Previously on Tiny Troubles...

"Besides, being a kid isn't that bad!"

Cole didn't know why that set him off. Maybe because being a kid was that bad; maybe because he was still reeling from the fact that he had to potentially wait a month before he could get turned back into his normal age; maybe it was because of his mini panic attack earlier in the game room. But all of it was too much for the black ninja and his childish instincts decided to take over.

Cole sat down hard on the floor and immediately started bawling.

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Part 10

Most of the ninja thought they knew how Cole was going to react when they found out that he would have to remain a kid for a little longer. They thought that he would either take it stoically, rant about it for a few minutes before calming down, or storm off and sulk in the bedroom for a few hours.

None of them expected Cole to actually start crying.

As such, chaos ensued.

"Oh my gosh, Cole!" Jay screamed, kneeling down next to his crying leader and giving him a hug. "Shhh, it's okay, don't cry, please don't cry!"

Jay's words were soothing, but his hysterical tone just made Cole start to wail louder.

Lloyd cringed and covered his ears. "Jeez, Cole! I think my eardrums just burst!"

"Lloyd!" Zane scolded. "You cannot say things like that, you will make it worse!" Another ear-piercing wail from Cole came then. "See?!"

"Well, excuuuuuse me if I don't want to be deaf!" Lloyd retorted, glaring at the white ninja. "Besides, I don't know how to calm him down! I don't have any experience with kids!"

"You could at least try!"

"Jay tried, and look what happened!"

"Well, I at least attempted to help, Lloyd!" Jay snapped.

"STOP ARGUING!" Kai suddenly shouted, making everyone flinch. "You guys are making it worse!"

Indeed, Cole had started sobbing even harder. His hands were covering his ears and he was almost hyperventilating.

"W-well, what do we do?!" Jay asked, looking somewhat frantic. Zane and Lloyd also looked unsure of what to do.

Kai took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Here," he said softly, kneeling down near Jay. "let me hold him."

Jay, confused, nonetheless transferred the little ninja in his arms to Kai. Cole was too distressed to even start to complain. He just kept on crying.

"Hey," Kai said softly, gently hugging his younger teammate and rubbing his back. "It's okay Cole, it's okay. Shhh, I know you're upset, but there's no need to cry. Shhh, it's okay, I'm here. Jay's here, Zane and Lloyd are here. We're not gonna let anything happen to you. Shhh, it's okay, shhh."

Jay, Zane, and Lloyd all watched, shocked, as Kai continued to soothe Cole. And...it was working. Cole's wails decreased in volume and eventually stopped altogether. His hysterical sobbing turned into little sniffles and he even started cuddling closer to Kai, burying his face in Kai's chest.

Kai let him, continuing to say soothing words and rubbing Cole's back. When at last Cole's crying seemed to have stopped, the red ninja peered down at him. "You okay now?" he asked gently.

Cole sniffled but nodded his head. "Don' wanna be a kid," he mumbled into Kai's shirt.

Kai smiled sadly. "I know, buddy. But it won't be for forever," he replied. "We'll get you that Tomorrow's Tea soon, I promise."

Cole let out a little hiccup and just squeezed Kai's middle tighter. "Don' wanna wait. Wanna be big now."

"Heh, I think we all wanted that when we were that age," Kai laughed a little. "But hey, like I said: it won't be forever before you're your normal age again. A week will be gone before you know it."

"I guess..." Cole muttered sulkily.

Kai, seeing how Cole was still slightly upset, decided to try Older Brother Trick #2: if your younger sibling is still upset after you've talked to them, try getting them to laugh.

And Kai knew just how he was going to get Cole to laugh.

"Aw, c'mon Cole, don't be a grumpy pants," he said teasingly.

Cole just grumbled something back at him.

Kai let out an exaggerated sigh. "Alright Cole. I've tried to make you feel better, but it would seem that words are getting me nowhere. Just know that I'm doing this because I hate seeing you upset."

Not giving Cole too much time to contemplate his words, the red ninja quickly put his hands on Cole's stomach and wiggled his fingers.

Cole let out a little shriek before he burst into giggles. "Hehehehehe, CUT IT OUT KAI!" he screamed, trying to get out of Kai's grasp.

Kai didn't let him escape. Instead, the red ninja held Cole close to him with one arm while he used his free hand to tickle Cole's tummy. "Not until I've tickled the grumpiness out of you!" Kai sing-songed, smirking.

"NOHOHOHOHOHO!" Cole squealed, laughing uncontrollably. "HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHEHE!"

Nobody came to Cole's aid. Jay and Lloyd both started laughing while Zane just grinned widely at the scene.

