Kai, please stop yeeting the cat every time there is a minor inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Literally everyone else.

5 reviews?! You guys spoil me:) Thank you to TrinityCrystalPrincess89, FrozenSoapbubble, Seleine16, Angel Talon, and guest for your lovely comments. They made me stupid grin so much my family got a little concerned.:)

TrinityCrystalPrincess89: haha, yeah, Lloyd and Zane would single-handedly adopt every animal in the city if given the chance. Jay and Kai were a lot of fun to write. I just had to write what my brothers would do in such a situation:D

FrozenSoapbubble: Hey! Thank you for dropping a comment, that's so sweet! Btw, I love your stories! Can't wait to read what happens next in Hour of the Griffen.

Seleine16: Thank you! Yeah, Zane is too pure for this world.:) Btw, I recently found your fics and I love CJ! Aaahh, they're so cute!

Angel Talon: Haha, I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter. As for the dog's name...:) You'll have to keep reading.

The nice guest: So happy this made you laugh. Stay awesome, my friend.

Yuki was cold.

It had been some time since Kai had tossed him out, and though it wasn't life-threatening, he was getting tired from shivering. He paced back and forth at intervals between curling up on one of the metal steps, just as much to have something to do as to keep warm.

He could make out some of the muffed conversations inside, mostly Jay, sometimes his parents. When Cole and Lloyd came back from their run their voices mixed in as well.

Yuki looked disdainfully at the rat laying limp on the other side of the ledge, it had lost its appeal a while ago. He hopped up on the window sill for the hundredth time and peered inside. The exact same as the last time he checked: Lloyd sitting on Kai's lap next to Nya, Edna knitting, Cole and Jay chatting with Ed.

Sighing, Yuki glanced down to the busy street through the slats beneath him.

Wait a minute.

Zane's white hair passed far beneath him-.

-And what the diddly-darn was he carrying?

Before Yuki could leap down to meet Zane the white ninja passed through the front entrance and disappeared, so he jumped back up on the sill and stared into the apartment with newfound integrity.

Soon enough he heard a knock on the door.

"I can explain."

The second Lloyd craned his neck beyond Cole's frame at the massive ball of fur in Zane's arms, his eyes gleamed like it was Christmas morning. He shot both fists in the air with a triumphant "YES!" and scrambled off the couch to Zane, his half-completed scarf ripping out of Edna's hands, needles and all. The rest of the ninja simply gave exasperated groans and collective face-palms. Zane shifted uncomfortably.

There was a dog with him. A dog. Yuki's head spun. Had he lost his mind?

"Buddy, do you have some of your wires crossed or something? You've been on the fritz since you brought that stray in." Jay twisted the fabric of his pant leg as Cole ushered Zane in and shut the door. The dog leaned down to sniff Lloyd's gold locks. Lloyd giggled. Zane gave Cole a helpless look. The Walkers exchanged confused looks with each other.

Kai jumped up and threw his hands up in exasperated defeat, "Ok, what's next Zane, you gonna bring home a frickin giraffe next time you step outside? How the heck are you gonna hide this from Sensei?"

Ed put a hand on Kai's shoulder to push him back into his seat, "Whoa there, hang on a second. Let's not get in a tizzy." He returned his hands to his overall pockets. "What's all this about?"

Zane seemed to be trying to formulate an actual explanation himself. The dog wriggled in his grasp until he let him down to circle Lloyd, who stood with hands behind his back and a blissful smile on his face. "I was looking for a new home for Yuki, but when I saw this poor thing I-" He cut himself off and frowned, glancing around the room. "Where is Yuki?" His gaze shifted to each of the ninjas until it fell on Kai's guilty face. "Kai," Zane crossed his arms with a cold stare, "Where is Yuki?"

"Who is Yuki?" Edna interrupted, straightening her glasses.

"Why is Yuki?" Lloyd chimed in unhelpfully, his arms wrapped around the dog.

Kai rolled his eyes at Lloyd but reluctantly jerked his head at the window. Zane narrowed his eyes and looked beyond the red ninja and—finally—at the distressed cat pressing his front paws against the pane. The ice master's eyes widened and he crossed the flat in two giant strides, bracing against the pane and grunting when it refused to open.

