Lately, Lloyd has seen that the ninjas, including Nya, care a lot about him. This was something new in the life of the young Garmadon, since he can remember he has already forgotten what it is to feel protected and loved by someone else. At the Darkley School for Bad Boys, Lloyd was taught that love or friendship was a weakness for great villains, and was something that the boy or the other boy at the boarding school should be very careful about.

Still, Lloyd knew for a short time what it was like to at least have a friend by being by Brad Tudabone's side. But that friendship did not last long, since both the teachers and some students disintegrated the friendship that existed between Lloyd and Brad, since they managed to convince Brad to turn against Lloyd.

Without Brad by his side, Lloyd was again helpless and would have the whole world against him, in his desperate attempts to get the attention of his teachers and prove his worth at school Lloyd began to make jokes, he started with small jokes when I started with the other students and some teachers, then they were antics that Lloyd thought would make him a villain, such as: putting buckets of water and mud on different doors, putting different types of ink in the washing machines so that both uniforms and their classmates' clothes would look ridiculous, mixing bad ingredients in the kitchen for when it was time to eat everyone would spit out their meals or lunches, placing several hidden ropes as traps so that some would trip when passing the doors or were left hanging on one foot , and among other witty jokes that Lloyd thought could turn him into a good villain.

But even so, none of those traps worked, and that led to him being expelled from school for not being bad enough in his jokes and actions.

Since then he has been alone, people hate him for being a nuisance, the serpentine betrayed and abandoned him for not being a good vengeful leader, and Pythor only used his innocence as a child to be able to deceive him by pretending to be his friend and then leave him alone and at his mercy. of the ninjas while stealing the map of the other tribes.

However, everything changed once his Uncle Wu took him to live in the Ship with the others. He thought that his uncle would be upset with him and return him to school, but it was not, instead his uncle just hugged him and then offered him an extra room and read him a good bedtime story. For once in his life, Lloyd felt safe. Also, the next day, the four ninjas apologized to him for humiliating him in the Jamanakai village, it was strange to hear their apologies directly, which (incredibly) sounded sincere and regretful.

Lloyd forgave them, of course, but a part of him was still upset with them for hanging it on a sign in the village. However, he discovered that living on the Ship was not as bad as he believed, which turned out to be something new, but at the same time strange, for him. No one bothered or yelled at him, they didn't even hurt him, these were things Lloyd was used to receiving from others.

His uncle Wu began to behave like a real uncle to him, he even invited him to drink tea with him, (Lloyd secretly always added sugar to his, since he did not like the tasteless tea that his uncle made), Nya She was the first to be nice to him and showed him around the ship, even let him drive from time to time, Zane cooked him the most delicious meals he had never tasted, discovered that Jay had the same love for comics and the same character, named Fritz Donnegan, and Cole showed him what good manners are, both in actions and in words. (It was something Lloyd knew little about after all).

But the ninja that caught his eye the most was the Red Ninja, Kai, Nya's older brother. Lloyd didn't know how to explain it, but he felt some admiration watching him train and perform with the others around him.

At first he played helpless pranks on the four ninjas in order to get their attention again, (apart from why Sensei Wu asked him as a way to train the boys and why Nya always helped him just so he could have a little fun together with Lloyd). As each one fell into their jokes, at first I expected the screams and scolding that I was already waiting to hear, but to Lloyd's surprise that was not the case. Yes, at first they seemed annoying but then everyone would burst into laughter or they would just give lectures on not doing that kind of thing to other people (Jay included him in one of those sermons if the victim of the joke was not deserved it).

Sometimes he would receive small strokes of affection from Kai, who was the main subject in his jokes to at least get more attention from him. Sure, at first he would get mad (since he was the most impulsive and the most easily angered of them all) but he just ignored them, once he fell into a mud bucket trap, Lloyd laughed at that, but Kai pulled him with it and splashed mud on his face, at that moment it was Kai who was laughing at Lloyd.

It was amazing for everyone to see that Kai had patience with Lloyd, patience was not Kai's strong suit, everyone knew that, but if it was Lloyd, he would have all the patience in the world. But it was there that Kai told Lloyd that if he wanted to be by his side, he just had to ask.

It was there that Kai became Lloyd's first support person.

Lloyd found it nice to be around the Red Ninja, he felt comfortable and safe for the first time in his life with someone like that.

