Ninjago: Ripped World

4: The Past

He longed to go back, to that simpler time, where he could happily ignore his feelings for Nya. It had been easy, because Nya seemed genuinely uninterested in him and joyously happy in Jay's company. Cole appreciated her in many ways, but never let him self think about it. That would have been weird; obsessing over your friend's... your brothers' girl.

The day of the Vortex was a 'beaut. One from which he remembered having his last happy moment in Ninjago. When he was part of a truly tight knit group, a family. Nya was there, she always was. Remembering helped him escape reality a little but accentuated the fact that he had caused a rift in the family. One minute, life was good, the relationships in the team finely balanced, then the vortex appeared and it all went to crap. But the crap that followed, he wouldn't change for anything even though it was now the reason he wanted to die.

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The Dojo was quiet and still, save for the dust motes that slowly travelled through a shaft of light cutting through the gloom of the basement room.

A Gentle 'tink-clink', sound came from the hallway outside the room. Cole pushed the door open and entered the room. His large hands held a small plate and a fork. All his attention was focused on the cake as he gently pushed the fork through the delicate sponge stopping on the plate below. 'tink'. He manoeuvred the morsel of cake onto the fork and raised it to his mouth. He savoured the texture as he pressed his lips down on the fork as the frosting tried to hold the cake put. Cole lived for sensory moments like this. He particularly adored cake, but he could find joy in pretty much all food on a table.

As he walked through the Dojo, Cole waved the fork through the suspended particles to watch them dance and settled down onto a bench. He sat underneath the haphazardly suspended bamboo hangers and practice robes, their arms spread wide, waiting to welcome the novice and master alike. Cole was anything but a novice, but not yet a master. As the Black Ninja he channelled the power of the earth, which was turning out to be a surprising and increasingly complex element to understand let alone control. That's why he needed the cake. It really did relax him. He put another forkful of cake in his mouth, tilted his head back against the wall, closed his eyes and released an appreciative sigh.

'Are you eating cake again'?

Cole was snapped out of his reverie. 'Nya... Where did you come from?'

'Stealth' she whispered.

Lost for words he could only quantify Nya's consternation at his seeming gluttony with 'But it's cake...' Like this should be enough of a reason in itself. Looking at Nya's puzzled irreverence, he deduced this answer was obviously not satisfactory. 'It's chocolate fudge, with coconut frosting...'

Silence

'...and little marshmallows?' He gave an uncertain smile, asking for understanding.

Bemused, Nya rolled her eyes and grimaced. She unfolded her arms and set to readying for the training session. She pulled her training robe down from a hanger, slipped out of her light summer shirt-dress and into the boxy garment. Cole gave her a cursory glance. In his eyes, she was as his brothers. There was no room for niceties in the intense dynamic of the Ninja team. Though it did unnerve him when she blithely changed in front of him, or any one else for that matter. Jay could barely hide his feelings and quite often had to be some-where else rather quickly. Which Cole found hilarious.

Nya couldn't care less. She was as tough as they come and had earned her place in the team fair and square. Only after casting off the trappings of the Samurai X and its Tech based power, did she realize her elemental power. Master Wu saw it in her, even if she did not. It was not until she could prove it to herself that he opened her eyes to her full potential.

Cole considered Nya, following her with his eyes. She had saved him on various occasions as the Samurai X. Now as the Water Ninja, she was one with the team, but apart. Perhaps her open show of nonchalance was a way of confirming her position, who knew? Cole wasn't too concerned; he had an awesome slice of cake and now Nya, who was moving in slow graceful form in front of him. He watched her lithe hands cut through the light, the dust rolling in lazy circles around her. Slow through the start of each movement, building to an accelerated stop and tipping into the next. Cole had to admit, he could sit here happily for hours, calm and centred.

Of course this was not to be. Taken aback by his contentment he opened his big old mouth and ruined it all.

'Jeez COLE!' Nya shot around and blasted at Cole, who had let rip the loudest burp imaginable.

'Why did I do that?' thought Cole. To Nya the look on Cole's face showed pure belligerence, but was actually shocked confusion at himself.

Taken aback, Cole decided to roll with it. 'Chill mermaid, I'm just warming up!' He inflated his chest about to magic up a second. Nya found a punching mitt and threw it at his head.

'What the hell Cole, I was in the zone and don't call me mermaid!' She was at the door and heading out as she fired back 'Dung Beetle!' followed by an infuriated guttural growl.

Cole sat with a surprised look on his face. He finished the last morsel of cake, recovering a mini-marshmallow that had fallen off before making it to his mouth. 'She may be a water Ninja, but she's got a whiff of Kai's fire, that's for sure', he said to the empty Dojo.

The silence reprimanded him

'Ah shoot'. He jumped up and jogged over to the window. He hung out of it just as Nya came out of the door to the main building. He called to her.

'For you' He held out his hand in a pious gesture and summoned a whole rose bush from a neighbouring buildings' flowerbed. Nya slowed at the bottom step as the rose bush hovered in front of her, shedding loosened earth at her feet.

'You've got to be kidding me?' Nya mumbled. Then picked a small bloom, the petals just opening, from one of the branches. 'Put it back you moron' she shouted.

'I'm Sorry!' Cole shouted back his apology.

In a slow jog Nya moved toward the basement window. As she passed, she gave a theatrical bow down to Cole and flourished the Rose under her nose. 'You are forgiven' she said haughtily and jogged on.

Cole artlessly plopped the rose bush back in the neighbours' flowerbed. 'Yep' he thought sarcastically, 'that's exactly how brothers act'. He shook his head at his own idiocy and went back inside.