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Rays of sunshine beat down on Nya like unwanted rain. Sweat was pooling on her brow, dripping down her face, down her neck, and everywhere else in between, saturating her uniform. As much as she wanted to whisk away the perspiration, find refuge in shade, she was frozen solid in her kata stance. Master Wu had a needlessly cryptic lesson for them on this unusually warm morning.
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him,” he continued with his lecture, “Heian Godan!”
They moved in unison, perfectly executing all 23 moves of the kata Peaceful Mind Five Universe. Master Wu was making them hold the ending move after each kata as he continued his lecture. Nya briefly wondered if he was going to make them do all 26 katas, something that sounded less enjoyable as the sun rose higher in the sky.
“If your enemy is in superior strength, evade him,” Master Wu continued. Nya secretly wished she could evade the rest of this morning’s sunrise exercises and lecture.
“Tekki Shodan!”
Muscle memory took over as her arms and legs swept through the 23 moves of Iron Horse One.
“If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him,” Master Wu said as he walked past. Nya got the distinct impression that the statement was directed at her.
As she held the last stance of Iron Horse One, she felt as though someone was staring at her as intensely as the sun.
“Tekki Nidan!”
The group turned 180 degrees then started the movements of Iron Horse Two. Ah, so that was the source of the intense gaze. Jay was directly behind her during their sunrise exercises, and as they moved through Iron Horse Two, the corner of her eye caught him stealing quick glances in her direction. Although flattered, Nya was growing concerned, if she were catching Jay losing focus, that meant Master Wu would certainly catch him too.
“Pretend to be weak, so that he may grow arrogant.”
They came to the final move and held their stance, and this time Nya could tell Jay was brazenly staring. Her cheeks were growing red, and it had nothing to do with the beating sun.
“Jay, can you summarize for the team?” Uh oh. Jay got caught. Nya inwardly cringed at what was about to happen next.
“Uhh,” Jay stalled, “Teamwork makes the dream work?”
Nya bit the inside of her mouth and focused on a nearby tree, trying desperately to keep a straight face. The other ninja did the same, but she heard a stifled laugh and her heart sank, knowing one of her fellow comrades in arms wasn’t so lucky.
“Since you have found other things more important than today’s lesson,” Wu barked at Jay, and Nya felt her cheeks burn even more, “you can finish the katas after the others. 200 pushups.”
Her ears, honed from years of training, picked up a faint wince, before hearing Jay say, “Yes Sensei.” As he dropped to the ground Wu focused his attention on the source of the stifled laugh.
“Cole, since you found Jay’s response so funny, you may join him.”
“Yes Sensei,” Cole choked back a growl and dropped to the ground as well.
The rest of the team finished their katas in absolute silence, punctuated by brief moments of noises from the forest, chirping birds, the cracking of a twig, more of Wu’s lecture, and strained huffs coming from Jay and Cole as they neared the end of their punishment. They moved deeper into the forest for the second part of the lesson, waiting for Jay and Cole to catch up.
Nya took advantage of their extra time to rest by finally blotting the sweat from her brow and summoned some water for the team. The Masters of Lightning and Earth came into view, jogging towards the rest of the ninja.
“Thanks to your lollygagging, I got suckered into the same punishment as you,” Cole snarked as he moved to punch Jay in the arm.
“It’s not my fault I am irresistibly funny,” Jay sassed back as he dodged the blow.
“Whatever bluebell. Watch your back out there,” Cole said, gesturing to the forest.
A smug smile tugged at the corners of Jay’s lips. “And you watch yours. I’ve got a strong feeling Lightning is going to be the winner of today’s challenge.”
Cole opened his mouth to clap back but was silenced by Master Wu clearing his throat.
“There are four swords hidden throughout the forest, one for each element of creation. The swords can only be removed from their locations by the corresponding elemental master. First one with the most swords who finds me in the forest is the victor.”
Nya furrowed her brow, realizing that her and Lloyd were starting from a disadvantage.
“If you were paying attention to today’s lesson,” Master Wu continued, “this should be easy.”
Great. Now Nya had to decode Master Wu’s lesson, of which she was only half paying attention to thanks to Jay.
“Oh, and one more thing. The area where the four swords are hidden can only be accessed by a Master of Water or Energy.”
The ninja shifted uncomfortably, realizing there was a much more complex strategy at play.
“Disperse!”
They jumped up into the trees, and swiftly moved from branch to branch towards their goal.
“So, do we have a plan?” Lloyd asked over the comms.
