Yay! My very first Ninjago fanfic. It sure took me long enough...

I really want to thank TLFScarheart12 for encouraging me to write this despite my worries, and for giving me advice on how to make it work. This probably wouldn't have been written without your support. Thank you sooooo much! :)

DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Ninjago...

Kai squinted against the bright sunlight, trying to get a glimpse of the enemy. Jay crouched beside him, looking tense.

"Any sign of them?" he whispered.

"Nothing," Kai replied. "Let's get moving." The two ninjas darted out of the cover of the trees, and made their way toward a pile of boulders at the curve of a sparkling, crystal stream. They were almost there, when suddenly…

"GOTCHA!"

Two large blurs, one black, the other white, shot out of nowhere, knocking Kai and Jay off their feet. The ninjas quickly recovered, however, jumping to their feet and facing their attackers.

"Ha! You thought you could just sneak over here and take our flag without running into us, did you?" Cole said, his eyes behind his black ninja mask glowing with triumph.

"Uh, yeah, actually we did," Kai replied. "Last time I checked, you have to obtain the other team's flag in order to win. We assumed you guys would be trying to get ours."

"But, that makes no sense," Zane said. "If you thought we would be trying to obtain your flag, why wouldn't you stay behind to guard it?"

"Because we thought that you thought it would be easier to sneak up on us in the forest, so you would think that you could get to our flag faster than we could get to your flag, leaving your flag unguarded, so that we could run in here faster than the wind, and grab your flag…" Jay started to ramble, but then stopped. The ninjas looked at each other, then burst into laughter. Even Zane gave one of his rare chuckles.

"L-listen to us!" Cole exclaimed between fits of laughter. "We're acting like a bunch of children! This was supposed to be a training exercise!"

"Well, it's not really helping us at all!" Kai replied, nearly doubled over from laughing so hard.

"That's for sure!" A voice behind them called out.

The ninjas whipped around to see Nya standing beside Sensei Wu, grinning from ear to ear. Each of them was holding a flag. "Looks like we won, huh Sensei?" Nya asked.

"Wh-what?" Jay spluttered, looking from Nya to Sensei Wu and back again. "We didn't even know you were participating!"

"You weren't meant to know. Surprise is one of a ninja's greatest weapons," Sensei Wu replied with a smile. "It seems you have a lot more work to do."

The four young ninjas sighed. "Of course, Sensei. We will continue to train and sharpen our skills, both mental and physical," Zane said respectfully.

"I know you will. But first, how about another game? Just for fun," Sensei suggested. The ninjas readily agreed, and dispersed to rehide their flags.