Nya clung tightly to her brother. She was a fierce warrior, trained in the arts of samurai and ninjutsu, a decorated soldier who fought in countless battles to save Ninjago. Fear? She ate fear for breakfast. But right now, she was completely out of her comfort zone. Right now, she was just a girl, vulnerable and scared.

Nya took in her surroundings. A trance dance song wafted through the air, full of four-on-the-floor beats and a catchy hook. The song blended nicely with the neon lights of the skating rink, reminding her of the city Terra Technica in Prime Empire. The lights faded into the twilight sunset and cast a warm glow on her kimono, alternating between orange, pink, violet, cyan and gold. Beats from the song were amping her up, she wanted so desperately to glide gracefully across the rink as if she were dancing, but like her brother she couldn't find her balance.

Why? She was a nimble ninja, capable of jaw dropping flips, jumps and acrobatics. Why was skating so hard for her and Kai?

Nya glared at her teammates as they hooped and hollered around the rink.

Go skating they said, it will be fun they said.

She fully regretted being so easily persuaded to go to the roller rink. This wasn't part of the plan for the night. The team plus some additional elemental masters had agreed to attend the cherry blossom festival in Ninjago City. Nya was excited to show off a new kimono, gorge on spicy popcorn chicken and dango, enjoy shopping and the pretty lights at the night market, then sneak off to a secluded rooftop and kiss Jay during the firework show. It was supposed to be a fun night to bond with the team and other elemental masters, not fail miserably at roller skating.

Determined not to let the night be a total waste, Nya sucked up some courage and tried to push forward. Instead her foot slipped from under her and she lunged forward, only to be pulled up by Kai at the last second. She wobbled ungracefully and attempted to readjust her grip on his arm, only to lose her footing again. This time her foot shot out wide to the side, pulling her into an awkward side splits and almost tripping Kai. He reacted fast and pulled her back up again, losing his balance in the process. They finally managed to right themselves after an embarrassing display of ungracefulness, staggering around like a newborn lamb. Nya wondered if modifying her kimono for skating was such a good idea. Skylor had insisted, citing that a greater range of motion for the legs was necessary for skating.

"This goes against the rules of the kimono," Nya protested.

Skylor rolled her eyes at Nya. "We are ninja Nya, always be prepared." She finished adjusting the folds on the robes so that Nya's legs were exposed all the way to her upper thigh. Skylor had an impressive way to modify the long skirt of the dress to give the impression it was naturally a short skirt.

Nya shifted back and forth in the mirror, examining the new look. Of course it looked cute, and it would probably attract much unwanted attention from onlookers. Maybe it would get her extra attention from Jay . . . not that she needed it. Jay never lacked in the attention giving category.

Skylor rolled her eyes at Nya. "Yes it looks cute," she informed the water ninja. "You will appreciate the extra range of motion on the track. Come on let's go, the others are waiting."

Nya sighed, shaking the kimono memory from her mind. Their teammates kept lapping them. They watched as PIXAL and Zane sailed elegantly past them, holding hands and twirling each other, seemingly lost in their own little world. It was disgustingly cute. Nya and Kai simultaneously narrowed their eyes at the nindroids' joy.

"Tell me again why are we doing this?" her brother wondered out loud.

"Because we are stupid," Nya replied matter-of-factly.

"On your left-"

"On your right-"

Nya and Kai gripped each other tighter as two skaters whizzed past them at breakneck speed. She glared at the speed demons.

"And we are in love with idiots."

Jay and Skylor turned gracefully and skated backwards, looking at the sorry state of the blacksmith siblings.

"You know my offer still stands, learn from the master," Jay gestured to himself. He had an impossibly cheeky grin on his face.

"Mother-Son skating champion? No thanks." Kai shot back.

Jay's face fell, as if he regretted ever sharing that information with the other elemental masters on Chen's island.

Skylor gleamed manically at Jay. "I'm filing that information away for 'insults to use later'," she informed the master of lightning.

"Whatever, you are all just jealous of this." Jay wiggled his hips and showed off with an impressive spin before returning to a steady backwards pace next to Skylor. Kai looked aghast.

