WU
Wu was making tea in the Bounty's kitchen. He added his usual blend of tea leaves and spices and left it on the stove to boil, enjoying the gentle quiet and peace--
"YAHHH FIGHT ME!"
"HA, BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!"
"NO."
"YES."
"NO! STOP IT, LLOYD!"
"MAKE ME!"
With an exasperated sigh, he went to check on his Ninja. The sounds of their gaming bore through the supposedly sound-proof walls of the Bounty, and he made his way to the lounge. Though the monastery was mostly in good shape and they had temporarily fixed the major damages done to it, the Ninja seemed content with staying on the Bounty, a home that could fly away from danger. At least this way, the Ninja could travel around Ninjago to check on all the recently un-petrified citizens as well, and they wouldn't waste their days playing video games.
The only reason Wu had given in to video games (besides the fact that he was utterly exhausted of them going stir-crazy without them) was because it allowed them to be kids. They were able to forget about the responsibilities weighing heavily on their shoulders. In a span of a few weeks, the little innocence and childlike hope for a better world had been crushed. Any hope or chance of normality had vanished long ago.
The only reason they did not gain a post-traumatic stress disorder from this now was because it had been there from their start as Ninja. They could not be any more traumatized than they already were.
"Take THAT!" Jay yelled, his voice echoing down the hall. Laughter and shouts intertwined with his, dancing and making the ship sunnier among the setting sun. If there was something that would help them forget about their scars, even for a moment, it was worth it. Wu would happily allow them to have it.
"No, not lightning- FIRE!" Kai countered.
Even if their gaming gave him migraines.
Lloyd and Cole were trash-talking each other, but a change in the game made them start to cheer for another Ninja. Wu didn't need to look to know that Nya was there as well; since the proposal she and Jay were inseparable. He already knew she was there, quietly laughing in amusement at the boys' antics.
He didn't hear any sign of Zane, though. The white ninja enjoyed playing video games as much as the rest, but his metallic voice didn't join theirs. Quickly glancing into the lounge, he was not surprised to see Kai and Jay aggressively shoving their shoulders into each other to throw the other off as they gamed a few inches from the screen. Lloyd, Cole, and Nya were on the couch, talking amongst themselves and snickering as they watched their teammates play as if their lives depended on it.
A muffled sound came from the dining room, like the slap of paper over each other. Following the sound, Wu found Zane sitting at the dinner table with a deck of cards. The cards were flying between his hands rapidly, the worn cards settling in a neat stack for a second before fluttering into the air again.
The dinner table brought back countless memories, both good and bad. Wu stood there for a moment, remembering everything at once. The Titanium Ninja's kind blue eyes flickered to his sensei's and set about laying out his cards. "Salutations, Sensei," Zane greeted.
"Hello, Zane. What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting down on the bench and observing the curious setup of cards.
"I have been practicing various card tricks. I find the science of it quite fascinating, and it is nice to take a break from the others when-"
A loud crash resonated from the lounge, followed by Lloyd and Nya yelling something, and Kai began shouting and swearing in defense.
"-when they do things such as that." He smiled with slight guilt and amusement, knowing he was often participating in-- or pretending to not be a part of-- such things. "I have been working on this trick for a while now. Do you mind if I show you?"
Wu nodded, and Zane continued to prepare the card trick. Quietly, he observed the ease and comfort in which the Ice Ninja held himself with. A past Zane would have been baffled to hear that he would eventually find a family as loving, chaotic, and unique as the Ninja team. They worked like a well-oiled machine, and they couldn't live without the others.
Almost losing Cole and then almost losing Lloyd in a short period of time reminded Wu once again that life was not forever. That people might, in an instant, lose their life and never return. Every waking moment spent with the Ninja, alive, was a blessing that he somehow took for granted at times.
"This card trick is called 'Abracadabra'," Zane said, snapping his mentor from his thoughts. "It is more commonly received as a magic trick, though it is a product of arithmetics and science. It has nothing to do with serpentine magic or sorcery."
A particular blue Pyro snake came to mind, and Wu felt a distant wave of guilt wash over him. This information did not regard his students, however, so he decided it was most logical to continue keeping it private. Wishing to move on, he said, "Very well. Carry on, Zane."
Quickly, he dealt out three stacks of cards and set the rest aside, instructing, "Pick a pile." Wu pointed to the rightmost one. Zane fanned it out and showed it to the sensei, holding them up so the faces were not shown to himself. "Pick a card and do not tell me. Let me know when you've got it."
Scanning the deck passively, Wu's eyes were pulled to the six of diamonds. There was something about how it remained the same no matter how it was oriented or reflected. It would be easy to remember, he nodded. Six of diamonds.
