De La Soul
••• Eye Know •••
may i cut this dance to introduce myself as the chosen one to speak
let me lay my hand across yours and aim a kiss upon your cheek
•••••
tw: blood
"That's a lot of food," I whispered, watching with wide eyes as platter upon platter was brought out from the Noodle House's kitchen and laid upon the table.
The feast was clearly a free-for-all, since the others had no shame in loading their plates high and arguing over pieces of fried chicken. My stomach felt full just looking at Nya's towering plate. How could she eat all that? How could any of them?
Lloyd chuckled at my surprised expression. "Ninjitsu is hungry work." He picked up my plate. "What do you like the look of?"
"The noodles," I said. It was the first dish I'd tried when I arrived in the city and it'd become my go-to. Routine was comfort. Lloyd scooped a heaping load twice the size of my head onto the plate and I baulked. "Not that much!"
He looked at me before turning to the overloaded plate in shock. "Oh. Instinctual." He pulled off a little with his chopsticks and glanced at me for approval. When I shook my head, his brows raised. "Less?"
When there was a third left - a reasonable, healthy serving - Lloyd gave the plate to me. Kai looked at my marginally smaller lunch with a knot between his brows.
"Being a normie must be tough," Kai murmured, only to get chastised by Cole, who I quickly worked out was the team mum. I thought it would've been Zane.
I couldn't help but laugh. It was baffling - they thought my serving was ridiculous? Talk about pot and kettle. These guys were all bottomless pits or something, and judging by Lloyd's now heaping plate, he wasn't any different. Even Zane's portion was massive. Where did they put it all? Hammerspace?
"So, Y/n," Jay began after a brief moment of silence as we ate. I looked to him, chopsticks frozen mid-air. His blue eyes squinted with mirth. "I hear you have a killer arm."
My chopsticks nearly fell. My face burnt red. Lloyd grinned beside me and shook his head - clearly amused.
"Jay," Cole warned. "Don't embarrass her."
"No- no, it's a good thing!" Jay exclaimed. His attention snapped back to me. "We need a new batter for our cricket league!"
I was lost. "Cricket league..?"
"Yeah!" Jay burst with a brilliant grin. "The Ninja Secret League! The only other team are the monks." He frowned at me. "NSL stole our acronym."
"Impossible," Zane spoke up. "The National Soccer League predates any of us."
"I had my idea before I was born!" Jay shot back. "Therefore, it's mine and not theirs."
I looked between them, even more lost. What was this conversation?
It was dropped (Zane quickly gave up, and I figured that letting Jay think his thoughts was the easiest path to chose). Kai turned to me as he slurped noodles from his bowl.
"So, what do you do?" he asked.
"Do?"
"Martial arts," the amber-eyed man elaborated. "Jiu Jitsu? Taekwondo? Maybe a little ka-ra-te?"
"Oh." Ha-ha. Fuck. "I, uh... know self-defence."
Kai perked up. The others listened on, engaged and intrigued. I knocked my knee against Lloyd's for help; to change the topic or stop the questioning. His smile grew as he stirred the rice in his bowl. No help was given. Bastard.
"Yeah?" Kai said, leaning forward slightly in earnest. My eyes jumped back to him. "What kind?"
I felt myself grow more awkward. "... the classes we get taught in high school."
Nya laughed before smothering her mouth with wide eyes. My mortification began to eat me whole. I sunk a little in my seat, eyes on the table.
"Sorry- I'm sorry," she rushed to apologise. "I'm not laughing at you - that's normal, we're the weird ones." Nya shook her head in amusement. "I'm laughing because those lessons are useless - Lloyd will have you fighting better in ten minutes than all of those sessions combined."
Will? I turned to Lloyd, but he looked just as confused as I was. He leaned over me to shoot Nya a frown.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean?'" Cole piped up as he leisurely dipped a spring roll into some hot sauce. "Y/n's gonna have to learn how to fight. She's one of us, now."
Now I was both confused and deeply flattered. "Wait, what? I mean - I'm not opposed, but why?"
Jay looked between Lloyd and I. "You do know about the prophecy, right?"
"Nothing specific," I said.
Jay shrugged. "Doesn't really matter about specifics. It's gonna be a battle of some kind. It always is."
My eyes widened. "Always?"
"One-hundred percent of the time," Zane calculated. My heart dropped in horror.
"Lloyd's dad, the serpentine, Lloyd's dad again, the Great Devourer, Lloyd's dad again, the Overlord, Skylor's dad-" Jay listed, only to be cut off by Nya's hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, babe, but I think she got it."
"Lots of daddy issues," Kai said nonchalantly. "Lots of us have daddy issues, too. You got daddy issues, Y/n?"
My eyes bulged. "N- no? I don't think so?"
"Mommy issues?" Cole piped up.
"I'm- I'm close with my mom-"
"Guys," Lloyd said disapprovingly, finally stepping in. "Knock it off. I want her to actually like you all."
"Can we circle back to the whole 'battle' thing?" I nervously asked. I had fully expected my life to play out in a song of too many cats and not enough books, hopefully employed by some historical site or museum. Lloyd had thrown my train off the rails, and the descent was only growing.
"You'll be fine," Cole reassured. "Kicking butt's fun."
I sent a hopeless look Lloyd's way. He was distracted, mouth covered by his hand, as if he hadn't considered that me being in one of his prophecies constituted a battle, either.
Okay. Cool. So, some big battle on the horizon. Great. That's fine. I'm fine.
