Zane took a deep breath. For the first time since he got back, he was on his own.
"While it is true that I am one of Her Imperial Highness' three Senses," Miru had told him not five minutes earlier. "council meetings are observed by Kiku alone; I am not permitted to come with you."
And without another word, she had drifted off down the other end of the corridor. He approached the double doors, guarded by two armoured soldiers. They did not speak to him, simply looked at him and opened the doors with a bow.
"Thank you." He said to them.
He walked into the room and was stunned by how quickly the damage of yesterday's fight had been repaired; the beauty of the pristine white walls was once again restored, and additionally decorated with intricate gold leaf detailing. Having spent a moment admiring the surroundings, he soon saw Pixal and her council, seated on zaisu chairs in the centre of the room. She smiled at him and gave a regal wave. To her left, sat Kai and three young women; to her right was Lloyd and two other young women.
Zane bowed politely and went to sit in the empty space between Lloyd and the white-haired Lady, only for Lloyd to stop him.
"Lord Zander, please, take my seat." Lloyd openly insisted, as he shuffled into the space where Zane was originally going to sit.
"Why thank you," Zane bowed. "but surely it is not proper for someone as new as me to sit next to Her Imperial Highness."
"Yeah Lloyd, he's not officially a Lord yet." Kai smugly spoke.
"Don't mind Lord Kai, he forgets himself," Lloyd chuckled, smiling at Zane. "I am but a Master: as a Lord, it is in fact proper for you to sit to Her Highness' right."
"Thank you," Zane replied as he sat next to Pixal and bowed his head. "good afternoon, Your Highness."
"Good afternoon, Lord Zander," She beamed at him. "I'm so glad you could join us."
"We were all very impressed with your performance yesterday." The white-haired young woman said.
"Thank you."
"Methinks introductions are in order," Pixal suggested. "would you do the honours, Lord Kai?"
"Of course, Your Highness," Kai briefly bowed his head before he looked at Zane. "you will no doubt recognise these Ladies present, if not by name, but by their attendance at your assessment yesterday."
Kai gestured to the women beside him.
"Here you will notice Lady Ruby, with her fiery red hair and taste for pale blue," He said, as Lady Ruby waved her fan. "and next to her is the Lady Rae, with her platinum blonde twin-tails and love of sakura pink."
"Nice to meet you." Zane grinned.
"And of course, this brunette treasure next to me is Lady Rose," Kai explained. "you may notice that we have similar taste in colour choice."
Lady Rose blushed as red as her kimono when Kai described her as a treasure, so much that she quickly raised her fan to cover her flushed cheeks.
"Next to Master Lloyd we have Lady Shiro and Lady Marilyn," Kai added as they each gave a single nod when their respective names were mentioned. "Shiro and Marilyn – per their hair colours of white and black – are the yin yang to one another; in fact, they were married not too long ago."
"Congratulations." Zane said sincerely.
"Thank you!" They replied simultaneously.
"Now that the introductions are complete, onto our first item of business," Pixal reached down to the tablet in front of her and swiped the screen. "oh yes, we need to decide where Lord Zander's territory will start and finish."
"How awkward," Kai shrugged. "Ninjago has been appropriately divided up since the founding of the Shogunate three years ago."
"Hmm, yes, that is problematic…" Pixal paused, and raised her hand to her chin.
"I really do not need a territory," Zane offered. "I am happy just to serve you, Your Highness."
Pixal smiled at him in such a way that he thought he was going to dissolve into a puddle; her eye glittered, and her lips curled so cutely that he could've died happy right then and there.
"Very well, then perhaps you should oversee New Ninjago and the repatriated island off the coast."
Lloyd spat out the mouthful of water he had just drank.
"But Your Highness, those are your main territories." He stammered as Lady Marilyn handed him a handkerchief.
"Exactly!" Pixal chirpily replied. "Lord Zander may share my territories until we can redistribute the existing land more evenly."
Zane immediately noticed how Kai glared at him, as if he had insulted Kai's entire family, territory and very existence. In all his life with the ninja, Zane had never seen Kai make such a face, overflowing with outrage and jealousy.
"I am deeply flattered and grateful Your Highness, but-" Zane began.
"Think nothing of it," Pixal put her hand on his shoulder. "everyone else has their own area, hopefully you will be satisfied with assisting me with mine."