"I'll get my crowbar." Nya and Jay said at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned and went to search for their tools.

"So that's why my allergies are acting up!" Edna broke the tense silence once she noticed the trembling ball of fluff, snatching back her knitting needles from the end of Lloyd's scarf and resuming her knitting.

Zane turned to Kai, and though Yuki couldn't see his face anymore, he could tell his expression was deathly calm. And that was far more frightening than any rage Kai could throw around. Kai could barely manage to keep from wiping his sweaty temple, trying to maintain a nonchalant expression. "Kai…"

"Hello, lil fella." The ninja stopped their bickering long enough to turn to the three-legged dog settling down next to Ed Walker, eyes too wide and innocent for this world gazing up at the older man and practically slamming his tail against the hardwood. Ed pet the pup's head and scratched behind his ears. The dog plopped his chin on his knee and sighed contently.

Lloyd parked himself next to the two once Edna had made some slack in her knitting, giggling. "He likes you."

"It seems he does," Ed responded. "What do you want to call him?"

Lloyd brightened as he thought, scooting over so Zane could sit next to him. Yuki couldn't help but bristle as Zane rubbed his head. That was his human.

"Nikko."

Ed laughed. "That's a super name."

"What a sweet thing." Edna looped off the last stitch of Lloyd's scarf and began to roll the excess green yarn back into a ball.

"Found it!" Nya emerged triumphantly from her room displaying her crowbar, hurrying to the window.

"Found what?" Master Wu seemed to materialize out of nowhere, standing serenely with his bamboo staff and straw hat just so. "Good afternoon, students. Having a pleasant time with the Walkers I see?" He nodded cordially at Ed and Edna.

"Yes, Sensei." The ninjas bowed, each wondering how the heck their teacher had passed through the locked door. Wu stooped down to the dog approaching him with a curious sniff. He offered a wrinkled hand to his shiny wet nose.

"And who is our little guest?"

Before anyone could give an answer, Ed Walker waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, He's ours, Wu. I hope you don't mind. He gets the willies when we're away from home for long."

While the other ninja tried to hide their balk, Sensei nodded in understanding. "Ah," the wrinkles around his eyes creased, "Seems like a lovely dog. You are fortunate to have such a good friend." He straightened and stroked his beard. "Now just what were you planning to do with your crowbar, my dear?"

Nya stiffened and Zane subtly moved directly in front of the window, shooting her a quick pleading look. She swallowed. "I um, Jay got locked in the bathroom and I had to pry the door open."

Yuki could hear Jay squawk, receive an elbow to the ribs, and change it into a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, not sure what happened back there."

Sensei hummed as he put his teapot on the stove and turned on the flame. "Glad to see you are unharmed, Jay."

Yuki could practically feel Jay's embarrassment seeping through the wall being swept away in the wind.

"Well dear, I think it would best we get home before dark." Once again, Edna broke the silence, stuffing her needles and ball of yarn into her purse. She gave her husband a slightly pointed look and cut her eyes to the dog.

Wu again nodded cordially to the couple. "Please drive safely."

The Walkers prepared to leave. Jay kissed his mother goodbye when he thought no one was watching, and Edna told Kai to eat more. Lloyd thanked her for the scarf, looking slightly crestfallen at the prospect of Nikko leaving, but Ed promised when they had any free time, they were more than welcome to come to the scrapyard to visit.

Once they had gone, Master Wu turned to his students. "Nya's tools remind me, you'll be pleased to hear the Bounty is finally finished with its repairs, and my brother's and the mega weapon's mark on it has been eradicated. What's say we pack our things and return to our true home?"

All the ninjas brightened immediately, and Lloyd whooped.

Once Master Wu had poured himself his tea and receded to the bedroom to pack, the six ninjas and samurai quietly rushed to the window and pried the lock off with a cringing snap, and Yuki practically leaped into Zane's arms, nipping his ear affectionately in an I-missed-you kind of way.

"Oh, c'mon," Kai rolled his eyes, "let's go pack."

