Thank you to sophiaarts and JustAFemaleGeek for reviewing! It means so much to me. Have a wonderful week!
A clap of thunder woke Nya in the early morning. There was sunlight behind the rainclouds, but it was barely seeping through and lighting the morning. It was around 5 a.m., and she groaned. She wanted to go back to sleep, but knew that Wu would probably have her back to training in a couple of hours.
So she tried to close her eyes and just rest, and the remembrance of the day before washed over her with a sickly feeling. She rolled over, pulling the quilt up over her shoulders.
She hadn't realized she had drifted off to sleep again until she awoke to a quick bang on her door and the voice of Cole yelling for everyone to get up. He was usually up after Zane, but Zane didn't enjoy waking everyone up, so Cole took the responsibility. It used to be Wu's job, but after the ninja had gotten to a more responsible stage, he left it to work out themselves.
She glared at the door and rolled over to stare out the window that was in the wall that her bed was pushed against. It was pouring outside. It was nice that the weather felt as dreary as she did. There was some solidarity. She laid there a few more minutes, feeling the floor rumble as the boys got out of bed and started getting ready. Slamming doors, yelling for space in their bathroom, and crashes of things falling in the shower were all normal occurrences.
Nya jumped at her door being knocked on again.
"Nya, get up." Cole yelled. "You have things to do."
She ignored him.
"Nya, I swear to the first spinjitsu master, get up. I know you're awake." Cole was annoyed. Good. He deserved it. Besides, he didn't know she was awake.
"I'm giving you a minute to get dressed. Then I'm coming in so we can talk." Cole sounded pissed. It almost gave Nya a sense of pride that she could work him up this way. He was so pissy and for what. Let her be for goodness sake.
Nya was still wearing her pajamas from the evening before, so she just sat up, wrapped in her quilt, and waited for the minute to be up.
At exactly 60 seconds, Cole harshly opened the door. Nya sat still, looking at him with disdain.
"Can you not be difficult, Nya? We need to train together today. Get dressed please. Zane has breakfast waiting." Cole sighed, crossing his arms impatiently. Nya was mildly transfixed with his biceps, the way they flexed under his plain black t-shirt.
"I don't want to train today." Nya responded after a moment.
"I don't really care, and neither does Wu." Cole said pointedly.
"You can't force me." she frowned.
"Nya please, what's going on?" Cole's shoulders dropped a bit.
Nya shrugged. She just didn't want to. And she didn't want to have to face everyone after last night.
"I don't really want to be around everyone right now." she said, a little quieter.
"I'm sorry, but we have to work as a team. Please don't be like this." Cole sighed again, and sat on the edge of her bed. "We all have our issues sometimes. And you refusing to work them out doesn't help."
"I don't think things are going well with Jay and me." Nya whispered. She hadn't even wanted to say anything or think anything of the sort, but it just sort of came out of her. She immediately started tearing up.
"Aww, Nya. It's okay. It'll be okay. Love is just like that sometimes. Nobody is perfect. Especially not Jay. But you guys will work it out." Cole half smiled. So this was the real reason. Or so he thought.
Nya pulled her knees up and laid her forehead on them.
"I just don't really like being the water ninja, Cole. I don't know why I have to be. I liked being Samurai X. It was my own thing. Now I'm just another ninja."
"You're not just another ninja, Nya. You're important to the team. Even if you do have an outburst here and there. Please get dressed and come get breakfast so we can train. You don't have to do too much today, but it has to be something." Cole offered, ruffling her hair.
Nya groaned, "Can I have the day off? Please, Cole." she whined a little. He pursed his lips and thought for a moment.
"What are you going to do instead?"
"I'll take a drive. I've been meaning to get out for a bit." Nya came up with her answer quickly. She could get the hell out of here and be gone for a while.
"I guess I can tell the others you're busy. But I expect you to be hard at work with us tomorrow. No slacking. No fighting."
"Yes, I promise!" Nya jumped up and wrapped her arms around Cole from the side, burying her face in his shoulder. He returned the hug firmly, holding her for a minute. At that moment, Jay walked by her open door and glanced in, seeing the two hugging on Nya's bed. His face flushed with confusion and he stood open mouthed, and Cole looked up and caught his eye. Oh shit. He thought. But he didn't let Nya know, just let her go gently and she took the hint. He stood up rather stiffly and said, "Don't make me regret this." His voice sounded strained.
