*contains some very faint intimate scenarios, fyi !!
**i have an audio embedded here but i'll let you know when to play it!!
y/n's pov
i chuckled at kai's insisted "telepathy" claim.
well, i tried.
as soon as my laughter escalated, i was caught in a coughing fit. i hadn't exactly recovered completely from the bizarre stunt and race, so my lungs were really pushing it. i turned around to avoid the ninja from seeing my reddened face; it only made me cough more the more i laughed.
"soorr...rrr...yyy...." i panted once the coughing settled down. i cleared my throat, finally feeling a little better.
"great, kai, you broke her!" cole joked as he came towards me and pat my back gently. i grinned in response; cole could be such a dad and child at the same time, it was pretty funny. "but hey, good job out there, y/n."
"she still seems pretty intact to me," kai smirked at me. but his sincere, jubilant smile tugged his lips once more when cole turned to congratulate him.
"y/n!" nya crashed suddenly into my arms, her own wrapping me around her. "that was so cool!"
"congratulations, y/n," zane cheered as he tried to shake my hand, but it was caught under nya's body.
"than...ks... guys," i answered between nya's embrace and zane's handshake, gritting my teeth to demonstrate that i was trying hard to do both well.
in a still instant, my eyes instinctively flung to lloyd, who was standing behind zane. his stone cold glare was fixated on kai, his lips in a straight shape and arms crossed across his chest. his mind wondered, or so it seemed, at least. envy circled his emerald eyes before he dropped them, and approached kai.
he was jealous.
but he would be caught dead before he let anyone know that.
nya let go of me, allowing me to gasp exaggeratedly for air to mess around with her. zane released our contact as well and went to kai, while nya ruffled my hair before she left for her brother, too.
"so, what's kai's and y/n's reward, sensei?!" cole asked, seeming to be more interested than kai and i.
sensei wu turned to misako. "misako, would you like to do the honor?"
"it would be my pleasure," misako stood up from her stool. "team b, you guys will be enjoying a special dinner for two at the new italian restaurant in the city!"
"omg, you're so lucky!!!" nya screamed, as she "gently" smacked kai in the back to express her jealousy. "that place looks soooo good, but also sooo expensive."
"not to worry, we got it all covered," misako informed with a soft smile. "we decided to call up while you were all in the forest. your dinner reservation is tonight at seven, kai and y/n."
"looks like we're going on a date, sunshine," kai called out to me, winking flirtatiously.
"in your dreams," i chuckled as i shook my head.
everyone started to talk about the events that unfolded while we were in the forest. well, it mostly consisted of the ninja telling me how stunned they were to find out i had caused the shining white light thing that cast all their elemental creations away. when i was questioned about it, i responded with a genuine answer: i actually didn't know, but i was definitely curious to find out.
the ninja moved on to discuss about the forest and how it was certainly abundant with our elements. we were all so amazed with what we could do, and at the greatest lengths, too. it might have looked like any other huge piece of natural land, but we all came to the conclusion that this great forest of guan exercise was the absolute best training we could've gotten as a team.
we returned inside destiny's bounty once the commotion settled about the unexpected elemental exercise. everyone except me. i stayed behind the rest to admire the great forest of guan one last time. it was a marvelous, magical wonder. funny thing i noted, the forest appeared to be perfectly normal, as if it wasn't rampaged by seven elemental masters. maybe that's what made it so grand and phenomenal.
my admiration only lasted for long until i heard nya call me back up to the bounty.
***
i climbed out of the shower at around 5:15 in the afternoon, groaning at the fact i allowed nya to convince me to do so. she was very eager to help me get ready for the dinner, or "date" as she and kai called it, so she wanted me to shower on time.
as i opened the door of the bathroom, i peeked out into our room, only to find it vacant. sighing, i start rummaging through my panty drawer and grabbed the first one my eyes landed on. then, i clutched the drawer with my bras, selecting a black one mindlessly. i was about to put my undies on when the door suddenly creaked open, making me almost drop the towel that was wrapped around me.
"i'm changing here!" i shouted with a hint of irritation in my voice.
"it's just me, y/n!" nya's head popped in, but she held her hands over her eyes. she slid her way inside quietly, and smiled cheekily. "i promise i'm not looking, i'm just gonna move to the closet here, okay?"
as she made her way to our shared closet, i quickly slipped my underwear on. i let the towel that shielded my shivering body fall, putting my bra and clipping it securely.
