Chapter Text
Being an oni had its perks for sure. Lloyd knew for a fact that it made him..stronger. Even if he didn't use his power, he could surely tell you that when he gets mad enough he can practically feel the powerful energy coming from inside him. It made sense though as the only time he used his oni powers was when he was very mad.
Lloyd was...scared of it. Not in a "I'm scared of taking over the world with my power" sort of way, or a "I'm scared I'll run out of power if I use it" sort of way. He was just scared of...himself. He was scared that if he used his powers, it would take control over him. He might even hurt his friends! Lloyd does not want that so he tries to refrain from getting seriously angry, just in case.
It sounds silly but, when you have a lot of power and you're a person like Lloyd, the thought of hurting your friends, the people who took you in when you had no family, it can be scary. Lloyd never wants to hurt his friends. He would rather hurt himself than even coming close to touching his friends-no, his family in any kind of harming way. Especially now since he has two students who look up to him! He cannot disappoint them.
This is also the reason he has refrained from telling his students about his...oni side. Lloyd's pretty sure Arin knows anyway. The kid seems to know everything about him. It's kinda creepy, but Lloyd for one is not gonna talk about it. He does not want his students to think of him in a different light as oni's are known for being...destructive and evil.
Lloyd would never admit it (he doesn't admit a lot of things actually, though, with all the trauma in his life, it makes sense) but, he's kinda scared that his students will think he's a monster if they found out, which is why, Lloyd has decided he was never gonna tell them, and they will probably (hopefully) never find out about it.
But, as they say, all secrets come to an end eventually. It's just a matter of when and where.
To Lloyd, chaos had become a normal thing. In fact, most days it was expected. Villain attack at 2 in the afternoon? Expected. Monastery on fire on a random Tuesday? Expected. But, having to explain to your two students that you are an oni and then apologising that you almost hurt them? Not even close. In fact, if you told Lloyd that a couple of days ago, he probably would have laughed awkwardly and then spent the night staying up and overthinking it while having a panic attack at just the thought. But present Lloyd? Well...not much different aside from the fact that he was in fact NOT at the apologising part as it had just happened and now he's on the verge of either bursting into tears right in front of his students or, just completely passing out.
From the way he was looking now, it seemed like he was about to do both.
Lloyd was freaking out. Full blown panic surging through his body. It was just a normal Wednesday! A normal Wednesday up until 5 minutes ago! Lloyd should have seen it coming, should have noticed how grumpy he was when he woke up today, seen how annoyed he was when Kai was telling him about the new sword he bought. He should have seen it coming when he was already pissed just by Arin asking him about how his training was going. But no, he was completely and undoubtedly oblivious to what was about to happen.
It started off fine. Just with Arin asking Lloyd about how his training was going, normal stuff. Lloyd simply told Arin that he was doing good. Definitely improving from the fight at Imperium. Arin however wasn't very satisfied with that answer. Lloyd couldn't really blame him. When he had just started out as a ninja, he was always pestering the ninja, asking them if he was improving. Today however, Lloyd was not having it.
He tried to keep up the nice facade but Arin was really trying to get on his nerves. Lloyd didn't know why he was so irritated today. It's not like it's Arin's fault he's in a bad mood. It's just a matter of time and place.
To make it worse, Sora, seeing that Arin was asking if he was improving, she also started to ask Lloyd about it.
“Lloyd, am I improving a lot? I think I’m doing really well at controlling my power now! Do you think so too!?” Sora asked, her eyes beaming. Lloyd chuckled softly, a little bit forced but he kept smiling.
“Yeah Sora, you're doing great. I’m sure you’ll have it fully mastered in no time” Lloyd responded, rubbing the back of his neck. Sora’s eyes brightened at the praise. “You really think so!?” Lloyd laughed again, this time coming out a little more gruff. “Yes I do-” “What about me Lloyd!?” Arin cut in.
Lloyd turned to look at Arin, he looked very happy. “What?” Lloyd asked. “I know you’ve already said I’m improving well but, do you think I can master my spinjitzu soon!? Then I can actually be useful in battle!” He exclaimed.
Lloyd sighed. “Arin, you’re already useful in battle. You don’t need to master spinjitzu to be able to fight. I didn’t master spinjitzu right away and I’d been in plenty of fights before that” Arin, stubborn as ever, persisted anyway.
“But you’re the Green Ninja! Of course you didn’t need to have mastered spinjitzu to win a fight! For me though, that’s all I have!” Arin exclaimed. It came out louder than expected. Lloyd winced a bit.
“Look Arin, that’s not what I meant. Besides, you can fight without spinjitzu. I’ve seen you do it!” Arin downcasted. “Just because I’ve fought before doesn’t mean I’m good! In fact, my only good fighting skill is spinjitzu! Without it I suck!”
Lloyd groaned. Arin was great, really, but sometimes he can be a little much. “Look Arin. You’re a good fighter-” “But-” Arin started. “Don’t interrupt me!” Lloyd snapped, eyes flickering to a light purple for a second. Arin’s eyes widened momentarily, Sora however didn’t seem to have noticed it.
“Hey! Don’t yell at Arin!” She shouted. Lloyd turned to look at Sora then back at Arin. He took a deep breath. “Look Arin” He started again. “You’re a great ninja, but ninja, especially ones who have only been one for a short period of time don’t know all the skills other ninja’s know right away and that’s okay”
Arin continued to stare up at Lloyd, not very satisfied but nothing saying anything yet. “Lloyd, am I a good ninja?” Sora asked. Lloyd turned to stare at Sora. “Yes Sora, you’re a great ninja, I’ve already said that” “But, are you sure-” Lloyd groaned in frustration. “Look. Arin, Sora. You’re both great ninja. But if you ask me ONE more time if you’re good enough I swear-”
Lloyd’s eyes were purple. Purple. Sora and Arin stepped back in fear. Lloyd looked angry. Really angry.
Lloyd, noticing their fear finally came to his senses.
“No- I-I” Lloyd started to panic.”I’m sorry!” He exclaimed. “I’m so so sorry” Arin continued to stare at Lloyd, still a bit scared but mostly worried. “Lloyd-” Lloyd bolted, running for his room.
“Lloyd!?” Sora called out after him. Lloyd was already out of sight. He reached his room, opened the door and slammed it shut after him.
God he was fucked.