Promises (Ninjago's Kai x Reader)

Episode 9 - Hard Truths

It's been a couple days since we captured the elementals, and there is still a party out there searching for Lloyd. But it'll be no use-- if Lloyd is smart, he will have left Ninjago for good. Better to be a free failure than a dead man who tried.

My father is livid with the result of our raid. He has disappeared, likely gone to search for my brother himself. I dread the day he returns because it means we will all be punished. Despite the mission being somewhat successful, it still isn't good enough. Harumi doesn't seem to understand that, though.

"We must find him, Tasha," she demands, practically begging on her knees before me. Quite a pitiful sight.

"And I'm telling you, that is not a smart idea," I snap back. "He will return when he wants to return. Disturbing him would be a mistake."

"You're just afraid of what he'll do to you."

I stand up from my seat on the throne, eyes flashing purple. "What he'll do to me? You're mistaken, Harumi. I worry for you. Let's not forget that the only reason you're alive right now is because of me."

"And you still failed to capture Lloyd, despite being the most powerful one in the room," she exclaims in exasperation. "It's almost like you wanted him to escape."

I step forward, hissing through gritted teeth, "You are out of line."

Her eyes widen and a small smirk crawls across her lips. She turns around to face Jasper, Killow, and UV, who were all watching this exchange in stunned silence.

"Continue pressure to find the Green Ninja," she says, stalking past them. "I will find our Emperor."

The three of them stare at me expectantly, and I wait until she's out of earshot before confirming her instructions. Killow and UV might be loyal to Harumi, but their fear of my father outweighs their faith in their former leader. Being the rightful heiress, they all have relied on me to lead them in his stead, but honestly I wish they wouldn't bother. It's exhausting having to be in charge of all these people with Harumi trying to undermine me at every turn.

Killow and UV disperse at my command, but Jasper lingers. He knows me best, after Jaxson, and he sees through my facade.

"You wanna know the real reason I disbanded the Tiger Sharks?" he says after a moment.

"Because too many people were leaving to join the Son's of Garmadon?"

"No," he says with a light chuckle. "We outnumbered the Son's, ten to one, but I still chose to disband."

"Why?"

"Because being a leader is exhausting," he says with a sigh, slinging an arm over my shoulders. "There's so much that goes into organized crime-- planning, managing, budgeting, organizing-- on top of maintaining notoriety. Truth be told, I was getting ready to retire."

"Retire? But aren't you, like, thirty?"

"I'm forty-two, Tash."

My mouth falls open, and I stare at him for a moment as if he'd just told me the earth was flat. "Really? I would never have guessed."

"I put a lot of effort into my health and good looks," he says, flashing me a cheeky smirk.

I scoff and roll my eyes playfully. "Forty-two still isn't that old, though. Have you seen my father? He's closing in on a century."

Jasper laughs and shakes his head. "I couldn't dream of living that long. I think I'd go crazy after so many years."

"Yea. But remember, he died for a couple years and then came back again, so he had some time to rest and recuperate."