Ninjago: Where Heroes Come From

Chapter One: Welcome to the Family

The streets were dark, empty of all life save for a few drunks and a handful of beggars who knelt beneath streetlights and huddled inside shaggy blankets for warmth. Passing through the shadows, holding a black cloak over her head, her knuckles white as she gripped where it ended at the base of her neck, running with her head bowed and her eyes sharp, was a wanted criminal.

She ducked into an alleyway, pausing only for a moment to catch her breathe and collect herself before staring off again, moving quickly and keeping her eyes and ears on high alert. This was the way she had lived for almost nine years, this was how she survived. 

Had she not had someone to live for, she would have given up long ago. But through the struggles of life she had grown to love, and she would rather live forever in this accursed life than give up on the ones she loved. Even if she could never see them again. Even if her children grew up without her, without knowing who their mother was, and where she was now, and that she loved them. Even if the man she had given everything to had been forced to leave her, even if he could never return. Even if her sister had parted ways with her years ago, even if she was now dead, and even if it was her own fault.

The woman stumbled a little as she thought of her sister. Not a day went by that she didn't, and yet each memory brought fresh waves if pain and longing. The knowledge that after all this was over, if it ever would be over, it wouldn't matter because her sister wasn't waiting for her at the other side. She was running blindly through a tunnel, calling her name, reaching forwards, her finger searching for her sister's grasp, only to emerge the other side alone and defeated, the crushing realization of what she'd done pushing her to her knees.

I killed my sister. Because of me, my sister is dead.

"You there!"

The woman whirled around, cursing under her breath when she saw a man standing under a streetlight, aiming a pistol right at her. She shouldn't have stopped to mourn. She was a fool for letting sentiment always get the better of her.

"Stop!" The man started after her as she ducked away and took off through the streets. He was either another criminal looking for a bounty, or else he was a guard on the night watch who knew who she was. Neither prospect would be any better if she was caught, although she felt that if she was caught by an actual castle guard, he might treat her with a bit more dignity than a common thief.

But it didn't matter, anyway. She had no intention of being caught.

She led the man on a merry chase through the streets, eventually coming to a dead end against a row of shops. Without hesitating, she careened through the glass display window of the butcher shop, smashing through the glass and landing amidst tiny shards and pieces of meat that she had knocked aside. She scrambled to her feet,  looking around desperately for something to be used as a weapon— the knife she held in her belt might not be so efficient against a pistol. Her eyes landed on a large carving knife, left out carelessly by the butcher. Thanking the gods for health code violations, she grabbed the knife, ducked behind the counter, and waited.

The man came in after her the second she was hidden. He leaped through the window, halting in the middle of the store, holding his gun up warily. She narrowed her eyes, struggling to make out his features in the low light, seeing only bulky shoulders and a large moustache. She gripped the knife to steady the trembling in her hands, holding it out before her, aiming it at his side. She doubted the knife would kill him, and that certainly wasn't her intent. But she did need him off her trail.

"Come out," the man called suddenly, and the woman paused. "I'm not here to hurt you. I was sent here by a man named... Wu."

The woman breathed in sharply. She knew that name. She knew that man. But she didn't know this one, and of course everyone knew the famous sensei Wu. She shook her head. He had to be bluffing. He just wanted her out in the open.