(I was not fine)
"Well, I'm full," Kai said, breaking my spiralling thoughts. He patted the table and looked around at us. "We good to get going?"
"Yeah, yeah." Cole waved him off. "Go see your girlfriend."
Kai didn't argue. He deftly leapt over Zane and hurried towards the counter where a girl with red hair was standing behind the till. Even from here, I could see the warm smirk she pulled when Kai sidled up towards her like a lovesick puppy.
"That's Skylor." I jumped when Lloyd's lips brushed against the shell of my ear. A shiver tiptoeing up my spine had me sucking in a sharp breath. "She's the Elemental Mistress of Amber."
The Elemental Master of huh?
I didn't get a chance to ask, as everyone was preparing to leave. I scrambled out of the booth after Lloyd and followed the group to where Kai was shamelessly and obviously flirting. The girl's brown eyes dropped to me curiously as we approached.
"Sky." Lloyd placed his hand on my back and gently guided me forward to meet the red-head. "This is Y/n."
He sounded proud as he presented me towards another one of his friends, as though a kid showing off a prized possession. My chest warmed at Lloyd's affection.
"Ahh, so you're the cutie everyone keeps talking about," Skylor said with a bemused smile. "Welcome to the secret club, Y/n. I'm Skylor."
"Small world," Lloyd murmured amusedly when he noticed my shock at her already knowing me. I blinked away my stupor.
"It's- it's nice to meet you," I said, more shyly than I would've liked. I glanced amongst the team. "I can help pay-"
"Don't even worry about it." Skylor cut me off with a palm raised. "These guys get the friends and family discount." She winked. "It's on the house."
"Oh." I tucked my arms behind my back with burning cheeks. "Thank you."
Skylor smiled at me again before squinting her eyes teasingly at Lloyd. She returned her attention to Kai, who'd begun playing with the ends of her ponytail while her focus was elsewhere.
Lloyd pulled me aside, fingers loose in my own. His palm landed on my hip as we found an area a little bit away from the rest of the hovering team. Maybe now my heart could calm down.
"She likes you," Lloyd said.
"You've said that about everyone you've introduced me to so far, which is statistically unsound," I murmured. He huffed in amusement.
"Maybe you're just irresistible," he said, and continued before I could grow more flustered and argue. "Are you doing okay?"
I turned my eyes up to his face. He was smiling softly but with concern, and I almost melted when he stroked a lock of hair from my cheek.
"Yeah," I breathed. "Just... getting used to a lot all at the same time." I glanced back at the team - all so incredibly confident and sure of themselves. I was a bumbling nobody chasing after them. "You'll go easy on me with training, right?" I nervously asked. "Maybe start with something basic, like... balance?"
"More like walking in a straight line," Lloyd chuckled. His mirth faded at the steadfast worry on my face and placed both hands on my shoulders. "Hey, sweetheart. I know its overwhelming - trust me, I get it more than most. Mum always tells me says to take things one day at a time. Can you do that for me?"
I stared at him, digesting his request, before nodding. I worked the tension from my shoulders and exhaled softly, focusing on the breathing techniques my own mum would sometimes make me do - particularly during exam season, when stress levels ran a little high. Lloyd smiled at my effort.
"That's my girl." He poked my nose affectionately. I blushed, watching him through my lashes.
"Alright, lovebugs," Cole said as he passed us on the way to the exit. Kai gave Skylor a kiss goodbye. "We're going."
Lloyd spared me one more soft smile before tucking his hand into mine and following behind his team.
"How's your head?" he asked when we hit the sun-baked footpath. I had no idea where we were headed - I just followed along.
"A little sore," I admitted, "but I had painkillers before I left and have back ups in my pocket."
"That's good," Lloyd said. He pulled a lock of my hair out of its style and wound it around his finger. My eyes fluttered at the tiny, pleasant tugs it made. "What did you tell your mum?"
"The truth," I said. At his surprised look, I smiled, admonishing. "I'm not going to lie to my mother, Lloyd."
"You're a more honest person than me," he admitted. My brows raised in surprise. He ducked his head close to mine, teasing. "Don't you know, doll? I've got evil in my blood."
I rolled my eyes with a heavy blush. "The books were right. I always knew I'd fall prey to a bad boy."
Lloyd snickered.
We entered the park, blistering beneath the heat of the sun. Kai found an abandoned football in the bushes near the entrance and began kicking it into the air expertly as we walked along the path.
Jay turned to the group and planted his hands on his hips. "I say we get ice cream," he said loudly. "And I say that my word is now law."
Kai paused his football skills with a snort. "On whose authority?"
"Mine," Jay replied without missing a beat. "Ding butt."
Kai narrowed his eyes at the blue-eyed boy. Cole took the democratic approach and lifted his hand.
"All in favour of ice cream, say 'aye.'"
"Aye," we all said, even Kai.
"All in favour of Kai being a ding butt, say 'ding butt.'" Jay lifted his hand.
"Ding butt," everyone answered, except for Kai who had begun to sulk and I, since I began to giggle too much to speak.
Jay clapped his hands with a satisfied smile. "Perfect. Decision's made." He stole the ball from Kai. "Come on, ding butt!"
Kai followed after him with a groan.
We had a selection of pop-up ice cream trucks and cold treat stalls to choose from, taking advantage of the summer heat to sell as much as they could to the poor, sweaty sods who decided to go to the park (like us). Lloyd and I followed the team's decision and stopped at a gelato stall.
