Kai had never known a day so disappointing. So infuriating. So disgraceful. It had came unexpectedly on a day that should've been brilliant like the days prior. But clearly his parents had had other plans.

Unlike his sister, he was five (and an extremely vital half) at the time. He'd learned how to walk over two years ago, and his grasp on audible words was phenomenal for someone of his age. Sure, he was energetic and young and being in kindergarten for a year, delighted at just about everything that came his way (providing that something always went how he wanted it to).

Nya was only three, meaning she obviously couldn't do much. She could stand and walk for a good twenty minutes, say important things like when she's hungry, when she needs something, etc. But for anything else, she wasn't exactly useful. Being at her young age, her mood could change in a matter of seconds.

That had never helped Kai.

But that never stopped him, either. Especially when tragic events like disappearing parental figures occur.

He still remembers that day down to the very last second.

Mom had made him an extra-special lunch that day, packing a homemade muffin, a special biscuit and an extra-large tumbler of apple juice. He'd gotten all dressed up, too. His 'fancy' button-down shirt and pants had actually been ironed, making him look somewhat close to (and he would've looked genuine had it not been for his unruly hair, as usual) some tiny businessman. The most significant part of it all was his father's leather necklace than he'd been told to wear. He still has it to the present day.

The reason for it all is that there were famous photographers who wanted to take pictures of the kindergarten to put into advertisements for their program. As if that wasn't enough, Kai, being the fabulous child he was (and still is) was going to be being interviewed for it. And he was, but that wasn't why the day had been so terrible.

When lunchtime had came upon him, after he'd eaten the essentials, (sandwiches and fruit slices: he was still five) he found himself too uneasy to eat the heavenly items his mother had made. It was unfortunate, too, because he'd felt like some form of holy spirit when she'd packed it into his tattered bag. It was a sudden feeling of sadness, and he'd broken down in tears on the spot at the lunch table.

The teacher had hurried over to him hastily, and after being interrogated as to why he was so upset, he'd found no answer but bashfully croaking out the phrase 'my sister.' He hadn't understood why until he returned home that day. It was a second brotherly sense he was utterly unfamiliar with. But he hadn't known that yet, of course.

Ms. White just nodded along and assured him that she was fine, that he was going to be fine, and that his parents had made a call saying how proud they are of him. It was only the last part that had been true. She'd hugged him tight and after ten minutes, he was back to having fun with the other kids.

The rest of the day was all smooth sailing up until when he got home. His kindergarten wasn't far, only two houses down and across the street, and Kai had demanded in his prideful child nature that he walk on his own. Whether he realised it or not (which it was realistically the latter), his parents had watched him go the entire way with Nya squirming in their strong arms despite her exclamations of 'do it myself!' And 'put me down!'

When he walked through the door, put his bag onto the counter and made his way further into the house and into the lounge to see Nya in hysterical tears, however, his bright mood died instantly. It had only went downhill from there.

After calming her down, which wasn't an easy feat, she'd told him the exact phrase to the dot.

'Mom and dad left us.'

At first he was angry, telling her that it wasn't a funny joke and she shouldn't say things like that. But when she'd said it again, her bright eyes wide, tiny frame trembling, face stained rotten, he'd started to believe her. Believe that maybe, this nightmare was true.

They were crumpled and still crying several hours late into the night. It was then, at exactly 00:23AM that Kai had realised he had to be responsible from now on. He had to look after the forge, the house, himself, and most importantly, Nya.

It had admittedly started off weak. Sending Nya to bed and then himself was a task in itself. Then in the morning, realising he's not going to be able to go to school anymore. Then when Nya plonked into the kitchen and sadly murmured her need for food.

The heavenly goods of yesterday had never came so useful. They'd rationed the tumbler and paper bag contents for as long as they'd last. Then it was a simple predicament of 'just wait a little big longer'.

The charade was kept up until the raven-haired girl approached him and quite literally begged for food. The thought had hit him then; that he wasn't alone in the sleepless nights and starving days. His little sister, who knew no better than fairytales, was being dragged through the same hell as him and was left scarred way worse.

She would've had to be there when they left. She would've had to watch their parents walk out of the front door for the final time. She would've had to sit there, alone on the wooden, dusty floor of the lounge and wait for Kai to return home only to make him miserable by her own words. He hadn't even given her any credit for it, and now, she was undeniably wearing thin.

