Outside on a hill, Wu is enjoying a lovely day. The blue jays are chirping, the breeze is blowing ever so gently, and his tea is at the perfect temperature. Watching the scenery before him, how serene it is, calming, gentle. Am I in the wrong place?, Wu thought to himself, stroking his beard.
The suspiciously calm silence was set ablaze when the bang of a sliding door echoed through the rice fields. A frazzled blond man with broken glasses, an equally broken nose, and a black eye stumbled out. "YOU'RE CRAZY!!! I'M GOING TO CALL THE COPS YOU PYSCHO!!!!", the man shouted from behind him as he ran to his moped. A spiked-haired boy chased after him and probably would've caught him if it wasn't for the shorter girl catching him by his waist from behind.
さっさと警察でも呼べよ――このクソ野郎! よく聞け、このクソ野郎!もしまたこの辺りで、その醜いツラをちらりとでも見かけたら......てめえのチンポを根元から引きちぎって、そのケツの穴の奥の奥まで突っ込んでやる!突き抜けて反対側から飛び出してくるくらい、奥までな!そうすりゃ、てめえは自分のクソチンポを自分でしゃぶることになるんだよ, Kai was frothing at the mouth, yelling at the man.
Master Wu's eyebrows disappeared behind his straw hat at the boy's crude language, yet relief washed over him. Ah, so I am in the right place, he thinks, then pours himself another cup of tea.
"Kai! Calm down! He's gone now. You keep causing more of a scene, you'll scare away more customers!", Nya shouted. "LET ME GO, NYA! I just want to talk to him.", Kai lied through gritted teeth. "No you're going to kill him! Then you'll get arrested! Let him leave!" She begged, keeping her back foot planted into the ground to keep him from running. Kai was growling like a rabid dog while staring ahead. Not even when the man was out of sight did he take his eyes away. "Kai! Enough!" She called out again, only this time it got a reaction out of him. His growling ceased, and he stopped struggling to get out of the girl's grasp.
Wu took a moment to gauge the villagers' reaction. It seems many of them stopped to look at the scene unfold before turning their gaze away to continue their business. Best to wait a moment longer, he thinks. He takes a gentle sip of the tea, eyes peering at the scene in front of him.
The girl pulls away from Kai once he finally stops struggling to get out her grasp. His fists were still clenched tightly, クソ観光客どもめ。いつだって、いっつだってそうだ!", he curses, letting out a frustrated scream while pulling his hair. Nya is rubbing his back, "I know. I know.", she sighed. She grabbed onto his shoulders and turned him around. "Come on. Let's get back inside.", she said as she walked him back into the shop, both of them disappearing from view.
Wu lets out an amused chuckle at the sight he just witnessed. He put his now-empty tea cup away into his bag and closed it. Best to try now that the fire has settled, he bemused himself in thought. He started to stroll towards the shop with a hand behind his back. Getting a better look at the shop itself, it was rather fine. It was definitely well taken care of, remarkable to see. However, he noticed that all these armors were a different breed from what he was used to seeing. Further in his approach, he saw the two children standing inside the stop, who seemed to be bickering with one another, as he got to earshot.
"Kai. I told you I'll be fine from now on. We get customers like this every so often.", the girl expressed, but Kai put a finger up to her. "Not any who got violent towards you. Did you hear what he called you?", Kai gestured angrily. "Yes, I heard and I wanted to punch him, but I knew that wouldn't help anyone and just cause more problems for the shop. I can see through my anger and do that, so I'm fine, stop your worrying.", Nya tried to reassure him, but he was adamant.
"No way. After experiencing that piece of work, I'm taking over customer service duties for a bit." Kai spoke sternly, and the girl crossed her arms. "Kai, he was far from the worst customer we've had, and you know it.", she tried to explain. Kai shook his head, "Nya, I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone after that.", he admits, his eyebrows furrowing. Nya sighs, "If he comes back, I'll call out for you. Now go.", Nya expressed, but Kai still looked doubtful. "Nya..." before he could get another word out, Nya started to shove him forward. "Goooooo.", she ushered him.
