A/N: I am so sorry it's been so long, it's... it's been a bit crazy. I've got a job and stuff now so...
Anyway, I'm going to try and upload way more often, especially since I'm going to be writing more now that school's back.
So... yeah! I hope you all enjoy!
Slowly, edging one foot out at a time, Brad stepped out of the alleyway. People were bustling about, many of them brushing past him without any acknowledgement of his existence. "Excuse me, but-" They had already passed by, ignoring Brad's small plea. "Could someone- Excuse me!"
At his last exclamation, a large man with black hair and a grizzly face stepped out of the crowd, looking right at Brad. "You lost, kid?" His voice was gruff and hard.
"Well, kind of. I'm looking for the ninja."
His eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Brad allowed himself one miniscule step back. "Um, my Grandma told me to find them. She said she has an urgent message for them." He looked at the guy's nose to keep his eyes from darting to the side, even as the lie slipped through his teeth.
The man chuckled slightly. "You're from Darkly's, ain't 'cha?" His grin was missing teeth.
Brad could feel the color drain from his cheeks. "Maybe?" He winced as his voice cracked, allowing himself several full backwards steps.
"And that means you've gotta be one of the runts runnin' 'round freeing them snakes, huh?"
"Well, I, um…" Brad tensed as he hit the wall behind him, now regretting choosing to stick to alleys.
"Sit down."
He sat.
Keeping one eye on Brad, the man pulled out a cell phone and punched in a number. "Yeah, hi. Listen, I don't see any snakes, but I did find one of them boys who released them. Don't know where the other is. Uhuh. Yeah. Yeah, we're in an alley, just off the corner of Route 23 and Citizen Boulevard. Across from… Chan's Theater. Yep. Yeah, I can keep him here. Yeah. Alright. See you soon, then." He finally put the phone down, tucking it back in his pocket. He then sat down, right next to Brad.
Brad watched him through the corner of his eye, not daring to look at him head on.
"So… did Darkly's put you up to this, or have you been kicked out and are trying to get back?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me."
"Uhm, neither? I- I kinda ran away…?" He winced, despite knowing lying was the worse choice.
"Wait, really? Ya left of your own free will?" His voice was awed, eyes wide.
Brad cautiously turned to look at the man, avoiding his gaze. "Well, yeah."
"That's awesome!"
"What?!" Brad stared directly at him. "How is that 'awesome'?"
"That school's the worst! Teachin' kids that being cold and mean is good, tryin' to shape them into the staff's henchmen and stuff. Gettin' kicked outta there was easily the best thing that ever happened ta me." He gave Brad another smile. "Even though livin' on the streets's hard, I learned about the stuff that really mattered; I even found people I'm happy to call my family."
"Wow." Brad stared at his feet. Being happy to call someone his family… he was happy to call Lloyd his friend, but his family he was much less fond of. "So, you have, like, friends and stuff?"
"I prefer to think of friends as the family that 'cha choose. Your real family."
"Like Lloyd." Brad muttered.
"That yer friend?"
"Yeah, he got kicked out. I ran away to help him. But now… " he glanced toward the street, watching a paper bag slowly drag across the concrete road. "Now I'm worried he's going too far, trying to prove himself."
"Then why're you two separate?"
"Well, he wants to do something that I think is going to make things worse, so I went off to look for the ninja to stop him."
The man was silent for a while. "You're one brave kid, ya know that?"
Brad merely shrugged. "I just don't want him to get hurt. School was already hard enough, he was targeted by pretty much everyone because his dad's such a big villain, and he's… kinda bad at being evil. I mean, he's been working hard, but his idea of mass destruction is taking candy from babies." A chuckle escaped his lips as tears threatened to slip down his cheeks. "He always loved playing 'hero's advocate' whenever the role was needed in class, even though it made the pranks pulled on him so much worse."
"I remember that role! I tried it once, couldn't wear shoes for a week." His chuckle was cut short by a shadow passing overhead. Glancing at the wooden exterior descending onto the rooftops above them. "Looks like your ride is here."
Nodding, Brad gave him a hesitant look. "Sir, do you really think life is… best, when you're not evil."
He smiled. "Well, if I liked evil, I wouldn't be trying to become a detective, now would I?"
"Wait, really?"
"Yep, Tommy, Ninjago City's greatest detective!" He chuckled. "Good luck with your friend. I know, if you want, you two could grow into great people."
Brad gave him his first smile of the day. "Thanks. I think I'll try."
If you enjoyed, please review (I'm not in a contest or anything, it just really helps me get over the anxiety that comes with posting each and every chapter.)
And if you were wondering, yes. This is that Tommy that you see in season 6. :)
(Also the reason he didn't call the police is because he knew the school technically was the current guardian of most of the kids, so any student of darkly's that the police find gets brought back to the school so... he kinda figured the ninja would be better.)
I'm gonna see if I can manage to get you guys one more chapter today, so we'll see if I can!
