Chapter Text
Spring is by far Nya’s least favorite season. The pollen in the air is irritating, and while the flowers are pretty, they don’t make up for how incredibly trying the first five months of the year typically are. She enjoys the evening showers and the fact that it is no longer frigid outside, but the warmth doesn’t make getting through it any easier.
School is typical and, of course, the easiest part of her day. While she is only ten, she is at the top of her class and not at all humble about it. If she had her way, she wouldn’t even need school. After all, why should she spend half the day listening to teachers talk about things she already knows? Even still, despite her protests, Kai has always been adamant about her education and the importance of a classic learning environment. The irony of those words coming from him isn’t lost on either of them, but oh well.
Kai is an entirely separate issue. He’s only thirteen, but it feels like he’s far older than that sometimes, with how busy he tends to be. If he isn’t at the forge, then he’s off doing some sort of hard labor for one of the farmers or business owners in town. This practice continues throughout the year, but he is at his busiest during the spring.
Winters are harsh in Ignacia, and Kai works hard to keep them both taken care of during the leaner months, but work is often hard to come by when everyone is struggling, not just them. Kai never tells her just what he goes off to do to keep them afloat, but she’s never gone hungry even at their poorest, so it must work well enough.
But the spring is their time to make up for what they couldn’t gain during winter, and so, for the first five months of the year, Kai is more of a ghost than a living person in her life. Most days, he makes her school lunches long after she’s already gone to bed, and is hardly there when she places dinner on the table. Especially now that he’s hit a growth spurt, his labor is worth a lot more, which she guesses is good for them, even if it doesn’t really feel like it.
So, no, she doesn’t enjoy spring, and she definitely doesn’t enjoy how poor they are during that season.
Which is why she is glaring down at the intricately painted porcelain doll in her hands.
It’s a Saturday, long after she’s finished her homework, and one of the rare occasions where Kai actually has no work to do. Well, not much work to do; she’d managed to niggle him out into the outside world with that nuance. The sun is high in the sky, and the air feels crisp and fresh in her lungs.
The original plan had been to walk into town so Kai could barter for metal with the traveling urchins who come through on the weekends, but Nya batted her eyelashes enough to convince him to allow her to visit Mrs. Minto’s estate sale beforehand. Mrs. Minto is a nasty, mean old lady, and Nya thinks she’s one of the ugliest creatures she’s ever seen, but she and her husband are the richest people in the village.
They own the most land by several leagues, and half of the businesses on the east side of town have their name on their signs. Now, Nya knows they’ll never come anything close to this level of wealth, and they probably can’t afford anything here, but there’s no harm in looking, right? A few people are marching around the land, some inside their fancy shoin-zukuri style house, who cares if the weird orphan siblings check out a few novelty items?
This particular find hasn’t just caught her eye because she finds the femininity of the doll alluring. No, her attention is drawn to the fascinating robotics underneath the doll’s clothing. She’s never seen a doll like this in person, but she knows what it is, some sort of Borg tech plaything that can move on its own. The armature that structures the toy fascinates her, fitted with small hydraulics to bend each joint and small pistons to keep everything moving.
She’s always loved technology, but this sort of artistry is enough to make her salivate. To make such a small creation so finely tuned is something she desperately hopes to be capable of one day. Just by looking at the joints and even the outfit of this particular doll, Nya can tell she is supposed to dance and maybe even walk on her own.
Nya bites the inside of her cheek, briefly casting her eyes around the area. It’s not terribly crowded yet; most of the women will get off work later in the afternoon, and the men tend to wait for their wives to go perusing around events like this, and all of the other alienated villagers seem to have wandered elsewhere for the moment. She looks back at the doll, rubbing her thumb down the hand-embroidery ornamented down the fabric of her little yukata. There’s no way they can afford a toy like this, not now.
But maybe… perhaps—perhaps there is a chance that she can build one herself. If she understood the mechanics, she could probably upcycle one of her other dolls. It wouldn’t be as pretty as this one, but she could make her do whatever she wants, if she programs it right…
How hard can it be? She’s a genius. That’s what everybody says. She’s a prodigy, she’s special. Why should she let a little money stop her? It never seems to stop Kai, and he worries about money all the time.
Resolved to her plan now, Nya nods to herself, carefully flipping over the doll and folding up her yukata, searching for some sort of opening in the back to examine the internal components. It’ll only take a few minutes for her to memorize the structure; she’s sure of it. Running her fingers along the curve of the doll’s spine, it only takes her a second to find an entry port just on her lower back. Nya’s smile grows, anticipation tingling up her spine and further convincing her that this is a wonderful idea.
