Kai touched his reflection in the mirror. Tears dripped from his eyes. "It's not my own body," he whispered. Kai kept staring at his hands, running them over his long white hair and his transformed body repeatedly. Tears kept falling. Leon watched this from behind. He rubbed his forehead and let out a deep sigh. He stepped forward to Kai and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"See… you really are a girl now." Then, madly, he added, "Tell me where my brother is!"
"It's me... your brother Kai. Believe me!" Kai shouted.
Leon got furious and slapped Kai. The slap echoed across the room. Kai's soft girl cheek turned red.
Yet Kai continued crying, and the slap seemed to make the tears flow even harder. Kai's heart felt shattered in pieces. He walked and tried to leave. From behind, Leon grabbed his long girl hair. Kai felt a sharp pain in his head and froze.
"Let me go..." Kai said, crying.
"Oh... you think I'll let you go, bastard!" Leon shouted.
When Kai realized Leon wouldn't believe him, panic took hold. Then an idea sparked in his mind. He stopped crying.
"Okay... ask me something that only your brother would know."
When Leon saw Kai challenging him, he grabbed his money bag from his pants pocket and pulled out a card. He held it up to Kai and asked loudly,
"What does NSK mean?"
"It means Ninja Scroll of Keoke." Kai answered.
Leon's eyes widened in shock. How… how could this girl know that?
"Okay. So what does NB after my name on the card mean?" Leon asked, thinking this time she would get stuck.
"It's Ninja Blade title. It's for Kitana, Kunai, blade, and other weapon creations."
Leon's heart began to race. If she is my brother, how could he...
Leon continued questioning, and Kai answered each one perfectly. At last, Leon asked,
"What does the A+ in the corner mean?"
"Ah... it's... it's the result, A+ I think."
This time, Leon's heart skipped a beat. He thought, Wh-what!
Years ago, Leon had shown his ninja card to Kai and explained all the codes. Leon continued asking, and Kai answered perfectly. But now, when asked about A+, Kai hesitated.
"Ah... it's... Ninja result A+," Kai said, answering incorrectly. It was actually his ninja rank.
Leon released Kai's long hair and stared at his girl face.
"Why... why..." Leon didn't finish his sentence. He ran to his computer and pulled up the CCTV recording of last night. At first, he saw nothing. But when he fast-forwarded to 02:46 am, he saw that Kai was already a girl. He then sped up the video 60x. Now he could watch Kai transform into a girl. And the shocking thing: he didn't see any glowing bug in the recording.
After watching the footage, he fully realized that his younger brother had turned into a girl.
"Kai... hey Kai!" Leon called, but got no reply. He stood up and searched the whole flat but didn't find him.
When Leon reached the main door, he saw it was open.
"Oh no... where did he go?"
Leon ran along the handrails of the stairs—there was no time to wait for the lift. As an A+ rank ninja, he could easily run on handrails. He went down first, searching for Kai, but didn't find him. Frustrated, he looked up and saw someone standing on the parapet. He realized it was his brother.
Leon ran again along the handrails.
"Kai... Kai... don't step any further!" he murmured.
Kai stood on the parapet, his long girl hair blowing in the air. Tears no longer fell; they were carried away by the wind.
This world was perfect for Kai, but not for me… A deep pain filled his heart. But it wasn't because he would die—it was because the world no longer knew him. His brother had rejected him. Friends? They were meaningless.
Twelve years ago, after Kai's mother died, he didn't talk to anyone—not even his dad. A few days later, he noticed a boy and a new woman in his house.
"Dad... who are they?"
"Sweetheart... they are your new family. Your new 'mom' and brother."
Kai looked at them, then walked away and sat in the corner of his room. After some time, Leon came to him.
"Hey bro... how are you?"
"Fine... get lost."
"Come on. Let's play!"
"Nah..."
Leon stole Kai's tiny water gun and ran.
"Kai... catch me and take it!"
"Hey, you bastard! Give it back!"
They ran around while Kai's dad and stepmom watched.
"Looks like Kai got a good brother. I hope you take care of him well," Kai's dad said.
"Of course. And thanks for accepting me with my child," she replied.
Kai caught Leon and playfully hit him. Their bond grew stronger. One day, Leon decided to go to a ninja village to learn and study.
Their parents weren't ready, but Leon refused to eat. Kai joined him in fasting. After all the struggle, Leon finally went to learn. Eight years later, he returned.
"Hey mom! Hey dad! How are you, kiddo?" Leon said, pushing Kai.
"I am great, brother!" Kai hugged him.
Present day.
"It was Kai's family, not mine," Kai said, crying.
Leon had almost reached the roof. Kai stepped out into the air.
To be continued...