Everyone stared at Cole after he read the last line. The master of earth, who was blushing furiously by that point, pretended not to notice as he shoved the letter in Jay's hand. Trying to keep his tough demeanor, Cole casually strode into the hallway, heading for his room. 

"I'm going to pack," he called, not looking back at his friends. A door slammed shut and the monastery became completely silent. A moment later, the ninja burst into laughter. They began talking about Cole and Vania, re-reading the letter from the queen and pointing to their friend's name. The giggles slowly faded away as the ninja began to head to their rooms to pack. Once the ninja were gone, Wu whispered something to Misako, who smiled and nodded. 

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"Pixal and I will stay here in case something happens to all of you," Wu announced to the ninja once they had packed. "Misako will accompany you instead. Please say hello to Queen Vania for me."

"Will do," Kai replied. 

"I just remembered something," Misako said suddenly. "Skylor said that she has an assistant training to manage her noodle shop and she doesn't have anything else to do. I invited her to come over to stay with Pixal and Wu." Kai blushed, even though Skylor would arrive after he had left. Nya rolled her eyes, annoyed with her brother's lack of courage to ask Skylor out. Jay had been much braver about it. Nya admired her Yin's ability to simply get up and go all out. 

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"Cole, can I talk to you?" Misako asked. Everyone except Nya (who was flying the Bounty) stood on the deck of their flying ship, keeping an eye out for Dire Bats. Lloyd raised an eyebrow at Cole, who shrugged. 

"Sure," Cole replied and he walked with Misako into the sleeping cabin. Misako turned to the black ninja, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Cole, I just wanted to talk to you about Vania," Lloyd's mother began, keeping eye contact with the black ninja. "Do you like her? Maybe as more than a friend?" Cole blushed but nodded slowly.

"Yeah, she's just, so kind, so beautiful, and she saved my life. She believed in me, even when the rest of the team didn't. Even when the Upply didn't. I know that I didn't believe in myself, but some part of me wanted to just because she did."

"Well, then. It seems like she likes you back." Cole's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No, no, I don't think-" he began.

"Cole, dear, trust me. Vania believed in you. Now it's time for you to believe in yourself. She likes you. You are a handsome and kind young man, and this is your first relationship. It doesn't get much better than this, honey." Misako put her hand on Cole's shoulder.

"I know that this is a conversation you would've had with your mother and, knowing Lilly, she would've given you the same advice. Sometimes, you need someone else to help you understand yourself. I'm sorry you didn't get to have your mother as that person." The master of earth stared at the floor, tears trickling down his cheeks. Misako gave him a motherly hug and Cole cried silently into her shoulder. A few minutes later, the tears came to a stop, though there was still evidence of crying on Cole's face.

"Thank you, Misako. I- I just- I've always wished I had someone like that. My father doesn't really understand all of this. I get it. Her passing hurt him, probably more than it hurt me. I'm not sure how to say this, but, well, can you be that person instead? Misako smiled and ran her fingers through Cole's hair.

"Of course. You are Lloyd's brother, and though I'm not your biological mother, I still consider you to be a son of mine. You can come to me anytime." The black ninja closed his eyes and rested his head on Misako's shoulder. 

"Nobody will ever be like the mother I lost, but you come pretty close." 

*A/N Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this part :) Can you guys let me know in the comments how well I wrote this sort-of-awkward scene? Thanks!*