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Jay's eyes widened.
a moment before, they'd been stranded outside, forced through that strange, magical door into the land of monsters, which for some reason had driven Kai crazy, and now they'd been poof'd into another place.
the three were searching for a way out of that dark, silently disturbing realm, but suddenly a new light flooded his eyes, making them squint from the stinging.
when he opened them again, he looked around, finding the other two ninjas standing next to him, equally confused as he was about how they'd ended up somewhere else, and especially letting him ask where.
and a split second later, the pink-haired girl with her dragon, and two other kids whose names he didn't care to remember, appeared just a few inches away.
he was starting to regret going back and following Nya and her annoying brother in that cave. but at least he couldn't say he wasn't happy to see a new place, after several, too many, days in that distressing place.
but then something suddenly came to him, turning all around, and finding only white and gold buildings and a bright yellow light. he groaned in realization, his dragon mech was lost in that land.
"are we back in Djinnjago?" an high voice said behind him, seeing the cat ninja's gaze light up in confusion.
"Sora?" Nya, who was standing next to him, said with a smile "guys! you have no idea how happy I am to see you! these two were driving me nuts..." she pointed behind her back, smiling at the kids.
"hey!" and the red ninja immediately exclaimed, offended "It's not my fault Jay is a pain in the ass!"
the wild red-haired girl ran toward them, throwing herself into Kai's arms and hugging him. Jay could hear his breath hitch at the rough impact, but then he giggled, hearing her grunt, as if copying a dragon's roar, and Jay couldn't help not to let out the strangeness on his face.
Jay was ready to snap back, touched by his accusing words himself, but someone spoke before he could.
"Nya! Sora! Riyu!" a hoarse, deep, old voice called out their names, drawing everyone's attention. when he looked up at the figure, something inside him made his heart drop to his stomach.
a floating figure with red skin, long, white ponytail, a worn face with a wrinkled yet smiling expression, and four arms. they had no legs, but an equally red, glittery trail filled in for the missing limbs.
and for some reason, his body began to sweat and tremble as his eyes scanned this new figure.
"congratulations on your victory over Thunderfangs, ninja!"
the voice sounded strangely, and disturbingly, familiar to his ears, making his own heart threaten to explode from within his ribcage.
and, in sync with his rapid heartbeat, black eyes, which he thought he had seen somewhere before, shifted to him, freezing his body completely. something told Jay he had to act: fight, flight, or freeze, and even though he wanted to do the first two, the second was the one his mind chose.
why would you run away from something with... four arms and that floats?
don't be ridiculous, Jay! fear is weakness- ugh, nevermind..
"oh! how rude of me!" and a sense of relief, albeit too slight, washed over Jay as his gaze shifted to the red ninja to his left "I haven't introduced myself to you yet! even though it's the first time I've seen two new ninjas..."
the red figure moved, floating close, too close, toward them, raising one of his hands "I am Arrakore, the last Djinn and creator of a new Djinnjago.. still under construction"
shaking hands with the ninja, greeting each other formally, Kai also introduced himself "nice to meet you, I am Kai, master of fire" and like the show off he was, he created some fire and let it flow from his palm, drawing the Djinn's eyes to the small flame, though it then disappeared a second later, making Kai remember the malfunction of their elements, closely followed by a headache.
Djinnjago..?
that word rang like a bad bell in his head, but not being able to understand why it bothered him... it scared him, for some reason.
and then his gaze focused on Jay's again, looking straight into his pupils this time, wanting only to divert that pitch blackness from his sight, but failing.
the Djinn floated, flowing behind him and then in front of his face again, making Jay's back arch backward. those eyes remained, still, fixed on him, waiting with the same hand that had shake Kai's, on display for him as well.
Jay was starting to realize how many seconds were passing, noticing the Djinn gaze twisting in slight confusion, while that hand, now uncertain, remained still in the air.
light hands appeared on the fabric of his shoulders, feeling a sudden, burning heat, making him jump and detach from the sudden touch... what's wrong with you, Jay!?
