Ch.19: Wakanda Forever

Hours have passed since the family left Japan and now they're flying over a beautiful forest. Orion announced to the speakers that they were already in Wakanda's territory.

Sisipho sat with her friends now, on Katsuki's lap. She is still very sad but wants to see their reaction to the change of scenario that's about to happen.

"We're almost arriving at the palace." she said to the group, which only eyed her weirdly.

"I see nothing but trees..."

"Let's get to the front so y'all can see with your own eyes the reasons why Wakanda's location is a mystery." she smiled at them, pulling Katsuki by the hand.

He's relieved in see her fine. They did not even arrive yet and she was better just for being closer to her home. Truly impressive to him.

"Okay, kids. Embrace yourselves~" Mandla said, she's is sitting on the copilot's seat, talking on the radio in isiXhosa. They got tensed seeing the jet get lower and lower. "Welcome to Wakanda!"

Suddenly, before their eyes, the tall trees glitched and the jet passed through an invisible force field, that serves as camouflage and protection.

The trio is flabbergasted by the big and high-tech city that was hidden. The world thinks the wakandan is an archaic tribe, that knows nothing about the world and yet, they're the ones living beyond anything this world knows.

"I can't believe..." Kiri murmured.

"Not even me." Katsuki said, still in shock. "This place is so amazing, why is it a secret?!"

"Because we don't want foreigners destroying our lands again." Mandla was short and direct, enough for them to understand.

It's possible to see that the entire country is agitated. From above they can see people praying, doing rituals, and painting the streets... All wakandans are trying to express themselves in some way. Any way.

A few minutes later, the jet landed next to an enormous building, that Sisipho informed that's the palace. Outside, waiting for them, all Dora Milajes. Seeing that the trio didn't know what to do, Orion told them to just imitate him and not worry about language.

When the door opened, Sisipho and Mandla ran to the women waiting for them, being engulfed by a group hug. Meanwhile they talked in isiXhosa, Orion helped the kids to take their luggage.

"Where are we gonna stay, uncle?" Mina asked quietly.

"At the palace." with widened eyes, they tried to not scream. "It was a request from the Queen Mother. She wants her children closer, even the foreigners. It's a Wakandan tradition, that you probably heard Mandla saying: If it's my family's friend, is also mine."

When they walked out of the jet, the Doras welcomed them and the leader showed the way to the rooms: a big one for the teens and another for the couple.

Sisipho and Mandla got to see their relatives, the Queen and the Princess. Also start to do the preparations for the ceremony.

Katsuki stayed in the room with the other two most of the morning, until Orion came to give them some clothes. Different from their culture, the color of the mourning here is white.

One more lesson about the Mbeki Ashido family.

Mina changed herself in the suite's bathroom while the boys did the same in the bedroom. It was a bit hard for them to get it right, but Orion oriented them. A very unique experience to use a much different style of clothes.

"Soon we'll be called to the ceremony." the man started, seeing if they were all dressed correctly. "We'll do nothing more than follow them and respectfully stay in silence, but if you want to participate in something or have any questions, just ask me."

"Got it." they nodded to the man.

"Also, don't get too excited with the people you'll see here. Heroes from around the world and even from others came to pay their respects to T'Chala."

"So nothing of fanboying?!" Kirishima joked.

"Yes, Kiri, exactly that. Also, nothing of pictures."

Orion stayed with them, talking and showing from the balcony all places he knows in Wakanda. They never saw a place so beautiful as this, with humans and nature living in perfect harmony. There are a lot of animals around, walking freely.

After a while, a Dora Milaje came to take them to the ceremony. Walking down the streets of the capital, they marched at the sound of the people's voices and the rhythm of the drums.

Katsuki saw Sisipho and couldn't help but blush to see her all in white with a veil covering her head and falling around her face and back. He cursed at his mind that immediately associated the image with a bride. Even sad, she's stunning.

The girl and Mandla danced and sang, a traditional way of saying goodbye to the ones who left. The ceremony and rituals kept going throughout the day. Honestly, if they didn't know the reason for this, they would've thought that this is a street party.

It's fascinating to them all how different this culture is from theirs. Acknowledge this made the teens respect even more the wakandans and make them wonder about other different places around the world.

Diversity is truly amazing.

As the day passed by, the teens had the chance to see and met some people. Aside from all the heroes, it was unforgettable when they talked to Queen Mother Ramonda and Princess Shuri.

With Mandla's help, Mina and Eijirou expressed how much they love T'Chala and how important he was to them. The women felt warmth in their hearts knowing that T'Chala was loved by so many people.

"Huh?!" Katsuki found it a bit odd when the Queen talked pointing at him. Mandla smiled a bit, answering the Queen in their language.

"Queen Mother is asking who are you exactly." Sisipho whispered to him and only now he noticed her close. His hand went immediately to hers, interlocking fingers.

