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Hi, you haven't been active in a while so I don't know if you ever actually look at your asks but I just stumbled across your account today and decided to dedicate today to scrolling through your entire blog - which I just finished doing! Your content is incredible ^^ I didn't read through every single thing, but I looked at all of your art and I really loved everything I saw. Thanks for everything you've posted!
hehe yes I've been busy being a Working Adult unfortunately so I'm getting to my inbox very late but!! I really appreciate the love! I'm always so happy to hear that people enjoyed my fanart especially for ninjago which was so close to my heart for so long. that's serious dedication to scroll all the way to the end of my blog, thank you for the kind words!!
Hello. Today I accidentally found your OC creator and luckily you added your Tumblr address there. I just wanted to say it's great. I had a lot of fun with testing the options, creating my OCs and even giving the dummy my look. I especially liked the variety of available skin tones (they look very natural) and scars. Fantastic thing. Thank you for brightening up my day and making this world a better place. I hope I don't sound like a creep.
I'm late to answering this but tysm for the love for my picrew!! I've kind of neglected to update it since posting it but I'm so glad people are having fun using it.
omg youâre back!! i donât think i ever spoke to you or was friends with you when youâd spend a lot of time of tumblr, but when i first got into ninjago a couple of years ago i would spend a lot of time on your blog â looking through your art, analysing it but mostly just enjoying how beautiful it was. a lot of your tags and reblogged posts are pretty familiar to me because iâd just see them so often when i came here to look through your art. itâs so nice to see that you and cia, both huge inspirations to me and i think def some others here, are back and are doing well! hope that youâve been okay, and thank you for creating such beautiful artworks <33
awe, this is so sweet! I'm so happy my art could bring some joy to you, and it's such a huge compliment to hear that you liked it enough to come back again. there are definitely a lot of things I'd change if I could redraw some of it, but messages like yours make me feel like my blog is a real portfolio haha. thank you for the kind comment and I hope you're having a great 2025 so far <3
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This is one of the longest, most self-indulgent fics Iâve written in a while and it is entirely @ninjawhoaâs fault (and i mean that in the best way possible but u know). So the full inspiration for Kai and Nya as Mandalorians goes to them <3
Honestly the best way I can summarize this is to explain that I started it out saying âlol thereâs no way Iâm gonna write Lloyd as baby yodaâ. then 11k words later. Lloyd as baby yoda.Â
(while you donât technically need to have watched the mandalorian to understand this, it will kinda help and youâll probably guess who Coleâs gonna be. plus itâs just a Good Show in general, so u should watch it)
Kaiâs not a heartless person, despite what some people might say.
But heâs not the kind of person that keeps many regrets, either. In his line of work, he canât afford to be. Mandalorians arenât known for their expressiveness in the first place, and the helmet has long hidden any grimace he might make at his and Nyaâs lessâŠsavory jobs. But heâll never show it otherwise, because they are Mandalorian, which means theyâre the best of warriors or bounty hunters to be had, and you donât become the best by regretting who you blast in the back and who you freeze in carbonite this week.
But there are some things â a precious few â that he does regret, and he does hold on to. And one of the more current, glaring ones is that he really should have pressed for more information on their target this time.
Or, Lloyd and his evolving relationship with what it means to choose a weapon, as supervised by Kai.
listen I know Wu technically gives them all their new weapons in season 11 according to some random book referenced in the ninjago wiki (or at least Lloydâs sword) but you know who ACTUALLY has a degree in making weapons and canonically has made a golden sword SO. My canon now.
(also spot the brain rot I infected myself with in the title)Â
Lloyd grows up in a world of weaponry and at the speed of light.Â
There are worse ways to grow up, maybe. There are also better ones â one where kids get to grow up instead blasting into teenager-hood in the span of seconds â but Lloyd doesnât like to complain about where heâs ended up.Â
Second to the speed of light thing, though, the weapons part is pretty big.Â
Weapons determine the single biggest turning point in his life, after all. Itâs the Golden Weapons that make him the Green Ninja, a title thatâs a lot more important than Lloydâs ever been. Itâs also that particular title that makes Lloyd the weapon, so thatâs fun. Ninjagoâs prophesied emergency failsafe, the Green Ninja â thatâs him.Â
On a nicer note, itâs the Fangblade that gets him a big brother, and proves that thereâs someone out there who cares about Lloyd over some stupid weapon, so hah.Â
Getting back to the point, thoughâ
Weapons. Lloydâs been making do without one, and heâs been making pretty good do, thank you very much. Heâs got his power, and heâs got himself. Thatâs all the weapon Lloyd needs.Â
But no one else seems to agree, and since ninety percent of the time whatever prophecy-of-doom crops up this month involves cursed weaponry of some sort, they all figure itâs a good a reason as any to stick Lloyd with a reliable weapon.Â
And while wielding all the elements is one thing, wielding every kind of weapon at once would be kind of difficult, even for his dad.Â
So Lloyd finally gets an actual, for-real, decision that he gets to make all by himself.Â
Itâs a monumentous occasion â and yes, that is a word, Nya, Lloyd knows some stuff â so if Lloyd was smart heâd treasure it and take his time.Â
With that in mind, it takes all of thirty seconds for Lloyd to choose. This is only mildly insulting to some parties.Â
âFine, sure, go with the most basic pick in the world,â Jay scoffs. âSwords. Boring.â
âSounds like youâre just jealous,â Kai shoots back.
âJealous of swords? Please. I just thought Lloyd was a little more creative than that.â
âI like swords,â Lloyd says, at a loss.Â
âJay is only relieved that no one will one-up his nunchuck expertise, now,â Zane smiles.Â
Jay sputters indignantly. âNo oneâs one-upping me, Iâm the best there is!âÂ
âUh-huh,â Cole shakes his head. âWell, if thatâs what Lloyd wants, thatâs the end of it.â His mouth quirks. âMeans more training time for Kai, anyways.âÂ
âMore training to be better than you,â Kai retorts.Â
âLike the rest of you, Lloyd will continue to work toward mastering at least the basics of any weapon,â Sensei Wu sighs. âA ninja confined to one weapon aloneââ
âIs a dead ninja,â Jay nods.
Sensei Wu cuts his eyes at him. âThat is not how I was going to finish.â
âThe point stands though, right?â
âThe point,â Sensei Wu pinches the bridge of his nose. âIs that while Lloyd will continue to train with all of you, focusing on swordsmanship will become the priority. So yes, in a way. More training for Kai.â
Lloyd rubs the back of his neck. âSorryâŠ?â
âWhy are you sorry?â Kai beams, more proud than smug. âI finally get an official katana apprentice. Weâre gonna be awesome.â
And that alone, Lloyd thinks, makes it worth all the complaining.Â
âGreat,â Jay throws his arms up. âNow weâre stuck with two slice âem dice âem ninjas.â
âOh, câmon,â Cole says. âItâs Kai, how dangerous can he be.â
âI resent that,â Kai says. âJust because you beat me once or twiceââ
âTry thirteen times, and counting.â
ââit does not mean Iâm not as dangerous as you,â Kai narrows his eyes.Â
âOh yeah? Wanna prove it?â
âBring it on, rock man.â
âNot in the kitchen, for FSMâs sakeââ
Whether or not Cole beats him (which he does, pretty badly, because Cole is kinda terrifying like that) Lloyd knows that to some degree, Kai is dangerous. Very dangerous, with or without his swords.
