Kai stared into the low rising flames of the kitchen fire. He wasn't supposed to be down here by himself, but Nya had another visit today. Maybe if he didn't hang around the office things would turn out differently this time.
Kai sucked in a sharp breath. The last four years could have been worse, that was for sure. He and Nya were only at the house a few days before one of dad's customers came to check on his order. A quick phone call later the police and social services were knocking on the door. They asked questions about mom and dad, but he couldn't answer them- only thing he knew was they weren't there when they came home. Two of the men walked towards the door talking in hushed tones using words like "abandoned" and "ward of the state."
Their tone made Kai want to punch something. 'Mom and dad wouldn't abandon us! They loved- love- us!' Kai thought fiercely as they were led away. But as time dragged on he found that statement harder to hold on to.
The orphanage they were brought to was nice enough, but with thirty kids aged 3-16 the staff didn't have enough time to pour into the kids individually. They cared for the kids as best they could, but with Kai and Nya coming from a home where they knew love and affection, it made the gaping wounds worse. Census ebbed and flowed but no one seemed to want the Smiths- or more specifically Kai.
After being there only a month Kai retreated within himself, growing quiet and sullen. He refused to play with the other kids his age, choosing instead to stick close to Nya's side at all possible times. While at this point he was unsure of anything regarding his parents, his mom's last words had become his mantra- take care of Nya and watch out for her. Given his young age he couldn't do much besides stick close with her, but for now it was enough.
There were other sibling groups at the home, but none held the exclusivity Kai showed toward his sister. The only time he would interact with the other kids would be when they would tease him or Nya. Those usually ended with a punch to the offenders most convenient body part followed by an exasperated lecture and loss of privileges for Kai. It wasn't long before most of the kids left him alone.
Nya, for her part, didn't mind her Kai sized shadow. Their parents' disappearance had shaken her deeply and she looked for comfort in her brother. However she came to enjoy playing with the other girls. Kai didn't stop her, but would keep his own toys or project within arms reach. But as the months slid by Kai found himself drifting further and further on her periphery. She was younger, "more resilient" some of the teachers said. Whatever that meant. The only thing Kai felt was that he was slowly losing his sister, and by extension himself.
With the orphanage located much closer to Ninjago City than their hometown of Ignacia many people would come in to foster or adopt. Most couples who came were interested in the eight year old little girl... then they realized how attached she was to her ten year old brother. That was fine until they tried to interact with Kai. One word phrases or straight up ignoring the adults and keeping an alert eye on his sister to his own detriment wasn't generally admired. They didn't usually return for a second visit.
Kai wrapped his arms around his chest. Maybe it would be better for Nya if he backed off, let her have the opportunity to be part of a family again so she could actually have a shot in life. She deserved way better than this. He was only holding her back.
At this point he'd been around long enough to see that the older boys didn't usually leave until they were taken on as apprentices. If they were lucky enough.
Kai could back off, watch out for her by letting her go. That thought made him sick. Pressure built in Kai's throat, but he told himself he was just sitting too close to the smoke. Nya didn't need a cry baby for an older brother.
Kai let his thoughts trail back to their last day with mom and dad. Fire always reminded him of the forge. How he should have been badly burned but wasn't. He hadn't tried anything with flames since then, though to be fair he hadn't really had the opportunity. 'Dad said to be careful,' Kai thought bitterly 'but dad's not here now.'
Glancing around to make sure he was alone Kai tentatively stretched his hand out into the dancing flames. No pain greeted his senses, the fire simply rolled around his hand almost as if it were playing with him. Fascinated Kai didn't hear the footsteps behind him, but he did hear Matron's scream.
Hastily drawing his arm back, he swung around to see her staring at him horrified.
"Kai! What are you doing?"
"N-nothing ma'am."
She rushed over and looked at Kai's hand. There was a slight pink hue but it was otherwise unharmed. Staring at it for a long minute Matron muttered something to herself. All Kai could hear was "unstable."
Finally she pursed her lips, "Let's get you back upstairs. You're not supposed to be down here."
Kai nodded and allowed himself to be escorted out of the kitchen. Through the passing windows Kai could see the sun was setting. He hadn't realized how long he'd been downstairs. It was no wonder Matron found him.
"Brush your teeth and get to your room. We'll talk about this in the morning."
"Yes ma'am." Kai whispered and trudged down the hall.
He could feel her eyes on him until he entered the bathroom. 'That was stupid. No wonder dad said not to play with fire.' But Kai couldn't help take frequent glances at his uninjured hand. He'd seen what happened to others who got too close to the tantalizing flames, but for whatever reason they chose not to harm him. 'What does it mean?'
