In which Sora and Arin go on their missions with their respective mentors, yet they feel something is missing. . .

[3rd POV]

"We think the three Dragon Cores can be found somewhere here, here, and here." Nya had the map laid out in front of her, and she pointed to the respective places as she spoke. "We have to find all of them if we want to stop the MergeQuakes and stabilize the world."

"So, we'll have to split up into three teams." Lloyd scanned the room for worthy candidates for his group. Arin had his hand held high; he was the perfect candidate. Lloyd glanced at Sora, her eyes lost somewhere. He figured maybe she wanted to team up with someone in particular, and he guessed the others thought so, too. "Now, how do you wanna--"

"Me and Sora," Nya said confidently. She looked back at Sora to confirm, who was still in her trance.

Sora blinked and regained her composure. "Yeah! . . .Me and Nya," she replied hesitantly. She didn't want anyone to know she was in deep thought. "And Riyu," she added, her voice higher than usual. "We're a team."

"Then me and Arin will be a team." Lloyd beckoned to Arin, and he rushed beside him.

"Sounds good!" Arin remarked. "Then that leaves. . ."

All eyes were cast on Kai and Wyldfyre, who turned to each other, flabbergasted.

"With him/her?!" they shouted in unison. "Don't get us into trouble."

Zane started talking, but Sora drifted into her trance again. Her gaze shifted to Arin, who shuffled excitedly beside Lloyd. Her eyes softened into a saddened expression. Arin noticed her gaze, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in his stomach.

[Arin's POV]

Several days later

"Arin? You there?"

I snapped put of my trance, my cheeks burning. I quickly turned to Lloyd, who was busy steering the ship.

"Uh, sorry!" I exclaimed, my voice cracking. "How long have I been. . .y'know, staring weirdly?"

"Eh, for a minute," Lloyd shrugged. "But you were supposed to tell me all the fifty-two types of pie crusts."

"Oh, yeah!" I rubbed the back of my neck, chuckling a bit. "Now, where was I?"

I expected Lloyd to give me a number, but he furrowed his eyebrows. "You've been zoning out for the past couple of hours," he said in a worried tone. "I don't think you can continue telling me all that stuff if you're focused on something else."

"Me, zoning out? Really?" Although what he said was true, I'd rather continue talking about pie.

"I'm just kinda concerned about you, Arin," Lloyd stated, his brows still furrowed close to his green eyes. "I mean, I'm your teacher, and teachers are supposed to help. And right now, it seems like something's bothering you."

I sighed deeply. I guess there's no hiding it, now, I told myself.

"Well, it's just -- When I transferred Spinjitzu to that plate the other day, I felt. . .I don't know. Guilty? Empty? I don't know how to describe it."

Lloyd placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Like something's missing?"

I gazed at the sea, so blue, so bright. The sun's rays glistened on the white, bubbly sea foam forming wavy lines on the calm waters. Blue. . .the color of loyalty. "Yeah," I answered quietly.

My mind went back to the day when we were deciding our teams. I was standing beside Lloyd, eagerly jumping up and down in my place. I glanced at Sora, and she had this sad look in her eyes that made my stomach churn with guilt. I didn't forget that look 'til this very moment.

"I noticed."

"You did?" I asked, shocked.

Lloyd let out a small laugh. "When you're the destined Green Ninja, there's technically nothing you don't know."

"'Technically'?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You feel everything when you're the 'savior' of the world," Lloyd said, his gaze on me softening. "I know how it feels when you have to be apart from someone you love, and I could tell your friend was feeling down when you wanted to be on my team."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Nya's not the kind of person to give up easily. Besides, our group arrangments were appropriate for the situation."

I thought about how our teams would be split if Sora was in my group. Nya would be working alone, which wouldn't be fair. And if Kai or Wyldfyre joined her, someone is still gonna work alone -- besides, Nya couldn't handle any of them without yelling. Then if Zane would join any of our teams, Mr. Frohicky would be alone in the Monastery, and although he can take care of the place by himself, he wouldn't be able to vanquish MergeQuakes if they ever appear. And that's including the fact I wanted to team up with Lloyd.

I sighed, accepting fate. "Makes sense," I shrugged.

Lloyd cracked a small smile. "It's alright, Arin. We'll find other ways for you guys to go on missions together."

