Darkness from Within #5: Uneasy Trust (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

Exclamations could be heard from the courtyard. Lloyd looked up and peered out the window, finding Jay, Zane, and Kai outside. Curious, Lloyd pushed open the door and stepped out onto the front porch.

The three ninja were sitting up behind a plank of wood, peering over at the training course warily. Jay gasped and ducked as something shot at them. "What happened to the equipment?" he exclaimed.

Kai coughed as the dust from the fast-moving obstacles flew at them. "I don't know!"

Lloyd suddenly burst into laughter and the three turned toward him. "You guys look so pathetic, hiding like that!"

Zane flinched and Kai winced at the insult as Jay crossed his arms. "Hey, that's not very—" His voice broke off as another obstacle shot toward them and he ducked.

Lloyd chuckled and shook his head, walking closer to them. "You're not supposed to run from the action," he snorted, "but run to the action!"

The three ninja gasped as Lloyd plunged into the middle of the madness without a second thought. They peered over the edge of the wood and looked around desperately, completely losing Lloyd in the dust.

"Where'd he go?" Zane exclaimed.

"I can't see him!" Jay gasped.

Then Kai pointed to one side of the yard. "There!"

But by the time the other two looked, Lloyd had disappeared again. Jay pointed to the other side. "No, there he is!"

Zane's gaze snapped to the far end. "No, he's over there now!" he claimed.

The three watched in astonishment as Lloyd rushed across the courtyard, dodging and fighting off things with ease. Then the green ninja leaped up and rolled to the edge of the courtyard, flicking sweat from his face as he stood up again.

He walked back over to the others. "See?" he scoffed. "Nothing to it."

The three's jaws gaped and they glanced at each other in shock.

Lloyd stared at them. "Well?"

"Well what?" Kai asked.

Lloyd scoffed. "Are you going to try it?" he questioned.

They immediately got to their feet. "Oh, definitely!" Jay exclaimed.

"It actually looks quite fun," Zane added.

Lloyd stopped them as they turned around. "Oh, yeah, and be careful," he added with a smirk. He shook his hand and blood trickled down a cut in his finger. "Blades are sharp."

The three ninja exchanged nervous glances, hesitating for a moment before plunging into the training course. Lloyd chuckled to himself and headed back toward the monastery. They are so gonna get themselves killed, he thought as he entered the building again.

Cole was nearby as he walked in. The black ninja froze when he saw Lloyd. The green ninja stared at him for a moment before Cole stumbled backward and raced back up the stairs. Lloyd chuckled, delighted with the black ninja's fear. Coward, he silently spat before turning into the kitchen.

Nya, Wu, and Garmadon were inside. Lloyd suppressed a frustrated groan. Can't I ever be alone? he complained to himself as he walked across the room and opened the fridge.

Nya was gazing out the window at the courtyard. "Are you sure that equipment's safe?" she asked Lloyd.

Lloyd scoffed and closed the refrigerator again. "If by 'safe' you mean kiddish, then no, probably not," he muttered.