“Logic would dictate that we must work together to retrieve the four swords, at which point a battle royal would ensue if alliances are not formed,” Zane chimed in.
“A great betrayal,” Kai interjected, “that sounds like loads of fun.”
“I fail to see how that is fun, Kai,” Zane responded in his even tone. The rest of the team groaned over the comms.
“Master Wu said this test would be easy if we were paying attention to his boring lecture during our katas,” Lloyd offered.
“That rules out Jay then,” Cole barked into the comms.
“You too dirt clod,” Jay fired back.
“I nominate Jay to forfeit his sword, considering the disruption he caused to our sunrise exercises.”
“Don’t blame me for your inability to focus, bolder brains.”
“Ok you two, quit it,” Lloyd’s now irritated voice came over the comms, shutting down the impending argument.
“How about we work together until all the swords are found?” Nya offered.
“Then it goes back to what Zane just said, a battle royal if no alliances are formed,” Kai reminded her.
“That’s easy then, everyone verses Jay,” Cole said.
“Oh wow, finally using your brain for once? Thanks for the heads up that everyone will be coming after me first. Makes my job that much easier.” Jay retorted.
“Jay, why you gotta be so irritating.” Kai sighed.
“I’m always like this, you just have no sense of humor. Did you know, one third of the population has no sense of humor? Therefore, statistically speaking, two of you out of our group of six are humorless joy-kills that have no appreciation for the nuances of life.”
“Jay,” Nya started, slightly exasperated, but Jay cut her off.
“But considering you all walk around with sticks up your butts most of the time, that is five out of six, 83%, a statistical anomaly!”
“Jay!” everyone snapped in unison.
“What? I can’t help it that I am equally good at math and humor.”
“Jay, watch out for trees spontaneously combusting next to you.” Kai warned, wondering if there was a way to reach his arm through the communicators and strangle the blue ninja.
“Just because you are jealous of my humor, brains, and good looks, isn’t a good enough reason to burn the forest down. Why Sensei ever thought it was a good idea to let the master hothead into the forest is beyond me.” Jay’s words were laced with sarcasm.
“Phsss, good looks? I believe you are the one jealous of me. Only weirdos are attracted to you,” Kai shot back.
“Hey!” Nya snapped at her brother.
“Only people with fine taste can handle the Master of Lightning,” Jay responded smartly.
“Stop kidding yourself. No one thinks you are tasty.”
“Not what your sister said last night.”
“Jay!” Nya shouted, more than slightly exasperated, but mostly embarrassed. She was certain her face was turning a bright shade of red.
“You are dead Walker!” Kai’s voice drowned out all the gasps and taunts of ‘oh snap’ from the others over the comms.
“One: You set yourself up for that one and, two: Gotta find me first,” was Jay’s response. The rest of the team suddenly realized Jay was nowhere in the vicinity, slipping away from the group during his verbal sparring session with Kai.
“Wait, I don’t get it,” Lloyd started, thinking he was helping defuse the situation, “Why would Nya think Jay is tasty?”
“P.I.X.A.L. would also like to know the answer to that question,” Zane interjected.
“Lloyd,” Cole groaned over the comms, resisting the urge to cradle his head in his hands. “I’ll explain later,” he said with such finality that it implied Lloyd should smartly shut up. “And Zane, tell P.IX.A.L. to stop trolling.”
“P.I.X.A.L. is disappointed that you won’t explain now.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Seriously though, who gave Jay caffeine?” he asked.
“It seems as though Jay has upgraded his annoyingness level to weapons grade.” Zane observed.
“Zane is the only one of you that is a true friend, capable of recognizing greatness.”
“It’s still five versus one, Jay.” Zane dead-panned.
“That’s cold Zane. Last time I pay you a compliment,” Jay fired back.
“Jay, I think it’s time you seriously think about shutting up now.” Cole growled over the comms.
“Find me and make me.”
“Ugh!”
There was five seconds of glorious silence, then Jay started singing a horribly awful pop song that was all the rage in Ninjago City.
“Seriously Jay, shut up!” Kai snarled, but that only encouraged Jay to sing louder. The rest of the team considered ditching their communicators so they could finish the challenge in silence.
As they flew through the trees, Kai sped up until he was shoulder to shoulder with Nya as they jumped from branch to branch. “Sis, do something about Jay, he is getting on all of our nerves.”