"Why are they laughing?" Katsuki faced the flushed girl but his answer came directly from the Queen.

"I don't know much of your language, but I know something: Take care of Sisipho, my daughter." Ramonda told him with a bit of difficulty, surprising everyone.

"With my life, my Queen." he bowed to her.

"I like him, tall, strong, handsome... He holds power. You did good Sisi." she said in isiXhosa to the young girl, winking at her.

"Thank you, my Queen. It's an honor to have your blessing over my mate. I'm glad!" Sisi bowed to her, feeling some happiness in her heart.

"I don't know what you two see in those pale colorless men. Blergh~!" Shuri joked, also in their mother language.

The two royalties soon walked away to talk with the other guests that came from far away, letting them free to move around and appreciate the tributes to the King and also do it themselves.

Approaching a big wall, Sisi decided to write a message to T'Chala and draw something. Wanting to respect her moment, and also see more international heroes from close, Mina and Kiri left them two by themselves.

"Why the Queen called you daughter?" Katsuki asked while watching her get her fingers dirty on white paint to do some isiXhosa marks on the wall.

"Because she's the Queen, so that makes her the Mother of us all. Also, she knows my umama's family for ages, they're friends and T'Chala grew up with umama, so she cares a lot for us. And we're Dora Milajes too so... There are plenty of reasons actually." she faced him to give a small smile.

"Hm, I got it... What more she said?"

"The Queen Mother said that I did a good choice and that she likes you." she genuinely giggled at his reaction. "She gave us her blessing."

"Really?! But why? She doesn't even know me!"

"Hmm, let's just say that's a mother's instinct."

Katsuki nodded quietly, glad that the Queen acknowledged him so much, and kept watching her do a tribute to T'Chala. Afterward, they walked around a lot more around the capital, but he just stayed by her side at all times, observing and respecting her moment.

When she cried, laugh, danced, sang... All the time he was with her, being the support Sisipho needed and taking notes about everything he saw and heard, willing to learn more about the Wakandans.

This only proves that the Queen Mother is right: Katsuki is good for Sisipho.

--✨--

Later that night, after taking a bath and having some dinner together, the quartet finally had time to rest and is sleeping deeply.

Well, no more all of them, since Sisi just had a nightmare and woke up disoriented and with her heart pounding. Not wanting to disturb her friends, she stepped out to the balcony and curled up on her blanket.

The night in Wakanda is beautiful, as always. She missed being in here. It's possible to hear from a distance that some people still mourning and doing tributes. Also, the animals walking in the jungle.

Sighing deeply, Sisipho put her hands together over her chest, and looked at the stars, missing her so dear uncle and King.

"Are you looking at me now from the Ancient Plane, T'Chala? How is grandpa T'Chaka? I miss you both so much..." in isiXhosa, Sisi prayed for them, silent tears falling like a waterfall. "This is so unfair... First the attack and now a disease... Why did you two have to leave us so early? This is unfair..."

Sisipho's quiet cries woke up Katsuki. He always had a light sleep and now that he's worried it got worst. He made his way to the balcony's door slowly, trying to understand what the black girl is murmuring so much.

Noticing that's in her language, he only guessed that she was talking to someone or a god maybe. Whatever it is, Katsuki decided to wait.

After some minutes of pouring her heart out, Sisi just leaned on the rail and let the pain be washed out by the tears, that didn't stop until now; she just kept watching the city.

She knows that Katsuki is behind her and is very grateful for his respect during this hard moment. The blonde turned out to be a very understanding boyfriend and at any moment complained.

Sisipho really loves this in him.

Noticing the quiet behavior, Katsuki approached her, hugging the girl from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. From time to time he left a lovely kiss on her exposed skin.

It wasn't necessary words to be said, the presence and support being more than enough to both know that they're not alone. No matter what happens, they have one another, always.

So the couple stayed quietly watching the night until they got too tired and Sisi dragged him out to her bed, where both slept in each other's embrace, hearts at peace finally with the comfort of being together.

This repeated itself for the next few nights when the couple kept going to the balcony to watch the starry night before bedtime and cuddle together. However during the daytime, little by little, the mood of the two wakandan's Ashido got better, with some visible changes.

They kept going out to the streets to pay respects and do rituals, but then unexpected invites started to appear here and there like someone just called them to go on a hunt or see some paradisiac scenarios, etcetera.

And following this rhythm, on the fourth day, Mandla and Sisipho decided that it was time to go back home and that they were good to go back to their routines.

Again they met the Queen Mother and The Princess, to say goodbye this time. Both wished the best to them all and left an open invite to a next visit, under better circumstances.

Within a matter of minutes, they were flying back home. This time Sisi is sitting with Katsuki and Mandla is piloting with Orion. But Mina and Eijirou...

"Ahmn... Did we lose something here?!" Sisi asked confused by seeing the pinky girl clinging to the other's arm. Both blushed hard at her observance.

