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“Stop fidgeting so much. One would think you've grown used to the ninja after so long.”, Sora looked at the heavily anxious and restless black haired boy next to her.
Arin looked at her with pursed lips, “But they're the ninja! And it's the Lloyd Garmadon!”, he gestured wildly with his hands to emphasise his point. Sora sighed with a small smile. Arin had always gushed about the ninja ever since she had met him. He was a fanboy through and through.
One would think that battling an evil empress and dethroning her, while also saving the world from its certain doom would give him a bit more confidence. Or the fact that it had been a few months already since they had started living with these very heroes.
No, instead he called her for help because he couldn't ask his most beloved green ninja by himself.
The sun had barely even started rising when Arin came into her room and asked her for help. She didn't mind the sudden wake up call, since they were supposed to train this morning, but she most certainly found his reason for it stupid.
“You´re his student, you know?”, she reminded him and kept walking through the monastery halls. Arin opened his mouth to retort with something stupid — probably — but shut up and squealed instead when Lloyd came out of the kitchen and into view.
The blonde looked at them with a sandwich in hand and smiled, “Hello! Good morning!”, he approached them cheerfully. Sora waved back, “Hey.” Arin followed up with a small, shy greeting, slowly hiding behind her.
As if she´d let this scaredy cat do that.
Maybe she was still a bit bitter about having been woken up for something as stupid as this.
She sidestepped swiftly with a grin and relished in Lloyd's bewildered look. “Arin wants to ask you something.” She felt a bit evil, but couldn't back out. Her friend's fear was unnecessary and maybe he'd start getting better at asking their teacher questions by himself if she made him do it.
Arin flushed in embarrassment and looked up at Lloyd, before swiftly focusing on the floor again. Lloyd smiled reassuringly, “Sure, I´ll answer anything. What did you want to know?”
It impressed her how well Lloyd could convey reassurance. Arin´s fidgeting toned down marginally.
“Yeah, so, uh, you don´t have to answer, since this is a bit personal”, her raven haired friend started. Lloyd nodded and bit into his sandwich. It looked really tasty, especially with the salads and tomatoes and cheese poking out at the edges.
Sora then noticed that she was hungry.
It could wait, she supposed. She didn't want to leave an anxious mess all alone when he asked his hero his question. Arin kept going, embarrassed by his next words, “Are you related to Kai?” Lloyd gulped his food down and looked at Arin questioningly, said boy flushing even more at the absurdity of the question.
It was fairly amusing to Sora, as she twirled her pink hair between her fingers. Her friend elaborated, “Kai called you little brother yesterday, and I didn´t know you were related and was wondering why he would call you that, especially since the news said that Kai and Nya were siblings but not you and–” “Slow down.”, Lloyd said with an amused smile.
Sora frankly didn´t care about this conversation. Family was a finicky thing for her, especially during her time in Imperium. Getting disowned by the very people you believed you knew hurt. A lot. Especially when you're ten and barely understand that everything you knew was a lie.
It wasn´t easier when her parents did it again during the second merge.
Family simply wasn´t for her. It was never meant to be something she could have.
Arin waited anxiously beside her, as if staying still would weigh him down. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder to calm his nerves. Her friend liked physical touch, she noticed. It was far easier to calm him down with a simple hug or a hand rubbing circles on his back than using words.
“We’re not blood related, if that's what you're wondering about.", Lloyd replied with an amused smile. The honest answer gave her friend some reassurance, “Then why did he call you that?”
“Because we’re family.”
Sora blinked twice, before staring at Lloyd. He wasn´t lying, but at the same time, how did that make any sense? Family described two parents raising their blood related children, right? Imperium had taught her that.
Then again, when did that place ever teach her the truth?
Arin looked just as puzzled by the simple sentence, “But wouldn't you be really close friends then and not siblings?” Sora nodded at his words and pointed at Arin, “Yeah, just because we two lived together doesn't mean that he's my brother.”
Lloyd chuckled and looked at her with even more amusement, “We are friends of course, but I consider him my older brother too.”, Lloyd shrugged, “It´s my choice. I made the active decision to call the other ninja my family.”
Can one decide something like that? Can one really choose family?
Sora was perplexed by this idea. She was relatively sure a family is not something you could choose, but something you either win at or lose at. You can win the lottery and gain amazing and understanding parents, or you lose and end up as an orphan, like her.
She called herself Sora, after all, a name that directly translated to ‘orphan’. She had no family anymore and would never gain one.
