Chapter Text
Everything has changed. The normality of their lives has disappeared, and something new has been created out of the old essence of its very own nature.
It felt like forever ago when the Merge came and turned everyone's lives upside down.
There was no warning, everything happened too quickly. Now, all realms had come together, bringing the prophecy to fruition.
Despite Master Wu's fear of this occurring, he did not speak a word about it. The reason behind this remains unknown, even to this day.
Was there even something Lloyd could have done to prevent the incident?
That is a question Lloyd has pondered on several occasions, but since there’s no way to know for sure, he doesn’t let it affect him.
At night, he walks through the chains of the anchor that secures The Destiny's Bounty to the ground. These couple of weeks have been filled with non-stop dreary routines. It was always the same.
There was nothing else to do for him, nothing he could do other than investigate and try to understand as much as possible of the situation that he's currently in. There were no rest intervals for him and everything around him was so quiet for his liking.
He was all alone, every external distraction had vanished from his reach. All he had left were his anxious thoughts.
It’s funny enough that in spite of this mature nature, he can't stand silence. Lloyd had gotten ridiculously unaccustomed to it, and he has been for years now.
Then again, that’s what happens when you surround yourself with noisy teenagers; you can’t ever catch a break for yourself. It was no secret that he'd gotten pretty attached to the people responsible for that, specifically one of them.
When Lloyd envisions the red ninja's face, he feels his heart ache.
He missed him, missed all of them. But now, he must face the possibility of never seeing them again. He doesn’t want to consider it, but it might happen.
Lloyd lets out a shaky exhale, grabbing his chest with one hand. In retrospect, he should have told Kai how he felt about him when he still had the chance. Now, that truth that was never spoken has become part of one of his many regrets.
In an effort to suppress his downcast, Lloyd shook his head to the sides and closed his eyes tightly.
He really shouldn’t think about that now; he promised himself he wouldn't. After all, there was no use anymore.
Instead of dwelling on what could have been, he must focus on what could happen from here on out. No one can change the past.
What’s done is done, end of discussion.
As he climbs over the edge of the boat, he lands without making a sound. However, he can feel something nearby. A sudden presence disturbs him as he looks at his surroundings with a calculating eye, searching for the source of it.
Suddenly, a shadow appears turning around the corner, incoming with steps pretty much audible to him.
Using spinjitzu, he takes the mysterious figure by the arm, yanking him over the wooden balcony of the ship. It's a hard landing as the person ends up with his back against the floor.
With very obvious intentions, Lloyd jumps right at him, powering himself with energy.
Taking aim at the person he thought was an intruder, he charges his own attack.
In response, the guy screams, bracing himself for impact. Lloyd recognizes the ring in his voice right away, his eyes widening and strength dwindling.
Just before he collided with the other ninja, Lloyd stopped.
The moon rose, its shine making the man's identity become clearer.
When brown eyes meet green, a flash of recognition appears across his face. Lloyd freezes in the spot, his mouth unable to form words.
Those eyes, there's no way he could ever forget them.
During the pause, Kai's eyes stiffened, his eyebrows furrowing as he removed his mask.
“What the hell Lloyd!?” The other asks indignantly.
The moment Lloyd sees him, he is overcome with happiness and excitement. That spiky hair, the eyes, and the scar above his eyebrow…
It really was him! His one and only leader
Despite his joy, after he processed Kai's words and saw that angry expression of his, he was fast to apologize.
“Kai! Sorry” As Lloyd looked at the other with an apologetic face, he knew he wanted to say more, but decided to offer him a hand first.
When Lloyd gave him something to hold onto, Kai grabbed it right away.
“I haven’t seen anyone in weeks” Let out Lloyd dismally. It wasn't an excuse but it proved to be sufficient as Kai's brow relaxed afterward.
“So good to see you buddy” Kai finally said with a big smile on his face, hugging him and lifting Lloyd into the air.
“You too” A sigh of relief filled Lloyd's voice as they spun around.
After Kai had put him down, Lloyd hugged him properly, burying his face in the neck of the other. It was Kai who broke away first, but Lloyd still held tightly to his hand.
Even now, he could not believe that it was real.
“How did you get here?” Lloyd asked with curiosity. It made Kai look to the side, taking a moment to formulate an explanation.
“After the merge, I woke up on an island that I'm pretty sure didn’t exist before” Kai began, walking over to the edge of the boat.
When he got there, he rested his arms above it. Lloyd followed him in an instant.
“I had to work my way through some strange kingdoms to get here” Said Kai with a distant look, staring into the horizon around them and beyond the mountains.
“How did you know where to find the monastery?” Kai didn’t respond right away, his vision so fixated in the beyond before his eyes.
