A/N: hey, hi, it's me, back again. here to deliver chapter 4, which could also be titled "Nya Gets Sick and then Learns to Drive". yeah. i know. brace yourselves.

this chapter is mostly just me trying to fill in the blanks in the backstory of kai and nya . . . because we all know they had to learn basic life skills somewhere. so here's some fluff and such. don't get used to it, but enjoy it while it's here!


The Smith siblings soon discover that they don't really need two people in the shop at all times, especially since the winter months are upon them and most people are staying indoors. Nya doesn't bug Kai about the Day of the Departed holiday—she just sneaks away and lights a single lantern (given to her by Walter) in the backyard, letting it float into the sky, taking a little piece of her with it.

Next comes the snow. There's no warning whatsoever. One morning, it's cloudy and grey, autumn leaves blowing across the road. The next morning, the crystal blue sky is the only color for miles, and the entire countryside is painted a smooth white. Nya's so excited to go outside that she practically rips the door off the hinges, but Kai drags her back in, shoving a hat on her head and tossing a coat at her.

She rolls her eyes. Kai's been acting like a total parent lately, but whatever, she's used to it. Could be worse, she supposes. At least they don't yell or argue like some siblings probably do. It's nice that he cares, but Nya's still adapting to the feeling of someone expressing concern for her. Growing up, Kai was always there, but it wasn't like this. It's like he's adopted the roll of mom and dad lately, which has gotta be exhausting. She tries to make his job as easy as possible.

While Kai gets the shop opened for the morning, Nya rolls around in the freshly fallen snow, somersaulting around and chucking poorly aimed snowballs at her brother. The atmosphere of winter is different now that they're living outside of Liam's house. The world just seems so much bigger. Weird to think it's always been this big, she's just seeing that for the first time.

Snow keeps falling all morning and afternoon, and that night, Nya joins Kai in front of the fireplace and they snuggle up together under a pile of blankets, because they're not financially stable enough to run the heater yet. But ya know what? Things are good. She's warm. Can't get much better than this.

Except, when Nya wakes up the next morning, something feels a little off. She can't pinpoint the exact problem, but she can feel something wrong inside her. There's a dull pain spreading up the back of her neck, probably about to blossom into a headache, and her stomach feels a little weird . . . but that's about it. It's not enough for her to be that concerned about it, so she says nothing. Kai clearly doesn't notice any difference, so it's not bad. She's fine!

She's a little slow today, though. The headache does get progressively worse, creeping up to her head and settling there. While she's lifting the box of tools to clean up her workspace, a sudden sharpness behind her eyes kicks in, and she yelps, dropping everything on the floor. Her vision swims wildly.

Kai stops what he's doing, turning at the sound of harsh clattering.

"What was that - whoa, Nya, are you okay?"

Nya staggers forward one step, blinking like she'd just been blinded by the sun. Slowly, the world stops spinning and she can see the worried look Kai's giving her.

"Yeah! I just - I saw . . . I saw a spider in there."

For a few tense seconds, it doesn't seem like Kai's going to believe her story, what with the way he's frowning, one eyebrow raised in concern. But then a literal spider scurries across the floor, right between Kai's feet, and he jumps away, chasing after it angrily. Nya marvels at the timing; hopefully the spider survives Kai's wrath, she owes it big time.

Nothing eventful happens the rest of the day, and Nya goes to bed pretending the headache hasn't evolved into a stomachache as well. No need to bother Kai with more problems, he's already swamped as it is. It's probably just a one-day virus, anyway. Everything's all good here, she's never been better!

She wakes up in the middle of the night, heart hammering inside her chest as she tries to breathe. She can't—she can't breathe, oh gosh, she's gonna die—

Nya tumbles out of bed, coughing and bracing her hands on the floor. Her chest feels less blocked now that she's not lying down, but it's dark and cold and her whole body is shaking—

Her stomach feels like there's a squirrel inside of it, running around and scratching everything, tearing at her lungs with little sharp claws—

Perhaps alerted by all the sudden noise, Kai comes stumbling in tiredly, raking his hair back with one hand. He sees her on the floor and makes a startled sort of noise, kneeling down next to her.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" he asks frantically.

She wants to answer but she can't speak, she can't—she can barely breathe, there's fire inside her lungs—

"Hurts," is the only thing she manages to croak out raggedly, and Kai's panic visibly spikes.

"Can you move?"

Nya's coughing so much that she can't answer him, she just heaves where she's sitting, feeling her throat go raw. But she can't stop, she needs to breathe—

She vomits.

oOo

Kai is obviously lost and has no clue what to do, but he cleans up the mess she made and lifts her back into bed (Nya wonders when he got muscles, she doesn't know where they came from). Her body won't stop shaking, and she feels ice on her skin, like she's been stuck in a freezer for a week. But when Kai lays a hand on her forehead, he flinches.

