Is there anything better than sex?
Yes, a healthy balance of mental well-being and university work - not that I had one.

"This is it," Chen cried from across the table in the common area of his hall. Our small study group looked up just in time for the former cheerleader to drop his forehead against his laptop's keyboard with an exhausted whine and send a 'jfjrifhduSHDKKFJDHSVWVAKAKJDJDJJ' hurtling along the page of his essay. "I'm dead."
"No," Ambrose said dully from where he was playing on his phone with an ankle propped up on his knee. Then he continued. "Don't die you're too sexy ha-ha."
Chen raised his hand and flipped him the bird. Ambrose snickered. Aisling patted Chen's back in sympathy.
"Come on," Aisling encouraged with a smile. "Only a few more weeks and then we're on break. One last push!"
I stretched my arms above my head before slumping, face listless with weariness. I was completely and totally drained, staring at my computer screen with blurry eyes. The words were literature soup.
"I can't," Dylan declared as he shut the lid of his laptop. "I'm done for the day. My brain is officially on strike."
"It isss unhealthy to force your brain to continue when a break isss needed," Kvasir piped up, already packing his gear away. I copied, while Aisling watched helplessly.

"Guys!" she complained. "We need to finish our work!"
Chen stared at her. He turned to Dylan.
"So, you said that you have band practice tonight?"
Aisling fell back into her seat with a huff, arms crossed and pouting heavily.
"Yep," Dylan nodded. He swung his laptop bag over his shoulder and patted an unhappy Aisling on the head. "It's in the music block. You guys wanna come along? We usually have dinner afterwards."
"Heck yeah!" Ambrose cheered. "What genre do you play?"
"Country."
"Never speak to me again," the elemental master said as he forced Chen away from Dylan as if he were contagious. Maybe he was. Maybe I'd wake up the next morning with a deep southern accent and a cowboy hat with a penance for putting a strand of wheat between my teeth.

"I'm kidding," Dylan chuckled. "We mainly do indie. Sometimes rock."
Ambrose stared at him suspiciously before slowly pulling Chen back with him. He was unamused to be dragged around.
"Keep talking," Ambrose said slowly.
"That sounds fun," I commented, finishing off my lukewarm tea with a final slurp. "It'll be nice to chill out for a change."
"Hear hear," Kvasir grumbled.
"So, it's decided?" I asked as we filed out of the hall. "We crashing Dylan's band's practise tonight?"
A chorus of agreements (and a reluctant one from Aisling) responded. Plans were put in place, and the time was set.
Pizza and a show, how methodically mundane. Lloyd would've loved to have gone, if he had the choice.
"Y/n," Dylan called as the others walked on ahead. His grip on my wrist was soft, only requesting my attention. I gave him it.
"Yes?" I answered, turning to him as our friends walked on ahead. My eyes locked on Ambrose over Dylan's shoulder. He sent me a look that told me that he'd be hanging around.

He shifted uncomfortably under my stare, still obviously finding things awkward ever since the Festival of Light.
C'mon, dude. That was almost four months ago.
"I just- I wanted to check in with you," he answered, rubbing a hand in the soft, dark hairs at the nape of his neck. "... and, uh, Lloyd. Is he doing okay?"
I set Dylan with a tired smile.
"You don't have to pretend to like him," I said, picking up on his false regard. "I'm used to it. Don't force yourself to do anything on my account."
That just made Dylan seem even more uncomfortable.
"I miss him," I said with a sigh. "He's doing fine, but I miss him a lot."
"But he's been treating you well, right?"
I smiled softly at his concern. Ah, he was still paranoid. Very paranoid. Incredibly so.
"He treats me like I'm his last breath on earth," I answered. "He respects and loves me, and I respect and love him."

Dylan nodded timidly, once again unable to hold my gaze. It'd been this way ever since he confronted me about Lord Garmadon having a hand in his uncle's death.
My smile slipped into a frown. Previous Garmadon who caused this distress or not, losing a family member was never easy. I couldn't pretend it never happened just because I was tight with sensei Garmadon.
"I'm fine, Dylan," I reassured gently. "Seriously really am. And if I wasn't, then you guys would be the first to know."
Lie, the rest of the monastery's residences would be the first to know, but it was something he needed to hear.
Dylan nodded again, still quiet. His blue eyes hesitantly found mine, but once they held my gaze, they locked on.
"If he screws up, I'm here."

Now it was my turn to not be able to hold his gaze. Dylan liked me? Fuck. Fuck.
I knew that there was physical attraction from his side, due to him hitting on me at the orientation party at the start of the year, way back when he thought I was a single stranger. He backed off without a fuss and even apologised.
But now? This goes beyond physical attraction. He likes me. He harbours emotions for me, set aside from the others and in a different league from anyone else he encounters. It was a crush. A hardcore one, too, considering that it's been almost seven months since he flirted with me.
"Let's go catch up with the others before they traumatise your band mates," I suggested, still looking away. I couldn't bring myself to discern his reaction. I didn't think I'd like what I'd find there.
I waited for a reply, but Dylan remained silent. The tension was suffocating my throat and I had to wait on baited breath to avoid, I dunno, screaming in emotional agony or something.
When it was clear that he wasn't going to reply, I spun on my heel and fled.

With my back to him and out of earshot, I had the luxury to place my hand on my forehead and give a groan.
Yikes.
Now the awkwardness between us was just going to be all the more worse. I couldn't wait for the semester to be over.

I trudged up the stairs to mine and Violet's dorm, feeling weighed down with lead as I walked. Once upon a time, I would've been ecstatic to hear that somebody had a crush on me (really, a crush on me?!), but now it just filled me with dread.
Not dread, as in that I didn't trust Dylan to behave himself, but dread in that I hurt his feelings. I hated hurting people's feelings and while my paranoia and overthinking and social anxiety made me largely distrusting of people, especially those around me, I still didn't have it in me to be anything but chivalrous.
Hurting Lloyd the year before had made me extra careful about how I handle situations and choose my words, though I still fucked that one up a lot, too.
I dropped my laptop bag onto my bed with a loaded sigh. Violet was still out god knows where, doing god knows what, and I had a few hours until I had to meet up with the others. I didn't want to study, didn't want to draw, and for once in my life, I didn't feel like reading.

