Hey again! It's been a couple of weeks, but I'm back right before Christmas! An early Christmas to those who celebrate it, and I hope everyone else is having a wonderful December. I sure am, I just got home from college from break and I'm posting my favorite chapter so far.

In this installment of A Twist of Fate, I'll be primarily focusing on Kai, Alex, Jay, and Nya. In the upcoming chapters a new ninja will get the chance to shine, so these four will take the back burner for a while. This chapter is my masterpiece. It comes in at 6,481 words. That makes this the longest chapter I have ever written, and these ANs are going to make it even longer. It's full of fluff and a bit of setup for the next little arc of the story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I hope you will!

Disclaimer: Ninjago is not mine.

The days following the pirate attack seemed to fly by as the team got busy trying to find the next kunoichi. Nya and Alex focused on training, and the boys all traded off between helping Lloyd and searching through scrolls with Sensei Wu.

With the use of Dareth's dojo as a training space, the apartment became quieter and more useful for research. Sensei had brought some of his scrolls over, the papers covering both bottom bunks. The older man poured himself a cup of tea and began to go through the prophecies, eyes scanning the pages.

The one he was looking at was the most familiar to him. The prophecy of the green ninja. It brought back so many memories…

Finding out that Lloyd would have to face his father had not been an easy realization. Before the young boy was born, Sensei had done some research and found out the dark future he had in front of him. The green ninja had no shortage of prophecies about him, and it filled severals scrolls. One scroll in particular held a few dark secrets still and was currently locked away, far from sight.

His nephew was training with Kai and Jay, leaving Cole and Zane with him. Cole was the only one currently looking at prophecies, Zane was fiddling with his falcon. As soon as they had a lead on the kunoichi's location, they would send the bird out as a scout.

Zane finished tinkering with the bird, having added a cord to connect it to a cell phone. Without the monitor on Destiny's Bounty, there was no way for anyone besides Zane to see what the falcon saw. Until now.

"Sensei?"

Two heads jerked up and looked at the speaker. Cole's eyebrows were furrowed as he peered down at the prophecy. "This one is about the silver Whip of Waves. Its location is the most famous waterfall in Ninjago, with its pounding waters that are impenetrable to everyone who has tried to go past. It's called-"

"Ikaika Falls," Zane finished. His mind worked faster than Cole could speak. He processed the information that came along with the name, speaking what was important. "Ikaika means powerful in the native language of the people there. Legend states that the god of water hid a powerful weapon in an underwater cave behind that waterfall. It's right outside of Ka Nalu, a small town right by the ocean. It's full of fishermen and merchants since it's a valuable port."

Cole and Sensei just nodded along, letting Zane fill them in. When it was clear he had finished, they all thought for a long moment.

Since Alex had been found in a village right outside of the cave where her silver weapon was, beginning the search for the kunoichi of water in Ka Nalu was their best option.

A smile curved Sensei Wu's lips upwards, but the gesture was largely hidden by his long grey mustache. "Very well done, Cole. Zane, send the falcon out to watch the area. Tomorrow, you are all free to rest. I think it's time we have a break."

…

Lloyd cheered once he heard the good news. "A break!" His dull sword clattered on the ground, forgotten.

In an instant, Kai had his sword pointed at the boy's chest. "I win."

"Hey!" Lloyd whined. "That's not fair! I was distracted."

Kai sighed and brought his sword down. Lloyd crossed his arms over his chest, clearly pouting over his unfair defeat.

"There are always distractions on the battlefield." Kai picked the second sword up off the ground, swinging both in tandem. While Lloyd's eyes were on his tricks, Jay came up behind the boy and knocked him to the ground. "We're training you to look past them."

With a groan, Lloyd sat up. "That hurt." He glared accusingly at Jay, frustrated that he'd been duped.

Jay gave him a sheepish grin. "You were supposed to be taking on both of us. And in a real battle, you aren't going to get a break. We may have a break from training tomorrow, but I bet you'll still have things to learn. You're stuck with Sensei." He drifted off into his thoughts, thinking about taking Nya on a date.