"You're burning up," he says. Nya wants to argue that maybe he's wrong, since he's always warm, but she's really not in any position to talk. The coughing continues relentlessly, an awful sort of rattling that sounds disgusting and horrific, even to Nya's own ears.

But Kai doesn't want to leave the house to go to town and get medicine or help. He seems to think she'll absolutely die if he goes anywhere, but there's not much in the house that is doing any good. He finds some cough syrup, but judging by the aged label, it's not something Nya wants to be swallowing. Kai keeps her hydrated, even though she refuses to eat. Every now and then, when she's not busy hacking up a lung, Nya can drink water.

She's miserable for days, buried under a mound of blankets because the heater still isn't on. Kai drifts in and out of her room, asking how she's doing and does she need anything? But she's hardly present. Nya sleeps most of the time, and when she's awake, the phlegm clogs up her throat so badly that breathing turns into a monstrous chore. Dizziness comes next, then Kai decides she has a fever on top of all that. He doesn't know what's wrong, and he tries to stay calm when he's talking to her. But a few times, when Nya was pretending to be asleep, she's seen Kai pacing the length of her room, looking more terrified than she'd ever seen him.

This is not reassuring, but there's nothing she can do. Nothing except hope it passes and she makes it out okay.

After a full week, Kai decides he needs to open the shop again, because they can't afford to lose any more business. Their budget is already shrinking every day, and now this has set them back a good deal. Nya can't help but feel guilty, even though this is well beyond her control. Kai just looks so tired.

For a few more days, whatever sickness she's caught gets worse, and Nya goes 48 hours without eating or drinking anything. The only thing she can do is cough. By now, her throat is red and raw inside, she's worried she might start coughing up blood sometime soon . . . but she hopes desperately Kai won't have to deal with that.

It's so bad that Nya's getting scared. She hasn't left her bed in days, her stomach is empty, her head won't stop throbbing, and she feels freezing cold at all times, even though Kai insists she's roasting hot. Maybe it wouldn't be so terrifying if she could know what the problem is, but there's no way to find out. Not in their current situation, anyway. She tries to mention Walter, because maybe he could help, but she hasn't been able to speak for . . . days. Maybe a week? She doesn't remember. Everything has just passed in a painful, sleepy haze.

Just when things reach their peak, Nya wakes up one morning feeling ten times better. Kai's not in her room, so she blinks for a moment, tentatively clearing her throat to test it out. It hurts (like, a lot). Does that mean she still can't talk? The headache is gone . . . and she can breathe fine, for the most part. Nya wants to feel relieved, but she just ends up getting irritated. Stupid freaking sickness and stupid bacteria. She's wasted days just lying here! Kai's had to do everything on his own! He's probably made himself sick from worrying so much!

Expression unamused and not very hopeful, Nya tries a, "Testing, one, two, three." Her voice isn't exactly clear, but it's there! It's THERE, she can talk—!

She flies out of bed, tossing the blankets all over the floor and heading for the hallway. Unfortunately, her extended time in bed has taken away most of her mobility and coordination, and all the blood rushes to her head in a dizzying burst of static, so Nya pauses a moment to grab a chair and steady herself. Man, being sick sucks. But it's okay now, because Kai's gonna be so happy she's awake and moving and alive!

When the room doesn't look upside-down anymore, Nya scrambles out of the room and plows into Kai's room down the hall. He's still in bed, curled up under the covers like a hibernating chipmunk. Nya skids to a stop in the doorway. Yeah, she's excited to be feeling better, but . . . gosh, he just looks so peaceful. There's not even the usual crease between his eyebrows, Kai's actually sleeping soundly for once.

Well. Nya can't exactly wake him up right now without feeling really bad about it, so she heads for the kitchen instead. Her stomach's been empty for far too long, but she knows eating too much at once can make her sick all over again, so she doesn't risk it. The only thing she eats is a slightly-brown banana, which isn't all that appetizing. Nya likes her bananas green, but don't tell Kai, he thinks it's weird.

She does him a favor and opens the shop on her own, running it solo for almost a whole hour. She's in the middle of smelting a piece of iron when Kai stumbles in, rubbing sleep from his eyes and still clothed head-to-toe in his pajamas. At first, he doesn't notice her. Then, as he's going through the motions for the morning, he walks past her and stops in his tracks. Kai whirls around.

"Wha—you're up?" he asks.

Nya offers him a smile. "Yup!"

"Are you feeling better, are you okay?"

Eh, Nya's not feeling fantastic, but she can walk and speak and that's just fine by her.

