"Hey... hey..."

...

"OI WAKE UP."

I shot awake, going to sit up but failing before realising that I was still in the green ninja's arms. I glanced up at him with a gaping, bewildered expression while he hysterically giggled.
"Ah... sorry," he wiped under an eye. "I couldn't help myself."
Still lost in the tangles of sleep, I could only stare at him. Mind blank. No thoughts head empty.
"What?"
"We're here," he chuckled, nodding at something in front of him. I turned my head to follow his gaze and gasped.

Pressed up against the foot of a mountain range and encompassed by the towering forest lay the most magnificent monastery that I'd ever seen.
A striking red in colour, the temple was preceded by a large pond. A driveway curled around said pond and a number of cars sat before the entrance. The temple itself had red columns lining the front and dark rooftops that curled in the traditional tiered style.
What looked to be long hallways extended out from either side of the main building, leading into seperate wings that went deeper into the forest.

"This is where you live?!" I gushed in awe. "Oh, my god, and here I was thinking that my house was cool because it has a flat roof!"
"Live, practise, train the new monks," he listed off. "It's a huge job to clean, though. Seriously - all the rooms, the garden, the onsen-"
"Alright, we get it, Cinderella," I snorted, pushing his cheek away. He made a sound of protest.

He walked us up the entrance stairs while I took in the carefully sculptured architecture. Carved dragons and demon-looking figures curled up one of the columns, painstakingly detailed.
The green ninja noticed me staring.
"Each of those columns hold a prophecy," he stopped by one so I could run my fingers down the tiny details. Some of the sharper edges had gone smooth with age. "Only a handful have actually be deciphered or fulfilled. This one's the prophecy about the green ninja. We're yet to fully understand it, though."
"How can you tell?" I asked quietly, staring at the figures but not being able to pick out a single coherent thing.

"It's... a bit of a long process," he said with a nervous laugh. "I'll tell you about it later."
"Promise?" I glanced up at him, finally tearing my eyes from the stunning sculpture work. He caught my eyes and they squinted with a smile.
"Promise."
So he expects to see me again? Just who does he think he is? Who does he think I am? How can he be so sure that I'll be back here? I thought the whole thing about having the barrier was to keep unwanted people out.
What was he to me? And the tugging - I was just joking about being pulled together by fate before, but what if I had brushed off as a joke was correct?
Then what about Lloyd Garmadon? How does he fit into all this?
Despite everything I now knew about him, I didn't want to feel as if I was leading him on.

He entered the temple and inside it was nothing like I had expected. Clearly it had been recently refurbished to be more home-like, with framed photos on the walls. The green ninja was walking too fast for me to see them but I was sure that I caught a glimpse of blond.
We walked down the large hallway to the left, passing a few people in white robes with shaved heads. They stared at me curiously and I pretended I didn't notice, gazing out a window that took up the whole side of the hallway. It looked out into a gorgeously-tended to garden. Springs, sand, bamboo, cherry blossoms, Buddha statues, the whole shebang.

"This place is so pretty," I hummed, placing my head back against his chest when my neck began to ache. I couldn't imagine living here and seeing all this beauty everyday. I was speechless.
He made a soft sound of acknowledgement. We ended up in the right wing and entered a room that was right at the entrance. It was clearly a medical bay, the smell of sterilisation making my nose itch. A number of cots sat waiting in the far side of the room. A figure in smart clothing was tending to the cupboards, retrieving items that he seemed to need.

"Ice," greenie nodded to the figure, who had just grabbed out some painkillers from a shelf above his head. "This is Y/n."
The figure turned to look at me. He had a white ninja mask on. He must be greenie's teammate. I grew a little anxious at the prospect of meeting another (essentially) celebrity.
"It's nice to meet you, Y/n," he greeted. My smile was wobbly in return.
"Nice to meet you, too."
Greenie sat me down on one of the closest med cots. I amused myself by almost not wanting to unwind my arms from around him.
"I'll be right back," the green ninja said, taking a few steps back.
"What?" I asked, beginning to stress. Wait, no, please don't leave me in a room with a stranger. That means I'll have to engage in conversation! I don't want to engage in conversation!
"I just need to fetch my mask," he promised, voice reassuring. "You won't even notice I'm gone."

