*crawls out of the pit that is WRITERSBLOCK and SCHOOL and STRESS*

*posts this*

*is dragged back* WORTH IT!

~~~~~~

He was bored.

Really, really, really bored.

It had been months since Morro had last felt this level of boredom (which was a record-before Brookstone had come along, he had been in a constant state of boredom since, what, year 15 of being dead?), and he was completely and utterly sick of it.

Granted, he could have (and probably should have) taken up Brookstone's offer to go with him when he and his new teammates were given a few weeks of rest from training and allowed to leave the monastery. But the offer seemed to have undertones of friendship in it and Morro had wanted to establish a firm boundary between him and the newbie and had swiftly declined.

He and Brookstone were NOT friends. They were acquaintances at best, but definitely NOT friends.

Morro was the fucking Master of Wind. He did not need friends.

Although...having Brookstone around would have made things less boring. At least he could actually see and talk to Morro.

But nope. The only one around the monastery for the past two weeks had been Wu...and his newest student.

One look at the supposed Master of Fire had Morro's gut filled with an intense dislike. Sure, the kid had potential-Morro could see the beginnings of a powerful swordsman in the other teen's form-but the other teen had an ego and arrogance almost as large as his wild, ridiculous hairdo. One day of silently dealing with the new ninja-in-training, and Morro already wanted to throw him off the mountain. Two weeks and the ghost was millimeters away from doing something drastic and more than a little violent.

Thank god Brookstone and the others arrived. And that Wu let them attack the new Master of Fire in the dead of the night.

The results, however...were less than desired.

"A fucking toothbrush!"

"Mark..."

"You all almost got your asses kicked with a motherfucking toothbrush!"

"It wasn't that bad! We almost got him!"

"You had to fucking dogpile him! What kind of ninja are you?!" Morro glared down at Brookstone, only just fighting back a sneer of disgust. "I should make you run around the monastery until you throw up as punishment."

"You-You're already...making me do push-ups!" Brookstone whined, face red as he huffed and puffed during one of said push-ups.

Morro kicked at the kid's left elbow, almost toppling him. "Do that one over again, your form is fucking sloppy. And unless you want to do the running AND another hundred push-ups, I suggest that you shut your mouth and focus." The ghost sighed forcefully, shaking his head. "You're going to be fighting against the forces of evil any day now. How are you gonna defeat them if you can't even defend against a rookie with A FUCKING TOOTHBRUSH?!"

Brookstone groaned and whined some more but didn't protest his punishment any further. Morro grudgingly gave him credit for that.

Then he thought about what had happened last night again and decided to take it back.

A fucking toothbrush. Really?!

By the time Brookstone had finished his last push-up, Morro was thoroughly disgusted with his presence and decided it was time to make himself scarce before he did something rash and accidentally hurt the young ninja.

(A part of him wondered when he started caring about that, before Morro promptly and firmly shoved it deep down).

"Oh," Brookstone said when Morro told him that he was going to go. "Okay, then." He suddenly gained a suspicious look. "You're not going to mess with the other's stuff again, are you? Zane still thinks I'm the one who stole his book."

"Tch, like you'd ever be interested in a book of 'Southern Ninjago Myths and Legends'-"

"I like mythology!"

"-and I didn't STEAL shit," Morro bulldozed over Brookstone, flicking out a hand dismissively. "I put it back, eventually."

"Bet you didn't even read it," he heard Brookstone mutter under his breath-which, rude. Morro got through half of it before giving up, and that was only because the author was a pretentious asshole and had somehow made the really interesting myths boring and dull as hell. It was a travesty!

...aaaand he still hadn't responded, and Brookstone was giving him a look. It was an admittedly impressive look-Morro mentally gave it a six out of ten-and was coupled with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine, fine," the ghost said, flipping upside-down. "I won't 'steal' anyone else's shit anymore. No promises that I won't rearrange it though-that's always funny as heck."

Cole sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ay Señor, dame fuerza," he murmured before looking back at Morro. "Fine, I guess that's as good as I'm going to get at this moment."

"Damn straight," Morro replied, turning around and waving over his shoulder. "Later, kid."

Morro 'walked' away, thinking about what he wanted to do to pass the night. Despite what he had implied with Brookstone, rearranging other people's stuff took time and effort, and he wasn't really feeling inclined to do it tonight. Maybe he could meditate on the roof? He hadn't done that in a hot minute...

