A/N: Moving right along with the revisions, baby!

Please read and enjoy!


Chapter 3

I sure hope Nya's okay. Ever since Kai let loose his gigantic pie hole this afternoon, I can't get her to say two words to me…

(Earlier that afternoon…)

Oh man, now what do I do…? I watch hopelessly as the door shuts behind Nya's retreating back. Should I go after her or give her some space? Arrrghhh! I so suck at this!

"Hey, Jay! You done playing scarecrow or should I ask Zane to have his falcon come perch on your head!" I hear Cole shout.

I run a hand through my sweaty bangs and take a sip of the lemonade Nya gave me. The refreshingly sweet liquid glides down my throat and I suddenly remember how parched I am from the heat. Thus I down the rest in a few short gulps as I make my way towards the others. But not before giving one last look at the door Nya disappeared behind.

I'll give her some time.

"You all will have your short break, but I still expect at least one more hour of rigorous training before you can rest for the day," Sensei orders as he gets up from his meditative position and heads inside.

"Hai, Sensei," ae all say in unison, bowing respectively.

Once the door closes again, Zane pours himself another glass. "This beverage is very refreshing. The energy it provides will undoubtedly sustain us for the remainder of our training."

"You said it, Frosty. Nya makes one mean pitcher of lemonade," Cole comments in between gulps.

"Yeah, my sister has many talents. That's how you can tell we're related," Kai smugly chimes in, placing his glass on the table.

"Yeah, I guess," I stop in front of him, more than ready to wipe that arrogant grin off his face, "because we sure can't tell just from looking at ya," I jibe with a smirk.

Zane and Cole get a real hearty laugh from my witty remark, but Kai's obviously sore and narrows his eyes at me. "And what is that suppose to mean?" He growls through gritted teeth.

"I believe he means that you and your sister do not share the same physical characteristics that one would deem attractive," Zane clarifies easily, earning more chuckles from Cole and myself.

"Thank you, Zane!" Kai yells as he snaps his head to the white ninja in palpable irritation.

Ka-ching! My little payback feels good as I settle myself into my mode for when Kai and I get into one of our many heated repartees. And who can blame me? The guy deserves a little comeuppance from being the cause of my earlier debacle.

"Oh yeah?" Kai began, turning his attention back to me, "Well, I'll have you know—"

"Guys, guys, guys…" Cole interrupts while shaking his head. "Before the insults start flying, I think there's an important question we need to ask Jay first…" Kai shuts his mouth and we both turn to look at our leader with question.

"And exactly what inquiry would we have for Jay, Cole?" Zane asks with a slight tilt of his head.

Cole just gives me a knowing smile and says, "How are things going with Nya, of course?"

"Wh-WHAT!" I shout, astonished and mortified. Since when did they care!? All they had ever did was given me grief when it came down to my feelings for Nya. I decide to voice my rebuttal. "Since when do you guys care anyway?" My anxiety was on the rise. Just what were these clowns playing at?!

"Oh come on, Jay. Sure we tease you in all, but we do care." Cole walks towards me and claps his hand on my shoulder. "We're your brothers—your family, and it's obvious you're frustrated."

"Well now I am!" I shout, pointing my finger at Kai. "Thank bed-head over there! He's the one who made Nya upset!"

Kai looks around bewilderedly. "What did I do?"

"Really, Kai? Really? " I deadpan, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, whatever was done is in the past now," Zane mediates and steps between us. "I may not have any experience personally concerning the opposite sex, but my database suggests that there may be a way to rectify the situation."

All three of us turn to look at our nindroid brother. "R-Really, Zane?" I ask hopefully, and he offers me an assuring smile.

"Affirmative. It elucidates that when a human female is stressed, the best solution is usually either a hot bath or a hearty meal, or both."

My face immediately burns from the images that comes flying in crystal clear clarity to my mind's eye.

Nya…

In a hot bath…

Her voluptuous body submerged in an endless sea of bubbles…

A light blush dusting her cheeks as she moans contently from the feel of the warm water flowing across her vanilla skin…

A dainty hand lifts to beckon me closer…

And closer…and closer…until—

"HEY! STOP DAYDREAMING ABOUT MY SISTER, MAN!" Kai suddenly yells, enraged.

My fantasy pops from my mind like a bubble (probably one from Nya's bath) and I refocus my sights on Kai just to see him prepared to lunge at me like a wild animal. But thankfully, Cole holds him back. "Calm down, firecracker! I think Zane may be on to something here…" What is with that look? Uh-oh… I can already see the gears turning in his head.

"He's not giving my sister a bath!" Kai shouts, pointing an accusatory finger at me.

"No, hot-head! The hearty meal part…" Cole clarifies, his green eyes shining.

Oh crap… I can already tell where this is going…"Um, Cole…" I try to word myself carefully. "If there's going to be a nice, hearty meal—no offense, of course! But I think Zane would be the most suit—"

"Oh no worries, fratello," Cole interjects abruptly, replacing his hands on my shoulders. "I've been working on a brand new dish that is sure to be the bee's knees."

Which means we're all going to end up with stingers in our mouths… Is what I want to say, but he looks so pleased with himself that it makes me feel uncomfortable to try and turn him down. Well…maybe I should give the big lug the benefit of the doubt… He lets go of my shoulders, pulls his hood back on and unsheathes his scythe.

"I promise I won't fail!" The earth ninja roars determinedly. And swinging his scythe in a flashing, golden arc, he removes the serpentine dummy's head from its shoulders. "Now come on, boys! Lets finish today's training with everything we got!" And our leader concludes his "heroic" speech by plowing down the dummies in his path.

A groan of despair escapes me as I pull my hood back on and the others follow my lead. "Zane," I hear Kai whisper, "I sure do hope you still have that stomach pump..."

(Back to present…)

Okay, just what the hell is this? I wonder as I poke the large, gooey chunk on my plate with a fork.

"Well, Zane? You wanted to taste it, so go ahead," Kai says, looking at the ice ninja expectantly.

"Yes, certainly." Easy and without a lick of hesitation, Zane separates a piece from his chunk and brings a forkful closer to his mouth. We all watch with bated breath as the white ninja's lips enclose over his fork, and he begins to chew thoughtfully. Then, quite suddenly, his pure hazel eyes sparkle with unbridled delight. "Cole! This is absolutely delicious! What is it called?! You must give me the recipe!"

"It's a special type of salmon casserole I created," Cole boasts proudly with nothing short of a smug grin on his face. "Though the prep time is a little tedious, once you start putting everything together, it's smooth sailing. I'd be happy to teach you, Zane."

Curiosity wins over our combined apprehension, so we all get over our initial shock of not meeting the Celestial prematurely and begin to eat. Wow…this is actually really good! The salmon has a nice, smoky flavor and the delicate blend of cheeses and alfredo sauce on top only adds to the deliciousness. I lift my head to look at Nya to see her also have a look of surprise on her face as she chews on her own mouthful.

I smile happily. I guess the plan worked after all. And now…I guess there's no time like the present to address a few things. So I rally myself and soldier forward, albeit cautiously. "Um, Nya?"

My girl's face suddenly loses all color as she drops her fork, it landing with a clatter against her plate. I gawk worriedly at her wide-eyed expression. "Nya? Are you o—"

I never get to finish.

Nya's body sways, her hand coming up to grip her throat as she falls limply to the side.


A/N: Yep! I'm keeping the wheat allergy.