Itâs hard to think of Kai like that, though. When Lloyd thinks of Kai, he thinks of warm arms wrapped tight around him in the Fire Temple. Thinks of the first hugs heâs gotten from someone other than his father that felt like home. Thinks of protection â thinks safe. Thinks family.Â
Heâs wanted to be like Kai for a while, now. So yeah. Itâs an easy choice.Â
Plus, swords are way cool.
______
Kai starts training him in Darethâs dojo. It takes about a week for them to get banished to the roof of their apartment, which is mostly Lloydâs fault â but Kaiâs the one supposed to be teaching him, so he can take the blame this time.Â
âŠwell, maybe Lloydâs the one who keeps losing his grip on the katana, but thatâs not quite his fault, either. Â
Kai is better than basically any swordsman on this side of Ninjago in years, if not all Ninjago. Lloyd knows this because Uncle Wu told him so, and because Kai wipes the floor with him the first, second, and twenty-ninth time they spar.
âThe point is to keep your grip on the katana, you know,â Kai says, as Lloyd retrieves his sword from where it went flying (again). âWhat kind of hold it that supposed to be, butterfingers deluxe?â
âYou said not to grip it too tight,â Lloyd complains.Â
Kai rolls his eyes. âYeah, âcause you had it in a death hold. I didnât say, âlet go and let it flyâ.â
âI didnât let it fly, you knocked it out of my hand!â
âAha, so youâre admitting I won. Again.â
âN-no!â Lloyd protests. âIâm just warming up. Iâll show you this time.âÂ
But as Kai takes his stance again, his own katana held with a kind of grace Lloyd has zero idea how to ever accomplish, Lloyd thinks he might be a bit of a lost cause.Â
Itâs difficult, because every time he goes to swing his sword, his power thrums in his blood, in his hands, always ready to lash out. Itâs quickly become a habit, to start every fight slinging green blasts around. Lloydâs already grown fond of the little bell-like sounds his power makes, the steady pulse as bright green builds in his palms.Â
Lloyd is the Green Ninja, after all. His power is what makes him, well, him. Heâs his own best weapon â heâs the one the prophecy needs to make things right.
Kai keeps putting weapons in his hands, anyways.Â
Training katanas, mostly. He got to hold the Sword of Fire once, before his dad took it. It was beautiful â Lloyd kinda gets why Kaiâs so up in arms about it getting stolen.
That and the whole donât-give-Garmadon-the-Golden-Weapons thing.
Kai seems confused that Lloyd remembers it, which is weird because the Golden Weapons are kind of a big deal, but Lloyd decides to chalk it up to all the other weirdness in his life.Â
The first true katana Kai ever gives Lloyd isâŠnot quite as cool as the Sword of Fire, and definitely not as beautiful, but in a way that Lloyd likes.Â
âWeâre kinda short on weapons,â Kai admits, rubbing the back of his neck. âAnd I donât exactly have access to smithing equipment right now, which means youâre stuck with one of my old ones. Sorry.â
âWhy are you sorry?â Lloyd adjusts his hands around the hilt, taking an experimental swing. âThis is a great sword!â
âYeah, okay, liar â and donât swing it around like that, you look like youâre waving a pool noodle.âÂ
Kai grabs his hands, forcing Lloydâs arms to hold steady.
âLike this, okay?â Kai says. âWeâre gonna start by practicing single movements.âÂ
âAw,â Lloyd visibly wilts. âMore katas? I thought I was gonna get to learn some cool moves.â
âThis is a cool move. If youâre good, you finish things in one hit,â Kai says. âOne strike, and the fightâs over.â
âLike a headshot,â Lloyd nods.
âNo,â Kai rolls his eyes. âThis is not a video game. This is a real sword, and youâre going to learn to use it right.â
âAnd then we can do the cool moves?â
Kai narrows his eyes. âDo your katas or Iâm firing you.â
Lloyd sticks his tongue out at him. âYou canât fire me. Iâm the Green Ninja.â
âYeah? Iâll demote you to Green Washer-of-Dishes for the rest of the month.â
âNo! You canât, Nya and I have a deal!âÂ
Jokes aside, Lloyd is sure to remind Kai, as he scrubs dishes and Kai dries them, that he does take training seriously.
He takes all his training seriously. Itâs kind of his only job.Â
Lloyd practices hits until his knuckles split and scab, masters high kicks with shins colored violent blues and purples, forms green starbursts in his hands until his fingers crack and bleed.Â
When his palms blister from the sword hilt on top of it all, Kai makes him hold still until heâs wrapped the first-aid bandage around his hands at least five times, then shoves his old gloves on him when he starts to form calluses.
He wants to argue that he doesnât need them, but Lloyd still wears the gloves everyday and tucks them away each night, storing them with the other few, treasured things heâs been gifted.
______
The longer he trains with swords, the more Lloyd gains calluses and nicked fingers and perpetually smells a little like cloves.Â
That last part Lloyd enjoys, though heâll never admit it. Heâs not about to go and tell people he enjoys cleaning stuff, no thanks.Â
But thereâs something nice about helping Kai take care of the katanas, in a relaxing sort of way. The wood-smoke tang of cloves smells like home, which Lloyd treasures, because home isnât something heâs very used to.Â
Treasures is probably an understatement. Lloyd latches onto it like heâs starving. Part of itâs because this is something he gets to have with Kai, all by himself. Heâs never had something like that before, either â a special thing thatâs shared just with him.Â
Well, maybe besides the green gi, but the Green Ninja is something that belongs to everyone. Whatever Lloyd does when he puts the green gi on is everyoneâs business, since it determines the fate of the world or something like that, and it doesnât really even feel like his. Not yet, at least.Â
But sitting cross-legged in the weapons room while Kai teaches him how to clean katanas without damaging them â that belongs to Lloyd.Â
He learns a lot with it too, because Kai always starts rambling about ten minutes in â not the confident, cocky way he does sometimes in front of everyone else, but in an honest way that Lloyd isnât entirely sure he even means to be.Â
âânot the best oil, but it works when youâre in a pinch. Sâwhat my parents left behind, at the shop, so itâs good enough.â
Lloyd looks up at him, curious. He keeps quiet â Kai and Nya donât talk much about their parents, if at all. Lloyd gets it, of course, but it makes the little tidbits they share valuable.Â
âI donât remember a lot about my parents,â Kai continues. âBut I remember some things. About my dad. He was a great smith, I know that much. Could make about anything. Swords were his favorite, though.âÂ
Uncle Wuâs candlelight casts Kaiâs eyes with a glow that makes it seem like heâs on fire himself, flickering and fading. He looks very far away, all of the sudden, and Lloyd has the urge to grab for his arm and make him stay here.Â
âGuess I latched onto that,â Kai smiles ruefully, and heâs back again. âNever could reach his level, but I learned how to make an okay sword.â
Lloyd chews on his lip. He knows all about latching on to your parents â wanting to be great at the things they are.
