Hey, guys!
I didn't expect to have another story written so soon, but this one basically wrote itself overnight, lol.
This story feels a bit different from my normal, extra-detailed writing style, but I still like it enough to post it.
I hope you enjoy!
Nya didn't hate being alone on The Bounty most days. In fact, some peace and quiet was something she welcomed with open arms.
Of course, that had changed some since the pint-sized demon spawn had joined their group.
She tried her hardest to avoid the brat, but that was hard to do when she lived on a ship with the kid. For the most part, she was able to keep her distance, but meals seemed to be inescapable.
She walked into the bridge and looked at the map. On it, she could see the location of the Ninja. They were still hunting down the serpentine and trying to figure out what their plan was. As far as she knew, it was going well, but she did wish that she could help.
Suddenly, Nya pulled out her katana, almost slicing off her hand with the quick movement.
"Who's there?" She called out as she looked around the bridge for the culprit behind the scuttling sound she had heard.
She heard the sound again, but frowned. It didn't sound as much like scuttling as it had before. It sounded more like… Crying.
Slowly, she put her katana down and began looking around the room for the source of the crying.
Then she saw it. A tiny black-clad foot poking out from underneath the wheel.
Of course.
It had to be Lloyd. It just had to be him.
Nya sighed, then walked over to the wheel and sat down. From where she sat, she could just barely see him. She was definitely surprised that he had been able to fit into such a tiny space. "You're crying," she said.
The kid shook his head. "I'm not crying," he said as he wiped his eyes. "You're crying."
She chuckled. "Oh yeah? What am I crying about?"
Surely this would break him and he would actually tell her why she was crying. Surely he wouldn't make up some dumb excuse and would be honest.
"I dunno. Girl stuff," the demon spawn told her.
She raised her eyebrow, then shook her head. If he didn't wanna answer her, then she wouldn't stick around. It wasn't like she wanted to be near him anyway.
"Okay," Nya said as she stood up to walk away. "See you later."
"Wait!" He cried, and Nya turned around.
She frowned. Two seconds ago, he had been trying to get rid of her, now he didn't want her to go?
"What?" She asked.
Lloyd chewed on his lip and looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry."
"What?" She asked again. Certainly Lloyd Garmadon, the Bringer of Evil, hadn't just apologized.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. He was hiding from Sensei Wu because he was in trouble. "What the hell did you do, you little demon spawn?" She growled. The brat had done some pretty naughty things, but if he was hiding from Wu… Well, she had half the mind to take him down to her Sensei herself.
Lloyd cringed from inside of his hiding place. "Nothing!" He cried. "I didn't do anything!"
Nya raised her eyebrow. Of course he would try to get out of it. He was Lord Garmadon's kid for goodness sake. "Sure you didn't," she said. "Fess up, Brat."
"I'm sorry!" He cried again as he pressed himself to the wall as far away from her as possible. "I'm sorry that the Hypnobrai terrorized Jamanakai Village under my command, and that Cole got hypnotized by Scales. I'm sorry that Jay's mom and dad got turned into snakes because of the Fangpyer, and that Kai got poisoned by the Venomari. I'm sorry that I let out Pythor and that all of Ninjago is gonna fall because of how stupid I was!"
Nya blinked, then sat back down. On second thought, maybe he hadn't done anything. Maybe the kid had a conscious. It was pretty hard to believe…
"Why did you do it then?" Nya asked. "Surely you're smart enough to know that a tribe of serpentine is a bit much for some revenge."
Lloyd cringed again, then sniffled. "I thought that.." He stopped and shook his head. "I thought that maybe if I did something bad enough that my parents would come back… That my dad would rescue me or my mom would love me. I wouldn't have to eat out of trash cans or go hungry, and maybe I could sleep in a warm bed instead of f-freezing..."
He buried his face in his arms and started to cry again. His loud, gasping sobs filled the room and bounced back at them.
Nya tried to swallow back the bitter taste that had formed in her mouth. She wasn't at all qualified to deal with this. She didn't even remember her parents. How could she help Lloyd deal with his crappy ones?
Maybe though, she didn't have to deal with that part. Maybe she could help him somewhere else.
"Hey," she began. "It's okay."
Lloyd looked up at her, his big green eyes filled with tears and confusion. Had his eyes always been this big? This green? The color was almost as piercing as a sword. And his bottom lip, to Nya's horror, was cracked and bleeding.
"No it isn't," he said as he ripped his gaze away from her own.
"You're a kid," she said. "Yeah, you did some really bad stuff, but that doesn't make you a bad person. You did what you thought you had to do, whether it was to survive or to try to get the attention of your parents. You're a kid, Lloyd. You shouldn't have had to be on your own in the first place."
