Just want to say thank you to Reyella for being the first to review the first chapter. She might have only said one word, but it meant a lot to me. I was very hesitant to post my story here and I was unsure if people would like it, so having a review of the story, though very short, gave me much more confidence in my story. Btw, some swear words in this chapter. The swear words are why I rated this story (T).
Lloyd and Autumn hugged for what felt like an eternity. Lloyd didn't want to let go of his little sister ( Lloyd is ten minutes older than Autumn), scared that once he did, he would wake up back at the monastery and all of this would've been a dream. He could still hear Autumn's muffled whimpers and cries and felt a sob trying to escape his throat. After a long hug, Lloyd finally pulled away from Autumn and gently pulled her's and his own hood off of their heads.
"Damn your hair is messy, sis..." Lloyd said, partly because Autumn's hair really was very messy, and mostly to lighten the mood. Which it had. Autumn laughed and wiped her tears with her sleeve.
"You know I never really liked brushing it when we were kids, bro..." Autumn said through the tears that still ran down her face. Lloyd placed both hands on Autumn's cheeks and wiped away her tears with his thumbs.
"Glad to see the shirt I had gotten you actually fits now..." Lloyd joked, getting Autumn to laugh once again.
"I still have no idea how you managed to accidentally buy a shirt for a teenager and not a child." Autumn said, which made Lloyd roll his eyes.
"Oh come on. We were like six. I think I just wandered out of the kid's area. But hey, you just tied it around your waist and wore it as pajamas for the next year."
"Oh yeah... I forgot about that... I-... I can't believe that we're actually together again... I missed you so much... I shouldn't have run-" Autumn had been cut off by Lloyd hugging her.
"Don't say that... if I had been the one in your shoes at that point in time, I would've done the same. I can't even imagine hurting you with my powers, Autumn. I don't think I would ever be able to forgive myself if I had." Autumn pulled out of Lloyd's embrace and looked at him with a shocked expression.
"You have powers too..." Lloyd was shocked and confused... did she not know?
"Do you not know?"
"Know what? Is there something I should know?"
"Umm... Autumn... you don't know that you've got the Green Ninja as your twin brother..." Autumn's eyes widened.
"You're the Green Ninja!?" Lloyd summoned an aura of green energy in his hand to show Autumn. Autumn's eyes widened even more.
"I sure am. *relaxes hand and the aura fades* And it's a lot more stressful than you'd expect. Even with my friends having my back." The twins were silent for a few moments. Lloyd assumed Autumn was quiet because she was trying to prosses all the crazy battles she now knew he had been a part of. But when he redirected his attention to Autumn, her eyes were wide with, what Lloyd could only describe as guilt. Autumn quickly grabbed her book she had been reading and started to run off. Lloyd caught wind of the situation and grabbed Autumn's wrist before she could completely run away.
"Autumn!" Lloyd forcefully pulled Autumn back towards him and held her in his arms. Autumn began sobbing and muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
"Autumn, I know this is about what happened with Morro. But you don't have to worry. He regrets what he did and he feels bad. Please don't think I'd hate you just because you were-... are friends with someone I had been enemies with. I could never hate you. His entire motive behind what he did was just to protect you. I know he cared about you, sis. I know he still does. I don't think he could ever stop caring about you..." Autumn's sobs grew louder and Lloyd hugged her tighter. Lloyd pulled away from Autumn to wipe her tears and kiss her forehead. Lloyd looked at his phone and noticed it was getting closer to around lunchtime.
"Hey, let's go somewhere to get some food and so you can calm down a little bit. Okay..." Autumn nodded and Lloyd took her hand. The twins started walking around the city to find a place to eat. After about fifteen minutes of walking, the twins heard a girl shriek in excitement.
"Ugh..."
"What's wrong, Lloyd?" Autumn asked.
"It's a fangirl." Lloyd replied, with a touch of annoyance in his voice. Autumn turned around to see five girls quickly coming up to the twins. But Autumn's eyes widened with worry.
"Uh oh..."
"What's wrong, Autumn?"
"I know some of those girls... they're big bullies of mine..." Lloyd's eyes widened.
"What...?"
"Lloyd, just for once, don't be an overprotective brother. Just be the Green Ninja and talk to these girls."
