Florence + The Machines
••• What Kind Of Man •••
to let me dangle at a cruel angle
oh, my feet don't touch the floor
sometimes you're half in and then you're half out
but you never close the door
•••••
"Are you okay!?" Jay cried. He barrelled into me for a hug before flinching back when he noticed how cold my wet hoodie was. "Gosh-! You're freezing!"
He faltered for a second as Kai stormed past us. Bewildered, he watched the silent fire ninja stomp by the whole team and enter the Bounty. The look Jay sent me was a silent request for elaboration, but I didn't think I could get even a word past my chattering teeth.
The sword slipped from my fingers, and my gasp for the weapon I'd risked my life for was delayed. Nya caught it before it could fall.
"We need to get you inside," Zane said quickly, and scooped my frozen body into his arms. I was so dazed by cold and the belated shock of facing Morro and seeing Lloyd that it didn't even startle me. "You are already suffering from frostnip. It won't be long until you are under severe frostbite." He started across the unstable snow with hurried ease. "Cole, Jay, run ahead and fill as many hot water bottles as you can find. Nya, do you have some warm clothes you can lend?"
They ran off at Zane's orders.
I was so cold that even he felt warm. I pressed my cheek into his jacket and flinched at the painful tingling of my skin. My adrenaline had well and truly faded, and now I was suffering from the chill it didn't let me feel before.
The inside of the bounty was so warm it almost hurt. Zane's pace was quick and sure, and the padding of another pair of feet was distantly recognisable as Misako. Aside from Ronin and I, she was the only other person who didn't walk completely silently.
We stopped inside my temporary bedroom. Zane carefully set me on the bed and quickly stripped my shoes and socks, and I gasped at how cold my feet felt now that they weren't numb to the freezing material. The hoodie was tugged over my head, and my damp shirt and shorts followed. Misako dragged the duvet around my shivering body for privacy and warmth.
"Are you able to move your fingers and toes?" Zane asked. I tested their mobility and nodded when they stiffly curled at my request. "Good."
"Warm clothes, comin' through," Nya exclaimed, and dumped a pile of polar fleeces, sweats and long sleeve tops beside me.
Shortly after I was bundled up tightly, still shuddering, but at least I was dry. The three water bottles Jay and Cole had found and filled sat in the blanket with me. It was a weird feeling to be toasty and still shivering at the same time. It was like I was in the throes of a fever.
We moved to the living room where I was promptly plopped before a heater by Zane. Misako sat beside me and fussed, taking my temperature and feeling my forehead with the back of her hand. She had been silent the entire time. The more my senses returned, the guiltier I felt. Powers urging me or not - what was I thinking?
"I'm sorry," I managed to whisper through my shivering jaw, certain that she was upset by my thoughtless actions. "... but I persevered, right?"
Misako's brown gaze dropped to me. She sighed and closed her eyes, and I felt the guilt within me grow heavy like a sponge taking in water. I didn't mean to take anyone by surprise, I was just listening to the parasite. I just wanted to help. It'd helped before.
"Oh, Y/n, you silly, brave girl." Misako pulled the slackening duvet up around my shoulders. "I don't know whether to chastise or commend you for what you did."
"Can I request the second one?" I quietly asked. Misako chuckled as she stood.
"I need to look into the next clue," she said, and continued before I could open my mouth and offer my help. "Get some rest. We're only a shout away if you need anything."
Glumly, I nodded, and watched as she left the room. I dug my face into the duvet and stared at the heater with a frown.
I wasn't expecting to be praised for what I did, but I got the Sword of Sanctuary from Morro. I was hoping at least for a pat on the back. Instead, I was left alone, bundled up ridiculously to thaw my fingers and toes, and to mull on my actions by myself. Not even Ronin, who I was starting to think had my back, had stopped by to check on me.
Maybe they thought I was stupid for doing what I did, and this was my punishment. Maybe they didn't want to talk to me anymore. Maybe they thought I jeopardised the mission and hated me. This was what happened when I made my own decisions - hadn't experience told me I was better as a follower than a leader?
The tears scalded my cheeks. I didn't need Misako to chastise me. I chastised myself right until I fell into an anxious nap.
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"My darling, what upsets you?"
My eyes blinked open. I laid in a swathe of soft grass greener than anything I'd seen before. Above me, a sky so blue it rivalled the calmness of an ocean, stretched without a cloud.