That maybe, if youâre good enough, theyâll be proud enough to come back.Â
He doesnât think thatâs a happy thing to say, though, so he tells Kai instead, âI think your swords are great.â
Kaiâs lips quirk. âUh-huh. Then you better treat them like it.â
âI do,â Lloyd protests. He gestures at the katana across his lap. âSee? I did it perfect this time.â
Kai nods his head at a spot Lloyd noticeably missed. He flushes.
âAlmost perfect.â
âPractice, young student,â Kai says, in a gravely voice thatâs probably supposed to sound like Uncle Wu. âA thousand hours of practice for you.â
âUgh,â Lloyd groans. âAll I do is practice. Practice practice practice, and then Iâm still not enouââ
He cuts off. Oops. Maybe Kaiâs honestly is a little too contagious.Â
Kai goes quiet, hands stilling on the katana. Thereâs a deep furrow between his eyes as he stares at Lloyd, in a way that makes him feel a little like a bug under a microscope. Or that Kai can see right through him, which is bad, because all Lloydâs got in him is a bunch of tangled thoughts and worries and nothing an actual ninja should have.Â
âYou know,â he says, carefully. âWe probably need to stock up on the good oil. Iâm kinda running low.â
Lloyd knows darn well Kai has enough choji oil to get them through an apocalypse.Â
âYeah?â
âYeah,â Kai nods. âIf we go now, we can probably hit the convenience store, too. Get a sugar boost beforeââ
âIâm in!â Lloyd shoots to his feet before he can stop himself, any protests forgotten. Training has included a healthy diet lately, so Lloyd doesnât collapse and pass out because his bloodâs eighty percent sugar â Zaneâs words, not his.Â
If he needs to get his blood sugar up, why canât he just eat sugar all the time? It makes no sense.Â
âDo not tell the others,â Kai hisses, as they make their way into the city. âEspecially Cole, if you donât wanna lose your sweets before you can take a bite. Weâre just getting polish for katanas, as far as you know.â
âI know nothing,â Lloyd says obediently. âHey, do you think we could use olive oil on the katanas?â
Kaiâs stare could heat iron. âIâll kill you.âÂ
âIt was a joke! A joke, heh.â
______
For all that Lloydâs life revolves around training to defeat anyone and everyone, the guys are still weirdly protective. Over anyone and everyone, including Lloyd himself.Â
âCâmon, I can handle the cool attacks,â Lloyd complains, as Kai drags him into place.
âTheyâre not cool â okay, theyâre kinda cool â but thatâs not what weâre learning now,â Kai sighs. âYouâre learning Aikido. Well, a form of it, technically. Itâs focused on defending yourself, but in a way that lessens the chances of injuring your attacker.â Â
Lloyd frowns. âIsnât that counterintoo â counterintuitive?â
âBig words today,â Kai mutters. He shakes his head. âAnd itâs counterproductive, by the way, but â no, because now that weâre training, half your attackers are us, and Iâd like to leave practice with my arms intact.â
Lloyd grins. âSo youâre admitting Iâm better than you.âÂ
âDonât put words in my mouth,â Kai says pointedly.
âDonât need to. Youâve already admitted defeat.â
âAnd, bratââ Lloyd yelps as Kai digs his knuckles into his hair. âDefending yourself is incredibly important.â
As they settle back into position, Kai pauses, a muscle in his jaw working. He looks as if heâs having an internal argument with himself, before finally sighing.Â
âThe thing about any weapon, but especially swords,â he says, correcting Lloydâs grip on the katana. âIs that they can be used a lot of ways. But the one thing you never, ever want to forgetââ
And Kaiâs tone grows serious, his jaw tensing again. âIs that they can kill.â
Lloyd looks down, to the sharp edges of the blade. It suddenly feels a bit heavier, and the room just a bit darker.Â
âThe way weâre training you, the way we were trained, we donât always â we try to avoid it.â Kaiâs voice wavers, and for a moment, Lloyd remembers that Kai isnât all that much older than he is.Â
Well, now, especially.Â
âBut sometimes, itâsâŠyou donât reallyâŠwell.â He lets out a breath. âThis is a sword. It can take a life really quick, if you arenât careful. And sometimes, you donât get the choice to be careful or not.â
Lloyd swallows. He hasnât thought about it much â hasnât wanted to, but it lives in his mind like a terrible itch he canât get rid of.Â
Heâs no stranger to the idea of killing someone. Darkleyâs was blunt as it was cold. But as a ninja, itâs suddenly realer than it ever was in school.Â
As the Green Ninja, with his destiny drawn out in front of him, itâs pretty much unavoidable.Â
Heâs going to kill his father, or heâs going to die.Â
Kaiâs hands grab tight around his shoulders. âWeâre gonna do everything we can to make sure you donât end up in that situation, okay?â He gives Lloyd a small, strained smile. âDonât ever feel like you have to change who you are, just âcause youâre a ninja now.â
How do you know who I am, Lloyd wants to ask. How do you know Iâm not a murderer? How do you know Iâm not awful?Â
Kaiâs eyes are impossibly kind and far, far too knowing.Â
âBut,â and his tone grows serious again. âIf itâs your life or theirs.âÂ
Lloyd feels a bit like the oxygenâs been sucked out of the room.Â
âPromise me. You have to promise â you will always, always choose your own.âÂ
Lloyd stares back. Kai gives him a little shake.
