Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Master Wu's dead,"

They expected it. Of course they did. Everyday they could see him slowly getting weaker and weaker, his age catching up to him.

It was subtle at first. He'd feel unwell more, stayed in bed longer, be more lenient with the ninja. At first they all shrugged it off. They'd thought that it would last a few days and it would go away soon. Besides, it was a well-deserved break for them so why not?

But the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Yet Wu was not getting any better. By then, Wu was almost bedridden. Sleeping in his room to avoid the pain and when he was awake, all he did was sit around groaning every so often. His signature bamboo stick could barely help him get up and Wu always had to ask one of the ninja to help him up.

Days when no one was around in the monastery was a pain.

The ninja tried their best to help him around. Helping him get up. Feeding him when his hands got too shaky. Reading him his scrolls when his eyesight got too blurry. Talking to him even if he could sometimes barely catch up just to hopefully distract him from the pain. Kindly reminding him of the dates or time whenever he asked. Sure it was a pain in the ass, seeing how frustrating it was with how stubborn Wu could sometimes be. But he was their mentor, the one who took care of them for years. It was only right to pay him back for them.

Cole and Lloyd were the ones that helped him out the most. Wu was like a father to Cole, someone Cole would depend on when things could too stressful. Someone who Cole could spend in silence with for hours on end. Someone who helped to fill the hole in his heart that his mother had left.

Wu was Lloyd's closest family member. Seeing how his mother was often absent and his father was a warlord. Sure there were times when the two seemed to clash with each other. Wu would sit in his mediation room, sitting as still as a statue, the smell of incense calming him. While Lloyd could barely sit still for 5 minutes, even after his growth spurt, and the smell of incense burnt his nostrils. Wu was calm and thinks with his head more than his heart. Lloyd was short-tempered at times and thinks with his heart more than his head. Wu could read through multiple scrolls a day, reading the complicated writing with ease. While Lloyd could read through a whole series of comic books if he wanted to. Easily breezing through the confusing writing. Yet, their blood connected them and although blood doesn't always mean family, it does for them.

So it wasn't much of a surprise that between the seven of them, they had the biggest reactions. The pain of losing a guardian figure was like a stab through the heart.

For Cole, the hole in his heart was once again empty, the filling that was once there had corroded, leaving a bigger hole in its place.

Lloyd almost lost it when he heard the news. The one person from his bloodline that he truly recognised as family was now gone. The arms that felt more like home than any house every did was gone.

Sure, he wasn't the best mentor at times, nor was he the best uncle but he tried so hard for them, all of them. Tried so hard to take care of them, provide for them, be the pillar for them.

