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Kai was many things. A hot head, a ninja, a big brother, a friend, but nosy wasn't usually the word people would use to describe him. Buuuuuuuuuuut who is he kidding.
He was nosy as frick. Blame it on the mystery of his parents disappearance, or his sensei always seeming to have something he hadn’t told them, but there was a part of his brain that, once it knew something was up, it sought out answers like a moth seeks out a flame. And he had one hell of a flame.
All this to say, Kai saw something. Something he definitely was not supposed to see. He hadn't meant to, but when one of your best friends' memories are playing out on a screen right next to you, it was pretty hard not to look.
Which is why why he was currently wide awake at 3 in the morning. That was another thing, Insomniac was not one of Kai’s usual titles, but here he was. His inability to sleep hadn't been this bad since he found that stupid snake helmet with his father’s black smith symbol on it. He just couldn't get it out of his head. It felt like there was something missing all of a sudden. Like he was supposed to know something that he just didn't. Almost like deja vu.
What he had seen? Well, It hadn't been much, but it was enough to know that whatever fight Jay had been remembering, Kai didn't know it. It consisted of some floating pirate ship, a genie looking thing, and…
The thing that caught his attention. Jay holding Nya’s dead body.
Kai sat up, flipping his legs over the side of his bed and was out of his room before he could even process what he was doing. Because it didn't make sense. His whole body was restless, his mind was scattered, trying to put pieces together that didn't exist.
It had to have been wrong. Some recurring nightmare that Jay had been having. It couldn't have been real. He knew it couldn't have been real, because the memory had had Kai in it, crying in the background while Jay held Kai’s limp sister and he had no memory of it. So it had to be a dream. Some sick twisted fantasy that Jay's mental breakdown in the lighthouse had decided to twist Nya’s sacrifice to become the ocean into. That's why there had been flashes of images from the lighthouse as well.
Yeah, a mental break. Jay had those a lot. It only made sense. Nothing to be stressed about, nothing for his brain to be using to seek answers that didn't exist… a mental break… nightmares…
Kai was attacking a punching bag… When had he gotten here? Why was his fist on fire?
…
Ok, maybe he should trust his gut on this one. Maybe there was something else going on… Kai would get to the bottom of this one. He had to. His beauty rest depended on him getting answers.
After all, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Jay’s hatred of pirate movies, his scar that just magically appeared one day, Nya’s reluctance to explain why she and Jay were suddenly back together after months of them fighting, her disdain for wedding dresses…
Oh frick, too many pieces made sense. It all amounted to the fact that Kai was missing something.
He threw his fist at the punching bag so hard that it broke from the chain holding it suspended in front of him and fell back, tumbling a bit before settling on the ground…
Yeah, ok. Kai needed answers. And he needed them soon.
__________
The next morning found Kai passed out on the couch. He had finally crashed around 4:30 am and was promptly awoken again by Lloyd’s 6:30 am wake up call.
“Kai? Why exactly are you asleep out here? And why are your hands- Kai did you train without wrapping your knuckles again?” Lloyd was beside the couch and asking him questions before he could even process reality.
“Lloyd? What time is it? Geez-” he muttered, pulling his hand away from Lloyd, who had been looking over his bruised knuckles.
“How late were you awake last night?” Lloyd crossed his arms, watching the red ninja slowly wake up.
“Too late.” Kai said with a yawn as he sat up. “Couldn’t sleep.” he explained, eyes blinking slowly as he looked up at Lloyd.
“Any particular reason?” The blonde asked as he sat down next to Kai.
“Yes, but I don't think I can talk to you about it. Gotta talk to my sister.” he muttered, running a hand through his hair to try and manage the bed head that always messed up his hair. His fingers got caught on tangles and left over hair gel, making him grimace. “I’m gonna take a shower.” He said before standing up without any further explanation, making his way down the hallway and into the bathroom before Lloyd could ask any more questions.
In the shower, his brain slowly started to wake up, bringing back the questions and concerns that were still spiraling in his head. His movements were sluggish, his back hurt from passing out on the couch, and, as much as he hated to admit it, Lloyd had been right about his hands. They hurt like hell.
All this to say, when Kai emerged from the shower 20 minutes later, he was very much not enjoying this whole “being awake” thing. But, that was the life he led as a ninja. He should be used to it by now.