Arin seemed to understand Lloyd a bit better than her as he nodded with a bright smile. “Let´s get you two some breakfast. We will train afterwards”, Lloyd ruffled the raven locks of her friend violently, almost childishly, and walked back into the kitchen. She followed with a smile.
She loved her life at the monastery.
No matter how much Sora thought about it, Lloyd´s words didn't make sense to her. Sure, Lloyd could apparently choose his family, but wasn't that just friendship given another name? Was it supposed to be different?
Her gloved hands carefully twisted the screwdriver as she unlocked a compartment of the vacuum cleaner Mr Frohicky got them a while ago. She could use her elemental powers to fix the issue and train at the same time, but she didn´t want to rush it.
Working on mechanical parts, repairing and inventing creations was grounding to her. The feeling of the small metal pieces and wires between her gloved fingers was an indescribable joy to her.
Her mind kept drifting to Lloyd's words though. She wanted to understand.
Her finger accidentally tangled in a cable as she pulled it out of its socket. Sora frowned at the sight and looked at the damage more thoroughly.
Footsteps approached her from behind. She immediately recognised the pattern of steps as Zane's. “Hello there, Sora.”, the robotic voice followed.
She looked up at him with a sigh and pointed at the damage she did. It wasn´t that bad, but it was annoying. “Mr Frohicky couldn't get it to work, so I tried to fix it.” Zane crouched down and looked inside of the machine. “Are you distracted, perhaps?”
Sora looked at him with pursed lips. Zane had always been observant. Of course he'd notice her mistake and how uncharacteristic it was for her child prodigy fingers. She didn't mean to gloat, but she was an incredible engineer.
“I think we have the right compartments to repair the socket.”, Zane stood up and went over to their list of items. Sora stood up and cracked her knuckles, then stretched her tense muscles, “Otherwise we'd have to scavenge them and I'd rather not ask Kreel for help.”, she said and walked over to Zane.
Zane nodded, “Confirmed. Before that, can I help you with whatever is bothering you?”, his metallic, robotic voice echoed in her head as she thought about the offer. Could Zane even understand these complex emotions?
She frowned at the thought. Zane could feel emotions like living creatures, unlike other robots. She had learned that very early on. At the very least he could give an insight to what Lloyd had meant by choosing your own family.
Sora looked at him with an unsure expression, “Okay. So.”, she cleared her throat. Zane´s light blue LED eyes looked at her curiously. “How would you define family?”, her eyes focused on the metallic robot expectantly.
Zane looked curious by the question, “Are you inquiring for the general definition or my personal answer?”
“Would the answers be different?”, she looked slightly surprised and leaned against the table that held their list of items. Shouldn't a robot, an artificial intelligent form of life especially, learn things based on their databases? She was relatively sure most AI´s were trained with similar data banks. Perhaps Zane was not?
Zane shook his head, “While the general consensus includes that a family needs parental figures and children, I believe differently. Not to mention that the definition of family was being debated in politics for a long time too, so there is no definite answer.” Sora hummed curiously and motioned for Zane to go on. “Would you consider a married couple a family when they do not have children?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but paused. Imperium had taught her that married couples without children do not count as family. Starting a family meant having children, after all, and having a child is what connected the married couple and turned it into a family.
But then again, she had parents, but didn´t call them her family. Her parents had disowned her, they didn´t have a child anymore, but by extension, they could still count as a two-head family, right? She frowned as her eyes focused on Zane´s white gi. “I don´t know…”, she answered eventually.
Sora felt a bit ashamed at the admission. It should've been easy to just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The more she learned about the world though, the more she saw how one sided her education had been in Imperium. Every thing, word and being had always been defined for her. A cat meows. The sky is blue. Dragons provided endless, harmless energy. Ana was a citizen of Imperium.
Every citizen of Imperium had a duty to praise their lands, protect their kingdom and live by the system's design.
What information from that place could she even trust at this point?
Zane waited a bit before continuing their conversation, “Family doesn´t have one correct definition, if you ask me.”, he paused again to contemplate his next words, “Personally, I think family is something you define yourself. If you consider someone your family, then they must be such to you.”, Zane smiled at her, “And you are true family when the feeling is mutual.”
Sora let the idea settle in her head. She didn't quite understand why that wasn't just friendship. “Do you also consider the ninja your family?”, she asked a bit hesitantly and played with her pink hair between her fingers.
At least Zane was understanding about her inquiry. She didn't feel judged when he replied with such honesty and seriousness, as if her very questions weren´t ridiculous.
The nindroid nodded, “Affirmative.”
“Why?”