"Talking to your imaginary friend again?"

Despite himself, Morro found himself pausing as he heard the voice. He poked his head around the corner and scowled at the newcomer. "What the fuck do you want, Porcupine?" he muttered.

The ninja-in-training didn't respond, of course, and was instead giving Cole a look full of malicious mischief.

Brookstone scowled a little, but replied in a calm voice, "Mark's not imaginary, Kai. I told you, he's-"

"-right, right, he's a ghost," Porcupine interrupted, scoffing and rolling his eyes. "C'mon, Brookstone, you can drop the act. I'll admit, I'm impressed you managed to fool Julien for so long-Walker, not so much-but you can stop pretending."

Brookstone's scowl grew deeper. "I'm not pretending, though. Mark's really a ghost."

"Suuuure, he is. Why can't I see him then? Oh wait, lemme guess: he can turn invisible."

"No-well, not really. It's just-only certain people can see him-"

"Oh? Like who? What makes it so only a few people can see ghosts?" Porcupine did a weird gesture with his fingers as he said 'ghosts' (what had Bluebell called them? Air quotes? That sounds right...).

"Um... well, they have to have a scar like mine," Brookstone slowly explained. "And that usually happens when a ghost attacks them and manages to leave a scar behind..."

Porcupine whistled. "Wow," he said, and Morro found himself bristling at the amount of derision in his voice. "You really went all out on this little story, huh?"

Brookstone tensed, something sharp in his eyes. "I'm not making it up," he insisted. "Ghosts exist and I can see and hear them!"

"Oh yeah. Prove it."

"How?!"

"Have your little ghost friend do something."

Morro bristled even more. He was not this kid's friend! And he certainly wasn't going to be ordered around like a fucking servant, not unless Brookstone had a death wish.

Morro was the fucking Master of Wind. He wouldn't be ordered around by anyone, and he didn't. Need. Friends.

Brookstone's gaze darted around, but Morro ducked back around the corner before he could spot the ghost. "...he's not here not right now," he heard the kid say. "Maybe I can ask tomorrow-"

"Cut the crap, Brookstone," Porcupine said sharply, all traces of amusement suddenly gone.

"I'm not lying-"

"Then get your head checked out, because something's definitely not screwed on tight enough." Morro looked around the corner to find Porcupine bearing down on Brookstone, face twisted into an ugly sneer. "But let's get one thing straight, so I don't have to deal with this bullshit any longer."

The ninja-in-training poked Brookstone in the forehead, directly over his scar, forcefully. "Ghosts. Don't. Exist," he said, enunciating each word with a poke. "Get that through your skull. I'm not having some...some crazy kid slowing me down when I need to save my sister." He turned away sharply. "I don't care what Sensei Wu says. Get your fucking head out of the clouds, or I'll make sure that you get left behind."

Porcupine stormed away, passing by Morro on his way into the monastery. Morro glared at him as he walked away. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Wu," the ghost grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Just because your sister is the one who got kidnapped doesn't make you the fucking emperor. Hey Brookstone-"

Morro paused, the snarky comment dying on his tongue.

Cole's head was bowed, his hands clenched into fists. His jaw was clenched, and he sniffed hard. "'M not crazy," he muttered, sniffing again and rubbing harshly at his eyes. "No estoy loco. I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not CRAZY!"

The last word was said with a shout, Cole's eyes flying open and looking wild. A tear leaked out the corner of his left eyes and dripped down his cheek. Another quickly joined it, then another, until Cole's face just crumpled and he covered both of his eyes with his hands.

His fingers didn't go anywhere near his scar.

"I'm not crazy," the kid muttered. "No estoy loco, I'm not crazy..."

Morro...wasn't sure how he felt about witnessing the scene before him. He turned around and silently floated off, trying to push it from his mind. He's the leader of this bunch, he's got to learn to either stand up for himself or grow a thicker skin.

But try as he might, the ghost couldn't help but replay the drama in his mind-Brookstone's protests; Porcupine's fierce anger; the twisted look of amusement on the newest ninja's face as he mocked and belittled Brookstone...

Something in Morro's chest squeezed uncomfortably. The new ninja reminded him of...well, himself.

No, the ghost shook his head. I wouldn't do that...well, not now at least...

The squeezing got tighter. Morro found himself clenching his fists before he turned sharply and started floating in a different direction.

He had made his decision: he was going to show Porcupine a lesson.

No one could mess with Brookstone except for him.

