(Kai's POV)

"Thank you" I told the cashier quietly with a weak forced smile, the black haired cashier wished me a good day as I took the plastic bag from his tattooed hand and started making my way out of the small store that was nearby Nya and I's home

On my way out of the small store Nya and I always shopped at, I tried my hardest to keep my eyes looking down at the clean tiled floor, the store owner was a huge fan of the Ninja for saving his daughter from a Garmadon attack some time ago and now every time me and Nya would stop by for the week's shopping we would always see at least five Ninja cardboard cutouts and various other pieces of Ninja merchandise for sale

The last thing I need to see right now is a magazine with the Red Ninja front and centre

As I left the local store and stepped onto the pathway of the busy City, thoughts about the Red Ninja kept filling my mind. Did the public even know that I was kicked off the team yet? Did they already find a replacement? Why wouldn't the public know if I had been kicked from the team? Are they too ashamed to even tell the people I was removed?! Ugh, why am I even thinking about this stuff?! I finally left the damn house to pick up some hair gel not to remind myself of my past experience as the Red Ninja! That Ninja Life is behind me now, it's time I just live a normal life like I did before all this Ninja stuff happened 

No matter how far I walked or how many roads I crossed my mind just couldn't shake away the thoughts of leaving behind the Ninja lifestyle, could I really just go back to being regular old Kai Smith? How would that impact my relationship with Sky? Or my own sister?! Ugh, I really should have thought about those two before I went ahead and messed everything up. Why couldn't I have just kept my stupid hot head in check for just one damn mission! 

For the past week while being locked away in my bedroom I've really been pondering about what I did, and I absolutely feel horrible about it. I was completely out of line for what I did back at that volcano, I was just really focused on getting the Fang Blade and that made me make a stupid decision, and shouting at Sensei afterwards probably just made it easier for the old man to give me the boot 

Maybe if I had just listened to Sensei instead of losing it at the bearded old man I could have rejoined the team by now, but I really shouldn't be allowed back right? I made a stupid mistake and acted like a child afterwards, I should just accept my punishment as a consequence of my actions and move on from that chapter of my life. From now on I am just a regular person making their way through life, no Ninja lifestyle at all

"HEY KID WATCH OUT!" A random voice seemed to shout at me, turning around to see who just shouted at me my eyes widened as they were met by the red eyes of a Serpentine Truck that was heading right at me! 

Just barely managing to jump backwards and out of the way I fell onto my back and watched on from the ground as several Serpentine Trucks, Bite Cycles and various other Serpentine controlled vehicles raced past me down the streets knocking over anything in their path 

I picked myself back up and dusted my red hoodie off as I watched the Serpentine race off with what sounded like Pythor having the time of his life, for a moment I was about to reach for my Sword of Fire but after grabbing nothing but air my mind came back to reality, reminding me of my current non Ninja situation. I guess you can take the hot head out of the Ninja gi but you can't take the Ninja out of the hot head 

Sighing in defeat I turned my attention away from the Serpentine speeding by and picked my plastic bag filled with my precious hair gel up from the ground, for a second there I really wanted to jump in and stop whatever those Serpentine were up to, but I can't go back on my decision now. Sensei didn't go back on his decision so neither will I, from now on if any Serpentine walk my way I just show them my back and go on with my day. But is that really the right thing to do? Argh, all this complicated thinking is really hurting my head, I should really get back home and apply this hair gel before my head explodes 

"COME ON! WE CAN'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"

Huh? That voice.....it sounded like.......Lloyd!? I was suddenly taken aback when three familiar Ninja vehicles and a running speedboat raced right past me! My body stood still as my head turned to watch my past teammates chase after the Serpentine at an extremely fast speed, whatever the Serpentine did this time must be pretty important, I've never seen Zane's Snowmobile go that fast before

After witnessing the high speed chase between the colourful Ninja and the scaly Serpentine I decided it would be best if I were to take the other way home, that way I won't end up getting in the way. Turning around and continuing my walk back home, a single word from Lloyd's shouting managed to find it's way into my ear as I walked away from the commotion 

Final

My curiosity got the better of me and I started to question that single word, what did it mean? What was so final about chasing the Serpentine? Was it the final time they were going to pursue the Serpentine? Once again my mind began to go crazy, thinking of everything that involved the word final. I  somewhat recallJay babbling on about some sort of final frontier one time which I think was about space? Were the Serpentine planning to venture out to space?! No no no, that couldn't be right, that sounds completely stupid! Ninja and Serpentine don't belong in space! 