She doesn’t have any tools to access it on her besides the pocket knife Kai gave her last year to protect herself, should she need it. The memory makes her roll her eyes. Kai gets into far more fights than she does, and half the time, they are his fault, so she really has no idea why she would need it.
Well, it sure is coming in handy now, she supposes. She fishes the thing out of her boot, casting one more cursory glance over the property, and once she is sure no one is watching, she flicks the blade from its sheath and goes to work.
The backing is on tighter than she would have expected of a toy, but that’s Borg tech for you, well-fashioned in every way. Her tongue sticks out of the corner of her mouth as she digs the blade in with more force, her irritation swiftly growing more palpable with every second it doesn’t give the way she wants it to. This is a job she wishes Kai were here for; he’d have it open with ease.
After course correcting to making minute sawing motions, at last, Nya feels some give, and she lets out a small woot for her accomplishment. If she can just lift it—
Using all the strength her small body can muster, Nya shoves the blade upwards, willing it to release from its bindings and let her in. The violent action grants results, but not in the way she had hoped. Nya watches in shock and horror as the back pops off the doll with great force, which is what she wanted. What she hadn’t wanted was to lose her grip on the doll and her knife, sending them both flying as well.
A startled cry falls from her lips, and she launches herself to try and save them both, her brain too frazzled to stop herself from grabbing the blade mid-air. Kai has his good days and bad days at the forge, sometimes losing his patience with his work and ending the day with subpar or even poor work.
He had not had a bad day when he made her his knife. The edge is sharp enough that the lightest touch slices through the delicate skin of her palm, and the pain is so startling that she completely misses the doll, bodily tumbling to the grass alongside it. She lets go of the knife as soon as possible, but the damage is done, and she watches, entranced, as the long, thin slice across her palm steadily begins to dribble with blood.
Nya has seen blood before, but seeing so much of it pouring from her is dizzying, and she is frozen, staring at it, slowly registering the throbbing pain that comes with such a deep cut.
She is seconds away from pulling herself to her feet, probably to find Kai, when a wrinkled hand closes around her bloodied wrist and roughly tugs her to her feet. Nya cries out against the treatment and the way it makes her hand hurt even more, struggling to blink back tears as she focuses on whoever just manhandled her.
A heavy weight drops from her throat right down to her stomach as her eyes meet the resentful gaze of one Mrs. Minto, who is red in the face with rage and looking angrier by the second.
“You nasty little girl!” She shrieks, hurting Nya’s ears and startling her out of her stupor. She gives her a harsh shake, which has Nya struggling to stay on her feet. “Who on earth do you think you are? Destroying someone else’s property! No doubt in some vain hope I’d give it to you at a better price, huh?” She accuses, holding Nya’s wrist so tightly that she’s sure it will bruise.
Mind racing, Nya shakes her head, breathing heavily to try and block out the heat of her face and the watering of her eyes. “No, no ma’am! You don’t understand, let me explain! I wasn’t going to break it, I just—”
Mrs. Minto barks with laughter, bringing a manicured hand up to her face to cover up the unattractive expression. “Wasn’t going to break it? What do you call that?” She points at the doll, now forgotten in the grass.
The doll had landed safely on the ground, but Nya’s unrefined way of freeing the back had accidentally splintered the entire backside of the toy all the way up to her hairline, cracking the porcelain. Nya gasps at the sight, and she bites her quivering lip. Shamefully, she meets Mrs. Minto’s scornful eyes. “I’m so sorry, I promise I wasn’t trying to break it, I just wanted to see the inside.” A few rogue water droplets escape from her eyes, and she burns with embarrassment.
But the woman is entirely unsympathetic and only scoffs, wrenching Nya up high enough that she has to stand on her tiptoes to stay on the ground. “You little wretches must think me a fool, yes? You can’t lie to me, who knows how many of my good things you haven’t pocketed, hm? Is that what you came here for? To steal the rich lady’s things?”
