Oh boy, this is a big one. I think it's the longest one yet, actually, but I just - I needed the length, okay? It just...it needed it.
Anyways, like I said, I'm going slightly off-track from the plot here for a moment - Pirates Vs. Ninja is still coming up next, but I wanted to explore Lloyd's training a little first, and since we aren't really given a concrete timeline, I'm taking advantage of that. This is entirely inspired by a little bit in one the the official books that details Lloyd's training schedule (which I've ripped off word for word, oops) AND by the lovely ninjawhoa on tumblr, who not only inspires angst but who also has actual medical knowledge whereas I have zero. (To restate - zero.)
That being said, here is my overly-long take on the ninja battling winter and sickness all at once, which I probably went way overboard with and had way too much fun with :D
And as always, thank you so, so much to everyone who keeps up with this story and leaves reviews! I wish I could give you guys quicker updates, but I appreciate every one of you more than words :'D
Chapter 12: The Training Schedule From Hell Kicks Off, and Lloyd Learns the Value of (Not) Lying About Crippling Illness
Never Hire Ninja as Babysitters Group Chat
Kai sent an attachment:
5:00 a.m. : Wake up
5:15 a.m. : Breakfast
6:00 a.m. : Stretching, rotation, and balance exercises — supervised by Kai
8:00 a.m. : Endurance hike at top speed — with Zane
11:00 a.m. : Free running and ballet class (to develop agility) — with Cole
12:00 p.m. : Lunch (with the team)
1:00 p.m. : Scroll and book study — with Sensei
3:15 p.m. : Rooster chasing (to develop speed and reflexes), plus more spinning exercises
6:00 p.m. : Sparring (assign an off-duty ninja to be a sparring partner)
6:30 p.m. : Dinner (with the team)
7:45 p.m. : Obstacle course (including more spinning and balance exercises) — supervised by Kai
9:00 p.m. : Recreation — with Jay
9:30 p.m. : Bedtime (assign Zane to read a bedtime story)
Nya: what is this?!
Kai: APPARENTLY our new training schedule
Nya: 5 am ouch sucks for you
Kai: ur gonna be suffering too
Nya: um from what i'm seeing I don't have anything to do until 12
Nya: wth am I chopped liver or something sensei
Kai: no ur just not in suffering bootcamp
Nya: wait this is Lloyd's schedule?
Kai: yeah
Nya: ….
Nya: so 30 minutes a day to be a kid
Kai: i mean there's…lunch…
Message from Nya has been blocked by Parent Lock
Nya: YOU PUT WHAT ON HERE
Kai: u wash ur mouth with soap young lady
Long ago, when Lloyd was still a young and innocent child —
…okay, the innocent part might be a bit of a stretch, but still — when Lloyd was young and innocent, he'd thought that an early bedtime was like, the worst punishment possible. Being forced to go to bed at only nine-thirty? The worst. Awful, terrible, cruel, that's when all the best shows come on. So back when he was young and innocent, he would've fought Uncle Wu tooth and nail if he'd tried to make him go to bed that early. He would've refused, thrown a fit, and possibly tried to mix the whites and reds in the laundry again as revenge, only with Uncle Wu's robes this time.
But that was before he knew what five a.m. in the morning felt like.
Now he just wants to go right back to bed, early as possible.
"C'mon, Lloyd," Kai attempts to stifle a yawn, failing completely. "It's not — it's not that bad."
Lloyd highly disagrees — he's only just been dragged from under the blankets and he's already freezing. He'd known winter was coming soon, but with the way the wind filters through the cracks in their apartment, it feels like they're smack in the middle of it.
He silently scolds himself. He shouldn't complain about their apartment, not when he spent the last winter on the streets. This is a hundred times better, he reminds himself with a shiver.
No, he can complain about how early it is instead, because he knows Kai doesn't like it, either. Lloyd watches through bleary eyes as he walks into the doorframe, staggers back, and almost falls on his face.
"Son of a—" Kai hisses, rubbing his head. "Not a word, demon spawn."
Lloyd's too tired to even make fun of him, which is lame, because if he was any more awake he would've found that hilarious. If he was any more awake he'd find all of this hilarious, actually. The ninja either got way too used to sleeping in, or never had to wake up this early at all (which would be so unfair), because they all look like zombies.
Kai's hair is drooping, the ends slightly creased up from where he slept on them funny, and his eyes are mere slits as he tries to force them open. Cole doesn't look much better, his thick hair sticking out in every direction, still half-wrapped in one of his blankets as he stares blankly at the breakfast table. Jay looks slightly better, except he's got bedhead that's left his hair exploding all over in static-y little curls, which he's absently trying to smooth down as he finishes what Lloyd's pretty sure is his second cup of coffee.
Zane's the only one who actually looks human — which is pretty funny, haha, 'cause he's a robot — his eyes bright and hair in place where he's trying to get Cole to eat some gross healthy cereal. Cole ignores him, thunking his head against the table and pulling the blanket over his head instead.
"G'morning," Kai mutters at them, flopping down in a chair. Lloyd glares at him. He took the fun swivel chair.
"Good morning," Zane says, his voice chipper. "There's coffee left in the pot if you want some— no, not you, Lloyd."
Lloyd grumbles darkly, slumping in his seat. "Sure, make me suffer," he scowls.
"Trust me, kid, it's nasty," Jay says. Lloyd narrows his eyes as he pours himself a third cup. "Adult juice, remember?"
"Whatever," Lloyd sulks.
"Here, you need breakfast." Zane slides a bowl of cereal toward him, and Lloyd eyes it with suspicion. It's got the little marshmallows he likes in it, sure, but this is Zane giving it to him — he bets it's secretly healthy, or something. Ugh.
"Can I have poptarts instead?"
"No." Cole's voice is muffled against the table. "If I don't get them, nobody does."
Lloyd makes a face. Like that's fair.
"Eat your cereal, Lloyd, or we'll all be late for training," Zane repeats, more firmly.
Lloyd sticks his tongue out at him, but he relents, spooning the marshmallow bits into his mouth. The threat of being late is motivation enough. He doesn't want to be the last one done, 'cause then he'll get left behind, which means figuring out everything by himself—
Wait. Actually, there's one person way behind him, Lloyd realizes, and it's weird that she's late, because she likes to lecture him about that.
"Where's Nya?" he asks, through a mouthful of cereal. If she decided to sleep in on him, Lloyd is going to be very unhappy with her.
Kai sighs, rubbing his temple. "She's sick," he mutters, looking guilty. "Pretty sure she picked it up from me."
"Oh. Poor Nya," Lloyd winces. It's not a surprise, really. Nya totally smothered Kai while he was sick, and she doesn't have cool Green Ninja genes to protect her like Lloyd does, but that still sucks. Now he's gotta keep an eye on her, too, and he won't even be able to share comics with her or anything because he's gonna be stuck stupid training.
"Nya's sick?" Jay's head snaps up, his eyes widening.
"Yeah," Kai waves him off. "She's fine, though, just sleeping."
"Ah, uh — good," Jay says. He still looks pretty nervous, for some reason. "Do you know, say, how long she's, uh, been sick?"
Kai slowly raises his head to look at Jay. Cole, who's finally dragged his face up from the table, tilts his own head, eyebrows furrowing, before some kind of realization dawns. He immediately buries his face back in his blanket, muffling snickers, and Jay turns red.
"Why," Kai says, his voice eerily calm. "Would you need to know, Jay?"
"No reason!" Jay says quickly. If he was a cartoon character, he'd be sweat-dropping, Lloyd thinks. "Just, uh—" he coughs, his hand reaching for his mouth before hastily aborting the action. "Hope it's not…real contagious."
The coffee cup in Kai's hand creaks ominously, as if it's about to crack. "I wouldn't think you'd have a problem," he says, his face turning thunderous. "Unless you've been getting your mouth close enough to my sister to—"
"Hey, you know what?" Cole interjects quickly, suddenly alert. "Look at the time! You're on stretching exercises Kai, better grab green machine here and hop to it."
"I still have fifteen minutes to kick his a—"
"I said hop to it."
For a brief second, it looks like Kai might actually start a fight — but to Lloyd's disappointment he deflates, sliding out from his chair.
