A fire's shadow

A talking shadow, a fire's doubt

"I want to help." The words made Kai a bit confused. "Y-you want to help? With what, and why?" "I want to help you, Kai." When the man uttered Kai's name it sounded like it was poison on his tongue and that made Kai worried. "W-What do you mean?" The man sat down next to Kai and put his arm around Kai's shoulders, "I'm surprised you haven't noticed. But the other ninjas don't want you here Kai. They want you gone." Kai removed the man's arm and stood up, his back facing the man, "I know that's not true. Just earlier today they were worried about my health." A smirk formed in the corner of the man's mouth, "If they really cared about you then they wouldn't take your bad feeling as it was nothing. If they really cared they would have tried to find the cause of the feeling and try to help you. But did they do that?" Kai lowered his head and rubbed his left arm a bit, "N-No. They didn't." "Exactly. So what makes you think they actually care?" Kai turned his head to the right and looked at the doorway leading into the hallway that lead to their bedrooms, "I.....I don't know...." The man smirked and then sunk down into the floor. Kai looked down and almost jumped back when he saw that his shadow was moving and it had glowing red eyes. "I'll give you time to think about it." The shadow said and it made Kai realize that it was the man. The shadow then turned back to normal. Kai sat down on the couch and grabbed his head with his hands. "What's happening to me?"

The next day Lloyd entered the living room to find Kai sleeping on the couch. The blond teen let out a sigh and walked over to the sleeping brunette. He gently shook Kai's shoulder and Kai jerked awake and quickly sat up. He turned his head to Lloyd, fear in his eyes for a moment but when he realized it was just Lloyd he relaxed and the fear faded a bit. "Whoa, take it easy Kai. Did you have a bad dream or something." Lloyd joked. Kai rubbed the back of his head and faked a laugh. Lloyd looked at Kai as the realization hit him, "You had a bad dream?" Kai let out a sigh and nodded. "What was it about?" "It....-" Kai froze. Across the room, the shadow of the man moved on the wall. The shadow made a sign to Kai to stay quiet and Kai understood he wasn't allowed to tell the others about this. He didn't know what could happen if he didn't listen. "It was nothing now that I think about it. Just some silly dream that put me a bit on edge. Just forget about it." Kai faked a smile towards Lloyd and the shadow of the man disappeared. Kai then stood up, "I'm going to go to my room, see you later Lloyd!" Kai then left before Lloyd had a chance to respond. Lloyd watched as Kai disappeared in the doorway and then down the hallway.

Kai closed the door behind him and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He sunk down to the floor and tilted his head against the door, looking slightly at the ceiling. "You made a smart move when you listened to me, Kai." The man's voice echoed in Kai's room. Kai now noticed how similar the man's voice sounded to his own. The only difference was that the man's voice was a bit darker and more wicked in the tone. "Why didn't you want me to tell him?" The shadow of the man showed on the wall, his red eyes made a chill go down Kai's spine. "I asked you to stay quiet for your own sake, Kai. If you would have told him then he would have laughed at you and thought you were crazy. Would you really have wanted that?" Kai looked down, "No..." "Exactly, so next time keep in mind what you want to tell your 'friends'." The shadow then disappeared and Kai let out a sigh. He got up and walked over to his drawer and changed clothes. he was now wearing a red hoodie, black jeans, and red sneakers. He pulled up the hood and left his room. When he walked through the living room he saw Lloyd and Nya talking. The two turned to Kai. "Where are you going?" Lloyd asked. "Out." Kai said blankly and then left.

Kai walked through Ninjago city for a while before he got enough of the constant sounds from all the people and cars. He put in his headphones and put on his music. Demons by Imagine Dragons came through the headphones as Kai walked through the city. Kai stopped by an alleyway near the park. He paused the music and felt a chill go down his spine and then a sudden urge to enter the alleyway. Curiosity killed the cat, but Kai didn't think about that and entered the alleyway. When he came to the end he understood why he had felt an urge to go in. The man stood in the alleyway leaning against the wall, wearing a smirk. "Oh, it's you again," Kai said as he rolled his eyes. "You should watch your tone, Kai. You don't want to get on my bad side." "Same goes for you. I'm starting to get really annoyed by you." "Of course you are. You're called a hothead for a reason. But that's not the point. Even if I get on your bad side, it won't change anything. You can't defeat me, no matter how much you try." "Oh, we'll see about that." Kai charged a punch at the man. But the man dodged and Kai's fist hit the wall. Kai stumbled back in pain and noticed that his hand had started to bleed a bit. Kai bit his lip, trying to hold back a scream. "See, what did I tell you. Face it, Kai, you know what I'm saying is the truth. Your team doesn't want you there." Kai stomped his foot on the ground, "You're wrong! They both need me and want me there. They care about me. They're my family..." "Are you sure about that, Kai?" Kai wanted to say yes, but he knew he would be partly lying if he did. He wasn't sure that they cared, he never had been. Kai turned around and started walking towards the exit from the alley. The man disappeared in the shadows with a final sentence, "The name's Shadow, just so you know."