He dipped before I could argue. I sniffed. Yeah right, I won't notice he's gone. I was already wishing he were back.
"He told me that you slipped over on your ankle, correct?" Ice asked, approaching me. I eyed him warily.
"Uh... yeah."
"May I?" he gestured to my sore ankle. It had begun to swell. I nodded. He pressed chilly fingers against my skin, prodding around my ankle gently. I hissed when he reached a certain spot.
"How did you do this?" he asked, retrieving the painkillers and a glass of water. I took them from his hands eagerly, barely able to squeeze in a quick 'thank you' before I tossed the pills into my mouth.
"I slipped on a rock," I explained after I finished the glass of water. "My ankle kind of went like that," I said, using my hand to elaborate by twisting it suddenly.

"I see," he nodded. "May I ask what you were doing in the woods alone?"
I wilted a little. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share the whole 'not being able to control my body' with anyone else other than greenie. It's kind of embarrassing.
"I don't know," I sighed. "It was pretty dumb."
He hummed in agreement.
"Your ankle's just sprained," he said, picking up a gel pad from the bench and freezing it instantly. My eyes widened in awe. "You just need to ice it every few hours and wear a compression sock. You will be fine in no time."
I sighed in relief as he pressed the ice to my ankle. I took over from his hands. He placed a compression sock next to me.
"Thank you," I said sincerely. "Thank you so much. I know that... this is weird."

Ice set me a level stare while he rewrapped a roll of gauze.
"It's okay," he replied. "I hope you enjoyed your ice cream the other day."
"That was you?" I asked, eyes wide. My fingers almost let the ice pack slip but I retightened my grip.
"Who else would it have been?"
He had a point.
"Why did you help me?" I furrowed my brow. "It was just an ice cream."
"You were having a bad day," he stated simply. "Your ice cream was the only thing that made you happy."
I stared at him for a few beats. How the...
"Were you watching me?" I asked suspiciously.
His blue eyes closed in gentle mirth.
"I didn't need to. It was written on your face."
Ah. Was it just me or is he a little bit off? A little too collected. This was why I didn't like being left alone.

"But yes, we may keep an eye on someone that's getting closer with our green ninja," he agreed, turning away to place the gauze back in its place. Worm? So they have been watching me? That's kind of creepy, ngl. Ninja or not. "He may be the team leader but he's every much the baby of our family."
My gaze shifted to the side of Ice's face. There was something flittering across his eyes.
"I hope you don't mind but it is just a precaution that we're taking," he informed, voice growing softer. "He doesn't know about us keeping tabs on you. He's been hurt too many times by people he thought were his friends for us to simply allow you two to fraternise without making sure that you're good for him."

He turned his face to me and his eyes widened a smidge.
"Oh, no. I'm sorry," he apologised with his level voice. "I've made you cry."
"Huh?" I blinked, reaching up and brushing away some tears. I didn't even realise that I'd started crying. "O- oh," I sniffed, wiping them away. "Sorry."
Before I could ask him to elaborate on what he meant by people hurting him and also how they were watching me, said green ninja appeared once more, emitting pure happiness as he bounded up to me like an oversized puppy. His normal mask was over his face and he had a shirt on. An honest shame.
He paused, smile falling.
"Are you crying again?"
"No shut up," I sniffled, wiping away the excess tears.
"Man, with the amount of crying you've done today, I would've thought that you'd run out of tears," he joked. I pouted.
"If it weren't for the laws of this world," I muttered. He chuckled, pulling one of the chairs up to the bed.

Ice left. I watched him exit the room. His eyes looked soft.

"How are you feeling?" greenie asked, replacing my hands over the ice pack. I exhaled slowly, gnawing on my lip as I took the chance to lean back on my hands. I bunched the sheets in my fists.
"Well, the painkillers haven't started taking effect, so I'm sure you can discern how I'm feeling right now."
He sent me a sympathetic look.
"Hey, uh," I continued, voice a touch more sincere. "Thank you for helping me out. I know you're just gonna say 'it's what I do!' but seriously. Thanks."
He frowned at my goofy expression of him.
"I don't sound like that, do I?"
I gave the 'kinda' motion with my hand. He pushed my shoulder gently.
"And you called me mean," he snorted.
I rolled my eyes, smiling. We fell into a comfortable silence, me picking at the hem of my shirt and him staring at the ice pack as he held it for me. It was kind of gentlemanly.
Chivalry ain't dead.

