Defying Destiny - Ninjago Lloyd x male!reader

Prologue

Hi, welcome to James wasting his life some more :')

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"Stop that kid!"

I darted through the streets, weaving between the crowds of people gathered in the market. There were, like, three guys running after me and an angry vendor. It was no problem. I was small and fast, and I could shake them.

In my hands, I was clutching an orange. Just a single orange. This was all a big ruckus for a single orange. A single orange was hardly enough for a snack, let alone enough to make my stomach stop hurting.

It wasn't really fair, either. If they caught me . . . well, I don't know what they'd do to me, but I assumed it would be bad, like prison or some junk. I just wanted something to eat so I don't, you know, die. I never understood why that was such a horrible thing.

I ducked into an alley and slid through a small hole in the wall of an old, abandoned building. I darted through the rubble, emerging quickly to another street. I knew this village like the back of my hand, and I knew that my little shortcut was enough to get those guys off my tail, but I kept running anyway. I slowed only when I reached an old bell tower, and I slipped inside, climbing the stairs to the top.

Ah, home, sweet home . . .

The tower was out of commission, some relic of a war long passed or something. I was the only person who ever used it, so I was startled when I found an old man waiting for me at the top. He was sitting on the floor beside my makeshift "bed", drinking . . . wait, tea?

He had a whole freaking teapot with him. That's . . .

Whatever.

I eyed the man nervously. I didn't recognize him. He had a long, white beard and one of those big rice-farming sort of hats. He also had a big stick, like a bo staff or something. I held the orange close to myself and approached him cautiously.

"You're not a cop, are you?" I asked in a small voice. He took a sip of his tea before answering.

"No, not in the sense that you mean, at least," he answered pleasantly.

"Alright," I shrugged, plopping down onto my makeshift "bed", which was really just a thin blanket on a concrete floor. "Who are you then?"

I looked I him over again as I waited for him to answer. I'd run into plenty of other homeless people in my short life, but this guy was too well dressed to be impoverished. His white robe-tunic-whatever-it-was that he wore was honestly kinda fancy, and he looked like he belonged in a monastery or something.

"The better question is, who are you?" the guy replied. I frowned, peeling my stolen orange.

"Just another nobody, waiting for the world to pass me by. An irrelevant statistic of a supposedly improving economy," I responded flatly. "But I asked first."

"I am Sensei Wu," he answered, taking another sip of his tea.

"Well, nice to meet you, I guess," I mumbled, eating my orange as slowly as I could, savoring each bite, knowing it very well might be the only food I can get my hands on for a week.

I also neglected to introduce myself. It was a sort of defense mechanism. I felt safer remaining anonymous.

"Would you like some tea?" this Wu guy asked, offering me a little, blue cup.

"Um, yeah, actually that would be really great," I nodded, accepting the cup. He poured me some tea, making the cup feel all warm against my fingers. "Thank you."

I took a sip of the tea, and smiled just a little. I couldn't remember the last time I had something to drink that had flavor. I picked my orange back up and frowned down at it.

"I'd offer you some of my orange, but I haven't eaten in a day and a half, and my stomach hurts," I said regretfully, feeling a little bad for not sharing after he had offered me something.

"That's all right," the old man assured me. "Where did you get the orange?"

"Oh, uh . . . " I hesitated, feeling ashamed of my self suddenly and for a reason I couldn't quite place. "I stole it . . . "

"Hmm," the old man hummed thoughtfully.

"I just wanted to eat . . . " I said in a small voice.

"If someone offered you a home with food and a proper bed, would you accept it?" the man asked.

"Um, yeah, probably," I answered.

"I am assembling a team of ninjas."

"What-- Ninjas?"

"Yes. I would like you to join."

"You wouldn't want that," I said flatly, looking at the floor.

"You just said that if you were offered a home, you would likely accept," this 'Sensei Wu' character pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but I'm not going to agree to something that I'm probably not qualified for just to help myself," I explained. "I'm a scrawny, malnourished ten-year-old. What use would I be?"

"You may be surprised at what you are capable of," the man told me. I only shrugged. "Come. Join my team. I will train you the ways of a ninja."

"You're sure you want me?" I asked.

"Yes, I am certain."

"Well, alright then, I guess. I accept your offer."

The old man smiled at me, and he stood up.

"Come. We shall journey back to my monastery where you will begin your training."

"Oh!" I stood up and brushed myself off. "Right now?"

"Yes."

"Oh, uh-- Well, uh, I guess I dont really have anything to do except, well--" I grabbed my blanket from the floor and folded it up. "Okay, let's go then."

The old man nodded and led me out of the bell tower.

"Um, Sensei Wu, was it?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"You never asked my name. It's, uh, it's Y/n."

"Oh, yes, Y/n," Sensei Wu nodded. "Welcome to the team."

"Um, thanks. Like, a ton," I said, following him down the street. "Whatever you need me to do, I won't let you down. That's a promise."

Sensei Wu nodded, and he led me off into the wilderness beyond the village, launching a brand new chapter of my life.

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QwQ