🌊 The Aftermath 🌊

🌊 A Reluctant Goodbye 🌊

After Nya merged with the sea and left, the entire ninja team was broken. Kai and Jay left the monastery shortly after her disappearance, Lloyd following not too long after. The night he left the monastery, he left his friends, the girl he loved, his uncle, and his entire ninja life behind.

Lloyd sunk into the couch, grabbing the TV remote. Blankly he turned it on and scrolled through the channels. A few minutes later, he finally stopped scrolling as the NTGV news channel appeared on the screen.

"Reporting live from Ninjago City as..."

"Hey," a voice softly called into the room, interrupting Gale Gossip's report.

Slowly, Lloyd glanced over towards the voice to see Ry standing in the doorway, wearing a dull gray T-shirt and some fluffy pink pajama pants.

Her gaze seemed just as blank and sorrowful as his, despite how much she was trying to hide it.

"Hey," Lloyd mumbled before redirecting his attention back to the TV.

Just a few seconds later Ry sat down right next to him on the couch. Lloyd however didn't move. Although he felt her staring at him, he didn't look at her. His eyes were glued to the TV.

"Another robbery has occurred just on the outskirts of Ninjago City, bringing the question back into the air. Where are the ninja and when will they return?" Gale Gossip reported.

"There's been another robbery in the city," Lloyd mumbled, still not looking over at Ry.

"I-I know we should be out there stopping these crimes, but...," he sighed, tightly closing his eyes to stop the tears that had already started to form in them.

"Lloyd," he heard Ry's soft voice while feeling her small hand gently on his forearm, her touch catching his attention.

"It's ok. We're going through a hard time and there will be others who can protect the city. We were never the only ones, you know," she tried to reassure him, not once breaking eye contact with him.

"I don't know Ry." Lloyd dropped his gaze to the ground. "We've always protected the city. It's... It's our responsibility to protect the people."

For a moment, Ry stayed quiet while Lloyd just kept staring at the ground.

"Why don't we watch something else," Ry suggested while taking the TV remote from Lloyd's hand.

He didn't even flinch when she took the remote. Instead, he lifted his blank gaze to the screen as Ry clicked through channels. Lloyd had no idea what she was looking for, just watched as the channels consistently changed.

A few minutes later the channel that almost always played the Starfarer movies appeared.

"There," Ry proudly stated as she selected that channel, a Starfarer movie immediately starting to play on the screen.

Lloyd's eyes widened slightly as he watched his favorite show. He couldn't help but smile ever so slightly.

After a few seconds, he looked over at Ry, still slightly smiling and so was she.

For a moment, he just got lost in her dark brown eyes, slight hints of green speckling them. Just by looking into her eyes, Lloyd noticed now much guiot and sorrow she was holding inside. Yet right now, the smallest bit of joy showed.

"Thanks," Lloyd finally told her.

"Anything for you," Ry blurted out, immediately blushing bright pink. Her words made Lloyd's face flush the same bright pink as hers.

However Lloyd just brushed it off and returned his attention back to the screen. Ry followed, the two focusing on the movie. It felt like hours had passed as they just sat and watched, momentarily forgetting all about their guilt and sorrow.