Nya felt a vein pop in her head at his words. Kai jumped ahead, avoiding a predictable outburst and smack on the shoulder.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” She shouted at her brother’s back ready to throw a kunai at his stupid hair gel spikes. Or douse him with water to distort his hair style. Or -
“Because you are the only one capable of shutting Jay up,” said Cole as he whizzed past her. Nya glared at the Master of Earth.
“Excuse me?!” she huffed, then said flippantly, “and how exactly should I go about doing that?”
“You know how,” Cole looked back at her then sped off before she could retort. Nya internally groaned. The jerks were right.
She moved higher, up to the treetops, in an attempt to spot the blue ninja. He was trailing behind the rest of the team at a calculated distance, singing the incredibly annoying song over the comms. With muscles coiled and breath tense, she waited for the right moment to drop down on him. Jay almost screamed in surprise, but his face melted, and a bright smile overtook his features.
“Hey Nya,” he said, almost dreamily.
“Jay,” she smiled sweetly, then said through gritted teeth, “if you don’t shut up, I’m going to find another use for that mouth of yours.”
In an instant Jay’s smile was gone, replaced by a look of shock and something else she knew, but couldn’t quite place her finger on. But before she had a chance to decipher his face, she heard a loud crack and a yelp, and Jay disappeared from her view. He had miscalculated his landing and fell to the forest floor. She smiled smugly to herself for causing him to stumble.
Serves you right, she thought. You’ve been an insufferable turd all morning.
Dazed, Jay shook his head and gave himself a second to catch his breath. Whoa, did she just? She didn’t mean it like that, did she? To be fair, that was his first though. At least she didn't say it within earshot of the others. Nya being suggestive was a new variable he had not anticipated, but Master Wu’s words echoed in his mind; no plan survives contact with the enemy. He could work with this, a few adjustments to his scheme, and all the swords would be his. Grinning like a fool, Jay collected his bearings then jumped back into the trees.
Nya came to a stop with the others, then carefully made her way down to the ground, cautiously taking in her surroundings. In front of them was a clearing, with the four swords corresponding to elements of creation situated in a square, in their proper cardinal directions:
Azure Dragon - Lightning - East
Black Tortoise - Earth - North
White Tiger - Ice - West
Vermillion Bird - Fire - South
In the center was the key to unlock the swords of creation, that could only be powered by Green energy and water. Nya was impressed with the effort Master Wu put into the structure for the challenge.
“Once Jay gets here, we will all take our positions,” Lloyd informed them. The others nodded in affirmation.
“I almost feel bad for Jay, five on one, it won’t be a fair fight,” said Cole.
“After that stunt he pulled in the trees, you still have sympathy for him?” Zane asked incredulously, raising his eyebrow at the Master of Earth.
“I said almost.”
Nya stifled a giggle. Jay was going to get curb stomped so hard, and no one was going to feel sorry for him. She seriously hoped he had a master plan, otherwise she was dreading having to listen to his whining for the upcoming week on how ‘everyone was so mean to me!’ Sighing, Nya turned her head as she felt the presence of her brother and Cole approach her from behind.
“Good job sis,” Kai complimented her.
“It’s been so peaceful after you got Jay to shut up.” Cole chimed in.
Nya crossed her arms, annoyed at their verbal poking, but tried her best to hide a smile as a plan started forming in her mind.
“What do you say us three form an alliance?” she said in a hushed whisper. “Jay will get taken out as soon as he grabs the lightning sword. That leaves Lloyd and Zane vs the three of us. If we work together, we can easily take out Lloyd and get the ice sword from Zane.”
“I like how you think, sis,” Kai nodded in agreement.
“Fine by me,” Cole said, “Taking out those three immediately makes things a lot easier.”
Just then, the Master of Lightning appeared in the clearing and quickly made his way over to the lightning sword.
“Have no fear, the party is here,” he shouted at the others, gesturing to himself.
“More like super smash party,” Cole shouted back as he and Kai simultaneously cracked their knuckles in their palms.
“I’m going to enjoy pounding your face in, Walker,” Kai also shouted as he pointed at the offending blue ninja. Jay crossed his arms and flashed them a huge grin in response.
“Waiting on you,” he sassed back.
Nya watched as her brother and Cole went ridged with indignation. Zane had it right, Jay really did upgrade his annoyingness to weapons grade.
“Let’s get this over with,” Lloyd cut in before tempers rose again.
The team quickly took their positions at the swords of creation while Nya followed Lloyd to the center. Water condensed in her hands as she watched green energy glow from Lloyd. After placing their hands on the lock, Nya felt the tiny hairs on her neck stand on end as a tingling surge crawled up her arms. White hot energy raced out of the lock and enveloped the other four ninja. They grinned giddily as they unsheathed their prizes from the opened locks.
