Man, everything is falling apart right now. This chapter might be a week later than normal, but I'm not even sure about that. This weekend has been insane, my college has moved to online classes and might kick us out soon, and it's a bit hard to do online classes for my major. But alas, here we are.

Enough about me, this is a cute chapter! Go read it!

Disclaimer: Ninjago is not mine! Otherwise we'd have a lot more cute bonding scenes like this.

The next time the ninja all got together outside training, it was a week after Mira had joined the team. The five guys were just chilling in their apartment, taking turns playing video games. The only two that hadn't switched out were Lloyd and Kai, who were locked in a vicious battle over the top score. This game, Zane was sitting out again, but he had volunteered to sit for a minute.

The other guys were yelling over each other as Zane looked on. Lloyd and Kai were on the inside, with Cole and Jay flanking them. Jay was the first one out after Kai killed his character. With a triumphant yell, Kai bumped his shoulder into Jay's.

With a groan, Jay flopped back onto the floor, hitting his head on the foot of one of the beds. He immediately sat up and rubbed his head, watching the remaining three battle it out.

"You're going down, Lloyd!" Kai yelled, focusing all of his efforts on the green ninja's character. His character threw a blast of fire that Lloyd dodged.

Lloyd cackled as he slashed Kai with his sword. "Nice try, but I'm better!"

Growling, Kai managed to clip Lloyd with his next blast of fire. "Who's won more games though? Oh right, me." He shot Lloyd a cocky grin.

"Yeah, winning by one isn't a huge achievement," Cole shot back. He jumped high in the air and used his fists to pummel Kai, who couldn't get a shield up fast enough.

Kai shot off into the air, his health plummeting. He managed to get back on the platform. "Hey, it's better than only winning two like Jay over here."

"Hey!" Jay protested. He crossed his arms. "It's not my fault I keep getting ganged up on. You guys keep attacking me first!"

"Actually," Zane corrected, "you've been placing third for the most part. You've never been directly targeted first, though you have placed last several times. Lloyd is most often targeted first, but he moves so quickly that someone else gets caught in the crossfire." This was why he preferred watching. He could easily gather data and calm down the frustrated ninja when they got mad at each other.

Nevertheless, Jay kept looking like he had been personally attacked. He moved from the floor to sit up by Zane on the bed.

"I think Kai's gonna get out next," Jay hissed a little too loudly.

"No way!" Kai protested, changing his focus to Cole. He sent three consecutive blasts of fire towards Cole, who only managed to dodge one.

Cole panicked a bit as his character remained stunned, letting Kai charge up a fire blast. "Come on, come on!" he urged his character, mashing the buttons.

Just before Kai released the energy, he was hit from behind with a sword. The fire he was storing up disappeared as he flew through the air, this time unable to recover. "Hey! No fair, you snuck up on me!"

"Thanks, Lloyd!" Cole crowed, reaching over for a high five.

Lloyd returned it excitedly. "Thanks for distracting him long enough to do that!" He shot Kai a devious look. "Don't worry Kai, the other losers are on the bed!"

He and Cole both cackled before attacking each other anew. Cole's health was more depleted, so Lloyd would eventually win, as Lloyd was also the better player. Still, both ninjas gave it their all as Kai stomped over to the bed.

Of course, Lloyd ended up triumphing. "'Who's won more games though?'" Lloyd said mockingly. "Looks like we're tied now, so ha!"

Narrowing his eyes, Kai got off the bed. "I'm definitely going to beat you this time." He grabbed his controller, setting up for the next game.

Beside Zane, Jay sighed. "I'll sit out this round," he said, patting Zane on the shoulder.

Zane kept his sigh internal. With Kai out for blood this round, this would be a brutal game. Zane and Cole both got last place the most, so it was just a matter of time until one of them died.

While Zane got his character set up, Jay got himself comfortable on the bed. He laid down on his back and let his head hang off the bed so he could see.