Wait.......final.......could it be.........the final Fang Blade?! Running over to a nearby electronic store I looked into the front window at the many TV screens displaying the current live broadcast of the Ninja and Serpentine speeding around the city, the camera zoomed in on Pythor riding atop a Serpentine Truck and he was holding the final Fang Blade in his hand! 

I bit my bottom lip anxiously while multiple thoughts began to swarm my mind, should I do something!? Do I just sit and watch as the Serpentine get away like every other time? Would I just get in the way and mess it all up like at the volcano? My gut is telling me I have to do something......but I've already decided on not being a Ninja anymore, my mind was made up and I turned away from the broadcast and continued my walk home. But something inside of me just wouldn't let me get far, I looked back at the broadcast and saw the Serpentine were way ahead of the Ninja and my body was just screaming at me to stop being so down and help out

Glancing down at the hair gel in my plastic bag I felt both of my hands clench into fists with my eyes narrowing, I'm being so selfish! This matter is way too important to just sit by on the sidelines and watch! I may not be a Ninja anymore but I can still help! This could be a chance to prove myself to the other Ninja and Sensei, to prove that I've learned from my mistake and am ready to rejoin the team! 

I quickly turned away from the electronic store and dashed into a close by abandoned alleyway, throwing the plastic bag filled with hair gel over my back making it function as a sort of backpack while I made my up the fire escape at the end of the grimy alleyway, upon reaching the top of the fire escape I easily managed to hop onto the rooftops around me and looked down at the city to see the Ninja still following after the road destroying Serpentine 

There's no way I'll be able to reach the part of the city where I threw my gi away in time to help with the chase, as my eyes moved away from the Ninja and Serpentine they focused on a building that may be in my reach if I'm fast enough. If I can't get the iconic Red Ninja gi in time, I might as well drop by and borrow the signature weapon 

"Hello? Sensei? Are you here?" I quietly whispered out while I snuck into the Warehouse hideout, making sure my former mentor wasn't around to catch me stealing from him. He could be occupied with one of his meditations so just incase I need to be as quiet as I can, thankfully the large doors to the Warehouse weren't completely closed because the noise of me trying to open those up would definitely alert Sensei of my intrusion 

Silently stepping into the large interior of the Warehouse my eyes scanned around the area for my old Golden Weapon, as I looked around the Warehouse interior I took note of how much better it looked than the last time I was here, I still feel awful for my childish behaviour back then but I'm hoping that if I can help out with not letting the Serpentine get away with the fourth Fang Blade it could make up for it

Once I had entered the living room area I was confronted by the same wooden table I left my Sword of Fire on for the Ninja, but it seemed to have been pieced back together. Laying on top of the small wooden table was a red cloth and surprisingly the Sword of Fire was resting on top of the red cloth, I stepped closer to the table to look at what looked to be a sort of tribute to the Golden Weapon and maybe even to my time being the Red Ninja 

"Sorry Sensei, but I'll have to borrow this for a minute" I whispered to myself as my hand grabbed hold of the Sword of Fire and removed it from it's table resting spot. I've gotta say, it feels good to wield this thing after so long, I've really missed swinging it around and setting stuff on fire, and I have of course missed riding around on my Blade Cycle

Now that I've got my Sword of Fire back I only have one more problem to solve, how am I supposed to help in nothing but a red hoodie? Throwing my hood over my head won't exactly help as my face will still be completely visible for everyone to see, am I supposed to wear it backwards?! Just before I was about to start rooting around for a spare gi I could quickly throw on an idea popped into my head when my eyes fell upon the red cloth that decorated the wooden table in front of me, I removed the red cloth from the small wooden table and tied it around the bottom half of my face along with flipping my red hood onto my head, leaving only my eyes and a small bit of my face visible. I decided it would be best if I left my supply of hair gel behind as it wouldn't really help stop the Serpentine, so I hid my small shopping bag under the couch in the living room area before looking around the Warehouse one last time with a smile under the small red cloth that covered my face and then sprinting out of the large building with my Sword of Fire in hand

