Ninja's Creed: Awakening

Chapter Six: The Gadgets

  The next sixteen hours of Lloyd's life were filled with more training, preparations for the mission taking place that night, and—most of all—thinking of his mom. What did I do to deserve this s**t? he thought, sitting down at the bar in the Assassins' safehouse kitchen. They had landed in Rome three hours before, so they'd hidden the Destiny's Bounty (with Grand Master Wu staying with it), gotten their aliases, and now the other Assassins had gone out for an Italian grocery run, leaving Lloyd alone because only God knew where his uncle was. Now, Mom's probably thinking I'm buried beneath sixteen tons of rock, metal, and piss from the piping system...and I can't tell her I'm okay.

  And the huge issue with that was that he never meant for anything to happen in the first place. There's no point in keeping me here if they're gonna keep me in the dark! he ranted mentally. He would've kept going, but then he heard a voice singing from somewhere down the hall.

"Hey/I was doin' just fine before I met you/ I drink too much/And that's an issue/But I'm okay..."

  Damn, I love this song, Lloyd mentally sighed, walking slowly & soundlessly down the hall. He made sure to shift his weight with each step, so as to not create a push-down effect on the mahogany floorboards. Which one of them is it? Probably...what's his name...Jay! Could be one of those nerd-has-secret-talent cliche stories...*pfft* Way too obvious!

"Hey/You tell your friends it was nice to meet them/But I hope I never see them again..."

  Lloyd continued to roam the halls, and the voice continued to sing The Chainsmokers' heartbroken hit.

"I know it breaks your heart/Moving to the city in a broke-down car and..."

  "Four years, no calls/Now you're looking pretty in a hotel bar...", Lloyd sang, surprising himself. He hadn't listened to The Chainsmokers in two months, and now an unknown person singing it was enough to make him start doing it?

What the world was coming to, politically and otherwise.

  The mystery singer stopped for a second, apparently shocked at having someone to join him. "I-I-I can't stop/No, I-I-I can't stop", both singers continued in perfect harmony. By this time, Lloyd was only a few feet away from the doorway of the room from which the voice came.

  "So baby, pull me closer/In the backseat of your Rover/That I know you can't afford/Bite that tattoo on your shoulder", the pair sang. "Pull the sheets right off the corner/Of that mattress that you stole/From your roommate back in Boulder/We ain't never gettin' older..."

  Lloyd stepped into the dojo (where the hell else would Lloyd have found him?) and looked inside to see a shirtless, mildly-sweaty Kai staring quizzically at the open door and looking as if he were going to take a look outside himself.

  "So, the spiked-up slicer can sing?" Lloyd asked, amused. "And the human in the hoodie can harmonize?" Kai asked, putting on an expression of mock surprise. Lloyd laughed. "Touché", the blond boy said. "You a fan of The Chainsmokers?"

  "Did Taylor and Katy feud? They're the greatest thing since Taylor and Katy!" Kai replied, grinning. "So someone else does think so!" Lloyd agreed, smiling back at Kai. Just then, another thought occurred to him. "What were you doing in here, anyway?" he asked.

  "Oh, I was just sharpening Akiro", Kai answered, jerking a thumb behind him. Lloyd looked behind Kai to see something he hadn't noticed before: a wakizashi katana on the floor near the spa area door.

  "Whoa", he gasped, looking at it. "It's beautiful!" "Thanks", Kai told him. "Want a 'Closer' look at it?" Lloyd grinned, getting the reference. "Sure!" he replied, jogging over to the spa area. Kai knelt to pick up the sword, and handed it to Lloyd. "Careful", the spiky-haired brunette cautioned, placing it in the blond's hands. "Akiro is a very sharp blade, but a reliable one nonetheless."