So this is a one-shot prompt from a guest. I'll explain at the end of the story, and it is very important for you to read it! Thanks for coming to read, and I hope you like it!
-LizzyLucky
"We have to help Zane!"
"Finally, something we agree on!"
Jay and Cole had been fighting all week. Since they discovered that Nya liked both of them, they couldn't stop arguing over who would be with her. It was now, in the heat of the start of a battle, when they found a chance to agree on something. After Zane had given half his heart to Pixal, he'd lost his ability to do spinjitzu on his own.
Cole and Jay jumped down from the massive pile of junk and ran across the yard to protect their friend. As they ran over the trash compactor, the platform fell away and the two fell in.
"We're trapped!" Cole shouted.
"Augh, and with my own worst enemy!" Jay growled at Cole.
In turn, Cole *aggressively* huffed a breath at Jay, an ongoing sort of fight between the two.
Before they could really start to fight, someone began pressing buttons on the control panel, locking it and setting it to crush them.
"Ah! I'm too cute to be squashed!" Jay yelped. He and Cole automatically moved to the furthest walls and pushed to try and stop them.
"Someone stop this thing!" Cole called out.
From the battle between the rest of the ninja and the no-longer-fallen nindroids, Kai could hear Jay and Cole yelling. This time, though, it didn't sound like arguing.
"They're trapped!" He realized, spotting the working trash compactor. He turned back to the nindroid he had between his hands and kicked it away. He leapt off the small pile of trash he stood on and ran over to the two ninja in distress, kneeling down and peeking inside. The walls were closing in on them at a steady rate.
I'll get you guys out! He thought. He stood up and turned on his feet to run to the control panel, but was met with a very strange sight. In front of him stood an older man with a long, black beard, a black and purple outfit, a technologically advanced helmet of sorts, menacing red eyes, and a long staff glowing white and black. It was Sensei Wu!
"Sensei! What have they done to you?" Kai exclaimed worriedly. He stood to walk to Wu.
"Hiya!"
Before he could even tell what was happening, Wu's staff hit him hard in the side, sending him backwards a few feet. To stop the fall, he rolled backwards over his shoulder, landing on his back with a grunt.
The helmet's corrupting him!
Kai stood up as quickly as his flustered mind would let him. His Sensei just hit him!
Preparing to defend himself, he tightened his hold on his techno-blade. He didn't have the chance however, as the first thing he saw was Wu's foot, and he went flying across the junkyard with a swift kick to the gut. He landed hard into a junk pile and saw Wu sprinting toward him for another hit.
What about Jay and Cole? They were literally going to get crushed!
"Nya! Find a way to shut down the junk compactor!" He turned his head to his sister, who was busy punching a nindroid.
"On it!" She yelled, throwing the nindroid to the ground and running to the compactor.
As he turned back to the battle, he was met with another hit to his side, sending him to the ground. That one hurt!
He jumped back up onto his feet and just barely managed to block Wu's next attack with the techno-blade, grunting at his Sensei's impressive strength.
Wu laughed and pressed harder, Kai's feet sliding through the dirt.
In the distance, Kai could hear Nya yell, "I can't override it!"
"No!" Kai yelled, letting his guard down as he looked toward the compactor.
"Yes!" Wu yelled. His voice was cold and cruel. It had a robotic quality to it, probably from the helmet.
Kai fell into the dirt as he was overpowered, almost dropping his blade in the process.
"Sensei, please!" He yelled desperately.
Wu ignored him, swinging his staff into Kai's back. Kai yelped and stood back up, trying to steel himself. He lifted up his techno-blade and swung back at Wu, blocking another attack. Part of him almost laughed; it was kind of like when he was training back in the start. He would be hit over and over again, and when he thought he got a hit in, all it did was block his Sensei's staff temporarily. Of course, when he was training, he actually got to the point where he could hold his own against Wu, and the hits never hurt this much.
Wu drew his staff backward and pointed it straight, aiming to hit Kai in the chest. To Kai's luck, he managed to shoulder-roll out of the way just in time, coming up just behind Wu and hitting him in the back.
As his Sensei stumbled from the hit, Kai could have sworn he felt a wave of pain. Almost physical, and it wasn't from the staff. His chest grew tight as he realized that he just hit his Sensei. Wu was the closest thing he'd had to a father since his own parents went missing when he was little.
Wu recovered quickly and spun around, stuff stuck out to hit Kai in the side. Kai jumped up and did a backflip, just barely dodging the staff. He threw his arms forward, the technoblade colliding with the staff. A small buzz went through his arms, just a tingling sensation, and he realized it was the staff. It wasn't just glowing white, it was emitting pulses of electricity!
He wriggled slightly as the sensation spread to his torso. (Ticklish Kai, anyone?) Suddenly, a much larger buzz of electricity flowed from the staff, quite literally shocking Kai and knocking him to the ground.
Dizzy, he lifted his techno-blade weakly above his head and felt the staff crash into it. His arm collapsed over his chest and he sat still for just a moment as he tried to gather himself together.
Wu laughed and revelled in his small victory for a few seconds, allowing Kai the time to jump to his feet and shake his head, effectively re-waking his senses. He quickly swung the techno-blade at Wu's staff, attempting to knock it away from him.
Wu growled, tightening his hold on the staff and swinging it back. He hit Kai's middle, and the ninja of fire went flying into another pile of junk. Kai realized it felt a lot more like a wall than a bunch of scrap, and turned around to see a resting jet leaned against the actual pile.
He shook his head again and turned back to his fight, knowing that even a second of distraction could mean a serious blow from none other than Sensei Wu himself.
Kai's eyes widened and he scrambled to the side as quickly as he could. Wu was a good ten or fifteen feet in the air and had his staff angled down directly where Kai had been sitting. The staff hit the ground so hard that it was embedded by almost a foot.
That could have killed Kai!
Before being yanked back up, several pulses of electricity shot through the staff and into the jet, which powered up and took off into the sky, almost directly up. Kai swallowed hard and grabbed hold of his weapon once more. Just as he got back onto his feet, Wu was back in his face with the staff. For a good thirty-something seconds, they were locked in a stalemate, weapons practically welded together as they pushed back and forth against each other. Kai, however, was losing his footing fast. Wu was a very strong person, and especially with this enhanced technology and the electricity flowing through his body, he was too strong for Kai.
Kai grunted as his legs began shaking. He pushed with all his might, feeling another pang in his chest as he could see his Sensei struggling.
For just a second, he could have sworn he could see through the red in his Sensei's eyes. He thought, for just a second, that he could see Wu's kindness and fatherly-love for his student.
But then it was gone. Kai had unconsciously loosened his hold and he was shoved backwards so harshly that his vision went blurry when his head hit the ground. He groaned and pushed himself up weakly, only to receive another hit to the side, even harder than before, and sending him flying into the wall of the junk yard. His head was pounding and he dropped his techno-blade as he hit the wall.