"Let's go, bud," he sighs. "Stretching time."
"Ughhh," Lloyd draws his groan out, pulling the edge of Cole's blanket over his head. Cole tugs it back, looking amused. "It's too early."
"It's not that early."
"The sun isn't even up."
"Then you'll get to see the sunrise."
"Hooray," Lloyd pans drily, but he slides out of his seat as well, trudging after him.
At least his first exercise is with Kai. He's super not looking forward to hiking with Zane afterwards. And he likes Zane! A lot, Zane is super cool and nice, and he always makes sure Lloyd isn't falling too far behind the others. He's also just…super in shape, and really tall. And really tall means really long legs, which isn't saying that Lloyd is short, of course, he's just — not as tall as Zane, and that means he has to take like three steps to Zane's one, and he's not really looking forward to that.
"—c'mon, half-pint, you with me?"
Lloyd blinks rapidly, and realizes that Kai is staring at him, having just snapped his fingers in his face. Lloyd frowns. Rude.
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbles. "I'm just falling back asleep already, 'cause you're so boring."
Kai looks mildly offended. "I'm boring?"
"Yeah, way boring," Lloyd yawns. He yelps as Kai tosses a couch pillow at him, then scowls. That was low, his reflexes aren't warmed up yet!
"That's why we're stretching," Kai says, rolling his eyes. He eyes Lloyd shrewdly. "And working on your balance, too. Just 'cause you're lower to the ground, doesn't mean it's gonna be any easier for you."
Lloyd bristles. "Just 'cause I'm what!"
"You're short, shortstack," Kai grins, unapologetically. Lloyd considers his odds of getting away if he were to kick Kai's kneecaps in. "Which means this first one's going to be easier for you, since your toes are closer."
Lloyd gives him the best glare he can. "Well guess what that means," he snaps. "My arms are shorter too, so I guess I can't touch my toes."
Kai puts a hand on his hip, looking unbearably like a big dumb grown-up. "I know you can touch your toes, Lloyd," he says. "I saw you squish yourself into a ball in the cabinet during hide-n-seek the other day."
"That doesn't prove anything," Lloyd mutters, but he lets the upper half of his body slump forward, arms dangling as his hair falls in his face. He gives a huff of annoyance, the blood rushing to his head as he lets his arms sway bonelessly. Kai makes a muffled noise that's probably irritation, so Lloyd goes to actually touch his toes—
Except the sleeves of his dumb gi choose then to unravel from where he's rolled them up, flopping over his hands. Lloyd frowns at them in betrayal, then shrugs. Hey, at least his sleeves are touching his toes now.
"Does that count?" he asks, starting to feel dizzy from how he's hung his head.
"FSM's sake," Kai's muttering, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. He sighs, stepping forward and pushing Lloyd's head up. He goes down on a knee, taking one of his sleeves in his hand and frowning. "We should probably stitch this up or something," he muses.
Lloyd bristles. "But what about when I grow taller?" he exclaims. "I'll have to unstitch them and everything! I'm growing fast, you know."
Kai does this funny little thing with his mouth, the expression Lloyd is starting to recognize as him biting back a laugh. "Not that fast," he murmurs. "But since we're short on sewing machines, this'll have to do."
He rolls Lloyd's sleeves back up, making a whole lot more progress with his two hands than Lloyd was with one. He carefully tucks them back over his wrists, making sure they'll hold this time.
"Better?"
Lloyd wiggles his hands around, pleased to find that his sleeves don't go slip-n-sliding this time. "It'll work."
"Good." Kai grins. "Now, show me that stretch."
Lloyd stifles a groan, throwing his head back in defeat. "You sure you don't want to just take a nap instead?" he tries tempting, hopefully.
Kai scuffs his hair back, and Lloyd makes a disgruntled expression. "Sneaky," he says. "And tempting. But—"
His eyes flit to the doorway, and Lloyd almost thinks he catches a flash of white.
"Yeah," Kai mutters. "Always watching. C'mon, green machine, your muscles aren't gonna train themselves."
"Hmph," Lloyd sulks, even as he takes his spot in their tiny living room. "Stretching is for losers. Why can't I just do Spinjitzu?"
"Because you're not there yet," Kai shakes his head. "It took us ages to get to that point, and we're older."
"But I'm the Green Ninja!" Lloyd protests.
"Yeah, and again — a shrimp," Kai points out. "Besides, remember what happened last time you tried Spinjitzu?"
Lloyd shrinks, not even rising to the 'shrimp'. The guys made Spinjitzu look so easy. Lloyd just wanted to be part of that. He hadn't meant to shatter Uncle Wu's favorite lamp.
"That's what I thought," Kai nods, and Lloyd glares at him. "Enough stalling. Stretches, now."
Lloyd makes a face, but he folds himself into position. Too old to sleep in, too young to do Spinjitzu, he thinks sadly. Or anything fun, apparently.
Geez, you'd think the green power would be good for something.
Nya changed the chat name to Kai the Germ Ninja
Kai: i said i was sorry!
Kai: its those dumb kids' fault
Nya: tell that to my stuffed nose
Nya: zane's making me stay in bed all day :'(
Kai: good u need the rest
Nya: but i'm missing lloyd's training!
Kai: we've got it, don't worry
Kai: he's doing fine
Nya: :(
Nya: are you at least taking pictures of his ballet class with Cole
Kai: are u kidding me?
Kai: me and jay video taped the whole thing
The one bright side about Sensei's training schedule is that, technically, they don't have to do it. Sure, Kai's still got his own training like everyone else, and there's patrol duty to bicker over, but apart from meal times and the early-morning exercises, Kai doesn't have to be there. It's Lloyd's training schedule, not any of theirs, so it's not like all of them have to stick to it. They've been given precious little free time as it is, and they should take advantage of it.
Or at least, that's what Cole tries arguing to them, when they all crash his ballet class again.
"It's not a real ballet class," Cole sighs. "It's agility training. Ballet just happens to be the best way to go about it, which you'd know if you had any."
"Rude," Jay sniffs.
"I'm agile," Kai grumbles, even as Cole rolls his eyes. Kai resists the urge to roll his right back at him — he knows when not to push Cole. They're all already tired as it is, especially since someone kept coughing all night. Kai's money is on Jay, since he had close contact with Nya, he remembers sourly.
"If you're already agile, then leave," Lloyd mutters from the corner, arms crossed.
Jay cocks his head. "Well, if according to Cole, we don't have agility, then it would be good for us to watch, right?" He looks extremely pleased with himself for this reasoning.
Cole raises an eyebrow. "I've got running too, you know. You gonna stick around for that?"
Jay laughs. "Yeah, stick around and watch—"
Zane elbows him sharply in the side, and Jay quiets.
Kai turns his attention back to Lloyd, where he's scuffing a mark on the floor with his toe, looking like he's zoned out straight into another realm from boredom. Kai bites back a smirk. He won't be zoned out for long.
"Alright, half-pint, let's get this over with," Cole sighs, shooting a glare at them over his shoulder. He mutters beneath his breath, "I still hate dancing in front of people, y'know."
"We believe in you, Cole!" Jay says, cheerfully. "Remember, you did the Triple Tiger Sashay, so you're a professional now."
"The triple tiger what?" Lloyd looks a good deal more interested in that than he does ballet. Kai, however, has a brief but vivid vision of Lloyd traipsing up to Mr. Brookstone's house and hoarding as much blackmail against them as he can, and quickly moves to shut it down at the same time the others do.
"Nothing."
"It's just a dance move," Cole explains, quickly. "A fancy one, for stuffy fancy people."
"Oh," Lloyd ponders this. "I guess that's not us."
"Not at all," Cole agrees. "You are going to be doing basic positions."
Lloyd looks very much not excited.
In due fairness, though, Lloyd is surprisingly good at ballet, after he gets over his initial revulsion to it. He's got an unusual amount of gracefulness in his step that Kai's never really noticed — though he should've. Lloyd is light on his feet even when he's stomping them, his footsteps quiet, like he's constantly afraid of disturbing some monster in the closet. Combine that with the manic kid-energy he's got, and Lloyd's a firecracker of a dancer.
