That afternoon, while Lloyd was off with the others learning about this 'masks of resurrection' business, I stayed back at the Monastery and helped the monks take stock of their groceries with Garm and Misako.

It was boring, but it felt good to help. Brownie points and all, y'know?

Naomi arrived in the middle of it and after a tight hug reunion, we both buckled down to continue helping.
When that was done, Naomi and I wondered the Monastery. Apparently she'd been there before, often staying the night and helping out with the bed-and-breakfast stay side of the Monastery that the monks ran. Of course, when she wasn't at the autorepair garage she was interning at.

"It's a bit annoying," she confessed amongst a sigh as we dawdled around in the dance studio, Cole's father's favourite place to train the ninja. "I just wish that they'd find Wu so they wouldn't have to keep taking these months-long missions. I miss Cole."
I groaned an exhale, hanging on one of the bars.
"I know what you mean."
"Anyway, have you heard anything about your parents?" Naomi asked, changing the subject. I shook my head.
"Nah, dad's finally gotten a break from the military and they're taking a hiking trip around Ninjago. They don't have reception most of the time, but they should be back soon."

"That's really nice that they finally get time together," Naomi murmured, stretching out on her stomach on one of the yoga mats with her chin on her arms.
I hummed in agreement, nodding, swinging around to sit cross-legged against the mirror wall.
"What do you think they're doing right now?" Naomi asked. I pouted to the side in thought.
"Jay's probably said something stupid and Nya's smacked the back of his head."
Naomi snorted. "Probably."
"They're infiltrating the villain's hideout right now and they'll win and return home."
Noami curled up like a cat. Her expression was slightly sour.
"Only to then disappear again in search of Wu."

My heart sunk. I couldn't deny that I shared her frustration. I get that Naomi and I weren't ninja and weren't cleared to go on missions or anything (Morro being the only exception), but it was so annoying being stuck back at home while the ninja went out for months on end.
"Maybe they'll let us join them?" I shrugged, as if nonchalant. "After all, eight eyes are better than six."
"Doubt it," scoffed Naomi. "Cole's more protective than a mother bear and Lloyd's so paranoid about villains and leading the team that he wouldn't even listen to us."
I hummed in thought. "What if we made a PowerPoint slide?"
"Y/n," she sent me a look.
"I know," defeated, I sighed. I plonked my chin onto my hand after sliding down the wall, onto the ground.

Breaking the silence, Naomi's phone began to ring. She answered while I busied myself with pulling funny faces in the mirror wall. I only acknowledged the call when she hung up and groaned.
"Who was it?" I asked, hanging my head backwards. Naomi was scowling, grabbing her jersey and shoving it on.
"Work," she grumbled unhappily. "Mark's sick and they need me to take up his shift. I'll see you later."
"Bye," I murmured, sending her a sympathetic smile before she began to miserably trudge out of the training wing part of the Monastery, towards her car.

And I was alone, again.

📦🍞📦

I had decided to spend the rest of the afternoon studying for my upcoming psychology exam. I found a nice little tranquil spot on the rim of the spiritual garden, curled up on the steps into the patio that ran alongside the wing. All I could hear were the birds in the trees, the scratching of pen on paper and the gentle trickle of a nearby stream.
With a surface dusted in cherry blossom petals and lily pads, a small pond sat next to me. Koi fish bobbed contently within, occasionally rising to the surface when my bare feet skimmed the water. A frog croaked once or twice. Kashu barked in the distance.

I set aside my study work, stood and stretched, revelling in the warm sun. It was spring, only a breath away of being summer. I just had to get through my exams and I was free. For a few months.
My gaze drifted down to my empty palm. It was littered with scratches - some from when I was grabbing at the rocky edge of the stream within the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb after diving in to save Lloyd. A couple from digging my way through thorns to save Kashu from a bear trap. A number from clawing at the wooden planks when Lloyd and I were sucked into the Preeminent.
Of course, there were a handful of gauges and scars from me just being dumb and tripping over my own two feet.

As I stared at my scarred palm, I felt my gut suddenly dip and a brief colour of peachy-beige flash behind my eyes.
I teetered, stumbling as I found myself with a sudden loss of balance and a pounding drum against my head. My stomach tumbled nauseously and a pain pinched between my eyes.
"Owww," I whined, placing my hand against my forehead in a useless attempt to placate the sudden pain. I pressed against the pressure point on my wrist to try and reduce the swell of nausea.

The sudden attack began to ebb away, draining from my body slower than it had appeared. I breathed heavily, resting my head on the wooden archway beside me and wondering what the hell just happened.
Things began to return to normal. The trickle of a nearby stream returned, the birds chirping in the trees resumed. The sun was just as pleasant as before. Peace had welcomed me back.

And then my phone rang.