I sat up and found myself in a valley of yellow daffodils. The unfamiliar terrain stretched on forever, with not a person nor village in sight. It would've unnerved me if it weren't for a feeling of deep peace that kept me docile. I looked for the owner of the voice and found none.
"Who said that?" I asked, and the gentle breeze carried my voice across the valley. The daffodils fluttered softly. The grass rippled.
The sound of hoof beats at my back urged me to turn, but still I found no-one there. I grew puzzled, but not frustratingly so. This should've been eerie.
"Why are you sad?" the voice came again, soft and feminine and weighty with power. It seemed to come from all around me, as if she were the very world itself.
Despite the stranger and despite my questions, I found myself comfortable enough to answer freely.
"I don't know where I fit in," I answered. "I'm supposed to be strong but I'm weak. I'm supposed to be smart but I make bad decisions. Lloyd says I'm part of his family but I also feel like I'm being held at arm's length. It's like I'm too fragile for them."
The voice hummed as she contemplated my words, and I brought my knees into my chest so I could hide my face.
"You are inexperienced because you are young, you make poor judgement because you are human, and you are afraid because you care," the voice said. "I do not see what is wrong with that. Young, human, and caring. You are a fine girl."
"It sounds pretty only in theory," I mumbled. "I shouldn't be in the prophecy. I don't even know why I'm in it."
The voice chuckled, and it felt like a toasty fire and warm cookies. "Because just as it was Uchū and I's fate to create this world, so too shall it be our descendants who protect it. I did not let him create a world here just for you to think you do not have a place in it."
My eyes widened as the realisation of who I was actually speaking to sunk in, and I gasped, spinning in a circle to get a glimpse of her - but all the eye could see were fields upon fields of daffodils. I had so many questions.
The world began to fade black at the edges, and I felt this tranquil reality slip from beneath my feet. My eyes widened with desperation. She was right there! I needed more time!
"Wake now, and fear not," my ancestor said genially. "I have been with you when I was needed. I will be with you when you need me still."
"Wait!" I yelled, and startled awake where I'd fallen asleep.
I stared at the heater, suspended in a state of shock. My body was now so warm that I was sweating, and the aches of chill along my extremities had softened into the normal suppleness of working parts. My brain had never raced so fast.
I'd done it. Somehow, and I wasn't sure exactly how, I'd managed to open my mind up to my ancestors. Why now? Because I trusted in my power-parasite thing? But it didn't even work?
Shedding my duvet and switching off the heater, I padded from the living room and into the hallway. The others were in the bridge. Even if the emptiness of the Bounty otherwise wasn't the first clue, then the raised voices coming from its closed door definitely gave them away. I raised my hand to the doorknob.
"... reckless!" I heard Kai spit.
My hand stilled.
"I told you that we should've sent her home," Kai said, his anger muffled from beyond the door in front of me. "She doesn't know what she's doing, and we have to chase after her so she doesn't get herself killed! She has no idea!"
"Now, Kai," Wu's voice piped up. "I think she has held her own very well."
"She jumped off a flying ship, sensei!" Kai exclaimed. "She's got zero training, her powers are constantly on the fritz, and-!"
I turned from the door. I couldn't bear to hear another word of Kai's harsh criticism, even if I agreed with the things he said myself. Each felt like a dagger to the heart.
Things were different between friend-Kai and in-the-middle-of-a-battle-Kai, and I understood that. I was sure my actions during our mission wouldn't make him not be my friend anymore, but hearing his adamant disapproval was still a bitter pill to swallow, and then it did feel like this would dissolve our so newly formed companionship. I'd really liked him as my friend.
"Et tu, Brutus?" I mumbled to myself. The reference didn't even bring a smile to my face.
My arm leant against the wall as I watched the view through the porthole window. We were on the move, passing through the mountain range of The Wailing Alps. Had they figured out the last clue, or were we just fleeing from Morro?
'... it was Uchū and I's fate to create this world.'
My eyes stared back from my reflection in the glass. I didn't understand. What did this faceless, nameless, (possibly hoofed?) ancestor of mine mean by her and Uchū's fate to create the world? She couldn't have possibly been there when he created it. He was basically God. There wasn't anything before Uchū arrived.
Unless she had been there? Unless she had always been there?
Skylor had said that my powers felt old. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now it was staring me right in the face. If she thought that my powers felt old, then that must've meant that they felt older than the Elemental Powers. The powers whose origin was Uchū.