I didn't like feeling this unsettled.
There was only one person who could calm my nerves when I found that I couldn't myself.

Me:
u free?
Delivered

🛹🥺💖:
sorry cant speak on mission
Sent 2.47pm

🛹🥺💖:
call soon
Sent 2.47pm

I sighed. Well. There goes that option.
After sending an acknowledging reply and pledging for him to be safe, I tossed my phone onto my bed and dove on after it. My head felt heavy with worry.
I couldn't text the team. I didn't have the monks' numbers. I didn't really want to involve my other friends from the group and make it awkward between everyone.
Naomi.
Please, please, please.

Me:
Nomes?
Delivered

I waited.
Too long. She must've been in class.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. Existing without conviction. Doing nothing but watching the slow seconds pass while my head hurt itself by thinking too much about one, unsavoury thing.
That really is the worst.

-kermit noises-:
ye
Sent 3.24pm

I wanted to weep in relief. Lifesaver.

Me:
can we call?
Delivered

-kermit noises-:
:(( ofc let me just get to my dorm
Sent 3.25pm

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked when I answered her incoming call only a few minutes later.
I gave a heavy sigh as I stared at the ceiling. My body felt drained and heavy, like lead. It was a mission even just to blink.
"Remember Dylan?" I asked. Naomi and I tried our best to keep each other up to date with our respective college campus dramas. When she gave her affirming reply, I continued, voice weary. "He confessed to me... not outright, but it may as well have been."
I pressed the speaker button before placing my phone on the bed beside me. Naomi's slightly crackly voice flooded my empty dorm.
"Oh," was all she managed to think of to say. "I... wow. What did he say?"
"He said that if- if Lloyd 'screws up' that he'll be there," I murmured. I twisted my promise ring on my finger and stared at it with a frown. "But like, in a romantic way. I think."
"Daaang," Naomi said. I hummed in agreement. "Have you told Lloyd that there's someone here in case he fucks up? Blackmail him into good behaviour."

I snorted.
"Yeah, like I'd ever leave Lloyd," I said with a roll of my eyes.
"True," Naomi agreed. "You two are insufferably good together."
"I haven't told him," I said quietly, dragging my eyes along the beams of the ceiling. "Should I? I don't want to stress him out or anything."
Naomi went quiet.
"I think it would be wise to tell him," she decided. "Communication and all, right? Besides, he knows how much you love him. We all do. It's not as if you're going to run off with Daniel or anything."
"Dylan," I corrected. "And you're right. I'll tell him, just to keep him up to date with things. He has been way better recently when it comes to his instincts and his weird, uh... I don't want to call it possessiveness..."
"Overprotectiveness?" Naomi offered.
"Yeah!" I said with a nod. "That's it, that's the word I was looking for."
"How are you feeling?"
I paused to think. How did I feel? I was too preoccupied with the awkwardness of the situation to assess how I emotionally reacted.
I was flattered for sure; I hadn't had many boys actually approach me with deeper intentions than just being friends, much less one who was willing to wait for me. Yes, flattered, but also uncomfortable in a sense, simply because I didn't know how to react.

How was I supposed to face him that night? Should I just not go? Should I go in spite of it? His friends were also mine, so why should I sacrifice my time with them simply because of Dylan's cloaked confession?
"Overwhelmed," I breathed my reply. I dropped my arm over my eyes tiredly. "Mightily overwhelmed."
Naomi made a sound of sympathetic agreement. My hand dragged down my face in exhaustion.
"Can you call Lloyd?" she asked. We all knew that if I was in a funk, he would be the one to get me out of it. Not to mention that his years spent living with wise senseis gave him an unworldly, distinct take on scenarios, despite his unruly nature at times.
"No," I grumbled. "He's on a mission."
"Damn."
"Yeah," I sighed. "And I have to hang out with Dylan tonight, too. Granted it's with the group, but it's to watch his band practise."
"Yikes," Naomi muttered. "I do not envy you right now."
"Who would?" I chuckled lethargically. I checked the time and groaned. "I should start getting ready soon."

"Alright," Naomi replied. "Call me if you need to talk, okay?"
"Will do," I pledged. A soft smile curved my lips. "Thanks, Nomes. I really needed to talk to you."
"Anytime," Naomi said. "Love ya."
"Love you," I said back. When the line was hung up, I dropped my hand back onto my chest with a sigh. I really didn't want to have to face Dylan again, but I also didn't want to have to lie to my friends about not going. I thought this get together was supposed to be a stress reliever? It was giving me more anxiety than my courses themselves.
My head lolled to the side and I stared at Violet's bed. Only adding insult to injury; Violet had been disappearing for days at a time recently. I knew that she wasn't the studying type and would rather stick a blunt in her eye than sit an exam, but it was still concerning.
She didn't bother to answer whenever I asked about her trips away. I quickly stopped asking.
There was a look in her dark eyes that made me recognise that pissing her off would not be the best idea I've ever had.

No Lloyd, no team, no Violet.
At least I had Naomi.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

Dylan's band practised in one of the larger rooms in the music building.

It was less like a studio and more akin to a decked out hall, complete with a massive whiteboard on the wall. It must've also doubled as a lecture theatre, hence the rows of folded bleachers that were pressed to the side and out of the way.
Dylan's band - consisting of two other boys and a girl - were setting up their equipment when Ambrose and I arrived. He made a beeline for his boyfriend. I hung back awkwardly.
I caught Dylan's gaze. I quickly looked away.
"Great, we're all here," he began once Aisling entered the studio. "Aside from one of our members, but she's busy tonight. Right, Aiden, Elijah, June, this is Chen, Ambrose, Kvasir, Aisling and... Y/n."
The hesitation was unmissable. June raised her eyebrows at Dylan, but didn't outright mention it. On my side, Ambrose shot me a look that told me that we were going to have a sit down and chat later on.

