Enmity | Ninjago AU

Chapter 7

Kai's POV

"Is the entire city out there or something?" Jay asks nervously, peaking out to look at the crowd from side stage. When there's a giant scream of teenage girls, signaling that he's been spotted, he pulls his head back.

"Why? You scared?" I ask, a small smirk on my face.

He crosses his arms,"Pfft, no. I'm just saying that if, and I say if, the whole city is out there, that's a safety hazard."

"Sure you are Zaptrap," I clap my hand on his shoulder before walking over to Lloyd.

All of us are wearing our elemental robes from the Temple of Light, just without the masks, since they were the outfits we saved Ninjago in. Lloyd is wearing his golden version, even though his golden powers were drained when he destroyed the Overlord, and now he can no longer use them.

"Hey Kai," Lloyd sighs.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"It's all so overwhelming. I was told I'd get used to it, but I'm not used to the constant attention. I'm still a kid at heart, you know that, but the media doesn't. I feel like I'm always being watched, and like if I mess up one thing, they're going to hyper analyze it," he admits, looking out on the giant crowd of people.

"They have no right to come after you for anything. You were the one who saved their lives. Even if they do happen to, I'm sure none of us are going to let them get away with it," I wrap my arm around his shoulder.

"Kai, I am sorry to interrupt, but I would like to ask you a question," Zane politely finds a way into our conversation. I give him a little head nod, signaling for him to keep going. "What is your sister's name? While we are waiting to go in stage, I am going to browse through the records in my database to see if I can find her anywhere."

"Nya," I smile softly at the sound of her name. "Don't even think about saying anything, Jay," I warn once I see him opening up his mouth from across the room.

"I was just going to say that I think it's a pretty name; that's all," he defends himself before going back to talking to Cole. He starts talking, and Cole just nods.

"Boys, it's time to go on stage," Sensei Garmadon informs us, walking in with Wu and Misako from another room. The five of us head to the side of the stage, so we can partially see the crowd. Part of them see us, and they start cheering loudly.

"Here, to give the Ninjagian Medal of Honor, a prestigious award, is the royal family themselves!" the person who has been talking for the past thirty minutes announces. She gestures to the opposite side of the stage, and the emperor, empress, and princess walk out, all in their regal green outfits. The royal family faces the crowd, and a series of cheers erupts.

"I didn't know the royal family would be here," I admit quietly.

"Citizens of Ninjago," the emperor greets, "we have gathered here today to honor five young men who risked their lives in order to save Ninjago. If it wasn't for them, we would all be dead right now. Let's give them a huge round of applause and welcome them onto the stage!"

As soon as the five of us get onstage, the crowd goes wild. The cheers are from everyone, ranging from adult men to teenage fangirls and even to small children. Right in the center of the crowd, there is a news camera towering over everyone.

When we finally reach center stage, I look out at the crowd. When I spot a group of fan girls to our right, I shoot them a wink, and they start hysterically screaming.

"The Ninjagian Medal of Honor is a very rare award that has been given to very few people. It is given to people who have given their all to make Ninjago a better, safer place, just like all of these boys have. The sacrifices these boys had to make were more than any of us can even comprehend. They had to give up their normal lives, their chances at school, and for one of them, even several years off their life.