-----

In the end, Lloyd and Harumi aren’t doing anything fancy. With all the Merge upheaval—the fallout of sixteen realms crashing together—it’s hard to plan a very involved wedding. Who would they invite? They’re the only ones at the Monastery, and might be for who knows how long.

So they’re going old-school. They’re getting married at home. Lloyd' dug his old suit out from its isolation at the back of his closet, and Harumi went to the Crossroads to get a dress. It’s all so quiet, almost normal, and he can sort of look past how strange it feels.

Sort of. He’s almost made it past the weirdness of Harumi becoming his yang, and now he’s just nervous.

Is it normal to be this nervous?

I wish I could ask someone.

There’s no one to ask. Not unless he approached a stranger down in the Crossroads, risking being recognized—he does not want to be recognized, that time of his life is over. He can already see it in his mind: a stranger dressed in an old green suit who looks suspiciously like the Green Ninja, asking people on the street: is it normal to worry about getting married when you’re already basically married and nothing can separate you anyway and there’s no one else left in your life?

He has to stop, to tell himself to breathe.

Surely it’s normal. Why else do people talk about wedding jitters and cold feet?

That’s what you think, but you don’t know that.

He can’t back out now. Harumi always says she’s not going to marry him, but she’s the one who’s been getting ready all morning and got a dress and insisted on flowers and everything. If he backs out, he’ll look like a coward.

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon is not a coward. He is not afraid of love! He’s just… nervous.

Which is normal! Who wouldn't be nervous to marry the love of his life? To marry her for real, not just vows sworn between the two of them and lived every single day?

It's just nerves.

At least, that's what he tells himself as he waits for Harumi to be finished getting ready. She hadn't even let him sleep in their bed last night—supposedly it's 'bad luck,' but he's not sure if he buys that—and she’s has been locked in their room for hours now.

How long can it possibly take to put on a dress and brush her hair? That's all that's required, really. Nothing too fancy.

It’s not a big wedding. It’s not a fancy wedding. What they’re doing can barely be considered a wedding! There’s not even an officiant or witnesses, because, again, they don’t have any.

So what’s the fuss about?

Lloyd wants to tear out his hair, but Harumi will kill him for sure if he’s got bald spots today of all days, so he settles for wringing his hands in his lap. He’s in the middle of stewing over how long she’s taking when he hears the bedroom lock turn.

Finally! Lloyd gets up from the couch and turns around, ready to crack a bad joke about how long it takes a woman to get ready—and then he stops.

Harumi looks radiant, her long white and gold dress just brushing the carpeted floor. Her hair falls in loose curls down her back, the smallest of braids plaited inside of it.

It’s simple, and Lloyd finds it’s suddenly hard to put words to what he thinks about it.

Her eyes flick to his, and at the sight of her smile, it's even harder to breathe. “What do you think?” She asks, her tone halfway between shyness and teasing.

He’s sure his face is red. Lloyd can feel the warmth of the blush radiating off his skin. “You look beautiful.”

Harumi looks down at herself and then back up at him, a mischievous smile on her face. “Just that?”

“Ha… hard to say. I’m not a poet.”

“Hm, it's hard to compliment your wife? I guess we still have some things to work on…”

My wife. He feels his throat tighten with the emotion that stirs in him “Do you want me to try?”

Harumi grins at him, the grin that never fails to set butterflies alight inside of him. “Definitely.”

“Um… okay.” He clears his throat, struggling for something nice to say to her—there are so many nice things he could say, but none of the words are coming to him when he needs them. “You are… you’re beautiful. Really. The most beautiful I’ve ever seen you. You really look like a princess.”

“I always look like a princess,” she points out.

Lloyd grins at her, raising an eyebrow. “Need I remind you of the cake incident?”

Harumi laughs. “That was just for fun! Although, I do remember that we promised to never speak of it again…”

Lloyd laughs, because that's all he can do. Laugh. There's something utterly joyful in seeing Harumi, his bride, laughing. He steps forward and takes her hands, kissing the back of her left, then her right. “I like your hair. You did it really nicely.”