After that painful introduction, the band began to do their thing while the rest of us sat down together. I looked at everything and everyone except Dylan, but that didn't make me oblivious to his subtle glances my way.
God, this was excruciating.
Despite that, Dylan's band (aptly named Spiral State) was pretty good even without their fifth member. The pizza was ordered and arrived a good hour into the session, just in time for them to have a break.
"So, how did you guys meet?" Aiden asked as he took a large bite of his slice of pepperoni pizza.
"Chen, Ambrose, Kvasir and I are friends from Ninjago City," I said.
"I met Y/n when I accused her of being the Green Ninja's fiancée," Aisling giggled bashfully. "I was very wrong."
"Very wrong indeed," Kvasir said with a snort. I shot him a warning glare.
"But Y/n does have a sweetheart," Aisling gushed. She hauled my hand forward to show off the promise ring heirloom. "A promise ring! Super cute, right? I wish I had someone to give me a promise ring!"
I pulled a nervous smile. I didn't dare glance at Dylan, too scared of what I'd find. I couldn't handle it if he looked sad.

"Can I see your ring?" Elijah asked with a tilt to his head. "There seems to be inscriptions on the rim."
"... okay, but be careful and don't be too disappointed," I answered, handing Elijah the ring and watching it with hawk eyes. If I lost it, I would simply stop exisiting. "I'm pretty sure they're just scratches. It's really old."
"Really old," Elijah agreed with a nod. My finger felt naked without it. "These aren't scratches - it's old ninjagoan. They're just almost rubbed off from age."
"What?" I asked in disbelief. "You're kidding. I've had that for over a year! How did you know?"
"He's a second year major in linguistics," June replied, watching in amusement as Elijah peered at the ring with a careful eye. "He's a total nerd."
She slung an arm around Elijah's shoulders. He shoved her off with a grunt.
"I can still kinda decipher what it says," Elijah announced, narrowing his eyes. "It spells out warrior- but this symbol at the start, it's not from any language that I know."
"Let me have a looksie," Aisling asked, holding her hand out for the ring. She sent me a reassuring grin. "I'll be extra careful."
My reply was a worried smile.

Elijah placed the ring into Aisling's sure hand and showed her which symbol didn't make sense. She lifted it to her freckled nose to have a closer look, and her slitted eyes closed further in confusion.
"I've seen this before," she announced slowly. "But I... I can't remember what from. I know that I saw it in a book."
"Really?" I asked, grabbing the ring when Aisling passed it back to me. Chen and Ambrose leant over my shoulders to sneak a peek. The symbol itself was barely noticeable, unable to be seen by eyes who weren't specifically looking for it. It was so smooth and faded from its long life that I hadn't ever noticed it, even when I spent hours admiring the pretty heirloom. "Weird."
It was of two lines blossoming apart from each other, crossing over the outline of an encompassing spade. A large triangle sat in the middle of the lines and the spade.
"Huh," Chen said. "That is weird. And what a weird place to put it, too."
"Not necessarily," I murmured, rolling the ring in my palm just in case there were more secrets for me to discover. The emerald eye of the engraved dragon winked back at me. "If they put it on the inside, it would've faded off long ago. Outside, not as bad but much the same-"

"I know what the symbol is from!" Aisling suddenly gasped in excitement. Her eyes practically had stare in it. "It's the symbol for the elemental masters! From when they were at war with the Serpentine! See, the spade represents earth and its four elements, as well as wisdom and labour - but it's also the symbol for the First Spinjitzu Master! And the two lines, they represent his sons!"
I blinked. They had a symbol? I glanced back down at the ring curiously.
"How did I not know this?" I murmured.
"Not a lot of people do know," Aisling mentioned. "Not after the elemental masters disappeared a century ago."
"I thought the First Spinjitzu Master was just a myth?" Aiden asked.
"There is literally a team of ninja who do spinjitzu and have elemental powers," Aisling said dryly. "Are you really going to say that the FSM is less believable than that?"
Aiden shrugged. "Fair point."
"Whoa," I breathed as I slid the ring back onto my finger and admired its history. I knew that it was ancient, but this just solidified that. I was gifted a piece of history. That's pretty cool. Well, I already thought it was cool, but this just makes it feel all the more cooler-

"Why did Lloyd have that ring?" Dylan asked.

My smile dropped as I glanced up at Dylan. He stared back in genuine confusion.
"If it was a ring for elemental masters, why did he have it?" he asked. Aisling's eyes widened.
I felt ice slosh down my spine. It covered me in fear. Beside me, Chen stiffened.
"Lloyd's an elemental master?" she gasped quietly, lifting a hand to her mouth in shock. June's own eyes gazed at me in disbelief.
"Lloyd?" Chen snorted, garnering the attention and giving a nonchalant smirk. "The dude can barely walk in a straight line. He is not a descendant from an elemental master."
I tried to add to Chen's story, but panic had swollen my throat shut.
"Y/n?" Aiden asked. Aisling stared at me. "... my god, he is."
"No, he's not!" Ambrose laughed cheerfully. Kvasir silently chewed on his pizza, staring at the pizza boxes. "Don't be silly!"
"It makes sense," Elijah added carefully, frowning softly at the others. "His father had powers, didn't he? It's only natural for Lloyd to have powers, too."
Aisling was still staring at me. Her brain was working double time, watching my face in incredulity.

"No," she whispered. "He's the green ninja, isn't he?"

My eyes slowly turned to hers. The look on my panicking face was enough of an answer.
"You lied to me," Aisling said shakily, voice raising. "You lied to me about everything! How could you?"
"Hey, that's not fair!" Chen argued, inclining forward ferociously. "Lloyd's identity had to be protected! It's not her fault!"
"And, y'know, you also indirectly threatened her," Ambrose murmured under his breath with pursed lips.
"It was for the investigation!" Aisling defended.
"What investigation?" Chen scoffed. "You mean the illegal one you and your friends are conducting? She's his girlfriend, not a terrorist! How is this being a supportive fan?"
"Don't you lecture me about being a supportive fan!" Aisling yelled, leaping to her feet. Chen soon followed, face thunderous. "I'd been working on this for the better half of a year-!"
"A year you could've been doing anything better with your time instead of snooping into other people's lives!"
"Okay, alright," Aiden said as he too stood. He placed a hand on either of the arguee's shoulders and sent them pointed looks. I felt like I was drowning on dry land. "Let's all calm down. Shouting like this is going to get us nowhere-"

"Oh, buzz off, Aiden," Aisling shot, taking a step back and making his hand slip off of her. "She knows how much of a fan I am of the ninja!"
"I- I'm sorry, Aisling," I choked an apology as I stared up at her. "I had to protect them."
Her blue eyes glared down at me with a pathetic, hurt expression. I'd never seen them so icy. I'd never felt so small.
"I thought you were my friend," she said. Her voice was beginning to grow thick.
"Of course I am!" I insisted, stumbling to my feet. "B- but I had to keep their identities hidden! There are people who want to hurt them, who want to hurt me! I can't risk that!"
"Y/n, it'sss okay," Kvasir murmured, sliding up beside me. Aisling turned her stinging eyes away from me with a scowl. "Try to calm yourssself. You're forgetting to breathe."
"Don't bother talking to me again," Aisling spat before turning on her foot to storm away. June, Elijah and Aiden watched with wide, stunned eyes.