They were all so used to the pillar that they were all so familiar with that they all crumbled to the ground when it gave way to the years.

~~~

They wanted a private funeral. Wu wanted a private funeral. But for fuck's sakes, the media just couldn't leave them alone.

They only wanted to invite a few people. Like Skylor, Dareth, their parents, and the police commissioner. But somehow word had gotten out about it and before they knew it, the news had gone viral and was shared across everywhere in Ninjago.

Multiple fans showed up to the funeral. But not for Wu. For the ninja. There were protesters at the funeral. Shouting on about how he doesn't deserve a funeral. NGTV news crew and other media platforms were there. Pushing and shoving their way through the crowd to get clear views of the casket, of the ninja. Shoving their microphones into their faces.

Assholes. All of them.

The only person from the media crew that was allowed through was Vinny. It was Lloyd's request. As a form of thanks for taking care of his father.

(When Gossip Gayle shouted through the crowd for Vinny to get good close-up shots for the news later on, the camera had mysteriously shattered itself.)

The ninja were supposed to give their own personal speech dedicated to Wu. They all poured their hearts out writing them, reminiscing about the good times they had with him. And all the small things he did for them.

Like how Wu got Zane a new apron after the others ruined it. He even went through the trouble of finding a pink one, just like the original.

How Wu would buy a slice of cake for Cole after a rough week. They ranged from flavours like the classic chocolate to the unusual peanut butter.

How Wu would wrap a blanket around Nya's shoulders when he finds her passed out on a desk.

How Wu helped to apply oilment on Kai's hands when he burnt them during the duration of Kai's early training.

How Wu would tell Lloyd stories from the past whenever he found Lloyd sitting on the kitchen floor, holding a cup of lavender tea in hopes to cure his insomnia.

How Wu would let Jay ramble on about some new series that he was currently on, even if the storylines tend to blend together.

How Wu would spend time with Pixal watching some cheesy old Chinese romance drama whenever the ninja were out.

But they couldn't, because of the prying eyes of fans, protesters and media. They weren't even invited so why should they deserve to hear the tales of what goes on in the monastery.

So, the rest of the guests took up those roles and shared their thanks and stories about Wu.

Skylor thanked Wu for not giving up on her and believing in her after her father's "death". Grateful that even after all that her father had done, he still saw her as a worthy ally to the ninja.

Ray and Maya thanked Wu for taking care of Nya and Kai for the years they were captured, saying how he did a great job seeing how they'd turn out in the end.

Ed and Edna shared the times when the three of them bonded over taking care of teenagers, and thanked him for keeping Jay safe.

Misako shared the stories about her and the spinjitzu brothers. She thanked him for giving her a second chance and allowing her to be in her son's life. And thanked him for leading her son towards the right path.

Lou's speech was short. He didn't have stories about Wu to tell. But he had plenty of thanks to give to Wu that he could never seem to say out loud to the old man. His biggest thanks to Wu was for taking care of Cole when he couldn't all those years ago.

Cyrus Borg and Dareth shared about the old days. Back when the ninja were much less experienced and when the ninja had to train Lloyd themselves.

The police commissioner didn't have much to say, since the two of them never really interacted much. But despite that, he had loads of thanks to the old man. Because without him, Ninjago wouldn't have the saviours they have today.

Wu's grave was visited by the citizens of Ninjago for the next 3 weeks. But after that, the news piped down and Wu's grave became just another tombstone in the cemetery.

But this was the opportunity that the ninja wanted. Even if they didn't get to share their wishes during the funeral, it doesn't mean that those words would be kept in their hearts forever.

Kai was the first to visit. He replaced the candles that were now too short to be burnt once more. And even though it was still broad daylight, he light them.

"You were the reason why I'm who I am today," he started, "You helped me save my sister all those years ago from the Skeleton army. You helped me discover a new family for not just me but Nya as well. And you helped me find my old family, my parents."

Sometimes Kai wondered how would life had turned up if the skeleton army hadn't shown up and kidnapped Nya? Would he still be a ninja? Would he have met the others? Would he had found his parents?

Some questions were best to be left unanswered it seemed.

Pixal visited later that evening. The candles that Kai had placed earlier were now a melted mess of red wax.

Before arriving to the cemetery, Pixal had taken some of Wu's incense sticks. He always had them ready to be used in the cabinet where he left all his mediation materials.

She light up the three that she'd brought along, the smell filling the air instantly as soon as the sticks were light.

Pixal had never prayed before, she never found the reason to. But she had often seen the spinjitzu brothers praying before, sometimes dragging Lloyd and Misako along.

She sat on her knees and bowed her head slightly. She didn't know what to say or think but decided on just simply letting the smell fill the air. Wu always liked the smell after all.

