***I'm sooooo tired, but here's the chapter, guys. Pay close attention - there's a whole lot of important plot stuff. And a bomb drop. And some cute Kailor LOL ***

***(Kai's POV)***

She did it.

She's giving me a chance.

I can't help but laugh a little at the weight lifted off my soul. I'm so glad Skylor's still interested in me the way I am in her.

As we stroll into the diner, I offer her my hand. She smiles a little, taking it.

The inside isn't too busy at nine-fifteen in the morning. An elderly, plump waitress seats us at a table for two, and it's all I can do to stare into Skylor's eyes over the smell of hot chocolate and buttered pancakes.

She eventually giggles a little. "What? You're kind of creeping me out, watching me like that. Do I have whipped cream on my face or something?"

I nod vigorously. "Yes. Here." My thumb comes up to brush over her upper lip, then drifts down to stroke her cheek.

She rolls her eyes. "You're a flirt, Kai."

"Yeah, but when it comes to you, it actually means something." I wink.

She heaves a sigh, but there's humor in it. "Here we go again."

The waitress approaches and takes both our orders. I get scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits and gravy. Skylor goes for Belgian waffles, and I stick out my tongue.

"Rich girl," I tease.

"Glutton."

"Hey, training yesterday wiped me out. I deserve a good breakfast. Now, tell me about your childhood."

She blinks. "Um, that was a quick topic change. Okay, my childhood." She sighs. "I found out I had powers when I was ten."

"Wow, that's...young. What happened?"

"Well, my dad...he wasn't around much. When I was younger, though, he would always hang out with me when he got back from his trips. He would take me to the park and ask me to show him everything I could do. One of those sunny afternoons, I had to run through an obstacle course. I ended up going a lot faster than normally possible. That's when we knew I had inherited powers."

"Who'd you get them from?"

"My mom," she smiles softly, tracing the lines on her napkin. "She got sick when I was a little girl. Died when I was six. That's when we moved to Ninjago City."

"Where did you live before?"

"On an island, actually. My dad still owns it and uses it for his noodle operation. That's where my mom is buried."

"I'm sorry, Skylor," I sigh. "I guess you don't remember much about her."

"You'd be wrong. I sometimes catch my dad reminiscing about her, and I get to read his mind. She was a boss, to say the least."

"You take after her," I smile, running my thumb over her hand.

"Yeah." She finishes picking at her napkin and looks up. "Um, what about you?"

"I was really close to my dad, I guess. Nya. Ronin." I feel frustration rise up inside of me. "If only I knew where that filthy liar was. When I get my hands on him – "

Skylor examines at her fingernails nonchalantly, and I know something's up.

"Skye, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing important. Just, um...never mind."

I lean close. "If you know anything about my parents' death that you're not revealing – "

She rolls her eyes. "Kai, if you want any more information about that, you'll have to wait for Nya to talk to you."

"That could take years. She might never open up."

"My lips are sealed." Skylor clears her throat. "I may or may not know the approximate location of your former best friend, though."

I gawk. "You know where Ronin is? Then – let's go!"

"Not so fast, Kai. I'm not letting you get put in jail for beating him to a pulp."

"I won't beat him to a pulp!"

She levels me with her gaze. "You forget I can read minds."

I sigh and sit back down. "Okay, fine. We'll do it later."

"Good job on your patience, Kai. You've grown a lot these past few days," she smiles.

"Yeah, well, I'm tired of it. I'm ready to get some revenge. Meanwhile..." I smile slyly. "We have a date." I cross my arms and recline back in my seat. "Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything."

"Everything? How long do you think it's going to take to get our food?"

I yawn. "I'm waiting."

"Okay, fine. Um, my favorite band – "

I wave her off. "I already know that one. What about..." I snap my fingers. "That's it. Whom did you have the best kiss of your life with?"

She snorts. "My first ever boyfriend. We were together for a few months when I was fifteen."

"Seriously?" I exclaim. I thought for sure I had that one in the bag.

She smirks, and I realize she's lying.

"Ah. It was me, wasn't it?"

"No. All I remember is wanting to get out of your blacksmith's shop and away from your slobbery dog mouth."

I scoff. "You kissed me back!"

"Hmm. I remember differently." She blushes and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "All right, you got me."

"So...I'm your best kiss?" I prompt.

"Um, in terms of emotion...no. I hate that you did it just to make me leave. But yes, you are a very good kisser. And...I did, um, like it." She's as red as a cherry now.

It shows off her green eyes that much more.

"Uh, Skye...I have a confession to make, too."

"Oh, good. I don't want to be in the hot seat anymore."

"Yeah. Uh, I kind of may have not just kissed you to get you to go away."

She looks up, surprised. "Then...why?"

"Well, you were an annoying little brat who – "

"Skip to the point, please."

I sigh. "I might've thought that you were cute, standing in my shop and bossing me around."

"People don't just kiss because somebody's cute, Kai."