"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this" I repeated to myself over and over as I patiently waited on top of a bridge for the Serpentine and Ninja to pass under it, I was hoping to jump down and land on the Serpentine and get an advantage with a surprise attack. I've got to make sure my timing is absolutely perfect, because if not it won't just be the Red ninja who isn't around anymore I thought with a gulp. Maybe jumping off a bridge in hopes of landing on a Serpentine Truck wasn't the greatest idea......

I wasn't given much time to rethink my plan as my ears suddenly picked up the very sound I was waiting for, I swiftly spun around to face the loud noise and my brown eyes were met by the sight of the Serpentine speeding my way with the other Ninja lagging behind. My eyes closed as I began to take a few deep breaths to get myself ready to leap off the bridge, and once I heard a sinister laugh from Pythor coming closer and closer from below me my eyes shot open before I ran forward and jumped off the bridge 

My body flew through the air for a second before beginning its drop down towards the road below me, and just as I had planned the Serpentine Trucks and Bite Cycles sped right under the bridge I was just standing on and as I had hoped my feet easily managed to land on the very Serpentine Truck Pythor was riding on with an announcing thud 

"Miss me?" My mouth smirked from underneath the red cloth around my face as the purple Anacondrai looked at me with a sort of shocked expression, probably not expecting someone wearing a red hoodie to suddenly drop down and land in front of him with the Sword of Fire in hand 

"Red Ninja?!" Pythor screamed out as he stumbled backwards, almost dropping the Fang Blade in shock "What are you doing here!? And what is with that terrible costume! Did you Ninja have budget cuts?!" The long necked Serpentine yelled at me as he pointed the final Fang Blade right at me 

"KAI?!" Multiple familiar voices gasped from behind me, all sounding equally as shocked and surprised as Pythor had been

"Sorry to just drop in, but I thought you guys could use some help" I said to the other Ninja as my Sword of Fire was set ablaze and ready for battle "I'm sorry if you guys don't want me here but I ju-"

"No no it's great to see you Kai!" Lloyd's voice called out to me from Jay's Storm Fighter up in the air "And your help will be greatly appreciated!"

"It is most excellent to see you again Kai" Zane's friendly Nindroid voice spoke to me as he got closer to the Serpentine on his Snowmobile, with what looked to be a black falcon perched on his head 

"Sick outfit bro!" Cole shouted at me from the inside of his Tread Assault before he slammed the large black and gold vehicle into the side of a close by Bite Cycle, sending the poor Venomari crashing into a street lamp 

"Kai do you think you could try get the Fang Blade from Pythor? We can't exactly get close enough ourselves to do it. We'll keep the rest of the Serpentine occupied while you attack Pythor!" Lloyd commanded me from above 

"You got it Lloyd!" My voice yelled back up at Jay's Storm Fighter as the blue and gold coloured fighter jet swooped down to shoot a blast of lightning at a low flying Rattlecopter. Sending the lime coloured Serpentine themed copter crashing down into a demolition site that was up ahead, steering the Serpentine down Hageman Street  

"Woooaaahhh!" I yelped as the sudden turn made me lose my balance and almost fall right off the truck, but luckily my hand was just able to grab hold of the long tail of the truck saving myself from becoming a red stain on the road 

"Be careful Kai! You have to keep yourself steady!" Skylor shouted at me with a slight bit of worry in her voice "It would be a terrible shame if I had nobody to have make out sessions with!" My beloved red headed girlfriend finished with a quick wink, with Nya as usual groaning at her little flirtatious comment

Listening to Sky's advice I tried to steady myself on the Serpentine Truck with my red trainers being firmly planted on the scale like surface of the lime coloured snake looking vehicle, all the while Pythor was mockingly twirling the Fang Blade around in front of me, trying to taunt me into recklessly jumping at him with a mischievous smirk plastered onto his purple face, but it wasn't going to work. Instead of mindlessly running towards the Anacondrai General I instead decided to let him come to me, so I raised my Sword of Fire above my head and pointed it right at the smirking Anacondrai, with my other hand pointing right at him 

