Smoke and Mirrors

So Close, Yet So Far

,,Do you trust me?"

******

Jay sighed and closed a book. He and Zane have been sitting and going through books for couple of hours. ,,Okay, in conclusion, the kid has read a lot of books that aren't meant for kids at all. But I still don't get what the kid is planning or has wandered off to."

,,I, for one, find it fascinating how much the life in this school fueled Lloyd to study this much. The amount of determination is admirable." Zane stated as his eyes went over the huge number of books scattered on the table and on the floor.

Jay leaned back in his chair and stretched. ,,It makes you wonder how much it sucked for Lloyd to be here. But the kids around here don't seem to be that mean. I'm surprised they didn't pull anything on Wu when he visited the school. And Wu's like the enemy number one to bad guys."

,,Perhaps we should interview some of students here. They could shed some insight on Lloyd's life. It could help clear up some of the things." Zane suggested as he stood up from his seat.

,,Sure, I was getting tired of reading. Hey, did you know that hitting a person's solar plexus can stop them from attacking for a few seconds?"

,,Did you learn this from one of the books?"

Jay gave a quick nod. ,,Yup! Some of the info is actually pretty useful, if I say so myself. Now I know where I'll hit Cole next time we train!"

Zane hummed. Maybe he should warn the earth ninja whenever the next training session comes around. ,,We should focus on the original task. Shall we go and interrogate the students?"

,,Yeah, let's get going." Jay said as he got up from his chair. His face scrunched up before he let out a sneeze.

,,Bless you."

******

,,I can't believe you, Kai! You had the kid and managed to lose him?!" Nya asked with a hint of fury, looking down on Kai who was sitting on the ground.

She and Cole found the fire ninja several moments ago, laying down, face scrunched up in what seemed to be pain. They were not happy to find out that Kai had indeed found Lloyd, but lost him.

Kai groaned in a mix of pain and irritation. ,,I thought I could deal with him on my own, alright! I didn't expect for the kid to be a problem!"

Cole facepalmed. Kai's ego kicked in at the worst times. ,,Dude, you should have called us the moment you spotted the kid! You got cocky and now Lloyd got away because of it!"

Nya sighed and crossed her arms. ,,Wu's not going to be pleased at all. Not only you let Lloyd get away, but you also got decked by him!" The fact that her own brother, who was a ninja, couldn't hold up against a kid was embarrassing.

The earth ninja shot Kai a curious look. ,,That does raise a question. How did you get folded by a kid?"

Kai's head snapped towards Cole. ,,I didn't get folded by him! The best he could do was throw a few kicks and punches." He stated defensively with a scowl.

,,And he landed those apparently." Nya deadpanned.

Kai threw a glare at his sister. He was getting really tired of the jabs at his fighting skills. ,,Not the point! I could handle those, but something weird happened - I got hit by something else."

Cole tilted his head questioningly. ,,What do you mean? Did the kid throw objects at you or..."

The fire ninja shook his head. ,,No. There was a point where I had the kid cornered. I was about to snatch him when something... invisible hit me. I don't know what it was though, and neither did Lloyd. He looked just as lost as me. Though... he didn't look so surprised when I got hit the second time. I think he actually anticipated the second blow."