Kai couldn't remember ever feeling this cold. The wind seemed to be blowing strait threw him, and the snow was now falling so thick that he could only see a few feet in front of him in any direction. To exhausted to keep going, the teen collapsed on the ground. He curled up in a ball to try and conserve what little warmth he had left.
This was it, he was sure. There was no way he could get himself out of this situation, not by himself. He pushed away the only people who had been willing to try and be friends with him, and his sister was still stuck in the underworld. There was no way he would be able to save her now.
Actually it was kinda funny, he was on a team that was fighting against an army of skeletons and the dark lord himself and he was about to die because of a little snow and ice. Hopefully the guys would be able to save Nya after they got the weapons.
Snow was starting to cover his body, but he didn't care anymore. There was nothing he could do to save himself. Hopefully someone would find his body so he could at least be given a proper burial and Nya would know what happened to him. She would be sad, but he knew that she would survive without him, just like they survived without their parents.
"Kai!"
The teen made an attempt to look around at the sound of his name. Had someone actually come out here looking for him?
Sure enough three figures emerged from the curtain of falling snow.
Cole ran to him and lifted him out of the snow.
"G-guys," the amber eyed teen said weakly. He looked at the three ninjas as they gathered around him, somewhat helping to block the wind.
Jay looked terrified, Zane had his usual calm look to him but Kai thought he could see some form of alarm in the blond's eyes, and Cole just looked worried.
Zane quickly put his coat, which he had never once put on but still carried with him, around the shivering teen and Cole helped him stand up.
"Hold on Kai, we're going to get you out of here," The earth ninja said, deciding it would be faster to carry the brunette. Kai merely nodded, which alarmed the black clad teen even more. They had only been moving for about a minute before the red ninja passed out. Cole quickly checked his vitals, and started moving faster when he saw how weak his pulse was.
The team made it to the village in record time and instantly rushed to the dock where Wu was waiting for them with the boat he had chartered. He was surprised to see the condition of his newest recruit, but didn't waste time asking questions, instead ushering his pupils below deck.
They laid the red ninja on a small cot and Sensei Wu pulled several blankets from a closet. The other ninja worked on removing his clothes, which where now soaked from the snow, and getting him into some fresh ones they also found in the closet.
After ensuring that Kai was thoroughly wrapped up and the strange cuts on his left arm where bandaged Sensei finally asked his students for an explanation. Jay instantly began telling him everything that had happened, with occasional commentary from Zane or Cole.
When they where finished Wu stroked his beard, deep in thought. The three conscious ninja all stood there nervously, not even Jay daring to break the silence that had taken over the small room.
Finally Wu spoke," I am glad that you all have gotten Kai back here safely. Now I want you three to watch over him until he wakes up."
"All of us," Jay complained," but I hate waiting, why can't Cole do it?"
Sensei glared at the youngest ninja, instantly getting him to shut his mouth.
"I expect one of you to tell me when he awakens," with that, Sensei walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
"I still don't see why we ALL have to watch him," Jay mumbled under his breath as he took a seat in a small wooden chair.
"Well having three extra bodies in the room will help raise the temperature more," Zane stated.
"Don't forget you're part of main reason he ran off in the first place Motormouth," Cole added.
Jay mumbled something under his breath before sending a worried glance towards the still sleeping master of fire.
~x~X~x~
Kai moaned as he slowly got up. Opening his eyes, he saw he was in a small room with wood walls. He spotted the other ninja quietly talking in the corner, not yet realizing that he was awake. The teen tried to figure out how he got here, but the last thing he could remember was being cold and seeing Cole's face. He still felt cold, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before. Still, he shivered slightly and pulled the blankets on him closer.
"I see you have finally woken up," The monotone voice of Zane stated as the other two teens glanced over.
"Kai," Jay yelled in surprise before rushing over to the bed and hugging the brunette," I was starting to think that you might never wake up."
The other two teens walked over as well.
"How you feeling," Cole asked.
"Kinda cold, and I have no idea where I am, but other than that I'm good."
