Hi everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the story. I'm still updating The Fire Within, so be on the lookout for that. As always, don't forget to R R. It really makes my day! :D

The dining hall was busy with dinner traffic as the ninja entered the building.

Kai had gathered up the team, first Lloyd and then Jay, Cole, and Zane, who were very engrossed in their video game.

After their walk earlier, Sam had told Kai that she and Brooke would meet the ninja there, which Kai thought would be a good surprise for Cole.

Therefore, after the ninja slowly got their food and found a table big enough for everyone, Kai looked around, waiting for the girls to arrive. This did not go unnoticed by Jay, who found the ninja's constant looking around amusing.

"Relax, Sam'll be here, Kai," he said. "Sometimes I think you're the tiniest bit obsessive."

Cole scoffed. "You're one to talk, Jay," the earth ninja said.

"Yeah, Jay," Kai said, narrowing his eyes at his teammate. "Two words: My sister."

The blue ninja waved his arms in surrender. "Okay, okay, I get it," he said. "But that's completely different."

Both Kai and Cole rolled their eyes at their teammate's remark while Zane looked thoughtful.

"It is my understanding that it easy to get wrapped up in someone if you truly have feelings for them," Zane said. "And Kai appears to have these feelings constantly."

Cole and Jay exchanged amused expressions, noticing Kai's face turn a light shade of red.

"Thank you, Zane," he muttered, rolling his eyes at the white ninja before shooting his blue and black teammates a glare.

Lloyd remained silent, not able to add any sort of dialogue to the lighthearted conversation. He didn't know what it was like to have a significant other, as Jay had Nya, Zane had Pixal, Kai had Sam, and inevitably Cole would have Brooke. Though it didn't cross his mind often, it seemed like there was no one for him.

"Speaking of girlfriends," Kai said, smirking at Cole, "Sam invited Brooke to eat with us too, just to let you know."

Cole immediately straightened in his seat upon hearing the brunette's name.

"Brooke?" he repeated. "Haven't seen her in a while." The last time he had seen her was the previous summer, when she had visited the Bounty during that "interesting" time, when Lloyd was dating Sam. He remembered consoling her on the ship's deck on that clear, starry night, when they had just sat and talked. He wondered if she ever thought of that night, as often as it crossed his mind.

"Well, now you get to talk to her again," Kai said, mischief twinkling in his brown eyes.

"So be on your best behavior," Jay teased, lightly jabbing the earth ninja in the ribs.

Cole rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed by his teammate's antics, but at the moment, he was filled with nervous excitement, wondering if the brunette looked just as lovely as she had that night.

Oh man, what was he gonna say to her?

The earth ninja didn't have time to think about it for long. A couple minutes after the teasing had started, Sam entered the dining room, with Brooke right behind her.

"Hey, Sam," Kai greeted his girlfriend. He quickly scooted closer to Jay to make room for Sam and Brooke in the rounded booth.

"Hey guys," Sam said, taking a seat. "Look who I brought."

Everyone's attention turned towards Brooke, who greeted the ninja with enthusiasm.

"Hey everyone," Brooke said, taking a seat next to Sam.

"Hey, Brooke," Cole said. "We missed you."

The earth ninja couldn't take his eyes off the college student, whose long brown hair flowed down her back like a soft curtain draped over her shoulders. She was beautiful, enough to make his mouth go dry.

Brooke met the earth ninja's gaze and gave him a small smile. "I missed you guys, too," she said, keeping her eyes on Cole.

The earth ninja could feel himself blushing, so he quickly returned to eating to distract himself, hoping she didn't notice he was embarrassed.

"So how've you been, Brooke?" Jay asked.

"Pretty good!" Brooke said. "All of my classes are super easy, and my schedule is awesome. All my classes are done by noon."

"Lucky you," Cole said, his mouth full of food. "What are you planning to do with all that free time?"

"Homework, probably," she answered. "And maybe a little shopping." Brooke could never resist a trip to the mall.

"I told Brooke about what you guys are doing," Sam said.

"Yeah," the brunette said, her eyes widening. "Is it true?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Kai answered. "Which is why we need to keep a low profile."

"And keep you girls safe," Cole added.

"Aw, that's sweet of you," Brooke said, flashing the earth ninja an appreciative smile. Cole grinned, knowing he had impressed her.

"Just be aware of your surroundings," Lloyd said, motioning towards the girls. "We now know that these guys are registered as students, so they are walking among us, so just be careful."

"Lloyd is right," Zane said. "I would recommend not taking any unnecessary risks."

"We need to stick together at all times," Kai said. "Always travel with a partner."

"I just can't believe this is actually happening," Brooke said. "What are the chances that this kind of thing would happen at our school?"

"Well, for starters, it's a small school," Cole said. "The police wouldn't think of coming here."