Lloyd dropped his chin onto my shoulder while I perused the menu. I flinched, his touch unexpected, and when he wound his arms tight around my waist, my blush was so heavy that it nearly made me faint. He certainly didn't mind PDA. My hands instinctively landed on his arms.
"What are you doing?" I quietly asked.
"Hmm?" His hum vibrated against my throat. He snuggled against my neck and my next breath came shaky. "Thinking 'bout which flavour to get."
"And this helps you think?" I said breathlessly.
He hummed again in agreement. Funny - because my brain had completely shut down.
"What do you want?" he asked, voice low and murmuring. I couldn't even read the little labels, vision too unfocused.
"Whatever you get," I replied listlessly. Movement to my side made me glance up and found Cole elbowing Zane and nodding towards us with a smile. I quickly dropped my gaze, cheeks even hotter.
A few minutes later and we each had a small tub of gelato in our hands. I didn't even know what I ordered or who paid, only coming to when it was already in my grasp and Lloyd slipped from his hold over me. Truthfully, I didn't know how they could all eat more since they ate like horses not even ten minutes prior.
The gelato Lloyd had picked was gingernut - sweet and creamy, but with a tiny hint of spice. It was a race to eat before the sun completely melted it, but I managed. I suspected that if I kissed Lloyd right now, he'd taste like gingernut, and I was tempted to try... but not when people were around.
After discarding the paper cups into recycling bins, Lloyd and I followed the team as they searched out a secluded spot on the greens.
"I think I'll sit this one out," I said when the team begin kicking the ball Kai had found to each other with skills that would make the NSL really cry. I searched for a tree to take shelter against and found Zane already parked up against one.
"Stay with me." Lloyd caught my wrist and pouted before I could leave. "Please?"
I had never caved so fast.
"How can someone be the Mistress of Amber?" I asked, standing half-behind Lloyd as he kicked the football amongst his team. This calmed me down. Fact-gathering always calmed me down. "I thought amber was fossilised tree resin. How can Skylor be the mistress of... that?"
"My dad once called me Master of Green," Lloyd replied amusedly. I furrowed my brows with a confused smile. "You learn to just accept things."
"I suppose her powers aren't fossilising tree sap in real time?"
Lloyd chuckled. "No. She can perfectly replicate someone's power with a touch."
"Whoa." My mouth dropped open. "That's way cooler than fossilising tree sap in real time."
Lloyd laughed again and glanced down at me warmly. I met his stare and smiled back, until his eyes caught something from behind me. He nodded towards it before cleanly receiving the ball without looking. Show-off.
"Your friend's here." He sent the ball off to Jay.
I followed Lloyd's gaze and searched until my eyes landed on the familiar figure of Naomi. She was watching from afar, hesitating, and brightened when she noticed I realised she was there. She waved.
"Be right back," I said with a pat to Lloyd's arm before bounding over to Naomi. She opened her arms for a hug and I barrelled straight into her.
"Hello, Geronimo," she gasped as my momentum nearly took her from her feet. "Put on the breaks next time."
"Sorry," I mumbled into her shoulder, but knew I wouldn't. Naomi promised comfort I craved in a situation with a bunch of not-so-strangers. It was a relief to take a break and see her familiar face.
"I see you've met Lloyd's friends," she said when I pulled back. "How's your energy levels?"
"Kaput," I murmured dejectedly. She smiled sympathetically, but her blue eyes searched over my shoulder. "Do you want to join us? They're kicking balls. You're good at kicking balls."
Naomi sent me a sly grin. "In what sense?"
I shrugged, as if it were obvious. "All of the above."
Naomi broke into a giggle before nodding. "Sure," she said, "if I'm allowed."
I glanced over at Lloyd and found him already nodding. I stopped in confusion before remembering - ah right, super hearing - and dragged Naomi across the grass towards them.
"Hey, Naomi," Lloyd greeted when we arrived.
"Hi, Lloyd," she responded. Her eyes flittered across the team again. "You got room for one more?"
Lloyd gestured for her to join with a handsome smile. "Always."
Naomi grinned before hooking an arm around my elbow and hauling me aside. I squeaked in surprise as she pulled me into her spot on the grass. The others greeted her and she enthusiastically greeted them back. Naomi ducked her head towards me.
"Has Lloyd got fangs?"
I almost had to play her whispered question twice in my head before I realised what she said. I sent her a bewildered look.
"What?"
"Look." She nodded. "He's got tiny fangs."
I glanced over to Lloyd, and my chest tightened since he could obviously hear us with his Clark Kent hearing. Sorry, Lloyd. He played oblivious, though, and laughed at something Nya had said.
"Oh," I said. Small fangs, just on this side of being bigger than normal canines. "Oh, he does."
"How'd you not notice?" Naomi whispered.
I sent her a forlorn look. "I'm usually captivated by his eyes."
She snorted before shoving my shoulder. "God, you're hopeless."
I frowned a little when Naomi turned away. I could swear that Lloyd didn't have fangs before - but maybe he did, and I was just unobservant? But surely I'd admired his smile more than once. I would've noticed it.
I shook the questions from my head and glanced back at Lloyd. The sun beat upon him, flooding him in strokes of light. His hair glinted, sunkissed, strands of soft gold that fluttered in the gentle breeze. He was so beautiful. He was perfect.
I wonder what Chen did after he figured out that Lloyd's the Green Ninja.
