-"Butterflies are like the souls of the departed"
[Several hours Later- Southern Wahkan beach]
*Lei*
I sighed as I glanced out at the ebbing waves pounding against the beach in front of our house. "I hope that Wanikiya is alright."
"I'm sure that he will be," Yen said as she leaned back on the rock we were sitting on. It was in the shape of a throne, a memento from our brother.
"He'll be fine!" yelled Nuk as he flew over us. He descended, landing between the two of us. "He has Zelde and Nahimana to care for him after all."
We stood up. "What are you doing here?" we asked in unison.
Nuk chuckled. "I'm here to ask you a favor." He fidgeted. "Think I can stay with you?"
"Stay with us?" Yen asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why?"
The masked boy crossed his arms. "Bad planning. They didn't reserve the right number of rooms. So Nahimana, Zelde, Orion, and I need a place to stay. Orion will be staying at Hikaru and Yuzuki's place. While Zelde and Nahimana will most likely stay with Wanikiya. I'm the only one who needs a place to stay."
"I can see why you can't stay with Hikaru as there are few rooms. But why not stay with Wanikiya?" Yen asked.
Nuk laughed. "Nahimana told me not to. Seems like she's afraid that I'll be a third wheel."
We stared at him suspiciously before turning toward one another. Was he telling the truth?
"Call Zelde or Nahimana if you doubt my words," Nuk said as he crossed his arms and leaned back on the stone throne.
"Fine, we will," Yen said, taking out a violet phone. "Call Zelde."
"Ask about Wanikiya too," I whispered.
"Okay."
A hologram of a bear with a pot of honey popped up. "Yes, mistress Yen."
"Cute bear," Nuk said, shiny-eyed.
Yen laughed. "Thanks." She cleared her throat. "Call Zelde."
"Hello?" Zelde said as soon as the bear vanished.
"Zelde! Is it true that they're out of rooms at the inn?"
"Yeah," she responded. "They were off by four. They told us to ask some of the students native to this town if we could stay with them. I was already staying at Wanikiya's place anyway, so I didn't have to worry. Nahimana is staying with us too."
"I see. Is Nuk one of those four?"
"Yeah. He went off on his own. Seems that he didn't want to stay with us for whatever reason."
Yen laughed. "I can guess why."
"More like you know why," Nuk and I whispered.
I stared at the boy in awe. 'That was odd... it almost felt as if my big brother was here with me.'
"So, is Wanikiya feeling better?" Yen asked, sitting back down on the throne.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's playing with his younger brother," Zelde responded.
"That's great," Yen said, laughing. "The two should spend as much time together before Wanikiya leaves."
"Brother! Sister!" Shandian yelled, waving at us. "Dinner is ready!"
"I got to go," Yen said. "Dinner is ready."
"Alright, can't keep those honey-flavored foods waiting, " Zelde said, snickering.
"We don't only eat honey-flavored food!" all three of us said in unison.
Yen and I blinked at Nuk. 'That was weird.'
Zelde chuckled and hung up.
Sis ran up the stone steps carved into the sea cliff.
"Come," I said, glancing at Nuk. "Our parents will decide if you can stay or not."
Nuk looked down as he stood up. "Okay."
As soon as we entered our tiny house, we were greeted by the sweet scent of honey.
"Smells yummy," Nuk and I said in unison.
Shan nodded and giggled.
Nuk and I glanced at one another and blinked. Who was this guy? Why did he say the same stuff as I did? We didn't have a secret quadruplet, did we? No. This guy had to be my big brother. But if so, how was he still alive? Hika said he died. While we never found the body, as the waves washed it away before we got to it, I didn't doubt Hika's words.
Dad walked out of the kitchen wearing a green apron. "Wash your hands, you three. I made you your favorite..." His eyes focused on the masked boy who had walked in with his three children. "Who is this?"
"We got a visitor?" Mama asked, stepping out of the kitchen herself.
Nuk smiled and waved at the two. "Hey. I'm Nuk!"
Father lowered his head. "Nuk?"
"Something wrong, sir?"
He laughed. "No. I was just thinking of how much you remind me of my older son."
Nuk pointed at me. "Him?"
I leered at him. "It must be me. Now if you excuse me, I'm famished." I walked into the kitchen. Dad was thinking of Kun, wasn't he? But was that boy really him? Why wouldn't he say anything? And why return now after three years?
"Did I make him angry or something?" I overheard him ask Yen.
"Probably," Yen said, patting his shoulder. "But most likely it's just the anxiety of the test. He heard that only a handful will pass."
"A handful? Nahimana told me that it's going to be twenty of us," Nuk said as he and Yen walked into the kitchen.
I turned around. "Really?"