"this is Jay, master of lightning" he turned with a swift movement, finding a small smile on Nya's face, also discovering the owner of the hands. when she moved her gaze from the Djinn to Jay, that smile vanished, finding only worried eyes on her face, leaving his shoulders.
for some reason, Jay saw awareness behind her eyes, and that confused him more than the emotions he was feeling. the fear he hadn't felt in a long time, except when it came to Nya... but that wasn't a subject he didn't wanted to discuss, not even with himself, it being completely ignored by the thought of that new figure.
shaking gazes with Nya, he felt the ends of his ponytail tickling his neck, sending a shiver up his spine, fueling another shiver when the Djinn still stood before his body.
he saw his hand rest low on his sides again, letting go the shake and smiling again "the pleasure is all mine, ninja!"
"I'm not a ninja." Jay sent a death-glare in his direction, making the new figure raise an eyebrow when he saw Jay's now dark, maniacally serious eyes. his body couldn't blink, but the words came out in a heavy breath of its own, tired of hearing that title connected to him.
Arrakore lingered on him once more, then turned to the others present in further confusion, feeling uneasy at the way the mercenary was looking at him and immediately feel sorry for having offended him. but, also, at the same time not understanding what was wrong with what he said, believing that Jay was one of the ninja like the others too.
"um-" Nya began, wanting to ease the discomfort that was starting to become palpable. or to help divert the attention from Jay, but not understanding why she was helping him though "he lost his memory after the merge, so he doesn't remember anything about his past or that he was a ninja..."
I'M NOT. A. FUCKING. NINJA! but it remained to himself this time, unable to look at her and instead continuing to stare at the Djinn.
Arrakore then turned his attention away from Jay, focusing on the rest of the ninjas.
"what a weirdo..." and a murmur made itself be heard in his ears, though it probably didn't mean to be, darting his eyes to the redhead kid.
his heart, no longer hearing his breathing too close to Jay, for his thoughts, managed to find some peace, calming and slowing against his chest, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Kai nudged her lightly with his elbow, making her turn in confusion "Wyldfyre." his tone was firm, perplexing Jay when he then saw the ninja turn back to him, finding an almost apologetic expression, as sympathetic as Nya's from before.
shifting his face away from the red ninja, he then looked around, finding more confused looks on him.
stop looking at me, damn it.
shutting himself in his head, as always, as soon as something would upset him, Jay folded his arms in front of his pounding chest and turned away from the others, distracting himself and casting his eyes elsewhere.
voices began a conversation, but they were so muffled that they didn't even manage to catch his attention. Instead, it lingered on one spot.
there was a table, a banquet, with food and golden tableware, old but regal, with chairs embroidered with blue fabric, and gold trim, around them. one, however, was occupied by a fairly large porcelain vase, also blue, and shortly afterward he noticed it had a smiling face drawn on it. weird..
the muzzles of two flintlock-pistols were pressed, fingers poised threateningly over the triggers if he tried to escape, behind his back.
the room wasn't new to him, having cleaned it from top to bottom many times, but it was the first time he'd set foot in it without a mop and bucket, seeing the snobbish orange-Djinn sitting at the table, which was piled high with food. Jay would have drooled at the mere sight, if he hadn't any doubt that he might be poisoned, or expecting blackmail for food, or also expecting bullets ready to pass him through.
It was strange that he had personally requested Jay's presence, and he sensed something was going on that he didn't already like.
"please, please... eat something" the Djinn's black eyes were fixed, looking straight at him with a smile meant to seem welcoming, accommodating, indicating the chair in front of him "you must be famished!"
"but I must warn youu..." and his voice changed tone, still sounding almost gentle, wanting Jay to believe that this act was pure from any intention "don't try anything."
not that he could have, he hadn't the ball and chain on his ankle, but Dogshank was ready for anything, sitting in the corner of the room and playing the harp.
