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After nearly five straight minutes of concentration, Jay moved his bishop to block the advance of one of Zane's pawns.
As Zane considered his move, Jay’s focus drifted over to Nya, who was currently locked in fierce battle with some wooden training dummies on the deck below them.
She’d been on the warpath ever since they got back from the PSA shoot. The one she hadn’t been invited to.
When she arrived at the studio, wondering what was going on, the producer offered to shoot her doing a make-up tutorial.
Hence the destructive mood.
“Jay,” Zane said “I’ve finished my turn.”
“Huh?”
“That means it’s your turn.”
“Oh, right!”
Jay snapped his head back to the chess board. He was currently working his knight up the board, and in just two more turns he’d be in position to pull off a manoeuvre that might give him a chance of actually beating-
Wait, where had his knight gone?
Jay spotted the little white horse nestled amongst the cluster of all of the other pieces Zane had captured.
Jay let out a sigh.
It didn’t look like he was winning this game either.
“So what’s that? A hundred games to one?”
Cole's voice nearly made Jay jump out of his seat. He swore Cole hadn’t been this good at sneaking up on him before he became a ghost.
“Hey!” Jay said “The game’s not over! I can still win this!”
Cole glanced at the board.
“ Sure you can.”
“Don’t you have anything better to do than standing around dissing my chess skills?”
“Actually, I have something really cool I wanted to show you guys!” Cole’s eyes lit up “Watch this!”
One second Cole was standing by Zane and Jay, and the next he had completely disappeared.
Jay didn’t notice Cole reappear behind him.
“Boo.” He whispered into his ear.
“Gah!” Jay instinctively punched behind him, his fist going right through Cole’s chest.
“Pretty cool, right?” Cole beamed once Jay had retracted his fist.
“Yeah, great new trick.” Jay said flatly, trying to rub the chill from his hand.
“Most impressive Cole.” Zane smiled “I’m sure this new ability will be a great asset in future missions.”
“And that’s not all,” Cole’s smile grew even wider “You remember the rest of you saw your future selves in that cave and I was all worried when I didn’t see anything? Well I guess it turned out I couldn’t see my reflection because future-me learned how to turn invisible, and not because I was a goner!”
“That’s wonderful news Cole!” Zane smiled, “You must be feeling very relieved.”
“Oh absolutely! I’ve been practically jumping for joy all morning!” Cole bounced on the balls of his feet “I’ll let you two get back to your game, I gotta find Kai and Lloyd and tell them the good news too!”
Cole practically skipped down the stairs in search of the other ninja.
“Well I’m glad someone’s happy about their vision.” Jay grumbled.
Zane raised an eyebrow.
“I would think you’d be more excited about finding out that our friend isn’t doomed.” he said.
“Maybe I’d be more excited for him if he wasn’t using his newfound abilities to try and give me a heart attack. Just because he’s not gonna die young anymore doesn’t mean that I want to.“ Jay moved a random pawn forward and turned back towards Nya.
“I’m sensing the vision you saw of you and Nya together in the future is on your mind?” Zane asked as he took Jay's queen with his pawn.
“Shh! Not so loud!” Jay reached over the board and covered Zane’s mouth, checking over his shoulder to make sure Nya and Cole hadn’t overheard.
Zane pushed his hand away.
“Perhaps it would relieve some of your stress to simply tell Nya about your vision?”
“Are you kidding? Nya would lose it if she heard about what I saw in the cave!” Jay sighed “She's already made it very clear she wants nothing to do with me.”
“Erm, if that’s the case, why have you been frequently making suggestive comments around her?”
“C-comments? What comments?” Jay asked nervously.
“Ever since our sojourn to the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb, your behaviour around Nya has noticeably changed. Especially in the last month, as the questions surrounding her love life have become more prevalent in the media.”
Jay groaned and banged his head on the table, making the chess pieces jump.
“Am I really that obvious?”
“Yes.”
Jay groaned again.
“I was fine until I saw that vision!” He rubbed his eyes with his palms. “I know Nya said she didn't want to get back together, but there's been this little spark of hope in me ever since I saw that we were together in the future.”
“Perhaps it would be better if you stopped your romantic advances and simply let things take their course. I can’t help but feel that pushing Nya in a direction she has expressed discomfort with will only achieve the opposite of your intended goal.”
“I know I should probably back off, but it's hard!” Jay said “Like, imagine if Pixal broke up with you, but you knew for sure the two of you would get back together. You couldn’t just sit there and pretend everything was normal, right?”
“If Pixal expressed a desire for a change in our relationship, I would respect her wishes.” Zane said indignantly.
“Never mind. You just wouldn't get it, it's different for you.”
Zane frowned and moved his rook.
“Checkmate.” he said with slightly more satisfaction than when he normally beat Jay.
“What?” Jay blinked “How'd you do that?”
“I pay attention.” Zane said smugly.
“Whatever.” Jay grumbled “Set the pieces back up! I know I can beat you this time!”