He tried to sit up to watch his Sensei, seeing, instead, four Senseis, each turning around each other.
As his vision cleared and he regained himself, he realized that he was no longer holding his weapon. Wu, also, was running towards him at an impressive rate.
As Wu drew closer, Kai leaned down to grab his techno-blade. He brought it up in front of him just in time, blocking a whack from Wu's staff. He pushed back and Wu stumbled a few steps.
The old master retaliated quickly, though, and began to attack rapidly, one hit after another without pause.
Kai grunted and held his weapon as steadily as he could, but his stamina was draining. With each hit, his arm faltered a little more, and the rush of wind from the swipe would grow closer to his face.
It went on until, at last, he collapsed. Wu hit his blade away and rose his staff above his head, prepared to hit Kai.
And Kai was terrified. Horror-struck, he watched as his Sensei's cruel red eyes darkened, and how unforgiving and relentless they were. Sensei Wu wasn't there. Anything he thought he'd seen before was gone, and as Kai backed into the wall, blocked in at both sides, he could feel yet another wave of pain travel through his chest. This was not Sensei Wu!
Kai stood up, flattening himself against the wall as much as his own body would, and as Wu's gaze continued to harden and turn into somebody else's, Kai cried out and used his arms to protect himself.
It was such a pitiful cry, a whimper almost, and Kai had somewhat hoped it would be like those movies and be enough to shake Wu out of his trance because of his love for his student. But it wasn't, and Wu's gaze was now, more than ever, cold and cruel.
To the red Ninja's immense relief, in more ways than one, he heard Jay's voice.
"Sensei Wu!"
Wu turned towards the voice, buying Kai a little time.
"What happened to him?" Cole cried in alarm.
"He's turned evil!" Kai shouted back. Then, more distressed, "HELP ME!"
He rolled under Wu's arm and grabbed his techno-blade.
"But- But he's Sensei!" Cole exclaimed.
Kai rolled onto his back and blocked another hit from Wu's staff.
"Not any more." He replied solemnly.
"Ugh! More like Tech-Wu!" Jay shouted suddenly, gripping his weapon. Cole charged at Wu, quickly followed by Jay.
Just as Cole prepared to strike, Wu's staff hit him smack dead in the middle of his face and he fell down with a grunt.
"Ha! Okay, I hate to say it, but you deserved that a little!" Jay paused his own attack to laugh.
Before Cole could respond, Jay was gut punched with the end of the staff. He yelped and hugged his middle, groaning.
"Ha! Right back at'cha!" Cole retorted, sitting up.
Frustrated with their day's antics, Nya took charge and shot between them, sliding down to kick Sensei Wu off his feet.
"Oh, I'll handle this!" She growled.
Wu was too quick for her, however, and jumped up out of the way. Nya saw this and kicked herself back up onto her feet as quickly as she could, swinging around to punch Wu.
Wu simply dodged and let her fling herself into the pile of junk behind him. She stumbled forward, almost tripping over her own feet. She slammed into a broken down mech, which Wu wasted no time in powering up. He directed pulses of energy to the mech's arms, which wrapped around Nya and trapped her there.
"Nya!" Kai turned toward Cole and Jay for help. They stood up to rush to her rescue, but were stopped by Wu, who pushed Kai to the side and ran off.
"Don't let him get away!" Kai shouted, standing up and chasing after him. Jay and Cole gave Nya a glance, then joined Kai.
Wu had run up a large converter belt, stopping at the top to watch them chase him.
As the three ninja began their climb up the belt, Wu dug his staff into the ground and powered it up, not only turning it on, but speeding it up at the same time. It rapidly gained speed, until the ninja were flailing their arms, trying to keep up. Kai, who was in the front of the little group, tripped and crashed into the other two. In one glorious crash, they fell down, the techno-blades flew up, and the ninja were shot away from Wu, leaving their weapons for the taking.
Now in a heap at the bottom of the conveyer belt, the ninja watched helplessly as their Sensei laughed a laugh not his own and walked to their fallen weapons. Just as he bent down to pick them up, a large magnetized vehicle rolled up and over the hill, drawing Wu's attention. And inside of it was none other than Zane and Pixal!
"Zane!"
Man am I glad to see you, buddy! And in one piece, too! Kai thought.
As glad as the three ninja on the ground were, Zane actually looked a little down.
"Sorry, Sensei." He said with a frown.
Zane powered up the machine, which yanked the techno-blades, and Wu's staff, to the giant magnet. Wu, being corrupted as such, refused to let go of his staff and went flying up with it.
And thus ended the battle with Tech-Wu.
One week later, and things couldn't be more bitter-sweet. After the battle with Wu, the crew went to meet up with Cyrus-Borg, reuniting Pixal with her creator. Together, the two were able to use some of their most recent technology, in which a video-game player could be virtually transported to the digital world with a digital body, to transport the Ninja to a world where they could physically fight the Overlord. With a little imagination, literally, they managed to close down the system, which halted the body-building process of the Overlord. Lloyd was released, the nindroids retreated, and Wu was returned to normal. Things seemed to be going well until they discovered that they were too late.
The Overlord had a physical body, and a project in space, where the golden weapons were located. The nindroids managed to get to said golden weapons, and forged an armor for the Overlord, which would kill anyo ne who came in contact with it. Anyone, that is, except for the Overlord himself. It was the ultimate protection.
The ninja fought with their all, the battle shifting back and forth between good and evil. Ultimately, their master plan for victory had been a failure, and they were overwhelmed.
Finally, it got to the point where all the team had been captured except one; Zane. And, to both their horror and their relief, Zane had the perfect plan to defeat the Overlord once and for all.
Sacrifice himself.
Kai had watched in utter horror as their bravest and most unique member began to glow, refusing to let go of the golden armour or halt the flow of his ice beam toward the Overlord. He watched Zane exhaust himself with the over-use of his elemental powers, while at the same being overloaded with electricity.
He watched, helplessly, as their Nindroid overloaded his own heart, used up his own power, and saved the entirety of Ninjago and beyond in one swift move.
He waited with dread as he was ordered to move to cover and heard the explosion outside, the defeat of two of the most powerful people Ninjago had ever seen.
And he cried as the team discovered nothing more than ice and half of a face-plate.
He faltered when he delivered his speech at the memorial site, dedicating a hard worked on and well built titanium statue of and for Zane.
Now, the entire team was numb. The defeat of the greatest threat to their city, but the loss of their greatest hero and friend. Of their brother.
And things were just getting worse. Ninjago, though now safe, was moving on. Life had to continue forward. The city had to be rebuilt, people had to be entertained, and the ninja had to find other things to do. If ninja were un-needed before, they were even more un-needed now.
Now, the ninja spent almost the entirety of their day wandering the Bounty, playing video games, pointlessly training, looking for jobs in phone books.