"Just think, securing ownership of the island off the coast would've been nigh on impossible without Lord Kai's efforts," Lloyd mentioned, sensing Kai's seething rage. "we may not have been able to repatriate that island to begin with, if he hadn't taken charge after you were wounded."
"Agreed, I will be forever grateful for the loyalty displayed to me during that siege." Pixal stated, brushing her hand past the scar on her eye before patting Kai's arm.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Kai beamed.
"There will always be battles to fight, and enemies to defeat, yet we must continue to move forward; we must remain alert and ready to battle the next foe." Pixal insisted.
"But we must also celebrate while we can." Marilyn interjected.
"Lady Marilyn?" Pixal queried.
"The announcement ceremony, remember?" She elaborated. "It is important to live in the moment."
"Oh yes!" Pixal brightened up a bit. "Lord Zander, we will be holding a celebration for you! Miru may have mentioned it already…"
"The induction of a new Lord or Lady is rare," Shiro confirmed. "it is indeed a cause for festivity!"
Kai rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue.
"Lord Kai, a word in your ear?" Lloyd said sharply, gesturing to the door with his head.
"Please excuse us, Your Highness." Kai said as the two of them both stood up and left the room.
"Well, while Lord Kai and Master Lloyd are away, let us discuss the plans for the event!" Pixal happily declared.
Meanwhile, outside the council room, Lloyd dismissed the guards so that he and Kai might have a private talk.
"Kai, what the hell kind of game are you playing?"
"What? I'm not doing anything wrong." Kai refused to look at Lloyd.
"You've been nothing but negative about that guy since he got here." Lloyd stated.
"You were the one who challenged him to a fight as soon as you found out Pixal let him stay in the tower!" Kai snapped back. "I would've been happy to have him quietly disposed of, but you had to make a big thing about it – thanks to you he's being made a Lord, there's no way I can get rid of him now!"
"You're jealous."
"Of course, I'm jealous! I'm in love with her!" Kai fumed. "I used to be her favourite, but she barely notices me with him here..."
"She's turned you down at every opportunity, doesn't that tell you something?" Lloyd pointed out. "Besides, you do know that when Zane comes back you don't stand a chance anyway."
Kai glared at Lloyd through narrow eyes.
"What do you mean, 'when'?" He muttered. "Is there something you know that I don't?"
Lloyd sighed and dropped his shoulders.
"You don't see it? Really?" Lloyd asked in disbelief.
After a moment of silence, Kai cottoned on to what Lloyd was implying.
"Don't even go there…" Kai warned. "Just because she used Zane's blueprints to rebuild this guy, that doesn't mean anything."
"All I'm saying is, watch how she reacts to him and think about when the last time was that you saw her that happy."
Lloyd then went back into the room, leaving Kai to dance with his own thoughts. He didn't particularly want to go back in there, he had too much stuff in his head to sort out, so he walked away. He wasn't sure where he was going, just content to wander.
It had been nearly 6 years; would Zane even be able to come back after his sacrifice? Last time he checked, explosions were fatal, even for droids. Kai's heart was heavy. Deep down, all he wanted was for Pixal to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. He thought back to the sabbatical he went on with her, and how life-changing it was. What amounted to six months of traveling around Ninjago – meeting the people, seeing the sights – had altered both their world views.
Pixal saw first-hand the beauty and pain that made this world go around. For Kai, it was nothing new: being a ninja, he'd seen the best and worst in people before. But for Pixal, it was eye opening. She had spent her entire life in New Ninjago City, surrounded by protection and love. Suddenly, she was seeing what she could not see before. That people beyond the city limits had their own struggles and worries. And it was seeing Pixal experience these things that transformed Kai's own mindset.
Things changed quickly after that.
Kai resolved to show Pixal more of the beauty and less of the stark reality. He became more protective of her, started looking out for her in a way he hadn't before. It was around about the fifth time they were mistaken for a couple that he realised he'd developed feelings for her. Foolishly he thought it was just a crush, a fleeting fancy because he was spending so much time with her.
He'd been in love with her ever since.
Kai wasn't stupid. He knew that she may never see him as a romantic interest, such was her dedication to his fallen teammate, but he held onto the idea regardless. Even though other potential love interests made themselves known to him, he clung to hope that Pixal would want him the way he wanted her.
Suddenly, he turned a corner and bumped into someone.
It was Skylor.
"Lord Kai!" She gasped, bowing politely. "I am so sorry!"
