Aeria's POV
I was hitting the punching bag, with my gloves on this time, when the ninja decided to walk in, dressed in their signature gi's.
"'Bout time you all showed up." I told the ninja as I wiped a drop of sweat off my forehead and took my gloves off.
"You ready to begin training?" Lloyd asked as he pulled a bo staff out of a large vase that was full of them and spun it around in his hand expertly.
"Sure." I tossed my gloves aside and got into a ready-to-fight stance.
"You may want to put on a gi first." The white ninja informed me as the little girl I saved before came forward with a spare gi that was purple.
"Where'd you find a purple one Xia?" The blue ninja questioned the girl
So that's her name... I thought to myself.
"I found it in Sensei's room." She responded plainly as she handed the folded uniform over to me and I left to go change, but, as I was heading out, I heard the ninja start a conversation that I didn't bother to try and eavesdrop on this time.
Time Skip
"I can't believe this thing actually fits me." I observed as I came back into the training room with the gi on and the ninja were still engaged in their conversation until I appeared in the doorway. They all stopped their conversation and turned to me when I stepped in.
"Wow, I feel so welcome." I announced snarkily.
"H-hey we were just talking about how we should try to help you control your powers." Lloyd stuttered out and I rolled my eyes a bit at how he was so obviously lying, but decided to roll with it.
"Ok, so what's up first?"
"First, introductions." Lloyd told me as he started introducing his teammates.
"I'm Jay, Master of Lighting." The ninja in the blue gi declared as he struck was what was supposed to be a heroic pose, but ended up looking ridiculous instead.
"More like the master of goofing off." The ninja wearing a black gi muttered before introducing himself, "I'm Cole, Master of Earth."
"Why are you see through and... green?" I questioned as I saw how he was pale and glowing a greenish color.
"Uh... I'm a ghost, but I'm not technically dead." He answered and my confusion only rose until the girl wearing a blue and red gi spoke up.
"The name's Nya, Master of Water and the former Samurai X." Nya smiled at me, but when I didn't smile back, her smile turned into an awkward one.
"And this is my brother Kai, Master of Fire." She introduced the guy in the red gi who's been giving me the stink eye the whole time I've been here. He glared at me before scoffing and scooting farther away from me as Nya sighed.
"I am Zane, Master of Ice and the Titanium ninja." The metal looking ninja in the white gi, who thanked me for saving Xia yesterday, introduced himself and bowed a little as he did so, "And you already know my little sister Xia."
"I am the Master of Aura." Xia wore a gray gi and, like her brother, bowed down as she introduced herself.
"And I'm the Master of Energy." Lloyd told me before adding, "And the former Master of Golden Power."
"What do you mean 'former', I thought-" I started to ask before Kai interrupted,
"Now that we've all been introduced, we should get to training now." Kai picked up a katana.
"Agreed, we must figure out the extent of Aeria's abilities in order to determine how we may help her." Zane and Xia both picked up a few shurikens each and each ninja got their weapons of choice.
"So, where do we start?" I asked as I picked up a bo staff.
"Let's pair you up with each of us to see how you deal with each of our strategies in physical weapons." Cole suggested.
"Ok." I shrugged and twirled the bo staff around my fingers.
"First up is-"
"Me." Kai interrupted as he stepped forward, eyes practically blazing with fury.
"Kai..." Nya started worriedly.
"Relax, I'll be sure to take it easy on Hair Gel." I told Nya as he charged at me, swinging his sword at me, but I blocked it with ease and diverted it to hit the ground. Then, I grabbed his wrist with my left hand and pressed a spot on his wrist to make him drop his blade, where I kicked it back up into my hand and pointed it at his neck.
"Woah, did she just beat Kai in less than 10 seconds?" Jay gaped at what just happened.
"I think she did." Nya crossed her arms and smirked.
"Beginner's luck." Kai spat out as I handed him his blade and he snatched it back, earning a hard punch from his sister.
"Now, let's see how you fare against Cole." Lloyd suggested as Cole stepped forward and pulled his hood down.
Time Skip
"So how'd I do?" I asked as I spun a spear in one hand, making circles with it as the ninja were all panting to catch their breath.
"I am amazed at how quickly you managed to defeat us in combat with varying weapons and fighting styles." Xia complimented as she stretched her legs out and some metallic 'clicks' were heard.
"Yeah, weapons wise, you're not half bad." Jay admitted as he stretched out his back from when I had disarmed him by sweeping him off balance with a bo staff.
"I am curious, how did you master various styles of fighting?" Xia asked me and I thought for a second before responding,
"I don't know, I guess just from fighting against others back in Tozmachi? Jeff also trained me a few times and taught me how to analyze and exploit my opponent's weaknesses."