Uchū wasn't human. Why hadn't I ever stopped to consider what my great-times-a-thousand grandmother might've been?
My head was beginning to ache with all these questions and, besides, it wasn't a big deal as of now. There were more important things to focus on, like getting Lloyd back, and... facing the others. The others that clearly felt like I didn't belong here.
'I did not let him create a world here just for you to think you do not have a place in it.'
I bolstered my resolve and picked the pieces of my confidence back up. Nana parasite was right. I did have a place in this world. It was time to stop questioning my legitimacy and start putting all that nervous energy of mine into something worthwhile.
But first, I'd have to face the music.
"- she doesn't belong here yet-" Kai's voice cut off when I yanked the bridge's door open and stepped into their meeting. Nine pairs of eyes turned to me. I faltered.
"What were you thinking?" Garmadon asked before I could get a word in. The disappointment in his voice took to my resolve with a baseball bat. "Jumping over the side of the Bounty like that! You could have been hurt."
"What if you missed the chain on the way down?" Ronin added. "What good would you be to Lloyd if you hurt yourself, kid? Or worse?"
"Did anything go through your brain before you leapt over the side?" Kai snapped. "You're not invincible, Y/n!"
Their questions and their prying eyes drew my anxiety and frustration to the top of my head, and I felt my face growing red with an impending outburst. I'd always been quick to crumble beneath pressure. I held my sleeves to calm the shaking.
I closed my eyes. Breathe. My mother would tell me to breathe. I envisioned that morning where Lloyd was meditating on the mast of the Bounty and drew upon the peace he'd created.
"I know," I said calmly, and opened my eyes to their harrowing stares. "I'm sorry for acting on my own. It was dangerous, and I didn't think about my own safety." My gaze dropped to the table we stood around, where the Sword of Sanctuary sat. "But we did get the sword-"
"Damn the sword!" Kai shouted, and I flinched at the venom in his tone with wide eyes. He pointed an accusatory finger at me and it felt like the very sword had been pressed to the skin above my heart. "You were being arrogant!"
"'Arrogant?'" I echoed, taken aback. "How on earth was I being arrogant?"
"By jumping off a flying ship like an idiot!" Kai seethed. His eyes were wide with baffled rage, and a little bit of fear. "You can't rely on your prophecy to keep Morro from hurting you! He's not Lloyd, Y/n, he's messed up! There's a limit before your bullshit gets tiring for him and he'll kill you for getting in his way-! This isn't a game!"
"Kai!" Garmadon snapped. "That's enough."
"You think I don't know that?" I said. "You think I'm that dumb? I know it was dangerous, and I know I put my life on the line, but I had to."
"You don't get it, do you?" Cole says quietly. "If you die, Lloyd dies. He'll give up."
I stilled. My breathing froze. Surely that wasn't true? Lloyd couldn't be so foolish.
"Kai's right," Ronin said, and spared me an apologetic grimace. "You did a good job gettin' the sword, n' all, but maybe it's time you go home before you really get hurt."
Their words hit like a blow to the chest, and all the peace Lloyd had created that morning couldn't stop the hurt from seeping through me like a virus. The chasm between me and them just seemed to be getting wider and wider.
Cole's eyes fell to the table. Zane turned his face to the floor. Even Ronin nor the senseis didn't leap to my defence. The only ones who seemed to be on the fence were Nya and Jay, and-
Misako watched me closely.
'I did not let him create a world here just for you to think you do not have a place in it.'
She knew. Misako had known about me all along. She might've have been the only one.
Kai had a hand over his mouth, drawn to the edge of his stress. I lifted my chin and stared him in the eyes. After Lloyd, Kai had the most sway. If I could convince him, then I could convince the rest.
"I belong here," I said curtly. I swallowed hard to smoothen out the anxious shakes in my voice and balled my fists. "My ancestor helped Uchū create this world, and Lloyd and I are partners in our prophecy. I'm meant to be here just as much as you all are." I firmed my inflection as much as I could. "I'm not leaving, and no-one's getting in my way of saving Lloyd."
Misako's smile was for me only. My words lingered in the silent bridge. Kai meet my challenging stare, and quite possibly for the first time in my life, I held my own.
"I'm going to the study to look up the next clue," I said, and turned away from the table before anybody could object. "Thanks for understanding."
I closed the door behind me and released a massive exhale of relief. I was probably still going to get kicked off back home, but at least I'd said my piece.
