The sound of the morning song interrupted Jay's deep slumber, gentry prising his fingers from the grip of sleep.

Light streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains, dispelling the darkness from the blue themed room.

He was warm, and once his eyes cleared, he could clearly see that he was under the covers of the bed.

Jay couldn't remember even getting into them, the events of the previous night seeming hazy in this mind, yet, his father's letter stayed very clear.

Another round of twittering from the birds sent Jay out of bed, yawning and then wincing as his ribs started to hurt. He slept in his binder again... not a good move.

He checked his phone, which was miraculously still on 20% power, and saw that it was pretty early still. 7:23 in the morning. Everybody else would most likely still be asleep, so, an idea came to mind.

He remembered seeing a washing room the previous day, containing a number of washing machines and dryers.

He hadn't washed his binder for a few days now, and alike any other close-to-body piece of clothing, it needed to be washed regularly. The only question was, how would he bulk out the rest of the wash?

A possible idea came to mind.

Jay tip-toed over to the closet in the corner, and pulled a couple of hoodies out of it. They were very clean indeed, however, they had clearly been sitting in that cupboard for a while, and were slightly musty.

Perfect.

On his way down to the wash room, Jay bumped into a familiar, but not entirely welcome face. Kai.

They almost collided as the two of them both rounded a corner, but luckily, Kai jumped out of the way in time.

They looked each other up and down, and Kai gave him an awkward half grimace.

"... what are you doing up so early?" He asked.

Jay raised an eyebrow.

"We're both awake Kai."

Kai looked away, and carried on down the hall. It seemed he was heading towards the kitchen. Jay didn't really care where he was going, as long as the general civility between them continued.

He made his way to the wash room, and began loading up a machine with the clothes.

There were an array of fabric conditioners and detergents in a cupboard on the other side of the room, of which he chose a couple and loaded the machine up with them as well.

The wash was set to a rather quick one, only half an hour, and after he checked that the door was completely closed and nobody would be coming in soon. Once privacy was assured, Jay took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then pulled off his binder.

It was both relieving and dreadful. His lungs gave out and air flooded in, relief filling up his chest, though, an unpleasant twinging at the back of his mind came closer.

He hurried on with the wash to distract himself, shoving the binder in and closing the door, setting the system off to start. Half an hour wasn't too terribly long, so Jay opted to stay in the room and look through his phone.

It was warm, and quiet, save for the gentle rocking of the washing machine.

Time flowed by without much effort, Jay scrolled through the photos on his phone. There were many distant memories dating back to years ago, reminders of a simpler, happier time.

After fifteen minutes or so of digging, Jay even came across a selfie from the very start, before Kai had joined the team. A selfie of three younger boys, positively beaming.

He and Cole looked so much younger, while Zane looked as ageless as ever.

How things had changed.

A beeping alerted him to the finished wash, and Jay pulled the mass of material into a wash basket, carrying the load over to one of the three dryers available.

The shortest cycle available took a measly two hours, much too long to stay and zone out into a phone screen, so he decided to go back to bed for the time being. Despite having one of the best sets of sleep in a long time, he was still deeply exhausted.

After setting a timer to go and collect the wash, he pulled the covers back over his head, and slipped near instantly back to unconsciousness.

———

Lloyd yawned, rising from the sofa he'd spent the night on. Zane was already awake, and was peacefully meditating by the fireplace.

Cole slowly rose as well, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"... morning." Lloyd groaned. He stood up and pulled the curtains open, revealing the huge windows that framed the view outside. Mountains and trees, a very tranquil and natural scene. Sunlight began to bless the room, filling up each darkened corner till it finally felt like day.

"... sleep well?"

"Not really." Cole replied, "way too much on my mind."

Zane shifted his positioning, then stood up.

"It's 9.57. We should all think about breakfast."

Lloyd nodded, agreeing.

"Yeahhhh, I'm starving. But we hardly have anything left on the Bounty..."

"Shall we check the kitchen here? I'm sure Jay won't mind."

"... no harm in trying."

———

The sharp shrill of the alarm sent Jay out of bed in an instant, slamming his thumb down on his screen to shut off the horrible sound.

Two more hours of rest, and somehow, still he was tired. It was frustrating to no end.

He shook his head, gathering his thoughts and stabilising himself again.

What was he doing?

... the wash. The wash, yeah. He needed to go and collect his clothes from the dryer.

He checked the hallway for other people, protectively crossing his arms over his chest just in case he ran into anybody. Luckily though, the trip down to the wash room was very solitary.

Though, the moment he caught sight of the door, his nerves fired off. There was something wrong.

The door had been left slightly ajar.

When he left two hours previously, he distinctly remembered pulling it closed, hearing the satisfying click before going back to bed.

The fact that it was open... meant that somebody else had gone inside.

Jay quickened his pace, throwing open the door, and feeling his airways tighten as he saw the inside of the room. The dryer had been opened, and clearly rummaged around in. There wasn't a huge mess, but... it was clear.

His heartbeat quickened, and started beating in his ears as well. Painfully so.

He stumbled over, and pulled the clothes out into the basket he left behind, and looked through them as quickly as he could. Each article he moved away depended his dread, and further defined what he feared.