"okay, so what are you gonna make me wear?" i drawled, my voice indicating to her that she was allowed to see me.
"i literally don't have anything that i haven't worn before!" nya whined, disappointment prominent in her tone as she swished through her clothing. but she stopped, pulled out what looked like a dress, inspected it, then displayed out for me to see.
"actually, i think we found your outfit, y/n," nya beamed proudly.
she held a cute short sleeved, surplice floral burgundy dress. i grinned in approval, actually surprised that nya had something that would be of my liking. she handed it to me with the hanger. i proceeded to twirl the dress around with it before i took it off to change.
once dress was on, nya squealed in excitement, beyond the capacity i thought she had. i might've gone deaf if i didn't tune half of it off. i glanced at myself in the mirror, smiling in satisfaction with my appearance. i was slowly getting thrilled, too.
"nya!" a faint, gruff voice called from one of the male ninja's bedrooms.
"oh shoot, that's kai!" she exclaimed, her charmed smile never leaving her lips. "i'll be right back! you can start with the make-up, it's all on my bed!"
and with that, she zoomed out the door, closing it thunderously behind her.
"gee, thanks, nya. you didn't help me with the zipper," i sighed out loud, turning my back to the mirror to guide me.
i struggled for a bit. i was so concentrated on getting the darn thing to close, when all of a sudden, there was a pair of hesitant, small knocks on the door.
"come in!" i shouted without thinking.
"hey y/n, have you seen—"
i spun on my heel when i heard the familiar, tender voice to meet jay's awe-struck face. he stopped in the middle of the room, leaving the door a smidge opened, as he stared at me intently. he gulped nervously, and i watched as the pink on his cheeks amped up to hot pink.
"oh hi, jay," i replied, nervously laughing when his gaze lingered on me. "nya went to meet kai, but i'm sure she'll be back."
he shook his head when he heard me speak, blinking several times before he returned to the present.
"w-wow, y/n," jay stammered, grinning when he finally made eye contact with me. "y-you look s-so beautiful."
"aw, thank you," i responded, feeling my own cheeks change shades. my hands were still behind my back, trying desperately to get the stupid zipper all the way up.
"do you need help?" jay offered, probably trying to avoid sitting in an uncomfortable silence. he was also most-likely tired of seeing me combating the zipper.
"oh yes, please," i sighed in relief.
jay approached me slowly, so i turned around to face the mirror again. i examined our reflections, seeing how he was so at ease, even though he was so close to me again. i could feel his soft breathing warm the back of my neck, shooting shivers down my spine. i studied my body language in the mirror, and i noticed i was so tense. i took a tiny breath in and out; i was starting to feel relaxed after a couple seconds.
"don't fall for him, y/n," he burst out with no warning. my eyes flickered to his reflection, an uneasy look forming on to his handsome face.
"i beg your pardon?" i twirled on my heel in order to face him.
"go for anyone else. literally anyone else, but kai," jay croaked, his gaze firm, as he released the zipper that i didn't notice was up.
i peered into his eyes, fully concerned. "i-i don't know why you're telling me this, jay, but—"
"look, he's my friend and all, but i know how he is when it comes to girls. he's only going to use you for what he needs, then dump you the next day. i don't w-want to see you get hurt, y/n."
i was at a loss for words, because i was trying to process what jay just said to me. it was like he had somehow entered the spot at the back of mind that was telling me that maybe kai wasn't so bad after all. like jay somehow knew what my heart did when kai and i had hugged in the forest after the explosion. it was kind of scary, really. but i shook it all off as best i could.
"i appreciate it, jay," i thanked with a timid grin. "but i assure you, kai is my friend, and that's all he will ever be."
jay averted his electric blue irises from my e/c ones, before he forced an unconvincing grin at his feet. at that point, i couldn't help but feel that his words, his actions, and his gestures meant something. as much as i attempted to suppress these emotions i had for jay, he was making it eerily difficult to believe what he had professed to me earlier. hard to trust that he really was over everything.
our eyes met once more when he peered up at me; we just stared at one another in silence. our proximity was dangerous, so much so, i realized that i was fighting the urge to kiss him.
but it would all be wrong. i couldn't do that to nya.