"Hold on, you can't just leave!" Chen called. "Not after this! Hey!"
Aisling ignored him, shoulders hunched and tensed as she reached for the door to exit the studio.
The wooden floor panelling suddenly veered upwards and blocked the exit, creaking and groaning as it bent and disfigured. Aisling stumbled back with a short scream.
Ambrose, the master of physics, stood eerily still with his arm outstretched towards the door.
"I can't let you leave," he said in such a dreadfully calm manner that it made my spine shiver in fear. The look in his eyes almost had me cowering.
"Ambrose..." Dylan breathed. "You're one, too?"
"Chen, call Neuro," Ambrose ordered, blue eyes not looking away from where the floor had risen. "They can't remember what happened here."
"What the fuck?!" June shouted in response. "You're going to erase our memories or something?!"
"No way!" Aiden snapped.

Oh gods, this was all such a mess. It spiralled faster than what my brain could keep up with. Kvasir still stood beside me and I still couldn't breathe quite right, but my focus was entirely on the pure look of hatred on Aisling's face.
If she got out and told people who the green ninja really was...
"Let me out!" Aisling snarled. "This is hostage!"
"I can't let you tell people about Lloyd," Ambrose announced. He tilted his head to the side with a sheepish smile. "And, well, also me, but it's mainly Lloyd that we're all worried about. Y/n, call Lloyd. We need a better plan for when people find out."
"You can't do this to us!" June shouted. "It's not our fault that little miss green ninja here had a ring with that stupid symbol on it!"
"Not saying it is," Ambrose shrugged. "But you lot still found out and the repercussions remain."
It was a standoff.
"I can't breathe," I whispered tightly.
"Go outssside," Kvasir replied quietly. "Take a breather." He lifted his chin and addressee the elemental master. "Ambrossse."
Part of the wall behind me split apart and let the chill of the winter air in. I was quick to step outside, and the panels and the pink mats and the paint were swift to slap themselves back together.

I dropped myself back onto the outside wall, inhaling sharply as I tried to regain any sense of physical awareness. I was floating on air, but a far cry from in the good sense; I was twirling and tumbling through such open space that it felt suffocating, and I was ill right to my stomach and back.
"Fuck," I gasped, trying my best to claw back the knowledge of properly breathing that had been stolen away by panic. It was locked up on a high tower, far out of reach, but the more steps I climbed, the more I found myself unable to breathe.
I wasn't panicking because of Aisling, nor was I crying because of her coldness. It was of the fact that I unknowingly put the team in jeopardy and obliviously walked the knowledge of Lloyd's identity right into their hands.
I should've kept the damn ring to myself.
"Arghhh!" I groaned a shout from the back of my throat in suffering, bringing myself in towards my knees as I crouched. This was fucked. This was so fucked. How on earth was I supposed to tell Lloyd? Neuro or no, it still happened.
It all went down so quickly. It spiralled into the realm of out of control far too fast. My brain was still reeling.

"Rough day?"

I felt my shoulders slump.
"Look," I breathed, face still buried into my hands. "Whoever it is, just please, god, leave me alone tonight."
"Ouch," the girl's voice continued. Her footsteps - almost as soft and inaudible as Lloyd's, but not quite - further approached me. "And here I was, trying to be civil. You know there's a bunch of people surrounding you, right? They've been following you for a couple of days."
My eyes opened as footsteps - quiet, but not as quiet as Lloyd's - approached. A feminine figure emerged from the moonless shadows, donned head-to-toe in dark leather and plexiglass armour. There was a faint resemblance to a ninja gi imbued in the design.
I stood straight, senses on high alert. The barely-there ruffles of clothing and scuffs of shoes around the buildings and shadows had my spine tingling nervously.
"Who are you?" I asked as my eyes scanned our surroundings.
"You can call me Phantom," she answered, voice slightly muffled through her mask. She reached behind herself and drew a weapon that looked like a sickle on a chain. A kusarigama, if what I remembered from Lloyd teaching me about the various types of weapons was correct. "But more importantly, I'm the enemy of your enemy."

My head turned slowly, eyes raking the scene. I tried to spot movement in the shadows but I could spot nothing.
"How can I trust you?" I asked quietly. Movement behind me had my hair standing on end.
"Well," Phantom said in smug amusement as she glanced over my shoulder. "Because it seems like you don't have much of a choice. Duck."
I was already on the ground before she finished the word. The kusarigama sliced through the air above me and a cry of pain shouted from behind. A thud of a body had me scrambling forward and onto my butt, staring with wide eyes at the still body.
"Is that enough to convince you, civvy?" Phantom asked.
"Did you kill him?" I whispered, horrified.
"No," she snorted, before pausing in thought. "I don't think so."
I shot her a bewildered look. Her mask stared back down at me, body language unchanging, totally unbothered whether she just ended a man's life or not.
"Hey, it's either them or you."

It's either the team or the bad guys too, but they always manage to subdue rather than kill.

"So, you're a ninja," I said breathily as she helped me to my feet. "What's your power?"
"Power?" Phantom echoed. "I don't have a power. Watch out."
My breath stopped short as she shoved me aside and flicked out her weapon. I watched in horror as it sliced into the side of an approaching man. He fell in a heap. A pool of liquid began to flood beneath him and I felt bile grow in the back of my throat.
"I'm a vigilante," Phantom said when she noticed the pale look on my face. "If people attack Nom, then they have to deal with me."
"Surely there're better ways," I said in a strained voice. I tried my best to keep my eyes elsewhere, but they kept creeping back to the twitching body.
"Maybe," Phantom shrugged. "Maybe that works for the ninja team. But I don't have five others keeping an eye on things. If I let one man slip away, that could mean five dead civvys the next day."
"Not necessarily-"
"It's happened more times than it should've," Phantom said coolly. "Behind you."