It was just as he'd thought.

His binder was gone.

Jay didn't even think about who'd done it. There was only one possible culprit. Nobody else currently in the building would dare to take something so important to him.

Kai. It had to be Kai.

Listening carefully, he heard voices coming from the kitchen and dining area.

For the first time in a while, he wasn't upset. He wasn't sad or anxious or unmotivated. He wasn't even tired anymore.

Jay was angry

———

Zane had managed to find a decent amount of edible food in the two large fridges and surrounding cupboards, and was busy cooking for everybody. The rest of the group sat around the exquisite mahogany dining table, in the large room connected to the cooking space.

For the most part, they made casual conversation, while Kai sat silently, staring at the wall.

At any rate, nobody expected it when Jay burst in, red in the face, his arms pressed tightly over his chest.

"KAI, YOU'D BETTER START EXPLAINING YOURSELF." He shouted, physically shaking with anger.

Everybody turned around to face the doorway, then looked back at Kai, who practically radiated guilt.

"... Jay, what's going on?" Nya asked.

"Why don't you ask your brother?!"

She turned to him, questioning him without having to say anything.

"... I haven't done anything." He muttered, looking down at the table.

"Oh, you haven't done anything huh? Then why's my f*cking binder missing?"

Silence filled the space, and Jay felt himself shaking harder and harder.

"... Kai... where, is, it?" He demanded, forcing his tone much lower and calmer, though still embodied just as much anger as before.

"... don't ask me. I don't know. Why the f*ck would I care?"

"... then who took it?"

"... maybe you lost it yourself. P*ss off."

Kai's petty return was full of venom, and Jay lost the last inch of patience he had left.

"Maybe you didn't notice Kai, but you're staying in a house that belongs to me. Unless you want me to kiCK YOU OUT, YOU'D BETTER TELL ME WHAT YOU DID."

That seemed to get to him. Jay was indeed correct about owning the place, and he had the right to choose who could stay, and who needed to leave.

Kai seemed to fight himself in his own head, then stood up and walked over. With a tensed arm, he pulled Jay's binder out of his pocket, and thrust it at him.

Jay snatched it out of his hand, and fixed him with a dangerous glare.

"If you wanna act like this in my goddamn house, you can get the fuck out. Do you understand, or are you too self-obsessed to see past your own stupid ideals?"

"... the f*ck are you suggesting."

Kai was a good few inches taller than Jay, but in that moment, it didn't seem to matter.

"I'm suggesting that you're a narcissistic twat!"

Zane stepped in, rushing from the kitchen and getting between them.

"Jay, Kai, stop it! We don't need any more arguments..."

"Then maybe Kai should keep his grimy hands off my stuff!"

With that last statement, Jay stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

All that could be heard for the next few seconds were his hurried footsteps... then silence.

Kai seemed like he wanted to say something, perhaps even follow the blue ninja and carry on the clash, but instead, left the dining room through the opposite door.

The awkward quiet extended, leaving the remaining four to deal with the pieces.

Sensei Wu walked in, with terrible timing as usual.

"... what ruckus is going on here?"

"... Sensei..."

He looked... disappointed.

Anger would be easier to cope with, sadness would be gruelling though... still... disappointment was the worst of all.

"... there has been a breach into Dei Noctis by an informant. The police force has asked me to send one of you to collect the information, as you will be much more stealthy than any of their officers." He spoke, seemingly eager to change the subject.

Lloyd looked at his friends, then got out of his seat.

"... I'll go."

"Are you sure?" Cole asked.

"Yeah. I... I'm gonna be more help out there than here."

He hurried over to Sensei's side, and the two of them left quickly.

Four became three.

Breakfast was forgotten.

-~-~-

"... Kai, what on Earth were you thinking?!" Nya demanded, finally finding her brother in their room, angrily shoving clothes into his bag.

"- and where do you think you're going?!"

He glanced at her, then continued as if she'd said nothing at all.

"... Kai, taking his binder was out of order. I think you deserved everything he said to you."

Still no reply.

"... what are you gonna do when you leave, Kai? Go stay on the Bounty? Don't be an idiot. He let you off. Staying here is best for all of us."

Finally, he stopped packing, and sat down on the bed, sighing loudly and gazing out the window.

"... please, talk to me Kai. Why'd you take it?"

He only shrugged.

Nya sat down next to him, sinking into the luxury mattress.

"... I'm your sister. If you want me to keep it to myself... I will."

She didn't even earn a shrug from that.

Sighing, Nya got up to leave, realising that there was no use talking to him while he was in this sort of mood.

She almost reached the door when, to her utmost shock, Kai spoke.

"I..." he started. "I... I just though that... he wasn't going to stop wearing it himself."

Nya stopped in her tracks.

"... that idiot wasn't going to stop wearing it himself, so I thought I'd do something about it, ok?! Zane told me what was going on with his lungs... I... I just don't want him to be fucking stupid and cripple himself more! He's useless enough as it is!"

He dropped his bag into the floor.

"... whatever. I'm famished. I'm gonna go see if Zane finished cooking."

He left the room, sliding past her without another word.

Leaving Nya alone with her thoughts.