My eyes slowly open as I take in my surroundings. I'm in my room, just as I had expected. Apparently I had taken a nap. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until I woke up. A very common thing for me. Just sleeping whenever the fuck I want, but then regretting it later because I can't go back to sleep by the time I need to.

I check the clock on the wall for the time. It's 11:00.

Of course.

I know I probably won't be able to get back to sleep until at least 3:00 AM, so I get up out of bed and stretch. I'm probably going to sneak out my window and go for a walk or something. I do it a lot, yet my mom never notices. I know it's past curfew, but I really don't care.

I slip on my shoes and put a light jacket on over my hoodie. It tends to get pretty cold outside when it gets dark out. I make sure to lock my bedroom door before heading out. So my mom doesn't come in and just assumes I'm sleeping. And before you know it, I've got one leg out the window, exiting my home.

I stuff my hands in my pockets and begin walking down the side walk in the direction of the docks. The docks were my favorite spot to be alone. No one ever goes there. The only place close to the docks are a bunch of old, mostly empty warehouses and storage units.

I feel a light breeze as I continue walking. A lot of people say the wind can be annoying, but I actually enjoy it. I love the wind. Especially when it's blowing so hard that it almost knocks you over. I don't know what it is about it, but I feel so connected with the wind. The feeling of the wind on the back of my neck is quite soothing and it relaxes me and pulls me deep into my own thoughts. My thoughts tend to get weird. I just take whatever pops into my mind and run with it.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about Lloyd. I've acknowledged my crush on him, but I think my feelings have become deeper than I had originally thought. We really haven't known each other for more than a few days, so I don't know why I'm feeling like this. I don't really believe in the whole love-at-first-sight thing, in fact, I don't love him. I just think he's... nice... And cute... And he's smart...

Ehhh... I don't like thinking about it. What would my mom say? If she found out I was crushing on a guy, she'd kill me in an instant. If she found out that that guy happens to be the son of Garmadon, she wouldn't just kill me, she'd make it slow and painful.

My mom has talked about Lloyd before. She normally says stuff like "I don't like sending you to school with that Garmadon boy," or something stupid like that. It's honestly really sad. She's talking bad about a child. A child she's never met, at that.

I kept rambling to myself in my head for so long that I didn't even realize I had already made my way to the docks. It's like my brain goes on auto pilot occasionally.

I make my way out to the end of one of the docks. This one happens to have a small fence surrounding its sides. I lean forward onto the fence. My elbows crossed, laying flat on the fence, supporting my body.

It's gotten quite dark since I made my way out here. The sun had already set and the first star had already shone through the dark night sky. I look out over the water. The Moon's reflection casted a great light. I take deep breaths, trying to comfort myself. I haven't been feeling the greatest in my mental state lately.

I close my eyes and make an attempt to clear my mind of all that has been troubling me. A lot has definitely been going on. I've tried meditation before, but it's like I don't know how to do it. It's nearly impossible for me to fully clear my mind. I don't know how people do it. It's like there's something bouncing around in my mind at all points in time. So I wouldn't necicarily call what I'm doing 'meditation,' but rather me just trying not to focus too hard on the bad stuff.

As I still have my eyes closed, I take in the smell of the water and the feeling of the wind. It's very soothing for me.

Out of no where, I hear a creak in the wooden boards of the dock behind me. It sounded almost like a foot step. My eyes jolt open, but I don't look behind me. I just try to listen harder to find out if what I heard was actually a foot step.

It seems like out of no where, a figure appears beside me. He has a long, white beard and a straw hat. He begins to stare out at the ocean. He's a bit too close for my comfort, so I slowly begin to inch away without trying to make it obvious that I was making an attempt to get away from him. As soon as I get a little over a few inches away from him, he begins to speak.

"What is someone your age doing out this late?" He asks, without even making eye contact with me. His attention is still on the water.

I didn't really know what to say. This is a complete stranger talking to me while I'm alone in the dark. Who knows what he wants. "Well, I uh... I just went on a little walk... I was just about to head home-" I try to walk away while speaking until he stops me.

"Wait..." he demands. I stop in my tracks. "There's something about you," he tells me bluntly.

"Uhh... okay?" I don't really know how to respond. I slowly try to walk away until he speaks again.

"You're friends with Lloyd, right?" My heart sank a little bit. I don't know why this weird old dude knows about my friendship with Lloyd, but it's really concerning.

"H-how do you know that?" I ask with a slight shake in my voice.

"I'm his uncle. He talks about you all the time. He talks about you too much, actually," he explains.