~~~~~~

The next morning, the entire monastery was awoken by a furious screech.

"WHO THE FUCK MESSED WITH MY HAIR GEL?!"

"Uh oh," Jay muttered to a still sleepy Cole before Kai suddenly burst into the dining hall, still in his pajamas and with a lump of white stuff in his hand and hair.

Zane-coming out from the kitchen, arms laden with breakfast plates-paused as he took in his newest teammate's appearance. "Oh my," he said, oblivious to the danger. "Is there a reason as to why you put whipped cream in your hair, Kai?"

The red ninja was absolutely livid, and he rudely shoved by the concerned Zane. "Believe me, Blondy," Kai growled, ignoring Zane nearly dropping his plates. "It wasn't a conscious choice." He loomed over Jay and Cole, glaring down at them. "Alright, fess up you two. Which one of you fuckers did it?"

"Language," Cole couldn't help but mutter. When Kai's glare grew more heated, the black-haired teen was quick to shake his head. "It wasn't me, I don't touch anyone's stuff like that."

"Yeah!" Jay echoed. "Plus, I saw the ingredients in that gel-if I'd touched it, you'd know!"

"What, you allergic or something?" Kai asked gruffly (though, Cole thought he detected a hint of concern in it).

"Uh, not really? I just know one of the ingredients in it makes me break out with really bad acne. I had a conditioner with it once." Jay shuddered violently at the memory. "No thank you! Took my skin ages to clear up."

Kai's expression twisted. "...I'll make sure to keep it away from your stuff from now on," he muttered, shaking his head. "Whatever. If I catch the wiseguy who messed with my hair gel..."

The silence and tension left after that dire declaration almost made Cole lose his appetite.

Well, Cole reassessed when Zane handed him a big omelet stuffed to the brim with sausage, peppers, and mushrooms. Almost. No way am I missing a meal made by Zane. Dude's a professional chef, I swear

Cole dug in, savoring each bite. Things were quiet for a few minutes, when all of a sudden, Kai let out an indignant squawk. A glance over saw, and Cole saw that the new ninja was holding a pepper shaker-or, most of one. The screw-on top had popped loose, spilling a pile of black powder on a third of Kai's breakfast.

Jay barked out a laugh. "Heh, didn't know you liked pepper that much, Kai!"

"I don't!" Kai retorted, furious. "At least, not this much! The top was loosened!"

Amber eyes glared at Cole, but Cole, fed up, glared right back. "Give it a rest Kai," he said. "It's likely an accident-I know Jay once left the top off the ketchup and made a mess on the table."

"Hey!" The red-headed teen said, grinning playfully. "At least I didn't drop half a bag of sugar into my oatmeal."

Zane looked up. "Was that why breakfast last week was so sweet? I thought that the bananas had simply been overripe."

Cole pouted as Jay laughed. "Ha, ha, make fun of my cooking. And here I thought we were friends."

