There were a lot of things Lloyd hated about his life. If he were to write a list, the cons would likely outweigh the pros.
He did his best not to think about it.
The past couple months had been… particularly bad though. It was harder not to think about it than usual.
There was a lot to be happy about. The Oni were defeated. The ninja weren't dead. Jay had finally proposed to Nya and hopefully that ended all that awkward drama. There was a lot to be happy about. Everyone else was in a good mood. Lloyd wasn't going to be the one to ruin it.
Damn it, he'd snapped his pencil.
"That was my pencil you know."
Lloyd sighed "I'll get you a replacement."
Zuki rolled her eyes. "It was a pencil, Lloyd. I've got boxes of them. I don't need a replacement. That was a strong grip though. Picture not going how you want?"
Zuki Enyo. His one kind of friend outside of the ninja. They'd only met recently. She'd robbed him. Then she'd been impressed that he'd pickpocketed his wallet back from her. An unusual start to a friendship. He'd tried to arrest her at first, but he'd quickly found out that she wasn't really a thief and her 'crimes' were more pranks than anything. She'd known he was the green ninja and had found the idea of stealing his wallet funny. He wasn't sure if she would have kept the contents or not if he hadn't caught her.
Lloyd wasn't sure what it said about his mental state that he'd found her more trustworthy for not even trying to pretend to be trustworthy. She was incredibly honest about herself in a way Lloyd admired, maybe even envied a little. She also didn't gawk at him for being the green ninja like most average people did. And having attended Darkley's School for Bad Girls, they had a lot in common childhood-wise. She was overall oddly refreshing.
"The picture's fine," he mumbled. He'd been drawing a patch of flowers that were beneath the treehouse. Just to have something to do.
Zuki waltzed over. "Why the pencil crushing then?"
She was his technical age, seventeen. Long black hair, pale skin (probably from not getting out of the shadows enough), silver eyes usually alite with mischief. She was always dressed very stylishly. Or he presumed she was. He wasn't very in the know about female fashion or fashion in general.
"I didn't mean to crush it," Lloyd non-answered. "It must have been… a fragile wood."
"Mmhm," Zuki hummed, clearly not believing him at all. "And that's why you suddenly asked me if you could hide out in my treehouse."
"I'm not hiding," Lloyd protested. "They were just talking about wedding stuff- and, I don't know anything about weddings so I wouldn't have been helpful."
"Huh," Zuki said. "Can't help you there. I don't know much about weddings either. I've only ever been to one, but it was… unusual. I don't think most weddings involve so many weapons. Which is a shame. It makes things loads more exciting."
"Thanks for letting me stay here for a bit," Lloyd said, glancing around. "You're living every Darkley kid's dream with all these hideouts you have." Every young villain-to-be dreamed of having an elaborate system of cool secret bases across Ninjago. "Do you have other treehouses?'
"A few, yeah," she shrugged. "Depends on the forest. Caves are usually better if you can get a good spot."
"That's so cool," Lloyd marveled. "How long did all that take you?" Ninja could use secret bases too. Nya had one for her samurai stuff. Surely the green ninja could use a treehouse or two.
"Oh, you can set it all up pretty fast if you know what you're doing," Zuki told him. "And ignore select laws."
"Are you done with your nails already?" he asked, noticing the new color on all her nails. That was fast.
"Yep," she said, fanning out her fingers to show them off. They were now gold, each with a different symbol or picture painted in black. For painting so small, that was really fast. And she was playing with her kunai like they were already dry.
He quirked an eyebrow. "And they're dry? How did you do that so quickly?"
"Practice," she said simply. He didn't have a response to that.
"What are they?" he asked instead. "Just random pictures or…?" He swore at least a couple of them looked familiar.
"Oh, they're magic symbols," she explained breezily, tapping her fingers together. "To help me do magic."
Lloyd rolled his eyes. Sometimes Zuki would say random nonsense just to be funny or to mess with him. "Fine, don't tell me then." He turned back to his drawing. "I really shouldn't stay too much longer. They'll notice if I'm gone too long."
