Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One. Two. Three. Kai grunted and kicked the wooden dummy.

Four. Five. Six. He punched with all his force.

Seven. Eight. Nine. Kai’s whole body was red and sweaty, he had been out there for hours at this point.

Ten. He hit his head against the hard wood. He was tired. Sick. Sunburnt to hell and back. He wanted to go inside.

But he couldn’t.

To go inside would be admitting defeat. He didn’t want to talk to anyone about anything. If he went inside they’ll ask him about it.

‘It’ in this case, being the giant dark black eye and a more-than-likely broken nose.

He had gotten into a bar fight, some no-gooders were threatening people, and Kai had to step in. Well. That’s what he’s planning to tell the others.

The Slither Pit, or Laughy’s underground fight club imitation of it, was where Kai spent his drunk and fucked up nights. He started going after Zane died fighting the overlord. Continued going after Chen’s Island. Stopped for a few months to take care of Lloyd. And started again after failing to protect him.

This night was his first in a while. It had been a month since Lloyd got possessed by Morro. The kid had finally started talking about it, and though it made Kai unbearably upset to think about, he didn’t want to listen. Kai didn’t want to hear about how someone he was in charge of got fucked over because Kai was too weak to help.

He knew it was selfish. That he is selfish. He hated all his thinking, all his thoughts, but he couldn’t stop.

Kai was so warm. He didn’t realize how dissociated he was until he snapped out of the episode. Everything hurt. He was panting.

Does anyone even know he’s out there? It’s the middle of the night! No way anyone would still be awake. Why would they care even if they were awake? Why would they care at all?

It was at this moment Kai collapsed to the ground.

The teen didn’t understand what just happened until he felt the pain. His nose was bleeding violently and he couldn’t open his right eye. His body and head burned. It felt like he split his skull open. Kai couldn’t move and that scared him. He didn’t know what to do.

Scream for help? Kai was NOT going to scream for help. Even the thought made him feel pathetic.

Cry and hope someone hears? Even worse.

Wait until morning and hope someone notices? Probably the best(??) option.

His entire body was BURNING. Not in Kai’s normal ‘Fyahh’ way. In an ‘I think I’m going to die’ way. Kai wouldn’t admit it, but he was terrified. He felt his limbs spasming. Was he going to die here? Alone? Was Kai actually going to die?

When Kai imagined passing, it was around Nya. Or Lloyd. Or Wu or Zane or just SOMEONE! He just wanted someone- ANYONE to be with him.

He couldn’t think through the pain anymore.

Kai decided to scream for help.

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Kai stumbled into the monastery, or at least tried to. Before his foot could land inside, someone ran up to him and grabbed the neck of his shirt.

Kai was about to give a smile to the Ninja of Lightning, but before he could do that, Jay started screaming. Loud.

“Holy SHIT Kai! Do you know how worried we were? What the HELL happened to you? What the ACTUAL FUCK, Kai?”

Kai flinched. Yeah, he was a little bruised, but nothing that won't heal in a week.

As quickly as the yelling started, it stopped. Jay was dragged away. Kai was about to thank FSM when a woman's voice cut through the static in his brain.

Nya.

“Kai. You are going to TELL US what happened, how you got a black eye, and why you didn’t come home until 2AM.”

God. He didn’t want to deal with this. He needs sleep. So, Kai did the most sensible thing that his drunk, probably concussed brain could think of.

Back away, slam the door a bit too hard, and start beating up a dummy.

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“Owiee..” Was the first word Kai spoke.

Kai, to his credit, knew where he was. Lying on his bed, inside his room, at his home. Even though the multiple spots of weight on his resting place were distracting, the teen could and would fall back asleep if he wasn't interrupted.

To Kai’s dismay, he was indeed interrupted.

“Kai?” A voice squeaked out from the right side of his bed. The voice said a few things more, but the Ninja of Fire was not listening.

Kai was still very drunk and a deep pain in his skull flared up every time he heard a noise. Still, he managed to open his non-black eye.

And then he immediately closed it.

In the short time Kai could see his room, the eyes of the ninja stared back at him.

Nya, Lloyd, Jay, and Cole stood to the right of him, while Wu, Pixal, and Zane stood to his left.

He was so overwhelmed already. Kai really didn’t want to face his family. He completely forgot his ‘cover story’, and he was NOT going to tell them he got into another fight.

But before Kai could apologize or yell at them to get out of his room, the tears fell.

So many tears.

All the pain, embarrassment, shame, and anger he felt clawed out of him like a rabid dog.

Kai felt disgusting. Kai does not cry. He comforts people. Kai fights the people who hurt his family. He helps people. They shouldn’t have to help him. Kai doesn’t want help.

At some point, Kai started dry-heaving. Thankfully, someone put down a trashcan to the right side of him, pulled his body out of his warm sheets, and rubbed circles on his spine as he puked and sobbed. The cold metal fingers on his back, which he believed belonged to Pixal, helped ground him a bit.

Kai was so gross, so pathetic.

He didn’t know if the rest of his family was still in his small, cramped room. Kai really, really hoped they weren’t.

Someone put a cold, wet rag on the back of his neck. Kai choked out a “thanks” and kept crying.

After a while, Kai’s sobbing settled down some. Through hiccups and coughing (which may or may not have made him vomit again), Kai managed to speak. To which he knew all the ninjas heard.

“I neeed a hug- m so fuckin sorrie I didnt mean to I’mm so sorrry”

With his demands in order, Kai started to full-out bawl again.