The three continued to banter, ignorant of Kai sending them suspicious looks.

They were also ignorant of a certain ghost watching over them, planning and plotting.

The first steps of his plan hadn't quite garnered the reaction he wanted. It was time to step things up a notch...

~~~~

For the next week straight, Kai seemed to be plagued with a streak of bad luck. His things were constantly being misplaced or in some cases downright go missing. He was tripping over invisible things or things that weren't there moments ago. The tops of the salt and pepper shakers would almost always fall off when he tried to use them, to the point where he refused to use them until someone else used it first.

Cole got suspicious two days in, after he witnessed Kai trip over a towel-especially since the wind had picked up a split second before, conveniently blowing the towel such that it wrapped completely around the spiky-haired teen's legs.

It could have been a coincidence, should have been...but he hadn't seen Mark in a while.

And he hadn't since-any attempt Cole made to corner the ghost was foiled. The ghost would simply phase through the floor or ceiling and make himself scarce, and those were the times when Cole actually saw him.

Cole didn't know what the ghost was up to, but he wanted him to stop. Kai seemed to be inching closer and closer to an explosion, and Cole wanted to be nowhere near him when it happened.

Unfortunately, it was not to be.

The four of them had just finished a training session and were cooling down. Cole was sitting on the ground, stretching his legs, when he saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eyes. Carefully, without drawing attention to himself, Cole turned his head and peeked in the direction where he saw the flash.

At first, all he saw in that direction was Kai, leaning against a column a fair ways away from the black ninja, sipping from a water bottle. Cole was about to move on when, suddenly, Mark floated up behind Kai, a mischievous smile on his face. The ghost paused, just behind the red ninja, before he looked up.

Gray eyes locked with green ones. Cole lifted his eyebrow slightly, mostly questioning but a bit challenging.

Mark's smile grew absolutely wicked. Quick as a flash, the ghost raised his left hand and struck-

-phasing his arm through the nearby column and through Kai's abdomen.

The reaction was instantaneous.

A fierce shudder rippled its way through the red ninja's body. Kai jumped and let out a choked exclamation-which quickly turned into spluttering as he accidentally inhaled the water he had been drinking.

Cole couldn't help but laugh, both at the sound Kai had made and his teammate's reaction.

When said teammate set his burning gaze on him, Cole started to regret his reaction.

"Ok, that is it!" Kai shouted, throwing his water bottle down and storming over to Cole. "I don't know how you're doing this, Brookstone, but I swear, if you don't fucking stop, I'm gonna-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Jay, who had been chatting with Zane, suddenly exclaimed. "Cole didn't do anything!"

"Indeed," Zane said, frowning. "I was watching and at no point did Cole come anywhere close to you."

Kai's eyes burned furiously. "Of fucking course you two idiots would defend him," he scoffed. "I'll bet you're all in on it-"

"Hey!" Cole stood up, glaring back. "Don't call them that! Besides, it's like they said: I wasn't anywhere near you."

"So what? You didn't rig something up to cause that? Or, wait," Kai rolled his eyes hard. "Your 'ghost friend' did it."

Normally, Cole would have tried to deny it. He would have tried to use a different explanation for what happened-anything, anything, but admit a ghost was involved.

But Cole was tired, and still mildly upset about what Kai called Jay and Zane. And what Mark did was really funny.

So, Cole crossed his arms and shrugged. "Hey you said it," he replied, a hint of a smirk on his face. "Not me."

"That's it, you smug son of a bitch! I'm gonna-"

"What is going on here?!"

Everyone jumped, turning to face a very unamused Sensei Wu. "Well?" Their teacher prompted, pointedly tapping his foot.

Jay-sweet, loyal Jay-immediately pointed at Kai. "Kai's being a big, mega jerk!" He said, sounding like a little brother ratting out his older sibling.

The red ninja seemed to think so. "They're the ones being assholes!" He retorted. "And this one," he jabbed a finger in Cole's direction, "is the ringleader! What, is this some kind of hazing ritual? Make fun of the newbie? Or are you so fucking insecure that you-"

Sensei Wu's staff hit the ground with a solid thunk! "That," he growled, giving all of them, but especially Kai, a stern glare. "is quite enough."

The old man shook his head and sighed. "I know that it is difficult, learning to work together with new peers, especially if they already had time to bond." He fixed Kai with a meaningful look. "And especially if one's mind is focused on something else that is important to them. But that does not excuse you, or anyone, from saying or doing something harsh and hurtful. If there is a conflict, I expect that, should you be unable to resolve it peacefully amongst yourselves, that you come to me and ask for my assistance. Am I quite clear?"

"Yes Sensei," everyone replied, subdued. Cole even saw Kai hang his head, shame clear in his expression.

"Good." Their teacher relaxed his stance some. "You are all young yet; I would hate it if something like this ruins a chance at a beautiful friendship." he paused and tilted his head some. "I often find that the best thing to do in a situation like this is apologize."

Taking the hint, Kai turned towards the others. "I...I'm sorry," he said, scowling but something like genuine regret gleaming in his eyes. "I guess...I'm just worried about my sister, and...I've been on edge and taking it out on you guys." He locked gazes with Cole. "I shouldn't have you guys stupid or idiots, and I especially shouldn't have, er..."

"Called me crazy?" Cole finished, feeling pettily satisfied at seeing Kai flinch. He held onto the feeling for a split second, savoring it... before letting it go. "It's okay. You're not the first one. And...I guess I'm sorry too. I could've been a bit more sympathetic to what's been going on." He placed a fist against his chest. "I promise, I'll be better about it from now on."

Kai studied him for a second, before his shoulders straightened. A small, genuine smile tugged at his lips. "Heh, so will I," the red ninja said before offering his hand.

Cole gave it a firm shake, something loosening in his chest and being replaced with hope.

They had gotten off to a shaky start, but hopefully now, Kai would become a true member of their team.

