Chapter Text
"Absolutely the fuck not."
The words rang loud in the silence of the dojo as Lloyd sat with his arms crossed, glaring at his uncle with enough rage that it was a wonder the man hadn't caught on fire. It was honestly a little intimidating to the rest of them, making them lean away for fear of that ire somehow being turned onto them.
Wu bowed his head, eyes closed. "I'm afraid my words ring true, nephew." he said gently, looking at them all. "We have long since known that Lloyd is the Master of Life, though his official title is the Master of Connections." He walked along the row of them, head held high, staff tapping with each step. "As such, he is the heart of this team-"
"Not. A team anymore." Lloyd bit out, head in his hands.
"... Of the elements, then." Wu corrected. "What this means is Lloyd is the key to your powers." He came to a stop, pointing his staff in Lloyd's direction. "Your bond with him affects the strength of your powers. Since those bonds have significantly declined in the last few years..."
"So have our powers." Cole finished quietly, staring at his knees.
Wu nodded. "Yes."
Lloyd suddenly laughed. It was short, sharp and most definitely not a pretty sound. It was bitter, almost angry. The blonde stood up, forcing a smile as he clapped his hands together.
"So then! That's it." He shrugged. "We know the problem—me, apparently. Because apparently every problem that arises within this group is my fault—and the problem... can't be fixed!" His eyes were just that slightest bit too wide as he turned to stare at the others. "So... Go home."
They stared at him for a long moment, too stunned to speak at the sheer audacity. A fact Jay proceeded to verbalised in the form of rapid-fire sputtering as he shot up from his seat, eyes wide and filled with a sense of panic.
"WHAT?!" he finally said, is hands tangled in his hair and tugging anxiously. "What do you MEAN 'go home'?! You can't do that!"
Lloyd pretended to think. "Actually, because it's my monastery, I think I can. Leave."
"Lloyd!" Nya cried, also getting to her feet. "Our powers are fading! That's not just something we can ignore! What if something happens and we need to defend ourselves, or protect someone?"
The blonde raised an eyebrow and held up a hand, counting off on his fingers. "You haven't used your powers in years, so I doubt you'll need them anytime soon." He lowered a finger. "The only city that's ever been attacked is Ninjago and in case you haven't realised; it's been left alone ever since we stopped my father." He dropped another finger. "And you ignored me for years so I think we can ignore this-"
"Oh, that is not fair!" Nya snapped, eyes looking suspiciously wet. But before she could yell again, Zane stepped forward while placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Lloyd, please. I understand you may dislike this but-"
"No, I don't think you do, Zane." Lloyd said sharply. "You only came here because you wanted to feel better about yourselves. You didn't come to apologise, or to fix things. Hell, I'd bet the real reason you came here was because of your powers!"
Cole raised his hands placatingly. "Lloyd, that's not true-"
"I'm not done talking!" Lloyd snapped, making the ravenette shut his mouth with a clack. "You've uprooted my life and caused me and my students distress, you've committed more property damage in the TWO DAYS you've all been here than my students have in the years they've been here, and now because you find out your powers have weakened, you suddenly want to be all buddy-buddy again?! FUCK YOU!"
Silence stretched between the group, with Wu looking between them with worried eyes... before they trailed over to Kai. The brunette hadn't said a word the entire time, letting Wu explain and not rising to the argument and Lloyd's comments. Even now he was quiet, chin sat on his folded hands as he stared at the floor in deep thought.
When no one moved to say anything, Lloyd turned and walked away with his braid swinging behind him. Cole reached out as if hoping to stop him but Zane placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head sadly. As the door to the dojo slammed shut, they all winced. Kai looked up at the sound, brow furrowing as he stared in the direction Lloyd had left. Then he got to his feet and followed after him.
Zane reached out again. "Kai, I don't think-"
"I need to talk to him." The brunette said firmly, not looking back. Within seconds he was stepping out the door and out of sight. Wu and the other's watched, hearts heavy with anxiety.
In the hallway, Lloyd stormed ahead with a face drawn tight with anger, irritation rising as he heard footsteps behind him. And judging by the scent of firewood, it was Kai. The very last person he wanted to talk to. He didn't care what Kai had to say, nor what he thought about all this. He just wanted them gone! He couldn't do this! He couldn't act like all the years that had passed hadn't happened. Like they didn't lose contact, like he and Kai hadn't separated, like everything was okay now-
"Stop following me!" Lloyd snapped, fangs bared as he whirled around to glare at the brunette who had actually managed to catch up. Kai immediately stopped, blinking at the aggression but not backing off.
