Then we’ll never have to guess again.”

“Okay.” Yui took a breath and kept walking.

At the next corner, Kael turned left and disappeared behind a gate marked with a simple lotus emblem. Inside, warm light spilled onto the pavement. The sign above the gate read: Iron Lotus.

Hina glanced at Sakura. “A dojo?”

Sakura nodded. A tiny spark of hope flickered in her. Training. Strength. Maybe this was the answer Kael had been chasing. Maybe this was how he would keep them safe.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get closer... but stay low.”

They slipped along the wall and found a gap near the side door where they could peek into the main hall. The dojo was bigger than they’d expected. Bright mats covered the floor. A row of practice weapons hung neatly on the back wall. A few students stretched. Others practiced kicks in pairs. In the middle of it all stood Kael, facing a taller boy with short hair and quick feet.

The trainee in charge watched from the side. He said something the girls couldn’t hear and clapped twice. The two boys bowed to each other and then moved in.

Kael’s shoulders were tense at first, like he wasn’t sure he belonged. But the second the other student stepped forward, Kael’s focus sharpened. He blocked a jab, slipped left, and landed a clean tap to the shoulder. The taller boy grunted, reset, and came back faster.

Sakura felt her own body lean forward. She’d never seen Kael move like this. He wasn’t just swinging. He was thinking. He was reading the other guy’s timing. The motions looked simple, but they were precise. Even Hina noticed it. “He’s so fast,” she whispered.

Yui, eyes huge, gripped her rabbit so tight its ears bent. “Onii-chan looks strong,” she breathed, wonder filling her voice.

The taller boy tried a low sweep. Kael hopped back, then stepped in with a short strike to the chest pad—just enough to count, not enough to hurt. The trainee nodded once from the side, approving.

Sakura felt a sting behind her eyes. Pride, fear, love—too many feelings at once. He was doing this for them. All those nights he came home tired, the quiet pain, the way he said he was “fine”… he had been carrying this alone.

A clap echoed in the hall as the round ended. Kael and the other boy bowed again. Kael’s chest rose and fell quickly. Sweat shone at his hairline. He looked older in that light, like a piece of him had already stepped into another life.

Hina leaned in closer to see. A floorboard squeaked under her shoe. The trainee’s head turned a little. Sakura pulled her back quickly and shook her head, eyes wide: Careful.

Hina nodded fast. Yui swallowed and stayed very, very still.

Another round began, this time with a different partner. The new boy was heavier and stronger, and he tried to push Kael around. Kael gave ground at first, breathing steady, watching. He used the extra space to reset his guard and circle. When the boy overreached, Kael slipped to the side and tapped him on the flank. It wasn’t flashy, but it was clean. It counted.

Hina smiled despite herself. “He’s winning.”

“Good,” Sakura said softly, half a prayer.

Then came the moment that almost gave them away.

Kael cut inside a wide hook and placed a tidy palm strike on the chest pad that made the other boy stumble back two steps. It looked like something out of a movie—only real.

Yui burst. “KAEL IS KICKING ABSOLUTE BUTT!” she shouted, bouncing on her toes.

“YUI!” Sakura and Hina hissed together, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her down below the window line. “Shhh!” Sakura whispered sharply. “Do you want us to get caught?”

Yui clapped both hands over her mouth, eyes huge. “S-sorry,” she breathed, cheeks red.

Inside, heads turned. The heavier boy looked toward the door. A couple of students whispered. The trainee’s gaze lifted, narrowing as he scanned the edges of the room. He took two steps toward the side door. The girls froze.

Kael, noticing the shift in the room, glanced in the same direction. For a heartbeat, his eyes flicked past the doorway, as if he had felt them. His face tensed, then smoothed again, but he was no longer fully present in the spar.

“Please don’t look,” Hina whispered, palms sweating.

The trainee stopped near the door, listening. The dojo fell quiet for a second that felt like a minute. Then he turned back to the floor and clapped. “Reset!”

The students moved. The noise returned: feet on mats, short breaths, the thump of practice pads. The girls let out the breath they’d been holding.

Sakura still looked rattled. “We’ve seen enough,” she said. “We should go before—”

The side door slid open with a gentle shff.

The trainee stood there, calm but watchful, eyes dropping to the three small figures crouched by the wall.

“You girls seem a little young to be here,” the trainee said. His tone wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t playful either. “Names?”

Sakura stood up fast, putting herself a step in front of Hina and Yui. “I’m Sakura,” she said, trying to sound brave. “These are my sisters, Hina and Yui.”

The trainee looked from their faces to the open door and back again. “Do you know this is a training hall? Not a playground.”