I stepped out of the way just as the ninja rushed past and sent wind hurtling through my hair. She moved too fast for my eyes to track, but the sounds were unmissable. Gloved hands on skin, bones cracking, groans and grunts.
My throat ran dry. I felt as if I were in the middle of a lion's den. There was no negotiating with a lion when it decided that you were its new prey.
"There," Phantom huffed as she stood back from the pile of groaning people, all sharing similar tattoos and jackets that had an insignia too shrouded in shadow to decipher. "All done. Vali should be coming around - we'll get these guys out of here."
I swallowed. I didn't know whether to thank her or call the police. Or Lloyd.
Lloyd! Shit, I was supposed to call him!
But he hadn't called me, which he said he would once his mission was over. Was he still in the thicket? Maybe calling wasn't a good idea. Maybe I should text just to make sure. Who knows what might happen if his communicator starts while he's in the middle of something important?

Footsteps fast approaching made me glance up from where I'd been taking my phone out of my pocket. A figure, swiftly descending down the dark alleyway between the studio and the hall, was rushing towards Phantom's unprotected back.
She was too preoccupied by checking the pulses of her victims to notice, let alone prepare a defence. Morals skewered or not, she protected me. It was only fair that I did the same.
My feet were moving before I had even made my decision.
"Look out!" I warned, dropping my phone to the concrete and shoving her aside. She let out a startled yelp just as I planted my foot and swung my leg out, railing my lower shin into the side of their head with a CRACK.
A bolt of pain shot up my leg from the impact, but I paid it no mind as I landed in a defensive position, awaiting their next attack. It never came.
"Huh," Phantom said from the ground after a few beats of silence, puffing. I had to manually force myself to relax. "You fight ninjutsu."

"I dabble," I replied breathily, stumbling back until I landed on my ass as I tried to regain my breath. My eyes closed. "Not good enough at it to be confident."
"Looks good enough to me," Phantom snorted. I heard her roll to her feet and stand. "Are you affiliated? Who's your sensei?"
My lips twitched in amusement.
"My boyfriend."
Phantom whistled lowly, impressed.
"Some boyfriend."
"Tell me about it."
She stood before me and flicked my shoulder with the back of her hand. I peeled open my eyes. She was holding out her hand for me to take.
"Well, civvy," Phantom began. "This has been fun."
I eyed the pile of unconscious (hopefully) gang members as I stood.
"'Fun' is not the word I'd use," I confessed, brushing myself down. The click of latches and a hiss of air made me falter. My eyes jumped to the ninja before me.

Shiny, auburn hair tumbled down over her armoured shoulders. A streak of blue dashed through her hair, following the waterfall of loose waves that cradled her soft cheek. Piercing, brown eyes stared me down while freckles danced across her cheeks like the cosmos themselves.
I stared in shock.
"Why did you-?" I began, averting my gaze. In vain, however, as the damage had already been done. I saw her face. "Why?!"
"Well," the girl began with a smug grin. "It's not every night where you defend a girl who's being stalked by a gang only to find out that her boyfriend's teaching her to fight." Her eyes narrowed and I felt as if I were being judged by Uchu's minion himself. "Besides, I have a suspicion that you call danger like how meat calls dogs. We may get a bit acquainted."
"But aren't you worried about your identity?" I asked, still staring at the brick wall to my side. It'd been a while since I had to deal with secret identities without knowing their faces - it was familiar, yet oh-so-alien.
"Nah," she shrugged. "You seem trustworthy. I have a feeling that you'll protect my identity." She leant in close with a sneer. "Or am I wrong?"
"Totally correct!" I squeaked with my palms raised. I really didn't want to find myself on the business end of her kusarigama. "I am super good with secret identities!"

My thoughts shot back to the gang in the studio, who found out about Lloyd through my ring that I willingly allowed them to study.
Super good, indeed.

"The name's Seliel," the ninja said as she hoisted her helmet between her arm and a hip. "You?"
"Y/n," I replied. "Thank you... for saving me."
"Thank you for saving me," Seliel echoed with a pointed glance at the man who tried to attack her off-guard. She shoved her helmet back on. "Vali should be here soon. Good luck with... whatever you have going on."
I smiled weakly in thanks, and she disappeared, just the way that ninjas did.
A ninja without powers.
I stared at the pile of people.

"Certainly doesn't hinder her," I mumbled to myself with a shudder.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

Turns out, I'd rather deal with the shitstorm inside the studio than catch my breath near a pile of broken people who were hopefully still alive.

I ended up calling the military outpost about the gang members. (I would later learn that every single victim had disappeared before their arrival, and neither Seliel nor Vali had anything to do with it.)
After that, I returned to the studio with a rap of my knuckles on the wall. The structure parted for me just as it did before.
The others seemed to have calmed down for now, sitting in seperate parts of the studio in silence. I released a breath of relief that I didn't realise I'd been holding.
I made eye contact with Aisling. She turned away, but this time her face seemed more so hurt than furious. That somehow made it worse.
"Neuro's on his way," Chen murmured as he approached me. "Kvasir called Lloyd - what's wrong?"
My face must've still been pale enough to be noticeable. I cleared my throat and shook my head.
"Nothing- nothing," I muttered. "Did I miss anything else?"

"Not anything worth repeating," the mechanic-study grumbled as I leant against a wall. "Just a bunch of name-calling. I think everyone was just in a bit of shock."
"Understandable," I sighed, sliding down the wall to sit. There were still heaps of pizza left, but I found my appetite lacking. It felt that if I ate a single bite, it would hit a block in my throat.
It was probably an hour and a half into waiting in utter silence when Aisling dutifully approached me, head drawn and bowed. She quietly took a seat beside me and fiddled with a lock of her red hair.
"I'm sorry," she suddenly said, voice quiet but honest. Her blue eyes stared holes into her jeaned knees. "I'm sorry I snapped. I get it, you can't tell anyone his identity, even me. I guess I just... got scared and was shocked. But that's not an excuse."
"It's okay," I murmured my reply, drawing my legs closer to my chest. "I would've reacted the same." Probably not, but it was what she needed to hear.