The talkative ninja stayed quiet until the game began. As the other ninja jumped into action, he opened his mouth and began to talk.

"So… does anyone else think that Mira's kind of… strange? I mean, I went over to the kunoichi's place to pick up Nya the other night, and she was sitting on her bed and she just kept looking at me. Then she started writing stuff down in a little notebook, almost like she was taking notes on me. Is that weird? Like, has she done that to anyone else?"

The other ninja stayed silent as they concentrated on their game. After a few tense moments, Cole got out. With a sigh, he turned back to Jay. "Yeah, actually."

"Since I'm the leader of the ninja, and Lloyd doesn't always need all of us to help with his training, Sensei asked me to help out the girls when they all need to focus on their training. I usually pair up with one of them, since it's harder now that they have an odd number. This time, I was paired with Mira."

Cole faced off against Mira, working solely on hand-to-hand combat. They were both in their suits. Their weapons were off to the side. Cole used his brute strength, trying to teach Mira how to defend herself against someone much stronger than her.

Lashing out quickly, Cole swung at her with one of his fists. Mira ducked below his fist, but his leg swung out, hitting her in the side and sending her flying. She crashed to the ground with a yelp.

Feeling a little sorry, Cole went over to help her up. "You need to be prepared for the next move. In a fight, the enemy won't stop when you're knocked down."

He extended a hand for her to grab. She took it without saying a word. Cole helped her up, but something caught his eye.

Her hands were covered in black and blue marks. It looked like she'd completely destroyed her hands doing something. Almost like she'd been punching a wall repeatedly.

Mira noticed his line of sight and his widened eyes, quickly taking her hand out of his. She refused to comment, just getting back into a fighting stance.

"What happened?" Cole asked sharply. He kept his eyes on her, watching her reactions.

She fidgeted with her gloves, trying to hide the marks under them. "It's none of your business," she said quietly.

"I mean, she wasn't trying to be rude, she was just… secretive." Cole still seemed unsure of what had happened, he just knew that Mira was a little… off.

Lloyd let out a yell as he got out, angry that Kai was going to win another game. He didn't appear to notice that it was Zane that killed him instead of Kai.

"Ha! This is gonna be so easy," Kai gloated, turning his attention to the ninja that hadn't won a single game yet. To his surprise, Zane moved easily out of the way of every shot of fire.

Acknowledging his defeat, Lloyd went to join the others on the bed. He pouted, upset over his loss. "I don't like her."

Surprised by his disdain, Cole and Jay both shot the young ninja a look.

"Why not? I don't dislike her, she's just quiet and weird," Jay said bluntly. He didn't notice Zane tensing up.

"I keep trying to talk to her, but just like Jay said, she ignores me for her notebook. I just don't get it!" Lloyd crossed his arms and glared at the TV.

Cole chuckled softly. "Hey, we all thought Zane was weird at one point. Don't let it get to you, kid. She may be a little different, but I bet there's a reason for it. She may not be a nindroid like Zane, but maybe it's just that she's shy."

Before he could respond, Lloyd was distracted by Kai yelling in front of the TV. To his surprise, and the surprise of everyone else in the room, he'd been defeated. Zane was the triumphant ninja this round. The ninja of fire was yelling, absolutely shocked that he'd been beaten by Zane.

"There's no way!" Kai's mouth was agape as he turned to stare at Zane. "You haven't won a single game! How did you win?"

He wasn't trying to be insulting, as Zane knew well by this point. The ninja of fire just wasn't good at filtering himself when he was all worked up. Due to his element, when he got upset, he was likely to get angry.

"Please don't speak ill of Mira," Zane said quietly, revealing his motivation for winning the game. It brought back memories of when he was the odd one out because they didn't understand him, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone else. "I had a reason for my strange behaviors, and she does too. You just need to bother to find out what they are."

The other ninja looked down, ashamed of their actions. It was true, they hadn't really gotten to know Mira yet. She was quiet and shy and didn't seem to want to talk to any of them, so they didn't try. She only talked to the other girls and Zane.