Zane´s LED lights looked at the ceiling, as if the answer was written on it. It made her feel a bit nervous, like she had overstepped a boundary she shouldn't have. Family was a sensitive topic after all, and she knew best. Not everyone was blessed with good parents.
Zane eventually looked down at her again with a kind smile, “You´re inquiring about incredibly complex things today. I think I understand now why you've been so distracted.”, he chuckled. It loosened something in her, as she laughed too. Was it really that complex? It felt like such a stupid thing to talk about.
“I think it's because master Wu always made sure that we considered our team our family. He called us brothers and always scolded us whenever we didn't act like it, especially in the beginning. We never really stopped.”, Zane started, “That doesn't mean he forced us into it. We all simply agreed that we are a family.”
The answer didn't satisfy Sora´s curiosity at all. “But wouldn't that be friendship? I mean, you can choose your lover, but siblings rely on blood relation, right?” Zane looked curious at the thought too, as if he had never really considered it before.
“I believe family is just an extension of friendship.”, he said slowly, as if trying to taste the words in his mouth himself first. Sora didn't really understand, but the answer felt a lot more satisfactory than the ones from before.
Zane looked at the pages again. “I can repair the vacuum cleaner for you, in case you want to research more.” She looked at him surprisedly, then furrowed her brows, "I'm not researching.” Zane chuckled, “It sure sounded like it, if you ask me.”, the nindroid made his way to the storage room, leaving her alone at the desk.
If Zane was so adamant about working for her, she wouldn´t say no.
Sora pushed herself away from the desk and walked towards the common rooms.
If someone knew about this whole family dynamic thing the ninja had going on, it would be Kai, right? He had called Lloyd little brother in front of them after all, so he must know what Zane could´ve meant by 'family being an extension of friendship'.
She peeked inside the common room to the sight of Kai playing video games with Nya. Arin had told her that these two were blood related siblings, so they were family for sure.
Or maybe not?
She never really bothered to ask these kinds of things before.
Sora didn´t know whether she could trust her own opinion when it came to this very topic anymore. The situation could be far more complex, after all. She approached the couch quietly as Nya yelled in victory, “HAH! You´re still no match for me, mister matchstick!”
Kai rolled his eyes and kicked her shoulder with his feet. She recoiled and snarled at him, “Take your disgusting foot away from my face!” He chuckled evilly as she pushed him away. “And here I thought you'd love all of me. You wound my heart.”, “As if anyone could ever love you with disgusting feet like that.”
Sora stood beside the couch awkwardly as she watched the interaction. Logically she knew that Nya and Kai could be weird sometimes, but with the added context of them being blood related siblings, it all seemed a bit surreal.
She was taught that siblings must always respect each other and stick up for their family. Then again, she was an only child and knew very well that some sibling relationships were more strained than others.
But Kai and Nya didn't really act like either version. Rather, it seemed more like how some of the wilder friend groups in Crossroads had treated each other.
She gathered her courage to interrupt their moment, “Hello, you two.”, she greeted and watched Nya flinch away violently from her. Kai laughed loudly and pointed at the black haired woman, “WHAT WAS THAT, BWAHAHA!” “OH SHUT UP!”, she attacked him and ruffled his hair violently. He wanted to protest, but Nya held a hand over his mouth while turning his hair into a mess.
Sora didn't know what to do.
The master of water recoiled and sat down on the other edge of the couch while holding her hand in disbelief, “You fucking licked it!”
“Shouldn´t have tried to shut me up.”, Kai said and ran a hand through his hair, trying to style it back into its original form.
“You´re so disgusting!”, Nya wiped her hand in Kai's red gi. He slapped her hand away and grimaced at his gi. "You're one to talk. How come everyone believed that you're the proper one out of us?"
Nya fluttered her eyes at him, "Whatever could you mean?"
Kai rolled his eyes dramatically and looked at Sora, “Heya kid, what´s up?” Sora smiled back awkwardly and waved. “I will actually take my leave. I don´t want to disturb you.” Nya waved her hand dismissively, “No, no, just stay. I'd rather not stay alone with so much idiocy in this room. I might catch it from him or something.”
Kai kicked Nya´s side lightly in protest, but her hand caught his foot and tickled the sole as the fire master started thrashing on the couch, laughing violently and pleading for her to stop.
Sora felt incredibly out of place. Then again, it was amusing to watch these two supposed siblings interact with each other. She had never experienced what having a sibling was like, after all. Maybe these two weren't the prime example or aligning with her own imagination much, but they were real. “Can I ask you a question, then?”, she asked and pulled a stool over to sit on.