Kai begrudgingly left this time because if he didn't bite the bullet on this argument, it would never end, and they would lose even more business than they already have. He will, of course, revisit this conversation later, as this is not something he's letting go. He went over to the forge and grabbed the sword he had half-hazardly thrown into the pool of water. It....did not look good. It curled into a spiral and all that metal...wasted. "くそ!この忌々しい代物......剣というより、クソったれなコルク抜きにしか見えねえな。", Kai swears.
Nya looked over to him with a sly eyebrow raised, seeing it as an opportunity to make things normal again. "Rushed a project again, huh,せっかちーさん ?" Didn't mom used to say, 'A blacksmith's fire can only be forged with a spark of patience'?", Nya teased, leaning against the counter.
Kai sarcastically laughed, "Ha. Ha. Ha. なるほど Nya, of course, I must've forgotten the biggest message in all of Mom's blacksmith journals and wasted a bunch of metals because I'm sooooo あほ/アホ.".
Kai tossed the sword to the side for now, "Sarcasm aside, I wasn't really thinking about it. I just thought I needed to put this to the side and get back to it later, but an experienced smith would've placed it properly in the forge like it was second nature. Eventually, I'll get there, maybe even surpass it, like mom.". Nya just smiled gently at the thought, "I'm sure you will Kai, eventually~.", she added a light tease at the end, which earned a playful hum and eyeroll from Kai.
"Hmm... your metal is loud and heavy.", they heard a light bang from the front of the shop and looked over, "Useful to slow one down. Useless in the art of stealth. Tools perfect for a samurai, but nothing for a ninja?". The two siblings looked over at the old man, Master Wu, in their sights, who tapped against their armor sets with this weird staff.
Nya looked so dejected when the man said those words. They just finally were getting back to normal after dealing with such an awful customer, and he had to be another tourist who didn't bother to read the sign? Kai is going to snap again..., Nya thought, and she was right: he did. Kai's eye twitches, and for the second time today, he went to the front.
"For the twenty-millionth time we had to explain to you people, this shop is Panguian-style, not Ninjagian-style. No, we don't make samurai armor sets. No, we don't make katanas. No, we don't make shurikens. Nunchunks, Naginata, Kabutowari, Kusarigama, Teco, or any other ones you'd find in literally any other shop in ALL of Ninjago! Yes, we're a shop in Ninjago, but we're also in a tourist town, and we sell authentic, novelty things here you wouldn't find in any pop-up shop in the city. AND if you had just read the text underneath 'Four Weapons', you'll see–oh, will you look at that!– 'A Panguian Blacksmith Shop'. AND even if you missed that big sign, look at what's right here!", he then comes over and stands beside a sign that is comically behind Master Wu, "A sign that literally explains everything I had just told you! So, if you could be so kind as to just read the signs, we'd love to work with you. If you keep talking about Samurai or Ninja in here, then go peddle your このバカな観光客野郎 somewhere else.".
Nya looked like she wanted to disappear due to her brother literally picking a fight with a probably confused old man who didn't mean any harm. Yes, the whole Panguian-Ninjagian confusion has been grating on them for years, but it's just an old man, there was no need to be so hostile to him. She was quite worried about the old man getting upset himself and start a fight, as he didn't seem to be the timid type. However, the old man just barked a dry laugh.
"Ha! Too bad. Thought I'd find something special here.", Wu turned on his heel and left, making Kai confused. This kind of snapped Kai out of his irritation, and he looked towards Nya, who gave him a look that dawned realization into his head–and regret. He then followed after the man, hoping to catch him before he left.
"Wait, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken that way. If you want something in particular, let me sh–", Kai rounded the corner outside and Wu was gone, "–ow you around....?". Kai looked side to side in befuddlement, trying to figure out where that man had vanished to. "What happened", the voice alerting him to Nya being right behind him.
"He was just....", he trailed off, then decided he was too tired for this and needed more caffeine, "never mind, I'm...going to make more coffee.".
