Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Cole thought about it for a little while longer. Jay waited, impatiently bouncing on the balls of his feet. Finally, Cole sighed and said, "Alright, fine. You can carry me."

Jay beamed. "YES!" he shouted, already reaching to pick up the little ninja.

Cole backed up. "Ah, ah, ah! You can carry me. But, I get to decide how you carry me and how long you can carry me. When I say that I want to be put down, you have to put me down. No questions asked, and no complaining."

Jay quickly nodded his head, too excited that Cole had finally allowed the blue ninja to carry him to care too much about all the rules. "Deal!"

Cole smirked, and Jay suddenly felt slightly nervous. What have I just agreed to? The blue ninja wondered.

~~~~~

Part 13

Kai was giving him a lecture.

Lloyd knew that he was currently being lectured, but after saying "I'm sorry" a hundred times and having Kai rant at him for ten minutes straight, the green ninja had completely given up and had tuned out the lecture he was receiving.

Would he get in trouble for this later? Mmmm, maybe. But for right now, he didn't care.

It wasn't his fault that he had lost sight of Cole!...okay, it wasn't totally his fault. Cole could have shouted or yelled or said something that would have let him know that the little ninja had fallen behind. Lloyd would have stopped and waited for him!

But noooo, Lloyd had to be the one to take the blame while Cole would probably get nothing, just because he was currently only five.

It. Wasn't. Fair.

And he knew that life wasn't fair--heck he's even said that 'fair wasn't a word where he came from' on one occasion. But it didn't have to be so unfair at times. At least let Cole have a little scolding or something!

And no, Lloyd was not jealous of Cole.

".....oyd....Lloyd....LLOYD!"

"Huh?" Lloyd snapped out of his little funk and looked around at his surroundings.

Kai glared at him. "You weren't even paying attention, were you?" the red ninja accused.

"Sorry," Lloyd apologized, not feeling very sorry. "Zoned out for a bit."

"Like you zoned out while you were walking with Cole?"

Lloyd scowled. "How many times do I have to say that it was an accident and that I'm sorry?!" he snapped back. "Besides, Cole's not technically five, he can take care of himself."

"His body is still that of a kid's, Lloyd," Kai argued. "If someone were to try and take him, there wouldn't be that much that he could do to fend them off!" The red ninja sighed heavily before grumbling, "Look, let's just talk about this later. For right now, let's meet up with the others."

"Fine by me," Lloyd grunted.

For the next few minutes, the pair walked in silence. The mall was bustling with shoppers darting to and fro among the many outlets. As they got closer to the food court, the crowds got slightly smaller, which made sense considering it was still a little too early for it to be lunchtime.

"Do you see them?" Kai asked, scanning the tables for their friends.

Lloyd looked around for a few seconds before he spotted Zane standing at a table nearby. "Over there," he told Kai, pointing.

Kai nodded and started walking over to the white ninja. "Hey Zane!" he called out.

Zane looked at them and smiled. "Greetings," he called back, waving back.

"Where's Cole?" Kai asked quickly, not immediately seeing the little ninja.

Zane chuckled and said, "He and Jay are waiting in line for a smoothie. They should be back soon--ah, never mind. There they are."

Lloyd looked up and spotted Jay...and immediately had to hold back his laughter.

Because here came Jay, walking towards them with what looked like a blueberry smoothie of some kind, with Cole on his shoulders, also sipping at a smoothie.

"Hey guys!" Jay chirped as he made his way over to the others. Cole just waved from his little perch.

Kai's shoulders sagged in relief at seeing Cole safe. "Hey," he said back.

Lloyd, meanwhile, couldn't help himself from teasing the little ninja. "So, looks like you finally caved and let Jay carry you, Cole."

Cole, surprisingly, just shrugged. "It's actually kinda nice," he said, pausing to take another sip of his smoothie. "I almost feel like I'm tall again."

"Pffft, when were you ever tall?" Jay teased, twisting his head to grin cheekily at Cole.

Cole (gently) tugged at Jay's hair. "Hush, you. You're smaller than me...normally."

Jay laughed but decided against retorting. Instead, he asked, "Soooooo, now what? Do we go back to shopping or..."

Kai ran a hand through his head. "Well, I guess since we're here, we could probably grab some lunch before going back to shopping," he suggested.

"Yay!" Cole cheered. "I think I saw a place that had orange chicken while Jay and I were getting smoothies."

Jay snorted. "You and your orange chicken, man."

"What? Orange chicken is awesome!" Cole defended himself. "How is me liking orange chicken any different from you liking chow mein? Or Zane liking," here, the little ninja shuddered and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Sushi. Bleh."

Zane frowned. "Whatever is the matter with sushi?" he asked. "I find it to be quite delicious."

Jay, Cole, and Lloyd gagged. "Dude, you're literally eating raw fish," Lloyd complained. "Fish is meant to be cooked and then eaten."

"The fish that is in sushi is perfectly fine to eat raw," Zane argued. "As long as it is prepared properly it is completely safe to consume."

"It's still gross," Cole said, blowing a raspberry. "I wouldn't ever eat sushi. It's gross."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Ignoring the fact that sushi is really good and you all need to have your tastebuds checked out, let's grab some lunch before this place gets too crowded."

"Our taste buds are just fine, thank you very much!" Jay replied even as he made his way over to one of the food booths. "You and Zane need to have yours checked out!"

"Yeah!" Cole agreed, nodding his head rapidly.

Lloyd rolled his eyes and followed them.

Hey, at least Kai was too distracted to lecture him now.

