A/N: Hi everyone! Welcome to my latest story, Ninjago Academy. First of all, I want to give a huge thanks to my friend Darkrainbow. Without her giving me permission to use her OC, I would have never come up with this story, so thanks! Second, I hope that you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Alright, here we go... Chapter One!
Chapter One: Welcome to the Academy
This time, I thought. This time I'll finally beat him. I snatched my sword up from where it had fallen on the ground, gripped it tightly, and raised it high above my head. Then I charged at my opponent, running as fast as my legs would take me.
My opponent was quicker, though. Just as I was about to strike him, he stepped aside.
By that time, I had built up so much momentum that I couldn't stop. Against my will, I kept on barreling ahead, and soon I crashed into the wooden wall of the room we were in.
That's definitely going to leave a mark, I thought to myself.
I tried to regain my balance, but I must have smacked my head pretty hard. The whole room seemed to be spinning.
Still, I wasn't about to let a little bump on my head stop me from winning this fight. I was determined to keep going.
I stumbled over to where I last saw my opponent and raised my sword to attack. I thought for sure that this would be the end, and I would win the fight once and for all.
Unfortunately, my judgment was still a little off from running into that wall. When I swung my sword, it missed its intended target and lodged itself into the hardwood floor boards instead.
I tried in vain to yank it free. It was stuck tight.
My opponent used this lull in my defenses to attack. While I was still hunched over trying to free my sword, he tackled me to the ground. Before I knew it, I felt the cold steel of his blade press against my neck.
The battle was over, and I had lost. Again.
I sighed heavily in frustration as my opponent withdrew his sword. He offered his hand to help me up, and I took it.
"Thanks, Kai," I mumbled, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice. It didn't do any good, though. Kai heard it anyway.
"Really, Star, you did great," Kai said with a smile. "Don't get upset. I'm sure that you'll be even stronger than me one day."
"Maybe," I muttered.
"Definitely," Kai assured me. "But, technically, shouldn't you be calling me 'Sensei Kai'?" A teasing note entered his voice.
I rolled my eyes playfully.
Of course, all the students at Ninjago Academy were expected to treat their teachers with proper respect. Mainly, that meant that we were supposed to call our teachers 'Sensei'. That may be fine for everyone else, but I've never been comfortable with that, especially because I'm almost the same age as my instructors - making me one of the oldest students at the academy.
The only person who I'd actually call 'Sensei' is Sensei Wu. Even though he's the superintendent of the academy, I rarely ever see him. He's always out recruiting new students for the academy.
"Hey, Kai, are you doing anything this afternoon?" I asked, hoping against all odds that he wasn't.
"Unfortunately, yes," he replied, his face falling. "Jay called in sick today, so I promised to cover one of his classes later on."
"Oh."
"But, If you're not busy later on, I can meet you in the courtyard this evening," he continued. "We could hang out then."
Kai squeezed my hand, which I hadn't even realized he was still holding.
I blushed a little. "Sure, that sounds great."
"Hey, Star, I'm really sorry about hurting you earlier," Kai said sheepishly. "I didn't think that you would hit the wall that hard. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, forcing a smile. "It wasn't your fault. I should have been more careful."
We both stood there for a moment, holding each other's gaze. Then Kai turned away.
"I'd better get going," Kai said. "Don't want to be late for my class! I'll see you tonight, alright?"
"Yeah, see you tonight," I echoed as Kai and I walked towards the door. Once we got there we each started off in our separate ways, with me heading to my dormitory and Kai to his class.
I watched Kai until he rounded the corner and disappeared from my sight. Then I headed back in the direction of my room to get some rest before my date with Kai.
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"So, you've got a date with Sensei Kai tonight, right?" My friend Lily asked me at dinner.
Before I could reply, some of the other girls at my table started saying in singsong voices, "Ohh, Star's in love!"
I didn't say anything, but I could feel my cheeks getting hot.
Then the girls continued singing: "Star and Sensei Kai, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"
"Will you stop that?" Lily hissed, glaring at the girls. "The whole cafeteria's going to hear!"
So the girls sang the next verse, only whispering this time: "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!"