I started toward the study on trembling legs. Standing up for myself was hard work.
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The Bounty's study was a room with floor-to-ceiling shelves full of scrolls, ninjitsu books and the odd five-year-old promo pamphlets of tea blends from various stores. Aside from Lloyd's bedroom and the bridge, this was my most frequented room.
I was only ten minutes into my research when a knock on the door interrupted me. I looked up from the heavy tome just as Nya and Jay entered.
"You should be resting," Nya said, and took a seat at the opposite side of the table. Jay stole the chair beside me. "Not exhausting yourself even further."
I returned to the book on Uchū's history, of which I'd hoped would glean some insight into where he might've picked his resting place to be. I was yet to be successful. "I don't have time to rest."
I could feel them sharing a look.
Nya sighed. "Don't take what my brother said to heart. He shouts like that because he cares." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I've been on the receiving end of that more than enough times."
"He's just scared you're going to get hurt," Jay piped up. "Watching you fall from the ship when Morro first arrived probably didn't help."
I'd forgotten Kai was right beside me when I fell, and I felt guilty for not considering his experience with it. Lloyd had asked them to take care of me while he was gone, be it the simple mission he thought it was or not. Had Kai thought I'd died? Did he think he'd failed Lloyd?
No wonder he was so upset. I'd just done the exact same thing as before, except this time it was voluntary.
"Do you think I should go home?" I wearily asked.
"No," Jay said firmly. "It's like what you said before; you belong here."
A few of the burdens of my heart lightened when he spoke, and I lifted my gaze to his to send a grateful smile. I didn't realise how much I'd needed to hear someone say that.
"I'm happy you went after the sword," Nya said. "Kai wouldn't stop until he got it, so the fact that you jumped overboard to help him get it back means a lot." She shrugged with a tight-lipped smile. "And we know how he can get. If it weren't for you, Kai might not've made it back at all."
My smile softened at the two of them. "Thanks." I was so glad I at least had them by my side.
Nya straightened in her seat and patted the table. "Now that the serious stuff is all out of the way, Jesus, Y/n, that fall! How's your back?"
It gave a perfectly-timed throb. "Sore."
"I bet," she said sympathetically.
"What did Morro see in the sword that threw him off so much?" Jay curiously asked. "It must've been something big. He doesn't seem like the type to usually hesitate."
I smiled wryly. Where was my dignity, now? I had none left. "I was going to kiss him."
Jay's jaw popped with a gasp. Nya's eyes widened in shock. I blushed at the confession of my plan, and tried to return my attention to the book before me. It didn't work.
"Wow. That's..." Nya trailed off.
"Stupid?" I'd heard enough of that word today already.
"I was going to say hilarious," Nya corrected. "Stupid, maybe, but it worked, so how stupid can it really be?"
I glanced up at her with a small smile of appreciation. Jay picked up a fountain tip pen and scratched on a piece of discarded tea pamphlet with an amused smile.
"I bet he was so surprised," he chortled. "Kissing an enemy isn't usually a move you use on the battlefield."
"Lloyd's probably fighting even harder just to make sure Morro doesn't get any ideas," Nya said amusedly.
"He won't get any ideas."
Nya raised her brows at me. "Are you sure?"
I blinked, went to answer, and then hesitated. That was enough for her to grin. My cheeks grew hot.
"There's no way." I shook my head in vehement denial. "The guy's deranged! I only tricked him like that to give him a shock, not because- because he likes..."
'You were going to be mine.'
Oh.
That couldn't be right. It was just the prophecy controlling Lloyd's body like how it would sometimes control mine, wasn't it? Just because he was in Lloyd's body and suffering beneath the prophecy's effects didn't mean that he'd suddenly sprouted feelings for a girl he didn't even know. That's ridiculous.
I felt nauseous.
"It's not the best feeling," Nya said knowingly, and I had the suspicion that she'd been in my shoes before. "But it does give you an advantage. One that you utilised perfectly."
I looked at her with an upset frown. "I don't want to have that advantage."
"We never do." She patted the back of my hand.
"Tell me about it." Jay shuddered. "One time, there was a crazy fan that'd cornered me in an alleyway during an active shootout. She got on one knee!"
I snorted in shock. "Seriously?"
"Seriously!" He set me a look with wide, haunted eyes. "It was only a week after Nya and I started dating! I was sixteen!"
"That's awful."
"I wasn't overly pleased," Nya confessed. "In fact, I even scared her off. I got in trouble with Wu for that one."