"True," Zane said. "But perhaps there is some other reason as to why they chose this particular location."

"Yeah, but we don't even know what they're up to," Jay said, waving his fork around. "All we know is that they're obsessed with the magic-type stuff, more specifically, the Cursed Realm."

Brooke made a face. "The Cursed Realm?" she repeated. "What is that?"

"It's a place where criminals get sent to if they've done something that's horrible enough," Kai explained.

"Hey, not everyone," Lloyd said, defending his father.

Everyone knew Lloyd, while much better than he was a year ago, no longer mourning, still regretted the loss of his father.

"So what've you guys been up to?" Brooke asked, changing the subject. "Is everything okay in paradise?" she said, turning to Sam, whose face resembled a tomato at the brunette's remark.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered, avoiding Kai's gaze, whose face was also slightly red.

The rest of the group chuckled, including Lloyd, though his laughter may have been perceived as forced by some.

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand," Cole said, wanting to cut his friend a little slack, "We need to keep all this a secret."

Brooke nodded, knowing his comment was directed at her. "Of course!"

"Now that we got that out of the way," the earth ninja said, "Tell us about you. What've you been up to."

"Well, as you know, I moved in with Sammie just a few days ago. After I visited you guys last summer, I went back home and continued working until the first week of September," she explained.

"Did you get any cool CDs?" Cole asked. He knew that at the clothing store where she worked, they played soft rock a lot, which was both of their favorite type of music.

"Yeah, a few! You're welcome to borrow them and give 'em a listen. Hey, maybe you can come over and we can just hang out?" she suggested. "I know you guys are busy, but everyone needs a break."

"Well said," he answered. "And I might just take you up on that."

She gave him a small wink, making his heart skip a beat. He hadn't known her for very long, but he was practically wrapped around her finger.

After a few more minutes of small talk and casual conversation, Lloyd stood up from his seat.

"I guess I better be heading out now," he said.

"Where you going?" Brooke asked curiously.

"The library," Cole answered for the green ninja. "We think that the criminals will appear at the library, so we've assigned shifts to be on the lookout for them."

"And you make poor Lloyd do the night shift, all by himself?!" she exclaimed, giving the earth ninja a halfhearted glare.

Lloyd chuckled. "It's okay Brooke," he said, amused by the brunette's antics. "I can take care of myself. I am the green ninja after all."

Though, deep down, he was glad someone was thinking about him.

"See you, guys," Lloyd said, giving them a small wave as he left.

"See you, Lloyd."

After the green ninja left, Kai turned to the girls.

"So what will you ladies be doing this evening?" Kai asked, a hint of playfulness in his voice.

Sam sighed. "Homework," she said. "I still have to finish my book for history."

"Same, I'm probably gonna head to the café to work on stuff," Brooke said.

Cole suddenly appeared flustered. "Uh, I can go with you if you want," the earth ninja said. "Someone needs to make sure you get there okay."

"And Sam, do you wanna work on stuff in my room?" Kai asked. "I promise I'll be quiet."

Sam laughed, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks at the thought of being in her boyfriend's dorm room at night.

"Sure," she said. "As long as you behave, I don't think there'll be any problems."

The red ninja smiled, then turned to Jay. "What are you gonna do tonight?" he asked, wondering what plans his best friend had in store for the evening.

"Eh, I'll probably just play video games," the blue ninja answered. "And hang out with Zane, maybe."

The white ninja nodded. "Of course, we can hang out, Jay. I was thinking I would do some research on how to behave like a college student before class tomorrow," the nindroid said. "That way, we will be sure that we blend in."

"Ah, I already know how to act like a college student," Kai said, folding his arms behind his head as he leaned back in the booth. "Just pretend you don't care about anything."

"Uh, I don't think you have to pretend," Jay teased. "Except for Sam, of course."

"You're treading dangerous water there, buddy," Cole said, playfully narrowing his eyes at the red ninja.

Kai realized what he had said, and draped his arm across Sam's shoulder.

"Well, I care about some things," he said, smiling at his girlfriend. "Things that are important, like my friends."

"And are we considered your friends in this context, Kai?" Zane asked with a small smirk, entertained by his brother's antics.

The red ninja rolled his eyes. His teammates had a way of killing the mood sometimes.

"Yes, you're all included," he grumbled, though he had trouble concealing the smile that threatened to spread across his face. Truthfully, he was glad to have such good friends.

Sensing the conversation had come to a close, Cole turned to Brooke.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Brooke slid out of the booth, followed by Sam, who turned to Kai once they were all standing.

"I just need to grab my homework from the dorm," Sam said.

The red ninja nodded, and the four ninja and the girls left the dining hall.

Kai and Cole accompanied Sam and Brooke back to their dorm so they could get their homework before the couples went their separate ways.