âYou promise me?â
Finally, as if moved by puppet strings, Lloyd nods.Â
âI promise,â he rasps.Â
Kai looks relieved, but itâs not quite in a happy way. âAs long as you come back alive, thatâs what matters. I donât care what else happens â you come back alive, and weâre good.âÂ
âOkay,â Lloyd says. His eyes feel wet. Itâs strange, someone caring so much about something like that. Â
âWhich is why,â Kai says, finally stepping back as his tone lightens. âYouâre gonna nail that block this time. Or Iâm making you polish every weapon in the dojo again.â
âOh, no,â Lloyd stares at him in horror. âIâve been practicing that stupid move for hours!â
âAnd youâll be cleaning weapons for hours if you donât get it.âÂ
âYou suck,â Lloyd grumbles. âWorst teacher of all time.âÂ
âUh-huh,â Kai claps him on the back, and Lloyd lets out his own sigh of relief at the lightened atmosphere. âYouâre the one that picked swords, buddy.â
______
Kaiâs a hypocrite, though, and Lloyd could hate him for it, because as they slide down the snowy mountain-side, Lloydâs body clashing against his family in ways heâd never, ever let it if he had control, he has to watch as Kai â again â chooses a life other than his own.Â
Because Kai doesnât have the experience Morro does, but heâs better with a sword, heâs better than anyone Lloyd knows, and he loses. And Lloydâs arm drags the Sword of Sanctuary up and Kai is a stupid, stupid, stupid hypocriteâ
Lloydâs angry enough that tearing control back from Morro is easy.Â
He knows a thing or two about swords himself, and Morroâs holding it wrong, anyways.Â
______
Training had already taken a hit after they lose Zane, for obvious reasons. Everything had taken a hit after they lost Zane, and between the tournament and Morro and everything else Lloydâs pointedly ignoring, itâs suddenly been ages since heâs had a proper sword lesson.Â
Kai decides to make up for it by finally teaching him the fun stuff.Â
âDonât â call it that in front of Cole,â Kai grunts over the loud screech of metal on metal. His knee bends, just the slightest tellâ
Lloyd falls back, dancing away from Kaiâs returning strike. He knows now, just how dangerous Kai can be â heâd like to forget it, but itâd be doing him a disservice.Â
Besides, Lloydâs had his body dragged left and right over Ninjago, used as the worst kind of weapon to hurt the people he loves, and they still trust him. Being on the dangerous end of Chenâs stupid staff is nothing to being on the dangerous end of a katana Kaiâs made himself, and Lloydâs determined to hold onto the faith heâs had since that day in the volcano.Â
Kai wonât hurt him.Â
Heâll kick his ass in training, though, so Lloyd had better get back with the show.Â
He retaliates with a feint to the right â too obvious for Kai, but enough to steal his attention for Lloyd to land a high kick to his side.
âWatch that,â Kai scolds, forced two steps backs.Â
âWhy?â Lloyd grins over the edge of Kaiâs blade as he catches his blow dead-on. âScared Iâm gonna beat you too soon?â
Kai snorts. âYou arenât beating me at all, shortstackââ
âNot shortââ
âAnd,â Kaiâs katana moves so fast Lloyd barely manages to dodge, rolling into a somersault before surging back up to meet his backstrike. âYouâre advertising your weak point.â
Lloyd frowns. âSânot a weak point.â
Kaiâs katana flashes â Lloyd moves right just before he realizes itâs a feint, cursing himself â then the hilt of his katana is smacking hard against a bone in his right ankle.Â
Thereâs a hot flash of pain as his body completely betrays him, his ankle buckling and sending him stumbling with a yelp.
Kaiâs expression isnât gloating, at least. On the downside, he has that sad kind of look that usually means heâs feeling guilty.Â
âItâs not usually that bad,â he tries, even as his cheeks flare hot.Â
âIt doesnât matter,â Kai shakes his head. âYou need to protect that. Make sure no one knows itâs a weak point but you. Putting it in reach of your opponent is a bad way to do that.âÂ
Lloyd grits his teeth, but he knows Kaiâs right. Heâll never regret pushing himself the way he did, clambering up the tower steps on a broken ankle. The fate of Ninjago was a lot heavier on his shoulders than any thoughts of consequences.Â
It still sucks, that itâll never heal quite right.Â
But it isnât like heâs the only one with an old wound turned weak spot, he reminds himself, as he wraps his aching ankle once again. Jayâs got zig-zagging lightning scars all down his arms that ache during heavy rain. Nya can only rotate her arm so far before her shoulder goes numb, a souvenir from a broken arm. Coleâs the worst, maybe, with how heâs strained himself lifting impossibly heavy weights, fractured fingers and broken bones that throb in the cold.Â
Kaiâs got his own share of weaknesses, though he works hard to hide them. Lloydâs managed to pick out most â some of them heâs helped treat himself.
He doesnât like to think about those times, though.
âSo Iâve got an idea for a move,â Kai grins at him, once Lloydâs ankle is stable. âItâs gonna take some timing, but since I donât have a weak spot there â youâre gonna run and launch.â
Lloyd tilts his head. âLaunch off your right ankle?â
âNo,â Kai rolls his eyes. âIâm gonna go down for a handspring. When my legs are low, youâre gonna jump on, so when I shoot upââ
âOoh, I go flying,â Lloyd concludes.Â
âExactly.âÂ
âLetâs do it! Iâm gonna look so coolââ
âOkay, but weâre gonna look stupid as it gets if we donât get the â timing, timing!âÂ
It takes about five tries to get it right. Thatâs all they agree on admitting to â the less said about the forgotten sixth and seventh tries, the better.Â
But on try eight, Lloyd finally feels his left and right foot connect with Kaiâs just as he hits the lowest point of the handspring â and this time, he remembers to bend his own knees and launch up, and with a sudden weightlessness, heâs flying.Â
âSlash, slash, donât forget to slash!â
 Years of training are the only reason Lloydâs able to get his arms to obey him fast enough, the wind-up pulling on his shoulders before he sweeps the katana down, slashing outâ
âYes!â Kaiâs cheer abruptly turns to a yelp as he loses his balance, crumpling to the floor. Lloydâs already sprawled across the training mats, since landing was a whole lot harder than heâd planned for â but the training dummy is cut in half. One perfect hit.Â
âNow, if we can just manage that in an actual fight, weâll look awesome,â Kai grins.
Lloyd glances at him. âAre you gonna fall flat on your face then, too?â
Red stains his cheeks. âNo,â Kai sputters. âThat was â you didnât see that.â
âUh-huh,â Lloyd snorts. He tilts his head, considering the unfortunate training dummy. âYâknow, I bet I can manage a flip in there,â he mutters.Â
Kai shrugs. âYeah, probably.â He lips quirk up. âItâd look pretty cool. Yâknow what, letâs go for it. I wanna see the look on Jayâs face when you flip down on him during sparring.â
______
It takes Kai all of ten minutes into the next fight to start regretting that one.Â
âGot a runner!â Jay calls, as one of the thugs theyâve been rounding up breaks loose from where Zaneâs kindly explaining the terms of surrender and Coleâs standing with his lava punch ready to show them what happens if they donât agree.Â
âI got âim!â Lloyd calls, darting after the masked man.Â
He tugs his katana free from its sheathe, mind already racing. The time spent on his own, guarding his own back, gave Lloyd the rare opportunity to learn things in ways the guys probably wouldâve had his head for.
With the lessons Kaiâs drilled into him, the steady form of swordsmanship driven into his nerves, Lloydâs found a creativity in tweaking things to match his style.Â
So when the thug sprints past a number of abandoned boxes, scrabbling as he narrowly avoids stumbling on the concrete, Lloydâs already got the perfect move in mind.Â
Step, step, jump â tuck in tight, so thereâs enough momentum to rotate at least twice â and bam, itâs like a wind-up toy. The more spins he gets in, the harder his landing is, disarming the guy with a perfect slash while kicking his teeth in.Â
Neat and effective, in Lloydâs opinion.
