Ch. 1: Kai

Kai lurched into a sitting position, heaving, trying desperately to force air back into his lungs.

Just a dream, he reminded himself, running his hands over his face and through his (despite what the others claimed) naturally spiky hair. This was real, this was physical, this was real and that dream wasn't… now, if only his addled brain and racing heart could get with the program.

Grimacing, he yanked at the collar of his sweat-soaked shirt, though he noticed his hands shook. No way he could go back to sleep now, jittery as he was. But, if the darkness broken only by the faint moonlight filtering into the bedroom shared by the five male ninja was any indication, there were several hours left before they would have to wake up for training.

Kai let himself fall back onto his pillow with a thump, sighing. So… waiting. Not really his strong suit.

Not only that, but the blackness pressing onto him from every side only brought back vivid images of that dream and… no, he certainly wasn't scared- how juvenile would that be? Nya could be scared, since she was his little sister, and Lloyd could be scared, since he was a little kid in a teenage body, and well, any of the other guys could be scared, because Kai liked protecting people, but Kai, the great Master of Fire and self-proclaimed invincible fighting machine, afraid? Ha! As if.

He nearly jumped out of skin when he heard the floorboards creak, because he was… cold. Yeah, that was it.

And, now he needed someone to talk to because he was… lonely- no, bored. Yes, bored. Perfect.

He listened and counted four people breathing heavily. This was good, since that meant nobody had heard him wake up from his nightmare- dream, he corrected himself. But, that was also bad, since now he would have to wake one of them and up explain why he was waking them up at- he squinted at the alarm clock- 3:34 AM.

But, perhaps the bigger problem was who. Nya was out of the question. Kai couldn't look weak in front of his little sister. Jay? Nah. The lightning ninja had been known to be petty, and Kai wasn't sure he could trust Jay not to lord this over him in the future and/or bring it up in front of the other guys. Zane seemed like the obvious choice, but then again, the nindroid struggled with illogical emotions and probably couldn't help Kai anyway. Lloyd? Not a chance! Kai was supposed to protect the Green Ninja, not the other way around! So, that left…

Cole.

The snoring Master of Earth was the perfect choice- understanding but not too sappy so as to make Kai feel childish, strong, a good listener…

Before he could psych himself out, Kai leapt from the top bunk of his and Zane's shared bunk bed with all the grace of a cat (or Spinjitzu master) and tiptoed over to Cole's bunk, which was thankfully on the bottom. Holding his breath, he listened for any indication that he'd woken somebody with his daring dash across the room, but all he could hear was uninterrupted, rhythmic breathing.

Smirking to himself and filled with confidence he was intimately familiar with, he shook Cole's shoulder.

And immediately regretted it when Cole snorted and started awake.

Why did he think this was a good idea?! Stupid, stupid Kai. He's going to think you are such a baby that can't even sleep through the night without someone holding his stupid hand. Not that you're scared or anything- because how lame would that be?- but it was a dumb idea to wake up someone with your own problems...

And, just as he was positive he wanted to take it back, fly into bed, and stare at the ceiling until the sun rose, Cole turned over and cracked open his eyes halfway.

"Kai?" He mumbled groggily, propping himself up on his elbow and rubbing his eye with the other hand. "What's wrong?"

No turning back now. So, full steam ahead.

Scoffing, he smirked, "Wrong? What makes you think something's wrong?"

Cole blinked at him with drooping eyelids, as if trying to decide if this was a dream or real life. "Because, you woke me up at-" glance at the alarm clock- "3:39 AM?"

"Riiiight…," Inside, Kai was screaming at himself with a voice that sounded suspiciously like Nya's. What now, smart guy? Why didn't you plan out what you were going to say?! You always rush into things without thinking! If you weren't so impatient…, But, on the outside, he only wiggled his eyebrows invitingly. "I wanted to extend to you the honor of a once in a lifetime opportunity to battle me, Kai, Sitar Hero legend, one on one for the high score spot."

That was the best you could come up with?

Shaking his head to get his sister out of it, he smiled sheepishly, waiting for Cole's response.

The earth ninja only stared at him, and then decided that this must definitely be a dream.

"No thanks," he grumbled, lowering himself back onto the pillow and shutting his eyes with conviction. "Goodnight, Kai."

"We could spar instead! I've been working on a new move-"

"Goodnight, Kai," Cole hissed, pressing his eyelids together more forcefully.

"If you cook, I promise I'll eat whatever you make!"

Cole sat up with wide eyes, and Kai almost regretted impulsively making such a vow. It was the equivalent of a death wish, and the fire ninja's stomach twisted with the thought of coming within ten feet of whatever came out of the kitchen when Cole had anything to do with it. But, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Really? Okay, then I'll cook for you-"

Success.

"- in the morning," Cole finished, rolling onto his side to face the wall instead of Kai.

No!

"Cole," but he didn't have any other ideas, he didn't know what else to say, all he knew is that he couldn't go back to lying in that bed alone in the dark where that dream could get him and… and… "Cole, please, I'm… I'm…,"

I'm scared.

Even now he couldn't admit it, and that somehow made him more pathetic. His whole body trembled as he glared a hole into the floorboards, feeling babyish and stupid and-

"Kai," his head shot up when he felt a hand on his shoulder to see Cole suddenly standing beside him, the stifled yawn the only indication that he hadn't been awake and alert the entire night. "Why didn't you just say so?"

That was the thing. He didn't say it. But, Cole knew.

Kai swallowed and opened his mouth to respond… but Cole was already walking away, toward the bedroom door.

"Where…?" The fire ninja whispered, utterly confused.

Cole opened the door and turned back to Kai with an expectant eyebrow raised. "What are you waiting for? I was promised a one on one match with a Sitar Hero legend."

Kai hesitated a moment longer, his sleep-deprived brain taking extra time to connect the dots until- oh! Smirking, he jogged over to Cole in the doorway. "That's the Sitar Hero legend to you."

"Well, you're going to be the former Sitar Hero legend when I'm finished with you." The earth ninja retorted, shutting the door gently behind them.

"Ha! You are so on."

"Cole, you're hitting a stack of crates."

"I am? Oh. Well, at least I didn't somehow use my finishing move on myself."

"That was one time- oh, wait, I just did it again."

"You stink at this game."

"You stink more. I have a higher score than you."

"We're in the negatives."

"...oh."

5:07 AM found both exhausted ninja slumped against each other on the couch in the game room, aimlessly mashing buttons on their respective controllers after having switched from Sitar Hero to some new fighting game. Needless to say, they were both failing horribly.

"Hey, uh, Cole?"

"I'm still hitting the crates? I thought-"

"No, no, you killed me that time- or, I killed myself again, I'm not really sure- but I was going to say, um… you know. Thanks." Kai mumbled, turning his head away to hide his embarrassment (he'd already resigned himself to losing the game.)

Cole only shrugged, as if playing video games at 5 AM was the most natural thing in the world. "What are brothers for?" He remarked without looking away from the screen. He was apparently dead set on winning the game, though he'd gone back to demolishing another innocent stack of crates.

Kai watched in silence as the boxes begged for mercy- or he was just really tired- until Cole said something that put any nightmare his brain could ever conjure up to shame.

"Don't think I forgot about your promise to eat my cooking."