"This day can't get any worse!"
That's what Kai Smith had thought a couple of minutes ago. Before he found himself in 'Dragon Clean Duty'.
Kicking a bucket in front of him, the fire ninja placed the bag full of 'fertilizer' next to him while sitting down on The Bounty's deck.
He started massaging his temples in annoyance while trying to clear his head. He had accepted this job just to do that, but it kept going back to the events that happened not even an hour ago.
"I'm such an idiot..."
He thought for the hundredth time.
The image of Lloyd's pained expression kept repeating itself over and over again. It wasn't usual for him to think about something for so long, but considering it involved Lloyd, the matter was important.
During training he had made one of the most embarrassing things ever. Punch the poor girl square in the chest.
At first when it happened he didn't know what the fuzz was about. He hadn't even punched THAT hard. But once he saw her in the ground, covering herself in the breast area and trying to hold back tears, he understood with a small blush covering his cheeks.
The teasing comments from the others didn't help at all either.
"Hahahaha what's the matter Kai? Never seen a GIRL before?"
Cole had said.
"Man, now that's something you don't see everyday huh? You OK over there Lloyd?"
Had asked Jay, and Lloyd merely nodded.
Zane had went to see if Lloyd had any sort of major injury, but they were lucky enough that she was fine. The Green Ninja simply said 'Its ok' to all of Kai's apologies and left to her room claiming to be tired.
The others bought it too easily, but Kai knew that she was still angry at him.
After all the laughs that occurred, he had gone with Sensei Wu to ask for advice. But in the end, chickened out because of the fact that he had practically 'felt' his niece.
So in the end, he just took whatever job that could be found to get his mind off of the beautiful blond haired ninja.
Kai accepted his crush on Lloyd just about a month ago. But it had been taking some getting used to the fact that he was in love with a child.
It may sound harsh, but it was odd for Kai to realize that he had been in love with her ever since the beginning.
Before he saved her from the exploding volcano, the brunette had thought a lot about how to unlock his true potential.
He felt some sort of hatred towards the little blond for taking his dream away from him. And because of that, he was hesitant on what to chose.
Her or The Fangblade.
But in the end, he decided that she would have to be The Green Ninja. If it was destiny, than they might have to be a reason.
And now, he didn't regret that decision. She was one of the best in the group. Ever since her growing spurt, Lloyd had turned into a leading figure.
She may not be the best, but she was very mature for her 'actual' age.
When the blond stayed with them to train, she gave it everything she had but still acted like a child.
And for some reason, Kai liked that about her.
He found himself thinking about her sweet smile, her blabbering behavior, her creative mind, etc.
And when she grew up... The heat was real.
Her sweet smile has turned into a cute laugh.
Her soft curly hair turned longer and softer.
Her vibrant green eyes filled with child-like wonder were still the same, but with determination burning like an eternal flame.
"Aaaand now I'm being cheesy."
Throwing the bag into a trash can nearby, the brunette headed towards his room shared with the boys.
Lloyd had moved to Nya's room recently because of the sudden change. It would be uncomfortable for her to be in a room filled with boys.
Even though he agreed with his sisters logic, Kai couldn't help but feel nostalgic about the matter. Her bed used to be next to his, and he sometimes found himself staring at her in her sleep.
Very cute sight indeed.
Inside the room, were Cole & Jay playing videogames. Upon noticing the brunette's presence, Cole was the first to speak.
"Took you long enough. Dinner's been ready hours ago!"
Raising a questioning brow, Kai asked:
"Since when do you guys wait for me anyway?"
This time, Jay was the one who put his controller down (After putting pause of course) and replied:
"Sensei said that dinner is a moment where we spend time together like a 'family' so he made us wait until you were done. Thanks a lot hot-head."
"That sounds too cheesy even for him." Replied Kai.
With no hesitation, Cole put both controllers back in the shelf and then smacked the fire ninja's head while pushing him away. Kai didn't even have to react.
"HEY!"
"C'mon hot-shot! You don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting do you?"
With a blush crept on his face, Kai looked like a living tomato thanks to the characteristic colour of his ninja outfit.
"Lloyd is NOT my girlfriend..."
Trying to keep himself low.
"Wow hold up Kai! I never said anything about Lloyd."
"Yeah Kai. What if Cole was talking about one of your many fan girls!"
"Sure. Because we get fans for dinner all the time."
With his voice dripping in sarcasm, the fire ninja made his way to the dinning room with both Cole & Jay laughing in the background.
Once the 3 of them reached the table, they were greeted by the sight of Sensei Wu meditating in his usual spot.
Then, out of the kitchen, came both Zane & Lloyd with many plates for everyone.
Zane placed the food, while Lloyd served the drinks.
"Sup guys? What do you all want to drink?"
Lloyd asked with such a carefree tone in her voice that it almost seemed like nothing had happened. But still there was that awful feeling of guilt inside of the fire ninja.
"Mmmm I'll just take the usual Pepsi Lloyd." Replied Cole.
"Oh! oh! Me too! I'm in the mood of some Coca-Cola imitation!"
Replied Jay
"Uh... I guess I'll just have one too.." Said Kai with an unsure tone.
