1 Week Later...
Jay POV
I held in a yawn as I paced back and forth waiting for everyone else. I looked up when I heard the soft engines of Kai's and Cole's cars, and I watched as they came out and looked at me with a sad smile. I watched as Nya came out of the front seat with bags in hand as she walked over to my trunk and put them in as she smiled at me.
She came back and held onto my waist and placed her head on my shoulder, and I felt my head kiss hers in return. We all looked back and forth between each other, both parties trying so hard to delay the inevitable. This was always going to be the hardest part. It was always so easy to say hello, but it hurt so much to say goodbye.
Where do I begin to explain to them how grateful I am to have gotten to know them? How do I explain that I was so thankful that they were my team members? I felt Nya slowly let go and she nodded at me. I knew it was time, but why did this have to be so hard?
"I uhh. I had a speech ready to tell you guys how much I love you and how much I am going to miss you, but I can't say goodbye. This isn't a goodbye even though I don't know if I will ever see all of you again. This is a see you later. I just... I am so thankful that I got to know you all even with all of the craziness. I can't wait for the day where we can be together again. I can't wait for the day where it will be safe for me to come out again, but I know that I need to do this." I started, and I felt the tears come to my hand before I blinked them back.
"We'll send letters to you guys on our travels, though Kai and Wu are probably going to be the only ones that know exactly where we are. It is safer this way, and there will be less of a trace if we send letters. I really wish we didn't have to disappear, and I wish that I could go with you guys into Senior Year, but I am so proud of the time that we did have, so thank you for letting me be part of this. We're going to miss you guys so much." I said as I finally let the tears fall freely.
We all cried during that time. I noticed that Nya had gotten up and went to go say her personal goodbyes, and I figured that it was probably time for me to do the same. I felt my throat close up a little bit, and then I instantly cleared it. It was time, and I needed to do this. We only had so much more time left before we literally had to go.
I hesitantly approached Zane, and he instantly pulled me into a hug. It caught me off guard for a second, but then I wrapped my arms around him as well. We stayed like that for a minute before I handed him a small button to which he took it and looked at me in confusion.
"I am so glad that you were the first person on my team, Zane. You were always there and so understanding, and I am so lucky that you were one of the first people to know my secret. You better beat Andrew at quiz bowl because I swear to god." I said and we both did a choked laugh.
"If there is an emergency and you guys need us, click the button. Nya and I agreed that you were the one that wouldn't just click the button because you missed us. This is only for emergencies though. We will come out of hiding if we need to, but do try to not use it unless it is absolutely necessary." I said, and Zane nodded.
"I am going to miss you and Nya during class. I promise that I will beat Andrew, and there honestly shouldn't be a doubt that I wouldn't win. Don't worry, Jay. I wont tell anyone about this." Zane stated as he patted my arm and I nodded.
The next person that I went to was Lloyd, and I noticed that he was fiddling with the sling that was holding his broken arm. I caught mine and Nya's messages on the cast briefly, and I had a feeling that he would be saving those 2 messages when the cast had to come off. I was the one who pulled him into a hug this time, and he instantly reacted with crying.
"You were the best blood brother I ever had, even if we may have given each other some sort of disease because of our stupidity. Don't ever feel like you mean less to me, okay? I know that it seems like I favor everyone else over you, but that simply isn't the case. I never would have gotten through my early Ninja life if it wasn't for you." I whispered as I looked at him with a smile.
"I don't know how to do it, Jay. It isn't fair at all. You should be my second in command, not galivanting across Ninjago." Lloyd muttered as he looked to the ground.
"Hey. You are the Green Ninja and the future savior of Ninjago. I know that you will figure it out and find your voice in this team. You have what it takes, Lloyd. You just need to believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself then well... Yeah, you are going to be just fine. I promise that when your time comes to be that savior that Nya and I will do everything in our power to come home and support you. You are never alone, Lloyd, and you have all of these people that are willing to help and support you. You just need to let them." I said as I patted his head and he smiled before giving me one last hug and going to stand beside Zane.
I approached Cole, and we both instantly hugged each other. It felt worse having to leave Cole, especially during this time with everything happening to his Mom, but I knew he understood why I had to do it.
"Don't eat too much cake, dirtclod." I muttered as I pulled away.
"Don't say anything stupid, motormouth." He snapped back, which caused me to giggle.
"I'll try to come and visit for your birthday, but I don't know if it is going to work. If there is ever a time where you need me, just have Kai text me what is going on, and we can work out some sort of call on a payphone or some shit like that." I said with a laugh as he rolled his eyes.
"Don't do anything stupid, Jay. I mean it. I do not want to have to hear that you did something because I will go find you then kill you then bring you back to life to kill you again. Don't think that I won't. If there is one thing that is good at this situation, it is that by the time you come back, I will be so much better than you at videogames, and I will be beating your stupid ass." Cole said as smirked.
"In your dreams, jerk. I am the videogame master, and nothing will take that title away. If anything, you should be preparing for the emotions that come with your defeat when I beat your sorry ass." I muttered back, which caused Cole to promptly flip me off for the final time.
I laughed and sighed before turning myself to the final person that I had to say goodbye to. I felt Kai glare at me, and I instantly knew what was coming. It was the same thing that he told me all week.
"If you hurt her, I will find you and I will kill you. I don't agree with this decision in the slightest, but Nya is old enough now to make this decision, and I am going to support her because god knows our parents wont at this point. Do you understand, Walker?" Kai asked, and I visibly swallowed loudly.
"I promise that I wont hurt her intentionally, and I promise that I will do whatever I can to make sure that she stays safe no matter what." I stated as confidently as I could.
"I guess that is all that I can ask for." Kai said with a sigh as he pulled me into a hug.
"I will be checking in every couple of weeks, and I do expect an answer with in 72 hours. Don't think I wont track Ninjago to go find you if you miss the deadline." Kai stated as he pulled away.
"I know. I'll miss your hot head. Remember to take it easy though. Don't want Nya to freak out about you with you being out of the hospital and with your parents." I stated as I looked towards him in a little worry.
"I'm not going to be staying with my parents. Everyone is moving in with Wu and Lloyd because well... Well you know why. Can't live under the same roof as people who conspired to get one of the best friend's killed." Kai said as he shrugged, which reminded me of the letter that was in my backpack.
"Give this to Wu for me? I haven't gotten to see him and this letter is my goodbye to him. To thank him for everything." I stated, though there was some top secret information in there that I knew Wu would need to know.
"I will." Kai stated as I finally walked back towards Nya who smiled at me again.
"Ready to go?" I asked her as she looked up at me.
"Yeah." She said as she walked towards the passenger seat.
I got into the driver's seat and saw my friends all looking at the car and backing up so that we could get out. I noticed that they were waving at us and felt a couple of tears come down, and as I looked down at Nya, I knew she was in the same state that I was.
I got a final glance at all of their faces and I felt my heart warm. These were the people that I was so honored to know. These were the people that I had so many good times with, and those were the people that trusted that I would take care of their sister. I grabbed Nya's hand, and she smiled before leaning down and kissing my own and interlacing our fingers.
It would be okay in the end. There were a lot of traumatic things that I have had to live through in Ninjago City, but living in that city was the first time that I ever actually got to live. Even after everything, I am thankful to have lived there.
Even now as we passed the leaving Ninjago City sign, I smiled. I got one final glance at the city that I called home and placed my head on top of Nya's. We would be back one day, and I was sure of that. Sure, this isn't what I expected my life to be when I entered Ninjago, but I wouldn't change it. That is the thing about life, I guess.
It's complicated, and I wouldn't change anything about that for the world.