Nya had made peace with her relationship with water.
At first, she resisted it, believing that Samurai X was the better choice for her.
Then, she accepted it as a vital part of her. One she drew strength from.
Then, for a long time, she became it.
After gaining her identity back, she saw it as a piece of who she was. She realized she was strong because she was Nya, not because of her powers.
Now, she sees it was something that might pass on to her daughter. She wasn’t excited to give it up, but she accepted that it might happen. She was okay with it.
Unfortunately, her daughter wasn’t.
Recently after her fifth birthday, her daughter began to avoid water. She’d run from Nya when it was bath time, refuse to drink from a glass if there was water in it, and hid inside when it rained, even if it was a light shower.
Nya, for the life of her, didn’t know why.
She’d tried asking her what was wrong. Her daughter would run away. Nya tried bribing the reason out of her. Her child didn’t take the bait.
Out of options, Nya tried a new idea.
Trying to confront the fear head-on.
Which is how Nya ended up at the shore, her daughter’s shaky hand in hers, as they stared at the vast ocean in front of them.
“Hey,” Nya said softly, trying to coax her daughter into the sea. “Why don’t we go in a little further?”
Her daughter vigorously shook her head no, tightening her grip on her mother’s hand.
The tide suddenly turned high, now touching their feet. The little girl jumped up and shrieked in fear, dropping Nya’s hand and running up the sandy hills.
Nya chased after her. Once she got back to their towel on the dunes, she was taken aback by how scared her daughter was. She was curled in ball, crying, roughly rubbing the towel on her foot to get any drop of seawater off.
Okay. The head-strong way wasn’t going to work. This fear ran deeper than she thought.
Nya tried a different way.
“Hey, kiddo,” Nya said, kneeling down next to her kid. “Can you please tell me why you’re rubbing your feet like that? That has to hurt.”
Her daughter stopped her movements and Nya could see red marks beginning to bloom on her child’s skin.
“I don’t like it”, her daughter said, meeting Nya’s gaze. “It’s bad.”
Nya tilted her head. “Why is it bad?”
“It-“ her daughter began, then erupted into sobs again.
Nya moved so she was sitting next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders. “Okay. Let’s start from the top. Can you tell me what made you think water was bad?”
Her child sniffed, wiping her nose with her forearm. “Uncle Kai,” she finally said.
“Uncle Kai?” Nya questioned, her brow furrowing, mentally running through a list of how water and Kai could possible be related. She found nothing. “What did he do?”
Her daughter looked up at her through tear-stained eyes and Nya’s heart twisted.
“He said- he said that he missed you when you were water. When you disappeared to the ocean.”
Nya was going to kill Kai. “He said that to you?”
Her daughter paused. “…No. Said it to Wyldfyre.”
Okay, Nya was canceling her “kill Kai” plans. She looked skeptically at her child. “Were you snooping again?” Her daughter had a very bad habit of sneaking around the monastery. A side effect of being raised by ninjas.
The little girl averted her gaze and played with her fingers, like her father did when he was caught arguing over video games. “…Maybe.”
Nya sighed.
Surprisingly, her daughter continued, and, in the smallest voice Nya had ever heard her speak in, said, “I don’t wanna disappear in water.”
Nya felt her eyes soften at her daughter’s admission, understanding plaguing her features. She never planned for her daughter to hear that story so early.
“Oh, sweetie, ” Nya said, pulling her child closer. “That will never, ever happen to you, understand? I chose to become one with the sea to save Ninjago, but you will never, ever have to make that choice. Your father and I will make sure of it. You never have to worry about disappearing because your family and I will be there, holding on tight. Always.”
Nya kissed her daughter’s head. “Does that make you feel better.”
Her daughter uncurled herself from the ball she was in. “A little.” She whispered.
Nya stood and then crouched down, kneeling in front of her daughter. “Are you ready to let me show you?” she asked, arms extended wide.
Her daughter looked nervous and started to curl up again.
“I’ll be with you every step of the way. I won’t let go. Neither of us will disappear.”
She could see the cogs in her daughter’s head turning, trying to decided whether or not to take her mother’s offer.
Slowly, her daughter nodded her head and ran into Nya’s arms. Nya stood and picked her up, one hand resting on the back of her child’s head.
“There’s my big strong girl.” Nya said, smiling, pressing a kiss into her daughter’s hair. Her daughter hid her face a little more in the nook of Nya’s neck.
Nya walked over to the shore again, careful not to jostle her child too much.
When Nya’s whole foot was submerged in the clear water, she told her daughter to look down. She listened, tentatively peeling out from her place on her mother’s shoulder.
“I’m still here. I’m still whole. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her child didn’t respond, just continued to stare.
“Do you want to put your feet in too?” Nya asked as she willed the tides to be as calm as she could possibly make them. The last thing she needed was a tidal was scaring her daughter off.
Her daughter thought for a moment, then she nodded, tightening her grip on Nya’s swimsuit. It seemed that Nya would have to keep holding her. Not that she minded.
“Okay, I’m going to walk in further. Ready?” she asked, taking a step forward when her daughter nodded again. Step after step she took, the water reaching her ankles, then her knees, then her hips, brushing the soles of her daughter’s feet. Her daughter stiffened.
“Do you want to go in further?” Nya asked her, taking another step forward when he daughter nodded her assent.
The water was now up to Nya’s waist, while her daughter had he feet in up to her ankles.
“See?” Nya said, turning to her daughter, brushing her curly auburn hair from her face. “You’re not going anywhere. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
Fresh tears sprang in her child’s eyes. She hugged Nya, tighter, her small arms wrapping around her neck.
“Promise you won’t turn to water again, Mommy.” her daughter whispered in her ear.
Nya choked back a few tears of her own.
“I promise.” Nya said, tightening her grip on her daughter.
On the horizon, the sunset bathed both figures in a warm glow, the water lapping gently all around them.
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