Kai's POV

"Is the bow too much?" I ask Skylor. My arms are crossed, and I'm looking at the silver car sitting in my driveway. It's positioned so it's facing the street, making it so Nya will see it when she drives up with Jay if she's not blindfolded.

"I'm not sure. It really depends on how she's feeling," she admits, looking at the car. "When's she coming back?"

"I asked Jay to bring her back at 2:25, so soonish."

"Wow, you're talking to Jay. When did that change happen?" she asks, surprise on her face.

"Well, since Cole gave up on trying to get Nya back, I've been able to take a step back and actually look at Nya's relationship with Jay. Last weekend at homecoming, I saw her actually, genuinely happy. I've been failing at making her happy for two years, so there must be something good in there if he can do it. Plus, Nya's never going to accept my apology if I'm mean to him," I explain.

I hear a car coming down the street, and my pulse quickens. If I screw up again with Nya, it's all over. My nerves calm down when I notice it's not Nya, but it's Mackenzie. She parks on the street near my house.

"I have to go. Harumi called a team meeting," Skylor explains. I stick my bottom lip out in a pout.

"On a Sunday?"

"On a Sunday. She's demonic; I know, but if I don't go, she'll be pissed," she explains. Quickly standing on her tip toes, she gives me a kiss. "I'll call you when it's done." She goes to walk away, but I pull her back, giving her another kiss.

"Have fun."

"I can't make any promises. This is Harumi we're talking about," she responds, walking towards Mackenzie's car. She hops in, and the two of them give me a wave before driving off.

I walk over to my porch, sitting down in the rocking chair while I wait for Nya. It feels like an eternity before I hear Jay's car coming down the street. I stand up, walking so I'm next to Nya's new car.

Jay parks his car on the street. Now that they're closer, I can see that Nya is blindfolded. Jay gets out of the driver's side, walking over to Nya's side to help her out and guide her over towards the car.

Yesterday, Nya went to the doctor again for her ankle. After a couple of x rays and questions, she got the clearance to get off of her crutches. She's still in a boot, but now she can walk on it, making it easier for Jay to guide her over to the car.

"Remember, this surprise isn't from me. I just distracted you while everything got set up," Jay gives her a disclaimer, stopping several steps away from the car.

"You've told me that like...seven times," she laughs.

"Are you ready?" he asks. She nods, a heartwarming smile on her face. "Three...two...one." Jay pulls off the blindfold.

"Surprise!" I cheer. Nya's eyes widen, and her hand flies over her mouth. "I knew you were tired of never being able to go anywhere since I hog the truck, so I got you car."

"How did you afford this?" she asks in shock, walking over to run her hand over the hood.

"That's not important. I got it for you as a peace offering. I'm tired of butting heads with you, and I realize a lot of that is my fault. I've treated you terribly the past two years. I should've taken a stand when everyone was being mean to you, and I didn't. I can never forgive myself for that, and I'm extremely sorry towards you for that and everything else I've done, especially about lying to you about Jay.

I want to start new. I want to build a bond with this new Nya. Our relationship shouldn't be this toxic. I really want to fix it, since if we're being honest, we're the only family we have left. I miss my little sister, and I'm going to support you no matter what. I just hope you can forgive me, because I don't want to lose you for good," I open my arms for her. "Please Nya. I'm going to try to be a good brother again. I just need a chance to prove myself."

"I'm going to regret this," she says to herself before looking up at me. "Do you swear to be honest with me?"

"Yes."

"To not try to get me back together with Cole?"

"Of course."

"To be nice to Jay?"

"I worked with him today, didn't I?"

"To stick together?"

"Until the day I die."

She walks into my arms, wrapping her arms around me. Immediately, I engulf her in a giant hug. Partially picking her up off the ground.

"I love you sis, and I'm going to act like it."

---

Skylor's POV

I walk onto Harumi's front lawn where there is a circle of chairs set up. Each chair has a name tag on it. A majority of the chairs are already filled by the rest of the squad. In the center of the circle, there is a golden megaphone. Mackenzie and I have spots on opposite sides of the circle, but I'm placed between Faith and PIXAL, so I consider it a win.

"Are the rumors I heard about you and Kai true?" Faith asks in a quiet voice.

"What rumors?"

"That you and Kai are a thing now. I knew you two were flirty, but I didn't know if it was official."

"It's official."

She gives me a smile. "I'm so happy for you. PIXAL was just telling me about how Cole convinced her to go back to Zane."

"I was frightened that Harumi would do something to me, but Cole reassured me that it was improbable," she further explains, a smile on her face.

"Is Mackenzie going to try things out with Cole, considering he's not hung up on Nya anymore?" Faith wonders, looking over at Mackenzie. She's talking with Chamile who is only one chair away from her.

"I'm honestly not sure," I admit.

"Although he's separated himself from Nya, Cole still does not seem in the mental place to go into a relationship. He needs time to develop as a person," PIXAL rationalizes. I nod in agreement.

"Hi everyone," Harumi greets loudly as she walks out of her house. She walks into the center of the circle through a hole she left. Her platinum blonde hair is pulled up in a messy bun. She has on black boots layered over a pair of high waisted skinny jeans. Up top, she has on a tight, long sleeved green shirt. "I called you all here today to kick off the rest of the season. We still have several football games left, all of basketball season, and comp season left.

I've been honored to lead you guys for as long as I have. You guys pushed me and gave me something to look forward to. However, that's no longer the case anymore. Cheer doesn't make me feel the same way anymore. It brings out the worst parts of me. I'm trying to turn into a better person, and doing cheer isn't going to help me do that.

It's taken a lot of thinking, but I've decided that I can't do cheer anymore. You guys deserve a leader that you can trust and rely on, a leader whose heart is dedicated. My heart isn't in it the same way anymore. I'm need to move on.