"Why do you care if they notice?" Zuki asked. "Aren't you the leader or whatever? You can go wherever you want."
"But they'll ask where I went," Lloyd countered. They'd also ask why. Plus, he hadn't told them about Zuki yet. He wasn't sure if they'd… approve. And having someone separate from the ninja stuff was nice, but he couldn't tell the ninja he wanted friends who weren't them. The mere thought made his blood run cold.
"Just lie," Zuki shrugged. "Or tell the truth and tell them they were annoying you."
"They weren't annoying me," Lloyd lied. "And it's just easier if they never ask."
Zuki let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, Lloyd, when will you learn? You need to let loose a little sometimes. How you make being a crime fighting ninja with magic powers seem boring is beyond me."
"It's definitely not boring," Lloyd sighed, a bit bitterly.
"Stress-exciting and exciting-exciting are two very different things," Zuki corrected. "You must have felt the thrill at some point. Like snowboarding, or skydiving, or robbing a bank, or watching a barricade crumble to pieces."
"Not the examples I would have gone with," Lloyd said. Though they did all appeal to him, depending on the circumstances.
"I'm a naturally destructive person," Zuki chuckled. "I try to keep it tame though."
Lloyd sighed. "Being a ninja can be a nice thrilling sometimes, yeah. But I'd rather avoid excitement right now, I've had plenty recently. I just want some peace." Not that there was any real peace to be had. His dad was still out there somewhere, corrupted by his oni blood. Blood Lloyd had in his own veins. It disgusted him. Sure, it had been helpful one time, but otherwise it was a blight.
"I don't know," Zuki said, rocking on her heels. "I think you and I are of a similar spirit. We crave exhilaration."
"I don't even know what that means," Lloyd grumbled, tossing the broken pencil on a nearby table. "And I know this is just you trying to talk me into helping you blow something up or vandalize a statue or something."
"Frankly, I am hurt by such an accusation," Zuki pouted, placing an offended hand over her heart. "Truly hurt. Wounded to my very core. And your lack of appreciation for carnage is depressing." She handed him a new pencil.
Lloyd gave her a flat stare before taking the pencil and returning to his drawing. It was quiet for a few minutes. He was grateful Zuki understood he wanted some silence.
He was distracted from his sketch when a strange whispering floated into his ear from his right. Frowning, he glanced up. Who on Ninjago was that? It wasn't Zuki, she was quietly scrolling through her phone to his left. And it sounded like a lot of voices. Too quiet to make out the words though.
"What is that?" Lloyd asked aloud.
Zuki looked up. "What is what?"
Lloyd got up and walked to the window on the other side of the room, but the forest looked empty. "Who's whispering out there? Those sound like people, right?"
Zuki tilted her head. "Whispering?"
Maybe she couldn't hear it. Lloyd could barely hear it himself. "It sounds like a bunch of people are whispering out there," he explained, scanning the area and straining his ears. "It is really quiet though. You don't hear it?"
Zuki's face grew pensive. "Hm, no, I don't hear anything. No one comes out this way. One of the reasons why I chose this spot. But you hear something?"
"Yes," Lloyd said, eyes narrowing in concentration. "I can't make any words out though. It's weird." There was no way it was some weird bird call, right?
Zuki shrugged. "Well, you're more celestially balanced than I am." What? What did that mean? "I'm sure your ears have a wider range than mine. Does it get louder or quieter when you move?"
"No," Lloyd told her, confusion really kicking in. It should have gotten at least a little louder. The window was even open. "Oh-" it was silent again. "-it stopped."
Zuki shrugged. "Must not be important then."
"I guess?" Lloyd said, a little thrown off by her wording. Maybe the wind had been blowing weirdly. Or something. Could also be lack of sleep. More likely than he'd like to admit.
Sighing, he went back and plopped into the beanbag chair again. "I wouldn't be against a smaller scale, not destructive prank," he acquiesced.
Zuki straightened eagerly; eyes sparkling. "Oooh, yeah! Perfect! I've already got some stuff set up!"
Lloyd gave a small grin. One little prank, then he'd go home.