Kai likes to think they're being a good audience to it, but he's had to physically stuff his fist in his mouth before he makes any comments about Cole the ballet teacher. He wouldn't anyways though, because one, that'd be super uncool, and two, Zane would probably kill him where he stood, having already had it with Jay.
Also, Lloyd would take it…not well, which is something they're trying to avoid, considering how hard it's been to convince him to dance at all in the first place.
"I still think this is dumb," Lloyd says, shifting from foot to foot on the floor they've cleared out, when Cole finally pauses for a minute.
Kai feels a sympathetic sort of relief for them — Cole drives a tough pace, and he doesn't slack off. But Lloyd's tone holds another half-hour's worth of arguing in it, and Kai's tempted to escape while he can. Zane's left for patrol by now, and Jay should be wrapping up his. Nya's still out with Sensei Wu, which leaves Kai the only other one in their apartment, meandering in and out of the kitchen as he watches their progress.
"I know you do," Cole says, as he towels off sweat from his forehead with thinly-veiled frustration. He looks like he's about to go off on a Sensei-like lecture, which Kai knows won't end well — but then he pauses, and suddenly bends down on one knee so he's eye-level with Lloyd.
"So," Cole says, tilting his head as Lloyd's turns away, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Wanna tell me why you think it's so dumb?"
Lloyd flushes. "S'nothing."
"Lloyd." Ooh, Kai flinches from his spot in the kitchen. Cole's broken out the adult voice.
Lloyd looks away, biting his lip. "It's just…" He makes a face, as if the words are painful. "The kids at…at Darkley's would laugh, if they saw me right now," he mutters, looking half-angry at himself for admitting this.
Kai leans in closer. Lloyd doesn't talk about Darkley's a lot, except when he accidentally lets slip about it in casual passing. So for him to voluntarily bring it up…
An odd expression crosses Cole's face, part of which Kai recognizes as realization. "Hm," he finally says, glancing around the room. "That's funny. I don't see any Darkley's kids here."
Lloyd gives him a sour look. "You know what I mean," he grumbles. "Everyone already said I was a failure, now they'd think I'm just dumb—"
Kai feels a flare of anger, ready to finally chime in with his opinion of those people, but Cole beats him to the punch.
"Darkley's is dumb," he cuts over Lloyd, firmly. "You know that, right?"
Lloyd's eyes widen, but he nods fervently. "Y-yeah. It's…super dumb."
"And they were wrong," Cole continues. "They were wrong about a lot of things, and most of all you." He pokes Lloyd lightly in the chest. "Okay? Whatever they said about you back at that school doesn't mean jack."
Lloyd's eyes go wide, and he glances back at Kai, who's heart is currently going all melty and gross. "Don't say bad words," he mutters.
Cole rolls his eyes. "Darkley's deserves a lot of bad—" He cuts off, sighing. "Look, Lloyd, my point still stands. Look at you. You're the Green Ninja. You survived on the streets and faced down Serpentine. Heck, you faced down the Great Devourer. What loser kid from your evil school can say that?"
Lloyd stares at him, his mouth parting slightly in what could be shock. He blinks rapidly, looking at Cole with a very shiny-eyed kind of expression.
"And hey, look at me," Cole continues. "Do you think I'm some lame washout?"
Lloyd shakes his head, expression turning scandalized. "No way!" he says. "You're really strong and cool and — and you're like, a hero, and stuff."
It's Cole's turn to blink rapidly, and Kai almost snorts. That's what he gets for putting the kid on the spot like that, he thinks gleefully, watching Cole's cheeks go dark. Unfiltered honesty.
"That's uh—" Cole clears his throat. "That's — really nice, kid." He shakes his head, his face still flushed dark. "But um — yeah, okay, see? I'm not lame, and I do ballet. I bet all the kids at Darkley's are just scared."
Lloyd's eyebrows furrow in skepticism. "They're scared?"
"Oh yeah," Cole says. He narrows his eyes at Lloyd. "Are you scared?"
Successful distracted, Lloyd's eyebrows draw into a glare. "No way."
"Then show me what fifth position looks like," Cole challenges.
"I'll show you what all the positions look like," Lloyd retorts, already bouncing back across the floor. "I'll — oof!" He runs into the wall with a smack, and he rubs his elbow, grimacing. "Oops."
Kai shakes his head, moving out of the kitchen, already flipping a mental coin between lecturing Lloyd about being careful, or insulting their apartment. Cole just rubs his temples, sighing as he surveys the damage.
"That's fine, it's pretty tight in here any—" Cole blinks, staring at the wall. He runs his fingers over the new dent, which has also managed to shatter part of the brick behind the layers of plaster.
Wait, what?
Kai darts forward to inspect it, his eyebrows furrowing. "He can't be that strong — not yet," he murmurs. "Can he?"
Kai looks at Cole. They both look at Lloyd, who's frowning to himself as he goes up on tip-toes, trying to hit whatever position Cole's left him on.
"I have to wonder," Cole mutters. "If this is really just karma for what we put Sensei through."
"Or just Sensei's sense of humor," Kai says, morosely.
With only a few other hiccups, they manage to wrap up the lesson by the time Jay and Zane return from their short patrol. They're just in time to catch them slacking off by blasting the Starfarer soundtrack for Lloyd, who lights up like a firework, then goes off like an actual firework, bouncing on his toes around the room with a wild energy that definitely wasn't there when he was running laps for Cole.
It's pretty cute until he runs elbows-first into the wall again, leaving another sizable dent as Zane trails behind him in mild alarm, exclaiming stuff about "property damage" and "increased rent".
Lunch is next though, which means more free time instead of more training, so when Nya finally makes it back from where she's been out with Sensei, she gets to watch Cole trying to recreate the Dirty Dancing lift, except with Jay and Lloyd balancing on each hand, which ends about as well as it sounds.
"Good to see the training's going well," she remarks in amusement, watching as Zane dances anxiously around the pile of tangled limbs, trying to pry Jay and Lloyd off of poor Cole.
"This is the recreative session," Kai snorts. He eyes her, pleased to see that most of her color's returned, and she doesn't look as miserable and sniffly anymore. "How you feeling?"
"Way better," Nya sighs in relief. "Sensei took me by his friend's teashop while we were out, and she had this tea that like, zapped my sinuses clear. Or something. I'm not really sure, but I feel human again."
"Huh. I didn't know Sensei had friends," Kai muses. He immediately realizes that this is a rather thoughtless (and senseless) statement, going by the look on Nya's face. "I mean — he just never — you know Sensei, he seems more the hermit type."
Nya shakes her head. "Well, he's got her." She makes an odd face. "She's definitely….his type."
Kai frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Nya shrugs, looking a little helpless. "She's just weird, I guess," she says. "Really weird. Like, all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, weird."
"Maybe you're coming down with something else," Kai offers. Nya elbows him.
"You know what I mean," she mutters.
Kai snickers, then starts as the tiny alarm on his watch buzzes. Looking down at it, Kai sighs, his heart sinking.
"Back to the grind already?" Nya says, looking sympathetic, and a little disappointed. "Aw. I wanted to spend time Lloyd."
"Tell you what," Kai yawns, as he makes his way back to the living room. "I'll give you six a.m. stretches, you can spend that time with him."
Nya makes a face at him. "I'm going to talk with Sensei about this," he hears her muttering to herself. "Just 'cause I'm not some dumb ninja—"
Kai shakes his head, tuning her out as he turns his attention to the demon spawn himself.
"Alright, kid," Kai says, wading into the middle of the others, where Lloyd is trying to convince Cole to toss him again. "Time for lunch. You don't have much time before we gotta cart you off to Sensei for scroll study."
"Ugh, for real?" Lloyd groans. "Scroll study's so boring though. Can I skip? I'm gonna skip."
"No, Sensei'll — no you don't!" Kai snatches for him just as he makes to scramble, hoisting him in the air as he flails wildly, giggling as Kai hangs him upside down.
"No, Kai, lemme go—"
"Ninja don't skip, demon sp— woah!"
Kai's hold slips, and Lloyd wriggles out from his arms like a particularly slippery fish, tipping forward and somersaulting across the floor, before standing triumphantly with a "ha!"
