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There was a sense of dread lingering through the halls of the temple. Without Master Wu, everyone felt sort of empty. Lloyd tried to fill in the void with his optimism, but he lacked his usual charm, too.
And with immense guilt, Jay was laying on top of his beds covers. He really did care about Wu, it was the priority now. Figuring out what happened to Wu.
..Unfortunately, his mind was stuck in other places. He heard Kai and Nya come back inside. They had been out taking their parents home, reconnecting, blah blah blah. Jay was a bad person for feeling like this, wasn't he?
He flinched away from his thoughts when his bedroom door opened. He didn't know if he was disappointed or relieved to see that it was only Nya.
"Did I startle you?" She laughed softly, leaving her things on his desk. "I told you I was going to spend the night here!"
Jay blinked. "You did?"
"…I texted you, like- 30 minutes ago?" She gestured to his phone. He reached for it and saw the unread message. 35 minutes, to be specific.
"Oh- haha, that's right!" He needs to take acting lessons. "You did-"
"What happened." Fuck.
"Nothing! Really- I'm so serious." He forced himself to stay as emotionless as he could. Whilst avoiding Nya's deadly stare. "I've just been distracted, that's all."
"With what?"
Jay is a horrible person. "…Wih… with Wu disappearing."
"You're going to Hell." Fuck! "Talk to me."
With an exasperated sigh, he scooted deeper in his bed to make room for Nya. She placed herself right in front of him so he couldn't try and look away. Nobody warned him that having a girlfriend means she'd eventually figure out how to navigate his substandard programming.
"I don't wanna talk 'bout it." He put it simply.
"Holy shit. The infamous motor-mouth doesn't wanna talk." Nya's tone was drowned in sarcasm.
"Mhm. I don't."
"What'd you do- kill a man?"
"No! It's much more serious-" You're really digging yourself a deeper hole, Walker.
Nya leaned in closer to his face. And not in the dreamy, romantic way. The way that promised he'd been screwed if he kept digging. "Enlighten me."
"…I don't-" he sputtered, "It doesn't really matter, I mean it. You told me to stop whining about things that don't matter anyway-"
"I said that because you kept complaining about Kai beating your high score for three hours!" She shook him by the shoulders.
Jay stuttered in an attempt to look for words that could explain how he felt without being an asshole. Carefully, he took Nya's hands.
"Well, uh- um. ..Remember what happened a couple years ago? With the um.." Thankfully she knew exactly who he was talking about before he was forced to say it. He continued after she nodded. "…I know that with everything being reversed, my real dad didn't actually die. So I can't really go up to my parents and ask about it now. But you and Kai-… with your parents… I don't know. I guess I'm just jealous. But I feel bad."
Nya hesitated. "…Jealous? When you-"
"-Are the only one with loving parents, I know I know- I told you, it doesn't matter."
He leaned back against the headboard. The guilt pooled in his stomach. He spoke again before Nya could. "I don't know why I even care, it's stupid-! Wu is more important, and I really am happy for you.."
Jay hoped she could tell he was being sincere. Why'd he have to be so sensitive? Nya was quiet again, gently squeezing his hands.
"…Okay," she shifted closer. "Let me ask differently; why does it bother you?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Closure, I guess. I'll never figure out why my parents left me in a junkyard. When I had the key to Cliffs mansion I looked everywhere for something that could've told me why just to find nothing. And I don't know a single thing about my mother."
Nya droned in thought while Jay wistfully stared down. It took her no time to come up with a decision. She took it upon herself to nestle in right besides him, wrapping her arms around one of his.
"I can't offer much, but I think I can help with that a little." She spoke softly as she cuddled up besides him. Part of her plan worked, he relaxed at her touch, though he looked back at her with a puzzled glance.
"What're you talking about?"
Nya hummed. "When Kai and I followed the Iron Doom into the vortex, it took us back 40 years to where the battle took place."
"I knew that."
"Shh." She pressed a finger to his lips. "Your mother was there. I'm pretty sure, at least. She was using lightning."
Jay was quiet now, eyes widening in a way that made Nya smile. "…Really? Well, obviously- but.. you saw her?"
She nodded as he turned his body to face hers. "Yeah. I didn't catch her name or anything, but she was there. She had long, shiny blonde hair. And blue eyes and a ton of freckles. She was a really pretty girl, must be where you got it from. She also swings a sword with her left hand, too."
"I swing a sword left handed?" His genuine question left Nya giggling.
"Anyways," amusual stayed in her tone while she gently brushed hair out of his face. "She seemed to be really nice. My parents might know what could've happened, if not Wu, if you ever wanna take that chance."
Jay exhaled. "If Wu knew, I don't know why he wouldn't have told me. What if she turned evil?"
"I think Wu would've warned all of us if she turned evil. Plus, you would've been a Lloyd 2.0."
"But what if-"
"Noo more nonsense." She leaned over to kiss him into silence. "You'll learn someday, Jay. And I'll be there with you if you ever wanted to ask someone if they knew. If not me, I'm sure your other girlfriend will be there."
"That's a really mean thing to say about Cole."
Yet he still couldn't help but laugh with her. He pulled her closer in a tighter embrace. The thought still buzzed in his mind of wanting more answers, but the guilty feeling tearing him up had gone away. Jay pulled away just enough to look Nya in the eyes.
"I hope your parents like me like my parents like you."
"I don't' know why they wouldn't." She started giggling again. "But you should be warned, Kai already told them you're a yapper."