Unanimity | Ninjago AU

Chapter 14

Against my better judgement, I walk over and pick it up. It's still opened up to the page that Kai was on.

Ciara, a serial killer and daughter of the infamous Overlord, was spotted stealing over $700 in groceries and necessities before she used a portal to disappear. Ciara has several accounts of first degree murders, all on mothers who had given birth that same day. If you have any leads on where this woman is, please call the number listed below.

My hands shake reading the article, and my stomach forms into knots. There's no way Kai had time to plant a fake newspaper in the time that we knew we were coming here, meaning that the newspaper is real. I knew Auntie and Mother had done some bad things in their pasts, but this puts my stomach in knots.

I drop the paper hastily, trying to take my mind off what I just read. I go to look at the weapons at the wall. They're all skillfully crafted with intricate handles and extraordinary strength. I walk over to the wall where several picture frames are, and that's when I'm caught even more off guard.

Th picture is of a man and a woman standing in front of the shop, their arms around each other tightly and enthusiasm on their faces. The man has a striking resemblance to Kai. They have very similar facial features and a very similar build. While the two have different colors and slight differences in their faces, like how they have different noses, it's clear there's some sort of relationship. What I was told about elemental genetics starts to creep up in my mind.

However, what really catches my attention is the woman next to what appears to be Kai's dad. Her hair is black and long. She's in incredible shape, her strong arms and shoulders shown off through the dress she's wearing, but that's not what I'm drawn to. Her face, from the shape of her eyes, her nose, which I now realize is nearly identical to Kai's, the smile on her lips, and the sheer shape of her face, appear nearly identical to Nya's.

My eyes shift to the picture next to it, and it's a closer picture of the two of them. They're standing next to a little boy that I'm sure is Kai. Both of them have a hold of his little hands. He's standing between the two of them, looking up at his dad with his brown hair a disheveled mess. Both of the adults beam down at him. The woman has a slight bump in her stomach.

The disbelief floods my body, my mind trying to rationalize this, to find an explanation that doesn't disprove everything I've grown to know, but Kai's word from when we were in the car fill my head.

"I would have died when I was little if I wasn't the master of fire. My dad and I would have burned to death," he admits, his rough hands resting on mine.

"What happened?" I ask, looking into his light brown eyes.

"A woman wanted to kidnap my baby sister, so she waited until my dad and I went into our forge. When we did, she barricaded the doors and caught it on fire. I was too young to remember, but my dad told me how terrified he was because he didn't know if I was the master of fire yet," he admits, pure sorrow in his tone.

"I'm so, so sorry," I tell him, taking a pause. "Did you ever get your sister back?"

"Yeah I did, thankfully. It took a long time, though."

Then, I recall one of his answers to one of my questions.

"Why are you and Nya so close already?" I ask him. He looks at me, a small smile on his lips.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Next, Kai's words from just minutes ago fill my ears.

"She already killed my mom and took my sister, what's killing the only person I had left?"

Finally, the words in the newspaper pop into my mind.