Chapter 71
Tension Over The Table

.:Lloyd:.

Breakfast was quiet unlike the previous day. Lloyd wouldn't blame anyone for that. After all, they're all tired from Wu's sunrise exercise and he envied Kai and Violet for not having to do it. But he has to do it. In order to restore peace to Ninjago, he has to defeat his father. The blonde was dreading for the day to come. His entire life he looked up to his father but now knowing he has to defeat Garmadon, its worst then learning someone so close to you had died.

Nevertheless, Lloyd observed his family except for Wu since he went out to buy more tea. Cole and Jay were having a thumb war underneath the table; Zane was just eating his breakfast along with Nya while Nathan was sending occasional glances at Kai and Violet. Kai looked absolutely fine except his hair was no longer in the spiky hairstyle but a bird's nest. It was a complete wreck. Not only that, the ninja of fire had these bruises along his jawline and neck.

Apart from this, Kai looked fine. It was Violet who looked horrible and it seems everyone noticed it. Her hair was also in tangles, creating a frizzy mane. Her lavender eyes had dark shadows underneath as well as faint tear-stains. But the eyes Lloyd used to know always had a spark in them or twinkling; today, they were dull and solemn as if she was being haunted. Apart from that, Violet also had bruises along her neck.

"So… What's the plan for today?" Lloyd asked, trying to break the silence. When he looked around, it seemed nobody wanted to answer.

But a soft and melancholy sigh filled and room and Lloyd's green eyes looked at Violet. She pushed her plate away from her before getting up and walked out of the dining room. The green ninja haven't seen her this sad since… well since Scarlett has passed. When Lloyd looked to Kai, the brunette avoided the incoming looks and looked down at his lap.

"Care to explain Kai?" Nathan's voice was low and snappy. So far, everyone this morning is acting different. Nathan was normally kind and thoughtful but never have Lloyd seen him this mad before. But then again, everyone knows the sibling relationship between the male samurai and the female ninja.

"Trust me; I didn't do anything to her." Kai immediately defended himself. But Kai would never hurt Violet… right? The blonde thought.

"Really, you didn't force her to do something she didn't want to do last night?" Nathan snapped viciously while glaring at the ninja in red. The green ninja doesn't even know what they're talking about.

"Pst, Jay." Lloyd whispered as he poked the boy next to him.

"What?" He whispered back.

"What are they talking about?"

"You really are naive to this kind of stuff aren't you? You understand soon." Jay replied still leaving Lloyd under the cloud.

"Of course not! She wanted to do it. I would never force her into that!" Kai hissed back to Nathan; this caused Lloyd to feel comfortable. But like a lightbulb, Lloyd finally understood they were talking about. This caused the blonde to turn red.

"You understand now?" Jay whispered to him. Too shock for words, Lloyd just nimbly nodded his head and looked down.

"Then why is she acting so depressed?!" Nathan finally yelled, fist slamming into the table and standing up so quick that his chair was thrown back and hit the wall. Now everyone was on the edge.

"Nathan, come down!" Nya barked but it seems the new resident didn't hear her.

"She just had a nightmare alright?! She's still shaken up. Violet has every right to still be depressed after a dream like that!"

"And what type of nightmare can scare her so badly?" Nathan scoffed, obliviously not buying it but Lloyd knew so well. It has got to relate with losing someone dear to her.

"I'm not sure if that's my job to say." Kai snapped back, now standing up too but slowly.

"I'm her brother and I demand to know what has shaken my lil' sister up so much!"

"You're not even her brother! You don't even know her as much as we do! You just show up as a guy who happens to be close with my girl, claiming he's this great swordsman and have my swords in his procession!"

"Those three swords I have are rightfully mine, I've bought them!"

"Those were the swords I smithed with my father." Kai hissed lowly.

"I bought them from Four Weapons in Ignacia when it was closing down. There was a huge sale and there was those three among the other swords so I bought them."

"That was my shop and the reason it got closed down is because I became a ninja!"

"I don't believe you!"

"Nathan, believe him. That shop was owned by our father before he passed away." Nya piped up before looking away. "And those swords are the only memories we have of him."

"Then why would you sell it to me then?"

"I wasn't running the sale; a close family friend was and delivered the money to us." Nya said calmly but it seemed Kai had enough and turned to leave the room.

"I'm not done with you!"

"Well I don't care, there's someone in her room probably needing some comfort." Lloyd heard Kai muttered but in a flash, Nathan jumped over the table and tackled Kai down.

"Hey, stop this!" Lloyd shouted as he quickly got up from his seat and went over to the tackling boys. Since Kai was mainly defending himself on the ground, Lloyd went to hook his arms underneath Nathan's and haul him up but the samurai had other plans and kicked him in the stomach. The blonde stumbled backwards into Cole, unprepared for that attack. But being quick like lightning, Lloyd recovered.

"Nathan, get off Kai now!" Jay next shouted and by now, everyone was trying to pull the two boys away from each other.

"What's going on in here?!" A voice shouted and when everyone –minus Nathan and Kai- looked at the direction, they were surprised. It was Violet who has entered with a bag on her back as if she's ready to go somewhere but she also had a second bag in her hand.

With a swift movement with her hand, Lloyd could feel the air grew tense and strong before a strong blast of wind blew into the room, picking Nathan off of Kai and onto the other side of the table. Lloyd was amazed how easy Violet was able to break it up; this made him wanting to master the air element quickly.

"I've been gone for a minute and already a fight has started." Violet analysed as she looked around the room. Compared to the last few minutes, the purple ninja was no longer, sad, gloomy and depressed but rather worried and mad. "Look, I'm not going to bother asking what happened so rest of you finish your breakfast and Kai, you're coming with me."

