Post-Djinjago: Our Stories
A/N: I edited the story only so it looked cleaner. No changes to the plot or dialogue have been made.
Kai
"You like the view?"
The blue ninja must've chosen not to respond to this, either that or he was tuning them out. Kai, as well as the other ninja, wholeheartedly understand the reason for his silent behavior. They let him remain quiet, hard as it was for them to bare.
A mere three hours have passed since the rise of Djinjago and upcoming war was put to an end. Near the beginning, the souls of the fallen ninja as well as Jay fell victim to the newest villain, Nadakhan. Quite recently, everyone's been retrieved and all has been well. But no one knows of the events that happened to Jay while with the pirates, all were too hesitant to ask.
Kai was first to speak, "You like the view?"
For the first time in the three hours aboard the Bounty, Jay looked up to meet Kai's gaze. His eyes were a darker shade than what the red ninja remembered, and they carried a glassy effect. His hair was matted, eyes sunken, showing how truly hurt he was. Jay's most shocking feature was his right eye, once good, now covered in a heap of blisters and hives, swollen beyond repair.
"It's the same old ocean we always see, Kai," he replied.
At this, the spike-haired teen began to worry. Jay always referred to the ninja by their tedious nicknames, as much as they may hate it. One of Kai's was Hothead. Any time Jay used their formal name was an insult. The master of fire did his best carry on conversation, "Y-Yeah. The ocean does get pretty lame, huh?"
At this, the blue ninja had no reply. Kai assumed this was simply because there was nothing to reply to.
A soft pitter-patter was heard and soon enough, Zane was in their presence. Kai hadn't anything to say, so he nodded to acknowledge his friend's entrance. The nindroid nodded back and then approached Jay.
"Brother," he spoke, "If you're not busy, might I get a chance to look at your wounds?"
"Sure, I just fish I could get away from this ocean," replied Jay.
Kai chuckled to himself at this, Jay's finally starting to act like himself. Perhaps nothing was wrong with him. Perhaps Jay just needed some time to remain quiet before re-submitting himself to the craziness of the ninja. Perhaps he was okay.
Zane obviously didn't understand the joke, and Jay sighed softly, "Note to self; don't crack a joke when Zane's around,"
Kai watched as the two disappeared off into the ship's laboratory. He took this moment of silence to stare out into the ocean. Everything was going to be fine, just wait and see. But he couldn't assure himself anything.
Zane
If Zane hadn't the ability to hide emotions so well, he would've spiraled up a panic. Not that he wasn't panicking, because he most certainly was. He just chose not to express it, that's all. A lump rose in his throat upon seeing the wound on Jay's eye. He sensed the strain throbbing beneath the layer of infected skin and bacteria. It was absolutely horrific.
"Brother," he began, "Might I ask how you received that injury?"
The master of lightning remained silent.
"I'm not upset with you brother, I only want to know so I can treat it correctly,"
Zane sighed when Jay made no response. How odd, wasn't he freely communicating with Kai only a moment ago? His silence was brought up from mentioning his wound, the nindroid noticed. Something dreadful must've happened to his eye. Gaining no knowledge on the injury's origins, he'll just have to bandage up Jay's eye and hope for the best. Zane explained the details to his companion. The blue ninja inquired if he was being concealed with an eyepatch.
"Unfortunately no," Zane said, "Just a bandage."
With much ease and grace, the nindroid made an art of beautifying his friend. He stood back to admire his work, "Have you any aches or irritations due to the wrappings?"
"No, thanks Zane!" though Jay's voice projected a jovial mood, the master of ice could easily read that he was unhappy. How was it his friend was saddened? He couldn't tell.
He dismissed Jay and sat down to ponder. Sensei Wu and Lloyd had departed two hours ago in order to settle the rising false accusations and unjustified testimonies of Ninjago City Council, referring to the events at Djinjago. They left Cole in charge, but the white ninja clearly understood that Cole was under a lot of pressure, and resumed the role of leader by himself.
He began to panic, what if he wasn't leading correctly? If an event were to occur, would he be responsible? The thoughts continued blaring through his mind through sunrise.
Cole
Cole took Jay's silence the worse of all the ninja. He feared if he approached his friend and inquired of his adventures, he might break him and end up sweeping the shards under the rug.
So rather than spending time with his best friend, Cole meandered about the ship. He checked in on Kai and on Zane. He prepared the luggage for Lloyd and Sensei Wu's departure. He fascinated himself with every trivial aspect of life until he ran out of motivation for the task.
By nightfall, Cole was growing tired of the solitude and headed towards the ship's kitchen. He startled himself upon seeing Nya perched on a stool, eating ice cream from the tub.
Funny, he thought. Eating from the tub would be something Jay would do.
"Nya, what're you doing up so late?"
She shrugged, "Couldn't sleep," Nya handed him a spoon and the two dug into Neapolitan goodness.
Cole was so engrossed in the flavor, he didn't hear what Nya said. He raised his gaze embarrassedly, "Can you repeat that?"
Nya flashed out her dazzling smile, "Sure. I asked, 'How are you Cole?'"
He shrugged and wiped over his chin a bit, feeling the first signs of stubbly unshaved hair. He smiled, thinking that the blue ninja would've laughed at his pubic facial hair and probably say something really stupid like I mustache you to go shave, you look like a lapdog! And when Cole would emerge from the washroom, Jay would say I'd like to apologize for my shear rudeness, I was being cheeky.
"I'm doing better now that I'm having ice cream," he finally answered.
"Well?" she batted her eyes impatiently, "Cole, aren't you going to ask your girlfriend how she is?"
The black ninja choked a little at this, "Y-Yeah sorry." he cleared his throat. "How're you Nya? Stressed?"
"'Course I am; reconstruction isn't going to be an easy process for Ninjago to go through," she lowered her posture, "I just wish I could help more,"
Cole felt a pang through the heart from this. He shouldn't have, Nya's still being a good person, but he did. It just surprised him that Nya is so ready to help those she didn't know without first bothering to check in on her loved ones. She hadn't once visited Jay or help restock the ship on lost necessary items.
"What about us Nya?" he murmured.
The water master heard this, but didn't understand the question. Cole cleared his throat and tried again, "I mean, why don't you try helping us out first? I'm sure Jay would love to see you after everything he's been through. It's the little things that get people happy,"
Nya nodded, "That's a good idea Cole. I'm glad you're always helping me out with things like this, you're a lot sweeter than you look!"
The master of earth froze. He then put on a fake smile and kissed her cheek. The girl leaned into her boyfriend's ear, slightly pressing her lips to it when whispering, "I'm glad I chose you over him.."
She departed. Cole sat there with the tub of Neapolitan, denying what she said was true.