"Guess the scoreboard reads: Pythor, two; Ninja, zero," Jay let out a sigh after he spoke.
"Yeah, but all we need is one, and there's still two more to find," Cole mentioned.
The six of you had returned to Lou's house to simply stay the night. Tomorrow morning, you would return to the Bounty to search for the next Fangblade.
"Who knows?" Kai held a grin. "Maybe when I unlock my True Potential, I'll find the last two Fangblades." He then offered a shrug, "And, maybe, I'll become that cool green ninja we've heard a bit about."
You glanced down at your small cup of tea with a bit of an upset expression. So they haven't dropped that, even after everything.
How often were they discussing this when you weren't around?
"Don't think it'll be that easy," Jay sighed.
"Besides," Cole held a mischievous look as he glanced Kai's way, "the only thing you're destined for is a more-inflated ego."
Kai only rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his tea.
Lou had soon re-entered the living room with a framed photo in hand. "It may not be the trophy," Lou stepped up beside the gramophone and hung the photo upon the wall, "but it will look perfect, here."
Lou stepped back, and the four ninja rose from the couch to see the photo. You even went up to see it yourself, and from over the ninjas' heads, you could see the photo. The photo showed the four ninja atop the stage, with Cole holding onto the Blade Cup.
A small smile formed as you listened to the four quietly celebrate.
"As far as I'm concerned," Lou turned to the five of you, "you're all my family, now."
Cole pulled his dad into a hug. "Thanks, Dad."
"Of course, son," Lou held a grin as he replied.
"Well, I think I'm heading in for the night," Kai let out a sigh. "Thank you so much for the drinks, Lou."
"Anytime, anytime," Lou pulled out of his hug and waved Kai off. "How does everyone feel about pancakes, tomorrow?"
"Dad, there's no need," Cole shook his head. "We'll just head back to the Bounty and grab something there."
"I insist," Lou proudly smiled. "Think of it as a little celebration, since I couldn't do much tonight."
"Being here is more than enough, Dad," Cole continued to press.
"Don't worry about it, son," Lou persisted.
"Then, uh, at least let me help," Cole stated.
Lou seemed taken aback before he grinned. "Of course."
~ ~ ~
Back upon the Bounty, things moved slowly once again. With no news of where the next Fangblade could be, all anyone could do was simply wait until news of Serpentine sightings arose once again.
So, in the meantime, you trained outside while the others were inside, you believed. From what you knew, the others were doing what they could to learn more about what the Serpentine were doing. Your reading wasn't as great as the others, and you weren't too familiar with how the Bridge's technical map worked. You felt you would've been slowing the others down.
You heard the main door to the Bounty open, and you glanced over to spot Jay exiting the Bridge.
"Hey, (Y/n)," Jay seemed a bit nervous as he approached you. Still, he held a smile as he asked, "You, uh... doing anything cool?"
"...Not really," You gently replied. "I'm just training like always, before we go out again."
"Oh, um..." Jay seemed just a little bit more jumpy. "Well, if... it isn't bothering you at all, I've mostly finished repairing your wing, uh, backpack thing. I just... need you to test it out, make sure it's comfortable before you get it back."
"Oh, sure," You held a kind smile. "Thank you."
Jay hesitantly brought you along into the Bounty, trailing through the rooms until he brought you to his personal "invention room," as Jay once called it. Here, he worked on whatever he could in his spare time, though judging by the rather empty appearance of the room save for Jay's tools and your large metal backpack, it didn't see too much use.
"Here," Jay took the backpack from his large worktable and held it out for you to take. "Just, uh, try it on and tell me how it fits..."
You slid the backpack onto your shoulders and reached for the large buckle attached to the two straps. You buckled it on before you glanced at the buckle in surprise. It seemed a bit more detailed than when you last remembered. One band hooked through the buckle, and you could pull on the band's end to tighten the belt.
"Oh, yeah, I ended up adding that to make things a bit easier..." Jay pointed towards the buckle. "You just, uh, pull it until it's tight enough. It's able to stay in place unless you pull it in a specific way."
You gently pulled onto the band's end, and the backpack slightly tightened until it was just snug with your body.
"It fits perfectly," You mentioned. "Thank you." Your confidence jumped up a fair bit. With your mode of transportation back, you felt like you'd be able to do more on your own, much like Nya does as the Samurai.
"Cool, cool!" Jay rapidly spoke. "I'm glad! Um..." Jay glanced over at his worktable before shaking his head. "I'm glad."
"...Is something wrong?" You quietly asked.
"Uh..." Jay's gaze flickered to his table once more. "I was, uh... Wondering something. I don't... know if I should ask...?"
You glanced over to Jay's table. It was empty. Maybe he simply didn't want to look at you due to his fear. "...If you can't ask, it's okay..." You said.
"No, but... I kind of want- need to," Jay said. "I'm... wondering if, uh..." He let out a sigh before stating rather quickly, "Have you ever liked anyone?"
You took a moment to process his words before slowly nodding. "Yeah...?" You replied. "I like my friends, my father... I like you guys. You're all always there for me and—"
"No, no, uh, sorry..." Jay's cheeks gently turned red. "I meant... more than that, uh... Like-like someone... y'know?"
Your chest began to feel tight as you barely shook your head. "Not really, no?" You hesitantly replied. "I'm... not even really sure if I'm able to."
"Wh- Why not?" Jay jumped at your statement. "You're able to!"
"Wouldn't it... be a bit weird?" You gently began to move around the topic at hand. You were deathly aware that Jay was attempting to see if you liked any of them, and the terror creeping up your throat kept screaming at you to stop speaking, but you can't just leave. It'd only bring more worry to your friends.
They were all already worried about you. You can't put them through more.
"No?! Not at all!" Jay frantically replied. "I wouldn't think it is? You're a person with thoughts and feelings and emotions, and I'm a person with thoughts and feelings and emotions, too! It—" Jay's cheeks flushed bright red, "It wouldn't be weird at all!"
"You might think that now," You were doing your all to keep your voice level, "but the rest of Ninjago—"
"Who cares about the rest of Ninjago?!" Jay questioned. "They all think the Samurai has a crush on you, anyways, and hardly anyone's making a fuss about that! Hardly anyone thinks that it's bad!"
You started to respond with an argument, though your words caught in your throat. You didn't know how to respond. You were trying to argue on a point you didn't even stand by.
Of course, hardly anyone would think it was weird. You had a voice and the ability to choose what relationships you wished. Ninjagoans realised that you had a voice and a choice.
Your only problem was that you wanted every option, and people would consider that greedy, wrong, terrible...
You were a freak.
"I don't know, Jay..." You softly replied. "I... know that not everyone is bad about it, but I," You paused for a while, trying to find the words to express your thoughts in a discreet way. "I had bad, uh, moments with other people... And it isn't easy to look after that."
Jay appeared surprised before he gently moved back. "Yeah, I... see how that can make you think it's bad..." He then glanced your way with a tiny, bittersweet smile, "But I'm here to tell you that they're wrong! You're your own person, (Y/n), able to make your own decisions and things! You... shouldn't let other people change that."
You hesitantly nodded, and the fear within you twisted as if it enjoyed your pain. Jay doesn't know the whole story. He wouldn't be saying these things if he really knew what was going on.
"Thank you..." You barely spoke. "Really."
Jay held a tiny smile before he let out a sigh. "You gonna be alright?"
"Yeah," You offered a nod.
"You can talk to me if you need to," Jay said. "I know I talk a whole lot, but I'll promise not to talk that much!"
You let out a dry laugh. "Yeah. Thanks."