"I am to have manners around the dinner table.."
"don't think you can butter me up like a bread roll, and expect me to make my last wish!" Jay sat down, immediately making it clear that he understood his plan.
but ... responded immediately, sounding contrary to Jay's insinuation "mhnno, no, no, no! I would never dream... please! eat! I simply want your company!"
sure, right...
looking around uncertainly, he was unsure whether to eat and instead continued to think about what might come next, but then ... gestured toward the food, as if giving him the final permission, and Jay didn't hesitate any longer, stuffing his mouth with food.
"-know we are from... different worlds," he continued speaking, eating at the same time "we share something in common, mh?"
"an affinity for a special... someone?" he chuckled, and Jay immediately understood what he was referring to, already finding something rotten behind all this staging.. well he was eating though "sorry, pal.. but I don't know who this lost love of yours is, but she ain't Nya! she's too-"
"oh! you found the food!"
his vision, which was slightly blurry and focused on... whatever the scene unfolding was, showed a red trail that made him refocus, startled when he found the Djinn's face a few inches away from his.
..and awakening his element.
reflexively, or driven by the urgency to attack from his racing heart, his hand shot out and fired a bolt of hot lightning at the floating figure. the Djinn leaped away before it could electrocute him, but the sound of something crashing against the ground made the figure whirl around.
"Delila! NO!"
"you never loved Delara! You only loved what she could give you!"
Jay squinted and shook his head to what again sounded like his own voice, but in a very distant way, echoing in his mind once more. feeling eyes lingering on him, he reopened his eyes, finding himself faced with surprised looks.
then he looked at Nya, noticing that hers was different from the rest, worried and alerted, believing his eyes were as wide as she was now.
"Delila?" the red ninja asked, shifting his attention from Jay to the Djinn, watching him as he walked behind the table, excepting to find a woman he didn't see, but instead watching him picking up some broken porcelain in his hands, and his gaze sad as he surveyed the shattered vase.
Jay immediately felt a sharp headache after using his element, feeling a burning sensation linger, like never before, in the arm where the electricity had gone off, making his legs tremble and fighting to stay upright, as the throbbing pain in his head made him buckle at his knees.
what was that, Jay? focus, goddamn it!
Jay took his eyes off his hand, looking back at the Djinn crouched on the ground.
"we can wish for the vase to be whole again..." Sora said, sounding unsure, and even a little embarrassed by his reaction to a simple vase.
"no..." and the Djinn began, leaving the pieces on the ground "It doesn't matter.." and looked up again, looking at Jay in confusion and a little hurt.
"sorry..." he didn't feel guilty, but looking at his expression, the word came out spontaneously. even if it went absurdly against his shattered soul.
standing up from the ground, the Djinn didn't leave his gaze, changing in a more serious one "next time, be careful using dangerous powers around important things.. I don't want to lose progress for Djinnjago"
and for some reason, after that sentence, Jay immediately regretted even having apologized, wanting to take it back, shifting his face with a heavy frown, highlighting the bright, red blood, color circling around his pupils.
but before he could speak, Nya appeared at his side again, answering for him instead "It will be done, Arrakore! sorry again.."
and then she moved her eyes to his left, seeking his attention. that sympathetic look was still, annoyingly, present, trying to say something.
"I don't know how much help this can give, since you don't remember..." what? what's she talking about, remember what? "but I see what you're feeling right now and-... I don't know how to put this, but- he, Arrakore, is good" she whispered for only him to hear, hesitating whether to place her hand on his shoulder again or not, remembering first his reaction from earlier.
Jay didn't know what to say, simply looking at her with intense confusion and doubt as to whether he should believe what she'd said, especially without understanding what she actually meant.
