Story of Kuai Liang (Sub-Zero)

Chapter 3: Third-in-Command

I wanna taste love and pain,

Wanna feel pride and shame.

I don't wanna take my time,

Don't wanna waste one line.

I wanna live better days,

Never look back and say:

Could have been me.

It could have been me.

- The Struts, "Could Have Been Me"

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Ten Months Later...

Kuai rushed carefully down the stone path from Elaine's hut, cradling a ceramic pot in his hands as he walked quickly back to the village.

The cryomancer's daily schedule was the same every day - he'd wake up at 4:30 in the morning to get dressed and clean up his appearance before he would join Hideo in the garden, learning how to properly care for the plants. Then, he would attend his daily classes with the senior students, leaving in the afternoon with minimal bruises that ached with an oddly satisfying feeling. Kuai thought that this emotion was caused by the pride of making it through another lesson whilst evading his bullies: Shiro, Taro and Yuta. The three were still making it a point in their lives to harass Kuai, but he had managed to gain the admiration of a lot of the other students in his class, who would often go out of their way to defend their new, younger brother from the bullies.

It gave Kuai a fuzzy feeling to see that he was slowly being accepted into his new clan.

He'd run from the dojo the middle of the village, waving hello to the families as he ran past their houses. Slowly, over the months, they had come to wave back with smiles of their own as Kuai's presence became more familiar. He'd run to Elaine's cottage in the woods by following the forest path, where he'd spend the afternoon with her. She would teach him the uses of different herbs and their healing properties, and Kuai would listen attentively. He'd help her gather certain plants that she needed from the forest, running around the woods to collect the herbs that she required.

When the sun started to set, Kuai would say goodbye to the medicine woman and head back to the village, stopping by Harumi's house to see Satoshi. A lot of the time, Kuai would help to calm the child down from a crying fit, prompting Harumi to give Kuai a grateful smile while Hanzo watched from afar with careful eye. Then, Kuai would return home to Hideo and Aiya to eat dinner with the family and wash before retiring to bed.

This was the process he repeated with every passing day, and he didn't want to change a thing about it.

However, today was different. Kuai left Elaine's cottage earlier than usual to return to the village with his precious cargo. He stared down in awe at the small green sapling that was starting to grow in the soil, making sure to watch his steps. As he ran into the clearing, the villagers exchange confused looks. They, too, were aware of Kuai's schedule and knew that this was abnormal of the boy's routine.

"Where are you running off to in such a hurry, Kuai?" One of the mothers called out from the porch of her house as she watched her son play with the neighbors children.

"I've got to plant a tree in Hideo's garden!" Kuai called out excitedly as he paused in his sprint, holding up the sapling in a demonstration. "Elaine got it for me! A friend from Hawaii sent it to her - it's a plumeria tree, see?"

"Oh, really?" A man asked amusedly. Kuai's enthusiasm was contagious. "Well, you better head on your way, then. The tournament is tomorrow; you'll need a good night's rest for the fights. My money's on you, kid."