A/N

There is an epilogue after this, I'm posting them simultaneously. Don't skip it!!

♡♡♡

Almost a week had passed, yet every day felt the same.

As per usual, he got dressed, ate his breakfast, and approached Nya's door.

"Nya, wanna hang out?" he asked yet again. "You know, just the two of us? Like the good old days?"

Nya would, as always, ignore him. She simply exited her room every day, ran the shop, and went back inside.

Even her errands weren't safe; the gossip would spread too fast, the whispers would get too loud. But just seeing the older Smith sibling out and about with no friends or foes... that was an even bigger mystery.

Every time his friends would knock on his door, he would ignore them. His anger was boiling inside him by the second, he didn't want to lash out.

It took him far too long to realise that the gossip had spread; not by him, but by them, his supposed friends that only room the photos to protect Nya from the dangerous stranger.

No friends, no neighbours, no sister... Was he that desperate as to go live in that place? In a Monastery with a bunch of crazy people who claim that he's the key to the prevention of the world's doom? How would Nya adjust? She couldn't possibly live in a house full of messy, sweaty guys, she'd go crazy in there.

She was only a teen, after all; she didn't know what she wanted, her decisions were based purely on her small crush.

Then again, he was a teen too; but, in the end, he could never really understand her as much as he tried.

He was a bad brother, he had accepted that. He never quite got to truly know her despite raising her himself; friends were quite the distraction, even if they claimed to care for her. That proved false, as luck would have it.

If he couldn't understand her, he knew someone who would.

And so, out of all the errands of the day, he saved hers for last.

But first, he had other things to work out.

"If you ask me, I never trusted those boys. They were a messy bunch," Mr Beni told him with a huff in the morning. He had to agree.

"It's not worth crying over a boy, she can do better than him. Poor girl, you never know when a rumour might catch up on you," Ms Bao said during noon. She was the one to listen to his explanation with a sorry look on her face, she was the only one to believe Nya's truth. She believed Nya instantly, even when he himself didn't.

"I thought Nya was smarter than to do such a thing with a foreigner, but we can't all be bright," Ms Ming said in the afternoon. He wanted to punch her. He didn't bother explaining her son's lies; she had already caused enough damage.

Finally, the night had arrived. It was quite late, he didn't get the chance to run his final errand.

But lying on his bed, hearing nothing but tinkering, music, and sniffles coming from Nya's room was torturing enough. He had messed up, and seeing his sister sad was the karma he had coming for him.

He knocked on Nya's door, but entered anyway.

The old cassette player came to a stop and her wrench was put down, her gaze turning to face him blankly.

He noticed a letter on the bed, and just the doodled hearts across it told him all he needed to know.

His lip trembled a little when he tried to speak.

So, at first, he didn't; he simply pulled her into a tight hug, trying to contain his tears.

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first."

"It's alright."

"No, it's not. It wasn't you I didn't trust, it was him. But I was just so worried that something might have happened to you and..."

"Doesn't matter now, does it? Everything's in shambles thanks to your friends..." she said with a sigh. "Even the nice people avoid me now."

He didn't move an inch, simply observing her tinker with the metal bird on her bed.

"I was scared to go with them too," she finally said. "It's not like I want to risk my life on the daily, but now that everything here is so bleak..."

"Yeah."

He stood up, having a purpose for once.

"I'll be back in a few," he said as he walked towards the door. "I've made your favourite, by the way. Grab a plate and don't stay up too late."

She seemed confused. "Everything okay?"

"I hope so," he said and closed the door.

♡♡♡

It was quite embarrassing, how much time had passed since he last visited a library.

Lei and his friends would always see her sneak in there; that's where she would spend her time according to the village.

Much like Nya, the librarian was like a ghost; she did the job, then disappeared to her lonely home. He had forgotten her face within days of meeting her, but Nya certainly hadn't.

He chuckled at the memory of Nya coming home with a new book every day, raving about dragons and princes. When she was younger, he would read her a story to sleep, even if they were above his level at the time.

He stopped doing it when he found his friends; not intentionally either.

But what he hadn't realised was that Nya never really found her own friends; and he was partly to blame.

"Kai! Oh, look at how tall you've grown," Ms Feng, the librarian, pinched his cheek. "Is Nya sick? I haven't seen her in a few days."

"About that..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can we talk?"

♡♡♡

Ms Feng sipped on her tea. "Poor girl. He seemed like such a nice boy as well."

"He is," said Kai, trying not to gag at how spontaneously the words escaped his mouth. "Or at least he made her happy..."

"Is that not enough?"

Kai leaned back against the bookshelf and sighed. "I just don't know what or who to believe. It's not every day that some old guy comes telling you of being able to control fire and all," he said. "You think I would have noticed that by now."

Ms Feng put her cup down, her face creased with worry. "Is that what this is about?"

When Kai nodded, she reached under the counter, pulling out a book.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think a book is going to..." When he noticed its contents, he stopped. "... Help."

She flipped along the pages of the old photo album, landing on the one she wanted.

It was her and the old man, looking quite younger as he offered her a rose.

"You and that guy used to be a thing?"

Her face reddened. "Wrong photo," she said. "But he was quite the charmer."

Kai's gaze trailed over to the next page. When he noticed it, he audibly gasped.

"Your parents were quite close with Wu. We all wondered why he didn't just take you in when they disappeared."

"So... the crazy old guy is not lying."

"I'm afraid not. Even Ms Ming... even that weasel has kept her mouth shut through all this," she said. "Your parents did a lot to protect the village. We didn't think you had inherited their powers, but if Wu says you did, then..."

"Hold on, I'm not ready to save the world," he said. "My main priority is Nya at the moment, I'm sure they're skilled enough to do it on their own."

"Well, from the looks of it, Nya would be happier if you went along with them."

He looked at the ground, deep in thought. "What's the alternative if I don't go? We'll still be able to sustain ourselves, right?"

"Well, Nya will either have to find a job, and if that won't sustain her... become a housewife most likely. It's just how things work in here," she said. "But between you and me, we don't have the brightest suitors in our village."

"I'll find a way to support us both then."

She put her cup down again, the audible clink startling him. "Is this really how you want to live though, Kai? The people here won't help you forever; some of them will be dead by the time you most need them.

"I've met some of the nicest people in this village, but I've also met some of the worst. Ms Ming and her spoiled brat being two of them. You never hear them make fun of people behind their backs and destroying their life just like that. Some people just thrive on hate.

"I'm not here to tell you what to do, but I'm sure we both know the better option. You're a good kid, Kai, but don't let your pride get to you."

Kai could only give her a blank stare in return.

"Excuse the rant..." she said, her voice becoming quiet again.

"No, no... I needed to hear that," he said. "It's just that, when you feel so safe where you are, it's hard to adapt to change. And when our parents left... that safe space was sort of just... gone."

"Well, maybe Nya has a safe space of her own," she said, her tone soft. "Perhaps it's not somewhere, but someone."

It was difficult to process. But the bright smile she had on her face the few moments he saw them together, how willing she was to just let him pick her up and tickle her with no mercy... He hadn't seen her that happy in years. It brought a smile to his own face.

"Ms Feng?" he said. "Can we take a few of Nya's favourites when we move?"

"Of course," she said, the proud smile on her face overshadowing her fatigue.

♡♡♡

"You awake?" Kai said, opening Nya's door. Sure enough, she was still in the same place, looking at the ceiling and trying to close her eyes.

"Yeah."

He sat down on the edge of her bed, taking out one of the books from the paper bag he was holding.

He smiled. "Want a bedtime story?"

Her eyes widened at first, but eventually, she gave in.

"With pleasure."