~ Part 2~ |  Don't You Hold Back

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** Count On Me (Bruno Mars) **
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"We'll find out what we're made of
When we are called to help our friends in need
You can count on me like one, two, three
I'll be there
And I know when I need it,
I can count on you like four, three, two"

~ Bruno Mars

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This chapter is dedicated to @Ginnivee. Thank you so much for the comments and support!

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"No," Wu said simply. His relaxed state didn't waver, even as he turned pointedly away from Kai to watch the students before him. Lloyd was leading a martial arts session for the younger students and a lot of the Wu Cru™ had gathered to watch him with a little bit of pride and a lot of teasing. The harmless jabs had evolved into constant remarks to try and throw the blonde off his game. They even began a bet on who could get the boy to break first and Kai had put in way more money than originally intended.

"You didn't even hear what I had to say!" Kai exclaimed as he leaned forward, cupping his hands to his mouth. "Your shoes are untied, loser!"

Lloyd had been keeping an eye on Nelson, who'd been severely struggling with the moves. The blonde had been doing a relatively good job at ignoring them and focusing, but a barely perceptible twitch was starting to go off in the corner of his eye.

"I'm not even wearing shoes, genius." He called back, bending to correct Nelson's foot. The tiny movement caused the kid's balance to be thrown off and he swayed dangerously. Antonia, who'd pointedly started playing on her Game Boy off the side, reached up without even looking to right her friend.

"Thanks, Toni!" Nelson smiled brightly at her. She only grunted, thumbs furiously working at the buttons.

Kai turned back to Wu and crossed his arms. The piercing glare that usually made Jay flop over like a possum was barely even acknowledged by the headmaster. The old man only raised an eyebrow and took another sip of tea. He was a little louder than he usually was with his drink, slurping rather obnoxiously in Kai's direction until the brunette caught on and made an offended noise.

"Real mature! Jeez, I thought you wanted this school to flourish! What better way to do that than in a tournament literally made to advertise education? We can make connections with the other schools! We'll be filmed on the news! Again! Only this time there won't be your jerk older brother to ruin it!" Kai waved his arms dramatically. "Are the opportunities for flourishing not getting to you?"

"Calm down, you drama Queen." Nya swatted at his flailing arms.

Kai made a face at her, which she returned with equal vigour before he forced himself to relax. He thought over his works carefully, taking the time to make sure they were sincere before he spoke them. It was a routine he wasn't used to but he'd seen Zane and Lloyd use it many times. It always seemed to work for them. "I want people to see how special this place is, how amazing these people are! If that means joining in some preppy competition then I'm all in!"

Wu sighed, seeming to sense Kai wasn't going to let up, and finally acknowledged him. "I'm quite aware of the details of the Tournament of Elements, Kai. I was sent a letter from the headmaster Chen himself."

Kai gaped at the teacher, not for the first time questioning his sanity. "Then why the heck did you say no!"

"Chen is... unpredictable." The old man said carefully. Misako snorted into her mug beside him, causing Wu to shoot her an annoyed glance. "The fact that he went out of his way to invite us...It worries me."

"What?" Kai raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "You mean this about some grudge you have about him? He's a teacher for crying out loud! What can he do? It's not like he has money or respect!"

Now it was Wu's turn to give Kai an unimpressed look.

"I dunno, Kai." Jay piped in nervously. "My school used to go against Chen's school all the time for events and things. I only ever saw him at the robotics competition and he was... weird."

"We have a kid here because she stole cats from a cat café and used them for her own production of The Lion King. For the third time! It doesn't get much weirder than that." Kai pointed out.

"I taught them choreography and everything!" A girl cried from somewhere in the lesson.

Jay shook his head. "No, it was more than the kind of weird we're used to! He was super competitive- even more competitive than Nya!"

"I'll show him who's more competitive!" Nya growled.