"I want to talk."
"Well, I don't." Lloyd spat, watching as Kai frowned deeply.
The brunette slowly blinked, as if calming himself before looking at Lloyd with a firm gaze. "Well, I'm going to talk anyway." He said unwaveringly.
Lloyd rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he turned away, crossing his arms. "Of course you are. Selfish prick..."
Kai watched the blonde take a few steps before closing his eyes and sighing. "Yeah, I am selfish." Lloyd froze. "And so are you." Lloyd whirled around.
"WHAT?!" His eyes flashed red, pupils shrinking. "I'm selfish for not wanting to play pretend like everything's okay?!"
"No." Kai said softly. "No, you are completely in the right for being upset about this." Lloyd faltered slightly, confused, and Kai pushed on. "When I refer to you being selfish, I'm talking about back then." he watched the blonde's brow furrow in even more confusion. So he elaborated "I kept trying to talk to you... And you never listened."
"Oh, for the love of-" Lloyd ran his hands through his hair, laughing in disbelief. "I can't believe you're- You are seriously going to hold the fact I chose to take care of Sora and Arin over my head?!"
Kai's eyes widened, looking genuinely pained. "What, no- Lloyd! That wasn't why! I was upset you didn't listen! And that you didn't talk to me!"
"I didn't need your permission!"
"No, you didn't!" Kai said sharply, his voice raising before he reeled it back in as Lloyd recoiled on surprise. "Lloyd... I was upset because I didn't think you... we were ready. We were both still kids. And I... I get it, okay? I wasn't against you taking them in." Kai smiled sadly. "If anything... I was proud, in a weird way. It's just like you, to do what you think is right for the people who need it." His smile fell, looking up to look Lloyd in the eyes. "But I was your partner. Those type of decisions affect us both, and you acted like my feelings didn't even matter."
Lloyd stared at him, eyes filled with a mix of emotions and lips parted slightly. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He couldn't find the words. So he looked for the anger instead.
"How did we get onto why I was in the wrong when that wasn't what we were even talking about? Why am I suddenly the bad guy?!" He gestured in the direction of the dojo. "The entire reason I'm upset right now is because you all want to act like nothing happened! Like you didn't hurt me!"
"No, that isn't what we want!" Kai said desperately. "I-" He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. "You're right. I got off topic. God, I never was good at this... I brought up back then for a reason." Lloyd crossed his arms. "Because what I did? Just... leaving? That was shitty. No, it was beyond shitty!" Hazel eyes looked down in shame, hand dropping to his side. "I should have tried harder. Should have fought for us! Instead, I... I ran away like a coward. And I didn't even have a good reason for it."
"No shit." Lloyd said bitterly.
Kai bowed his head. "Yeah... And when I realised the others weren't contacting you, I should have gotten them to keep trying." he looked back eye, eyes shining. "Lloyd, I swear to you, I didn't know they were asking you why we broke up. If I did, I would have told them to stop and-"
"We didn't break up."
At those words, Kai froze. He stared at the blonde in confusion as Lloyd seemed to shake with pure rage.
"That's what really got me. Y'know? You just left. You didn't even have the decency to break up with me. You just disappeared and I found out through Wu. Wu!" Lloyd's voice rose. "My own boyfriend didn't even have enough respect for me to actually end the relationship before he left the fucking city! No note and no explanation! So yeah!" Lloyd's voice broke, much to his shame. "It was shitty! And as much as I hate it to admit, I wish you had tried harder!" He looked away, hands clenched into fists. "And then everyone else just kept asking and asking and asking! Why did we break up, what happened, why is Kai such a mess?! Always asking about you! No one cared about me!" Lloyd gestured at himself. "No one asked how I was doing! It wasn't like I'd just been abandoned by the man I loved!" He stepped closer to hair, eyes almost glowing. "So I stopped responding! I had every right too! I didn't deserve to be treated like that! And I sure as hell don't deserve to be shamed for preserving my own peace and mental health!"
The Red Ninja's face crumpled. "Lloyd..." he said gently, sounding close to tears. Tears that were already gathered in his ex-boyfriends eyes as he backed backed away, a hand running through his hair.
"You left!" Lloyd spat, choking on the word. "You just left and I was alone and I couldn't figure out why! I know what I said was wrong, and I regretted it- You have no fucking idea how guilty I felt when I'd calmed down! But you didn't even give me a chance to apologise, you just left! And I had to be okay! Because Arin and Sora were depending on me!" His breath was coming quicker, like he couldn't draw in enough breath to breath properly. "And not one of you cared! No one came to check on me, you all had your own lives and you didn't care what was going on with me! And now you-" Lloyd's voice broke, the tears finally spilling over as he dropped his face into his hands. "Now you just come back and try to act like you wanna fix things, when I'd already accepted and come to terms with the fact you weren't coming home."
