Kai's True Flames (Rewrite)

Chapter 14: Hunting Iris

Kai woke up after Lloyd and Eris left his mind. He looked between the two nervously. Eris just smiled reassuringly, knowing her son was nervous over his colored past. Lloyd, on the other hand, hugged him. "It's who you are now that's important." Lloyd said and Kai hugged back, a tear slipping out of one of his eyes.

"What happened?" Pixel asked as Lloyd pulled back from the hug. "I figured out how Kai got kicked out of Darkly's." Lloyd said with a nervous chuckle. "Really? How?" Zane asked and Lloyd shook his head. "Trust me, you really don't want to know." Lloyd replied as he grabbed Kai's hand, giving it a light and reassuring squeeze.

Eris stood up and looked to Kai. "Sweetie, you need to accept your past and who you are as a whole." She said in a worried tone. Kai simply hung his head and Lloyd started rubbing his back lightly with a soft smile. "She's right Kai. You need to come to terms with your past." He said softly and Kai looked to him.

Eris then walked out. "I'll head out for now." She said as she left. Zane and Pixel looked to Kai, Zane looking like he wanted to say something, but Lloyd shook his head and the androids nodded in understanding before leaving the room.

Lloyd positioned himself in front of Kai and cuped his face. "Hey, stop that pouting. You're not nearly as attractive with tears in your eyes, ya know." He said as he whipped a tear away. "You're the confident one, remember?" Lloyd said in a joking way, trying to lighten the mood. "You're terrible at this." Kai said with a half hearted chuckle and Lloyd shrugged. "I'd like to see you do better." He said and Kai gave a small smile.

"Kai..." Lloyd said, biting his bottom lip. "What is it?" Kai questioned in curiosity. "Your time at Darkly's aren't the only memories I saw." Lloyd said and Kai's head tilted. "I know how you feel about me." Lloyd said and Kai's eyes widened. "I... You... Really?" Kai said nervously with a hint of fear in his eyes and Lloyd frowned. Did Kai have this low an opinion of himself? He guessed it was true, what they said. That the brightest smiles could hide the deepest frowns.

Lloyd then simply kissed him. It was light, more like a peck on the lips in an atempt to not overwhelm him. Kai was surprised at the action, but fell into the kiss. The two parted lips not to long after and simply gazed into each others eyes. "Kai, I've loved you for a long time." Lloyd said softly, barely above a whisper as their foreheads met gently. "What about Harumi?" Kai simply asked. "To be honest? I believe that was a desperate attempt to move on. I thought you and Skylor had a thing." Lloyd admitted with a light laugh. "I've had a crush on you since we met to be honest." The blond admitted. "Yeah... I can't say the same." Kai replied. "Then, since when?" Lloyd asked.

"To be honest?" Kai replied and Lloyd nodded. "I'm not sure, but I noticed it when Morro possessed you." Kai admitted and Lloyd chuckled. "So, what happens now?" Lloyd asked and Kai grinned. "What do you want to happen?" The brunette asked. "This." Lloyd replied before kissing him again and Kai returned the action. Together, they started up a rhythm of locking lips that slowly sped up. Lloyd's arms locked together behind Kai's head as Kai wrapped his arms around Lloyd's waist. They shared that moment until Cole walked in. "Hey, what's keeping you gu-uuuys....." He said with wide eyes and a blush.

Kai and Lloyd parted and looked to him. Lloyd's eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights while Kai held a nervous smile, both blushing intensely. "I'm... gonna... just leave you to that." Cole said nervously before backing out of the room.

Lloyd and Kai looked to each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "Let's get back to the others." Kai said before pecking Lloyd's cheek. Lloyd nodded and stood up, helping Kai up afterwards. The two held each others hand as they walked out.