"He'd scream at his students one moment, then giggle to the side like a two-year-old the next. It was really creepy!" Jay shuddered. "Sometimes he'd corner students and try to talk to them. Only instead of a casual conversation he'd interrogate them and then give them concerning updates on his bodily health. One of my classmates triggered an allergic reaction so they'd have an excuse to get away from the man! Of course, they went into anaphylactic shock and had to go to the hospital which wasn't great-"

Wu raised a hand to interrupt the boy. "Thank you, Jay, I think we've heard enough." Jay ducked his head sheepishly and retreated. Nya chuckled and mussed his hair until he relaxed again, a soft smile spreading across his face as she began to card her fingers through his hair.

There was a beat of silence as Wu thought over his words. Misako gently rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile. Wu sighed but slowly turned so he could face Kai fully. "Chen was deeply involved in what brought my brother down the path he is now. He influenced him throughout his life, finding his weak spots and then bending them to where he wanted. Garmadon took our father's death hard, his pain and insecurities rearing their head in many negative ways, making him vulnerable. It was then that Chen made his move. I made this school because I saw just how flawed the education system was because of people like him. I saw the harm he brought to his students." He closed his eyes. "I don't want him to hurt you too."

They all relaxed, eyes warm as they looked at their headmaster. Cole reached to pat their teacher on the arm, a smile spread across his face. "You're looking out for us, just as you always do."

"We really appreciate it! We couldn't ask for a better teacher!" Jay chimed in. The others nodded in agreement. Once Wu waved them off, looking a little embarrassed as he downed another gulp of tea, Kai stepped back in.

"Master Wu, we've dealt with a lot harder trials in our life than a questionable headmaster." Kai said, a lilt of humour in his voice. The tone was not scornful but instead was very sincere- confident in a way Kai hadn't been before. It was very different from the usual swagger he put on. It was hopeful. It was assured. "We're not your brother. We have amazing people like you to support us. It's not so easy for us to be bent when we have you to keep us standing."

The headmaster shook his head, opening his mouth to protest but Kai pushed on. The boy stood in front of his teacher, locking eyes so the man could see the determination set into his face, the excitement- the trust.

"You always tell us to never hold back, Wu. You say that we shouldn't let fear stop us from thriving. You build us up and push us to take the plunge. Well, this is another plunge, I know your cautious but I'm going to follow your words and not hold back. Don't you hold back either." The side of his mouth tilted upwards into a half-grin. The headmaster broke his gaze, thinking. He shut his eyes and took a a few deep breathes as he does when he meditates before he opened them again. "

"You'll have to organize the school team yourselves." The teacher warned.

"Deal," Kai said without missing a beat.

"And I don't want it impeding your education or your health! Homework and self-care exercises have to be done."

"They will," Kai promised.

The old man let out a long drawn-out breath. "I suppose- if everyone else is willing! Then... I'll see if I can contact Headmaster Chen."

The students all stared in shock as Kai jumped up. "Really?"

Wu nodded.

"Like... you're serious?"

Now the headmaster was scowling. "Do you want me to take it back?"

"No! No, no, no! I'm very grateful it's just... I didn't think that would work." Kai admitted.

Wu frowned a little so Nya quickly clapped her brother on the back. "Alright, well we best start figuring out how the teams work. Right, brother dearest?"

"Oh! Yes! I saved something about it! Let me go find my phone!" Kai raced off, a bounce springing at every step. They all watched him go, looks of bemusement on their face as he stopped to quickly tell Lloyd. The blonde looked a little confused at Kai's excitable mood but he listened intently.

Nya rolled her eyes. "He's such a dork."

Cole snorted. "He's actually pretty low on the dork rankings compared to the rest of us." He gave Jay the side-eye, to which the ginger squinted back at him.

"You're very lucky to have a friend like Kai," Misako said, voice warm. "Not everyone is willing to go to such lengths. He must really care."

"He does." Nya agreed, staring after her brother. "He doesn't always realize how much he shows it."

A loud shout caused them all to turn to see Lloyd yelling angrily at Kai. It seemed Kai's excited chatting had devolved into something that Lloyd was not pleased by.

"Oh boy," Cole grinned, leaning forward with interest. "This is gonna be good."

****

"The Tournament of Elements!" Pixal's eyes widened with interest. "Oh, that is exciting!"

Zane chuckled, his pencil swiftly flying across the page as he finished off his homework. "It seems to be quite the event here in Ninjago City."