Before Sakura could answer, Kael appeared behind him, breath still a little fast from the last round. The moment he saw the girls, the color drained from his face. “Sakura? Hina? Yui?” His voice cracked. “What are you doing here?”

Yui’s lip wobbled. “We followed you,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, Onii-chan.”

Kael rubbed a hand over his face. “You can’t be here,” he said, panic creeping into his voice. He turned to the trainee, words tumbling out. “They’re my sisters. I swear they didn’t mean—”

The trainee lifted a hand. “It’s okay,” he said, steady. “Take them outside and talk. Quietly.” He glanced at the three girls, worried, guilty, scared. Then he looked at Kael and added, “Make sure they get home safe.”

Kael nodded quickly. “Thank you,” he said. He stepped out into the courtyard and motioned for the girls to follow.

The night air felt colder now. The courtyard lights cast soft pools on the stone path. From inside, the muted sounds of training continued, as if the building had a heartbeat and breath of its own.

Kael faced his sisters, jaw tight. He didn’t yell, not yet. He was too shaken to find the right volume for his fear. “Why?” he asked. “Why would you follow me here?”

Sakura opened her mouth, but no words came out at first. Hina stared at the ground. Yui held her rabbit like a shield and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

The trainee watched from the doorway for a moment longer, then slid the door shut, giving them space.

“You shouldn’t have done this,” Kael said. His voice was sharper now, the edge of panic scraping through every word. “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened if you were caught? If our parents noticed you were gone? Do you even think before you—”

“Don’t yell at us like we’re little kids!” Sakura snapped, stepping forward. Her fists clenched at her sides. “We only followed you because you keep sneaking out like some criminal. What were we supposed to do? Just sit at home and wait, wondering if you’re dead in a ditch?”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Yes! That’s exactly what you should’ve done, wait at home where it’s safe. I’m the one who takes the risk. Not you. Never you.”

“That’s not fair!” Sakura fired back. “You think we don’t care about you? You think we like sitting around while you come home bleeding or limping, pretending it’s ‘nothing’? We’re not blind, Kael. We see everything.”

His hands curled into fists, though not at her. At himself. “I didn’t tell you because it’s not your burden. It’s mine. I’m the one who has to fight.”

“And what if you lose one day?” Sakura shouted. “What if you don’t come back? Then what? Are we just supposed to smile and say, ‘Oh, at least he didn’t burden us’? That’s stupid!”

“It’s not stupid!” Kael roared back, the sound bouncing off the courtyard walls. Yui flinched. Hina grabbed her hand. “You don’t understand, I can take it. I need to take it. That’s the only way to keep you safe. If I let you close, if I let you know everything, it’ll destroy you the way it destroys me.”

Sakura’s face twisted, hurt and fury mixing. “You don’t get it, do you? You’re not keeping us safe, Kael—you’re shutting us out! You act like we’re weak, like we can’t handle anything. But we’ve been through the same things as you. We live in the same house, hear the same yelling, feel the same fear. You’re not the only one bleeding!”

Kael blinked, her words hitting harder than any strike in the dojo. He shook his head, stubborn. “It’s different. You don’t carry the same weight.”

“Yes, we do!” Sakura’s voice cracked now, the anger laced with desperation. “We just carry it in silence, because you never let us share it with you.”

For a second, the courtyard was silent except for Yui’s soft sniffles. Hina looked down, guilt pressing on her shoulders.

Kael’s breathing was ragged. He looked at Sakura, ready to argue again, but the fight in his voice faltered. “If I let you know everything… it’ll only hurt you,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Sakura stepped closer until they were nearly face to face. Her eyes burned with frustration and care. “Or maybe, if you let us in, we can help you… so you don’t have to carry it all alone.”

The words hung between them, heavy and trembling.

Kael swallowed hard. His anger wasn’t gone, but it had nowhere left to land. He turned his face away, jaw tight, eyes wet though he refused to let the tears fall.

Kael’s voice was sharp. “Go home. Now.”

Sakura’s face twisted with anger and tears. “Go home?! Are you serious, Onii-chan? You think we’re just going to leave you here like an idiot?!”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “I said leave! It’s not safe for you!”

Yui tugged on Sakura’s pants, her small voice trembling. “Sakura… please.”

Hina stepped closer, whispering softly, “Sakura... let's just go.”

Sakura’s face twisted with anger and tears. She spat out, “Yeah… you’re both right… let’s just go and leave this idiot alone!”

Without another word to Kael, she grabbed Hina and Yui’s hands and stormed off, slamming the door behind them, leaving Kael standing there in silence.

Astrowolf
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