"You said you're eighteen, right?" I spoke up, breaking the silence. He shifted. "That's pretty young to be the saviour of Ninjago. When did you start training to be the green ninja?"
"When I was twelve," he said softly. "That was when we found out that I was the green ninja."
I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"Just assume that I know absolutely nothing about the whole ninja thing. Because I know absolutely nothing," I announced. "You said there was a prophecy. Were you in it? How does it work?"
"Either my uncle deciphers the prophecies on the columns or he gets visions while meditating," he explained. "It's something that takes years of practise. I'll have to take over him one day."

"Why you, though?" I tilted my head. "Why was it you who had to become the green ninja? If you were so young."
The green ninja leant back a little, face pulled into a look of conflict.
"I'm... not really meant to tell you this..." he began sheepishly. "My grandfather was the First Spinjitzu Master. That heritage gave me these powers, but we weren't sure of it until it was confirmed. I didn't even know what the green ninja was until I was already in the gi."

He saw my expression that was still confused. He sighed a little.
"Basically, I've got a lot of prophecies to fulfil."
"Oh," I said quietly. "That sounds stressful."
He huffed tiredly. "It is."
"Hey," I chirped, learning closer. "Am I in one of your prophecies? Maybe it has something about this tugging thing."
His eyes jumped up to mine. He seemed surprised.
"That's not a bad idea," he said, as if shocked that I wasn't a complete dumbass. I tried not to take it to heart. "I'll check in with my uncle. He's the one who knows the most about them. It certainly sounds like something that would be a part of a prophecy."

I beamed. He smiled back, mask lifting at his cheeks.
"Wait!" I suddenly gasped. "You have dragons, right? I saw one the first day I was here!"
He blinked.
"Uh, yeah," he nodded. "Well, kind of. They're extensions of our elemental powers."
"That's so cool," I raved. "Can I see your dragon? Pleeeeaseeeee?"
He laughed. His eyes scrunched.
"Yeah," he nodded, chuckling at my enthusiasm. "When I drop you off at home."
My chest jolted in anticipation. He laughed again at the look on my face. I was sure that there were stars in my eyes.

"Have the painkillers kicked in yet?" he asked, pulling back the ice pack to assess my ankle. The swelling hadn't gone down but it had stopped expanding. The skin was red.
"Yeah," I pulled my other leg up to lean my chin on my knee. "Thanks. You don't have to do this."
"It's either this or train," he shrugged, placing the pack back onto my ankle gently. "I enjoy training but I'd rather be here with you."
I flicked the exposed bridge of his nose. He yelped.
"Stop flirting."
"Can't help it," he said, clearly entertained and rubbing his nose. "You're just so fun to tease."
My burning face couldn't be hid well enough.

"Heyyyyy," came an unfamiliar voice as a boy with a blue mask slid into the room. Greenie sent him an alarmed and panicked look. "If it isn't the girl that's making our lil baby lose focus in training!"
The green ninja stiffened. My face burnt a deeper shade of red.
"What?" I squeaked.
"Blue!" the green ninja snapped, voice an octave higher.
"Oi," another ninja with a black mask yanked on the back of Blue's collar. He coughed. "I told you not to go in!"
"You were spying on us?!" Greenie screeched, standing upright. The ice pack fell to the ground.
Ahaha what. Was this what Ice meant by 'keeping tabs on me?'
Another entered, this time a girl. Followed by one in red. Finally, Ice entered too, probably the most calm of all.

"All of you were listening in?!" Greenie cried in embarrassed outrage. "What ever happened to privacy!"
"We just wanted to meet your girlfriend, no big," red shrugged. He waved at me. "Wassup."
"Hey," I greeted in a pitched voice, face a million times hotter than the sun.
"She's not my girlfriend!" he screeked, voice breaking with anxiety. Wow, he really is the baby of the family.
And yet another person made himself known. He was an old man with greying hair and a peaceful look about him. I couldn't help but relax in his presence. He wore no mask but did have a sensei's robe on.
"Dad!" the green ninja sighed relief. Oh? Dad? I stared at him with new intent. He shared the same green eyes. "Can you tell them to buzz off?"
"Oh," his father said in a tone that made it known he wasn't on his son's side. "But there's no harm in wanting to meet your lady friend."