“Get hi-,” Cole screamed, pointing his sword at Jay, but before he could even finish his sentence, Jay was hidden by blinding light, followed by a thunderous boom. Flocks of birds flew into the air, squawking anxiously as a few large animals who were luxuriously grazing in the clearing made a mad dash for the trees.
The others reeled back in surprise from the disarray. Nya recovered quickly and took the opportunity to deck the still stunned green ninja.
“Sorry Lloyd,” she lamented, as he fell to the ground. She turned to charge at Zane, but he had disappeared in the chaos. Kai was gone too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cole, struggling to get up after being knocked down by a fleeing elk. Nya made a beeline over to him.
“Cole,” she said sweetly, pooling water in her hands, “hand over the sword.”
Cole looked up at her, acceptance of defeat plastered all over the aethereal form of his face.
“This is payback from earlier,” he acknowledged.
“Yup,” she smiled at him and held out her hand, waiting to accept the earth sword. Reluctantly, he placed it in her hand.
“Make sure Jay doesn’t win,” he said, then let go. Nya secured the sword to her back then flashed Cole a bright smile.
“Don’t worry, Jay has a world of hurt coming his way,” she ensured the ghost, then made her way to the trees.
Nya found a secluded perch then started surveying the branches for the others. She had to give Jay credit, speed had always been his advantage, and he made good use of it with his powers to stun them all and put distance between himself and them. But he was still going to lose. Hard. Nya would make sure of it.
A red flash caught the corner of her eye, and she honed in on the Master of Fire. With stealthy precision, she landed gently next to her brother.
“Kai,” she whispered. He jumped, surprised by her presence.
“Oh, it’s just you,” he sighed, relaxing his features.
“I took out Lloyd, but I lost sight of Zane,” she informed him.
“I chased after Zane but he vanished in the forest. He is probably going to wait until we wear ourselves out beating each other up, then swoop in for the victory.”
“Sounds like Zane,” Nya agreed. She gave her brother a big smile, and watched as his own disappeared on his face as his eyes darted to the glint of light reflecting off the hilt of the earth sword strapped to her back. Nya held her gaze.
“Alliance, huh?” Kai swallowed, snapping his eyes back to hers.
“Hmmmm,” Nya hummed.
Kai tensed, and took a step back on the branch, readying himself for a fight.
“Payback for what I said earlier?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You hold too many grudges.”
“You raised me, hothead.”
“Fair,” Kai tilted his head to the side in agreement, then let loose a wall of fire. Nya blocked with water and steam hissed around her, barely dodging a swift blow from Kai as he used the smoke screen to launch his attack.
“Gonna have to try harder than that if you want this earth sword,” Nya taunted.
Kai charged at her in response, and she effortlessly bobbed and weaved, skirting his volley of fiery punches.
“May I cut in?” said a voice from above, startling the blacksmith siblings. They snapped their attention to the source of the voice, the lightning ninja.
Kai smiled at his sister. “Alliance back on?”
“Oh yeah,” she agreed, and they both lunged at Jay.
The blue ninja held his position, seemingly unfazed by their advance. Grabbing Nya’s wrist, he quickly pivoted and threw her over his shoulder while dodging Kai’s kick.
“I was talking to you, babe,” he said to his girlfriend as she soared through the air. “I want Kai to be my first dance partner.”
“Nya, allow me the honor of twirling Jay into oblivion.”
“But I want to dance too!” Nya feigned rejection.
“You’ll get your turn after Kai. I’ve got an extra special dance for you, milady.”
“Ugh,” Kai grunted, his face turning sour, “I think I just threw up in my mouth.”
His disgust was short lived as Jay advanced on him. Kai dodged and blocked then pulled his wrists together, elbows locked straight, and fire ejected from his hands like a flamethrower. Jay jumped and flipped in retreat, then crouched down in a crux where the branch met the tree trunk, drawing his lightning sword.
“Burn the forest down and we all lose,” Jay said, eyes wide with shock.
“No, just you.”
Jay smiled and coiled his legs, ready to spring forward with another attack. Kai drew his fire sword as well and jumped towards him, but Jay leapt forward at the last second, narrowly dodging and electing an agitated growl from the fire ninja.
“Hold still,” Kai bellowed.
“But we are dancing,” Jay snarked. “Although, you are kind of bad at it, I think it’s time to switch dance partners.”