It was on one of these days that Kai found himself going through old books. They didn't have very many, and most of them were either Zane's or Wu's. At the moment, he was going through, just like all those cheesy movies, a scrapbook filled with old pictures of the ninja. For him, it was solace. It made him smile, remembering times that he had laughed with someone he'd been so fond of.
He flipped a page and came to a photo from a few months before the Overlord made a comeback. Kai was the one holding the camera, so he was at the corner, grinning and making a peace sign with his fingers. Jay and Cole were bent over in laughter, a hand on each other's back. They were behind Kai in the picture. On the other side of the frame, Nya was stood perfectly straight, a massive grin on her face, and trying to cover a giggle with her hand. In front of her stood a teenaged Lloyd, back to the camera and holding a frosting covered plate, just busting with laughter. Standing in front of him, and smack center of the photo, was an absolutely shocked Zane, cake plastered to his face and confetti decorating his platinum blond hair. That was the time they decided to throw a surprise party for Zane's birthday. To say the least, he was very surprised.
Kai chuckled fondly at the memory. Then he frowned and sighed. That was the last time they would ever be able to celebrate Zane's birthday with… Well, with Zane. They would never be able to do that again. Actually, they would never be able to do anything with Zane again.
Kai closed the book, not wanting to think about it again. Not wanting to think about how Zane wouldn't be coming back.
"Kai? What are doing all by yourself?" Sensei Wu walked into the room. Kai jumped and slammed the book shut.
"Nothing!" He said quickly.
"Is something wrong?" Wu asked. He turned his head at Kai, curiosity in his voice.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Kai replied, standing up and replacing the book.
Choosing not to push, Wu stepped out of the way and watched Kai walk quickly out of the room without saying a word.
Kai, in his rush, bumped into Nya, who was directly outside in the hallway.
"Hey, Kai. Is something wrong?" She asked, nearly dropping an armful of laundry. Kai shook his head at Wu's repeated words and sighed.
"I'm fine." He took off at a brisk walk down the hall, headed toward the deck. Nya watched him in confusion. He seemed tense, and his eyes appeared to speak 'borderline-panic.' She turned towards the door where Kai had walked from. Wu walked out and joined her in the hallway.
He hummed, placing his hands behind his back the way he did when he was thinking.
"I worry about him." Nya said.
"As do I. Did something happen?"
"Aside from losing Zane?" She asked rhetorically. The entire team had taken that one pretty hard. Their personalities were all a little bit scrambled after the mind-numbing experience of watching their brother literally explode.
"Point taken." Wu responded, half amused. He could see how much of an effect the loss of their Nindroid had been. Kai had seen Zane as both a younger and an older brother. The ice ninja had many ways of being both to all of the younger members of Destiny's Bounty.
"I think he just doesn't know what to do with himself right now, ya know? He's always protected me, since the day our parents went missing, but he's never had anyone or anything to look up to except old memories of our parents. Then when he joined the team, he had three new brothers that he could both protect and be protected by. Since that day, he's always found a way to keep everyone he's cared for, or grown to care for, safe, or found a way to rescue them when they weren't. He's always seen his friends and family returned to him safely. And this time, he wasn't able to protect Zane. This time, Zane won't be returning to him safely. It just reminds him of how he was powerless, too young to understand or even remember at this point, to do anything for our parents." Nya explained.
"I see." Wu said, acknowledging her. He shook his head softly and turned to walk away.
"But…" Nya started. Wu paused to look at her.
"I'm not sure that's what it is. I mean, he's definitely going through those motions, but there's something else off about him, and I don't know what." She said. Her gaze remained on the shadow of her brother's quick exit, and she could feel her shoulders slump. Wu noticed this and placed a comforting shoulder on her hand.
"He is growing apart from all of us. But that does not mean he has grown to stop caring." He said simply. Nya turned to look at him and smiled gratefully, before turning back to her own task. She walked down the hallway distractedly, turning a corner and disappearing from sight. The fabric in her arms trailed after her.
Wu sighed and turned the opposite direction, thinking to himself. Nya was right; there was something else off about Kai. Her description of what he may have been going through seemed accurate, but he showed a different kind of bitterness besides. One both unidentifiable and familiar at the same time. He was, indeed, growing apart from his friends.
Kai huffed. He was frustrated with himself. And he was very unsure of what exactly he was feeling. He should have been relieved over Wu being returned to normal, and he was, but it didn't feel the same anymore. And it really didn't help that Zane had off and left them like that. He was sad at first, then he was numb in addition. Now he was just confused. He kind of wanted to be mad at Zane for leaving, but whenever he went to get his anger out, he ended up crying like a baby instead. And he felt like there was no one he could really go to for closure. Normally he would have gone to Sensei Wu. Wu was logical and wise. He had very good ways of comforting those who needed it, and he was the closest thing Kai had had to a father. It was rare for Kai to trust someone like that so easily, which was part of why they shared such a relationship.
But something was different now. After seeing those red eyes glaring at him… How relentless his Sensei was. How many times that he hit or kicked, and how hard, too. Kai now had several, big, legitimate bruises on his side and back, all yellow and purple and blue.
And to further it, he couldn't do anything about it. He pleaded with Wu, he tried, on some level, to get him back. And it didn't work. Wu didn't change back to himself or soften. He never hesitated or lightened his blows. It was just hit after hit, nothing but hatred in his eyes and his movements.
There was no way that any kind of technology could be that powerful as to completely block out a person's character.
Could it?
Kai ran a hand through his hair and leaned up against the railing of the deck. He sighed heavily and looked up to the sky. It was white. Nothing but clouds. It was simple and matched his mood. It was also kind of… dreary. Yet it was also really mesmerizing to look at. He liked this kind of weather, when the air was humid and cool, and the sky was white. It kind of reminded him of Zane.
Closing his eyes and creasing his eyebrows sadly, he looked down. This time, he was met by the deep blue of the ocean and his own reflection. There were bags under his eyes, and his hair was more ruffled than usual.
He refocused his eyes, looking underneath the surface and past his reflection. It was just… blue. It seemed to go on forever, and he could see little bits of seaweed floating in the water. It was clear, but it also seemed murky at the same time.
For just a moment, he found himself growing excited. This was a very healthy area of water. It was a good spot to practice water meditation, or holding one's breath! Maybe Zane could break his record again and-
But Zane wasn't here.
Kai put his hands to the sides of his head and whipped around on his feet, screaming frustratedly into the plain of day.
Almost immediately, he bumped into another person. He blinked in surprise as he met the wise eyes of Wu.
"Kai." Wu nodded in greeting.
"May I speak with you?" He asked.
"No offence, Sensei, but I'm busy." Kai said, side-stepping quickly to go around Wu. Wu, however, would not have it. He stuck his staff straight out and spun around to stand behind it, meeting Kai face to face.
"I- do you mind?"
Kai tried to sidestep the other way but was met with the same reaction.
"Did you need something?" Kai asked, this time sounding more uncomfortable than grumpy. He took a small step away from Wu and put his hands down in a more respectful manner. Almost submissive.