Kai made his way slowly to his room. It would be empty, his roommates still had an hour or so until lights out required them to come inside. On a summer night like this they would delay as long as they could.
Kai plopped on his bed and pulled his knees to his chest. His bed rested on the far wall next to the window. The older gentlemen who came occasionally to help with the grounds- who's name none of the kids seemed to know since he kept to himself, only tipping his wide brimmed hat at passersby- was kneeling in the garden bed. Kids of all ages played around him in the backyard but Kai didn't see Nya. He frowned, if she was still with the couple it was an even longer meeting than normal. Was that a good thing?
Footsteps sounded from outside the door. After a moment of indecision Kai scrambled under his covers and turned his back to the door. A firm knock came but Kai ignored it.
"Kai? I'm coming in." Matron called impatiently.
Kai lay still as the door squeaked open. He kept his breathing deep and even hoping she would just leave him be. Her footsteps came closer but she stopped short of the bed. With a sigh she flipped the light off and shut the door behind her. Rolling over, Kai stared up at the ceiling. The only thing to do now was wait.
Minutes dragged by. His roommates, two slightly older boys, came in but Kai turned so they wouldn't realize he was awake. They noisily finished through their bedtime routines before settling into bed. It wasn't long before their soft breathing filled the room.
Kai glanced at their alarm clock. 10 PM. Still too early. Matron would still be prowling the halls for any stragglers. When it was just past 11 Kai deemed it safe to slip out of his room.
Carefully he stole down the hall, listening for anyone else who might still be up. The office was on the first floor of the building, he would have to pass it to get to the classroom. To his dismay the light was still on. Keeping tight to the shadows Kai came closer. He didn't want to wait to see Nya until tomorrow. He had to know how the visit went.
Upon getting closer he could hear Matron's voice came from the room. It was answered by the deep rumble of Mr. Tanam, the orphanage's onsite tutor. Kai turned to slide down a side hallway when he heard Matron mention his name. Kai stiffened. What was she saying about him? He slipped closer to the cracked door.
"-he's grown more distant and withdrawn in the last couple years, but I'm starting to become seriously concerned about him."
"It could just be a phase."
"Daniel, I caught him trying to put his hand in the fire earlier!"
There was a sharp squeak of a chair moving suddenly."You did what?"
Matron sighed heavily. "Nya's visit was this evening, but as I stepped out to check on things I noticed Kai wasn't around the corner like he usually is. At first I thought it was because he wanted to give Nya a chance with them so I didn't think too much of it. However when I went to the kitchen to grab a pitcher of water he was sitting right in front of the fire, his hand in it! At least that's what it looked like from the door." Her voice filled with confusion. "I ran over and looked at his hand, it wasn't even warm! I must have caught him before he actually put his hand in, it may have just looked like it was inside it from where I was. But the fact remains he was trying to burn himself!"
"Hmmm. Did you ask him what or why he was doing it?"
"No, it seemed obvious to me."
"How so?"
Matron's voice dropped a pitch. "With Nya getting more visits I'm afraid he's wanting to go to exorbitant lengths to bring attention back to himself. Either that or he starting to self harm to release his pain. I'm worried about him, and what his actions mean for Nya."
"If she sees him she might imitate his behavior?"
"Exactly. The family was interested in her, but I don't know if they have enough resources to take in a seriously troubled child. He's only ten at that!"
"Fair concern. If it's factual. I still say we get Kai's side of the story. Have you seen anything else of concern?"
"No... but it could be only the first step. I'm still going to call the hospital in the morning for a referral. We need to make sure he's not going to hurt himself, or Nya."
Kai stumbled back down the hallway, unable to catch his breath. That's what they thought of him? A dangerous, destructive child that Nya would be better off without? Kai leaned against the wall to steady himself, accidentally landing harder against it in his shock.
"What was that?" Matron's voice came too close for comfort.
Kai retreated as fast as he dared, finding refuge- once again- in the kitchen. Inside he fell to his knees. Breathing heavily he tried to wrap his mind around what he heard. In that same room just hours ago he had been contemplating letting Nya go, but now that it was a possibility he couldn't accept it. He waited quietly for several minutes before seeing if Matron had returned to her room. All was quiet.
'I can't- I won't- leave Nya. She's all I have left. I won't leave... unless that's what she wants.' Stealthily he crept toward the classroom. Long ago when they'd first explored the building they found the classroom door would unlock if it was bumped just right. Nya had the idea to use it as a meeting place if they didn't want to be seen by anyone else. More often than not it became a debriefing room after Nya's visits, as was the case this evening.
