Birthright | Ninjago

𝐗𝐗𝐕. TRUCE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

LLOYD KNEW HE WAS SUPPOSED to be watching the fight. Whoever moved on, Skylor or Jacob would be another obstacle to get over when it came to rescuing Zane and Cole. He knew he needed to assess their competition and figure out a plan—he was, somehow, the leader. He couldn't let the remaining team members down, not like how he had with Cole.

But Hiro was sitting next to him.

Hiro was sitting next to him and Lloyd was going crazy.

And, like, okay. Hiro had sat next to him plenty of times. Hiro had sat behind him on a dragon and wrapped his arms around Lloyd's waist. Hiro had definitely brushed his arm against Lloyd's because he had done so just yesterday. But that was different, okay? Lloyd was worried about him yesterday, and then he was worried about Cole, and he didn't exactly have time to sit in his own head and feel how close Hiro was! You couldn't expect him to focus on a fight between two people he doesn't care about when his whatever-we-are was right there!

According to Chen, Skylor was the Master of Amber; Lloyd remembered his dad mentioning the element a few days prior, but he had no idea what those powers entailed. Jay had said she used Fire, but the longer Lloyd thought about it, the more sure he was that Jay had been mistaken. There could only be one user of an Element at a time; Kai was still the Master of Fire, which meant Skylor's power had to be different. On the other hand, Jacob was the Master of Sound—a blind man who used Sound to see. At least his abilities were in the name. Skylor was still a total mystery.

Hiro leaned over to Lloyd. Lloyd held his breath, trying to remember if he'd brushed his teeth that morning. He had, hadn't he? "Why is she dressed like that?" the taller boy asked, keeping his eyes on Skylor.

Lloyd tried to ignore his jealousy. Hiro was interested in the competition in a completely non-romantic way. Lloyd wasn't sure Hiro even liked women, romantically speaking, or if he just wanted to kiss Lloyd. If he still even wanted to kiss Lloyd, that is.

Lloyd blinked, realizing Hiro had turned that piercing gaze onto him. He swallowed. "Huh?"

Hiro tilted his head toward the fight. "Skylor. What is she wearing?"

Lloyd managed to look away from Hiro through the sheer force of his will. Skylor was dressed in a bright orange gi, reminiscent of the Ninja's old uniforms. The only difference seemed to be writing (that Lloyd couldn't read from so far away) stitched into the fabric around her head. Other than that, her outfit was almost an exact copy of a gi Lloyd was sure he'd seen his brothers wear before.

"I don't know," he admitted. "How did she get a gi before you did?" he added, just to tease.

Hiro scowled at him, almost pouting. "I wouldn't be caught dead in one of your uniforms," he said, crossing his arms. For all his reluctance, Lloyd was sure he caught the tail-end of a smile on Hiro's lips. Which he definitely wasn't staring at, thank you very much.

"I don't know," Lloyd said, "I think you could pull it off."

Hiro offered him an eye-roll that turned into a grimace when Jacob struck a sour note below, the sound causing a ringing in Lloyd's ears. Beside him, Garmadon muttered something, but it was drowned out when Hiro said, "Yeah, yeah. You just want to see me in your clothes."