It'd been bugging me since he took off. It was my fault Chen found out - my stupid sore ankle and the foreign overprotectiveness for Lloyd made one nasty combination. If I didn't get hurt, he wouldn't have reacted the way he did.
Lloyd was so sure that nobody would believe Chen if he blabbered to people, but what if they did? What if my mistake, my clumsiness, my emotional response jeopardised his secrecy? I'd only truly known about Lloyd for a day before I screwed up. How useless could I be?
"Heads up, Y/n!"
I was torn from my thoughts just as a ball came powerfully soaring through the air towards me. I yelped and cringed away, panicking hard, and gasped in pain when it smacked my side and rebounded.
Right into Lloyd's face.
His head snapped back from the ball and stumbled with a surprised look, eyes wide. I froze in horror, and it only worsened when his nose began to bleed. Lloyd blinked and touched the drop of blood from atop his lip.
Kill me now kill me now KILL ME NOW
Kai immediately broke into hysterical laughter, shattering the brief silence. Naomi wasn't any better, choking on her giggles that she was sorely failing at containing. Amusement simmered in the air but I couldn't join in.
"Three for three," Lloyd said, impressed. I sunk to my feet and hid my head in my arms.
"Oh, Y/n! You beautiful, clumsy girl," Naomi cried with laughter as she hugged me and rocked my huddled form. "There's never a dull moment around you!"
"Only you can make his guard drop like that," Cole chuckled, suddenly a lot closer than he was before. He patted my shoulder. "It's impressive, Y/n! Not many people can lay a finger on him, and you've done it yet again."
"He needed to be humbled!" Jay cried from his spot.
Naomi's shaking arms retracted from around me and were replaced by a hold I knew well. Lloyd knelt beside me, humour palpable.
"Y/n, it's okay." There was laughter in his voice, but it didn't make me feel any better. "Can you come out for me, sunshine?"
I shook my head. I was a cocoon now. I was only ever going to be a cocoon. Life was easier when I was a cocoon. It wasn't so embarrassing to be a cocoon.
Realising that I wasn't going to move, Lloyd picked me up from my huddled spot. I hid my face into his chest, instead.
"I'm sorry," I whimpered into his chest. Shame pounded through my bloodstream and held me as tightly as Lloyd did. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he chuckled. "I'm fine."
Naomi was still giggling, and I peeked over my arm to shoot her a desperate glare. Cole helped her to her feet, since she was so flushed and wobbly from humour. They shared amused smiles.
"We'll sit out for the rest of the game," Lloyd called.
"Okay!" Kai said, still laughing. "Great aim, spitfire!"
I closed my eyes tightly in humiliation and hid my face into Lloyd again. Nope. Not ever going to be seeing these guys again. Sorry, Lloyd. Sorry prophecy. Not gonna happen.
"Alright, rein it in," Lloyd said.
"I think I am cursed," I mourned as Lloyd stood and took us to the tree Zane leant upon. "I keep hurting you or hurting myself."
"You're not cursed," Lloyd said.
"You don't know that," I pointed out, voice muffled from his shirt. "You said crazier things had happened."
"True." Lloyd took a seat beside Zane with me still curled against him. "But you're not cursed."
"So then I'm just awful at being a normal human being," I pitifully figured. Lloyd huffed through his nose - his nose that I had just inadvertently smacked with a football. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Lloyd snickered, before abruptly pausing. "Wait, oh no, ouch, it really hurts. Kiss it better?"
I picked my head up from his chest and sent him a scathing look. He grinned down at me, dappled by sunlight through the leaves above, totally unabashed.
"I don't think I can handle embarrassing myself in front of your team any further," I said. "I might die if I do. Death by embarrassment. It's a thing, Lloyd. Look it up."
"Don't be so worried, sunshine. They adore you, it's impossible not to." He stroked his thumb across my cheek. "You're so loveable. You like Y/n, don't you, Zane?"
"Affirmative," Zane answered.
"See?"
"Coercion," I muttered. "Just because you're the real-life Avatar doesn't mean you can coerce your friends into liking me. That's abuse of power. Literally."
Zane grinned from the side of my vision. Lloyd stared at me blankly.
"What's an avatar?" he asked.
"You know... the show? The guy that controls the four elements?"
Lloyd's confusion deepened. "There's more than four elements."
I stared at him for a good few moments, previous indignity momentarily forgotten. I sat up straighter and stared at him in disbelief - there was no way Lloyd didn't know what Avatar was. He basically was the Avatar!
"You haven't seen it?" I said in shock. "But... Avatar was the one show that everyone watched. It's basically a national requirement. It's in the Geneva Convention."
Lloyd simply shook his head, still lost. "I don't even know what you're talking about."
I turned to Zane, verging on horrified. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"
Zane nodded. "Indeed. Avatar: The Last Airbender. First premiered in 2005. I caught a few episodes."
I looked back to Lloyd, hoping that would ring some bells. He watched me blankly.
"Oh, my god." I clapped my hands over my mouth. "I need to educate you on your own history."
Lloyd's brows knotted. "How is a show from 2005 my history?"
"You'll understand when you watch it," I said, "trust me."
Lloyd look to Zane in apprehension. The Master of Ice simply smiled genially back at him before returning to watch the others play a game of impromptu football.
After another hour at the park, it was time for the ninja to depart. They had a training session to get to and said their inconspicuous goodbyes. Lloyd hung back to walk me home.
Naomi lived in the opposite direction of me, so I hugged her goodbye and rejoined Lloyd. His hand found mine immediately and we took our time strolling back to my place.
