Chapter Text
"Welcome to the monastery." His voice was full of anticipation and excitement. One arm wrapped around Unagami's shoulders, keeping him close as he guided him toward the monastery courtyard.
The other ninjas who had emerged from Prime Empire were still in shock, thoroughly bewildered by what they were witnessing.
"Wait... we're actually serious about this?" Lloyd blurted out. Snapping out of the stunned daze caused by his surprise, he came to an abrupt stop, forcing everyone behind him to halt as well.
"Apparently, yes," Nya agreed with a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping. "We really need to leave ourselves a note reminding us that Jay cannot be left unsupervised."
She looked coolly toward where Jay had gone with Unagami.
Kai frowned and turned toward his sensei.
"I don't get it, Sensei. Why are you letting him stay? After everything he did."
"I am not aware of everything that happened between them. I was only present when Jay had..." He briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "...his rather intense discussion with Mr. Dyer."
He resumed walking, moving ahead of his students.
"If Jay believes this is what's best for everyone, then perhaps you should have a little more faith in his judgment. This is his mission, and you should respect that. That's what being teammates is all about."
"I'm not putting my faith in Jay's judgment," Cole said, crossing his arms. "Why does he even think bringing that kid here is a good idea?"
"Umm, Cole, no offense or anything, but you're probably not the best person to talk about that." Kai pointed at him. "You're the first one who got us stuck taking care of a kid."
"That was different!" Cole protested. "Mine was an innocent, harmless baby who somehow turned out to be Master Wu. The one Jay just adopted without consulting anyone is UNAGAMI—the same guy who kidnapped people and wrecked half the city!"
Cole folded his arms tightly and turned his head away in indignation.
"Guys, that's rude," Zane scolded them, narrowing his eyes slightly. "It's impolite to speak about someone like that when they aren't present."
"Ugh... this is going to be a long day. Even longer than I thought," Nya sighed.
.
.
.
Nya paced back and forth through the hallway, her mind overflowing with thoughts.
Jay had adopted Unagami.
She had no idea how he had managed it, or even why he had done it. What she certainly hadn't expected was for the villain they had supposedly been trying to stop to turn out to be nothing more than a small child who looked no older than eight years old.
Nya trusted Jay. She believed he must have had a good reason.
But she was also convinced that this had been nothing more than a reckless decision. Why else would Jay do something like this?
Had he even adopted Unagami legally? Had he gone through all the paperwork and bureaucracy required for something like that? Or had he simply picked him up and brought him here? Did that technically count as kidnapping?
Jay had mentioned having an argument with Mr. Dyer only a few hours ago, and Sensei, who had been present, had implied it had been an intense one.
What had actually happened?
No matter how hard she tried, Nya couldn't stop worrying. No matter how many laps she made around the hallway, she couldn't calm herself enough to think clearly.
Had Jay even considered the consequences?
Regardless of whether Unagami was still a villain or not, they were talking about a child now.
Did Jay understand the responsibility that came with raising a child?
For the sake of the First Spinjitzu Master, they were ninjas!
They couldn't be responsible for a child. Their lives were constantly in danger. They couldn't offer him emotional stability, and certainly not financial stability.
That was another problem altogether.
Sure, they received some compensation for saving the city every now and then, but Nya seriously doubted it was enough to support a child. And every detail she thought of only gave her more reasons to believe that adoption was a terrible idea. Especially without discussing it with the rest of them first.
Of course she had every right to be upset.
Her boyfriend had adopted a former villain without even consulting her.
Alright.
They needed to talk.
Nya frowned as she searched the monastery for Jay. It didn't take long to find him in the courtyard, leaning against a wall while talking to Unagami, who listened with complete attention.
"Jay, we need to talk." Nya's voice was firm and authoritative. She watched as Jay continued speaking to Unagami with an almost suspicious level of calmness, while the child observed everything around him with a curiosity so innocent that it nearly softened her resolve.
"Uh... does it have to be right now?" Jay asked.Completely oblivious to the deadly glare directed at him—and therefore to the imminent danger he was in—he scratched his cheek awkwardly "I'm kind of busy right now."
"Yes. Right now." She grabbed his arm firmly. "Cole! Watch Unagami!" She shouted toward the other side of the monastery, where Cole had apparently been gathering supplies.
The Earth Ninja opened his mouth to protest, but Nya had already dragged Jay away and into the monastery by force.
"Nya, what's wrong?" Jay asked. The confusion in his voice was so genuine that Nya found it unbelievable.
