Long Time No See (Ninjago post-Rebooted AU)

Chapter 10

If you feel this chapter is rather short (based on the word count it isn't), there will be more 'interactions' between Jay and the other Ninja in the future!

I didn't want to cram too much into this first meeting and completely overwhelm the poor guy 😉, so this serves more of an 'introduction'.

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Chapter 10 (Jay)

Six and a half years ago, a few days after the Final Battle, Ninjago City Arcade

"Strike." Cole fist pumps as the pins fall, earning him nothing but an unimpressed groan from the rest of us.

Bowling with a team of highly-skilled Ninja is not the most exciting activity, our scores are all fairly close together in the very high range, with Zane even still holding a chance of making it a perfect game. But it's still fun nonetheless.

It's been fairly quiet in Ninjago City since the Final Battle, so Sensei Wu has given us the evening off and, just as we usually do in our free time here in the capital, we have gone to the Arcade.

Nya has not joined us tonight though. My favourite Samurai is still recovering from the effects of the Dark Matter and just wants to have a quiet night at home – which currently is the same tiny, smelly apartment we already occupied last year after losing the Bounty – with some ice cream and a sappy romance movie. Of course, I would have loved to stay with her and have some time alone with my girlfriend, but then Kai threatened to stay as well if I did, so she just kissed me softly and told me to 'have fun in your boys' club'.

Also, this is the last evening for all of us Ninja together – Lloyd is leaving tomorrow, first to visit his parents at their new home and then travel around the country to accept a couple of awards, and the rest of us, sans Kai and Nya, are going to spend some time with our families – so I would have been disappointed to miss it. To celebrate this occasion, we have even decided not to play video games, but rather do some activities as a group. First, we joined a game of Laser Tag where we defeated the other team in about 4 minutes (3:57 according to Zane) before heading to the bowling alley.

Of course, our skills have attracted some spectators, but we couldn't care less. We're just having a fun night out with our best buds - no, our brothers.

And I'm absolutely sure that nothing could ever come between us.

Present Day, Master Chen's Noodle House

As soon as Nya has left the table, Kai and I simultaneously release our breaths.

"Phew." Kai sighs. "That went better than expected."

"Better?" I raise an eyebrow. "This whole setup was your idea, and you were expecting it to go worse?"

"Well, you know my sis." He shrugs. "Yes, I was hoping she wouldn't kill you in front of everyone, but I couldn't be sure about it."

"That's true." I chuckle. Nya has always been unpredictable – of full of surprises, as I liked to call it – and stubborn, just as she is smart, creative, beautiful, kind and strong. And I used to love every single aspect of her. And I still do.

"But you did really well." Kai gives me a pat on the shoulder. "What you've said to her was honest and from the heart; and that's the only way to go, also when you meet tomorrow. Don't try to cover up anything or lie to her."

"I know." I say. I may have done a lot of things wrong, but that mistake I've made only once, very early in our relationship.

"But if you hadn't jumped in, she might have still killed me." I remark. "And I would have deserved it..."