"Remember how we were watching the last of your CDs dramas when the alarm rang? We never finished that drama so I finished it for us. Apparently the female lead had a twin who died and was posing as her." Her laughter broke through the silent air of the cemetery, "She was envious of her sister so she did horrible things while pretending to be the female lead. Which was why the lead's husband accused her of cheating!"

There were still a dozen or so of the CDs that the two hadn't watched. They thought they had more time. But it seemed that Wu's father wanted a family reunion sooner rather than later.

Perhaps she should find another drama buddy to binge them with.

Jay was the next to visit. Two days after Kai's and Pixal's. Even after years of staying together, Jay always felt some form of awkward distance between them. Jay always wanted to find a way to close that distance but he always kept postponing it.

He regrets it now.

Jay didn't bring anything to add to the grave. While, nothing big at least.

Back when Wu was still able to move on his own, he had found Jay tinkering away on a tiny project.

"What are you making?" Wu asked, startling Jay by his sudden presence.

"I-I'm not really sure yet. I just found these materials lieing around and decided to start playing around with them,"

"Well, if I were you, I would make another of those pins you like so much. I am quite fond of the ones you designed yourself," Wu said as he walked away.

So, here he was now, placing a box that held a custom made enamel pin. A straw hat, similar to the one Wu always liked to wear.

"I always thought your hat was funny. Sometimes it was too big to fit through doorways and you'd fumble trying to get through them while we stood on the other side chuckling away and being very not helpful students," He inwardly cringed to the memory of Wu's glares he always gave.

"We also offered you a smaller alternative but every time you declined it. Was it an heirloom? Or maybe something from your past that you won't tell us about," Jay wondered. He always had alot of things to wonder about his master.

Like how many secrets he kept from them. Or how many past enemies he hopes wouldn't go after his ass. Or if he was the one who ate his raisins the other day because literally no one else in the monastery loves raisins as much as that old man did.

Well, he definitely wouldn't get any answers soon. Unless Wu had it all written down and kept it in a secret compartment.

Wait.

Zane came over the next day with a fresh batch of flowers for Wu's grave. The bunch the ninja had originally set were already starting to wilt.

Most would remove those dying flowers. But Zane isn't like most. It was what drew Wu to him after all.
He arranged the flowers in such a way that the dead ones mixed in with the fresh ones.

Dead among the living. Living among the dead.

Zane was the most accustomed to death than the rest. He had experienced it first hand on numerous occasions. And while he isn't quite sure that he would want to go through with it again, he knew that Wu greeted it with open arms.

"My father's waiting for me" Wu muttered one night while Zane was taking care of him.

Zane knew what that meant all too well.

Yet, all that Zane said was: "Tell him 'hello' for all of us master"

Zane had and always has been more of a listener than a talker. Sure he had his moments of yapping but his moments of soothing silence were more often than his moments of noise.

And while you may think Zane'a merely sitting against the tombstone, if you really knew him, you would know that he's having an avid conversation with Wu.

Nya came next almost 2 weeks later.

She desperately tried to avoid visiting his tombstone. It wasn't out of malice though. She knew that she couldn't bare to see it. She had lost her parental figures once and she didn't want to lose another. And facing the tombstone was like facing reality.

But Kai couldn't stand seeing his sister like this. So he dragged her out with him to visit their master.

Nya wasn't too pleased at first. Yelling in anger at her brother that he had dragged her to the very place she didn't want to be at. But seeing the tombstone, all that anger turned to tears almost instantly.

Nya isn't afraid to admit that she's always been on the more emotional side, she wouldn't be shocked if it ran in the family. But sometimes, letting out all those emotions was draining. Mentally and physically wise.

Much like Zane, she didn't say much to Wu. Perhaps if she had been in a better mindspace, she would've been complaining to him about whatever was currently on her mind like the old days.

But now? Now there was too much on her mind. Too much that it overspilled. Too much that it was hard to make sense of the mess in her mind.

But that's fine. She didn't need to unravel the mess right now. Maybe not ever. Even if she lost one parental figure, she still had one by her side and two waiting for her back home. And she had a load of friends that functioned just as much as family waiting back at the monastery.

"Thank you," was all she could get out through the sobs.

Cole got dragged to the cemetery r in a similar fashion as Nya had been around 3 weeks ago while said girl and her fiancé dragged him to the dreaded tombstone.

He already went through the death of his mum. Why should he have to go through the death of his illegitimate father?

Of course he knew that Wu wouldn't live forever. Afterall, the First Spinjitzu Master was a god and he eventually passed on.
But selfishly, Cole had hoped that Wu would've died after he himself had passed on.

He begrudgingly sat in front of the tombstone, although he didn't say a word. The couple that had dragged him there eventually left him to his own devices, deeming that Cole would like his privacy.

Granted he did. But he wasn't gonna tell them that.