"It's okay," He smiled. "I'm the one who should apologise – I wasn't really paying attention."
"No, no, it's my fault," Skylor insisted. "I was on my way to meet Her Highness' equerry and I got lost."
"She's usually in the textile department, but I think she's in administration today," He mentioned. "if you take the elevator to the first floor and ask at the reception desk, they'll be able to find her for you."
"Thank you, My Lord." Skylor bowed again, before heading back towards the elevator.
The records of the Siege of Chen's Island dictated that all were wiped out, with only one prisoner taken, but to say that Skylor was a prisoner was wildly inaccurate.
Lady Borg declared her free from the sins of her father and allowed her to continue running her father's noodle business, on the condition that she rebrand it to remove any image of Master Chen in New Ninjago. To Skylor's credit, she had been successfully running "On A Daimyo" ever since. The new name was Dareth's idea – a clever pun given how quickly she had taken the reins and turned the business around – and as such, he was rewarded with being made the company spokesman. He even coined their new catchphrase: 'On A Daimyo; lord quality food at layman prices!'.
In the years since, whenever there was an event or a celebration, Pixal would consult with Skylor regarding the menu.
Not bad for someone listed as a prisoner in the official records.
"Hey, Skylor, wait up!" Kai called after her.
Having escorted Skylor to her destination – the administration office where Evie was – Kai excused himself and went in the direction of his private quarters.
"He's so handsome..." Skylor purred once he was out of earshot.
"As an elemental master, you could easily have a chance with him," Evie implied, playing with her ashen blonde hair. "although you run a catering business during the day, you are still a member of Her Highness' court."
"I don't think so," Skylor sighed. "we barely cross paths as it is."
"I think you'd make a cute couple," Evie stated, frankly. "Master of Fire and the Master of Amber... Lord and Lady of North-east Ninjago... it has a nice ring to it."
"It does," Skylor admitted, as she began to daydream. "but there are many ladies with their eye on him, and some are a higher rank than me."
"Have you considered approaching Lady Borg about it?" Evie suggested. "She is terribly fond of you, and I'm sure she would be happy to lean on him a bit."
"Maybe, I just don't wanna feel like he's only with me because of the Shogun, I want it to be real."
"I didn't say that it wouldn't be real," Evie corrected. "Lord Kai makes eyes at you all the time."
"What are you talking about?" Skylor asked; this was new information to her.
"Are you really telling me you don't see the way he looks at you?" Evie raised an eyebrow at her. "It's a face of yearning; soft and desirous."
Skylor drifted onto autopilot as she delved into her thoughts and followed Evie towards the elevator out of sheer muscle memory. Near as she could tell, Lord Kai had only ever made such a face at Her Imperial Highness. She could tell they had been close for some time, when they invaded her father's island and rescued her from being involved in his demented plans.
She recalled trying to comfort Kai as Lady Borg was being repaired in the aftermath of the siege; how he held her close and cried on her shoulder, blaming himself for the wound that Pixal had suffered. Skylor tried to reassure him that Pixal was only alive because of him, that the wound would've been so much worse if he hadn't been there.
His body warmth was soothing, his hair was soft even after such a fierce battle, and his scent was a bizarrely alluring mix of sandalwood, sweat and gunpowder. Admittedly, she was attracted to him from the moment she saw him, and as he exposed his sensitive side and clung to her for solace, her feelings for him deepened.
But he was an official Lord now, with control over a portion of Ninjago, and although she was inducted into the court along with the other elemental masters, she was outranked by noble ladies who also looked at him as she did.
"Hey, daydreamer," Evie clicked her fingers at Skylor. "you ready to re-join reality yet?"
"Sorry 'bout that, I got lost in my thoughts again." Skylor apologised.
"Don't worry, the meeting hasn't finished yet." Evie noted.
As they stood outside the council meeting room, they were soon joined by Miru and Hanasu.
"I feel like a mother picking up her child after class," Miru joked as she approached them. "hello Mistress Skylor, Miss Evie."
"Just Skylor is fine," She mentioned. "it's nice to see you both."
"It's nice to see you too," Hanasu agreed. "I cannot remember the last time I saw you."
"When was the last big event?" Miru wondered.
"Her Highness' birthday." All four said in unison, before they started laughing at the coincidence.
"May we enquire as to what you have planned for the lord announcement?" Hanasu baited.