She was scrawny. Nya had never been scrawny before: she was a big and strong kid for her age. Her hair was disheveled and sloppy and knotted, dirty and unattended to just like the rest of her being. And he'd ignored it, or, been so occupied he failed to see the problem with his own blood. His own, vulnerable little sister.

Without a word, Kai had packed a bag for each of them, grasped Nya's hand in a vice-like grip and walked them to the children's foster house a few blocks away. They hadn't said anything, the only thought in Kai's mind being a reminder that he failed to look out for his sister, a reminder that he was utterly helpless.

Only one glance was spared to his devastated remaining family member at the time, taking in her filthy, crumpled appearance. She was wearing their father's old hoodie with her auburn kimono and khaki shorts. But she looked wrong. And it all came down to the look on her face, the empty and despaired look nobody should ever wear, especially at three years old.

For the first time in his life, Kai experienced guilt.

And it burned.

Burned when he rang the service bell on the check-in desk and sat down with Nya in the upholstered chairs. Burned when a sympathetic woman hurried them into a nice, warm room, fed them — like he failed to do — and softly asked them what had happened. Burned when he choked out their names, ages and background only to be met with a shocked, disgusted gape. Burned when he had to listen to his sister choke on sobs as she tried to explain how it all had happened.

Kai had listened to every word, hung onto ever sentence and remembered it all.

The woman — her name turned out to be Lauren, Lauren Mills — had given them a room, ushered Nya to bed somehow with her mystical sorcery over children, and pulled Kai aside. She must've noticed how distant he'd been.

"You did amazing coming here, Kai." She had said to him softly, warm hand resting on his shoulder, "I just want you to know that. You're an amazing boy, and your sister thinks that, too. She loves you, and I know it's going to be hard, but things will get easier. If you need anything, come see me."

He'd walked away after that. Lauren never let him to suffer, though. Neither did Nya. They always did as much as they could to make him happy. He did the same, and life, for a while, seemed to get a little better from the hellhole it once seemed to be.

As they got older, they were moved from foster home to foster home. Some were brilliant, some were even better. All the people were so nice, so generous, so… patient. Some were so rich it hurt their heads to count the amount of money they had, and some were just normal, regular people. Kai and Nya didn't mind either.

Lauren checked in as many times as she could, either stopping by or calling when she wasn't busy with work or other kids. She made sure to stress to the foster parents every single time Kai and Nya's situation and the sensitivity of it, how they needed to be patient and understanding with them. She was like some form of living guardian angel on planet Earth, walking among other people.

And. She. Never. Stopped.

A few years after their parents had left, Nya was indirectly reminded of just about how lonely they were because of one of her health classes on relationships. It had made her sad again, and no matter how much Kai reassured her they were doing better, she was always in the same funk at the end of the day.

That's when Ms Mills had suggested it. Sport. Heavenly, brilliant, oh wonderful sport. She'd recommended getting into something to take their minds off their situation, and signed them up for a soccer team the next day. Nya was the only girl on the team, but it never bothered her, and Kai was quick to get stuck into it to show his sister who's boss. It had became a contest.

Even when they were moved to their first foster home and were forced to stop playing, sport was an active part of their lives. Nya took gymnastics while Kai took boxing. Nya ran track while Kai played football. Nya took ballet while Kai took track and beat (some) of her records. The yin-yang nature never stopped there. In school, Nya chose extra math while Kai chose extra history. Nya chose robotics while Kai chose physical education, and so on and so forth.

Life seemed to making itself into some sort of warped normal afterwards, nice and fun and safe. Their relationship (or lack of one) didn't make them stick out as much anymore, neither did it affect them as much. It was getting better.

Well, it lasted as long as it could do, he muses spitefully, blood rushing in his ears. He hadn't expected this. Not this. Anything but this. This couldn't be happening- someone had to be joking, here… please-

Even though their parents' forge had been demolished ages ago and the symbol along with it, it'd take milliseconds for the duo to recognise the symbol. The equipment. The trademark weaponry and armour. Even the layout of the building, it all matched. Only a fool could miss it.

Lauren hadn't seen the issue yet. She held a clipboard in her forearm, an encouraging expression on her face as she knocks on the front door. She steps back from the door hastily, fixing her hair and brushing off her clothes.

She doesn't know.

First Master- Kai's gonna punch someone, preferably his parents when they step out of that stupid door.