It was too quiet and dark though when Kai came to the room. Since he'd been caught by Matron, which Nya probably didn't know, he hadn't made it there right after the visit. Weighing his options Kai hesitated only a moment before sneaking toward Nya's dorm.
Technically he wasn't supposed to be in that wing of the house at all, but he was past rules at this point. He needed to see her. Now.
Nya shared a room with three younger girls, who, he knew from talking to Nya, were hard sleepers. He wouldn't have to worry too much about them waking when he came in. Pausing at her door, Kai took a deep breath. 'Do I really want to do this? Nya has her life ahead of her. This could ruin everything for her.' Kai grimaced. 'It has to be her choice not mine.'
He resolutely turned the knob and crept inside. It was dark, but Kai could easily pick out Nya's sleeping form. Gently he shook her awake.
"Hmm. What? Is it time to get up?" Her eyes focused on Kai. "Kai!" Her whisper echoed through the room. "You're not supposed to be in here!"
"I know but I needed to talk to you. Let's go to the bathroom where we can talk better."
Taking her hand in his own Kai checked the hallway before sneaking out. Inside the bathroom Kai turned on a low light and leaned against the door.
"I'm sorry I didn't wait up. I got tired and then it was bedtime."
Kai waved away her concern. "It's okay. I know it was later than normal. Matron caught me in the kitchen."
"That's what she was so upset about."
Kai rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Sorta." He hesitated trying to find the right words. The last thing he needed was Nya thinking he was crazy too. "How'd the meeting go?"
Nya shrugged. "Good. They were nice, I guess."
"Nice is good. Do you think... would you want to live with them?"
"I don't know. I miss mom and dad." Tears pooled in her eyes as she looked up at Kai.
"Yeah," His voice was husky. "I do too, but if they... if we can't find them we might have to figure out something else." Nya frowned but didn't respond. "I think that couple might be open to taking you into their home..."
"But what about you?"
"I think Matron has other plans for me." Kai whispered. "Something happened earlier in the kitchen and I think they're going to send me away for-for a while."
"Kai no!" Nya ran up and threw her arms around him. "You can't go."
"This could be your chance. You could have a family again."
"Not without you!" She cried.
"Are you sure? I'm just holding you back."
Nya punched his chest. "No! You're not. You're my brother and we're there for each other. Just like mom said."
"We'll have to run away. It'll be hard." Kai warned.
Nya grinned impishly. "We can handle it. After all, we're doing it together."
Kai nodded. That was it then. They were going to strike off on their own. "We need to grab our stuff before sneaking out. Can you get your clothes and things and bring them back here? Without waking your roommates?"
Nya smirked. "I'll be as quiet as a ninja."
"Good. I'll meet you back here then. Remember if anyone sees us it's all over."
"You worry too much," but Kai could see sparks of uncertainty in Nya's eyes.
He gave her a lopsided smile. "Someone's got to. See you soon." With that Kai flipped off the lightswitch and slipped back softly down the hall.
It only took ten minutes to throw their few possessions into pillowcases and blankets, and grab some food from the kitchen. From the bathroom Kai lead Nya to the back door. With one last glance behind them, the sibling stole into the night.
Crickets chirped and a gentle breeze ruffled Kai's hair. The night was warm, which was good since they had a long walk ahead of them. Though the back yard was fenced in a gate opened to the woods behind. Another place the kids were forbidden to go without an adult, but that didn't matter anymore.
It was much darker under the cover of the trees. Nya scooted closer to Kai but he didn't mind. He would never admit it to Nya but the darkness unnerved him too. A flashlight might have been a good addition to their supplies. Too late now. After a few minutes their eyes adjusted enough to avoid running into any trunks. Occasional lights flickered through the waving branches.
"Are we gonna go home?" Nya's voice was small in the darkness.
"I thought about it but that's probably where they expect us to go. We need to stay hidden. Ninjago City will do that."
Nya shot Kai a look. "The city? Won't there be more people to see us?"
"Yeah but they won't know us. And there's more places to hide than in our village."
Nya frowned but nodded in assent. "M'kay."
Taking Nya's hand Kai led their trek toward the twinkling city lights in the distance. Several hours later neither one of them expected their adventure to be so tiring. And boring, if Kai was being honest with himself.
When Nya was leaning more on Kai than her own feet he began to look around for somewhere to spend the rest of the night. After a few more minutes a small rock alcove became visible in the shadows. 'That'll work.'
He led Nya over and set one of their blankets on the ground. Nya collapsed onto it and was asleep before Kai could even set his stuff down.
Kai sat down and pulled a blanket over both of them.
"Night Nya. Love you."