One round of hair gel later, his spikes were back intact just as they were supposed to be. He left the bathroom and headed over to his room to get his Gi on before making his way back to the common area. It was about 7:10 at this point, early enough that the kids were all still passed out cold, but the ninja, who had been waking with the sun for years at this point, were all awake, going through their morning routines. Which is when Kai finally saw her. His sister. She and Jay were chatting, giggling like school children over some stupid joke Jay had made, as they ate breakfast. The sight made Kai’s mood lighten up just a little bit. Because this is how it was supposed to be. Those two love birds happily spending their lives together. Sure the PDA was gross at times and sure, if Jay ever dared to insult his sister again (yes Kai knows it was only because Jay didn't have his memories but that was still his baby sister! Sue him!) he would kill him, but this was right. They were perfect for each other.
He must have been staring for longer than he thought, because when Nya finally noticed him, her expression dropped. She whispered something to Jay, who glanced over at Kai with concern before taking both of their mostly finished breakfast plates and taking them to the kitchen. Nya stood up and made her way over to Kai.
“Walk with me, ok?” she said, placing a hand on his arm and leading him out of the common area. Kai let his sister lead him in silence, not paying attention to where they were going until they found themselves outside the walls of the monastery, sitting on a few rocks and overlooking the mountain view.
“Lloyd said you didn't sleep last night, and that you were training without wrapping your hands again. We’ve talked about this Kai. You’ve damaged your hands enough at this point, you really don't need to make it worse.” Nya scolded, going into her normal ‘taking care of the idiot boys around her’ mode that she had adopted for years at this point. It was kind of weird. Sure Nya had always been more responsible for her age then she should have had to, but she was still his little sister. She had gone through just as much, if not more than the rest of them.
“Nya-” Kai finally spoke, cutting off her rant about his physical health, his voice wavering more than he expected. Nya immediately went silent and looked at him.
“What’s wrong Kai?” She asked, her tone soft as she turned to face him, giving her brother her full attention.
“I… I couldn't sleep last night because of something I saw while we were helping Jay get his memories back.” Kai said, honestly not knowing where to start with all of this.
“Something you saw? What do you mean, Kai?” she asked, prodding him to keep talking.
“I… his memories on that weird screen thing. I saw… gosh I don't know what I saw but… Nya, it looked like a memory of Jay holding you while you were dying.” Kai said, eyes fixed on the ground as he spoke. When he finished his statement, he looked up to see his sister's reaction, only to see her frozen, staring at him. “N.. Nya?”
“Kai- I need you to tell me everything you saw. Right now.” She said, her tone going serious.
“Uh- well, there was a sword and some genie guy, a pirate ship, you in a wedding dress and Jay with an eyepatch, You then died in his arms. That's honestly all I could see. The memories were flashing by so fast, but Nya, what was that? Some kind of dream? Some nightmare Jay had? A mental break? I need to know, Nya. I need you to tell me that it was nothing.” Kai insisted, only for Nya to stand up and take a few steps away, her arms wrapping around herself in comfort as she took a small shaky breath.
“I can't tell you what that is, Kai. Only half of the truth is my story to tell.” she answered honestly.
“What? Nya. This is clearly bothering you. Why wouldn't you be allowed to tell me?” Kai stood up.
“Because Jay didn't want anyone else to know. So we kept it a secret.” She kept facing away from him.
“But how is that fair to you? How are you supposed to talk out your feelings if you have to keep it a secret?” Kai insisted, a little miffed to find out his sister had been keeping secrets from him, again, but now wasn't the time for that.
“If I need to talk about it, I can talk to Jay. He understands. It’s ok Kai. Just… it doesn't matter. I know it’s bothering you but please, for my sake and for Jay’s, drop it.” she said, causing both of them to go silent. Kai stood there, stewing in the oncoming anger for whatever it was that was hurting his sister like this.
“No.” He finally spit out.
“No?” Nya turned to face him, confusion and fear on her face.
“No. I’m not going to drop it. Nya, you looked so young in his memory. You’re on the verge of crying now all these years later. This clearly isn't some dream Jay had, so why don't I remember it!? I was there! Don't I have a right to know!?” Kai took a step towards her.
“It’s not that simple, Kai! This isn't just my trauma we’re talking about here, it's also Jay’s.” Nya argued, hands dropping to her sides as her fists clenched.