"You already had four cups today!"
"And I need an IV of twenty in my veins, but that would kill me, so I'm getting another cup."
Nya sighed and shook her head, following him back inside. The siblings were unaware of the darkening sky over the hill's horizon. The one that would soon cover this village in danger.
"Crazy psycho!", the man on the moped yelled as he hightailed it out of the small village, "I can't believe he talked to me like that, he should've been grateful I decided to come to his nowhere shop! If I had won that darn competition, it would've brought so much business for him, but nooooo, he had to freak out over that やりまん sister of his. His loss, but now where the heck am I going to find a good Smith on such short notice–".
As the man bellowed his words out into the open air, his words caught in his throat as a large truck made of bones appeared on the road in front of him. He squints his one eye and a half (obscured by the swelling) at the sight before him, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
"What in the world–", he started to say, then, like how mirrors say: 'objects may be closer than they appear'; he had no time to react as the truck was right up next to him. A skeleton was hanging off its side, with a comically large bone in its hand. The man screamed like a little girl as the skeleton used the bone to club him off his bike and tumble down the hill, leaving him down in the ditch and his moped in equal hilarity exploded.
The man was of no importance to the skeletons on the truck, only left to them as a quick laugh. As their boss was looking into a pair of binoculars silently, the two henchmen beside them started to bicker.
"Oh, oh! When we get there, I want to be the one to go down there! I've been waiting my whole life to see what's there!", the skeleton with a weird mohawk said–wait, skeletons can have mohawks?
"You nitwit!", said the one with the helmet, "Your life is already over, you're dead! Try to control yourself in front of Master Samukai!". The helmed skeleton's voice then went from authoritative to soft and meek, "But with all due respect, after the last village... you did say... I could go first.".
The head skeleton, otherwise known as Samukai, was barely paying attention to his underlings squabbling and was more occupied with the building in his sights. He saw the sign 'Four Weapons', ignoring its subtitle as everyone does, and scanned the surroundings. From the descriptions his master has told him, there should be a great warrior who resided there, a forever guardian of the treasure they seek. However, all he sees is two children squabbling. Perhaps it's one of them? They don't look so tough. This will be easy then.
"Sorry, boys,", he finally answers them, "this one is mine. Just remember what we're after and find that map!". He then yelled to the driver, "Floor it!!"
Their speeding vehicles launch themselves off the road and crash through the rice fields. The villagers working there barely had time to dive out of the way before they were crushed; their year's crop wasn't so lucky. The younger villagers rushed up with weaponry made by their local smiths, pointing them at the creatures that landed in their homeland. Samukai looked unamused, smirking callously. He spun one of his daggers in his hand and tossed it like a boomerang. It spun around all the villagers' weapons and disarmed them, freezing the victims in place.
"Boo!", the captain bellowed, causing the villagers to step back. The village then descends into chaos, "EVACUTATE AND CONTACT NINJAGO CITY!!!", said a middle-aged man in armor, which triggered the people to scatter. The captain just grinned maliciously at the chaos he's sown, drinking in the fear like it was a lovely beverage. "ATTACK!!!!", he screamed from the bottom of his soul, or at least where it should be.
This chaos drew the attention of the two siblings now staring down at the commotion below. Nya looked horrified at what was happening. This isn't something that happens in their sleepy little town. The city? Yes. The coast? Definitely. Here? Never.
"What in the world are they?", she wondered in horror.
Kai, whilst he did mirror his sister's feelings, he didn't show them. Instead, he launched into action, rather than focusing more on his own feelings. He placed some pieces of important armor that he could put on quickly and grabbed a weapon. "I don't know, Nya.", Nya turned to see him don a helmet on his head, "But what I do know is that they're dangerous. Stay here.".
"If it's dangerous, then I should go with you–", "Nya!" Nya started, but Kai interrupted her. He paused and sighed, "Please don't argue this right now. Just listen to me and stay here.".