Sadly, his opinion is not shared.Â
Kai sputters. âWhat was that?â
âCool as heck, thatâs what it was,â Lloyd grins.Â
Kai is supremely unimpressed. âWhat did I say about wasting movements?â
Lloyd shuffles. âDonâtâŠdo it?â
âThen why, exactly, did you feel the need to flip three â not one but three â times before striking?â
âBecause,â Lloyd says. âIt was cool. As heck.â
Kai pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Lloyd valiantly bites back any comments about him taking after Sensei Wu.Â
âThereâs a difference between adding your own flare,â he finally says. âAnd squandering your energy like a spinning top.â
âSquandering â spinning topââ Lloyd sputters. âHey, I got the guy just fine, didnât I? I didnât squander anything.â
âAnd whatâre you gonna do if someone wises up and snipes you mid-flip?â
âWhoâs gonna snipe me, there are no snipers around, dummyââ
âThere could be, hypothetically!â
âHypothetically, please. Youâre just jealous âcause you can only do two flipsââ
âI can do sixteen if I want, Iâm just smarterââ
Despite his arguments, Lloyd does resolve to try for restraint. Unfortunately, Lloydâs also got the memory of a goldfish, so Kai should really know better.Â
He just canât help it. The next time they clash with a run-of-the-mill villain whoâs stealing secret plans for bombs or whatever ridiculous thing it is that week, Lloyd finds himself on one building with the criminal on the next.Â
The solution is obvious. Kai doesnât agree.Â
âFIVE FLIPS?! THAT WAS A THREE-FOOT DISTANCE!â
Lloyd carefully places the now-unconscious criminal on the rooftop, stands back up, and wisely back-flips the heck outta there.Â
______
As his sword movements grow more complicated and the green power take a near-constant presence in his veins, the gentle pulse of energy as familiar as a friend, Lloyd grows stronger, too.
This kickstarts an entirely new problem, because Lloyd canât go five steps without ruining something, it seems.Â
In his defense, he doesnât start breaking swords at a criminal rate until after Morro, so Lloydâs gonna blame it all on him.
He stares blankly at the katana in his hands â or the remains of it, to be exact. Half the blade is somewhere across the street, where it went skidding after Lloydâs final hit snapped it clean in two.Â
Kai stares just as blankly when Lloyd wordlessly offers the pieces up.Â
âOkay,â he finally says. âMaybe I went wrong with the balance, or something? This was probably just a fluke.â
He turns it over, frowning. âWouldnât hurt to reinforce the next one, I guessâŠâ
Reinforcements or not, it takes the third shattered sword for Kai to wise on.Â
âIâm so sorry,â Lloyd warbles tearfully, the remains of Kaiâs careful metalwork cradled in his arms. âI donât know what happened, I was just swinging it, and it went â it wentââ
âIt went in six different directions, apparently,â Kai mutters.Â
Lloyd slumps. âIt was only four this time,â he mutters.Â
âI guess this is what we get for training you as well as we did,â Kai says. âCole and his super strength, Iâll never be free of it.â
âDidnât he beat you by tripping you flat on your face?â
âI donât wanna hear it from you, oh cruel destroyer of my swords,â Kai scowls.Â
âI didnât mean to!â Lloyd protests. âI tried really hard this time, but the last guy had this giant bat, and I thought I could cut it in half, but I swung so hard I screwed up my strike and wentâŠin sixâŠdifferent directionsâŠâ
Kai scrubs a hand over his face. He glances at Lloyd, eyes searching.Â
âBut you beat him?â
âDuh,â Lloyd says. The faith people have in him.
âAnd you didnât get hit yourself?â
Lloyd shakes his head. âNot a scratch.â Itâs not even a lie this time.
âThen I guess it was a noble sacrifice,â Kai sighs. âI can live with that.â
The katanaâs sad remnants join the equally sad â and steadily growing â pile of scrap metal made by Lloydâs awful sword skills. They have a pretty fun time melting it all down though, watching the metal bubble as Kai starts drafting the next run of layered steel heâll shape into a katana.Â
âIâm gonna be a master katana maker at this rate,â he huffs, wiping at his forehead. Lloyd, whoâs hanging over the forge to watch the different colors the liquid metal makes, taps lazily at his knee with his foot. The forge flares brighter as Kaiâs fire does, and he mumbles a distracted thanks.Â
âA master hothead,â Lloyd says. Kai rolls his eyes. âIf I ever figure out how to be a master swordsman, maybe you can take a break and figure out how to make other weapons.â
âHey, Iâm great at making other weapons.â
âYeah, like âblock of metalâ and âtriangle of metalâ and âweird rectangle of metalâ, andââ
âYouâre gonna get a stick for next battle if you keep that up,â Kai growls, but his lips are twitching.
âHypotenuse of metal,â Lloyd whispers.
âThe heck, thatâs not even a shapeââÂ
The forge grows steadily hotter as Kai works, bright sparks popping and steam hissing up in little curling wisps. It doesnât bother Lloyd too much â ever since that day in the volcano, the press of heat is more like a second skin. Heâs nowhere near as durable as Kai, of course, who could probably hop in the forge and come out with only a sunburn, but itâs enough to feel cozy instead of sweaty and dizzy.Â
âYâknow, you donât have to use a sword,â Kai says hesitantly, as he inspects a hammer. âThere are a lot of other weapons that would fit your style. If you ever wanna try out a spear like Nya, that might suit you pretty well.â
âNo!â Lloyd says sharply. Biting his tongue, he amends, âIâve already been training with swords for forever. I donât wanna change my whole style for something else.â
Kai eyes him shrewdly, but his lips finally twitch up in amusement. âIf you say so,â he says. âBut I swear, break my sword again and you will get a stick for your next weapon. Or chopsticks. A butter knifeââ
______
Lloyd gets a new sword, of course. And another one. He might grouse and complain, but Kai doesnât truly get angry about the swords. He does, however, get very angry over Lloydâs total idiocy with what happens to said shattered swords.Â
His first mistake is the usual one â Lloyd swings a bit too hard at a sloppy angle and thereâs a high-pitched screech as the sword dies a sad death, splitting in two.Â
Lloyd stares blankly at the now much-shorter katana in his hands, which is his second mistake. The delay costs him, and he scrambles to duck the thiefâs vicious punch, their own sword having been knocked away in the scuffle. Their boot comes up, swinging for his head, and Lloyd springs back, landing palms-first on the floor and launching himself out of range.Â
He also, unthinking, drops the broken katana â mistake number three.Â
His fourth mistake is the worst one possible, because Lloyd brings his hand up to block what heâs sure will be another punch, only to get slashed by the jagged end of the katana he just dropped.
A sharp, burning pain explodes across his hand, and Lloyd stifles a shriek.Â
Stupid, stupid, stupid move.Â
The thief comes in for round two, Lloydâs own snapped katana glinting in the fluorescent building lights, and Lloyd freezes. It occurs to him that he should probably just go ahead and hit the thief with an burst of green, but thatâs also when Kai mows them down with a viciousness that reminds Lloyd â Kai always goes easy on him in training.Â
âI had him handled,â he still protests, after the thiefâs been hauled off to prison (or the hospital, possibly).
