Chapter 8 (Kai)

Three weeks ago [one day before the start of the main story], Temple of Airjitzu

"Hey, Kai." Nya says as she returns to the living room where I am sitting at the dining table, all on my own. "Where is everyone?"

My sister was upstairs for a while, putting her daughter to bed. They always take their time to cuddle and read a bedtime story, especially now that Abby is at school and Nya is back to being a full-time Ninja.

"Sky was tired, she's already gone to bed too." I say.

"Oh, I can understand that very well." She smiles. "These final few weeks you just want it to be over... and she should rest as much as she can now, it's not like you'll get much sleep once the baby is born."

"You're probably right." I agree. "Anyway, the Nindroids are making a few upgrades on PIXAL's mech. Sel probably won't be back down for another while, she has to get the twins to sleep on her own, because Cole and Lloyd wanted to discuss some final details for the reconnaissance mission tomorrow."

"I really hope that mission will go to plan." She sighs. "Why can't we do it on another day? They know on Wednesdays I need to pick up Abby from school on time ..."

"Think positive, sis." I try to comfort her, although from experience I know that things hardly ever go to plan for us. "It's not a critical mission so, unless we're really stuck, you can just leave earlier. And Sky could even collect her for you."

"But I already don't have as much time with her as it is." Nya replies. "And you're all helping us out enough. I don't want to..."

"But we like helping you." I state. "Please, think about it."

"Alright, I will." Nya is proud and stubborn, so she always needs a little extra push to accept our help. I'll ask Skylor to talk to her as well. "If everyone's busy, I'm gonna see if Zane and PIXAL can use my assistance. Or, what are you doing?"

"As Skylor's already asleep, I'm just trying to get all the invitations for her surprise party done. Can drop the in the mail on the way tomorrow."

"How many people are you inviting?" She wonders, noticing the large pile of cards to be written.

"Well, there's Dareth, Ronin, Jay, all the other Elemental Masters, and..."

"Why are you inviting Jay?" My sister gasps. "He's not gonna answer anyway..." She adds in a low voice laced with pain.

"But I can still try." I straighten up to look her in the eyes. "Is everything alright, Nya? I've thought that you really would like to see Jay again. You're the one who still sends him all these letters, so why is this any different?"

Nya sits down next to me and leans against me. "Writing him these letters makes me feel like I'm talking to him, but I've stopped hoping for him to reply."

"Well, we've all grown up." I shrug. "And maybe one day he'll decide that he has moved on from what has happened and he will turn up."

"And that's exactly what I am worried about ..." Nya mutters.

"What do you mean?" I want to know.

"I am scared to find out that... he has completely moved on from us."

I wrap my arm around her in a side hug and she rests her head on my shoulder.

"Kai, I don't want to but after six years, I just have to accept the truth. Jay doesn't care about me or about our daughter, so if he ever shows up here, it won't be for us. And I am scared that one day he will accept one of these invitations just to rub it in our face, showing off his beautiful wife and their three adorable children and how happy they are..."

I raise an eyebrow. "You think Jay could handle three children?"

"Being an only child, he's always wanted to have a big family." She explains. So family and children was something they talked about back when they were together.

"For what it takes, he could have a whole football team and none of the other children would ever be as adorable as Abby." I say.

"But he would still love them. And finally meeting her father, only to be ignored by him in favour of his other family, that would break Abby's heart."

I see tears glistening in her brown eyes.

What about your heart, little sis? I question silently. What would it do to you?

I can't help but wonder if she is still in love with her ex.

Argh, I've always tried not to interfere with her relationship (not counting the occasional prank and threat on Jay when they first started dating), but I wish I would have said something when things escalated this badly. And I should have tried harder to find Jay and drag him back here to at least acknowledge what he's done to her. Sure, my sister has made a lot of mistakes, but it's her and Abby who are still paying the price to this day.

"I understand." I say. "What about this? I am still sending out this invitation, but if he doesn't reply this time, then we're done, okay?"

"We're done." She echoes.

And hopefully, she will finally be able to move on.

— — —

Present Day, Ninjago City, Master Chen's Noodle House

I am busy welcoming our guests, accepting congratulations as well as replacing empty trays with new ones filled with sushi pieces, spring rolls and other delicious pieces of finger food that have made Master Chen's so successful.

