The next morning on a Friday, I walked into school as usual. Shoved my things in my locker and went to class. Of course, Lloyd was there. He looked a bit upset this morning, but I know things have been pretty rough for him lately.

"Hey, Lloyd," I say, in a much happier tone than I would normally as I sit down next to him.

"Hey..." he glances at me as he has his head down on his desk.

I know Lloyd hasn't been the best in his mental state recently, so I'm hoping I could have some kind of positive impact on him if I just try to stay cheerful. I normally hate acting this cheerful if I'm not actually feeling like it, but it's for Lloyd. And Lloyd makes me happy.

"How was your morning so far?" I ask.

"Okay," He responds.

"How were you yesterday... after I left?" I keep trying to get him to talk. Maybe he'll be his normal happy self then.

"I just cried and went to sleep... Because all I ever do is cry, I guess..." He says. I know he's only saying that because Chen was the one who said 'He only ever cries and begs for attention,' but we both know that's not true.

"It's okay to cry. It's a healthy way to express how you're feeling," I say.

"I guess."

"So, you didn't do anything else? Anything I specifically asked you not to do?" I ask, knowing he knows exactly what I mean.

"No, I didn't. I realize you're probably right. Hurting myself isn't going to help anything... I'm going to try to quit for good. Not just for my sake, but for yours, too... I'm glad you came over yesterday..." he gives a small, tired smile.

"Good. Today's a good day," I say.

"Why's that?"

"Because you're finally helping yourself. You're working your way up to a better you," I smile.

"Thanks," he gives me that same tired smile again.

As always, Chen walks in the room, but we ignore him and he ignores us. He sits down at his desk and says nothing. Yeah, he actually said nothing. That's a first. Lloyd looked at me, though. We were both thinking the same thing. It's a bit weird that I know that he likes Chen. But I'm gonna pretend that I didn't even hear him say he likes him. One; so I don't make Lloyd uncomfortable, and two; I hate Chen and don't like thinking about him. It kills me to know the guy I like, likes the guy I hate. I know people always say hate is a strong word, but I do hate him. I despise him.

Anyway, this is all besides the point. I'm just glad Lloyd can recognize that he has a problem and he's making an attempt to fix it.

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

The rest of the school day went by as normal. Boring classes, annoying lectures, homework. The usual. To be honest, the only part of school I enjoy is sitting with Lloyd at lunch. After I went home I realized it was Friday. That means training.

When I enter my home, I walk straight to my room and put on my ninja suit, put a jacket on over it, and hid the mask in my pocket, just as I had done last time. I didn't bother to wash the makeup off my face, though. Too much effort. And without question, I locked my bedroom door and hopped out the window, starting my walk to the warehouse.

As I walk, it's as if everything that's been going on in my life as of recently has finally dawned on me. I'm a ninja. I'm a freaking ninja, dude. That's crazy. It's as if it hasn't settled in my mind until now. I'm still unsure how to feel about it... It's so weird because I'm working alongside with the people I've idolized for so long, which is amazing. But the thing is, they don't even know who I am. All they know is The Wind Ninja. They don't know (Y/N). Now I think I'm starting to get why Lloyd constantly separates himself from his Green Ninja persona.

As I did last Friday, I walk up to the side of the warehouse, put on my mask, and hide my jacket outside. I actually had my nunchucks in my jacket, so I pulled them out and carried them with me as I walk inside to see the rest of the ninja gathered inside as well.

"Wind! Good to see you back! You've been practicing with those things?" Earth greets, then points to my nunchucks.

I hold a tight grip on the weapon as I look down at it, then back up to Earth. "Uh, yeah, actually! I'm starting to get the hang of it," I cheer. I'm actually quite confident with the skill I've acquired within the short amount of time that I've had the nunchucks.

"That's good to hear!" Lloyd chimes in.

I smile at him, even though I know he can't see my expression behind the mask.

"You better make sure you fully know how to use those things pretty soon, though. It's been a while since Garmadon has attacked and that means he's probably gonna come back sometime soon," Lloyd explains.

"Ah... right. Garmadon." It's as if I completely forgot the reason I'm even a ninja in the first place. It's like Garmadon had completely slipped my mind, but now that I've been reminded, it makes me a bit nervous. What if he attacks and I'm not ready? What if I get hurt? What if someone else gets hurt because of my mistakes? Ughh... hopefully that's something I won't have to worry about for a few more days. I don't really think Garmadon would attack this late in the day.