Wu was somewhat surprised. He rested his arm at his side and looked curiously at Kai.
"You have not been yourself. What troubles you?"
Kai knew it wasn't worth telling him 'nothing,' but didn't really know what to say.
"I'm just trying to deal with Zane's death." He tried.
"Yes, I know. But that is not what I speak of. You have been bitter."
Kai sighed and looked down, his shoulders slumping. He looked up at Wu without moving his head.
"Forgive me- uh, Sensei. I didn't mean to be bitter or anything. I'm just tired." He said.
"Walk with me." Wu said, gesturing with his staff for Kai to follow. He turned around and began to stroll at a slow pace, Kai scrambling to get to his spot beside him. There wasn't tons of space to walk really; just the deck, maybe the halls or the stairs.
"Did I do something wrong?" Kai asked, somewhat fearful.
"No. As a matter of fact, I was going to ask you the very same thing. Have I done anything wrong?"
Kai looked to the ground, remembering the battle between he and Wu. He knew that Wu had no control over what he was doing, and he knew that Wu couldn't really remember any of what he had done either. Wu had done nothing wrong. But Tech-Wu… Whoever it was that had been controlling him… He had done something wrong, and used Wu to do it.
"No. Nothing wrong."
"You have become weary." Wu pointed out. Kai had been sounding as tired as he looked more and more lately, and he was distancing himself from his teammates.
"I said that I'm just tired. I need to get my mind off things." Kai was beginning to sound anxious. He turned around on his heel and pointed himself toward the training equipment.
"If you need to train, you may spar with me." Wu said, doing a massive double flip over Kai's head and landing in front of him.
Kai flinched and turned around again.
"I'm good, thanks."
Wu was about to stop him again, but was interrupted when Nya opened the door to the deck.
"Kai! Come look at this!" She said excitedly.
"What is it?" He asked her, running, almost too eagerly, to meet her. Wu could see Kai's shoulders visibly relax, and Kai seemed to sigh with relief.
Kai looked over his shoulder at Sensei Wu. His expression was unreadable, but held some form of guilt. He turned quickly back to Nya and the two walked through the door, Nya explaining something to him excitedly.
As it would happen, Nya had found out that Jay's proposal for a new game show, hosted by he himself, had been accepted and boomed over night. The show looking for Ninjago's next big hero was a hit, and in less than a month, he gained enough publicity for his show to be the cover of one of Nya's favourite magazine subscriptions, which is how she found out about it in the first place. She was so excited for him that she just had to tell someone, and her brother was the first person she thought of.
As exciting as it was, though, Wu was still concerned. Over the following few days, Kai had become even more distant. He was jumpier and more on edge, but he was also quieter and more respectful. Kai did this more than any of the other ninja, and it wasn't healthy for him.
It wasn't until about two weeks later that Wu realized something far more crucial.
Kai only reacted in these ways towards him. He became more protective of Nya, and always seemed to be in a rush to do something else that didn't involve his Sensei. There was always some kind of excuse. But when Kai was on his own, Wu would notice him simply staring off into space. He had begun to lose interest in finding a job, or doing anything for that matter. Wu understood that this was a common reaction for people after losing someone they were close to, but it seemed at the same time that Kai was already moving on from the event. And from the way Kai acted around him, Wu suspected it may not even have as much to do with Zane anymore.
Like most days, the first thing Kai did after eating breakfast this day was retreat to the deck. He trained viciously for a little while, leaving new marks on the equipment as he had done the day before. After a solid hour or two of training, he would be walking to the rail and staring over the edge. He would look at the sky, or at the horizon, or the snow-tipped mountains, or Ninjago, the water (if they were sailing), his hands, even the wood itself. Just anything. He always made it clear he still missed Zane, but he wouldn't talk to anyone about it. He wouldn't confide in anyone or be a companion to anyone in any way.
Today, Wu was intending on changing this pattern.
As Kai was beginning to get to the point of needing a break, wiping his brow and picking up his hand-towel and water-bottle, Wu made his move. He had been watching from the shadows just inside the doorway, and was just now stepping out. Quietly, he approached Kai, who was making his way to the rail, and cleared his throat.
He almost had to chuckle. Kai's shoulders bounced and the ninja whipped around with a yelp of surprise. It was very much like how it used to be, when Kai didn't know Wu very well.
"Oh." Kai sighed, seeing Wu.
"Morning, Sensei." He greeted automatically.
"Morning, indeed." Wu nodded.
"I was just… training." Kai said awkwardly, walking away from the rail.
"I could tell. What, may I ask, were you training for?"
Kai paused and bent down to pick up a target board.
"Uh… I don't know. Just in case there's an attack or… something." Kai flipped the board up in the air and caught it again, then carried it over to one of the wooden posts, on which was a hook to hang the board. He slid the board on and straightened it before putting his hands on his hips to study it. Naturally, it wasn't actually on straight and it fell off. He leaned down to pick it up once more.
"Something, perhaps, like this?"
"Huh?" Kai stood up with the board in hand and turned around to ask what Wu meant, but instead saw Wu's staff flying in his direction like an arrow.
"WOAH!" He yelped and ducked behind the board, which the staff bounced off of, flipping around and landing in Wu's hand.
"Sensei, I meant- ACK!" Wu swiped his staff directly downwards and into the target board, Kai hiding further behind it.
"You have trained for many days now. This, is a test." Wu said. He stood up straight and placed one arm behind his back, using the other to whack at Kai's legs, which went flying from underneath the flustered ninja, who then fell onto his back.
"A- oof!- a test?!" Kai looked up from behind his makeshift shield and blocked another swing from Wu.
"You heard me correctly, Kai. Now, up!"
Now that Kai was fully alert, the oncoming swing to his side had no effect, as he rolled quickly to the side and back onto his feet.
"Good. Defend yourself!" Wu said firmly. He wedged his staff underneath a wooden sword used for sparring and flung it into the air, hitting it forward as it fell, and at Kai, who barely managed to catch it.
Wu spun around and kicked at Kai, who jumped to the side and out of the way. Wu, having seen this already, began to spin the other way, and brought his staff out to hit Kai in the back. Kai leapt up and used one of the wooden posts' protruding arms as a foot stool to launch himself into a backflip, effectively dodging a double swing from Wu.
"Very good!" Wu praised.
Kai landed steadily on his feet and smirked proudly to himself. He puffed out his chest and held his sword high.
"But arrogance will get you killed." Wu said, swiping his staff under Kai's feet once more. Kai fell this time onto his front, and the board he'd been using fell from his arm and bounced, then rolled, away.
"Oops…" Kai groaned, rolling off to the side again.
By this time, he'd gone into auto-pilot. This was something he'd done many times before. He'd sparred with his brothers and with Sensei Wu, and he'd been in battle with more than he could count. It was reflexive for him as a ninja, and sometimes even kind of fun.
