Chapter Text
Seven months ago, the 16 realms combined, scattering the people’s hopes as far as their lost loved ones could go. For Lloyd, it was just another day where the universe wanted to screw him and his family over by separating them, and this time the world got dragged into his tragedy. No one was in the monastery, Ninjago City lost so much of its advancements once again, and people were panicking. Lloyd has never really been the ninja for community outreach. Everything he did, he did for the realm and his family, but that often meant through the privacy that comes with never being in the same place, or having time to visit the town. Ironically enough, he’d say the job heavily fell more in the hands of Zane and Pixal, being the rational thinkers that they are. He did not return to Ninjago for months after the first day.
Then Kai appeared.
His big brother, his mentor, someone he looked up to. He was back.
“What the hell, Lloyd!”
“Kai?’
Lloyd hadn’t realized just how lonely the first three months had felt. He’d only been taught simple meals, rations for when the ninja were on missions, he trained as he normally would when the others were busy, he reread old comics that he could still find laying around the common area, slept on time and woke up at dawn. He did all of that, but he did it alone.
Kai being back meant he brought back the fire with him. They spent time going over what they’d noticed, started hopping on the trend of calling The Coalescence ‘The Merge’, and simply basked in each other’s company for the first night. Kai, in a way that’s all Kai, decided to teach Lloyd to cook, “It’s easy, Greenie, really. I could do this in my sleep!” Kai stated as he picked up a pan, setting it on the stove.
“I’ll tell Zane that next time you set the burner on fire.” Lloyd smirked as he looked through the fridge for some vegetables, “And then I’ll tell him you volunteer to make dinner.” Glancing towards his brother, Lloyd noticed a small wince. Whether it was at the mention of Zane or cooking for a bunch of hungry ninja, he didn’t want to think about. Kai was ignorant to his plight as he added a little oil to the pan,
“I just know how to speed up the process! Why be the Elemental Master of Fire if I can’t even use it for menial tasks involving fire!”
“Maybe because our stovetop doesn’t involve fire?” Lloyd had placed the vegetables on the table and started chopping, Kai swirling the oil in the pan had put his fire out.
“Then we should get one,” he stops to stare at Lloyd for a second, eyes narrowed, “Where’s your protein, kiddo?”
“Don’t have any right now, just vegetables from out back.”
“If we don’t get meat in you, you really will live up to your name of Greenbean. And who eats only vegetables on a kebab!” he throws his arms into the air.
“Vegetarians?” The sentence is so Kai that Lloyd couldn’t help but laugh while responding.
“Which we’re not. For shame Lloyd, Cole would be disappointed,” he shakes his head, but Lloyd notices the tension in his shoulders, “We’re going to whatever store they’ve got now and getting real meat, even if we have to wash dishes for it.”
And who was Lloyd to say no.
-
The peace only lasted for a week.
Each night, Kai and Lloyd would make dinner together, simply enjoy time with each other, before searching through scrolls in hopes that maybe there’d be answers. As always with something this important, there wasn’t. So Kai decided they needed to move their search farther away, that same day marked the start of Mergequakes. Looking back on it, Lloyd would wonder if this was the universe’s way of setting everything into motion, or if it simply wanted him to feel the most he can in such quick succession that his head and heart mimicked the fissures in the world onto himself. He knew that night, after seeing their powers close the fracture in the sky, that he’d be separated from his family once again.
-
That was four months ago, now, perched on the side of a building as people roamed by, never daring to look up, he watched the town settle for the night. Seven months was just enough for Ninjago to find its first steps back into stability, having done it so many times before. Had it been any earlier, not nearing midnight that is, people would be conversing animatedly about the most mundane of topics. Lloyd’s almost jealous. Jealous of how Ninjago has always been able to build itself back up. The city had seen almost as many tragedies as him, yet they always bounced back, and while he still got the offhanded scroll from Kai, his own bounce was a little lighter.
Patrol was reprieve. From the quiet, the dark, the stillness. Down in the crossroads people were alive and working together for the first time in a long time. Creating stores and homes, cultures and life, stories and dreams. For them, they traveled through their loss until they found new beginnings.
It was fascinating, in a way. What destruction can create. He supposes he should be an expert on it at this rate, but lessons didn’t always stick after the first time.
‘Tonight’, he decided, ‘I’ll take the long way around.’ It was just his average patrol route, he slipped between alleys and above buildings. The longer route just meant an extra turn or two to areas that don’t usually see many problems, mostly due to the scarcity of people who inhabited them. Like usual, most were empty. Recognizing the late time, Lloyd imagines they’re all tucked away for the night. Like he should be. Standing on some roof, just at the outskirts of town, he turns to head back to the monastery. If Kai found out he was pushing himself-
“Come on, you can’t pass out here!” There’s a voice, airy in the night's coolness. Soft enough Lloyd almost misses it. “Sora, wake up!” Wake up?
