I Will (Ninjago fanfiction)

My New Opponents

My foot shoots out to land a blow right into my opponent's stomach, sending him crashing into the wall of the Dojo. "And he's down for the count!" Grande Sensei Darreth annouces, "Ember is the Champion!" I receive a light applause-nothing too big, because the audience is composed of my fellow classmates who've been defeated by yours truly.

"Thank you," I say as Darreth hands me a trophy. I'm not completely enthused, but this is an accomplishment. I've defeated everyone who trains in the Dojo, even Grande Sensei Darreth, which is what he likes to be called.

I don't do this stuff for trophies; mainly just for pleasure of victory, and preparedness. In the past, the members of my family were all killed, and I tried to save them, but in the act of challenging the enemy, I helped induce their death. I am responsible. It's all my fault; if I just hadn't gotten involved...

Anyway, that's what all this martial arts stuff is about; so that if something in the future is like what's happened to me in the past, I can be better prepared.

I bow once to my sensei, and to my opponent who is groaning. Some of my classmates help him up & get him ice-I hit him in the head earlier in the match. Just then, there's a knock on the door & it opens. Five oddly clothed figures enter the room & space out. The one in the front, dressed in all black & appearing to be the leader, speaks, "Hey, Darreth! Guess what? It's almost five o'clock, and you know what that means."

I look at Darreth, who will soon become one of my grasshoppers-I'm going to be the new sensei since I defeated him. He replies, "Yeah, yeah, I know. We just finished." Darreth looks at the rest of us, "Ok, guys, let's clear the Dojo!"

Darreth starts to walk away, but I grab his upper arm, "Darreth, what's going on? Who are these people?"

He turns toward me, "Hm? Oh, they're the Ninja--they protect Ninjago, I guess. We struck a deal a while ago--before you started coming--that if they succeeded in defeating me, we'd share the Dojo. They've got someone to train or something. As you can see, they were successful." His expression changes, "Hey! They'd be a challenge for you! Maybe they'll have a match with you! Why don't you offer?" He walks away.

I look back towards the Ninja, in their diffrently colored outfits. They look me over, sizing me up. "Well, you heard Darreth, time to leave," the ninja in red says to me, trying to get me to leave. He is not successful.

"I defeated everyone in this Dojo. Now, I challenge you," I look at them all in turn.

"Ha! Challenge us?"

I nod. The white ninja speaks, "Logically, your chances are very slim, we would defeat you without hustle."

The leader nods, "We're ninja, and you're just a Grasshopper student; you seriously think you can take us on?"

I stare him down, "You got a problem with that?"

They take their stances, signaling that they've accepted my invite. I prepare for what happens next.