It was difficult to fall asleep that night.

For her, she had probably done the bravest thing she had done in her life.

She was knocking on their door mere minutes after she had made her decision (which may or may not have been influenced by that man, even though they exchanged no more than three sentences altogether).

She had to admit that out of the three people in that room, the strongest, largest teen opening the door was the worst outcome for her. Maybe she was just too short, but he did admittedly look scarier than most.

When she asked for the one and only blue-clad boy, he laughed, the other tall boy in the back joining in soon after.

When the one she was looking for came into full-view, sporting striped, blue pyjamas and bunny slippers, his face turned as red as hers.

"Is ten okay?" was all she could muster to say as she showed him the letter, resisting to look him up and down.

He croaked out a "yeah" and that was the end of that.

For him, his brain had just stopped functioning at that moment.

The moment she saw them train, he knew it was over. It wasn't gymnastics or a jog, it was full-on sword fighting and throwing weapons at each other, most not wooden.

He trusted Zane with shurikens, of course, but Nya didn't know that.

From that point of view, their visit did seem odd. An old man (at least Nya didn't know about him and Kai's recruitment yet) and three teenage boys coming as tourists to one of the least touristic places in Ninjago to 'learn' (at least that's the excuse Sensei Wu used...). It was undoubtedly weird for everyone, including her.

Still, the fact that she accepted was enough. He knew he couldn't ever be a knight in shining armor, but it was better to start their friendship before she literally moved in with them if all went accordingly.

He felt bad saying it, but he couldn't deny that he had an alterior motive, one that fortunately didn't overshadow his real feelings.

Maybe Kai would be more eager to join if his sister were convinced as well, and he wanted to achieve just that. It was Wu who encouraged him to get closer to her, after all.

There was a high chance their feelings weren't mutual; maybe she was just being nice and maybe he just had a temporary crush that would go away in a few days.

Whatever they turned out to be in the end, friends, acquaintances, or something more, he would at least find peace in knowing that he can help them build a better life.

Because there was one thing he knew for sure; there was no place more exhausting than that gossip factory of a village.

♡♡♡

Alright, so maybe making quick decisions after speaking with an old man for three minutes wasn't the best idea.

Maybe he was just a product of her own mind; she hadn't seen him elsewhere, after all.

Hallucinations aside, the pit in her stomach only grew as their meeting approached.

Unfortunately, both her anxiety and excitement only confirmed her desperate need of a friend (or something more, perhaps?). It was pathetic in her eyes.

But maybe he wouldn't notice.

She put on her usual cheongsam and leggings, not wanting to dress too fancy on what was supposed to be a simple tour.

Right, a tour; that was what she had in mind. It was a perfect idea for such a meeting, she just hoped that he would like it.

Then again, she was hesitant about actually walking around with him alone. What would the rest of the village think?

No, she didn't have time to think about that. She would just have to get out there and enjoy hanging out with her friend.

If he considered her to be one, that is.

She checked her notebook one last time, making sure that everything was checked; no errands for the day, luckily.

She hoped not to make much noise, but her brother always seemed to know where she was.

"Where are you going?" her brother asked, his tone scarier than the hammer banging on the metal sword.

"Just wanted to take a walk around town," she lied through her teeth. "Do you need anything?"

He smiled. "Nah, I'm good."

She smiled back and as she left, her lips stretched even more, knowing that the day was only just starting.

♡♡♡

She took a deep breath upon approaching the motel's front door.

Part of her had a feeling that the moment she entered, a shuriken or two would pierce the door beside her, just barely missing her face.

Or perhaps they would be fighting bad guys like that superhero in those space movies that always played on the TV of Ms Bao's diner.

What she didn't expect to see, however, was them unwillingly mopping the floor.

"I don't even want a speck of dirt in my halls, you hear me?" the man behind the counter ordered them all.

The tall one nodded obediently while the muscular one groaned, leaving her favourite one in the middle.

It was a bit pathetic, but she couldn't help but chuckle at their struggle.

"Good morning, Mr Beni," she said, closing the door behind her.

When Jay noticed her, his face lit up; but feeling her own heat up, she turned her gaze away.

"Nya, thankfully you're here," he said. "You don't know how hard it is to try and reason with them... They can't even mop right."

"You wouldn't let us mop our way," Cole grumbled, clutching his mop harder.

"I don't need you doing your silly acrobatics in my motel," Mr Beni shot back before turning to Nya with a warm smile.

"What can I help you with today, kid?"

"Actually, I need to borrow one of them for a bit."

"Nya, they have chores to do."

"Please? I promise it won't be long," she said, giving him her best pleading smile.

After a moment of thought, he sighed. "Alright, you know I can't resist our errand girl... Pick and choose."