"Just ignore them," Lily said, rolling her eyes. Then she asked, her voice giddy, "So, did he ask you out? What did he say?"
I smiled at my friend's excitement. Lily had one of those bubbly personalities, so I was used to seeing her happy all the time. But I'd never seen her this happy. You'd think she was the one going on a date instead of me.
"Hold on, Lily. It's not exactly a date," I tried to explain. "We're just hanging out, that's all."
"Sure, you keep telling yourself that," Lily said sarcastically. "What are you going to wear, anyway? You know that you have to dress fancy if you want to impress Sensei Kai."
"Who ever said I was trying to impress Kai?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I took a sip of my drink, then immediately spit it back out. It's beyond me why the only beverage they ever serve in the cafeteria is disgusting tea. Most likely because it's Sensei Wu's favorite drink.
"Come on, Star, I'm not blind. Everyone knows that you've had a huge crush on Sensei Kai ever since you got here a few years ago," Lily smirked.
"That's not true!" I tried to protest. However, it was true. I had always liked Kai from the moment I saw him.
I was one of the oldest students in the academy, but Lily was only a year younger than me. Unlike me, she had been recruited at a fairly young age; therefore, she had been here when I first arrived. We pretty much became instant friends when we met each other, and we've been pretty close ever since.
Still, that didn't stop her from gossiping once in a while about me liking Kai. Now, my crush was a pretty well known fact around the academy. Sometimes it seemed like everyone knew about it except Kai himself.
"You know, Star, you are a terrible liar," Lily commented.
I didn't really feel like arguing with Lily right now, so I decided to change the subject.
"Well, I'd better go get ready," I told her. "See you later." I started to get up from my place at the table.
"Wait!" Lily cried. "Are you sure you don't need any help getting ready? I could help you pick out the perfect outfit!"
"I'm fine, Lily. But thanks anyway," I replied, starting towards the door.
"Okay, but don't forget to tell me all about it when you get back!" Lily called after me.
"I will," I promised her, and turned to walk back to my room.
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As soon as I entered my dorm room, I shut the door tight and flopped on my bed.
I couldn't believe it. After all these years of waiting, Kai had finally asked me out! I probably had a goofy grin plastered on my face, but I didn't care.
It was times like these that I really appreciated the fact that I had my own room. All the boys and girls at the academy were separated according to age. Since I was the only girl my age and also the oldest girl, Sensei Wu had allowed me to have a room all to myself.
I was so excited about my date that I would have stayed there on my bed until it was time to go, but I remembered Lily's words: If you want to impress Kai, you have to dress up.
I sauntered over to my small closet and searched for something to wear. I wasn't the kind of person who dressed up a lot, though, so my whole wardrobe mostly consisted of T-shirts and jeans.
I pulled outfit after outfit from my closet, tossing them aside.
Finally, I settled on a dark purple shirt and a pair of denim jeans that didn't look too beat up. I also changed out of my ratty old sneakers and into my purple Jordan shoes.
Then there was the matter of my hair. I usually put it up into a ponytail, because it's so long and gets in the way during training. I was about to leave it just like it was, but Lily's words just wouldn't leave my head.
Dress fancy... Impress Kai...
So, I decided to fix it in a dark blonde braid all the way down my back.
When I was done, I checked the time. 7:00.
Kai had said to meet him later in the evening, but I realized he had never specified a time. What if he was already in the courtyard, waiting on me?
I hurriedly shoved all my clothes back into my closet and shut the door.
As I ran out of my room, I stopped to grab one more thing - a small diamond necklace that my mother had given me on my sixteenth birthday. I fastened it around my neck and checked my appearance in the mirror one last time. Perfect.
I dashed out into the hallway, finally ready for the moment I'd been dreaming of.
A/N: So, what did you think? I just want to say, please don't judge this chapter too harshly. This is my first shot at writing anything 'romantic', so I understand that it may not be the absolute best. But, the only way to get better is to practice, right?
So, in summary, reviews would be HUGELY appreciated, along with favorites and follows. Thank you all in advance for reading, and check back soon for Chapter Two!
~Shadow