~ Part 9 ~ | A Small Step Forward

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** Piece by Piece (Kelly Clarkson) **
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"But piece by piece, he collected me up
Off the ground,
where you abandoned things, yeah
Piece by piece,
he filled the holes that you burned in me"

~ Kelly Clarkson

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This chapter is dedicated to @ninjago_pixane228!

(comment or PM if you'd like a shoutout!)

*****

The morning was cool, the brisk air pushing through the wool blanket draped over Lloyd's shoulders. The courtyard was a peaceful place. Long shadows were cast by the trees that hung over the area, making the sunlight dapple along the stone and grass. Birds called persistently for the wake of day but Lloyd barely noticed they songs, just as he ignored the goosebumps forming on his skin. His eyes stayed focused on the horizon, the sunrise reflecting in his gaze as he watched it float over the trees. The sky looked like a watercolour painting, streaked in beautiful tones of pink, orange, and yellow. The blonde boy blinked slowly, his fingers tightening around the blanket as he let out a slow breath. You could see the air puff from his lips, the warm exhale disappearing as quickly as it formed.

The soft sound of footfalls made Lloyd twist around in surprise. Wu stood expectantly. The man's stance was hesitant, one hand clasping the knot of his robe and the other gripping his bamboo staff, but his eyes were careful and warm. The gaze seemed to say something he couldn't speak aloud. The two simply watched each other for a moment, the exchange was a question waiting for an answer. There was an underlying fear that weighed on the headmaster, scared of rejection but resigning to it willingly. Lloyd's form was stiff with distrust, jaw clenched and eyes guarded. Something in him still yearned, battling against the walls built around him. At last, Lloyd wordlessly moved over on the rock, leaving room for his uncle to sit. Wu smiled, his shoulders falling with sad relief. The headmaster slowly moved around the walk before lowering himself down beside Lloyd.

They simply sat in silence, watching as the fire faded away and the pink bled into blue. There was an unspoken truce, a simple "I'm sorry" hanging in their body language. It was returned with an "I know." The words acknowledged the issue, yet realizing it could not be solved yet. It was a step in the right direction, slow but promising. When both are willing to go down the same path, navigation is a whole lot easier.

*****

Cole whistled cheerfully as he went down the stairs. Sure, the last few days had been tense with the group but there was something about this morning that lightened his spirits. It had been a while since Cole had felt this carefree, usually, it took scaling an entire mountain to get his mood up. Even when he did manage to hit that emotional bar it was soon drowned out by a pile of chores and an empty house.

Life had finally gifted him with a perfect day. One where he could laugh and spin like a little girl without worrying about anything. Sure, people would judge him for it (especially Kai) but if the moody brunette had a problem with twirling then he had another thing coming his way.

I have never felt better. Cole mused to himself as he waltzed down the hall. It's like the whole world is smiling. The birds are singing, the sun is shining-

"OW!" Cole yelped as his toe connected with a chair.

Oh, sweet irony, how I hate you. Cole cursed in his head as he jumped up and down, muttering poor substitutes for swear words under his breath.

"Wow," a dry voice cut into his tirade. "And here I thought the blue firecracker would be the entertaining one."

Cole squinted through the pained haze at the small figure before him. "Who are you and why are you interrupting my agony?"

"Ronin," His tone was gruff but confident, a smirk forming on his face as he nodded to him.

Cole raised an eyebrow as he focused on the bony jaw, sharp nose, and greasy ginger hair. The guy looked more like a homeless man than any parent that would stop by the school. As out of place as he appeared among Wu's little porcelain vases and handwoven tapestries, Ronin made himself feel right at home. He acted like he owned the place, sprawling across the furniture like a cat. His lip curled in an expression of both disgust and intrigue, as if he just smelled something foul but wanted to see what it was. Ronin rose from the couch, ignoring the grime he left on the soft embroidery and moved to examine the oil paintings on the wall.

It was a pretty picture, one of the school in its early days. Wu must've gotten someone to paint it for him because there was the headmaster, a smile upon his face as he looked up at the sky. After properly examining it, Ronin backed up and crashed into Nya, who was on her way to the kitchen, probably searching for breakfast. Her face was flushed and her hair was tied up, the athletic clothing and water bottle in hand signalling she had been out on a run. The ravenette blinked in surprise as Ronin barely spared her a glance, pointedly ignoring her. Her brown eyes narrowed into a dirty glare, Cole flinched when her gaze swung towards him.

"Who's he?" She jabbed a finger in Ronin's direction.

Her fingers tightened around the canteen angrily as she shot lasers at the intruder with her eyes. The pressure was so tight it began to crack the plastic, creating little splinters along the side. Cole was a little disappointed because that was actually his water bottle but he'd rather her hand strangle the bottle than his neck.