Zane heard his phone ring and answered it. "Hello?"

"Zane! It's Alex. It's Mira's turn to cook tonight, would you mind coming over and helping her find a recipe? Nya says you're a really good cook, and we'll both be out tonight. Would you?"

His skills were almost legendary among the ninja, so he wasn't surprised that he'd been recommended to help Mira find something to make. "Of course, Alex. When should I be over?"

"Whenever you're ready, actually. Nya and I will be gone by the time you get here, so just knock. Maybe bring a plan, she's a little lost right now."

"I'll be headed over momentarily," he promised before hanging up. He turned to the rest of the ninja.

"It appears I'll be helping Mira with dinner tonight. I'll do dinner another night," he told the guys.

They all groaned at the missed opportunity of eating Zane's food. "Come on Zane," Kai complained. "You can't leave us hanging like this!"

"Don't worry guys," Cole spoke up. "I'll do dinner tonight!"

Everyone else's eyes widened comedically. "NO!" they shouted in unison, horrified at the very idea of Cole's infamous cooking.

Looking hurt, Cole pouted a bit. "You don't have to sound so disgusted," he mumbled.

Zane escaped while the ninja argued over who was going to cook. He ran through his cooking database, trying to pick a recipe that was easy to make and didn't require many supplies, since he had no idea what the girls had in their fridge.

The walk to their apartment wasn't too far, and he made it in a few minutes. He arrived and knocked on the door, hearing someone rustling inside. The sound stopped when he knocked, so he knocked again when he didn't get an answer.

Mira cracked the door open slightly. "Hello?" she asked. When she saw it was Zane, she opened the door for him. "Hi, Zane. What… what are you doing here?"

Pausing just inside the doorway, Zane gave her an odd look. "Did Alex not tell you? She asked me to come help you cook dinner."

"Oh!" Mira looked a bit sheepish. "I'd forgotten." She left it at that, going back over to the small kitchen and looking at the fridge aimlessly.

After a moment of just watching her, Zane went over by her side. He peered into the fridge, noting its few contents. Next, he opened a few cabinets to see what else they had to make food with.

"What did you have for lunch?" Zane asked, trying to come up with a unique plan.

Mira raised an eyebrow. "Just a sandwich."

With a nod, Zane began to grab ingredients. "Does pasta sound okay? There's not much to it, and you can decide what kind you want." He paused before grabbing sauce. "Alfredo, marinara, or pesto?"

The kunoichi of water blinked at the choices she was given. "Um… alfredo."

Zane began to grab several ingredients from the fridge, placing them beside the stove. "Wonderful. Have you ever made your own alfredo sauce?"

"Well, no," she admitted. Mira stood behind him, watching as he kept grabbing things. "I can read a recipe, though."

That was true, of course. Reading and following a recipe was simple, but she'd always had help of some kind. She usually only cooked when her mother needed assistance, and her mother always bossed her around. The experience was a bit soured because of that. Now every time she had to cook, she got nervous.

She tugged on one of her curls as Zane turned back to her, having set everything up. He offered her a smile, which she returned after a moment.

"Would you mind getting the water?" Zane asked politely. He turned to her expectantly.

After thinking about it for a moment, Mira flicked her hand to summon water from the faucet. She looped it through the air, controlling its path around her and Zane to pour into the pot he had set out. She grinned as Zane chuckled at her little display.

Zane set the stovetop so the water would begin boiling. He grabbed the salt shaker and put a pinch in to season the water as it began to heat up.

Mira watched in fascination. "What was that for?" She didn't remember her mother ever adding salt to the water when making pasta.

"It gives the pasta itself more flavor while it's cooking in the water," Zane told her before pulling out another pan. He set the stove to a lower temperature and turned to Mira. "Can you get six tablespoons of butter, Mira?"

Responding quickly, Mira measured out the stick of butter and put six tablespoons into the pan. She stepped to the side, not wanting to be in Zane's way.