"I won't fight them if that's what you're worried about. I'm just going for a closer look to see if there's a safe way out of the village. Then I'll come back for you, and we'll get out of here, ok?"
Nya narrowed at him, concerned and scanning for any truth in those words. "Are you serious?", Nya questioned, to which Kai nodded. "I may be a reckless idiot, Nya, but I'm never going to do anything that'll leave you alone. Not until I at least get you somewhere safe first, alright?", his words finally relaxed Nya's shoulders, and she sighed.
"Alright...be careful.", she said.
Kai smirked teasingly, "When have I not been?", he then started to go. But then he turned on his heel and pointed at her, "Remember! Keep yourself out of sight, and if I don't come back in fifteen minutes–" .
"'To run like a coward', I know, I know.", Nya quickly said, not meaning it at all. Kai didn't notice it, though, and just went down the hill. He crouched behind one of the trees at the foot and scanned the area. He saw the people he grew up around running away from these monsters they've never seen before. They have only ever heard of these things from urban legends and scary campfire stories. Creature attacks have occurred throughout Ninjago, usually near the coast or in the city, but rarely in remote villages like theirs. They are woefully unprepared to deal with them here.
Kai noticed an elderly man being shoved to the ground, and a skeleton came up to him, about to club him down. The teenage boy then emerged from the tree and rushed over, swiping back at the skeleton's strike. His attempt worked in stopping that strike, but his lack of combat experience caused him to be unprepared for the immediate attack that followed it. It bashed Kai across the face, bruising his jaw, and the after shocks that rippled through him were nothing like a normal punch would've. That hurt. Andit pissed him off.
He spat out the familiar taste of iron in his mouth, then hit the skeleton again, making the opponent block. He repeatedly pounded on the bone the skeleton used as a weapon, then kicked it in the ribs to push it back. Complete rough and tumble street fight rules, nothing refined like the village guards. Then he swiped across the neck to decapitate it, but the creature just...popped off their head??? How–??? Too late to think on that now, cause it's now biting Kai's toes!
"ああっ! なんだこれ、ふざけんな!", Kai looks down at the bobbing head and his eye twitches, "Bite this, you クソみたいなサッカー! ". He then does a round kick, launching it clear over the building. The other soldiers watching this clapped in utter awe, knowing it clearly hadn't hurt their companion; it was a good shot.
Kai was bewildered at the skeletons' reaction, but he decided to take the opportunity to lift the elderly man up. "Mr. Yaki!", Kai said, "Are you hurt?". The man, finally revealed as Mr. Yaki, looked at Kai and nodded. "I'm quite alright, ハリネズミ. But what are you doing out here?! We've been ordered to evacuate, boy!", he chastised but in soft worry.
"I came down to figure out what was going on, and–well–to see if anyone needed any help."
"Kai, you don't know any combat! Just because you make weapons doesn't mean you know how to use them!"
"Yes, but I know how to fight, and no offense, Mr. Yaki–I love you and all–but you would've gotten hurt if I didn't step in."
"Aye, yes, I know I'm not that young fighter I used to be, but son, I still haven't lost my knowledge of combat. I know you won't be able to fight both you and your sister out of this, by yourself!".
"Not me and Nya....but if you can take Nya out of here, then I can deal with this. Here, all of our village is getting caught in the crossfire. I can't just leave them to this! I may not know the ins and outs of combat like you do, but I can still–", Mr. Yaki narrowed his eyes at Kai's defensive rant, but then glanced over his shoulder, and his eyes widened. "KAI, BEHIND YOU!", he bellowed. Kai immediately turned around, seeing one of the skeletons clapping earlier about slicing down with its axe. He held up his sword to brace for impact, but then a flurry of staff sneak attacks swiped the attacker and its duo. It knocked them right onto the floor, crumbling to dust.
Nya was the wielder of that staff, smirking at her brother, "'Not going to fight them', huh? Liar". Kai closed his eyes like he was a parent caught embarrassingly in a lie, "I told you to stay in the shop, Nya!". She just simply shrugs, "Guess we're both liars then? Even Steven.", which caused Kai's eye to twitch for the millionth time today. He really needs more sleep–or more coffee. Their old neighbor just barked a hearty laugh, "Aye, if I hadn't witnessed your two's births, I would've thought you were twins!".