"i still care about you, y/n..." he whispered softly as he stared at my lips. his eyes flicked again to catch my eye. "and as much as you say you don't...i know you still care about me, too."
we remained still, only this time, my difficulty breathing was a little more apparent. my heart thumped rapidly against my chest, to top it all off. i was in a trance just admiring him, suspense bathing the air around us.
finally, jay drew back and walked towards the door. with his hand on the knob, and his back facing me, he muttered one last thing to me.
"have fun on your date, y/n."
the door barely locked until i heard someone run outside, leaving evidence behind with the creaking floors.
i sighed once he left, finally able to breathe. i tried collecting myself together as i applied a light coat of mascara. but i simply couldn't. i found myself shoving down the guilt that wanted to merge from my conscious; the guilt for yearning for a boy who was once mine.
jay was making this way harder than i thought it would be.
***
"wow, princess, you're a sight for sore eyes."
kai had complimented me when i emerged from below deck. his fiery red irises studied me in a fascinating matter, smiling with a confident look on his face.
"yeah, you don't look bad yourself," i had replied to him with a chuckle. he was wearing a plain collared red shirt, with navy jeans, a black leather jacket, and black vans.
he looked very attractive. and he knew it too.
now, we were sitting at our table at the new italian restaurant, fresco's, down in the city. we were pretty much finished with our food, but we were just so engaged in conversation that we forgot all about time.
i was actually enjoying myself. i had forgotten all about the conversation i had with jay about kai, even what had happened afterwards. it all just went...away.
kai expressed his opinion on my elemental abilities; he showered me with compliments at how well my performance was in the forest. of course, he made it clear that he was also very exceptional out there too, which caused me to laugh.
yeah, it was true. he was a pretty good partner.
kai also listened to me carefully, taking every word that came out of my mouth and encoded it into his mind. he was actually a very good listener.
"but yeah, that was the first i ever felt so...stunned with myself," i concluded my spiel, grinning softly. i glanced at the clock in the restaurant and noticed it was 9:33. "hey, we should probably start heading back, it's kinda late."
pulling out his phone, kai looked at the time, chuckling and shaking his head when he saw it.
"it's only nine-thirty, sunshine," he replied, standing up. "we still have a full night ahead of us."
"whaa—"
"you've never been out past curfew?" kai smirked deviously.
"i-i mean i never really had one, because i never really went out."
kai blew a loud raspberry, drawing stares from nearby diners. he gazed at me again, his smirk only widening.
"well sunshine, with even more reason to do so," he answered, as he reached for my wrist. he gently motioned for me to stand up, then he zoomed past the teeming restaurant, dodging customers and servers alike.
the cool air of the night hit my face rather forcibly, causing my eyes to water a little. kai led me all the way into an alley that was across the fresco's restaurant. he stopped, and noticed his large hand was still wrapped around my wrist, so he let go of me. he rummaged through the ridiculous backpack he bought with him, pulling out a pair of black leggings and my running shoes.
"put these on," kai instructed, handing them to me. i was speechless as to why on earth he had some of my clothes in his backpack. he noticed the look on my face and quickly informed me. "i had nya give me these things, don't worry."
i blinked my way back to the moment. "uh...why?"
"we're gonna do something, princess, so i need you to be comfy."
"um—okay."
i took off the flats that nya had forced me to wear, taking the pair of leggings and slipping a foot in each opening. kai turned around to allow me to hoist the leggings all the way up my thighs. i tied my shoes and tapped him on the shoulder.
"i'll take those," he said, as if he were reading my mind. he threw nya's flats in the backpack and peered back at me with a grin. "okay, we are all good to go. now, catch me if you can, sunshine."
and with that, kai darted away with no more warning.
"you're really gonna make me run again, kai?!" i called after him, but only heard my echo bounce back at me. i sighed, before i ran in the direction he went in.
*(play the song now!)*
i reached the end of the alley, searching everywhere for the red ninja. i spotted him at the top of a five story hotel building, waving at me in a joking manner. i grinned, heading to the fire escape ladder on the side of the hotel.
once i was up there, kai was on the edge, his coquettish grin plastered on his lips. i approached him hesitantly and glanced down at the scene below us. it was another alleyway, except this time, it was full of shady men trading necessities and other items of value.