“So just because Jay has trauma, you can’t talk about your own? Do you have any idea how unfair that is to you? How long have you been bottling this up!? How long has some demon from your past that I don't even remember been haunting you!? How old where you when all this happened Nya? How old!?” Kai yelled, getting in Nya’s face as he insisted on getting his answers.
“16!” Nya yelled back, glaring into Kai’s eyes before she took a step back and looked away. “I was 16. You and Jay had recently turned 18. Happy?”
Kai stared at her. “You’ve been keeping this from me for over 10 years?” he asked, eyebrows pinched in anger.
“Yes, Kai. I don't have to tell you everything. I’m my own person, remember?” She rolled her eyes and glared at him again.
Kai opened his mouth to reply before a realization struck. “Wait- 16… Nya, why were you wearing a wedding dress at 16 years old? Who exactly were you marrying?” He asked softly. Nya’s eyes widened, her entire body freezing before she turned away again.
“We’re not talking about this.” And with just those words, Kai was angry for a whole other reason.
“Was it Jay? Was he forcing you to marry him or something? Is that why he doesn't want us to know!? He’s ashamed of what he did to you? Nya if he ever-”
“No!” Nya cut him off. “No, Jay would never. It wasn't him, Kai. He was trying to save me from…” she tried to find a way to continue that sentence without saying what actually happened, only for the words to die on her tongue. She stared at the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.
Kai walked over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in comfort.
“If it wasn't Jay, who exactly was forcing you to marry them? What happened, Nya?” He asked, his tone soft as the anger was once again over run by his concern.
Nya sniffled, turning her head and burying her face in Kai’s side.
“Nadakhan” was all she said.
Kai held her for a few minutes, giving her time to collect her thoughts. The name felt so familiar, and yet he knew he had never heard it before.
“Nadakhan?” Kai asked after a few minutes of silence. “Who is he? Where is he?”
“I don't know where he, or his lamp are and for all of our sakes, I hope we never find out. Nadakhan was a Djinn, a pirate captain, and a creep. He could offer a person 3 wishes. You could do anything with them, excluding asking for love, death, or more wishes. But he was cunning. He twisted your words and made the wishes work in his favor. His goal was to recreate his home realm while destroying Ninjago.” Nya explained. “But… he also wanted to gain infinite wishes for himself.”
“I thought you couldn't wish for more wishes?” Kai asked. He was doing his best to keep up with this.
“He could. Djinn royalty. If a djinn prince is married on djinn land, he is bestowed with infinite wishes. And I…” Nya bit her lip, her grip on her brother tightening. “I looked like his lost dead love. So, he chose me. Forced me into his mother’s wedding dress, forced me to marry him, and made his goons hold me down while he kissed me.” she said, disgust in her tone.
Kai froze. “That monster did what to you? Did he touch you? Lay a single hand on you?” His older brother instincts were about ready to find this Nadakhan guy and throw that stupid djinn lamp in the nearest volcano.
“No, thankfully. But I couldn't bear to look in a mirror for months after. It’s why I started growing my hair out. I couldn't live with myself knowing I still look like his long lost love.” She leaned her head on her brother’s chest.
“Im so sorry, Nya. you never should have had to go through that. I never should have let it happen. Why did I let it happen? What the hell was I doing that was more important than saving my sister from a predator?”
Nya sighed. “He had kidnapped you by then. I don't know what your wishes were, you never had time to tell me after Jay managed to rescue you guys, but he was using your wishes against you to capture your souls in his blade. Once there, he could use your power and strength. It’s how he was able to rip apart Ninjago and use its land to recreate his home realm.” She explained. Kai nodded, taking all that in. This was a lot to process.
“Who all was captured?” Kai asked.
“In the sword? Sensei, Misako, You, Zane, Lloyd, and Cole.” she listed.
“And.. you and Jay?”
Nya looked up at him. “I was captured and forced to marry him. As for Jay, that's his story to tell. I know it in more detail than I would care to admit, but he really doesn't want any of you to know.”
“Mhmm. But it has something to do with his hatred of pirates, right? And the scar on his eye? And his eye problems?”
“Yes.”
Another silence took over them. By now, the sun had risen enough for the temperature to warm up as the day fully began anew.
