59: The Journey

Lloyd had said farewell to his teammates the previous night and set off early to begin his journey. They had eaten, drank and relaxed; together reminiscing on the past to send Lloyd into his future with memories of times both good and bad, but even the bad had somehow become good in the recounting. He shared with them how the Dark Island had shown him his past and they too, retold tales from their childhood; a time before they had even begun the journey that brought them together and marvelled at how the years that past were stretching without notice. They all felt exhausted from the enormity of recent events and finally retired to bed, embracing their friend and wishing him well on his trip before leaving.

The sun was rising and Lloyd had left before anyone was awake; even the Monks who began their chores at first light. Lloyd looked back as he walked the long winding path away from the monastery and thought about the new generation of Ninja that now frequented the old building. The monastery had gained a new lease of life with its new students providing more vibrancy than the polished veneer of the renovations ever could and Lloyd found he looked forward to his return before he had truly left. He would miss everyone, but it would not be long before he saw them all again. They all needed time to rest and reflect and he hoped Zane and Pixal might return by the time he did. He did not begrudge his inhuman friends for disappearing so spectacularly and to a certain extent he understood. He too had made an impulsive decision to leave and follow his questions though he was sure Zane and Pixal had their own very different reasons. He understood motivation and there really was never a better time than the present to do what was needed and for him, this trip would be his time to reflect and fill his mind with sights old and new. Perhaps retracing the first journey he ever made towards becoming the Green Ninja would help him find a new balance in his life and he checked his map for which road would take him to Jamankai Village. Where he would head after that, he hadn't thought too much about. He knew fate would lead him where he needed to go.

…

Lloyd approached the village; walled and gated, it had reason to fortify itself, but on this occasion he would walk into the streets in peace and the gates were wide open and welcoming. The wall stopped the historic town from spreading into modernity and it felt like stepping into the past. Being here again made him smile at his delinquent past and he shook his head at how he tried to wreck havoc on such tranquillity.

'YOU!' a deep voice shouted. Lloyd turned to see a man crossing the square towards him. As he came closer, the man slowed and standing in front of him took great care in studying Lloyds face until he finally nodded gently 'Yes. It is you… I always knew it was'

'Uh, yes it is indeed me!' Lloyd agreed, though slightly confused by the man's intensity he asked 'do we know each other?'

'Kind of…' the man laughed 'I hope you are not here to raid our markets and take all our candy again?'

'Oh well' Lloyd chuckled ' I do have a sweet tooth!'

'Don't make me hang you from that bracket over there young man!' he joked and jerked his thumb towards the site of Lloyds past shame, where once he had been unceremoniously hung as punishment for stealing, the simple bracket was now adorned with a hanging basket of beautiful blooms and Lloyd noticed something else new 'Is that… a commemorative plaque?' he asked in bewilderment and wandered over to look.

'Indeed it is' said the man. Whenever a child plays up, we bring them here to show them the spot where the Green Ninja was punished, to remind them that even though mistakes are made, you can become a better person' The man stood behind him and placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder 'and I'm proud to say we have the bravest, most well behaved children in Ninjago… and we don't even need to hang any of them from brackets'

'Well, I'm glad something good has come from my past discretions, even if it is highly embarrassing to remember' Lloyd winced at the memory.

The man shook his head in sympathy 'the past is one thing… but you changed your future… as you have for many' Lloyd's stomach began to rumble 'You're hungry!' and the man looked across the square 'you cannot walk into the future hungry' he exclaimed and pointed towards a side street 'Hurry along now… My noodle shack is just down there. Say Arun sent you and it's on the house, it's not much of a thank you, but it's all I have to give' and he shooed Lloyd along.

'Thanks?' Lloyd called after him laughing 'you don't need to thank me… I stole all the sweets in the town, remember?'

The man smiled and shrugged 'maybe I have more to thank you for than most' Lloyd was not completely sure he understood what the man had said but nodded anyway. He gave the spot of his past misdemeanours a final grimace and continued off in the direction of the noodle shack.

