Mafia

Chapter 1: The Waterlilies

I'm not Nya Smith.

I've never been her. Not really. Not truly.

I'm a Waterlily. I'm a Waterlily not by blood, but by heart.

We already know each other better than our mothers do. Our minds have been shaped by the same kinds of experiences. Our fists have hit the same kinds of people. When we're together, we become transparent. We don't hide our anger, our frustration, our evil. My other life didn't provide me that luxury.

It's 2 years since I've left the ninja. And the whole realm is still hunting for the people who "killed me". 

Truth is, I'm the one who did it. I killed the girl that had gained so much fame when she became the first female ninja. The girl who fought bravely against those who cast shadows on the world. The girl that was part of the 'family of protectors'. 

As far as I'm concerned, the ninja are just bunch of dirty traitors pretending to be heroes. I have no family there. 

Like I said, I'm not Nya Smith. 

I'm not the sister of Kai Smith. Not the Yang of Jay Walker. Not the friend of Lloyd Garmadon, Zane Julien, or Cole Brookstone. 

But as much as I'd like to set fire to my past, there's a part of it that I carry with me to this day. It's my previous identity. The one that I'm connected to by blood.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why the girls call me The Watersnake.

I like to think it's because I have a strong bite. A bite that's strong but not always deadly. I'm the only one in the group that believes that killing is rarely the solution to our problems. Sure, it's fun to eliminate the unworthy, but this life isn't for people who want fun.

It's for the people who want get the real truth.

I've trained my girls to be truth-tellers. Lying is absolutely unacceptable around here. (Sarcasm hasn't been prohibited, mostly because I've noticed that we're all pretty sarcastic people.)

I examined everyone's profile before they joined, just to make sure they hadn't changed drastically since the last time I'd seen them. I was pleased to see that none of them had blacked out the "Relationships" section. We've all had our share of ninja boyfriends, though it really isn't something to be ashamed of. We just need to look back on it and know that it wasn't to be. 

I remember the day I recruited them. I remember the way they handed me their papers, the way they their presence made me feel while I leafed through pages and pages of evil. 

Skylor Chen was first. I wasn't surprised that she had come to my side. Kai had no doubt treated her like trash. I had seen that he had an unnerving ability to take someone's soul and squeeze all the happiness out of it.

"Sky," I said, looking her in the eye. "Long time no see."

She gave me a curt nod but didn't say anything.

"Profile?"

"You really shouldn't have requested paper versions," she said sharply. "These are easy to steal."

"They're also easy to burn," I replied. "Just like your noodle shop."

"Do it," Skylor said without hesitation. "Do it for all I care. But look at my papers first. I'm hungry and I haven't eaten in days."

"Well then. Here you go." I pushed the folder off my desk and stared at her coldly. "Go eat. If you think you're stomach is so much more important than this, feel free to leave."