moonlight | ninjago

07 ✧ monastery weekends

"every new friend is a new adventure...the start of more memories."
✧✧✧

- For an idea of what Kira's voice sounds like, watch the video from around 0:12 to 0:53! -

The next few days drag on. A routine is established quickly: Kira wakes up early, gets dressed, eats, and reports to the courtyard for training with Master Wu. From sunup till sundown they sit, going through exercise through exercise as Kira attempts to summon her powers. She learns the basics of meditation, spirituality, and soul searching, but no powers reveal themselves. When they finish each day, she eats dinner in her room and then goes to bed. She doesn't interact with the others much, but when she does, she does her best to remain polite and ladylike.

Then, at long last, her first week of training draws to a close.

The Ninja had invited her to join them for their Friday movie night the day prior, but she'd kindly declined and retreated to her room, staring up at the moon until she dozed off. Now, it's finally the weekend, meaning two free days until the cycle begins anew. She'll continue to have sessions with Wu every Friday, which will consist of more mental and spiritual exercises as they work to unlock her powers. From what she's heard, the Ninja are supposed to start training her next week, which means it's time to get physical. The thought sends a wave of jitters through her—even so, she can't help but wonder what they'll teach her.

Late that Saturday morning, Kira yawns as she trudges toward the kitchen, her mouth feeling dry as a desert. Her hand drifts to her skirt pocket. Inside is a bag of Desarin family green tea, one of the many she'd brought from home, and what she plans to make for breakfast. No one's in the kitchen when she walks in; they must've eaten earlier, since she slept in, but of course that's no problem for Kira. She makes quick work of preparing a tea tray for herself, mouth watering as she carries it back to her room. She succeeds in not interacting with anyone until she passes by the living room.

"Kira?"

The girl jumps, almost dropping her tray, and spins toward the sudden voice. From inside the living room, a pair of bright green eyes peer at her from over the couch.

"Lloyd!" she gasps, still slightly mind-blown that she's housemates with the Green Ninja now. "G-good morning."

"Morning." Lloyd flashes an apologetic smile. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you. Did you sleep okay?"

Kira's eye twitches. Does she tell him she's running off four hours of sleep because she stayed up past midnight talking to the moon? No, of course not, he'd think she was crazy. It then occurs to her that he's still staring expectantly at her, awaiting an answer, causing her face to flush bright red. She takes a breath and tries to stay collected.

"Yep!" she says, like a liar. "I slept fine, thank you. Oh hey, um, look at the time! Sorry I reallyshouldgetgoingsoseeyoulaterokayBYE!"

So much for staying collected. She starts to walk away, face flaring with heat, but Lloyd stops her. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"I was just gonna head back to my room..."

"Your room?" he echoes, scrunching up his face a bit. "Don't you get tired of staying in there all day?"

Is that a rhetorical question? Bedrooms are comfortable, personal, and best of all, private. Who wouldn't want to stay in one all day? "No, no, I'm alright," Kira insists, hoping he doesn't detect the waver in her voice. "I'm just gonna—"

"Hey, come on." Lloyd raises his hands, his expression soft. "You've been holing yourself up in there since you got here. I can't make you do anything, but I think a change of scenery might do you some good. Uncle Wu always said it can help clear your mind." When Kira hesitates, he adds, "Come on, why don't you play some video games with me?