LADY FRIEND EYE-
"Daaaaad!" he whined, beyond embarrassed.
"I'm Y/n," I introduced myself quietly. Just so I didn't have to be called 'lady friend' again.
"It's nice to meet you, Y/n," he smiled. The green ninja just fell back onto his chair, defeated. He turned back to his son. "Your uncle's just on his way. I suggest the rest of you get back to training before he blows a fuse."
Apparently intimidated by the green ninja's uncle, the others scurried off. The green ninja released a sigh of relief.
"You're quite the rare case, Y/n," his dad started, arms behind his back. He was the epitome of peace.
"Uh... I am?" I asked cautiously. Greenie picked up the ice pack and replaced it back onto my ankle.
"You passed the barrier," came a new voice, making me jolt in surprise. Greenie didn't even blink at the sudden appearance of who I assumed to be his uncle. He too, wore a sensei's robe but unlike his brother, he had a long white beard, neatly kept. A rice hat sat atop his head. "An illusion that I had a friend put in place long ago. It is supposed to make outsiders get lost and all turned around. To keep this place secret."

His heavy eyes stared through me.
"You walked right through it."
"Sorry," I apologised. Because I didn't know what else to say. Greenie hid a snort. "It wasn't on purpose. I didn't even realise how deep I was in the forest until I came to."
His uncle and his dad shared a concerned look.
"'Come to?'" his dad repeated, eyes holding worry. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's why she got in the way that other night with the gang," Greenie spoke up, having calmed down from being exposed just prior.
"It's like I get possessed," I continued. "I know better - don't investigate the sound of dangerous fighting and don't walk into a huge forest all by yourself - but it's like my body won't listen. By the time I realise what I'd done, I was already lost or standing by the fight."

Something flashed across his uncle's face.
"And you, nephew?" he asked, turning his attention to greenie. "Do you experience the same?"
He reluctantly nodded. "When I went for my run I didn't follow my usual route. It led me to find Y/n injured. Is there something wrong with the barrier? Do we need to get your friend back in?"
"No," his uncle shook his head. "The barrier's perfectly fine."
"Then how did she get through?" the green ninja asked, truly befuddled.
"I don't think either of you are ready for that answer quite yet," his father answered. I frowned - well, that's a little bit unfair. Greenie must've thought that too because he straightened and stared at his elders.
"Hold on," he began, voice firm. "This isn't something that just so happens to occur. This is putting her life in danger. I think we deserve to know what's going on!"

"And you will," his uncle answered calmly. "Just not right now."
Greenie released a scoff in disbelief.
"When you're finished, take her home and come straight back," his dad ordered. "You're still not off the hook after yesterday."
"Fine," he replied curtly.
I bit my lip, my chin still resting on my knee. I didn't know what to say or how to break the tense silence. I felt like I'd just walked into a family dispute.
"I better see how the others are doing with their training," his dad murmured before swiftly exiting the room. Greenie's uncle sighed.
"I'll have another look at the scrolls," he said with a gravelly voice. "There might be a temporary solution."
He nodded his head at me and I smiled thinly in return. He left us alone.

Greenie tch'd, frustrated but still handling the ice pack with gentle fingers.
"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. He sat back in his chair a little, pulling away the ice pack and helping me put the compression sock on. He bumped my ankle but I just gritted my teeth.
"Yeah," he said a little tersely, obviously struggling to keep his cool. "Just pissed off."
"Your family's-"
"Annoying? Nosy? Unsympathetic?" he bit.
"I was going to say 'spirited' but alright."
He slumped back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.
"Sorry," he said with a weary voice. "It's just they always do this. Treat me like I can't handle stuff like this."
"Maybe they were right, though," I shrugged, picking at the hem of the compression sock. "Maybe knowing the prophecy too soon would really mess us up? It could make our heads explode."

"Doubtful," he exhaled amusedly.
"You never know," I pointed out. "Anyway, we should probably get going. I want to take a shower and get into some clean clothes. And then take a long nap."
"You just had a nap," he countered, relieved by the change in topic. "In my arms, remember."
"That one doesn't count," I argued.
"I think it does."
"It doesn't."
"Am I carrying you again?" he cut the debate off short. I faltered. "How's your ankle?"
Still sore. "Fine."
"Alright, let's go then," he said, standing up. I slowly slid off the cot and eased my weight onto my feet, biting my tongue when pain flared up my ankle.