It wasn't hard to imagine a sixteen-year-old Nya furiously standing off against a rabid fan, and it was certainly hilarious to think about. Jay must've fallen even more head over heels after she stood up for him during such an uncomfortable experience.
I couldn't blame him. I still got butterflies whenever I recalled Lloyd defending me.
A knock on the study door pulled us from our conversation. It squeaked open, and hesitant amber eyes peeked in. They surveyed the room before landing on me.
I felt my chest sink. It was Kai. I wasn't ready to talk to him so soon, but it seemed that he wanted to talk with me. I couldn't run away forever.
Ever observant, Nya squeezed my hand and stood. "We'll let you two talk." The couple slipped through the door, before Nya paused in front of her brother and pointed threateningly in his face. "Be nice."
Kai pushed her hand down with a roll of his eyes. "I'll be downright angelic."
Nya huffed before storming into the hallway. Jay bid his farewell to me with a bright grin and a wave. My smile back was weak. Don't go.
Kai lingered in the doorway with a hand on the back of his neck. His hesitation fuelled my awkwardness, and my awkwardness fuelled his.
He dropped his hand and turned to me. "Look-"
"I'm sorry," I said at the same time.
He faltered. "Oh- I... oh." Kai was quiet for a moment, before finally stepping into the study and taking the seat across from me with a weak chuckle. "I thought I was the one who'd be apologising."
My gaze fell to the book before me. Kai sighed.
"Look, Y/n, what I said before..." He leant back in his seat and tapped his foot. "When I said that you didn't belong here, and that you were arrogant- I didn't mean it, I..." Kai cut himself off with an exhale of frustration. "I was just upset."
"I know," I said quietly. "I'm sorry for making you upset."
"No-" Kai cut himself off with a groan. "I'm not saying this for an apology. I don't want an apology."
I looked up at him with a puzzled frown. This was a total one-eighty of how he'd been just twenty minutes prior, and it left my head spinning. Was it usual for his emotions to turn this fast?
"I know it's hard to watch Lloyd go through this." Kai stared at his hand atop the table before clenching it. "You feel powerless. I do, too, but..."
Kai sighed. He lifted his gaze to me, and there wasn't anger. Just sadness.
"Why don't you value yourself more?" he asked.
My eyes widened. Jesus. How on earth was I supposed to respond to that?
"Lloyd really cares about you, so we really care about you," Kai continued. "You're part of the family, but you're just not ready to be part of the team yet. Stop throwing away the sake of your safety. We've got this."
I fiddled sheepishly with the edge of the parchment before me. "But the sword-"
"We would've found another way," Kai said. "But we can't find another you."
I peeked up at him.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you." He rested his weight on his arms and leant forward, a little more relaxed, his smile dripping with sincerity. "I shouldn't have done that. We promised Lloyd that we'd look after you, and I don't think he'd be impressed by what we said."
I grinned a little.
"You'll get there one day, Y/n. Just a little patience." Kai stood and offered a hand. "So, why don't we continue where Lloyd left off, huh? Just because he's gone doesn't mean your training should be put on hold."
A proper, full smile brightened my face, and the last of the tension between us slipped away. It was an uncharted relief - I had fully been expecting to be catching his attitude for the rest of the mission, and maybe even longer. That's what usually happened, aside from Naomi.
Zane was already on the upper deck when we arrived, sharpening shuriken with a whetstone and placid look as if it were a meditative process. He looked up at our approach. The strokes of the stone against metal didn't even falter.
"Have you made amends?" Zane asked. At our nods, he smiled contently. "And harmony has returned to the Bounty. How are your fingers, Y/n? Still attached, I hope."
"Haven't fallen off, yet." I turned meek at the reminder of my almost-frostbite. It would've turned out a lot worse if it hadn't been for Zane's quick action. "I'm sorry that I keep landing myself in trouble and you have to keep helping me. Thank you."
Zane smiled until his baby blues squinted. "It is what family does. Bedsides, I find the challenge of it intriguing. You certainly know how to keep me on my toes."
"I wish I could just stay on my toes," I grumbled. They chuckled, and I wasn't sure if they were laughing because they thought I was joking or because it was true.
"Don't beat yourself up too much," Kai said, and leant against the railing with crossed arms. "No first mission is smooth sailing."
"Precisely," Zane agreed. "You should have seen Kai during our mission to retrieve the Scythe of Quakes. It was most entertaining."
