First Post of the New Year! Happy 2022!

Also mild spoilers for the Season 15 Seabound if you still have yet to watch it as well as some mentioned moments for how Aeria participates in a past season so that's why this was posted in both my Oneshots and Mini Moments Books

Takes place at the end of Season 15

3rd Person POV

After the funeral service for Nya, everyone had started to disperse from paying their respects and headed back down the staircase from the monastery leaving just the ninja residents and their master.

As the ninja were all leaving to go to their rooms, they all gave Jay their condolences and told him if he needed anything to find them and he sadly thanked them as he stayed in a kneel in front of Nya's memorial headstone.

"Hey Jay...?" He heard a voice behind him and he turned slightly enough to see it was Lloyd standing there with a concerned expression as he stuttered out while kneeling next to him,

"I-I know the others have already said this but-"

As he continued with his 'I'm around if you need me' spiel, Jay couldn't help but notice the Yin-Yang Promise medallion still in his gi pocket, remembering that before the whole adventure with Kalmaar he had mentioned asking Aeria to be his Yang and wanting to figure out how to do it best, and spoke up,

"You should ask her."

"Wh-what?" Lloyd questioned.

"You should ask Aeria to be your Yang."

"Jay..." Lloyd was about to protest, a bit taken back that that was what Jay had chosen to say given the circumstances.

"We almost lost her too..." Jay reminded him gently, "You never really know how long you'll have together... and isn't it better to spend what time you do have together?"

"I-I guess but-"

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Lloyd pulled the medallion out of his pocket and looked down at it before thinking about Aeria... strong, stubborn, brave... able to take down the fiercest of foes if it means protecting those she cares about with sheer strength and tactics yet gentle enough to create extraordinarily delicate and detailed origami pieces.

Not to mention her being good with kids, inspiring them to be more than they thought they could be, especially given her own rough childhood that she somehow didn't let affect her present life as much as most people in her position would have and instead using it as a source of strength and moving forward rather than letting it be something that holds her back.

"You both want to be together but you're both afraid of what making it official will mean... so how will you ever really know unless you do it..."

"Why are you-"

"-the one telling you to do this after I just lost my Yang?"

"Yeeaahhh..." Lloyd drew out delicately.

"Because I got to ask Nya to spend what rest of her semi-normal life was left with me but if Aeria had been lost along with Nya, you would never have gotten the chance to ask her... so you should take this second chance while you still have it..."

Lloyd hesitated again before realizing that Jay was right and his facial expression changed to one of determination before he stood up and told him,

"I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna tell Aeria how I feel and ask her to be my Yang."

"There ya go." Jay perked up a little seeing Lloyd's confidence and even managed a small smile before it fell to a sad one and Lloyd noticed before telling him,

"Thanks for the nudge."

"No problem dude... Nya... gave her life to make sure we all could live ours, and you and Aeria should finally take that next step together to honor her..."

Lloyd nodded to him before looking at Nya's headstone and bowing to it before he walked away to look for Aeria.

He didn't find her in her room, or the kitchen, or in the room she, Xia, and Nya used to hang out in as "ninja sisters" and do fun activities together just them girls, so he was almost at a loss as to where she could be until he heard a wind gust making the tree branches tap lightly against the wooden frame of the monastery.

Looking through a window, Lloyd could see that Aeria was standing on the edge of the mountain that was facing the direction of the ocean.

Once Lloyd got to the mountain edge, he coughed lightly to get her attention and, when she turned to face him, Lloyd could see a light blue origami piece that seemed to be a figure with arms raised and a wave coming up behind them.

"H-Hey, you uhh you doing alright?"

"One of my best friends just gave her life and somehow I was the only one that escaped that fate even though we both made the choice to combine our strengths to defeat Wojira, how do you think I'm doing?" Aeria snapped with impatience, making Lloyd flinch back a bit before she noticed and breathed out her nose to speak more gently, "I'm sorry Lloyd, I... I didn't mean to take that out on you... it's just..."