"Don't you have a training session to hurry to?" I asked when I realised we were dawdling.
"I never get to have a break," he sighed in response. "So I'll take this moment to be with you, instead."
I didn't argue. Why would I? Spending time with Lloyd was the reason dopamine circled my brain now.
"Sorry about your nose," I murmured when we reached the patio of my house. I still couldn't believe I managed to do something so awfully mortifying in front of his team.
"I forgive you," Lloyd said amusedly. "Can I get that kiss, now?"
I smiled and leant forward, fingers hooking into his shirt, and raised on my toes to press my lips to his. My nose bumped his.
"Ow!" Lloyd yelped. I pulled away with a horrified look, only for him to break into a mischievous grin. "Kidding."
"You're the worst," I grumbled, and turned towards my door to shut him out. Lloyd was faster, though, and pulled me back around with a playful growl. He dipped down to give me a proper kiss.
I gasped before giggling against his lips. He drew me closer by my hips and my heart fluttered, tittering like a hummingbird, making my skin feel as though electricity lived beneath it. He kissed me again, and again, and again, until I was sure that he was stalling leaving. Not that I minded his way of doing so.
"Lloyd." My fingers stoked through his soft hair at the base of his neck. "I don't want your parents to think I'm a bad influence."
He planted his face against my neck and groaned. "I don't wanna go."
"You gotta."
He whined from the back of his throat pitifully and snuggled deeper against me. I chuckled a few octaves higher than usual at his clinginess. I was quickly learning that Lloyd's love language was physical touch.
I carded my fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. He sighed, going boneless, and simply held me as though he were about to fall asleep.
"Great Green Ninja, rendered putty in my hold," I murmured playfully. "What would your enemies say, now?"
He exhaled a laugh against the skin of my neck and it brushed against my collarbone, warm and pleasant. I closed my eyes at the feeling.
Lloyd pulled back with a sigh and my eyes opened with him. He brushed back my hair and cradled my jaw, staring at me longingly, as though I were the only thing in his world worth having.
"They'd say that you can take the universe to its knees, beautiful," he said quietly. My breathing all but shuttered to a stop at the cacophony of butterflies that had erupted into life within me.
He kissed me again, just once more.
"Bye, danger magnet," he whispered against my lips.
My farewell was just as quiet. "Bye, hero."
🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃
The Origin of the Elemental Powers.
I have been meaning to sit down & write this account for many decades as a permanent record for those who might be curious. Unfortunately, life as an Elemental Master is a busy one - if I am not required to protect our people, then I am using my powers of Creation to assist in the expansion of the village's borders.
My father left this world to my brother & I, as well as electing a new royal heir to work alongside us & represent those without powers. We were all quick to realise how much work he did as creator, protector & ruler of this beautiful world. It had been a shaky hand off, but I believe that we all have settled into our new routines.
But I am beginning to ramble. This is an account of the origin of the Elemental Powers, not my journal.
My father, Uchū - or the First Spinjitzu Master (as our people call him, though I do not know of the title's origin), created Ninjago when he found a gap in the Realm Collective. He does not speak of which realm he came from, but it must be one full of unimaginable power - as he had unimaginable power, too.
All Elemental Masters - all of Life - stems from Uchū. A few millennia after creating Ninjago, he spoke of his loneliness. He had created this world of beauty & tranquility, but he had nobody to share it with save from the creatures that had sprouted from the ocean. So, with a stomp on the earth by the River of Life, he created the first. His wife, my mother, Saisho.
Not long after, Uchū went back to that same spot by the River of Life & grew nineteen seeds, of which he split his power unto. The fertility of the earth & the life of the river gave birth to the Nineteen Houses - more commonly known as the Elemental Masters.
And then, after that, he created the first human. Civilisation was conceived & more humans were created. Elemental Masters & humans intermingled happily. We were all my father's creations.
Centuries later, my elder brother was born. & then I. Split between us was my father's last two powers - Destruction, for my brother, & Creation for I. He called us his yin and yang, for we balance each other, just as he created the world to be. Balanced.
With my father's passing, I have taken it upon myself to write down each of his accounts - from my memories & others - so his teachings do not get lost to past.
In my studies & of my own experience, I have discovered that the Elemental Powers my brethren & I use are driven by heightened emotion - primarily the Four Basic; sadness, happiness, fear & anger.
Elemental Power can be called upon at any time, of course, given that the wielder is sufficient enough in their training & are mentally sound. But an intense Four Basic will cause a brief loss of control.
Just the day prior, I witnessed the engagement of the Mistress of Water. Rei was so delighted that the water in my kettle shot out & hit me on the face. She was so wrapped up in her new fiancé that she did not notice, though my brother's laughter drew the attention of most others. I still find myself chuckling even as I write.
However, loss of control can lead to dangerous happenings, such as my brother. I fear he is not getting any better. It is slowly eating away at him & with each passing day, I see more of a stranger in his familiar eyes-
My reading was interrupted by a knock on my window. I startled, looking up from my book and found Lloyd there, perched not unlike how the Master of Earth had just a few days before. He waved with a bright grin.
I slid open the window with a perplexed look. Thank god our backyard looked onto the forest and not another neighbour's. This was starting to become a habit.
"Hey, sunshine," Lloyd said with a handsome smile.
"Hey, hero," I greeted, quietening with a blush when he leant forward to peck my nose through the window. I shook my head slightly to realign myself. "I... have a door."
