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The echoes of angry voices rang out through the vehicle garage, the usual calm ambiance of the unground disturbed by the tension and anger sparking between Kai and Jay their powers barely kept in check.
“Imagine the person you’ve watched grow up and stick with you all your life sacrifice herself so willingly for a world that didn’t deserve her!” Kai’s yells bouncing off the walls, bitterness lacing his words, as he moved forward to fight Jay.
“Lloyd was right, we are getting replaced. The moment we have nothing left to give, they replace us! They replaced her!”
“You think I don’t know that?!” The shorter hissed out, his fists clenched, lightning sparking around them as he also took a step closer. The spilt cup of water dripped off the side of the desk.
“Kai! Jay!” Zane’s voice firm but tinged with a sense of urgency. “This isn’t the time for this! You both are hurting, and fighting will only make things worse.” Zane slowly raised up his hands, in an attempt to stop the both of them before continuing. “Right now we need to work as a team-”
“We shouldn’t even be a team anymore!” Jay interrupted, his eyes still locked on Kai, his lightning flickering dangerous as a warning.
“Oh finally! You’re suggesting something actually useful!” The brunette snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm and venom. Fire bursting to life in his hands.
“Then consider this my resignation letter!” Kai hollered out, throwing a fireball of fire directly in Jay’s path. Earning a startled yelp from the lightning ninja, as he narrowly dodged the attack. Jay grit his teeth as he got up to fight back, lightning lighting up the room.
Cole quickly stepped between them, pushing Kai back with a firm hand on his chest. “Enough! You think Nya would’ve wanted this? Seeing s tear each other apart over her?”
But Kai shoved the raven’s hand off, his fire flaring even brighter. “Don’t try to lecture me Cole! If he truly cared about her, maybe she’ll still be here!”
Jay’s lightning crackled louder, his hurt twisting into fury, “I tried…So hard to get her to stay… But it wasn’t good enough- she… She’s gone.”
Heavy silence lingered in the air, maybe that would’ve been enough to settle the conflict and anger raging inside both of them but, a trembling voice cut through the air:
“That’s it?”
“It ‘wasn’t good enough’?” Kai repeated with a hollow voice, “She was my sister. She wasn't just someone to ‘try’ for-”
“She… She was everything.”
“Now she’s gone…Because you didn’t try hard enough?” His knuckles were white from how tightly clenched they were, his eyes glassy.
“Don’t you dare-” Jay choked out, his eyes flashing hurt and rage, his lightning cackling in his fists.
“Kai please…” Lloyd whispered, his voice mixed with sorrow and desperation, “Fighting wouldn’t fix anything. None of this would. We’re a team. We can’t fall apart now-”
But the words barely registered as Kai started to stride towards Jay, blazing amber meeting blue, they were burning with such deep-seated fury and hatred that they have never seen before.
Jay slowly started to back away, fear creeping into his features, “I-I would’ve died for her!”
“So why didn’t you?” He spat coldly, his eyes boring into Jay’s skull. The brunette towered over the other, they were inches apart from one another.
“You should’ve been the one to go, maybe she’ll still be here.”
Disbelief seeped into Jay’s features as he processed the shock from the words, his eyes widened in shock and hurt. His lips parted silently as he stood completely still for a moment, taking it all in, then he stiffened and his expression hardened.
The others stared in horror.
“You- you-” Jay stammered with rage, at a loss for words. His face flickered from hurt to unsure to angry and back to hurt again. “Do you really mean that?”
Kai stood there with a slight uncertainty in his gaze, jaw clenched in tense, hesitant silence, almost as if he knew he had taken it too far, but he wasn’t about to take it back.
“I said what I said,” he gritted through his teeth.
Jay got into a fighting stance, shoulders tense as bolts of lightning in brilliant blue and yellow hues ran up and down dancing from his fingers to his forearms.
“Guys, stop!” Lloyd exclaimed as he sprinted forward to stand between them, arms raised in protest as he pleadingly looked to Kai to stop the fight.
At around the same time, Jay shot a wildly charged-up bolt of lightning— aimed at Kai— and his line of fire was blocked by the sudden interference.
Electricity struck Lloyd from behind, catching him off guard as he went rigid with a surprised gasp of pain. He collapsed to the floor, choking as sparks lanced through him, gradually wearing off in voltage.
“Oh no, Lloyd!” Jay dropped to his knees beside his friend. “I’m so sorry!”
The blonde waved a hand in dismissal as if to say ‘That’s okay’ while curling in on himself.
“Look who’s clumsy now!” Kai’s seething voice pierced the air, dripping with venom. He charged forward, arms raised as bright burning flames engulfed his tightly clenched fists. Heat radiated off him, even at a short distance.
Jay backed up, away from the other two, holding his arms close to his chest defensively. “It was an accident!”
“It was also an accident when I knocked over the glass of water!” Kai lunged at Jay, who stood up and quickly dodged the flames, which burned bigger and brighter than they would in any sparring session. Kai was treating this like a real fight. “Is knocking over a glass of water worse than tasing Lloyd?”
Did Jay maybe overreact when Kai knocked over the glass? Possibly. But he still hasn’t forgotten Kai’s words.
Jay took a defensive stance while ducking and dodging the flames thrown repeatedly in his direction. Bolts of lightning buzzed and hummed through his veins, feeling alive with adrenaline, and Jay sent a bolt aimed straight for Kai’s face.
Kai’s head swung to the side at just the right moment and the bolt hit the large computer screen behind him, frying the display.
“You…” the fire ninja breathed, taking in the damage. His head lowered as he glared at Jay, more fire rushing to his palms in a wild display of power. “Oh, you’re so dead!”
Lightning no longer channeling through him, Jay ran his fingers through his hair, his expression a confused mixture of rage and pain. Adrenaline coursed through Jay’s veins, humming with lightning that begged to be channeled once more. He looked from the destroyed monitor to Kai, who was seething with rage.
Jay clenched his teeth. “Sure. Gimme your best shot!”
They faced each other and their eyes locked, waiting for the other to make a move.
Fast like the speed of light, Jay was the first to move. He lunged forward with a shout, lightning shooting up his arms and sparking through the air.
Kai swore angrily ducked the sudden jab thrown at him with ease and muscle memory from many years of training. He countered it with a roundhouse kick, and Jay blocked it with his forearm.
They continued to exchange blows, movements blurred with red fire and blue lightning. Both ninjas were trained under the same master, sparred with each other countless times before, and could guess the other’s next move.
Jay landed a solid kick to the side of Kai’s leg, just in the right spot, and Kai went tumbling to the floor, but not before taking Jay down with him. They fell to the floor together, side by side, with Kai tugging on the fabric of Jay’s gi.
Kai’s face twisted into a pained grimace. “You’re not taking me down that easy.”
They rolled around on the floor, wrestling each other. A knee swung forward and struck Jay in the diaphragm, knocking nearly all of the air out of his lungs. All he could do was gasp for air like a fish out of water, but not for long.
“Checkmate,” Kai hissed in his ear.
An arm snaked around Jay’s neck from behind, and Kai had him in a chokehold, pressing the crack of his elbow down on Jay’s windpipe, squeezing his neck. He threw elbow punches weakly, struggling to break free, but it was no use. He was going to suffocate, and then Kai let go.
Kai got up and brushed himself off while Jay was left gasping for air on the floor, clutching at his neck.
“I win,” the fire ninja grumbled.