"back to us..." the Djinn spoke again, after he'd disposed of the broken vase "I took personal care of serving you some food! you probably have an empty stomach after your adventure"
pointing to the food, which was on the table where he'd been staring absently before, only heightened his sense of déjà vu at the scene playing in his head seconds ago, as he watched the ninjas then head to the seats.
Jay stayed behind, watching them as they began eating without him. Arrakore smiled at the sight of them enjoying the food, then noticed an empty chair and looked up at him.
"please, take a seat and help yourself" his smile was again calm, sickening to his gut, as he watched everyone eat and gorge. even the dragon was sitting on a chair, swiveling his head from right to left, eating everything in front of him.
and if he'd previously been skeptical about the food being offered to him, trusting no one, after that flashback?, he felt even less inclined to eat now. even though his stomach had betrayed him with a hungry growl from the view foward.
ehether it was meant to be a joke or not, Jay couldn't help but let the question out "Is the food poisoned?"
Arrakore chuckled, making Jay's stomach turn and a feeling of acidic nausea rising in his mouth "I would never dream of that, why would I?" he continued to chuckle, picking up a chicken leg and taking a bite, as if to confirm it wasn't.
but, for Jay, there was something suspicious all the same. from the way his smile never faltered when speaking to him, to the way it seemed the Djinn was repeating, even if with a different font, the same words Jay's heard from that orange figure. slowly approaching the table, and silently resigning himself, he sat in the last empty chair, facing the red-Djinn.
glancing at the countless plates, where everyone was fishing and picking pieces, they seemed endless, choosing from the food that most inspired to be safe. even though Jay couldn't have known if he'd poison it with just one look, he still couldn't have known.
pinching a piece of sushi between his fingers, he looked up at the Djinn, still finding his gaze upon him, smiling expectantly, and then brought it to his mouth. as he chewed, Jay didn't detect any strange flavors, and so he lowered his guard. even if only slightly, he still doesn't trust him.
"Arrakore-" a voice, still full of food in the mouth, began "not that it's a displeasure, in fact we're grateful we left that strange place... but why did you bring us here?" the snake boy asked, curiously.
"you're right to ask that, Frak" oh right, Ras had said his name a couple of times, actually.. "and in fact, as much as I'm pleased to have you here, you're not just here for a meal"
"did something happen?" Nya asked, followed by a grunt from the dragon, as if in agreement with her question.
"It's nothing serious, but I can't say no..."
and why did it suddenly bother him, much, to see him talking to Nya?
and during a second bite, a heavy sensation, a burning tingling, an amused breath on his neck, and the fabric that seemed to be moving under the force of so many hands over his body, made him almost choke in the piece of meat, coughing and feeling his eyes water.
"you okay, man?" another hand, added to the many others still making his body shiver, patted him on the back to help him, but Jay immediately jerked away from the touch, almost falling backward with his chair.
opening his eyes after recovering from the coughs, he drank the entire water from the gold glass, nervously gulping down the cool liquid as if trying to get those hands to leave him, but to no avail, feeling them rise and fall all over his skin, warming it and making him break out in a cold sweat.
when he found the hand on his back, still hanging in the air, he recognized it as Kai to be the one that had touched him, but no one else was touching him at the same time. involuntarily, he turned behind him, but there was no one even there.
turning to the front, everyone was looking at him, some confused, some worried, just like before but with wide eyes, and they seemed frozen in their chairs like some golden statues.
"no! Nya! It hit you-"
breathe..
"wish me mort-"
breathe.
"I guess it's tru-"
I said breathe, Jay.
"I wish you had taken my ha-"
FUCKING BREATHE-
"Jay? what's going-" and like before, his element responded uncontrollably after feeling another hand over its buzzing, shocking whoever it was talking to him.
amidst the throbbing, red, headache that muffled his eardrums, he could hear a shriek of pain, as well as his shortness of breath.
standing up abruptly, he scraped the legs of his chair against the floor, making an ear-breaking sound, then knocked the chair over behind him by accident, walking away from the table.
panicked, he didn't choose his escape route very well, turning around a corner and reflexively clutching his hand against his chest, wishing the pain in his racing heart would vanish.