~~~~

The rest of the shopping excursion went without too many other shenanigans. Cole and Jay almost started a food fight in the food court, but Kai and Zane were able to stop them before it escalated any further. Other than that, the little ninja was surprisingly cooperative with the rest of the shopping. When the five of them finally walked out of the mall, Cole had changed out of his ninja gi and into a new pair of jeans, the black t-shirt with the music notes, and a new pair of black-and-silver tennis shoes.

At first, Cole insisted that he was perfectly able to walk back to the Bounty on his own. But about halfway through the journey back, Kai had to pick up the tired out and slightly cranky little ninja and carry him the rest of the way home.

"Alright," the red ninja announced as soon as he and the others made it onto their ship. "Nap time for all ninja currently under the age of eight."

"I'm not tired!" Cole protested from his spot on Kai's back. "I'm not actually five, I don't need a nap!"

The little ninja's claim was invalidated when he let out a big yawn. Zane and Kai chuckled while Jay let out a little 'awww'.

"It's the middle of the day, you've been walking around the mall since this morning, and you ate lunch not too long ago," Kai said, grinning at his younger leader. "That, my friend, is a recipe for a nap."

Cole glared at Kai, but couldn't argue due to another big yawn. Kai chuckled and walked towards the bedroom, everyone else piling in after him.

"I'm not tired, Kai," Cole told him when Kai entered the bedroom. "I won't fall asleep."

"That's what they all say," Kai replied, gently placing the little ninja onto his bed. "And eventually, they all fall asleep anyways."

"Well, I'm not going to," Cole declared, sitting up in the bed and folding his arms. "I'm wide awake and I don't need a nap!"

"You'll feel much better after a nap, Cole," Kai insisted. "I promise."

"Not tired," the little ninja declared stubbornly.

Kai sighed and sat at the end of Cole's bed. "C'mon Cole, I know that you're tired. You could use a nap."

Cole pouted and grumbled, "I don't want a nap..."

"Well, you need one."

"Not tired."

"Well, what helps you fall asleep?" Kai asked. "Music? Lullaby? Bedtime story?"

Cole blushed and looked away. "It-it doesn't matter because I'm not going to fall asleep!" He stammered.

Kai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This is going to be difficult, he thought. He knew that before this moment, but he had hoped that Cole would be less stubborn and more open to taking a nap.

No luck.

"Hey Cole!" Jay chirped, sapphire eyes sparkling. "I've got something that might help you fall asleep!"

"And what's that?" Cole asked, looking rather skeptical.

Jay grinned, and it was at that moment that Kai saw that he was hiding something behind his back. "Weeeeeell, while you and Kai were getting new shoes, I saw something in a nearby store that I thought you might like."

The blue ninja brought out what he was hiding and held it out to the little ninja. Kai had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

Cole was not amused. "Seriously, Jay?!" he squeaked, blushing.

Jay just grinned and waved the arm of the stuffed panda bear in his hands. "Hi there Cole!" he said in a high-pitched voice. "My name is Bamboo! Can we be friends?!"

Cole covered his face with his hands. "Why am I friends with you?" he whined.

"It is not that bad of an idea, Cole," Zane chimed in, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Many small children around the age that you are sleep with a toy that they treasure."