He'd saved what was left of the money he'd earned from the pizza delivery job. With how much he had, he could buy a nice dinner for the two of them. They could dress up, and he could buy her flowers…

The blue ninja was the sappiest of the four ninja, but the other three hadn't had much of a chance to explore their romantic side. Cole had a few girlfriends back when he was at the Marty Oppenheimer, and even Kai had a girlfriend back when he was a blacksmith. But they were younger then, and love wasn't the same as it was now.

And besides, Jay was head over heels for Nya. He hoped that a nice dinner would warrant a wardrobe to match. Maybe Nya would wear blue.

Kai narrowed his eyes at the blue ninja's goofy smile. "Thinking about Nya?" The ninja's voice was deadly quiet.

Remembering where he was, Jay snapped out of his thoughts. "Heh. Sorry."

He didn't sound very sorry, which made Kai growl lowly in the back of his throat. Jay held his hands up to ward off the fire ninja, knowing his overprotective and sometimes explosive tendencies.

Lloyd watched the exchange with an eager grin. He'd stood up by now, and this was way more entertaining than pouting on the floor. The lovestruck ninja would often forget that his lover was the fire ninja's sister - which led to trouble.

And he got to watch.

Taking a step toward Jay, Kai gritted his teeth. "So you were thinking about Nya?" The question was laced with danger, a hidden warning if Jay didn't answer well.

"Uh, you know how I deeply care for Nya," Jay began to ramble, his eyes wide. "I'd never do anything to hurt her and of course she's on my mind all the time-"

If Kai hadn't stopped him, the ninja with the lightning mouth never would've ceased talking. It was one of his many talents, but it often grated on the other ninja's nerves.

Instead of letting him continue, Kai asked a question that made Jay stop talking and freeze.

"Do you love her?"

"I'm out!" Lloyd yelped and escaped the dojo, not wanting to hear about Jay's feelings for the kunoichi of air.

Jay's face was pale, and his hands shook as he tried to answer Kai's question.

Knowing that he had won, Kai stared at Jay with a smirk.

Jay's mind raced as he tried to come up with a response that wouldn't end with him skewered on the business end of Kai's sword. "I, uh… I really feel… strongly…"

"I bet you can't tell Nya that you love her on a date tomorrow," Kai stayed bluntly, the smug look never leaving his face.

And if he can't, then that shows how little he really cares about my sister. Kai was overprotective for sure, but this was his most devious plan yet. Threats had always been made, but none carried out like this.

Kai's blood chilled as the ninja of lightning looked up at him, no longer shaking in fear of his wrath. Instead, there was a hint of a smile on his face.

This game had just gotten even more interesting.

"What about we make a deal?" Jay offered nonchalantly. "My end of the deal is that I tell Nya that I love her. We'll go on a date tomorrow, I'll pay for dinner, the works. Nya will be treated exactly how she deserves to be-"

"What's the deal, Jay?" Kai cut him off sharply, knowing that Jay could ramble on for days if he let him. Plus, he really didn't want to hear more about how his sister would be treated. That would be a little too much information for him.

The smile finally appeared on Jay's face, but Kai wasn't scared. He could face anything the ninja threw at him.

"There's a certain new kunoichi who wants to see Ninjago City. Take her around the city, and make sure to end the date on top of Ninjago Tower." Jay's plan was simple, and he said it like it was nothing.

Kai felt the beginnings of a red hot blush begin to climb up his neck, and he fought it back. "You tell Nya you love her, and I take Alex on a date?"

"I never said it was a date," Jay grinned. "An outing, yes. An excursion, sure. A trip, maybe. But a date? That's up to you, buddy."

Jay gave Kai a pat on the back. Kai bit his lip, his nails digging into his palms.

"So I just… take her out?"