"You sure? We got some Sprite too... I know how much you like it so I just figured... Ya know.."
Lloyd appeared a little unsure herself, but then composed it for a bit.
On the other hand, Kai was surprised to see that the girl had learned his personal tastes in the first place.
"Oh! then I'll have that then.. Please.."
"S-Sure! Coming right up!"
And just like that, she vanished into the kitchen once again. He could have sworn he saw a blush, but didn't question it.
Instead, the fire ninja stared at the last place where the young one went into, all the while a love-struck gaze in his eyes.
"I have seen that look before. Anything you'd like to share Kai?"
The brunette flinched at the new voice so close to him. Turning around, he was met with a white beard.
Of course it had to be Sensei.
"Ah.. N-No! Why you ask? He he he.."
"No reason in particular."
Sensei Wu let the matter drop, but it didn't mean he had believed him. He HAD seen that look before. It was the same look he used to give to Misako (Lloyd's mother) when they were young.
That thought made him chuckle internally. If that was true, than it meant the brunette was actually developing something for his, he guessed, niece.
If it were him, Sensei wouldn't mind. Because he knew that Kai would do anything for her.
After that everyone scattered around the table, sitting down with their plates in hand.
The Green Ninja came back with a tray full of the desired drinks for everyone.
Once she had put them down, Lloyd sat down across from Jay, one seat between her and Kai.
The fire ninja found it odd since she'd usually sit next to him to talk about many things of the day.
But now thinking more about it, this assured his suspicions that the blond was still mad at him.
With that in mind, he stared down at his plate with nothing else to say.
"Nya?! Where's the food?! I'm starving!" yelled the earth ninja.
"Coming right up! Be patient!"
"I've been patient for hours thanks to this idiot right here!"
Usually Kai would reply with a comment of his own, but due to the prior circumstances, he stayed silent.
He didn't notice the blond haired girl looking at him with concern.
"Hey! That idiot is my brother so knock it off!" Nya said with a smirk while walking in with a tray.
Placing it in the middle of the table, she removed the top and revealed some delicious stew. Filled with meat, potatoes and a couple of veggies.
Next there was another tray filled with Mini Cupcakes. Everyone was so hungry that they merely grabbed everything in sight as quickly as possible.
Taking a handful of stew, Kai started to move the spoon around since he was in his own thoughts. He was trying to find a way to get Lloyd to forgive him.
On the other hand, Lloyd started to think that maybe Kai was disgusted with her. He was clearly ignoring her so there must of been a reason.
"Nya's plan isn't gonna work!"
That little voice in her head kept nagging. Letting out a sigh, she took a mini cupcake and started munching.
Jay followed her example and took a bite.
"Ohhhhh! What is this goody from heaven!?"
"What the heck are you blabbering about Jay?"
Said Cole with a spoon in his right hand.
"You gotta try these cupcakes! They're the greatest thing ever!"
"Ha! I'll be the judge of that! Let's see Zane."
Curious about the matter, everyone who hadn't taken one grabbed a cupcake and took a bite. The looks in their faces were priceless.
"Oh.. Geez..."
Said Cole.
"Am I dead? Dreaming maybe?"
Questioned Kai.
"My parameters indicate that you are still breathing Kai, so I believe the answer is, no." Answered Zane
"Zane... This time you outdid yourself!" Said Cole once again.
"Yeah! Not bad for a nindroid!"
Spoke Jay this time.
"Thank you. But this time wasn't my turn to cook."
Everyone stopped for a minute to state at the white ninja in disbelief. He was the BEST cook among them, so this dish not being made by him shocked them all a lot.
"What?! If it wasn't you, then who was it?"
"I do not know. When I went to the kitchen, Nya & Lloyd were already there telling me to set up the meal."
Silence filled the room for a bit, until the red ninja spoke up again.
"Well sis! I knew you were a cook but I never thought much about it."
"What are you talking about? You know as well as I do that I can't cook do desserts without them looking like a living rock."
Remembering a time when his sister prepared some donuts, Kai shuddered at remembering the horrible taste.
"Then that means..."
Now all eyes were on the little blond sitting next to Samurai X. She kept munching in the small cupcake with a blush covering her features.
"You are a very excellent cook, my niece." Sensei Wu broke the ice first.
"T-Thank you Uncle.."
"Yeah! This is probably the best I've ever tried!"
Replied Jay
"I agree! Trust me Lloyd! I'm an expert in cupcakes and these have been approved!"
Kai said causing Lloyd's blush to appear once again.
"If... If you want I can bake some more later.."
"Man lucky Kai! Getting all the goods just because his best pal knows how to cook!"
Said Jay, but then corrected himself when he saw his girlfriend's disapproving gaze.
"I-I mean your also great Nya!"
"I know right? I mean I guess I am kind of lucky. She's the best friend I've ever had!"
Kai kept eating blissfully with no care in the world.
"Uhhhhh you mean GIRLFRIEEEEEND?"
Jay teased.
"S-Shut it guys!"
Laughter erupted in the room from every corner. Kai's face still had a tint of red in his face, and now everybody could clearly see his liking to the Green Ninja.
Everybody except herself, for she had left the room before anyone could notice.
TO BE CONTINUED...