"you know what to do, to make the pain goes away.. wish it, Jay"
for the anguish he felt like a breath on the back of his neck to vanish.
"you have a choice, wish it all away"
for all those hands, which seemed to grip his skin with a death grip, scratch him with their nails, hurting him like some daggers, to vanish.
"you're stronger than you appear, but I know it's all an-"
Jay shook his head frenetically.
"-you're scared.. you know you're weak-"
STOP-
"you make jokes to mask that you're afraid"
the heavy breaths on his neck went further, seeming so real that it sent shivers up his spine from the coldness that had flooded all his veins.
he groaned loudly, exasperated, terrified, pissed, tired, and probably everything else he could add, Jay was feeling it at that moment, all in one, making his head explode. whether it was from using his element again, or from the way all those voices were spinning in his mind, another feeling of nausea, stronger than before, hit him hard, feeling the bit of food he'd eaten creep up disgustingly.
and in a beat, his back was bent, one arm braced against a wall mindlessly, letting the food escape his throat, burning as his breathing became increasingly shallow after vomiting.
he spat out every last drop, hoping to wash the foul taste from his tongue, and rubbing his sleeve against his mouth.
"Jay!" someone seemed to have followed him, hearing the familiar voice from before, but unable to identify its owner, his head too busy spinning dizzily.
his body, still holding onto the wall, swayed as he turned behind him, seeing a blue figure in his blurry, tearful vision. as he tried to focus again, he saw how her running pace had become a slow, cautious one, toward him.
"Jay..." her tone was soft, worried but calm, feeling her gaze on him even as he turned away again "what's wrong?"
"noth.." he tried to say, trying to stand back on his feet. never show weakness, they might use it against you "nothing-" he mumbled his reply, still feeling the disgusting taste in his mouth.
it must be that Nya then found the vomit, moving closer to him, rising her hand up towards his back "don't- don't touch me-" but he stopped her first with a quivering voice. he looked as if he were drunk, or at least he felt like it, unable to compose himself or think anything clearly.
Nya retracted her hand, overing on his back, but still remaining frozen in mid-air, looking at him in concern. she'd witnessed his post-traumatic reactions so many times, but it had been so long since the last time... and this type of reaction was the one that always silenced her the most, forcing her into a corner and unable to speak even though she wanted to do everything to help him, watching as she would felt helpless.
except, also unlike this time, her touch had always been welcome, finding a way to help him during those moments by just it, but now preventing her from doing even that.
Nya moved even closer, knowing she was risking through his boundaries, but then an idea occurred to her, moving in front of him. Jay feverishly looked up from below, dropping his, far away, eyes back down after a few seconds. but while some might have thought it was a serious, warning look, she only saw a familiar, aching fear, noting the slight widening and puffy eyes.
she kept thinking about it first, unsure whether to do it and get his anger, but it was stronger than her to just retreat, raising her hands in the air again. Jay followed them, his gaze unfocused and panicked, but unable to stop her, feeling her palms gently meet his hot, red cheeks.
her gaze softened, while Jay paused to look at her, his heart never stopping pounding against his own eardrums.
"I never wanted to be part of your boys club an-"
he felt sweat dripping to his brows, ice chilling beneath his skin, and pure lava burning above. he squinted his eyes again, trying to banish that broken voice from his head at all costs.
but that same voice was right in front of her.
Nya never took her hands off his face, if anything, cupping more her hands against his cheeks every second, even as Jay, caught up in everything that was tormenting him, tried to pull away. a few minutes later, he stopped fighting against her touch when he felt some heavy hands lift from his arms, releasing their tight death-grip and no longer feeling the burning sensation there.
"you don't know why you're feeling this way, but I do.." she began in a whisper "I can help you, but you have to listen to me, okay?"
