to rule the world | a ninjago au

[19] still a traitor

skylor

She was loath to let her training standards slip.

Skylor had learned quickly that the longer she sat out, the longer she was benched and stuck on the sidelines, the harder it would be for her to claw her way back up to everyone else's prowess. The punching bag flew back three metres as the element of ice froze it to the opposite wall. Red hair fell in her eyes as Skylor quickly followed the attack with rocks and a final, incinerating fire blast.

"Are you gonna just burn every training bag we own to a crisp?"

"Your input is very much welcome, damsel in distress." Skylor let a smile appear as she swept the ashes of the punching bag into a neat pile. "It's your power, after all."

Skylor dragged a new blue bag and hooked it up to the metal rods attached to the ceiling. Rolling her neck, she re-taped the amber coloured wraps around her hands and began to spar against her shadow and the punching bag again. Her baggy top and exercise leggings were drenched in sweat, but she didn't really want to change in front of him. Or anyone. Liam's disgusted face appeared before her eyes, making a snarky comment that she ignored.

No, Skylor thought, slamming her shoulder into the bag. I don't take criticism from you.

"I brought you food."

Skylor hesitated for a beat in her punch combo. "I don't need to eat, thanks."

The gnawing in her stomach said otherwise, but she pushed it aside and jumped into a roundhouse kick. She fell short, the bottom of her foot barely brushing against the new punching bag.

"You've eaten two apples in two days, Sky. Just take the food." Kai's voice sounded weary but his stubbornness shone through.

"I don't need to eat." Skylor repeated firmly, spinning around to finally face him. "Stop watching me do it as well, damsel."

Kai was nothing like Liam. Kai was here, Kai was holding a tray of food which made her want to puke, Kai was giving her a roguish smile that Liam could never replicate. He was nothing like Liam, but everytime she saw his face, it just reminded her that they'd been friends. That even if he'd stood up for her, she still wondered if he'd known. What Liam did. What he made her do. What, she'd found out, he'd made countless other girls do.

There were reports, about Liam. Filed by a lot of girls - not necessarily from their school, yet enough to give Skylor a strange sense of comfort but disgust. The temptation to reach out to some of them was strong, but what could she say? 'Hi, I'm Skylor Chen. Please ignore my face all over the city because our insane Emperor wants me dead.' She'd figure it out at some point. Maybe pull a Kai and get some cold sweet revenge, not just for her, but for all of them.

"Misako wants to call us to talk about the dragon eggs."

"What time?" Skylor stripped off her wraps and began stretching to cool down. Kai's eyes flicked up to her own and he wrung his hands anxiously.

"Fifteen minutes. I can wait for you if you want."

"No, go ahead. You probably have lots of questions on how to adopt your little baby dragon." Skylor smiled at the thought of Kai in a blacksmith's apron with a small red dragon latched on his shoulders.

"I'll see you later then, knight in shining armour." Kai winked on his way out, and Skylor rolled her eyes. She locked up one of many training rooms and left an apology note about the sizzled training equipment. It was less than thirty hours since they'd been back, but it had felt like forever. Time stuck underground either inched along or sped past. It made life a strange experience.