Zane fixed her with an odd look, his eyes scanning her like he was calculating something. "Mira… Are you alright?"

He seemed so genuinely concerned that Mira was thrown for a moment, scrambling to come up with an answer. "Of course - of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

His crystal blue eyes didn't leave hers for a second, piercing something in her. He didn't let up until Mira broke eye contact, skittering away from the stove like a scared animal. She went over to her bed, wishing she could crawl up there and grab her sketchbook…

She knew she wasn't alone for long, as she soon felt a presence behind her. Zane kept his distance though, just close enough for her to know he was there.

"Mira, something must be wrong. Do you fear you've made a mistake?" There was a hint of something in his tone, something that reminded Mira of apprehension. She couldn't see his face, so she couldn't be sure what he was really feeling.

Sighing, Mira kept her back to him. "No, I don't feel like I've made a mistake yet. It's just… hard to explain."

For a moment, they were both silent and still. Then, Zane put a hand on her shoulder. His touch was cool, she could feel it through the thin fabric of her shirt. A shiver ran through her as she turned to face him.

Zane watched the frown on her face, knowing he had to do something to fix it. Instead of pressing her, he gently took her arm and led her back to the stove. The butter had melted, so he began mincing garlic and adding it to the pan. "Mira, how is the water looking?"

That was all it took for her to snap out of the funk she was in. She went to look at the water, seeing a few small bubbles begin to rise to the top. "Not yet, but soon."

The two worked together. Mira quietly listened to Zane's instructions and followed through without a single misstep. By the end of the lesson, he was able to step back and let her finish it off by herself.

When Mira turned to look at him with a proud smile, Zane felt the way he had just before he and the other ninja competed for the Blade Cup. Butterflies! Her smile was radiant, and not a look that she often showed. He was completely mesmerized by it.

It took a moment for him to remember to congratulate her. He smiled softly. "Very nice."

Their fettuccine alfredo looked delicious, and Mira would even be able to brag and say that she'd made the sauce herself. It wasn't a hard recipe, but even Zane knew that trying something for the first time didn't always turn out well. Luckily for him, and the dinner they'd made, she was a fast learner.

After noticing that Nya and Alex were going to be a while, Zane put the lid back on the pot and left it on a low simmer so they could eat warm food later. He turned to look at Mira.

"You did very well, even though you were so nervous in the beginning. May I ask why that is?" Zane was hoping that she'd open up to him more, and maybe give him the chance to bond with her in return.

Mira's smile faded a bit. Part of her wanted to keep quiet, but she decided to talk to him anyway. He was her best chance at making a friend, and she found those hard to come by.

"Well, I've never cooked by myself, so that's what really made me nervous," she admitted, not getting to the root of the issue just yet. "And… I've only ever cooked with my mom, and she gets pretty… critical when I mess up."

Zane blinked as he remembered the cold woman. His memory bank brought up a recording of her voice, playing it inside his head. "I guess we can agree to that." Her face was devastatingly beautiful, so similar to her daughter's but without the warmth and kindness. He was a bit reserved after spending so much time without a family, but Mira was reserved because of the time she spent with her family.

"This time, you didn't mess up at all," he reassured her. "The dish is going to be wonderful, and I'm sure the others will agree."

Mira nodded slowly like she was thinking about something. "Can I show you something?" she finally asked.

Without hesitating, Zane nodded. "Of course."

He watched as she headed back over to her bed and grabbed something off of it. It looked like a book - could this be what Jay and Lloyd were talking about?

"Are you a writer?" The words just seemed to come out, and Zane immediately felt sorry. "I apologize, I don't mean to intrude."

For some reason, that made Mira laugh. "It's no intrusion, I'm showing this to you. I guess as a… thank you of sorts. For the lesson, I mean." She paused for a moment. "Oh, and no, I'm not a writer."