Jay darted his eyes to hers, left and right, without losing sight of both of her dark, glossy irises for long. her lips were parted and her expression was serious, searching through his gaze for some understanding at her words.
her hand, rapidly losing its warmness, rested delicately on his cheek, wiping away a tear with the thumb, slowly sliding away, afterwards, from his skin to fall onto her white dress.
Jay nodded frantically, wanting to listen more than ever and hoping she could make him feel normal again. If Ras saw him now, he would have reasoned him back with a cold slap, but her touch was gentle instead, and he hoped he wouldn't feel it fade.
"it's part of the past, and I know you hate it when we talk about it, but this time we need to bring it up again.." her hands caressed the hot, wet skin, keeping him partially still upright with her grip "a few years ago, we met this pirate Djinn... like Arrakore, but ruthless"
his chest rose and then fell sharply down in loop, making his legs feel like jelly and his breath leave his body. he more than ever didn't care about it, hoping to just hear her soothing voice.
"his plan was to recreate Djinnjago, after I destroyed that realm and its sister, in his image and likeness, but using Ninjago itself as revenge.." he saw, vaguely, pain swim in her eyes, and it confused him, but it slowly explained why he was holding a lifeless body in his arms "he tricked us with wishes, imprisoning some of us in his sword, leaving only me, you, Cole and Lloyd on a island of a giant spider that is also the only one to create a poison for a Djinn..."
and Nya broke her gaze for a moment, looking down, but without dearing to remove her hands from his cheeks "but then he and his pirates took you, leaving the three of us stranded and taking you on his ship"
"he wanted you to grant your last wish at any cost... by hurting you- but you never surrendered, and when we came to help you out of that ship, after some stupid choices-" she stopped to lightly chuckle at herself to that memory, coming from the less painful ones, also just before the disaster "..then you and I managed to escape, while he wanted my hand in marriage for his infinite wishes, just because i looked like his lost love..."
hurting me.. for my- last wish? marriage? lost love?..
everything was definitely spinning in his head, and vomit threatened to return to his throat, making it difficult to swallow "unfortunately, he succeeded in his plan, receiving infinite wishes and bringing back- Delara, who possessed my body-"
Delara? wasn't that the same name as that stupid vase i broke?
"then you guys and the pirates collaborated, but when Flin- one of them, who was his second in command, rebelled against his plan and aimed his gun with the venom inside, the one that would weaken the Djinn.. he accidentally hit me too, which is certain death for a human-"
"t-tha... that green liquid in your dress-" Jay said, whispering in confusion, hearing his breathing louder than his voice.
Nya tilted her head slightly to the side, her eyebrows lowering slightly against her eyes, wondering if she should be happy that he was remembering something, even if only a few of the worst parts, or sad that these were actually the first memories to come back to him "yeah.." Nya nodded slightly, continuing to whisper, too. "the Tiger Widow venom" he had to keep this in mind.
hearing her speak managed to distract him from the ghostly hands, which, one by one, were starting to loosen their grip.
"but- I saw... I saw you-" a sigh broke his voice, trying to take another breath and continue his confused sentence "in my arms... you- you were... dead!" he forced the last word out of his mouth when yet another breath failed him "you were different- like the... photos you showed me, but... how can you- be alive?"
Nya almost smiled, letting out a breath "cause you said your last wish with your heart... you saved me"
and that sentence, that same sentence that had brought tears to his eyes earlier, came out of her mouth in her own way.
"h-how?"
"you wished I had taken your hand, and that no one-"
"had f-found that teapot in the first place..."
her eyebrows rose, surprised that he'd continued his own wish, wistfully glad that he was remembering, even if it was abrupt for him, but it was already something big for her, smiling sadly "and then that wish came true, taking us back to that day before it all began, and I took your hand"
"Nya- I.. " he didn't really remember, he didn't remember when he was in all that moments, he didn't remember living* those memories, but the weight seemed as real on him, feeling disoriented.
and her hands wrapped around his cheeks even more, him letting go of the wall and placing his hands on her forearms, welcoming the warmth of her warmness, and finally freeing himself from all those other hunting hands.
