Destiny bounced up and down in her spot, unable to contain her excitement. At the 'Snowflake Celebration' party they'd thrown last week Master Wu had made the announcement that they would all be moving to Sensei Yang's Temple of Airjitzu, and as such the ninja had spent the majority of their time packing up all their belongings into cardboard boxes.
The yellow clad teen hadn't realized just how much stuff they all had either until it was all laid out into the deck of the Bounty. They hadn't even been able to train outside the last 2 days because of the overwhelming amount of moving boxes. It seemed as though Destiny wasn't the only one making this discovery either.
"Jeez, how does the Bounty even manage to fly with all this stuff aboard? I didn't even realize how much we had till now." Kai spoke up as he added another box to his portion of the organized mess.
"I know right? How many boxes do you think there are?" Jay asked as he labeled the box Kai had just set down.
"By my calculations there are currently 126 moving boxes, the majority appear to be filled with clothes and comic books." Zane informed the others, looking up from the clipboard checklist held in his hands.
"I wonder who all those comic books could belong to.." Nya trailed off sarcastically as she sent a teasing glance over at red, blue, and green ninja's.
"Yeah, heh heh, I wonder." Lloyd chuckled guiltily as he quickly closed his new addition to the moving boxes, which also contained another large stack of comic books inside it.
"Ooo! Is that the temple!" Destiny shouted from her spot on the platform above the others, pointing to a brief structure she spotted between the clouds. The other ninja turned their attention to where the yellow ninja had pointed, and after the Bounty made it through a cloud patch the Temple of Airjitzu was indeed floating before them.
"Yep, that's it." Cole confirmed from his spot next to Destiny. The black ninja was currently the one piloting the ship, and tightened his grip on the wooden wheel as the distance between themselves and the temple grew shorter. Cole could also begin to feel his stomach drop as a wave of nausea washed over him. He'd been outside this whole time with the cool breeze blowing through his hair, but despite this he suddenly felt overwhelmingly warm.
"Cole?" A voice to his left questioned. Cole's eyes glanced at who it was in his peripheral vision that had called his name, and he recognized the familiar color of Destiny's clothing.
"Are you okay?" The Master of Species continued. Cole did his best to put on a smile before turning his full attention to the shorter ninja.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Cole lied, quickly turning his attention back to the front of the ship so he could end their conversation before he got uncomfortable.
Destiny kept her gaze on the Master of Earth a few moments longer before finally sparing him. She didn't believe his words, but did not want to press him on the matter any further if he didn't want to speak on it. The yellow clad girl was worried about her crush though, keeping in mind what he had told her about his previous experiences with their new home she had no doubt being here was hard for the strong earth elemental. As such she would be making sure to keep a close eye on him just in case.
As Cole docked the Bounty alongside the edge of the Airjitzu Temple's floating island Kai and Zane jumped off, tethering the ship to some of the nearby boulders. Double checking their handy work Kai sent the other ninja a thumbs up, and Nya threw down the plank bridging the gap between the ship and the island. The group then began grabbing boxes, and followed Master Wu as he led them all to the pristine looking building.
Destiny couldn't help but admire every aspect of the floating island. There was grass, trees, bushes, and even a small pond. Flowers littered some aspects of the court yard, dowsing the area in a sweet aroma. The island seemed peaceful and serene, and the Master of Species couldn't help but feel both calmed and inspired by their change in scenery. Besides the main temple there was another much shorter building in the back of the island, while it looked more worn by the elements it was still quite gorgeous.
The group had finally gotten to the base of the temple in the middle of the island, and after making their way up the small stone staircase they waited patiently for their Sensei to unlock the doors. It took him a moment, but eventually Master Wu was able to open the large wooden double doors, and they revealed the inside of the temple with a rather loud creak.
The inside of the temple was not bad by any regards, however the style was a bit antique for Destiny's taste. The fact that the halls seemed stagnant and musty as well did nothing to help either. Setting the boxes down in the main corridor the ninja paused as they took in the moment, attempting to readjust to the feeling of their new home.
"Welcome to the Temple of Airjitzu my students." Master Wu said with a smile.
"Home sweet home." Kai spoke up, stretching a bit as he did so.