"Did you?" Lloyd snickered, not really expecting an answer.

To everyone's surprise and amusement, Zane actually looked embarrassed. "I'd....rather not say," the nindroid said sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.

"Oooooooh, you totally did!" Jay exclaimed. "See Cole? Even Zane slept with a stuffed animal during his childhood!"

"Except that I already experienced my childhood," Cole argued. "And I don't want that--that thing. I'm not tired, I'm not sleepy, and I. Don't. Need. A nap!"

"Oooookay," Kai quickly interjected, seeing the beginnings of a temper-tantrum brewing. "Cole, how about this: let's have a little contest. If you can stay in that bed and do something quiet for twenty minutes without falling asleep, then I won't force you to have a nap. If you fall asleep at anytime during the twenty minutes, even if it's only for a minute, then you have to take a nap. Deal?"

"Hmmmm....deal!" Cole decided, grinning. "Hope you're ready to lose, because I'm not tired at all!"

"Of course you're not," Kai replied neutrally, pulling out his mp3 player and a deck of cards. "How about we play a card game while I play some music?"

Cole groaned. "But card games are boooooooring!" he complained. "Zane always wins or I always lose!"

Kai shrugged. "Well, if you'd rather do something else, like, say, take a quick power nap, then..."

Cole scowled and held out his hands. "Give me some cards, let's play."

Kai smirked. "I knew that you'd see things my way." He pulled out the playing cards and started to shuffle them. "Who's up for a round of Go Fish?"

~~~~~

"Jay, do you have any threes?"

"Nope! Go fish!"

"Darn it," Lloyd grumbled as he took a card from the rapidly dwindling pile.

"Zane," Jay asked. "Got any....queens?"

"Sorry, Jay. But you must go fish."

"Dang it!"

"Kai, do you possess any kings?"

"I swear that you're cheating somehow, Zane," Kai grumbled as he handed over the three kings in his hand.

"How can I cheat at Go Fish?" Zane asked, placing the four kings in his hand down next to him, next to the other cards that he had won.

"I don't know, you just do!" Kai exclaimed, letting out an angry huff. "I can see why you don't like playing cards with us, Cole....Cole?"

Kai glanced over his shoulder where Cole was sitting. The little ninja was holding up all of his cards in one hand while he rested his chin on the other one. His eyelids were drooping and he looked well on his way to falling asleep.

When Kai called out to him, Cole shook his head and blinked fiercely. "H-huh? Is it my turn?" he asked drowsily, yawning throughout his entire sentence.

Kai chuckled and gently took Cole's cards from him. "I think that it's naptime for you," he laughed.

"Don' wanna," Cole complained, even as he allowed Kai to lie him back in his bed.

"You're tired, Cole," Kai said gently, tucking the blankets around the little ninja. "Just lie back and take a quick power nap." Acting on an instinct, he grabbed the stuffed panda that Jay had bought and offered it to the little ninja. "You'll feel better, trust me."

It was probably a testament to how tired Cole actually was that he actually took the panda from Kai and brought it underneath the covers with him, hugging the toy close to him. "Fine..." he murmured, turning onto his side and burying his face in his pillow. "But only for a few minutes..."

Kai chuckled again, gently patting Cole's shoulder. "Of course, pal. Sleep tight."

"Don' let the bedbugs bite..." Cole slurred as his eyelids closed. A few seconds later and the little ninja had drifted off to sleep.

"Awwwww," Jay cooed. "I love having a little brother. He's just so cute!"

"Indeed," Zane agreed, smiling. "I'd even go so far as to say that turning into a kid has had a good effect on Cole. He is eating more, and, while at times he is frustrated with his situation, he seems happier than he had a few weeks ago."

"Shhh!" Kai shushed them. "Let's continue this conversation elsewhere, before we accidentally wake Cole up." Then, casting the sleeping ninja a smile, Kai added, "Though, you guys are right. It's nice seeing him happy."

There was a murmur of consensus among the ninja as they exited the bedroom, leaving their adoptive brother alone to sleep.

Though Jay did manage to sneak in a picture of a sleeping Cole cuddling the stuffed panda, a tiny smile on his face.

----

N'awwwww, I want to see a picture of Cole cuddling with a panda plushie. Why can't I draw???? T-T

Anyways, hope you guys liked this part! Next time, we'll see a special guest appear? Oooooh, I wonder who it could be??? XD