~~~~~~~

Morro had to very, very grudgingly admit: Porcupine had quickly cleaned up his act.

Sure, there were still some rough spots, but that was to be expected-he was new, and it took time for Brookstone and the others to adjust to his fighting style. But the spiky-haired teen had at least stopped being such an ass and stopped antagonizing the others. The last time someone mentioned Brookstone's ability to see ghosts, Porcupine had gone along with it with only a mere wince. A week ago, he would have mockingly laughed.

Morro was quite satisfied that his methods had provided the desired results.

Humming quietly to himself, Morro closed his eyes and lay down on the monastery's wall, basking in the last rays of sunshine before twilight truly fell. In your face, Porcupine, the ghost triumphantly thought, smirking slightly. That'll teach you to not be such a fucking ass. Maybe you'll be less obnoxious now-

Something brushed against the sole of his left foot. A sensation-long-forgotten, yet familiar-rippled through Morro's body. A startled yelp-like laugh flew out of his mouth before he could stop it, as he sat up with a flail-

-and fell off his perch.

Only his quick reflexes, and the fact he was a ghost and could therefore float, prevented him from actually hitting the ground.

....please for the love of Spinjitzu, let no one have seen that...

"Dios mío!" A by-now familiar voice exclaimed, seconds before Brookstone's worried face came into view. "Sorry, I didn't think-you seemed to be lost in thought, so I tried to get your attention, but I didn't think that that would happen and-are you okay?"

...goddamnit.

"I'm fine," Morro growled, batting away Brookstone's offered hand and floating up, glaring daggers at the kid. "I was actually fucking relaxing for once, so you better have a fucking good reason for bugging me."

"W-Well," the kid rubbed the back of his head almost sheepishly. "I just wanted to make sure we were still cool. I mean, you looked like you were avoiding me-well, I know now why you were." His look grew serious and mildly disapproving. "You shouldn't have been pranking Kai like that; I get that he was kind of a jerk-"

"-'kind of'?"

