Fractured | Ninjago AU

~ Part 4 ~ | Uncomfortable Encounters

~ Part 4 ~ | Uncomfortable Encounters

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** Dig Down Deeper (Pixie Hallow Games)**
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"If you're wanting to win then you better begin to get a little bit dirty and dig deep down"

~ Zendaya

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This chapter is dedicated to all of you for being so patient with me! 🩷🩷

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Darkley's had been a part of the Tournament of Elements for many years but Lloyd had never been selected to be a part of it. This was for a variety of reasons. Some examples are: getting blamed for things that weren't his fault, being generally hated by all his classmates, and becoming a target for both the other schools and his own classmates. But he'd never cared much about being excluded. He saw it as less of a negative and more of a way to avoid being pummelled in physical challenges by jock kids. On days for sports events, Lloyd would watch teams leave with something akin to glee inside of him before he'd scramble to the newly empty dorms to enjoy his graphic novels.

So, when Kai convinced Wu to let their school join the tournament, he'd been ready to stay behind once more. Lloyd wasn't the most academically smart, given that Darkley's was more known for sabotage rather than strong education, and while Lloyd was well adept in a few martial arts, he wasn't nearly as athletic as some of the big brawny kids Skullkin brought. They had muscles quite literally bursting from their shirts. That would be attractive if they didn't only focus on their physical strengths and abandon both academics and personal hygiene (Gross!). Unfortunately, Kai would not take no for an answer and seemed to be very confident that Lloyd would be able to contribute.

"There are many different events that cater to different skill sets," Kai told him. "You're annoyingly good at things. I'm sure you'll be able to help us win."

Hence why Lloyd was stuck in a foreign school and was watching all-too-familiar classmates pick fights with a scrawny freshman from Soto Academy. Brad was in the forefront, unsurprisingly, lips twisted in the same ugly sneer that used to greet Lloyd every morning. His little cronies fluttered around him, sniping at anyone who passed. Gene was the only one saying anything remotely intelligent, using his unusual amount of wit to verbally demolish anyone in his path. Lloyd grimaced, flashbacks coming in quickly, and turned back to where Nya was trying to wrangle their own kids. Perhaps if he just ignored them everything would go smoothly. Unfortunately, the universe liked to shove problems in his face like Cole liked to shove food in his mouth. Just as he was encouraging one of the younger girls to stop clinging to the car door, he looked up to see a very familiar face. With a squeak, Lloyd ducked down and pinned his back against the side of the vehicle, praying he hadn't been seen.

"What's up with you?" He looked up to see Toni looking down at him curiously. She'd also wanted to stay behind at the school but Nelson had been so excited to see the tournament. Unsurprisingly, she ended up being dragged along with him. The little shadow was with her, as expected, wearing a homemade sign he'd made. On it was a drawing of a ninja, decked out in a purple gi with two long swords in their hands. He'd proudly said that it was his self-designed school mascot and no one had the heart to protest against it. At least it wasn't as obnoxious as the growling pirates.