She waved her hand, inviting him to sit on the bed beside her. He obliged, keeping his hands on his lap, posture straight and stiff. It suddenly felt odd to be with her, just the two of them. He brushed the feeling aside, leaning closer as she opened the book.

Immediately, he was blown away.

The first few pages had clearly been torn out, but the one that hadn't was a two-page spread of Mira's dragon. She'd captured the colors beautifully, creating the ombre that covered her dragon. Instead of the dragon looking fierce, however, it was made with a look akin to a smile. Its eyes resembled the warmth the ocean could hold instead of the cold mystery of its depths. Cascade was rising from the water, her wings outstretched and sending sprays of water into the air. The sun was setting behind her, bringing the contrast of fiery colors.

She turned the page, this next picture still in the works. It was of her and the other kunoichi while they stood in front of the waterfall. The details weren't exactly right, since Mira had been a part of the event and hadn't seen it like he had. Besides, she didn't have a photographic memory like him - or rather, a memory bank.

The picture was fully sketched out, but no color had been added yet. Alex and Nya both had fierce looks on their faces, which Zane assumed Mira came up with from training. Her own face was more blurred, like she hadn't quite decided what she looked like as a kunoichi. Now that he looked at it again, he noticed that her whole body was fuzzy, without the details of the other kunoichi. Mira was sketched with her whip above her head, controlling the water behind her, but she wasn't positioned right. Even in her artwork, she still seemed to be self-conscious.

Before Mira turned the page, she looked up at Zane. "I haven't had a lot of time, so this is my last one."

As soon as she turned the page, everything made sense. It was a picture of the four ninja arranged around Lloyd. Like the previous picture, it was incomplete, but this one had color.

All of the ninja were in their uniforms, but they didn't have their masks on. She'd clearly done her research, as the pictures were all very accurate.

Cole's features hadn't been colored in yet, but she'd matched the ebony color of his hair and suit. Zane could see his muscular form and square jaw that set him apart. He even saw that Mira had made his eyebrows much thicker than the others, which made him chuckle.

Jay's hair and suit had been colored in as well, and Zane assumed that Jay's suit was colored the same day as Cole's. That would explain the black and blue marks on Mira's hands that Cole had seen. They weren't bruises, they were marks from her coloring. She'd even managed to get Jay's hair color. It was a shade of reddish brown that was hard to name exactly, which would also explain why she'd paid extra attention to Jay. Still, his face was kind and his eyes held laughter, even on paper.

Kai's wasn't very far along at all. He'd been drawn, but the only thing Mira had colored was his eyes. They were amber and burned with the fire he summoned. Zane could almost see the outline of a flame reflected in his eyes.

His own drawing had focused more on his features. His suit remained colorless, but it was white in nature in the first place. His skin was pale, and she'd kept the colors light enough on his platinum blond hair. His eyes were the opposite of Kai's, an icy blue to reflect his element.

The only completed figure was in the center of it all. Lloyd was captured in all of his boyish youth. He had a grin that lit up his face and eyes. His suit was just a few shades darker than his eyes, and he was surrounded by an image of each element, clearly reflecting his powers.

"It's wonderful," Zane breathed softly. "How do you do that?"

Mira flushed at his praise. "Oh, I still have a lot of work to do on them. I only finished Cascade since that's the color palette I'm most familiar with."

"Don't be so modest," Zane told her. "They are all amazing. I wish I could do something like that," he said forlornly.

Since he was a robot, he couldn't capture the emotions or creativity that those around him could. Cooking was the closest he could come, since he knew exactly what would enhance each dish and bring out the flavor in everything. Still, that was nothing like this. Mira could create something from nothing in a way he would never be able to.

Mira sidled closer. "Well I wish I could cook like you. That was like second nature, I couldn't have done it without you." She brushed a curly lock of hair out of her face.

For some reason, her comment hit Zane differently than all the other compliments he got on his cooking. He sat a little straighter. "Perhaps, but you are the one that did most of the cooking. I believe that makes you the real chef around here."