"That's... Ronin." Cole eyed her free hand nervously.

Nya waited impatiently for an answer, locked in on the guy as he turned a wooden cat figurine in his hands."And who's Ronin?"

"Uh..." Cole blinked rapidly when his mind came up blank. "I actually don't know."

Nya's jaw dropped and she grabbed his arm, roughly pulling him a few paces away from Ronin. "Cole! Did you seriously just let a hobo into the school?" She hissed.

"Not a hobo!" Ronin called, he didn't even look back from where he pocketed the cat. Nya scowled at him, marched over and yanked Ronin's arm out of his pocket. Ronin let out a "hey!" as she pried the wooden miniature from his fingers, bending his arm until Ronin yelped and scrambled away from her.

Nya shook the cat threateningly at him. "If you're just here to steal then I suggest you leave before I punch you in your crooked nose and call the police!"

"Okay! Okay! Relax! Jeez!" Ronin backed away, his palms raised in surrender. Cole hovered uncertainly by them, unsure if he should step in or not. Nya stayed in place, the cat still raised in the air as if she was considering bludgeoning Ronin with it. Its carved smile and little innocent eyes looked back at Cole, making the scene even more bizarre than it already was.

"Is everything alright?" The ever-calm voice of the headmaster broke into the building tension. Wu stride smoothly in, his eyes flicking curiously to Ronin.

"Your student is trying to stab me in the eye with a wooden cat!" Ronin immediately directed the blame to Nya, pointing an accusing finger at her.

Nya dropped the object to her side, dark eyes fuelled with fury. "I was not, you drama queen! He was stealing from the shelves!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" One of the students watching them cheered excitedly.

"There will be no fighting in my school." Headmaster Wu said calmingly.

Cole squinted at his teacher in confusion. "You teach combat classes."

"I never said we didn't spar." Wu shrugged.

Ronin scoffed. "Like that's any different."

"Sparring is done with respect and trust. Fighting is fuelled by anger and pain." The headmaster wordlessly held out his hand. Nya dropped it into his palm, her eyes turning even more piercing when Ronin stuck his tongue out at her from behind Wu's back.

Master Wu then turned to their guest. "Now, what brings you to my school?"

"I'm the inspector." Ronin waved a crumpled piece of paper in the headmaster's face, a smug look was directed at Nya. "I'll be here for a few days to check in on everything."

Nya yanked the page from him and read through the form suspiciously. "What happened to our last inspector?"

Ronin shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Now, I smell something cooking somewhere. I think some food is included in this job." The scruffy man smirked and began marching towards the kitchen.

Nya growled, the paper scrunching in her fist. "I don't think it is!"

Wu placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded to Ronin. "Of course, I'm sure Zane will get you a serving if you ask."

Ronin sent Nya one last triumphant wink and disappeared towards the kitchen. Nya fumed, glaring at the paper like she wanted to tear it to shreds. Cole quickly pulled it from her grasp and handed it to Master Wu before she could.

"Thank you," Wu smiled softly at him. "Why don't you two get some breakfast as well? Lloyd may join you later, I am unsure." The last sentence held a forced casualness to it but both Cole and Nya were wise enough not to bring it up. "Don't forget we have a spinjitzu class this afternoon." They both nodded to him before Wu turned and left.

Cole stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced curiously at Nya as they walked. "Do you have any plans for today other than homework and weird martial arts?"

Nya shrugged. "Not really. Things have been so hectic lately I was thinking of keeping it calm, you know?"

Cole nodded. "Oh sure, but- uh..." Cole tried to think of a good way to phrase this. "You've never seemed like a relaxer." It was true, Nya always seemed to be constantly working. Unless she was with Jay of course but even then she could get a bit aggressive. Jay learned that the hard way when he challenged her to a game of checkers.

Nya laughed. "I'll figure it out." She huffed. "Most girls would be having their friends over for spa days and movie nights."

"Are we not friends?" Cole suddenly felt personally attacked.

"You are!" Nya hurried to say. "I mean friends that are girls. Not that you guys aren't great but the movies and books always display female friendships as this terrible and beautiful thing." She almost seemed wistful.

Cole shuddered. He had seen the tween girls crying and screaming at each other, to him girl friendships were something to avoid. But then again, screaming and crying had also been a part of his and Jay's relationship. Of course, that mostly had to do with video games. Cole thought for a moment before jumping a little when an idea struck him.

"Oh! You could ask Pixal to come over! I think she could use a girl friend as well!"