Cole didn't know how long he sat there, trying to get the words out. He could've sat there for hours and he wouldn't have noticed.

"I'm angry at you," Was what came out first. And everything just started flowing out afterwards "I'm mad that you left me just like my mother did. And this time it wasn't even by an illness! You just died cause of your age!?"

Cole knew he was being unreasonable. He knew his reasoning was childish. Yet, he couldn't help but revert back to that small child that had to face death early on, desperately asking for answers as to why his mother had to leave so early.

"And you knew this!" Cole continued on "You knew that your age was catching up and we told you so many times to just rest! And you didn't?!" Unknowingly, tears started forming at the corners of his eyes.

"You kept pushing, trying to make it seem like everything was alright. Bothering us in the ways you did in the past.T-then, you collapsed.."

That day was one of the scariest. Cole was the only other person in the monastery while the youngest was still sleeping in his bed. Wu had walked into the living room, intending to join Cole on the couch.

That was when he fell.

The tump was so loud that the blond had woken up and ran out to investigate the commotion. Only to find his uncle on the ground and his friend staring in horror.

Cole didn't like how it brought back childhood memories that he didn't know he had buried deep within himself.

"I am grateful for what you did for us. For me. But that doesn't mean I'm not angry at you fo-for this!"

After the collapse, old memories started to resurface. Which lead to Cole not spending much time with Wu until the day of his death.

Cole was the last person to see him alive. Alive but not well. Like his mother.
"I will be seeing your mother soon Cole. Is there any message that you want me to bring to her?"

Cole wasn't able to answer before the machines attached to Wu started beeping and doctors started running in frantically, pushing the ninja out of the way.

"I don't have any message for my mum. But I do have a message for you.
When we die, you pretty be waiting for us!"

Lloyd was the last to visit his uncle. Almost reaching 3 months past his death.

Unlike the others, Lloyd came in the dead of night. He didn't like the idea of prying eyes seeing him visit his uncle's grave.

He remembered the numerous times when Wu caught him awake during the witching hour and nagged at him to go to sleep. But as his body got weaker, he took those hours to his advantage and used them to spend time with his nephew.
Ironically enough, those hours were the same hours where his aging body seemed to spare him mercy.

Lloyd had rushed out in a frenzy, afraid that his spontaneous decision would be overcame by his cowardness and he's go on for another few weeks before mustering up the courage again.
That was probably the reason why he hadn't noticed he had wrapped his uncle's old robe around himself to be spared from the cold of the night instead of taking the other ninjas' clothes like he usually would.

On the tombstone, he noticed every single embellishment every ninja had added onto it. The multiple red candles that formed a puddle of red mess, the growing bouquet mixed with dead and alive flowers, the pins that seemed to resemble their ragtag family, letters explaining plots of old Chinese dramas, a small cup of tea likely as an offering to his spirit, a photo of Nya and Jay showing off their engagement rings and many more.

Lloyd felt bad that he hadn't brought anything. The only things he had were the clothes on his back and the italian charm bracelet he always wore.
Wu always complimented the star charms he had on. Sometimes even buying back some for his nephew back when he was still well.

Lloyd struggled abit while trying to detach a charm. He always had trouble with it ever since Wu gifted it to him for his birthday. His uncle always chuckled at his frustration but always helped out in the end when little Lloyd eventually gave up.

Lloyd set down the charm next to the straw hat pin. It was blue with a golden moon as the main focus. The first charm Wu had gotten him. Through the years when the charms on his bracelet changed like the seasons, that very charm never left the bracelet.
Until now that is.

Lloyd took a deep breath, letting the cold fill his lungs, before letting it out again.

"I-" He said but he choked on his words. "I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner" Guilt spilled out from his tounge.

"I just. I just didn't want to accept the fact that you were gone. I know you aren't immortal and I knew you were going to die sooner or later, I just hoped that it would be later.
Some childish part of me thought that if I didn't face your tombstone, I could keep pretending that you were off to some distant land with mum and it would only be a matter of time until you came back"

Lloyd gave a dry laugh as he frantically tried to wipe away the tears, "If you were here now, you would've used that bamboo stick of yours and smack me upside the head"

There were alot of things Wu would've smacked him for if he saw his nephew right now.
But even still, Lloyd would've welcomed that.

Slowly, he eyes started to droop and somewhere in the back of him mind, he knew he had to return to the monastery soon or else he'd worry the others. But some part of him didn't want to leave.
Like those nights leading up to Wu's death where Lloyd desperately tried to stay awake, wanting just a few more hours with his uncle.

And when a frantic and worried elder brother found the blond snoozing away near a tombstone in the wee hours of the morning, comes another day without their teacher.

Their master

Their guardian

A piece of their family

But they will be fine.
Some day. But that day doesn't have to be today.