A/N: Quick little announcement that the characters Cass and Sammie belong to TheRealWindElemental and Hunter & Nathan belong to HSBB2 . Their ocs are the only ones being added to the story (mainly because I've known these two majestic eagles for a long time.). I also recommend that you read their fics! Alright...let's get this show on the road!
I hummed a tune that had been stuck in my head for weeks as I hung up pictures on the new corkboard in my room. I had bought it with the money I had earned working at Steep Wisdom, just so I could hang up the snapshots of my friends I had taken not so long ago.
Once I had pinned the last picture to the board, I stepped back, looking at all the pictures and letting the memories flow back into my mind. The time with Lloyd at Mega Monster Amusement Park, the team going on a beach trip, Jay's birthday, the time with Nya and Lilly at a recent concert, and just the random pictures of us goofing off. I smiled at these memories, wishing those moments would have lasted forever. Though they would within my thoughts.
A lot has happened this past month, or a lot in my opinion that is. Lloyd began his training to become a Sensei, Lilly and Kai got together (freakin' finally...seriously they've been on and off forever.), I finally got to meet the Ninjas' friend Dareth (he's pretty dorky, but cool.), and Nya has started to master her powers (I'm really proud of her!). Things had finally taken a positive turn for us all, and I hoped it stayed that way.
As I was looking at the pictures, Lilly entered the room, groaning. She flopped onto her bed, now yawning. I turned to face her, having an idea of what may have happened.
"Lemme guess, you got bribed into doing the chores again?" I questioned.
"Hey, Jay actually offered me something good this time! You know there's no way I can turn down this!" Lilly sat up, holding a quart of mint ice cream. Of course, her love of the frozen treat would drive her to do anything just for a bite of it. She would probably even throw off a mission for it.
"Did he actually find your favorite flavor?" I asked. She shook her head.
"No. You know what would happen if someone did. My favorite flavor is pretty hard to find though," Lilly reminded me, pulling a spoon from her drawer and digging in to the ice cream. I didn't question why that spoon was in her drawer.
"So, did you know the new guys are here?" Lilly questioned. New guys? I wasn't informed that anyone new would be arriving.
"What 'new guys'?" I asked, confused.
"Sensei didn't tell you about the new members of the team?" The blonde asked in surprise. I shook my head in response. Sensei hasn't told me anything for a while, other than the orders he gives while running the tea shop and help during training I hadn't heard anything about new teammates.
"Well, evidently they're other elemental masters that Cole knew. They actually lived in the village nearby Sensei Garmadon's Monastery," Lilly informed me. Other elemental masters? I wonder what their powers are. Color? Weather? Thunder? Magic? Any one of these could be their element. Or maybe they are people I may have seen before. It could be a possibility, considering I looked at almost everyone in that village. I exited the room, feeling excitement as I walked down the hallway. I can't wait to meet these new teammates!
Once I entered the living room, I spotted four new people talking to the Ninja. They wore casual clothes instead of gi, and I recognized three of them right off the bat. One was a girl with long, wavy brown hair and dark green eyes. She looked to be only a slight bit smaller than the two boys standing next to her. I recognized her from the day Lloyd was possessed. She was the girl in the tea shop who was asking about cake. I really didn't expect her to be one of the new people, as well as the other two. Looks like Cole's going to have competition for the last piece of Jay's birthday cake now.
The second person I recognized was a boy with shaggy, light brown hair and light blue eyes. He looked to be about the same height as Cole, if not taller. He was starlight kick boy, from the day Lloyd and I went into the village to get Sensei's tea. The boy who also mistook me for a kid! I'll have to make sure to trip him at some point, and then call him a kid! We'll see how he likes it!
The last person I recognized was a boy with hair almost similar to Zane's, though it was a very light brown. His eyes were the same color of blue as Starlight Kick Boy. He was Seal of Approval Boy from the same day we saw Starlight Kick boy. He was the one demanding candy in the tea shop on the day of Lloyd's possession, and was also threatening to fight my blond friend.
The fourth person I did not recognize. She had blonde hair the color of gold, and brown eyes like mine. Her skin was a tan color similar to how Cole's used to look, and she looked to be the shortest out of the new people. She was fretting over Cole, possibly because he was a ghost. I couldn't tell if they were related or in a relationship. I felt it was more likely that they were related, considering how similar their faces were.
"Hey, since I'm here now, could I get some of that 'extra' candy? You guys didn't give me any last time," Seal of Approval Boy asked. Cole shook his head and smiled.
"Sorry Hunter, but you'll have to fight Lloyd for the extra candy," the ghostly ninja chuckled. Hunter frowned.
"Alright Nathan, how much are you going to pay me to fight the blond guy?" he asked the boy beside him. Nathan, aka Starlight Kick boy, started to dig into his pocket when Cole cleared his throat.
