Family Troubles

Training and Truths

No one's POV

"Ah, there you two are," Wu exclaimed as the Brookstones walked outside. Everyone bar Pixal was outside, but she appeared out of the door shortly after.

"What is it, Master?" Cole asked, turning to face him.

"Seeing as Kira is struggling to control her powers, and you have just unlocked another branch of your element, I've decided that you two should spar." Kira's mouth dropped.

"R-right now?" Wu nodded, and she straightened up a little.

"Scared?" Cole teased as they got into fighting positions on either side of the courtyard.

"No, don't go easy on me either," She yelled out, slightly bristled.

"I want Kira to try and knock down Cole, while Cole must deflect her attacks. Both of you can use whatever powers or skills you possess." The Elementals nodded, steel expressions on their faces. "Alright, GO!"

Kira ran straight at Cole, fist in front of her. Just before she hit him, Cole stepped to the side, grabbing her wrist and sending her off course. She sprouted a vine from the ground, using it to propel herself into a backflip.

Cole simply bent backwards as she got closer, and pushed her back into the air. Letting out a frustrated huff, she tried to throw another punch, but he kept jumping backwards, an entertained look on his face. Eventually, he grabbed her fist and flipped her over.

"Tired?" He asked as he leaned over her, she gave him an unimpressed look and jumped back up. She made to grab his arm, but her hand went straight through him.

"Wha...?" She looked up at him.

"Side effect of almost not making it through the rift," He explained. "Are we going to continue?"

She made the vine that was already sticking out of ground grow towards them, aiming for Cole's head. Instead, a large black cloud appeared, and in his place was Claudia, so the vine went straight over both of them.

"Boo!" She called out, clearly enjoying it. It just made Kira more agitated. The others watching didn't help either.

The teen muttered something. Claudia's expression softened.

"Look, if you don't wanna do this anymore, we can-" She was interrupted by a fist closing in on her face, causing her to bend and flip backwards to avoid it. "I see what you did there!" Both of them smiled, before continuing their fight.

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{Later}

Kira's POV

"Alright, I give up. You're good," I called out, flopping onto the cobbled ground. Claud walked up to me, and bent over, smiling.

"Five years of being a ninja, my dear sister," She commented, sticking a hand out. I accepted and she pulled me up.

"You did quite well, Kira," Zane added, walking up to us.

"Really? Thanks." I turned to Claud. "Anyway, didn't you say you had a kid? I haven't seen her anywhere."

"Oh yeah, she's in Shintaro right now. Vania doesn't usually get to spend much time with her."

"Wait, how do you know so much about Claudia?" Lloyd asked, still clearly suspicious of me.

"We've been writing to each other the whole time I've been a ninja. I tell her everything," Claud explained. I nodded smiling.

"Not everything, Dee. I couldn't help but notice she thinks you fell of the bridge," Nya gently told her.

"Huh?" I asked, confused. 

"I didn't have the chance to tell her, and to be honest I didn't know she was the one who saved me," Claud responded, her voice quieting.

"Wait, tell me what? You did fall off the bridge, right?" Claud turned to Pixal, a pleading expression on her face. She walked up to me, wearing a sympathetic look.

"Walk with me, Kira," She requested as she walked towards the monastery doors. I followed after her, looking back to see my sister leaning against Kai, rubbing her eyes as the others comforted her.

No one's POV

"Where are we going? Claud's upset, shouldn't we go back?" Kira asked as Pixal lead her through the monastery.

"We will, but I need to explain a sensitive topic to you before we do." The nindroid stopped, turning to Kira. "'Audie didn't fall off the bridge. I'm afraid she jumped off herself. She had recently been taken advantage of and her mental state was extremely fragile."

Kira's jaw hung open slightly. A tear fell down from her eye, and Pixal pulled her into a hug. She gently stroked the teen's hair, calming her down. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we're all so grateful that you were there in time. I don't know what we'd do if we lost her."

Kira sniffed, drying her eyes. "Can we go back?" Pixal nodded, and they made their way back to the courtyard.

The others were still standing there, talking to Claudia, when the doors opened back up. Claudia turned to looked at her sister, and two pairs of watery eyes met. Kira rushed over, slamming into the other, who wrapped her arms around her.

"It's ok, I'm doing better. You don't need to worry about me," She mumbled into the younger one's hair. The others walked back inside to give the siblings some space.

Once they had both calmed down, they released each other. "Thank you," Claudia whispered.

"I just sent a vine out; it wasn't much." Earth shook her head.

"It saved me. You saved me." 

As the two wiped the last of their tears away, the alarm went off, making them both jump. Claudia shifted into Cole, and led Kira to the bunker.