Onyx and the Legacy of the Green Ninja

A Misstake

Onyx and Lloyd were alone in the apartment, staring at each other. "So... training. I guess we should start with the course," Onyx said. Lloyd shrugged. "Okay," he said. Onyx picked up the remote and pushed the buttons, trying to find the one that would turn the course on. She finally found it in the middle of the remote. The course started moving. Onyx did a practice run on it to see how well it worked.

It took her a few tries to get used to it. Once she had though, it was easy. It was with a small burst of pride that she flipped off of the last pole and landed back at the start next to Lloyd. "It's pretty similar to the one back at the monastery, but it hits a bit harder and is a little faster," she said. Lloyd didn't do anything. Onyx pointed at the course. "Give it a try," she said.

Lloyd cracked his knuckles and ran at it, only to promptly get hit in the face by one of the rotating wooden silhouettes. Onyx flinched. "Try again," she said. Lloyd did. And he tried again after that. And again. And again. Onyx could see that he was getting frustrated, and his efficiency was suffering. "Heyheyhey," she said quickly, running over to him and grabbing his hand before he could punch a training dummy. "What?" He said aggressively. "You're frustrated. Let's take a break," she said.

Lloyd didn't say anything; he just scowled. "Take a few breaths," Onyx told him. He did so, albeit grumpily. After a moment, his face relaxed a bit. "There. I think we've done enough of the course. Let's try something else," Onyx said. She looked around the room for a prompt. She noticed some punching bags. "Let's work on these. I'll show you how to punch," she said.

Onyx and Lloyd worked for another hour. "There. That should be enough," Onyx said, unwrapping her hands, walking into the kitchen, and getting a drink of water. "Aww, but I wanna train more," Lloyd said. Onyx shook her head at his tenacity. "You've gotta pace yourself. And besides, I can't teach you everything. I have to pace myself, too. The guys said they'd train you when they got-" Onyx was cut off by the door opening and the other ninja stumbling in and collapsing on the sofa.

Cole groaned. "Unnnnh... I need a container of ice water," he said. Onyx filled a plastic box and a bunch of cups with cold water and brought them over. The boys looked like they'd had a rough day. Cole and Kai were flopped out on the sofa, Jay was lying on the floor, and Zane was pumping oil into his joints. "My feet... I can't feel my feet," Cole moaned, shoving them into the bucket. "There were so many of them.... And they wouldn't stop," Kai mumbled. Onyx noticed the scrapes, bruises, and scuffs all over him and winced internally. Zane flexed his elbow. "My gears locked up several times. I didn't even know my gears COULD lock up!" He cried. Jay tried to reach for the video game console, but he flopped onto his face. "I don't even have enough energy to play video games," he sighed.

Lloyd walked into the room. "Oh.... But I thought that you were going to train me when you got home," he said. "Sorry, champ, but we can't until we make rent," Cole said. "How close are we, Jay?" He added. Jay raised his head and looked at the money jar. "Huh?? Is this jar getting bigger? We're not even close!" He cried. Zane frowned as he squirted more oil into his arm. "And our rent is due tomorrow," he said. Onyx rubbed her temples. It was killing her to not be able to contribute to the rent money.

Cole stared at the ceiling. "I can pull a double shift," he said finally. "I can do overtime," Zane said. Jay pulled himself to his feet. "Maybe.... I can sling a few extra pizzas," he said. Kai groaned. "And maybe I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata," he said reluctantly. Onyx and the others stared. "What-?" Kai cut her off. "Don't ask," he said. Cole nodded. "Great, then our priorities are set. Tomorrow, we make rent!" He said determinedly.

Onyx sat down on the chair in the corner and started fidgeting with the small cherry tree there. "What about me?" Lloyd asked. "Um... how about you fetch me some more ice?" Cole said. "Don't worry, I'll help train with you," Onyx said. Lloyd sighed. "Is it gonna be more of the course?" He asked, a slight whining note in his voice. "I'll shake it up a little," Onyx promised. Lloyd looked a little less upset as he dumped another tray of ice into Cole's bucket.