The Child of Silver

71

"I don't do that as often as I could. Taking a new breath is always the best." Anirei chuckled, but Sensei Wu could sense something strange from her tone. It was happy, but there was a slight worriedness in the undertone.

"Is there something troubling you, Anirei?" He asked and Anirei sat down in front of her Sensei.

"I don't understand it very much myself, Sensei Wu. But there's been something strange with the balance of Ninjago ever since my Elder Brothers rose in fame."

"Interesting. How do you know?"

"I don't know. But I want to be on my own for a short time. Would it be all right if I just fly for half a day so I can spend it trying to figure this out?"

Sensei Wu nodded, "Of course. Just be back by sundown or when we call you in case something happens."

"Understood, Sensei. I'll be back soon." Anirei bowed her head and left the room. As she walked onto the deck, Lloyd noticed that she was walked to the edge of the deck.

"Rei? You going somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm just going to fly for a little while. To get my mind off the fame you all have been getting."

"Does it bother you that badly?" Lloyd asked, "I'm sorry that I've been--"

"It's not any of you, Lloyd." Anirei sighed, "I just have a bad feeling about something and I want to figure out what it meant. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"Is it something to do with Ninjago's balance?"

"Maybe. That or it could be something else. But I won't know unless I have some time to myself for a little while."

Anirei gave Lloyd a short kiss and then jumped off of the Bounty, summoning her silver scaled spirit dragon and flying away, all the while letting her mind wander throughout her head. She flew around for hours, watching the ground pass beneath her in blurs of color. As she flew through the sky and over the waters of Ninjago, she felt her mind fade as her body fell to sleep.

~~~~~

Anirei's eyes opened, her vision was filled with the tanned color of sand all around her. She felt the heat from the sun pounding against her skin. It burned her so much that it hurt her.

"Yang." A voice said behind her. Anirei quickly turned around and saw a strange object stuck in the sand. It looked almost like a teapot. She walked closer to the teapot and saw the bronze color of the material. Before she could pick it up, the teapot burst open and she was covered in orange smoke.

"How dare you." The voice said. Anirei opened her eyes and saw someone emerge from the smoke before something grabbed her by the throat. She looked up and saw dark eyes with mischief swimming around in them, the grip of their hand becoming tighter and tighter.

"How dare you show your face to me after all these years? After you foiled my plans!"

Anirei tried to free herself from the grip, but her body became weak for some reason. The face of the stranger became more and more clear. His black hair tied into a high ponytail, a red scarf around his neck.

"You will not escape this time, Yang! I will get my wish!"

~~~~

Anirei lurched her body forward, her dragon still flying over the ocean as she took in deep breaths to calm her body and mind.

"What was that?"

She didn't have much more time to think as a message was being sent to her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a communicator, seeing the incoming message was from Misako.