"Man, I know you were trying to buy this place and all Master Wu, but I never thought we'd be back here so soon." Jay stated.
"I concur. Although we prepared for this outcome it still feels strange being back." Zane agreed, seemingly scanning the space.
"It's a big change for sure, but I'm confident that it was the right choice." Lloyd added, a reassuring smile on his face as he attempted to comfort the others.
"Yeah, I can agree with that. I'm just excited that we have so much more room here than being crammed on the Bounty all the time." Nya explained, and the others nodded. Destiny then looked over at Cole, the raven seemed to be lost in thought. She gently nudged him, getting his attention.
"What do you think Cole? You like the new place?" Although Destiny could tell the black ninja seemed out of it she asked anyways as a way of checking in on her friend.
"Oh, uh," Cole started hesitantly, "yeah, it's nice." He answered quietly, not offering any more of a response than that. The others all accepted this answer though, and turned to grab more of the moving boxes.
"Where are you all going?" Master Wu questioned, and the ninja all stopped in their tracks turning their attention back to their Sensei.
"We were going to go get the rest of the boxes Master." Kai answered, pointing a thumb behind him, through the open doors at the Bounty.
"I see that, but how will you know which rooms to put your belongings in?" The elder questioned, and Jay gasped at his sudden realization.
"You're not saying that we-" Jay started excitedly, but was cut off by Lloyd shoving past him.
"ROOM DIBS!" The young green ninja shouted as he sprinted up the staircase in front of them all and towards the second floor.
The others stood dumbfounded for a moment, but then scrambled to shove each other out of the way as they battled their way up to the second floor.
All the ninja save for Cole, who merely trailed behind the stampede ahead of him. The black ninja honestly didn't care which room he got stuck with, and waited to see which one was left unoccupied before leaving to grab his things from the Bounty.
While his students were distracted Master Wu had noticed Cole's behavior, and decided to let the situation play out on its own. If his pupils were unable to help the earth ninja, only then would he step in. For now he had confidence that the young ninja's would be able to handle the situation, and smiled to himself as he made his way to his pre-selected room down the hall on the first floor.
The rest of the day was spent moving the boxes from the Bounty and into the temple. While most of the boxes had made it to the rooms they needed to be in, the last 30 or so were left stacked in the main entrance.
Tired and exhausted, the ninja had decided they'd done their fill of work for the day, and would pick up where they left off over the following days to come. After eating dinner they all said their goodnights, and departed to occupy their respective rooms.
Cole trudged into his room lethargically, his feet shuffling against the old wood as he closed the door behind himself and made his way to the side of his mattress. As he laid in bed the black ninja couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, but not from his new mattress.
No, the feeling of this discomfort stemmed from the fact that it had been years since the Master of Earth had had his own room. Ever since he and the others had become ninja they'd pretty much been inseparable.
Sure they'd had their own rooms on occasion like on Chen's island, but the last time Cole could remember truly having his own room was back before the monastery of spinjitzu had burned down, and that was nearly 5 years ago at this point.
Cole shifted his restless position again for the fourth time since laying down, and wondered if the other boys were experiencing the same discomfort as him. The black ninja doubted that they did though; the others were strong, and then there was him. Sure Cole was strong, but not in the same way as the others.
The earth ninja mentally scolded himself for being so dramatic. It was just a new room, and he had known all of this was going to happen. He just needed to suck it up and get some sleep. If he didn't Cole knew he'd be nothing but a tired and irritable mess in the morning.
The raven haired boy took in a deep breath as he rolled over in bed again, this time so he was laying on his back looking up at the ceiling. That was all this discomfort was right? Just him missing the rowdy roommates he'd gotten so used to having?
Cole shook his head. Yes, yes that's all this was. There was nothing else, nothing else at all that could possibly be bothering him. Closing his eyes Cole did his best to ignore the creaks and groans of the old building settling, and instead focused on the rhythm of his breathing. Slowly his breathing steadied, until it evened out and dreamless slumber claimed him.
Over the course of the next few days the ninja continued about their tasks. Training in the morning, unpacking throughout the afternoon, and going on patrol in the evening. While everyone seemed to be adjusting well to the new home the black ninja was still off-put by the new living space.
