Heart of steel (a Ninjago fanfic)

In the know

Kai's POV

Dinner was really loud. Everyone was trying to guess what element Kyra had while speaking over everyone else. I think Zane turned off his hearing at one point, but maybe not, because he looked like he was listening intently when Sensei started talking about where Kyra would sleep. We finally decided she would sleep in Nya's room. Nya nearly fainted when she realized she was getting a roommate. I didn't really see what the big deal was. I had four roommates, and Nya was welcome to them!

Nya's POV

After dinner, I grabbed Kyra's hand and practically dragged her to my room. Once there, I opened the door and looked around. Immediately, I realized we were gonna have a problem- there was only one bed. Kyra seemed to be having the same thought. She immediately began to clear a spot on the purple oriental rug, which was littered with wrappers, clothes, and for some reason, flour.

After Kyra had cleared a reasonably large space, she ran out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a fleece blanket and a pillow. I watched disbelievingly as she folded the blanket in half and put the pillow by an open end. She looked at me for approval. I smiled. "Just where did you learn to do that?" I asked, shaking my head. Kyra smiled back. "When I lived on my own, there were always seven things I needed: shelter, food, water, clothes, a pillow, a blanket, and a knife. You would not believe what I learned to do with that stuff."

I stopped smiling. "Speaking of clothes, tomorrow, I'm taking you shopping. You'll need to put the clothes Zane found you in for tonight since you don't have any others." She nodded, and ran back to the guest room to change. When Kyra came back, I had finished brushing my teeth and washing my face. I was waiting with an unopened toothbrush and a tube of Colgate toothpaste. She accepted both with a grin. "You have no idea how glad I am to be able to brush my teeth again!" I climbed into bed as she vanished into the bathroom, and fell asleep almost instantly.

I woke to a strange sound around two AM. It sounded like... sobbing? I turned on my side table lamp, to see Kyra crying into her pillow. She looked up when the light hit her eyes, startled to see me. I got out of bed and sat next to her blanket. She looked at me warily and took a shaky breath. "Nya, if I tell you my element, will you promise not to tell anyone?" I blinked. I was completely unprepared for that response. "I won't tell anyone. I swear on... on... on Sensei Wu's beard." Kyra gave me a watery grin.

"My element is death."

I looked at her for a moment. "Is this a joke? Cause if it is, it's not funny." Kyra looked down. "I'm not joking. I'm supposed to embody death. The thing that took your parents, Dr Julien, Zane..." Her voice trailed off as I was momentarily stunned into silence. Kyra looked devastated. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to tell anyone. Poor thing. I took her hand. "Try to get some sleep, alright? You'll need to get up soon, and I've got a surprise for you when we go shopping. Hang in there till five, okay?" Kyra nodded. She was going to be so excited when she found out Dr Julien wasn't dead! She rolled over in her bed after giving me a shaky grin. "Goodnight, Nya," she whispered as I turned off the lamp.

"Goodnight Kyra."

Zane's POV

I awoke to somebody prodding my side at three twenty-eight AM. I rolled over to see Sensei standing over me. He looked grim. "Zane, there is something we must discuss. It's about your sister." I immediately shot up, hitting my head on the upper bunk. Sensei began to walk out of the bedroom as I got out of bed. We stopped and sat down in the dining hall. Sensei remained unsmiling. "What's going on? Is she okay? My sensors tell me that you're feeling nervous. She's not... dead, or anything like that, right?"

"Actually, that was part of what I wanted to talk about. Kyra asked me not to tell anyone her element, and I replied that I wouldn't tell a soul. Technically, Zane, you do not have a soul." He allowed me a moment for that to sink in. While I was excited about being told about Kyra's element, I did not appreciate my soullessness coming into play. I had been reminded of that enough in the Digiverse- no Zane, you're not thinking about that place. I looked at my hands. Somebody had finally had the bright idea to take me to a paint shop, so I looked myself again.

I took a deep breath and looked at Sensei to signal for him to go on. He looked me straight in the eye, and said four words that I will never forget.

"Kyra's element is death."

I froze. Death? My sister? Not possible. NOT POSSIBLE. NOT. POSSIBLE. I shook my head. "Sensei... " I couldn't form the words. He smiled sadly. "Zane, you can't let her know I told you. It would completely break her trust in us." I nodded. "I promise you I won't communicate, in any way, to Kyra or anyone else that you told me her element." Sensei Wu nodded his approval. "You should go back to bed, Zane. It'll be time to get up soon." He and I rose at the same time. Sensei gave me a quick good night before heading off to his bedroom. I followed suit a moment later.

My mind was whirling as I lay down. Kyra was the ninja of death? How? She had nearly given up her own life trying to help me live!

My mind was still whirling at five, when the alarm clock went off and Cole fell off the top bunk.