"Jay, do not wiggle your hips in front of me ever again." The look on Kai's face suggested he was ready to hurl. Nya tried her best to suppress a laugh, but instead an ugly snort escaped her lips. It only served to further encourage Jay with his goading.

"Fire boy, everyone loves it when Jay wiggles his hips," Jay said while widening his stance and placing his hands on his hips in a hero pose. Both Skylor and Nya had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing too hard. Kai stared at Jay in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Nya," Kai began, "I am having serious doubts about this suitor of yours. As your older brother, it would be highly irresponsible of me to allow this date of yours to continue," he said as seriously as possible. Nya had to bury her head into Kai's shoulder to keep from laughing.

Jay crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Kai, biting his tongue to avoid a classic 'Jay outburst'. Tonight was not the night he was going to get out-flexed by the fire ninja.

"It seems my valuable skills are under appreciated here," Jay said smartly then turned to Skylor and continued, "since our dates are preoccupied, care for a race?"

Mischief danced across Skylor's face. Getting under Kai's skin was usually easy for Jay, but tonight it had turned into a team sport.

"I thought you would never ask," Skylor replied in a sing-song voice. She glanced over to see if it had the intended effect on Kai. Nya felt his elemental power explode under his skin. She briefly wondered if he would burn the whole skate rink down, not that she would mind, it would finally put an end to her miserable skating experience.

"Last one around the track is a rotten egg!" Jay gleefully shouted.

Skylor moved to give Jay a fist bump, but he quickly dodged. "Nu-uh," he said, "No stealing my lightning you power vampire!" She shot him a scowl.

"Come on 'mother-boy'," Skylor taunted Jay. He almost stumbled on his skates.

"You said you were filing that info for later," Jay whined.

"It is later. Try to keep up," Skylor sassed at him then turned to get a head start.

Kai watched dumbfounded as Jay and Skylor sped away.

"Did Jay just steal my girl?"

Nya giggled.

"To be fair, you kinda stole his girl first."

"Hey, I'm being a responsible chaperone here. I did not like the way he wiggled his hips at you."

Nya's whole body shook with laughter.

"Thank you," she said, after catching her breath, "for making me feel better. I'm still grumpy about not being able to skate though."

"That's what big brothers are for. Besides, it will be over soon, the others won't want to miss the fireworks."

Nya hugged her brother's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. She was so grateful he looked out for her.

In front of her were Jay and Skylor, fully engaged in their race. As they rounded the bend in the track, she watched as Skylor turned and round and skated backwards, in an effort to taunt Jay. She stretched her arms out and the long sleeves of her kimono fluttered gracefully in the breeze.

They looked good together.

Nya quickly shook the thought from her head. No, no, no. She was not going down that road again.

Kai seemed to have read her mind, "Why am I suddenly feeling super jealous," he said.

"Because Jay stole your girl?" Nya offered.

"You seem to be unusually calm," Kai noted.

"Don't worry, I'm super jealous too," Nya admitted, "but I trust him."

Kai followed her gaze to see she was smiling at the master of lightning as he raced across the track. He had to agree with his sister. Even though Jay was full of antics and his mouth got him into trouble more often than not, he always seemed to pull through and be there for the team.

The blue and amber ninjas rounded another bend in the track and were gone from their view.

Kai and Nya both let out a long sigh.

"Should we head for an exit?" Nya asked hopefully. As magical as the music and lights had made the skating rink, she wanted to leave and never return.

"Yeah, I see one up ahead--ahhh!" Kai's sentence was cut short.

Pain . . . but not. Suddenly Kai and Nya couldn't move, and they were being ripped apart from each other. Kai! She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Her whole body was paralyzed.

After a moment, she noticed tendrils of electricity glowing around her, guiding her away from her brother. She couldn't see him anymore, but assumed the same was happening to him as well.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the lightning was gone, and warm hands were on her shoulders. Realization dawned on her as Jay came into her view.

"You shocked me!"

"Someone had to break up your pity party."

Nya glared at him then wobbled in her stance. Jay had a firm grip on her hands and pulled her close to his chest, wrapping his strong arms around her, signaling to her she wasn't going to fall nor go anywhere.

This was so dumb. She couldn't skate and she had a dumb mental block to keep her from learning . . . couldn't figure it out on the first try so she was giving up.

