Work Text:
The cold breeze on the deck of The Destiny's Bounty burned Kai's lungs and stung his eyes. It was the uncomfortable —but somehow welcome— opposite of the inside of the volcano he had been trapped in earlier that day.
It had been one of the longest days of his life, and maybe even the most important, but adrenaline still rushed through his veins when he tried to let himself relax. It had started out like maybe every other day in the past week, but everything had fallen apart when they got to what remained of The Fire Temple.
He shook his head and gulped in another breath of freezing, clean air. If he thought about it, he could still feel the heat of the lava against his skin. It had been threatening in a way that fire wasn't; it didn't bend to his will, it didn't even listen. It wanted to take over him, bring him down…
Maybe the scariest part though was that Lloyd had been with him. Lloyd, the selfish little brat who had released the Serpentine and gotten them into this whole mess. Lloyd, the spoiled child who had been taken in by Sensei Wu with no punishment for his crimes. Lloyd, the reckless kid who had gotten himself kidnapped by the very snakes he had unleashed. Lloyd, the scared boy who clung desperately to Kai's gi as the lava rose higher and higher. Lloyd, the savior who would become The Green Ninja.
Kai ran his shaking hands through his hair. He'd gotten used to the danger, to almost dying on a regular basis, but… Lloyd was a kid. He was so young compared to the rest of the group, and yet he was the one destined to be in the most dangerous battle of all time.
Messed up. It was all messed up. Destiny was a sick, twisted, thing.
But it was late, and only getting later. He needed to get to bed and get some sleep before the Serpentine struck again. It had been a long day for all of them, but deep inside of his body he ached with exhaustion from what he could only guess was unlocking his True Potential. He couldn't hold back the yawn any longer as he turned around to go to his room.
Right as he reached the doorway to enter into the rest of the ship, he froze. Kai had been certain that he had been outside alone the whole time, but now he wasn't so sure. Hesitantly, he drew The Sword of Fire and willed a small amount of its power to make it glow with fire in the dark night.
"Who's there?" He called. "Show yourself! I know you're here!"
A sniff behind him and he whipped around, sword still in hand and ready to strike.
"Lloyd!" Kai said as he stumbled, throwing himself off balance so the sword didn't hit Destiny's Favored One. "What are you doing up?"
Lloyd took a step back as Kai sheathed his sword. Now he felt like an idiot. He had almost attacked The Green Ninja, the very one he was destined to protect. He'd almost failed his duties on day one.
"I couldn't sleep." Lloyd whispered.
Kai nodded before leaning down so he was closer to the kid's height. "I couldn't sleep either," he sighed, then caught Lloyd's teary gaze. "You doing okay? I know that earlier in the volcano was scary…"
Lloyd looked down towards the ground. "My hands hurt."
Frowning, Kai held out his hands. "Let me see them." Surely Lloyd had been checked for injuries after they had gotten back to the Bounty, right?
Lloyd hesitated for a moment, then placed his hands in Kai's. Kai took them in his own and held them up where he could see them. Even in the darkness of night, Kai could tell they had been burned. His chest ached with guilt as he looked at the damaged skin on the kid's hands. It should have been treated hours ago, perhaps even before they had put the weapons in front of him. His health should have been on the forefront of all of their minds, not his destiny.
"Ouch, bud…" He whispered. It made sense as Kai thought back to the volcano. When he had been on his hands and knees, screaming out to Kai, his hands had been uncovered. "We need to get that bandaged up."
Lloyd ripped his hands away from Kai and held them close to his chest; he took another step back and shook his head. "No," he said. "No. I'm fine, Kai."
Kai ran his hands through his hair again. This was who Destiny chose to be her champion? "Lloyd, it's not an option," he told him. "You're The Green Ninja, you can't walk around with untreated injuries."
Lloyd glared at him, but Kai could swear that there were tears in his eyes too. "… Fine."
Kai stood up and rolled his eyes when he was sure that the kid wouldn't see it. Earlier, he had been so keen to accept his own destiny of protecting Lloyd, but it was already off to a terribly annoying start. He wondered if there was any chance that he could take it back.
That wasn't fair… Lloyd was a kid, and one who had been through far too much.
"C'mon, let's get you all fixed up." Kai sighed as he placed his hand on Lloyd's back and gently nudged him in the direction of the kitchen. Ever since they had let Cole start cooking again, they kept a first aid kit in there. Of course, Zane had been trying to convince them that they needed one in there since they first got The Bounty, but no one listened until Cole cut his finger for the third night in a row.
"Sit," Kai told Lloyd as he pulled out a chair. "Unless you want me to throw you in a volcano again."
It was a joke, but as soon as the color drained from Lloyd's face, he wished he could take it back.