"Hopefully now that you are awake and moving around you body will warm up faster," The white ninja said with a small smile.
The red ninja glanced around at the three teens before looking down at the ground," Why did you guys even bother to come looking for me?"
"Well, your our teammate, and we couldn't just leave things the way we did," Cole answered.
"Plus we're friends now, right?" Jay asked," The four of us against the skeleton army."
"You would consider me a friend, even after how I was acting earlier?" Kai was positive there was no way they could actually think that. He never once even thought about trying to be friendly towards these guys.
"Sure you aren't the easiest person to get along with," Cole stated," But that just makes me want to get to know you better."
"We all wish to know more about you," Zane added," But you have to be willing to open up to us more."
Kai looked around at the people who had saved his life," Well, I'm not sure if I am quite ready to tell you everything... " He stood up and walked to where his clothes had been laid out to dry off and grabbed his dagger," But I suppose I could tell you the story behind this."
He sat back down and traced a finger down the dragon design.
"I got it as a present on my fourth birthday. It was actually made right in front of me."
"Wow, really?" Jay interrupted," My parents would never have let me have something like that when I was young."
The other ninja glared at him and he smiled sheepishly," Sorry."
Kai shook his head before continuing," It was actually my dad who made it for me. I can remember Mom yelling at him," Kai laughed a little," In order to make her happy, Dad put it in a box and told me I could open the box when I was twelve. I never once touched that box for eight years. Not even after my parents... "
The brunette trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.
Cole placed a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder," Hey, it's alright. My Mom passed when I was young to. I know how much it hurts."
Kai looked up at the older ninja in surprise, before giving a small smile and continuing," Well, I opened the box when I turned twelve, and I haven't gone anywhere without it since."
"Man, I definitely wasn't expecting that," The lightning ninja said," I couldn't imagine life without my parents."
"It wasn't all bad, I mean I had Nya. We helped each other get through the loss. I did everything I could to take care of her and keep her safe, and she helped to keep me on the right path. She's an amazing person, and I-I... I couldn't even stop a bunch of stupid skeletons from kidnapping her."
"But that wasn't your fault," Jay responded," There's no way you could have seen what they where about to do. That's just impossible. Instead of focusing on that, you should focus more on getting her back. In fact, I think we all should."
The amber eyed teen looked up at the blue clad ninja. He wanted to respond but didn't have the words.
"Yeah," Cole agreed," We still need to get those weapons, but that doesn't mean we can't try to find her to."
Zane nodded his head," As I have learned from my time with Cole and Jay, family is important and always comes first."
"You guys really mean all of that?" Kai asked.
"Of course we do"
"Yup"
"Indeed"
The brunette smiled at them," Thank you."
"GROUP HUG," Jay yelled before wrapping his arms around his teammates. The others all laughed before joining in.
"I see that Kai is awake," another voice spoke.
The ninja all looked over to see their sensei walking into the room.
"I believe I told you three to tell me when he woke up."
"Sorry Sensei," Jay replied, rubbing the back of his neck," Guess we where all so excited to see that he was alright that we forgot to get you."
"I see, Well I expect to see you all on the deck bright and early tomorrow. We set sail at dawn," The old man then walked out of the room, sipping on a cup of tea that seemed to have just appeared out of thin air.
The teens all looked at each other.
"Sooo... now what?" Kai asked.
"It's been a long day," Cole replied," I think we all just get some rest.
"Can't argue with you there," Jay said," All that running around earlier tired me out."
"I saw more rooms while we where bringing Kai down here. I believe we should all be able to get our own beds," Zane stated.
Kai yawned, suddenly feeling tired as well. "That's weird, I would figure I'd feel more awake after all that time I just spent sleeping."
"Your body is probably still recovering," The blond moved towards the door, signaling for the others that they should leave as well.
Cole was the last one to leave," Just get some rest, You'll need it with how early Sensei plans on getting us up."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," The brunette replied before laying down and wrapping himself up in the blankets.
The older teen turned grabbed the lantern they had been using as a light source and walked out, closing the door behind him.