"Lloyd? What's up?" I said after answering, leaning my weight against the wall. I felt exhausted after what had just transpired.
"Y/n! Meet us at the city docks!"
I stood upright, alarmed by his frantic tone.
"What? Why? What happened?"
"Just met us at the docks! Find the bounty! Hurry!"
Lloyd promptly hung up but I didn't leave myself time to ponder. His shouted desperation had me running at top speed. I discarded my study supplies where they were, making a hard dash through the Monastery for my car.

"Y/n?" Garmadon had caught me by the arm with a concerned look. "What's the matter?"
"It's Lloyd!" I said, and that was all that was needed. Garm's expression steeled and it was him in the lead, speeding out into the parking lot.
We dashed into my car, which I swiftly turned on and then went speeding down the gravelled driveway.
"What did he say?" Garmadon asked.
"Just to meet him at the bounty," I replied, shaking my head. It was early afternoon on a weekday, so thankfully the roads weren't all that crowded. We were also lucky that the city docks weren't too far from the Monastery.
"I wonder what's happened now," Garm grumbled.
"It's certainly new that he called me about this," I murmured, regripping my sweaty hands on the steering wheel. "Usually he tries to keep me out of ninja business. Wonder what changed."

"Maybe he finally realised that you're not made of porcelain," Garm grumbled. I huffed, raising my brow.
"Wouldn't that be nice," I murmured, pulling the car to a sharp stop and grabbing the keys. I locked it after grabbing my duffel bag (it had my laptop in it, as well as some clothes - who knew what Lloyd managed to get himself into this time).
Just as I pushed my keys into my pocket, Lloyd came barreling around the corner on a motorbike with a figure sat behind them.
"Come on!" he yelled at Garm and I, urging us to get onto the Bounty. He was being followed by somebody who was definitely not the ninja.

I exchanged a bewildered look with Garm, who just shrugged. We climbed the rope ladder that was rolled down the side for easy access while Lloyd did some crazy motorbike jump onto the deck. Garm pulled up the rope ladder just as the ship's engines rumbled to life, unfolding the mast and setting loose the sail.
"... they're not just going to let us sail away!" came an unfamiliar, shaky voice from the bridge.
"Who said anything about sailing?" Lloyd replied, just as the bounty began to propel itself out of the water. The bounty shuddered and shook, making me grab the rail and send Garmadon a concerned look.
"Uhh, when was the last time this thing had a warrant of fitness?" I asked, holding back a squeak when the flying ship suddenly dipped.
Garm shrugged.
"It hasn't been flown in over a year."
"Oh. Spiffing."

"Y/n," Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly appearing behind me. I turned at the sound of his voice and felt the pain between my eyes completely diminish.
"Lloyd," I murmured, stepping forward to push myself into one of his hugs. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"Fine- I'm fine but..." he sighed, glancing to the side where a girl with white-blonde hair stood.
Embarrassed, I pulled back, not expecting an audience.
"This is Princess Harumi," Lloyd announced, gesturing to the princess with a sweep of his hand. "Princess, this is Y/n L/n."

I lifted my hand into a wave before pausing halfway. Was I meant to shake hands? Curtsy?
I didn't need to, however, as Garmadon quickly saved me from further embarrassing myself.
"Princess Harumi," he greeted with an incline of his head. "It's an honour. My name is Garmadon."
"I know," she said with a small smile. "I'm a big fan of the ninja. It's an honour to meet the father of such an incredible saviour."

Lloyd's face flushed.
Nope. Nope. Nuh-uh. Don't like this.
I pushed down the childish side of me, the part that didn't like anybody laying eyes on Lloyd. The only other girls that knew about Lloyd being the Green Ninja were Nya and Naomi, both in stable relationships and who wouldn't even think of having a crush on Lloyd.

The green head of jealousy reared into existence within my gut. I had to beat it down with a bat.
"The palace was destroyed," Lloyd murmured to me.
And wow now I feel terrible about being jealous. Jesus Christ, Y/n, get it together.
"That's horrible," I replied just as quietly, catching his green eyes with mine. "What's going to happen now? What about the masks you were talking about?"
Lloyd shook his head.
"I don't know," he confessed, sliding his hand down my forearm until it snuggly fit within my own palm. "We need to regroup with the others and we'll go from there."

I nodded and then a thought occurred to me.
"Hey... why'd you call me? Usually you don't like to get me involved in your ninja-ing."
Something soft fluttered over Lloyd's face.
"You were the first person I thought to call," he replied honestly. I clutched my heart dramatically.
"I hope you know that you're killing me with this. You really are."
He smirked before it fell. I cupped his cheeks and made him stare directly at my face.

"Lloyd," I said, my voice dancing above a whisper. "It's not your fault."
He placed one hand on top of mine. His fingers threaded through my own and he squeezed, dropping his forehead against mine.
"Thank you," he said, his breath tumbling across my cheeks. He promptly kissed my nose and I struggled to keep my smile from growing ever wide.

A pair of hazel eyes watched us.

aaaaand the rest of the original version of chaos theory was never written so please don't ask me to post the chapters because they don't exist thank u