Elemental Switch AU
Kai hated everything. He hated his stupid sensei, he hated his goody-two-shoes friends, and he hated his good-for-nothing sister. These ironically fiery thoughts in Kai's mind as he trudged through the dark forest, a scowl fixed permanently on his face. His so-called 'friends' had given up on chasing Kai a while ago, as he knew they would. Why would they bother? Kai was a wreck. He was useless. He didn't even have powers. Kai slapped another tree branch out of his way. Nya. Nya had done what she always did. She had taken something Kai enjoyed, and became better than him. Showed him up. Again. Splash. Kai glared down at the creek he had unwittingly stepped in. He felt the cold water fill his shoe. It was calming. Kai had always liked the water, though he could never tell why. His sea-green eyes met the eyes of his reflection, and his anger melted into sadness. How had he ended up like this?
(Flashback)
Kai's narrowed eyes followed his sister from his spot in his bedroom. She and the other ninja were leaving the monastery for a mission. Instead of her usual attire, Nya had donned a red gi. His red gi. The gi given to him by his sensei the night he met the ninja. The gi he had worn when he rescued his precious little sister. The gi that had been forcibly taken from him when Wu realised his mistake. That one stupid mistake that Kai would make sure his sensei would regret. Just when Kai had finally felt like he belonged, fate had sent everything crashing down. Kai wasn't the master of fire. He never had been. He was just another stupid teenager. Another worthless kid. Kai's fists clenched as tears welled up in his eyes. He turned away from the window. He was tired of this charade. He was tired of his friend's sympathetic looks, tired of how Nya avoided her brother's eyes, tired of his sensei's endless silent apologies. It had been two weeks since Sensei had broken the news. Two of the longest and most agonising weeks of Kai's life. He'd had enough - he wanted out. He wanted to leave this awful place, to walk away and never look back. But he couldn't. No matter how mad he was, no matter how much he pushed himself to, he just couldn't abandon his little sister. Deep down, Kai knew it wasn't really her fault. But he refused to admit it, even to himself. If only there was a middle ground. Some way he could leave, and never speak to any of ever again, but still see his sister. Maybe just watch from the shadows. Then it came to him. What if he didn't have to abandon being a fighter at all? What if he still helped people, but better than the ninja? Show them up - beat them without fighting them. Granted - it was only half an idea, but it could still work. He would leave tonight.
(Present)
Kai didn't know how long he had been staring at his reflection. Minutes? Hours? He couldn't be sure, he'd zoned out - replaying the entire day's events in his mind, from watching the ninja leave, to the awful argument he had had with Sensei Wu before storming out into the forest, ignoring the teacher's calls for him to come back. Kai felt his anger rise as he remembered the fight, and his entire situation. In a short-lived burst of fury, the dark haired teen kicked at the water surrounding him with all his might, squeezing his eyes shut in the effort. When they reopened, they fell upon something very peculiar. The water was flowing backwards - the direction Kai's foot had kicked it in. Shocked, Kai very quickly stumbled out of the creek. As soon as he did, the water returned to normality. A now extremely curious Kai leaned down towards to creek, slowly stretching his hand out and into the rushing currents. He gave his hand a quick flick, and the flow once again reversed. Now wearing a small smile, Kai stood and took a step back, scanning his hands in wonder. This would be very useful if he were to become the ninja's competition. Of course, he would need some kind of disguise - if he were to show up to a fight and the ninja recognised him, they would force him to go back to the monastery. He would also need a cool name. He was an ex-ninja, so maybe something involving the letter 'X'? Kai wasn't sure about that part, but he did always fancy the idea of being a samurai.
And so Kai became Samurai X