A/N Warning! You need to read up to chapter 26 of In Need of Polish before reading this, as there are some spoilers in it. You've been warned.
More Free Hugs!
Making new friends just means there are more hugs to go around, and Buddy Kai was more than willing to give them out.
Lil'Loyd
It was just par for the course in the strangeness that was their lives that Kai found himself having a sleepover with a miniature alternate version of Lloyd.
It was weird, the kid was both so similar and so different from the Lloyd he knew. He was more sassy and confident than his Lloyd had been at that age. And unlike him, he seemed more willing to fight back at the world that seemed set against him.
But like Lloyd, the little guy still seemed to have rotten luck in life, and, much to Kai's appreciation, he saw the Fire Ninja as a beacon of safety when lost in a scary world.
Taking him to the twins' home that first night, Little Lloyd was starting to have a sugar crash after all the ice cream he'd eaten, and didn't have much energy to do more than give mumbled answers to questions, and drowsily allow them to help him get ready for bed, and soon enough, he was curled up fast asleep, looking far more at peace than he'd been earlier when he ran to him in tears at being someplace unknown.
Which was why it was alarming when Little Lloyd woke up with a frightened shout the next morning, jolting Kai awake as well.
The poor little kid was looking around wildly, clearly not seeing the bedroom for what it was, and seemed to be growing more panicked by the second.
"Whoa, hey little bro, it's okay," Kai quickly said, pulling the little boy into a gentle hug.
Like his Lloyd's first hug before him, Little Lloyd at first seemed so frozen in disbelief to be getting the embrace but soon melted into it.
"Kai?" he asked finally once he calmed down.
Kai had to wonder if he was asking for him, or for his counterpart from Little Lloyd's world.
"Yeah," he answered because whichever one he was asking for, he was Kai. "But also…"
Little Lloyd gave a little jerk in his arms, and Kai knew his memory of the previous day finally kicked in. "Oh, right… other world," he mumbled.
He could feel the disappointment that the previous day's events hadn't been a dream coming off the little blond in waves.
"We'll get you home, little bro. Promise, okay," Kai said.
Little Lloyd nodded slowly, and Kai couldn't tell how much he believed it.
Hoping to distract him from that, Kai squeezed him tighter.
"How do you feel about pancakes for breakfast?" he said, switching gears.
Little Lloyd immediately perked up hearing that. Looks like another similarity they have is their sweet tooth.
Hoping they also had a similar love for games, Kai pulled up a game on his phone to give to him and left to get started on the pancakes.
Hopefully, they could get him home soon.
Zen Zane
Kai was on top of the world as they watched the mechs Dr. Gary had programmed against them fall into the ocean, and couldn't stop giving victory hugs to whoever came within arms reach.
His teammates laughed it off as he did so. They knew the mechs going down must mean that the Lloyds and Kai's own counterpart must be safe and had beaten the bad guy.
Those not on his team were not as used to his hugs. Koko, who had received them more than others outside their friend group, laughed and hugged him back. Master Wu had accepted his hug with grace, and patted him on the back for it. Catching the still-evil alternate Lord Garmadon hug was a mistake. At first, he seemed too shocked at what was happening to respond, but then quickly shoved Kai away.
Oh well, his loss.
The hugs didn't stop when they landed at the volcano, and as they waited for their Lord Garmadon to figure out how to land the Green Dragon Mech, Kai rushed to give them to his sister and Jay as well.
Unfortunately, when he went to hug Jay, Nya targeted him for a tackle at the last second, and Kai found himself hugging Zane instead.
Though it took him a minute to realize it wasn't his Zane he was hugging, but he figured it out when a pair of dark eyes stared back at him in surprise instead of glowing blue.
Never one to apologize for hugs, Kai grinned at him and said, "Victory hug!" while lifting the heavy nindroid off the ground as best he could.
Alternate-Zane let out an "Oof!" at the hug, but didn't seem bothered by it.
"I see your Lloyd's description of you was accurate," Alternate-Zane said when his feet were set back on the ground.
Kai stepped back and looked curious. "Lloyd told you about me?" he asked.
"Yes," said Alternate-Zane. "He said you were the friendliest person he knows, and how you were generous with giving hugs."
Kai beamed, and just for that, Alternate-Zane got another hug.
Red Nya
Hearing their parents were missing-presumed dead in the other world was a cold shock for the twins.
But the reactions of their counterparts were too heartbreaking to not be genuine. The way they continued to give the twins' parents looks of wonder as if they couldn't believe they were there only cemented it.