"Well, you got so in-my-face about things...we were close enough to touch, and I couldn't help myself."

Now it's her turn to celebrate. "Clearly, I'm the irresistible one."

I spot the waitress coming with a tray of food. "Nah. Right now, your Belgian waffles look much tastier."

The server sets down our plates, and I snag a bite of Skylor's food.

"Well, if you're in the mood to share..." She grabs a whole slice of bacon off my platter and shoves it in her mouth.

"Hey!" I grouch. "No fair. I only took a bite of one of your waffles."

She speaks with her mouth full. "Do you want it back?"

"No!"

She begins laughing just as she swallows, causing her to rack with coughs. I stand up in alarm.

"Skye! Skye, are you all right?"

She gives me a thumbs-up, pressing her napkin to her mouth.

I rush over anyway. "Say something."

All I hear are coughs.

"Oh, no." My arms go around her stomach, and I ready to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

Before I can start, she wheezes out, "Kai, I'm fine!"

"Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." I sit back down in her chair, pulling her hacking form with me.

Finally, the bacon goes down. "Um, Kai, you can let me go now."

I shake my head. "Nope. I like this pretty well. In fact, I think we should sit like this more often."

"You have problems."

I laugh her off. To my surprise, she doesn't get up and take my chair. She sits with me for the rest of our breakfast.

We hold hands out to the parking lot, and I get a wonderful idea. "Skylor, do you like dares?"

She's quiet for a moment. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm just asking if you're a chicken who turns down dares."

She sighs. "What do I get out of accepting?"

"I'll go to the beach party with you tonight."

"I'm pretty sure you were already planning on that, Kai."

"Okay. Um...you, me, and Nya can go hang out at the beach tomorrow evening for her birthday."

She ponders this. "Not a bad idea. I have one rule, though: You let her bring a friend."

I frown. "You know she'll just bring Lloyd, and you don't like that kid."

I shrug. "If you forgive him, and she forgives him...I'll try not to paint him the same way as my ex-boyfriend. Besides, she mentioned having fun hanging out with Cole and Jay yesterday. Maybe she'll bring one of them."

"Nuh-uh. Not happening. Lloyd's her favorite. But, anyway...you up for the dare?"

She moans. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Twenty minutes later, we pull up to the monastery, me in the driver's seat and Skylor on my lap.

Cole's out in the driveway at this point. When he sees us, he cracks up and snaps a photo.

Lloyd hears his laughter and comes to check things out. He calls for Nya to come look.

She buries her face in her hands.

Zane mutters something about how illogical this is.

Jay says it's illegal to drive like that.

Wu just shakes his head and condemns me to another day of training.

I send Skylor a wink. "Thanks for humoring me. You can take my car back to your house, if you want."

She rolls her eyes. "I'll make it back. And you'd better go through with your end of the bargain, Buddy."

***(Skylor's POV)***

I don't like to use my powers in broad daylight, so I opt for public transportation. It's a short bus ride back to my street.

I don't have nearly enough time to reminisce about my date with Kai.

He makes me feel...cared about. It's been a while.

After what happened with my ex, I lost a lot of my old friends. He made me stop talking to them while we dated, and I was a complete wreck when I broke up with him. I had to totally start over, and I was alone. Not even my dad was around to help.

I taught myself that it was okay.

But now that Kai's here...I realize I might've missed out. I try to be tough, not really needing someone to dote on me, but having someone who loves you – it means a lot.

Well, Kai doesn't love me, but whatever.

I walk up the steps to my huge house and pry open the door.

My dad's voice immediately resounds throughout the hallway.

"Skylor! Skylor, is that you?"

Strange. My dad usually isn't up until the afternoon hours.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm coming."

I think his voice came from his study, so I head in that direction.

When I enter, I see two people: My father dressed as though ready for a business meeting, and an unknown man with a long black beard and piercing green eyes.

"Skylor, I'd like you to meet Sensei Kodokuna Yang," my dad smiles.

I wave nervously at the man. Something about him gives me the creeps.

"Hello, Miss Chen," Yang smoothly greets me. "Your father and I happened to have a business meeting, and he mentioned you and your abilities."

I sit down cautiously. "What do these said abilities have to do with my dad's business? Why was I even something you talked about?"

My father laughs. "Oh, nothing, Skylor. I was merely introducing him to the family, and Kodokuna hear expressed an interest in meeting you."

The man folds his hands in his lap. "It's 'Yang', if you please, not 'Kodokuna'."

My dad waves him off. "That's what I said."

I try to get into this guy's mind - to see what he's up to - but something's blocking my ability. Clouse, maybe? Is he around here somewhere?

Yang speaks up. "Miss Chen, it has come to my awareness that you have a rather...unfortunate past."

Red flags all shoot up in the back of my mind. This guy is up to no good, and he's done some digging on my family.

On me.

"And what about my past is unfortunate?" I question, my tone guarded.

"Well, the death of your mother must have been traumatic."

