▬promise of particles▬lloyd x FEM!reader▬

Kids Will be Kids :127:

Taking a sip of tea, you watched the kids both walk into the courtyard. Arin was immediately training, doing pushups and lunges, while Sora could barely stand up straight.

"Why are we training way up here? And how do you even wake up this early, Y/n?" Sora started with a yawn. "We're becoming Ninja to help people. Shouldn't we be around people? You know.. like.. in the Crossroads maybe?"

Shrugging, you pressed your lips together. "I don't really.. do the whole.. sleeping thing anymore.." You mumbled, trying to reroute the conversation. "But uhm, it's better to train without distractions, you get unfocused when people notice you."

Continuing his warm-ups, Arin smirked. "You just wanna go to the Crossroads Carnival, don't you Sora?"

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. "Well duh! Don't you? We've never, ever missed one."

Arin stood up, leaning from side to side. "True, and I wanted to win the Pie Baking Contest this year.. Grab-Barg wins every time."

You raised your brow, clearing your throat. "Crossroads Carnival?"

Sora's eyes lit up in excitement, the most excitement you'd seen out of her so far. "Oh it's amazing! It's kind of what Arin calls a town market.. there's food and stands and games and contests and did I mention games?! Oh.. I really want to go.."

Sliding the door open, Lloyd stepped out onto the deck. "Go where?"

The kids ran over to the small table he had set up, and you placed your tea down, sitting on the floor beside it.

"The Crossroads Carnival! Where everyone from the combined lands celebrates their traditions. There's a ton of food and games and even a huge fireworks show by this genius guy named Dorama!"

You got an icky feeling in the back of your mind from hearing his name.

Arin pushed through, grinning. "And- and a Pie Baking Contest! It's super fun!"

Nodding, Lloyd ran a hand through his hair. "It does sound fun. But it also sounds like a distraction from something even more fun, training!"

You rolled your eyes, jabbing his side. "Not everyone likes training as much as you."

"Where are we even supposed to train though?" Sora grumbled, facing the courtyard, "there's nothing here."

Picking the staff off of his back, Lloyd spun it around, hitting the floor. "To become a Ninja, you must see potential where others do not.."

The floor sunk down, before jittering to a painful stop. Welp. Why was Lloyd acting so different? He was acting too cryptic and Wu-like.

Lloyd groaned, "What?! It always worked when Master Wu did it- It's supposed to be this whole impressive reveal!"

You didn't remember him ever doing that. But maybe it was just before you joined, or when you were in the First Realm. But it definitely wasn't working now.

Sora frowned, glancing down the pit. "Sounds like they need cleaning. When was the last time you cleaned the mechanism?"

Leaping down, Lloyd grunted. "I.. was supposed to be doing that? Maybe it I- uah-" The courtyard lurched as Lloyd rose on top of a metal hoop. "The training course!"

Arin got all giddy from behind you, rambling to Sora about how cool it all was.

"One last thing.." Lloyd announced, leaping back over to his table. "You must complete the course before I finish my tea."

Great. He was going full Sensei Wu mode. Next thing you know he'll be making excuses as to why he didn't tell you about his 37 archenemies.

He took a small sip, immediately spitting it out. "Ow- ugh.. I burnt the tea. I didn't even know that was possible!"