“Yeah, you need to go, motormouth.”
“Quite the opposite,” Jay replied, and quickly moved his sword to block Kai’s attack. Sparks flew from the clash of metal.
Jay jumped back to a long branch that bowed under his weight. He winked at Nya, then casually fell off as Kai landed on the same branch.
“In case of emergencies the exits are here, here, here, here,” Jay exclaimed as he leapfrogged between branches adjacent to Kai.
“What?”
“Keep your hands and arms inside the branch,” Jay pitched his voice up, delivering the lines as if he were a flight attendant.
“What are you talking about, weirdo—”
“Thank you for choosing Walker Airlines,” Jay fell from above and grabbed the end of the branch Kai was standing on, and it curved and groaned under his weight. Impressively, Kai kept his balance.
“Jay, wait—”
“Enjoy your flight!”
“No, stop—” Kai’s eyes went wide as Jay let go of the branch, causing it to snap upwards and launch the fire ninja high into the sky, the fire sword falling out of his grasp.
“Nya, kick his ass!” Kai shouted, his voice doppler shifting away as he faded from view. The fire sword twirled in the air then impaled into the earth, the decorative tassels swaying gently in the breeze. Jay made a rush for the sword but stopped short as Nya grabbed it first.
“Nu-uh, Bluejay!” Nya chided as she pulled it out of the ground, pointing it at him. He jumped back a few paces to keep his distance. She smiled at him manically.
“Your lightning sword is mine,” she informed him.
My lightning sword is always yours, he almost responded, but smartly bit his tongue.
“Come get it,” he said instead, then jumped back into the trees and sped away.
Nya watched as his form disappeared.
“You are only delaying the inevitable!” she shouted in the direction he fled. She jumped back up to the branches and raced after the blue ninja, salivating at the thought of wiping the forest floor with him. She couldn’t wait to exact her revenge on the Mouth of Lightning.
Jay was using his elemental power to enhance his speed, which was making tracking him a chore, but Nya applauded herself for keeping up, even if she was pushing past her limits. She noticed her surroundings growing darker as he led them deeper into the forest. Thick branches with leafy foliage blotted out the sun, and the cheerful chirps of the birds were replaced by low-pitched croaks and throaty vibrations.
She could no longer sense Jay in movement, and stopped her pursuit by landing on a large branch. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she scanned the new surroundings, finally spotting the blue ninja a few trees away. Her eyes locked onto his, and the corners of her mouth stretched her lips into a sneer.
“Hey there Beautiful.” He had a cheesy smile on his face, with arms crossed, standing on the branch, and leaning smugly against the tree trunk. “Come here often?”
Nya rolled her eyes. “Thank you for saving me the trouble of hunting down the lightning sword,” she giggled, already envisioning her victory with presenting the swords to Master Wu.
She lunged at him, conjuring water in her hands, ready to blast him down to the forest floor. But before she could make contact, he was gone from the branch. Confused, Nya looked around as she landed on the spot Jay had occupied seconds before.
“Too slow,” came Jay’s voice from above.
“Cute trick, but you are going down Sparky.”
“As much as I enjoy you taking me down,” Jay replied playfully, “I have a challenge to win.”
Nya scoffed and rolled her eyes again. “Uh-huh. I’d like to see you try.”
Jay dropped down and balanced next to her on the branch. He held out the lightning sword, taunting her. “Here. Take it.”
There was a glint in his eye that made her hesitate. Jay was scheming something, and she couldn’t figure out his play. An eyebrow inched upwards as she crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.
“Saying ‘It’s a trap’ would just be redundant,” she purred.
Jay let his wrist go slack and the blade swung side to side like a pendulum, enticing her to snatch it out of his grasp.
“What are you waiting for?” He challenged her.
“The right moment.”
She stepped forward, putting more weight on the branch closer to Jay, causing their perch to bob up and down. Impressively, Jay kept his balance. Instead of watching the sword, she kept her eyes on his, looking for an opening. After five seconds of their awkward staring contest, Nya lost her patience and lunged at him.
It only took her a split second to realize her grave mistake.
The smile on his face was impossible to ignore, and in one fluid motion he sheathed the sword, gave her a wink and a salute, then backflipped off the branch. The loss of his weight sent the branch flying up, and her with it. It would have been comical if she were not the one catapulted into the air.
Ok. So that was dumb, falling for the same trick as Kai. Nya used her arms to break her fall, then took off towards the forest floor, where Jay was howling with laughter.