"Um, before you do any of that, why don't you four introduce yourselves to the girls?" he suggested, gesturing to Lilly and I. The four new team members took notice of us immediately, a little surprised we were there. They must not have seen us. The cake girl stepped up firs, brushing her hair out of her face.
"I'm Cass, master of wind," she introduced herself with a smile. I nearly fainted. Master of wind!? Wouldn't that me she's related to-!?
"You're related to Morro?" Lilly asked in disbelief. Cass nodded.
"Yeah, he's my uncle. I heard about what happened, and honestly I'm not happy with what he did," she informed us. So, we have Morro's niece on our team? Looks like I'm not the only one with a creepy uncle now. We could start a club called "My Uncle is a Total Dingus and Should Live On a Deserted Island". We probably wouldn't have a lot of members though.
Hunter stepped up next, introducing himself and saying his element, which was wind as well. I was starting to collapse. How many people in here are related to old Joe windy pants!?
"So you're related to Cass and Morro?" I asked. He nodded, then scratched his head.
"I believe I'm her cousin twice removed...I don't know...the family tree is kind of whack," he informed us. Great, that probably means he's related to multiple elemental masters most likely.
Nathan stepped up next. "I'm Nathan, Hunter's brother and master of water."
I collapsed right then and there. There was no way!
"You two related to Kai, Nya, Cass, and Morro then!" I exclaimed, pointing at the two boys. Lilly whistled.
"Geez, the elemental masters got busyyy."
"If I'm related to Morro, then that means I'm the one who got his hot voice gene," I heard Kai say pridefully. Nya snorted.
"Nah, I believe you got his ego and his belief that he should be the chosen one," she retorted. Kai turned and glared at his sister while some of the people in the room laughed. I couldn't help but laugh too. She wasn't wrong.
I got up just as the blonde girl came to introduce herself. "I'm Sammie, Cole's younger sister and master of light," she said in a polite voice, shaking my hand.
"Cole, you never told us you had a sister!" Jay exclaimed. Cole shrugged.
"Well, it didn't really fit into any of the conversations we had, and I have to admit I would forget sometimes," he confessed, scratching his head.
Sammie giggled. "You idiot, how could you forget about your own sister?"
Well, I started to feel even happier with a few more girls on the team. Now I have a few more people of the same gender to hang out with! And they seem pretty cool too! Not like there was anything wrong with hanging out with the boys. I just felt this place needed a little more girl power ya know? Though, with an addition of two other guys, this place was beginning to look similar to the Justice League, only with superpowered ninja.
Both Lilly and I went ahead and introduced ourselves to our new teammates. Lilly made sure to explain the story about the crystal before any of them jumped to the conclusion that she's related to Hunter and Nathan or Kai and Nya, just to avoid the awkwardness. They all seemed to be pretty cool with it. Though, Nathan seemed to be slightly confused on the process of how she got it.
As we started to break apart to speak to each other individually, I sat down in one of the chairs, smiling at the new additions. I slowly got up, heading to talk to one of the new girls, but before I could, Lloyd stepped in front of me, holding something behind his back.
"Okay, I almost forgot... I meant to give this to you earlier." he held out the thing he was holding behind his back, a new metal bo staff, shining beautifully like chrome. He's giving this to me!?
"You didn't have to..." my quiet voice trailed off, marveling at the wonderful weapon. Why do something like this for a dork like me?
"Hey, after I heard you lost your old staff, I wanted to be nice and get you a new one. I thought you'd like the gift," the blond smiled. I took it from his hands, looking over it with awe. Joy filled up inside me. He didn't have to do this! But he did! But still, why did he do this!?
"Oh my god, Lloyd, I could kiss you!" the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. When I realized what I had said, my cheeks started to burn with embarrassment, especially since the whole room was silent now. I'm so dead now.
"Ohohoho!" I heard Jay chuckle. Hunter, who was nearby, whispered "Do it! Just do it!"
Lloyd, who wasn't blushing at all from the comment, smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
I nodded nervously. "Y-Yes, thank you." Oh god, why!?
There was a period of awkward silence between us, making my cheeks grow even warmer. Though, during that time, I could see a bit of pink growing on the blond's cheeks.
"U-Um...I should go put this away in my room," I said nervously, breaking the silence. Lloyd nodded.
"Right. I'll...uh...see you later at training then," he waved as I walked away. Once I was out of view, I darted into my room, flopped onto my bed, and screamed into my pillow. Why did I do that!? Why did I say that!? I don't see him in that way...do I!?
I heard the door to the room open, accompanied by the sound of Lilly giggling.
"I knew it! I just knew it!" she exclaimed. I groaned.
"Lilly, you know I don't see him in that way," I said to her, removing my face from the pillow. Her giggling didn't cease.
"I know, you got caught up in the moment and such. It's alright. I just thought it was pretty funny," she said.
"Everyone's going to tease me now," I whined. Lilly crossed her arms.