Lloyd searches, first out in the street, then the edges of town, before standing right at the edge of the building’s he’s on and looking straight down. There, he sees two figures, small and huddled together. ‘Note to self, rework those observational skills.’ he thought before jumping right off the side and landing, as quietly as possible, behind whoever he’d heard.
“Excuse me,” he tries to keep his voice soft but it scratches, months of not speaking leaves a strain on his throat and causes him to swallow harshly. Either way, it’s not enough seeing as the small figure flinches before turning, and Lloyd finally gets to see his face.
It’s a boy, young with dark skin and fluffy hair. His eyes are wide and it’s obvious he wasn't expecting anyone to find them.
“Do you need help?” Lloyd tries again.
“The Green Ninja…” whispers the boy. Lloyd looks down. Even when no one would see him, he couldn’t help but wear his gi. They stare at each other for a moment, the world is finally quiet as well. “FSM, you’re The Green Ninja! Wait! You said help-” the kids moving a mile a minute, it’s so unlike himself as a kid that Lloyd can’t help but smile under his mask. “Can you…can you help her?” The kid gets quiet again before stepping to the side, revealing another child. A girl around the kid’s age, hair drawn away from her face, though Lloyd can’t tell the exact color. He pushes up the hood of his gi, and removes his mask. He didn’t think the kid’s eyes could get any wider. Stepping up to the girl she’s breathing hard, despite being unconscious she seems uncomfortable, and one head to her forward confirms Lloyd’s suspicions. She has a fever.
Lloyd turns to the boy, “My name is Lloyd, it’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Arin, she’s Sora….can you help her?” Arin asks, finicking with the ends of his hoodie.
“Well, since you know I’m the green ninja, would it be alright if we went back to the monastery?” Lloyd doesn’t turn towards Sora, makes no move or even recognizing she’s there. Arin looks ecstatic, but still, he takes a moment to think about it before finally nodding. “I’m going to pick her up and you can follow us back.” He waits for another nod before finally turning towards Sora, cradling her in his arms, and starting the trek back to the mountain.
-
Lloyd stands staring at the stove top. There’s some kind of vegetable soup simmering, the sun has barely risen, and there’s two new children in the monastery. ‘What were you thinking, Lloyd!’ He berates himself as he turns the heat of the stove completely off, ‘Bringing children into the monastery when you barely take care of yourself?’ He pulls three bowls from the cabinet and places spoons in each, but puts a lid on the pot without removing any of its contents.
Arin, for all his excitement at seeing the legend Green Ninja, didn’t speak during their climb back to the monastery. About halfway up, Lloyd offered to carry him on his back, they only made it a few feet before the kid fell asleep. Lloyd had continued the journey in the same silence, questioning what he should do next. He did have medicine, thank FSM for Kai’s little grocery run. He himself hadn’t gotten sick, but he never threw it out. He’d put Sora on his bed, considering he didn’t think he’d be getting sleep tonight anyways, and Arin in Kai’s due to their proximity. Walking into the monastery seemed to wake Arin, the boy slid off Lloyd’s back as Lloyd went to set Sora in his room.
“I’ll go get some medicine and a wet rag, then we can help Sora,” he mentions before turning to find the items.
When he returned he knocked lightly on the door, hearing a small ‘Come in’ before entering. Sora’s eyes were bleary, and barely open, so Lloyd handed the medicine to Arin.
“Have her drink this, it’ll reduce the fever.”
Arin took the medicine from his hands, “Come on Sora, this will help.”
Lloyd gently put the wet rag on her forehead, let Arin stay in the room if he wanted, and set himself up for what could be a long night.
Which is how he ended up making soup at dawn.
He traveled toward his room, making his steps heavier, hopeful they could be heard. When he reached the door he gave a light knock, it was silent for a moment, he knocked again. Nothing. He flipped between just going in or not, it wouldn’t be good if the kids had left so quickly after last night, but they also could just both be asleep. Stepping into the room was quiet, but he was immediately met with a small girl glaring at him from the bed. They stared at each other for a moment, “Good morning, my name is Lloyd, Arin asked me to help you.” She didn’t say anything in return, just kept staring, “I made vegetable soup, would you like some?” Sora looked surprised for a moment before giving a hesitant nod. “Why don’t you wake up Arin and we can eat in the dining room?” She glances at Arin before returning to Lloyd, she doesn’t really give a response, but he takes it as a yes.