"Yeah, I'm great!" Before she can stop herself, Nya bounds over and latches onto her brother in a hug. "Thanks for your help this week," she says. "Love you."

Kai's body goes stiff in her arms. She knows why, too. The two of them care about each other, sure, but normally they don't . . . they don't say it out loud. It's the kind of thing they're good at expressing through actions, not words. Plus, Kai's always been awkward about emotions, so they just don't get sentimental with each other (at least, not in actual spoken words). So Nya doesn't blame him for getting tense. She just wanted to say it. Just wanted him to know.

"I—love you, too," Kai manages, sounding maybe a little uncomfortable, but there's a soft sort of genuine meaning in there, too. Nya smiles.

Living on their own is hard, and sometimes it's scary, and most of the time it's unpredictable. But they have each other, and Nya makes weekly visits to Walter's house, where she talks to him about hopes and dreams and life and engineering. Walter lends her more books, which she keeps because he never asks for them back. Kai starts warming up to him, little by little, and life is good. She doesn't feel alone anymore.

oOo

Time is a funny thing. It passes like a jet, just soaring by, and you don't realize it was there until it's gone. A year passes. And another. Nya is twelve. Then she's thirteen. Kai is fifteen now, and he's more responsible and mature than she remembers him being last year. He's taller now, too. Nya's also managed to shoot up a few inches—just enough that Kai can't call her short anymore. Their little house has grown with them, accumulating more possessions and details that make it their own. Walter stops by more often, and soon, he offers to adopt Allie, the kitten that isn't so little anymore. Kai gratefully accepts this offer, but Nya's hesistant.

"I'll take good care of her," Walter insists gently. "I know you two have a lot on your hands."

After some persuading, Nya agrees, but only because she knows she'll be able to visit the cat whenever she wants. Allie has a special place in her heart and Nya takes her time saying goodbye, to which Kai says, "Nya, chill, you'll see her tomorrow."

Life adapts an acceptable pattern. Open the shop in the morning, work all afternoon, close at seven, eat dinner, visit Walter, go to bed. Sundays are blocked off for trips to the market and time to relax. Nya's finally happy with her routine. Living with Kai isn't so bad after all. In fact, she prefers it to living with Liam. Kai is, like, the coolest person ever, and not just because he's built that persona for himself over the years.

Nya develops a firm respect for her older brother, a respect that wasn't there when they were kids. She can joke with him and be herself, and they can talk about anything, but he's also serious, and it's growing on her. All the financing is still largely in Kai's hands, since he won't let Nya mess with that, but he trusts her with more work now. And he'll never admit she's a better blacksmith than him, but honestly? They both know. They just don't say it.

Kai's voice deepens as he grows. He's not squeaky anymore. Nya's hair grows longer for a while again, but surprise, she likes it short, so she lets Kai cut it. He's stuck with his semi-jagged, scruffy look that Nya isn't exactly a fan of, but he likes it, so. To each their own.

Bubble. That's the word for it. The two of them live together in a perfect, opaque bubble, shielded nicely from whatever lies out there in the world. Ignacia is fine, Nya supposes. The people in town are nice enough, and the weather is never all that bad, though they are going through a dry spell right now. Kai is content to live here forever. Nya knows, because he told her so.

She, uh . . . doesn't agree with him on that one. Nya likes it here, but living here forever? Oof, she doesn't know if she could do that. Ninjago is a big place, she kind of wants to explore it someday. Actually, she plans to.

Because Nya has a secret.

Kai doesn't know yet, but Nya's been working on a project for the past year now, urged on by Walter and all the books he's given her. Taking inspiration from folklore and ancient history, Nya has developed a . . . well, what should she call it?

It's a robot, but it's going to be bigger than any old droid. It's gonna be so big that she'll be able to sit in it. So really, it's an exoskeleton. A huge, not-quite-functional-yet exoskeleton that's a major work in progress, but Nya knows exactly what she wants. She's known for a while now, but she's afraid Kai will say she's crazy. That's why Walter is the only person in the world that knows about it.

On her next visit, she asks him, "Are you sure it's gonna work?" Her legs dangle off the edge of the porch swing. "It's taking forever."

Walter takes a sip from his glass of lemonade, looking out over his crops with a content sigh. "Good things take time," he says. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Nya isn't sure where Rome is, but the words make sense. She's just—well, there's a lot of self doubt she's been harboring. She's scared it's taking forever because she's not cut out for a project like this.

"I'm thirteen," Nya says.

"And? What about it?"

Nya leans back, dejectedly. "I dunno. I'm just sc—I mean, I'm just worried I won't be able to finish it. What if it's too hard? What if I have to give up?"

