Call to Ereganto

“Ugh! This is hard!”

I was standing on the upper deck, with a silver kusarigama in my hand, rather than my Windblade. A little boy with blonde hair, green eyes stood in front of me with a small sword in his hand. He panted and sweat.

“Well, this is what you have to do to be a ninja,” I calmly explained, “If you want to be one, you need to have patience. No one can blossom into something overnight.”

.

Lloyd picked up his sword and ran towards me with a battle cry. I whirled around the kusarigama and whipped it forward to block his attacks. I took a step back as he foisted his knife forward. He whirled around to swipe me, but I gracefully lept in the air and flipped over him.

“Hey! No fair! You’re using your powers!” Lloyd exclaimed.

I stifled a laugh.

“One of the most important aspects you have to keep in mind: Enemies will not hesitate to play dirty! You will have to be ready for when they try to pull a fast one on you!” I informed.

Lloyd was getting aggravated with me at this point. In his ten year old frustration, he somehow thought he could master Spinjitzu and began spinning around. However, there was no elemental power emineting. Instead, he was just whirling like a uncoordinated ballerina, and I could tell he was beginning to get dizzy. He barreled towards the wall and face-planted into it. He grunted as Kamara landed softly back onto the deck. She couldn’t help but snicker.

“Sorry Lloyd” she apologized.

Lloyd groaned. Kamara held out her hand to him. Lloyd took her hand.

.

“Ugh, maybe it isn’t a good idea to be a ninja” He stated, sadly.

I frowned. “Like I said, training is never easy. It takes practice” I said, firmly.

“I’m never good at anything!” Lloyd exclaimed, angrily, “I’m not a good bad guy, I’m not a good ninja, I’m not even a good nephew!”

I glanced over at my four sword-brothers, Cole, Kai, Zane, and Jay, all sparring against each other on the other end of the deck.

I smiled. “I don’t know, you’re pretty good at pranks” I mentioned, “You seem to keep the rest of us on our toes a lot!”

Lloyd picked up his head.

“I mean, I didn’t enjoy you loitering my bed with plastic spiders, don’t get me wrong!” I emphasized, “But afterwards, I will admit, it was pretty funny. Maybe instead of necessarily fighting directly, you should brush up on your pranks, and use them to defeat your enemies.”

Lloyd smiled, hopefully. “Really?”

I nodded.

“Maybe you’re right! I’ll give it a try!” Lloyd announced.

I beamed.

“Good man.”

When I looked back up again, I could see Kai on the other side, smiling at her. I looked away, and my cheeks blushed.

.

It had been nearly a month since the Kurai Kodomo. They had made no additional attempts to attack the Bounty. Not that it would be an easy task. Everyone was aware of their existence, and everyone was watching their back. Meanwhile, Lloyd, son of Lord Garmadon, and Sensei Wu’s nephew, had come forward to me about his desire to be a ninja, like myself, and the rest of the boys. I agreed to train him, in exchange for no more pranks. Lloyd agreed, and we began less than two days prior. It wasn’t easy to train someone who was easily discouraged, but I hoped that my motivation would help.

.

Ring, ring! Ring, ring!

I felt my cell phone vibrate in her pocket. I took it out and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Kamara Silverknight, from Live and Love?”

I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t used to be addressed as a member from Live and Love. I wasn’t the one who handles the calls for our band. But it looks like they gave someone my number.

“Yes, I am Kamara Silverknight.”

“Ms. Silverknight, This is Alexa Pierce from Croc’s Grill in Ereganto City.”

I knew where Ereganto City was. It was a little over and hour away from my town, Funshi. I used to go there often, as that was the place where my dad lived when he was a kid.

“Hi Ms. Pierce. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I hired a local musician to perform this Friday night for our guests. However, he cancelled on account of sickness, and can’t make it. I have heard of your band Live and Love from Funshi, and I was wondering if I could hire you for that night.”

I glanced at my brothers, who were taking a break and stretching. I spotted Kai making eye contact with me. He raised an eyebrow, and gestured to who I was talking to. I just shrugged, and turned away.

“Well, I’m not exactly at Funshi. However, I will ask my supervisor and see if I can make it. I’ll call you back within the hour.”

“Okay, thank you for your consideration, Ms. Silverknight.”

“You’re welcome! Bye!”

.

“Who was that?”

I looked up and saw Kai. I cleared my throat and put my phone away.

“Um…Somebody with a proposition for me” I simply replied, “What do you ask?”

Kai scratched the back of his head, and stuttered, “Well, I mean, it’s been a very light week. All we’ve been doing is training. The serpentine activity has died down again, and I was hoping that…maybe we should take the opportunity of…you know, the two of us getting to know each other…”

My heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t sure whether or not I had wanted to forget the idea of Kai and I being together. The thought of me actually going on a date was foreign to me, and quite frankly, a little intimidating. Then, I had an idea.

“Well, Croc’s Grill is a very nice place. You could…ya know, go with me?” I recommended, “You know, just in case something nasty shows up…”

Kai thought for a moment, then said, “Yeah! Good idea! It’ll give me an opportunity to see you perform uninterrupted.”

My cheeks went red again, as I mumbled, “Okay.”

“Uh-! Did I just say that?” Kai stuttered, “Heh, that came out wrong! I mean, I hear you play all the time! It can get a little obnoxious sometimes, but mostly…pleasant!”

I smiled. “That’s okay” she squeaked.

After a pause, debating whether or not they should talk more, or run for the hills, I asked:

“You really think I play nice?”

Kai turned away from me for a second, trying not to blush himself. Then, he smiled nervously, and was about to answer me, when we heard Cole’s voice exclaiming from behind them:

“What are you two lovebirds up to over there?”

.

We took a leap back from each other. Now I was completely flushed.

“N-nothing” I stammered, “Just…Talking.”

The black, blue, and white ninja looked at each other and grinned, mischievously.

“You’re not trying to wiggle your way out of training, are you?” Jay inquired.

“No!” I strongly objected, “If you were paying attention, I was actually helping Lloyd train.”

Cole snorted. “What? Lloyd? Training? I don’t think the little tike couldn’t even see a serpentine coming at him even if it sang and dance! What makes you think he can pick up a sword and swing it around correctly?”

“Now Cole, that isn’t very nice!” I responded, waving her finger at him, “He’s just a child. Have some manners.”

“I for one admire you for attempting to assist him, Kamara,” said Zane, “As hard as we have tried, we were unsuccessful with…erm…bonding with him.”

I shrugged.

“It sometimes come in handy when you have the experience of two rambunctious younger brothers. Don’t thank me just yet, I…may have given him some advice that might be a disadvantage to you.”

“Seriously?” Kai groaned.

“Well, I told him that being a ninja isn’t just about learning to fight with a sword. I told him that he should also use the talents he has to be a ninja.”

“‘Talents’ as in ‘more pranks’! Thanks, Kam!” Jay groaned.

I shrugged again.

“Boys will be boys.”