Kai's briefly amused — and slightly impressed — before Lloyd's face suddenly goes an odd, ashy color and he sways in place.
"O-oh," he mutters, wavering two steps to the side and rubbing at his head, as if it's paining him. "That's dizzy."
Kai's at his side in an instant, and Nya isn't far behind him.
"What's wrong," he demands, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. He places a hand on Lloyd's back to steady him, then frowns, moving his hand up to his forehead. "You're warm," he mutters, his heart sinking. "Really warm."
Lloyd shoves his hand away, looking irritated. "Yeah, 'cause I just did a whole bunch'a training," he grumbles. "I'm fine. I'm just hungry."
Kai scrutinizes him, then turns to Zane.
"It has been a while since breakfast," Zane offers, though he still looks concerned.
Kai looks at Nya, then looks back at Lloyd, who's pulling at the end of his gi, seemingly frustrated with the concern he's getting.
"You weren't trying to do Spinjitzu again, were you?" Jay calls. "I told you, Lloyd, spinning around that much is just gonna make you sick. You're not there yet."
Lloyd's cheeks puff up in indignation, and his irritation turns on Jay instead. "Am too!" he protests. "I almost had it, you just weren't looking—"
Kai watches the color seep back into Lloyd's cheeks as he snaps at Jay, and his jaw works. It could just be that he's hungry, he thinks. That's what he hopes, because the alternative means that either Kai or Nya went and got him—
"Well, let's get you lunch, then," Kai says, letting it drop for now. Who knows, maybe demon spawns just run hotter than the average human.
But he'll keep an eye on him, just in case.
Kai changed the chat name to Death to Roosters
Nya: aw but lloyd is so cute chasing them
Kai: yeah until ur cleaning the 500 scratches he picks up
Nya: I thought I spotted some of those on you too
Kai: DEMON BIRDS
Kai: thank fsm it's getting too cold to chase them now
Kai: saved by the winter
Nya: at least you guys were having fun
Kai: yeah
Kai: the demon spawn needs it
Kai: he's wearing down
Kai: like i'm dying here, i don't wanna think how he's feeling
Nya: I thought you said he was doing fine?
Kai: he's a good liar
Kai: he's way too good a liar
Sensei decides it's time to take off for another mission the week it starts to snow outside, which Nya is pretty sure is a whole bunch of baloney that he's making up to either escape their cramped house, or get out of talking with her.
"Aw, it's not that, Nya," Jay consoles from across the table. "He's just worried about how quiet Garm—" Nya quickly motions at him, and Jay falls quiet, glancing over to where Lloyd is meandering about the kitchen. "He's worried about how quiet you-know-who's been," Jay continues, his voice hushed this time.
"Yeah, I know," Nya sighs, her chin smooshing up against her hand as she leans against it. And she does — Garmadon's been suspiciously quiet lately, but they're all suspecting that won't be the case for long. Nya's been secretly hoping he's really just holding back for Lloyd, though. "At least he didn't make me drive him this time, I guess."
"That's…a plus," Jay says, looking like he's trying hard not to laugh. Nya gives him a look, and he hastily adds, "But hey, he'll be back in a couple of days! You can drag him over the coals for not letting you in on training then."
"He'd better," Nya mutters, sliding down so her chin's resting on both her hands now. "All I get to do is give Ultra medicine."
"Maybe you can teach him to fly Ultra, then," Jay offers. "When they're better."
Nya and Jay both look at each other for a moment, envisioning Lloyd atop of Ultra, cackling as he hurtles through the skies. Nya gets a sudden rush of fear, then dissolves into quiet giggles at the look on Jay's face, before he does too.
"He'd take the whole city out, wouldn't he," Jay manages.
Nya shakes her head, trying to bite back her own smile. "No way, this is Lloyd." Jay stares at her, and Nya's lips tremble. "He'd take out the whole country."
Jay rests his head on top of the math book sprawled in front of him, snickering. "He can be our back-up plan. If worst comes to worst, stick Lloyd on a dragon and let him go nuts."
"The worst, worst case scenario," Nya snorts, resting her cheek on her hand again as her eyes find the case in question. Her humor fades as she catches sight of him, her smile slipping.
Lloyd's standing in front of the fridge, half-hanging from the handle as he stalls returning to the table for their improvised math lesson. (Hey, somebody has to teach him, and they've got free time now that Sensei's gone.) He's got one of Cole's shirts on today, and the thing's so long on him that Nya could stick a belt around his middle and call it fashion. Coupled with Jay's old shorts and Kai's hoodie, Lloyd looks every bit the homeless child he used to be.
Nya winces. Geez, no wonder they've been getting looks from the landlady.
She rubs her temples, feeling torn. They need to go shopping soon, there's no way around it. They've been scrounging by with picking up groceries from the late-night shop once training's done, but they had promised they'd get Lloyd clothes that fit, and Nya's really starting to miss coffee that isn't dirt cheap.
But there's just no time.
Sensei Wu's schedule solidly blocks off their day, and while they've all got shifts so they could technically take a break (Nya most of all, 'cause she barely has to do anything), nobody wants to ditch. Especially when poor Lloyd's stuck doing everything.
Nya never thought she'd miss Lloyd's high-pitched, extra-loud complaining every night as he bounced from couch to couch refusing to go to bed, but she does. Lately he looks so exhausted by the end of the day that he's close to tears, and that leaves Nya close to tears, which ends up being a really bad combo for Kai, who's starting to wear thin over it and look close to tears himself.
We need a vacation, Nya think to herself. Somewhere warm and sunny, she adds with a shiver, pulling her sweatshirt closer around her. Stupid heating's gotta be busted again. She'll need to add that to the growing list of things she and Jay are going to have to fix later.
Lloyd finally decides on a soda, grabbing it from the fridge and hopping back to the table. Nya narrows her eyes at it as he scrambles into his seat, and she snatches it up before he can react.
"Hey, that's mine!" he yelps, reaching for it.
"Not before lunch, it isn't," Nya says. Her eyebrows furrow as she thinks back. "In fact, you haven't eaten anything today, have you. I saw you skip breakfast. You need real food, Lloyd, not soda."
Lloyd's face scrunches up, and he kicks at the table, looking down. "M'not hungry," he mutters.
Nya frowns at that. Lloyd's always hungry. "Are you feeling okay?" she asks, remembering his brief dizziness the other day. "Is your stomach upset?"
"No, it just wants soda," Lloyd retorts, looking offended that she'd even ask, before reaching for the soda again. Nya snatches it away, and Lloyd looks as if he's considering pitching a fit before Jay chimes in.
"How about this," he says. "You finish these problems here, and you get half the soda. After that, you eat a sandwich or something, and you can have the other half."
Lloyd appears to turn this over in his head, then finally nods, looking subdued but much less disagreeable. Nya throws Jay a look of gratitude.
"Alright then, pay attention. " Lloyd rolls his eyes, but he gives his attention to Jay as he taps his pencil on the scribbled math sheet.
"Say you have…sixteen pieces of candy," Jay says, scrawling a neat 16 on the scratch paper. "And three friends. If you split the candy evenly between the four of you, how many pieces would each of you get?"
Lloyd frowns. "I'd get sixteen, because it's my candy and they should've brought their own."
Nya gives a muffled groan, burying her head in her hands. Jay makes his trying-not-to-laugh expression again.
"That's not — that's not the point," he sighs, pushing the paper back toward Lloyd. "Look, if you had to share with the three friends—"
"I don't even have three friends."
Jay frowns. "Hey, then what are we?"
"Annoying," Lloyd mutters.
"Lloyd," Nya says sternly. He ducks his head, flushing at her glare.
"Sorry, Jay," he murmurs.
"Nah, it's no big deal," Jay laughs, a little awkwardly, but it eases over the tension. "Math can get you in a mood, I get that. Wanna try again?"
Lloyd nods, looking chastised, and gets the answer right this time, to Jay's delight. Nya continues to watch him in concern though, her forehead pinched. Lloyd's more distracted than usual today, irritable and constantly zoning out, and she doesn't like the way his complexion looks. He's been sniffling for the last two days, and as much as he claims that his runny nose is just from the colder weather, Nya swears she can hear congestion building in the back of his throat.