"Now that you mentioned... What the fuck did you two do all those days at Wakanda?! I didn't see you two at all!!" Katsuki realized just now.

"Hehe~ So... We just enjoyed the trip, y'know..." Kirishima tried, in vain.

"Trip? We were in a fucking funeral for almost five days, what was that for you? A damn honeymoon?!"

"Ohhhh~ Surely it was, Kat! Look at their flushed faces!" the couple started to giggle and send dirty glances at them, teasing the duo out of their minds.

"Okay, okay! We'll tell..." Mina started, all flustered, playing with her fingers. "Since we were alone together a lot of times, surrounded by the breathtaking scenarios and etcetera, we... We kinda got closer..."

"And by closer you meeeean~?"

"She kissed me!" the all-red Kirishima couldn't hold his happiness and blurted it out.

"KIRI!!!" and now Mina is redder than him. "I-It wasn't like that, okay? I was just vulnerable crying and he..."

"I just wanted you to feel better, so I gave you a hug and we started to talk about things and..."

"The bet we did about couples came up... Kiri thought that I was upset because he talked about wanting us to happen, so I got desperate seeing him asking sorry nonstop, then..."

"She kissed meee~!" Eijirou is smiling so big that it must be hurting, he hugged the girl by his side, kissing her cheek. "So I asked her out on a date and she said yes!!"

"I KNEW IT YOU COULD FUCKING DO IT, SHITHEAD!!" Katsuki yelled all happy, giving a high-five to his friend. "Haha! I won the bet. Can't wait to see the shit face of Tapes and Pikachu."

"Ow~ this was so cute, I'm happy for your both it's so incredible to see two childhood friends end up together... Oh my gods, my babies are growing so fast. Only yesterday they're just two snotty brats..." Sisi whipped a single tear, like a proud mom.

The couples are now enthusiastically chatting around, sharing some ideas for a first date, cool places to go, and much more.

Seeing Sisi back to her old self made Katsuki understand what Orion said about this trip being necessary to the wakandans. Just by arriving in the country, Sisipho and Mandla got better and this intensified more with each thing they did to the King.

He's happy by seeing everyone so different from the last time they got into the jet, now talking and laughing around. This made the trip back home way quicker.

When they arrived in Japan, the Ashido couple decided to left Mina and Kirishima at their own homes, so they can talk with their parents personally and rest from the trip with them, before returning to the norm schedule at Yuei.

Also, they decided that is for best to talk with the Bakugou's now, so Orion drove to Katsuki's house.

When Mitsuki opened the door and saw the whole family together she almost had a stroke. Yelling for her husband to come around, the two families sat in the living room to talk, the blonde woman serving them some tea and biscuits.

"Oh my, I wasn't expecting you to come in person to bring Katsuki back. Thank you and also my condolences for your loss, Ashido's." Mitsuki said sincerely, sad by them.

"We can't even comprehend the dimension of your feelings now, so we can only hope that you'll be fine soon." Masaru wished the same.

"Thank you, it's a hard time but we're doing good. After being together with our family, we're feeling way better." Mandla explained to them.

"We didn't meet before. I'm Orion Ashido, the father and husband of the family. We didn't want our first meeting to be under this circumstance but we wanted to come and express our gratitude to you two for allowing Katsuki to come with us."

"I make Orion's words mine. This isn't the best of the situations, even more because we're still in a sore mood, but we just want to thank you so much for trusting your boy with us! Katsuki is a blessing in our lives since day one, so his presence was essential because he's like family to us."

The Bakugou couple is impressed and touched by their words. Both knew that Katsuki is close to the family, even before he started to date Sisipho - training at their house, choosing his internship to be with Amazon, and risking his life to save the black girl from the League - but not at this extent.

So hearing now that the Ashido's acknowledge his doings and admire their boy's acts makes their hearts overflow with gratitude.

Even Katsuki is touched by their sweet choice of words.

"Oi, oi, oi! Why are you crying, old rag?!"

"Exactly because of this!! My son is so stubborn, hot-headed and explosive... He's me again!! Always worried me so much if he would be able to even have a friend someday with this attitude! I thought that he would never have a friend!!"

"Mitsuki's worry is true, because of her own experience in life. To see our son having true friends and a special person to him is emotional to us. We should be the ones thanking you for treating our boy so well, as a family."

"Mitsuki, Masaru... We all are a family now." Mandla smiled at them.

As the hard times came, they also go away, letting space for new and exciting moments blossom. The Ashido's had a great loss this week but just won more two special people to their lives.

Now the Ashido and Bakugou families are like one, connected by the trust and love of their young ones.

now when i'm writing this chapter Black Panther 2 is still out of the theaters, only having two trailers, so if something didn't match with the movie, that's the reason. i just wanted to take advantage of this history to express my respects to Chadwick Boseman and let him be eternalized in this universe.

Live Long The King.