Ghost Story ► Ninjago [REWRITING]

| XXII | Broken Trust

*No POV*

Ronin opened his eyes to find himself behind the counter, lying down. His hat had fallen off, and he was facing the shelves.

What scared him was that he didn't remember how he got there. The last thing he recalled was speaking to Red and Nya while he was cleaning his airship.

Then the eerie voice of Bansha rang in his head, and next thing he knew, he ended up here. And he had a goal in mind.

"Thanks for gathering on short notice."

Misako's voice startled him and he realized he was still on the floor. He hurriedly got up as the Ninja walked in behind her.

"Looking for something?" Kai questioned, raising an eyebrow. Of course, the boys still didn't trust him one-hundred percent.

"Uh, just making sure the tea blends are in alphabetical order," he responded quickly, turning around and pretending to count the boxes. "Yup, there we go. A to Z, heh..."

Kai didn't question it any further, but had a suspicious eye on him.

Scarlett found his hat lying on the floor in front of the counter and smiled softly, picking it up and handing it to him. "Here you go."

"Ah, thanks..."

"So you figured out where the tomb is?" Jay asked as the team of five gathered behind Misako.

"Not yet, but we think we know how to locate it. Zane?"

Wu had also entered, shocking the thief. Zane used his falcon's eyes to make a digital blueprint on the lockers, which revealed a skull. Wu clapped, shutting off the lights.

"To bring you up to date," she began to explain. "The skull symbol refers to the tomb's entrance."

"We also know my father's resting site, where the Realm Crystal resides, is protected by three deadly tests designed to keep anyone unworthy away—and only the Sword of Sanctuary can see past its riddles," the sensei added, the blade itself and a scroll now replacing the skull on the screen.

"Yeah, but where is it?" Cole questioned.

"We started to wonder if the scroll and sword combined held a secret. That's when Kai reminded us there was a map on the back of the scroll, and—"

The fire ninja stepped up, cutting her off. "And if you use the sword on the map, the blade's reflection will reveal the tomb's location!"

"Exactly."

"Which means, we'll have to get our hands on that map," Cole said with a determined nod.

Ronin stared at them, feeling he had heard enough information—enough important information, so to speak. Opening the doors and walking out, he went to do what he had to.

Pay his debt and free his soul.

He walked into the small shed where the blade resided, and upon sliding the door, he found the velvet case without even looking around the room. With a grin, he walked over to it and lifted the top of the case, only to find it empty.

"Y'know, something about what you said stuck with me."

Ronin turned around to see Nya in the corner of the small shed, smiling smugly and holding the sword, pointing it at him.

The door then shut, and Red stood there as well with crossed arms. Despite her grin—and he was already mad—neither of them were happy with what they saw.