Ivory's Homecoming ► Ninjago

09 ≛ Loss of Trust

Ronin woke up to a pounding headache.

A pounding headache and under the register of Wu's shop. This confused him; had he taken a whole nap there?

Then it hit him. Bansha's high-pitched, eerie voice replayed in his mind.

The sword... bring us the sword... and you will be free.

He had a mission to follow through.

"Thanks for gathering on short notice."

The voice of Misako made him lift his head in surprise. The thief practically jumped to his feet as the ninjas walked through the door.

"Looking for something?" Kai asked suspiciously.

Ronin turned around to stare at the shelf of teas, taking one out and putting it back. "Ah, just making sure the tea blends are in alphabetical order. Yep, there we go. A to Z."

Kai wasn't too convinced, but he ignored him for the moment.

"So you figured out where the tomb is?" Jay asked.

"Not yet, but we think we know how to locate it," Misako replied.

Just as Ronin was about to walk out the door, Wu pulled it open. As the two almost collided, the sensei gave him a strange look; especially after a nervous chuckle left him.

He listened to the bit of information she was giving the team. "To bring you up to date, the skull symbol refers to the tomb's entrance."

"We also know my father's resting site, where the Realm Crystal resides," Wu continued, "is protected by three deadly tests designed to keep anyone unworthy away, and only the Sword of Sanctuary can see past its riddles."

The lights had gone off and Zane showed each item as a presentation from the eyes of his mechanical falcon; a skull, and then the sword.

Just what Ronin wanted.

"Yeah, but where is it?" Cole questioned.

"We started to wonder if the scroll and the sword combined held a secret," Misako went on. "That's when Kai reminded us there was a map on the scroll, and—"

"And if you use the sword on the map," Kai cut her off, "the blade's reflection will reveal the tomb's location!"

"Exactly."

"Which means..." Cole pushed through to the front. "We'll have to get our hands on that map."

That was just the information the thief needed to hear. He picked his hat up next to the door's entrance and walked out, satisfied.

Not even bothering to look at his surroundings, Ronin made his way toward the small shed. He opened the door, grinning when he saw the long, velvet box.

But when he lifted the top, he was shocked to find it empty.

"Something about what you said stuck with me."

You gotta be kidding me.

Nya sat on a crate in the farthest corner, holding the Sword of Sanctuary in her left hand and gently rubbing the blade of it with the right before pointing it at him.

"Oh, yeah?" Ronin asked, now just a tad nervous. He didn't anticipate this. "And what's that?"

"That you don't care." The former samurai hopped off. "If you don't, why are you here? Sure, this shop could potentially help pay off your debt in time... or you could speed things up by just giving them the sword in return for your cursed soul."