"Skylor had a magnificent idea to incorporate a new serving style to prevent excess waiting time for the guests," Evie replied, smiling. "once we've spoken to Lady Borg, we'll go down to the kitchens to meet with the head chefs to discuss the actual menu."
"You may not get to speak with her for long," Hanasu politely warned. "I am here to escort her to the research and development floor to obtain special upgrades."
"She never said anything to me about that." Miru remarked, looking at her sister.
"You have been tasked with assisting Lord Zander," Hanasu retorted. "and Lady Borg did not want to burden you with further information that was not pertinent to your task."
"Fair enough." Miru nodded.
"What's he like, this new lord?" Skylor asked.
"He is unlike anyone I have ever met before," Miru admitted. "he is grounded and level-headed, polite and humble, and very devoted to Her Highness."
"How intriguing..." Evie mused.
Suddenly the door opened, and the first person to come out was Pixal.
"Your Imperial Highness." Once again, the four of them spoke simultaneously, and bowed politely.
"What a lovely sight to be greeted by!" Pixal beamed. "I did not expect to see all of you here."
"May we have a moment of your time, Lady Borg?" Skylor requested.
"Yes, of course," Pixal smiled. "please, follow me."
Pixal led Hanasu, Skylor and Evie away from the council room. Evie looked back curiously, hoping to see the new lord, but barely caught a glimpse of his white hair and silver skin as he mingled among the other council members.
"I must apologise for taking so long," Pixal stated, as the four of them travelled up to the R&D floor. "we were originally discussing the details of the announcement ceremony, but then we also unexpectedly started discussing the winter festival."
"That is why we were hoping to speak with you," Skylor added. "we were thinking of making changes to the service method, for efficiency."
"Have you discussed it with the chefs yet?" Pixal asked.
"We wanted to run it by you, first." Evie said.
"If Skylor thinks it's a good idea, and the chefs give the okay," Pixal began. "oh, and if you debrief the wait staff who will be implementing this change, then you have my support."
"Would you like to be debriefed on the details, Your Highness?" Skylor asked, offering her notebook.
"I trust your judgement in this matter, my dear," Pixal smiled as she placed her hand on Skylor's shoulder. "your expertise exceeds my own, and I will back the decision you make 100 percent."
"Thank you very much, Your Highness." Skylor responded.
"By the way," Pixal whispered. "how is your shoulder?"
"Crystal clear, Lady Borg, and fully healed."
"I am glad," Pixal nodded. "you didn't have to do it, you know?"
"I know; I wanted to." Skylor smiled, her eyes welling up a little.
They reached the research and defences floor, and as Pixal and Hanasu left the company of Skylor and Evie, Skylor finally let a few tears fall.
"Are you okay?" Evie asked with concern.
"I'm just so overwhelmed by Her Highness' generosity towards me," Skylor sniffled. "after everything that my father was doing."
Evie smiled softly at her, as they travelled back down towards the main kitchens. She did not know much about that first siege, but she and Skylor had been liaising long enough for her to know certain things. Like how happy Skylor was when she pledged allegiance to Lady Borg, how excited she was to be inducted into the court, and how she had been having laser treatment every 6 months to remove the tattoo her father demanded she get.
However, Evie did think it was odd that, after being forced to get a loyalty tattoo in the past, Skylor so willingly got another loyalty tattoo of her own volition. Well, maybe it wasn't so odd. No doubt she was having a better life here than she had on the island.
"Do you wanna see my tattoo?" Evie offered.
"Sure." Skylor replied.
Evie rolled up her right sleeve, to reveal a detailed black and grey pauldron design on her shoulder, emblazoned with Kura-okami's kanji symbol in light blue ink.
"Wow, I can't believe I've never seen this before!" Skylor gasped as she admired it.
"It used to be a bit darker but, you know how black ink is," Evie shrugged. "it heals lighter than when you first get it."
"It's amazing!" Skylor nodded. "Have you seen mine?"
"It's funny, all this time I've known you and I don't think I have," Evie shook her head. "may I?"
Skylor pulled the right side of her neckline down just enough for Evie to see, but without exposing herself. Upon her right collarbone, was a light blue dragon curled round a snowflake. Evie appreciated the level of detail that had gone into it, especially given the size.
"I hope you don't mind me saying I'm surprised how big a design it is," Evie noted. "I figured that after your other tattoo, you would stick to getting a smaller one."