Kai ignores him, sheathing his katana and storming his way.Â
He grabs Lloydâs hand before he can protest, pulling back the torn fabric of his glove and slapping his own hood against the gash on his hand to stem the bleeding.Â
âWhat did I say,â Kai says angrily.Â
Lloyd flinches at the stinging pain in his hand, and tries to glare back.Â
Kaiâs having none of it. âYour sword is supposed to take the hits,â he snaps. âNot you!âÂ
âIt did take the hit,â Lloyd finally throws back. âI just broke it, and â I was fine!â
âYou handâs bleeding all over my hood, that is not fine!â
âThen take your hood off and it wonât get blood on it!â
âMy hood isnât what Iâm worried about!â
By the time Zaneâs stitched Lloydâs hand up, wincing barely kept at a minimum, Kaiâs cooled down.
Somewhat.Â
âIt was an accident, okay?â Lloyd says, for the billionth time. âI didnât realize he had a weapon. I wasnât trying to sacrifice my hand, or whatever.â
âOh yeah? âCause that sounds a lot like something youâd do.â
âComing from you, thatâs somewhat hypocritical,â Zane murmurs.Â
Lloyd snickers. Kai turns to Zane in utter betrayal.Â
Of course, this means that Lloydâs next lesson is how to treat sword wounds in emergency situations, in painstaking and excruciating detail. His hand stings every time he grasps the katana handle for solid week, though, so Lloyd takes equally careful notes.
______
Lloyd goes and breaks another three katanas after that. At this point, he kinda thinks Kai should just give up and let him go into battle weapon-less again. You donât need weapons to do Spinjitzu. The green power wonât break, and Lloyd certainly wonât split into six pieces.
(He hopes.)
Kai keeps putting swords in his hands anyways.Â
Lloyd could always just say no â heâs supposed to be leader or something, he can make his own decisions.
But he thinks of sparring sessions and smelling like cloves every other evening, thinks of the tiny dragons Kai still takes the time to carve into his katana handles, and throwing all that away would feel as great as sawing off his own arm.Â
So he picks the katana up, does his stupid katas, and promises to do better this time.
That doesnât magically fix things, of course.Â
âHow,â Kai says blankly, staring at the katana that now lies in a record eight pieces.Â
âUm.â Lloyd twists his fingers together. âI definitely didnât use it to prop open a door like you said never to do.â
Kai gives him a smile that shows exactly all of his teeth.Â
âYou have five seconds to run.â
______
All that training on treating sword wounds pays off. Possibly more than learning how to fight with a sword in the first place, when Kai drops in the middle of battle with a wicked slash across his lower thigh.Â
âOf all the â stupid, embarrassingââ
âShut up,â Lloyd says tightly. Heâs already focusing half his energy on not throwing up at the amount of blood soaking between his fingers where theyâre pressed tightly over Kaiâs leg. âStop moving, I gotta see if it â if it hit an artery.â
âIt better not have,â Kai pants, wincing as Lloyd presses down harder. âIf it hit an artery Iâm screwed.â
âShut up.âÂ
Lloydâs heartbeat is a thunderstorm in his ears, panic welling up in his throat as Kaiâs blood swims in his vision.Â
âHey, hey,â Kaiâs hand falters, then clasps Lloydâs own. âMâgonna be fine. Takes a lot more than a stupid leg wound to take me out.âÂ
âThatâd be so lame,â Lloyd breathes, somewhat hysterically. Heâs torn his own belt off for a tourniquet, which is step one, he thinks â hood can go around the actual wound, and if he steals Kaiâs belt, then he can double reinforce itâÂ
âI can always cauterize,â Kai says shakily, sounding like heâd rather do anything else in the world. âItâll be â move!â
Lloyd manages to roll them both out of the way as the assassin who nailed Kai comes in to finish the job, sword scraping sparks across the rooftop. Lloyd flashes a furious glare over his shoulder, mind racing as he holds himself in front of Kai.Â
âHere.â The familiar hilt of Kaiâs katana slaps against Lloydâs open hand â the other is quick to follow suit. âRemember, double wielding â better for defense.â
Lloyd nods on instinct. He adjusts his grip on both swords, the blood on his fingers making the hilts tacky and sticky. Itâs going to be a pain to clean later, a vague part of his mind notes.Â
Of course Lloyd remembers dual wielding. It is better for defending, but you lose power on striking and reach â he can deal with that. Kai does.Â
And itâs exactly what he needs, right now. The assassin wonât even get close to Kai.
One spin, then another. The katanasâ weight is familiar, balanced in the slightly-weird way Lloyd likes best, the way Kai makes all his swords. He finds his footing, finds the stance, and moves.
When Kai fights, he fights like the first flash of flame from a match strike â quick and bursting, fast enough it all but blinds the enemy.Â
When Lloyd fights, it feels like dancing â slower to start, picking steps deliberately, building to that bursting strike faster and faster.Â
It only takes one strike, after all. And Lloydâs got two swords.Â
Silver flashes across the rooftop, a piercing screech as one of his katana meets the assassinâs broader blade, forcing it backâ
The assassin drops with a cry before falling silent, the shattered pieces of a katana scattered around him.Â
âSaw thatâŠone coming,â Kai moans.Â
Still breathing heavily, Lloyd tries not to cringe.
âIâm so sorry,â he repeats, after Kaiâs securely in a hospital bed and enduring Nyaâs forty-five minute lecture about the many ways your arteries can kill you.Â
Kai waves his hand, slightly cross-eyed and loopy from medication. âYâknow what? I wanted a new sword anyways. You saved me, soâŠskip the lecture and weâll call it square?â
Lloyd lets a small smirk crawl up his face.Â
âYou know, I feel like thereâs something very important you should keep in mind, about your weapons taking the hit, instead of youââÂ
âWhen I get out of here, youâre toast.â
______
âI think I know where Iâm going wrong,â Kai says.Â
Heâs spent the weekend with his father, the two of them either shut up in the forge or buzzing and forth about blacksmithing. It leaves Lloyd feeling a little weird â some mix between happy for Kai and achingly jealous, which then leaves him mostly just sad, which sucks. Lloyd sucks â itâs terrible to feel that way. Everyone was happy when Lloyd got both his parents back after that first battle, and even if heâs lost that â the least he can do is be happy for Kai and Nya.Â
It ends up working out pretty great in the end, because Kai looks a little like heâs unraveled the mysteries of the universe right now.Â
Half his right eyebrow is also scorched off, but Lloyd decides not to mention it for now. Itâll be funny to see the look on his face, when he notices.Â
âI was talking with my dad, whoâs got a lot more experience with this stuff, and he suggested something,â Kai continues. He fiddles with whatever heâs got hidden behind his back, and Lloyd has to stifle the urge to dart around him and see.Â
âNo more katana,â Kai says. âYouâre good with âem, but I think we need a change-up.â
âYou mean good at breaking them,â Lloyd mutters.