She did not want to sit between these two.
Nya smiled at her as she finally let Kai go, who curled up and heaved for air like a marathon runner. “Sure, go ahead.”, the raven haired woman said and leaned against the couch's armrest.
Sora looked at Kai and waited for him to calm down again. He looked up at her and grinned at Nya smugly, “She wants advice from me and not you, Miss Wet-Pants.” Nya rolled her eyes dramatically, “That´s such an uncreative nickname, even for your standards.”, she mumbled beneath her breath.
Sora coughed to gain Kai's attention, who gave it in stride, proud of acting like a reliable teacher. She smiled, “Why do you call Lloyd your 'little brother'?”
He looked confused by the question, startled even, as if the mere thought of someone asking him such would be absurd. Nya smiled at the face Kai made, obviously amused by his expression. He took a bit to answer, but eventually he did, “Because he's my brother?”
“But you’re not related.” Sora found it almost amusing how similar the answers were. Lloyd had said the same. It made her wonder if she really was the weird one here.
Arin had asked Lloyd too, though, had he not? Maybe the ninja were just weird.
Kai furrowed his brows, “Does that even matter?”, he sounded offended and hurt. Sora hadn't meant to, of course. She didn't mean to attack the red ninja in any way. “I’m just curious…”, she averted her gaze and looked at the green life within the room. The leaves were all nice and well kept.
The fire master looked at the TV screen for a bit, then put his controller away and sat up more straightly, as if this matter was extremely serious to him and should be to her too. “I don´t really understand where this is coming from, or why, but I consider everyone of our original team my family.” Sora looked at Kai again and took in his serious expression.
“But why?”, she asked again. Sora needed an answer, she needed to know. Nya chuckled next to her and pointed at Kai's face, “Get that scowl off your face, she's not going to bite your head off.” Kai rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at her, “I know that.” Nya caught the pillow with ease and threw it back.
Nya looked up at Sora, “If you ask me, it's because the boys started and never stopped. I can't even tell you if this family of ours really is one, but it works for us, so why doubt or change it?” “I disagree.”, Kai looked at Nya, then at Sora with a calmer, but serious face. “Family is special. Not just anyone can be.”
“I didn't say that.”, Nya answered with a small smile. Sora looked at Kai curiously. It made sense, not anyone could be family, but then what was the difference between family and friends? Why had Zane called it an addition to rather than a completely different thing?
The fire ninja leaned into the cushions more and stared at the ceiling. He took a deep breath and looked at her again, “Family is something you choose. Once you choose, you can't back away anymore, you can't just ignore them for the rest of your life because you disagree about something.”
“But isn´t that just friendship?”, she played with her gloves and pulled them on and off her fingers.
Kai shook his head, “Friends come and go. That's the difference. Family will always stay no matter what shit happens or what fate throws at you.” He looked serious about it, the sheer loyalty radiating off of his posture. Sora wondered if that was really it, if family simply meant more loyalty and dedication than friendship.
Was that the reason Zane had called it an addition to friendship? Because you do everything a friend would but more for family?
Nya looked contemplative, “I can't say whether I completely agree, but it sounds good enough.”, she shrugged and looked at Sora. “Personally I think family can fall apart, but I would also do anything for my siblings.”, she looked at Kai, “Even this buffoon.”
“But isn't there a difference between you two and the others? I mean, you´re blood related, so doesn´t that make Kai more important to you than Lloyd?”, Sora asked curiously. Nya scoffed and looked at Kai with a disgusted, but playful look, “This idiot over Lloyd? Oh come on, anyone would be more pleasant company than this disgusting pig.”
Kai huffed in amusement and stretched his legs across her lap, making sure to wriggle his toes, "You're just incapable of recognising my sheer amazingness.” Nya pushed his legs off of her, “Whatever makes you sleep at night.”
The sight made Sora smile for some reason. Their words and actions were clearly not of malicious nature. It made her wonder whether she too could find a family like this, people who will forever stick up for her and accept her as she is.
If that ever happened, she'd probably have to change her name again.
The thought made her chuckle, as she watched Kai and Nya argue about something stupid.
She opened her mouth before she could stop herself, “If Lloyd were to become a crime lord, would you help him?”
“Oh yeah, absolutely.”, Kai said quickly while Nya looked at him with disappointment. She threw a pillow at him while saying, “Help him by stopping him and bringing him home, you meant!”
Kai didn´t answer and simply gave them a shit eating grin.
Sora supposed this really was the kind of friendship and family she seeked.