Kai couldn't imagine living his life without them, and his heart went out to his counterpart who apparently had to raise Red Nya (who wasn't his twin and was younger than him, another bewildering thought) all on his own. Suddenly the differences between the two sets of counterparts made a lot more sense.
Speaking of Red, he saw her excuse herself to get some air. Spike Kai sent her a worried look but seemed reluctant to leave the sight of Ray and Maya. So after exchanging a look with his sister, Kai went after her in his place (his counterpart sent him a grateful look for doing so).
Stepping out onto a small fire escape attached to their apartment, Kai glanced over at Red staring out into space.
"Sorry it's not much of a view," Kai said conversationally to let her know he was there.
Despite that, Red jumped and glanced over at him, but didn't say anything.
"You doing okay?" Kai asked.
Red frowned and looked away from him.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I barely remember my own parents. Like I said, I was three when they…" she trailed off, looking slightly bitter. "I know your parents aren't the same as mine. But… you had them all this time… why…?"
Kai hugged her.
"It's okay to be jealous," he muttered to her. "But just know that going forward you can totally share our parents with us. We'll be quadruplets, who cares about our ages. My parents totally wanted you the moment they saw you."
Red didn't say anything, and if Kai felt tears soaking into his shirt, he didn't mention it either.
Spike Kai
Hearing about their encounter with a leviathan, Kai was kicking himself for not stowing away on the Lloyds and Garmadons' fishing trip, water or no water. Even if they did find Zen Zane's long lost father, the idea of his little bros being in danger like that was horrifying.
Thankfully, even if he didn't go, another Kai did.
And because of that, Spike Kai deserved a hug.
So Kai gave him one.
Spike was definitely surprised to get caught in a Kai Hug™, particularly because he was Kai.
"So this is what this feels like," Spike said thoughtfully when Kai finally pulled away.
"Thanks again for looking out for them," said Kai gratefully.
Spike shrugged modestly. "You'd do the same if they didn't ditch you."
Well, that was true.
"How do you do it?" asked Spike.
Kai looked at him in confusion. "Do what?"
"How do you hug so much?" asked Spike, looking slightly embarrassed. "It's not… cool, you know?"
Kai scoffed. "Okay, one, no one is ever too cool for hugs."
Spike snorted at that.
"Two," said Kai, ignoring his snort. "We were never going to be cool."
Spike looked at him in confusion.
Kai shrugged. "We were best friends with the kid everyone was convinced would be the next major supervillain. No one was ever going to think we were cool. The best we could hope for was 'not scary'."
Spike let out another snort, though this time it sounded more amused. "Hugs are pretty much the opposite of scary."
"And three," said Kai. "They needed them."
"Needed them?" asked Spike.
Kai nodded. "Having our lives be… what they are, hugs always helped the others feel safe. I could make them feel safe. If I can give them that I will, no matter how 'uncool' it is."
Spike laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Nice to know my counterpart's a sap," he said, but Kai could tell he approved.
Kai's only response was to stick his tongue out and say, "Takes one to know one."
Cliff Cole
Cliff Cole was stressed.
It wasn't obvious as Cliff seemed to be trying not to show his stress levels, and maintain the air of a strong leader.
Sensei Wu and Sensei Garmadon were working on the construction of their new combined monastery and tea shop, and as an exercise in leadership, had left directing the builders to Cliff.
At first, Cliff seemed to be managing rather well, but then people kept chiming in with their own ideas of what to add to the construction, or the builders would try to trick him into paying more by offering 'deals' for extra things to add. This left Cliff trying to please everyone while keeping the construction within the budget the Senseis had given him, and having to manage every detail was clearly getting to him.
This much was clear to Kai even though he only saw him when they visited each other.
So when he saw Cliff let out a frustrated groan over a stack of blueprints one visit to the Other Ninjago's Bounty, Kai knew he needed a hug.
So a hug is what he gave him.
Cliff looked at him startled but then relaxed seeing who it was. "Jeeze, Buddy, you and Kai are basically living hot water bottles."
"And you need a break, bro," said Kai, using the hug to start tugging him away from the blueprints. "Heck, I'm pretty sure you needed one a week ago, so it's way overdue."
Cliff tried to stand firm against it, "But I need to-" he tried to protest.
"Chill out and try and help me beat one of the Lloyds at video games," Kai said, cutting him off. "Like, now, before your head explodes from overwork."
