Melting in your arms

6

Chipi Chipi Chapa Chapa Dubi Dubi Daba Daba Magico Mi Dubi Dubi Boom Boom Boom Boom

   Xue Xue's legs felt weak. He dropped to his knees. Cole was struggling too. 
   "Sensei, can we have a break?" Cole pleaded. They'd not stopped fighting for nearly six hours. Master Wu glared at Cole. 
   "Yes." He said hesitantly. Cole almost cheered. He slumped against the wall, trying not to fall asleep. Xue Xue was about to go sit next to him when Master Wu slammed his bamboo stick on the deck. Xue Xue stopped and Cole's head jerked up. "Not you." Master Wu stepped into the courtyard. "Let's see how you fare against me." He said. Cole stood up. 
   "Sensei!? That's not fair for Xue Xue!" He said in disbelief. Xue Xue felt heat rising in his chest. 
   "What?" He hissed. Master Wu stared at him. 
   "Let's test your skill." He said. Xue Xue glared, grinding his teeth. He leapt at Master Wu, with almost killing intent. His hands were stretched for Master Wu's neck but he was met with a bamboo stick to his stomach. 
   "Ack-!" He was sent flying into the wall. He stumbled to his feet and wiped a bit of blood from his lip. He clenched his fist and swung it up. Massive shards of ore burst from the ground below Master Wu, but he dodged and, in a flash of white, appeared behind Xue Xue. Xue Xue's eyes widened and he was thrown to the floor. He choked and coughed, blood rolling down his chin. His face was soaked in tears. Master Wu raised his bamboo stick and brought it down in a flash. 
   There was a loud snapping and splintering sound. The top half of the bamboo staff skidded across the courtyard and there was a little cloud of dust. Cole blinked. Xue Xue was cowering behind a curved wall of ore, separating him and Master Wu who was beaming. 
   ... 
   WHAT?!
   Cole blinked, dumbfounded. Has Sensei finally lost it? He gaped. 
   "Well, that was certainly reassuring!" Master Wu said. "It seems that you have gained quite the control over your element." He said. Xue Xue peeked out from behind the ore wall. 
   "Um... what?" He asked. 
   "WHAT HAPPENED!?" The rest of the ninja had come out to see the commotion and were all as shocked as the other.
   "Xue Xue seems to have a talent for defence rather than offence. A useful asset to have on a team, no?" Master Wu said cheerily. Lili ran over to Xue Xue and helped him up. Xue Xue spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped his lip. Anger bubbled in his mind. What the fuck was that about? He thought angrily. "Go rest, we will carry on tomorrow." Master Wu said, returning to his study. 
   "What was that about?" Lili asked annoyed. 
   "Are you alright?" Cole asked. Xue Xue nodded. His back and stomach throbbed and he felt sick. "Sensei did go a little hard on you..." 
   "Ah... I'll sleep it off, I'll be fine." Xue Xue said, he sounded like he was trying not to throw up. 
   "Come on-" Lili tried pulling Xue Xue away but he shook his head. 
   "I'll... I'll do it myself." he pulled his arm from her grasp and limped to his room. Lili stared after him. 
   "He's probably just angry. Don't worry." Nya said kindly. Lili shook his head. 
   "This is the first time he's refused to let me help him." Her eyes slowly traced to Master Wu's study and her expression hardened. It's your fault. She cursed at Master Wu silently. 
   "Does anyone else also think Master Wu is acting really strange?" Kai asked. There was a silent agreement. 
   "Ugh, he's always so mysterious." Jay groaned. "Sensei never tells us anything until it's too late or until we're about to die." He complained. Nya patted his back. 
   "Well... Sensei has..." She thought hard for a few seconds before sighing. "Actually, I have nothing to defend him with." She said quietly. There had not been one time where Master Wu had genuinely saved Ninjago, never mind his own students. In all honesty, he'd pretty much fucked everyone else's lives up rather than helping them. Garmadon; Morrow; Aspheera; all of his students bar one had died at least once; Lloyd/Nya/Kai had died twice; Zane/Cole died three times [in this fic]; two of his students were turned evil; one was possessed and Garmadon died. Nya sighed. Cole rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. 
   "Well... we've not died yet... well..." He sighed. "Um we've never stayed dead?" He said laughing awkwardly. Jay rolled his eyes. 
   "Mhm." He scoffed. Meanwhile, Lloyd was stood silently. He whole heartedly agreed with his team, but, they really wouldn't be here without Master Wu, but then again, did any of them really want to be here? He knew, that no matter how much he loved saving Ninjago, a part of him felt spiteful and bitter that he had been cheated out of his childhood. He wasn't anywhere near mature, technically he was only twelve, stuck in a sixteen year old's body. His fists clenched and his lip trembled. 
   "...Lloyd?" Lloyd jumped. Pixal was staring at him in concern. "Are you alright?" She asked. Lloyd ahh-ed and smiled awkwardly. 
   "I'm ok." He said, his smiled wavering. "I'm... I'm gonna go sleep... um... night." He said, quickly walking away, his face scrunched up in an effort not to cry. Pixal stared after him helplessly. It was fairly obvious that Lloyd was crying, he would always ball his hands into fists and his shoulders would always hunch.
   "That... was our fault wasn't it." Lili said sheepishly. There was a quiet murmur of agreement. Jay put his face in his hands. 
   "Uggggh! What are we saying? Master Wu is the one that got us here! We shouldn't talk bad about him." He groaned. 
   "We should all probably get to bed... we're probably just tired. Yeah, tired." Nya said, leading Jay away. Cole shrugged at Kai and they walked away together. Pixal and Zane both left together and Lili was left standing alone. She stared at the darkening sky. I don't like this. She thought sadly. Her skin crawled. She put her hand on the back of her neck, a cold breeze passed through her and she shivered. She hurried to her room and suddenly, there was no one left in the courtyard. As the night began to set in, the specks and little stains of blood became unnaturally dark. They turned black, bubbling like boiling water, more little specks splattering from the puddles. There was a sudden crack. An icy white hand slammed onto the floor, slender fingers cracked the floor beneath them as it pulled itself up. 

Um. Idk. I don't like Master Wu that much, if that wasn't a little obvious 😀😀 ... my bad :D