"here," kai chirped, passing me a gray mask that only had a mouth and eye opening. i noticed he was clutching a red one, pulling it over his face hurriedly.
"what is this, kai?!" i demanded, kind of shocked about what all of this seemed to add up to. "are you a ninja by day and a thief by night, or something?"
"princess, i may be bad, but that does not make me evil," kai croaked, laughing, as he took another peek at the men on the ground. "those are two completely different things. but hurry, put your mask on. we gotta get going."
"what the hell are we gonna do?!"
"do you trust me?"
i stared deep into eyes, the color in them concealed by the darkness of the night. he seemed sincere to me, more than ever before. i found myself slowly nodding to his question.
"good girl. just follow my lead, okay?"
kai flung his body off the edge, using the wall of the building to slow his landing. then, he aimed for the opposite side of it, wanting to remain hidden. he landed on the lid of a closed dumpster, the sudden, thunderous noise startled all of the men shuffling around.
"there he is!!!" one of them shrieked. the chemical reaction unraveled when the men scurried away like rats, clutching on to every item in their possession.
i watched as kai took as many of these men's objects, slipping them ruthlessly out of their grasps. he glanced upwards momentarily and signaled me to come down to join him.
quickly summoning every possible breath inside of me, i plucked up the courage to dive straight into the sea of devious males.
taking kai as my example, i stole as many of their belongings that i could hold in my arms. i sought refuge in the dark crevices of the alley with kai, giving these men the hope that we were finished. however, they couldn't have been more wrong.
"one more round!" kai declared, his pearly white smile barely faint in the contrast of his mask. he dropped all the items into his backpack and left it open for me to do so as well. then, exchanging a firm nod, we ventured back out below.
snatching the valuables right out of their hands became not only easier, but satisfying. i collected anything, from watches to jewelry to food cans and packets. they were all pretty small things, but it was clearly important to kai to steal as much as we could.
suddenly, we heard gunshots being fired. i couldn't really tell who or what was shooting, but i had a feeling it was the men, trying to get one of us.
"kai!" i shouted, my eyes tracing behind him.
"let's go, y/n! up to the building!"
with his voice ringing through my ears, i stealthily bounced off the walls of the buildings that made up the alley. kai followed suit, but he reached the top much faster than i did. the gunshots only blared and skid right by us, overlapping with the ringing of my heartbeat.
we safely reached the top, and it became a sort of parkour race from there. kai and i jumped off the buildings without any time to think or delay. i didn't question if i was going to make it to the next one or if i calculated my leap correctly. no, i was fueled by pure instinct and energy. because at this point, we just wanted to avoid getting shot.
my lips surprised me with a cheeky grin. i felt myself enjoying the chase, living for the thrill. sure, we were at risk of injury, but it just didn't phase me; kai and i were ninja for pete's sake! we were strong, we were fast, we were--
"y/n!" kai's voice screeched, as his arm yanked me backwards. i blinked, out of my trance. i didn't realize that i was about to jump down to the train tracks, with the ninjago express train chugging towards us.
"what now?!" i asked, my own voice loud with eagerness.
"when i say go, we'll both jump onto the train!" he ordered, his fiery eyes glowing in the moonlight.
i nodded, then proceeded to turn my head away to look down at the incoming train. it fired past us, rattling the building we were on and honking it's horn to announce it was passing by. i waited for kai's signal, taking a second to wonder why he hadn't told me to go when it first came. but that's when i got a good look at the express train; it was about the length of a cargo train, but it was only hauling passengers to unknown destinations within the city's walls.
as more and more lengths of the train raced past us, the less faint the horn blared in the air. i decided to watch the train ride into the distance, barely being able to identify the start where the conductor was.
i felt a warm hand brush against my right arm, bringing me back to the moment. i faced the owner of said hand, who was staring at me fondly.
"you ready, princess?"
i nodded in response, my head feeling like a bobblehead.
we smiled at one another, before we got in a prepared position to jump. kai rocked back and forth, probably itching to go.
for a tiny—brief—second, the sound of everything muffled, and all i could hear was this single word:
"jump!!!"
our feet was met with cold, hard metal, indicating we landed on top of the train. kai was quick on the move, motioning his head to me to follow him again.
we were met with the clattering sound of metal, as we dashed away on top of the train. normally, i would've been terrified or even fully aware that we were literally sprinting on the roof of a moving train.
but i was juiced to the brim with adrenaline; with kai by my side, so every single responsibility, event—and maybe even people— left my mind, and all i could concentrate on was getting to the start of the train.
every hint of exhaustion that my body could've possibly produced vanished, and all i could feel was pure ecstasy.