Nya's eyes brightened and her face split into a smile. "That's a GREAT idea!" Cole couldn't help but grin as she grew even more excited. She grabbed him in a scarily tight hug then jumped away, beaming. "Thank you!"

Cole shrugged. "She seemed a little awkward, you know? It would make her happy."

Nya waggled her eyebrows a little. "And then we can get more tea on how things are with Zane."

Cole wrinkled his nose. "I'm both curious and disturbed. Do girls really only talk about crushes all the time?" Nya roughly punched him in the shoulder, a scowl on her face before she ran off. Cole winced and sent her a glare. "You didn't answer my question!"

****

Lloyd came for breakfast a little later than most. He peeked into the kitchen, making sure no one was there to lecture him on eating habits before he slipped inside and grabbed a banana.

"You're here late." Lloyd let out a girlish scream and jumped, a series of snickers followed as he turned towards the owner of the voice with a hand on his stuttering heart. Tala grinned at him from the barstool, her spoon stirring drowned cheerio's around in a bowl.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Lloyd grumbled, making his way over to the counter.

"Nah." Tala shrugged. "The other students might though."

Lloyd gave her a funny look. "What? Why?"

"They're convinced you're possessed by some ghost called Morro." Tala shovelled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "Marcy says she saw you wandering around this morning, it looked creepy."

Lloyd rolled his eyes and broke off the stem of the banana. He pulled the peel down carefully as he spoke. "I was taking a walk, I'm not possessed."

"That's not was Marcy said," Lloyd was beginning to think she was just saying this to annoy him. "You were looking reaaaalll suspicious. No one wakes up that early to walk outside. At least not at your age."

Lloyd took a bite out of the fruit to keep from growling at her. "I couldn't sleep, it's not a big deal."

Tala narrowed her eyes at him. The deep brown irises looked golden in the morning light. "Okey-dokey." She said cheerfully.

"I'm serious."

"I know you are."

"It doesn't sound like it."

"Stop over-analyzing everything."

Lloyd scowled at her and she continued smiling sweetly at him. Tala picked up her bowl and tipped it towards her mouth, sipping the leftover milk with a slurp. She let out a content sigh, smacking her lips before dropping the dish in the sink with a clatter.

"What are you doing today?" Lloyd asked casually, his mouth full of banana.

Tala shrugged. "I'll probably catch up on my classes, text my mom or something. I never know what to do with freetime, honestly."

Lloyd nodded in understanding. He wasn't sure what he was going to reply but before he could think of anything there was a faint rap on the side of the doorframe. Lloyd turned to see Misako standing there, cautiously, her eyes scanning over them awkwardly. Lloyd swallowed hard, his gaze flicked back down to his hands as they picked at the banana peel.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." She said softly.

"It's fine." Lloyd said quickly. He straightened, his causal stance becoming tense. "I'm just going to go-"

"No!" Misako shook her head. "I just needed to get the tape." Tala looked between Misako and Lloyd in confusion. A wrinkle forming in between her eyebrows as she tried to work out the change in mood. Misako moved to the drawer, rummaging through the junk before pulling it from the cupboard. She paused in the doorway and nodded stiffly at the two of them. "Have a nice day."

Lloyd grunted a response, putting stray dishes away and avoiding eye-contact.

"If you need me I'll be in Wu's office working on some paperwork for him." Misako watched him until he looked up. He froze as they locked eyes. "Feel free to come and talk."

"I'm a bit busy today," was Lloyd's automatic response. Misako's face fell. Something wriggled uncomfortably in his stomach. A strange emotion, coloured green and grey. It pushed him to add: "Maybe I'll come by later."

Misako's eyes brightened and Lloyd immediately wanted to suck the words back in. "Maybe." He said, his voice small.

Misako nodded understandingly. That's what Lloyd hated. She was too understanding.

"Well... bye." Misako turned and left the room.

Lloyd grit his teeth, aggressively dropping the pot into the sink. Tala looked him over carefully, her head tilted as if he was a puzzle she was trying to solve. Unfortunately, Lloyd had lost so many of the pieces that she would only find a broken picture.

"So," Tala said at last. Lloyd squirmed under her narrowed eyes. "What are you doing today?"

NOTE******

My friends and I had a lengthly conversation on why Himalayan salt had an expiration date rather than boys but Nya wasn't really exposed to many female friends. She watched movies and books displaying the cliché sleepover activities rather than participate in them herself.

Also more Lloyd angst, sorry to anyone who isn't interested in it but I am so that's what's coming!

Don't worry I'm working on other character too!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If there's a typo feel free to tell me or I'll just find it when I reread this chapter again and again. 😂

Feel free to like or comment!

LuckyBugBooks🐞