He's obviously coming down with a cold, which is why the guys have been taking it easy today — but what's concerning Nya is how Lloyd doesn't want to take it easy. He hasn't even mentioned feeling under the weather except for admitting he's not hungry, and even that felt like pulling teeth. Lloyd's clearly trying his best to hide it, which doesn't make any sense — most kids his age are tyrants when they're sick, and Lloyd doesn't seem the type to miss an opportunity to be spoiled.
Maybe he just doesn't want to be coddled, Nya thinks, even though that doesn't sound right. Lloyd's always been funny about attention, but it's more than apparent that he's starved for it.
Whatever the case, she's going to pick up cough syrup this evening, Nya decides. The last thing they need is Lloyd falling as sick as she and Kai did.
"—missed a few, but I think you've got it down," Jay's saying, and Nya turns her attention back, where he's just finished grading Lloyd's scribbled math sheet. He looks at Nya. "What do you say? Think he's ready for the quadratic formula?"
Nya fights back a smirk at the look on Lloyd's face. "I dunno," she pretends to consider. "That might be a little over his head. How about we start with trigonometry?"
Lloyd looks like he's going to cry.
"Kidding, green machine," Jay snorts, ruffling his hair. Lloyd scowls, clearly not amused. "You're done for the day. Just in time for sparring, I think."
Lloyd pumps his fist in the air, hopping down from his seat. He stumbles briefly as he lands, making an odd sound in his throat, like he's suppressing something. Nya leans toward him, alarmed, and Jay's not far behind.
"Or we could take it easy," he says, concerned. "You alright, bud? We can cancel for today, if you want—"
"Nah, I'm fine!" Lloyd says quickly, flashing a smile at them. Nya doesn't buy it for a second.
"Lloyd," she says, slowly. "I think you should rest. You sound like you're coming down with something."
"I'm the son of Garmadon," Lloyd snaps, sounding particularly aggravated. "I don't get sick."
Nya blinks, taken aback, and before she can reply Lloyd's scrambling off, running for the others. She stares after him, then looks at Jay, who bites his lip.
"Little brat," Nya exhales.
Jay slides out from his seat, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll keep an eye on him," he says. "Make sure the others don't push him too hard. We'll keep it easy sparring today."
"Okay," she murmurs, watching as the others set up in concern. The concern is mixed with a sense of helplessness though, and with that comes frustration.
I can spar with him too, you know, is on the tip of her tongue. Nya crumples a piece of scratch paper in her hand, then sighs. She's a samurai, not a ninja. She gets that.
That doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to teach Lloyd, though. Maybe she should look into teaching him to fly Ultra, she muses.
A particularly loud gust of wind rattles at their windows, and Nya shivers briefly before pushing herself up. Fine, she thinks, as she stalks toward the laundry room, where the heating system lies. If she can't spar, she's gonna take her energy out on something else, like a useless heater that isn't doing its job.
Yanking the panel from the wall with more force than necessary, Nya sets to work, the sounds of the guys sparring in the other room fading into the background. She loses herself in the work, the mechanical part of her brain kicking in as she studies the wires. Maybe they need a better power source…?
Huh, Nya thinks, in vague amusement. Maybe they can just hook Kai up to the heater, and he can be their central heating system. Then they'd save themselves a whole lot of money, and she could finally buy some decent coffee—
A solid thud echoes from the other room, followed by a panicked clamor from the guys. Nya freezes. Then she hears Lloyd's name on Kai's voice, and she tears herself from the heater, racing to the living room. It didn't sound like anyone hit the other with a sword, but you never know—
She stops in the doorway, her eyes going wide.
It's clear they had been sparring without swords, at least. But Cole, Jay, and Zane are frozen, standing in place where they stare at Kai. Kai is on the floor, his eyes wide, Lloyd crumpled across his lap, his eyes fluttering and his face gray.
Nya's heart does an odd, weird sort of skip.
Her first thought is, she knew it.
Her second thought is more along the lines of stuff she can't say in front of Kai.
Zane is the first to snap to action, kneeling by Lloyd's side as his eyes flash. Cole isn't far behind, and Nya's at his back before she remembers how to move her feet, trying to find a space next to Lloyd.
Her heart kicks up into her throat as she catches a better glimpse — he looks terrible. This close, she can see how high the color in his cheeks is, contrasting with the white of his face, and his chest keeps hitching, like he's struggling to breath past something thick. It's as if he's progressed from a mild cold to the full-blown flu in the span of five minutes, a frightened part of Nya's brain informs her, though she knows that's not the case. This is what he's been hiding, isn't it.
She swallows. Lloyd is still, and as long as she's known him, Nya's little brother isn't still.
"He dropped," Kai's saying, his eyes frightened, the expression on his face one Nya recognizes as his prelude to panic. "He just — he just dropped, I didn't even touch him—"
Cole kneels beside Kai, his hand gently brushing the hair from Lloyd's forehead to feel the skin beneath. Lloyd's eyelids flutter, his eyes focusing and unfocusing hazily as he tries to wave him off, his movements weak and halting.
"Stoppit, m'fine—"
"He's burning up," Cole murmurs, looking furious with himself. "He's definitely sick, and I didn't even notice—"
"Maybe he's just overtired?," Jay suggests, anxiously. "We've been working him super hard, so — so maybe that's it, and he just needs sleep, so he — so he—"
"He's sick," Zane announces, with a strained calm. Nya bites back a hysterical no duh. "I don't have an exact diagnosis, but his temperature is far too elevated to be healthy."
"Okay," Cole says, clearly rattled, but trying to look like he's not. "Let's get him on the couch then. Jay, run and grab some blankets, will you?" Jay scampers off, looking relieved to have something to do. Cole continues, "And Kai or Nya, if either of you've got any of that medicine left—"
"I do," Kai interrupts, his face still white, but looking slightly more composed than he had when Nya first came in. He makes no move to let go of Lloyd, lifting him carefully and setting him on the couch. "It should still be in the kitchen."
"I'll get it, then," Cole says. "Zane, can you—"
Zane nods, already at Lloyd's side, and Cole flashes him a grateful look before stepping away. Jay comes back in, blankets piled in hand, and Kai immediately snatches them from him, tucking them firmly around Lloyd. Nya is hit with a sudden memory of him doing the same for her, years ago when she was that small, and she bites her lip.
She hates sickness. She knows they're not in the same straits, but growing up, without adults or money for medicine, falling sick meant disaster. Or worse.
But things are different now, Nya reminds herself firmly, as her eyes find Lloyd. Laying on the couch, he looks a little less ashy, but he's still making that awful rattling sound in his chest, and he's breathing oddly, like he's having trouble catching his breath. He's conscious, but it's a reluctant kind of conscious, his eyes hazy as he burrows beneath the blankets, small frame trembling. Zane's eyes flick over him, his eyebrows furrowed.
"What's wrong with him?" Kai asks, an anxious edge in his voice.
Zane runs a hand over Lloyd's forehead again, and Lloyd makes a face, weakly pushing Zane away. Zane's lips purse, his eyes concerned. "It could just be the flu, like you two had," he murmurs. "He could have pushed it too hard in training, which resulted in his body giving out on him. That could be all."
Nya doesn't like the could there. "Or?" she asks.
Zane shakes his head. "I can't say for sure. I am not a doctor, I don't want to jump to conclusions. But he does have a fever, so he's certainly ill with something."
"Then let's focus on what we can do right now," Cole says as he strides back in, medicine bottle in hand. "This should help bring down the fever. I can grab antibiotics or whatever later, if we need those."
Nya steps forward, already bracing herself for the daunting task of getting Lloyd to swallow anything. It's easier than she thought, though — Lloyd is so out of it he complies almost instantly, taking a measly two sips of water before slumping back down on the couch, withdrawing into the blankets.
"Hurts," he mutters, pressing his hands against the sides of his head as his eyes squeeze shut. He gives a thick, rattling cough before curling in on himself, shivering. "Lemme sleep."
Nya tugs the edge of his blanket higher, biting her lip. She looks to Cole again, aware that she isn't the only one.
