A fire's shadow

Different opinions, same love

A groan escaped his lips as he slowly opened his eyes. A flash of blood red eyes caused him to swiftly sit up scanning across the room with wide, fearful eyes. It wasn't until he realized that he was in his own room on the bounty that his breathing slowed and he calmed down. His head was pounding and his whole body felt sore. What had happened? He wasn't sure, it was currently all a blur. The smell of smoke tickled his nose slightly as he tried to remember what had happened. His eyes fell on the shadow in the corner of his room created by his dresser. Shadow. Everything suddenly came back to him. The man. Shadow. Stealing powers. Pain. It almost became too much for him to handle at once but he managed to stay awake. It was all clear now. What Shadow had done, what his friends had done, what he had done. His headache faded slightly and he felt himself being able to think clearly again without hissing in pain from time to time. He started listening for any sign of the others being awake. But there was nothing. Turning to the window he realized why that was. The moonlight streaming through the glass of his window and landed on the floor and giving the room a calm aura. A sigh escaped his mouth as he moved to the edge of the bed and sat on the edge. He was torn between going back to bed or to get some water and maybe some fresh air too. After noticing the dry feeling in his mouth and throat he decided to go get some water. With a few seconds of hesitation, he stood up. His legs almost gave in under him and he almost fell to the floor but held onto the wall as support. A quiet growl rumbled in his throat. He hated being weak, so being in the state that he could barely stand was not something he enjoyed. But with shaky steps he started to walk away from the wall, trying to be able to stand on his own. It wasn't until now that he realized just how quiet the bounty was at this time. It made a shiver go through his body when he thought about it. But he shook his head, making the bad thoughts go away. He was just getting some water. With now more steady steps, he walked to the door and opened it slowly causing it to squeak quietly. But it was still loud enough to make him cringe when he thought it had woken the others. But to his relief, there was no sound coming from the others' rooms. Well, no sound except for Cole's snoring and Jay talking in his sleep. A small chuckle escaped his mouth when he thought about the time they recorded Jay when he was sleep talking. The reaction he made when they showed him was priceless. Especially since he had, that specific night, mumbled about being a superhero that saved pretty ladies. But snapping back to his task about getting some water. He escaped into the hallway with quiet steps and made his way towards the kitchen. When he came to the kitchen he immediately took notice of how dark and quiet it was. No light except for the moonlight was visible in the room, the whole bounty even. Luckily for him, the moonlight was enough to see where he was going and to avoid any objects in his path. The more he walked, the steadier his steps became. He figured the whole thing had just been that he hadn't walked for some time. He came to the cabinets and it took him a few seconds to remember in which one they stored the glasses. When he finally found them he grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured some cold water in it. The water felt nice in his dry throat as he gulped it down. "Getting some water I see." He spit out the water in his mouth in surprise. He couldn't care less about the water that was dripping from the wall, at least not as long as he didn't know who had spoken. He turned around only second after spitting out the water, his whole body showing how scared he had gotten by the sudden voice. But his body relaxed when he was met with blond hair and forest green eyes. There were a few seconds of silence before he burst out laughing, almost too loud. "You really scared me there, Lloyd." Lloyd let out a small laugh, "Yeah, I guess I did. At least when you reacted the way you did." His laugh faded as did Lloyd's, "So what are you doing up this late?" Lloyd frowned, "I could ask you the same. I thought you were resting after what happened." He rubbed the back of his head, "Heh, yeah. I guess you caught me." Lloyd let out a sigh, "I'm serious. You took the worst beating out of all of us, both physically and mentally. I don't want you to skip the rest you need." Letting out a sigh, he responded, "Yeah, I know. But I just can't sit and do nothing. Especially when he's out there somewhere." As he mentioned him he saw how Lloyd clenched his fists in anger. "I want to figure out what's going on, Lloyd." "What's going on is that we're going to find him and make him pay for what he's done!" Lloyd said almost too loud. "I don't think that's the best response, Lloyd. You didn't see the way he looked at me after the fight. He was terrified, of himself. I saw it clear as day. He looked like a child. Either I saw wrong, or gaining his own body changed him somehow." "Don't be ridiculous, Kai. He can't just have changed. He must have tricked you." "I know that he can do that, but I still feel like there's something more to it, I mean, when he was defeated he didn't turn back to a shadow." This caught Lloyd off guard, Kai clearly saw that. Lloyd was at a loss of words, but Kai didn't know if it was because of what he said or if it was something else. After a long silence, Lloyd let out a sigh, "Okay, let's say that we somehow managed to get this child in control and bring him here. What if he suddenly loses control and tries to hurt you again, or us. I can't take that risk, Kai." "Well, I can, Lloyd." That's when Lloyd snapped, "How can you! He hurt you most out of us all and yet you want to help him! I don't understand, Kai!" Kai flinched at the sudden outburst from the green ninja, but soon enough he straightened his stance and gave Lloyd a glare before walking out to the upper deck. Lloyd took a moment to collect his thoughts before letting out a sigh and following the brunette. Kai sat on the floor, his back against the railing, on knee brought to his chest, resting his left arm on it. Lloyd walked closer, "Kai?" Kai didn't even look up at Lloyd when he answered, "You wonder why I am willing to take that risk. Well, it's because I think that as long as he doesn't lose control, he'll be a better team member than I am..." Lloyd heard how Kai's voice almost cracked at the last part. Lloyd felt anger filling his body, "Don't you dare say that! No one could ever replace you! And certainly not that monster!" "He's not a monster Lloyd. And if he is.." Kai now turned to Lloyd and he saw the tears in Kai's eyes, "Then what am I?" "Kai...You're not a monster..." The brunette lowered his head, "How can I not be, he was my dark side. My jealousy, my fears, my dark thoughts. A part of me, so if he is a monster, then I am one too." Once again, Lloyd was at a loss for words. Kai let out a sigh and stood up, starting to walk back to his room. But when he walked past Lloyd, the green ninja grabbed his wrist and turned Kai around. Before Kai had a chance to react, Lloyd had wrapped his arms around Kai, "Kai, I care about you, so much. I just can't bear the thought of seeing you get hurt again." Kai felt his eyes water when Lloyd said that. Lloyd was already silently crying. Kai wrapped his arms around Lloyd and whispered in his ear, "I love you." Lloyd whispered back, "I love you too." They pulled away and stared into each other's eyes for a while before they realized what they were doing and Lloyd turned away, blushing. Kai smiled and put a hand on Lloyd's cheek, turning his head towards him. Kai then closed the space between their faces and kissed Lloyd. The green ninja was surprised at first but soon returned the kiss. They pulled away and gave each other a bright smile before hugging each other again. They stood like that for a while before letting go and looking at each other. They both couldn't help but blush at one another. The silence was soon interrupted when Lloyd spoke, "We should head back to bed, especially you, Kai. You really need to rest." Kai wanted to protest, but he lost the chance to change Lloyd's mind when he yawned. With a growl he nodded, earning a smile and small laugh from Lloyd. They walked back to their rooms. But before leaving the upper deck, Kai stooped and looked over his shoulder at the shadows created by the mast. He could have sworn he saw something there. But he just shrugged it off and went back to his room. But as soon as Kai had left, someone peaked out from behind the mast. Only the figure's eyes were visible in the darkness. Two blood red eyes with a small hint of Auburn in them. A smirk spread across the figure's face as he chuckled sadistically to himself, "I might need to go for a different approach this time."