The Silent Man's Whisper [ninjago]

22 | returned

Sometimes, in life, making sacrifices meant a definite forever. There was no going back or backing out. "Done" meant "done", and "over" meant "over".

"Forever" meant "forever".

But for Jay Walker, those sacrifices had a completely different meaning. His definition of "forever" did not always have the same meaning.

He had been a ninja for close to a decade, and he had a lot of experience to carry around with him. Sometimes he wanted to have a switch, like Zane did, that could make him able to choose what to feel when. Jay tended to joke at the most dangerous situations. He knew it got on the others' nerves, but he couldn't help himself—joking was his way of staying sane.

Or insane, depending on what the situation exactly was.

He never had a basic display of emotions. When others would chuckle, he would laugh at the top of his lungs. When others were able to keep their tears at bay, he would cry after getting a paper cut. When others reserved their jokes and one-liners for the correct moments to use them, he would distribute them like chocolate on Easter.

Nya liked to call it his emotional outbursts. And she was spot on with it, too.

"Why the freaking freak are we not dead yet?" The question came out in one stream, almost as fast as his eyes searched the area around him.

The quiet land of Ignacia was just that—quiet. Too quiet.

The ninja had decided to take it slow, to make their efforts low-key. They wanted to blend it, thus why they were all currently wearing disguises. Sunglasses, hats, fake facial hair, all that jazz.

"I don't know," Lloyd answered.

The two were walking down one of the busiest streets in Ignacia, although even Ignacia's busiest street was not as crowded compared to Ninjago City's busiest street. Lots of markets and Mom-and-Pop shops were located on the sidewalks. Residents did their early shopping like they were not aware of the danger that lurked in the shadows.

"It's so peaceful here," Kai said, his voice booming through everyone's earpieces. "I almost forgot how great my patria is."

"Patria?" Nya asked, bewildered. "When did you insert that into your limited vocabulary?"

"He probably heard it once and thought he'd sound cool if he said it," Jay guessed.

"You guys are bullies." Kai faked a sniff. "I didn't hear it once. I've known its meaning for a long while. I just haven't used the word in front of eyewitnesses yet."

"Earwitnesses," Jay corrected.

"That's not a word, Jay," Cole argued.

"Shut up, Cole."

"Yeah, shut up, Cole," Kai repeated.

"Yo!" Cole exclaimed. "I was about to be on your side, Kai. Now I can't help but bully you together with your sister and Jay. You're dumb."

The volume of Kai's gasp caused his five teammates to flinch. "You're dumb, Cole! You're all dumb!"

"Hey! What did I do?" Lloyd said, his eyes locking with the brown ones of a stand merchant. The man quickly looked down at the tomatoes he was stacking, but Lloyd kept his gaze on him. Something was off.

Lloyd walked more slowly as they passed by the merchant's stand. Jay threw him a questioning glance but understood what was happening the moment he looked at the merchant. He, too, felt there was something just...off.

It probably meant nothing. But there was always the chance, no matter how small or how insignificant, that a person they kept their eyes on was bad.

The merchant, however, only sorted through his offerings. After finishing the tomatoes, he neatly placed eggplants into a display box, and when an interested couple stood in front of his stand, he tended to their requests.