"Do you understand what I'm asking, Mari?" The man before me spoke in a cold tone, his eyes set in a hard stare, one I was familiar with. He wasn't asking, not really.
A shiver rushed down my spine, but I was careful not to let any emotion show on my face.
I nodded, my face blank as I stared at the wall behind him. "Yes, Uncle. I understand. You won't be disappointed." He seemed pleased by that answer, dark eyes relaxing as he drummed his fingers against the hard, knotted wood of his desk.
"You know I expect only the best from you, my dear," he said, his face full of warmth akin to a proud father. I fought not to scoff. It was almost scary how quick he could go from cold and unfeeling to warm and amiable. Clasping his hands in front of him, he tilted his head in dismissal.
A quick bow and I turned to silently leave the room. The sound of my footsteps was too loud, filling up the empty corridor I passed through. Once outside the building and away from any prying eyes, I let out a sigh of relief, allowing myself to breathe. My back pushed into the hard stone wall behind me, my head tilting up to look at the sky. It would be dark soon.
Meeting with my uncle was never pleasant. This time was different, though.
The same hard look, the same thinly veiled threat in his voice, but the mission. It would be the start of my freedom—at least for a while. Before I figured out how to disappear. He wanted me to move to the center of Ninjago City, assume an identity as a normal teenager, and track down the Green Ninja and his team.
Oh, and find out their identities, of course.
Pushing myself off the wall, I started making my way to my apartment, going down a new path today, as I did everytime my uncle summoned me to his criminal guild. My hood was pulled tight over my head, black hair tied in a bun as I walked down the streets inconspicuously. The outskirts of Ninjago were never the safest, but with daylight fading away, my steps sped up a little, hurrying to get home.
A few minutes later, I unlocked the door with my keys, quickly checking the layout before shutting the door and locking it. Even with an uncle who practically ran all the crime around here, in this part of town, you could never be too careful.
Thankfully, the inside of the apartment offered a cool respite from the heat outside. I flipped the kitchen light on and swung the fridge door open. My eyes glanced over the contents, settling on leftover pasta with a shrug. I entered it into the microwave, letting it heat up for a few minutes before taking it out.
Behind me, a bedroom door opened. Head whipping toward the sound, my heart plummeted into my stomach for a second, until I realized it was just my brother. My body tensed before I huffed out a sigh, giving him an exasperated look. "Oh my— Hideo, don't scare me like that!" I chastised, before remembering something. "Wait, shouldn't you be at your friend's house?"
He gives me a hesitant glance before rubbing his neck and looking down. "Yeah, but…" he drifted off. Looking back at me, his eyes narrowed with concern. "I heard Uncle called you in." Uneasiness filled my limbs as I shifted my gaze away. I never liked discussing what I did for my uncle. Hideo was never involved, so it felt wrong to talk about the details with him, like it would endanger him even more. Schooling my expression, I turned back to him. "He did. It wasn't…" I drifted off, trying to find the word, "… bad. He just gave me a mission." I shrugged my shoulders, trying to play off the nervous tension in my body.
His eyes narrowed further at that. "What kind?" he asked. I was hesitant to tell him. My uncle had specified that this mission in particular was to remain absolutely confidential. Even without the warning, I hadn't wanted to let Hideo know about my plan to escape until a couple days before I'd leave, thinking it best to plan everything out first before telling him.
"It's… not important," I hedged. Making my way to sit down at the table, I freed my hair from my ponytail, brushing a few stray strands of hair away from my face as I blew on the pasta. "Can we talk about it later?" I rested my arms on the table, propping my chin on a hand. "I'm tired."
Hideo's gaze seemed to soften at that, and he rubbed his eyes before replying, "Alright. I'm going to sleep. Good night." Turning around to his bedroom door, he tossed a wave over his shoulder at me.
"Good night," I mumbled back, stabbing my fork into the spaghetti. Thinking about the situation made me lose my appetite, but I shoveled in a few forkfuls anyway. Exhaustion suddenly washed over me. I really was tired—tired of having to obey my uncle and follow his orders, tired of fearing he'd snap one day and stop taking care of us, tired of always searching for a way to escape his control.
Finishing off the plate, I scrubbed it clean at the sink and made my way into my bedroom, wooden planks creaking under my steps. I closed the door softly and stripped off the layers of dark clothing, dressing into cool pajamas and flopping onto my bed.