But that was also the beginning of worrying about all of them, of course, as a child he admired them for fighting the Serpentine, but he got scared every time one of them was hurt. But he was impressed to see them still go on with the missions and fights. Caring for someone at the same time wanting to admire them was something Lloyd had never felt.

Even the four ninjas did not give up once Lloyd was captured by the serpentine. He never believed that the boys would risk so much to save him, since no one had cared so much about Lloyd Garmadon that they would risk everything and get him off the serpentine. Even his father returned from a dark world just so he could rescue his son, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. This was truly something new to Lloyd.

And it was even more impressive to find out that he was the Green Ninja once Kai nearly risked his life rescuing him from the Fire Temple volcano. Lloyd always wanted to accompany the boys on their missions, but he was still too young for that, he never believed that now maybe he would have a chance to accompany them now, and in this way also. But it was even more difficult for him to see his father, Lord Garmadon, leave again and now be on opposite sides, at least Nya and the boys consoled him, especially Kai, who understood him perfectly in all its entirety.

But with the passing of the days, the serpentine attacks were increased, even Nya, (being Samurai X) and Sensei Wu joined the patrol missions, and since they did not want to leave Lloyd alone, each one took a turn to To be able to take care of him during his missions, of course they always told him to be careful.

That made Lloyd sometimes feel like a baby to them, and it bothered him.

This time it was Kai's turn to take care of him, at first the patrol with him was quiet, but everything changed once a group of serpentines threw explosives at them that caused them both to fly out and crash on the ground, the serpentines were made up of the Venomari and Fangpyre tribes, had explosives with them, (which were clearly stolen).

This was one of the first times that Lloyd presented danger in one of the missions that the boys did, but he was still a child and was not familiar with these types of situations.

Recovering from the explosion, Lloyd found himself surrounded by a large group of serpentines.

Fear was evident in his eyes, would he be taken prisoner with Pythor again? Was he away from his family again? Again ... dragged into the gloomy darkness and loneliness of a cage?

Lloyd thought so, but when he saw Kai rush into the serpentines, those thoughts disappeared. Kai was hit more by the blast than Lloyd, now he only had scratches on his face and body, and some parts of his gi were torn. But even so, he did not give up fighting those serpentines.

Lloyd was stunned to see the way the Red Ninja fought, it was like watching a huge wild lion fight for its defenseless cub. That is what Lloyd wanted for Kai, a still defenseless child who did not know how to fight yet and who needed to be protected. The fight was intense for Kai, it was a large group of serpentine fighting with a single ninja, several of them had dangerous weapons and they did not stop attacking him with them, the little Green Ninja just stayed frozen there in his place while still watching the fight his older brother against those monsters who wanted to hurt both of them.

- Agh ... Lloyd, run! - Kai shouted intensely as he blocked several Venomari attacks. He wanted his little brother to be safe.

As soon as a child reacted to the Red Ninja's request, he got up shakily and tried to flee.

No, he wasn't going to run away like that.

He just needed to communicate with the others and then they would return for Kai to help him.

But that would not be possible as three Venomari serpentine stopped him on the spot, reaching to grab him by his black hood and throw him to the ground.

Malice was reflected in those reptilian eyes, and Lloyd could see it clearly, tears of fear began to form in his eyes, and the serpentines began to mock him for it. However, they were brought down hard by Kai's fists and sword (now almost wasted).

The Red Ninja managed to rescue him in time, but now he was more injured than ever, part of his gi was torn from his side and it vividly exposed Kai's wounded and bled skin.

Blood...

The sight turned Lloyd's stomach, and made him shiver even more. He wasn't used to seeing a lot of blood, he didn't like to see it anyway.

Even Kai was bleeding from the side of the corner of his mouth. The severe wound on his side was bleeding heavily and sliding like a river falling to the ground. Breathing sharply, Kai fell to his knees beside Lloyd as he leaned with his sword thrust into the ground like some kind of staff.

- K-Kai ...? Lloyd's voice was so small that it was barely noticeable in Kai's ears.

- T-Easy, Lloyd ... I-I won't let them hurt you ... - he growled in pain as with his free hand he hugged the small body of the trembling child in his grip as he brought him close to him.