I laugh at his statement. A feeling of relief washes over me. He's just one of Lloyd's relatives, so he's probably not going to kidnap me or whatever. Funny to think Lloyd talks about me all the time. I know this is a bold assumption, but I think he might have a little bit of feelings for me as well.

But then I freeze again. How did he know I'm the person Lloyd is talking about? I didn't tell him my name, I didn't say what grade I'm in, I didn't even tell him I even went to school with Lloyd.

"How do you know who I am? ...How did you know I was Lloyd's friend?" I ask.

"He has pictures," he says.

I take another sigh of relief, but I'm still a little concerned. Lloyd has never taken any pictures of us... at least not that I know of.

"Lloyd also told me that you know. You know about his secret ninja identity," he tells me.

"It- it was an accident! He didn't know I was in the room when he took off his mask- and- and-..." I pause for a second. "Wait... How do you know? Did he tell you, too?" I ask him.

"That's actually what I want to talk to you about," he says. "Something told me you'd be here. Many know me as Wu, but my students know me as Master Wu," he explains.

"Wait a minute... are you...?" I try to put the pieces together in my head.

"I am the teacher of the ninja," he says.

There's nothing I could think to have said other than "wow."

Wu laughs at my amazement. His laugh soon fades and his facial expression turns into that of a more serious one.

"So... you said there's something you wanted to talk to me about?" I ask.

"Yes. There's something about you, (Y/N). Something important. Something I could tell about you just from looking at pictures," he explains.

I sit and listen. He seems like a guy who knows what he's talking about, but the stuff he says seems a bit strange.

"You see, I have a very unique way of deciding who gets to join the team. Everyone on the secret ninja team has something about them that they don't even know of. And I see that in you," he takes a few steps closer to me.

"In... in me?" I'm astonished that he even thinks I'm slightly more than ordinary.

"Yes," he simply confirms.

"But... But I'm just a normal kid. There's nothing special about me..." I say.

"Not that you know of. Now, I need to ask you a question... would you consider becoming a ninja? It's very important that you become one," he says as his eyes become more narrow.

I think about it for a second before I respond, while my jaw hangs open as I try to find my words. "I... I can't. There's no way. I don't know a single thing about fighting, or- or anything for that matter," I stammer.

"You don't need to know. I can teach you," he tells me.

This whole thing is just so surreal to me. "I... I think you're talking to the wrong person when it comes to being a ninja. I can barely commit to anything, so I don't think I could be able to commit to being someone who saves the city."

"Please, just consider it," he then hands me a folded pile of clothes. I was too into my own thought to see where he got them from. "If you think you're up for it, we meet up in the scrap warehouse on the other side of the docs every Friday. You don't have to show up next Friday, or the Friday after that. I'd just like to see you there eventually."

I take the clothes out of his hands. I don't bother to unfold them and look at them yet. "I don't know..."

"Just think about it... you should probably consider going home now. It's getting late," he suggests.

I nod my head, turn my body away from him, and begin on my way home. I didn't say good bye or anything. I just left...

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I stand infront of my bedroom window and slowly slide it open. I toss the folded clothes onto my bed through the window, then I climb into my room. I close the window behind me and take in a deep breath. I look at the clock.

02:46

I take off my jacket and my shoes. I really should be getting to bed... But those clothes that Wu gave me... I needed to check them out first.

I pick up the clothes and unfold them. They look just like the suits that the rest of the ninja wear, but mine is grey and purple, and there's lettering on the side that reads "wind." I suppose Wu wants wind to be my call sign. Kind of like how each ninja has some kind of "element" if you will.

Although I really don't think I'll ever become a ninja, seeing a suit that was custom made just for me was kind of awesome. Considering I'm such a big fan of the ninja. I then get the urge to try it on.

I slip off my hoodie, T-shirt, and pants, and then slip on the suit. It has many different parts to it. A shirt that goes on first, then the pants, wraps that go over the knees, another jacket type thing that goes over the shirt, and a mask that comes in three parts.

As soon as I put on the suit, I look at myself in the mirror. Something about the suit just seems... right. Like I'm meant to have it. But I still don't think I could ever actually be a ninja. It seems too risky for the simple life that I live.

But then another thought crosses my mind...

Do I tell Lloyd?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Wow. Sorry this chapter took so long. I was having a hard time coming up with good dialogue because I'm really not the best at writing.

As usual, tell me what you liked, tell my what you didn't like, and if you have any suggestions for a chapter, I'm all ears.