"A little shy are we?" Pythor continued to mock me with the Fang Blade being pointed right at me, instead of responding to his words I just shot him a glare as my grip on my Sword of Fire grew tighter "Not going to fight me are you?" The Anacondrai chuckled as his long purple tail slowly began to slither towards me but I made sure to keep myself still and steady. Not moving an inch, which made the Fang Blade wielding Anacondrai General's grin widen 

"Then it looks like getting rid of you for good will be a lot easier!" Pythor yelled before he suddenly lunged toward me with the Fang Blade ready to knock me off the Serpentine Truck 

Just at the last moment before the Fang Blade could strike me I slightly moved my body to the right and delivered a powerful swing right to Pythor's chest sending him back and almost off the truck himself, the Anacondria steadied himself and shot me an aggravated expression, but instead of continuing to attack him I instead went right back into my defensive stance 

Pythor released a hiss as he raised the Fang Blade in the air above his purple head before charging right at me and swinging the sharp Fang Blade down at me, still playing defensive I blocked the Fang Blade attack and pushed the Anacondria General away from me and returned to the same defensive stance I held just moments ago. The same attacks went on and on with me continuously blocking Pythor's slashes with the Sword of Fire, multiple small bursts of flames occurring with every strike from the final Fang Blade, every time my Golden Weapon blocked one of Pythor's attacks he looked to grow more and more annoyed, telling me that my strategy was working 

As the failed slashing attempts from Pythor continued to be delivered I could see that the Serpentine Leader's attacks were becoming sloppier and sloppier as the battle went on, I was wearing him down and it really showed when the occasional road signage and traffic lights would be passed by the Serpentine vehicles and the two of us would have to either jump over, move out of the way or duck under the obstacles. I was easily able to do so even with the Serpentine's vehicles gaining more and more speed as the Ninja continued to steer them away from the end of the city, Pythor on the other hand was too angry and concerned with trying to get me off the truck that every time one of the obstacles came our way the Anacondria General would be struck by the various obstacles resulting in a slight advantage I would seize by attacking with a swift kick in an attempt to get him to let go of the Fang Blade, but no matter how hard I kicked or how many Gayle Gossip Gossip Show advertisements slammed into the last living Anacondria he stood his ground and the Fang Blade never slipped out of his grasp 

Now I was beginning to grow frustrated, Pythor was starting to turn my own strategy against me by tiring me out with all of his brutal swings, I can only block his attacks for so long and with the Serpentine vehicles racing recklessly below us my feet are finding it hard to keep me steady, and Pythor's long purple tail made sure to take advantage of that fact by wrapping itself around my right leg, tightening around it and attempting to yank my leg to make me fall off the speeding truck the two of us were fighting on top of 

If I really want to make sure Pythor and the Serpentine won't get away with this last Fang Blade my strategy will have to change, staying on the defensive is only going to get me so far, and the only other strategy I can think of is using Spinjitzu. But that is a major risk right now, spinning into my Spinjitzu tornado will be pretty difficult while Pythor's purple tail wraps itself around my  bottom half, and being on top of a speeding Serpentine truck isn't exactly helping either. Quickly glancing behind me to see the situation of the others I knew a choice had to be made fast, the other Ninja were pushed way too far back to help me now so it was all up to me to get the Fang Blade from Pythor. I took a risk once and didn't go well, but sometimes a risk is worth taking and this matter is too important to not try something risky that could end up helping 

So with a deep breath and one last block with my Sword of Fire I began to spin around as fast as I could, Pythor's tail proved to be a bit of a challenge but soon enough flames built up around me and I was engulfed in my fiery hot Spinjitzu tornado, once my bright red Spinjitzu tornado was spinning the fastest it could the Anacondria General across from me released a painful yelp as his tail was swallowed by my Spinjitzu tornado which soon ended up swinging him round and round in the air before letting go off his long purple tail sending him flying off the Serpentine truck, crashing into the hard pavement below

While Pythor was sent towards the ground his hold on the Fang Blade became no more and the final Fang Blade flew up into the air, descending to the road below quickly. One of the other Serpentine Generals saw the blade coming down too and extended an arm out to grab it, I couldn't let that happen so without thinking I bent my knees and leaped off the Serpentine truck. Whilst up in the air and falling down as quick as the Fang Blade my body managed to curl itself up into a ball around the final tooth shaped blade preventing the Serpentine General below me from grabbing it, but now I have a different problem........