"That's right, you wouldn't really know about it," Pixal said more to herself than to Zane. "I would see it online sometimes. It always looked like fun."

"Did you ever go?" Zane tilted his head curiously.

The girl made a strange noise, hiding a little behind her textbook. "No, of course not! It would be weird if I did! I don't even go to school!"

Zane smiled softly, reaching out to gently push the book down so he could see her. Pixal had pretty pale skin but she didn't blush a lot, despite this, Zane could always see her embarrassment from a mile away. Her eyes would bounce around, never looking him in the eye, she'd shrink in like a turtle into it's shell and if he was lucky, she'd stammer. It was cute and a little endearing how she could be so straightforward but also get flustered so easily.

"If I participate, will you come to watch?" Zane asked softly.

Pixal finally looked up at him, giving in to the sweet look he gave her. "I... I will." She grumbled, pushing her books aside. "But I will only stay within the audience areas. I'm not talking to anybody!"

"That's okay, as long as you're there." Zane agreed easily. That made Pixal only get more flustered and she began shuffling away from him in her rolling chair. The boy laughed, unable to keep it down even when she glared at him.

"What do you know about the tournament?" He changed the subject quickly before she could get too anxious.

"It has a large array of events- all displaying different talents from art to mathematics to athleticism," Pixal recalled, grateful for something else to focus on. "The schools take it all very seriously, sometimes they're even able to bring in guests to help out. They're usually professionals that come on to judge and help advertise."

Zane carefully placed his lined pieces of paper back into his binder, making sure each one was in order. "Has your father ever judged?"

"He joins in often. He quite likes the attention." Pixal shook her head. "This year they have someone new coming in though. I think they wanted to do something special because they will have live cameras on it this year."

Zane nodded slowly as if he understood, even though he didn't totally get it.

"He'll want to come to watch you, though! You'll be participating, right?" Pixal looked at him hopefully.

"Ah don't worry, Kai is quite insistent that I'm a part of the team." Zane laughed a little. "He deems my intellect to be a large advantage."

"Well, it is. You are very intelligent."

Now it was Zane's turn to feel embarrassed. "Thank you." He looked at the time swiftly so he didn't have to meet her eyes. "I best get going. I don't suppose you'd want to join me for dinner?"

"Not today, my father has a special dinner planned. Though, that does make me want to join you more." Pixal gave Zane a knowing look. "He's not the best cook."

"Well, I wish you luck then." Zane chuckled, gathering his things and slipping them into his bag. Pixal walked him to the door where they could see Cole waiting in the driver's seat, bopping his head to the music in an exaggerated fashion.

"Uh, farewell then." Zane bowed swiftly and made to leave.

"Zane, wait!" Pixal stopped him. The boy turned to her expectantly. There was a brief moment of panic as she tried to figure out what to do before she settled on a hug. "G-goodbye."

Zane closed his eyes as he rested his cheek against her head. She was warm and safe. "Goodbye."

She released him, though it was more like a frantic shove before he walked out the less busy backdoor to where Cole was waiting. The ravenette turned down the music once Zane got inside, a smirk on his face as the taller closed the door.

"Look at you all pink and smitten." Cole teased.

Zane gave him an exasperated look. "I told you that I was fine with taking the bus."

"Aw, don't be like that! I know you secretly love our little car rides. Almost as much as you love Pixal- WAIT, DON'T GET OUT OF THE CAR!"

NOTE*****
Yes, I'm sorry! It's been since September! I know I have a new excuse every time but I'm still very very sorry. Life has gotten rather busy and unfortunately, this is what's paying the price. I'm hoping that since my first semester is over and a new one is starting up that I'll have more time to write but who knows.

My writing schedule is very all over the place but I've put all my focus on Quiet and Fractured. I've been switching between updating the two so once my next chapter of Quiet is done, this one will update again.

I hope you're all doing well! Sorry if this chapter was so dialogue heavy. While my books are quite dialogue heavy this chapter seemed particularly talky, I dunno. Maybe it's my sleep-deprived brain as I finished writing this far later than I intended. 😂

I hope you all have a very nice day or night! Thank you for reading!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞

P. s. Who can guess what Kai said to Lloyd?