Yuki hated the Bounty. The flying ship he as soon found out, had a constant, never-ending sway. So high up. So cold up in the upper atmosphere. A tree he could handle no sweat. Flying through the chains of mountains a thousand feet high with no way to voluntarily get down? Nope. No thank you.

He was happier than ever to stay inside the bedroom cabin, as far away from the main deck as possible. It was just as well, for Sensei Wu had again taken up his role as full-time teacher and mentor.

Several days passed, aside from a couple of non-related incidents with some snakes and maybe once with Garmadon, mostly without incident. To Yuki's relief, up until that night, his color-coded humans all returned in one piece.

That night was different.

When Lloyd had hugged him goodbye that morning, Yuki definitely had not expected him to return a good foot taller than when he left.

He'd been dozing in the closet on a heap of red gi (he really couldn't help pulling them down from the shelf; there was something about them that was so much warmer than the rest,) when he heard the door creak open.

He stayed quiet to make sure it wasn't Sensei, then clawed the door open once he smelled his ninja and trotted out to greet them.

He froze.

Yes, there were four normal-sized ninjas sitting dully on their bunks: red, blue, black, and white. But there was a stranger standing in front of him dressed in green. He had long golden hair and mischievous green eyes framed by exhaustion, haggard and weary. They were so familiar it was almost painful, but Yuki couldn't help but skirt him cautiously, ears flat against his head.

The stranger gave a breathless laugh. "Yeah buddy, it's still me."

Again Yuki froze and cocked his head in confusion. Lloyd? What on earth had happened? This person in front of him was so much bigger than the little boy he'd seen just that morning. His voice was deeper. His hair was longer. His jawline was sharper.

But… it was Lloyd. Yuki took a step forward and sniffed again, finally leaning into the green ninja's outstretched hand. Yes. Somehow, this human was the same heart-of-gold, the devil of a child that Yuki had cuddled this morning.

Kai put a hand on his shoulder, "let's hit the sack, bud. We've got a big day tomorrow." His voice was unusually quiet.

The morning came slowly.

Yuki heard the rustle of ninja stirring outside. He stretched and opened the door. The five were preparing for another day, most likely for a sunrise exercise. Lloyd sat on the edge of his bunk. Cole offered the bathroom to him after he left it, being the next to last in line.

"We'll wait for you on deck." Jay patted him awkwardly, obviously not quite sure how to approach the situation.

Lloyd looked up and nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you guys in a sec." The others reluctantly left the room.

Yuki trotted after Lloyd into the bathroom (he still hadn't quite grasped the concept of privacy), rubbing his neck on the boy's significantly longer legs as he shut the door behind him. Lloyd turned and stood in front of the mirror, staring blankly at his reflection. He couldn't look himself in the eye, almost as if he were afraid of what he would find.

He looked down at his hands outstretched in front of him. Yuki jumped on the vanity and looked at them too. They were… wrong, such a contrast to the slightly pudgy knuckles they were before.

But that was the least of his discrepancies. All the other ninja's hands bore little stories etched onto them: ridges, scars, freckles, callouses, creases. Yuki had seen and felt them all at some point. Kai had hundreds of white scars like comets streaking across his palms from when he worked at his father's blacksmith shop as a boy. Jay's bird-like, oil-stained hands bore thousands of freckles crammed between Lichtenburg lines trailing down his fingers. Cole's huge calloused hands could crush the very earth beneath him one minute and single-handedly cradle Yuki safely the very next. In Zane's cold spindly fingers you could see his blue veins pulsing like frozen rivers beneath his skin; you could almost see frost feathering out on them. Nya's small but powerful hands could patch up any bump on Lloyd's head and knock the block off the person who put it there. And would.

But Lloyd's… Lloyd's hands were a blank slate. He didn't recognize them. It would have been one thing to earn his little stories like his brothers and sister, but the tea robbed him of even that. Even the chance to grow up like a normal person. It seemed like nothing would ever be normal for this kid.

Apparently, Lloyd came to the same conclusion, a quick swipe of his eyes proving it. He took a shaky breath and opened the medicine cabinet for toothpaste, wincing when the mirror slammed too hard against the wall and cracked. The tube of toothpaste didn't fare much better; Lloyd squeezed the tube so hard its contents splattered everywhere. Lloyd swore and grabbed a towel off the rack.