"I'm not proud of who I was or where I came from – that's kind of why I had the other tattoo lasered off," Skylor explained. "but I'm proud to call myself a follower of Lady Borg, she's been nothing but kind and benevolent to me."
"So, how did it go?" Miru asked as the group of nobles dispersed from the corridor outside the council room.
"It went well, though there was a minor incident." Zane replied.
"Incident?"
"Lady Borg offered to share her territories with me, because Ninjago had already been divided among her council," He said. "but Lord Kai's reaction… I have never seen him so furious."
"Pfft," Miru snorted. "methinks Kai's jealousy is showing."
"Jealousy?"
"You must understand that Lord Kai has been enamoured of Her Highness for years," Miru explained. "but she waits for Kura-okami… for you… and he knows it."
"I see," Zane mumbled. "when you introduced me at court, I got the impression that there was something between them beyond monarch-guard protection."
"It's entirely one-sided, I can assure you," Miru stated blankly. "Lady Borg has rebuffed him every single time."
Zane was secretly relieved. His entire reason for transferring his digital consciousness before the explosion, and for fighting his way back into reality, was Pixal. His love for her was intense, despite the newness of their acquaintance, and his heart would have broken into a million pieces if someone had taken her away from him.
He kept thinking about how things would've been different if he hadn't needed to sacrifice himself to defeat the Overlord, or if he had managed to return to reality sooner than he actually did. Even when he was lost in the digital space, his thoughts were of spending more time with her, getting to know her better, being able to hold her again; it's what he fought for.
"You are worryingly quiet, My Lord," Miru noted, maintaining propriety as they walked through the halls. "may I be of help at all?"
"I have missed her so much," Zane said quietly. "my heart aches for her."
Miru paused to think for a moment.
"Perhaps it will please you if I explain the itinerary of your lord announcement celebration?" Miru suggested.
"It would be incredibly useful to be informed of the traditions and customs of this event," He agreed. "and I wish to be prepared."
"You will be most delighted to know that, as the guest of honour, you will have the privilege of spending much of the event by Her Highness' side."
Zane smiled. He was thrilled to learn that he would spend so much time with Pixal.
"To start with, several miko from Kura-okami's shrine will perform a ritual to bless the ceremony, and-."
"A shrine?" Zane stammered. "Kura-okami has a shrine?"
"Of course; Kura-okami is the patron Kami of New Ninjago, He must have a shrine – in fact," Miru paused and lowered her voice. "it was built around your memorial statue."
"It will be interesting to see it for myself," He paused, then clarified: "the statue and the shrine."
"I'll try and take you to see it before any official visits, so you aren't startled in front of Her Highness at seeing your own image carved in stone," She offered. "for now, though, I will finish informing you of the celebration itinerary."
"Of course." He agreed.
"You will be adorned in finery created by the Shogun's in-house designer, and you will be presented to the invited public by Her Imperial Highness," She began. "bear in mind that you must not be seen by Lady Borg before she officially presents you, it is considered an ill omen."
Zane thought that was odd but didn't say anything as he felt it wasn't his place to do so.
"You must recite a vow of dedication – I will teach you what to say – and Her Highness will present you with a valuable article, usually an amulet, as a symbol of your importance to her council and Ninjago," She continued. "in addition to the miko blessing, there will be traditional music and a first dance; after that, you will be free to enjoy the evening as you wish; dancing, drinking, greeting guests with Her Highness."
"It sounds like a lot of fun," He commented. "I imagine that there are social expectations."
"Naturally," She nodded. "maximum decorum is mandatory, even the ninja dare not break it."
"The ninja will be coming?!" He excitedly asked. "My dear friends…"
"A fair warning, Lord Zander," She cautioned quietly, aware that there were guards nearby that may overhear. "they will likely not recognise you, and you must not let them suspect your true identity."
"I won't, I promise," He swore. "but I may still get slightly emotional at seeing them after all this time."
"Well, I cannot blame you for that," She smiled. "and you have already encountered three of your old compatriots, so seeing the others may not be as emotive as you think."
"Seeing them makes me feel less lonely, even if they don't recognise me," He mused nostalgically. "it also grounds me in reality, reminds me that I really did make it out of the data stream."
Miru pinched his backside.
"Ah!" Zane turned to Miru in shock. "What was that for?"
"An additional reminder that this is all real," Miru chuckled. "you know, just in case you need one."