Although Skylor is not working at the restaurant herself anymore, it is still my wife's pride and joy (although I am expecting this to change in a few weeks when our baby is born); she has worked very hard to rebuild this business after her father and his cultists were banished and people were kinda wary of everything related to the name Chen.

But she didn't change the name of the noodle house – and she still kept her last name even when we got married – but rather proved to the public that not all Chens were evil.

And it worked.

Sure, it has taken a while, but the restaurant is now more popular than ever. But this Sunday, it is closed for private use.

Sky was very surprised when I took her here for lunch, only to find our friends and families were already waiting for us – no, for her.

Of course, my wonderful strong wife started crying – I am so glad I am not a woman who has to deal with pregnancy and all its side effects – but she is now very much enjoying her surprise party.

"Excuse me." I set a tray on one of the tables to check my phone that I've felt buzzing in my pocket.

"Uhm, I'm gonna get more drinks." I say as I take a brief glance at the display and head into the kitchen. Using the staff entrance, I leave the building and then walk around it at fast pace, before he gets the chance to change his mind and run away again.

It is a rather dull October afternoon, but my sharp senses easily make out the figure on the other side of the road, right across from the restaurant's main entrance.

To say it was quite a surprise when Jay called me yesterday would be an understatement. As much as I've still hoped for it, I've never expected him to actually reply to the invitation I sent him.

And luckily, Nya's worries about him having moved on and started another family were unnecessary – ironically, he had been just as afraid of Nya and Cole being happily married and with children now. Which was the reason why he'd never read any of our letters until yesterday.

It was a rather hectic day, so we didn't get to talk much, but I could tell that he was genuinely sorry about what happened – after all, he was desperate enough to call me in order to get in touch with Nya. And I shamelessly exploited his guilt and convinced him to join us here today.

I haven't seen him in six years, but it's not difficult to still recognise my former brother-in-arms in the blue clad (of course, what else?) young man in front of me, holding a neatly wrapped (but slightly squished) soft parcel in his hands.

He's slightly taller than I remember him, and is definitely buffer than he used to be. But his hair, the notch in his right eyebrow, and especially the eyes – the exact same shade of blue that I see on a daily basis in my niece's eyes – are so unmistakably Jay.

And he wears the same facial expression as he did on that day, when he came to me for advice on how to ask out my sister.

He is scared.

And he should be. I have every intention of giving him a piece of my mind for abandoning my pregnant sister – and for getting her pregnant in the first place – and not reacting to any of our calls and messages.

But that will have to wait. Right now, I just want my old friend back in my life, and even more so in Nya and Abby's.

So, I wordlessly pull my former teammate into a gentle hug, and I can feel him slowly relax.

"Good to see you." I say, for lack of better words, when we pull apart.

"Good to see you too." He replies, very un-Jay-ly. But then he lets out one of his usual nervous chuckles. "It's been a while, huh?" He blushes.

"Yeah..." And who's fault is that? But I don't say that out loud, of course.

"C'mon." I grab his arm. "You're ready to meet the others?"

I don't wait for his reply but start dragging him across the empty street towards the glass door.

He was very anxious about stepping into the lion(ess)'s den, so we agreed to meet outside before I'd bring him to the party.

The closer we get, the more nervous I actually get myself. How will the others react?

I haven't told anyone in the team about my conversation with Jay or about him coming to the party. Sure, I would have told Skylor, but then she would have found out about her surprise... The only two people who know are my parents, I had to make sure my dad won't threaten him and scare him away. I just hope Nya won't make a scene in front of everyone but, knowing my sister, there's no guarantee for that.

When I open the door, all eyes in the restaurant turn towards me, hearing the bell over the door announcing a new arrival, and I can sense Jay is trying to hide behind my back.

"Babe, where were you?" Skylor asks worriedly. "I thought you were only getting more drinks from the cold store and..."

"I am sorry, Sky." I step forward to take her hands into mine. I don't want her to get emotional again, especially not now. "I didn't mean to upset you." I kiss her cheek. "I've just met an old friend."

Skylor peeks past me to see Jay still standing in the open door, very apparently undecided whether to enter or not. So, she makes the decision for him.