"I was fourteen!"
Zane's amused eyes turned to me. "He was terrible."
"We all were, tinhead," Kai corrected with a curt frown. "Remember when you froze all of us when you tried to grab the Shuriken of Ice?"
The nindroid shrugged. "I did not say I was exempt of having a poor first mission."
Kai rolled his eyes. "You and your big words."
Zane hummed with pleased smugness as he sharpened his shuriken. Him and his big words, indeed.
"Whatever," Kai huffed, and turned to stalk toward one of the chests where the wooden dummies were kept. Zane chuckled before glancing up at me.
"You had a talk with your ancestor," he said. "Is that where your newfound boost of confidence came from?"
It was unsurprising that Zane had deduced that so quickly. "Seems I had a spiritual awakening after almost freezing to death."
Zane grinned. "And what did you mean when you said that your ancestor helped Uchū create the world?" he asked. "You had us all puzzled there for a while."
"Oh..." I'd forgotten I'd blurted that out. Without context, it sounded like the blabbering of a deluded fool. My ancestor helped literal God to create the world? It was too far-fetched.
But Zane wouldn't think I was lying. I told him of my dream, and then repeated it when Kai arrived half-way through. They grew more intrigued when I recalled how Skylor had called my power 'old.'
"I'm still not sure what my ancestor was," I said, "but it seems to be that she was here before Uchū."
"I wonder what that means for your powers?" Kai murmured thoughtfully. "It's not like you're limited to an element. Maybe you have more abilities than just that shield thing you can do?"
I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Zane held his shuriken to the sky to judge the curved edge of the blade. "Perhaps you have no limits at all. It could be why your powers hurt your body."
Kai threw a wooden sword at me, and I caught it mere seconds before it could knock me out. "Well, we can spend forever theorising, or I can start to teach you some basic moves with the katana. You ever used one before?"
"Never, apart from when I grabbed Lloyd's sword," I answered. I'd left it lying on the dusty top of the chest of drawers in his room.
"No problem." Kai smirked, and pointed the sword at me. "We'll get you swinging like samurai in no time, Spitfire."
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By the time we made it back to Steep Wisdom, I was dripping with sweat and my arms had been reduced to limp noodles. It ached just to keep the wooden sword off of the ground.
We hadn't even done any actual combat, only something that he'd said was called a 'Kata' - which was just a series of movements to help me understand my body mechanics and muscle memory. It was fine to begin with, but my muscles were still untrained with the weight of a sword, and not three sets in my arms began to tremble.
"Okay," Kai said just as the Bounty landed. "That's enough."
I laid on my back and gasped for breath. "Did- did I do good?"
Kai hesitated. "... yeah. Yeah!" He nodded a little too enthusiastically to be natural.
I closed my eyes and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Liar.
"We'll leave it there," he said, and picked up the sword that had toppled to the ground as soon as he'd called a finish to the kata. "Don't want to push you with what happened this morning."
My eyes snapped open with a scowl of disbelief. This wasn't pushing me? If this wasn't 'pushing me' then I was terrified to think what the ninja thought pushing me was.
They're gonna kill me and dig my grave. Maybe Ronin was right.
"Why'd we come back here in the first place?" I asked and pulled myself up to sit. The summer sun kept my sweat pouring and I was overcome with the uncomfortable need to have a shower stat. "If we're trying to keep the magic sword away from Morro, wouldn't this be the first place he'd check?"
"We'll just have to hold him off if he comes." Kai shrugged. "I think Misako said something about not having enough books to understand the last clue. Dimitri's brought a bunch of Uchū's old manuscripts n' stuff over."
My curiosity reared its head. Would Uchū's accounts have information about my ancestor? Surely, but even so, it wasn't the right time. Getting Lloyd back was leagues more important than satiating my need for answers.
After showering and changing into a fresh pair of clothes, I wandered off of the Bounty and joined the ninja in their preparations of booby-trapping Steep Wisdom just incase Morro does swing by. They'd become a team of water-balloon making machines. Their idea felt more like a childish endeavour than a legitimate solution.
Nevertheless, I took my seat beside Jay, and joined in on the water-balloon making machine. My arms still trembled.
"I don't know, guys," Cole said from afar. Being a ghost himself, he strayed as far away from the water as he could. He eyed our efforts wearily. "We should be training more with our Aeroblades, not tempting fate."