The raven haired boy tried his best to act like his normal self, but the seemingly simple task proved to be quite difficult. Cole found himself always on edge. He was constantly fidgeting with any item that was close to him, and when there was nothing nearby he would rub his arm or his hands together.
Along with this the black ninja was somehow simultaneously touchy yet distant. He'd stay close to the others, but as soon as they noticed he'd back away and leave. Not to mention his attitude; the Master of Earth had gotten very irritable as of late, losing his temper briefly on occasion before apologizing and distancing himself once more. Needless to say his family was worried about his unusual change in behavior.
"Hey Destiny." Kai greeted as the yellow clad girl entered the room.
"Hey." Destiny greeted back, crossing her arms over her chest as she entered the makeshift living room. The others were currently unpacking boxes and rearranging furniture while Jay and Zane worked on hooking up the television.
"Where's Cole?" The yellow ninja questioned when she noticed his absence.
"No clue." The red ninja responded.
"I haven't seen him all day." Nya added, looking up from the box she had just opened.
"I think I heard him training outside." Lloyd stated, setting down his side of the couch he and Kai had moved.
"I'm worried about him." Destiny spoke, looking down at the floor sadly. The others then stopped what they were doing, frowns veiling over their faces as well.
"Me as well." Zane admitted, setting down the cable that was in his hand.
"Yeah, me too. He's been acting totally weird." Jay stated, poking his head out from behind the unfinished tv setup.
"Well much as I hate to agree with Jay," Kai started, earning an offended 'hey!' from the blue ninja. "He's right. Just yesterday I went to ask Cole something while he was doing the dishes, but I guess he didn't hear me walking up behind him. He got scared and used that weird glowy arm thing."
"Not to mention he's been really distant too." Nya said sadly, her face contorted with concern.
"I too have observed Cole's distant nature. However, he also appears to be quite irritable as well. He destroyed one of the training bots with his new abilities whilst practicing in the court yard yesterday." Zane informed.
"Again?" Jay complained, an annoyed groan escaping his lips.
"Do you have any clue what could be bothering him Jay?" The green ninja questioned, looking in the direction of the Master of Lightning.
"Honestly I'm not sure." The ginger haired boy answered with a heavy sigh, "He hasn't wanted to talk about it, and believe me I've tried."
"You guys don't think all this has to do with his new glowing arm power punch thingy do you?" Destiny inquired, stumbling over her words slightly as she attempted to describe the black ninja's newer ability.
"I do not believe that is the case. Cole's earth punch first appeared when he returned to his human form, which was several months ago. His change in behavior has only started recently." Zane explained promptly.
"Ooo, earth punch? That's a really cool name for it Zane!" Jay stated happily.
"Now's not the time Jay." Nya slightly scolded her boyfriend.
"Right, Cole's being weird. Sorry." The blue ninja apologized, returning his attention to the group's main concern.
The room then fell silent for a rather long period of time; but the silence was broken when Destiny finally spoke up.
"I'm gonna go talk to him." The short girl stated, turning to leave. The other ninja watched quietly as their friend's silhouette disappeared down the hall before returning to the work they had been doing before.
When Destiny first stepped outside she noticed nothing abnormal, and the chilly air of the high altitude simply served as the only company, blowing through the cracks of the dancing leafs.
However, as the yellow clad teen made her way down the stone steps and wandered about the courtyard she began to hear the sounds of someone fighting. Walking down the dirt pathway and around the corner, Destiny was met with the sight of the black ninja.
The Master of Earth was several paces away, and training against one of the Lightning ninja's undamaged training droids. Destiny made sure to keep some distance between her and the muscular boy ahead of her. Once Cole punched the droid hard enough to knock it down (effectively ending the training session) Destiny cleared her throat loudly, causing the tanned boy to look over at her.
"Destiny." Cole spoke aloud.
"Hey Cole." The short girl greeted with a small smile before closing the distance between them with several leisurely paces.
"Whatcha doin' out here all by yourself?" Cole took in a breath, wiping the sweat from underneath where his hair was sticking to his skin; a small towel in hand that had been previously laid against a nearby rock.