Kai's heart shattered. He felt those words in his very soul, piercing his lungs and robbing him of breath as guilt threatened to swallow him whole. Watching the Green Ninja, his leader, someone so strong and yet so gentle, try his hardest to not fall apart in front of him felt like a punishment. Because he couldn't fix it. This wasn't something he could just hug Lloyd about and say it was okay. He couldn't say anything to make it better or fix it. Not really.
Lloyd was sobbing now, choking on tears as his legs threatened to give out. He scrubbed at his eyes furiously as shame and anger boiled in his chest, feeling as though it was trying to burn him alive and drown him all at once. Amidst his turmoil, he failed to hear the steps Kai took towards him until he was right in front of him. And still, Lloyd only knew he was there because he could feel the heat radiating off of him. He sensed the brunette raise a hand, hesitating for a moment before pulling it back, not wanting to touch the other without his expressed consent.
"I'm sorry." Kai said gently, his gaze downcast. "I know I screwed up. And I know I hurt you and... I know I can't undo that." He looked up as Lloyd sniffled and pulled his hands away from his eyes to cup them around his mouth and nose in the hopes of muffling himself. Kai felt the sudden urge to reach out and wipe the blonde tear-streaked face, feeling his fingers twitch. He kept his hands firmly at his side. "None of us are perfect... But we abandoned you. Just because you stopped reaching out doesn't mean we should have stopped trying. I..." He hesitated, biting his lip. "I should have reached out. Should have tried harder, should have explained. And instead... I acted like I was the only one hurt."
He looked at the blonde, finding him glaring resolutely at the floor, refusing to meet his eyes.
"I know you're mad. And none of us have any right to ask you of anything... But-" Lloyd's eyes rose to look at him, bloodshot and accusatory. "But can I ask for something selfish?"
The hybrid finally pulled his hands away from his face, revealing a scowl as he rubbed the heel of his palm against the corner of his eye to get rid of the wetness gathered there. "There's always a but..." he muttered venomously. "What?"
"... Will you give me the chance to make it up to you? If that's even possible."
Lloyd's brow furrowed. "You seriously think you can make it up to me?" He said incredulously, though his tone lacked it's previous sharpness. "After all I just said, what even makes you think I want you here?"
Kai gave a helpless shrug, finally managing a weak smile. "I mean... I want to try? And..." He glanced back toward the dojo. "I think that Wyldfyre kid has some real talent." That had Lloyd blinking in confusion. "I don't just want to stay for you, or for my powers. Hell, I haven't used my powers in years. But those kids? Your kids?" A glimmer of warmth lit up Kai's eyes. "First Master, Lloyd, you found some good kids."
The younger man looked away, his cheeks going pink. A fact he could feel and absolutely hated himself for. "Like I need you to tell me that."
"I know, stating the obvious." Kai admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "But it's not just you I need to make it up to." Kai's smile fell, face serious. "Arin and Sora thought it was their fault I left, and that's not fair. What happened between us wasn't their fault. So I want to somehow find a way to make it up to them to. And, I think-" Kai cut himself off, suddenly looking unsure. Lloyd caught the look and narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"I... Can I be honest?"
"Better be."
"... I think we may be able to teach your students some things too." The brunette could immediately see the blondes jaw tense, so he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not saying we take over training. But... A Master of Fire and a Master of Heat? Tech and Lightning? Quake and Earth? You can't deny that we each could help your students."
Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "Can't I?"
"... Fair. But..." Kai sighed, shoulders dropping as defeat crept into his frame. "I want to try. And the others want to try too! I'm not saying we have to suddenly be best friends or anything. That's... not fair, or realistic right now." Lloyd felt his shoulders drop slightly. "But if you're willing... I want to find a way to at least be considered someone you know you can call on if you ever need help. With anything. Whether that simply be as an ally... or as a friend."
Lloyd hated him. Genuinely hated him. And he hated to admit it... but Kai was swaying him. And he didn't want to be swayed! He wanted to stay angry and get them out of his life again and have everything go back to normal before they decided to drop back into his life! But the more he thought about it, thought about his students and how... happy they were this morning...
Kai flinched as Lloyd let out a loud groan, almost yelling as he tugged at his hair hard enough that Kai was worried he was going to tear it out. But he didn't say a word, not when the blonde pinned him with a fierce glare and pointed a finger in his face.
