Hermes stormed down the path leading to the forge, holding his broken mace in his hands. When he reached the forge, he slammed the door open, causing Ray to jump.

"Ray!" Hermes yelled.

"Come on in why don't you?" Ray put the piece he was working on back into the furnace and wiped his hands on the thick apron he was wearing.

"Little miss copycat managed to rip the head off." Hermes placed the broken weapon on the anvil.

"How?"

"I don't know. I thought I could just pop it back on, but if you look, it's torn off."

"Oh, yeah. That's impressive."

"Don't compliment her, even backhandedly. Can you fix it?"

"I'm not sure. I can ask if there's an easy fix to this, but it might have to be replaced."

"Can I see?" Maya asked.

Hermes turned and saw Maya sitting at the desk. He hadn't seen her when he entered. As she came over to look at the weapon, he tried to figure out why she was there. He realized that she had been disappearing during their free time.

"Yeah, this is probably going to have to be replaced," Maya said.

"When did you become an expert in broken weaponry?" Hermes asked.

"I grew up on a ship. I have seen plenty of guys break their weapons beyond repair. Heck, I've broken my weapon beyond repair. Dad kept a stash of weapons below deck for just that reason."

"Is that why you're down here?"

"I don't have to tell you why I'm down here," Maya smirked at him.

"Whatever. If you have to remake it, can you make it spiky?"

"That's called a morning star mace, and no. I'm not that good. But I'll let you know what I find out," Ray said.

"Fine." Hermes turned and left. As he closed the door behind him, he noticed Maya got really close to Ray. He rolled his eyes and left.

That night, after supper, Ray escaped to the bedroom like normal, but Hermes followed him a few minutes later. Ray was lying on his bed with his sketchbook.

"Why do you do that?" Hermes asked.

"Do what?" Ray asked without looking up.

"Draw."

"It helps me visualize what I'm supposed to make. What do you think of this?" Ray showed him a rough sketch of a morning star mace.

"I thought you said you couldn't do that."

"I'm going to learn, apparently. Thanks for that."

"The handle needs to be longer."

"It's a one-handed weapon."

"Not the way I use it."

"Would you maybe prefer a morning star flail then?"

"A what?"

"Spiky ball on chain," Ray said as he returned to his sketch.

"I'll think about it. What's going on with you and Maya?"

"Huh?"

"What's going on with you and Maya?" Hermes repeated as he changed for bed.

"There's nothing going on between us."

"It didn't look like that today."

"I don't know what to tell you. She's interested in learning how to make weapons."

"It's not the weapons she's interested in."

Ray looked at Hermes.

"Why not ask her out? She's pretty," Hermes pointed out.

"I'm not going to ask her out." Ray tried to focus on his sketchbook.

"Why not?"

"Because… I…"

"How do you ever expect to get a girlfriend if you won't ask a girl out?"

"That's not exactly high on my list of priorities right now."

"Why not? There's nothing else going on right now."

"An impending war?"

"Yeah, right. It's been almost two months. If Chen hasn't attacked by now, is he ever going to attack? I think Wu and Garmadon got tired of being stuck here with only each other. So again I ask, why not ask her out?"

"You ask her out."

"First of all, I'm fourteen years older than her. Second of all, she is interested in you, not me."

"No, she isn't."

"Yes, she is. I saw it with my own eyes."

Ray sat up and put his sketchbook away.

"What if you're wrong?" Ray asked.

"I'm not wrong. Even if I am, so what? Take a chance. Live a little. You'll regret it later."

Ray looked away.

"Have you ever asked a girl out before?" Hermes asked.

Ray shook his head.

"Why not?"

"I'm only fifteen! Besides, guys like me never get the girl in the end."

"Guys like you?"

"I… Even if I asked her out, I don't have money to spend on a date."

"There's plenty of cheap things to do around here. How much money do you have?"

"None. The only reason I do the shopping is because Wu pays for it."

"Then ask Wu for money."

"I'm not going to ask Wu for money."

"Well, if you want, you can borrow money from me."

"That would imply that I will be able to pay you back eventually. I can't."

"Then ask Wu for money."

Ray just looked at Hermes.

"Seriously? You don't have any money, you don't have a job, and you won't ask for money? What were you planning to do once the mythical war is over?" Hermes asked.

Ray pulled on his sleeve and looked away. Hermes sat on the bed across from Ray.

"I'm going to need an answer, Ray."

"I don't really have a plan," Ray admitted.

"What about your blacksmith job in Ninjago City?"

"That's not an option."

"Of course not."

"Hermes, please, just drop it. I'm not going to take money from anybody, and I'm not going to ask Maya out."

A few days later, Ray was walking through the monastery when Hermes stopped him.

"Hey there, buddy," Hermes said as he put his arm around Ray's shoulders.

"Um, hi?"

"Listen, Maya's in the kitchen."

"I told you, I'm not going to do that." Ray ducked out from under Hermes's arm.

"I think you should reconsider."

"I don't think I will."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Hermes grabbed Ray, shoved him into the kitchen, and quickly closed the door behind him.

