Promises (Ninjago's Kai x Reader)

Episode 5 - Mercy

I hadn't realized we stopped walking until Kai was kissing me. I melted into the gesture, letting my worries fade and focusing solely on his lips on mine. My hands found their way into his unruly brown hair, pulling him closer to me. His hands travelled up and down my back, not in a sexual way, but in a soothing way, as if he was trying to calm me down. His lips leave mine so that he can press a soft kiss onto each of my eyelids. His hands come to hold my face, his thumbs wiping away the remaining tears.

"What's wrong, Tash?" he whispers.

"Did I do the right thing?"

Kai runs his left thumb across my cheekbone soothingly. "Depends on why you did it."

I stare at him, struggling to put my feelings into words. When I do, they pour out, unfiltered. "When I looked into her eyes, I expected to see anger, hatred, outrage. Instead I saw fear. I saw desperation, and regret. I saw the old me in her. It made me think, what if there is some good in her. I know my father made them to be evil, but he didn't have to with mine. Mine was already evil without his influence, because once upon a time, I was evil. But I changed, I found the light, I embraced it, I became good. When I looked into her eyes, I saw possibility. I believe she could turn out like me with the right influence. I didn't destroy her, because by destroying her, I'd be destroying the good in me."

Kai presses his lips to mine once again. "Your purity never ceases to amaze me."

~

"Oh, man, so great to have the tank back," Jay says with a content sigh.

"You said it," Cole replies over the radio, though its muffled by the cake he is undoubtedly shoving in his mouth.

"Can't wait to hear what Sensei says when he hears about this," Kai says, changing the subject.

I hum thoughtfully. "He probably already knows."

"So it is true, you have destroyed my evil Ninja," my Father says, his picture popping up on the control screen.

"Keep it coming, Garmadon. Your attempts to stop us are only making us stronger," Kai replies with a glare.

My Dad sighs. "But tomorrow is a new day, Ninja. Mark my words, I will find new ways to finish you once and for al-"

His voice is cut off as his picture disappears. "What? I cant hear you!" Kai says mockingly.

"Nya will be displeased. She just repaired it and it appears it already has to go back to the shop," Zane says grimly, though a smile rests on his face.

"Nah it's not broken," Lloyd says. The soft hum of electricity fills the car and the screen comes back on in a flash, the game Blick Block set to play.

"You did that? But it didn't blow up!" Jay exclaims, a huge smile spreading across his face.

Lloyd grins back and picks up a remote controller. "Hey, you go to school, and sometimes you might pick up a thing or two!"

~

"Again."

With a grunt, Lloyd charges at me, swinging his staff wildly, but purposefully. I use my own staff to block his attacks before swiping his feet out from under him. He falls to the ground with a loud thud and another groan. I swing my staff around in my hand before pointing it down at his neck, keeping him on the ground.

"Don't attack with such ferocity, Lloyd. Remember your ballet lessons, you need to be light and swift."

Lloyd pushes my staff out of his face and sits up. "Yeah, yeah. Graceful and delicate. Power comes from speed, not strength," he grumbles as he stands back up.

I step back, glaring sternly. "It's no joke Lloyd. When you use a staff like this, being strong isn't important. Being fast--" I swing the staff and hit him in the side-- "and controlled--" I spin the staff in my hand and jab it at his stomach, knocking him back down-- "is what will win you this fight."

Lloyd lets out a growl before jumping back up and attacking again. His strikes are slow and uncontrolled. His attacks are wild and unfocused. He's using anger to power him, not poise. I easily deflect his blows and knock him to the floor.

"What did I say?"

Lloyd scrunches his nose, jumps up and attacks again. I easily knock him back to the floor.

"Do not let your anger control you. Remember to be patient. Don't be powerful, but let the power flow."

Lloyd sighs. "I don't get why I have to do this. The Ninja are teaching me spinjitzu and how to control my power. You're teaching me ballet and stick fighting."

I smile. "Bo Staff fighting," I correct. "They are preparing you to face our Father. I am preparing you--" I swing the staff around and get into a fighting stance-- "to face me."

Lloyd looks at me like I have two heads. "How's that gonna benefit me?"

I laugh airily. "Little Brother, if you can beat me, you can beat anybody."

Lloyd grins. "Even Uncle Wu?"

"Especially Uncle Wu," I reply. "Our Father trained me to be the best of the best. If you are to one day become the greatest Ninja of them all, you have to be able to beat the best of the best."

"If you're so good, how come you couldn't beat Bizarro Tasha?"

My smile falters and I step out of my fighting stance. "Because she was me."

"But what about when Cole had her pinned. Why couldn't you beat her then?"

I smile kindly at my little brother. "Because she was me. She had my skill and strength, but she also had my virtue and merit. She was me, just not good yet. I couldn't kill her."

Lloyd is silent for a moment, digesting my words. "Do you think we'll ever see her again?" he finally asks.

"I don't have a doubt we'll see her again, and when we do see her, she will be on our side."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I showed her mercy. I could see in her eyes that her journey wasn't complete. I know she was destined to be good, just like me. By showing her mercy, I gave her the opportunity to become her own person and to choose good. She is in prison now, because for now she is evil. I don't have a doubt, however, that when she is released, she will be allied with us."

"How did you become so wise?"

I laugh very loudly. "Lloyd, I am far from wise. What I am is open minded. Having once been on the side of evil allows me perspectives that no natural good guy will ever have. But that doesn't make me better than them, in fact I'm more likely to make mistakes because of it."

"What's your point in telling me this? What's the lesson?"

I roll my eyes and whack my brother lightly on the head with my staff. "You asked, dingus. But I guess what I'm trying to teach you is to trust your gut." I step back into a fighting stance. "Now, again. And remember, trust yourself and let the staff do the work."

Lloyd nods, closes his yes, then swings his staff at me. The two staffs make a loud clank when they collide. Lloyd opens his eyes and swings again with the same control and speed as his first attack. Another loud clank as our staffs collide. Lloyd grins and attacks again and again, moving swiftly and gracefully. The power behind his attacks is far greater than when he was attacking with brute force. After many moments of this, Lloyd swings his staff towards my feet, catching me off guard and knocking me to the ground. He points the staff down at my face, a large smile plastered across his face.

I grin. "Again."

~
Short chapter, but a good chapter. Tasha is literally the most developed character I've ever written! Anyway, Good News: I finished the chapter for next week, so expect that to be on schedule. I'm working on getting ahead again, but it's difficult with school and cross country. I literally feel like I'm walking along a type rope with how much I'm juggling. Enough of my complaints: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until next time, Wacky AWAY!

Word Count: 2092