CRACK!

Zane bolted upright instantly awake as a thunderclap rang through the dojo. The wind howled against the walls and trees whipped around outside. Rain pelted against the window.

Zane fought the urge to flee the room. It wasn't that he was completely afraid of thunderstorms but they made him uncomfortable. He preferred when thunderstorms came during the day and he could stay close to his friends for his ease. But it was late and Zane didn't want to wake anyone. He'd just have to ride it out alone.

CRASH!

Another lightning bolt closely followed by ear splitting thunder occurred. At the same time Zane heard the door to his room open. He turned quickly half expecting the wind to have blown the door off. Instead he saw Cole standing there in his black striped pajamas.

"Cole! What are you doing up so late?" Zane asked.

"No one in this dojo is going to be sleeping through that storm," Cold told him, "Anyway I thought you could use some company."

"I could," Zane admitted nodding slightly, "How did you know?"

"I've got eyes Zane," said Cole sitting down beside him, "I've seen how durring thunderstorms you stay close to us. IT doesn't take much to figure out they scare you."

"I'm not scared," Zane said a little down heartedly, "I just don't like them. They bring bad memories."

"Of what?" Cole asked sincerely.

"Well, I told you that I've never really had a home," Zane explained, "This also means I've never really had proper shelter. I have built myself small shacks over the years, but they weren't strong. When a storm came I often had to flee them or they'd collapse over me. So many storms I spent huddled under an overhanging rooftop."

"Sounds miserable," Cole said sympathetically.

"It was. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to be here now," Zane told him.

"Yeah no chance of this dojo toppling over in a little breeze," Cole said with a small chuckle.

Confused, Zane cocked an eyebrow at Cole, "You have a very odd definition of a little breeze."

Cole stared at Zane before rolling his eyes.

Zane didn't understand. This wasn't the first time the ninjas had done this and he never understood what the gesture meant. Perhaps this was just a gesture friends did to each other from time to time.

In honesty he had so little experience with companionship that he really did not know. This team of ninjas was the only real friends he'd ever had. To the people in the villages he'd lived in before, he was just a stray who could do a few tricks in order for enough spare change to feed himself.

The thought brought a tear to Zane eye. He quickly wiped it, but not soon enough to keep Cole from noticing.

"Storms really make you that upset, huh?" he asked.

"Floods of water are nothing compared to floods of memories." Zane told him.

"Try to put it all behind you, Zane. That's all over now. We got your back should anything happen again. Remember that." Cole said firmly.

"I will" Zane promised.

Cole stayed with Zane until the storm passed. Neither of them got much sleep and judging by the bags under everyone eyes the following morning, neither did anyone else thanks to the storm.

"Man, I didn't think that storm would EVER end," Kai said with a yawn during breakfast.

Zane looked over at Jay who was sleeping in his rice. Zane gently shook him awake and jay say up some grains stuck to his face and hair. Kai and Cole laughed as Jay brushed them off chuckling with embarrassment.

Zane looked over at their Sensei. Normally he would laugh with the others at times like these but today he did not and he looked worse than the others.

"Are you well, Sensei?" he asked.

The others stopped laughing and looked over.

"I am fine, Zane. Lack of sleep simply hits me harder than it does the rest of you due to my age," Sensei Wu told him.

"Perhaps you should take a day of rest after training," Zane suggested.

"Thank you Zane, but I can't. There is an errand I must run."

"We can go," Cole offered, "Just tell us what you need."

"Very well…in the forest of tranquility there is a shrine. Some Deer go there to die. When they do, their bones become what I burn in order to create seeing smoke."

"Doesn't sound so hard," Kai smiled to the others.

"Yeah we can do that," Jay agreed.

That afternoon the ninjas headed off on dragon back. They flew close to the tree tops so they could look down and spot the shrine.

"I see it!" Jay said pointing.

The ninjas landed and looked around.

"This looks like the place Sensei Wu described. Look at all the deer bones," said Kai impressed.

"Zane you okay with all the death here?" Cole asked sounding concerned.

Jay and Kai turned to face Zane.

"Cole has a point last time we were in a place with a lot of dead things you got really bad," said Jay, "You were nauseated and almost threw up at one point. You said it was because you're a seer. Is being a seer here going to…"

Zane cut off Jay's babbling by calmly stating, "This is different. These deaths are of natural causes. They do not emit as much negativity as one who is killed."

This reply seemed to ease the others' minds.

The ninjas started to collect the deer bones for Sensei Wu. Zane leaned over to pick one up. But as soon as he touched is Zane vision went pure white.