Void - Ninjago x Female Reader

Chapter 7: Routine

(Second-person POV)

(Time skip - 5 months)

Picking up the wooden mask that you had hand-carved and painted, you ran your fingertips over its smooth surface, staring into the eyeholes as they stared back at you. Suddenly, a soft yap caught your attention, causing you to turn to Dart, your little dragon companion. She nudged her snout into the crook of your neck, scrambling up your shoulder and nuzzling into your warmth. "Hey there, girl," you softly smiled, caressing her smooth scales with your callused hands. "I think you need to eat more. You haven't grown at all in the five... months... we've been together..." Trailing off, your smile faded into a frown as you looked at the mask in your hands, trailing over the crimson spider lilies you carved and then painted onto the face covering.

It had been five months since you and Kusho Sensei's fight and you were left in the cave with Dart as your only companion. You've been training more than ever, sometimes staying up for days at a time just practising using your elements, revising all the books you had in your pocket, and swinging your tsurugi. You've also grown accustomed to the Void Vanquisher in case you ever need to use it in the future, but you've only just used your fan blades and normal sword.

Looking down from the hands of the statue your teacher was once imprisoned in, you neatly folded your bedding into a compact cube before standing up. You had relocated your entire room to the statue's cupped palms since it gave you a vantage point from how high it was so you could spot intruders (and Kusho Sensei). Due to the sheer size of the giant bronze statue, each one of its palms was already three times your height laid end-to-end. Add two of those together and you get a place great for sleeping and keeping your items.

Cracking your joints, you stood up from the centre of the statue's hands where you placed a soft mattress and covers, looking down from the dizzying height before letting out a small sigh. "I should make breakfast..." you murmured, leaping down from your chamber and began quickly descending to the ground. Just before you turned into a pile of broken bones on the cavern floor, you simultaneously used your wind and gravity elements to float gently down to the ground. 

Going to the kitchen, you pulled out a knife and began slicing some bread that you had made the night before, making three servings as always. One for you, one for Dart, and the last one for... Grimacing, you shook the thoughts from your mind. Sensei wasn't gone, he just... isn't here right now. That's right. He'll come back. He promised he'd never leave you so he's not gone and never will go. Yet... one look at the amount of food that you had set out for him at each meal that was left untouched told a different story. You just didn't see it — didn't want to see it.

Frying some fish for Dart and two bird eggs for you and Sensei, you quickly got to work preparing and eating your makeshift breakfast. Now that I've eaten, I should think about what I should do this morning... First, I'll clean out the entire cave again and then I'll practise my swordsmanship. I can't protect the Void Vanquisher and keep my promise if my skills get rusty overnight... Afterwards, I'll read some books and then cook lunch. After lunch, I should go restock the supplies and then do some drawing and write in my journal. After that, I'll make dinner and then do some more reading and training. Finally, I'll take a shower, clean Dart too, and go to bed. you planned out, repeating what you did yesterday and every day for the past five months.

If Kusho Sensei saw this, he'd probably get mad and say how "This isn't living and having such a strict routine is so boring", but you disagree. Having a planned schedule is a great thing as it means everything will stay the same. Sure, it's not exciting, but you're safe and you're not going to lose anything by doing this. Besides, Sensei is...

A small grimace rose to your lips, you sighed and finished your breakfast as Dart trilled, trailing after you with a curious look in her eyes. "Try not to break anything, alright?" you smiled, not wanting your friend to see you down, "I'm going to go clean our home again since the wind would surely have brought some dust in."