Wu pointed his staff straight and jabbed it out at Kai, watching as the ninja changed the direction of his roll and went backwards over his head to evade another hit.
"Ha!" Kai cheered, jumping into another post and flipping over Wu, landing directly behind him.
Wu spun around and threw his staff into Kai's sword, and the two pressed back and forth for a moment.
Unlike the last time the two battled, Kai was stronger this time, and pressed Wu backward.
Wu stumbled a few feet and put a hand to his head.
"Sensei? Are you okay?" Kai asked, putting his arm down. He stepped towards Wu and stretched out his arm.
Wu spun around very suddenly, surprising Kai. Kai fell backwards and dropped his sword. He shook his head rapidly. Looking back up at Wu, he gasped sharply. Wu's eyes were a piercing, glowing, red.
"No!" He yelped. His mind flashed back to the battle in the junkyard, Wu's evil red eyes, hard and emotionless, staring into his own. His chest twinged again with pain, re-seeing how uncaring Wu was, how he was unable to change him back.
Kai closed his eyes hard and gritted his teeth. He shook his head again and opened his eyes to find Wu's staff swinging in his direction.
Not again! He thought with panic. He pushed himself to the side to avoid the attack, then jumped up to his feet. He looked at Wu and realized... his eyes weren't even remotely red. Had he imagined it?
"No, what?" Wu asked, stepping forward and swinging his staff again, which Kai ducked under.
Kai was going to say something, but couldn't make his mouth open. His heart rate quickened and he focused in on his Sensei's eyes. As much as he had wanted to see Wu somewhere in those red eyes before, he feared seeing red in his Sensei's eyes now.
Wu swung his staff once more, this time more quickly. Kai couldn't picture anything except for the way that Wu had hit him the last time they battled. His side ached at the memory, and his mind flashed blank for a fraction of a second. A flash of Tech-Wu zipped across his vision and he panicked, reaching behind him for something to grab onto. Unlike the junkyard, there wasn't a piece of scrap metal or an old pipe and his hand fell away, his entire body falling with it.
Wu jabbed at his left side, then at his right, barely missing each as Kai twisted on the ground.
His mind flashed again, and all he could see was Tech-Wu diving at him with his electronically enhanced staff, which he barely got out of the way of. That was a potentially fatal move!
Kai's breathing became heavy as the memories rocketed through his mind, each near-hit from his Sensei sending him closer to the edge of the deck, as well as to the edge of utter panic.
Wu said something, but Kai couldn't understand it. Flashes of Tech-Wu sped back and forth, and the clangs of weapons echoed in his ear. His senses zipped back and forth between the junkyard and the deck of Destiny's Bounty like lightning, and Kai could feel his heart-rate increase rapidly.
He suddenly came in contact with the rail on the opposite side of the deck and looked up to see Wu raise his staff directly above his head, prepared to strike. The exact same way he had in the junkyard. Kai was defenceless, without the help of his friends, and unable to move out of the way.
He wrapped himself into a little ball, arms around his head, and let out a half-yelp, half-sob. He waited for the blow, but it didn't come.
As he realized he was still in one piece, the flashes settled. His anxiety, however, did not.
"Kai? Are you alright?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.
Kai peeked through his arms to see an extremely concerned looking Sensei Wu knelt by his side. Just looking at Wu brought another flash of memory across his mind.
Kai shook his head and pushed himself away from the ground, turning and running towards the door inside without a word.
"Oh, dear." Wu said worriedly. He stood up slowly and walked to the door, stopping to pull the lever which would shut down the training equipment.
As he walked inside, he decided he'd best confront Nya first. He wasn't certain what had happened, exactly, only that Kai had been afraid of him, quickly transitioning from level-headed to panicked.
Following the hallways, he came to Nya's room and knocked softly with his staff.
There was a *thump!* followed by a squeak and the pounding of feet.
A moment later, the door creaked open and Nya stepped into view, half the front of her shirt soaking wet. She held an empty glass in her hard.
"Forgive me, Nya. I was wondering if I could speak with you a few moments?" He asked, his voice apologetic. He looked sympathetically, almost amusedly, at the glass in her hand.
Noticing his gaze, she said, "It's fine. Just water. What did you want to talk about?" She turned and placed the glass down on a table behind her.
"I've just had a very interesting training session with your brother, and his altered behavior toward the situation has me concerned.".
"Uh oh. What did he do?" Nya stepped forward and closed her door behind her.
"My intent was to discover the reason behind his recent odd behavior, but I believe I have only made the situation worse. I challenged him and he sparred with me confidently. After a few minutes, however, he began to act strangely." Wu explained.
"Strangely, how?" Nya looked at him quizzically.
"He lost his footing and his movements became clumsier. He began reacting as though he could not hear me, and he appeared to be unaware of his surroundings."
"That doesn't sound good." Nya sighed, putting a hand to her chin. Her expression switched to complexed, and she looked like she was thinking.
"What worries me most is that as our session progressed, he began to look and sound genuinely afraid."
"Afraid? Like, afraid he would lose the fight or something?" Nya turned her head at him.
"No. I believe his fear may have been directed toward me."
Nya's face slowly dawned with realization.
"Oh…" She said, dropping her arm.
"Do you know why?" Wu asked, noticing and finding himself become curious.
"I think I do, actually. Do you remember when you were… When you were captured? And questioned about the techno-blades?" Nya asked.
"Yes…" Wu said slowly.
"What about when you were… Uh, how do I say it without sounding childish? Do you remember when you were helmeted with this sort of mind-control device?"
"Mind-control device? I can recall being helmeted, and Garmadon has explained to me that I had been under the control of the Overlord, but I cannot remember the time during which I was under that power."
"That would explain a lot. When we first discovered that you were being controlled, you were in battle with Kai. You basically had him cornered, and you had knocked away his techno-blade. I didn't really see any of the rest of your battle, but Kai seemed pretty freaked out, seeing as how he was defenceless and you were ready to deliver the final blow."
"That does explain a lot." Wu said, stroking his beard in thought. His concerned expression was enough to tell Nya how badly he felt about the situation.
"Thank you, Nya." Wu said, straightening himself.
"Of course. And… If it helps at all, he hasn't really told me any of this stuff either."
Wu smiled gently at her and nodded. Silently, he turned and walked down the hall, leaving Nya to her own thoughts.
Kai had retreated to his own room. It used to be shared between he and the other four ninja, but now it was only really used by he and Lloyd, who was gone most of the time anyway. The other ninja had found jobs. Jay had his own little trailer for his show, which he used as a living space. Cole had moved back in with his dad. And Zane was… Well…
Why was he thinking about this kind of stuff?! It was enough that he'd just broken down in front of his own Sensei; he didn't need to be thinking about the rest of his broken family, too!
