I really should catch up on my Tumblr. I have, what, five more Angst Week fics to publish?

Anyway, here's the third entry for Ninjago Angst Week. The prompt is Bleeding, and if you guys read the description, then you can probably tell that there's going to be some brotherly Greenflame fluff as well. Sue me.

I DO NOT OWN NINJAGO.

"Watch out!"

Kai whirled around just in time to block the oncoming sword with his own. The harsh clang of metal was nearly deafening, making him wince. With a flick of his wrist, his katana sliced through the air, nicking his opponent neatly on the arm. The guy facing him hissed. Whether it was in pain or anger, Kai couldn't tell.

The entire ninja team was in the middle of a battle against a couple of daring thugs, trying to mug a poor woman late in the evening. Jay had found them and called the team for backup, and as it turned out, the stupid criminals had been trying to lure the ninja here. For what, Kai didn't know.

Whatever the reason, the ninja were here to take them out. And sure, the thugs were pretty impressive fighters, and there were a lot more than even Zane had accounted for, but they had faced way worse odds than this and still pulled through with minimum injuries. So, Kai was confident that they would easily win this.

Still, the thought of any one of his family getting hurt was too much to bear.

Using the butt of his sword to knock his current opponent unconscious, Kai twisted around to survey the scene. The others seemed to be doing just fine on their own, so he shouldn't need to worry much. Not yet, anyway.

There was a sudden whistle of air, and Kai dodged out of the throwing knife's way as it sped past him and embedded itself into the arm of one of the bad guys. He winced slightly. That really had to hurt, though Kai was forced to quickly turn his gaze away as the one who threw the knife came at him again with another knife.

Kai waited at the last second before stepping to the side and sticking his leg out, causing the thug to trip and fall flat on his face, the knife slipping out of his grip. He knocked that one out before turning again, his katana up in the air and already slamming onto another guy's head.

A flash of metal caught the corner of his eye, and Kai raised his sword to block it, only to find that it wasn't aimed at him.

One of the criminals was charging toward Lloyd, who was currently occupied with two people at once and wouldn't be able to see his attacker from behind.

Kai didn't think. He just acted, slamming his body into Lloyd, the breath knocked out of him as he felt something— something foreign rip through him, something that really shouldn't be there, and then pain, sharp and cold and white-hot all at once, erupted in his stomach.

He blinked once, slowly, staring down at the blood (his blood), at his stomach, at the sword which was still embedded in him, not entirely sure if he was dreaming or not. The pain had kind of dulled, which was really strange, because last he checked, getting stabbed was supposed to hurt like hell.

Suddenly, the sword was pulled out of his stomach, drawing a gasp from him.

He crumpled. Oddly enough, the ground was wet and sticky. And warm. Really warm. Was that normal? He didn't know.

"Kai!" Lloyd's panicked voice swam into his consciousness, and Kai felt something—or rather, someone—press a hand to his stomach. He groaned, trying to desperately block out the pain. Vaguely, he could still hear sounds of battle near him, but it sounded far away, as if he'd been immersed in water.

Maybe he could . . . just . . . close his eyes for a bit. . . .

"Kai, no, don't— you gotta stay awake—" Kai felt someone shake him. "Hey, stay with me, please!"

Blearily, he blinked his eyes open. Everything looked hazy, and there was a green blob above him, and then there was a face—Lloyd's face—looking worried and panicked, and there were tears in his normally bright green eyes.

"Don't cry," Kai croaked, lifting a bloodied—bloodied—hand to touch his brother's cheek.

Sirens wailed in the background, and he was suddenly aware of the burning sensation in his stomach as he felt himself being carried, and then there was someone screaming, which really hurt his ears. Oh, yeah, his stomach hurt too. Probably should mention that, except his mouth hurt too and his head was swimming, black spots dotting his vision.

"I know it hurts, Kai, I know it does." Another voice—this one sounded feminine—reached his ears. He wasn't sure who it was, but it sounded soothing. Kai focused on it. "Just— hang on, okay? I—" The voice paused as another scream ripped through the air, and Kai realized that it was him screaming. "The ambulance is here. You're— you're gonna be okay." Whoever was speaking seemed to choke a bit, as if holding back sobs. "You gotta be okay, you idiot, or— or else—"

Kai couldn't hear what happened after that, because his vision was suddenly swept in black, and then he was falling, falling, falling. . . .

⸺

Everything hurt. His head hurt, his whole body hurt, and his eyes hurt especially when he finally and painstakingly pried them open, only to be met with blinding white light.

Kai groaned, instantly squeezing his eyes shut. He heard someone gasp near him, some startled shuffling, and then the door opening and closing. Soon, there was nothing except for the beeping of a machine and the antiseptic smell of . . . a hospital?