âIf the sword breaks on you, itâs my fault,â Kai says. âIâm not exactly the worldâs best blacksmith. Yâknow, you should really think about getting someone else toââ
âNo.â Lloyd bites his tongue immediately, aware of how bratty he sounds.Â
And selfish. Itâs not like Kai has tons of time to just make Lloyd swords all the time.Â
As if reading his thoughts, Kai scuffs his hair. âStop that. I like making swords.â The small edge of a smile pulls at his lips. âI worked pretty hard to become a blacksmith. So it feels kinda good, that someone appreciates the work for once.â
He shakes his head. âAnyways! Meet your new battle buddy. This is called a dao sword.âÂ
Lloyd stares at the curved, silvery blade Kaiâs handed to him. Itâs thicker than the katana heâs used to, the blade growing broader at the end before tapering off.Â
âHistorically, itâs better suited for quick slashing, but itâs fairly versatile,â Kai continues.Â
Lloyd carefully lifts the sword, his eyes widening just a bit.Â
âAnd heavier,â Kai grins. âWhich means itâs gonna be at least a little more difficult for you to shatter.â
His hands fit easily around the handle â thereâs plenty of room for a two-handed grip, and enough balance if he wants to switch back to one.Â
âThe guardâs a bit better with protection, and itâs got this tassel here you can wrap around your hand â yeah, like that â to help keep it steady. Or just look fancy.â
Stepping back, Lloyd adjust his hold. Normally heâd do something silly, or needlessly complicated, just to make Kai roll his eyes, but something about this one feels heavier â he doesnât want to mess it up. He takes a single, experimental swing instead.Â
âOh,â Lloyd blinks. âItâs sharp.â
âIâd hope so. What do you think I am, a half-rate blacksmith â donât answer that, by the way.â
Lloyd simply grins, taking a few more swings. It is heavier than the katana heâs used to, broader and chunkier â but it feels at home in his hands.Â
âItâs incredible,â Lloyd says, turning back to Kai. âThank you.â
Kai colors, just a bit. âYou donât have to lie.â
âIâm not lying! I love it. Itâs perfect.â
âWell, as long as it holds up, thatâs good enough for me,â Kai says, rubbing the back of his head. âWanna give it a test drive?â
âYeah,â Lloyd says. âI bet I can do even more flips with it.â
âAnd stab yourself in the leg in the process, but sure, go ahead, squander my giftââ
______
Lloydâs careful, more so than ever, with the dao sword. When they all split across Ninjago, Lloyd clings to the piece of his family and tries to remember Kaiâs instructions, making sure his hands are firmly wrapped and his right ankle always stays low.Â
So when it breaks on the river with Harumi, Lloyd wants to cry.
He wants to cry for a lot of other reasons, but it still hurts â another thing he cares for that Harumiâs managed to break so easily. It hurts that they all work so hard, time and again, and it always ends up shattering around them anyways. Hurts that they pour themselves out for this city again and again and itâs still not enough.Â
(Hurts that heâs never, ever going to outrun that worthless little kid in the snow.)
He learns, later â heâs got much more to lose to her than just a sword.Â
It hurts all the same.
But the swordâs broken and Lloydâs on a one-way collision course with his father, and itâs much too late to turn back now.Â
Lloyd enters Kryptarium Prison with nothing but himself and his power. It was enough the first time, itâs got to be enough this one as well.Â
Lloyd was enough the first time â if he isnât enough nowâ
If he isnâtâ
______
He isnât.
He throws himself against his father and shatters his heart with every hit. Then the rest of him goes and shatters too, ribs cracking and skin splitting as heâs battered through walls and bruised against stone. His power sparks and screams as it tries to save him, pushed to its limits.
A part of Lloyd finds it funny â he canât even keep his power together. He wonders if heâll snap into six pieces and fly everywhere, just like Kaiâs poor katanas, with nothing left but broken pieces of Lloyd to melt down for scrap.Â
Kai doesnât find it funny in the slightest. Not the muffled voice Lloyd hears breaking as his family tries to put him back together, not the filthy embrace Lloyd gets when itâs finally over, not the multiple hour-long lectures Lloydâs forced to sit through even three months out.Â
âI donât care how many swords you break,â he hisses, giving Lloyd a shake thatâs forceful enough his teeth almost rattle. âI donât care if you shatter a thousand. Theyâre supposed to protect you. Youâre supposed to choose yourself. Donât you ever, ever, put yourself out there to break again.âÂ
Lloyd mustâve broken a hundred promises by now. He canât seem to do anything right, truly â not being the Green Ninja, not being a good brother, not being Garmadonâs son.
But, as he nods and makes another promise, he can try.Â
For Kai, heâll try.Â
______
Things are different, after his father, but itâs the same way things are always different after their family escapes by the skin of their teeth. Each new threat leaves another lingering wound, but Lloyd likes to think it stitches them closer in the aftermath.Â
With everyoneâs attention so laser-focused on Lloyd after everything, it makes it easier for him to spot the othersâ bad days.Â
It only takes him five minutes to track down Kai this time. Lloyd carefully lowers himself cross-legged next to him on the floor, katana laid across his lap.
Kai tenses, as if preparing for another speech.Â
Please. Lloydâs methods are way sneakier â and better â these days.Â
âSo,â he starts, as he dips the edge of a rag in Kaiâs choji oil. âI was patrolling today, and I saw like, a demon cat, I think? I mean, it was definitely a cat. It looked kind of like the one Zane used to feed when we lived at the apartment, all stripey and stuff. I was gonna try and pet it, âcause patrol was pretty boring and what was I supposed to do, ignore it? So I did the whole pspsps thing, and it was not a fan â and I swear, it hissed at me, and it looked just like my dad. When he's all Oni, yâknow? Which is rude, cats are supposed to be comforting, not traumaticââ
Lloydâs rambling grows more and more nonsensical as he goes, jumping from topic to topic as he works on the katana. He can feel the tension seeping out of Kai where he sits beside him though, bit by bit until Kaiâs finally leaning against his shoulder.Â
âMissed a spot,â he speaks up suddenly, his voice only cracking a little.
Lloyd squints at the sword. âWhere?â
Kai taps a bandaged finger on the blade.Â
âOh,â Lloyd blinks. He adjusts the rag. âThanks.â
 Kai speaks up again, after a minute, âYouâve gotten good at this.â
âHad a good teacher.â
Thereâs a faint snort. âDebatable.â
âWith who?â Lloyd says. âIâm your number one sword student. And your only one. I win automatically.âÂ
âThe others use swords. Sometimes.â
âYeah, and Jay still whines every time the super special weapon-of-the-week to defeat evil ends up being a sword again,â Lloyd says.Â
âSâcause Jayâs better with nunchucks. Totally different concept.â
âBut he isnât better with a sword.â
âDefinitely not better than me.â
âIâm your best student,â Lloyd says. âJay canât be better than me. Thatâs illegal.â
âIf the Green Ninja declares it,â Kai says, but thereâs an edge of laughter in his voice, a thawing out of the numb blankness heâd worn earlier. He slumps, just a bit heavier, against Lloyd.
