Chapter Text
Everything hurt.
Kai had always had a relatively high pain tolerance, he knew that. All of the ninja did, but Kai always seemed to hide his pain register well better than the others could. It was partly innate, partly foolishness. But now, he felt as if any resistance to pain had been wiped clean completely. His torso ached, his veins burned and his skull felt as if it were being split apart over and over. His ears rang with pain, and Kai distantly wondered if he was dead.
And he felt heavy. A weird kind of heavy, as if he were underwater and his own weight was weighing him down. The heaviness constricted his movement and his limbs were numb and felt like spaghetti. He was on his back, he realised. He needed to get up. Cole and Jay needed him.
Cole and Jay.
The battle.
He was on his back.
Hurt.
Kai thrashed, desperately trying to turn onto his side while his muscles screamed in protest. His legs felt like thick jelly, and every time the ninja tried to move them, they refused to cooperate. Kai moaned in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. Everything felt wrong. The world tilted and spun as he tried desperately to force his body into a sitting position. He hoped someone would come and put him out of his misery.
Suddenly, pain. Blinding, unbearable pain that made tears come unbidden to his eyes. It was coming from his midriff, and there was a distant ripping sensation, like when he ripped a hole in his yoroi during training a few months ago. But that was nothing compared to this. He felt as if someone was cutting his stomach open, and could feel his blood pulsing under his skin. He tried to curl in on himself, into the fetal position, but found he couldn't move anymore. Everything was numb. There was someone screaming. Distantly, he registered it was him. It sounded far away.
A bubbling stream of voices appeared, but they too sounded far away. There were sounds, like muffled song through water. Kai could feel himself fading. Suddenly there were hands on him, running through his hair, and touching the gaping hole in his stomach. He let out a hoarse scream, and the blackness was coming at him first. His ears rang with pain, and all he could hear were disjointed utterances and words strung together.
"I'm sorry....this is going to hurt...."
"...stay strong...please..."
The last thing Kai heard before he faded completely was a pleading voice that sounded suspiciously like his sister.
The second time Kai woke up, he knew where he was without opening his eyes. The bed below him was soft and warm and familiar, the room smelled like medical supplies, and there was a faint breeze ruffling his hair, as if someone had opened a window.
"I know you're awake." A voice teased, sounding tired with an undertone of stern.
Kai managed to crack open his eyes and turn his head towards the familiar voice. Nya was sitting in a chair beside him, an old worn journal in one hand and a ballpoint pen in the other.
"Can't hide anything from you," He managed. Kai's brain still felt slightly fuzzy.
Nya slapped the journal shut and learned forward, brushing a stray strand of hair out his face. "How are you feeling?"
"Mmmm. Loopy."
Nya smiled wanly. "Yes, I would assume so." She looked tired, he realised. There were dark bags under her eyes, and with a sinking feeling, he realised that emphatic stress had probably been caused by himself.
"I'm sorry."
Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. Nya's head whipped towards him, her expression a mix of fury and exhaustion. Kai inwardly cringed.
"Don't you dare." She snapped. "You have nothing to be sorry for. This is not your fault. If anyones to blame, it's me for not getting there in time." She looked away.
Kai made a noise of protest. It must have been bad, judging by the way Nya refused to go into details, or failed to mention any at all when he asked what had happened when he was out.
Nya shook her head and put a cool hand on his cheek.
"Get some rest. We'll talk about this later."