“For a mechanic, you aren’t very good at physics,” he choked out between chuckles.
“Get back here, zap trap!” she growled.
“Gotta catch me first!”
Jay jumped and dodged a furry of her punches and kicks. She was growing irater by the minute that she couldn’t land a single hit on him.
“Ugh! Stop evading and fight me!”
“Is that what you really want?” Jay asked, his voice dipping low, almost a warning. The way he said those words, gave Nya pause, but her anger was clouding her judgment.
“Fight me!” she demanded.
Jay stopped and took on a fighting stance. He signaled for her to come at him. Nya spun around, coiled her leg to her torso, then pushed out with a forceful back kick. Instead of stepping back to avoid the blow, his forearm shot up, catching under her foot and knocking her off balance. With only a split second to block his counterattack, her forearms came together and caught his side-kick, sending her flying. She raked across the forest floor with a rough landing, stirring up debris. Twigs, leaves, and dirt tangled in her hair and gi.
Nya stared up at the crisp blue sky, laced with a spider web of tree branches. A serene, peaceful afternoon in the forest, and she was furious. She jumped up and held her closed fits near her chin, ready for another round.
Jay had moved to the high ground, and was staring down at her from his perch, amusement dancing across his features. It only enraged her more.
“I’m surprised, you should have gotten the lightning sword from me by now,” he drawled out.
Nya’s jaw clenched tight. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of a response, she forced big, deep breaths of the fresh forest air into her lungs. A tingling surge washed over her as a calming coolness rushed up her spine, down her arms, and water was hers to command. She took aim at Jay and let rip a powerful blast. The impact of the water was so forceful it tore bark from the tree. Triumph filled her veins, knowing that she had blasted that smug smile off his face.
“I thought you learned the first time, that attack doesn’t work,” came Jay’s voice from behind.
Her chest twisted painfully, and ice spiked through her insides as her eyes grew wide. She turned just in time to block his kick. Stumbling back, she calmed her nerves, then sprang forward with a volley of punches, finally landing a blow to his chest. Except, the uppercut punch hurt her hand more than it should have. Searing pain ripped through her hand and up her arm, followed by an audible crack. Nya yelped and jumped back in surprise, realization dawning her features.
“You— You shocked me!” she accused.
“And?” Jay gestured with hands, expecting her to give him a good reason why that was bad. “You wanted me to fight you,” he reminded her.
Nya’s nostrils flared and she returned to her fighting stance. They circled each other, unsure if they wanted a romantic dance or a deadly brawl.
This time, Jay initiated the first punch, which she blocked effortlessly. She returned fire, and he blocked and evaded. Finally she spun around in an attempt to sweep his legs from under him, but he jumped high in the air, leaving himself vulnerable. Nya smiled as she took advantage of the opening, the bottom of her foot from her powerful side-kick landing on his gut. He grunted, and air rushed out of his lungs from the force of the blow. But like the last hit she had landed on him, pain coursed through her foot and she jumped back in surprise.
SNAP
Nya regained her composure and charged at him again. He deflected and blocked another volley of attacks before she landed a punch on the joint connecting his shoulder to peck.
CRACKLE
She reeled back and shook out her hand from the pain, like she had just stuck her finger in an electrical outlet. Nya narrowed her eyes at Jay and suppressed a growl that was threatening to escape her mouth. Without hesitation, she charged at him again, ignoring her body’s plea to catch her breath. Her strikes were becoming less controlled, and she barely landed a round-kick to his unprotected side.
POP
Nya stumbled backwards and a nearby tree trunk broke her fall. Her lungs were screaming for oxygen as she pulled in deep, ragged breaths.
“That is super annoying!” she seethed, “It’s like I am punching a bug zapper! You really are a Zap Trap!”
Mischief danced in his eyes as the corner of his lips pulled his mouth into a devious smile. She would have found the look endearing if she weren’t so mad.
“That makes you a bug then,” came his response.
Nya pursed her lips into a thin line, trying not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but anger flooded her veins and invaded her thought process.
“Wow, so clever, Mr. Funny Man,” she bristled.
He approached her in a slow gait, hands at his sides, palms facing forward, with no guard up, making himself vulnerable to her.
“Come bite me, waterbug,” his voice was low and smooth, controlled chaos against her furry.
Her rage boiled over.
“I’ll do more than just bite you!” she snarled, charging at him again.
“Oooo, feisty!”
