What the Tide Brought In (Ninjago AU)

Chapter 1

Hello, everyone!

Here's the story I'll be posting while Blue Spouse is on hiatus. I'll update this twice a week since it's a rather silly one and some chapters are very short, but I hope you'll still like it ♥

It has been sitting in my drafts for about a year so the writing might be a bit different at some points, even though I've edited a lot of parts.

Anyway, enjoy this plasma love story ~

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The sea was scary. The vast, immense blue field with its never-ending waves, their constant sound when they crashed against the rocks. Water was unstoppable. It could be gentle or fierce depending on the day, you could never know what its mood was hiding. It was unpredictable.

Those were just a few of the reasons why Kai had always disliked it. It's not like he was afraid of the liquid per se but the unpredictableness of water in its natural state. Maybe that little incident when he was younger and he almost drowned on the beach had something to do with his aversion. He wasn't sure, but at this point, he didn't really care anyway. He had learned to live avoiding water pretty well. Actually he liked to just lay down on the sand and get a nice tan when he hung out with his friends —it made him look hotter, in his humble opinion.

So if someone had told Kai just a year ago that he would voluntarily be coming to the sea in the look for comfort, he would have told them to get checked with a doctor.

During the last few months, Kai had looked for a place where he could go and clear his mind whenever the sorrow and anxiety became unbearable. He had tried a couple of cafeterias; they were always too noisy and full of people, some of which would occasionally try to start up a conversation with him —curse his attractive features, always catching someone's unwanted attention.

He'd also tried the park, but kids throwing tantrums and balls flying in every direction was even worse. He'd given the library a chance too, only to discover that the silence was just as annoying as the loud voices from the people outside. And that freaking tick-tock from the old-styled clock in the main room would destroy his nerves.

He'd needed a place where he could be alone, not too noisy, not too silent, and where he didn't need to dodge flying toys every minute. He hadn't even realized it when he made it to the beach one day. Kai had looked over at the people lying on the sand or playing by the shore and considered that possibility.

Still too problematic.

As he wasn't quite familiar with that side of the city yet, he had wandered a bit around the place until he found something that caught his eye.

Far away from the pretty side with the large crowd, the beach turned into a rocky path. A landscape way less attractive to the average bathers, hence why it was deserted. The stones were all different sizes and shapes, some pointy and dangerous looking, the lower levels though had been eroded by the action of the water.

Kai had descended and studied the place until he spotted a large flat rock standing out of the ground just a couple of meters above the water. Without knowing why he had sat there. At first, the water crashing fiercely under his feet made him shiver, but Kai reminded himself he was high enough to be safe, the waves couldn't reach that spot, there was no risk they would drag him in.

He was finally alone, no flying objects threatening his safety, and the sound of the waves and occasional squawking of the seagulls was soft enough to create a calming atmosphere. Kai found himself easily engulfed in the salty air. The wind messed with his hairstyle sometimes, but he could stand that. He never thought what had scared him for years could someday bring him so much peace to his heart.

Kai was too proud to admit he wasn't doing fine after losing his parents. It had only been a few months since they died in a car accident, and he and his sister had to move to another city to live with their uncle.

Nya said it was normal to be sad, to need help, to rely on others, but Kai wasn't ready to admit defeat. He'd always considered himself a strong-willed and self-confident boy, he wanted to go through this his own way. His parents had died, this was his sorrow, he didn't want to bother people with something that only involved him and his sister.

Tears rolled down Kai's cheeks, leaving a cool trail on his skin as the wind picked up. He had been coming to this secret spot on the beach ever since he discovered it. He would just sit on his favorite flat rock and stare at the sea for hours, sometimes blaming himself for not being a better son in the past, and others trying to empty his mind. The fresh salty air seemed to help him calm down and recharge before he had to go back home, to a place he didn't feel like he totally belonged to, no matter how hard his uncle tried.

But Kai had to admit that there had been another reason to come there lately...

At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him the first time he spotted something moving inside the water, but later on, he found out his hallucination was real.

The top of a head floated in the waves, hiding behind the big rocks that arose from the water further away.

Kai didn't pay it much attention the first few times, it was most probably a curious kid who swam there from the other side of the beach. But that kid would always come whenever Kai was there trying to 'enjoy' his solitude.

Time after time, they started to get closer to Kai's spot, stealthily swimming from one rock to another, diving to not be noticed and quickly hiding their head inside the water when the boy looked in their direction.

That person had been clearly stalking Kai for at least two weeks now, maybe even longer than that. While they didn't seem any potential menace, it was certainly creepy, and Kai was getting sick of them or the possible reasons behind their snooping.

Kai wiped the cold tears away from his face and stretched out lazily before climbing up the path of rocks to go back home, tired of his 'mystery admirer'.

♦♦♦

Peeping Tom hid behind the rock as he saw Kai getting up from his spot. His heart was beating fast, he had the feeling that the gloomy teenager was certainly aware of his presence since days ago, but seeing as the other hadn't tried to do anything to him yet, he couldn't help to keep coming and watch him from afar.

After a couple of minutes, he presumed he was safe and peeped over the rock; the brunet figure he had been studying earlier was nowhere to be seen. He held onto the stone for support, bouncing softly with the movement of the waves and sighed, it was time to head back for today.

"What are you doing?" Said a voice just above him.

Terror ran through his veins as his eyes darted up, only to find the kid with the beautiful suntanned skin staring at him from the wall of rocks —eyebrows furrowed with anger.

The boy gasped and immediately dipped his head, the water engulfing him as he disappeared into the sea.

"Hey, wait!" Kai yelled, looking right and left, scrutinizing the waves in order to find where that person had gone, but the figure never came out again.

Kai groaned with annoyance, kicked at a nearby small stone and went back up to the footpath, this time for real.

What was he even thinking when he decided to confront the stalker like that? It was obvious that they would just dive and get away with whatever they were doing.

Well, at least now Kai knew what they looked like. Their eyes had locked only for a brief instant, but it was enough to see the face of a cute boy with vibrant blue eyes like the deep sea below him.