That's when my thoughts are interrupted by the sound of loud sirens. A sound far too familiar. Of course I jinxed myself. I was comfortable thinking nothing would happen today, and of course I was wrong.

"That's the sirens! That means Garmadon is initiating an attack! We gotta go!" Fire shouts.

"I know what the sirens are, but what do I do?! I haven't prepared for this!" I shout back.

"Just follow our lead and you'll be fine!" Water yells.

"Uhh- oh-okay!" I stutter as all of the ninja rush out of the building and I follow. They didn't take the mechs, but they normally only take them for larger attacks. I'm assuming this is one of the smaller attacks where Garmadon sends in only a few generals to terrorise the city for a little bit.

I actually have no idea where we're going. I just trust that the rest of the ninja know what's going on as I follow them, struggling to keep up the quick running speed. This is probably the fastest I've ever ran. But even my fastest run isn't enough to keep up with a group of highly trained ninja who have sworn to protect the city with their lives. I lag behind the group a little, but I still manage to keep them within my sight and I make sure not to miss any of the twists and turns.

We arrive in the middle of the chaos taking place infront of the shopping mall, which, conveniently wasn't too far of a run from the warehouse. I assume the mall is a common target for attacks. It's one of the biggest public buildings in the whole city. There are generals inside the building, as well as outside.

"Fire, Water, Ice. You take the inside. Lightning, Earth, Wind, and I will take the outside. Don't be afraid to call for backup," Lloyd announces.

I just go along with whatever he says. As previously mentioned, they know what they're doing.

Lightning, Earth, and Lloyd all pull out their weapons, and I do the same. I feel the anxiety well up as my legs shake a bit, but I have to do this.

We face off with a group of generals. Their devious smirks painted across their faces are enough to send chills down anyone's spine. Some of them begin to charge at us.

One general targets me specifically. He pulls out his sword and runs straight for me. I step back a bit and make sure I have the proper hold on my nunchucks. As the general gets closer and closer, I swing my weapon, knocking him onto his back.

"Hey, I did it!" I shout. Proud of what I have done, even if it is something insignificant.

The general gets back up, this time I've made him angry. He begins to run straight for me again.

"Uh oh..." I cover my face in attempts to protect it, because I know that there's no possible way for me to protect myself against this now angered general.

I brace myself for the worst as my eyes are tightly shut.

Nothing happens...

I open my eyes and see Lloyd standing over the general's unconscious body.

"Th-thanks..." I thank him with a stutter in my voice.

"Don't mention it. It's probably best if you stick with me instead of trying to fend for yourself," he says.

"Uh, right."

He runs off in another direction and I follow him. It seems like Earth and Lightning had managed to take down the majority of the generals on the outside of the building, but some of them still remain.

"You got my back, I got yours?" Lloyd asks.

"Yeah," I confirm.

We stand back to back, making sure nobody gets past.

Alright, this time I've gotta be more confident. I can't cower in fear if someone charges at me. I got this.

I got this.

A couple of generals run toward me. As they approach, I swing and hit the both of them with my nunchucks, this time, with greater force than the last. I sent them hurtling backwards quiet a ways and they both rub their heads in pain. They both run off around the corner. I assume to where ever it is they came from.

This is when I notice the arrival of police cars, ambulances, and a news van. And I'm glad the police are here, because we could probably use the help.

"We gotta get inside and make sure nobody got hurt," Lloyd says as he turns to me.

I look around and realize that there are no more remaining generals outside the building. Lloyd runs inside and I follow. Most of the generals have been apprehended by the rest of the ninja, but there are a few citizens in need of medical assistance. Some with minor cuts and gashes, and some with more extreme sounds like broken and exposed bones. Earth, Lightning, and Ice stay with them to provide comfort as Water, Fire, and Lloyd give the medical team outside the okay to enter the building. I just stay inside as I approach Ice.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask.

"Not as of now, I'm afraid. We just have to stay here until the medics and authorities come to our assistance," he says. I just nod.

I look over at the group of people who had been injured. There's a lot more than I had previously thought. You don't really see the aftermath of an attack until you're there to experience it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the police and some medics enter the building, as well as the rest of the ninja. The medics quickly take the injured people out to ambulances and take them off to receive proper medical care.

