Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Cole smiled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head...only to cringe as he felt the dried mud in his hair. "Er, I should probably shower and get all of this mud off," he said. Suddenly, his stomach let out a low rumble that made Zane laugh and Cole blush. "And maybe eat something..." the black ninja muttered.

Zane shook his head in amusement. "There are some sandwiches in the kitchen," he said, gesturing for Cole to follow him. "Come, I will help you get lunch."

Cole grinned at the prospect of getting food in his empty stomach. "Sounds like a plan," he cheered, walking after Zane.

~~~~

Part 7

Despite what some people may think, Cole was not obsessed with food. 

He could, however, appreciate how much better he felt when his stomach was full.

Cole sighed contently as he leaned back a little in his chair. Two halves of a PB&J sandwich, one cup of juice, and some apple slices were enough to satisfy his hunger. All I need now is a hot shower and I'll be golden, he thought.

At that moment, Zane walked into the dining hall. After helping make Cole some lunch and explaining that the others had gone out on a grocery run before Cole had gotten back home, the white ninja had left the room. What he was doing, Cole had no idea. He was a little too preoccupied with filling his empty stomach to ask.

"Where'd you go?" he decided to ask now.

"I drew a bath for you while you were eating," Zane explained, smiling at his now-much-younger-than-normal leader.

Cole felt his cheeks heat up in a light blush. "You didn't have to do that," he said, getting out of his chair. "I could have just taken a shower..."

"I figured that, considering your shorter stature, it would be much easier for you if you were to bathe in the tub than stand up and take a shower," Zane replied. "Plus, I read that it is advisable to wait until a child is at least eight years old before allowing them to bathe alone."

Cole blushed even further. "ZANE! Nuh uh! Not happening! Just because I'm five years old physically does not mean that I need someone watching me while I bath. That's--that's just so creepy!" he protested, shuddering at the thought.

Zane's brow furrowed slightly in worry. "But if something were to happen to you?" he asked.

"What could happen to me? I'm just taking a bath!"

"You could slip underneath the water and drown; you could slip and hit your head and seriously hurt yourself; you could slip and hit your head and drown; you could--!"

"Okay, okay!" Cole quickly interjected, seeing that Zane was getting more and more worked up the further he listed the dangers of him bathing without supervision. "A lot of things could happen." The little ninja bit his lip as he tried to think of a solution. "How about...you wait outside the door while I take a bath? That way, if something happens--not saying that anything would, just being hypothetical here--if something were to happen, you would be really close by and you can hear if something is wrong. That sound good?"

Zane frowned but nodded his head. "Very well," he said.

Cole breathed a sigh of relief. "Great, glad we worked that out," he replied, walking towards the bathroom. "Come on, let's go."

~~~~

When Cole stepped into the bathroom, he was stunned by the amount of effort Zane put into making sure that he had a proper bath.

The white ninja had filled the tub with warm water, complete with plenty of foamy bubbles. Cole's shampoo and conditioner had been thoughtfully placed so that Cole could reach them easily and a clean washcloth and towel were nearby.

"Wow," Cole breathed.

"Is this to your liking?" Zane asked.

"Dude, you kidding me? This is awesome!" Cole exclaimed, a giddy smile creeping into his face. "I haven't had a bubble bath since...gosh, I can't even remember!"

Zane smiled at Cole's obvious excitement. "I am glad that you approve."

"Yeah, yeah," Cole said, gently shoving the white ninja towards the door. "Now shoo, so I can get in."

"Alright, alright," Zane chuckled, stepping outside and closing the door. "Just hand me your dirty clothes when you take them off so that I can wash them. And remember—!"

"—you're right outside if I need anything, I know, I know," Cole groaned, sticking out his tongue. "Now shoo!"

Zane laughed one more time before fully closing the door, giving Cole some much needed privacy. Eager to get in the tub, Cole started ripping off his clothes.

...or, at least, he tried to.

The belts that held up the pants of his ninja gi were tied in small intricate knots that were hard for Cole to undo. He would worry at one knot for two minutes before it finally came undone, only to have to turn around and repeat the process with another one. He felt relieved when he finally managed to loosen his pants enough to kick them off...only to groan as he remembered that he still had to undo the belts and straps on his shirt.

"You know what?? Forget this," Cole grumbled, foregoing undoing the knots on his top. Instead, he grabbed the bottom of his ninja gi top and started to pull it up and over his head. He knew that he was practically asking to get more dirt and mud on his face and his hair, but he was tired and really wanted a bath.