He honestly felt like a child. He was on his bed, leaned up against the headboard and underneath his bed-spread like he was in a little tent. He had his legs pulled up to his chest and he had been zoned out for a good while. After his episode, he ran all the way here and tried to find something to distract himself. He was in such a frenzy that he wasn't even fully conscious of what he was doing until now. He was underneath his blanket, and he realized that there were books and scrolls scattered on the floor, some opened up to sentimental photos, and others to prophesies he'd been able to live out. His head hurt, too, probably from how he'd been squeezing it in an attempt to make the memories stop flashing across his mind.
As he tried to gather his scattered thoughts together, he heard the door to his room open. He held his breath and kept still, the way he would as child, as though it would make him invisible.
"Kai? May I speak with you?"
It was Sensei Wu. How many times exactly had Wu asked him that same question in the last month? He wasn't sure, but it was too many.
"Are you alright?"
He'd been asked that a lot of times, too.
"I'm fine." He answered automatically. He did not feel like sharing.
"One who rocks back and forth beneath a blanket is not 'fine.'" Wu said pointedly.
Is that what he had been doing?
Kai could feel the bed shift as Wu sat down.
"It's not any of your business!" He snapped. He lifted the blanket and threw it behind his head. Moving so he was sitting cross-legged, he folded his arms and glared at Wu.
"Then what about the battle in the junkyard?"
Kai's eyes widened slightly before settling back into a glare.
"Nya." He grumbled.
"Yes, she was my source. What happened that day?" Wu asked. He rested his hands on his lap.
"It's not important."
"If it is not important, then there should be no reason you cannot tell me." Wu reasoned.
"I don't feel like talking about it!"
Kai turned his head away from Wu's gaze. He couldn't think of any good arguments and was beginning to grow nervous again.
Wu was trying to think of something else to say when Nya came running through the door.
"Terrorist attack in Ninjago City!" She said, waving her arms toward the door.
"Where?" Kai asked immediately, jumping up from the bed, a sort of 'saved by the bell' moment.
"By the bank. Lloyd's already there, but he's outnumbered. Hurry!" She explained quickly.
Kai ran out the door and down the hall, Nya quickly following.
Wu was left sitting on Kai's bed. He watched the two rush out of the room and sighed to himself. Pondering it for a moment, he decided he would go with Kai. He would help protect the people, and hopefully discover a little more about what Kai was going through.
Walking casually down the hallway, he eventually caught up to the other two in the central room, where Nya was explaining the situation to Kai. He stopped at the back of the room to listen.
"...only 7 of them, thank heavens, but it sounds like the explosive devices they claim to have aren't imaginary. There are massive pulses of stored energy popping up around some of the most populated areas of the city, and it's enough to get a lot more than the single block they said they could destroy. They're all interconnected, so you would have to shut them down at the source. Even if you managed to shut down one or two individually, the rest would still be connected, so it wouldn't work. You have to shut them all down, all at once, and as quickly as you can. We're talking several hundred lives at stake!"
"If that is the case, we must waste no time." Wu said suddenly.
"You're going too?" Kai asked, turning around to look at him.
"I may not be as young as I once was, but I can still buy you time."
"Perfect! The more, the merrier! Well, as merry as you can get for a terrorist attack. Let's go!" Nya said. She turned on her heel and leapt to the controls, turning on the engines, then the boosters. The ship started up with a jolt, Kai almost losing his balance.
"Are any of the other ninja available?" Wu asked. This was not a battle they could afford to lose, no matter how much smaller it was next to their past experiences.
"No. I couldn't get ahold of any of them. They may have heard about it, but I don't honestly think any of the others will be there." Nya answered. She turned sharply to the left and the whole ship tilted slightly as the boosters continued to speed them up.
"Kai." Wu walked to the red ninja. Kai turned around and gave him an anxious look.
"I understand your hesitance to tell me what happened during that battle. For the time being, we will focus on the mission. The populace is more important. However, I do expect an explanation from you when we are returned." Wu said, putting a hand on Kai's shoulder.
Kai flinched at Wu's touch, but nodded slightly. He remained quiet and turned away from the old master.
"Okay, guys, quick!" I'm dropping the anchor!" Nya said. She really had just rushed there. That had to be a new record!
Kai nodded and he and Wu ran to the deck, Kai grabbing a standard sword before he and Wu leapt off and caught onto the anchor, which began to fall.
Below, Kai could see a large group gathered around the bank. There were around a dozen police officers trying to hold them back. From behind the line that they had formed there was glass and crumbled building scattered over the ground. He caught the occasional glimpse of men wearing black suits, as well as bright flashes of green. He figured the green was Lloyd, and by he really was outnumbered.
As the anchor began to near the ground, Kai and Wu leapt off, using spinjitzu to land safely.
The first thing Kai noticed when he was steady on the ground was the small group of black-clothed men circled around Lloyd, who was throwing one punch after another without break. Lucky for him, the men hadn't notice Kai or Wu yet, giving them the advantage for the time being.
Kai ran up right behind the men and began to gather up a fireball in his hands. The bigger it grew, the warmer it grew, and just as it was getting to the point of being too hot, Kai expanded it and threw it up and out, aimed directly for the center of the circle. He leapt up and followed it, doing spinjitzu as he did.
"Lloyd!" He yelled in warning. Technically, the ball was headed directly for the person standing in the center of the circle, which, at the moment, happened to be Lloyd.
Lloyd saw Kai and smiled with relief. He caught sight of the fire-ball and rolled between the legs of the men around him, getting out of the way just as it landed in the middle and blew the 7 men backward. Just as the fire dissipated, Kai landed and drew out his sword, swinging around in a circle to push the men further back and separate them.
"Ha!" He shouted triumphantly. It was a short-lived triumph however, as they all managed to jump back onto their feet and group together, this time surrounding Kai. However, they had yet to see Wu, who slammed his staff into the back of one of the men, who immediately passed out. Kai figured he must have found a pressure point or something along those lines.
Just before the rest of the men could really react, Wu repeated the move on two more of them, leaving nearly half of the group, now unconscious, on the ground. The remaining four turned toward Wu, battle stanced.
"Sweet!" Lloyd exclaimed, doing a front flip and landing directly behind them. Wu had just halved their work!
The men turned around again, this time not prepared quite so quickly, at which point Lloyd shot a massive ball of green light in their direction, knocking them into each other like bowling pins.
"Strike!" Lloyd pumped a fist. This battle was turning out a lot easier than he thought it would. Frankly (and silently), Kai had to agree. It looked pretty dire to start with, but now it was just easy. It was both satisfying and kind of sad at the same time.
Kai remembered that he was supposed to be looking for something to shut down the explosives. He rushed forward and swiped at the men on the ground, who jumped up and scattered to avoid his blade, and he began to scan for any kind of suspicious looking device. A remote, a fuse, a machine of some sort, it had to be something.
"Kai!" Wu shouted to get his attention. Kai jumped slightly then turned around, facing Wu.
"There! Take out the statue!" Wu was locked with one of the men, the two pressing back and forth. Wu had used his head to gesture towards the left. Kai followed the gesture and saw a small statuette of a thin cat, sitting attentively, with a ruby-like gemstone in its chest. How in the heck had Wu figured that out?!