"Relax, Cole," Jay said. "This is just an extra precaution!"
"And if I get drenched?"
"Just don't get drenched," Kai said. He tied off his water balloon and added it to the growing pile. "Do you think Misako's making much headway?" He looked at me. "Shouldn't you be in there? You're a history nerd, after all."
Part of me desperately wanted to, but the other, more insecure part of me didn't want to be around the Senseis and Ronin after my whole speech. It was good, it was needed, but I still flamed with embarrassment when I thought back on it.
"Maybe soon," I said.
"We need her here in case Morro stops by," Nya said. She pulled water from the stream beside us in a continuous motion, filling outstretched water balloons like an efficient machine. She smirked. "Y'know, because of the crush."
My flaming embarrassment skyrocketed so high that I rivalled the heat of the sun. Jay's grin blew wide with amusement, while the others just frowned in confusion.
Zane blinked. "May you repeat yourself?" he asked.
Jay snorted. "Didn't you figure it out already? Morro's totally got a crush on Y/n."
"No, he doesn't," I said quickly, and struggled to tie my water balloon quicker with unneeded focus.
"He does?" Cole asked.
"No, he doesn't!" I repeated shrilly. My water balloon slipped from my fumbling hands and spilt onto the concrete before me.
"He totally does," Nya chortled.
"Do you think he likes the way she breathes?" Jay asked.
Zane pulled a face that actually looked just as disturbed as I felt. "Are you implying that since he's the Master of Wind, he must have a breathing fetish?"
"Hey, Y/n," Kai said teasingly. "You breathe real nice, you know that?"
They laughed. I buried my face into my hands with a whine full of betrayal. Was this the price I had to pay for standing up for myself? It was almost bad enough to make me regret it in the first place.
"I wish Lloyd were here," Jay said between giggles, and then sobered quickly at the reminder of his absence. "I miss him."
I dropped my hands from my face. Sombreness overtook the group quickly, but I couldn't even find it in me to be relieved. I'd rather they'd make fun of me than be upset again at Lloyd's continued possession.
"I miss Lloyd being the Golden Ninja," Kai said grumpily, though with a potent sadness to his narrowed gaze. He tied off a balloon with more force than before. "If he had all that power, Morro wouldn't've stood a chance."
"Golden Ninja?" I'd briefly skim-read about Lloyd's three-month stint in the glimmering threads, but there wasn't much publicly known about it.
"It was when he fought The Overlord," Zane answered. "To defeat him and fulfil the prophecy, we had to give him our powers to make him the Golden Ninja."
"The only person more powerful than him at that moment was the First Spinjitsu Master," Kai added. "Lotta power for a kid. But all of that made him a bigger target, so he gave us our powers back."
"He could be that strong again," Nya said. "The Senseis seem to think so, anyway. I overheard them one day; they think that Lloyd might be able to control every element that his grandfather had." She shrugged, as if she hadn't just single-handedly blown my mind. "Probably something more to do with the prophecies."
"Your boyfriend could be the next Uchū," Cole said with an amused smile my way. "Still wanna date him?"
I couldn't find the words to answer, so I just nodded with a stunned look on my face. Lloyd was strong, I knew that, but with what Nya was saying..? I could barely comprehend such power.
"Does he know?" I asked. Would he have even told me if he did?
Zane shook his head. "They want to wait until he is a little more older. With age comes wisdom, as the saying goes."
My stupor faded away with a frown. "That's a really big secret to keep from him." And clearly, the rest of the team knew about it. That seemed unfair.
Nya pursed her lips. The reluctant expressions on their faces told me that they had wanted to tell Lloyd, but had perhaps been sworn to secrecy. That made me more disgruntled. Why were there so many secrets in this family?
I supposed I was no better. I wasn't exactly in a position to judge, what with my father's career hanging over my head.
"I guess since this kind of power skipped the Senseis and was inherited directly by Lloyd, they're still trying to figure out how to approach him about it," Kai said.
"And he has to worry about school," Jay grumbled. "How many weeks until that starts up again?"
"Three," Nya answered, and took the topic change in her stride. "Hey, Y/n, you're going to Ninjago High this year, right? You're in your last year?"
I wasn't exactly happy about avoiding the conversation we'd just touched on before, but I'd already rocked the boat too much today. "Yeah."
"Maybe we'll have some classes together?" she asked. "That'd be cool."