We sat, words unsaid and silence brewing. Aisling tapped a rhythm on her calves and I drew circles on my shoes with my fingers.
She was the one to break the quiet again.
"I can't believe I said those things about you," she said. "And you listened with a straight face. And about your fiancé, too!" She buried her face into her knees with an embarrassed squawk. I chuckled.
"It was pretty amusing," I admitted. "Especially the parts when you said that he belonged to you."
"Shut up!" Aisling squeaked, face as red as her hair as she slapped at my shoulders. I laughed. "Shut up!"
"This isn't an engagement ring, either," I pointed out when Aisling traded her pitiful violent protests to mulling in tense awkwardness. Her blue eyes shone with interest. "It is just a promise ring."
"Oh," she said. Then immediately changed the subject to something I should've seen coming a mile away. "What's he like in bed?"

I coughed violently on whatever words tried to emerge from my throat. It was my turn to blush horrifically.
"Nothing!" I shrilled, eyes wide. "We've done nothing!"
"So he's still a virgin," Aisling murmured to herself as she rubbed her chin. "Interesting..."
"Please don't post anything creepy onto your blog," I moaned as I dropped an arm over my eyes. "People will make connections that you know who he is."
"Of course," Aisling scoffed, despite looking a little put-out. "I'm not dumb... how do you do it? Not going around, spilling that Lloyd Fuckin' Garmadon is the green ninja?"
My eyes slid to hers, tired to eager. My smile was weary.
"Aisling, if word got out that he was the green ninja, it wouldn't just be him and I in danger from his enemies," I began explaining softly. "Suddenly it's the rest of the team, my family, his family, his friends, my friends, their families... it goes on. I keep his secret because of loyalty to him and everyone else who might be in danger if it gets revealed."

Aisling managed to read between the lines. She always did.
"You're in danger," she noted quietly. "How much?"
"A lot," I replied in a breath, staring at the ceiling. "I don't want that danger for you, too."
"And Ambrose is here to protect you?" Aisling asked with a tilt of her head. "That's why he's always around you even though he doesn't study here, right?"
I sent an impressed smile her way.
"You pick things up fast."
Suddenly bashful, Aisling tugged on her hair to hide behind it.
"I told you my father's a detective," she murmured. "Are you going to ask Lloyd to prom?"
Prom. A second chance at a school-based prom, despite it being University.
"That's the plan," I replied, and prayed that this time the night wouldn't end with a bullet in my leg.
Another hour passed. The pizza was slowly eaten, despite being cold. Dylan's band had long ceased sending me suspicious looks. Kvasir was curled in the corner fast asleep, while Ambrose and Chen leant against the tidal wave of floorboards restricting the doorway, discussing quietly amongst themselves.

"I think I'm shaking," Aisling whispered. "I can't believe the green ninja's going to arrive here soon. Am I still breathing? I don't think I am."
I smiled at her. Her shakiness seemed to ground me in reality rather than letting me drift in my messy thoughts.
"You'll be fine," I reassured. "He's very kind."
"And hot!" she hissed accusingly, as if the very notion caused her personal woe. "You should've just told me that he's an asshole! It would make me far less star struck!"
"Anything, as long as you don't attack me for dating him," I snickered.
"Shush!" Aisling snapped. "You know I wouldn't."
A knock on the door made her tense with a squeak. I pushed myself up to my feet, Dylan and June doing the same. Kvasir sluggishly blinked four eyes awake.
Ambrose and Chen stood before the elemental master let the boards fall back into their natural place. In through the doors arrived Neuro and Lloyd.

Aisling let out a sound that immediately had her curling in on herself in embarrassment. I was too preoccupied being caught in Lloyd's gaze to pay it any mind.
He immediately strode over, face set in seriousness that made guilt crash a tsunami into me. I was wilting before his hands found my shoulders and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Sunshine," he whispered his greeting. My hands weakly found their purchase around his waist.
"Lloyd," I greeted back in a voice just as small. I felt like shattering. I felt as if I deserved to do so. "I'm so sorry, they found out-"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, but they found out about you and I didn't even-"
"You're not listening," Lloyd said in a gentle voice. He pulled away and stared into my eyes with such careful ferocity that it made my throat swell. "Are you okay?"
I wordlessly nodded. He breathed a soft smile in relief.
"That's all that matters."

Neuro was speaking with Elijah and Ambrose when we emerged from our little two-person huddle. He tightly linked his fingers through mine. I gripped him back just as much.
"The ring?" Neuro asked in surprise. His grey eyes glanced down at the heirloom that weighed down my finger. "How interesting."
"What about the ring?" Lloyd asked. Elijah stared at him with wide eyes. Dylan nudged him with his elbow.
"U- uh," the linguistic major fumbled, eyes catching on the floorboards. "Th- there's old ninjagoan on the rim of the ring. A- and Aisling figured out wh- what the symbol stood for."
Lloyd frowned. He turned to glance at Aisling huddled on the floor, but she was suddenly standing behind Lloyd and I and was staring at him with eyes the size of saucers.
Lloyd jumped.
"Jesus," he said in surprise. I hid a laugh by biting my lips - it wasn't often that he was taken by surprise.

"Hi," Aisling breathed. She was sweating.
"Hi," Lloyd replied. He looked uncomfortable without his ninja gi - it wasn't as if he ever interacted with fans in his casual wear. The green ninja and Lloyd Garmadon were two separate identities, after all.
"Is it true that your powers come from your energy?" she asked in rush. "Do you really go on patrol every night? When do you sleep? Do your powers ever run out? What about your dragons, how do they work? Is that energy-based, too? Everyone has an element but yours is green! Is green your element?"
The silence that consumed us after Aisling stopped talking was so abrupt that it gave me whiplash. Lloyd nervously laughed after digesting her word vomit.
"Uh, good question...s," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Aisling's face went beet red, but the determined pout remained. "My powers are a culmination of every elemental power-"
"How many?" Aisling pressed.
"Uh... a lot," he confessed with a small smile.
"Can you show me!" she begged. Lloyd shared an exasperated look with me - he was clearly exhausted from his mission - but humoured Aisling anyway.