Kai continued his tickle torture for a few minutes, making sure to target Cole's extremely ticklish stomach. Cole howled with laughter and begged Kai to stop, but the red ninja ignored him.

It was only until Cole was clearly out of breath that Kai finally stopped. He still held the black ninja close to him but he let him catch his breath. "Feel better, Cole?" he asked when the little ninja managed to breathe normally again.

Cole let out a few stray giggles before gasping out, "You....suck..."

"I'll take that as 'yes Kai, I'm feeling much better. Thank you so much, where would I be without you?'," Kai teased, ruffling Cole's hair. "To which I'll reply with, you are very welcome."

Cole glared and stuck his tongue out at the red ninja. Kai just laughed and ruffled Cole's hair some more.

"Quit that!" Cole complained, trying to straighten his now-messy hair. But he was smiling, so Kai considered it a victory.

Suddenly, a low grumble was heard. Everyone looked up, alarmed. "What was that?" Jay asked.

Cole blushed slightly. "Er, is there anything to eat for dinner? I'm kinda hungry..."

Kai snickered. "Well, at least something is still the same," he laughed, gently poking Cole's stomach.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cole demanded.

"Nothing," Kai said, ruffling Cole's hair before standing up. "C'mon. Let's see what's for dinner."

Cole opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted when his stomach let out another rumble. "Fiiiine. But this discussion isn't over!" He decided.

~~~~

After a quick dinner consisting of leftovers from yesterday, Jay challenged Lloyd's current status as "the ultimate Mario Kart player". Lloyd agreed to a rematch, and Kai was quick to join them. Then, Cole meekly asked if he could play too. One look at the little ninja's face, with his big grey eyes seemingly growing ever so slightly bigger, and all of the ninja agreed that not only could Cole play, he could choose the first track.

This made Cole cheer happily, and make everyone else sigh with relief.

Nobody wanted a repeat of Cole crying. Ever.

So, after everyone was done with dinner, the ninja filed into the game room in order to play.

"Which course are you going to choose, Cole?" Zane asked once the racers had selected their characters and karts.

"Hmm," Cole hummed as he studied the courses on the TV.

"Pick Rainbow Road!" Jay piped up.

"No, that's the hardest one! Pick Bowser's Castle!" Kai interjected. "That one's fun!"

"No, choose Thwomp Ruins!" Lloyd chimed in.

Cole stuck out his tongue as he flicked over all of the courses. Finally, he settled on a course. "Let's do this one!" He said.

Jay groaned. "Grumble Volcano. Great. Guess who's gonna get hit by a fireball at least five times?"

"At least you don't constantly fall off the track," Lloyd grumbled as well.

"Ah, c'mon guys, this course is fun!" Kai argued.

"That's because you usually win whenever we do this course, Kai," Jay pointed out.

"And your point?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

"Guuuuuys, please stop arguing," Cole complained, pouting ever so slightly.

Zane fixed the others with a look, and Jay, Lloyd, and Kai had the decency to look abashed. "Sorry, Cole," Jay apologized, Kai and Lloyd not far behind him.

Cole shrugged and smiled slightly. "It's okay, guys. I...I just don't like it when people fight," he mumbled, blushing slightly before quickly shaking his head. "C-Come on, let's start this race!"

"You all are going down!" Jay declared, smirking.

"In your dreams," Kai said, focusing intensely on the screen.

Everyone held their breaths as the countdown began. 3...2...1...Go!

All four racers shot out from the starting line. Jay quickly took the lead, with Kai hot on his tail. Cole and Lloyd took 3rd and 4th respectively.

"Everyone call out your items!" Jay exclaimed as everyone received an Item Block.

"Green shell!" Lloyd called out.

"Banana peel!" Kai chimed in.

"Fire Flower!" Cole piped up.

"Coin..." Jay sighed dejectedly. "Darn, I was hoping for at least a green shell."

"Wish granted," Lloyd snickered, letting Luigi throw a green shell right at Jay's kart. Poor Shy Guy's kart spun out of control and off the track.

"AGH!" Jay screamed. "Screw you, Lloyd!"

"What? You wanted a green shell," Lloyd laughed as he quickly took the lead.

"Outta the way losers," Kai butted in, leaning over and bumping Lloyd just as Mario bumped into Luigi and take the lead. Mario dropped his banana peel, which caused Luigi's kart to spin out of control. "Haha! First place!" Kai crowed...only to squawk in indignation as Metal Mario came out of nowhere and threw three successive fireballs at his kart.

"Well done, Cole," Zane praised.

Cole gave a goofy grin. "Thanks!" he chirped happily, quickly mashing all of the buttons on his controller.

"Ugh, just you wait! I will regain the lead!" Kai declared, zooming after Cole's kart.

