Chapter Text
Kai ran through the thick gray bushes, willing himself to keep moving as the creature chased after him. Its loud steps could be heard squelching against the mud. He could only pray to the First Spinjitsu Master that he wouldn't slip on the wet ground. A loud growl sounded, monstrous and mad. The creature was getting more and more agitated and annoyed every second that the fire wielder managed to not be its dinner.
Thunder boomed above, threatening another storm. As if the storm in the earlier that day wasn't enough. The rain was how Kai ended up running from this thing in the first place.
The red ninja decided to make a sharp turn to the right, in slightly delusional hopes that the monster would lose sight of him. For a fleeting, hopeful second, it seemed actually work. That is until an even angrier roar sounded. He just made it even more mad.
Just my luck, Kai thought bitterly. As if he wasn't miserable enough, rain started pouring down in an instant. He cursed through gritted teeth, straining his leg muscles to keep running. He had survived here what, a few months? Years? It was extremely hard to tell when everything was shaded gray. Morning, day, evening, and night just all blurred together, so Kai had abandoned the idea of keeping track of how long he was out here pretty fast. Kai wasn't even sure how the gray shading even worked. It wasn't fog, Kai knew that for sure. He could see horizons and mountains ahead of him, so fog and mist were out of question. Somehow, only Kai's red bandana seemed to keep its color. At first he thought it was strange, but he learned quickly enough that complaining didn't get him anywhere. Especially not when it was one of the few things that reminded why he had to keep enduring.
Of course, the color had its faults. It was way easier for certain creatures to see him sneaking by when his head was enveloped by the bright red. But any thoughts of ditching it were always drowned out by Kai's stubbornness ton not ditch anything that reminded him of home.
Kai scoffed lightly, almost forgetting that he was actively getting chased. It was a funny thing, in a way. Everyone back home used to scold him and tell him he was way too stubborn for his own good. But now, it kept him alive. Kept him moving. Kept him breathing. Thunder boomed above, startling the fire wielder enough to loose his footing. He slipped, definitely spraining something in the process. Oh no, no no no nononononono.
Kai tried to get up, to keep moving, but his hands and feet would just keep on slipping on the cursed mud. His swore as he heard as the angry growling and loud footsteps kept getting closer. His vision was getting blurry with hot tears that threatened to fall. He couldn't give up now. Not after all those sleepless weeks of traveling to get back home.
Back to his family.
The creature growled behind him, successfully getting its prey's attention. Kai flipped around, trying and failing to back away. The monster, now closer and more clearly resembling a canine-like creature, bared its teeth. They gleamed in the rain, as if trying to emphasise how sharp and deadly they were. It was an uncanny thing. Teeth too sharp for its small head. Its body was way more stretched out that any normal canine back home. Almost as if someone took a hyena, made all its limbs longer and bonier, it's head smaller, and its teeth the length of a leg.
Kai's breathing sped up. He couldn't die now. He couldn't die without seeing his baby sister's and brother's faces again. Not without one last gaming session with Jay. Not without helping Zane set up the dining table again. Not without seeing Cole's smile make an entire room seem brighter.
But the monster didn't care. Who was Kai kidding. This wasn't some dramatic movie. No one was going to save him now, not even as the creature edged closer.
Maybe Daidan was right after all. Maybe you couldn't lave this place without becoming a monster. Maybe that's Kai was about to die, like the mortal human he is.
The monster opened its mouth, muscles preparing to pounce. And then—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Kai woke up with a gasp. He shot up, almost giving himself whiplash, as he gripped the front of his shirt. It was a small comfort, but a the moment he needed to make sure that he was actually alive and breathing.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Kaaaai! Turn that alarm off before my brain combusts!" A familiar voice whined from another room.
Taking a deep breath, Kai promptly punched the alarm clock. The beeping immediately stopped. That calmed him down a little. As much as anyone argued that it wasn't healthy, a punch or two always brought comfort to the teen.
"It wasn't real..." Kai mumbled, wiping some sweat of of his forehead. The nightmare was now definitely etched into his brain. Of couse Kai had nightmares before, but usually it was something stupid like comin to school or training naked. Or even worse, coming out anywhere in public without his hair in his signature spiky style.
But none of that compared to what he had witnessed (dreamed?) just now. It was too specific. He had too much awareness of who he was and who was dear to him. A shudder went through Kai as the images from the nightmare lingered on his mind.
"Hurry up, Kai!! You're going to get us both late!" His younger sister's voice rang out again, this time closer and louder as she banged on his door a few times before storming away. Kai sighed, recognising the signs of when his sister was in a particularly salty mood.
Finally, he hopped out of bed and stretched, a few of his limbs making satisfying pop!s. He yelled something similar to 'Give me a minute!' (although way more slurred with sleep) and started changing his clothes.
He put on some deodorant first, for the sake of not smelling like he just ran five marathons in a row. Kai's temperature always ran a little hotter, which just meant he wasn't cold as much, but sweated on hot days and nights way more.
Once he made sure he didn't stink, he put on some simple ripped jeans, a shirt, and his signature red jacket. He tried not to think too much of how it reminded him on the red bandana. Quickly glancing in the mirror make sure he looked decent, he styled his hair and ran out of his room. A few seconds later he ran back to get his backpack before rushing out.
"Took you long enough," Nya said, no real bite to her tone, but some annoyance definitely lingered. Out of the two siblings, Kai was definitely more prone to getting them late to their first class.
He was about to make a snarky remark of how she made them late last time, but something in him decided against it. With a strangely small smile, he ruffled her hair and went out the door. Maybe the nightmare got to him too much.
"You good?" Nya asked as she locked the door after them. Seems like she noticed too. The banter between them usually never stopped. Sometimes it even went to far than needed, but they always made in the end.
"Yep," Kai replied, popping the 'P'. "Just a little tired." He added once he saw that his baby sister wasn't entirely convinced.
Nya shrugged and seemed fine with that answer. She hopped onto her bike and started up the engine. Kai usually backpacked with her in the mornings and then walked back home after school was done. This time he hesitated. The loud roar of the engine echoed in his ears, making him freeze for a second.
The creature's mouth let out a final growl before it—
"-ai? Kai?" Kai blinked as his sister threw her motorcycle gloves at his face.
"Huh?"
"You alright? You kinda froze up on me, bro."
"Jolly. You know what, I think I'll walk today. Great? Great. Bye! Drive safe!" Kai said, his words coming out a little too fast for his own good. He threw the glove back, which Nya caught with ease, before waving bye and speed walking away.
"...bye?" Nya's voice sounded one final time before the engine roared again. Kai picked up his pace.
. . .
This was going to be a long day, wasn't it?