What shocked Jay was how unsure of himself Kai sounded. He'd never seen the fire ninja timid - or even anything close to it. In that moment, he knew what he had to do.

"Don't worry, Kai," Jay said, but his look only made Kai worry. "The master of love can handle this."

…

It was late afternoon when Nya and Alex trudged into their apartment, slick with sweat and muscles screaming. Alex flopped onto the bottom bunk, once again glad she didn't have to climb up a ladder to reach her bed. Nya followed her lead by collapsing on the other bed.

"My legs hurt," Alex whined. Today had been full of more stretching and flipping and jumping than normal. Nya has been using her element to her advantage, and Alex often had to contort her body to evade a harsh blow of wind.

Nya nodded, then remembered Alex couldn't see her. "Mine, too. But we get a break tomorrow, which means no training for a whole day."

"That's the most glorious news I've heard in the past week," Alex sighed contentedly.

Her and Nya got to miss out on looking for the water kunoichi, but it hadn't been going well. Sensei had so many scrolls, and there were some he didn't even allow the boys to see. Jay had come back complaining one night when Sensei had ripped one right out of his hands.

The old man was cautious about his scrolls, so it was odd for him to treat one so roughly. Nya had tried pressing Jay, trying to get him to remember what it said.

"Just the green ninja, I think. I only got it unrolled part of the way, but it looked like someone else was there, too. I was asking Sensei a question, and he just took it. I really don't know why."

That was all the information he could give her. It frustrated Nya to no end, and she wished she could search with the boys. But she knew she had to train, and she had to help Alex train as well.

"Nya?" Alex's voice crashed through her thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

Nya blinked and looked over at Alex, who was staring at her, concerned. "I'm okay," Nya reassured her. "I'm just thinking about Sensei's secrecy lately."

"He hasn't always been like this?" Alex had never been around the old man before, so she hadn't seen him when he was normal.

Laughing, Nya shook her head. "He usually gives off the wise old man vibe, not the crazy old man vibe."

"Well, he doesn't seem crazy," Alex said, "but he does seem a bit… wound up."

Before Nya could respond, there was a knock at the door. The two girls shared a confused look, especially when harsh whispers were shared on the other side of the door.

Another knock on the door made Nya get up, legs shaking as she put her weight on them again. She strode over to the door and opened it.

Kai and Jay, in the midst of a whispered argument, turned to look at Nya. Their eyes were wide, like a pair of deer in headlights. They clearly hadn't prepared for… whatever they were trying to do.

Jay managed to shake off his surprise first. "Nya, can I speak with you, privately, for a moment?"

Nya stepped outside with him, pretending not to notice as Jay gave Kai a shove toward the door.

Or the glare that Kai gave Jay in return.

After seeing Kai in the doorway, Alex stood up from the bed. She took a few steps towards the door, trying to see what was happening.

"Alex…" Kai began before clearing his throat. "I was wondering if you would like to explore Ninjago City with me tomorrow?"

Alex gasped before grinning excitedly. "I'd love to! What time?"

He paused for a moment as he thought. "Would two o'clock work? We can have most of the afternoon, and the sun will go down around eight tonight."

"That's perfect!" Alex couldn't contain her giddiness. "I'll see you then!"

Kai smiled and nodded before turning back to the door, where Jay was waiting. The blue ninja had a grin as big as Alex's, so whatever he said to Nya had worked out. Alex could ask Nya about it as soon as the boys left.

The door closed behind them, and Nya turned to Alex. "Jay asked me on a date tomorrow!"

Alex knew now why Jay was so excited. It was clear he was head over heels for Nya, so another date with her was enough to bring that giddy, lovestruck look to his face.

But before she could ask Nya to tell her all about it, the other girl got a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Now… what are you and my brother doing tomorrow?"

…

"I don't know what to wear!"

Nya looked over from the bathroom to see Alex tearing through her suitcase full of clothes, trying to find something suitable for the day. It worried Nya to see Alex so frantic, especially when she had her own plans this evening.

