I Will (Ninjago fanfiction)

We Already Know Each Other?!?!

The red ninja comes at me, and I can't tell how he's going to strike; so when he nears striking range, I move out of his way, and as he passes, I grab the back of his ninja garb & throw him back at the other ninjas. My hands leave the folds of his clothes just in time to block the punch of the blue ninja. My hand & arm absorb the force of his punch. I bring my leg up & knee him in the stomach, then throw my leg out behind me to strike the white ninja. He quickly recovers and blocks my next punch. We go after each other back & forth until I finally kick him hard enough to send him backwards into the wall.

A little person, dressed in green--perhaps the one they're said to be training--comes towards me. I don't want to hurt him, so I block a few of his dinky little punches and then pick him up & toss him into the punching bags--a softer landing than the other boys experienced. For a second, I think I'm done; then I remember I've still got one more to go when the leader slams into my body, knocking me to the ground.

I get up quickly, and take a defensive stance. He punches me a few times, slipping past my hands. One of the punches is a little too high & hard. I bend forward, wincing. Then I slowly raise my head to see him looking at me, "I- I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--" I growl & cut him off by swiping my foot out & sending him to the floor.

Holding my middle, I rise & back away as he gets up, a determined look on his face. Then, something odd happens. He whips around & turns into a tornado. An earthy tornado. I back up as he spins toward me. Then, I gain confidence. If he can do it, then so can I.

I clear my mind & recognize my goal. I propel myself & spin. And spin. And spin. I open my eyes, having not realized that I closed them, and I see a blur of multiple colors. I hope that's not upchuck. I look forward & see the leader. We clash & send each other sprawling in opposite directions. I get up as quickly as I can, which isn't actually that fast, and run towards him as he does to me. We are about to collide again. . .

The white ninja steps between us & clasps hold of us so we don't fall back from the impact. "Enough! Clearly, you two are at a stalemate! We're stopping this now," he says. He lets go of me and I adjust my clothing. I cross my arms, secretly trying to ease out pain. "Cole, you've hurt a girl; aren't you going to apologize?" The white ninja asks the black one, Cole.

"She challenged us, Zane! She was asking for it!" Cole replies. They turn away from me and continue to banter. I am about to leave when the red ninja blocks my path.

"You asking for more?" I threaten, narrowing my eyes and mentally preparing to attack.

"No, you just. . . look familiar. I wanted to get the chance to meet you in person before we lost contact forever," he says, pulling his face hood off.

I nod my head, "Touché." Then I study his face more closely, and look around at the others. "You DO sort of look familiar," I consider. "Do they argue often?"

"Sometimes. We're probably loud enough for neighbors to hear when we do argue. I'm Kai, by the way," he says, reaching out his hand. I take it, and by the way he guides our hands, I think he's going to try to kiss mine, the way old-fashioned men do for ladies. I don't like that, so I force our hands into a simple shake. "Jay's the one in blue, over there, upside down. And Lloyd is the little kid in green. We're training him to be the greatest ninja in all of Ninjago. I'm guessing you figured out that Zane is in the white, and Cole in the black."

I nod, thinking about what he said on behalf of Lloyd. Greatest ninja in the land? Two can play that game. I turn my head when I hear footsteps coming closer to me; Cole & Zane approach, and Kai leaves to go help Jay & Lloyd. They have their hoods off.

"How do you know Spinjitzu?" Zane asks, wonderingly.

I shrug my shoulders. "I've just always been cooler than & ahead of everybody," I smirk.

"Haha," Cole says, unamused. "But seriously, how? Were you trained?"

"Look, I don't really understand what you're talking about; I've just always had a strong mind," I say. "Do I know you guys from somewhere? Kai said I look familiar, and I'm starting to think the same for you guys too."

Cole studies my face, and I can't help but notice his strong cheekbones & sculpted body. "I don't know. What's your name?"

I study his eyes, and he studies mine. I wish I knew what he was thinking. "Ember," I reply.

"That is a beautiful name, does it have special meaning?" Zane asks.

I look at him. His eyes are full of curiosity. "That depends on how you define 'special'," I say. My eyes dart around, looking at all of them, plus Kai, Jay & Lloyd, who've joined us, and I finally place them. "You're the ones always rushing around, aren't you?"

They all look at me, confused for a mintue, and then it hits them. "You're our next door neighbor," Jay realizes.

I look at him. "And you guys are the ones always making a roucous," I say, calling them out on their behavior.

"I guess you could call us loud," Kai answers me.

"You guess?! You interrupt my meditating half the time! That's why I'm always edgy and flustered!" It's all starting to come together for them.

"Can we go home? Everything hurts," Lloyd pipes up.

I look at him, apology in my eyes, "Sorry about that; I tried to not make you land as hard, but you're the one who came after me. I didn't ask to fight you, only them," I say, gesturing toward the boys.

"Yes, Lloyd, we can go home," Cole says, raising his eyes and sighing, clearly frustrated. "Ember, why don't you walk with us? After all, we're neighbors; and not with the best relationship. Maybe we can make amends?" He suggests, a tad of hope pouring into his words at the end.

"I guess," I say, not enthused. I walk out the door & onto the street. Cole walks next to me.