Trial and Error: Second Edition

Chapter the Sixteenth: Reunion

When Fluttershy awoke the next morning, she didn't want to open her eyes. She was warm, and partially cushioned. She imagined that she was back home, in her own bed. She gave her pillow a squeeze, and for some reason, it let out a small groan. She readjusted herself, and heard a soft thumping coming from beneath the mattress.

"Five more minutes, Angel..."

Her robe tightened slightly around her shoulders. She let out a small grunt and turned her face into the pillow while stretching her shoulders forward. The thumping grew louder, and she noticed an odor emanating from her bed. She would have to take care of her laundry today.

She picked herself up and opened her eyes. Her blanket was, in reality, Kai's cloak wrapped around her. The robe wrapping around her shoulders was really just his leg. Her odourous pillow had been his chest, and the thumping had been his heart beating next to her ear.

While she knew that doing so was improper, curiosity took hold of her. She gently placed her ear back against Kai's chest. Gone were the days where she thought Kai was a monster. Now, he was just a stallion that needed help. If she had felt this way about him when he first showed up outside her yard, she would have gladly helped him. Perhaps they might still be friends when this was over. It certainly looked more plausible with each passing day.

When Kai awoke, he saw Fluttershy with her hooves wrapped around his waist. He felt a warmth in his chest that had never been there before. He wondered if this feeling was being brought about by Fluttershy's embrace. He couldn't remember the last time he had been hugged. It felt wonderful. He pulled back his hoof to gently stroke her shoulder.

On feeling his hoof, she picked herself up and locked eyes with him. "G-good morning."

"Good morning. Feeling better than last night?"

She nodded. Without breaking her gaze, she slipped out from under his cloak and out of the bed. The cold air and cold stone floor caused enough shock to bring her back to her senses. Her face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"Glad to hear it." Smiled Kai, also standing up. "Though, at our current rate of progress, I can't imagine we'll be done before the next storm. We'll have to prepare accordingly."

The two went upstairs. Fluttershy was given the first use of the lavatory, as had become standard practice by now. While she had the privacy, she closely examined herself, and breathed a sigh of relief that Kai hadn't taken advantage of her in her vulnerable state. With that taken care of, she went down to the kitchen to start breakfast.

After a silent breakfast with Kai, just before he left, she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "I want to thank you. First for making me feel better last night, and also for not forcing yourself on me in my weakened state of mind."

Kai hugged back, feeling the warmth in his chest again. "You're welcome for the first one. As for the second, it never even crossed my mind. I would never do that. You have my word."

If Kai gave his word, she was content with that. He was trustworthy.

"Before I go, is there anything you want me to bring back? Mayhaps something to help you in the event of a storm?"

When Kai returned that afternoon, a gentle shower had already begun. There was no thunder or lightning, and no more flooding. With nothing more to do today, Kai was excited to spend the next several hours focusing on his research and refining his plans.

He found Fluttershy chatting with the prisoner. The two of them had spent a fair amount of time talking, since Kai hadn't been around very much.

"I have no idea where he is now, and part of me doesn't care."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'd always find some way to forgive my dad. He only wants what's best for me, after all."

"I understand that," groaned the stallion. "But mine was awful. He just let my brother rot in that prison cell. I went back a few days later to talk to him, but the guards told me he had been released a year prior."

"That's terrible."

"Enjoying your conversation?" Kai stood in the doorframe, his mane dripping cold water onto the floor.

"Usu was just telling me about his father." Fluttershy explained. "You two actually have a lot in common."

"I don't think we do," grumbled Usu. "I've never lived in a ruin, and he has no charisma."

"But you were both born in Canterlot, and you both have brothers. You even both have bad fathers. No offense."

"None taken," said Kai. "Mine was quite terrible. He threw me out when I was just a child."

"Mine's worse," growled Usu. "He had my younger brother locked in jail, and just left him there to die."

"My father threatened to kill me if he ever saw me again!"

Usu jumped up. "My father caved in my mother's forehead and now she can't form new memories!"

The room grew silent. Kai moved over to his stool and sat down. "I guess yours really is worse. You can't choose your family."

"I know." Usu sat back down. "Every time my mother sees me, she asks who I am. I tell her my name, and she tells me that her son has the same name. She then shows me a picture of my brother and I when we were young."

"At least you can still see your mother. I have to wonder if mine would even want to see what I've become."

There was another pause. Fluttershy sat down next to Kai and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"I have to wonder why I never saw you in Canterlot," Usu inquired, breaking the silence. "We're about the same age. You would think we might have met. I mean, Canterlot's big, but it's not that big. Surely, I'd have seen you at one of the inter-school events. Or even out on the streets."

"I would have been out on the streets," answered Kai. "My dad threw me out, remember? I was homeless. And since nopony cares whether or not criminals like me are being fed, I spent a lot of time in alleys behind restaurants."

"Surely, you weren't a criminal yet, right?"

"No, I was. Twenty years ago, I was framed for terrorist activity and thrown in the dungeons."

Usu scrambled to stand up and pressed himself against the bars. "Did you ever meet a colt named Kai!?"

"I know of him, yes. Why?"

Usu's eyes went wide. "Because he's my younger brother."

Kai's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Is your name Usutora? Your father was an admiral, your mother an heiress?"

"Yes! He spoke of me?"

"No." Kai stood and walked over to the cell door. "My name is Akaitora. My father was an admiral. My mother was an heiress. If what you say is true, then it's quite likely that you are my older brother."

Now Fluttershy understood why Usu's face looked so familiar. He had the same cheekbones, brow and jawline as Kai. The two even had a similar build, with Kai being slightly larger. They really could be brothers.

Usu shrank down, not taking his gaze off of Kai's face. "I thought you were dead."

Kai shook his head. "The only thing that's even come close to killing me lately has been you."

"I swear, I didn't know!"

"I believe you. However, I don't forgive you for your actions. Not yet, anyway."