The palm of Kai's hand touched Lloyd's head carelessly, each breath getting harder and harder. Lloyd, even with that fear reflected in his eyes, hugged Kai's hand tightly, with the intention of not letting him go for anything in the world.

Coming down from being hurt, Kai still stood his ground, he didn't want to give up, because he knows that if he did, the serpentine would take Lloyd from his side. And that was not going to allow.

"I-I won't let them take you back ... I-I won't let them ..." he hissed raggedly as he held Lloyd tighter in a protective way. His other hand trembled as he put more pressure on the hilt of his sword.

Lloyd could see the severity in Kai's injuries, he was no longer in a position to fight this way. He was even panting quickly to at least catch some breath.

Lloyd knew they couldn't do this alone, they needed help.

Kai needed all the help possible.

His amber eyes glowed like wild fire as he saw the group of, at least now, five intact serpentines approached them with their weapons in hand, threatening the boy's safety.

Snarling in anger, Kai let out a menacing yell, "Stay away from us ...!" Don't force me to leave you worse than I leave your other serpentine companions! - The fierceness showed in Kai's eyes.

One of those serpentine approached them and hissed a mocking response - And you are in no condition to fight, Red Ninja - the Venomari serpentine hummed - You will not be able to protect that child for long -

At that Kai gave a slight mocking laugh. Tremblingly he managed to stand up at the moment of supporting his sword even more with both hands - You're wrong ... I can do this all day if necessary ... I won't let ... them put their stinky claws on my little brother. .. - With that threat raised, he raised his sword and prepared for another round against the serpentine.

Little brother? Kai at the time of becoming more attached to Lloyd began to call him little brother, and he did not mind telling him in front of the others, anyway they also saw him as his little brother, but they did not always call him "little brother", not like Kai at least , he and Nya always said that to her almost daily. He never believed he would also say it in front of some serpentine fools.

"Kai ..." Lloyd groaned as Kai's firm and protective hand was no longer close to him. Now the ninja stood in front of the boy in a protective mode.

- Easy, dwarf ... Everything will be fine ... I'll take care of these silly snakes and then go home ... - I assure him, looking at him sideways with that determined look and with an enthusiastic smile formed on his face.

- Finish it! - ordered the serpentine as he yelled at his other companions to attack the Red Ninja.

Kai let out a firm battle cry as he lunged at the serpentines.

Lloyd was right, Kai was a huge wild lion and he was her helpless cub.

It didn't take Kai too long to defeat the five serpentines, the ferocity still showing in his eyes, and yet Kai didn't hesitate.

Knowing that the battle against the ninja was lost, the serpentine fled the place while some picked up several of their unconscious companions on the ground and fled with them from the place where they were.

Now Kai and Lloyd were safe, at least for now.

Limping towards Lloyd, Kai again collapsed next to the boy as his breathing became even more labored and shallow than before, and he even found himself coughing up some of the blood from his mouth.

- Kai! - Lloyd cried worried as he grabbed Kai from his side of the gi unharmed.

Groaning in pain, Kai managed to crawl close to a wall that was close to him and by pressing his back against it, he managed to at least regain some of his lost breath. It didn't take long for Lloyd to sit next to him as well to be close to him, but made sure to sit on his uninjured side.

- Kai! ¿ Are you okay ? Lloyd sounded very concerned about his older brother. Who only snorted a few times and put his sword on the ground next to him.

- Easy ... I'm fine ... - he moaned a little as he raised his hand and gently patted Lloyd's head, while the other kept it pressing on his wound - Just ... a little tired, that's all. .. -

"But you're bleeding a lot," she cried as she looked at Kai's injured side, which was still bleeding.

- Heh ... - Kai laughed softly - Don't worry ... that wound won't kill me ... J-just call the others and tell them to pick us up, if ...? - He said as he handed the communicator to Lloyd.

Lloyd took the communicator from Kai's shaking hand and pressed the button so he could call the boys from the Ship, it didn't take long for Cole to answer Lloyd's call.

- Hello there? Kai? Are you? - From the communicator, Lloyd clearly heard the voice of the black ninja, to Lloyd's relief.

"C-Cole, it's me, Lloyd," Lloyd called desperately from the communicator.

- Lloyd? What's the matter? Where is Kai? - Cole asked now something worried he did with the child.