When they got to the others outside, Misako had to do a double take when she saw their joined hands. She hadn't expected the two to come together in such a way, but said nothing against it. Nelson's eyes widened when he saw them. "Wait, are you two, a couple?" He asked and Kai looked to Lloyd, who looked at him as well. The two seemed to understand each other before looking back to Nelson. "Yes." Was their answer, given in sync.

Nelson smiled then looked to Lloyd. "You better treat my big brother right." He said with a playful smile and the three laughed. "Don't worry, I intend to." Lloyd said and Kai rolled his eyes before kissing his new boyfriend's cheek. Lloyd blushed at the action and Nelson grinned. He was happy for the two of them.

Kai then turned to his mother. "I'll be going to find Iris first thing tomorrow morning." He said and she nodded. "Alright, be careful." She said and he nodded. "I want to go with you." Lloyd said and Kai looked to him. "You sure?" He asked and Lloyd nodded. "If she graduated from Darkly's then I don't want you going alone." Said the blond and Kai sighed. "I can handle myself." He said and Lloyd shook his head. "I'm going." He said firmly and Kai chuckled. "Alright."

The Next Day...

Kai woke up to his alarm and stretched before getting up and getting dressed. He then made his way to Lloyd's room. "Lloyd! Wake up!" He called as he knocked on Lloyd's door. Lloyd opened the door tiredly and gave a sleepy glare. "What? You said you wanted to come with me." Kai said before walking away and Lloyd stretched. "How are you so awake?" He asked and Kai chuckled before making a ’tuting' sound. "Waking up so slowly, and to think you attended Darkly's once. Did you forget that waking up fast can save one's life?" Kai said and Lloyd rolled his eyes. "I didn't, but we aren't at Darkly's right now, now are we?" He said and Kai looked at him. "We're ninja. What if there was an emergency going on and you couldn't make it in time because you woke up to slowly?" He questioned and Lloyd groaned. "Point taken." He admitted frustratingly.

The two got in the land bounty with Kai behind the wheel and took off. They made their way to a small village where Kai parked the vehicle on the outskirts. It was already nearing sunset as they got out. "Man, how far out are we?" Lloyd asked as he looked to the sky. "Very far." Kai replied as he made his way to the village with Lloyd following him. "What makes you so sure she's out here?" Asked the green ninja. "This is her home village." Kai answered. "When we attended the two Darkly's together she often talked about coming back here and helping this one guy who took her in after her mother's disappearance on his farm." He continued as they walked through the village.

"Wait, if she was bad enough to attend and graduate from Darkly's for Girls, then why would she spend her days farming?" Lloyd asked as he came up beside Kai. "Because Iris has split personality disorder. The main Iris is actually peaceful. She's sweet and just wants a normal life, but her other self is insane." Kai answered him as they arrived in front of a farm house. "I see." Lloyd said nervously.

Kai knocked on the door and an elderly man answered. "Kai?" He asked, looking surprised. "Hey, Mister Rice." Kai said with a smile. "Can me and my friend here come in?" He asked and the man happily moved to let them in. "Of course! It's been so long." He said and Kai nodded as he lead Lloyd inside. "Oh, how you've grown so well." Mr. Rice said as he walked to the kitchenette. "I remember you and Iris spending every school brake here, well... until that mean woman from your village would come and take you." He said and Kai chuckled as he sat on the couch with a curious Lloyd beside him.

"Oh, I remember." Kai said as Mr. Rice brought them some tea. "I was wondering, if Iris was here?" Kai asked as he took his cup and Mr. Rice frowned. "Sadly no. She came back after graduation and stayed for a while, but then an... incident... happened." He said and Kai looked confused. "What incident?" He questioned. "Well, her other self came out and she almost killed me. One of the other villagers stopped her in time, but Iris closed herself off after that and took off. I haven't seen or heard from her since." He explained and Kai sighed.

Lloyd placed a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Do you know where she might have gone?" The blond asked and the old man shook his head. "My only guess would be her mother's home." He said and Kai seemed to think. "She hates that place." He said and Mr. Rice nodded. "I know, but it's secluded."