People are staring, now, Nya is sure of it, and she’s shaking like a leaf. She wants to be angry, furious at the accusation, but all she can find is fear and humiliation. She fiercely shakes her head, denying. “No, no, I haven’t taken anything, I promise. I’m sorry, I’m sorry—”
“What’s going on here?” Asks a familiar voice, and the sound of it brings so much relief that Nya actually exhales, pivoting her head around to spot her brother some distance away. His tired eyes are wide and confused, but his steps are sure and determined. Much of her fear melts away the closer he gets; Kai will help make this right. He’s older, and despite being known for his temper, he is generally respected for his efforts to take care of their household. Mrs. Minto will have to listen to him.
She is shoved a few steps forward, making her hand pulse painfully. “I just caught your ward damaging my property, that’s what,” Mrs. Minto sneers, looking very close to spitting fire.
Kai’s eyes are on her oozing hand, gaze sharp and narrowed. Nya can tell by his clenched fists that he’s working very hard to keep from lashing out. Kai has a lot of fire inside, but he generally makes an effort to be more agreeable around adults. Finally, he breathes, meeting her watery eyes, and the sight seems to make him soften. “Nya, what’s going on?”
Her mouth opens and closes a few times as she tries to think of a good way to explain without implicating herself. After being caught literally red-handed, she’s not sure what to say. “I… it was an accident?” She tries, wincing at how weak that sounds.
Kai’s jaw sets, and she can tell he’s not quite satisfied with that answer, but before she can think of anything else to say, he’s stepping between them and carefully pulling Nya free from Mrs. Minto’s death grip. The sudden rush of blood flow causes a gush of red to surge from her wound, and she whimpers to herself, taking her newly freed hand and tucking it close to her chest.
Wordlessly, Kai pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and holds it out to her. Still wobbly on her feet, Nya quivers as she takes it from him. “Keep pressure, I’ll fix it in a minute,” he promises, voice cracking on the first few words. She’d laugh at him if she weren’t so shaken.
With that, he turns to Mrs. Minto, quickly gathering the doll's broken pieces and handing them to her, along with her knife, which he pockets. “Can we talk over here, Mrs. Minto?” Kai asks politely, gesturing to one of the few areas not littered with fancy junk.
While she still looks irate, Mrs. Minto is far more amiable to Kai’s presence than she was to Nya’s, so she agrees and leads the way with Kai trailing behind her. He doesn’t spare Nya a glance as he breezes past her, and Nya’s chest is thick with shame. She can feel eyes on her, and the pulsing pain in her hand only hurts worse after pressing down on it. She feels like an idiot and a thief, even though she didn’t steal anything.
It really had been an accident.
No matter how hard she tries, she can’t parse what Mrs. Minto and Kai are discussing. She’s sort of collapsed in the grass, still shaking from the shock of her injury and the verbal beating she just took. From the looks of it, Kai isn’t faring much better, though he seems to be taking the lashings much better than Nya had. Mrs. Minto beats a fist into her hand, gesturing wildly as she talks.
Kai is far more composed, replying with short answers and simple hand movements. She can tell it’s taking a lot of self-control not to yell back in her face, and though Nya sort of wishes he would, she can tell that in this situation, it wouldn’t really help.
It almost looks like the conversation is going well when it happens. It happens so fast that it takes her brain a second to catch up to her eyes and ears. The loud clap registers first, then the sight of Mrs. Minto bringing her open palm down hard along Kai’s cheek. The sound echoes throughout the estate, and Nya jolts in reaction to the violence of it.
The hit hadn’t been gentle in the slightest, and while his head is turned away from her, she can tell that Kai is frozen in place. A part of her roars with sudden anger, furious at the prospect of someone laying a hand on her brother, but the rest of her feels meek and afraid of what might happen if she retaliates. She really doesn’t want to get into any more trouble, and Kai is tough; he’s taken worse hits than that.
That feels like such a poor excuse, but it makes her feel better when she doesn’t rush to his defense. She glances down at her bruising wrist, then looks away.
Nya observes Kai reach into his pocket, pulling out a medium-sized pouch she recognizes as the one he keeps their spending money in. He proceeds to pull out several bills and a few small coins, soundlessly handing them off to Mrs. Minto, who seems satisfied with the transaction. Mrs. Minto then hands over the broken toy, not handling it with an ounce of care. Kai takes it from her, then says a few words and bows deeply to her. The sight horrifies Nya.
The ghastly older woman waves him off, counting her money before casting one more disapproving look Nya’s way. Nya doesn’t dare blink.