Lap 1 ended with Cole in 1st, Lloyd in 2nd, Jay in 3rd, and Kai in 4th. The red ninja was decidedly unhappy with this. "Come on, give me something good," he chanted as he got another Item Block.

"Banana peel!" ~Cole

"Mushroom!" ~Lloyd

"Red shell!" ~Jay

"Come on, something good, something good," Kai chanted, hoping for a good item. "...YES! Three mushrooms!"

"WHAT?!" Jay cried out.

"Oh, come on! That's not fair!" Lloyd complained.

"Too bad, so sad," Kai smirked, using all of the mushrooms to give Mario a big speed boost. This easily put him in the lead, and had the added bonus of knocking Luigi off the side of the track and bumping Shy Guy directly into a fireball. Shy Guy threw his red shell, but it ended up hitting Metal Mario instead of actual Mario.

"Jay!" Cole complained.

"Sorry, I was aiming for Kai!"

Lap 2 ended with Kai in 1st, Jay in 2nd, Cole in 3rd, and Lloyd in 4th. "Final Lap people!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"I've got a Banana peel!" Kai declared.

"I've got a green shell!" Jay exclaimed.

"Cole has a green shell as well," Zane added.

"Mushroom!" Lloyd declared.

It was intense final lap. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place changed frequently, but nobody could get to Kai. The red ninja made this very well known due to his bragging.

"Haha! Finish line is in sight!" Kai declared. "Ooh, victory is so sweet!"

"You know, Kai," Zane said. "It is unwise to celebrate a victory that is not yet yours."

"Pffft, nobody can touch me!"

"Are you so certain?"

"Yes. I am. Because unless someone has a blue shell, there's no way for them to get by me!"

Just as Kai said this, he heard the tell-tale sound of a blue shell approaching. Suddenly, Mario's Kart was caught in an explosion caused by the shell. "What?!" Kai screeched as his Kart spun out of control, allowing everyone else to cross the finish line before him. "Who had a blue shell and didn't tell anyone?!"

"Not me!" Both Jay and Lloyd instantly denied.

Kai frowned in annoyance. "Well it wasn't me, so it had to have been one of you!"

"I swear, I didn't have a blue shell!" Jay exclaimed, Lloyd rapidly nodding his head.

"Well if it wasn't one of you, then who—" Kai paused as he heard a certain ninja snicker. "COLE!"

"Yes, Kai?" The little ninja asked, blinking up innocently at his older teammate.

"You...you..." Kai struggled to think of something to say that would be okay to say to a five-year-old without hurting Cole's feelings.

"Whatever is the matter Kai?" Zane asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Yeah!" Cole added, giggling. "You look like you're choking on something."

"You CHEATER!" Kai accused.

"I didn't cheat!"

"You're supposed to call out when you have an item!"

"But I did!"

"He has a point," Jay chimed in. "Zane did say that Cole..."

A short pause, in which everyone went over what Jay had said and Cole struggled to contain his laughter.

Then, Kai exploded.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK?!" He screeched, chucking the nearest object—a couch cushion—at the ninja of ice. "YOU SNEAKY LITTLE—AGH!"

"That was rather uncalled for, Kai," Zane chided, removing the pillow from his face. "After all, I did nothing wrong."

"You said that Cole had a freaking green shell!" Kai accused.

"Did I?" Zane furrowed his brow as he thought. "Hmmm, my apologies, I must have made a mistake."

"You're a freaking nindroid with freaking gadgets all over your body! HOW COULD YOU HAVE MADE A MISTAKE?!"

"I guess even nindroids are prone to errors," Cole intoned wisely, still looking like the picture of innocence...except for the wide grin on his face.

"I am terribly sorry that my mistake has cost you the race," Zane apologized, looking rather sorrowful. "But this could have been avoided had you simply paid more attention. After all, you could have seen what item young Cole had received had you simply looked at the TV screen."

Kai took in three deep breaths. "Excuse me for a minute."

The red ninja left the room. Ten seconds later, and everyone jumped as they heard Kai screaming, though what he was actually saying was a mystery.

Cole fell off the couch laughing while Zane tried--and failed--to hide a smile. Lloyd shook his head. "You two are such trolls," the green ninja said.

"I have no idea what makes you say that, Lloyd," Zane replied, eyes twinkling mischievously.

Kai came back a little bit later, his face red. Cole stopped laughing and tried his best to regain his innocent look.

Kai weakly glared at him. "Rematch," he simply stated.

Cole grinned. "You're on!"

"And you better call out the correct item this time, you little cheat."

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Author's Note: Aaaaaaand that's Part 10 done! :D

Also, lol Ahsoka-2Sabers . You asked Kai to do something when Cole started crying; was this satisfactory? :D