She came at him with a strong right-cross, but just as she was about to land the hit, he jumped high in the air with an impressive side-split, soaring over her and placing his hand on the small of her back, pushing off to propel away and causing her to lose her balance. Nya broke her fall with a forward roll and instantly got back on her feet, shooting daggers at Jay with her glare.
Losing.
She was losing badly.
How?
She normally bested Jay during sparring practice, came to his aid during missions. Jay was a formidable ninja, capable of handling himself, but always seemed to come up short when it came to fighting her.
Had he— had he been holding back this whole time?
Waves of rage slammed into her, like a cantankerous ocean meeting a rocky cliff, numbing her brain to logical thought.
Holding back?
How dare he! How insulting!
Doubt floated to the surface, stirring up emotions that had been gnawing in the back of her mind. Deep down she suspected he pulled his punches around her, but always brushed away the thoughts with irrational rationalization. Now the truth was impossible to ignore. Her hands balled into fists and her jaw clenched tight.
Jay seemed unfazed by the look of his girlfriend ready to murder him, or combust in the forest, or both. His face was still plastered with that stupidly gorgeous grin of his, irking her ire.
The calming coolness she normally presented to the team was lost in a sea of furry, drowning out her much-needed voice of reason. Her ability to think clearly was compromised. Whipped up into a tizzy, foaming at the mouth like a raging bull, blindly running headfirst into a trap.
Trap.
Master Wu’s words came flooding back to her, pulled out of the depths of her subconscious, a nagging voice in the back of her mind that had been silenced by rage, futilely screaming at her to listen.
If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him.
A beautiful, elegant trap, and she walked into it willingly. Jay had successfully antagonized everyone the whole day, and she fell for it the worst.
She looked up at him again, but he had disappeared during her brief reverie. She found herself standing alone in the forest, vulnerable, fatigued, and without a plan.
Her anger turned to fear, furry into panic, and the waves of rage lost their tidal force.
She might be more than a little screwed.
Her breaths became short and shallow as her brain scrambled for a plan. She was a sitting duck. The sounds of the forest had her on edge. Leaves rustled and she pulled up her guard, surveying the landscape for a tactical retreat.
She was about to spring into the trees when she felt a presence behind her. Before she could even react, strong arms wrapped around her torso and gloved hands gripped her wrists, pulling her arms across her body in a straitjacket hold. She withered and bucked, trying to break free with no avail, finally going limp in his grasp.
“You tricked me!” she whined, not proud those words fell out of her mouth.
A low vibration rumbled from the chest she was pulled up against as Jay chuckled. Her head rested against his jaw, and she felt his hot breath in her ear.
“Finally figured it out, waterbug?”
She jerked in response, trying to break loose, but his grip on her was solid.
“Figuring out people’s buttons and triggers is skill,” he whispered in her ear, “Knowing when to push them is art.”
Nya felt her whole body buzz as cool air swirled around her. Jay was gone as quickly as he had arrived.
The water ninja stumbled back and caught her breath, trying desperately to regain her composure. She was worn out from the fight, mentally and physically drained. Retreat was her only option, but impossible with Jay attacking from above, so she hurried behind a nearby tree. Seconds felt like minutes as she tried to calm her nerves.
It was too quiet.
Ice pierced her stomach, and a feeling of panic filled her insides. She got the distinct impression that she was being hunted as a chill walked down her spine.
The tree trunk, her chosen hiding spot, suddenly felt less secure than it did five seconds ago. She stifled her breaths, and felt her pulse pounding in her ears, wishing she could stifle the beating of her heart.
No chirping birds, no scurrying of rodents, no white noise at all. It was eerily quiet, as if the entire forest knew there was a fearsome predator on the prowl.
She crouched down, readying to bolt for higher ground, but instead her heart sank as she heard the sickening crack of a twig under her foot. A flash of light in front of her was her only warning before a thunderous boom momentarily stunned her.
The forest erupted into chaos.
He who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven.
She caught a glimpse of a blue blur, before finding herself sailing through the air, slamming into another tree trunk to break her fall. Air raced out her lungs from the impact and she gasped for breath.
Get up.
Run.
Her body wouldn’t obey.
The blue ninja was in front of her now, walking slowly, as if toying with his prey. Nya forced herself to her feet, forced herself to breathe. She pulled her guard up, but tendrils of lightning gripped her arm, locking her in place. Jay came to a stop, inches from her face, his hot breath tickling her forehead.
You are not getting these swords, she wanted to snarl out, but her lungs were betraying her.
That stupidly gorgeous grin was still on his face, and Nya suddenly realized he wasn’t just after her for the swords.
