Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 39: In Ronin's Shop

Nya tried the handle and pushed the door open. "It's not locked." She walked into Ronin's abandoned shop. "Come on."

The rest of the group followed, Eagle Talon casting uneasy glances up and down the street before he crossed the doorway. Cole looked at the werecat and recalled that the last time Talon was here was when he has been pretending to be Jay.

The mere thought of the cruel deception made Cole's hands roll into fists. He still found the fact that bakeneko and nekomata could transform themselves into virtually anyone—provided they had a bit of their victim's stolen blood—unnerving. If Nya had not been close enough to realize Jay's eyes were the wrong color, for all Cole knew Black Blood would already have all the moonstones and everyone would be captured and cursed with the Dark Sleep.

Cole's thoughts were interrupted when Nya commented, "Looks like nobody's been here since we were."

The group scanned the silent shop, which was still and quiet, with nothing out of place since Matilda, Eagle Talon, Nya, and Liana were there—when Ronin had been abducted.

A few discarded fidget spinners still sat at the cash register atop scattered plies of receipts and lists. The twisted bird cages, ratty plush toys, and spiked bludgeons lay quietly on the shelves. Dusty cardboard boxes sat on the floor here and there, still waiting to be opened. An old cuckoo clock on the wall had stopped running, and now its thin gold chain hung uselessly above the wood floor.

Nya drifted over to a shelf and picked up a rusty dagger. "It's lonely," she murmured.

Matilda huffed, "Well, are we going to start looking for clues, or are we going to sit on our butts? Lloyd, Zane, there ought to be plenty of receipts and notes at that cash register. Liana, there's a large box to your left on the floor that could have old letters and such—Nya can help you read them. I'll look in the back of the shop. You lot make yourself useful." She strode away, not waiting for a reply.

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, especially at Wu. They weren't sure if it was right for Matilda to be ordering them around as if she were a sensei—she had only shown up a few days ago and didn't really seem like the wise-old-master type.

However, Wu seemed unperturbed by the witch's behavior, and the ninja proceeded to search Ronin's shop containing clues to any relationship with Dog Bone.

Cole drifted alongside the shelves, shoving things aside here and there as he looked for a letter or a receipt or something that would give him a clue. Liana and Nya worked together to search the big cardboard box Matilda had suggested. Lloyd and Zane scrutinized the many papers sitting in disorganized piles on the desk.

"It's gonna take forever to find anything. Ronin may not have had anything to do with Dog Bone, anyway." Cole wandered the shelves, picking up and putting back shurikens and kunai knives.

He paused when he heard a strange chattering noise coming from the display windows. He ducked out from a shelf and was puzzled to see Talon standing there, back to the interior of the shop. The noise seemed to be emanating from him, and it continued.

Cole frowned and walked over to him. "Uhh... what the heck are you doing?"

Talon started a bit guiltily and whirled around. His slit-like pupils had turned huge. "Uh, nothing."

Cole glanced out the window and saw a pigeon wandering the street just outside the shop. It was a plump, simple-looking critter, and it was pecking at a stray piece of food wrapper. The bird was oblivious to the human and the werecat watching it.

Cole glanced back at Talon and saw him staring hungrily at the pigeon. His mouth parted slightly, and the odd chattering noise sounded again. It was a mixture of a cry and a squeak, a soft yet piercing sound.