Prompt: "People trust me with their lives... they shouldn't"
Set between the final scene of "Vengeance is Mine" (where Wu visits Aspheera) and the first scene of "A Cold Goodbye" (where Wu tells the ninja Zane is alive). The order of the scenes makes it confusing but I think they thought he was dead for at least a day, if not several. ~
"AAAGH!"
Wu's already restless meditation was interrupted by loud shouting coming from the courtyard. He stood and left his room to find Kai angrily pacing around the courtyard, waving his hands and straining to produce even a sliver of smoke.
"What troubles you, Kai?" Wu regretted asking such a foolish question. It was obvious what troubled his pupil. Wu himself had been off his game since Zane's loss too, unable to find any wise or comforting words for the his surviving students.
"Nothing. Everything! You know what."
"Yes, I do" Wu looked down sadly. "It is a loss we all feel, Kai. Perhaps we'd do well to rejoin the others. I'm afraid I don't have much wisdom to offer at the moment, but I have found in my long life that in almost every form it takes, grief is best dealt with among family."
"Yeah, I just... needed a break from them" Kai admitted guiltily.
"Why?"
"Because... because they're not mad at me! Why aren't they upset? If I'd had my powers it all would've gone differently, that makes what happened my fault!"
"It is not your fault, Kai" Wu placed a hand on his shoulder gently.
"It is," Kai choked up, "if I had my powers the staff would have responded to me, Zane wouldn't have had to pick it up in the first place. He wouldn't have been in the position to be... he wouldn't have.."
"You didn't choose to lose your powers. You did all you could, even without them. For what it's worth, I am proud of you Kai."
"I couldn't protect him, though. I'm supposed to keep everyone I love safe, but I was too weak. Instead he saved all of us and paid the price."
"Kai," Wu sighed, "your desire to protect your loved ones burns bright. It is a defining virtue of who you are. However, you are not singlehandedly responsible for keeping everyone on the team safe. They are all capable of caring for themselves, and you, if need be. You are the only one who holds yourself to such a high standard. None of us expect you to be perfect, never make a mistake, or support the entire team. It's normal to fail and need the help of your family."
Kai sniffed and wiped his face on his sleeve. "I know you're right, in my mind, but I feel terrible. I just wish I had been helpful at all."
"Zane drew his power from all of you, his brothers. You were helpful simply by being there with the rest of us, for being you."
"You know, I think Zane would've agreed with you" he smiled at Wu sadly. "Even if I don't think I did enough, he was always a lot kinder than me."
"He was a gentle soul" Wu agreed.
"Well... I think I'm ready to rejoin the others like you suggested."
"You go ahead. I believe they are waiting for you. I have a visit to make..."
~ Is it just me or did anyone else not dislike the Kai being upset he's powerless arc? Most of the opinions I've read, people were upset that he was whiny and quitting when they first got back to Ninjago and the other ninja went to the museum. But I always took that as him more being self-conscious that he couldn't measure up anymore and would slow them down. It was indicative of some major insecurities he has to me, he's worried about not being enough. He masks it by always trying to be the best and show off, making jokes on Jay and such. My only complaint is the arc didn't go that deep, it didn't show us that. It was too surface level, he loses his powers gets upset and later gets them back. They didn't explore his mental state and highlight his issues with self-worth. And he didn't quit in season 5 when they lost their power because it was all of them. He still measured up. It's a whole other story when he's the only one who can't do anything special. I actually hope he loses his power again, or Aspheera returns and he's afraid of that. Something, because that arc was wasted potential. It still wasn't terrible though. Rant over!
Man I'm kinda depressed now, but it all turns out ok as we know. What a contrast to the day I did before this that was just another meme, huh?