Zane restacked the piles and repeated the process of dealing three piles, doing so in a specific pattern. He then held up different stacks, asking which held Wu's card. The red diamonds shouted their presence, and by the third time Zane repeated this action, he found that his stomach turned over at the sight of it.
He pushed the feeling aside. Cards carry no meaning. There is no need to concern oneself over it.
"Now this is where the quote-unquote magic happens. This is the Abracadabra trick because, when I spell it out-" Zane placed down a card for each letter, making a steady line- "A-b-r-a-c-a-d-a-b-r-a." For the last letter, he flipped the card over, and six diamonds showed their faces. "Is this your card?"
"It is indeed." Wu smiled at his student. "That is quite an interesting trick."
And so he went about his day, not giving the card another thought.
JAY
Right before the game finished, the screen suddenly froze, having been paused. Jay, Cole, Lloyd, and Nya all exclaimed in surprise.
"I'm going to order some pizza, anyone want to help?" Kai abruptly stood up, setting his controller down with far too much force necessary. Cole smirked at this, making Lloyd and Jay grin, and at this Nya held in a laugh.
"What?" he demanded, seeing his team's amused and exasperated reactions. "I'm hungry, and that's important. Nya, you're coming with me."
"I am?"
The red Ninja patted his sister's shoulder carefully but continued to glare at them. "Yes. Now let's go."
Nya rolled her eyes playfully to the Ninja as Kai stormed out. Jay caught her eye and both of their breaths hitched with laughter, bringing the others to crack up as well. Several curses were shouted from outside the hall, followed by Kai yelping, "Sorry, Wu!"
A second later, he poked his head into the doorframe again. "Nya, let's go order pizza," he repeated irritably." She shrugged and reluctantly followed, scratching at a peeling bandaid on the back of her hand.
The moment the siblings were out of the room, the boys unpaused the game and finished the round. Kai had been losing that round, hence his rage-quitting. On the scoreboard, Jay's name glowed with a yellow crown- Hi-Score! The Fire Ninja's name was bumped down to second place as Jay took the record.
Lloyd and Cole both turned to stare at Jay in an almost accusatory fashion. The blue Ninja laughed nervously, flicking his eyes between them. "Um... what are you guys looking at me for?"
"Oh, nothing." Cole tossed a chip in the air and caught it in his mouth. "You just need to cover up your tracks, buddy. Because Kai will kill you when he finds out."
"Wh- what?" Jay panicked. "Wait- no, I- you guys didn't show Kai, did you?"
At this, Lloyd cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. "What are you talking about? You won the game right now. Kai isn't here yet?"
He turned bright red. "Oh. Hehe... oops. I must have been thinking of something else," he said, failing to disguise his embarrassment for the mistake. Cole shrugged at Lloyd, neither sure why Jay was acting so strange.
The Green Ninja fiddled with his controller and started a new game, glancing askance to grin at his teammates. His green eyes were glittering with its old mischief. "Ready for a new round? I need to win this one. I'm very behind," he sighed.
"You'll catch up soon enough, bud." Cole patted him on the back, but Lloyd flinched. This reaction made Cole start apologizing rapidly, the Energy elemental repeating "I'm okay, I'm okay" in reassurance. Jay saw that his green robes loosely hid the bandages wrapped around his chest, but the injury still hurt just as badly. Jay would know-- just like the other Ninja, he had been hurt badly from the battles against the Oni.
Rather than assuring Jay, it still concerned him that Lloyd hid his pain despite it not fooling anyone. Their youngest brother would say "I'm okay" even if he was mortally wounded if it would put the team at ease. It made him wonder how much Lloyd was really hurting-- emotionally and physically.
It made him wonder how much all of them were hurting. Jay wondered how much he himself was hurting... he struggled to make sense of his emotions. There were several moments of pure joy and bliss, and those moments helped balance out the bad temporarily.
But it was temporary. Eventually, they remembered the injuries and loss and sadness. Over time, they had learned that nearly every good moment was to be destroyed with a painful one sooner than later. They learned to expect the worst, to know that happiness wouldn't last.
The lounge's energetic, excited atmosphere had drained. Cole had retrieved a roll of bandages to redo Lloyd's dressing on his torso, and as he unwrapped it Jay saw that the white cloth was stained a rusty red. The Energy Ninja was clenching his teeth through the pain, struggling to keep up his strong demeanor. Jay extended a hand and firmly gripped Lloyd's, seeing the waves of pain reflected on his face.
It wasn't a healthy way to live. The Ninja needed time to heal in every way.
Whether they were going to get that time or not, Jay didn't know.