Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 60: The Ninjas' First Lesson

"What! Are you crazy?!" Cole, Lloyd, Zane, and Nya chorused simultaneously.

Wu arched an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

The ninja glanced at one another uneasily, hesitating. Wu stood across from them, with Matilda close by. The youths and the elders faced off one another in the cabin of the Destiny's Bounty.

"I— I'm sorry, Master— we just—" Lloyd stammered. He looked at Matilda warily.

"But Matilda's a witch!" Cole blurted. "And we're ninja! We can't learn magic tricks!"

"You won't be learning 'magic tricks', Cole," Wu retorted. "You will all be taught how to defend yourself from the attacks the Seven Sorcerers make on your mind, and to retaliate if possible. If we are to fight back against the Tribe of the Moon, you must be able to defeat the sorcerers without the help of Matilda. She cannot be in five places at once, you know."

"Zane defeated Twig Foot by himself," Cole pointed out.

Zane flinched at the mention of the man he had killed two nights ago.

"By sheer dumb luck," Matilda snorted. "Now, unless you want the rest of you to be caught and cursed with the Dark Sleep like half of your team were, I suggest you quit whining and take your medicine like big kids. The bakeneko-nekomata warriors use physical skills and weapons like you, but they're also shape-shifters, and the sorcerers fight dirty, as you've already experienced. Your elemental powers aren't enough."

When none of the ninja made a reply, the witch huffed and made an odd hissing noise between her teeth. "Hsst... I can't teach students who refuse to learn. Who's in and who's out?"

Lloyd glanced at Cole standing beside him. Despite being the one who knew her longest, even Cole didn't seem too excited by the prospect of Matilda teaching them techniques of magical fighting, and that made Lloyd uneasy. Still, even as he wondered what about Matilda would make Cole reluctant to oblige himself to her, Cole himself sighed and said, "I'm in."

"I'm in, too," Lloyd hastened. He didn't want to look nervous to the others about letting himself be taught by Matilda.

Nya sighed, "I guess I'm in."

"You joining, Liana?" Matilda nodded to the girl standing nearby idly swinging her nunchucks. Liana blinked and raised her head.

"Me?" She sounded surprised. "But I'm not a ninja."

"What, because you don't have superpowers? You're wearing a pajama suit and carrying nunchucks, aren't you? Get your fanny over here."

Lloyd saw Liana trying to bite back a smile as she joined the group. She seemed pleased to be included with the ninja in their training.

"In that case, I too will join," Zane said.

Matilda looked at him. "I'll try my best to help you, but you may not get far. A lot of this is humanly mental, and you..." Her voice trailed off.

"I am a nindroid," Zane finished with a frown. The frown faded, though, as he nodded in consent. "I see what you mean. However, I should like to learn nonetheless."

"That's the attitude I'm looking for." Matilda twisted her lips in a thoughtful scowl at all the ninja and Liana.

"Will you be helping with the training, Master Wu?" Lloyd asked his uncle.

Wu shook his head, stepping back away from Matilda. "No. This is a different kind of game." A smile—slightly mischievous-looking, in Lloyd's opinion—made his beard twitch. "If you don't mind, I will be watching from the sidelines, enjoying a hot cup of tea." With that said, Wu turned and seated himself comfortably on a cushion, where a little wooden tray carrying a teapot and teacup waited for him.