"I won't. Promise." Nya looked up at him gratefully, her large brown eyes twinkling. Cole nodded and turned, cringing internally. He had some explaining to do to Jay.
Nya, however, felt better and threw on some clothes. A black long sleeve shirt and skinny jeans with some black chelsea boots were paired with some small diamond earrings that Kai had gotten her one year.
She wasn't really a makeup girl due to the nature of her life, but she enjoyed that she had an occasion to wear some mascara and a dark brownish red lip gloss. She thought about attempting eyeliner, and chose to create a soft smoky look with her somewhat basic skill set.
She turned around for a few minutes in front of her mirror, trying to decide where she would go and what she would do.
Ninjago city was pretty far away, but there were a few small towns nearby that she could drive through and maybe shop for some books and get lunch. She also wanted to just feel the wind on her face and see some of the surrounding area.
As she walked out of her room a little nervously, not wanting anyone to say anything about how she was dressed, she was surprised to just see Misako in the kitchen, working through some old charts and books with a cup of tea. She then cringed when she thought of the night before and what she had said. Sure it was what everyone was thinking, but she didn't need to bring it up. Misako had probably spent a long time beating herself up over her bad choices.
"Oh, Nya, you're up. Do you want some breakfast? Zane made some eggs." Misako asked kindly. Nya felt even worse. She was just being nice to her and not even being petty about the situation.
"No thank you, I'm about to head out. I just wanted to apologize for what I said last night. It wasn't right of me to say. I hope you'll forgive me." Her face turned red in embarrassment, hoping Misako would accept her shame as punishment enough.
"Oh honey, of course. I remember being your age once. It's never easy being a teenage girl." Misako stood to hug Nya gently, "Before you leave, Zane left a list of things to pick up since Cole told him you were going to be out today." Nya's face dropped a little. Of course.
"Sure thing." She smiled ruefully, hoping she didn't sound too much like a bitch.
"Here let me get it for you," Misako walked into the galley kitchen and took a paper that was magnetized to the fridge, "This shouldn't be too much for you to handle."
"Thanks for the heads up. I'll get this stuff." Nya whirled around and got out the door before she could be told to do anything else.
Once she got out the door, the sound of clanging weapons and shouts hit her ears. But she especially noticed Jay being a little more aggressive than normal. That was probably her fault.
She walked quickly to the garage and hopped onto her bike, a beast of a machine that had all kinds of horsepower (and storage!), perfect for a ninja on the go. She put in earbuds, buckled her helmet and revved her engine, taking off into the early morning light.
She started with a nearby village for some personal shopping and fresh air. She walked into a clothing boutique and immediately a flock of salesladies were swarming her. Nya was a little overwhelmed, but enjoyed the attention. She was the only girl in the household, other than Misako. She and Misako didn't get along very well, and there was no way Nya would do something like clothes shopping with her. But here, it was just girls who wanted to look their very best and help Nya feel that way too, even if it was to get paid. There was still no way they would steer her wrong and they genuinely enjoyed the art of clothes and dressing up.
"Would you like some help finding something specific?" One woman asked, but the other girls clamored and interrupted before Nya could respond.
"Or you can follow me to our pre-made bundles!"
"I can show you where our most recent additions are!"
"Let me take you to our sales rack!" This perked Nya up immediately. Sales. She liked sales. And she wasn't going to be able to afford much in this place without them.
"I'd like to see the sales please." Nya caught the eye of the woman who offered, a skinny dark haired woman who had to be nearly six feet tall. She was definitely a model. The woman was wearing what had to be the cutest outfit Nya had ever seen in her life. A short brown and black plaid miniskirt, a black turtleneck sweater, some semi-sheer tights, and this stunning pair of brown leather boots that probably cost more money than Nya had ever seen in her life. But it wasn't just the outfit. The woman's hair was blown out in bouncy waves and she had it pulled into a half ponytail tied with a black ribbon bow. Her makeup was perfectly done, not too much, showing off her natural freckles. What she lacked in base was made up for in eyeliner and dark red lipstick. She was stunning. And Nya could only imagine how she looked next to her in her simple outfit and beginner level makeup that she had been so proud of before.