Harumi smiles, drawing a little closer to him, close enough that he can smell the sweet scent of her perfume. “I know you like it when I wear my hair down. It might be worth the nightmare of detangling it later.”

“That's okay. I can help, if you'd like.” He reaches up, brushing a curl away from her face as gently as he can. “You're sure about this?”

She snatches his hand back and squeezes both of his hands tightly. “Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, I am more sure about doing this than I have ever been about anything before.”

Lloyd wants to laugh. How is she so convinced? Harumi, his perpetually anxious fiancée, looks like she’s never doubted anything less in her life. She’s dolled up, practically begging for his attention, and he feels inadequate in his shabby old suit.

She’s convinced, so he will push past the nerves. For her, he’d do just about anything; he loves her so much it hurts.

He reaches up again and cups her face. “We’re doing it.”

She nods. “We are.”

It’s a risk. Possibly the biggest risk he’s ever taken—and that’s saying something, considering the life Lloyd leads. The events of today are going to reshape both of their futures. If their old lives ever come back, or enemies from the past rear their heads again, they’ll have to deal with it together. Family, trouble with the law, danger…

…but it’s worth it, because it’s better to face the rest of his life with Harumi than to go it alone.

I want to kiss her. I could kiss her right now.

…If he does, he’ll never get around to actually saying what he has to say, and it’ll wait and wait and wait forever. He has to say it.

Lloyd swallows his nerves, his fears, and his pride, and he speaks to her softly. “Harumi Jade, I love you. Right here, right now, I swear that I will be your husband. Yours only, as long as we both live, no matter what.”

She smiles again, softly. “Even when we fight?”

“Especially when we fight. I want to be with you.” He leans in and kisses her forehead. “Always.”

Harumi’s breath catches in her throat. “…I love you too, Lloyd.”

A few words are all it takes for Lloyd’s heart to ache unbearably. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She whispers it, her gaze flitting around his face.

For a moment, they’re quiet, and he can barely breathe.

She speaks again, a little louder, a little stronger. “Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon… I swear to be your wife, to walk beside you. This is the life I want. I know it’s not a mistake, and… I want to stay with you until the day I die.”

Oh, the look in her eyes! He can already feel himself breaking. “What’s mine is yours already. My life and home and everything. Stay with me.”

“I’m not leaving you,” she insists, and turns her face to the side. She kisses his palm there, as if she knows how such a simple gesture is able to splinter him into pieces.

One more promise, and then Lloyd can breathe again. “I’ll never leave you, either. Even if we fight, or we get sick, or everything goes wrong. You belong with me and you’re going with me, I promise.”

“You belong with me, too,” she insists, and kisses his hand again. “Lloyd and Harumi Garmadon, forever.”

He laughs. He can't help it—he's so happy, and Harumi has the stars in her eyes. They sparkle, and even the pink flecks within are gorgeous. They're the most unique eyes Lloyd has even seen, and by far the most beautiful, and now those eyes belong to his new wife!

Lloyd can't take it anymore. He pulls her into his arms and kisses her. “I trust you.”

“Those are words I once thought I’d never hear you say,” Harumi says quietly, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. It feels safe with her. Harumi is his sanctuary, now, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Now he delights in her, and kisses her to prove it.

“It’s true now. I trust you. You’re my wife,” he murmurs to her, half against her lips.

She smiles, tangling her fingers in his hair and keeping him close. It makes him just as giddy as the first time they met—back when they were both different people. Now he knows her as well as he knows himself. Now they have no more secrets.

“And you really do trust me?” Harumi asks quietly between kisses.

It’s the usual question, one he’s answered more times than he can count. “Of course I do.”

It’s okay. Lloyd would reassure her hundreds of times over if it would ensure that she knew how much he loves her, how much he wants her to stay. She should know it already, but doubt has a way of clouding judgment.