How am I supposed to avoid getting flattened!?!?!?!

"I believe you can now open your eyes Kai" What I thought was the First Spinjitzu Master's voice told me in a very......robotic tone? I took the advice of the voice and opened my brown eyes, seeing that I was now seated on the back of......... Zane's Snowmobile?! So I didn't end up becoming a red splatter on the city road after all! 

"Oh thank you Zane!" I wrapped my arms around the Nindroid, the last Fang Blade being held in my right hand "I thought for sure I was gonna be ran over by those Serpentine!" 

"There is no need to thank me Kai" Zane told me as he and the other Ninja all turned their Golden Weapon vehicles around and headed away from the Serpentine who looked to be checking up on Pythor "We should be thanking you for retrieving the final Fang Blade from Pythor" 

"Oh it was nothing" My face turned a slight shade of red as I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly accepting Zane's kind words 

"Great going bro!" Cole's voice called out from his Tread Assault "It'll look great up on a shelf in the Warehouse"

Oh boy the Warehouse. I am not looking forward to returning there, Wu is really going to chew me out for stealing the Sword of Fire. Maybe I will end up being a red splatter after all 

"Hey Sensei we're back!" Lloyd stepped into the large Warehouse with the rest of us following behind him "And we brought a little something with us!" He raised the fourth Fang Blade above his head with his voice filled with pride 

"Lloyd I'm really not sure if I should be here right now" I quietly tried to tell the Green Ninja, but my words ended up being ignored as I continued to be led into the Warehouse

I thought about just throwing the Sword of Fire at one of the other Ninja and running off, but I have to face the consequences of my actions no matter what those consequences may be, and the sound of a wooden staff coming our way wouldn't let me leave

"I see you were successful in getting the last Fang Blade from the Serpentine" Wu stroked his long white beard while stepping in front of us, brown wooden staff in his hand "Words can not describe how proud I am of you all" He finished with a smile, something that will surely disappear once he sees me among the Ninja 

"A-A-All thanks t-to K-Kai!" Jay stuttered out before motioning towards me, I gulped as Wu turned his attention away from Lloyd and looked right at me, his eyes staring into mine with surprisingly not a hint of anger or disappointment. Instead looking sort of.........proud? 

"So I see that you were the one who took the Sword of Fire" Wu said to me, with what looked to be a smile on his face? I really thought he would look somewhat angry upon seeing me

"Y-Yes Sensei, I am sorry for taking it" My voice shook slightly as I apologised to my former teacher, removing the Golden Weapon from my back and attempting to hand it back to the old man, but to mine and everyone else's surprise he refused to take it and pushed it back towards me. I looked at him with a very confused expression, did he forget about me being kicked from the team? I mean, he is really old.......

"I believe that weapon belongs to you and you alone" Wu began to tell me, one of his hands reaching behind him to retrieve something "And I believe this also belongs to you" The wise old man told me revealing my Red Ninja gi in his hand, gesturing for me to take it from him which I hesitatingly did, why was he handing this to me?

"Sensei I....don't quite understand" I began saying to the smiling Sensei standing in front of me "Why won't you take the Sword of Fire back? And why are you handing me my old gi?" I questioned Wu, he released a sigh before answering me 

"I made a mistake Kai" The old man told me, looking down at the Warehouse floor in what looked to be shame "Kicking you off the team was a decision I had made in the heat of the moment, regret instantly flooded me after sending you away" I couldn't believe the words coming from Sensei right now, he made a mistake!? Does that mean he wants me back on the team?!