For some reason, it felt like this chance at an escape felt too much like that—a chance. My eyes shut, fatigue weighing down on me. That didn't matter, though. If there was any possibility it would work, I would take that risk. We'd spent too long under my uncle's thumb, having to miss out on our childhoods to please him.
A familiar ache of loneliness and grief went through my heart. I missed my parents. They hadn't always known how to best handle every situation, but they cared about us. Their sudden deaths hadn't seemed real at the time, 11 year-old me could barely process it. Ever since then, I became closed off, only sharing any sort of thoughts or feelings with Hideo, the only one who understood.
That sent my lips into a frown. Lately we weren't close at all, too busy with our own lives to spend time together. The various missions my uncle had sent me on for the last 3 years hadn't helped either. I hoped that us finally leaving and starting normal lives as teenagers would help us mend our relationship.
The muffled sounds of cars driving by and people going about their nightly business soothed my muscles into relaxing. It wasn't long before I drifted off into sleep.
The next morning, I heaved myself out of bed, groggily rubbing at my eyes. Hideo was in the entrance, getting his shoes on and shrugging on a jacket. He glanced at me while he tied his laces. "Hey," he greeted with a nod.
Head bobbing back, I replied, "Morning." My eyes swept over the kitchen, noting that he made eggs and left some in the pan for me. "Going to work?" I asked, making my way to a cabinet and grabbing a plate. As I put some bread in the toaster and opened the fridge, I realized that he still hadn't answered. My head swiveled to look at him. "Hideo?"
He startled from where he was looking at his phone, fingers fumbling as he frantically stuffed it in his pocket. "Uh— yeah, I am." The action drew my attention. I narrowed my eyes, but didn't say anything. It's probably nothing.
"Alright," I say, turning back to the fridge. "Have a good day."
Humming in response, he opens the door and swings his bag over a shoulder. "See you later, Mar," he says with a smile. The door shuts, the knob turning as Hideo makes sure it's locked from the outside. The sound of his muffled footsteps faded as he got farther down the hall.
A yawn left my mouth, my eyes watering as I tiredly rubbed a hand down my face. I made breakfast quietly, scarfing down the food and washing my plate as my thoughts turned to the mission. My uncle had given me a week to get everything prepared and packed to move to Ninjago City. The plan was to enroll in a local high school—to keep up appearances as a teenager at age 17—and follow the ninja after whatever rescues they did in a day, unmasking their identities and reporting back to my uncle.
According to him, it was the perfect plan, because no one would suspect a teenage girl to be a criminal trying to spy on the city's adored ninja. And if I was caught being too sneaky, I could just say that I was a fan and wanted to get close to them.
Sure, it was sort of weird—having to stalk them, and pretend it was because of an obsession—but my uncle never cared about how the jobs he sent me on would affect me. As long as I gave him satisfactory results, he was pleased.
Face set into a frown, I grabbed a duffel bag from my room, writing a list of all the supplies I'd need when I arrived in Ninjago. While doing so, I got dressed, thinking about how I could broach the subject of leaving to Hideo. I knew he had friends here, and was happy enough. But I wanted more for us.
My phone buzzed where it lay on the mattress. A text from Hideo. After reading it, I quickly thumbed a reply.
Hideo (his excellency):
Do you want me to bring food home for dinner
Me:
Yeah, sure
You just started your shift though?
Hideo (his excellency):
I'm about to clock in, just checking first
Me:
Oh, okay. See you then
Once I sent the text, I pulled on a jacket and put on a cap, swinging the duffel over my shoulder and heading out the door to a store where I could get what I needed. I managed to catch a bus right as it pulled up to the stop, making sure my hat was snug on my head, tilted down to obscure my eyes.
Around these parts, it wasn't easy staying out of sight and being unrecognizable when your face was known by everyone as the crime lord's niece.
It reminded me of my friend Skylor, who I had met years ago during a visit in Ninjago City, before I had started my secret career of crime. She had wit, and a sharp humor that made us fast friends, even with the rumors and whispers about her father. We still kept in touch, but we were both pretty busy most of the time. She didn't know how similar my present was to her past. Last I heard, she was running a pretty successful noodle business.
Maybe I could ask her for a job when I got there.
Getting off the bus, I steered myself into a general store, roaming down the aisles and putting them in a shopping basket. After grabbing everything I needed, I headed to the checkout, paying for the items and stuffing them into the duffel.