She finally noticed Mr. Yaki there and went pale, rushing to him. "Mr. Yaki, are you hurt?", Nya fussed, making Mr. Yaki laugh more. "Even your worrying can be the same sometimes.", he bemused, smiling gently, "I'm ok, 姫 . Just too old for this. Curse of a long life!". Nya and Kai just smiled sheepishly at Mr. Yaki's words, but Kai then turned to the matter at hand.
"Thanks for the save, Nya. Now go with Mr. Yaki to the evacuation point–"
"And leave you to fight alone? No way, I'm staying with you."
"Nya, you need to go get Mr. Yaki to safety. I'll join you later when I get our other neighbors–"
"Oh no no no, I know what you're trying to pull. I'm not falling for it, Kai. It's either we both go, or we both stay."
"I don't have time to argue about this, Nya!"
"Then don't! Let me fight with you, I am the better fighter between the two of us!"
"Oh, for the love of the light, will you just listen to me for once?!"
"Not when you're being this stupid!"
'"Kids!", Mr. Yaki shouted, Nya and Kai looking towards him. They saw their old neighbor pulling back a bow string and pointing an arrow in their direction. "Duck!", he commanded, and the siblings immediately did. They witnessed as their seventy-year-old neighbor shot down a skeleton that was about to attack through the eye. Then redrawing twice and shooting two others in near close succession. Kai and Nya watched in shock. Their village was quite quiet, so they hadn't seen Mr. Yaki's skills in action for as long as they've been alive, only stories. They turned to him, and they saw him rolling his shoulders back.
"Thank you, Nya, one of the skeletons you smacked thankfully had a bow.", Mr. Yaki commented first, now equipped with a long bow made of bones and arrows that matched. He looked at them, "Now you two, I know both of you are super stubborn, but arguing on the battlefield will get you killed!". "Then tell Nya to go with you!", Kai pointed to Nya. "Then tell Kai to keep me with him!", Nya mirrored him. Mr. Yaki pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"お前たち二人とも、あまりにも頑固すぎる。レイ、マヤ......なぜ私に、これほどの呪いをかけたのだ?", he ran his hand over his face, "Both of you! This is not the time nor the place!". He then looks towards Nya, "Nya, you know he does this because he doesn't want you hurt.", Kai smirked, but then Mr. Yaki whipped his head to him next, "And you, Kai, you shouldn't be out here fighting alone, period! Nya is right, she is the better fighter of you two, purely on the fact that she gets lessons from me. So, if anyone should be out here, it's her." Kai tried to interject, "but!-", but was cut off by Mr. Yaki wagging his finger, "I'm not finished.". That quickly shut him up.
"When out on the battlefield, you should always have someone beside you to keep an eye on your blind spots. Whether that be a tactical retreat or a forward front. So, in order to keep you both safe, you should stick together. And together, you should choose to go to the evacuation point or be a part of the rescue efforts. So, what is it going to be?", he lays it out for them.
The siblings looked at each other, quietly having a conversation with their facial expressions, the chaos ringing out in the background like a reminding chorus. Finally, Kai spoke up, "Ok...ok. Nya...would you cover for me out there?". Nya smirked and readied her staff, "Thought you'd never ask." Mr. Yaki smiled, "Alright, since that's settled, I'll head to the evacuation point and find any stragglers on my way there.".
"Wait, are you sure you can make it there by yourself?", Nya chimed in in concern. Mr. Yaki replied as he went over to this stone half-wall that separated the field from the paths, "That was before you got me this bow! Now, I'll be fine. I may be too old for this, but I'm too young to die yet! Still got you kiddos to worry about.".