"Does it matter?" Nya turned back to the mirror to hide her smile. She found Alex's anxiety cute, especially since they were just going around Ninjago City.

From the tone of her voice, Alex was not amused by Nya's question. "Of course! What if I've misinterpreted everything and this is a nice outing? What if I put on a t-shirt and shorts and he thinks I'm some sort of slob that should never go out in public? What if he looks all fancy and I look like I've just rolled out of bed?" Her voice rose as she spoke, her words getting faster and blurring together until she collapsed on the bed. "I can't do this."

With a sigh, Nya put down the earrings she was about to put on. She'd gotten all ready for her date, even if there was still a while to go before she met Jay. Somehow, she'd known something like this was bound to happen.

Nya stepped into their room and saw Alex laying on the bed, her head buried in a pillow. Hearing footsteps approaching, Alex looked up.

"You look nice," she mumbled into the pillow.

That was, of course, true. Jay had promised a nice dinner out, and Nya dressed accordingly. She wore a sapphire blue dress that hit just above the knees. It had a sweetheart neckline and was sleeveless, showing Nya's bare arms. In this late summer weather, Nya didn't mind it. She hadn't had the chance to put any makeup on yet, but Alex was more important right now.

Nya sat down on the edge of the bed. "Kai likes to dress casual on his days off, and he's not a very dressy guy anyway. Jay might get him to dress up a little, but all you really need to do is look nice and you'll be fine."

Alex rolled onto her back, looking up at Nya. "You sure?"

"I'm positive," Nya assured her.

Without further hesitation, Alex picked out a green tank top and jean shorts, knowing that wouldn't get her into too much trouble. Nya was finishing putting makeup on when someone knocked at the door.

"That's for you, Alex!"

Alex took a deep breath and opened the door to find Kai there, in a red shirt and jeans. To her relief, he didn't look fancy at all. Which helped her calm down immensely.

Instead of panicking, she smiled at Kai. "Bye, Nya! Thanks for the help!" Alex called back to her friend.

Nya yelled back a muffled reply from the bathroom before Alex closed the front door behind her.

"Where to?" Alex asked as she turned to face Kai.

Without Jay's help, Kai probably would have stuttered and faltered, since he wasn't really good at planning ahead. Luckily for him, Jay had walked him through what he should do.

He actually had a list in his back pocket if he forgot a step. Kai wasn't particularly proud of that part.

"Well, I figured we'd start at the city square and go from there. It's got a park we can walk around, and it's the center of the city, so we can branch out from there." The park was Kai's idea, and Jay had suggested he just start in the city square and move out into the city.

Alex beamed up at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. "That sounds great. But, uh…" She looked around, and Kai hadn't brought a vehicle of any kind with him. He'd probably walked over, especially since the ninja's apartment wasn't too far away. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Luckily for Kai, he still had the bus token that Sensei had 'gifted' them with. He brandished it as if it was a gold coin. "With this. It's not normally the best way to travel, but it's a real experience when you're new to the city."

"Well, I can't argue with reasoning like that," Alex said. "How far away is the bus stop, then?"

Kai shrugged and began walking, leaving Alex to follow alongside him. "Oh, it'll probably take five minutes at the most. I'm sorry for making you work on your day off," Kai teased, pausing to shoot her a grin.

The walk to the bus stop was filled with comfortable conversation as they both eased their nerves. True to his word, the bus stop was only a couple of minutes away. Jay had looked up the bus schedule for Kai, so Kai had been able to plan so the bus was there when they reached the station.

Alex climbed on as Kai used his bus token, choosing two open seats in the middle of the bus. She looked out the window as the bus began to take off, Kai sitting down next to her.

She wrinkled her nose and turned back to look at him. "What's that smell?"

He laughed. "Well, that's one of the downsides of the bus. Sometimes, it reeks of things you don't want to know the source of."

Alex looked a little traumatized by that, so Kai pointed out the window. "It's better to focus on what's out there."

