Intlungu (Pain)

Prologue: Disintegration (Part 1)

Warnings: Angst. Character death.

Words: 900+

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Nakia's head pounded as she finally came to.

Blinking her eyes, she reached a hand to massage her temples only to find them wet with blood.

The last thing she remembered was Thanos' hand squeezing her neck before throwing her into a tree.

"Nakia!" The voice of her worried little sister was the last thing she heard before blacking out.

"Omncinci," Nakia mumbled as she began sitting up, wincing at the pain in her calf. She looked to see that she had been grazed, causing blood to pool out of the wound.

"Sister Nakia?" A strong yet tender voice addressed her.

Nakia's brown eyes filled with relief upon seeing Okoye.

The Dora General kneeled on one knee to examine Nakia. The War Dog looked fine for the most part, but she was going to need a full body scan to check for further damages. When Okoye spotted the cut on Nakia's leg, she took a piece of cloth from her armor and tore it off to use it as a gauze until they were able to get back to Shuri's lab. "This shall hold you for now."

Nakia nodded and waited for Okoye to finish tying the cloth around her calf. "Where's Kya?"

"I don't know," was the Dora General's answer, to Nakia's dismay.

The War Dog mentally kicked herself. She hated that she allowed Kya to talk her into coming onto the battlefield. Even though this was an all-hands-on-deck situation, Nakia still wasn't fond of the idea of her baby sister putting her life on the line for Wakanda.

Kya was very skilled in archery, a hobby she started at age twelve. She latched on rather quickly, and within months, she was more skilled than half the Amazonian women from the Wonder Woman comics that she collected.

When Kya asked her big sister to let her help fight Thanos, Nakia was very reluctant. This wasn't like a sex-trafficking ring in a foreign country. Truthfully, the older Shauku sibling wasn't sure what this was, and after watching those things attack the border from T'Challa's office window, Nakia didn't think their country was worth her little sister putting herself in that line of fire.

"I'm not a child, Nakia!" Kya stood her ground, earning a wide-eyed look from her usisi omkhulu. She had a fire in her eyes, one Nakia recognized. It was the same fire their mother had when she would leave Wakanda for her missions, and it was the same fire that Nakia had when it came to joining the War Dog Program.

As much as Nakia hated to admit it, Kya was no longer a child. Of course, she would always be her omncinci, but Kya was twenty-four years old, a grown adult capable of making her own decisions. True, Kya did have her moments of childishness, but that was part of her charm. It was her way of putting smiles on the faces of people around her. And then there were moments like this, moments when Kya was serious and headstrong about something, and no one—not even Nakia—could stop her.

Begrudgingly, Nakia allowed Kya to join the fight. Giving her a hug and a sisterly kiss on the forehead, she told Kya that she loved her and will see her on the battlefield.

If only Nakia knew that would be the last time she would ever hug or kiss her omncinci.

With Okoye's help, Nakia was able to stand and start walking, despite the pain in her calf. "Is everyone alright?" She asked Okoye, but truthfully she only cared if Kya was fine. She'll worry about everyone else once she makes sure that her baby sister was safe and sound.

"For the most part," Okoye answered while wrapping an arm around Nakia's waist to support her as she walked.

It wasn't long before they found Kya lying on the ground—seemingly unconscious—with her bow to her side, a slight cut on her cheek, and leaves amongst her soft coils. Nakia was able to muster enough energy to hasten toward her little sister.

"Omncinci," Nakia whispered as she kneeled beside her and gently shook her shoulders.

Fortunately, that was all it took for Kya's eyes to flutter open and release a groan. "Nakia?"

"Yes, it's me, little one." Nakia brushed some of Kya's curls out of her face and found another cut on her forehead. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Just my neck," Kya answered in a raspy voice, as she turned to show her usisi the damage.

Nakia pushed her sister's curls out of the way to see a big gash that started at the back of Kya's head and stopped just before her shoulder. It wasn't bleeding as much as it could've been, so for that Nakia was grateful. "It's nothing Shuri can't handle." She smiled a bit despite the situation before standing up and lending a hand to her sister.

Kya took her big sister's hand, but when Nakia clasped her hand around hers to pull her up, it began disintegrating, causing her to fall back onto the ground. "Wha-"

"KYA!" Nakia's scream caught her attention, but the younger Shauku sibling didn't have much time to react.

They exchanged looks of horror as Kya's right arm disappeared into thin air followed by her left arm.

"Naki-"

Kya was gone.

Vanished into a pile of ashes right in front of Nakia.

The War Dog gasped as tears quickly filled her eyes.

"Nakia," Okoye addressed her. "It's kumkani. He...." The Dora General trailed off when she saw the look on her dear friend's face. She didn't bother asking what happened. Nakia's emotional state, along with the pile of ash in front of her was answer enough. "Nakia, I'm so sorry."

That was all it took for the dam that contained Nakia's emotions to break.

The War Dog fell to her knees and allowed the tears to fall as she wept for her omncinci.