Cole's thick eyebrows draw together, his jaw working. "It doesn't sound too bad now, but worst case scenario, it goes to his lungs," he says, quietly.
Kai taps his fingers anxiously on the end of the couch. "What do we do then?"
Cole exhales heavily. "Hope it doesn't go to his lungs," he mutters.
Kai looks down at Lloyd. Jay's leg bounces nervously. That, Nya thinks, is not very reassuring at all.
"He'll be fine," Cole reassures them, as if suddenly realizing the mood he's pitched the room into. "I'm sure he just needs some rest, and he'll be over it like Kai and Nya were." He eyes them. "We all need rest. I want everyone taking care of themselves, okay? If anyone else starts feeling ill, say something."
They all nod, too subdued to book argument. Lloyd breaks into another round of coughing, and Kai presses a hand against his back, his eyes darker than usual. Cole wraps his arms around himself, his forehead stressed in worry as he blows his breath out. The leader-face he'd been wearing falters briefly, and he suddenly looks very young.
Zane lays a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The snow is picking up outside," he says, quietly. "Most shops will likely be snowed in by tonight. It would be wise for some of us to go ahead and buy whatever we may need."
Cole nods. "Yeah, yeah okay," he says. "Jay, you down?"
Jay flashes him a weak thumbs-up, scampering off to grab his coat.
"We'll hit the store," Cole continues. "Zane, you, Kai and Nya take shifts watching Lloyd, okay? Whoever's not, see if you can board up the windows. It's supposed to get cold tonight."
"Got it," Kai says, already looking like he's prepared to camp by Lloyd the entire night. Zane nods, and Nya bites her lip. She wants to stay with Lloyd, all hovering and worrying like Kai is. But the wind is already picking up outside, and she remembers the stories she'd hear about blizzards in Ninjago City, back when they'd lived further south.
"I'll get the heater fixed," she announces. A hot flare of determination settles in her chest. "I'll get that stupid thing working if it's the last thing it does."
Nya changed the chat name to Snow Sucks
Kai: zero points for creativity
Nya: i'm wrestling a heater to death back here
Nya: no time for ingenuity
Kai: remind me to sue our landlord next week
Nya: how's lloyd
Kai: sleeping
Kai: still sick
Nya: i'll have it fixed soon promise
Kai: i know
Kai: do u think we can fit ultra in here with us
Kai: i bet they're warm
Nya: they flew off when it started snowing, haven't seen them since
Kai: traitors
Kai: wish we'd ditched with them
Kai's no stranger to mistakes. He's made so many it's practically a character trait, written across his face in the scar that stretches there, in the burn marks that line his arms. Some are more dramatic than others, sure, but by this point he's gotten pretty good at realizing when he's making them.
Hindsight's still twenty-twenty though, and heck, Kai wishes he'd never let Lloyd come near him when he'd come down with that stupid flu. He wishes he'd never gotten that job at all, because then no one would've gotten sick, no one would've nearly been run down by a subway train, and his little brother wouldn't be half-conscious on their ugly couch, trying to hack a lung up.
Lloyd sniffles miserably, and Kai drags a damp cloth across his forehead again, trying to alleviate the raging heat there. Lloyd mutters something inaudible, curling away as he buries his head in his pillow.
"You okay, kid?" Kai feels stupid even asking, because no duh, he's not okay, but he needs to know what isn't right now.
"Head hurts," Lloyd murmurs, his voice hoarse, scratchy from coughing. "E'rything hurts."
Kai bites his lip, eyebrows furrowed in sympathy. "Think you can take more medicine?"
"No," Lloyd moans. "No more. Stomach hurts too."
Kai blows his cheeks out, but decides to let it go. He doesn't want Lloyd throwing up on top of everything else, and he's not sure if he can even give him any more at this point, anyways. He hasn't been keeping track of time. It's late enough that it's dark out, but that's all he's got.
He leans back against the couch, rubbing his eyes. He can hear Zane in the kitchen, quietly making some form of dinner. Nya's still in the back, working on the heater, and making some progress, if the decrease in angry swearing is anything to go by.
Kai hopes so, at least. It's not terribly cold in the apartment to him — in fact, it feels pretty toasty over here, with Lloyd and his pile of blankets. But Lloyd's got the chills in a bad way, shivering constantly, so it's probably just Kai's hot nature.
If only he could lend it out, he thinks miserably, as Lloyd tosses again, making tiny little whimpering sounds. What's the point of being the fire ninja if you can't cure your invalid brother of cold instantly?
And yeah, Kai knows the disconnect there, fire isn't gonna cure him anyways, but he just hates feeling useless.
Nya stays true to her word though, and by the time Cole and Jay stumble back in the apartment, brushing snow from their shoulders and shivering from cold, she's finally managed to coax life back into their heater.
It croaks on with an awful screeching, rattling their apartment like it's about to burst before finally seeping warm air through the vents, filtering quickly through their tiny apartment. Just in time, too, because Kai can already see snow piling up on the streets from their tiny excuse for a window.
"That should stay on for the night, at least," Nya pants, wiping sweat from her forehead with her elbow as she scrubs grease off her hands in the sink. "Can't promise a week, but it should last us a few days."
"You're a miracle-worker, Nya," Cole tells her, eyes shining in relief as he sets his snow-covered grocery bags down.
"Did you manage to pick everything up?" Zane asks, his eyes flicking to the window at the swirling snow in concern.
"Y-yeah," Jay shivers, rubbing his hands together. "We're gonna have to hit the pharmacy tomorrow, though. It's really starting to pile up out there. Roads are closing down and everything."
"Well," Nya sighs, glancing Kai's way. "It's not like we were planning on going anywhere, anyways."
"I'll say," Kai yawns, running a hand through his hair and grimacing. He's barely touched it all day, and it's lying flatter and wavier than he'd like. Hair just hasn't been a priority today, he thinks, watching as Lloyd sleeps restlessly, his breathing rasping.
"How's he been?" Cole asks, slumping wearily into the chair across from them.
Kai shrugs stiffly. "Little worse, I think," he says. "He's been coughing a lot."
"Great," Cole mutters, shutting his eyes as he drags his hands across his face, up and over where they tangle in his thick hair. "Should've picked up Tamiflu or something while I was out. All we got was Tylenol." He rambles off, muttering more about medicines.
Kai, who knows little to nothing about this kind of medical stuff, has little to no idea what Cole's going on about, but from what he can tell, there's nothing they can do now, unless someone wants to hike through the snow.
"No," Cole says, firmly. "If he gets worse, we'll make a stab for it, but right now we'll just risk ending up with another sick ninja."
Kai looks down, but he nods, dragging the cloth over Lloyd's forehead again as he twitches, before bursting into another rattling round of coughing.
Dinner is a sombre affair, everyone either too tired, too worried, or a depressing combination of the both to make much small talk. The darkened storm outside doesn't help the mood, and Lloyd's absence is painfully noticeable. Kai hadn't really considered how much of a fixture Lloyd's become in their team dynamic until now, but now that he has to, it's obvious. Nya keeps glancing back at the couch, and not even Jay seems in the mood for cracking jokes, stirring at his soup with eyes glassy from exhaustion. Cole finally ushers him off to bed, cutting any complaints short.
Kai appreciates this until Cole turns it on him, refusing to hear any arguments.
"You're exhausted," Cole tells him firmly. "Your hair doesn't have it's usual energy, that's a dead tell."
Kai makes a face, pretty sure he should be offended by that. But then Nya takes Cole's side, her eyes all concerned and worried, and Kai doesn't stand a chance. Plus, Zane promises he'll stay up with Lloyd for the first watch, and if Kai trusts anyone to keep an eye on his kid, it's him.
He does make sure to tuck the blanket around Lloyd extra tight before he goes to bed, though. Kai brushes the sweaty hair from Lloyd's face, chewing on the inside of his cheek. If it was up to him, he'd stay out here all night. He promised Lloyd he'd never abandon him, even if his nose is all runny and his coughing gross and congested. Sure, Kai knows that he isn't actually abandoning him, he's just gonna be a room over, but it's the principle of the thing.