- Cole, please go quickly, Kai is injured, some serpentines attacked us, now we are defenseless and I have hurt that something bad happens to Kai -

- That?! - His worried cry was heard from the other side of the communicator - O-Okay, listen, don't turn off the communicator, with it we will locate them, we are on our way -

- Hurry up, please ... - Lloyd cried as he held the communicator tighter in his hands.

After that Lloyd snuggled closer to Kai and buried his face in the wounded ninja's gi to start crying again. Kai didn't even care about him, he still kept his weak hand on the boy's head, at which he smiled weakly with some grace.

- You see...? I told you that I was not going to let them take you again, green machine ... - Lloyd said nothing, and continued crying on his older brother's chest.

The boys and Nya were not long in reaching the place where they were. Cole and Zane took on Kai to the stretcher and Nya took care of a crying Lloyd.

After a few hours, Zane and Nya managed to heal Kai of his injuries, and Cole took it upon himself to cover Lloyd's wounds and scrapes with adhesive bandages.

But still Lloyd wouldn't stop crying.

"Hey, hey," Cole reassured him, patting him gently on the head. "You'll be fine, little one, just like Kai." Everything will be fine -

- I know ... - I speak weakly as I look down - I just wish that ... all of us would stop hurting each other and return home safely -

- I understand you, green machine - Cole said as he ruffled the boy's blond hair a bit - I would also like that for everyone, but life is full of risks, but if we are careful we can avoid hurting ourselves -

"Hmm ..." Lloyd just nodded weakly as he got off the kitchen counter to start walking down the hall.

As he passed the ship's medical wing, where Kai must have been now, he stopped. She joined the wall and slightly poked her head through the entrance door of the infirmary, there she could see Nya watching over her injured brother while she was sitting next to his bed.

By the time Nya saw that her older brother was stable, she and Zane checked that the injury was not serious enough to put his life at risk, that was fortunate. And knowing that at least Kai was fine reassured her, as did Lloyd, who felt free of a great weight that was abounding his body. After bandaging Kai's entire abdomen, Zane made sure to give him a pain reliever that would allow him to sleep without problems. But glancing at the door, Nya saw Lloyd's head peeking through the door.

- Lloyd? - Nya began when she saw how the boy let out a slight gasp of surprise. He didn't think Nya would find out too soon - Hey, okay, come on here. You may come in -

Shyly, Lloyd entered the room, as he did so he took one of the extra chairs that were inside the room and dragged it near Kai's bed to be next to Nya. As she sat down, Nya turned her gaze to the boy.

- Are you still worried about Kai? - Asked with a soft tone he did with him.

Lloyd looked away, sorry to feel this kind of thing - Yes. He ... will he wake up soon? Truth? - His voice sounded so innocent that Nya believed that the little Green Ninja was going to cry again.

Samurai X looked at her brother lying on the bed, this was the first time that Nya had seen Lloyd deeply worried about someone. After they collected both of them from that place where they were attacked, Nya took charge of comforting him a bit, after having calmed him down, she immediately went to help Zane with Kai.

- Yes, Lloyd. He will wake up soon, don't worry, the injury was not as bad as we thought, he just needs to sleep a little more, that's all - she wrapped her arm around Lloyd's shoulders to calm him a bit.

Sighing, Lloyd looked back at Kai's relaxed and peaceful gaze - Has Kai always protected everyone the same way he protects me? -

For a moment, Nya ponders Lloyd's question in her head, and with a wistful smile she looks into the boy's emerald green eyes.

- Kai has different ways of protecting the people he cares about. Like me for example. I remember that when I was little I was always annoyed by the other children of my town, they always made fun of me for being very weak, but Kai never stopped protecting me at that time, one day he saw that they were bothering me and I do not hesitate to hit everyone Those children, who fled from him the moment they saw how strong Kai was, and that they were more and still fled from him. Since then no one continued to bother me, because they were afraid that Kai would beat them for being my brother. But he was always afraid that one day those children would decide to take revenge on him -

- Really? -

- Yes. But even so that never happened, everyone was afraid of him, they did not even dare to go to our house or the smithy. Neither were their parents going to claim Kai for having beaten their children. I guess those kids never had the guts to do it. I always thought they were cowards -

- I guess Kai was someone strong right? - He said showing a weak smile, but that smile did not take long to disappear - I just wish you did not risk so much, as with the others, I would not like to see them hurt -

- Me the same, Lloyd - says Nya with him while gently stroking his hair - Sometimes I would like to yell at him for hurting himself so much, but he will always be yes, he will never change, for better or for worse he will always protect his family, and that will help you. includes you and the boys -

With nothing more to say, Lloyd kept looking at Kai.

