Chapter 7. Well this is a little less…fluffy!
Masters of Amber and Fire: loving it :)
Enjoy!
Kai blinked his eyes and wiped the sleep away, slowly taking in the familiar shapes of his room; the twin golden katanas hanging on their wall rack, reflecting the early morning sun around the room, and one of his heavy oak training ones, lazily flung into the corner, casting its long shadow across the wooden flooring. He'd forgotten to close his curtains again, not that it bothered him as he often slept with them open, liking to catch glimpses of the stars, especially if he was having trouble drifting off. Hmm it was early still, he'd easily be able to catch some more z's before he should surface for breakfast. Kai grunted and rolled over onto his side…
"FSM!" he hissed under his breath, jumping out of his skin for what must have been the umpteenth time over the last few days. For lying there, sound asleep, and tucked into his bed and curled on her side, was Skylor.
Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Kai cursed to himself over and over, eyes wide and head starting to take on that now familiar thump behind his eyes.
"Urgh, Kai, what have you done?!" He rolled onto his back gently so as not to disturb her. How had this happened?! He knew their relationship was going well, but was he even ready for this? Was she ready for this? Wait! He didn't even remember "this" happening?! Oh way to go, Kai…groaning he put a hand over his eyes and wiped his brow. Hmm, he felt a bit hot, a little sweaty. Hold up…
Kai gingerly lifted the duvet up from himself, just enough to check…he peered down and sighed with relief. Yep, he still had his pants on, explaining why he was hot. And yep, the twang of the waistband confirmed that yes, his boxers were still intact as well. A small sigh of relief escaped him, but just to be sure he needed to check Sky…
He gently rolled back over to face her and was immediately mesmerized by her sleeping form. Watching and listening to her rhythmic, peaceful breathing was calming, the gentle movement of a stray strand of her shining red hair with her breath, and the occasional flutter of those long lashes. Sighing, he thankfully noted that she was indeed still wearing the deep maroon tank top that she'd had on the night before at dinner. He decided there was no need to try and lift up the duvet to check if she was wearing her slacks, especially when he thought of the consequences of being caught by her doing so. Skylor was strong, fierce and a force to be reckoned with when riled, and he did not intend to be on the receiving end of that this early in the morning if he could help it.
Kai rolled onto his back again, closing his eyes and trying to remember the events which had occurred last night, leading to him waking up with his girlfriend in his bed like this. Rubbing his head, he started thinking. He'd cooked dinner and Cole had helped him to lay the table. Zane and PIXAL had arrived from Ninjago City with toilet rolls, milk ("it helps to cool down one's mouth after eating spice" Zane had reassured the others, the cheek) and, much to Cole and Lloyd's delight, a giant vanilla cheesecake for dessert. Skylor had arrived, looking stunning with her hair pulled back into her signature, simple ponytail, that maroon tank top, simple light brown slacks and a fitted blazer thrown over the top. He remembered her kiss, and they had all sat down to eat in their usual fashion of firing insults at each other and eating ravenously (it took a lot of calories for the amount of strenuous training they did, don't judge!). Apparently, the chilli Kai had cooked for the tacos was a little spicy for their tastes again, although Kai failed to see what the problem was. If you asked him, Lloyd was being a little mellow dramatic, downing his pint of milk in one go and then begging for more. Tsk, it was only a little heat! After what he'd been through and fought through, he should be able to handle a little spice. They had all enjoyed the dessert, Cole and himself having seconds. Wu and Misako had made tea before they both retired to their rooms, saying they needed to research or study some scrolls, something like that. They had bickered over a film to watch, eventually Zane stepping in and saying they should let their guest, Skylor, decide. And she had picked a classic, Run Lola Run. Kai wondered if that was where the inspiration for her hair came from, glancing over at the cascading ponytail on his pillow and smiling. Looking back up at the ceiling, he started racking his poor, hurting brain again and realised he couldn't remember any more than the first ten minutes or so of the film… had he fallen asleep?! Aww man! What was up with him lately? He'd had a long nap that afternoon as well! If he'd fallen asleep on the sofa with the others around, he was very lucky to still have his eyebrows intact… A hand quickly reached up to check. Yep, still all there apart from the usual notch missing from his scar. He sighed, guessing that Cole had probably helped him, hopefully not carried him, up to his bed and then, too tired to make the journey back to her flat, Skylor had elected to crash with him. He turned on his side again to face her and watch her sleep. This concussion must be taking it out of him for him to keep on falling asleep like this. Mesmerized once again by Skylor's peaceful breathing, he fell asleep once more.
A small, soft kiss on her cheek brought an immediate smile to her face, and she opened her eyes to the sight of warm, brown eyes twinkling under ruffled and tangled spikes.
"Good morning, Mr Sleepy!" she grinned up at him. "If I had known that my company was that boring…"
Kai harrumphed, and looked at her squarely, propping himself up on his side.
"Tell me Cole did not carry me up to bed."
Giggling "Cole did not carry you up to bed."
He could tell straight away she was lying, and he groaned with exasperation, rolling onto his back. Skylor pulled herself more upright, untangling herself from the sheets and leaning on his chest.
"Ah it's ok. It's probably your body telling you to slow down and allow itself to heal." She absentmindedly stroked his hand and looked up. Kai lent down and kissed her, deeply and sweetly.