But even Zane's starting to give him the stink eye now, so Kai sighs, smoothing the furrow in Lloyd's brow out before letting go.
"G'nite, green machine," he murmurs through a yawn. Lloyd mumbles sleepily at him.
It's a lot warmer in their bedroom with the heater working, so Kai hardly needs a blanket, but he grabs one anyways, pulling it close around himself.
Lloyd'll be fine, he tells himself, with sleepy eyes. He's probably just overreacting. Kids get sick all the time — it's a wonder Lloyd hasn't fallen ill before this. He's a tough kid, though. He'll sweat it out a bit longer, then be on the mend by tomorrow morning. By the next day or so they'll be missing the quiet of the house right now, stuck inside with the snow as it is.
He'll be just fine, Kai repeats to himself. It doesn't do much more to help than it did the first time. Rolling over, he wraps his blanket tighter around himself, until he finally dozes off into an uneasy sleep.
It doesn't last long.
What feels like moments later, Kai wakes to someone shaking his arm frantically, and a voice hissing in his ear.
He drags his eyes open blearily, and blinks. Jay is before him, white-faced and frightened.
"It's Lloyd," he says, his voice tight, and Kai is already on his feet. Jay hurries after him as he races for the living room, stammering. "Something's wrong, he's not responding, it — it sounds like he can't breathe, Kai, I don't know what to do—"
Kai stops, for a half a second, in the doorway to the living room. Cole is bent over Lloyd, trying to lift him into a sitting position. Lloyd trembles in his hold, unresponsive save the horrible, halting rasp Kai suddenly realizes is his breathing. Ice forms around his heart, and Kai stops thinking.
He crosses the room in two steps, scooping Lloyd into his arms without stopping, blanket and all. Cole flinches back in surprise, but Kai ignores him, focused on the form in his arms. Lloyd trembles against his chest — this close, Kai can see the sweat beaded on his forehead, the spreading blue tint of his lips.
No time, Kai thinks.
"I'm going to the hospital," he says, feeling oddly detached, his voice eerily calm.
Zane makes a muffled noise, and Nya turns wide eyes on him.
Cole shakes his head, as if he's already thought of that. "The hospital's clear across the city," he says, his voice agonized. "By the time we get there he'll be half-frozen. It'll just make it worse."
"Well we can't keep him here!" Jay exclaims, taking Kai's side, his eyes growing shiny. "Look at him, Cole, we can't help him! We're just a bunch of kids, we're not doctors—"
Jay cuts off, pressing his hands over his mouth and exhaling tightly into them. "Just — do something," he whispers.
Zane twitches, looking as if he's running the options over in his head. Kai doesn't have time for this. Lloyd is too limp in his hold, and his breathing sounds worse by the second.
"Then I'll run," he bites out. "He can't stay here."
"Kai—"
"There must be something closer, someone else that can help—"
Nya suddenly goes rigid, her eyes wide. "Yes," she breathes. "We can take him to Sensei's friend. She's just a few blocks down, we can get him there way faster."
The others turn to her in unison, radiating skepticism.
"That's a bigger risk than the hospital," Cole says, slowly. "Nya, we don't even know who she is, much less if she can help."
"She knows about him!" Nya argues, her eyes shining. "She knew all about how to help Sensei after the Devourer, and she knew how to cure me! I bet she knows how to deal with elemental masters, too!"
Cole looks to Zane in desperation, and Zane bites his lip. "We've never met her," he says, slowly. "I do not know — I don't know if it's better to risk the distance, and be sure of treatment, than to turn to a source we are not sure can help."
Nya stomps her foot, her fists balling up, desperation written in the stress of her shoulders. She turns to Kai, her eyes fierce and pleading.
"Kai, please," she says, her voice wavering. "I know she can help."
Kai stares at her, his heart pounding as his head spins. Lloyd trembles in his arms again, wracked by another round of shaking, but Kai can feel how weak it is. He doesn't have much left in him.
Kai swallows, closing his eyes for a beat, then sets his jaw.
He won't trust Lloyd on chance. But he can trust Lloyd on Nya.
"If you're leading the way, you better run fast," he says.
Nya's expression crumples in relief, and she dashes at her eyes, nodding. "It's down the south street," she says, already bolting for the door. "Come on, let's go!"
Cole steps forward, his eyes wide. "Kai—"
Kai turns on him, shaking his head in what he hopes will suffice as an apology.
"I'm going. Come or don't." And he's sprinting away before the others can get a word in edgewise.
"Kai, wait — at least take a jacket!"
He's vaguely aware of the others shouting at him as he kicks open the door, but Kai ignores them, his mind only for Lloyd and following Nya ahead. She throws the door open with force, and they both flinch back at the howl of freezing air. Lloyd makes a quiet noise, and Kai blinks snow from his eyes, gritting his teeth and following Nya into the storm.
He presses Lloyd tighter against his chest, as if to fold himself around as shelter from the cold. "Hold on, demon spawn," he mutters. "You better not quit being stubborn now."
Lloyd gives an incoherent mumble, coughing weakly. Kai's heart does a somersault as he takes one, two, three aborted gasps before he manages to breathe again. Kai almost feels like struggling to breathe himself, fear threatening to suffocate him. He stumbles briefly in the snow piling the streets, briefly thanking that he remembered to slip his boots on. His arms aren't as lucky, clad in only his sleeping shirt, the freezing air turning them a painful red.
Nya turns to make sure he's following, looking little better — her arms are clutched tightly around herself, and she's already shivering violently, her hands rubbing at her bare arms.
"I-it's j-just ah-head," she stutters out, her face white with cold. "J-just—"
Footsteps crunch in the snow behind him, and suddenly Cole is there, dropping a heavy winter coat over her shoulders. Jay's just behind him, his cheeks red from the wind as he pulls a hat on her, and Kai feels something warm drape over his own shoulders — he realizes with a jolt that it's Zane, his eyes glowing a bright blue in the storm.
"If we're going, we go together," Cole snaps. "But don't freeze yourselves making a charge, idiots."
Kai nods shakily, and Nya sniffs. Cole inclines his head at her. "Lead the way?"
Nya takes a quick breath, then gives a sharp nod. "It's j-just another block," she says, looking slightly less frozen. "Come on!"
They set off, fighting through the heavy winds and swirling snow. The familiar buildings of Ninjago City are reduced to dark outlines around them, obscured by the storm, and the city looks unfamiliar, white and eerie. Lloyd makes a strangled wheezing sound, convulsing in Kai's hold, and he's yanked from his thoughts, his eyes on his brother in terror.
"Nya, we need to be there now!" he calls, tightly.
"Here!" she cries, slipping across the snow as she changes direction. "It's here!"
Zane places a hand on his back to steady him as they follow, leaving the street for the small, barely-visible building. Kai is just able to pick out the dim glow of the sign hanging above, rattling where it's blown about in the storm. He manages to make out a cup-like shape of purple before Nya's banging on the door, practically rattling it from its hinges.
"Ms. Mystaké!" she yells. "Ms. Mystaké it's me, Nya! I came with Sensei Wu earlier, I need your help!"
No response comes from the door, nor the darkened shop. Kai's fingernails bite into his hand where it fists in the blanket wrapped around Lloyd.
Nya's jaw sets. She steps forward again, raising her fist. "MS. MYSTAK—"
The door swings open, and Nya nearly trips backward trying not to hit the figure that steps out in the face.
They all stare, wide-eyed.
And older woman stands in the doorway, silhouetted by the dim lights that burn inside. She looks unassuming, her gray hair twisted into a neat bun, old sweaters layered in a way that reminds Kai of the grandmothers back in Ignacia. Her face is wrinkled, but her eyes are sharp — the minute they land on him, Kai understands what Nya meant, about her being weird. He's hit by a sudden burst of flight or fight instinct so powerful, he almost bolts. He shakes his head, steadying himself and ignoring the crawling sensation that creeps up his spine.
Her eyebrows furrow into a deep frown as she looks at them, her eyes cold. Kai swallows, then steps to the front of their group.
"W-we're Sensei Wu's students," he manages to rasp out. "We — we need your help."