Down the side street he saw an awning with red lanterns hanging and approached the small food hatch. It had an open counter with a couple of stools on which to perch and a TV to watch while you ate. It looked very welcoming and Lloyd sat down and looked in over the counter. The tiny kitchen was filled with steam that billowed from the pans on the industrial stove and a clattering came from an open cupboard door where a ladder poked out from behind 'hello?' he said to the person inside the cupboard.

A hand waved from behind the door 'Hi… oof' they said '…hold on there a sec'

'Do you need a hand?' Lloyd asked leaning in over the counter to try and see.

'No, no, its fine. I'm fine, its all good' she said

'Ok…' he said warily and sat back on his stool to wait while the hatch girl slowly came back down the ladder. Her arms were full and she carefully backed away from the door to close it with her foot, but it banged the ladder 'oh, shoot…' she muttered and balanced the stack of pots into one arm to move the ladder to the side and push the door shut carefully. She glanced up at the TV and following her gaze Lloyd jumped to see his dragon shooting into the sky from the House of Shadows.

'That's something else isn't it?' the girl said in awe and turned to her customer expecting a similar response but on seeing who was sat at her counter promptly dropped all the pans in shock! Her eyes shut tight she awaited a crash that never came. Opening one eye and then the other, the girl was stunned to see the pans rise up to sit on the counter a green shimmer around them 'you… you're…' she looked up at the TV to point in amazement at an action close up of Lloyd in the news footage.

'…in this special, brought to you exclusively by me Gail Gossip, I talk with the legendary Green Ninja, figurehead of our beloved Ninja Force, keeping the city safe from the unknown…'

'Uh… yes, yep, that's me…' Lloyd looked a little embarrassed and wasn't entirely sure where to look with the girl staring at him so intently.

'…have you seen your plaque?' she blurted out.

Lloyd laughed 'I have' he said 'it was helpfully pointed out to me by Arun'

'Oh, ha ha, you've met my dad then!'

'That was your dad?'

She nodded 'he's your biggest fan and probably sent you down here for free food I should imagine'

'That he did' Lloyd confirmed and glanced up to see his interview with Gail Gossip and winced '… so embarrassing'

She glanced at him and shook her head 'nooo…' she said, disagreeing with a smile only to be distracted by something burning on the stove 'oh crap! The pot stickers' the griddle pan had begun to billow black smoke and she reached out in panic to move it off the flame. On touching the hot metal handle she screamed and immediately dropped the heavy pan, which tipped awkwardly, knocking another full of steaming broth from the stove.

A burst of power flipped the two pans away as Lloyd instinctively flew across the counter, sending the condiment tray flying to grab the girl as a flickering green shield extended over them; protection from the blackened pot stickers that rained down and the scalding broth that spilt forward.

From their crouched position the girl tentatively opened her eyes to view the disaster zone around them and up at a single singed, sticky dumpling resting on top of the glowing green orb '…oh my Masters… What just happened?'

Lloyd released his grip on her 'sorry…' he apologised.

'What on earth for?' she exclaimed.

'I spilt the salt, that's bad luck' he said, trying not to laugh.

'Masters, I don't believe in luck!'

'No? So what do you believe in?'

'Well… Fate, obviously' the girl laughed.

Lloyd felt a little bashful and nodded. After all, the story-writers had a reason for everything.

'Well, fate or luck… You saved me!' she exclaimed.

'I guess I did' and Lloyd's gaze was held by the beauty of her dark eyes.

'You did' she confirmed, only to realise that both were caught staring and she looked away nervously 'thank you…. um…I'm sorry but what do I call you?' she asked 'Green Ninja sounds a bit weird'

'Ha, no… that would be weird' he released the shield and the pot sticker plopped comically between them. Standing he extended his hand to her 'I'm Lloyd'

The girl smiled and took his hand. Lloyd pulled her up and she seemed more than a little flustered to be in such close proximity to him and nervously pushed her long white hair behind her ear 'Well nice to meet you Lloyd. I'm Harumi'