“Did you know this is the first time I’ve ever seen you wear white?”

Harumi seems convinced enough, remaining where she belongs: in his arms.

-----

The question catches her off-guard, and Harumi has to think about it. She’s perched on a boulder outside the Monastery, overlooking the vast distances below—somewhat changed from the world before the Merge, but just as beautiful to her untrained eye.

“I guess it is. I usually prefer green or black.”

Lloyd is sitting next to her, in his charcoal suit that she already loves, and smiling at her. He leans over to kiss her cheek, and she catches a whiff of whatever cologne he’s wearing—and isn’t it odd that he’s wearing cologne? He’s a ninja, they don’t do anything fancy. It doesn’t feel natural or normal at all for him to do something that would obviously give him away.

“I like it. I think you look beautiful.”

She smiles at him in return, admiring his bright and joyful expression. “This is the first time I’ve seen you in a suit, too. You look handsome.”

He laughs and looks down at it. “I haven’t worn this old thing in years, Rumi. I’m surprised it even still fits.”

“You practically live in your gi, so I’m glad you had something! Not that the gi is a bad look, but…”

He shrugs with good spirits. “Hint taken, you like it more than my gi. Can’t say I mind a little variety, anyway—it’s good to not always be in ninja mode.”

“I have nothing against ninja mode!” Harumi laughs, looking back out towards the world below. “I think you look hot either way.”

Lloyd’s still smiling—because of course he is—and he reaches over to brush her hair behind her ear. “My wife is calling me hot… I’m glad you like the suit.”

“I think I’d like you no matter what you were wearing,” she says, his gentle touch giving her goosebumps all up and down her arms. “But I’m biased.”

“Biased? That’s a terrible crime.”

“I’ve done worse. Better add it to the list.”

“Arson, theft, necromancy, some more theft, reckless driving, kidnapping…”

“Don’t forget theft!”

He winks at her, saying, “How could I?”

Harumi grins at him. “What can I say? I stole your heart, didn’t I? Your heart, your hoodies, your last name…”

“It’s about time you took that last one,” he jokes, caressing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I was starting to think I’d have to beg you to take it off my hands.”

Harumi can’t help a stupid, cheesy blush, and Lloyd just grins even more at the sight of it. It makes her want to punch him—or maybe kiss him. She can’t decide between the two. “Resorting to begging, huh? I’m not against it.”

“I’m sure you’d enjoy every moment of it, wouldn’t you?”

The pad of his thumb brushes the corner of her mouth. He’s so gentle it almost makes her angry. He should just kiss her and be done with it, hold her tightly and keep her there! He’s her husband, and she wants him to start acting like it.

She scoots a little closer on the rock they’ve made their seat. “I’d like to see some of that begging now, actually. What did I pass up by agreeing so easily?”

Amusement twinkles in his eyes. “What should I be begging for? I already got what I wanted.”

“Ah—hm, you might be right… but I’m sure I can find something. It’s not that hard. I’ve quite mastered the art.”

He laughs. “Come on, make it worth my while!”

Harumi grins again, leaning over to rest her chin on his shoulder. “I’m building up to it! These things take planning, you know.”

“I do know, and you are nothing if not a planner.”

“I make plenty of plans,” she agrees, “and they all work out just great.”

Lloyd, her new husband, winds one arm around her waist. “This one did.”

“Excuse you, they all work out.”

“Mm-hmm. That’s why I’m not still in a cage.”

Harumi waves a hand in the air. “You're pretty either way. That was a fine example of making someone beg! Excluding the… supposed killing of one’s future in-laws, of course.”

His smile turns sentimental. “We're not in any danger of that now… I guess you won't get any begging out of me that way. Got anything else to hold over my head?”

“Hm… I’m sure I can find something.” She reaches over to rest a hand on his knee, tapping her fingers thoughtfully. “Give me a second to think, I’ll come up with something.”

“You can have a whole lifetime if you want.”