He really should have loosened the belts, though.

Because just as Cole pulled his shirt up just enough so that it covered his face and most of his head, it got stuck.

Cole's stomach dropped. "Oh no," he breathed. "Nononono..."

He tried to pull the shirt off, but his arms were in an awkward position, making this nearly impossible for the little ninja.

"Come on," he growled softly, twisting this way and that trying to get the shirt off. "Get off, get off!"

He heard a knock on the door. "Cole? Is everything alright?" Zane's voice came through the door. "Do you require assistance?"

Cole's cheeks heated up at the mere thought of Zane finding him in this predicament. "No! I-I'm okay!" he called back, walking in what he believed was the direction of the door. "I-I just--!"

At that moment, Cole felt his feet get tangled up in what was probably his discarded pants. With a small yelp, the black ninja tripped and fell, landing on his back.

"Cole?!" Zane exclaimed, and Cole felt himself blush furiously as he heard the door open and Zane step inside. "Are you alright?"

No, I'm dying from embarrassment, Cole thought, struggling even more to get himself unstuck. "Y-yeah," he said instead. "My shirt is just giving me some trouble."

"Oh," he heard Zane sigh in relief. "Do you need help getting it off?"

"No!" Cole instantly shouted. "I can get it off myself! I just gotta..."

Cole grunted as he tried once again to get the stubborn shirt off, but this was difficult since he was still on his back. The little ninja tried to sit up, but his now-child body lacked the strength to sit up with his arms trapped. Each try resulted in him being just shy of sitting up, only to lose strength at the last second and land on his back again.

Cole swore he heard Zane snicker. "Are you certain that you do not need help?" the nindroid asked, a tinge of laughter coloring his voice.

"Yes!" Cole insisted. "I can do this, you don't need to help me!"

Giving up on trying to sit up, Cole instead rolled onto his stomach and drew his knees in close before pushing off the ground. He managed to get into a kneeling position, which made him give off a little cheer. "Hah, finally! Now I can get it off!"

He twisted and tugged at his shirt, trying to pull it off, but the stubborn shirt stayed stuck, which made Cole very frustrated. "Why. Won't. You. Come. Off?!" he growled, emphasizing each word with a fierce tug.

The shirt remained stuck.

Cole groaned and sat down heavily. "Okay, I think I might need some help..." he mumbled, feeling like his entire face was burning up.

Zane laughed, which made Cole's face burn even more. "Alright, here I come," the white ninja said.

Cole impatiently waited for his older teammate to tug off the shirt...only to yelp and jump when he felt something cold touch his sides. "Zane, your hands are freezing!" he complained.

"Sorry," Zane apologized. "I probably should have warned you."

"Gee, ya think?" Cole muttered. He flinched when he felt Zane's hands ghost by his sides again, but he managed not to jump. Zane's hands helped make the opening at the bottom of Cole's top big enough that the little ninja was finally able to slip out.

Cole sighed in relief. "Whew, finally got that stupid thing off."

"It might have been easier to get off if you had loosened up the straps," Zane commented, picking up Cole's gi off the floor.

"Yeah, maybe..." At that moment, Cole remembered that Zane was still in the bathroom...and Cole was only wearing a pair of underwear.

The dying blush on Cole's cheeks returned with a vengeance. "Okay, thank you for your help but can you please get out?!" The black ninja squeaked, pushing Zane towards the door.

"You are certain that you do not require any more assistance?" Zane asked, even as he allowed himself to be shoved towards the door.

"Yes! I'm fine! Now please get out!" Cole exclaimed, shoving Zane outside the the bathroom and slamming the door. "By the First Spinjitzu Master, why me?" Cole moaned, his face burning up again.

He desperately hoped that Sensei could get that Tomorrow's Tea soon. He didn't think he could stand to be any more embarrassed.

Cole let out a huge sigh and turned his attention back to the tub. He could worry about being embarrassed later. Right now, he really wanted to feel relaxed and get all of this mud off.

—— 

Hehehehehe. As you can probably guess, I love writing about Tiny Cole getting into embarrassing situations.

Tiny Cole: *pouts* You're mean, Raven.

*hugs Tiny Cole* I'm sorry, but I can't help it! You're just too dang cute! :D

Tiny Cole: *mouths* Save me, someone.