"Wow," she breathed when a small sphere of green energy hovered above Lloyd's palm. It drew the others in, pulling them away from the walls and making them crowd around, like moths to a flame. "That is so cool."
"Do you mind telling me what you know about the symbol?" Lloyd asked, pulling his powers away. The alluring affect vanished and the others stepped back a bit. Aisling chewed on her lips.
"So, a lot of history books about the elemental masters was destroyed during the big war, but I managed to find a couple," she confessed, fisting at the hem of her shirt. "I read them front-to-back at least seven times each, I could probably recite them. Do you want me to? I can totally recite them-!"
"That won't be necessary," Neuro said.
Aisling grabbed my hand and pushed the ring around until the small symbol was facing Lloyd.
"This symbol is of-"
"The elemental masters," Lloyd finished, cradling my hand as he stared at it closer. He didn't look surprised.
"You knew?" I asked.
"Yes," he admitted with a meek shrug and handsome smile. "My father gave it to my mother when they were in the middle of the war against the Anacondri. She was a founder, along with Garm and Wu. The symbol meant a lot to each other. I... didn't expect anyone to notice."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" I asked with my brows furrowed. Lloyd sent me a dry look.
"Because you would panic about the novelty of it."
"Oh. True." He knew me well.
Wait.
If Lloyd knew about the symbol on the ring and allowed me to wear it anyway, only chancing exposure on the little available knowledge of what it meant-
"Then it's your fault!" I gasped. I raised my arms in triumph. "I'm off the hook! Hallelujah!"
Lloyd grimaced. Neuro snickered.
"Yeah, I'll take the hit for this one," he offered with a bashful grin.
"This has to be some kind of joke," Aiden breathed with a shake of his head. "I never expected the green ninja..."
"To be him?" June finished.
"Nah," Aiden corrected. "To be my age."
"He's younger than he looks," I commented, much to the unamusement of Lloyd.
"Not funny."
"It's kinda funny," Ambrose interjected. Lloyd shot him a glare.

"Where did you find the history books?" Lloyd asked. Aisling seemed to struggle under his attention.
"G- garage sales," she replied, voice pitched. "Old libraries. Second-hand book stores. Wherever I could find them."
"Why does it matter?" I asked. Ambrose shifted, already knowing the answer. He shared a reluctant look with Lloyd.
"Those history books tell a lot about us and our powers," the master of physics answered, blue eyes dragging to me. They were shrouded, not allowing me to see any hint of true emotion. "They also... speak about our weaknesses. A lot of them were more like diaries. Who knows what might come up in there?"
"Not just that, but secrets of our powers that are now forbidden or lost to the past," Lloyd continued grimly. "Answers to wicked questions. How people without powers can alter themselves into mimicking masters' abilities. Necromancy, energy transferrals, curses. Black magic."
Black magic?
I felt an indiscernible shiver spike down my spine.
"I thought black magic didn't exist," I murmured. Lloyd exhaled through his nose in dark humour.
"Coming from a girl who regularly associates with people who have powers."
Touché.

"That's crazy," Elijah murmured. "That's... holy shit. And people just destroyed the books? Why?"
"They thought that elemental masters had completely died out," Neuro supplied gravely. "They wanted to get rid of any evidence of our existence. Not good enough though, it seems."
"So people can mimic powers?" I asked. "Like Skylor?"
"Worse," Lloyd commented. The others listened intently. "They can outrightly steal them from masters."
I felt sick to my stomach. That's... not good. I hugged my arms tight around myself, but even that didn't reassure the sudden wave of fear that consumed me whole.
"I thought only the first spinjitzu master could take away powers and give them out?" I whispered. "People figuring out how to do that through black magic... that's... that's fucked."
"I did read up on something like that," Aisling admitted, face looking a shade more pale than usual, which was astounding considering how red she was just before. "There was a whole chapter dedicated to exploiting powers. I didn't think too much about it."

I glanced at Lloyd as the others began talking amongst each other about the ancient history books that held secrets about the elemental masters. It seemed that just as I thought I knew all there was to know about Lloyd, something like this happened and I realised that what I knew barely scratched the surface. It was infinite, eternal, neverending.
I took a step forward and a wave of mysteries and unspoken history rears its head and leaves me speechless at its vastness. I was grasping at water from rapids, what I knew clung to me, but there was just so much to gather and learn.
It was impossible.
I would never know everything there was to know about him, his heritage, his world, and the thought somewhat depressed me.
"Right," Neuro said, pulling me from slowly suffocating in my thoughts. "Shall we get started?"
Aisling's face dropped.
"This will be the coolest moment of my life that I'll never remember," Elijah announced as he bravely stepped forward. "Kind of like being black out drunk."

"Wait," I said, latching onto Neuro's arm. "We need to get those books."
Lloyd stared at me. They all stared.
"Think about it!" I pressed when nobody spoke up. "If those books are still out there, then they pose a threat! Who knows who has their hands on them and who knows what they'll do with that information."
"Good point," Neuro agreed.
"What are you proposing?" Chen asked.
"We find them and we destroy them," I said firmly. "Aisling has a bunch already and Elijah knows how to read old ninjagoan, so he can tell if it's what we're looking for or not. There could be hundreds of them out there - we need all the help we can get."
"So... I'm not losing my memories?" Elijah asked.
"Not yet," I decided. I turned to Aisling. "Do you still have those books?"
"Y- yeah," she nodded.
"Great," I said. "Next time you visit home, bring them back to uni with you. Someone from the team will pick them up."

I glanced at Lloyd for a second opinion. He nodded earnestly, fully on board with my idea. My chest thrummed in appreciation.
"We'll keep an eye out for the old books in Ninjago City," he offered. "And the monks can spread out to surrounding cities, too, if you guys can handle Nom and her neighbouring towns."
"Can do," Dylan said. His gaze was indiscernible yet evidently steeled. "Anything to help out the secret ninja force."
Lloyd did a subtle double take at the iciness in his voice. He didn't question it, however, which I was thankful for.
I really didn't have the energy to deal with anymore complications. That evening had been exciting enough to last me months.
"You all should head to bed," Lloyd said after glancing at the time on my phone. He slid it back into my pocket. "It's late."
"I have class in the morning," June murmured. "I'm tired."

