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His powers had been all over the place since they started coming back.
In the Never-Realm, he managed to will himself to sprout just enough fire to bring warmth back to the village. Before that, he truly thought they were gone forever. He thought that way because of how differently his power was taken.
They'd all had their powers taken or lost them at some point, like with Chen's staff and when Lloyd was possessed, but those were always temporary, and they always knew it. With Aspheera, it was different, first, she took him by surprise, he had no idea that when he went to shoot a fire-ball at her, he'd be unconscious and powerless on the floor in the next minute.
With Aspheera, the powers became hers, for a while, she was the master of fire, Chen was never the master of their elements, just using them through his staff.
When his powers left his body and intertwined with another, it made the process all the more painful, the emptiness louder, and his body take it so much worse. His body really did believe his powers would never come back again, they were a thing of the past, and now would have to get used to not having them like many elemental masters did before, through giving them to the next generation.
The fire residing in another person's body was…wrong, and it made that connection he had with it suddenly so much less.
Watching his fire do so much destruction. How could he let his fire be taken?
His body had its ups and downs while adjusting to having no powers. During the battle in Ninjago City and at the Monastery, he felt hotter than usual, clammy after a few seconds of running.
Some sad way to remind him of what he didn't have anymore, the natural warmth, the softness in his chest and veins, knowing that his fire rested inside of him.
Things got way more complicated when they reached the Never-Realm; where he was uncomfortably hot at home one second, he'd suddenly been plunged into a cold hell, and his body was not used to adjusting naturally to that sort of thing.
Well, his powers were back now. It wasn't a straight line, he tried protecting the village and failed, was barely ever to keep himself afloat with his weak powers, and got wiped easily, but…he got them back fully after the fight with the ice dragon.
No more problems.
His powers were his, a part of his body, there should be no "adjustment period" to something he's had most his life, only devoid of it for a few weeks.
Maybe he just had a fever, because right now, he was running hot, strolling behind the others who walked to the courtyard. It was Monday, time for training, getting out of bed was always hard today, but it was particularly gruelling this morning.
Waking up with his legs sticking to the sheets, his neck sweating with the soft pillow, and his body unbelievably hot. He would be sick if it even increased due to a gust of hot air.
But it was the end of summer, it was cool outside, a nice fifteen degrees, partly cloudy, he would be okay with that. He was the master of fire after all, he fought to claim that title again, so a little heat shouldn't bother him! It never did before.
"Right, grab your training weapons, everyone." Lloyd picked out a wooden sword, then threw another to him, his usual weapon of choice. The others grabbed nun-chucks, shurikens, a scythe, and a spear.
"Where's Wu at?" Jay asked, his voice sent a ringing into his ear, sudden and intense, but it suddenly died down. He hid the groan, and stopped his hand from covering his ear, but still, he had to wipe the sweat away, he hoped he didn't look like a mess.
"He's in the city, gone to stock up on Traveller's Tea." Cole answered, leaning on his scythe.
Meanwhile, Kai's hands twitched, something itchy to be let out.
Cole paired up with him - sword and scythe - and the sun just peaking out of a cloud blared into his eyes, causing a throb at the back of his head. "Right, Cole." he spat out, "Taking you down this time!" he tried to sound enthusiastic, but it was likely to have came out as a pathetic slur of his words.
Adjusting his scythe, Cole nodded and grinned, then swung at him immediately. He yelped and jumped away, not even trying to block with his sword.
This wasn't his usual fighting style, he knew how to balance offense and defence, he could use the moment Cole let his guard down with his clunky scythe to snap back with the sword, he could build up energy to send him back, point the sword to his neck and declare victory.
But he didn't think he could do any of that right now, because his sweaty hands had the sword slipping out, and he had to fiddle it back into his palm in an unnoticeable way every time. "Uh…" Cole swung around, he wasn't used to this.
"Just-" he heaved, and gripped the sword tighter, his hands hot, so hot he could swear he felt crackling like a fire was starting to burn, "Just trying out a new style, to beat you!"
He raised his eyebrows and blocked Kai's next blow, "Come on, man, you can beat me with your usual fighting style, don't sell yourself short." he grinned, groaned, then pushed him back with less strength than usual, but it still sent him stumbling back. His palms clawed at the floor, his head flew back, and it shot a sun-beam straight into his face.
Hot, burning, too much like fire, like that heat cusped around his every limb while his powers were taken away, fighting to get away, kicking something to get a moments relief, but it never worked.
"Ugh!" he yelled and grabbed his head, trying to get himself back up.
