Best Kept Secret

Prologue

I'm only nine, Kai thought.

Kai was trying to pay attention: he really was. Kai blinked back tears as the lawyer used four-syllable words that he didn't understand. He was too young. He needed his parents to help him. But his parents left without reason. One day, they just disappeared.

Now Kai, being the oldest, had to hold the Smith family together. Nya was easy though. His little sister was his best friend. They did everything together. She helped him with the blacksmith, the only thing their parents left behind.

"That's our situation," the lawyer said. Kai thought the lawyer might be for him. But he wasn't sure. He had never met this person before. He wore a black suit and had a serious expression all the time.

"What do you think, Kai?" Ishi said. Technically, Kai and Nya had Foster Parents: Ishi and Makoto. They were friends of the family that stepped up when Kai's parents left.

The sudden disappearance of Kai's parents caused a lot of legal issues. None of which Kai understood. All he knew is that he was to inherit the smith when he was eighteen. However, the blacksmith had to be open for the entire nine years. Which was no problem. Kai stopped going to school so he could keep it open. Sure, he hadn't seen his friends since his parent's disappeared, but it was worth it for the smith. In the small town of Ignacia, the blacksmith was never too busy for Kai to handle. Plus Nya helped a lot.

Kai and Nya lived at the blacksmith, not with their foster parents. It was a good setup because Ishi and Makoto didn't like kids. And Kai and Nya were both mature enough to take care of each other. Ishi stopped by a few times a week to make sure the Smith kids were safe and to drop off money for food.

"I don't know... can you say that again," Kai said. Makoto growled softly. He despised kids, especially Kai. For some reason, he didn't mind Nya. But she was weird.

"This is the third time-" Makoto mumbled.

"Kai," Ishi interrupted, "We need you and Nya to move in with us. Can you convince Nya to move?"

"She won't. She won't lose the smith," Kai said. He wasn't losing the smith either. It was the last thing their parents owned. When they left, they took all of their personal belongings with them. All the photo albums, all the handmade crafts gifted to his parents, everything. It was gone. Nya and blacksmithing tools were all he had left.

The lawyer man wrote in a notebook. He'd been taking notes every time Kai said anything. Which made Kai wonder what he did wrong. Or why the man was present.

Well, Kai did know why the lawyer arrived in Ignacia. Nya had an ongoing rivalry with the next-door neighbour. That brat was bullying Nya constantly. When Kai learned that Nya was being picked on, he made Nya start practicing martial arts so she could defend herself. They watched martial arts movies together and copied the movements. They used excess food money to buy home workout weights. So Nya could build muscles to pummel the jerk.

As long as Nya never threw the first punch, it wasn't her fault. It was just self-defence. That plan backfired. After Nya broke the kid's nose, he complained to his parents. Who responded by calling Child Services about two children living alone in a blacksmith. The next day, the lawyer arrived.

No matter how many times Kai explained how safe and happy he and Nya were, he insisted they needed to live with an adult. Nothing convinced him. And Kai tried everything! They still believed that kids couldn't run the smith. And Nya needed a parental figure. And Kai had to be in school. It was dumb.

If they move out of the smith, they'll lose the smith. It had to be open until Kai turned eighteen. He could do school later; he needed to protect the memory of his parents now.