So today we are celebrating the rest of the season as well as giving me a goodbye party," she starts to get emotional, pausing to take a breath.

"Since I've decided to step down, I need someone to take over for me. This golden megaphone has been in this school's cheer program for over 30 years. It goes to the captain, and today I get to pass it on to someone else.

When I thought hard about it, there's only one person who should be the captain of this squad that isn't me. They're kind, and they're a leader. People like them. They have some of the most incredible tumbling I've ever seen, and even though I've butted heads with her a lot, I respect her and think that she'll do an amazing job with my squad. Skylor, can you come up here?"

Just like the night of homecoming, I'm shocked when I hear my name. I stand up and walk to the center of the circle. "Harumi I..."

"Shh," she shushes me, picking up the microphone. "Skylor Chen, I am entrusting my squad to you. You must lead and help them achieve great things." She grabs the megaphone and rests it in my hands. "You got the boy. You got the crown. Now, you got the megaphone."

---

Harumi's POV

I walk into my house after the party, wiping the tears off my face. Cheer was bad for me. It made me a terrible person and accentuated my bad features, yet I'm sad to let it go. It was a big part of my identity for so long. It's weird without it.

I knew I couldn't change with it still in my life. Losing homecoming queen was an eye opener that I need to change or no one will ever like me. Cheer was a large part of it, so I had to cut it out, even if it meant getting rid of something I worked so hard to build.

I chose Skylor because she was the logical choice. Technique wise, she is the best on the team for miles. She also had everything else I had wanted. Passing on the megaphone to her made it feel like I was completing something.

"How did it go?" Lloyd asks once he hears the door open. He's been waiting inside my house the entire party to hang out with me afterwards. When he sees the tears on my face, his smile falls. "Did something go wrong?"

"No, it's just hard giving up something that was such a big part of your life. I know it was toxic, but that doesn't make it sting any less," I flop down onto the couch next to him. My head rests against his shoulder.

"I understand. I'm so proud of you," he tells me before pressing a soft kiss against my lips. It still feels the same as the first time he kissed me. I start to get absorbed in the moment. However, I'm pulled out of it when I see a heaviness in his eyes.

"There's something bothering you," I sit up, distracting myself from my own heartache. "What is it?"

"It's nothing. I'm here to support you," he brushes it off.

"Lloyd," I grab onto his hands. "I want to listen."

"I know you've been distant from the Sons of Garmadon lately with everything going on, but things have gotten really bad. Five members have gotten arrested in the past week, and over half a dozen have relapsed. Everything is falling apart," he runs his hands through his hair. "I keep trying to help pull things back together, but no one listens to me anymore. Plus, my dad freaks out on me all the time for trying to mess up his image."

"Maybe you should get out of a toxic environment too," I suggest.

He looks at me, confused. "Are you suggesting I leave the Sons of Garmadon?"

"I'm suggesting we leave the Sons of Garmadon," I put extra emphasis on the word 'we'. "It's draining you. Plus, it's not the same anymore. I don't feel safe there anymore. I don't want you to get dragged down with what's happening. You're a great guy Lloyd. You're pure. You're a leader. I don't want to see you get corrupted."

"I grew up around those people. I don't want to abandon them, but I also don't want to encourage that behavior. Maybe me leaving can set a good example," he narrates his thought process. I run my fingers through the back of his hair while he talks.

"Maybe you can start a club for the Sons of Garmadon members who go to the school? You can try to steer them in the right direction while also not being in the gang," I suggest. He seems to contemplate my suggestion.

"What about my dad? He'll disown me."

"He loves you right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"If he loves you, he'll come around. He should support you," I comfort him. "I'm not saying you have to or that you have to decide right now. I just wanted to suggest something that could help you."

"Thank you," he gives me a small smile, wrapping me in a hug.

"No, thank you Lloyd."

"For what?"

"Calling me out on my bs. Everyone else let me get away with it, but you never did. You put me on a path to become a better person and grow. You opened my eyes. I can never thank you enough," I tell him sincerely, gazing into those green eyes I've fallen for.

"I saw that you were a good person. You were just misguided," he admits before giving me a quick kiss, our eyes only breaking contact when our lips connected.

"Now it's my turn to help you. Whatever you decide to do, I'll stand by you," I reassure him, cupping his face in my hand.

Even though this year got off to a bumpy start, I'm happy with where I am. I might not of won homecoming queen, but I got so much more. I've became a better person, even if I relapse into my old self at times. I met a guy who makes me feel ways Kai never made me feel. He's the light that lit up my life, revealing all of the evil hiding in the shadows.

Lloyd Garmadon has made me a better person. Now, my heart is set on helping him like he's helped me.

A/N the book is almost over! Only the epilogue is left

There's going to be a time skip between now and the epilogue (just a heads up) I'm also probably going to write the first chapter of enmity before I write the epilogue so people can go straight into reading that (if they want) after this

The season 13 teaser trailer came out today. If anyone wants to talk about it/ see my thoughts on it it's in my random Ninjago things book

Also, I recently watched episodes 1-7 of the series, and it's so weird seeing how far the ninja have came. Lloyd was also the worst villain ever I love it. His laugh made me die laughing every time. He DEFINITELY was born to be a good guy. It was also funny cause Nya made some comment about joining the team, and I was like "oh just you wait".

Thoughts on this chapter?

What has been your favorite part of the book?

I'd also like to point out that today is the 3 month anniversary of when I published the little preview chaoter of this book. It took me two years to complete Hidden (I kept forgetting about it) but it took me around 3 months to complete this. That's a glow up.

Thank you guys so much for sticking around for 30 chapters. It means so much to me you guys have no idea