The lady at the counter gave me a suspicious stare, and I tried not to pay attention to the way her lip curled when she seemed to realize who I was. Hurrying out the door, I walked to the bus stop, a frown on my lips as I fiddled with the strap of my cap.
This was another reason I desperately wanted to leave this forsaken town. My uncle's infamous reputation only stained mine and Hideo's, making it difficult to land respectable jobs—especially since there was speculation about who his little soldier was, who the public knew as "Tempest."
Letting out a huff, I glanced at where a bus approached. It was less crowded than earlier, when all the morning commuters were on their way to work.
A group of teenagers in the back caught my attention. There were four of them, dressed casually, albeit colorfully—one in red, another in blue, one in black, and the other in white. They were talking animatedly, their smiles coming easy as they joked around with each other.
I realized I was staring at them when one guy—the one in red—looked my way, raising a scarred brow quizzically.
Averting my gaze, my lips set into a frown. To say I was a little envious of their friendship wouldn't be wrong. Me and Hideo had friends before and after our parents' death, but in the past three years I had been acting as my uncle's lackey, we had drifted apart from our circles, the fear surrounding us as our uncle took us in chasing them away.
A pang of sadness went through my chest, but I ignored it, instead focusing on the streets the bus passed.
The four boys got up, their voices low as they chatted amongst themselves while getting off the bus. "I still don't get why Lloyd made us come here," the blue one said, crossing his arms. "Making us do all the work." The name he mentioned made my gaze flicker to them.
His friend in black smacked his arm as the one in white responded. "The commissioner brought the issue up so that we could help, Jay."
The guy wearing black spoke up next. "And he's coming later today, so chill."
What the one in white said sent my face into a confused frown, curiosity peaked. The commissioner? What issue? Who are these people?
The guy wearing red shushed them, sending them a narrow glare. "Guys, be quiet," he glanced around. "Someone could be listening." With that, we connected eyes, his filling with suspicion as mine frantically darted away.
The doors closed, their conversation fading away as the bus rode away.
I tsked, reprimanding myself for listening in. Those people clearly had some sort of business here. And it wasn't any of my business. I had too much going on to be worried about the affairs of some random teenagers.
Though, something about them had seemed familiar. Not as if I had met them before, but something about their voices and what they were wearing made me think.
Shaking my head to clear my head, I got off at a stop near the apartment, walking the rest of the way and stepping inside the building. The apartment was quiet when I entered, everything still and just how I had left it.
I rolled my shoulders, shaking off the unease that always seemed to permeate the air around me. Setting down the duffel, I got started on packing a bag in my bedroom, going through the motions of carefully selecting some weapons and tools and placing them into a secret compartment on my luggage. I'd be taking a bus into the city, so I didn't need to worry about any security searching bags.
There were still a few hours until Hideo would come home with dinner, so I decided to pay a visit to the library, and get some lunch after. It'd be helpful to read up on any information about Ninjago City, and the ninja too.
One thing I liked about this place was that there weren't usually a lot of people here. In part because it was a bit tucked away, but probably also because not many people went to libraries anymore, what with technology being more innovative these days.
I didn't mind it, though. It helped me avoid the public eye better. Heading to the history section, I pulled a few books on Ninjago City's history off the shelves, setting them on an unoccupied table. On a nearby stand, there were a few magazines and articles about the ninja and what was known about them.
Swiping a few articles, I sat down, starting my search with the journals about the ninja. There wasn't much substantial information about where or who they were, only the occasional theory about some celebrity being connected to them.
After scouring over other articles about them and finding nothing of use, I gave up on that part of my search. Truthfully, I wasn't putting much effort into finding out their identities, learning just enough to quell any doubts my uncle could have.
I got up to put those articles back on the rack, choosing one of the history books to read next. As I cracked open one about Ninjago's early history, a few voices came within earshot. They sounded familiar.
Looking up, my jaw dropped at who I saw. "You've got to be kidding me," I murmured under my breath, brows furrowing.
Two of the teenagers from before. A tall, buff guy in a black tank and sweats, and a lean, wiry guy wearing a cozy-looking white sweater. What were the chances? Almost no one came here, and I've never seen them around before. They must have just gotten here today. That aligned with what I heard from their conversation earlier on the bus.
But then someone else came in, one I didn't recognize from before. Blonde, wearing a green sweater and some faded jeans. He caught up to them, saying something that made them laugh. This must be the "Lloyd" they mentioned. He was kind of cute, if I was being honest.