"But they're your bullies. I can't just-" Lloyd was cut off by the girls.
"Green Ninja! Green Ninja! Hi there! We're all such big-... Autumn... what are you doing here? In the presence of the Green Ninja..." one girl with purple hair asked.
"Does she even have the right to be within fifteen feet of him?" another girl wearing a skirt, so short it should be illegal, asked cruelly. That girl, the girl with purple hair, and another girl wearing a diamond necklace laughed. The other two girls looked at each other, waved awkwardly to Lloyd, and walked away.
"Hey, you don't have to mean to her. Besides, I know her. Where I go, she goes." Lloyd said. Autumn gave him a look of worry. The three bullies stopped laughing and looked at Lloyd.
"Why!? She's such a loser and a freak!" the girl with the diamond necklace said. Before Lloyd could react to the distasteful things this girl called Autumn, she pushed past Lloyd and approached Autumn and pushed her to the ground. Into the street.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Lloyd shouted. Then, Lloyd, the bullies, and Autumn all heard a loud horn of a car or truck. They all looked to where the horn came from and saw an eighteen-wheeler driving at full speed and trying to push on the breaks, heading straight for Autumn. Lloyd pushed past the bullies as fast as he could, grabbed Autumn and pulled her out of the way of the truck back on to the sidewalk, right before the truck would've hit her. Lloyd held Autumn tightly and could feel her breathing heavily and shaking. After about a minute, Lloyd turned back to the bullies. And it was clear he was very mad.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys!? She could've been killed!" Lloyd yelled. The bullies looked at Lloyd with shock, fear, and guilt.
"W-we didn't see t-that t-truck there..."
"That doesn't mean you should push her into the street!"
"L-Lloyd... p-please don't..." Lloyd looked at Autumn. She was still shaking and it seemed like she just wanted him to stop. Lloyd sighed and turned back to the bullies.
"... Leave my sister the fuck alone..." Lloyd threw his arm around Autumn's shoulder and walked away from the bullies. The twins walked silently for five minutes until Lloyd broke the silence.
"Are you okay, Autumn?"
"Shaken up... but other than that, I'm okay."
"Good... how can you stand those girls...?"
"... I just try to ignore them... I ignore a lot of people actually..."
"Like who?"
"... after I returned from the Cursed Realm for the first time, I was put into foster care. After about three weeks of being in the system, a woman named Taylor Diaz started to foster me. She was really nice for the first few weeks... until I was affected by tomorrow's tea. After that, she became cruel and abusive. She never laid a hand on me... but she didn't need to... she made me feel worthless... Morro helped me during those times... that is... until he met you... then I lost him... I haven't seen him since before he possessed you... I miss him so much..." Autumn said. Tears started to run down her face and Lloyd held her tighter.
"I'm so sorry you're going through that... if I had been there... I would never have let it happen..."
"You can't blame yourself... you have no control over what she's doing..."
"I might not... I have control over taking you back home."
"Home...?"
"Yeah. With me, Mom, Dad, Uncle Wu, and amazing people that will love you." The twins smiled to each other and Lloyd noticed the walking by Skylor's restaurant.
"Hey, wanna eat here?" Lloyd asked.
"Sure." The twins walked into the restaurant and up to the counter.
"Hi. Is Skylor working today by any chance?" Lloyd asked the waitress.
"She is, actually. She actually just got here to start her shift. I'll let her know you requested her." the waitress said.
"Thanks." Lloyd said and he and Autumn sat down in a booth. After a few minutes, Skylor approached the table.
"Hey, Green Machine." Skylor said energetically.
" *snerk* Hey, Skylor." Lloyd said. Autumn chuckled at Lloyd's nickname.
"Is that what your friends call you, Lloyd?" Autumn asked. Skylor and Lloyd redirected their attention to Autumn. And that was when Skylor noticed her presence.
"Who's this, Lloyd?" Skylor asked. Lloyd's smile faded and he started shifting in his seat.
"Skylor, you're gonna want to sit down for this..." Lloyd said. Skylor looked confused but sat down next Autumn.