"The matter of stopping the Serpentine from unleashing the Great Devourer is very important to me" Wu continued on, his gaze glued to the floor of the secret base "I hold this land close to me not only because it is my home, but because my father created it with love and care" He spoke in a gentle voice, almost sounding like a whisper "I can not bear to see it in any kind of distress, so when you made a mistake that allowed the Serpentine to get away with another Fang Blade, I made the decision to remove you from the team during the heat of the moment, in hopes that if you were no longer apart of the team we could successfully obtain the last Fang Blade before the Serpentine" Wu's head rose from the ground and looked me in the eyes with a guilty expression 

"As soon as you had flown away on your Elemental Dragon I had realised what a mistake I had made, and I have felt guilty ever since" The long bearded Sensei told me before turning away from my direction "Back at that volcano I was a very foolish teacher, instead of rejecting you I should have embraced you and allowed for you to make a mistake so that you could properly grow from it instead of shooing you away like a pest that was undesired" He spun back around to face me once more as his speech came to a close "I am terribly sorry for my rash decision Kai, everyone is allowed to make mistakes. Today you have proven yourself to be a fully capable Ninja who is more than worthy to be a member of the Secret Ninja Force, so without a shred of doubt in my mind I must ask you if you are willing to forgive me and rejoin the Secret Ninja Force" Sensei Wu bowed in front of me, leaving me and the others quite stunned. It took me no time at all to think about Wu's offer and make my decision 

"Of course I'll forgive you Sensei" I told my Sensei with a hand being placed on his shoulder, he looked up at me as I shot him a smile "Everyone is allowed to make a mistake right?" We both chuckled lightly at my comment before I continued on speaking "And of course I'll rejoin the team!" A cocky smile appeared on my face 

Once I had said those last few words the others all embraced me in a large group hug, cheering and celebrating as Sensei nodded his head with a smile. The group hug came to an end and someone stood in front of me, looking very annoyed with their arms crossed. I'm really in for it now.....

"Hey Sky..." I awkwardly began to speak to my red headed girlfriend, we haven't talked properly since I was removed from the team and I feel terrible about "Listen, I'm really sorry about not cal-"

"Oh shut up!" Skylor suddenly interrupted my apology, grabbing me by my red jacket and pulling me in close for a passionate kiss that definitely shut me up. The kiss lasted only a few seconds but it felt like an entire week's worth of kisses all in one, once the kiss ended and we looked at each other large smiles plastered the both of our faces "Don't you dare do anything like that ever again" She told me with a stern but happy face, still in slight shock from the sudden kiss I just nodded my head with a grin on my face 

"It's good to have you back bro" Nya playfully punched me on the arm and gave me a smile, something I haven't seen in days and I'll make sure she keeps that smile from now on no matter wha-

"Ow!" A yelp escaped from me as I felt a sudden hard tug on my left ear

"That is for completely ignoring us!" Nya told me with a strong hold on my ear, I hate it when she does this! Thankfully she only gave me one more tug on my ear before letting it go, the others snickered as I rubbed my throbbing ear with my palm with slight embarrassment. I guess I do deserve that after making her and Sky worry about me so much 

"So who's up for a bit of cake to celebrate Kai's return and the last Fang Blade being ours?" Cole asked us all before dashing over to the fridge to grab his favourite thing to eat, the rest of us just laughed and watched as Cole tried to balance at least 5 cakes on top of each other, handling them with more care than his Golden Weapon 

As we all sat down and enjoyed our slices of cake, I realised just how much I missed being around these guys, we're all like one big happy family and I wouldn't change that for the world. From now on I'm not going to take anything for granted, I'm going to try my hardest to do my best and make sure that everyone I care about is happy 

Kai fans rejoice, the Falcon did not end up replacing Kai after all. Three cheers for the Ninja actually getting a Fang Blade! Now what will our favourite teen heroes do with such a dangerous blade? Can they make sure that the Great Devourer will never be unleashed? And will Kai's ears suffer from Nya's wraith once more!? The next Ninja Life chapter is bound to answer one question and one question only. I'm sure you all know the drill by now, make sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below and feel free to share this with other Ninjago fans. Make sure you go ahead and follow me here on Wattpad too!