All of a sudden she felt tiny next to the tall woman, and she felt stupid for even trying. She would always just be a tomboy, never really breaking out into girlhood like the girls in here.
"My name is Nessa, let me show you what we have here on clearance." The woman's voice was even beautiful, slightly deeper and rich like smooth chocolate. Nya nodded.
"Thank you, I don't even know what I'm looking for. I just have a day to myself, and I thought I might be able to find something."
"Oooh, yes. Let's find the perfect item for you." Nessa smiled warmly, pulling the rack of clearance items out. "Here's something that might suit you? You have lovely brown eyes, I wonder if this might bring them out a little bit more."
She had pulled off of the rack a lovely brown sweater dress that looked like it was made out of the finest milk chocolate. It was a little short for Nya's taste, but it could be paired with leggings or a miniskirt. Her eyes were opened wide, and she nodded.
"Let me set this aside for you. We can go try it on in a moment. I also have this belt that would go with it, that way you can show off your curves." Nya blushed a bit. She tried not to be too promiscuous, especially around the ninja. She and Jay had been dating for so long, but had never really done anything together yet. She could tell that Jay was getting a little impatient, and to be honest so was she. However it was hard to feel like she could be sexy or show herself off when she lived with a bunch of guys, including her brother who would be disgusted to see anything like that from his baby sister.
The media was starting to be more interested in the ninja, however, but Wu had been pretty strict with what they were and weren't allowed to be public about. In the past it had never shown to be good when they were more open with the press.
Especially since Nya had been so much younger during those times, there were creepy people who were interested in all of the ninja, but being a pretty young girl, it was even worse for her. She tried to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible.
Nya watched the Nessa go over to a built-in on the wall that had some drawers, and Nessa stooped to pull some pieces of jewelry out as well.
"I love your boots, I think they'll go perfectly with this outfit!" Nessa smiled as she came back with the accessories, "Let's go try this on!"
Nya smiled and nodded, following her to the dressing room. She felt so special.
She walked into the little closet-like room with the dress and pulled the curtain shut, changing quickly.
"Ok let me see!" Nessa said excitedly, "We have to try on the rest of the outfit if that fits!"
It did fit. The dress was gorgeous on Nya, making her feel elegant even without the belt and accessories. She did a little twirl and opened the curtain shyly.
"Oh my goodness you look so beautiful! Let's complete the look." Nessa deftly buckled the belt and moved the dress to sit gracefully around it, and she put a little gold necklace with red and brown beads on her as well. She then topped it off with a brown headband that set nicely in Nya's black hair. Nya looked back into the dressing room mirror and smiled widely. The dress was short, but Nya didn't care too much with the way she looked so elegant and sexy. This was a date night or an important meeting in Ninjago City outfit.
"I love it." Nya simply responded, still checking herself out and marveling at how good she looked.
"Oh good! And I wanted you to know that the accessories, so the belt, headband, and necklace, are 75% off with the purchase of the dress, which is on clearance."
Nya smiled even bigger. This was perfect. She changed back into her old clothes and let Nessa ring her up, and Nya left the boutique with her package feeling like she had just conquered the world.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
As she drove out of the village, she decided to drive down the coast. She was close enough and maybe she could stop for lunch in Stiix, since Zane had listed a mechanical part that she needed to pick up from Ronin. She shuddered a little thinking about going back there. But she said she would get the items on the list.
So she drove, the air fresh against her body as it whipped around her. The ocean splashed playfully next to the road, and Nya tried to concentrate on the water, seeing if she could just make it move how she wanted. It was difficult, especially while trying to drive. But here and there she saw splashes that she definitely was the cause of. And that encouraged her as she drove into the rebuilding town of Stiix. It was much more peaceful than she remembered, and she almost could shake the weird feeling that came with the place. She parked her bike near the edge of town and went on foot to go to Ronin's shop. She hadn't heard from him recently, so she hoped he was still here. Not that she expected to hear from him. It wasn't like they were best friends or anything, but she knew that he would drop by every now and again. Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had visited the tea shop.
She walked quickly to get to Ronin's shop, and she saw the flashing neon sign announcing that it was open. The green light buzzed a little as she walked in, ringing the bell that hung above the door.
"Hello?" It was empty.