"Really?" I asked, grinning wide.

"Of course! By the way, I'm sure she'll be proud of your Spinjitzu-transferring when see her again."

I sighed in satisfaction. The thought of not seeing her supporting me in my accomplishmemts made me feel down, but the hope of reuniting with her so I can share them with her made me glad again.

"Now, I think you're ready to tell me about the fifty-two types of pie crusts," Lloyd smiled.

"Yeah! I'm ready," I replied. "Just promise me you won't get hungry?"

[Sora's POV]

Meanwhile

It's been a couple of days since we encountered Arrakore and defeated the Howlers. Nya and I followed the compass the Djinn granted us, and we are nearing closer and closer to our destination.

Dusk clearly showed itself through the sun's rays reflecting off the wispy clouds above us. Half of the sky gave a warm orange, the other half a navy blue sprinkled with white stars. I could feel Sora's -- I mean, Zanth's body relax underneath me, and Jiro was slowing in his pace.

"You tired, now?" Nya inquired, petting the side of Jiro.

He purred softly in response, and Zanth followed with a low growl.

"I guess we should settle down then," Nya chuckled. "It's getting dark, anyways."

"Yeah," I replied, nodding in agreement. I gazed at the sun setting in the West. It was hidden enough to where I didn't need to squint, but I squinted nevertheless. Some painful feeling in my chest has been bothering me recently, so I was hoping a break here would make it disappear.

We landed by some rocky dunes, and in a few minutes we had a fire going. Nya boiled some water in a kettle for our cup noodles, and she broke out a few meat jerkies to feed the dragons. I watched the water gradually bubble uncontrollably, the steam lifting into the cool, night air. I squinted again, the chaos of the water and fire not helping with the pain-inducing emptiness in my chest.

"Are you okay, Sora?"

I stopped staring, shaking my head before casting a glance at a worried Nya. "Yeah! I'm fine," I answered, my voice cracking. I did not intend for me to sound like that. Great, now she knows.

"You don't look fine," Nya insisted. She set the jerky aside and sat beside me, placing a comforting hand on my back. "What's bothering you?"

"Are you okay? . . .What's bothering you?" -- all familiar questions asked by. . .What's the point? He's not even here.

"There's this, uh, lump in my chest. I can't really explain the feeling, but it's empty and full of pain at the same time."

"I get you, girl," Nya smiled. She leaned back, gazing sadly at the stars in their full, undisturbed glory. "I lost my Yang, Jay, to the Merge. When he asked me to be his Yang, we promised to be together forever. But it seems fate has been trying to divide us, because we've been apart more often than before, each time getting longer and lonelier than the previous." She sighed deeply, bringing her knees closer to her body. "This is the third time I've been apart from Jay since I became his Yang. . ."

". . .I'm so sorry. . ."

The cool breeze gave us a little solace and a breather. I swear I could see a tiny teardrop trailing down Nya's cheek.

"Thanks," she sniffled. "Ever since the Merge, I felt something missing. You feel that way, too, right?"

"Yeah. . ."

"Like it's empty because it's missing, but it's painful because you're missing something incredibly important."

My eyes widened. I underestimated how much Nya gets me. "Uh-huh," was all I could say.

Nya chuckled, wiping the tear stain off her face. "You miss Arin, right?"

"Mhm. It's always been the two of us together, in everything we did; there was never a day where we didn't see each other. And now, this is the first time I've been apart from him, ever."

"Wow! You guys really are close friends." She gazed at the stars again, and I joined her. "Don't worry, we'll see Arin soon. . .when all of this is over."

"Yeah, when all of this is over. . ."

I fixed my gaze hopefully on those stars, remembering the day I first met Arin, the stars above us shining just as bright as the stars are right now. I sighed, feeling hopeful. You will see him again, I told myself, determined. We are looking at the same sky right now, stars or not.

The water was boiling violently in the kettle, and Nya stood up and removed it from above the fire, filling our cup noodles with the steaming hot water.

I took a sip of the soup, the breeze already cooling it to the perfect temperature. "You'll see Jay soon, too. I'm sure of it."

Nya looked up from the steam clouding her face, stunned. "Thank you. . ." she smiled brightly. "You know, you guys remind me of Jay and I."

"Really?"

"Yeah, like Jaya 2.0!"

I laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."