“Show girls how to put on makeup!” Nya growled as she attacked the training dummy with steadily faster and faster hits.
Thwump!
Thwack!
“Maybe you’re the one who needs your face rearranged!”
Nya’s frustration completely boiled over and her limbs turned into a violent blur of fury.
Smash!
Smash!
Crash!
The arm of the dummy Nya kicked severed from the torso with a burst of splinters.
She panted a few times before pulling her arm back to attack the next dummy.
“Something bothering you?”
Nya stopped mid-punch and turned to see Misako closing the door to the captain's quarters behind her.
“Everything's been awful every since I became the water ninja!” Nya replied angrily.
“No one ever said being a ninja would be easy.” Misako smiled warmly.
“It’s not being a ninja that’s the problem, it’s how people act about the fact that I’m a ninja! I mean, have you seen the media! If I ever forget that I’m the only girl ninja, there’s a thousand friendly reminders in every direction!”
“Oh I'm very familiar with the feeling.” Misako nodded knowingly. “The Explorer’s Club was a useful resource for my green ninja prophecy research, but being the first and only woman to be a member was certainly an alienating experience.”
Misako cleared her throat before speaking in a haughty voice.
“Introducing Percy Shippelton, one of the most courageous members of The Club; Smythe Smith, discoverer of The Hidden Isles of the Anacondrai; and Misako Montgomery, the first woman in The Explorer’s Club!” She said.
“Yes! Exactly!” Nya practically yelled “Why can’t people just give me the same chance they give the boys? Why does me being a girl make them act so…so weird?”
“I’m afraid most men just can't handle the idea of not being the stars of the show. It's not fair, but unfortunately life just isn’t fair.” Misako smiled sadly. “And when you’re faced with one of life's challenges, you can either lie down and give up, or stand tall and fight back.”
Nya frowned.
That wasn’t really what she'd been hoping to hear.
“It feels like all I ever do is fight back.” She said “Isn't there anything else I can do? Maybe something with a little more of a permanent effect?”
Misako only smiled sadly.
“It's like I said, life just isn't fair. Being a woman is like being a ninja, there'll always be another enemy to fight. But it's not all doom and gloom.”
Misako put a hand on Nya's shoulder.
“The opinions of some sleazy reporters and the frothing masses drooling over their tacky magazines don't matter. You know they're wrong, and I know they're wrong. No matter what they say, I know you're a strong, incredibly clever, amazing ninja. Don't let what some nosy strangers have to say drag you down. Focus on your work, and lean on your friends, the ones who really understand and support you.”
“Honestly Misako, I'm not so sure they do understand me.”
“Boys can be a bit dumb sometimes,” Misako laughed “But they're still your friends. They do want to help you, even if they don't always understand how to do it.”
“I guess so.” Nya shrugged “But it would be nice if I didn't feel so alone all the time when I was with them, you know?”
“They'll get there. But in the meantime, I'm always here to talk when you're feeling alone.”
Nya blinked.
It hadn't really hit her until now that she'd never had another woman on the team she could talk to.
In fact, Nya couldn't remember there being a prominent woman in her life ever since she and Kai had struck out on their own.
Nya wasn't sure how she felt about that.
“Thanks Misako.” She said.
“Anytime.” Misako patted Nya's shoulder. “Now, I'd better get back to my research. I've been looking through Captain Soto's old journals, and I just found the most fascinating entry on one of their rival crews.”
Misako bent down and picked up one of the dummies Nya had knocked over.
“Now, don't hold back. Attack the manikins with just as much ferocity as you would use on a real foe. That's the best way to be prepared for the battles ahead.” she said, giving Nya one last smile before disappearing back into the captain's quarters.
Nya stared at the closed door for a bit.
She half-heartedly kicked one of the dummies over before turning and walking away.
She was still full of anger, as well as a slew of other confusing emotions, but taking it out on the training dummies felt pointless.
It was nice that there was another woman on the team who understood what Nya had to put up with, and she was grateful that Misako had come out to talk to her, but her words hadn't exactly filled Nya with a lot of hope for the future.
Was she really going to spend the rest of her life knocking down dummies only for someone to keep setting them up?
Nya's musings were interrupted when she noticed Jay looking at her.
Perhaps his attention had only been drawn by the noise of Nya’s training exercises/rageful venting, but all of the weird comments Jay had been making the past few weeks flashed through Nya's mind as they locked eyes.
She had no patience for Jay right now.
“What are you looking at?” she snapped.
“N-nothing!” Jay yelped, turning back to his chess game with Zane.
Before Nya could get much farther, Wu came running on deck calling for all the ninja.
“Ninja! Come quick! There's been an emergency!”
After a quick briefing from Wu, the ninja were off on a mission to find out how Clouse had escaped from The Cursed Realm, and what he was up to.
Nya was glad for the distraction, as well as the opportunity to turn her anger into something productive.
Maybe after they'd taken care of Clouse, Nya's head would be a bit more clear, and she could have a more in-depth conversation with Misako.