"But what about your blind spots?", Kai interjected as Mr. Yaki prepared to hop over the wall. Mr. Yaki just paused, looked back, and smirked at the boy. "Oh son,", he said, "I don't have any blind spots.". He winks playfully and then hopped the divider, shooting a couple of skeletons off the roofs when he was still in siblings' sights.
This left the siblings in bewilderment over the man who had been in their lives since they were toddlers, glancing at each other for a moment. "Light above, I never expected today to go like this. If I did, I would've at least had five hours of sleep. This feels like a fever dream–", Kai then paused and looked up, "--wait, is this a fever dream? That would explain some things....–OW.". Nya took that opportunity to pinch him on the arm with a mischievous smirk, earning a glare from her brother.
"What? You asked a question and I gave you the answer.".
Kai narrowed his eyes at her, but heard the rattling of bones behind him, making him pause. Nya heard it as well and turned around with her brother, coming face to face with a squad of the creatures surrounding them. Kai stood prepared with his sword, and Nya did as well, although in a more proper stance than her brother's rougher form.
"Hmmh, you watch my back, I watch yours?"
"More like I'll watch yours and mine, and you just watch your own, but yes", he teased.
"Oh ha. Ha. Don't get big-headed now, brother."
"...as long as you promise the same."
1. さっさと警察でも呼べよ――このクソ野郎!(Sassato keisatsu demo yobeyo ―― kono kuso yarō!): Go ahead and call the cops already—you piece of shit!
2. よく聞け、このクソ野郎!もしまたこの辺りで、その醜いツラをちらりとでも見かけたら......てめえのチンポを根元から引きちぎって、そのケツの穴の奥の奥まで突っ込んでやる!突き抜けて反対側から飛び出してくるくらい、奥までな!そうすりゃ、てめえは自分のクソチンポを自分でしゃぶることになるんだよ!(Yokukike, kono kuso yarō! Moshi mata kono atari de, sono minikui tsura o chirarito demo mikaketara...... temē no chin powo nemoto kara hikichigitte, sono ketsunoana no oku no oku made tsukkonde yaru! Tsukinukete hantaisoku kara tobidashite kuru kurai, okumade na! Sō surya, temē wa jibun no kusochinpo o jibun de shaburu koto ni naru nda yo!): Listen up, you piece of shit! If I catch even a glimpse of that ugly mug of yours around here again... I'm going to rip your dick right off at the root and shove it deep—and I mean *deep*—up your asshole! So deep it punches right through and pops out the other side! That way, you'll end up sucking your own fucking dick!
3. クソ観光客どもめ。いつだって、いっつだってそうだ!" (Kuso kankōkyaku-domo-me. Itsu datte, ittsu datte sōda!): Those damn tourists! It's always—always—the same story!
5. この忌々しい代物......剣というより、クソったれなコルク抜きにしか見えねえな。(Kono imaimashī shiromono...... ken to iu yori, kusottarena koruku nuki ni shika mienē na.): This damn thing...it looks less like a sword and more like a damn corkscrew.
6: せっかちーさん (Sekkachi-san): Mr. Impatient (in a soft teasing tone)
7. なるほど (Naruhodo): I see (but in a playful tone)
8. あほ/アホ (Aho): Slang for idiot or slow, but is a softer, more friendly version of Baka
9. このバカな観光客野郎 (Kono bakana kankōkyaku yarō): your stupid tourist ass
10. ああっ! なんだこれ、ふざけんな!(Ā~tsu! Na nda kore, fuzaken na!): Agh! What the hell is this?! You gotta be kidding me!
11. クソみたいなサッカー! (Kuso mitaina sakkā!): Shitty football!
13. お前たち二人とも、あまりにも頑固すぎる。レイ、マヤ......なぜ私に、これほどの呪いをかけたのだ?(Omaetachi futari tomo, amarini mo ganko sugiru. Ray, Maya...... naze watashi ni, kore hodo no noroi o kaketa noda?): You two are both far too stubborn. Ray, Maya... why did you cast such a curse upon me?
[First Published: 4-21-2026| Last Edited: 3-30-2026 | Word Count: 4259]
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