The woman simply stares at him, her eyes shrewd and calculating. Kai inhales shakily, clutching Lloyd tighter.
He's well aware how they must look. A bunch of white-faced, wide-eyed kids, shivering in the snow, Nya with her nose and cheeks cherry red, her hair tangled and Cole's coat half-slung over her shoulders. Jay huddled up against Cole, shifting from leg to leg, his eyes wide in fright. Zane's frozen expression where he stands beside Nya, her hand squeezing his arm tight. Kai in only his pajama t-shirt and flannel pants rolled up, Lloyd bundled in their old blanket where he shivers weakly in his hold.
Lloyd's head lolls against his chest, and Kai fights back tears.
"Please," he croaks. "He's sick. He's Sensei Wu's nephew."
The old woman tilts her head, almost as if she's searching for something, sizing them up. Something in her eyes finally shifts, though, and suddenly her stare is less harsh. She opens the door wider, her gaze finding Lloyd, and her eyes soften.
"You're as presumptuous as your teacher is," she sighs, her voice reedy and creaking. "But correct. I can help you."
Cole makes shaky sound, and Kai's hit by a wave of relief so strong, he almost starts crying on the spot.
"Well don't just stand around then, you'll freeze him," she suddenly barks at them. "You want me to help, right? Get inside, the lot of you!"
As if unfrozen from a trance, they all stumble inside, and she shuts the door tightly behind them. Kai stands awkwardly in place for moment, his eyes wide as he looks around the shop, Nya clutching his arm as she stays close. It's a tea shop, obviously — he can tell from the smell alone. The shop looks old, but it's warm, and it feels a little like Sensei Wu's monastery did.
Lloyd coughs weakly, and Kai shakes himself. The shop isn't what's important right now.
"What's he sick with, then," the old woman inquires as if asking for the weather, rummaging through drawers.
Kai looks at Cole, who looks at Zane. Zane clears his throat, stepping forward, the first of them to move.
"I believe it is pneumonia," he informs her. "We thought it was the flu, but it sounds like an infection in his lungs, now."
The woman pauses, listening briefly as Lloyd's breath rattles through his chest, wheezing. She nods, before returning to searching through cabinets. "Smart one, you," she clicks.
Zane looks surprised. The woman ignores him, shouldering past as she grabs one of the ornate tea pots from the shelf. Kai's eyebrows shoot up. He hopes her idea of "helping" isn't just tea.
"Tea can do a lot more than you can," she chides, and Kai's mouth falls open. He's positive he didn't say that aloud. Positive.
He doesn't get to puzzle over that anymore, because she's suddenly trying to grab Lloyd from his arms. Kai reacts violently, snatching Lloyd back as his teeth bare. No way is he letting him go, not to her—
The woman gives him a sharp look. "You want me to help him, you have to let me," she snaps. Kai meets her glare with his own, before faltering, her eyes pinning him in place. He reluctantly lets go of Lloyd, and she sweeps him into her own arms, her grasp alarmingly strong. With measured steps she takes him to the back on her shop, clearing a space on her couch before laying him down with a surprising gentleness.
"You said it's in his lungs?" she rasps. Zane pauses, then nods. She tilts her head, considering.
"Hmph. Less easy, but fixable," she mutters.
"We considered taking him to a hospital," Zane offers, sounding unsure. "But—"
"You were wise not to," she says lightly, as if the concept is amusing. "They'd turn their heads inside out, trying to figure him out."
Zane blinks rapidly, and Kai's eyebrows furrow in confusion.
"What does that mean?" he bites out, before he can stop himself.
The woman merely smiles at him, all teeth. "Young Garmadon isn't exactly human, is he?" Before any of them can react to that, she leans over Lloyd, placing a hand on his forehead, her eyes searching.
"So this is who you choose, golden one," she murmurs to herself, her voice so quiet Kai almost misses it. Something in her eyes flashes, almost like hunger. Kai feels the sudden need to step in front of Lloyd protectively, but his feet are rooted to the floor.
Quickly as the hunger appears, it vanishes, and her hand moves to brush sweaty golden strands from Lloyd's forehead. Her eyes close briefly. "Your cruelty would rival your parent's," she whispers. Then she shakes her head, standing.
"I am, in fact, going to make tea," she says, eyeing Kai shrewdly. "But it's the kind of tea that will help, if you all stop hovering like aggressive ducklings."
Nya nods, the only one whose expression isn't currently contorting at being called a duckling. "Is there anything we can do to help, Ms. Mystaké?"
The woman smiles at her, the genuine expression jarring to see on her face. "You just sit tight, dear," she says, her voice suddenly kind. "I know what he means to you. I'll fix him up, just you see."
That seems to be the end of it. Kai wants to argue more, but smell of tea wafting through the shop is sapping at his willpower, and against his will, he finds himself slumped over on a bench next to Cole, watching the old woman as she works.
It occurs to Kai that Mystaké, as Nya's been calling her, is probably her name.
Weird seems an understatement, now.
Despite Kai's best efforts, time blurs after that, the quiet sounds of Mystaké rattling around already having claimed Jay for sleep. The events of the day are starting to crash down on Kai, the built-up stress and worry, and it's hitting him like a tidal wave of utter exhaustion. He nearly falls asleep several times just leaning against Cole's shoulder, and he only doesn't because there's suddenly a hand shaking his shoulder. His eyes snap open, and he immediately flinches back. The old lady — Mystaké — is in his face, her eyes tired but warm.
"I've taken care of the infection," she says, airily. "You're welcome. He's sleeping it off now, but I gather he'll want someone he knows with him, when he wakes up."
Kai blinks at this, then her words sink in. He quickly jumps to his feet, leaving Cole dozing on Zane's shoulder, Jay burrowed into his other side. He takes a brief moment to check on Nya where she's curled up on one of the armchairs, a knitted blanket draped over her shoulders. It doesn't look like any of theirs, and Kai reevaluates the old woman, his eyes searching.
He lets go of his musing as soon as they reach Lloyd, dashing to his side where he's curled up on her couch. Kai lays a hand on his forehead, his heart in his throat.
The heat's still there, but it's greatly diminished, as if the fever's broken. His color is less ashy, and the blue tint has left his lips, his breathing quiet and steady.
Kai's head drops, his forehead resting just over Lloyd's as he fights back the swell of emotion.
"Thank you," he rasps out, relief choking his voice. "Thank you."
Mystaké gives a quiet laugh. "You have good hearts," she remarks, an odd note in her voice. "I've enjoyed helping those who deserve it, for once."
Then the softness in her expression is gone, her voice dry again. "You may stay here tonight," she clips. "I doubt any of you would make it home in this storm, fledging humans that you are."
With that, she sweeps from the room, leaving Kai to stare after her. He shakes his head, too tired to puzzle over her cryptic statements any longer. Instead, he clambers onto the couch next to Lloyd, gently pulling his head onto his lap, his fingers carding through the stiff blond hair. He's still too-warm, but he isn't making that awful wheezing sound when he breathes now, and the lack of the awful blue tint alone is enough to reassure him.
Cushioned by relief, Kai finds himself finally drifting off into something peaceful, sleep claiming him as he watches the steady rise and fall of Lloyd's chest, listening to the gentle rasp of breathing.
He's awakened in the morning by the sleepy warmth of sunlight, and the quiet whistle of a teapot. There's a rustling at his side, and Kai drags his eyes open, blinking until they focus.
Lloyd is stirring awake in his lap, bit by bit. He finally lifts his head, frowning at his surroundings until he finds Kai, blinking owlishly at him. Kai gives him a weak smile.
"G'morning, sleeping beauty," he croaks out, his voice hoarse from sleep. "How you feelin'?"
Lloyd stares at him a bit longer, then yawns, pulling his blanket back up to his neck and nuzzling against Kai. "I'm starving," he mutters, drowsily. "You should make me pancakes."
Kai breathes out a silent laugh. He then pulls Lloyd closer to him, tips his head back on the couch, and continues to laugh until his eyes are streaming.
Nya changed the chat name to Sensei Is Never Allowed to Leave Town Again
Kai: agreed
Kai: now go back to sleep
Nya: make room on the couch then
Nya: it looks cozier over there