SECRET IDENTITIES [ninjago lavashipping au]

[6] the only rule

stream kid krow by conan gray for clear skin :)

~~~

Jay lay on his bed, staring at the roof blankly. His mind was racing, jumping to conclusions he hadn't even thought were possible until now. He grabbed one of his pillows, snuggling it to his chest.

Nya was the water ninja. He felt like an idiot for not noticing it sooner. He had looked Nya and her brother into the eyes and spoken to them practically everyday, yet it was Amber who managed to figure out their identities first. 

Jay chucked the pillow across the room in anger, swinging his legs over the bed and reaching for his phone. He yawned, frowning at the time. After their mission last night, the group had dispersed; Amber looked like she was going to pass out, and Nya looked like she was going to have a panic attack.

Nya. Even saying her name felt weird. Jay slowly pulled on his sweater and pants, ruffling his hair and sighing at his reflection in the mirror. He would still have to go to school and see her, and when he would ask what's wrong she would reply that he 'wouldn't understand.'

"Nya... I'm the master of Lightning," Jay said to his reflection slowly, almost wincing as the words rolled off his tongue. All the security Wu had made them go through to keep their identities a secret, and it was ruined in just one night.

He ran out of the trailer, giving his parents a rushed goodbye as he took off down the streets. The dense forest slowly dispersed into Ninjago city, but Jay's mind was far from the surroundings. Come on Jay, just tell her the truth. He stopped jogging a few minutes later, reaching the front of the school. He took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his backpack straps, and walked in.

The loud chatter of the high school reached his ears. He stood on his tiptoes, trying to see over the wave of students as he spotted a familiar mess of curly dark hair. He ran over, tapping Kai on the shoulder. Kai turned around, his scowl softening when he saw Jay.

"Hey, bud, not a good time right now," he tried to politely decline Jay but paused when the younger boy held onto his arm.

"I need to talk to you," Jay said firmly. Kai looked taken aback by his strong tone, but nodded slowly, letting Jay pull him out of the school front door and into the courtyard.

They stopped under a tree, the sun filtering through the leaves and casting shadows across Kai's face. Jay loosened his grip and twirled his hands together nervously as the older boy watched him carefully.

"Kai - I," Jay's voice faltered. Come on, Jay! You need to do this. He needs to know.

Kai gave Jay a skeptical look, before sighing, "Jay, I'm sorry-"

"I'm the Lightning Ninja."

Kai froze. Jay squeezed his hands together even tighter as he panicked. Oh god, what if it was just coincidence that Water is called Nya and she has a twin brother? 

"...you're joking right?" Kai said, his voice hushed. 

"No," Jay swallowed thickly, "I heard everything that happened last night when Amber accidentally revealed Water's identity and of course I felt bad for you and I just wanted to make it even!"

Kai glared at him to shut up as both realised that they were still in the school courtyard, and there were students filtering in and out of the school. Jay mentally slapped himself for being so loud as Kai ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay," he said slowly, "yeah. Wow, this is crazy." 

"I know I shouldn't have done this," Jay pleaded, "but we need to work together to discover Amber's true identity. If she knows who Nya is, then she obviously knows you and it's only going to be a matter of time before she is able to work out that I'm part of the team."