Kai’s gait is far less confident walking back to her. He moves slowly, and there’s a heaviness to his shoulders that wasn’t there before. He looks shaken and sort of… haunted, maybe even afraid. Nya’s first instinct is to shy away and avoid eye contact, awaiting a lecture, but he only smiles at her once he gets close. “You okay?” He asks her, voice taking on that gentle tone that she doesn’t often hear from him anymore.
It makes her want to cry again, and she breathes out a few wanton tears that she can’t hold back. Kai wordlessly wipes them out of the way, placing the doll in her lap and taking her bleeding hand in his own to examine it. He pulls the soiled rag away, frowning at what he sees. “Pretty deep, I’ll have to fix it at the house,” he announces, more to himself than to her. He folds the hanky in a specific way and wraps it tightly around her palm, a temporary bandage that she won’t have to hold. “Ready?” He asks.
She nods without comment, fixated on the growing red welt on his left cheek. It’s only minutes old, and it’s already swelling and bright. It looks awful, and she can tell it hurts. “She hit you,” she mumbles as Kai pulls her to her feet, far more careful with her than Mrs. Minto was. It had been her intention to say something else, but her head feels foggy and her tongue swollen inside her head.
His eyes cloud over for just a second, recalling the moment, but he sniffs and then forces a smile. “It was just a misunderstanding. We came to an agreement.” Using the flat of his palm, he carefully guides her away from the estate. “C’mon, this place blows anyway.”
She grasps the doll in her arms like a lifeline, knowing that if she didn’t have it, she’d be holding onto Kai, and Nya knows she’s far too old for things like that. The walk home is silent besides Nya’s embarrassing sniffling. She doesn’t want to sob like a baby, but her eyes keep producing tears, and Kai keeps shushing her kindly, which only makes her cry more. His hands are shaking at his sides, but Nya can’t bring herself to mention it.
They can’t afford this doll, Nya knows they can’t, and so does Kai. He may not attend school anymore, but he does study on his own time and possesses a similar affinity to numbers as she does. He knows they can’t afford silly things like this, and yet he paid for it anyway. Kai won’t be able to barter for metal, and they’ll be short-stocked for who knows how long until he can supplement the loss.
Nya burns with guilt and humiliation, and the sheer stupidity of her plan comes crashing down on her. She’d known she’d have to break the toy to look inside it, even if she didn’t admit it to herself. Kai probably still had to pay full price for it.
“I’m sorry, Kai, I don’t know what I was…” Nya trails off, squeezing her injured hand and wincing in reaction to the pain. “I thought I could build it,” she weakly explains.
They keep moving, but Kai turns his head to look down at her. The crest of his cheekbone is turning an awful, muddy purple. His smile is weak on his face, but it comforts her anyway. “You just made a mistake, Nya. It wasn’t smart, but we fixed it.” He gives her a gentle nudge with his knuckle. “Besides, now that it’s yours, you can build a whole legion of em. Mrs. Minto will be tormented by your genius.”
Giggling, Nya briefly allows herself to fantasize about such a future. Her smile fades, and she looks up at him hopefully. “So… we’re good? Everything’s alright? I know it was… expensive.”
For just a second, Kai averts his gaze, grin almost plastic on his lips, before he shakes himself out of it, shrugging. “We’re good, it was less than I was expecting. I uh… Mr. Keenan gave me a bonus for prepping bait for him. Yeah.”
Nya sags in relief, holding the doll tighter as they pass the threshold into the house. “Mean old Mr. Keenan gave you a bonus?”
Kai shrugs, sliding the door shut behind him. “He pays well if I do a good job.”
Halfway into the living area, Nya stops, turning to face him. “You’re really not mad?”
He shakes his head without a moment of hesitation. “Are you planning on taking apart anything else that isn’t yours?”
Nya shakes her head so violently that she makes herself dizzy.
“Then I’m not mad. Sit there.”
She follows his instructions, finding a pillow set near Mama and Papa’s shrine and dropping down on it. “I’m gonna get gauze and make a quick call,” Kai tells her, smiling like everything is alright, even if he does flinch ever so slightly when it pulls on his growing bruise. His hands are still shaking.
Silence reigns, and sound carries in this house. More tears fall as she hears Kai make a call to one Mr. Keenan, requesting more work as soon as possible.
Staring her missing parents in the eye, Nya knows it’ll be days before she sees Kai’s face again, even more before she sees him rest. She wonders how much of that time he’ll be marked with the dark, ugly blemish he received on her behalf. A bleeding hand is one thing, but you can’t hide a shameful blow like that.
No, it truly cannot be understated. Nya hates spring.