Of course, Kai was right. Once she was able to forget about the fact that she was on a dirty bus, she was able to pay attention to the city around her. Tall buildings stretched up, higher than she'd ever seen before. Walking around were more people in her whole town! Alex had never seen anything this big and bright and beautiful.

Kai was beside her, watching her eyes light up as she pointed out things that caught her eye. She would ask what different places were called, and other times she was speechless. Since she was looking out the window, that gave him the opportunity to just look at her.

All too soon, the bus stopped by the city square. Kai tore his eyes away from Alex and cleared his throat.

"This is our stop," he told her.

Alex nodded and stood up, heading off the bus with him.

Kai grabbed his communicator out of his pocket. Jay had messaged him, wondering how it was going.

Jay- Is it all going according to plan? Have you made it to the park yet?

Kai rolled his eyes and typed out a message in return. Just now. Shouldn't you be picking up my sister soon?

Jay- On my way.

Jay- Stick to the plan!

Kai rolled his eyes and pocketed the communicator again. He couldn't believe he'd really accepted Jay's help and was going to follow the blue ninja's plan.

Alex caught the movement and looked up at him. "What was that?"

"Jay's keeping me updated on his date with Nya," Kai said. That wasn't exactly false, so he didn't have to worry about lying to her. "He's picking her up soon."

Kai's long strides were easily matched by Alex's. He was once again reminded that she was only slightly shorter than him.

"Do you know what their plan was?" Alex asked. "All I know is they're going to dinner."

Nodding, Kai headed over to the benches lining the park. Before he could suggest that they sit down, Alex gasped.

"A farmer's market?" she cried excitedly.

She was headed that way in an instant, leaving Kai staring after her. This wasn't the plan! They were supposed to go sit and talk on the bench, not visit the farmer's market! Had Jay even taken the farmer's market into account when he planned this?

A vendor offered Alex a sample of something, and she ate it delightedly. Kai felt himself soften as he watched her.

The communicator in his pocket buzzed again.

Jay- I've picked up Nya. Everything going well?

Kai sighed quietly, his eyes finding Alex again.

Going off script. It's going great, check back in later.

The communicator was then silenced and shoved back in his pocket, where the piece of paper with Jay's plan written on it would stay.

Kai knew Jay would be frantically messaging him, but he instead caught up with Alex and decided the best plan was to have no plan.

…

Jay cursed at his communicator. Nya gave him a worried look, squeezing his hand in hers.

"Is everything alright, Jay?" she asked.

"I helped Kai plan for this date with Alex, and now he's going off-script!" Jay tightened his hand on the wheel of the car as he stressed. "How's he supposed to be able to do this? I had the perfect outing planned for them, and now he'll just mess it all up! I can't-" Jay paused in the middle of his rant, surprised. Nya was laughing at him!

Nya smiled at the talkative ninja. Her other hand rubbed his forearm reassuringly. "Jay, you know my brother. He's hotheaded, he's irrational, and he's spontaneous. He plays by ear, not by any list you set up for him. If Alex wants to see the town, he'll help her do it at their own pace."

That helped some, but Jay was still concerned. "But he said he's only dated like one girl before! That isn't much experience, and he was really nervous."

Luckily for Jay, Nya always knew the right thing to say. "It won't take much to calm him down. If we're both right and they like each other, which I suspect is true, then they'll find a way to have a good time and explore the city together."

Jay let out a sigh as he turned into the parking lot for where they were eating. "I guess you're right."

"Besides," Nya said, "you should be more focused on our date."

Chuckling, Jay gave Nya a sheepish grin. "For all my talking, you never cease to render me speechless."

The couple got out of the car and headed into the seafood place that Jay had picked for them. He'd been saving up for a nice date for a while now - he may or may not have kept some of the money from his job as a pizza deliverer. The guys didn't need to know that, though.

"That's a long line," Nya worried out loud. The line to get into the restaurant stretched outside and along the side of the building. "Are you sure this is where we should go?"