The lightning around her arm was gone, his forearms against the tree trunk on either side of her head, caging her in. His gaze was fixed on her cherry red lips, and watched as a soft pink tongue darted out and licked them, hypnotized by the movement, contemplating if it was a nervous gesture, or a signal for something else.
“Another use for my mouth, huh?” His breath was hot and inches away from hers. She was startled that he echoed her words from before.
“I’ve got a lot of suggestions for you,” he continued as his eyes shifted back to her lips, “Here is the first one.”
She should have expected it, but the kiss catches her off guard. His hot mouth connected with hers and she absolutely melts. Her breath hitched and her elemental power prickled, sending a surge of energy down her spine.
“Your mouth is dangerous,” she murmured. She looked up at him through her lashes and poked his cheeks. He had a bright smile that could light up any room and pierce through the darkest of hearts. A sharp tongue laced with quick wit, yet soft and endearing.
“It’s my greatest weapon,” he said smugly, the intense smirk on his face almost paralyzing.
Nya rose to the challenge and pulled him down for another kiss. She kissed his upper lip, then lower, then drew her tongue across the line in between. His mouth parted slightly, and she used the opportunity to slowly sweep her tongue across his, daring him to do the same. Her sensitive ears, honed from years of training, picked up a soft groan he was powerless to hide and his elemental power hummed in response. She broke the kiss and mirrored his previous smug smile.
“And your greatest weakness,” she whispered back. The chap of his lower lip brushed lightly against hers, and she couldn’t tell if the electric shock she felt was literal or figurative.
“I’ve got another weakness,” he whispered, his voice husky and low. Nya felt heat pool in her core, surprised how easily he could make her burn and make her want.
“Enlighten me,” she breathed out. His fingers entwined into her hair, and his thumbs grazed over her cheeks, pulling her head to the side, and nuzzling into her neck. She felt another spike in his elemental power as hers responded in kind.
“You,” he smiled into her neck. Nya’s power shuddered through her frame, leaving her knees weak.
“I guess that means I will be taking your lightning sword and winning the challenge then,” she huffed out before her brain shut down to all logical thought.
“Will you?” His fingers left the nape of her neck and dragged down her back, coming to a stop at her waist. His hands started crackling and glowing blue, and pulses of electricity surged under her skin. She went ridged in his grasp, but did her best to keep her breath from hitching.
“I just need to distract you more,” she swallowed thickly, then pulled his body flush to hers.
She moved to capture his lips again, but he nipped at her neck and her eyes fluttered closed. His hands roamed her back and she let out a soft moan.
It was getting harder to concentrate, but her nimble fingers traced over the sheath of the sword attached to his back, fumbling around for the clasps. His tongue darted out and traced the line of her neck up to her jaw, causing her to pause in her search. She turned her head and met his lips again.
He leaned his weight into her, crushing her between him and the tree, deepening the kiss. She hummed in contentment and felt his elemental power thrum under his skin. Her hands abandoned their mission and found themselves entangling in his hair.
Jay broke the kiss and took in the sight of her, cheeks flushed, lips swollen and eyes hooded.
“Are you distracting me? Or am I distracting you?” he questioned her, a smile blooming across his face.
She responded by pulling him back, crushing her lips to his. He grunted from the force and pulled a hand from her back to brace against the tree trunk. She veered her head to the side and drew her tongue up his jaw, while her hands reattempted obtaining the lightning sword.
A low moan vibrated in his chest and she smiled into the junction of his neck and jaw, thinking she finally had the upper hand. Just as she was about to grab her prize, the unmistakable sound of a twig cracking under foot pierced through their haze and they jumped apart.
“That’s my cue,” Jay flashed her his signature smile then retreated into the trees.
Nya took a step back, trying to collect her bearings. Cool air flooded around her, a stark contrast of the searing heat from Jay.
Realization dawned on her that she never grabbed the sword from the lightning ninja. She furrowed her brow, but relaxed knowing she still had the other two swords. She shifted to re-secure them on her back, but her eyes went wide as adrenaline exploded in her veins.
What?
How?
When?
The swords were gone.
Nya stumbled back and slid down the tree trunk, boneless. Her arms flopped to her sides and she found herself fighting back dueling urges: to be extremely angry at Jay, or in awe of the stunt he just pulled off.
She allowed her eyes to flutter close and a genuine smile to tug at her lips. She was tired, defeated, drained in ways she didn’t know was possible, yet a sense of pride washed over her. Victory went to Jay this time, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.