He remembered going unconscious when Aspheera stole his powers, how he was kicking, screaming and crying, just to do one final groan, and release all the tension in his body. It never stopped hurting, but his body burned so much, he believed it had caught up to his mind too.
Cole jogged forward, holding his hand out, "Sorry, did I hit your head?" he worried, but expected him to take the hand right away. He never did, he just dropped his sword, which now, had charred edges, the smallest specks of fire still dotted around it. He pulled his hand back and knelt down, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I-" his head burned, his temple ached, the back of his head throbbed, his eyes felt as if blisters from a burn were forming right on top of them. "I'm fine!" he stumbled back up, taking his sword again, and tried to hide the burns of the sword from anyone eyeing them, and Cole, staring down at his hands.
"Okay…but you look-"
Groaning, he swung his sword again, thankfully Cole blocked it, he never informed him of the match continuing, and maybe it would be something to divert his suspicions. "Just tripped…" he heaved, his sword fighting was sloppy, he flung his sword anywhere, "Just didn't tie my shoelaces."
"We don't have shoelaces." Cole commented and blocked another strike, except if he wanted to, he could block the thing with his hand and take it from Kai with no effort.
But there was nothing to worry about, of course! They could keep sparring.
He could just ignore how much he wanted to jump into bed right now, or plunge into ice-cold waters. His vision blurred, it felt just like the heat of having his powers stolen, intense, his fire betraying him, turning into a comfort inside his chest into burning blistering his skin.
Kai heaved and swung his sword high, but Cole hastily grabbed it and pulled it down, and at the same time, like when his powers cusped around his limbs back then, the fire burned around his hands.
He tried willing it away, he had full control over his powers, igniting them in his palm was as simple as moving your limbs, something you don't even have to think about, but right now, it wasn't working. His powers were betraying him, the fire acted like it hadn't been a part of him all his life.
"Kai, you're tak…ing…" Cole said something, he couldn't make it out. "You look…" he continued, and the fire burst at his palms again, then…burned, and he rushed to hit his hands to the ground to force them away when his mind suddenly couldn't do it for him.
Lloyd ran up to him, he was on the ground, holding himself up by his arms and knees: his palms dug into the ground, trying to flutter the fire away, it did so, but slowly, agonizingly, like how long Aspheera took to take his powers. It was like she wanted him to feel every inch of pain he could receive, feel each second the energy of his powers residing in his body dimmed, until it was completely gone, then, he was out.
"Kai, you okay?" Lloyd put a hand to his head, Cole joined too and flinched away at the sight of him - sweaty, weak, so useless he couldn't even spar.
This training session wasn't even elemental sparring, it was basic weapons, but somehow his sword was now charred at the edges from a power that sprouted out without his permission.
Breathing deeply, Kai squinted to look up, because he had to get up, continue this silly sparring session, fight through his stupid, feverish pains that were so much more than an illness. His immune system was so used to fire that it went crazy at not having it running through his veins, and sent him into a frenzy that persisted throughout the Never-Realm, and somehow, continued until now.
"I'm…" he gulped, then tried to stand, but he buckled to the floor, "I'm okay." Despite that, he didn't give any effort into hiding the scratch of his voice, the heavy breathing, and his head flopping around like a rag-doll.
His hand burned, he couldn't lift it from right where he slapped the ground to flap the fire away. Zane was above him now, hummed, stared for a few seconds, then knelt down, Kai looked away,
"Your hands are burnt, Kai, let us take you inside." he grabbed his arm, but didn't pull up because he was still frozen, staring into the ground, his back shaking.
He shouldn't be burnt, he couldn't.
Yes, when he lacked concentration, his fire could hurt, but it never did any real damage to his body, nor had anything he did with his newly regained fire in the Never-Realm.
"I'm not burnt, it's my own-" he hitched, gripped the ground harder, but dragged his other hand up and stared into the palm, red, splotchy, he had burnt himself, he'd let his own fire do that to himself. He dragged the other hand up, then fall back onto his knees, "it's my own power, I shouldn't!"
Zane sighed and guided Kai up from his arms, "Let us get you inside, you need rest."
—
"How can my own fire burn me?" he questioned, pushing his hand into his chest.
Zane scurried forward and grabbed his arm again, he shook his head, "Kai, please keep your hands under the water." his right arm was shoved under the tap again, he yelped, then squirmed at being reminded of the burns again.
When the others got him standing, they'd tried following him inside, but Zane, the one grabbing his arms, had turned around, put his hand out and suggested he needed some space. Kai was thankful, he didn't want so many concerned eyes on him, and now, with the questions he had, so many people hearing him talk about it.