I sigh a little in relief. My mom's death is common knowledge. "I was only six, Sir. Yes, it hurt, but that's...old news."

"Then perhaps your history with the master of shadow is not."

I gasp. No. There's – there's no way he could know. Not even my dad does.

"I don't want to go into details," Yang continues, "but I thought I'd offer you my services. I happen to be a renowned psychologist. I have a home where girls your age can come to deal with traumatic experiences. It comes highly recommended."

My throat feels like it's closing, so I react the one way I can keep myself safe.

I get angry.

My hands slam against my dad's desk. "Look, Yang, I don't know who you think you are, but I am not about to go live with some stalker freak like you." My finger aims at him. "Get out of my house, now."

My father gasps. "Skylor, I'm doing business with this man. You have no right to treat him like that. Apologize immediately."

I spin on my heel, facing my dad. "No. Even if you're too blinded by riches to see it, I know perfectly well that this man is up to no good. He has no – "

"That's enough, Skylor!" my dad yells.

I shoot him an icy glare. "If he's not leaving, Dad, then I am. See you when your daughter is more important to you than some inexpensive noodle dishes." With that, I swivel and march out the door.

"Skylor!" my father calls after me. "You get back here right now!"

I don't bother responding, instead heading straight out the door and down the street.

I eventually flag down a taxi and go right to the monastery. There's one person I can talk to about this.

***Music Cue***

I shoot Kai a text.

Skylor: SOS

No response.

Oh, come on! His sensei is probably punishing him with extra training for being so late today. I think he has a good excuse to leave, though.

When we arrive, I hand the driver whatever cash wad comes out of my wallet first and head straight to the training area. There are lots of grunts and shouts emanating from around back, so I assume that's where everyone is.

There's a huge fence surrounding the exterior, so I teleport through it and take a look around.

I immediately spot Kai. He lands a blow to Lloyd's chest, then laughs in triumph.

"Who's the best ninja now?" he cries. He beams as he gazes at all his teammates, and then his eyes land on me.

"Skylor?" His expression wobbles.

He takes a step toward me before Lloyd suddenly struggles up and knocks him to the ground.

"And the green ninja wins again!" the blonde boy cries.

"Get off," Kai grunts, squirming from underneath him.

"Gee, you don't have to be so snappy about it," Nya scolds him.

Kai manages to get up and comes running for me. His eyes bore into mine as he gently holds my fingers.

"What do you need?" he murmurs.

"Out of here," I beg. We need to be alone.

"Wait – Skylor?" Nya asks, confused. "What are you doing at the monastery?"

Kai's already guiding me to the exit.

Once we get outside, I drag him down past the driveway into a nearby grove of trees.

And then I burst into tears.

"Good grief, Skylor! What happened?" Kai exclaims.

I can't even speak, I'm so angry, upset...and weirded out by Sensei Yang.

"Please, Skye, don't cry. I'm so utterly horrible with tears."

He sounds like he's on the verge of a breakdown, himself.

I finally get a breath. "You're supposed to hold me."

He slowly, awkwardly, pulls me into his arms. It's just what I need, though.

I weep into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Skye, I'm bad at this kind of thing. But tell me exactly what happened, and I promise I will slash the tires of whoever hurt you. I can fix this."

"I don't need you to fix anything," I choke out. "I need you to be here for me."

We stand like that for minutes, not bothering to speak. I inhale his scent, which has so quickly become something I find strength in. I'm grateful I have someone to cry with.

Eventually, he combs his fingers through my hair. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

I take a deep breath. "Not really, but I need to talk to someone, so..." I plant myself on the ground.

He plops down next to me. "Talk to me, Skye. I'm going to dish out some serious punishment."

I laugh a little, trying to take the edge off things. "Kai, what would happen if you came home, and your self-obsessed dad introduced you to some freak who apparently stalked you?"

"Wait – what? That doesn't make sense."

I sigh and explain exactly what happened, up to the part where Yang invited me to his home for psychologically wounded girls.

Kai shakes his head. "That's nuts. What did you do next?"

"I got angry, told off both Yang and my father, and left. And I'm not going back, Kai, not until my dad gets his priorities straight."

"I wouldn't, either," he confesses. "Um, where exactly are you going to stay?"

Oh, boy. I hope he works with me here. "Well...how would you feel about me staying with you and your sister? Just for a few days," I reassure him. "I can always hide out in – "

"Yes. You are welcome to stay. But, uh, you know Nya and I share a room, right? Our shop isn't exactly the Ritz."

I shrug. "I don't care. I'll take the floor, if I have to. Just don't make me go back to my father."

Kai slowly nods. "Okay. Will you do something for me first?"

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Look, we really need to know what we're up against here. Yang could be a threat, since he apparently stalked you." His thumb caresses my cheek, and his eyes meet mine. "Skye, I need to know the rest of your story about your ex-boyfriend."

I want to refuse, but...

That's not really an option.

"Okay," I sigh. "Here goes."