"Lloyd?" The loud noise seemed to summon the fire master. Kai's voice sounded, coming closer by the minute. Lloyd swore again and hurriedly mopped up the rest of the mess as quickly as he could, shooing Yuki off the counter. When he stuck his hand out it knocked against the soap dispenser and it fell to the ground with a shattering crack.

"Lloyd?" Kai's voice turned anxious at the crash as he knocked on the door before sticking his head in the bathroom. When his eyes landed on the green ninja kneeling next to the broken glass on the floor, he closed the door behind him and knelt so he could look Lloyd in the eye. "Lloyd, are you alright?" He asked quietly.

Yuki's tail twitched protectively, the back of his neck bristling but staying quiet for the moment, ready to whack the fire master for any stupid remark if need be.

"Yeah," Lloyd shook himself out of his daze and gave a weak smile, "Yeah, I'm good."

"Well, that was just about the most unconvincing reply I've ever heard."

Lloyd snorted, but he cracked a more genuine smile. Kai put a hand on his shoulder and helped him up. "You wanna talk about it?"

Lloyd opened his mouth then frowned, looking somewhere between embarrassed and disappointed in himself. "It's stupid."

"Well I'm kind of an expert on stupid, so shoot."

Lloyd gave a breathless laugh, "It's just—it's just that this-" he indicated to himself with his hands,"—it's not… me. I don't know who this person is. And it's not just that. I guess I thought I had time before I had to fight my father but," He wrung his hands helplessly. "I don't take it back, I just…" He sighed, "I just don't know what to do now."

Kai put both hands on his shoulders, looking as determined and cockily confident as ever. "Then it's a good thing you've got four brothers, a sister, and a weird-as-hell uncle to show you what to do. Now, lesson number one on being a teenager," He turned Lloyd back to the mirror, "you gotta know how to shave."

"What?" Lloyd reached up and felt his upper lip, looking horrified to feel stubble. Kai hopped up and sat cross-legged on the counter, taking his razor from the top drawer and rinsing it off with soap and water.

"You can use mine until I get you one."

"Kai, I really don't think-"

"You want to know what to do with your life? Then start with something small." He handed the razor and shaving cream over. "Comprende?"

After a minute Lloyd reluctantly took them.

Yuki watched the two work in front of the mirror, Lloyd gripping the blade way tighter than necessary and Kai patiently guiding it where it's supposed to go. Though he wasn't thrilled to have the boys in possession of a sharp object, it soothed him to see Lloyd smile, at least some of his worries washing away. So he sat and watched.

"Kai?" Lloyd looked at him in the mirror. "Thanks."

Kai snorted and leaned lackadaisically against the wall, looking disinterested, "Eh, don't mention it, dork. Someone's gotta teach you how to be cool and it ain't gonna be Zane."

Lloyd cackled in his familiar gremlin way that bought a bubble of happiness popping in Yuki's chest. "It's too bad though, now that I'm all grown up you can't carry me on your shoulders or anything."

Kai scoffed and sat up straight. "Says who?" He hopped off the counter and tackled him around the middle, picking him up fireman style and maneuvering the smaller teen until he somehow sat perched on Kai's shoulders.

Lloyd yelped as he tried to balance, blond hair flopping over his eyes as he struggled. "Whoa—Kai—lemme down!"

"Not a chance, green machine," Kai smirked at his own reflection, "feel like old times yet?" Yuki mewed in protest and wove between the fire master's legs in a nervous frenzy, convinced the teen was going to drop Lloyd on his head or something awful. Kai nudged him away with his foot.

"I feel a lot taller for sure. Is this how Zane and Cole feel all the time?"

"Probably."

When the two idiots tried to pass through the doorframe, Lloyd bonked his head against the post. They couldn't stop laughing.

Recently my dad taught my little brother how to shave and I swear it was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

side note: Nikko is derived from the Japanese word for sunshine.

The next chapters I think will be a double update, so keep your eyes out next week. Plot kinda gets going.

Now have a lovely day!