The Crazy Art Called Love

31 | Bruised Fists

~~UV's POV~~

The fall of the Royal family came on the news and I knew we now had the fear of the people. But one victory simply wasn't enough because the princess and her little Green Ninja still have my mask. They may have gotten away, but I still have one thing they don't.

I had the Sons of Garmadon digging around in broad daylight. We've been here for hours and they still haven't found anything.

"How long have we been digging?" I could hear groans of complaints everywhere but I wasn't going to stop until I found it.

"Maybe if you dig faster, we would have found it by now." I looked down at the hole with two of the bikers. I placed my hands on my hips and stared them down.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right away, Quiet One."

They immediately began to work faster and I nodded in contempt before walking away to inspect the others. After hours of thorough research, I was informed that the ninja had managed to get rid of the time blade of reversal after using it to heal Nya and Kai's father.

It was a powerful weapon and I understood why they wanted to get rid of it. I wasn't going to use it to go back in time and simply take the mask before the incompetent princess took it, no, that would be too easy. Yet impossible at the same time.

"Quiet one! We found it!" Killow cheered from a few feet away from me and a smile appeared on my face.

"Excellent work, Killow!" I commended as I made my way over. The blade glowed a yellow and gold light and I took it in my hands to inspect it further.

"It's beautiful." One of the bikers commented.

"And powerful." I added with a mischievous smirk growing on my lips.

"What do you plan on doing with that, Quiet One?" Killow asked.

"Simple. Take out their master."

The ninja would be lost on their own now.

~~Harumi's POV~~

"Again!"

I was panting and out of breath as I got up from the floor. It was 8 in the morning and I felt more tired than I ever have in my life. My muscles were sore, my hands had blisters, and sweat dripped from my head.

We were training on the bounty while the ninja were out in the city to interrogate someone named Luke Cunningham for answers about their organization.

"Why can't we do something relaxing for a change? Yoga maybe? Or a nap?" I suggested but Nya didn't seem too amused. I guess they take training seriously.

"Once you've learned how to do it correctly, you can take a break." She responded with a smile before going back to her fighting stance.

Great. Here I was battling one of the best ninja in all of Ninjago and I couldn't even get a break until I defeat her. I took a deep breath before standing in front of her with my fists raised. I attacked her left but she easily dodged it. I took the time to analyze her moves, I knew I couldn't just attack without a plan.

I went for her feet but she responded with an attack to my side. I winced and tried again. Nya was good at defense and offense, maybe there was a way to get her off her edge. This time she went for an attack and I dodged the same way she did before attempting a flip and striking her from behind. Nya tripped forward and landed on her stomach.

"See? Was that so hard?" She smirked and I helped her up. I then realized what she wanted me to do.

"I just did a flip." I gasped.

"You did, Rumi."

"I did that, right? You saw it?"

We both squealed in excitement as I jumped up and down. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

"I'm proud of you." Nya slung her arm around her shoulder and I got a glimpse of the sweat on her face.

"You're a great teacher."

"Indeed."

We shared a laugh before walking towards the kitchen to get some water and snacks.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I wonder what's taking them so long." Nya sighed as she grabbed a fresh set of clothes from her closet.

"Perhaps something came up that required their assistance." Pixal suggested, her legs swinging from the edge of Zane's bed where she sat down and hugged his pillow.

"You don't think they were attacked again, do you?" I was worried about another encounter. I barely started training and if they were to attack now, I knew I shouldn't always rely on the ninja to protect me.

"We have alerts around the city. I am positive we would get a signal if they were." Pixal nodded and I smiled. They had this under control. All I had to do was trust them.

"Another round of sparring, Rumi?" Nya suggested and my eyes widened.

"How about I train with Pixal this time." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder with a wide smile.

"Think you can handle it, Pix?"

"Affirmative."

It was harder to defeat Pixal than Nya. Her nindroid body definitely helped with making her heavier and it easily bruised my hands.

"This—This is not fair." I panted as she placed me on my back once again.

"You will have to take on far heavier opponents than me and Zane, Harumi. It is best you know how to defeat them." She held out her hand and helped me up.

"Then how am I supposed to defeat you when you're probably predicting my every move."

"I know what you're going to do next because your moves are predictable. You need to develop a plan that your opponent cannot figure out."

I repeated the words in my head and nodded in understanding. I thought back to Hutchins' fighting techniques, he may not be here anymore but his teachings live on.

"Alright. Let's do this." I smiled and readied myself.

A loud thud echoed through the air which made a few seagulls fly away from the sails of the bounty. I took the time to catch my breath as Pixal lay on the floor.

"There. I did it." I said in between my panting.

"Yes, you did." She smiled proudly before I heard a clapping sound.

"I didn't expect you to be that good on the first day of training."

I looked around to find Lloyd leaning on the edge of the ship. His arms were crossed but he wore a wide smile on his face.

"Lloyd! You're back." I cheered and went up to greet him with a hug. "Wait, how long have you been watching?"

"Long enough to know you used what Hutchins taught you." He ruffled my hair as I pulled away. "But we still have a few things to work on. Pixal, I need everyone in the bridge. We have some news."

All the excitement drained from my face as it turned to worry. Something wasn't right.