Minor language. Season 5 Alternate ending. Minor dark moments.
Ronin watched as the Preeminent was falling in the water, taking all the ghosts with her.
"Look what I found!" A child squealed, running to a middle aged man with a stone arrowhead. It was a dark black color a streak of silver-white around the base. "It's pretty," the young boy turned it over, before the man slowly took it from him.
"And sharp."
Ronin stared, as he saw them one-by-one, the ghosts, drowning and dying in the water. They were ones he didn't know. Wail, Woo, Howla, whatever their names were. He didn't care.
There was only one ghost that he cared for.
The boy smiled a goofy smile, showing one of his front teeth missing, his red hair had a small streak of green in it, but the man tried not to notice as the child played around. He turned back to the elder. "Is my sissy gonna be okay?"
The man gave a sad smile. "I'm not sure." He didn't want to lie to the child, but it hurt to tell the truth. The child began to sniff, as the man bent down, hugging him. "Hey, it's gonna be alright."
Ronin gripped the railing of the boat tighter, fighting back tears in his good eye. 'Dammit, suck it up already, he's gone, he's dead, get over it!' He growled to himself.
Wu seemed to notice. 'Leave me alone old man!' Ronin shouted at him mentally. Wu seemed like he was about to say something, before he spotted Morro and created his dragon to save the ghost. 'Lucky. You get a dragon and can save him, what do I get?'
He watched as Wu grabbed Morro, using his creation element to make a sword and cut off the Preeminent's appendage, efficiently saving the teen.
Lucky.
Ronin turned away from the handrail when Morro approached him. The Preeminent was gone, thus making Morro less greenish and innocent. The green streak in his hair was gone. "I'm sorry about him," he muttered, looking out. "I tried to find them, but she caught me. I don't know if she took them."
"It's nothing kid. All that's important right now is we get off this goddamn thing and onto dry land."
Morro blinked slowly. "Okay... are you sure?"
Ronin laughed. "I've spent ten years alone, I think I'm good." He watched as the ninja were talking about whatever. Nya finally used her abilities to push the boat back to mainland. The steamboat creaked and groaned after the battle, threating to rip but kept steady as it breached the sand.
The pawn shop owner let the others get off, watching the wreckage out in sea slowly sink to the bottom. He turned his head and walked off the ship, seeing the ninjas' glares. Riiiiiiight... they didn't like him very much anymore. Every since the whole stealing the sword thing, he was basically a traitor. Ronin passed by them, not listening to Nya or anyone else as they began to yell at him for what he did.
"I have my reasons," Ronin answered them, refusing to meet eye contact. Morro was residing next to Wu, looking like a lost child. Ronin's neutral expression turned downward. "You aren't the only one that lost someone to her, old man." He began to walk away, back, back to his pawn shop to shut himself out of the world.
"Where do I put this?" An eleven year old child asked, lifting up a box of jewelry.
The older man smiled at him. "The jewelry section is over there," he pointed to a shelf, where the preteen hauled it, with a bit of trouble, and placed it on a lower shelf. "You sure you got it?"
"Yup."
"I trust you."
Ronin bit back the memories that rose. He would not let the ninja or anyone see his weak side. The pawn shop wasn't a complete wreck, but it was bad. Things were strewn everywhere. He had a bit of cleaning to do, but it would be something to get his mind off of everything.
"Need help?" Ronin faced the ninja, of which Nya offered a sympathetic smile. "Least we can do."
"Fine," He muttered softly, "might need some extra hands." He gestured to the signs above the (mostly standing) shelves. "That's the labels for everything. And if you find anything that's yours, I didn't steal it. They were either discarded or sold here. You can take it back." The ninja looked at him bewildered, as Ronin shrugged. "It's a fair deal."
"That's definitely not the Ronin we know," Kai snickered, elbowed by Jay and immediately shut up. "Ohhh... was one of your boyfriends a ghost? Soul Archer?" Ronin flinched at the name.
"Shut up," He said grimly, gritting his teeth as he placed another object in its place. "I have never had romantic interests in any person, alright? So don't ask anymore questions or I'll kick you out."
Morro bit his lip and looked away. "I'm sorry," he repeated again. Lloyd looked at him with question.
"You know, don't you?"
"I know a lot of things, would you mind being more specific?" The Wind elemental asked, eyes narrowing. Ronin watched with relief how Morro easily dodged all of the ninja's questions. "You probably don't want to look to me for answers, I'm not a reliable source," he added.
Ronin grumbled as the ninja kept pestering him. "No wonder you get found so easily, you won't stop talking. Less ninja and more celebrities."
Morro grinned. "Exactly!" Kai shot him a glare, and he shrugged. "What? All you do is talk! Especially him!" He jabbed a thumb at Jay, who began to protest.
"Well, I guess you're right," Cole stated. He looked at the spirit, crossing his arms. "And how come you're not greenish anymore, and what happened to the streak in your hair?"
Morro gulped. "Um... about that... it's a long story. Um, so the Cursed Realm is where the cursed ghosts go, the ones that either bargained with her or... killed themselves. She wanted me, and the green streak basically says I 'belong' to her. Anyway, the whole Caves of Despair wasn't and accident, if you know what I mean. And um, she's gone so yeah."
"Okay... so all the ghosts either made a deal with the devil or committed suicide, great," Kai commented. "Is that what's bothering you?" He made a lovey face. "Poor Soul Archie killed himself huh?"
Ronin growled and gripped the box. "Stop it. He made a deal to save his sister because she had cancer! She was dying and guess what? After the Preeminent sealed the deal she let her die anyway! Shut your mouth already!"
The entire pawn shop was silent. The ninja continued to move boxes, until Morro spoke up softly. "We both knew Soul Archer before he died. He was a orphan like me. Ronin basically took him in like a son. Just give him some space."
Kai suddenly started laughing. "Wow, there's actually good in him!"
"Not after the incident," Morro answered, closing his eyes as the ninja faced Ronin, who was all to busy readjusting a shelf. The wind master used his ability to shape the air, making a semi-visible figure of a young boy about fifteen, with a much younger Ronin—with both eyes—beside him.
"Seth, be careful, that shelf has some dangerous stuff," Ronin warned to Sou—Seth. Seth nodded, moving what looked like aeroblades carefully.
"C'mon, I'm not eight anymore!" Seth argued, pouting and crossing his arms on the chair.
Ronin smirked. "No, but you're sure acting like it. Get off the chair. Already crazy enough, don't need to hit your head."
Seth groaned, before clambering down and hugging Ronin, who returned the hug greatfully. "I know you're not my real dad, but I love you."
Ronin only smiled, petting Seth's hair gently. "I know."
Ronin watched the memory fade from Morro. It was the day the raven-haired boy had come to visit, watching the nothing short of adorable scene from behind the counter.
The middle-aged man glanced toward the shocked ninja. "You can go now." Their mouths clamped shut and nodded, beginning to leave.
Nya paused. "I'm sorry... for everything we thought about you." She walked toward Ronin, staring at the man. "You're just a broken man who lost his son." She shook his hand, smiling sadly before leaving.
Morro smiled softly to Ronin. "Sorry," he apologized, before walking out.
Ronin's fists clenched, restraining any feelings as he turned back to cleaning up the almost clean pawn shop.
Everything was okay before... this. Before this whole mess. He could contain his feelings, but now, why was he being so weak?
Ronin walked to the storage closet, pushing away some of the boxes until he found the small black one he was looking for.
Getting out into better lighting, he opened the lid and started at the object.
A black arrowhead with white around the base.