Nuk laughed. "So you were worried about that."
My face flushed. "N-no! I know that I'll pass!"
"The tough guy act doesn't suit you."
I turned away. "It's not an act! Now hurry up and wash your hands before the food gets cold." It wasn't me that I was worried about, more so Wani. He wasn't acting like himself.
*Nuk*
After eating and watching some Orantu, I followed the Lan siblings to the room of the 'twins'.
"I call dibs in the middle!" I jumped into the giant bed in the middle of Lei and Yen's room. "It's so soft! Was it always this soft or did you buy a new one?"
"Wait, when did you stay over before?" Yen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're friends with my big siblings?" Shandian asked as he played around with his red toy car near the dresser.
Lei leaned in closely and grabbed a hold of my mask.
"Hey!" I screamed, pressing my mask back. "What the heck are you doing? Let go of me!"
"Yen, help me get this stupid mask off," Lei said as he pulled on my hand.
"Stop that or I'll send you flying again!"
He smirked. "Then you'll have no place to sleep for the night."
I whimpered. He was right. Plus, I didn't want to destroy the room.
Yen walked over and pulled from the other side. "Come, who are you?" Yen said.
"Hey!" I screamed as I swatted the hands mask. "I won't tell you if you keep torturing me like this."
"Stop!" Shandian yelled. His older siblings stopped. "You're hurting him."
"Sorry," Yen said, stepping away.
Lei continued to watch me but stepped away too.
I rubbed the sides of my face and sighed. "Here I thought that you two were nice, even if a bit cranky." I walked over to the little boy and kneeled down. "Thanks for saving me, kiddo!"
Shandian smiled and yanked my mask away. "You're welcome, big brother."
I blinked.
"I knew it!" Lei yelled as he stared at me. "You are Kun!"
My jaw fell as I stared at the smiling kid. "You tricked me."
"You let your guard down," Shan said, laughing.
"Kun!" Yen said, tackling me into the bed. "You're alive!"
"What are you talking about? I'm Nuk. Look at my hair!"
"You bleached it?" Lei asked, tilting his head.
"It's not bleached!" I yelled.
Yen let go of me. "Come on. It's obvious it's you. You took an interest in Lei and taunted Hikaru. You're clearly Kun. Plus, Hika said your swords were familiar. You fought him shortly after we got our wands, didn't you? Before you disappeared into the sea.
I sighed. "Call me what you want. But I'm not who you think I am!"
Lei sat down on the bed and pulled out a green fish-shaped necklace.
"Hey, isn't that the necklace that Eri gave you?" I asked.
Lei nodded. "Yeah, it is." He smirked. "Kun!"
I bit my lip. "I-" I crossed my arms and nodded. "Kun told me."
Lei laughed. "You suck at lying. Honestly, even your made-up name is bad. Like seriously, Nuk? That's just Kun upside down!" He took the mask from Shandian and put it on. "Hello, I'm Iel. No, I'm not Lei."
"Give me that!" Yen said. "Hello, I'm Ney."
My face flushed. "Stop it, you two. Now I'm starting to wonder why I missed you in the first place!" My eyes shifted to Shandian, who had taken the mask back.
"And I'm Naidnahs."
"Alright, your name sounds odd when reversed," I said, smiling as I took the mask back from him. "Listen, you three. I don't want you to tell our parents or anyone else that I'm alive. Especially not Hikaru."
"Why not Hikaru?" Yen asked, blinking.
I sighed. "Because... it'll just reopen old wounds for him if he knew I was still alive..."
"Alright," Lei said, holding out his pinkie. "Won't tell."
Yen held hers out too. I crossed my pinkies with both of theirs. "Thanks, you two." I smiled at Shandian. "And what about you, little trickster?"
My youngest brother looked down. "I'll try. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the promise, though."
"Fine," I said. "Also. Keep calling me Nuk. Even in private."
"Okay," Lei said, leaning back on their bed. "Oh. But you have to tell us, why did you fake your death?"
I glanced down at the mask. "Who said that I faked it?" I allowed myself to fall on the bed and closed my eyes.
Lei and Yen stared at each other. Thinking, 'If he didn't fake it, how can he be alive?' I knew as we were triplets. Out of the three of us, I knew the inner workings of the other two the best. Lei knew me well too. So I wasn't surprised he reached the right conclusion about me.
"Hey, Kun," Lei said, poking me. "A-are you a z-zom..."
I opened my eyes and snickered. "I was just kidding!" I closed my turquoise eyes again and drifted off into the realm of sleep. Lei wasn't too far from the truth. While not reanimated via dark means, I was someone who should've been long dead. My white hair was a constant reminder of that.
**Solar Note: What did you think about the revelation at the end?**