"...okay, he was really being a big jerk. But still-"

"-I think the phrase you're looking for is 'thank you'," Morro interrupted, crossing his arms. "Someone needed to knock some sense into Porcupine's head-"

"Porcupine?"

"The new kid, duh. Has hair like a porcupine's-anyways. He needed to be taken down a peg, and since you'd just nag me to a second death if I did anything really harmful, I just pranked him. And look, it fucking worked. He's got his head out of his ass, your team is finally working together pretty well, and you don't have to worry about him calling you crazy ever again."

Brookstone's face spasmed, his eyes widening. "You...you knew about that?" he croaked, something like shame spreading across his face.

Morro blinked, quickly and mentally went back over his words, then winced. Smooth, Morro. Fucking smooth.

Well, there was no point denying it now.

"Yeah, I overheard what Porcupine said to you," the ghost replied. "And-hey," he barked, seeing the kid flinch and move to cover his scar. "None of that shit. You know that he's wrong about ghosts, don't hide. Own it, like you did just a few days ago."

Brookstone let out a small smile. "...that did feel kinda good."

"Exactly. And even if he was right and ghosts didn't exist, that doesn't fucking excuse what he said to you. He should have never said that, ever! I'm an asshole and I wouldn't go that far." Morro paused. "Well, probably-my point is, Porcupine needed to be taught a lesson, I did it in a fairly harmless way, now everything should hopefully be fine. Hooray, power of teamwork and all that goofy shit. So, you're welcome."

There was a brief silence, and Morro scowled. "I said you're fucking welcome, Brookstone! Fucking ingrate, see if I do something like this again next time-"

"Huh?" Brookstone blinked, as if coming out of deep thought, and shook his head. "O-Oh, sorry! I mean, thanks! Really, I-I really appreciate it-"

"Tch. You'd better."

"I do," the kid said earnestly. He paused, then smiled slightly. "I guess...I wasn't expecting you to care all that much. Didn't think we were that good of friends yet..."

Morro scowled, opened his mouth to protest-he was not this kid's friend!-

-Paused, took in Brookstone's open expression-the happiest the kid had been since Porcupine had joined the team...

The ghost clicked his tongue again, and rolled his eyes. "Like I said, I'm an asshole, but I'm not that much of an asshole. Porcupine needed a lesson in fucking manners, and I decided to teach him one. Honestly, I should probably thank him for that-I haven't been bored in over a week thanks to him."

"Language," Brookstone said automatically.

Morro smirked, feeling mischievous. "Fuck. Fucking shit. Goddamn motherfucking-"

"Dios mio, stop!"

Laughing, Brookstone's hand shot out, the tips of his fingers managing to brush the sole of Morro's left foot before he could jerk it away. A laugh escaped the ghost's mouth before he could stop it, as he backflipped in the air away from Brookstone. This apparently tickled the kid's funny bone, because he started laughing harder. Which, somehow, made Morro laugh harder, and before he knew it, the two of them were both curled up-Brookstone on the ground, he mid-air-and laughing their butts off.

As he laughed harder than he'd ever laughed before, Morro decided to make a tiny concession in his mind.

He....wouldn't necessarily mind being Brookstone's... friend.

Ack, nope. Acquaintance. Acquaintance was a better term.

(At least, for now it was. Who knows, a tiny voice in his head whispered before he silenced it, that might change...)

~~~~~~~

Haha, just give in Morro. You've made a friend! :D

Was Kai a little mean in this chapter? Yeah, but he was REALLY stressed out about Nya and took it out on Cole. Was that the right thing to do? Absolutely not, and Kai does regret his actions (just not enough to apologize; at least until Morro pranks the mess out of him).

If I messed up on Cole's Spanish, blame Google Translate and my subpar Spanish skills

I think I might only have enough in the tank for one more full chapter, but we'll see.