But it was there that the two younger brothers suddenly heard their older brother's weak pained moan come out of their mouth, he seemed to want to wake up now from his deep sleep.

- Kai? - Nya got closer to Kai and indeed saw that the Red Ninja was waking up.

Kai's eyes felt heavy, but even so, he made an effort to want to wake up. The first thing he saw was the ceiling of one of the rooms of the Ship, then he could clearly distinguish the worried voice of his younger sister. Turning his head to the side, he could clearly see Nya and Lloyd's faces there.

Lloyd? Oh yeah, Kai remembered that Lloyd was with him at the time they were attacked by the serpentines.

He was internally glad that at least the boy was okay.

- Kai? Kai, can you hear me? -

- Ugh ... - he moaned again as he brought his hand to touch his head - Nya ...? That...? Where I am...? -

- At the moment, brother, in the ship's infirmary, you were very lucky not to have deep your wound -

- Really...? - He tried to sit up, but the pain throbbed in his side, which was now bandaged all over the abdomen of his body. He hissed in pain when holding the place where he was injured, but still managed to sit on his bed - Agh ... this really hurts ... more than I thought, if I'm honest ... -

- I hope and that you learn to be more careful next time - Nya reproached her brother, who only let out a tired snort.

- Yes, mom, whatever you say -

Still Nya sighed. She was glad that at least her brother's carefree attitude hadn't disappeared - I'll go get something from the kitchen for you. Try talking to Lloyd a bit, okay? - He said when he got up and left the room.

Leaving Lloyd and Kai alone.

The moment Kai saw Nya leave, he turned his gaze to Lloyd, who still looked worried.

- Hey, dwarf - Kai began showing a smile - Are you okay? -

- Yes ... - He said, having his gaze still lowered, he still seemed to have present the memories of the fight with the serpentine.

"Hey," Kai began softly. He stretched out his hand and placed it on the little boy's head - I'll be fine, I promise you. These wounds are nothing. Everything will be fine -

- B-But Kai ... I ... - Now he seemed to want to cry again. His voice sounded almost broken, and it was something Kai noticed immediately.

- Is it because of how you saw me fight with the serpentines? - That question made Lloyd look at his eyes in a surprised way - Sorry if I seemed a bit scary, it's just that I got angry when I saw how those serpentines captured you. I would never let something bad happen to you -

- But because of me you're hurt ... and I couldn't do anything about it ... - Lloyd screamed as he held tightly between his hands the hand that Kai had on his head.

- None of this is your fault Lloyd. Yes, I was hurt, but it wasn't your fault. You were only a child, even if you were an adult at the time, the chances of helping me would be low and the result would be the same. We did not know that those serpentines were going to attack us, that is the danger, you cannot know when it will happen, and it may even be around the corner without knowing what will happen next. But in theory, it was more my fault you know? I was careless, as I may have gotten a little excited, and that got me hurt -

Lloyd could hear a slight teasing laugh the moment Kai mentioned that last part.

- But still - in that he made Lloyd look up to meet those amber eyes that Kai had.

They no longer had that wild flash you saw when you saw him fight the serpentine.

They now had a soft and gentle glow to them that represented incredible warmth.

Warmth ...

Like fire, that was what Kai was.

Kai was fire.

His title "Red Ninja, Master of Fire" was no joke. And Lloyd knew it.

- I'm glad you're okay, Lloyd. In addition, I promised to protect you, that means that I will not let anyone harm you, I already let them take you once, I was not going to allow them to take you away from our side again. Because you are our little brother, and mine - lovingly gently ruffled her hair.

Without even saying a word and still stunned by what Kai said. Lloyd finally let his tears slide down his cheeks, his tears were no longer sad and worried like the ones he let out earlier.

No.

These were already tears of happiness.

Again he felt happy and safe knowing that Kai would always be there to take care of him and protect him from everything.

Lloyd hugged Kai's body tightly and buried his face in his chest as he unburdened himself on him.

Kai said nothing, and only smiled as he hugged his little brother back.