This whole thing was something he didn't like talking about, he didn't want to remember how Aspheera caught him off guard, tore his fire from his body, and was useless in basically every endeavour after that. Still, it felt stupid, they'd each been without their powers, but his brain decided this one was so much different, quivered at the memory of it, yet not at any of the other times.
Zane leaned on the counter, then tapped his fingers to his chin, "It is likely a side-effect of your powers being stolen."
"But I have them back, Zane!" he stomped, his hands leaving the cool water for a second, he was slow to put them back under, but he was given a very firm look, so he did eventually.
"Yes, you do." he stated, but he said nothing after, and a silence that Kai desperately needed to be filled with answers basked around the room. He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, "Your body took time to adjust when you lost your powers, it is difficult to be without something you have known all your life."
Kai turned back to the sink, watched the water drip onto his red hands and splatter onto the dishes below. He didn't want to think about this.
When trying to protect the village, he didn't save a single person. With icicles coming his way, already having froze so many people, his body wouldn't even will a little fireball, he could barely manage a spark. It was just torture that through the whole day he had been cooking up the villagers' fish, sparking his flames for the kids to admire.
Those little shows of his fire and…cooking a fish, had worn him out. It was just…stupid.
He grumbled, and turned his palms upwards, the water trickling somewhere else now, "I noticed that when your power was first stolen, as we escaped the Pyramid, your body temperature was fluctuating rapidly." Zane continued, his hand to his chin again, he looked at him, probably noting the little effects his body had because of his power.
"Yeah?" he asked, then urged him to continue.
"It was cold, then hot, but it most frequently ran high" he continued, then came closer and guided his hands from the water, checking how much the redness had dimmed. "While your powers are back now, your body… quickly became used to not having powers."
Kai furrowed his eyebrows as Zane guided his hands away from the sink, holding them in each hand respectively, he was slow and gentle, nothing like the ravaging of his fire.
Like always, his hands were cool - not freezing, cool - and Kai felt inclined to hold onto them for a while. He dragged his eyes to meet Zane's, but quickly put it down again and focused on his hands, "What does that mean?" his voice softened.
"It means your body is not used to the natural increased body temperature of having elemental fire." he answered factually, but there was always gentleness to his voice, something that showed he cared and wanted to dim the panic from his technical language.
Finally, Zane grabbed him a stool, guided him onto it, then grabbed a bottle from the cupboard. He was reluctant to let his own teammate guide him around and micro-manage his movements, but right now, there was something so soothing to it. That was Zane for you.
"How long will it take?" he asked, and watched as Zane took the lid off, then squirted cream onto his hand. He backed away and his face contorted, "What is that?"
Zane grabbed his hand, and while the squeeking of the bottle as he squeezed it, and the shininess of the substance inside all freaked him out, he let him do what he wanted. He trusted Zane in a way that was different to the other ninja, he was a person that would just…be there, if you didn't want to talk, he wouldn't talk, if you wanted advice, he would give honest and calculative answers that he always appreciated.
"An ointment for your burn, it will numb the area, giving pain relief, and promote healing."
"Oh, alright then, do what you do, Zane."
As Zane rubbed the cream over his hand, Kai flinched at the contact, but when he did, he started rubbing a little softer, and gave a soft smile to him. He concentrated for a few seconds before replying to a previous question, one interrupted by himself, "It will take a few weeks for your body to adjust, as it did when you lost your powers."
His shoulders dipped forward, at the same time, he had finished rubbing the cream around his hands, and he didn't know if Zane was producing some placebo effect from him being here or not, but it felt like it was already working.
Arguing was his thing when it came to injuries, out of everyone, he was most likely to argue against medical advice. But…this was Zane, and after trying many times before, he knew where it would go.
Before he started, he admitted defeat, and leaned his head between his hands, his hair flopped, and the chair scooted back until it hit the island counter. "Right, more waiting."
On cue to add to this news, Zane spoke again, "Your body temperature is very high at the moment, you should be resting for a short while as your body adjusts."
"Wha- what?" he shot up and wobbled, "How long?"
Zane took a seat too, having dragged it in front of Kai. "For a week, at least, I am afraid your body temperature is too unstable, training will be difficult."
"Can I not—" he stuttered and ran his hands over each-other, he couldn't feel them much right now. "Can I not just train? You can keep an eye on me, as you said, it's random, I promise to go straight back to resting if I feel off-"
Zane put a hand up, his face straight, and interrupted. "Your body will adjust much faster with addequete bedrest." he informed factual and calm, then sighed with raised eyebrows, "And please, I do not want to worry."
He slumped back into his heat and cusped his hands together, but a smile tugged at his lips, "Of course you'd say that…"