"Hold on," Neuro called before we could all disperse. "I would like to check whether you all can be trusted. It won't take a minute."
I released a long, low exhale through my nose and leant back against Lloyd's chest. It was important, obviously, but I really just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until all the complicated tangles in my life straightened themselves out.
After another fifteen minutes and declaring Dylan's band and Aisling trustworthy, I was quite literally dozing on my feet. It was surely deep into early morning and the ungodly hour's affects were not lost on me. If it weren't for Lloyd, I would be a tangled heap on the floor of the studio.
"Are we finished?" I asked groggily when I noticed the floorboards change to wet concrete beneath my shoes.
"Yeah," Lloyd replied.
"I missed you," I whispered as my fingers twisted in his shirt. I could almost see his smile as he helped me back to my dorm room.
"Bet I missed you more," he countered.
"Bet?" I questioned.
"Bet."
"No balls," I said, to which he replied with a confused expression.

I sighed. The woes of having a boyfriend uncultured on gen z shenanigans.

My eyes found themselves drawn to the alleyway where I had met Seliel the evening prior. I tilted my head curiously as my boots padded along the cobblestone. The warm lights from the gas lamps glittered yellow across the wet stone, and the shadows were towering and heavy.
"Lloyd?" I requested his attention quietly. He made a sound within his chest that told me he was listening. "Are there ninja in Nom?"
"There's a story about ninja in Nom," Lloyd chuckled. We stepped through the entrance to my dormitory's hall. "But it's nothing more than a legend. Why?"
Was it worth making him worry?
"No reason," I replied distantly as we made our way up the steps to the level my room was on. The hall was silent. The residents were sleeping, much like how I yearned to. I glanced back at Lloyd as he grabbed the keys from my back pocket and shoved it into the lock. "I'm ninety-percent sure that Dylan has a crush on me."
Lloyd's red eyes glanced at me through his long lashes. The allure of his lidded gaze almost dragged me in.
"Good taste."
I felt my heart skip a beat.

"What did he say?" Lloyd asked as he shut the door to the empty dorm behind us. I collapsed onto my bed and turned onto my back.
"He said that if you screwed up, he'd be waiting," I announced in an exhale. Lloyd dropped onto his knees at the end of the mattress and pulled off his hoody.
"Tell him not to hold his breath," he murmured as he dropped it to the floor. "I don't plan on ever giving you up."
"I'd be offended if you considered it," I pointed out. Lloyd dropped to his hands with a chuckle, encasing my head in a cage of himself. Exhaustion had my eyes lids heavy with sleep, but I refused to succumb. Not when I hardly got to spend time with him as it was.
"I feel bad," I whispered when Lloyd began to nuzzle his nose against my neck. He'd been holding himself back all evening. "He's nice."
"He'll get over it," Lloyd murmured between kisses to my throat. My back arched. My eyelids fluttered. "Physical attraction comes and goes."
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

Lloyd shrugged after sitting back up, kneeling over my calves. His warm hands rested on my jeans.
"I've had my fair share of crushes during the days," he confessed nonchalantly. "A lot through high school."
"Wow," I said in surprise at myself and the ill feeling in my gut. "My stomach is already twisting in jealously. Gross."
Lloyd snickered. "You're cute when you're jealous."
"Don't say that," I whined, slapping my hands over his knees. "Don't condone me being problematic."
"It's not problematic-" Lloyd cut himself off with a sigh. "Okay, then... you're not cute when you're jealous?"
I dropped my jaw open in offence.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm cute all of the fucking time."
He laughed freely. It was a sound that had me soaring.
"That you are, kitten," Lloyd agreed amusedly. "There's no need to be jealous, doll. Like I said, physical attraction doesn't relate to actual emotions."

"Uh-huh," I said with a nod. My hands linked behind his neck and pulled him down atop me. Lloyd grunted through a grin. "And when you first saw me, was I just another 'physical attraction'?"
Lloyd lifted himself up on one arm. He set me with a deadly serious look. The sheets ruffled.
"Of course," he answered. "It was all only physical attraction. Nothing else whatsoever-"
"Shut up!" I laughed with a slap to his chest. He fell into a chuckle.
"No," he began to answer properly. "You were different than anything else I'd ever experienced. Plus, the way you kept trying to hide your stares behind a book was very cute. I was a goner."
"Tell me about your crushes," I probed, trying to redirect my focus from the burning blush on my cheeks to his stories.
"Doesn't matter anymore," Lloyd said, shifting so he was lying side-by-side with me. "No one compares to you."
"No, no," I encouraged. "What's your type?"
"I don't have a type."
"Everyone has a type," I scoffed. "C'mon, don't be shy. I don't care if I don't fit your criteria."

Lloyd shifted his head to face mine. My eyes dropped to his.
"What's your type?" he asked.
I gazed at his face while I tried to remember any semblance of a type I had before meeting Lloyd. What kind of people intrigued me? Who dragged me in? Natural charisma? A human kind of magnet? Who did I like before I met Lloyd?
No one. Not really. Not in this way.
"You," I finally realised. "You're my type."
"That's my answer, too," Lloyd murmured with a gentle smile. His fingers tucked a lock of my hair back from my face. "You were made for me, just as I was made for you."
One day, he's going to give me a heart attack, solely from the way he was able to string his words together as if they were a decoration for Valentine's Day themselves. I soaked in them and cherished their sincerity.
My mind flashed back to the way Seliel attacked the gang members in the alleyway. The sheer amount of them following had me grimacing. How long had they been stalking me through my day-to-day? How many secrets of mine did they know, did they take apart in?

Who knows what might've happened if Seliel hadn't shown up and thrown them off their rhythm? I certainly couldn't have taken them all by myself, especially if they decided to do a coordinated attack.
I needed to stick with Ambrose, like I was supposed to. No more lacklustre, 'she'll be right' attitude.
And if Lloyd didn't know about Seliel or Vali...
"You don't kill, right?" I asked into the darkness.
"Of course not," Lloyd replied, taken aback by the nature of my question. "We only knock out and subdue. Why do you ask?"
Would he appreciate a vigilante (a real, grey-moral vigilante) looking out for me? Would he approve of her stance? I certainly didn't, despite her saving my ass.
I realised that I was too tried to open that can of worms.

"No reason," I murmured to the shadows of Violet's empty bed.