Would You Still Be Here? Chapter 1-Ashes and Tears, a ninjago fanfic

Chapter 1- Ashes and Tears

I fell to the ground, tears filling my eyes. Why would they do this? I thought. They destroyed everything! I felt my brothers strong arm beside me. But when I looked at him, he had fainted. I checked his pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, he was still alive. Once I had regained some strength in my limbs, I lifted my head to look at the damage. I wept again as I realized that it was as bad as I had thought.

"The Skulkin..." I muttered, the levels of venom in my own voice scaring me. "They did this to us."

Our parents shop was destroyed completely, burned to the ground by the horrible, no, evil Skulkin. It was just a huge pile of half-burned logs and ashes now. The sky had dimmed with the hazardous smoke filling the air. It was getting harder to breathe by the second. I could feel my own lungs straining to get any oxygen from the air. Weapons were shattered and scattered around where the shop used to be; they were just piles of metal now. Tufts of grass blew in the breeze, not giving any thought as to why we were in pain.

I curled up into a tight ball, not even caring how uncomfortably warm it was out here. Kai was already sound asleep next to me. I tried to calm down, but had to resort to listen to Kai's heavy breathing to lull me to sleep.

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I heard a crunch. My hazel eyes flickered open, but I didn't move. I lifted my head slightly. It was an old man. He was hunched over a walking stick and sifting through the ashes. Was he looking for something? I glanced at Kai's body. He was still passed out.

"W-What do you want sir?" I asked weakly. The man didn't even flinch at my voice. Did he even hear me? "Why are you here?" The old man continued on his work, possibly ignoring me. I sighed.

"Hello Nya," the man stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I gasped in surprise and anger. How did he know my name?

"How do you know my name? What do you want?" I asked, suspicious of his actions.

"I knew your parents. Ray and Maya, correct?" I nodded. I could feel my hand shaking. My body knew that I was too weak to stand, let alone fight this trespasser. My chest was still pressed against the warm ground, but the cool night air had washed away most of the smoke. Every breeze felt like a cleansing ritual for my lungs.

"Yes sir. But I ask again, what are you looking for?" The man still had his back turned to me, but I didn't care that he gave no attention to the state my brother and I were in. I heard a clang of a broken sword hitting an underground stone.

"I am here for a map. I gave it to your father a long, long time ago." The man finally turned and looked at me. I could see the glimmer of humor in his faded brown eyes. "I knew your family before you were even a glimmer in your mother's eye."

"What does the map do? Where does it lead?" I asked, ignoring his recollections. My hand clenched the torn grass near my waist. I wanted to stand so bad, but I couldn't.

"I didn't just come for the map. I came for you and your brother as well." I narrowed my hazel eyes. "I can see the fire within you. I will train you in the ways of the ninja, and you will protect Ninjago from the darkness."

I felt Kai tense next to me. He's awake. His hand hit the ground in front of him. He started to rise from the ground. I was in awe, how was he able to stand after being beaten down that bad? He clutched his broken arm with his left hand.

"You," his voice was soft, but harsh. "You except us to go with you? The Skulkin just destroyed everything we own. My sister and I need time to recover. You cannot intrude in our lives at just the wrong time and expect us to leave!" His voice was rising with every word. "HOW DARE YOU BURST INTO OUR LIVES AND EXPECT US TO FOLLOW YOUR COMMAND!" Kai leapt from his stance next to me and threw a punch at the old man. "I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Kai screamed in frustration.

The man opened and closed his eyes slowly. Kai threw a kick at him. I watched as the white-bearded man dodged every attack swiftly, not even moving from his spot. As my brother grew more angry, his attacks grew less coordinated. W-Was that a flicker of red? Was the air growing warmer? I glanced at Kai's feet. Were they on fire? Literally? My eyes widened in terror.

"Kai! Stop!" I reached out to stop my brother, but the old man beat me to it. The move was too fast for my eyes to catch. In one movement, the old man's arm took Kai's leg and flipped him to the ground. The man twirled in the air and stood atop Kai's chest, one foot still planted in his original place.

My mouth dropped open in awe of the man's swift movements. My brother's brown eyes were still blazing in anger, but he couldn't move under the man's weight. His broken right arm lay uselessly out to his side.

I finally found the strength to stand. As soon as my head came up off the ground, I felt a wave of black threatening to take over my vision. I fell to my knees, when I heard a grunt, and turned to look at Kai. The man seemed to be telling him a story.

"and, for fear of his own demise, a map for an honest man to hide." The old man paused. "That honest man was your father. That is why I want you to train. Train and harness the fire inside you." Literal fire? I thought.

"And what of my sister?" Kai asked. The old man swung his gaze to me. I suddenly found the ground extremely interesting.

"She will join us. She will also train to become a ninja." I shook my head.

"No no no!" I yelled. "I will not follow your story. I will rebuild my house!" Kai's gaze seemed to sear me. "Kai! Will you join me or not?" I didn't wait for his answer. Instead, I stood up and walked away. I didn't care what the old man thought of me. I didn't care what Kai would think of me later. I just wanted to leave this place.

The grass crunched under my feet, as blood dripped from a cut on my forehead. A rock caught my foot and I stumbled forward, barely catching myself from falling. I pushed a branch out of my way, and grunted because it still got caught in my hair. Suddenly, I heard a crash from behind me.

It was Kai.

"I left him!" Kai said. He reached out and held my arms with his good hand. "I won't ever leave you. You know that! Thank you for saving me from that creepy old man." I could see his huge brown eyes tearing up. I smiled with relief, because I knew I would always be safe with my brother.

"I knew you would come after me eventually." Kai squeezed my arms reassuringly and let go. I gave him a hug. "Thanks for being the best brother ever." I whispered. He pushed me away after a few seconds.

"We need to go to Ninjago City." I nodded. "We could find some things there to rebuild our home. Will you go with me?" I smacked him on the back of his head.

"Stupid. I just told you that you were the best brother ever and then you ask if I will go with you? Of course I will." The two of us shared a good laugh before starting our journey towards Ninjago City.

I couldn't have possibly expected the levels of danger and adventure this would bring, along with some levels of romance and comedy. We would make new friends, and we would make enemies. But I knew that Kai would be there for me no matter what.

Well, that concludes my first remake. I intended to make this much, much more detailed (like this) the first time around, but obviously, that didn't happen. I'm really proud of how this turned out. Again, thank you all for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this!