It was then, Nya realized, with some regret, that she had just called him Lloyd for the first time. She had just called a child by his first name for the first time. They had known each other for at least a week.
The guilt filled her stomach and made her feel nauseous. Who was she, that she thought it was okay to bully a kid? There was a difference between the way Cole would call Jay "Spark Plug" and the way she had been calling Lloyd "Brat" and "Demon Spawn." How could she?
Lloyd wiped his eyes again. "Still isn't an excuse…" He mumbled.
Nya hummed softly. He did have a point. Yes, he was a kid, a foolish kid, but it hardly excused releasing the Serpentine… But there wasn't anything she could say. What was she supposed to say?
"Well, maybe not," she finally settled on. "But we're gonna fix it."
"Promise?" He asked.
Nya nodded. "I promise," she said. "Now, come out of there before you get hurt."
Lloyd hesitated for a second, then crawled out from under the wheel. In the light, his lip looked worse than Nya had thought. Was chewing on it a habit of his?
Nya held out her hand. "Hey, let's clean up that lip of yours."
He reached over and grabbed her hand. His hand was soft and warm in hers. "Okay."
She pulled him up, then led him to the kitchen. She picked him up and placed him on the counter. He was so tiny. She hadn't realized how tiny he was before.
Lloyd swung his legs back and forth as Nya grabbed a washcloth and got it wet.
"Nya?"
She turned around. "Yeah?"
Lloyd looked down, but not before Nya saw the tears in his eyes. "Why do you care?"
Nya frowned as she wrung out the washcloth, then walked back over to him. She gently pressed the washcloth against his lip. "Why do I care about what, kiddo?"
"Me," he said. "Why do you care about me?"
Nya gently blotted the washcloth against his lip. It was no longer bleeding, but she just wanted to make sure. Or maybe it was because she was avoiding answering his question.
She cared about him because he was a kid and he needed someone. Because he was alone in the world. Because he had made a mistake and was beating himself up over it.
Because he was her little brother the same way the Ninja were her brothers.
"Cause I do," she said as she put down the cloth. "You're a good kid, Lloyd. You've just made some mistakes."
Lloyd stayed quiet, and Nya wondered if it was because he didn't know what to say or if he didn't know what to think. Had he even had anyone who cared about him before.
He moved to jump off of the counter. "Thanks, Nya," he said.
Nya held out her hand. "Don't move," she said. "I have something for you."
Lloyd froze, then tilted his head. "Something for me?"
She nodded, then walked over to the freezer. She tried not to shiver too hard when she opened it. It was so cold.
"When I was really little, I would always get a popsicle after I broke my lip or bit my tongue," she said as she held out the popsicle. "I thought you would like one too.
Lloyd cautiously reached over and grabbed it from her. "Were your parents nice?" He asked after tasting the frozen treat.
Nya frowned as she leaned against the counter. "I don't remember them," she said. "They died when I was three. Kai raised me."
Lloyd grinned a mischievous little grin that Nya knew had to be from his father. "More like you raised Kai," he said.
She nodded. "Oh for sure," she told him playfully. "I don't even want to think about where he would be without me."
Lloyd smiled, then sucked on his popsicle as he swung his feet happily. He was such a child, but Nya couldn't even hate him for that. If anything, it made her like him even more.
They ate their popsicles in silence. Not because they didn't want to stay quiet, but because they had nothing to say and they were both too invested in their frozen treats.
"Nya?" Lloyd said as he placed the stick inside of the wrapper and set it on the counter.
She looked over at him. "Yeah?"
"Thanks for all of this," he told her.
Before Nya could react, Lloyd's arms were wrapped around her in a tight hug.
She wasn't much of a hugger, but she had a feeling that underneath Lloyd's demon-spawn exterior, he was one. So she hugged him back. After all, she had no idea when his last hug had even been. Surely not while he was at Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys.
She let him hold on until he pulled away. If he needed a long hug, then he would get it.
"Hey, I have an idea," she said when he finally let go.
"Oh yeah?" Lloyd asked. "What's that?"
She grinned. "How about we go play some video games?" She suggested. "After all, you aren't part of the family until I kick your butt while playing at least one video game."
Lloyd smiled. "How do you know that I won't win?" He asked.
Nya ruffled his hair then helped him off of the counter. "Because no one in this family has ever beat me before."
Lloyd puffed out his chest. "Well maybe I will!"
She smiled. "Keep dreaming, Small Fry."
Nya had tried her hardest to avoid the pint-sized demon spawn, but now? She would destroy anyone who tried to take him away from her. He was her baby brother now, and it was her job to protect him.
So, I hope you enjoyed! Please fave and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!