Shaking his head and deciding not to question the old man, he dashed forward and pulled his arms back over his head, sword in hand, and prepared to leap up and land a blow to destroy the statuette. Just before he could jump, however, he was blocked by one of the men, who slid in front of him. Kai crashed into the man and fell backwards.
"Oof!" He grunted, landing hard.
"Hey! 'Scuse me!" He growled. He stood up and did a quick spin, sword held out. He barely missed the man, who leapt backward a foot and then forward to meet him. The two clashed weapons, pushing each other back and away from each other before rushing forward to throw their weapons again.
Kai tried to spin to the side and go around the man, but was countered. He needed to get to the statue!
"Ugh! Don't you know when to let up?!" He growled. This was getting more annoying now than anything else.
He spun to the other side and found himself locking blades with the enemy once again. He continued to press back against the man, the two constantly being pushed backwards and away from each other before re-meeting in a stalemate.
It wasn't until another one of the men approached and picked up the statue that Kai started to get worried.
Just like in all the cheesy movies, the man flipped the head of the statue back to reveal a red button. The statue was wired into an electrical circuit, and Kai suddenly realized that he couldn't do anything to stop the man in his situation.
"Oh shoot, oh shoot!" He muttered. Kai's head perked up as the other man taunted him with the statue.
To his utter relief, Kai saw a ball of green energy slam into the man's back, causing him to drop the statue, which skid a few feet away. In addition, it distracted the man that he himself was fighting. He turned and gave Lloyd a quick look of gratitude before turning back to his own battle and repeating his attempt of escape with a spin, this time successfully.
"Ha!" He yelled, triumphant. He had a bit of a tendency to repeat the phrase, but who could blame him?
Kai yanked the connecting wire out of the statue's base then threw it to the ground, smashing it in the process. Then, before any of the men could react to the action, he turned around and gathered up, in each hand, a ball of fire, which he launched at the two men directly in front of him.
The fireballs landed precisely where he'd wanted them to, and they had a sort of *poof* of an explosion, which blew the men onto their backs, effectively knocking them out. Now, all that were left were the two men which Lloyd and Wu had been fighting.
This was turning out to be fairly easy, Kai decided.
"Lloyd! See what you can do to shut down the circuit up there!" Kai yelled the instruction, jumping and taking battle with the man that Lloyd had been fighting.
"On it!" Lloyd said. He moved swiftly out of the way as Kai took over the fight for him and then rushed over to the circuit. Just because the statue was destroyed, didn't mean that the explosives couldn't still be activated. Not so long as they had a power source.
As Lloyd worked on that, Wu was held fairly busy himself. Despite how strong and agile he was for his age, he was growing tired and began to lose his own footing. The man he fought was using his weapon to press up against Wu's staff, to push the old man backward in the dirt. He had a lot of strength.
However, what this man did not have was Wu's wisdom or skill, which differed greatly from strength alone.
Wu stopped pushing altogether and jumped backwards, causing the man to fall forward and onto the ground. Before he could roll over onto his back, Wu leapt up and smashed his staff into the man's back.
The man rolled back up onto his feet and was met by Wu, who was in a ready position. It seemed like the two were going to keep fighting, but the man had other plans.
Surprising Wu, the man fell back and ran in the opposite direction, toward Kai, who was on the ground and being overpowered.
"Kai, watch out!" Wu warned.
Kai grunted as he was pushed onto one of his knees by his opponent. He turned toward the coming man and threw a hastily put together ball of fire at him, just barely missing, but singing the man's sides.
The other man which Kai fought turned distractedly to look at his partner.
Distraction, however, was a very powerful form of weakness on occasion. Wu took advantage of the moment to land a blow to the man Kai fought, which sent him into a collapsed, and unconscious, pile on the floor.
"Yeah! Way to go, Sensei!" Kai cheered. Wu smiled amusedly, then nodded to Kai. He turned and ran to meet Lloyd, adding his own expertise into shutting down the circuit. It looked like Lloyd was having some trouble with one of the wires, which was half attached to the circuit..
Kai turned to the last man and smirked. He picked up his sword and lifted his free hand, a small fireball forming.
The man seemed to swallow before shaking his head and rushing Kai. Kai simply stepped to the side and watched the man stumble past him.
"Look, we've already fought like, 6 of you, so you can just give up now." He said boastfully.
The man turned around and stood up straight, mock-bowing.
"Well you haven't fought me!"
Kai almost dropped his sword he jumped so badly. That was a female's voice!
"What?" He muttered to himself.
She laughed at him. She yanked back her hood to reveal a brunette with a bob-cut and bright red lips, curled into a crazed grin. She bore a symbol on her forehead reminiscent of the jewel Kai saw on the statue's chest, as well as small gold markings around the ankles and wrists of her outfit, which he hadn't noticed before. He could only assume she was the leader of the group, as none of the other fighters had the same markings.
"You thought we were all men?" She asked scornfully.
"You're all girls!?" Kai half choked.
"No. Just me." She growled at him. Then, before he could fully re-gather himself, she leapt at him, knocking him to the ground.
"Oof! Jeez, you're heavy!" He groaned.
Her glare, if possible, intensified, and she grabbed hold of the front of his gi. She lifted him slightly, then slammed him into the ground, getting a grunt from the ninja.
"Don't think I'll take it easy on you just because I'm a girl!" She said, slamming him into the ground again.
"And don't think I'll take it easy on you just because I'm a gentleman!" He retorted, rolling her over and pinning her onto the ground.
She had surprising speed and strength, and before he could do anything about it, she'd rolled him back over onto his back, then lept up. He thought she was just getting into a better position to fight him, but he was wrong, and watched as she ran towards Wu and Lloyd.
"No!" He yelled as she pushed the two aside, in opposite directions. As the two fell to the ground, she began to twiddle with the wires and buttons, rapidly sticking them back into place and trying to activate the explosives.
Kai scrambled to his feet and picked up his sword, charging at the girl. He pulled his sword back, ready to strike.
Surprising him yet again, she whirled around holding her own blade, and swung at him, just under his arms.
And she hit.
Kai collapsed to his knees with a yelp as the sword slashed his stomach. He gave it a quick glance, relieved as he realized it wasn't too deep a gash, but winced as the pain became sharp.
The girl in front of him gave a cruel laugh before turning back to the circuit board and setting back to work at a quicker pace than before.
To his sides, Kai could see Wu and Lloyd get back to their feet and gather their own defences, preparing to strike. They froze however, when she whipped around and held up a finger.
Creating a small gust of wind, she swung her blade in Kai's direction, pausing just in front of his face.
"Ah-uh." She said it with a sweetened sing-song of a voice.
"What're you going to do now? He can't defend himself." She smirked.
"Hey! I resent that!" Kai said, grimacing.
