The First Breath [Ninjago Fanfic]

Prologue

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Thank you to Lilnezuko878 for requesting this fanfiction!

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There was hardly anything enjoyable about taking public transit. It was nothing more than a gaggle of too-warm bodies, pressed up against each other in awkward positions, eyes flickering from one place to the next as quickly as possible in an attempt to ignore whatever images were flickering across the screen. The rough and slimy texture of slick rain jackets didn't add any sort of charm, nor did the constant jostling that made Y/N flinch every time someone accidentally bumped her bag. There was nowhere on earth that Y/N was more jumpy than when she was forced to endure the sardine tin of her daily commute.

Still, it was necessary when one worked in a city where there was hardly any parking, even for the employees. And she didn't have a car either.

Y/N sighed and slid her hand into her back pocket, where she had stashed her phone, tucked beneath the low-hanging hem of her coat. Pulling it out, she pressed the power button.

"Oh, gosh," she huffed. She had only been on the bus for five minutes, and it was going to be at least another twenty minutes before she reached her stop. But that was if traffic decided to favour her and her bus. And so far, it hadn't. So her commute would more likely stretch for an extra ten to fifteen minutes.

In a desperate attempt to ignore the burning in the soles of her feet, Y/N started scrolling through her apps, wondering if something would entertain her long enough to get to work. She had already put in her earbuds, so audio wasn't a limit on what she could or couldn't do, but she had seen nearly everything on her subscribed video streaming platforms. And as bored as she was with the commute, she was increasingly bored with the lack of new video content. And she had already spent a good half-hour on social media that morning, having woken an hour earlier than she normally had, and there was now nothing new to interest her. Social media made her anxious anyway.

Scrolling through her phone wasn't going to help. So, she slid her pocket back into her pocket and gazed out the window at the passing cars, her mind subconsciously searching for a form of entertainment in the whirring tyres and the rain-slick sheen of the passing vehicles.

Save for the odd motorcycle, today's traffic was full of familiar four-door family cars, each one ranging from small to mid-sized, of various colours. And even less frequent than motorcycles were the trucks that would pass, hardly able to make it through the narrow streets of the city.

Mercifully, traffic picked up a few blocks later, and Y/N was at her stop within twenty-five minutes. Still longer than usual, but not too bad, all things considered. As she exited the bus, still being jostled by the other commuters as they pressed against each other as best they could to release her onto the sidewalk, she pulled out her umbrella. As her boots met the sidewalk, she opened the plastic parasol, smiling at the sound of rain splattering on the surface.

The bus rolled away and Y/N started walking, pulling out her phone once again to check the time. The white numbers on the top of her lock screen read, 8:32. Perfect. It would take her ten minutes to walk to work from the bus stop, and twenty if she wanted to stop in the lobby for a hot drink from the attached cafe. She decided that it was worth the extra ten minutes.

The building was warm as Y/N entered, breaking through the cold of the foggy grey morning and immediately starting the lengthy drying process of her rain-soaked sleeves. Y/N shut her umbrella as she passed over the threshold and pulled out her earbuds, tucking them away into the little case in her bag. Then, rather than turning left to the escalators, she turned right and headed to the cafe.