ColexKai = Lava = Perfect♥️

VII

The morning sun hadn't even cleared the peaks of the mountains surrounding the Monastery of Spinjitzu when the first sharp crack of wood against wood echoed through the courtyard.

​Kai didn't care about the hour. He didn't care about the freezing morning air biting at his bare arms, or the way his muscles screamed in protest from yesterday's grueling session.

All he could hear, looping on a relentless, infuriating track in his mind, were his father's words from the evening before.

​"Your stance is too wide, Kai. You're leaving your left flank completely open. You have a lot to learn if you ever want to match my level."

Ray's tone hadn't been malicious-it had been casual, almost an afterthought as he wiped the sweat from his brow and walked back toward the blacksmith shop. But to Kai, it had felt like a slap in the face. A stupid, careless comment that cut right through his pride. As good as his father. He was the Red Ninja. He had saved Ninjago multiple times. Yet, to the former Master of Fire, he was still just his clumsy son, an apprentice, who couldn't hold a proper form.

Embarrassment, hot and sharp, had turned into a toxic, burning anger by sunrise.

Kai lunged forward, his training sword swinging in a fierce arc. He struck the wooden dummy with enough force to splinter the oak.
​"Too wide?" he muttered between gritted teeth, resetting his stance with a heavy thud. "I'll show him wide."

​He pivoted, his movements fast but reckless. He wasn't practicing Spinjitzu; he was letting his anger drive him.

Sparks began to fly from his fingertips, not the controlled, warm glow he usually commanded, but wild, erratic bursts of heat.

​Crack. Crack. Smash.

​He kicked a training drone away, barely dodging its counter-swing. Instead of stepping back to regroup, he threw himself back into the fray, his strikes becoming sloppy, fueled purely by adrenaline and a desperate need to prove himself. His breathing was ragged, his gi soaked through with sweat.

​"Come on!" Kai shouted at the empty courtyard, his voice cracking with exhaustion. "Is that all you've got?"
​He spun around to face the next obstacle, but his foot caught on an uneven cobblestone.

His balance, already compromised by sheer fatigue, failed him completely. Kai crashed hard onto the stone floor, rolling onto his back, gasping for air.

Kai lay on the cold stone, staring up at the fading stars, his chest heaving. His heart hammered a frantic, angry rhythm against his ribs. Every muscle burned, but the fire in his gut burned hotter.

​The heavy creak of the monastery's wooden doors breaking the morning silence didn't even make him sit up.
​Cole stepped out into the crisp air, yawning broadly.

He was completely oblivious to the storm brewing in the courtyard, having slept right through the dramatic family tension of the previous evening. In his hands, he carefully balanced two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, thick ribbons of steam rising into the chilly dawn.

​"You're up early, Nightlight," Cole called out, a lazy grin splitting his face as he spotted the red ninja sprawled out on the ground.

​Kai didn't answer. He just glared at the sky, his fists clenching.

​Cole walked closer, his grin widening as he looked from the splintered wood scattered across the courtyard to Kai's undignified position on the floor.

"And here I thought you were practicing your forms, not trying to see if the cobblestones needed a hug. Nice landing, by the way. A solid two out of ten. Do you need a pillow, or are you just staging a protest against morning practice?"