"This way's faster," Lloyd said. My eyes briefly got distracted by the way his bare arms strained to hold himself onto the ledge. My very own Spider-Man. I felt like Mary-Jane. "Are you free?"
"Uh." I glanced back at the book on my bed. "Yeah?"
"Great! Do you wanna go on a date?"
My heart fluttered, but I frowned in confusion. "Right now? Aren't you going away tomorrow?"
"That's why I want to spend this afternoon with you," he reasoned, before giving the biggest, most cutest pout I'd ever seen. "Please? I'm gonna miss you so much."
My fingers curled tightly into my fist to control the giddiness that overtook me. I felt unbalanced, elation almost toppling me right over.
"Okay." A small smile began to pull at my lips. "Where are we going?"
"A secret." Lloyd grinned. "Wear swimwear."
My brows raised. "Swimwear?"
"Yep." He nodded. "I'll meet you in my truck in ten."
Ten minutes? Okay. I could speed run ten minutes to get ready - though it was only early in the morning, and I hadn't put on sunscreen or brushed my hair and teeth yet. It'd be a challenge.
"Time me," I said, before flinging the curtains shut on Lloyd's confused face and taking off to get changed.
Lloyd was sat in his truck (still looking like it would fall apart at any second) when I launched myself into shotgun. He sent me an amused look as I braced myself on the dashboard to catch my breath.
"Thirteen minutes," he said with a faux disappointed frown. I slapped my hand on the seat and leant back, closing my eyes as I rested.
"Damn," I sighed. I peeked open a single eye to look at Lloyd as he started the truck to drive. "We're not flying?"
"Nope," he said with a shake of his head. "Quality time car trip. Also Nya wanted me to take it for a spin, anyway."
"I do like car trips," I said. "How's your nose?"
"You really gotta stop worrying about it."
"I decked you in the face with a ball," I reminded, just in case he got hit too hard and forgot. "I will worry about it."
"Then you know how I feel whenever you get hurt," Lloyd chastised lightly with a grin. He sent me a pointed look. "How's your head?"
My head in question gave a slight ache of pain. I pouted and looked out the window. "Sore, sometimes."
"And your ankle?"
I sunk into my seat, pout deepening. "It's fine, now." I gasped when a familiar song came on from the portable speaker in the cup holder and my grumpiness disappeared instantly. "You listen to Taylor Swift?!"
Lloyd shrugged with a nonchalant smile. "Yeah. Jay was the first."
I stared him, amazed. "You're adorable" and I love you.
My eyes widened at what I'd almost let slip out of my mouth. Whoa, there, Y/n. Rein it back. You'd known Lloyd for three weeks and dated for less. It was a bit too early to start throwing around the L word.
Oh, gosh, was I in love with him? Actually, properly, lay-my-heart-on-the-line, in love? The idea was equally as intriguing as it was terrifying. I'd never been vulnerable in that sense before - was it normal to be this confused?
Lloyd grinned at my stare, unaware of the sudden turmoil that had sent my head spinning. My gaze drifted back to the road before us.
I decided to push it all aside and deal with it later; like at night, where I could stare at my ceiling and overthink every single thing about how I was probably most likely definitely falling in love.
Lloyd's truck took us deep into the forest, following a path that wasn't frequently used. The trees grew bigger, trunks thicker, until I was sure that if we stepped out, we wouldn't be able to hear a peep of civilisation. I watched the scenery in fascination.
"You're not taking me to your home, right?" I asked nervously as a sudden thought struck me. I looked to him with wide eyes. "I need to prepare myself for that."
Lloyd chuckled. "No. I'm taking you to a place I found a few months back."
"Oh." I relaxed at that. No more opportunities to painfully embarrass myself in front of his team, thank god. Thank... Uchū? Whoof - this was gonna take some getting used to.
My hands itched to turn the fragile pages of the book that still laid on my bed, to delve back into that era, a past that history forgot. But I also craved to spend this last day with Lloyd. Pain and pain and more pain.
The truck pulled to a stop at the edge of a massive glade atop a short mountain. I stepped out slowly, eyes trailing over the place in awe.
In the break of the trees held what I couldn't believe was anything other than a slice of magic itself. Lush, ankle-height green grass swept before me, dotted by the occasional knot of wildflowers or copse of willow trees. It all surrounded a lake of crystalline water - a perfect mirror of the blue, cloudless sky above.
I turned to Lloyd. "You found this?"
He was leaning on the hood of the truck and contently watched my reaction. He nodded. I exhaled in disbelief and turned back to the breathtaking view. A herd of deer grazed at the far, far end of the glade. A stag watched us warily, head high.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
"It's my thinking spot." Lloyd moved silently through the grass before stopping beside me. His hand sought my own. "You're the first person I've shown."
My lips parted in shock and the look I sent him was downright enamoured. "Really?"
Lloyd's hand squeezed mine. His lashes fluttered as he blinked slowly, contently, not unlike a cat. "Really."
I looked out at the lake again - it was all for us. He saved it for himself, and then he showed it to me. My stomach churned with that feeling I'd pushed aside again; this felt a lot more intimate than Lloyd was probably letting on. This felt as though I'd finally been let in on a secret, one that I didn't figure out myself.
"Thank you for showing me," I said, a little breathless. My voice had turned quiet with awe and something I hoped he wouldn't pick up on yet.
"Hopefully I can do more than show you," Lloyd said with an edge of a smile to his voice. "Wanna go for a swim?"