"woohoo!!!" i heard myself screeching at the top of my lungs, unable to contain my emotions.
i felt free.
"that's the spirit, y/n!" kai called in front of me. then, he returned the same energetic shriek of liberation and enthusiasm.
"woooooohhhhhhoooooo!!!"
his perfect pitch of voice that rested between the bass and tenor tones resonated around us, seeming to encompass the loud, busy night of ninjago city.
my ear-to-ear grin was now a goofy, toothy smile. it was the best way to express everything i was feeling, and at this point, i really didn't care if i looked like a smiling doofus or not.
we yelled until our voices scratched against our throats, and all we could do after was burst into hysterical laughter. sprinting and laughing at the same time was pretty challenging to do already, but seeing that we were literally on top of a train with no protection whatsoever, well, that was even more difficult.
but we didn't give a single flying fuck.
"get ready to jump on that building coming up!" kai sputtered after calming down, pointing a finger to a roof of a little public restroom.
"okay!"
kai leaped off the train quicker than i anticipated. double taking, i managed to get off just in time before the train whizzed past swiftly. kai studied me, and i was assuming it was to make sure i was still intact. i flashed him a reassuring smile, before he smirked in return and took off.
what is it with this guy and scurrying away without a word?
kai led us up more buildings, but only this time these were a lot more beaten down and rusted walled. unlike when we were down in heart of ninjago, where night life was teeming and abundant, we were in the part of town that was much more quiet and reserved. i recognized it from the few times i've been here, but we were currently in the slums of the city. the poorest of the poor sadly occupied the area.
now it all made sense to me.
kai was playing robin hood of sorts and stole goods and valuables to give to the ninjago slum inhabitants; however, he was doing so from actual thieves and not the filthy rich.
among the mad beating of my heart, i felt a pang of admiration for him. kai, the red ninja with arrogant, sarcastic, and tease demeanor, out of all the ninja. i honestly never expected this little gig from him.
finally, after what must've felt like forever, kai halted in his tracks. he swung the backpack that clutched his broad shoulders and rested it on the ground. then, with his left arm, which was carrying the items from the last round we took, he set them down carefully. kai glanced up at me, taking off the red mask momentarily. the moonlight actually did justice this time around, and lit his remarkably hot, chiseled face into view.
"help me distribute the things out to each door?" kai asked with a small grin.
"yeah, sure," i replied, reaching down to the backpack to get ahold of more items to carry in my hands. "i'll meet you up here when i'm done?"
"sounds good, princess."
after he slipped his mask back on, kai and i proceeded to jump onto the ground and circle around the neighborhood. kai went in one direction, while i decided to take the opposite way since we would cover more ground. to my surprise, no one surfaced from their little shacks, nor was there anyone outside. i took note that it was probably late for everyone so the people were sleeping.
i finished passing out the valuables in about ten minutes, finding my way back up the building we had landed on. kai was still not there, but he returned about five minutes after i had.
"is that everything?" i questioned with an eyebrow lifted.
"yup," kai answered.
i noticed he came back completely empty handed, meaning, no backpack and no flats.
"hey, you left nya's shoes and your backpack behind too?"
kai nodded with a slight smile. "yeah, i figured someone here needed those more than nya and i do. thought it was better to leave them."
taking my mask off, i smiled at him sheepishly. i was crazy sweating after all that running, my face hot and sticky. the cool air of the night slapped my face but this time, it felt very pleasant.
kai, taking notice, slipped his mask off too, to reveal an equal, if not more drenched appearance. he shook his head roughly and adjusted his hair with his fingers. i observed as his muscular arm ran through his dark auburn brown spikes; i slightly admired how insanely sexy he looked.
i cleared my throat, just right before his eyes flickered off to me.
"so this was the plan all along," i stated. "you stole the stuff back to give to the poor."
"no," kai shook his head, then his famous grin wrapped in flirt crept onto his lips. "we stole the stuff back to give to the poor. and we were awesome, if i do say so myself."