Jay wasn't a fool. He'd made sure to call ahead, and this was the only available time for a month. The restaurant did walk-ins as well, but you had to be there early to even have a chance at making it in.

"Relax," Jay reassured her. "I know what I'm doing."

So he took her hand and gently tugged her to the front of the line, where there was a weary host trying to write down names. She looked up at the young couple and offered a weak smile.

"Good evening. Do you have a reservation? If not, I'm afraid you'll have to go to the back of the line." The young woman bit her lip nervously, not wanting to deal with yet another angry couple that didn't get what they wanted.

Jay stepped forward. "It should be under Walker," he told the hostess.

Relieved, the woman looked him up in the list of reservations. "If you'll give me just a moment, another host should be here to take you to your table. I hope you enjoy your evening."

Jay and Nya stepped back to let the next couple try their hand at getting a table.

Nya turned to Jay and kissed him on the cheek. "This is wonderful, Jay! How did you afford this? You know I love seafood, but it's always so expensive!"

"Don't worry about it tonight," Jay promised. "I'll take care of it. Just get whatever your stomach decides sounds good. That's what I'll be doing."

Another host materialized behind them to take them to their table. "This way, please," he said as he grabbed two menus and headed into the dimly lit restaurant.

The young couple followed behind the host, hands entwined, as they prepared to have a wonderful dinner.

…

"What else is there to see?" Alex asked as she dragged Kai through the closing farmer's market. They'd managed to stay for so long that the sun was beginning to set.

Looking at the sky, Kai let out a curse that made a nearby mother scowl at him and cover her children's ears. Alex's eyes widened as she stared at him.

"There's one last thing!" Kai wasn't following Jay's list of places to go anymore, but part of the deal was that he'd take Alex to the top of Ninjago tower. She'd loved the farmer's market so much that they'd mainly just toured the park. "I'm so sorry we haven't visited anyplace else, but there's one place I have to take you!"

Alex tried to tell him that she was okay with it, that the city could wait for another day, but he'd already grabbed her hand and was leading her out of the park. She stared at their entwined hands instead of what was ahead, managing to miss their surroundings as they made their way into a nearby building.

"Where are we?" Alex asked as Kai punched a button on the elevator. He hadn't let go of her hand yet - which made it hard to ignore the butterflies trying to flutter in her stomach. 'Quit it!' she thought to herself. 'This isn't a date!'

Kai followed her gaze to their hands and slowly pulled his away. He coughed and turned his head so Alex couldn't see the faint blush gracing his cheeks. "Sorry about that," he said quietly. He coughed again, "And as for where we're going? You'll see in a minute."

"Kai, I can see the button you pushed. What's so special about the 74th floor? If we're going to the top, wouldn't the 75th be better?" Alex asked.

The numbers on the elevator climbed higher and higher as it rose to the 74th floor. Instead of answering, Kai just shrugged and stared at the doors with a smirk.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. They'd had such a great time at the farmer's market. There was so much food and she'd practically stuffed herself. Were you supposed to do that on a first date?

'This isn't a date!' she corrected herself again. She let out a soft sigh that made Kai look at her, and she smiled, hoping he wouldn't ask.

Luckily for her, the elevator dinged as it hit the second highest floor. What was up with that, anyway?

Kai got out first and led her to a door with a lock on it. He grabbed a key out of his pocket and made a show of unlocking and opening it before gesturing for her to go first.

Before going up the stairs, Alex rolled her eyes. "Did we go in an elevator just to climb stairs?"

"Just climb the stairs," Kai sassed back, trying not to give away the surprise.

She headed up the stairs, Kai close behind her, and he silently thanked Jay for getting him a key to the roof. The public wasn't generally allowed up here, but Jay had managed to get a key. How he'd managed that, Kai had no idea. His best guess was that Jay talked the ear off of some poor janitor until the janitor gave up the key in exchange for silence.

Yeah, that was probably it. He had no idea how his sister put up with the ninja of lightning.