“I didn’t. I was actually looking for you and my gut told me I'd see you here.” Lloyd, who had been gazing at Kai this entire time, felt the emotion of his heart tremble within him.
“All I had was hope, I didn’t know where you or the others were. I was scared...” Impotently, Kai gripped his own arms tight.
“That's how I felt as well, I thought I'd lost you back there” A look of concern crossed Kai's face as Lloyd explained
“You haven’t seen the others?” Kai asked Lloyd, looking over at him.
Lloyd lowered his gaze, staring at his shoes.
“No, you are the only one.”
The look on Kai's face slowly turned resigned again. He looked disappointed, slumping his shoulders and leaning more against the edge.
“Don’t worry, we are going to find them. I give you my word” Added Lloyd confidently and with assurance.
But he knew it had only done so little to cheer Kai up as he saw him pull at his own sleeve without noticing and forcing a smile.
“You're right. If we're together, there's nothing that can stop us” Said Kai, looking away once again, but this time into the clouds.
At the very least he seemed content with having someone by his side. They've found each other, maybe the others will too.
Even as he gazed down from above, he could not tell which direction he had come from. He could determine it was a distance of many miles though.
For him, it's been such a long journey.... But his train of though didn't last long as Kai was suddenly surprised by a hand on his cheek.
When he glanced to the side he could see Lloyd staring intently at him. He blushed, feeling Lloyd's knuckles lightly caress his skin.
“W-What is it?” The voice of Kai was shaky, and Lloyd could only hum in response.
Lloyd's fingertips traced down Kai's collarbone, making his whole body tense up at that.
“Nothing, just dirt on your cheek” Kai's face reddened in embarrassment, turning away and attempting to rub his own dirtiness with his forearms.
“You're kidding! Why didn’t you tell me before?” Kai complained in a whiny tone, making Lloyd laugh.
“Come on, let’s go inside. You can tell me more about your adventures after you shower” Said Lloyd, putting a hand over Kai’s back to guide him.
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When they got down, a familiar feeling hit Kai. The recognizable columns, the statue in the center and the sliding doors, it all looked the same. It was just as Master Wu had left it.
Except, it wasn’t. There were some small anomalies he wouldn’t have noticed on his own if Lloyd hadn’t told him.
The structure had changed, there were trees inside as if they'd always been there, and the rooms were uneven. When Kai realized it, it became difficult to unsee them again.
After Lloyd guided him to the bathroom and then left, Kai undressed. It's been a while since he's worn anything but his ninja suit, so a proper shower felt great.
He'd been bathing in the river for weeks as his only resource. Now, he could finally wash indoors again
Kai checked the temperature, going in after a few minutes. His worry dissipated as soon as the water started running through his back.
It felt refreshing, as if his whole system was somehow purifying
When he closed his eyes, his mind was clear as a bell.
He was home, he was finally home.
Even if he could only locate one ninja of his group, he was glad it was Lloyd. Kai was happy to see his second on command.
They still had to find the others, but luckily, he was reunited with the person he loved most…
It's really been a long, tough trip for him. One he was the only witness to.
But he’s just glad it’s over, at least for now.
When Kai wet his hair thoroughly, he applied shampoo generously. With gentle pressure, he massaged his scalp, moving his fingers and palms slowly.
Kai looked down and noticed the dark water below him disappear into the drainage like the dirt he had left behind. After getting into a calm and relaxed state, Kai's thoughts flowed.
He couldn't be happier to finally be in a place he recognizes, with someone very dear to him. Until now, he's been fighting for his life, trying to get back to his friends on his own, but now he doesn't feel alone.
Because Lloyd is here with him. They can come up with a solution together, that's what comrades do.
They're a team, his team.
Still, he can't stop thinking about the way he reacted when Lloyd touched him. He opened up too much at the moment and let himself get carried away without noticing.
It wasn't like that before, he usually kept his true colors hidden. It must be because Lloyd touched him out of the blue, that he got surprised and caught off guard.
But whatever the reason, he couldn't and really shouldn't act like that in front of Lloyd ever again. It'd freak him out and if he doesn't want him to find out, then he must keep his feelings in check. He's their leader and he should act more like it. For him, for all fo them.
Lloyd was like a little brother to him and his best friend, nothing else...
That’s what he agreed to.
Kai stirred his head to the side to get those thoughts out of his mind. He focused on rinsing his hair and making sure he got it all out.
After Kai closed the faucet, he grabbed the towel closer to him, taking it with him
Just as he stepped out of the shower, he opened the door to the other part of the bathroom. It was then when he saw an air dryer on the counter beside a square-shaped basket full of clean clothing.
As he glanced at it, he saw that it was his own red pajamas that Lloyd had laundered earlier. Kai smiled at that.
Lloyd really knew how to take care of everything…
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