"Just… training." Cole answered, getting caught on his words a bit as he seemed to debate his answer. Destiny nodded slightly, biting her bottom lip before continuing.
"Hey, could I ask you how you're doing?" The short teen started, taking in a short breath as she strung together the rest of her sentence.
"It's just- the others and I have noticed that something seems to be bothering you. We're worried about you Cole." Destiny finally explained, looking up to meet the taller ninja's stone colored eyes.
"It's… nothing." The black ninja stated, looking away from his shorter friend. "Just, getting used to the new place is all." Cole lied, turning his back as he walked over to what was left of the defeated training droid.
"Cole-" Destiny tried to argue, jogging behind the black ninja to keep up with his larger strides.
"I know you better than that. We all do. You know you can talk to me right? I just-" The newest ninja was cut off by the mountainous boy spinning around on his heel to face her, his body leaned over her.
"Nothing is wrong! Why can't you all just leave me alone!?" Cole shouted, his hands balled into fists as he glared at the short girl in anger.
Destiny was taken aback, and frankly a bit scared. She hadn't expected her crush to get so upset, let alone yell at her. As his built form towered over her there was nothing but silence between the two of them. It only took the black ninja a moment to come back to his senses though, and he quickly backed off, his expression filled with nothing but regret.
"I- I'm sorry…" Cole apologized weakly as he began to feel the walls around him crack.
He had just yelled at Destiny, and for what? His friends were just worried about him, and he had no one to blame for that but himself. Cole turned away from Destiny, but before he could begin to walk off again he felt a firm grip on his forearm.
"Cole, please turn around." Destiny's voice ordered quietly, and although he hesitated the Master of Earth obliged.
Turning back around, but not meeting the young girls' gaze, the black ninja stayed in place, finding the dirt to be the most interesting thing to look at. Cole then felt another hand touch his skin, this time beneath his chin, before lifting his head up gently. Now he and Destiny had locked eyes again, and the short girl showed nothing but sadness as she stared into his defeated gray iris's.
Before Cole could say anything he felt girls' small arms wrap around his waist, and blanket him into a loving embrace. The Master of Earth stood still for a moment, but it wasn't long before his stone fortress finally crumbled, and tears began to flow freely from his eyes.
The tall ninja hugged the yellow clad girl back, his body shaking ever so slightly as he silently cried into her shoulder. Neither said anything, and Destiny instead hugged the raven haired boy tighter reassuring him that she wasn't going anywhere.
Once Cole finally calmed down enough the pair separated from their hug. Destiny had never seen the black ninja so sad before, and the sight broke her heart. She wanted more than anything to help him feel better, and that's what she vowed to do.
Sitting down on the grass beneath a nearby tree the duo stayed quiet for a few more minutes, simply basking in the silence as the wind whistled through the brush around them. When it felt right to start conversation again Destiny snaked one of her hands to the boy seated beside her, giving his own hand a squeeze before speaking.
"What's been bothering you?" The brunette asked softly, looking up at her fellow ninja with an empathetic gaze.
Cole looked at Destiny with his saddened eyes, mentally debating on whether or not he should be honest. On one hand talking about his feelings would make him feel better, and he'd have someone who would understand what he was going through.
On the other hand Cole hated the idea of venting to others, as he had always felt guilty after doing so. He was the team's rock, their foundation. He was the Master of Earth for First Spinjitzu Master's sake! He was meant to be strong! How could he call himself strong though if he depended on others to help him solve his problems?
The black ninja let out a heavy sigh before staring down at the ground once more. What would he even say? How would even start to explain what he was feeling? Even if he could explain it would the others understand? Would Destiny understand..?
Taking in a deep breath Cole continued to think for quite some time, but once he was ready he looked up to the blue sky visible beyond the far reaching branches of the tree above them.
"I don't want you to think that I don't trust you enough to talk to you, but… I don't even know where to start. It's so difficult to explain, and I'm not even sure it would make any sense." The raven haired boy admitted sadly, his eyes still focused on the blue hued sky.
"That's okay. If you just want to try, I promise I'll do my best to understand." Destiny responded, moving her thumb over the top of Cole's hand in a comforting motion. The taller looked down at his friend, and gave her a small smile of gratitude.