Since there was only one more flight of stairs, it didn't take Alex long to reach the door at the top and open it. She immediately froze, and Kai hoped that was a good thing.

He came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "The top floor doesn't have access to the roof," he murmured in her ear.

The sun was setting, which meant that Ninjago City was lighting up. Cars flew by in the streets below, and all the lampposts began to shine. Windows glimmered in every building around, and Alex's mouth fell agape as she tried to take it all in. She'd been able to hear the city at night, sure, but this was different. There were so many things going on, and all at once. It was hard to tell what exactly was going on from inside her and Nya's apartment.

Alex looked up to the darkening sky - and realized it wasn't getting very dark at all. Her brow furrowed as she searched for the stars that were always present in Shian Hills, but to her disappointment, the city lights were too strong.

Her sigh of dismay made Kai look at her worriedly. "Is this not a good surprise? I thought this would be perfect, especially since we stayed in the park the whole time." He clenched his fists, a sure sign that he was getting worked up.

With a smile, Alex tentatively grabbed his hand. He looked down at their hands in shock, even though they'd done it before when they got her katana.

"It's the perfect way to end today," Alex said quietly. She let go of his hand and sat down on the edge of the building, letting her feet dangle over the edge.

After a moment, she looked back at Kai, who was still just standing there. "Are you going to join me?" she asked with a teasing grin. "Or are you too chicken?"

Kai scoffed in indignation. "I'm not scared of anything." He walked over to the edge and sat down by her, ignoring how his heart rate sped up slightly.

With only a little bit of hesitation and mental preparation, he reached his hand over to Alex's. To his relief, she took it immediately.

They both stared down into the city as the sun disappeared below the horizon and the brilliant reds and oranges slipped away, turning the sky shades of blue. Alex looked up at Kai with a sly smile.

"You know, I don't believe you," Alex told Kai. She turned back to the city without waiting for a response.

Kai wracked his brain to try and figure out what she was talking about. "Uh… what?"

"I don't believe you," Alex said simply. "I don't believe that you aren't scared of anything. Besides, wasn't that Cole's tagline?" Nya had told her all about how Cole used to be terrified of dragons, and boy did Alex wish she'd been there to see that.

Instead of asking how she could have known about that, since the obvious answer was Nya, Kai said, "Sure, but that's all in the past now. A lot has changed."

And things were still changing. The city below them didn't know that things were about to get interesting…

…

Jay was having the best night. Dinner had gone amazingly, and he'd forgotten all about Kai and how he was probably butchering his outing with Alex. Though now that it crossed his mind, he was getting worried again.

"Jay?" Nya's voice was soft and smooth. It was like music to Jay's ears, and if she'd let him, he would make poetry for her all day.

Yes, he was that cheesy.

Yes, no one else liked it.

No, he didn't care.

Nya chuckled beside him. "Are you still worried about Kai? I told you, he's fine."

Taking in a deep breath, Jay shook his head and reached across the table to grab Nya's hand. Their plates had been cleared away, and the waiter had dropped off the bill.

"Actually, I was lost in your eyes," Jay said sweetly. It was mostly true, he loved staring into her dark eyes, especially when he could see her affection for him in them.

Nya covered her blush with a hand as she giggled. "Jay, you're so sweet," she told him with a smile.

She watched as his smile slowly slipped away as he sobered. She cocked her head to the side, wondering what he was thinking about now.

He squeezed her hand gently. "Nya, tonight has been wonderful, and I hope we do something like this more often."

"I agree completely," Nya grinned. They weren't exactly official yet, but their feelings for each other weren't a secret. She liked Jay - she really liked him.

"Nya," Jay took a breath, "will you officially be my girlfriend?"