"'Cool'?" Kai echoed with a grumble. "Doubt it. It's hell there, Y/n. Just be homeschooled this year."
"Kai!" Nya snapped. "Don't scare her."
"Oh, come on. She already knows."
"And Chen!" Jay huffed. "That guy's the real villain. He once stuck chewing gum in my hair? Do you know how hard it is to get gum out of curly hair? It's difficult!"
In his frustration, Jay slammed his hands down onto the concrete and split the water balloon he was tying. It split with a massive splash. Cole had to throw himself out of the way to avoid being hit.
"Careful!" Cole shouted. "Y'know, not all of us are immune to water! And I for one would like to stick around long enough for Misako to figure out the last clue!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Jay scrambled to apologise. "I didn't mean to!"
"I hope she figures it out soon," Kai said with a frown. "I don't know how long we'll be able to hold out."
I glanced around at our 'fortification work.' Despite the primary-school-prank defences, I thought it was a decent job. Whether it would work or not was the real question. We certainly had enough water balloons to stock a small army.
"I'm caving," I said, and laid down my last water balloon. My arms had long grown numb, but now they were getting stiff. I was spilling more balloons than I was tying. "I'm going to see if she needs any help."
I stood and turned to the tea shop, where the others were. I knew my strengths, anxiety be damned. Lloyd's wellbeing was worth more than if his father and uncle were upset with my speech.
"We'll call you if your ghost-and-god boyfriends swing by!" Nya smugly called to my retreating back. My embarrassment returned with fervor. I didn't give her the satisfaction of a reply.
Thankfully, the Senseis weren't offended by my earlier stance. They welcomed me into the half-destroyed shop with warm smiles and offered a cup of tea that I refused, if only because of the heat. Misako, of course, had her head stuck too deep in a book to realise I'd arrived.
The only one who wasn't entirely happy to see me was Ronin. He glared at me with a conflicted look I couldn't quite place as he polished his red eyepiece.
Before I could begin to overthink what his problem was, Misako pulled her head up from the book with a gasp of my name.
"Yes?" My focus turned to her.
"Come here, come here." She ushered me toward her with an impatient flick of her hand. "I have too much to look through. Join us."
I obediently took a seat beside her and picked a journal from the stacks of books that Dimitri brought over. He'd joined us in reading for clues. The only one who wasn't pouring over pages was Ronin, who sat grumpily in the corner. He somehow felt loud despite his silence.
I wanted to ask Misako how she knew about my ancestor, and I wanted to ask further if she knew anything about her. I wanted to know if any of these records and tomes had any information about her or my powers, but I suppressed those urges. I couldn't spread myself thin. I had one goal; get back Lloyd.
I read non-stop for a few hours, and by the time I finished the journal (interesting, but nothing we could use), my body was aching for a walk and stretch. Ronin followed. It was a little strange that Morro hadn't attacked yet, but I wasn't about to tempt fate by wondering this aloud.
Outside, the ninja were still adjusting their fortifications or helping some of the remaining monks to tidy up. I passed by them. My head was hurting, my mind spinning from all the information I'd gathered today. I wanted to stand by the waterfall for a moment to realign myself.
I didn't get the chance, unfortunately. Ronin stopped beside me and listened to the crashing water with his arms crossed.
Just as I was about to ask what his problem was, he spoke up.
"I don't know why you'd want to join them," Ronin said. "Sitting back and staying out of danger is way more fun than almost freezing to death."
I frowned at the rippling water before glancing up at him. "It's not as if I wanted to freeze to death."
"Exactly," Ronin snapped, and turned to face me. "If you try to fight Morro again, you're gonna fail. Go home and stay out of danger. Let the ninja handle this."
I was baffled by his steadfast comments. "I know what I did was stupid, but I thought you'd understand-"
"Understand what? Your blatant lack of regard for your own life?" Ronin said with a scoff. "Your inability to think things through?"
"Sacrifice," I seethed through the hurt in my chest. I didn't need him on my case, too. "You started Bounty Hunting to protect your kid. I do this to protect Lloyd."
"You n' I aren't the same." Ronin shook his head. "You need to stop trying so hard to be something you're not. When someone wants something too badly, they'll trip over their own feet just to get it, and face it - you're stumbling all over yourself."
I was blown away once again that day by words that struck me through the chest. My eyes began to sting with tears of outrage and disbelief - this wasn't like him, but all Ronin did was turn his head away with gritted teeth and leave.
"You really should go home, kid," he said.