Flames of the Past #4: A Tangle of Lies (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

Peering through the darkness, Kai made his way along the palace's wall. Night had fallen over Trynia and he was heading toward the study room. He walked with excitement; he had looked forward to this time all day, as he had every day since he'd been banished from the palace. He'd found an old barn just outside the kingdom town and had been crashing there, although he hated every second of it. He hated how separated he was from everyone and how much time he was alone, so much so that he was growing panicky. He had tried to combat the issue by slipping into town every now and then, mixing with the people as much as he could without getting caught.

Trynia's town seemed more peaceful than Shillvaron's. Everything seemed to have a rhythm to it and hardly anything out of the blue popped up. And yet, the people seemed more like people there. Not everyone had a glowing smile on their face, some of them argued, and Kai had actually witnessed an attempted robbery. He shuddered as he remembered how Trynia's guards had beat the thief before dragging him off to who-knew-where.

If the ninja didn't clear his name soon, Kai knew he'd be next.

The red ninja made sure to keep his footsteps quiet as he reached the outside of the study rooms. He found the window and peeked through it to make sure it was safe to proceed. As expected, he recognized Misako sitting at the desk and watching the laptop screen, and beside her stood Lloyd. Cole was behind the green ninja, which Kai hadn't expected, but he didn't question it, either. With a grunt, he hopped through the window.

"Did I miss anything?" he smirked.

The three turned toward him. Kai smiled as he saw Lloyd's whole face light up. The green ninja was no longer a child, but he was still just as adorable as he darted over and strangled the red ninja with a hug. "Kai," he whispered.

"Hey, little buddy," Kai purred, returning the embrace. He'd expected the hug to be quick, but Lloyd didn't let go and Kai began to wonder if something was wrong. He found himself caressing the green ninja's hair as he observed the room again. Misako had turned back to her computer, but Cole was staring at Lloyd. His eyes were narrow as he looked up at Kai, then back to Lloyd again. He seemed to be in deep thought. When he noticed Kai was staring at him, he turned away.

"So what are you doing here?" Kai asked the black ninja, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I was told there'd be cookies," Cole replied.

"And-a right you are-a!" Marcello announced as he stepped into the room. The scent of freshly-baked goods wafted in with him and Cole perked up.

"Sweet," the black ninja breathed, hurrying over to the chef and his treats.

As the others were distracted, Lloyd finally drew away from Kai. The red ninja rested his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Are you okay?" he inquired.

Lloyd nodded, rubbing his hand under his nose. "I-I am now," he admitted in a rasp.

Kai smiled and ruffled the green ninja's hair. "You just missed me, huh?" he teased.

Lloyd glared at him, only couldn't argue because it was true. As Kai laughed, the green ninja's eyes averted to the window behind his brother. "Are you holding up okay out there?" he asked, concerned.

Kai shrugged. "Well, it's not exactly what you would call ideal, but it beats the dungeon," he joked.

Lloyd stared at him, unaccepting of his answer. The truth was, he knew how antsy Kai got when he was alone for too long, and although it got annoying sometimes since the red ninja would usually end up following him around all day, he knew it wasn't his big brother's fault, and he knew it was something he truly struggled with.