“That was the first time I died.” Nya whispered without really thinking much about it. Kai was quick to look down at his little sister.
“What happened?” he asked, grip on her shoulder tightening protectively.
“We had a poison. One that could slow a djinn long enough for you to defeat him, but one that was extremely deadly to humans. When Flintlock shot it at Nadakhan, it splashed off his armour and hit me as well. I died in Jay's arms. From there, he used his final wish to rewind the clock, back to that day on the rooftop. Back to normal.” she spoke softly, the long hair that she had yet to tie up for the day blowing into her face as a gentle breeze passed by.
“And you have no clue what happened to the lamp?” Kai asked. Nya shook her head.
“Nope. Jay made sure it wouldn’t be found in his last wish, but I think that's the thing that keeps me awake at night the most. Sure we know Arrakore now and he’s a great guy, Djinnjago is being restored, but I feel like a threat is always looming over my head. What if he remembers everything and is just waiting for someone to stumble into the lamp? What if he’s released and makes it his mission to destroy the merged realms? I can't fight him again. I can't lose you, or Jay again. I just can’t.” She shut her eyes as if to hide from the world, her posture tense.
Kai took a quick breath as he processed. “If he comes back, we’ll handle it together. As a team. We won’t let him hurt you or Jay ever again. I promise.” Kai adjusted their position so he was in front of her, hands on both her shoulders. “I need you to know you can come to me about this kind of thing. I’m here to listen. I know you’re trying to honor Jay’s wishes, but it’s your memories too. Not just his. You’re just as important as he is.”
Nya sniffled. “Yeah, I know.”
“Do you? Because from my perspective, you waited over 10 years to tell me that you were sexually assaulted, Nya.” Kai looked at her, concern and seriousness evident in his expression. "You always act so strong, you take care of us, heck, you took care of me for years when we were running dad’s shop. Yet you seem to be forgetting something important.”
“What’s that?” She opened her eyes and looked into his.
“That you’re my little sister. You’re the one who I’m supposed to be taking care of. Heck, ignoring the ‘tomorrow's tea incident’, you’re the youngest of us. And yet you always act like the mature older sister to all of us. Sometimes, you have to let us take care of you.”
Nya smiled just a little. “Technically, I’m not the youngest now that we have the kids running around.”
“Ok, you know what I mean!” He laughed and pulled her into a hug, knowing she was just being snarky. Nya gave a wet laugh.
“Yeah.. yeah I do.” She hugged her brother back, letting the comforting warmth of her big brother calm her senses. “Thank you, Kai.”
“Of course. Now, is there anything else you care to tell me about?” he asked as he gently pulled away.
“No.” she said as she shook her head. “Not about that whole situation at least. I’ve told you the parts that still bother me. Anything else would be getting into Jay’s trauma and, as much as I understand what you’re saying, it’s still not my place. Just, thank you for listening, and understanding.”
Kai nodded. “Ok, but if you ever need to talk about it again, I'm here. Now, you wanna head back inside? I’m starving and besides, the kids should be awake by now. You could always tell Lloyd to bring back sunrise exercises just to show them what we had to go through back in the day.” he joked as they began to head back inside the walls of the monastery.
“You do realize that talking like that is the reason Wyldfyre calls you old, right?” Nya teased, making her brother gasp.
“Hey!”
By the time the two of them were back inside, they were laughing and teasing each other just as they always did. If you looked close enough, or knew Nya well enough to notice, you could see the dried tear tracks and slight redness to her eyes. But it was nothing to be concerned about. Kai had her. He would always be there for his little sister and all the ninja knew it.
Jay would ask her later what they had talked about and the two would have a heart to heart about Nya telling Kai about Nadakhan. It would be a long conversation but, in the end, Jay would understand. Of course he would. He loved Nya. He trusted Nya and, as much as he still had his reservations about opening up about Nadakhan to the others, he was honestly surprised it took Nya this long to share her story with her brother.
Things would be ok.
And Kai had his answers. Even if he didn’t like them, he could sleep peacefully the next night knowing that he now knew the truth, and that his sister wouldn’t be hiding things like this from him again. Now all he had to do was find that stupid djinn lamp and figure out how to throw it into space… which, obviously he wouldn’t go hunting it down, but man was it tempting. Because no one and nothing was allowed to hurt his sister like that, and Kai would make sure of that.