For a moment, the very thought is overwhelming, but Harumi pushes the fear away. Today is not the day to be afraid—she can be afraid tomorrow, if she must. Today she wants to enjoy this commitment they’ve made. She doesn’t want to be afraid of it any longer, and being brave has gotten her farther than usual today.

Lloyd is waiting patiently for her, with a smile on his face. She’s learned to share that smile.

“I think I already have the right to that lifetime. You just vowed to me that it was mine.”

It’s the right thing to say. His smile grows to a beaming grin, from ear to ear. “So I did.”

Harumi leans a little closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “And I think we’ve already established that I want that lifetime.”

“I assume you have somewhere you're going with this.”

“Shh, love, I’m getting there.”

He looks at her sidelong, blond lashes and sparkling green irises. “I’m listening.”

Harumi reaches up and runs a hand through his hair, enjoying the way he leans against her hand. Once, the thought of being vulnerable—especially with Lloyd—would have made her want to punch something. Now it makes her love him more.

He closes his eyes. He waits patiently. He is listening—none of it is talk. This time, she can believe that it's all true.

“The truth is that I don’t need you to beg, because I’m here to stay.” She leans her forehead against his temple. “We’ve fought so hard to get here, and I don’t want to ruin it—I don't even think I can, at this point. And there’s something freeing about that. With you, I can just… be.”

Lloyd sighs. The sound is contented. She feels his grip on her waist shift, his gentle hand smoothing out the wrinkles of her bodice.

“That's what I want. I love you for who you are, and that's enough.”

His words make her feel all warm inside, and Harumi smiles, kissing him gently on the ear. “Do you remember how we were a few months ago? When we fought in the courtyard and I kissed you that first time?”

Lloyd is all smiles as he turns to look at her a little more directly. “Of course I do. I'm glad you proved me wrong and came back.”

“I did. But even then… I almost didn’t come back. All I knew at the time was that I had these feelings for you— feelings that directly conflicted with all the work I’d put in to distance myself. It hurt, and I thought…”

Harumi stops, a sudden well of emotion rising up inside of her. However, the look on Lloyd’s face is so gentle and understanding… She swallows past the lump in her throat, combing her fingers through his hair again.

He always deserves the truth.

“I still don’t know exactly why I came back,” she finally says. “I don’t think it matters because I’m here now. All my fears have been unfounded so far, and a long time ago, that would have made me angry! Now it doesn’t, and it’s because of you.”

“Because of me,” he repeats, testing each syllable. “Are you sure?”

Harumi smiles. “I think we both know I wouldn't have had any reason to change without you.”

“Oh.” He chuckles, relaxing against her just the slightest bit. “I thought you were saying I made you change. That would be impossible.”

“Isn't that what happened?”

“No, love. That was all you. Maybe you got motivation out of me, but I know better than to think I can change anyone; least of all, you.” He squeezes her gently as he says it, punctuating the thought, making her a little more aware of her pounding pulse. “I love you enough to not try to ‘fix’ you.”

“Hm, that’s probably best for both of us. I’m not sure I can be fixed,” she jokes lightly. “But there is one habit I’ve managed to mend.”

“Only one?”

“Ha ha, you’re very funny.” Harumi flicks him on the ear with a smile. “I will leave this little perch we’ve got, don’t tempt me.”

Lloyd grins at her, leaning in for a kiss, and she complies. He tastes sweet, like a promise made and kept.

“I’d rather you stay,” he murmurs, remaining close.

Harumi closes her eyes, scratching his scalp gently. “I don’t know, if you keep saying dumb stuff like that… I’ll need a pretty good reason to.” It doesn’t really matter that she already has one, and that he’s sitting here, looking like he wants to kiss her again.

But teasing him with it is fun, even if Harumi has no intention of moving. Not with his arm around her like this, his face only inches from hers.

She can't leave him now. It would be cruel, and she's put the cruelty behind her.

