Chapter Text
Contently humming to himself, Lloyd strolled past the various stalls lining the streets of the Crossroads, Arin and Sora trailing obediently behind. The trio had decided to take advantage of the rare brake, and had made out for a shopping trip being in desperate need of ingredients and components.
Idly, Lloyd overheard his pupils muttering something about rumours under their breaths, but paid them no mind. Instead, he found his attention drawn to a seemingly innocuous store — seemingly a flower shop — nestled between two twisting trees, flowers blooming into brilliant blue. To the side, a faded wooden sign, crawling with lush, green vines and adorned with coquette bows, announced a sale for an upcoming festival.
Making a sharp turn, Lloyd began making his way over to the shop, before remembering his students and quickly returning to them before they noticed.
“Uh, Lloyd? Is something wrong?” Arin asked, abruptly cutting off his conservation with Sora as Lloyd mentally sighed.
“Oh god, I really hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the claws of Imperium,” the pinkette groaned in response.
Lloyd laughed nervously. “Oh, no, nothing like that! It’s just that, well, a flower shop over there caught my attention, so I was thinking of… checking it out, maybe?” The duo visibly perked up at this.
“Oh, sure! We’re both done shopping for the day as it is.” Sora replied. Lloyd sighed.“Besides, we’ve been getting a bit… bored by the lack of flowers in the Monastery. I mean, seriously, it’s a bit depressing!”
At this, Arin chuckled nervously. “Actually, Sora, there used to be tons of flowers in the Monastery, but Wyldfyre turned out to be allergic to them…”
Lloyd hummed loudly. “Well, I’m sure you two can still get a plant or two for your own rooms!” he interrupted, twisting the two around and getting them moving. “Sorry, but the sun’s going to start setting soon, so we should probably get a move on.”
Grumbling good naturedly, the two complied, and, after a bit of a struggle with the crowd, reached the storefront.
Pushing open the door, Lloyd quickly popped his head in, looking around the store in interest. As Arin made a move to talk to the cashier about the sale and Sora inspected some flowers native to Ninjago, Lloyd surveyed the store, taking in the details.
Turning his head to look at Arin, Lloyd abruptly stalled at meeting a certain someone’s eyes — and so did they.
“Brad?” Lloyd said, moving to were Brad stood. “Oh my god, is it really you?”
Brad Tudabone looked surprised, excited, and nervous at the same time. As soon as Lloyd reached him, he enveloped the ninja in a bone - crushing hug, standing about half an inch taller.
Lloyd reciprocated, the two laughing lightly. “It’s been so long!” The brunet exclaimed, drawing away from Lloyd but leaving his hands on the other’s shoulders. “God, I can’t believe — it’s—“
“Hah, I can’t either…” Lloyd sighed, shoulders drooping contently. “And yeah, it’s been, what — a decade?”
Chuckling, Lloyd turned to his pupils, acknowledging their inquisitive stares. “Oh, right,” he said, gesturing to Brad. “Guys, meet Brad! He and I are friends from Darkleys — the school I used to go to as a kid —“
“Oh! I know that!” Arin exclaimed, eyes shining. “Darkleys Boarding School for Bad Boys! It was a school that taught kids how to become villains.”
Sora made a face at this, which Brad laughed at. “It was weird, yeah. It did eventually end up becoming Wu’s Academy, though I did leave a bit later.”
At this, the Darkley’s duo laughed, their conversation quickly turning to mindless bickering. Arin and Sora took this as their cue to leave, instead moving to a corner to act like they were inspecting a plant while in actuality discussing the new character.
“Honestly, I didn’t know Lloyd had friends other than the ninja!” Sora whispered embarrassedly.
“Honestly, same here! Besides Pixal and other elemental masters, I thought he was a loner.”
They hummed in unison, turning this new information over in their heads. Brad snorted in response to something Lloyd said, the noise going unnoticed by the focused apprentices. Sighing, Sora eventually turned to look at them, noting the soft glow that had overtaken Lloyds face — one generally reserved for the other ninja.
“Well, he does look happy…” Brad acquiesced, facing Sora. “Besides, you know how Lloyd is. It would probably do him some good to make new friends!”
“Old friends, technically. But yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Sora admitted, smiling softly but making a mental note about it. They watched as Brad whispered conspiratorially to Lloyd, the latter responding with a boyish giggle.
•———•
“So.” Lloyd squirmed under his students’ harsh gaze.
Despite their earlier truce, Arin and Sora decided to corner their mentor once the three were back home and interrogate him a bit about his friend. They were desperate to know more about Brad — particularly Arin, who, besides freaking out over anything related to the green ninja, had taken a liking to the Darkley’s boy.
Sora leaned down, hands firmly holding Lloyd’s shoulders. “Tell us everything.”
Arin and Lloyd sighed. “Alright then…” Lloyd replied, gesturing to a set of chairs. You might want to sit down for this, ‘cause it’s going to be… long.”
In the blink of an eye, the duo were sat, eagerly awaiting the story Lloyd had for them.
“When I was a kid…”