The midday sun was already starting to make me sweat and the armpits of my sundress was beginning to grow damp. I nodded feverishly - the cold, clear water sung to me and promised relief.
Lloyd let go of my hand and pulled off his shirt, which had me briefly stunned. I forgot that most men didn't swim with shirts, which was a general, common thing, but it didn't even cross my mind. His pale skin caught the sun as though the rays had bent down and kissed him themselves. When he balled his shirt with his fists and tossed it into the back of his truck, I gazed at the way his muscles moved beneath the skin of his arms.
When he turned back, my eyes caught sight of the scar that gnarled his body from his hip to his opposite collar. I felt my stomach drop. I forgot he had that scar, and I forgot about how terrible it looked - marring his Statue of David, healed but angry, ridges of disturbed skin and sinew.
I quickly turned my eyes away. I could tell it held a story that wasn't a nice one. So many new questions.
If Lloyd caught me looking, he didn't let on. I pulled the sundress from over my head and sighed in relief; even that thin, flimsy thing had me sweating into my swimwear. One thing I disliked about summer: sweat. So much of it, everywhere, on everyone.
Lloyd held out his hand for me again. I didn't even have to think about it before placing my grasp into his.
"Ready?" He looked like he was about to take off for the water. I almost missed his excited question because of the distracting curves of his biceps. I adjusted my stance, ready to make a break across the grass, and nodded. "Go!"
Lloyd took off at a pace I wasn't expecting and I squealed a laugh, dragged along for a second before finding my footing. We tore across the grass, dodging pockets of wildflowers, before hitting a brief ring of sand and then crashing into the cold waters of the lake.
I gasped at the chill before letting it take me under, anyway, because the sweat was beginning to collect on my scalp. The relief came fast and I sighed as the freshwater washed away the sticky heat.
Lloyd's head popped up from the surface with a splash and a white-fanged grin, and I caught myself staring at them. He had fangs again - did I not notice them when he smiled before?
I didn't get a chance to ask, because Lloyd hauled me into him with a slosh of water. I yelped as I collided into his bare chest and turned my eyes away when his skin called me to ogle. No reason to be nervous, Y/n. He's held you to his bare chest before.
"You okay?" Lloyd asked, voice a little low. I shivered and told myself it was because of the cold water.
I nodded but didn't audibly reply. I couldn't trust my words - how could I? He looked like Michelangelo himself had carved him from marble. He looked like he belonged on those fitness magazines that made me feel bad about eating candy the other day - but I'd seen Lloyd scoff down an entire bag of the treats, so that shame was invalid.
"Are you checking me out?"
My eyes shot up to his face in shock. "What?" Lloyd smirked at me, eyes lidded. My embarrassment rose. "No!"
"You totally were."
"I was not!" I defended. But he was resolute, and I probably was subconsciously checking him out. "God-" I splashed some water onto his face to get rid of the smug smirk that was beginning to make me want to kiss his stupid mouth and admire his build more "-shut up."
Lloyd laughed beneath my attack and splashed me back. I splashed him again, and then there was an all out water war, laughter ringing, until I called it quits between pants. I was exhausted. He was barely out of breath. Maybe there were some advantages to the idea of being trained.
But there was also the advantage of Lloyd taking pity and letting me rest on him. We watched the sky as we floated, my back upon his stomach, his hands linked over my navel. I closed my eyes against the warmth. If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake.
"I started reading that book you gave me."
Lloyd's interest piqued. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." I turned around onto his stomach and linked my arms behind his neck. "I have to realign a lot of what I thought I knew about the world."
Lloyd's lips curled into an amused smirk. "Reality a little different than your history textbooks, huh?"
"Reality's a little bit better than them, too," I murmured before shifting up for a kiss. He chuckled into it, low and harmonious, and it was the prettiest sound I'd ever heard.
"So you don't think we're aliens, anymore?" he whispered against the corner of my mouth. I blushed at the memory of me theorising when Lloyd and I hung out for the first time - his utter bewilderment made a lot more sense in retrospect.
"Well..." I hummed, tilting my head to the side. "If Uchū didn't come from this planet, doesn't that kinda mean-"
"Stop." Lloyd placed his hand over my mouth and laughed. "No, it doesn't."
I popped out from behind his palm. "Technically, the definition of 'extraterrestrial' means to originate outside of Earth, and Uchū came from another realm, so..."
Lloyd laughed again with a shake of his head and a ripple of water. "You're ridiculous."
I grinned at his amusement. My fingers moved up to curl a lock of his wet, darkened hair around my finger. Red tinged the ring around his eyes again. I wondered if the red eyes thing was a side effect of his powers - maybe the others could change their eye colour, too.
"Are you from one of the Nineteen Houses?" I asked, watching as I made ringlets with his wet hair.
Lloyd tilted his head to the side with a pull of the corner of his mouth. "Not really."
My eyes found his. "Then how do you fit in?"
Lloyd exhaled through his nose, as though contemplating how to answer me. His almost-red eyes drifted across the sky in thought. Finally, they returned to me, resolved.
"I'm a direct descendant," he said.
I stared at him blankly. That gave me nothing. "Of..?"
"Of the First Spinjitzu Master."
My finger paused its curling. I stared at him, eyes wide, as what he said settled in. I almost wanted to accuse him of joking, but the dead serious look in his eyes told me he was telling the truth.
I pushed away from him when it clicked. He spluttered from the disturbed water and complained, peeking an eye open at my shellshocked face as I floated a space from him.