"Hi! Hi! Hello! I'm Lauren Mills, from the Western Ninjago Foster System. I'm here with the kids, come on out kiddos!" She says cheerily, linking Nya's arm and dragging her out of the shadows, Kai in tow.

All he can do is stare, just stare- don't try to hit anyone, Kai, don't- wait. do his parents seem oblivious to him? Why do they not recognise them? They should — calm down, Kai, calm down, just talk — because Kai's face was on that magazine program for months.

"Oh! Oh, just- just a minute!" His mother- Maya replies, closing the door nicely before her shouts are heard from the other side of the door. 'Ray! Get over here! They're finally here!' Can be heard vaguely in a muffled manner from the other end.

"Hello, hello, come in, come in. It's so nice to see you! Let Ray get your bags, he won't mind." She says pointedly, beckoning the company in. Said man huffs tiredly, grumbling in a very similar to how Kai would before taking their bags nonetheless. He still seemed happy to see them, though… even if he didn't exactly know who exactly 'they' were.

Lauren is given the offer to sit in the armchair, which she accepts, and despite the many attempts to get them to sit and even though they know it's rude not to, the Smith siblings remain standing, staring a mix of emotions towards their once parents.

"Alright, so would you two like to introduce yourselves?" Lauren says pointedly, raising her eyebrows in an encouraging manner. She taps her pen against her clipboard, already disappointed in their manners at their first introduction.

For a minute, nobody utters a word. Nya shuffles her feet, Kai balls his fists, Ray and Maya wait. Then, his sister, his saviour yet again, sighs and steps forward, ponytail bouncing angrily. "I'm Nya Smith, my brother," she gestures to him timidly. "Kai Smith. We like sports, especially soccer, and…yeah…"

For a moment, the adults seemed flabbergasted. Maya takes a double-shot while Ray simply stares, hands limp in his lap as his speechless mouth speaks words that he never punctuated.

"Hold on, Smith? Are you sure-"

"Yes!" Kai explodes, growling as he gestures angrily with his fists. "We are sure! We're sure that you abandoned us ten years ago! But maybe you don't know that, because you were too busy being snakes!" He yells, charging into the centre of the room, earning himself four three horrified faces and one uncomfortable one.

"Snakes? Abandoned you?" His father demands, rising to face his son head-on. For a moment, Kai shrinks, then remembers this is the same man who walked out on both he and Nya and ruined their lives.

"Yes! Do you not remember!?" He demands, angrily swiping at traitorously forming tears. Not now, not here, not ever- because this shouldn't be happening-

"Son, I don't know what you've been told, but we didn't abandon you and your sister." He says, extending a hand out while Maya covers her mouth in disbelief, teary-eyed.

"Stop lying!" Nya interrupts furiously, stepping forward to brush shoulders with her brother. Kai's never welcomed the warmth of her leather jacket more. "You and mom packed your bags, left me at home and Kai at school. You told me you were never coming back, that you won't talk to us ever again and that you weren't sorry. Then you gave me this." She reaches into her pocket and whips out mom's brooch, the one she only ever reveals in grief.

"Nya-" Ray tried, but Kai lost it. Those dirty liars. Before he knew what he was doing, the back of his hand was slapping his father's cheek, sending him to the floor and covering his left cheek in shock. People gasped, so did Nya, who grabbed his arm, but he found himself not caring.

His father deserves it. So does his mother.

After a beat of thick silence, he spoke again. "Don't you dare lie to us. If you're going to abandon us, then at least have the decency to admit to it." He then turns on his heel and storms out of the house, slamming the door behind him and crumbling against the wall. The worried shouts of Lauren and his sister settle onto deaf ears.

The world is so small, apparently, yet the life of Kai Smith — reverted back to its hellhole days — is so complex it seems lightyears large.

Once again, he's back where he started.

Utterly helpless.

Oh my days. DRAMA.

This is a movie-verse AU, so that's why things are different. I'm mixing the show and the movie, because the movie was… not the best.

BY THE WAY… lightyears are a measure of distance of how far light can travel so… :)

Ray isn't trying to deny it, he was trying to explain that he didn't abandon them, he saved them (a wild take because Ray's a drama king).

Lauren will NOT be receiving any sort of character development or significant mentions. :/

I'll be making these lil' clips of all of them, and obviously Nya's will be on the same topic as Kai's, so… enjoy? (please?)