"Mr Gordon." She smiles at him. "What a lovely surprise, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Uhm..." He blushes. "I-... uhm... congratulations, Ms Chen and thanks for the invitation."

"Sky, I think you've already met Jay Walker." I re-introduce them with their real names. "Jay, this is my wife, Skylor Chen-Smith."

Of course, Sky knows who he is, Nya has told her the story when we got home Friday evening – this time, we couldn't talk during our pasta dinner for we don't want Abby to know yet.

And I hope we can keep Jay's presence here from her until he's had a chance to talk to Nya.

"Mr Gooordooon." Too late. My niece has spotted her teacher. Again, all eyes turn in our direction, but this time they land on my former teammate who is shaking hands with my wife.

And while not everyone present here knows him, those who do all gasp simultaneously.

Uh-oh. This is not how I've planned this to happen.

Abby skips over to us from across the room. "Whacha doin' here?" She enquires.

Jay blushes. "I'm an old friend of... y-your uhm... your uncle's."

"Oooh... which one?" Clever girl.

"Actually, all of them – I-I hope." He shyly glances in the direction of Cole, who looks like we've got an extra chocolate cake just for him (which we do but he doesn't know that yet).

"Is it because you have those ele-... eneme- uhm... elephantal powers too?" She concludes. "That's sooo cool."

I turn to my niece. "Abby, sweetheart. Can you please do me a favour and get a drink for Mr Gordon?"

"Sure, uncle Kai." She turns to Jay. "What would you like, Mr Gordon?"

"J-just water, please."

"Okay." She beams at us before she skips away.

"C'mon, let's sit down in one of the booths." I suggest, I need to get him away from the spotlight. "I can see a few people here who can't wait to talk to you but maybe not all at once."

"A-alright." He nods and lets me pull him to one of the more private tables.

He lets out a sigh as we sit down, running his hand through his hair. "M-maybe it was a bad idea and I shouldn't have come. This is your and Skylor's party, and I don't want to take away any attention, and..."

I smirk. "You mean the Master of Lightning doesn't want to steal our thunder..."

"Ugh, Kai..." He groans, burying his face in his hands. But I can actually see him smiling behind his fingers, and at least it's distracting him from the tense atmosphere out there. I thus continue.

"What? Are you shocked to hear me talk like this?"

"Kai, please..."

"I'm just trying to break the ice..."

And with this comment, I've achieved it, for Jay bursts out laughing.

But I think it wasn't just the, admittedly terrible, pun that has caused his reaction, but also that the mention of Zane's element has simply made him happy.

Unsurprisingly, one of the few more urgent – or should I say burning – questions Jay already asked on the phone yesterday was about our Nindroid brother. For over six years, he had believed our friend to be dead and had only found out about him being alive that morning through Nya's letters. I immediately sent him a recent picture of the (current) team.

"Hey." A soft hand is placed on my arm. "Everything alright?" Skylor wants to know. "Are you being nice to our guest? Can I get you anything?"

"You're not supposed to do any work today, babe." I smile at her, wrapping my arm around her waist. "You want to sit down us?"

"No, I don't want to interrupt your reunion, but I think Cole, Lloyd and Zane would love to join you. They've been asking a lot of questions since you've arrived."

I look at Jay. "You okay with that?"

"You sure they want to?" He asks back, blushinhg.

"Definitely." I state. "We've missed you. A lot."

"No surprise if you've been the one responsible for the puns..." He smirkes but then turns serious again. "B-but I'd actually like to talk to Nya first - if she's okay with it."

"I can ask her." Skylor offers.

"Thanks, Skylor." Jay smiles at her. "Oh, I-I've got a present for you." He chuckles. "Well, it's actually for the baby. Abby has told me that you're having a boy." He hands her the little parcel. "I've asked the lady in the shop for some advice, so I hope you can use this. But if not, there's a gift receipt inside. I don't know very much about these... uhm, this baby stuff..."

"Oh, really?" Nya's sharp voice cuts through the room. I look up to see my sister already standing next to Skylor at our table, furiously glaring at her ex-boyfriend. "Why am I not surprised to hear that?"

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Question: Which POV (Kai, Jay or Nya) do you want for the next chapter?