"Before I say anything, I don't know how long I'm gonna be out with her and I don't know when your shift ends. But if you get home before I do... you have to promise you won't tell the others or my parents and uncle about her." Lloyd said. Skylor's confusion only grew but she nodded in agreement.
"Skylor... this is Autumn... my twin sister..." Skylor's eyes grew wide. She looked back and forth between Lloyd and Autumn, seeing every similarity between the twins.
"Wow... just... wow... Why didn't you tell any of us that you had a twin sister? Let alone, a sister in general?" Skylor asked.
"It was hard to talk about... Autumn ran away from Darkley's when we were seven. And I know, technically, that's only about four years. But add on the five years she and I had lost because of tomorrow's tea... it feels like about a decade since I've seen her. And for more reasoning why I didn't tell you guys anything, I had tried to find her in that year gap after I became the Golden Ninja. And I couldn't find her... I hate to say it... *reaches across the table and takes Autumn's hand* I gave up trying to look for her..."
"Oh... geez..." Skylor leaned back in her seat. But then she realized she had a job to do.
"Anyways, what can I get you two?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh right. My usual." Lloyd replied.
"Okay. And you, Autumn?"
"Um... orange chicken with chow mein and fried rice." Autumn said quietly.
"Okay. Hey Penny! I need a number three and a number eight!" Skylor shouted to another waitress.
"Got it!" the other waitress replied.
"Those should be out shortly. I'll see you at home, Lloyd." Skylor said before returning to her work. Lloyd noticed Autumn was looking down at her lap and she looked upset or nervous.
"Is everything okay, Autumn?" Lloyd asked, which prompted Autumn to look up at him
O-oh... I-I'm okay... it's just my foster mother wants me home. I told her I was out at lunch with a friend and she told me to come straight home once I was finished." Autumn explained. Lloyd didn't like the idea of leaving Autumn alone with her foster mother, knowing that that woman is abusive towards his sister.
"Hey, I'm not really doing anything else the rest of the day... how about I come with you. Y'know... to make sure doesn't do anything to you." Lloyd suggested. Autumn's attention peaked.
"R-really?"
"Of course. I don't want you to be alone with that woman. Besides, I'm going to take you home with me. No matter what! You're my sister. Mom and Dad miss you so much. You think I'll leave you with your foster mother now that we're back together?"
"...I know you won't... So, I told you my life story from the point I ran away... I want to hear about these crazy adventures you've had."
"Okay... but it's gonna take a while."
"Well... we've got time... don't we, big bro."
" *chuckle* ... so, it all started after I got kicked out of Darkley's..."
"We all formed the Tornado of Creation and we defeated the Oni. The tornado even turned Dad back. Now... everything is pretty quiet. I'm not sure what will happen next." Lloyd and Autumn were sitting on Autumn's bed in her room of her foster mother's house.
"Wow... you've had quite the life... one filled with adventures." Autumn said in aw.
"I sure have... but I had my friends to live it with."
"I wish I had friends like yours. They sound amazing. Although, I think my past with Morro would throw Kai off a bit."
"Yeah... he's overprotective like that. He's got the whole team to look out for. Sometimes he stresses himself out way too much."
"Hey, Lloyd... thanks for being here... You definitely calmed Taylor down a lot. You can go back to the monastery now. Don't worry about me."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Things are usually a bit better when she's calm."
"If you say so... hey, how about we hang out again tomorrow. I can pick you up, you can get away from Taylor, and spending the day with you will give me more time to think of a way to introduce you to my friends. And I think we should also exchange numbers."
"Oh right." Lloyd and Autumn exchanged phones and the put their numbers in each other's phone. After, Autumn walked Lloyd out. They passed the living room, where Taylor was passed out on the couch with an alcohol bottle in hand.
"Great... she's drunk. Now I have to deal with her hangover..." Autumn said quietly.
"Are you sure you want me to leave?"
"Yeah... it's okay. I don't want you to see what her hangover is like. Besides, Mom and Dad are probably getting worried about you."
"Okay..." Lloyd and Autumn hugged.
"I love you, Autumn..."
"I love you too, Lloyd..." the twins separated and Lloyd walked back to his car. He got in the driver's seat and waved to Autumn 'goodbye'. Autumn waved back to him and Lloyd drove away.