Ray grabbed the table in an attempt to keep from falling over, but the corner still jabbed him in the stomach.

"Ray?" Maya asked.

"Hey, Maya," Ray said weakly as he tried to stand up straight.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ray backed up to the door and tried to open it from behind, but Hermes was keeping it shut.

"Did you need something?"

"No, not really. Actually, I could use a glass of water." Ray went over to the cupboard and grabbed a glass. As he slowly drank his water, Maya tried to leave the kitchen, but she couldn't open the door.

"What the…?" Maya muttered.

"Oh. Hermes is keeping it shut," Ray said.

"Why?"

Ray shrugged.

"Hermes! Open the door!" Maya pounded on the door.

"Has he asked you out yet?" Hermes called.

"What? No."

"Then I can't let you out yet."

Maya scoffed and looked at Ray. Ray was sitting at the table with his head down.

"Ray?" Maya asked.

"Maya do you want to go out?" Ray mumbled with his head still in his arms on the table.

"Sure."

"Really?" Ray sat up and looked at her.

"Yeah."

"Not just because we're locked in here?"

"Saturday night sound good to you?"

"I guess."

"Good. It's a date."

Hermes let go of the door and Maya walked out. She stood next to Hermes and kneed him in his privates before walking off. Ray walked over and looked at Hermes, who was now doubled over on the ground.

"Well, you kind of deserve that." Ray stepped over Hermes and went to the bedroom.

When Saturday came, Ray tried to hide in his bed all day, but Hermes wouldn't leave him alone.

"Where are you taking her?"

"I don't know," Ray admitted.

"Well, there are a couple of nice restaurants in town."

"They all require money."

"How much do you have?"

Ray pulled out his bag and dug out all the money he had: a buck seventy-five. He hadn't spent a cent since coming to the monastery and he really didn't want to start now.

"That's it? You had three days to figure something out. Just borrow money from someone."

"No, I hate begging for money."

Ice walked in, interrupting them. Hermes motioned for Ray to ask him, but Ray focused on counting his money and putting it in his pocket.

"Ice, Ray needs to ask you something."

"What?" Ice turned around to face them.

"Nothing," Ray said.

"He needs to borrow money," Hermes explained.

"Why?" Ice asked.

"Hermes is making me do something I told him I didn't want to do."

"It's for his own good," Hermes said.

"Then Hermes should be the one to give you money," Ice argued.

"Hey, I got him to actually ask Maya out. Someone else needs to give him the money. Also, Cara stole my wallet."

Ice sighed and pulled out a bill from his wallet and gave it to Ray.

"Twenty bucks?!" Ray exclaimed. He could eat for a week on twenty bucks, two weeks if he stretched it and didn't eat every day. He could buy new shoes or a shirt or two with twenty bucks.

"That should be more than enough for you and Maya," Ice explained.

"But… I can't take it. It's too much. I'm not able to pay you back."

"It's fine, Ray. Go, have a good time."

Ray took the money and stood up.

"You're going dressed like that? You don't have any nicer clothes" Ice asked.

"These are my nice clothes. What's wrong with them?"

"We train in those!" Hermes yelled.

"You don't have a jacket or anything?" Ice asked.

Ray shook his head.

"You at least showered after training, right?"

"Yes," Ray said.

"Well, that's something. You really don't have anything else to wear?"

Ray shook his head.

"Well, I don't think I have anything that would fit you, and Hermes definitely doesn't have anything that would fit you, so I guess have a good time and hope for the best."

Ray sat on the bed for a moment and looked at them. He wanted to cancel, but he knew Hermes would never let him do that. He sighed and left to get Maya. To his relief, she wasn't dressed up either.

"Where are we going?" Maya asked as they walked down the mountain.

"I'm not sure. I figured we could walk around town until something caught our eye."

"Okay."

Ray put his hand in his pocket and felt the twenty. He didn't know what he should do. He wanted to impress Maya, but he didn't feel comfortable spending money that wasn't really his.

"I know Hermes really put you on the spot, so if you want, I can pay for myself whenever we decide what we want to do," Maya offered.

"Yeah, that's fine." Ray gave her a small smile.

When they reached the bottom of the mountain, Maya reached over and held Ray's hand. As they walked by the market, something caught Ray's eye. He bent down and picked up a five buck bill.

"Someone lost this," Ray said as he put the money into his pocket.

"Oh, there's Sal's. Have you ever been there?" Maya pointed to the restaurant across the street.

"No."

"We so have to go there." Maya dragged Ray across the street.

The pair were seated almost immediately. Ray sighed when he realized the menu didn't have any pictures, so he was forced to look at the prices of everything.

"I am in love with their shrimp scampi. Have you ever had it before?" Maya asked as she flipped through the menu.

"No," Ray said as he continued to look at the prices.

A waitress came over with a basket of breadsticks.

"What can I get you?"

"I'll have the shrimp scampi with a tea. And can we get a salad?" Maya said.

"Sure. And for you, sir?"

"Uh… that." Ray pointed to something that was only four bucks.

"What kind of soup?"

"Do you have tomato?"

"Yes. And to drink?"