"I don't know what happened to me..." his breathing began to calm, becoming less destructive and slowing his chest, making him stop sweating "but I didn't like it, I don't- I don't want to feel it anymore..."
what don't you want anymore? remember something from your past?*
"It's okay, Jay" and in a risky move, but without listening to any of the disapproving voices in her head, she joined their bodies and wrapped her arms around his back, holding him close but not too tightly, not wanting to take his breath away again after just regaining it.
and Nya really didn't expect him to reciprocate, thanking for just the ability to hug him and feel him, but then she opened her eyes when she felt hands, trembling and with a weak grip, embracing her back.
she'd already risked her cards in that cave by throwing herself into his arms, but he didn't push away despite being embarrassed and feeling his tentative hands rest on her. this time, however, he'd been more confident, almost taking advantage of it, as if he needed this hug.
if only he'd given her more opportunities to do so, she'd hold him in her arms every day.
"it's okay... there's nothing wrong with you" and she knew, even though this Jay was different from hers, that somehow he was always asking himself this question, wanting to reassure him, her hand circling his back "your head may not remember, but your body does... that's why you panicked when you saw Arrakore.. but it's okay"
opening her eyes, but still not pulling away for any reason, she was surprised once again that he hadn't either, finding instead the distant figure of her brother, a concernedlook on his face as he watched them.
when he saw no sign to leave by his sister, Kai decided to approach, slowly, but anyway causing Jay to flinch from the embrace, turning his head when he heard footsteps.
"it's just Kai" Nya whispered, and even though they pulled away, her arm remained behind his back, continuing to caress him.
"hey, bud" Kai began, stopping a few paces away, not wanting to upset him in any way "how's it going?"
Jay wiped his face, using his fingers to rub away the tears drying on his cheeks, and then sighed "like shit"
Kai chuckled, hoping to lift the spirits a little "same as always, then?" he then joked, receiving a not-so-amused look from Jay but without a word, realizing he wasn't really mad at him.
"well, I think Nya's already thought about what to say to you, but... Arrakore is different. I don't know much about this little secret of yours, but he's not a piece of shit like Nadakhan"
so that was his name?
and this time it was Nya who gave him a death-gaze, tilting her head and cursing him for saying his* name when she'd avoided it at all costs. she'd thought letting Jay know less would make him feel better by not knowing every details, but that was all thrown out the window thanks to Kai.
Kai silently apologized to her, and then to Jay, exchanging glances with him and slowly lifting the corners of his lips seconds later, smiling at them.
"what do you say? should we go back to Ninjago and find the others? I'm sure the kids there are more than capable of helping Arrakore with his problem" Kai pointed his thumb behind him.
Nya nodded from behind Jay, smiling at his suggestion and exchanging a thank you with just a look. Jay lingered for a moment on the ninja, then turned back to Nya, noticing her smile and the way she made, running away from his head, seem normal and nothing to be ashamed of, but he wouldn't say that aloud, by the way. and then he nodded to the red ninja, too.
"okay, then I'll go warn the kids and ask Riyu to come with us" and then he turned back, walking away and leaving them alone again.
the only person he could trust, even if not still completely, was Nya, but the rest of the ninja hadn't yet reached the "possible trust" stage for him. but the way Kai spoke to him, thinking that he was starting to actually like it a bit despite his shattered soul, and also cringe to himself after having thought this, afterwards letting see his more vulnerable side, and not feeling attacked by him for it, not hearing he was ridiculous for a reacting that way... almost unlocked the door for the red ninja now, too.
even though, recalling back from a few days ago, he had said that Jay was the worst ninja...
BUT HE. WASN'T. A. NINJA.