Slowly, Kai opened his eyes, blinking multiple times to adjust to the light. He was met with the white walls of (definitely) a hospital, which he wasn't sure how he got into. His arm was in an IV, which was dripping blood into him through a needle. It was then that he realized that his abdomen were wrapped in bandages, and then everything came rushing back to him—the fight, pushing Lloyd, getting stabbed—

Lloyd!

Kai sat up abruptly, which he instantly regretted. Pain flared in his stomach, and he couldn't help the hiss that escaped his lips.

At that moment, the door opened, revealing a kind-looking doctor with a clipboard in hand. Kai watched curiously as he started doing some . . . doctor stuff, occasionally jotting some things down on the clipboard. After a while, he glanced up, opening his mouth, and Kai, knowing very well how hospitals worked (due to a few . . . unfortunate visits before), braced himself for a series of health questions.

And the questions came. Kai could barely keep up, he was tired already, and he just wanted to see his family before sleeping for eternity, but the doctor seemed to understand because soon, the questions stopped and he left with a, "I'll leave you to rest."

Kai sighed, resting his head back on his pillow. His eyelids fluttered shut, and he struggled to keep them open because he needed to see the others, to make sure his brothers and sister were okay, to make sure Lloyd was okay because all of this couldn't have been good for the kid—

The door opened as Lloyd peeked through, his face showing a mix of emotions, all of them not good. Kai managed a smile before he was instantly tackled as Lloyd buried his head into the red ninja's neck.

"Hey, hey, hey," Kai said quietly, rubbing his little brother's back. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"But you weren't okay!" Lloyd protested, pulling back a little so he could look at Kai. "You— you were stabbed, and you were bleeding, and you couldn't— I couldn't even do anything—" He choked, raising his arm to wipe at his eyes. Kai reached out a hand to comfort him. "I didn't— I thought you were dead, I thought you were going to die, and I can't— you can't do that to me, Kai, you can't do that to— to us."

Kai's heart hurt seeing his baby brother hurt like this, but he clenched his jaw, remembering how he had shoved Lloyd out of the way because some stupid guy tried to stab him.

"You were about to get stabbed," Kai said firmly. "I wasn't going to just stand there and watch you fall at the hands of some stupid guy, knowing there was something I could've done."

Lloyd took a shuddering breath, looking away.

"I don't regret what I did," Kai continued, his eyes squeezing shut, trying to block out the image of Lloyd, instead of him, having a sword ripped through his stomach. "I know that I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're my baby brother, and it's my job to protect you, to keep you safe. I'm not going to apologize for that, for getting stabbed and keeping you safe in the process."

"You shouldn't have to take the hits for me," Lloyd hissed, his eyes flashing a brighter green. "You're— you're not some expendable tool, you're my brother, and I can't— I can't watch you die because of me, I can't watch someone else leave me because of me—"

Oh. Kai's chest tightened. This wasn't about protecting the green ninja, nor was it really about Kai getting stabbed. It was about another person abandoning Lloyd, even if they didn't mean it, because Kai sure as hell would never leave Lloyd like that, unless—

Unless he died.

"Lloyd—"

"Why does someone have to take the hits anyway?" Lloyd continued, tears flowing freely down his face now, showing no sign of hearing Kai. "Why can't we all just— dodge them or something? Why didn't you warn me?" He rubbed his arm over his eyes again uselessly. "Why can't we all just get out fine, for once in our lives?"

Silence filled the air after that outburst, unpleasant and stifling. Kai stared at Lloyd, who looked away as if embarrassed.

Kai exhaled heavily, before scooting over to the side, even if it did make him wince slightly in pain. He patted the extra space. "Come 'ere."

Lloyd blinked confusedly at the bed for a moment, before realization dawned on his face. He shook his head furiously. "No, you're the patient here. It's your bed, that wouldn't be comfortable for you—"

"Oh, for FSM's sake, Lloyd," Kai said, exasperated. "Just get on the bed, will ya?"

Clamping his mouth shut, Lloyd tentatively sat down next to his brother, laying himself down and resting his head on Kai's chest. He seemed careful to not jar the stomach wound, which Kai was secretly grateful for.

"I'll— we'll try," Kai said softly, stroking Lloyd's head. "We'll try to get out fine. All of us."

He could feel Lloyd swallow and nod. A moment later, his breathing slowed and deepened, his body relaxing as he fell asleep. It wasn't long before Kai's eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep with him.

A/N:

Aaaand it's finally here! I hope I didn't mess up on the whole stab wound thing because realism, but yeah. If I did anything wrong, tell me about it!

With that aside, how did you guys like it? Please review!