Mira laughed, the sound light and free. She was beginning to relax around him. "Hardly. I simply followed your directions. You didn't need a recipe or anything! It's like you have an archive of those in your head or something," she chuckled.

Zane awkwardly laughed with her. Part of him wanted to tell her the truth, but the rest of him reveled in the idea of being seen as normal. Nya had already confessed that she told Alex about the real reason behind his robotic mannerisms. She didn't necessarily treat him differently - none of them did, but he missed out on a few things.

Before Zane could come up with a response to that, he heard a key being inserted into a lock. He quickly stood up, nearly hitting his head on the top bunk.

The other kunoichi entered, laughing about something. They shared a look as they saw Mira and Zane.

"Hey, so… how was cooking?" Alex asked, looking between the two.

Nya ignored Alex's comment, instead wandering over to the stove. "Is this fettuccine alfredo?" she asked excitedly.

"It is," Zane answered, wandering over to the stove. "I apologize, it appears we did not clean up after ourselves." He began putting away ingredients.

Mira approached him, and Zane noticed that she'd hidden her sketchbook again. He assumed she hadn't even shown it to them yet. Maybe she was waiting for it to be done. It seemed to be a very personal thing for her.

She took the pan and began washing it in the sink. "It should still be warm." Mira smiled over her shoulder at them. "What were you guys up to?"

Nya and Alex exchanged another look. "Nya needed help with some stuff at the garage, so I picked up a shift there to help out," Alex said, but there was a hint of falsity in her words.

Zane politely excused himself, heading back to his own apartment and leaving the three girls alone. Mira put the cleaned pan away and grabbed three plates for them.

The other girls fixed their own plates and began eating. "Oh my gosh, this is amazing!" Alex said through a bite of food. She stared at the pasta for a long moment before beginning to eat again.

"This tastes just like something Zane would make," Nya said after she swallowed. She turned her attention to Mira. "Really well done."

Their positive reactions prompted Mira to take a bite after she realized she hadn't tried her own food yet. Her eyes widened as she put a bite in her mouth. It was full of flavor, more than she'd ever tasted in alfredo before. The homemade sauce really did wonders, and the flavors had soaked into the noodles themselves as well.

Nya chuckled at her reaction. "Ah, so you've never had a Zane creation yet. It's a magical experience, isn't it?"

Alex hummed through another mouthful of food. She was the first to finish her plate before going to get more.

"Hey Nya," Mira addressed the dark-haired girl, "what's the plan for training tomorrow?"

"You and I are actually going to help Alex with something," Nya responded. She looked to the red-haired girl expectantly.

Alex sat down again with her food. "I had a… theory. I told Nya about it, and she agreed to help me out." She looked a bit nervous as she talked. "I started wondering if I could communicate through my shadows. I mean, they're everywhere, right? And it might be a good idea to see if that was even something I could learn."

The normally confident girl was fidgeting in her seat, looking back and forth between her teammates like she was still unsure about the idea. When they didn't respond for a moment, she started eating the pasta again.

"I'll help," Mira told her. "What do I need to do?"

"You already know I'm with you on this too," Nya chipped in. "We'll work on it tomorrow, then. Get some sleep, girls. We're going to have a long day tomorrow."

Was this sort of another filler chapter? Yes, yes it was. Was it still one of my favorites to write because I'm a sucker for putting the ninja and kunoichi in a more mundane setting? Yes. Yes it was.

Let's see... the video game sequence was taken from the few times I've played Super Smash Bros. I am not good at the game, but that's where the inspiration was drawn from. And yes, the guys talking about Mira being weird was definitely supposed to mirror when the did the same thing about Zane, except Zane is the one who did the defending this time!

And, let's be real, is it ever truly a ZanexOC story if they've never cooked together? Even if him and Mira end up just being friends, a cooking sequence was to be expected. Side note, I definitely had to look up an actual recipe for them. I have no idea how to cook lol.

Please read and review!