Nights Ninjas - Chapter 1

Night fell on the deep, blue sea as she waited for him to return. All she could do was sit and wait, in hope he hadn’t been taken from her. The wind whipped her long, black hair in her face as she sat staring out to sea. Waiting at the spot they always met, she remembered the last time they had seen each other. The last time they had touched. The last speck of him as he walked away. The moonlight reflected off of the sea, as the star shone like fireflies against the black sky.

A tap on her left shoulder brought her back into the real world. Getting up, she turned around as this person gave her a big hug. The person’s scent was one she would always remember.
“Kai,” she whispered, hugging him back, “I missed you.” She rested her head on his shoulder, relived he was safe and well.
“I missed you too Layla.” Kai replied in his sweet voice.  A final squeeze was passed between the two, before the finally parted. Layla looked into Kai’s light, green eyes. There was pain in his eyes but for what reason.
“Kai, what’s up?” she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. He held his left arm but said nothing. Layla looked at his arm. Slowly, She grabbed his left wrist and pulled the sleeve of his black ninja suit up. Gasping, she looked at the long, red gash on his arm. It went from his elbow all the way down to his wrist. Her hand was covered in blood when she couldn’t look at it any longer.
“We need to clean that up,” Layla told him, “Come with me.” Holding his right hand, she lead him away from their spot to her house.

Layla’s house wasn’t very big since her family was very poor. It only had three rooms her bedroom, her parents’ room, and their dining/kitchen/living room. When they reached her house, she lead him to her room.
“Sit on the chair over there” Layla told him calmly, “I’ll be back in a minute.” She left the room in search of water and bandages.

It was a Friday night so, she knew, her parents would be down the pub until about 2 am. She found some matches as well as the stuff she needed. Re-entering her room, She lit the fire and some candles with the matches she had found. Placing a kettle, full of water, over the open fire, she looked over at Kai who was now seated in the room but seemed so far away. She wondered what had gone on during his last mission. He was never injured when he came back from other missions. Not even his first few missions.

She heard the water simmering in the kettle behind her. Picking it up, she poured it in a small bowl. She walked over and knelt down on the side of his injured arm. Kai looked down snapping out of hid daydream. Dipping the cloth in the water, Layla began humming a lullaby. Kai winced, in pain, as she dabbed at the gash on his arm.
“Sorry if it stings a little.”Layla said calmly, noticing his pain. She kept on dabbing the wound until it was clean.

Kai just sat and watched her as he tended to his wound. A mistake that shouldn’t of happened but did anyway. He watched her soft, caring hands as they put the bandages on covering the wound. He heard her sweet voice singing under her breath. Kai loved everything about Layla and really missed her  when he had to go away. Layla finished applying his bandages and was clearing up.
“Thank you.” He said smiling at her. In reply, She smiled that smile that he would always fall for.

He followed her out the room when she went to put everything away. Pulling his sleeve down, he walked over to where Layla was and helped her pack the few things away. Once everything was packed away, Kai watched a Layla put the fire and the candles out in her room and grabbed a cloak from the end of her mattress. It was the cloak he gave her for her 13th birthday only last month.

The cold wind blew through the small house as she opened the door. Before she could step outside, Kai had ran over and picked her up, bridal style, in his strong arms. They both laughed as Kai put her down so he could close the door when he left the house.
“What do you want to do?”Kai asked, as he picked her up and carried her on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she thought.
“How about we climb that old oak tree just down the hill.” She suggested still holding onto his neck.
“Ok then hold on tight.” Kai replied before running across the grass and down the hill.

Even with Layla on his back Kai could still run fast enough to get there quickly and easily. Once they had reached the massive oak tree, Kai put Layla down.
“Stay here,” He told her, jumping and grabbing a branch above his head, “I’ll go look for a safe place to sit.” And with that he began climbing the tree, jumping from branch to branch, in search of a good place to sit. He stayed as close to the bottom as possible in case of any accidents.

Moments later he found the perfect spot.
“ok I found somewhere,” he called landing on the branch above her head, “Grab my hand and I’ll pull you up.” Kai put his right hand down. Layla reached up and grabbed it as Kai hosted her up using his other hand to sit her comfortably on the branch. Layla then stood up on the branch with perfect balance.
“Where did you learn to balance like that?” Kai asked standing up next to her.
“I do a lot of tree climbing while your away.” Layla giggled. Kai raised an eyebrow before continuing the climb. Eventually, they reached a part of the tree where the branches had entangled together to create a area strong enough to hold the both of them.

Kai, being the gentleman he was, made sure Layla was comfortably seated before sitting down himself. Layla rested her head against his shoulder as her black hair waved in the breeze. This was how they stayed, slowly falling asleep under the stars’ caring gaze.