"Okay." The black ninja acknowledged softly. "It's just, being here… it's so, hard…" Cole sighed, taking in a sharp breath to ward off the tears he could feel stinging behind his eyes again.
"I thought if I just told myself it was fine, if I just acted like it was fine, then it would be. It's not though. I can't relax, I feel like I'm always on edge. I can't sleep, I can hardly eat… and it's almost like I'm stuck, stuck as a ghost again…" Cole explained.
He was now looking down at his free hand, an expression on his face that made it seem like he was going to break down crying again at any second. Destiny used her other hand to grab Cole's, freeing him from his trance as he turned to look at her.
"Hey, it's okay." Destiny started, giving the black ninja the best smile she could muster at the moment.
"I can't even begin to imagine how hard being a ghost was; I mean, dying and then knowing your life never would have been the same. Sure, you're back to normal now, but it must have been so traumatic. Scars heal, but they never fade… and you've been dealing with this all on your own, but I promise you don't have to anymore. Okay? I'm here for you, and I'm sure if you explained to the others as well they'd also try their best to help. Just let me know, is there anything I can do at all?"
Cole shook his head slightly.
"I don't know, and I don't know if I even want to tell the others…" the Master of Earth trailed off.
"That's okay. If you're not up to telling them then no one is going to force you too. If it's okay with you though could I ask if there's anything in particular that seems to bother you?" The yellow clad teen asked. Maybe if Cole could answer this question at least, then the two of them could figure this out together.
"Well, I've been having a hard time drinking, or even being around water. Plus, there's the whole thing where my arms randomly glow now. I don't know how to control it, and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt someone. I guess the thing that scares me the most though is that everyone is going to forget about me; that I'm going to wake up one morning and I'll be fading again-.." The black ninja opened up, and as he did so his voice began to crack again. Destiny took one of her hands from Cole's and instead cupped it onto the raven haired boys' cheek, using her thumb to wipe away the stray tears dotting his sun kissed skin.
"Hey, it'll be alright, and you wanna know why? 'Cause you are easily the most important person in my life. You're sweet, and goofy, and I just love being around you. Above all that you are strong, and I don't just mean physically. Cole, you have been through so much, and you've helped myself and the others through so much as well. You are incredible, and even that word doesn't compare to how amazing you truly are. So please believe me when I promise you that I could never forget about you; and that I'll do everything in my power to help you however I can because I know you would do the same for me. We'll figure this out together, you're not alone. You never have been."
As the words left Destiny's mouth the Master of Earth couldn't help but be rendered speechless. Was this really how she felt about him? Did she mean every word that she spoke just now?
Although these questions were running through his head Cole had no doubt that the small brunette girl was speaking the truth. It wasn't often that the black ninja was complimented or acknowledged in this manner of fashion, but it was as if Destiny had known exactly what to say.
Cole cared for his family very much, and although he didn't show it, often wondered what they thought of him. Cole's relationship with Destiny was different than that of anyone else though, and he knew she held a special place in his heart. Now, hearing that someone he cared so much for thought so highly of him was enough to calm the sweltering storm that had been raging inside of his mind.
"I… I don't know what to say." Cole finally spoke up, wiping his free arm across his face as he sniffled. Still combating the unfallen tears that stung at the back of his eyes.
"You don't have to say anything. Just promise me you won't forget that I'm here for you." Destiny responded softly, giving the black ninja an empathetic smile.
"I promise." Cole answered, returning the short girls' soft smile.
"Good. We'll figure this out. Together." With their peace said the pair then fell back to silence, quietly admiring the new sunset that painted the far reaches of the horizon.
As the second half of the week progressed the other ninja took notice of the change that took place in the black ninja once again. Although he still was not quite himself he seemed to be getting better.
It also seemed as though Destiny and Cole were an inseparable duo, with the shorter always by the raven haired boys' side. Then, whenever Cole's anxiety would start getting the best of him Destiny would bring him back down to earth, often by holding onto his hand out of sight where the others could not see. Or so she thought.
It would take time for Cole to fully come to peace with what had happened to him, the ninja all understood that. Still, while Cole had not explicitly told them what was going on it still made them happy to see that he had confided in someone. Someone who they all knew would get him through this.