"I don't like you." He gritted out, eyes red and puffy. "You are the most aggravating man I have ever met and if I had my way I would throw down the steps of this mountain myself!" Kai gulped, staring at him with wide eyes. Lloyd huffed for a moment before turning away, crossing his arms. "... I'll think about it." Kai perked up, hope shining in his eyes. "That's not a yes!" Lloyd snapped, as though he had seen the way Kai's eyes lit up despite literally having his back to him. "But... Give me a day. One more day. I'll... My students get a say in this too. They will help me make my decision."
The brunette frowned a little. Just a day? He thought Lloyd would have wanted more time... then again, if Lloyd decided he didn't want them to stay, he wouldn't exactly want them hanging around longer than he'd want. So he merely nodded.
"A day."
"And you can't try and be nice and cool and try to get in their good graces to sway their opinions!" Lloyd said sharply, looking over his shoulder.
Kai put a hand over his heart and raised the other. "I swear, we'll do no such thing." Lloyd stared at him for a second longer before humming and beginning to walk away. Kai jolted a little and reached out. "Lloyd?!"
The blonde stopped. "What?"
"... Thank you."
Lloyd didn't say anything to that and simply continued walking until he was out of sight, turning around the corner at the end of the hallway. Kai stood there for a second longer, face soft and filled with a hesitant hope before he rolled his shoulders and turned around to return to the dojo to tell the others the good news... was it good news? It was certainly news, but did it count as good? It wasn't bad news... Oh, whatever.
However, as Kai left that particular section of the hallway... a door slid open. Six heads popped out atop one another, some staring in the direction the blonde went, the others starting in the direction the brunette went as he stepped back into the dojo and closed the door.
"That was insane!" Frak whispered, voice shaking. "I- I've never heard Master Lloyd so upset!"
Sora glared in the direction of the brunette. "What an asshole! I can't believe I felt guilty for him leaving! A lack of communication doesn't give you the right to disappear off the face of the earth without an explanation!"
"Sora, calm down!" Arin said, concerned for his friends blood pressure as he looked up at her. "Didn't you hear what he said? He wants to do better and fix it."
"Oh, well then, let's give him a fucking medal for basic human decency!" hissed the pink-haired girl, teeth bared as Arin's face fell into an expression of defeat. "I don't want him here, I vote he goes!"
Wyldfyre's head snapped up from the bottom of the stack, nose scrunched up. "Hey! He said he could help train us! You guys were complaining yesterday about how you couldn't move forward in your training! And now you have a chance to get the help you need, you're gonna throw it away because you're petty?!"
"PETTY?!"
"Girl's, enough!" Euphrasia said sharply despite her gentle voice. "You both have good points. What Kai and the other Ninja did was awful... But the fact is that even Master Lloyd can't seem to figure out what's holding us back. If we want to improve, we need help. And they may just be the help we need!"
"Yeah!" Wyldfyre exclaimed, looking up at Euphrasia. Below her, Riyu let out a few growls that Wyldfyre nodded along too. "Riyu agrees! He thinks it'll be good for us and Master Lloyd! Remember, we found Kai's jacket in his closest, and all those pictures! If he didn't care, why'd he'd keep them?"
Frak shrugged. "Sentimentality?"
"Why would you wanna keep something sentimental from people you say you hate?!"
"I dunno!"
Arin sighed. "Look, you guys. Master Lloyd's gonna come talk to each of us at some point. We each have different opinions. So why don't we just take the time to really think about it and then give Sensei our honest answers. It's only fair."
Riyu gave a happy snap of his jaws and he darted out from under Wyldfyre. His tail swept her legs out from under her with his excited wagging, sending her to the floor and causing the entire stack to destabilise, resulting in the four humans and one Serpentine to collapse onto the floor in a heap, groaning. Riyu stared at them, tilting his head in confusion as if he couldn't understand why they were on the floor before darting away in the direction Lloyd went, no doubt seeking cuddles.
Wyldfyre glare at his retreating figure and huffed. "Stupid runt." Euphrasia whacked her up the back of the head. "OW!?"
The moment Kai stepped back into the dojo, he was met with a very shrill, very relieved "HE'S ALIVE!"
Immediately he came to a stop, staring at his friends in confusion as they proceeded to crowd him. Jay wrapped his arms around him and squeezed tight, crying dramatically into his shoulder while Cole let out a relieved breath and Nya squeezed his shoulder with a shaking hand. Zane was the only one who still seemed calm but even his luminous blue eyes were filled with relief. Kai was genuinely baffled.