"Lloyd, I-" He began, then sighed. "I shouldn't have said that. I'd never do that."
Lloyd chewed at his lip for a moment. "Because you have to protect me now?"
Kai frowned, his hands stilling as he pulled the gauze out. "What?"
"You said it's your destiny to protect me, cause I'm The Green Ninja," he whispered as he looked at his hands.
Kai swallowed and his heart ached at the way Lloyd had said that. Kai had yearned to be The Green Ninja for so long, he had wanted to be Destiny's Chosen One and fight Lord Garmadon. But Lloyd sounded sad, hollow… Like it was the last thing he wanted.
"Hey," Kai said. "I'm not throwing you into any volcanoes because I kind of like you, it has nothing to do with who we're destined to be. Besides, if we're throwing anyone into volcanoes, it's Jay."
Lloyd didn't laugh at Kai's joke.
In the light of the kitchen, Lloyd's hands were miraculously less burned than Kai had thought they were, but they still needed to be treated. As Kai held the tiny hand in his, he thought back to Zane's dream of The Green Ninja. These hands would be the ones that saved Ninjago from evil, they'd be the ones to protect The Balance and bring peace back to their homeland.
Kai reached for the salve that Sensei Wu had made him in the early days of his training, when the fire still controlled him instead of the other way around. Those burns had always healed quickly, but he remembered days where he could hardly move his hands because of them. He knew that he was lucky he still had any of the salve left.
"This might sting a bit," Kai mumbled as he carefully tightened his hold on Lloyd's wrist, then rubbed the salve on the injured skin as gently as he could.
As soon as it touched his hand, Lloyd hissed and yanked against Kai's grasp. "Owww…"
Kai bit back the guilt that burned in his chest. "I know, bud."
As soon as the salve was applied, Kai let go of the kid's hands. "The stinging will wear off in just a second, then it'll start to feel better."
Lloyd sniffled, then let out a shuddering sob.
Then another,
and another.
Suddenly, in the quiet kitchen far above Ninjago, the boy was weeping.
"Hey, hey, hey," Kai said as he gently placed both hands on Lloyd's shoulders. "What's wrong? Does the salve still hurt?"
Lloyd shook his head. "I don't… I don't want to fight him, Kai…" Lloyd sobbed, and for the first time since Kai had known him, he looked just as small and young as he truly was. First Master, he was a child. A child who was now supposed to be Ninjago's savior; the child who was expected to defeat The Dark Lord.
Kai swallowed back the lump in his throat as his mind raced to think of anything that he could say that could soothe the child, but how could he come up with anything? Less than 24 hours ago, it had been his own life's goal to be the one to destroy Lloyd's dad.
Before he could second guess himself, he wrapped his arms around Lloyd in a tight hug. "I know," he whispered. "I know you don't.".
"I don't wanna be The Green Ninja," Lloyd gasped as he wiped his eyes with his sleeves and pulled away from Kai's hug.
"Let's finish bandaging your hands, okay?" Kai knew the truth; Destiny wouldn't change her mind.
As Kai wrapped the bandage around Lloyd's hand, his mind wandered to the volcano. Its heat was burned into his memory, but what really stuck was the fact that he had almost chosen the Fangblade over Lloyd. Everything could have gone so differently in there, and Kai's selfishness would have been to blame.
Kai pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He never would have left Lloyd there, even if it wasn't his destiny to protect him. He wouldn't just leave a kid in a volcano. "There you go," he said as he secured the bandage.
Lloyd looked down at his hands. "They still hurt."
A laugh escaped Kai's lips before he could stop it, though it sounded strange after the day they'd both had. "I never said that I'd make the pain go away," he said as Lloyd glared at him.
"You ninja are the worst," Lloyd told him, his face scrunched up in anger as he did. He looked like such a child.
Kai reached over, then ruffled Lloyd's blond hair. "Yeah, yeah… Just don't forget, you're one of us now."
Lloyd's eyes widened, and Kai wondered if this was the first time anyone had ever told Lloyd something like that. He knew that the kid had been an outsider for most —if not all— of his life, which would mean that this would be the first time that he'd be able to call anyone his own.
It wasn't what Kai would call fair, but life typically wasn't. And if he just so happened to be the first real family that Lloyd had, then he was going to be the best family that Lloyd would ever have. And he knew just where to start.
"We should get you some food," he said as he stood up and walked over to the fridge. "What do you want to eat?"
Lloyd might have been the annoying brat who let out the Serpentine, he might have been the reason behind the newest threat to Ninjago, but… As Kai looked at the boy, he didn't see the evil son of an evil dark lord, he didn't even see The Green Ninja. He saw a kid, his littlest brother.
Kai saw the newest member of their ninja team, and he was glad to have him.