Chapter 9 - Ninjutsu??!
Kay saw the interraction between her father and twin. Noticing the expression that was forming on her father's face, she quickly diverted his attention by putting her two small hands on his cheeks and turned his head towards her. Giving him a breathtaking angelic smile, she then kissed both cheeks. Patrick was startled, but smiled stupidly at Kay as he kissed her forehead.
"I want to go down now, Daddy," Kay said sweetly, then whispered in his ear, "I am a big girl now."
Patrick nodded, and realised belatedly that Kay really was a big girl now. Even though to him, she will always be his little princess, he knew he had to stop babying her ... well, maybe not right now. He quickly convinced himself that all Father's would spoil their baby girls. He was no exception!
As Kay's feet touched the ground, she then gave a quick hug to her father. As she was still small, she could only hug his long legs, with the top of her head reaching his thigh. Kay then went over to Kyle, smacking him playfully on the shoulder.
Kay knew Kyle had been starting to get annoyed at their father for treating her like a baby, so she quickly acted to diffuse the situation. The last thing she wanted was to let Kyle's cold aura seep out, making their parents misunderstand Kyle's mood.
It was bad enough that their father noticed his frown. It would be worse if they could sense the cold aura later. She worried for him. While it was true that Kyle was VERY protective over her, it wasn't to the extent of being irrational to his own parents. It was just that his consideration of her own feelings tended to be misunderstood. He felt strongly for her, that's all.
Kyle realised his mistake the moment Kay started acting cutely to their father. He stole a glance at his mother, and sighed. He saw how she was looking at the both of them and he regretted his lapse in judgment. Again. Although his head told him to be more reserved, his heart and emotions couldn't be stifled.
His feelings for his sister was deep, and it wasn't as if he could simply ignore them. It was worse for him as not only is Kay his twin, he had been a mother in "her" previous life. The connection between the two of them went beyond the normal sibling or twin ties. Kay was, figuratively speaking, his other half. She completed him. To have someone truly understand you, without words, and love you unconditionally is something one can only dream about but may never get in their lifetime.
Kyle had experienced unconditional love from "her" kids in the previous life, but never did "she" have that one person who understood her truly. Here, he did. The bond between him and Kay was strong, and it was pure. They loved each other, but they weren't in love with each other.
So, while he knew of his mother's fears, it was something that he couldn't avoid or stop her from having. Of course, he tried his best not to go overboard with his actions lest it added fuel to her misconceptions. Still it was hard. Very hard. It was like asking you not the breathe, or not jump in shock when someone scares you. It's instinctive. It was ingrained into his bones!
So, Kay had to reel him in occasionally. His connection with his sister wasn't something he could explain to his mother either, for she would never truly understand. She would most likely think he didn't know, and play the 'parent card'.
You know, the one that parents will look at you with that sense of superiority, for they are older, and had more experience. Anything you say will be brushed aside as having no merit. Though is mother knew he was intelligent, she still regarded him as being 'dumb' in social matters. He couldn't really tell her that he wasn't ignorant in that aspect either now could he?
Still, Kyle could help but feel that his mother was really paranoid. They were only six, and any feelings between kids this young would truly be innocent. They haven't reached puberty yet, when the hormones can cause one to mature physically, but also feel things that ... weren't quite so innocent anymore. Kyle felt that his mother was imposing adult values on kid's innocence.
Furthermore, they were twins. The bond is undeniable and cannot be broken, nor tainted by something as stupid as desire or lust. For their own mother to suspect something other than sibling love REALLY did rub him the wrong way. Yes, he admitted that he was rather miffed and slightly offended.
Still, despite it all, he found that he couldn't really hate or dislike his mother for her fears. That was just how she is, and he figured that it's far better to have a loving (yet paranoid) mother than one who didn't care and ignored them.
For now, there were other things to consider. Kyle took a deep breath, then looked at his mother in all seriousness as he said, "Mother, I want to learn ninjutsu".
Delilah's eye bulged wide open and she took a long look at her son. What? Ninjutsu? He wants to be a ninja?? Had he been watching too much Naruto? Did he think throwing those stars thingy and climbing trees quickly were for real?
She stared at Kyle. Kyle had never really acted like a child his age. Kay did, but not Kyle. Never Kyle. The twins were like ying and yang, fire and ice. Kay was the fresh, angelic and playful child while Kyle was the serious, responsible and mature child.
If Kay was the one that had asked, she would have laughed it off and take it as a joke. Kyle ... for Kyle to ask, he was serious. Dead serious.
Delilah hesitated, unsure of what to say. All this while, she had been under the impression that the art of the ninja was a make-believe martial arts. Only seen in the movies or cartoons. Yet, if Kyle asked for it, it must exist.
Delilah took a deep breath and asked, "Why?"
"Many reasons. To get fit. To be strong. I can't rely on bodyguards all the time, and once we go to school, there are many factors that are beyond our control," Kyle explained slowly, looking at his mother in the eye, "Right now, I am a moving target. WE are moving targets."
Delilah then looked at her daughter, who was now holding Kyle's hand tightly in hers. Kay was looking at her innocently, and those big wide eyes seemed to be pleading with her. Kyle, on the other hand, merely looked at her with a steady and unblinking gaze.
Delilah turned towards her husband, seeking his opinion and approval. He nodded, and taking a deep breath, Delilah turned back to face the both of them. Seeing their resolute gazes, she still couldn't help but ask further, "Why ninjutsu? Why not karate? Kung fu?"
"Ninjutsu is an art of stealth," Kyle replied, "and its martial arts also have methods of escape. This would be useful in a kidnapping situation."
Delilah nodded, understanding, then turned to Kay, "Don't you want to learn as well?"
The twins were shocked at this. This was something completely unexpected as their mother had never truly allowed Kay to be ... more 'boyish', so to speak. Perhaps their mother was adapting and becoming more modern? Who knows.
Kay scrunched up her face, and shook her head, "No thank you, Mummy. It doesn't sound like fun."
Delilah was relieved. She had asked the question as a test, to see if Kay would insist on it as well just to be with her brother. After all, they seemed to do everything together. This would be their first time doing activities apart! Delilah danced a little dance in her heart.
So even though Delilah felt that Kyle was too young to learn, and that he did NOT need to take up martial arts (they had bodyguards, for heaven's sake), she was more than happy now.
"In that case, okay," Delilah said.
Kay was jumping up and down happily, and rushed to hug her mother. "Thank you, Mummy" she gushed with a sweet smile before she ran back to Kyle and held back his hand. Kyle simply smiled dotingly at her. The way Kay acted, it was as if she was the one being given something.
'Step one done,' thought Kyle to himself, mentally checking off one item from the list. "Now on to the next step'
Kyle then reached into his pocket to take out a piece of paper. He handed it over to his parents. Patrick took it curiously, asking, "What is this?" as he opened it up. In it, he noted that there was a name and an address.
"That is whom I would like as my instructor," Kyle stated firmly.