I slowly hobbled forward for about three paces before he lost patience and scooped me up.
"You're so slow," he complained as he hooked my legs over his arm.
"I'm injured!" I defended, instinctively wrapping my arms around his neck.
"You didn't see me complaining after you ran into me with your car," he shot.
Guilt struck through me like a rod, followed closely by shocked disbelief.
"I can't believe you just pulled that card," I huffed. "That's it. I'm not talking to you again."
"Ahh, come on, Y/n," he said in a light voice. "It was funny."
I scowled at my knees.
"You're not serious."
I was. He seemed to be surprised. I could almost see him replicating the shocked Pikachu meme if he didn't have his mask on.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, dropping his head on top of mine. "I'm sorry that your sense of humour hasn't healed yet but I promise, I will be by your side during this hard time-"
"God, I want to punch you," I cut him off. "I want to punch you so bad."
"Get in line, babe," he noted and I couldn't see it but I could hear the shit-eating grin in his voice, silently smug at his success of getting me to talk to him again. He didn't need to say it. It oozed from him like a bad odour.

We exited the monastery and as soon as his foot hit the gravelled driveway, a dragon appeared out of thin air. As green as vibrant moss, the dragon shifted on its legs while we approached.
"Whoa," I breathed, staring at the creature with wondrous eyes. "It's so pretty."
What looked to be green mist coiled off of the dragon's wings and tail. It shook its head and its entire body followed, the mist bending through the air with the momentum.
"How do you do it?" I asked, awe making my voice breathless. "Bring him to life?"
"It's just a part of me," he said, thoroughly enjoying my reaction. The dragon took a few steps towards us and I stiffened.

"It's not dangerous," he reassured softly. "It's only dangerous if I'm in danger or mad."
"That's not all that reassuring," I murmured, staying as still as I could while it snuffled my hair.
"Let me rephrase," he said. "It's only dangerous to my enemies."
Still scary. But then the dragon nuzzled its ginormous muzzle against my cheek and a rumbling growl began to reverberate from deep within its throat.
Wait, that wasn't a growl-
"Is it purring?" I asked in disbelief. The green ninja took a second to answer, equally as baffled.
"Uh- yeah," he stammered, totally shook. "It seems like it."
"Does that usually happen?" I raised my brow curiously. The dragon began to rub the length of its cheek along the top of my hand, much like an overgrown, magical green cat.
"It's never happened before," he confessed. "I don't know why it's doing this."

With that confusing twist, the dragon lied down onto its stomach so Lloyd could clamber onto its back. He sat me behind him and threw a suspicious "hold on tight!" over his shoulder.
I didn't think twice about tightly wrapping my arms around his torso.
The dragon took off like a rocket and I swore my stomach got left behind. Every part of me was screaming 'DANGER DANGER' but it wasn't like I could ditch the ride now, not when we're-
"Oh, noes," I whispered, scrunching my eyes tight and shuffling closer to Greenie. Alright. Never open your eyes again.

What had been a half a day's stroll was a ten minute fly over the city. At least, I assume it was over the city. I didn't dare open my eyes less I wanted to lose my lunch.
A sudden jolt made me squeeze Greenie tighter and it took a full ten seconds to realise that we had landed. I peeled open my eyes and found that we were in my driveway. Thank goodness it was already starting to go dark, otherwise we might've started attracting stares.
"How was that?" he asked over his shoulder.
"I think I prefer admiring your dragon from the ground," I murmured, blinking heaving as motion sickness made my stomach sway. Or maybe I was just sick from all the candy I ate with Naomi and the others earlier. Probably that.

He slipped off of the dragon first and then caught me before I could land on my bad foot. His grip on my waist would surely leave bruises the next day but the only thing running through my head was the absolute lack of proximity between us.
"You good?" he whispered.
"Yeah," I replied, just as hushed. I tried to ignore the way my heart was hammering in my chest. I hoped he couldn't hear it.
I pulled away first, coughing into my hand awkwardly.
"Uh, thanks," I hobbled back to give us some space. "I'll see you later."

I turned and slowly made my way to the door, aware of him watching me go.
Head hurting and emotions a mess.