A wide grin almost split her face in half. "Of course, Jay. You know, I've-"

"I'm not done yet," Jay cut her off. He looked nervous as he began to ramble. "Nya, we haven't really been official yet, but I've known you for a while, and it's just that you're the strongest and most beautiful girl I've ever met. We have things in common like a shared love of blue and inventing, but we also complement each other, like how I always talk and you always know exactly what to say to calm me down-"

"Jay, what are you trying to say?" Nya said softly. She knew he wouldn't mind her cutting him off, since he could end up rambling for who knows how long if she didn't.

He nodded and took in a deep breath. "Nya… I love you."

Nya froze. That certainly hadn't been what she was expecting. This was their first date since the time Jay turned into a snake. And… it had been great. They'd had some moments since then, but this was the first real date.

So what were her feelings?

Jay clearly had strong feelings for her, but she'd always known that. After a short mental debate, Nya only had one thing to say back to her boyfriend.

"Jay, I love you too."

The goofy smile that overcame Jay's face was worth every word, and she'd be happy to keep telling him that phrase as long as their relationship lasted.

Jay paid the bill and they headed back to Nya and Alex's apartment, talking eagerly about their latest projects and inventions. The sun had been set for an hour or so by that point, and Nya couldn't see a light under the front door to their apartment, meaning Alex still wasn't home.

Nya looked up at her boyfriend for a long moment, and he smiled down at her. Her heart fluttered as she looked into his warm blue eyes. He leaned down, putting his hands on her waist.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as their lips touched for the first time. This wasn't anything like the chaste kiss she had pressed to his cheek on their first date. This was so much more than that, and they were both swept away in the sensation of their first kiss.

After only a moment, Jay leaned back and just looked into Nya's eyes. "I love you," he told her again.

"I love you too," she said with a smile as she went to kiss Jay again.

"Hey lovebirds, quit sucking face," a familiar voice laughed. "Ow, Alex, what was that for?"

Nya turned to see that Kai and Alex had returned, the former rubbing his arm where Alex had hit it.

"Do you need to be a jerk all the time?" Alex rolled her eyes. "We literally just got back."

Jay and Nya were both blushing furiously as they looked at the pair that interrupted them. Jay seemed at a loss for words, glancing back and forth between Nya and Kai, his mouth gaping like a fish trying to breath out of the water.

Alex stepped forward to take control of the situation. "Kai, just take Jay and go home without doing anything stupid. I think Nya and I have a lot to talk about."

…

Zane closed his eyes to connect his mind to the falcon's. After a moment, he could see what the falcon was seeing. It was their day off, but he couldn't help but check in. Technically since the sun had gone down, it wasn't daytime anymore.

The falcon was soaring by the ocean, and there was someone surfing in the water. The small figure caught a wave and rode it for a while before getting knocked off into the water. Once he saw the figure surface again, he saw her brush her hair out of her face. It was too dark for anyone to be out surfing, so he wondered what this girl was doing.

Before he could think too much about it, movement on the beach caught his eye.

Zane felt his motors pause as fear rippled through him. Those weren't humans on the beach… those were snakes.

'How did they know where the next kunoichi could be?' Zane wondered as he disconnected himself from the falcon and found himself back in their tiny apartment.

"Zane, what is it?" Cole asked sleepily from his bed.

The ninja of ice was sitting straight up in bed, his icy blue eyes wide. He turned and looked at Cole, who had rolled onto his side to look at Zane.

"Garmadon knows where the kunoichi of water is."

DUN DUN DUNNNNNN

A bit of a suspenseful ending there! Garmadon is racing to find the next kunoichi before the ninja can, and it looks like this time he has a head start! Next chapter you'll get the first look at the next kunoichi. In case you hadn't already figured it out, our next leading ninja is Zane! He'll be in the spotlight with the next kunoichi for a few chapters until the kunoichi of nature shows up.

But can I get an awwwwwwww? Wasn't this just an adorable chapter? It took a few turns even I didn't expect as these characters told ME what they wanted to go out and do! Jay and Nya have confessed their feelings, and Kai and Alex are drifting closer...

I should be back with an update next week, so I'll see you then! Please read and REVIEW!