"One minute!" A mild roar from the back of the shop hit her ears. Ronin stumbled out of the door leading to the storerooms carrying a large crate full of random scraps. "Oh, Nya, how are you? And what brings you out here to see little old me? Not another ghost invasion I hope!" He laughed loudly at his own joke. Nya smiled and shook her head.
"Zane sent me to get something from you. Well. I have a list of things I'm supposed to get on my day off." She rolled her eyes.
"Damn, they don't let you have any fun do they? Pretty girl like you and they just treat you like another one of those boys." Ronin shook his head. Nya blushed a little, but recovered quickly.
"Just the way it is I guess. Do you have this set of gears that Zane needs?"
"Yup. He called ahead and I saved 'em for him. They're in the back." He turned and went back into the storeroom, and Nya decided to follow.
Ronin had his hair pulled back into a low ponytail, and he wasn't wearing his usual eyepatch scanner. He also wasn't wearing his usual armor either, just a gray long sleeved thermal shirt and jeans with some work boots. He reached up on the shelf to grab the box for Nya, and his shirt lifted ever so slightly, revealing what looked to be abs. Nya caught herself looking and immediately chastised herself for even looking at his lower half. What had gotten into her? Sure he was handsome, but he was old enough to be her father. And she had Jay. And he was not known to be the most trustworthy.
"Here ya go missy. Anything else I can do ya for?" He stood, the way out blocked by Nya in the narrow storeroom. He stood over her, and she blushed as she looked up at him. She was pretty tall for a girl her age at 5'7", but still just a teenager. Ronin was almost as tall as Cole, but not quite as bulky. She could only imagine now that he was quite strong still.
"Oh, no, I guess not. I can pay for these and get out of your hair." Nya blushed, backing out of the storeroom.
"All good. Zane paid over the phone. They're all yours." Ronin smiled easily and flashed his surprisingly white teeth, "Are you doing anything else in town or did you just stop by for Zane? I can't imagine there's anything you would want to do down here."
"I was probably just going to get lunch, but I don't really have a reason to be here other than Zane's order." Nya responded a little shyly.
"Gotcha. Well, if you want I can take ya down to the Chen's and grab some food with you. I was going to go anyway." Ronin was already grabbing his jacket before she could respond.
Nya hadn't planned on spending the day with anyone else, but it might be nice to catch up with Ronin. At least he didn't treat her like one of the boys. He had always acted a little different around her.
"Sure, why not?" She responded with a half smile. She was still holding the package, and thought about how her bike was a bit away. Ronin must have thought of this, because he spoke up quickly.
"Just leave the package here, you can pick it up on your way back." He said, taking it from her and setting it on the counter. He ushered her out and locked the door behind them, and he used a remote control in his pocket to flip the neon light off.
They took off walking together to the Chen's, which wasn't far away, and Nya could smell the place fairly soon after their walk started.
Soon the purple and red lights were visible even during the day, and there was lively music playing despite the lack of customers. Chen's had gone down quite a bit since the tournament, but it had picked up some speed again now that Skylor, his daughter, had taken over the business.
They walked in together, Ronin holding the door for Nya, and they went up to the counter to order. Nya pulled out her wallet in preparation, but Ronin grabbed her arm a little roughly.
"Don't worry about it, I would never make a lady pay." He winked at her a little teasingly, and Nya noticed his hazel eyes for the first time. She felt her stomach drop a little and she nodded. Well, that was nice.
"Thank you so much, but really I don't mind." She responded a little feebly, not really wanting to get out of the free lunch but still remembering her manners.
"C'mon Nya, you're a teenager. Save your money for fun stuff or for a birthday present for that boyfriend of yours. Don't worry about it. Go order now." He nodded towards the fairly impatient looking teenager at the cash register, who had more piercings than Nya knew one could have visible on their face.
She ordered her favorite, a chicken and vegetable noodle bowl with a side of dumplings, and stepped back with her empty paper cup and lid to let Ronin order. He ordered some kind of combo meal with way more food than Nya considered a normal person would eat, and after he had paid they went to fill their drinks up at the soda fountain.
They finally sat down with their little table marker and drinks, with Nya on one side of the booth and Ronin on the other. This was awkward. Nya didn't know what to say. It was going to be an interesting meal.