"You're JESUS?!" I exclaimed.
"No!" Lloyd replied incredulously. "I'm just me."
"You're a direct descendant of the guy who created this entire world," I shrilled. "You're basically Jesus!"
"I'm not Jesus, Y/n," Lloyd said again with a roll of his eyes. He pulled me back against him, shocked frozen and all. His forehead rested upon mine. "Just me."
"You keep saying 'just me' as if you're not the most incredible person I've ever met," I said with a slow shake of my head. He smiled something lovely. I blinked as a thought settled in. "Is that why your powers are... different?"
"Kind of." He shrugged, and we went back to floating - him on his back, and me on his stomach. "My main power is energy, but I can use some of the other powers, too."
Lloyd swirled a finger through the water beside us, and a tiny bit of ice bloomed behind his strokes. I watched as it melted away with the ripples of water.
"I was wondering how you were able to use other Elemental Powers," I admitted. It was one of my many, many questions. "I didn't want to ask."
Lloyd smiled confusedly. "Why not?"
I shrugged and rested my cheek on his chest. His skin was cool from the water, and I tried not to think too hard about his bumpy scar that pressed against my neck.
"You get asked about your powers all the time, don't you?" I'd stumbled across enough videos of it - of people asking for demonstrations or how it worked when they caught him during a mission. "I didn't want to bother you."
Lloyd smiled softly. "You could never bother me. If there was anyone in the world who I'd want to show off to, it's you."
My cheeks warmed. I buried my face against his chest more.
"You've got questions," he hummed, as though reading my mind. "You can ask them."
What a beginner's mistake. I began immediately.
"Do you have access to all nineteen powers, then? What power did you unlock first? When did you start using your powers? How old were you when you found out you were Uchū's descendant?"
Lloyd blinked at my slew of questions. "Uh... slower, maybe?"
I smiled a little. "Uchū split his power, right? How do you have access to more than one, then?"
Lloyd grinned. "Ah. This one's easy. My team and I are linked."
He told me about his time at the Dark Island, where, in the Temple of Light, his team gave him their powers to defeat the Overlord. They were his protectors, he said - aside from Nya, who wasn't in the prophecy and accessed her powers at a later date.
After that battle and during another one, Lloyd returned the powers to his team.
"But something was unlocked, I guess," he said. "I can't really explain it. But it was as if using their powers for a bit was a key to letting me use them on my own."
"Wow," I breathed. I hadn't stopped staring at his face in amazement as he spoke. "That's so cool. How many Elemental Masters are there?"
"Well... there's nineteen powers, and there's families with multiple users in it," Lloyd answered as we leisurely floated. "Or there's Kai and Nya, whose parents were Elemental Masters each."
I started twirling his hair again. "How many of them are in the city?"
Lloyd shrugged. "A few. They're good at hiding."
I looked at his wet hair curled around my finger with deep thought. "Why did... why did they hide away? And why did you come back?"
Lloyd stroked the bridge of my nose with a finger. "That's a question better suited for my mother. She knows more about it than I do. Now - am I giving you a history lesson or can we kiss instead?"
"Can we not do both?" I asked with a pout.
"Nerd," he snorted, before pulling me down for a kiss. I smiled into it, relaxing. The water lapped at us, drifting us along the small lake's surface, and the sun warmed my back but my lips were warmer.
"You love kissing," I murmured. He proved this by stealing another kiss, this one longer and more languid. It sparked aflame a shiver of bliss within my body, and I shifted closer to him to feel more of it, uncaring of the water that splashed us.
In truth, I loved kissing him, too - of course I did. It was intoxicating and lovely, a venom of petals and silk. It drove me wild and kept me sane, like everything would be okay if only I kept kissing him.
"I can't believe I'm kissing Jesus," I whispered against his mouth, and he broke into a loud laugh.
"You suck," Lloyd groaned.
I grinned unabashed, patting his wet hair from his face and admiring the way the sun caught on the drops of water that adorned his skin. His freckles looked more prominent like this, and his fangs showed with his handsome grin.
That feeling came back, an instakill headshot to the back of my skull. My smile faded under the weight of it - both emotionally and logically.
"I..." I trailed off, unable to put together the words. Lloyd tilted his head with a patient smile. My blush grew worse. "I really like you."
There. Not entirely the full truth, but eluding to a step in the right direction.
I may as well have said love by the way Lloyd's face broke with joy. He pulled me up to plant kisses all over my face, peppering on my cheeks, my nose, my forehead, until I was reduced to a giggling, blushing mess. Even the cool water of the lake couldn't soothe my hot fluster.
Lloyd finished with one, long kiss to my lips that left my blood singing and heart a-flutter. He pressed his nose to mine with a happy beam that rivalled the sun above.
"I really like you, too, sunshine," he murmured.
I hid my face into his neck before my expression could give too much away about how viscerally his words affected me, but my actions told him, anyway. He chuckled softly, lightly drawing his fingertips up my spine.
"I'm gonna be thinking about you the whole time," Lloyd confessed. "Don't get hurt while I'm gone, okay? Promise me."
He even had the gall to sick out a pinky finger. I gave a dramatic sigh and linked my pinky through his.
"I promise I'll try my best to stay unharmed," I said glumly.
Lloyd gifted me with another of his pretty smiles. "Atta girl."
I melted into him. Yeah, I thought in the middle of a dreamy, adoring mental takeover. Yeah, I'm his girl.
Naomi was right. I am hopeless.