"Most likely, but you know your saying, 'What goes around comes around'. You did tease me a lot before Kai and I got together so..." she reminded me, shrugging. I groaned again. I guess you could say karma was kicking my behind again...er I was. I figured that it was best to just try to forget that it happened and act like I didn't blurt that out. Yeah, perfect plan.
I got up and smoothed my skirt, brushing away the memory of what happened earlier as well. I made a decision on what to do to keep my mind off it immediately.
"I think I'm gonna go visit my parents. It's been a few months since I last saw them anyway," I told Lilly as I walked out of the room. She waved goodbye to me in response as she cracked open a book. I walked to the door, taking my purse from the coat hanger by it. I decided to not carry my new staff along, as it would take up a lot of space in this purse and besides, what would I need it for!? I don't need a weapon for a visit to my parents.
I walked out the door and through the tea shop, where Lloyd was standing at the counter, looking at something on the opposite wall. Crap, the memory's gonna flow back and things are gonna be awkward again! I hurried to walk quickly to the door, but I was stopped before I could.
"Hey Karma! Going to the city?" Lloyd asked. I turned slowly and nodded.
"Could I come with you? I'm kinda bored here. I don't think Zane would mind taking over my shift," he said. I paused. I had two options. Either things would get awkward again, or Lloyd remains bored. I did say I wanted to make him happy, in order to get rid of the horrible memories from what Morro did, but would this affect it at all?
I decided to not test it. "Uh sure. I'm just going to see my parents though."
"I don't mind. Your mom's pretty nice, though, and your dad reminds me of this guy I saw on a TV show Jay was watching once though," Lloyd said, hopping over the counter to join me.
"A TV show?" I questioned as we walked out the door.
"Yeah, his hairstyle sort of remind me of the character. Does your dad also happen to have a thing for cleaning?" Lloyd asked. I stopped to think for a minute. He always did like to clean the tables...a lot.
"Sort of...yeah," I answered as I summoned my dragon.
"Another similarity!" Lloyd exclaimed, "I bet he and your dad are the same person."
I chuckled. "Maybe."
When I entered my family's restaurant, I was slightly surprised to find that no one but my parents were inside. Must be a slow business day. My father looked up from a table he was cleaning once both Lloyd and I entered. I noticed that the stubble growing around his mouth had grown darker, and dark circles have started to appear under his eyes. My father straightened himself up, and the scowl he wore most of the time turned into a smile.
"Seiko! You're back! And you brought Garmadon's kid too!" he said, pulling me into a hug. I was happy to see my dad's softer side again, instead of the scowling restaurant owner I've always known. He was probably only showing off his smile because Lloyd is here. My mother walked into the dining room, and a smile grew immediately on her face. She joined in the hug, making it a group hug as Lloyd just stood idly by. When they all let go, my mother took notice of Lloyd.
"It's good to see you as well! I'm sorry about what happened to your father. Seiko told me about everything that happened," she said, giving a sympathetic look to the blond.
"Yeah, it wasn't a great time, but everything's okay now," Lloyd smiled. My mother patted him on the shoulder.
"You're a strong young man, Lloyd. Your father would be proud," she smiled. The Green Ninja continued to smile as I handed my mother her chestplate that I retrieved from Ronin. She was overjoyed at its return, hugging the metal piece. Though, she had no idea how she lost it in the first place.
"Why don't you two have a seat while I go return this to where it belongs upstairs?" my mother suggested. Before she walked away, she turned around. "Oh yeah, Seiko? Do mind taking out the garbage for me?"
I groaned. "Mom, I didn't come here to do chores."
"This is the only thing I'll ask of you while you're here. I promise," my mother said. I finally complied and went to take it out, not wanting to look bad in front of Lloyd. I went out the back door of the shop into the alleyway between our building and the one next door. From there, I couldn't see the street, and didn't understand why we had our dumpster in the back...but we did anyway.
I heaved the sack of trash into the dumpster, dusting my hands off once I was finished. I started to make my way back to the door, but I stopped when I heard a trash can knock over. I turned to see that the neighboring building's trash can was indeed knocked over, but it was empty. A cat must have knocked it over. Most likely Okami, the resident stray cat of this alleyway. I have no idea why it's named Okami either, as Okami translates to "wolf".
"Okami," I giggled, "Are you playing with the trash cans again?"
I kneeled down and picked up the trash can, placing it neatly by the building. I continued to call for Okami, getting no signs other than that. I started to walk away again, but then I heard rustling from behind the other trash cans. I started to approach them.
"Okami?" I said, trying to look over the trash cans. Before I could, I was tackled to the ground, a hand placed over my mouth, and two blades placed at my throat. The figure that tackled me was hooded, though, his long, fiery orange hair hung from his hood and I could see that he had dark blue eyes.
"Why hello pink ninja. Out for a stroll in the alleyway?" I could recognize that voice from anywhere. The master of Psion, Alex. What the hell does he want!? And why does it concern me!? How did he even know where I live!?
"Boy, do we have a lot of catching up to do."