"Well at least I got to wake up with you." He breathed, and she smiled in return. She looked so beautiful, the sun reflecting off her hair and making her eyes sparkle, and he had felt it for a long, long while, that he just couldn't help himself, and the words just naturally tumbled out.
"I love you."
She sat up and let out a sharp exhale. Ok, this was not what he had expected…but…
She looked at him, eyes bewildered. Definitely not what he was expecting.
"Don't say that. Don't ever say that."
She virtually jumped out of the bed, straightening her slacks and tugging her top down as it rode up over her hips. Kai, for once, was at a loss what to say, and could only stare at her as she turned to him, eyes glinting and arms folded.
"I, I'm sorry…" he stammered, "but it's how I feel. You mean so much to me, and I've been thinking about how much I need you in my life…"
That, apparently, was a huge mistake. Her eyes narrowed, and lips pursed together as she hissed at him.
"Well I do not need you. I don't need anyone."
And with that Kai was up out of his bed. His head pounded as the words resonated and bounced around, becoming confused and jumbled. He couldn't take this, so did what he knew he had to do in order to avoid making this into an even bigger disaster. Grabbing his gi as he passed his chair where he had carelessly discarded it last, he turned and walked away. Quickly. Fists curled up and heating. He kept on walking not daring to look back, until he found himself at the top of the stairs which led into the basement where the gym now was. Ignoring the building pressure in his head and the relentless pounding, along with Zane's voice of reason telling his conscious that he should not be partaking in anything strenuous, he skulked down the stairs, bounding down two at a time. Flicking on the lights and grabbing his gloves off the rack with his small Borgpod, he pulled on the gloves and shoved the earbuds into his ears, quickly turning on the player and selecting his gym workout playlist. He squared up to the punchbag hanging in the corner, waiting for the heavy trapanese beats he liked to work out to to kick in. Then his hands fell to his sides and his heart felt like it was going to break into tiny, shattered pieces. Jay. It must have been Jay. Or maybe Lloyd. Whatever, whoever. His fists curled up with a renewed indignation. His playlist had been tampered with and instead of his usual tracks he was being bombarded with the love sick lyrics of Born To Be Yours by Imagine Dragons. Desperately he fumbled for the skip button, howling in frustration as love song after love song kicked in. Ripping the ear buds out he roared and turned, twisting his body up into a fierce series of jump kick upon jump kick upon the poor, defenceless punch bag.
"Kai?" Cole was peering into the gym, eyes widening as he watched the dangerously swinging punchbag which was straining on its chains. Kai dropped, panting, neatly landing on the floor and suddenly aware of the pounding of his head. He raised a gloved hand to his head and groaned.
"What has happened?"
"Not now Cole." Kai threw the gloves to the ground alongside the treacherous Borgpod, and pushed himself past the earth ninja abruptly. Cole could easily have stopped Kai in his tracks, but he knew better than to try that, so stood to one side and followed the master of fire as he made his way to the main door of the monastery.
Pushing the door open, Kai groaned again but this time in frustration as the other ninjas, who were mid training on the combat course, turned with surprise as the door flew open. Everyone was there, except her of course. Urgh. How was he letting her affect him like this? He felt the fire within smoulder and flicker, beginning to rise dangerously.
"Kai. You need to calm yourself immediately. I have been trying to reach you." Zane broke away from the training dummy he was stood beside, and started to make his way over. But Kai was not ready for that. He looked down at his comms bracelet and noted that it was indeed flashing at him urgently. He ripped it off, tossing it at the ice ninja, whose reflexes enabled him to catch it quickly before it smashed into the hard ground.
Taking a deep breath, Kai blocked out their faces, summoning all of his strength and ignoring the haziness now starting to cloud the edges of his vision. He began the focused and deliberate hand and arm movements which they all knew but had not used for a long while for various reasons. The ninja stepped back as Kai threw his arms out and his elemental energy dragon roared into life. Without looking back at them, Kai leapt onto Flame's back, beginning to coax him into flight. He knew this was not really Flame, as Flame was long gone, a part of the ultra dragon's skeleton which had made up part of the Iron Baron's throne. This memory did nothing to help Kai's mood, feeling the anger simmering and starting to boil over…
"Kai! Stop!" He heard Nya's voice crack with worry and couldn't help himself as he looked down to her. She gasped as her eyes met his, seeing and taking in all of the pain and hurt now cast across them, the normally small amber flecks now swirling and flickering dangerously over the brown. She had only seen him this broken once before, and she did not want to think about that time as it had nearly broken her as well. Kai looked away, blinking away the hot tears now forming.
"Kai." Softer this time, his little sister was reaching up to him, but that just made him screw up his eyes tightly and hold his head in his hands, silently screaming and then burrowing his head into the thick, scaly skin of his dragon's neck. He did not want to look at them or be seen by them, so he looked up and sharply pointed Flame to the clouds gathering above them. Driving Flame harder, faster as the tears started to stream down his face, steaming as they dripped onto his heated body, his head throbbing dangerously as he ferociously drove Flame near enough vertically into the sky. As he levelled out he faltered, gasping as his vision swirled and a sharp pain stung across his eyes, transferring that pain to Flame who also faltered, flickering dangerously. He could see his team below, small cries of worry carrying up to him. And then he was gone, wind whipping through his hair as he sped away before they could summon their own elemental dragons to follow and catch him. Speeding away from them. From her. From everything.