Aeria suddenly dropped to her knees making Lloyd move forward in case he needed to pull her away from the edge but she just stayed kneeling on the ground as she spoke in a teary voice,

"No one can seem to tell me how it is that I was able to... stay me even though Nya's... gone forever... and after losing Storm to that Tornado thing that defeated the Oni, I swore to myself that I would do everything in my power to protect the rest of you all no matter the cost... I just... I don't know how I can live with myself knowing that I failed her and you guys like this..."

"Well..." Lloyd sat down next to her, being careful that they weren't too close together near the edge that it would give out from their weight before continuing, "First of all, you need to stop being so hard on yourself... as strong as you are, you're not invincible and, as hard as it is to admit, we're not always going to be able to save everyone, even our own friends and family, believe me, I know..." Lloyd looked down as he thought about his father and all the other friends that were lost to previous battles before continuing, "Secondly, you did do everything in your power to help Nya, you gave her your strength and power and you were both able to overpower Wojira to save the city together. We may not know why only Nya was lost, but we know it was because she wanted us to be able to continue living, so we should honor her sacrifice..."

Lloyd stood up and held out his hand to Aeria and she hesitantly took it before folding the last crease on her piece and holding it up to the wind to take it from her hands in the direction of the ocean as the sun was setting in the distance.

As they both watched it flutter off into the distance, Aeria turned to look at Lloyd with a small smile that he returned before he took a deep breath to tell her,

"And I for one plan to make sure that Nya's sacrifice for everyone to continue living doesn't go to waste..." He kneeled down on one knee, making Aeria gasp and put her hands to her mouth as he pulled out the medallion from his pocket and took one half of it to present to her as he spoke,

"Aeria Wiater, you amaze and inspire me everyday with not only your sarcastic wit and courage but your kindness and strength no matter what this crazy city tends to throw our way and, even if it's said in some dumb prophecy that we're 'supposed' to be together, I want us to be together, connected as one, because I'm happier and stronger when I'm with you... So will you be my Yang?"

It was silent for a few seconds before Lloyd hear Aeria whisper, muffled behind her hands,

"...es..."

"What?"

"Yes." Aeria lowered her hands and Lloyd could see the glowing, beaming smile that had previously been hidden before she tackled him in a hug.

"Woah!" They both yelped as Aeria tackled him a little too hard and they both almost ended up falling off the edge of the mountain if Aeria hadn't tightened her grip around his shoulders with one arm while the other one sent a blast of air that righted them back onto the edge and they hurriedly backed away from it before tripping over each other's legs and falling to the ground on their backsides.

Just as Lloyd was about to ask if she was alright, Aeria burst out in laughter that soon made Lloyd start to laugh as well before they finished giggling so Aeria could take the half of the medallion offered to her and pin it to the front of her gi before she pulled Lloyd into a kiss that he stiffened to at first but soon melted into it and they finished but kept their foreheads touching.

"Well that wasn't the most photogenic Yin-Yang Promise..." Lloyd motioned to the two of them sitting on the dirt with the edge they almost fell off of still crumbling a bit.

"But we've never been all that normal anyway..." Aeria finished before she helped him off the ground.

"And that's what I love about you, even with all the weird and amazing things I've seen over the years, somehow you're the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me..."

"Wow, that is the corniest thing I have ever heard in my entire life."

"Come on, you loved it."

"No." Aeria tried to keep a straight face but a smirk leaked through as Lloyd kept nudging her,

"Come on, admit it."

"No."

They both laughed a bit more before Aeria turned somber and whispered,

"I wish Nya were here, I mean she was rooting for us since week one."

"Yeah me too... but it's thanks to her that we're still here and for every day we're still here, her sacrifice will be honored."

Both stayed at the edge with their arms around each other's shoulders and heads leaning on each other as they watched the sun fully set over the ocean and they both sent a mental message to their friend who had made that moment possible,

Thank you Nya...

1785 Words

 Hope you all have a great first day of the new year! ^^