"O-Ok…" When Kai got up from his crumbled position on the floor, Lloyd gasped to see Kai was now supporting a bruise underneath his eye. When the blonde looked back to Violet, she looked deeply concerned but turned around quickly and marched outside, back onto the becks with Kai trailing after her.

"Wow, for the first time ever, I've found someone more protective than my brother…" Nya mumbled before she added another comment, directing it to Nathan, "but that still doesn't give you the rights to beat him up."

.:Violet:.

Since the Bounty was still docked on the beach, Violet walked out of the dining room, down the stairs onto the decks and walked off the ship and onto the beach. When she turned around, she uneasily eyed the forming bruise on Kai's face. When Kai caught up, the ninja of air reach up and gently touched his face, only for him to wince and pull away.

"What did you do this time?" She asked softly as she placed her arm by her side and opened the bag she prepared for Kai. It was a good thing she already rummaged through the medical cabinet beforehand.

"I didn't start it trust me." Kai muttered bitterly. Grabbing his hand, Violet pulled them over to the rain forest that outlined the beach and sat on a large, flat rock. She opened a small tube of anti-inflammatory cream and reached over to apply to Kai's face.

"So how did it start then? It looked like you provoked Nathan."

"I guess I sort of did halfway through…" Kai sighed but Violet continued to gently rub in the ointment. "As soon as you left, he demanded me to say what happened to you and why you're so gloomy. He thought I forced you last night hence you're upset about it. I told him that I didn't force you and when Nathan slammed his fist on the table, I told him you had a bad nightmare. He wanted me to spill but I didn't thought it was my place to say it. I didn't know if you wanted me to tell everyone so I refused. Things went downhill from there and when I went to leave to find you, he jumped over the table and tackled me down…"

"N-Nathan did that?" Bewildered, Violet asked, trying to process how the sweet Nathan can be aggressive like Kai have described.

"Yeah… Are you okay though? I mean you did kind of left suddenly."

"I had a thought and when Lloyd asked what the plan was for today; I wanted to think over it with silence. So instead of going by myself this time, I thought I would let you tag along so you won't be mad at me again." The female ninja replied and she closed the tube up before placing back into Kai's bag. Once she zipped the bag up, she gave the bag back to Kai. But that wasn't the main reason.

The reason she wanted Kai to come with her is so she could keep an eye on him. What happens if he got into another fight or something bad happens and he gets wounded? By having him remain by her side, Violet can reassure herself Kai will keep his promise.

"But what about everyone else?"

"I left a note in my room saying how you and I are going to my old house."

"Your old house?"

"I… I just think there might be answers for me waiting there. I know where the house is and I'm positive it's still the same. Once my parents died, the house was immediately under my name and ownership. But I was only a child so I think the orphanage signed a contract saying how the house is to remain untouched until I become of age and decide what to do with it: sell it, live in it or rent it out." She answered as she stood up. "Come on, if my memory serves me correct, my house is located near the Crystal Falls. There's a village there… I think it was called-"

"Cryleas?"

"Yes." Violet smiled. "Have you been there?"

"Only once… I've been there when both of my parents were alive." Kai replied. By now, the two were making their way through the rainforest.

"Y-You never talked about your parents. If you don't mind, I would really like to hear what they're like- that's it you're comfortable with it." The words spill from her mouth before Violet was fully aware what she was even saying.

"It's okay… I guess it's alright to talk about them time to time. It brings back good memories. My father, as you know was a blacksmith. Unlike me, he was very patient and wouldn't give up. I can remember the first time he taught me how to smith. I just wanted it to done quickly so I can see the results. I guess this slightly drove my father insane but he never gave up on me. It took me four months to craft a sword that's straight and can go into battle without breaking."

"Your mum?"

"I didn't know her very well. She passed after Nya was born. But from what my father has told me, he described her like a phoenix. Beautiful, smart, always picking herself up after she stumbles, independent and strong. In a way, she's kind of like you. Back then, an illness was spreading around and unfortunately my mother caught it. My father on the other hand went out for a work trip purpose leaving me at home to take care of Nya."

"Something bad has happened right?" Violet asked softly, finding herself really curious about Kai.

"He never returned. Turns out that the path he was travelling on was raided by a group of punks and they wounded him pretty badly. Someone found him along side of the road dying. The news wasn't pleasant…" Kai murmured, his eyes were cast down to the ground.

"I guess my parents aren't that different from yours. My mother was the famous jewel crafter, creating jewellery no one else would make and make sculptures with an imagination no one else had. She was really creative but I didn't inherited that trait, I'm positive Scarlett did though. But she was kind to me, always there for me whenever I'm down and I can still hear the lullabies she would sing me to sleep," Violet recalled. The memories were sweet and sad that Violet found her eyes starting to water but she knew Kai was the same when he told her about his parents. "My father on the other hand was a good man. He would never harm a soul but he'll put others before himself, therefor achieving his lifetime goal to become a commanding officer. I guess that's all I can remember of my parents…"

What do you guys think? But anyway… THANK YOU EVERYONE! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I've found out this morning that my story has moved from being the 5th most reviewed story in Ninjago to 4th. YOU GUYS ARE SO AMAZING! I wish I can give you all hugs! *Squeals like a fangirl while doing a happy dance*

So big big big thanks to the reviewers that review: MortalNinjas, Skyfur02, ShadowNinja27, LightningDanino23, FlameNinjaofDarkFire, Rachymel, ElementzGirl7, MinionBanana, FinnGal, CarlyShi208, ALookIntoMyWorld and the two guests!

So I want to apologise if I gave anyone a heart-attack about the dream at the start of the last chapter, I didn't except to get a response like that from you guys. Sorry! But once again, thank you so much and please review! ;)