âWanna talk about it?â
âNot really,â Kai mutters.Â
ââKay.â Lloyd turns the sword over, squinting at his reflection. âSometime, though?â
âIf you can manage not to break anymore katanas before I finish your new weapon, maybe.â
âYou guys wonât even let me out to fight,â Lloyd grouses. âItâs not as if Iâll have a chance to.â
Kai makes a huffing noise. âMaybe if youâd sit still long enough to healââ
âI donât wanna hear it from you,â Lloyd scowls. âLook, I know I messed up with â with her, butââ
âThatâs not what this is about,â Kai says sharply. âItâs about you being okay.â
Normally, Lloyd would protest. Should protest â he doesnât deserve to get off that easy. But Kaiâs gone tense again, so he lets it go, just this once.Â
âSorry,â he murmurs anyways.Â
âNo, donât. Youâre doinâ good,â Kai sighs, and he sounds so very, very tired. âJustâŠtake it easy, okay? âTil I get your sword done.âÂ
âSorry for breaking the old one, too,â Lloyd says. âI really did try to keep it safe.âÂ
âIâll make you a hundred swords,â Kai says. âA thousand, if I have to. Just keep using them, okay? Swords are your weapon.â
Like Lloydâs ever going to forget that, at this point.
______
Itâs only after the Oni are more a memory and Lloyd has been subjected to an unholy amount of recuperation that Kai allows him to even see the sword heâs made this time.
Itâs well worth the wait, though.
âItâs gold,â Lloyd murmurs, reverently holding the new dao blade.Â
âYeah, well,â Kai shrugs, a little bashful. âI thought you should match us, at some point.â
Lloyd has to try very hard not to pretend that doesnât make a small, lingering part of him want to tear up.
âIs this jade?â he says instead, carefully tracing a finger over the single panel of green that decorates the blade.Â
âTechnically itâs jadeite, and no, you donât wanna know where I got it,â Kai corrects.Â
âI donât care,â Lloyd says. âI love it. Itâs the best sword ever. I â thank you, so muchââ
âOkay, okay, thatâs enough,â Kai says quickly. âYouâre welcome, or whatever, just â youâll use it, right?â
Lloyd gives him a long, flat look.Â
âYouâll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.â
âYou are not allowed to joke about thatâ!â
______
The golden dao sword never breaks.Â
It takes Lloyd several fights with it to stop holding back, but once he realizes this sword wonât shatter to pieces in his hands, he lets himself get creative.
And the sword holds, again and again.Â
Against Aspheeraâs burning soldiers, against the bitter chill of the Never Realm, against the Skull Sorcererâs monsters in the depths of Shintaro, against the heavy weight of water and cold crystal â the dao blade holds.
Kai tells him itâs because Lloydâs finally learned how to stop using his weapon as a glorified baseball bat. Lloyd thinks itâs because Kai knows blacksmithing for ninja better than anyone else in the world.
His powers grow, too â along with his options, which heâd really have preferred to justâŠavoid.Â
Real fun that it wasnât the many years of pent-up anger issues, but crippling traumatic grief, thatâs the key to unlocking his shapeshifting abilities. Hilarious.Â
It still stings, a bit, that no one ever bothered to tell him he was walking around with the blood of two mythical beings just chilling in his veins, Wouldâve been nice to know, maybe, before he got stuck having a whole crisis about it smack in the middle of another world-ending crisis.Â
Oni, dragon, Green Ninja. Like he needs another title.
In the end, it doesnât matter much what he thinks. Everyone moves on and Lloyd is a multi-bred freak of nature, or something.Â
His father thinks he should hone his Oni powers. Sensei Wu thinks he should listen to his father but also remember his dragon side. His mother thinks he should read the eight-hundred page historical brick of a book about all known history of the Oni and the dragon. He doesnât have a clue what his great-grandparents think of him, except that a family reunion would be world-ending levels of terrible.Â
Lloyd, whoâs grown attached to looking like himself and happens to like being human, keeps reaching for his dao blade first.Â
Swordsmanship is something heâs proud of. Heâs worked hard for it, through blisters and bruises and blood. Itâs something that belongs to him and Kai, something shared and freely given. Something passed onto him, something taught and earned, something treasured.
Lloyd doesnât have a lot of things like that, so he treasures it all the more himself.Â
Treasures the humanity of his family, and how lucky he is to be part of that.
Treasures the things heâs learned from them like family heirlooms heâs never had.
Treasures the fact that theyâre thereâ
Treasures theâ
______
The monastery is so quiet, Lloydâs starting to understand how people lose their minds.
Not really. He hasnât started talking to himself yet, so thatâs a good sign, right? It doesnât count, if youâre yelling for other people. Doesnât count if youâre screaming curses at your stupid grandfather who let your whole world split apart and tore away the only people that were yours.Â
âIt doesnât count,â he whispers to the sword in his lap.Â
Lloyd stares dully at his reflection in the dao sword, marred by the splotchy wear and ugly chipping at the bladeâs edges. Itâs in miserable shape, worn down and neglected.
A lot like himself, maybe.Â
He shudders, drawing in a breath. Sulking wonât sharpen swords. And when Kai gets back â which he will â heâll be so disappointed that Lloydâs gone and treated his sword like dirt.Â
The smell of choji oil makes his eyes sting, but the familiar sound the rag makes across the blade soothes it.Â
Heâs glad he took the time to sharpen it up, too, when he visits the city. More than glad when he finds himself atop the train, his missing hood leaving him distinctly uncomfortable as he prepares to fight.Â
Lloydâs hands have warped and twisted, burst in purple and grown claws sharp enough to slice. If he can make them his own again, after that, he can make them hold steady now.Â
The handle of the dao blade is worn and familiar, the fraying tassel the same bright green where it brushes the back of his hands, and Kaiâs voice yells in his head as loud as ever as he swings it onceâ
One flip this time, he decides. One flip, one strike.
Swords are his weapon, after all. Itâs important for him to remember that. Â
And even if he doesnâtâ
______
Lloydâs grown up in a world of weapons, and far faster than he probably should.Â
But with every sword swing, every familiar callous carved into his hand, Kaiâs there to remind him that his sword is the weapon.
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logged back in for the first time in almost 2y to see that this was getting some attention again. still one of my fav fanarts i've done. ty all for being so kind and enjoying my art.
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omg hiiii
me and my friend are working on a uwu cringe google slides visual novel and we were wondering if we could use your art from ur picrew!! its so amazing!! if not, thats okay. however, i am willing to pay for the use. just post this with your answer and i will contact you off anon~ im just too shy to ask with my account and you say no okay bye <3
idc what ppl use my picrew for lol, as long as u credit me go ahead :) might be revamping it at some point tho