The allure of spending time on video games instead of work was clearly very tempting, but as the responsible leader, Cliff had to at least argue against it one more time. "But-" he started to say, but Kai cut him off.
"Hey Lloyd!" he shouted out of the room to either of them while dragging Cliff along with him. "Cliff and I are totally going to beat you at video games!"
"You're on!" Lil'Loyd called back eagerly, and they could hear him setting up the game.
Kai then looked over at Cliff and said, "You're not going to leave me to go up against Lil'Loyd alone are you?" he asked. "With his gaming skills, he'd eat me for breakfast and then spit me out into a dumpster fire."
Cliff let out a sigh that made it clear he wasn't as disappointed as he was pretending to be and followed him out of the room.
Lil'Loyd still destroyed them both.
Nick Jay
Kai was grateful Nick Jay didn't pester him about who Red Nya saw in the Perfect Match machine. He wouldn't tell the guy, but if pressured he couldn't help but worry he'd let slip something that would implicate Cliff.
Still, he had to feel bad for the guy. Like his own sister, Red Nya was an awesome girl that any guy would be lucky to date. The fact that Nick had that and then lost it through no fault of his own had to sting, even if his reaction to the break up was way over the top.
So when he saw Nick packing up the Ultra Dragon to return to his world with Cliff, he tugged the guy into a hug.
Nick went stiff in his arms. "Whoa, they really are the best hugs!" he said in surprise, having heard of them from the others. "Why doesn't Kai do this more often?" he asked about his own Kai.
Kai grinned at that. "I know you came to my sister for advice," he said when he pulled back. "Whatever she told you, listen to it. She knows what she's talking about."
Nick scowled at that, making it clear whatever she'd told him wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"Just so you know, I'm rooting for Red to pick you when she's ready," Kai added, making Nick perk up and Cliff to look surprised.
"Really?" Nick asked.
Kai nodded. "It's her decision, of course. But a guy doesn't go as crazy as you are unless he really likes the girl."
Nick looked bewildered. "Uh, thanks… I think."
Kai snickered. "Just give it time, and know if you ever hurt Red or pressure her, I may not be first in line to pummel you, but I will launch whatever's left into the sun," he said with a completely straight face.
With another quick hug and a smile, he turned and left Nick standing frozen by the dragon.
Before he was out of earshot, he heard Nick say to Cliff, "I feel both comforted and terrified. How is that possible?"
Buddy Kai
When Koko sent word from Oruboros with the news both Lloyds and the Prince of the Serpentine had been kidnapped, Kai found himself beginning to panic.
How could this happen? The Serpentine city was supposed to be one of the most fortified there was. Who could have captured them? Was it whoever was behind the snake mech? Was it an enemy of the Serpentine after the prince and the Lloyds were just in the way? Or was it one of their enemies out for revenge and the prince was just a bonus? The city of Oruboros was so far away, by the time they reached it the kidnapper(s) would be long gone.
Why did this keep happening? Why Lloyd? Either of them?
A constant stream of these sorts of questions began running through Kai's head as his worry for both his little bros grew by the second like he was sinking deeper into an ocean of despair.
But before he was in over his head a pair of warm arms wrapped around him.
Kai looked up to see that Spike was giving him a hug.
"So this is what this feels like," Kai said softly, echoing what Spike had said before. It really was the best hug he'd ever gotten himself.
"Get your head in the game," Spike said firmly. "We can't get the Lloyds back if you freak out. They need us to save them."
Kai felt his urge to panic recede and be replaced by resolve. "Right," he said as Spike let him go. "We're gonna find them no matter where they are."
"And burn whoever took them to a crisp," added Spike with a determined grin.
Kai matched the grin with his own. "Well, that was a given."
A/N This is a continuation of the chapter Free Hugs! from earlier in this fic. In fact, I wrote this continuation right after I wrote the first Free Hugs, but couldn't post it until now. Obviously, if Buddy Kai makes more friends, that means he has more hugs to give, and the Show Ninja all need them from time to time. Writing Nick Jay's is my favorite. Unfortunately, with the Nick Jay and Buddy Kai sections, I couldn't post this chapter until now due to spoilers for In Need of Polish. I don't have any more oneshots planned until after the end of In Need of Polish, so look forward to those.
Massive thanks as ever to Kay Hau for beta reading and helping to plan this chapter. Some jokes were her ideas, and she has her own oneshot connected to this in her Greener Gift-Fics story called Free Tackles! Check it out if you haven't already.
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