Promises (Ninjago's Kai x Reader)

Episode 10 - Something to Believe In

Thick black smoke. Everywhere I turn, there's thick black smoke. Surrounded by darkness without the thought of ever seeing light again. It's cold and lonely, inducing fear.

Tasha the Oni drawl, but their voices are distant. Tasha, come.

I do as I'm told, following the sound of their voice until I come across a faint blue glow. As I draw closer, a shiver runs down my spine — the blue light is coming from the Realm Crystal.  It's also the source of the black smoke: it leaks from the bottom like liquor from a broken cask.

Tasha, we're home.

Utter silence, and then the crystal explodes into total darkness. It's frigid and makes the air thick— hard to breathe. That's when the Oni begin to spawn. Their eyes glow magenta, and their teeth are like pearly white razors as they grin at me. Malicious. They swarm me, surrounding me, growling, snapping, laughing a guttural tone. And then their leader, the Oni King steps forward, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

"Sweet child," he says, and the darkness in his voice has me cowering. "You've set us free."

"What?" The word leaves my lips breathlessly.

The King reaches out to touch my cheek, and his fingers are frigid like ice, but his touch burns like fire.

"Thanks to you, Ninjago is ours."

         ~

I'm gasping for breath as my body shoots into an upright position, flickers of my dream still lingering in my mind's eye. But I know better than to believe that it was just a dream. Everything that involves the Oni somehow comes true, no matter how hard I try to stop it. I've learned that the hard way.

"What was that!?" I shout, unable to contain my fear and confusion.

They don't respond, and that makes my stomach fall into my butt. Can I not hear them because they've already returned? Is that what that vision was trying to tell me?

God, I'm too sober for this—but I've been sober for nearly a week now, which is the longest I've been sober since Kai died.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard, but with so much going on these last few days, I didn't have time to dwell in the withdrawal symptoms. Each headache, wave of nausea, and muscle ache was nothing compared to the weight of the world resting on my shoulders.

But now with this new vision, the future feels more hopeless than ever, and the bottle of Svedka sitting on my shelf is calling my name.

There's a knock at my door, and I'm forced to drag my eyes away from the beautiful bottle of vodka. With a flick of my wrist, the door opens and Jaxson stands at the threshold, waiting to be invited in.

"What's up," I say, patting the spot beside me on my bed.

"I heard you screaming," he says, accepting my invitation to sit.

For a moment I'm fifteen again, and Kai is in my room to comfort me after a bad dream. It's moments like this where I miss him most.

"I had a bad dream, is all," I say, sinking into my pillow and blankets, embarrassed to have been heard.

"A dream?" he repeats, and I nod. "Do they happen often?"

"Not in a while, actually."

He's quiet for a moment, thoughtfully considering my explanation.

"Could it be a withdrawal symptom?" he suggests.

"I guess so," I say, shrugging my shoulders.

He stares at me and shakes his head. "You're such a bad liar."