Shaking my head in slight bewilderment at that thought, I let out a sigh. Hopefully they wouldn't see me and come over. It wouldn't be good to get acquainted with them—they'd eventually learn about who I was and never talk to me again, anyway.
But it seemed that fate had other plans, because the one wearing white spotted me. He turned to his friends and said something, and after a bit of conferring, they made their way over to me.
I stifled a groan as they approached, instead putting on a friendly smile.
"Hello, there. We are new to town and are wondering if you could help us find Ikarashi—" His words were cut off by his friend jabbing him with his elbow. "Cole, what— Did I say something displeasing?" he asked.
"You just asked about a criminal, Zane! We're trying to be low-profile—"
I didn't pay attention to the rest of what they were saying, sitting there in frozen silence, paralyzed when they said his name. Ikarashi, my uncle. They were trying to find him.
Either they were somehow with the police, or they were some naive kids who wanted a chance at being thugs. Neither option was something I wanted to be involved with. My breaths came in fast as I wondered how I could leave this situation.
"Hey, are you alright?" The blonde boy spoke, his green eyes filling with worry after he shot a pointed look at his friends. They seemed to get whatever message he sent, quieting down.
Quickly collecting myself, I nodded, clearing my throat to dislodge the building tightness. "Ah, yeah, I'm okay," I replied, a little too shakily. "It's just— I'm not used to people starting conversations about criminals."
Behind him, the guy in the black tank gave his friend a look that seemed to say 'I told you so.' The boy in green grimaced. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "We're just… really into criminology." His explanation was a little hesitant, but I didn't call it out. He reached out his hand to me, offering a gentle smile. "I'm Lloyd, by the way."
Staring at his hand for longer than what was probably acceptable, I eventually took it, shaking it slowly, "Mari." He nodded with a smile, pulling his hand back to gesture to his friends. "These are my friends. Cole," he gestured to the one wearing black, "and Zane." The one in white.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mari. I apologize for my question earlier," Zane said, frowning.
I shook my head, waving a hand in dismissal. "No, it's fine, I was just surprised," I smiled reassuringly. I looked back up at them. "So, did you need help with anything besides uh… finding criminals?" My tone was slightly perplexed, brows knitting together.
The one in black—Cole, I knew their names now—coughed, eyes darting uncomfortably. "You know what, could you tell us about any good pastry stores around here?" he asked, rubbing his arm. Lloyd snickered as Zane sent him an amused glance.
I blinked. "Oh, uhm. Yeah, there's a pretty good one around 4 blocks," I paused to orient myself, pointing in one direction, "that way."
Cole nodded with a hand on his chin. "Okay, great, thanks. We'll be getting going then," he started to say, leading his friends away from me with a polite grin. Zane was chuckling now, saying something under his breath that made Cole grimace.
Their antics made me laugh softly, reminiscing about how I used to be with my friends.
That caught Lloyd's attention. He turned back to me, smiling. "Sorry again about them. They can be a little… weird at times, but they're great people," he chuckled. His green eyes were soft as he spoke, the affection he held for them clear.
Giving him a smile in return, I shook my head, saying, "It's all good. I've had my fair share of weird."
Lloyd grins at that, placing his hands in his pockets. "Well, I better go chase them down. It was nice meeting you, Mari. Hopefully I'll see you around!" He starts moving away, giving a friendly wave as I wave back.
Watching them leave the library, I let out an amused huff. That wasn't so bad. Maybe things were finally turning up now that life was offering an opportunity to start fresh. Sure, I wasn't in Ninjago City yet, but maybe I could make friends when I started school.
I didn't know if Lloyd and his friends were staying here for long, but from what I heard on the bus, it seemed like once their job was done, they'd leave. But where to? Did they live in Ninjago City? If they did, maybe I could be friends with them once I got there.
But what if they find out who I am? What I do? Would they still want to be friends with me then?
Rubbing a hand down my face, I sigh. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Mar," I mutter. "You don't even know if they want to be your friends." My eyes fall to the stack of books still piled on the table. I was getting hungry, and I couldn't muster the energy to pore over them just to find out the smallest information that could help me with the mission. I'll just bring them home.
Luckily, I was on good terms with the librarian. A sweet old woman, she tells me she doesn't believe in rumors, that a nice girl like me couldn't be a vicious criminal. It always sends a pang through my heart.
Outside the library, a gentle breeze carried cool air that kissed my skin. With the soft lulls of wind, dark clouds formed in the sky. A storm was brewing.