Nya buried her head into Jay's chest and screamed. Her cries of frustration were muffled but she was certain others in the rink were staring at them.

After a few seconds passed she looked up at him with a pout. She was greeted by one of Jay's stupidly gorgeous smiles that he seemed to reserve only for her.

"Are you done with your temper tantrum?"

Nya puffed up her cheeks and flared her nostrils with a herumf. She looked insanely cute. His elemental power stirred and thrummed through is skin. He could feel hers hum in response.

"Look," Jay said, and in one fluid movement he flipped her around to see the spectacle of her brother also failing at skating.

Skylor was testing out her new found lightning power on Kai and he looked absolutely livid. Jay was certain he would hear about it later.

"Watching Kai get emasculated is one of my favorite pastimes--" Jay mused behind her, his arms wrapped around her body, and he drew her back into him. Her skates were just barely touching the ground. She felt his cool nose against her temple and his hot breath coming into one ear. It sent a tingle straight down to her toes.

"--But I have something far more important in front of me," Jay whispered.

"Um--what's that?"

"Teaching you to skate. Are you finally ready to learn?" His breath was tickling her ear, and she could feel a blush bloom across her face. The prickle of his elemental power brushed gently against hers in such a way that her knees went weak.

"Can't-- Can't we just skip to the part where we're making out during the firework show?" her voice was almost breathless.

Jay tensed.

"Impatient? Or . . . trying to distract me so you don't have to skate?"

"Both?" she asked, feigning innocence.

His grip loosened and she felt herself pull away from him. He grabbed her hands and turned her around to face him, arms outstretched and and palms up.

Cool air swirled between them.

His gaze was intense and her blush deepened. She gripped his hands tighter.

"Put all your weight on your left skate," he commanded.

She complied without hesitation.

"Paddle with your right foot like you are pushing on a scooter."

She followed his directions and found herself moving forward without losing balance. Jay adjusted his speed to match hers.

"Now shift all the weight to your right foot, and push with your left."

She did and found herself moving forward again. With newfound confidence, she repeated the motion, alternating between left and right. Jay continued to adjust his speed to keep up with her.

She looked up at him and delightment danced across her eyes.

"I'm doing it!" she exclaimed happily.

Jay's smile was warm and the joy in his eyes mirrored her own. Her hands were buzzing. She couldn't tell if it was the excitement from learning to skate, Jay's elemental power, or both.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Huh?" Nya wondered, but before she could process his question, his grip on her hands loosened as he let go. Nya looked at him wide eyed but she kept her balance. Satisfied with her progress, Jay turned around so he was side by side with her. He fell into a comfortable pace to match her own.

The wind tugged at her hair and the long sleeves of her kimono. A new song drifted through the air, but had the same catchy beats. The fun time at the skate rink she imagined this would be was starting to come true. She spread her arms wide, like she had seen Skylor do earlier, and the long sleeves trailed elegantly behind her.

"Hey," she questioned, "how did Skylor get your elemental power?"

Jay almost tripped. "She was getting too fancy with her moves and almost totally ate it! What was I supposed to do, let her fall flat on her face in front of everyone?" he said impossibly fast and quite defensively.

"Yes," Nya responded curtly. Jay pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. He wasn't sure if Nya was joking or not.

"I'm allowed to be a little bit jealous," she said to him coyly. Jay let out a breath he didn't know he was holding onto. He slowed down and moved himself behind her, placing his hands gently on her hips.

"Shall we dance?" he whispered into her ear.

"I thought you would never ask," she whispered back.

oOo

An hour later, the team found themselves at the city center, avidly anticipating the firework show that marked the end of the festival. Nya managed to lead Jay away from the pack and found a secluded rooftop with a good view.

"How did you do it? How did you get me to learn so quickly?" she asked, feet dangling over the edge of the roof.

"You think too much. Sometimes your brain sabotages your body. I had to shut down your brain," he informed her.

"By seducing me on the roller skating rink?"

"It was an added bonus."

A firework boomed and crackled above them, lighting up the night sky. She entwined her fingers in the collar of his gi and pulled him closer.

"I think . . . I need you to shut down my brain again." She eyed his lips and watched as they pulled into a smug smile.

"Gladly."