The Master of Nature

Nya's Secret

Hope enjoyed sharing a room with Nya. They would talk about stuff late into the night. Nya wanted to know what it was like to have a foster sister while Hope wanted to know what it was like to have an older brother.

One night, Hope woke up to hear a strange sound. "Nya?" she asked sleepily. "What's that?"

"Nothing. Why don't you go back to sleep?" asked Nya.

Hope had been too sleepy to notice anything, but when she woke up, she noticed that the door was slightly open. She also noticed that Nya seemed tired.

"Are you okay?" asked Hope. "You seem a little... Off."

"I'm fine, really," said Nya.

Hope wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. She felt that Nya was hiding something from her. But she couldn't exactly force her to tell her.

Nya wouldn't let Hope touch a cupboard or her closet. She said that it was personal. Hope got more and more suspicious.

Later that afternoon, Nya showed the team a Fangpyre skeleton. She was explaining about how to cure the effects of a Fangpyre bite without having to use the antivenom. Hope looked around. It seemed that Zane was the only one paying attention. Kai looked bored, Cole was drawing in his notebook, and Jay was just staring at Nya with a dreamy smile on his face.

Hope rubbed her eyes before looking at Jay again. Was Jay wearing a new hairstyle? She knew that Jay had a crush on Nya. Hope didn't have a crush herself, but she felt that it was a little unnecessary to change your hairstyle for them.

"Resulting in...diminished, uh, excuse me, is someone wearing perfume? I'm severely allergic to perfume." Nya looked at Hope as she said that.

"Don't look at me," said Hope. "I have never worn perfume in my life."

Luckily, Nya's question was answered when Jay whispered to Kai, "You told me it was men's cologne."

"Meh, I get them mixed up," said Kai dismissively. Hope couldn't help but giggle at that. Almost everyone else was also laughing.

Later that night, Nya told Hope that Jay asked her out on a date. "That's great," Hope said. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that he's got the hots for you."

"I know," said Nya. "I just wish he didn't try to change himself. I prefer him when he's being himself."

"Well, you said that an increased heart rate should cure a Fangpyre bite, right?" asked Hope.

"Yeah," said Nya.

"Good. I should tell Alyssa that. You know, just in case. By the way, she's amazed that Zane's a nindroid."

"Wait, you told your foster sister?" asked Nya. "I hope that she can keep a secret."

"Don't worry," said Hope. "Alyssa's a good sport. She won't say a word."

The next day, Hope woke up to find that Nya was absent. She must have woken up early, thought Hope. She walked out of her room to find the ninja talking about the Serpentine in Mega Monster Amusement Park. "Hope, can you get Nya?" asked Kai.

"But her bed's empty," said Hope. "I thought that she would be out here with you guys."

Just then, Jay appeared wearing a coat, scarf and gloves.

"Whoa, where are you going, Mr. Fancy?" asked Cole.

"Didn't you hear?" asked Jay. "I'm taking Nya to a nice restaurant. A really nice restaurant."

"You might wanna change your plans." said Kai. "The bridge just picked up evidence of Serpentine activity over at Mega Monster Amusement Park."

So Jay decided to ask Nya (who had somehow gone back into her room without being seen) if she would like to go on a date to the amusement park instead. However, Hope was told that she had to stay behind.

"But why?" she asked.

"It's too dangerous," said Kai. "We don't want you getting kidnapped like Lloyd."

"Who's Lloyd?" asked Hope. She had already forgotten who Lloyd was.

"Sensei's nephew," said Cole.

"Oh yeah," said Hope. "Alright. I'll stay behind."

However, Hope found staying behind dull. It wasn't much fun being alone. With the others around, something always seemed to be happening, whether it was just pranking or shocking discoveries. Hope wondered if she could have Alyssa over. It had been a while since she had seen her foster sister.

Hope didn't really fancy playing video games. All the games the boys played were fighting games. According to Kai, Lloyd had the highest scores in Fist To Face 2 under Cole's account.

Hope wondered if Sensei Wu would come back, but he didn't. Like the others, Hope wondered who he was going to recruit to rescue Lloyd. She wondered what Lloyd would be like. According to everyone else, Lloyd was very mischievous and enjoyed playing pranks.

Hope peeked in the boys' sleeping quarters and gasped. It was a mess! Out of habit, she started to tidy all the beds, place all the clothes in the laundry basket, and sweep the floor.

Just then, Hope almost knocked over a flower pot, but managed to catch it in time. Instantly, the flowers inside the pot bloomed.

Hope gasped. This wasn't what she had expected. What was going on? She plucked a red flower, but a purple one quickly grew in its place.

Hope was so lost in thought that she didn't hear the ninja returning. "Hope?" asked Cole. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," said Hope. "Apparently I can make flowers grow."

"What?"

"It's true," said Hope. She plucked some flowers, and the plant kept sprouting new flowers.

"This is amazing," said Kai. "I didn't know that you could do that."

"Neither did I," said Hope.

Just then, Samurai X peeked inside the room.

"Wait," said Hope. "Why is the Samurai here?"

Just then, Samurai X removed their helmet. Hope almost fainted. "Nya?"

"Hey there," she said. "Now do you know why I was so secretive?"

"You're the Samurai?" asked Hope. "So this explains everything."

"Speaking of which," said Cole. "It looks like we have a future ninja on our team."