"What's wrong?" she repeated, frowning. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that there's currently an eight-year-old former villain living at our doorstep and that you APPARENTLY ADOPTED HIM!"
Jay immediately swallowed.
"Ohhh... that's what this is about." He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes darting everywhere except toward Nya. Only now was he beginning to realize the danger he was in.
"Yes. That."Nya took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Jay, look, it's not that I don't trust you, but have you actually thought this through?"
"Of course I have!" Jay replied enthusiastically. "I've got everything planned out."
For a brief moment, Nya almost believed him.
Almost.
Because there was absolutely no way Jay had managed to create a comprehensive life plan for raising a child in the span of a few hours.
"Really?" she asked skeptically.
"Sure! We've got that completely empty room we use as storage. He could stay there!" Jay smiled brightly. "Although he'll probably have to stay with me for a while. That room's a disaster and definitely not livable right now."
"What are you going to do when we're on a mission?"
The question caught him completely off guard.
"What?"
"When we're away. He'll need someone to look after him. Who's going to do that? You can't leave an eight-year-old alone."
Jay's enthusiasm immediately deflated.
"I..."
"And do you have any idea how expensive it is to raise a child?" Nya continued, shaking her head. "We don't make enough money for that."
"..."
Jay fell silent, because the truth was that he hadn't thought about any of it. Not really, he had simply believed everything would work out somehow, that none of those details mattered.
That things would be okay.
He didn't have answers to any of Nya's questions.
But he couldn't leave Unagami, not after everything.
Not after promising he wouldn't abandon him.
Not after assuring him that he would take care of him.
No.
He couldn't do that.
"And what if an even worse enemy decides to take him?" Nya continued. "What if they use him as bait to get to you?"
Seeing the expression on Jay's face, she softened slightly.
"Look, what I'm trying to say is that we already have enough problems. We can't take care of him. Maybe you should—"
"I'm not abandoning him." Jay cut her off. His fists clenched tightly as he looked directly at her.
Nya blinked in surprise.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him look so serious.
"Jay, I'm not telling you to abandon him," she said gently. "But you have to understand. Maybe you should leave him with someone who can actually take care of him."
She paused.
"Maybe Mr. Milton Dyer could—"
"No."
Jay interrupted again, this time even more firmly.
"I'm not leaving him with the same person who abandoned him and forgot about him." His jaw tightened. "And I'm not going to do that either."
"Oh, come on, Jay. I'm sure he could take better care of Unagami than we could."
"No, he couldn't. He's completely incapable of it." Jay crossed his arms and turned away."Besides, I don't like him."
Nya sighed deeply, just like the rest of the team, Jay could be unbelievably stubborn when he made up his mind.
"Fine," she finally said. "If you really think you can take care of him..." Her gaze drifted away for a moment before she stepped closer.
"I know I can."The confidence in his voice surprised her. Then his expression softened, gently, he reached up and cupped her cheek. "You'll see, Nya."A warm smile appeared on his face. "Everything's going to be okay."
He squeezed her hand lightly.
"I promise."
.
.
.
"What's that?"
Unagami tilted his head curiously, pointing at a cloud drifting across the sky.
"A cloud," Cole answered.
About half an hour had passed since everyone had arrived at the monastery. Cole had ended up being assigned the task of keeping an eye on Unagami after Jay had been dragged off by Nya to another room—most likely to receive a lengthy lecture about the questionable wisdom of taking in a child.
Cole wasn't about to comment on that.
After all, it would be pretty hypocritical considering he'd done something very similar before.
Since then, Unagami had spent his time staring at everything around him and asking about anything that managed to catch his attention.
Cole couldn't really blame him.
In fact, he found it kind of adorable.
He figured spending decades trapped inside a video game would make anyone curious about the real world.
"They look different from the ones in Prime Empire," Unagami admitted with a small shrug.
He looked back up at the sky.
"Does rain burn your skin here too?"
"What?!" Cole nearly choked. "No! How—" He stared at the boy in horror. "Wait, the rain in Prime Empire burns your skin?"
Unagami shrugged again as if that were completely normal.
Before Cole could even begin processing that information—
"Hey!"
Jay emerged from the monastery.
Cole watched as Unagami immediately jumped to his feet and ran over, wrapping his arms tightly around Jay in a hug.
The Lightning Ninja's expression softened instantly.
A gentle smile appeared on his face as he rested a hand on top of Unagami's head, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Come on," Jay said warmly. "I still need to show you the rest of the place."
Unagami nodded eagerly and stayed close beside him as they headed toward the monastery, already looking around with the same endless curiosity.
Cole watched them go.