"Wha- What do you meant I'm alive? Of course I'm alive, what? Did you think Lloyd was gonna maul me to death or something?!" He looked down at the crying ginger with a raised eyebrow, silently judging. However, as he was met with silence, that judgment became a lot more apparent as he let out a quiet "Wow..."
Cole winced. "Oh, give us a break, dude." he said weakly, rolling one of the gold cuffs in his hair between his fingers. "The way Lloyd was wound up, you can't blame us for thinking of worst case scenarios."
Kai rolled his eyes at that and pried Jay off of him, passing him to his sister and dusting himself off. He supposed he couldn't blame them for worrying but... Lloyd actually attacking him? That was just out of character. Granted there were times in the past where Lloyd would shove past one of them when upset or get absolutely vicious when having to speak to them. But never violent... Unless they were training, but that was different.
"Well, you all can relax. I wasn't attacked, nor am I deceased. So..." he glanced at Jay and frowned. "Just chill out a little. And breathe, Jay, geez!"
The Master of Lighting sucked in a breath and held it, cheeks puffed out as he gave a shaky thumbs up while his wife-to-be rubbed his back. But her eyes were on her brother, curiosity and worry churning within the hazel irises.
"What happened?"
The brunette's face went carefully blank and he closed his eyes, crossing his arms. "We talked and basically... He's not kicking us out." Everyone brightened. "Yet." Everyone wilted. "He's asked for one day. One day to think it over and decide whether he's willing to let us stay and work on this. He's also leaving most of the decision up to the kids."
Cole's eyes lit up. "Well, that's great!" He looked between his friends, beaming. "The kid's already like us well enough! I'm sure if we explain, they can-"
"Nope." Kai held up a finger, pointing at the Master of Earth with a stern gaze. "No trying to tilt things in our favour." Coles brow furrowed as Kai continued to talk. "No bribing, no reasoning, no nothing. We do not do a single fucking thing to try and get those kids to tell Lloyd to let us stay. And that's come straight from Lloyd, not me."
Silence reigned between them at those words, each of them wearing various expressions of uncertainty.
"Well..." Jay suddenly said, sniffling slightly and frowning at how stuffy his nose felt. "That's still pretty good, right? The kids liked us, I don't think we have much to worry about."
Zane crossed his arms. "I'm afraid I must disagree, Jay." he said gently, closing his eyes in thought. "Lloyd's students may like us... But they are Lloyd's students. He took them in, helped them flourished, an from what I can see of the relationships between them, he is clearly seen as a type of parental figure by most if not all of them. Whether we are liked or not, our stay continuing past today depends on whether the kids still think us being here is good for Lloyd."
Kai winced as he recalled the way Lloyd had yelled at him mere moments ago. If any of the kids had overheard that... they were in trouble. Nya saw the look on his face and felt dread pool in her stomach.
"Kai. The kids didn't overhear you guys talking, did they?"
"... I think they didn't?"
Groans echoed all around him, Jay even sinking to his knees in despair. Kai rubbed the back if his neck, feeling a bit guilty at crushing their confidence so easily. That was when he heard the familiar tapping of a staff, causing him to look over at their sensei-... At Master Wu. The old man's gaze was calm though not cold; guarded but not uncaring, and Kai fully knew why.
Truthfully he was surprised Wu talked to them at all. Wu didn't seem the type to hold a grudge but the fact was Lloyd was his nephew. And he cared about him strongly, as any family member would. And yet... Wu remained neutral. He was willing to help them.
Wu stared at him for a long moment before his gaze swept over the rest of his old students. Nya, Jay, Cole, Zane... and back to Kai. And Kai saw so many emotions in those blue eyes. Disappointment was the most prominent... and honestly, who could blame him? There was flickers of anger too, but also a deep sense of sadness... but deep in the blue, Kai swore he could see a spark of light. A spark of hope.
"You have a long road ahead of you all." Wu said softly, bowing his head. "And it will not be an easy one. I can only pray Lloyd's students will continue to give you the chance you need to one day reach something cordial with their master." He turned, walking away slowly with an air of something none of them could place all around him. "I hope you all know what you are doing."
Cole crossed his arms, looking at Zane as he frowned deeply and finding the nindroid closing his eyes with a resigned expression on his face. Nya pulled Jay back to his feet, her bangs covered her eyes as she bowed her head. Her future husband frowned worriedly and cupped her cheek, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as he did. and Kai watched the man they once called sensei walk away, letting out a slow breath as tension lined his shoulders.
"So do we."