Pyromaniacs Anonymous: [Kai X Reader]

[SIX.]

I frowned, liking the idea of this less and less. "I'm not sure it was such a good idea to put the Master of Fire on a flammable boat in the middle of the ocean."

"Relax. I would never!" Kai joked with a wink which made me roll my eyes at his odd charm.

Turning to the side and pushing us off from the dock, I reeled in our anchoring rope and waved at Kai to put the sails up. We had borrowed a small ship from one of Kai's friends, someone named Ronin. It came with a price, of course we had to bring it back in once piece and then some. The sails opened with a snap, quickly catching wind and picking up speed. Kai fumbled over to the wheel and turned us westward, closer to Chen's island.

I leaned up against the railing of the boat, watching the waves slap at the sides as we sailed along. A breeze ruffled through my charred hair, something I had meant to cut and make look decent again but had no time to do.

I was too busy.
Saving Kai and all that.

To my right, I watched as Ninjago disappeared from view ever so slowly, the buildings fading into nothingness before my eyes. I had never understood the appeal of the sea until now; the warm sun on your back and the wonderful smell of sea salt and no worries brought joy back to the surface of my heart.

I dared close my eyes for a moment, one that Kai seized and mock pushed me, instead gently tapping my shoulders and cackling at his own joke. "Don't even." I grumbled with a half smile and a glare.

He shrugged and came to stand beside me, leaning into his good leg as the bad one slowly healed and returned to normal. "So what's this all about your story? I told you I would listen..." he trailed off and looked at me expectantly, but with patience and understanding.

I sighed, my eyes lingering on the water. "It's a story I don't enjoy telling, but one that you need to hear." I turned a 180 and sat, my back against the railing and to the sea. "I was 16 and believe it or not, the most wild and reckless person you would ever meet. I would go out and party and do all those crazy teenager things that I never assumed would come back to bite me. My brother, dad and I all went out to a holiday party one day which promised to be good. It was one of those where everyone drinks and drinks and my dad had a little too many. I had just gotten my license and he made me drive home, unbeknownst to him I had been drinking too. My brother, Jude, insisted that he drive but I was too stubborn and he too much of a pushover."

Here I paused, taking a deep breath in and out, forcing the words from my mouth. Kai placed a reassuring hand on mine and I pressed on.

"I crashed the car. Totaled it. Both of them died and my mother, who blamed me for everything, took her own life a week later." I sucked back a sob and shook my head. "Everyone blamed me. My grandparents, my friends, my cousins, strangers, the media, too. No one listened to me when I said it was an accident and so I began to blame myself, too. It all got really bad when my cousin who had grown up with Jude and I, came to visit me one day. I was living on my own then, and she came in acting as if she had forgiven me. She acted like she believed me and still loved me. Like a fool, I trusted her. She turned on me, calling me a maniac and a traitor and all sorts of awful things because of what I had done. I got angry and as she rushed me, I threw a plate at her, hitting her head which ended up causing a lot of damage. Yet still, no one bothers to hear that she had charged me or that I was the one to call the police."

I flinched as he wrapped an arm around me to pull me closer to him. I propped myself up on my arm, not moving, instead continuing with my story.

"That's why I joined the police force. So no one could take the blame for something they didn't do. So no one would have to face the same things I did. That's why I made that promise, to help anyone who needed it." I met Kai's gaze and smiled.

After a few moments of him being wrapped in his own thoughts, he returned the smile. "How did you make it? How did you get back up after that?"

"Jude was the compassionate one. I was the crazy and outgoing, while he sought to look out for others in small ways. He was going to change the world." I sniffed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "I came to the realization that if he couldn't change the world, then I would change it for him. I got back up because I knew that I couldn't wallow in my self pity anymore to change what had happened to me. I knew that the past had been decided, but that I could decide my future."

"That's why you didn't want me to steal the Crystal. You just wanted me to move on..."

"Moving on isn't a bad thing. Moving on allows you to grow as a person and learn from the past."

"You're still willing to do this with me?"

"If you're willing to be open to moving on if it doesn't work, then yes. Of course."