Where did it all go Wrong?

Chapter 14

(ThE cLiMaX iS cOmInG.

....In about twenty chapters.

Also witness the adorable Jaya moments :>)

Lloyd jumped from roof to roof, his feet sliding on the wet slate tiles as the moon twinkled brightly above. The sound of raindrops bombarded his senses, and his blonde strands of hair stuck to his forehead and water rolled down his face.

It was before dawn in Mortem Village, and the night was peaceful aside from the current downpour. Lloyd turned his head and saw the drenched figures of Nya, Cole and Kai following closely behind. They had all decided that they would look for Zane in the early hours of the morning everyday in order to find him, as this was the time he would always seemed to be awake when he was at the monastery.

They had briefly checked in on Ranger before they had left, from what they had seen from when they cracked open the door, he was asleep on the window seat with his face slightly smushed against the glass. Lloyd had had to resist the temptation to snap a photo before he had left.

They continued searching for the next few hours, but quartet's search bore no fruit. Now the sun could be seen peeking timidly over the mountain top, and the Lloyd sighed in defeat. He sat on a rooftop of a nearby three-story building, his legs swinging over the side and kicking in a rhythmic motion as he pondered and looked down at the road below.

The green ninja squinted his eyes as he saw movement, a black and white mop of hair was moving steadily down the street. He furrowed his brows in confusion as he used a drainpipe to career down the tall stone property. He jumped the last few metres and spun dramatically in the air before touching down, the person startled and Lloyd raised his hands to show he meant no harm. The figure stepped out of the shadows and Lloyd recognised a jumpy-looking Ranger with a purple bruise blooming on one side of his face.

"Ranger, What happened to you?" Lloyd asked and reached out a hand. Ranger flinched and muttered something under his breath that sounded awfully like, 'bullies' and shook his head before walking away from him.

"Where are you going? Ranger? Ranger!" Lloyd called and Ranger turned to face him with a pained expression,

"I-" he hesitated, "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going to go?"

Ranger bit his lip before replying, "I-I'm going up North, back to Auris."

"Oh." Lloyd replied sorrowfully, then his eyes lit up in sudden inspiration, "We could come with you!"

"Wha- No! You can't come with me, and anyway, I thought you were looking for your lost friend or something."

"Yeah, well his old home, Birchwood, is up North too. We were going to check that old place out anyway, so your departure just bumps up the schedule for us, I guess." Lloyd smiled innocently and Ranger glowered before flailing his arms into the air and saying,

"Sure, if you want to come, then by all means please do. I'm simply ecstatic about you coming to visit my hometown," Ranger commented sarcastically as he fiddled with the straps on his backpack, "absolutely ecstatic." He repeated for effect.

Lloyd winced slightly at his sarcastic remarks, but decided not to take it personally, and he called to the others who were waiting on the rooftop. They jumped or climbed down one by one and they began following Ranger who already looked like a speck of dust as he walked swiftly in the distance. They trudged after him, venturing back into the desert from which they had passed through to get to Mortem Village. Luckily they usually carried their supplies with them, so they hadn't needed to take a detour to the hotel to retrieve them. They had their usual weapons, some small rations of food and also some cash for emergencies.

...

It was the evening of the first night, and Nya was arranging the makeshift beds with assistance from Ranger. Nya has been fairly quiet for the past few days, the memory of her and Jay's fight in the monastery still burning fresh in her mind.

Twisting her raven hair into a messy bun, she flopped onto her bed of leaves, preparing for a rough night in the wilderness. Nya huddled next to a tree nearby, the biting wind stung her face. It was freezing, she shivered slightly but after an hour or two her eyes drooped as she fell into a deep sleep.
Nya woke up the next morning feeling very warm and very safe, and it took a while for her memories to come flooding back:

Zane running away,

Them going on a search for him,

Trekking through the wilderness,

Curling up with Jay last night to stay warm- wait, what?

Jay's suntanned arms were wrapped around her, hugging her body. Nya had to admit she vaguely remembered that she had moved closer to the other ninja, partly because she felt lonely and, not to mention, very cold, but she hadn't gotten this close. Nya tried to slip out of his grip, attempting to move without waking the others to save Jay from the embarrassment. Unfortunately for her, the Jaybird was a light sleeper, and his eyes snapped open, holding her tighter out of instinct.

Realising what he was doing, Jay released Nya and stood up, hiding his intense blush. Nya winced,

"Sorry..." she apologised quietly, "I didn't-"

"No," Jay turned around to face her, "It's my fault, you were shivering like heck last night, you looked so cold. I didn't really think. So, I'm sorry. Do you forgive me?"

Nya smiled warmly and hugged him tightly, planting a kiss on his freckled forehead, "Of course, Jay Walker, you are most certainly forgiven."

They separated from their embrace a few seconds later, only to realise Ranger was staring at them intently with an amused grin. The two went beet red,
"How long have you been-"

"Long enough." Ranger winked mischievously and grabbed his bow and arrow before melting into the undergrowth.

Ranger returned five minutes later with two large hares in one hand, held by the ears, and fire wood clutched in the other. He swiftly set light to the wood, skinned the poor creatures and began roasting the meat. Nya's mouth watered slightly as the savoury aroma wafted through the air. She could hear the fat crackling over the roaring flames and the juice dripping from the roasting flesh. Ranger split the meal into four, giving one half each to the ninja (who had recently woken up) and having none himself. Kai greedily scarfed his portion down without hesitation but the other ninja felt terrible if they left none for Ranger. Nya tore some of the food off and passed it to Ranger, who nibbled appreciatively on it,

"Thank you, Nya."

Nya nodded and shrugged in reply, "It's the least I could do, you did the rest."

Ranger smiled slightly as he stood up and stamped out the fire with his bare feet, 'That's gotta hurt!' Nya shrieked internally, but Ranger showed no hint of pain as he distinguished the flames. Apart from his black and slightly pink flesh on his feet, you wouldn't even be able to tell what he just did. Nya was impressed to say the least.

"We must continue on, it would take me alone around a week to reach Auris, but at our current speed, we would need to keep walking for another two or three weeks," Ranger stated and Kai groaned loudly, "So I suggest we pick up the pace."

Ranger donned his gear and strode forward, 'Day two is going to be another day of endless walking then.' Nya sighed, 'Well, bring it on!'