Novaturience of a Ninja

A New Do, a New You

"Nice, uh, style choice, Kai."

Kai glared at his younger sister, seething as she continued to tease him for his hair. His brand-new hairstyle, that Skylor helped him achieve.

"Stop it, I look great."

Nya smothered her laughter. "No, you look passable. And you only achieved that because your girlfriend helped you out."

"Skylor is not my—never mind." He slumped against a nearby brick wall, ignoring strange looks from a couple of the passersby.

The two siblings had both agreed to meet in Ninjago City. While the Bounty was home, it was too quiet, despite the newfound energy that Jay and Cole provided. And noise, Nya admitted, but it was the desire for some kind of noise that had brought the two ninja to the city.

"Hey, watch it!"

The two of them turned, attempting to locate the source of the voice. Apparently, it had been a man attempting to pass them on the sidewalk, only to be prevented from doing so as they took up the space walking side by side.

"So sorry, sir!" Nya called after him.

The only reply she received for her apology was a grunt of annoyance.

"Maybe we should take our oh-so-important discussion elsewhere," Kai said dryly.

Nya rolled her eyes. "What do you think I've been trying to do?"

"Hmm, let me think about that one for a moment. Insult my hair?"

"Besides that."

A drawn out silence ensued, both siblings overcome with some level of guilt. Guilt came far too easily, especially after all that both of them had been through in the past month.

Come to think of it, I don't know how Nya's actually been pulling through this.

Kai closed his eyes briefly, overcome by emotion.

At least the last time we were both like this, it was over our fears and worries about our parents and whoever the new Samurai X is. But all of that seems so shallow and pointless now that we lost Master Wu.

"Hey, Nya? You hangin' in there all right?"

Nya opened her mouth, then closed it, quite taken aback at this genuine display of concern.

"I'm getting by, I guess. Hey, want to stop and get smoothies?" Her lighthearted voice doused any indication of how she actually felt.

"Sure," her brother agreed, brow wrinkling still in worry.

She really must be struggling. For most of our lives, she's never been this distracted, not to mention quiet. It feels wrong. What happened to the sister who would face any challenge with at least a show of confidence, if there was ever a time she didn't already feel confident enough?

"Kai? You aren't paying attention again."

"Hm?" He shook himself out of his daze, trying to orient himself. "Oh, we're already here. After you."

Then, for one of the only instances in known history, Nya, the independent and fierce individual she was, allowed the door to be held open for her and quietly stepped in.

"I thought you'd be feeling a lot better, at least after hanging out with Jay and Zane," the fire ninja murmured out of the corner of his mouth. "Didn't you say both of them were acting more normal than they have been?"

Nya sighed, her breath exhaled forcefully enough to blow strands of dark hair out of her face. "I guess it didn't quite wear off on me. I've—been trying."