"Ok then..." Jay looked at me nervously before backing away slightly, making me groan internally.
"Now, let's see how you do against all of us using your elements so that we can figure out how we can help you with your powers." Lloyd suggested.
"Uh, I think there's still one weapon she hasn't been tested on." Kai pointed out and walked over to the box of weapons and pulled out the forbidden weapon for me; a bow and arrows.
My face must've been showing terror because everyone started to look at me weirdly as the memories flashed in my mind.
"Aeria?"
Lloyd's POV
"I can't use a bow." Aeria replied hurriedly, and I asked,
"Why?"
"I just can't, alright! I-I gotta go." Aeria threw the spear she was holding onto the rack with the others and stormed out of the room, head down and fists clenched by her sides, right past Ronin as he was walking in.
"What's got her so ma-" He caught sight of the bow and arrows in Kai's hand and sharply inhaled through his teeth.
"Tssss guess I've got some explaining to do."
"Uh yeah, that would be appreciated. She kicked our butts with almost every other weapon we've got. So, why is she so afraid of a bow?" Jay asked, but was nudged by Nya again to let Ronin continue.
"Nya, you know that I used to save up a lot of money to pay off an old debt," Ronin paused to look at Nya who nodded and answered,
"Yeah, you said it was from some bets you made."
"Well, it was one bet in particular that almost cursed me and scarred Aeria, literally and figuratively."
"Wait, what?" Cole asked confused.
"You're saying that it was you who made her this way?" Kai questioned suspiciously.
"In a way, yeah. I'm pretty sure you all remember my not-so-good friend the Soul Archer."
"That guy was a real pain in the butt to deal with with the flying arrows that could turn people to gh-!" Jay exclaimed before Nya nudged him to be quiet.
"Before he became a whackjob ghost, he was an associate of mine. This was back when Aeria first came to work for me..."
Flashback
8 Years Ago
(AN- I don't know what the Soul Archer's name was when he was alive, so he's just called Archer here)
"You've got the money right?" Archer asked as he was sharpening the tip of an arrow he was holding as he and Ronin were in a warehouse full of boxes of old items.
"Yep, so just say what and when and I'll be there." Ronin answered coolly before a door creaked open and closed. A little girl with her black hair in two pigtails and wearing a brown shirt with sandy colored pants and sandals was seen walking into the roam wandering around while looking at and touching the stuff around her without noticing they were there.
Immediately, Archer readied the arrow he was sharpening on his bow and aimed it at the back of the girl's head before Ronin blocked his aim with his arm.
"Who is that?" Archer questioned as the girl finally noticed they were talking about her and jumped back at the sight of the arrow being aimed at her, letting out a little gasp.
"Relax, she's the one the Lynn's sent to settle their debt." Ronin dropped his arm, walked over to the girl, and guided her over to Archer, "This is Violet."
"Helloooo." Archer got into her face and she whimpered before hiding behind Ronin.
"Shy isn't she?" Archer laughed loudly before asking her with fake gentleness, "Hey you want to learn how to use one of these?" He readied an arrow on his bow and shot it right in the center of a propped up plate that was sitting on a shelf, shattering it into four equal pieces.
"Woah..." Violet breathed and her black eyes widened a bit in amazement as she peeked out from behind Ronin.
"Come, I've always wanted someone for target practice." Archer held out a hand to Violet and she took it as he led her over to another room where a few targets were set up, as Ronin watched them go with uncertainty, bothered by what Archer had just said.
Back to the Present
"What I didn't know, at the time, was that he would teach Aeria to quicken her reflexes by shooting at her with his arrows. More often than not she wouldn't be fast enough to avoid them and got hurt a lot." Everyone gasped in horror before he continued, "When he was nice enough, he actually taught her how to use a bow and, soon enough, she was almost as good as the Archer himself, but she was never really the same afterwards." Ronin finished up the story.
"Ok that's sad and all, but how does that explain why she's so afraid of a bow?" Kai asked and everyone looked at him in disbelief.
"Well, how would you feel towards a weapon that almost killed you multiple times when you were a kid?" Ronin asked him back and Kai stopped himself from making any more comments.
"Once Archer thought she was good enough, we made a bet to see if she could steal from someone on her own."
"The bet that scarred her eye." Lloyd realized out loud.
"Yep."
"So, in other words, you are responsible for her ending up like this." Jay pointed at Ronin.
"What?! How is it my fault she became this angry?" Everyone, even Kai, looked at him with arched eyebrows, "Alright, I can see how."
"I'm gonna go talk to her, see if I can get her to let us help her get over her fear." Lloyd started to walk out before he was stopped by Nya.
"Why don't I take this one this time? You know, girl to girl, she might open up a little bit faster." Nya suggested and Lloyd hesitated before letting Nya leave to talk to Aeria.