Walter is silent as he processes that. Then, "Your parents knew you'd do big things one day, kid. They told me themselves. And I—well I think if there's anyone who can get this thing built, it's you."

The words swell inside Nya's chest. She tries to hide her smile and fails.

"Thanks."

"Anytime. No matter what anyone tells you, you never give up, understand? You're doing a good thing. Get what you want, take no shit."

"Take no shit," Nya repeats, nodding to herself. Ha, Kai would kill her for using words like that, but Walter lets her say them. He's taken an oath to keep it between just them.

Allie mews from the ground and Nya picks her up, stroking the rust-colored fur with one hand. It's weird not having her around the house anymore, but Walter seems to enjoy the company, so Nya will allow it.

She enjoys that night with Walter, talking softly while they swing back and forth, watching the sun slip below the horizon. Ignacia has the best sunsets, that's what Walter always says. He's right. The sky looks prettier every night, with its warm oranges and brilliant purples. Makes her feel like melted gold has been streaked across the sky.

When Nya was a kid, there was always that missing piece, that empty spot inside her. When she's with Walter, she doesn't feel it. Sometimes Kai joins them for the sunsets, and when they're all sitting there together, Kai's arm around her shoulders and Allie curled up in her lap . . . Nya feels complete. No more holes or hollowness or confusion.

Just warm happiness and fulfillment she's learned to look forward to on nights like these.

After all those years of longing for what she couldn't have, Nya can't express how amazing it is to have that. To have something constant, something she can come back to when things get hard. She's lucky to have an adult in her life that doesn't throw things or slam doors or break plates. Walter is just Walter.

A genuine, radiant presence that gives her a home and a purpose. He believes in her and talks about her parents. His eyes shine when he looks at her, like she's making him proud somehow. Nya doesn't understand it, but she never wants it to stop.

In the coming weeks, Walter lets Nya drive his truck around a little, and turns out, driving is fun and Nya loves it. When Kai finds out about this, he nearly has an aneurism on the spot, but then Walter asks if Kai wants to drive, too, and Kai can't say no. Nya finds this amusing.

By the end of that week, Nya and Kai can both drive pretty decently, though they don't know the rules of the road yet. Walter tells them it's a life skill, they can drive with him anytime.

Kai likes Walter much more after that.

Nya keeps working on her samurai suit, stealing scrap metal from Kai and obtaining nuts and bolts from Walter.

So, yeah, stuff is going pretty swell. Nya hops from one day to the next, learning new skills whenever she can, just to pass the time. Walter teaches her how to hotwire and make pancakes. She furthers in writing, learns a lot of math and decides she likes science, too. Sometimes she watches videos on his TV about gymnasts, and soon she's learning to backflip and somersault. Granted, she's not very good at it, at first, but she gets better. Walter watches her cartwheel around his backyard.

"Watch your form!" he chides lightly, chuckling. Nya tosses him a breathless thumbs-up.

Mornings and afternoons are for the business, nights are for having fun. Kai and Nya adjust to this routine rather readily. The two of them grow closer than they'd been as kids, now that they're teenagers and can relate on more levels. Kai's also more protective than he used to be, but Nya assumes it's just because he's older and feels responsible for her. In a way, she feels like it should be the other way around, since her brother isn't the brightest bulb in the shed, if you catch her drift.

They look out for each other, that's all. When you grow up with only one person you can trust in the world, you tend to stick close to their side at all times. And you don't want anything to happen to them, because it if did, you'd be alone and without the person you love the most. Nya understands this, so she doesn't complain much when Kai goes all parental on her.

Unless he's being downright unreasonable, in which case she doesn't hesitate to knock some sense into him, don't worry.

Their bubble is a pretty dang good place to be, right about now. Nya can't complain, anyway. She's surrounded by people that care about her, and being older makes the business thing so much easier. People definitely aren't judging them as much. Nya's a teenager now, she's mature.

Speaking of which, she doesn't sleep in Kai's room anymore. She's grown comfortable being alone in her own room, knowing no angry men are going to break down the door and strangle her in her sleep.

Okay, she's had a few particularly scarring nightmares, and Kai's had to talk her down from a lot of emotional ledges, but besides that, she's fine! She even installs a secret compartment in the forge, accessible by twisting Kai's anvil just right. She stores all her personal weapons in the compartment, and no, Kai doesn't know about it because he'd flip.

(Not literally, of course, since he's not very good at gymnastics.)

Anyway. Nya's happy, that's all that matters. She has Kai and Walter and Allie. Orange sunsets, fluffy pancakes, wooden porch swings. What else could she want right now? Nothing, that's what.

So Nya and Kai continue on, sleeping peacefully every night, blissfully oblivious to the impending dangers that lay in the distant future.


A/N: fOreShaDowiNg!