"Water, please."

"Oh, we're splitting the bill," Maya said.

The waitress left to put their order in. Maya immediately dug into the breadsticks.

"You don't want any?" Maya asked as she pulled out her second one.

"Um…"

"They're free."

"They are?"

"Yes."

Ray cautiously pulled one out and bit into it.

"Do you even know what you ordered?" Maya asked.

"Soup apparently."

Maya rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I do actually know how to read a price tag. It was the cheapest thing on the menu. And water is free."

The waitress came back with a big sharing bowl of salad and two bowls for them.

"This is nice," Maya said as she got herself some salad.

"I guess," Ray said.

"I still can't believe Hermes locked us in the kitchen though. Do you want the pepper?"

"Sure. Yeah, I don't know what he was thinking."

"I will admit, Libby is begging me to find out more about you."

"Is she now?"

"Yeah, so start talking."

"There's not much to tell. I'm fifteen, I'm from Ninjago City, and my mom died last year. There really isn't anything else about me you need to know," Ray explained as he played with his salad.

"There's got to be more than that."

"Not really, no. What about you? You say you grew up on a ship, what kind of ship?"

"Oh, you don't want to hear about that."

"Sure I do. It's got to be more interesting than my story."

"Fine. You've heard of Captain Karatagan?"

"The pirate?"

"Yep. That's my dad."

"What?"

"Please don't tell anyone, especially Cara. Most people don't react well to that information."

"Your dad is a pirate? That honestly explains so much."

"I guess. And he had my powers before me, so that's how he was able to dominate the seas. But let me tell you, when the only other girl is your mom, things can get really boring really quickly. Plus, there weren't any other kids to play with, and the crew had jobs, so yeah, not as glamorous as you think."

"Ah."

"I very much prefer life in the monastery to life on a pirate ship. I can leave if I want, plus it's not as cramped. I mean, I was in the captain's quarters, which is a little bigger than normal quarters, but I had to share it with my parents. Let me tell you, not fun. I swear the only reason Dad didn't make Mom and I live on shore was because of my powers."

"Huh."

"Who did you get your powers from?"

"My mom. But she didn't teach me anything. She didn't even tell me until right before she died. I guess she didn't have time. I remember every single night she would come home from work and she would be so tired she wouldn't eat dinner most of the time, she would just go straight to bed."

"What did she do?"

"Her main job was as a typist, but she also did a bunch of odd jobs. Mending, washing, baking, anything to pay the bills. Still, we moved more than once because the landlord raised our rent and she couldn't afford it. I remember her hands were always stained with ink from changing the typewriter ribbon."

"She was a typist yet you can't read?"

"She was too tired. She taught me letters and numbers and that was it. Keeping a roof over our heads was more important. Besides, most manual labor jobs don't require you to read and write too much."

Maya shrugged as their food arrived.

"Yes. Give me your fork. You have to try this." Maya put a piece of shrimp and some noodles on Ray's fork.

"That's good," Ray said.

"Right? I would eat this every day if I could. I've had shrimp scampi from other restaurants, but Sal makes the best. I keep begging him for the recipe, but he won't give it to me."

"Why would he? It's a trade secret."

"I know. I still want it," Maya grumbled.

Ray rolled his eyes and ate his soup.

After they finished eating, they walked around town for a while. Since it was getting dark, most businesses had their lights on.

"I would love to see the lights of Ninjago City. I heard they have buildings that reach to the heavens," Maya said.

"Yeah, they keep adding in more and more skyscrapers. It's amazing how tall they can get."

"Well perhaps after the War, I should go visit you in Ninjago City."

"Uh… maybe." Ray tensed up.

"What's wrong?"

"You don't have to come visit me. I mean, I don't exactly have a place for entertaining people."

"I'm sure whatever your setup is, it's fine."

"It really is missing some big things."

"Like what?"

"... Some walls, a floor, and a roof."

"Ray, where were you living exactly before Wu found you and after your mom died?"

"The truth? I was in an alley behind a pet store. I couldn't afford to get a place of my own."

"You were homeless? Oh my gosh! What about a homeless shelter?"

"Never again. I stayed in one right after Mom died and it was absolutely horrible. The staff were all just incredibly rude, the food wasn't cooked all the way through, and I lost count of the number of times I was nearly robbed of my shoes. I'd rather take my chances on the streets than go back to a place like that."

Maya hugged his arm. The pair made their way back to the monastery. By the time they climbed up the mountain, everyone else was already in bed. Maya squeezed his hand as they parted ways.

The next morning, after Sunrise Stretches, Ice pulled Ray aside.

"Did the date not go well?" Ice asked.

"It was fine, I guess," Ray said.

"Really? Because the money I gave you was on my trunk."

"Oh, we split the bill and I also found five bucks in the street so I paid with that."

"What meal is under five bucks?"

"Soup."

Ray pulled away and ran to his forge before anyone else could interrogate him. He was so focused on the sword he was making he almost didn't hear the door open.

"Hey, Ray?" Maya asked.

"Yes?"

Maya walked over and kissed him.

"Next time, don't hesitate to ask me out."