"i had no idea you did this," i chuckled, then i felt my eyes glue to him.
"yeah? i've actually been at that same alley for months now. i always come back here and hand out everything i catch to this part of town. because i know...i know how hard it is to obtain basic necessities when you're barely making it. nya and i lived like that in our parents' blacksmith shop before sensei wu came along...and it was fucking terrible."
something inside of me felt lured to kai, so much so, i found myself drawing closer to where he was standing. this was one of the few instances where he was serious, where he ditched all of his traits and was purely sincere. it was a refreshing sight. he was staring off to the side, probably reminiscing about these times he and nya had to endure. kai's fiery eyes glistened under the moon, resembling exquisite ruby stones as he bought his gaze back at me.
"...so if i can somehow make life easier for others here and help out with some materials, then i'll do it. a hundred times over, i'll do it."
"that's amazing, kai. you're amazing."
kai smirked with a sprinkle of cockiness.
"still think i'm the big bad wolf now, princess?"
"no. not at all."
kai maintained solid eye contact with me, his smirk converting back to his wholehearted grin. he inched closer to me, which resulted in our faces to be just a mere set of inches away from one another. i was entranced by the red ninja; the fire that danced away in his eyes encouraged me to listen to my wild set of heartbeats, to analyze the meaning behind them. and right now, my heart was telling me to kiss the darn guy.
let yourself feel, let yourself breathe...
kai's hand cupped my face, jolting me out of my thoughts. he pulled his hand back in alert, a worried look beginning to carve his face.
"i'm sorry, y/n, i didn't realize--"
with the bits of adrenaline still coursing through my system, i crashed my lips into his. it got him to shut up, alright, but he kissed me back immediately.
it was a kiss acted upon impulse, energy, and without much thought. i didn't expect it to be so great, but my goodness, it was incredible.
his lips moved in a rhythm that was just squashed in the middle of soft and rough. it was hungry, but still slow with passion. a tempo that was easy to pick up on, one that controlled me but still allowed movement from my end. his hand returned to touch my cheek, stroking it with his thumb gently. his tongue managed to slip into my mouth, asking for entrance, in which i granted. our tongues waltzed for what seemed like a good minute, before i slowly pulled away.
the night was still, the breeze steady, the moon vigilant, all while we stared at each other with awe struck facial expressions.
"well, you sure did surprise me with that kiss, sunshine," kai cooed, his eyebrows lifted. his flirtatious grin resurfaced. "you wanna do that some more?"
i chuckled, shaking my head. then, the idea to turn the tables here emerged in my head. a devious smirk crept onto my lips. "hmm, maybe if you can catch me, fire boy."
and with that, i left him in the dust, laughing away.
"you're so on!" kai called after me.
we raced back to our home in destiny's bounty, under the luminous moon, the brightest vigilante of the beautiful night.
***
woah!!! that sure was a long chapter!! haha i hope you guys enjoyed it!! we love having a little moment with our very own red ninja ;)
he's so hot i can't even—
anyway! i wanted to take the time to thank you guys all for reading my story :') i can't express it enough but it means SOOOO much to me!!! on our way to 2k reads!!! that's so huge!!! eeee!!' pleaseeee keep reading, voting, and commenting! it would be a dream come true to have this story reach top numbers! recommend it to others i will literally love u foreverererererrrrrr!!! update: OMGGGG after publishing the chapter ,, i saw that this story is NUMBER ONE in elemental masters?! GUYS!!! THANK U THANK U THANK U!!! I LOVE U GUYS SO MUCH!!!
also, i wanted to urge you all to read some works belonging to lanathecapricorn and Cole_ninjagocake543 !! these two are amazing writers who have supported me ,, literally the cutest little beings out there. and i assure you that their ninjago stories are great !!! we love to support other aspiring writers <33 check them out!!!
i kinda want to give this story an entire make over, !!! not like change the storyline or the chapters, but like give it an aesthetic ??? not sure yet tho!!!
i love you guys! keep staying awesome and thank you again for sticking with me!!
happy easter/resurrection lovely humans! felices pascuas y resurrección! those are the only languages i'm fluent in hahaha but you guys get it!!'
have an amazing day and even better week!! talk to ya soon :)