Her expression changed, and her tone became deadly.
"Not another step." She pushed the blade forward an inch, Kai pulling himself back slightly.
She looked to either side, glaring, in turn, at both Wu and Lloyd.
However, just as Sensei Wu had done earlier, Kai took advantage of her small moment of distraction and rolled hard over his shoulder to the left. With as much speed and strength as he could muster, he jabbed his sword into the circuit board.
In hindsight, that was a fairly stupid thing to do.
The board erupted with electricity, which flowed freely into Kai's body. He was, quite literally, shocked backward and into the female standing behind him, a look of horror ornamenting her face.
An absolutely blinding light flashed across his vision, and a burning sensation zapped across his body, very much unlike fire, but quite familiar at the same time.
At this point, he was lying on the ground, and registering a mixture of different sounds. He could hear an angered roar from the woman in black, and cheering from the crowd outside the bank.
But, as his vision began to grow darker, he heard his own name more and more frequently until, finally, a strange feeling came over him and he could… could no longer…. keep his eyes… his eyes… open…..
Woah. Hello, bright light. Kai thought rubbing his eyes as he regained consciousness.
"Kai! Jeez, buddy, gave us all a heart-attack!" Lloyd exclaimed, rushing to give the confused ninja a hug.
"Well, I'm not dead." Kai replied, sitting up. Surprising, he didn't actually feel all that bad. He figured that the *shock* he'd gotten earlier probably didn't have any major or lasting effects, and he'd been through worse any way he looked at it. He had to admit, though, that gash on his stomach wasn't exactly comfortable.
"What happened?" He asked. "And please tell me that circuit board is fried, because I'm not doing that again." He rolled his eyes, sitting up and swinging his legs over the couch he was apparently lying on.
"No, no, don't worry. It's taken care of. Bit of an adventure we had getting that all finished with." Lloyd laughed slightly.
"I can imagine." Kai chuckled. Nya, Lloyd, and Wu all three stood in front of him. It looked like they may have been talking about something before he woke up. Their expressions were a little unsettling.
"Did something happen?" He asked, suddenly curious.
"Yes, something did. And you agreed you would speak with me about it." Wu said, stepping forward. As if on cue, the other two nodded and stepped out of the room. Kai watched them leave, a growing feeling of nervousness creeping up his neck.
"I, uh, I suppose I did, huh?" Kai chuckled halfheartedly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand and avoiding Wu's gaze.
"How long have you had those bruises?" Wu asked, getting right to the point.
"Bruises? I don't- oh." He'd almost entirely forgotten, but he still had bruises from the time that Wu had been… well, we probably don't need to go over that again. Wu must have seen the bruises when they were bandaging him up. Assuming, that is, that they did bandage him up. The firm pressure around his middle was enough to tell him that they probably did.
"I have a number of questions for you, Kai, and I want honest answers." Wu said firmly.
Kai sighed.
"They've been there about a month and a half." He said. "But they don't hurt anymore." He added quickly.
"Good. How did you get them?" Wu asked. His gaze was hard and determined, unchanging. Kai flinched at the question, looking at his Sensei in a sort of 'Do I have to?' way. Wu simply stood still, watching Kai.
Well, there was no point in trying to hide it anymore. It had been long enough.
"...you." He said reluctantly.
"Me?"
"When you were under the control of the Overlord." Kai hunched his shoulders nervously, almost afraid Wu would be angry with him. Why, though, he couldn't pin exactly.
I guess I'm just still worried about what happened and what… what might happen.
Wu stroked his beard in thought, then walked slowly to sit beside Kai.
"Tell me what happened that day, Kai." Wu said, just as he had done earlier.
Finally, Kai gave in. He sighed defeatedly, then turned to Wu. He told him the entire story, from beginning to end. From the moment that Wu had been taken hostage, to the moment he reappeared as his normal self just after the ninja's adventure in the digital world. His tone became nervous and he slowly curled himself inward, feeling small next to the one who had hurt him so badly, despite how Wu had been unaware at the time. He told Wu about how he'd showed up suited with a technologically advanced helmet of sorts, how his eyes had changed to red, and his staff, charged with electricity. He told him everything he could remember from the battle, every hit, punch, kick, jab, and how many times Kai was close to truly being injured.
In response to all of this, Wu's expression became more and more sorrowful, regretful, and he eventually had to stop Kai.
"No more." He said simply. Kai had unknowingly curled into a ball the way he had done before, and he'd become increasingly nervous. Every time Wu shifted or turned his head, Kai flinched, and Wu was finally realizing what had happened.
He had hurt Kai. He had almost killed Kai. He overpowered and trapped the teenaged boy next to him, and he couldn't control himself at the time that he did. Kai was still scared of him. And what was worse was that Wu had grown to be a father to him. He had grown to care for Kai, he had taught him, guided him, comforted him, and offered him a home. He'd done the same for his sister, too. He was the closest thing Kai had to a parent, and Kai needed that release from having to act like one.
And Wu had hurt him. Wu had been, for a time, the opposite of what Kai had grown to know.
Finally, Wu stood up, feeling resolved.
"Kai, stand up." He demanded. He held a slightly colder temperament for the moment, but as Kai did as told and stood up, Wu did something that he hadn't done in a very long time.
He hugged Kai.
Kai was taken aback at first, tense and stiff, but relaxed as he realized what Wu had done. And, without even realizing it, he began to cry.
Emotions flooded his mind as the embrace tightened.
A hug is a physical expression of love. It is the surest way to know that you are cared for. It tells you when you are wanted or needed, and it lets you know that you are safe from harm. Hugs create a sort of bubble where you are away from the world, and as Wu tightened his, all of these things, and all of the fatherly traits Kai had come to depend on, became evident.
"I am not Tech-Wu. And I would never, ever, hurt you, my student." Wu said quietly.
And a hug, was all it took.
You guys. You. Guys. You have no idea how hard this whole thing was to right. But, actually, for this submission, it took almost no effort, since it was pre-written. Anyway, here's the point: Very Important! I have an entire one-shots collection, if you liked this one, and you can request one-shots for it! But! Only in that collection can you ask! Not here! However, you may PM me about it. I post each one shot individually and then I also post it in the collection. Here's the thing though: I don't know what's going on, but my update date doesn't update. I have several chapters on my collection, each from a different date, and they all read the same. So none of my writing in the collection is getting read! I need you guys to help me get the attention of the guys in charge of Fanfiction, and I need your help getting views on my one-shot collection! Because the update date is not updated, it is not showing up towards the top of the list. It's going down, and no one is seeing any of my new writing in the collection itself! I will continue to post notices for this in each of my separately posted one-shots and stories, but I need your guys' help! Please! Anyway, that's it. I really appreciate your attention, and if you liked this one shot, let me know! Then, if you like how I wrote it, look at my other one-shots! And last but not least, if you want to see more, find that one-shot collection, read from it, and request one-shots! Thanks everybody!
-LizzyLucky