A police officer then approaches all of us. "Thank you once again for your assistance, ninja," he thanks.

"Our pleasure," Lloyd speaks for the rest of the group.

The police officer nods and we all walk out of the building. As I begin to leave, the news reporters that I can only assume came from the news van surround me, sticking microphones in my face, bombarding me with questions.

"Who are you?"

"How did you become the newest member of the team?"

"Can you reveal your identity?"

"Are there any other new team members we don't know about?"

And other questions were being thrown at me. It was too much for my brain to handle.

"I don't know! I'm just the new ninja on the team! The- The Wind Ninja!" I yell and wave my arms trying to get them to back up out of my personal space.

After I speak, they let me pass and I hear them murmur amongst themselves as I catch back up with the rest of the group. We begin to go back to the warehouse.

"You did great for your first day!" Lloyd compliments.

"Ah, thank you," I respond.

"No, seriously, you did great for a newbie. You kept your cool under pressure. Not even lightning can do that!" Fire jokes.

"It's true, I'm a mess," Lightning adds as the rest of the group laughs.

I just give a tired sigh and a laugh. This day has been too much for me to handle. But ya know, even though I've only known the ninja for a few days, I feel really comfortable around them. Being behind a mask of anonymity makes me feel safe and secure. Like I can say anything and no one will judge me for it.

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

We walked back to the warehouse, or the "ninja base" as they had reffered to it as. We all have a seat on various chairs and sofas that were all around the place as we rest our tired legs.

"Welcome back, students," Master Wu greets, as the end of his long wooden staff clanks against the ground, grabbing our attention.

"How was Wind's first day on the job?" He asks.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't, due to the fact that Fire responded much quicker than I had. "You should've seen him out there, Wu! He did great for his first time," he cheers. Everyone's nice words and compliments really raised my confidence today.

"Good to hear. And Wind, how are you feeling?" Master Wu asks.

"Uhh..." to be honest, not many people have ever asked how I'm feeling. "I uh, I feel pretty good!" I smile.

"Good. You've all done well today. You may rest," Master Wu quickly snapped around and walked off.

I stood up, assuming this was a signal for us all to go home, but Water quickly grabbed my attention. "Hey, Wind!" She shouts.

I whip around and look over to her. "We always play a quick game after saving the city. You want in?" She waves around a video game controller.

"...Really? You want me to play?" I ask after doing a double take to make sure she was talking to me. Nobody ever offers for me to do anything with them. Unless it's Lloyd. Lloyd asks me to hang out. But having someone else actually wanna be around me? It's a strange experience.

"Of course we want you to play! You're a part of the team now! Are you in or not?" She asks, still waving the extra controller.

"Uhhh... I'm not sure... I don't play video games at all..." I rub the back of my neck.

"It's okay, it's not about winning, it's about having fun," Lloyd adds in.

"...okay... one game couldn't hurt," I smile and approach everyone who was already sitting around the TV to play the game.

Water hands me the controller and I have a seat on the floor infront of the couch, as the couch already has it's maximum number of occupants. I'm joined on the floor by Earth and Fire.

Water flips on the game console and has a seat. The game loads up and we all begin to play. It was a fairly simple game, so it didn't take me long to learn the controls.

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

We played a few games. Well, we played what felt like only a few games. We had actually been playing so long that the sun was on the verge of setting.

I stand up to stretch. "I had a lot of fun, guys, but it's probably time to get home before my mom kills me," I joke.

"Aw, alright. See ya, Wind!" Water shouts.

"Bye guys!" I wave and everyone waves back. I head out, grab my jacket off the ground, put my mask in my pocket, and head home.

I left feeling a lot better about myself. It's like some weight had been lifted off of me. It's like I actually had a whole group of friends! I know I have Lloyd, and I'm extremely glad that I have him, but it's great to hang out with him, and other people who care about us. It's like we actually belong somewhere.

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

Sorry it's been a while since the last update. I've had a lot of stuff come up, but I hope you liked it!

I keep accidentally writing the ninja's actual names instead of their code names. I think caught all of the spots where I've made that mistake, but if you see it happen in this chapter where I might have looked over, let me know!

Of course, I call Lloyd by his name instead of Green because the reader is already aware of his identity, so that's not a mistake.

Anyway, tell me what you liked or didn't like about the chapter. I'd like to know what I can do to improve!