She rested her back on the counter and pretended to be deep in thought, tapping her chin as she audibly hummed.

Jay couldn't stop smiling, on the other hand.

"I'll take the blue one," she said, dragging Jay to the door.

"Have fun you two," Beni said. "And be careful, Nya."

His words shouldn't have come across as ominous as they did, but she couldn't deny that they had brought back a little bit of her anxiety.

When she heard him chuckle, however, her worries disappeared.

"Thank you for getting me out of there," the blue boy himself said. "We're usually like really good at cleaning the Monastery and stuff, but that guy is really traditional."

She raised an eyebrow. "Monastery?"

His cheeks turned pink when she spoke. "Oh, yeah. That's what we call our... dojo. It kinda helps you connect with the martial arts vibe... and all."

He wanted to slap himself for the lame excuse, but she seemed to believe it; or, she didn't further the conversation, at least.

"So... want to begin the tour?"

He smiled. "With pleasure."

♡♡♡

While they walked for hours on end, he was mainly focused on keeping track of every shop, café, and attraction he could find.

Even with barely empty pockets, he couldn't deny that the urge to buy her something was there.

Then again, all of his ideas fell on the romantic side of things; flowers and chocolates, primarily.

Fortunately, his primary focus was her.

He couldn't deny that the judgemental, curious looks of anyone walking past were noticeable, but it was then that he preferred to look at her as a distraction from it all.

That strategy proved to work for the both of them in the end, seeing as though her own gaze was practically glued onto him by the end of their little tour.

It was late into the noon by then and they had stopped at a house's steps, pointing out everything and everyone that passed as Nya gave a simple yet detailed backstory on each topic.

"Ignacia's pretty nice, actually," he said, looking down at her from a couple steps up.

"It's a nice place." Her smile fell a little. "Just a bit too... involved, sometimes."

He wanted her to expand upon it, but he didn't pressure her into it.

"What's next on our list?" he said, nudging her shoulder playfully as she chuckled.

"Well... I know another place," she said. "It's my second favourite place in Ignacia."

He raised an eyebrow. "What's the first?"

And as she came a bit closer, his breath slightly hitched.

"You have to be cool enough to go there," she whispered and winked.

"And how do you do that?"

"Well, nobody but me has gone there..." she said. "But you'll get into the cool list eventually."

Now he was intrigued.

"You can still come to my second favourite place though," she continued, and before he knew it, he was being dragged along yet again.

♡♡♡

Out of all places, a library wasn't exactly what he was expecting.

It was quite small, with very few windows that made it seem as if it were midnight from the inside; still, what really brightened the place was the old woman behind the counter, who greeted them with a warm smile.

"Nya! Look at you, you brought a new friend."

The moment the woman started talking, it was as if Nya regretted going there in the first place.

"Speaking of friend, have you met Wu yet?"

"I..."

She didn't let her speak.

"He was here a few days ago. Such a charmer, isn't he?"

Jay chuckled at that, but Nya didn't understand why.

"We just wanted to hang out here for a bit, Ms Feng," Nya tried to reason with her again, luckily keeping her cool.

"Oh, of course you can! Needing to get away from that nagging brother of yours again, especially with a boy..."

She winked at her, but all it did was make them awkwardly look away.

They didn't even get to the table before she approached them again. "And since we're here, you can sort some of these as well. Take home as many as you want, I know you love your fairytales."

She looked inside the cardboard box and frowned. "I haven't read them in ages... are you sure?"

"Three months isn't 'ages', Nya. And besides, you know how much you were raving about dragons and princesses when you were younger," she said. "I'm sure that these will be a nice read."

Jay smiled. Sensei Wu had always told them stories about dragons; perhaps if they were real, he'd take her on a ride.

"So, you two go way back?" he asked the librarian.

"Oh, for sure. She would always come to me for advice... Kai wasn't very good with girl stuff, you know?"

Nya slammed her head on the desk, maybe hoping that she would die right then and there. As she sank back into her seat, she could only hide her face from whatever terrors came from the woman's mouth.

When she felt a tap on her shoulder, she raised her head.

"She's gone now," he said, trying to hold back a laugh. "If you can't deal with her, I hope you never meet my mum..."

They both laughed at that, even if she didn't know the context.

"You know what, maybe we should head back..."

He looked at the clock on the wall, sighing. "Yeah, I'm totally getting grounded for avoiding chores."

She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, trying not to look him in the eye. "Sorry about that..."

"Don't worry about it. I'd say it was worth it... friend."

His smile was more awkward than hers, but inside, she couldn't be happier.

The fireworks exploding in her brain were set off. No matter how corny or cheesy he sounded, it was always in a good way.

So, she decided to play along.

"If you say so, friend."

And, quite frankly, she didn't want the day to be over after that.