Lloyd's breath is a warm brush against her face. “I think you're lying again, love.”

“I don’t lie anymore.”

He laughs quietly. “You just did.”

“Semantics, Lloyd. It’s all about semantics.”

“Oh yeah? Alright then, go on, I want to hear this.”

His hand is ghosting across her back—it’s unfairly distracting—but Harumi smiles, trying to focus past his gentle touch. “I said I would need a good reason to stay… with no mention if I already had one. So…”

“Ah.” She can practically hear Lloyd roll his eyes—the endearing, expressive man he is. “I think you should stay because, as my wife, this is exactly where you belong.”

“On a rock?”

“With me. We only happen to be on a rock.”

Harumi opens her eyes, examining his handsome face, the teasing smile still on his face. “Well, that’s as good a reason as any, I think.”

“I’m glad I could convince you.”

She leans over and kisses him, murmuring against his lips. “You’re very good at that.”

She gets a pleased hum in response, buzzing nicely against her lips as he draws her into yet one more kiss. When the day is out, they may just be sick of the constant affection. Surely Lloyd will tire of it eventually…

…but not now, and Harumi is sick of living with what-ifs. Sick of living with doubt when she could accept her lot in life for once.

It's a good life.

She's happy.

-----

The vents are quiet, the only sound coming from the whirring of a fan and someone quietly talking from a room down below. When he hears a clatter, Lloyd stops, nearly slamming his head into the top of the vent and giving himself away.

By the First Master—!

“Reginald! Do not throw your pens at me!”

“Sorry, Patricia, I was, uh… distracted.”

Lloyd sighs in relief. He’s not discovered—the Realm of Madness is expansive, a place he’s avoided given its connection to his father’s condition as an Oni. It’s unfortunate that the one person he’d follow into any kind of danger is here, deep in the Administration. Not that Harumi had told her; she’d simply activated her SOS signal, and he’d followed her here.

He pulls out his compass and frowns at it, trying to parse how far he still needed to go. How deeply had she wormed her way into this confusing place? Why the SOS?

Is she safe, or am I walking into danger?

Questions and doubts won’t help anything, so he puts the compass away and starts crawling again. He has to be careful to avoid hitting the hilt of his sword against the walls of the cramped ventilation shafts. His knees are aching, his glutes and triceps too. The Administration’s area is multiple miles, with several levels above and belowground. Getting in has taken at least an hour; getting out will be more difficult, but hopefully faster.

He can’t stop now. Not when Harumi needs his help, and he’s close.

When her beacon gets close, he chooses the most promising of the grates nearby and slowly works it loose. The rusted screws squeak, but his stealth training as a ninja included tricks for this. A quick squirt of solvent, and it comes free soundlessly.

Thanks, Jay. Good tips. Wish you were here to gloat about it…

Still, it’s good to avoid a fourth close call. He drops into a silent room that seems like an endless row of filing cabinets and water coolers. It’s so dead in this space that he can almost hear the papers in the drawers, slowly rotting away, meaningless now and then.

A quick nudge puts the grate back in place, and now he’s left almost no trace.

He whispers into the silence. “Harumi?”

Nothing moves. Nothing breathes. Where is she?

He dares to peek around one of the filing cabinets. In the column direction, it’s just more filing cabinets, meticulously labeled and color-coded. If they had any opinions, they’d be mocking him.

Then, a thump. Lloyd whirled on his heel, spotting a storage closet in the far corner.

Thump, thump, it says, the door shaking on its hinges.

He gingerly grabs his compass, and… sure enough, Harumi’s beacon is just over there.

That’s insane. Would they actually put someone in a closet?

He tiptoes over to it, taking special care around corners and places where visibility should be peak. Nobody appears. When he reaches the closet, he tries the doorknob. Predictably, it’s locked.

He sighs. “Harumi? Are you in there?”

“Lloyd!” She replies immediately, as if surprised. “Yes, it’s me!”

Some of the tension bleeds away, replaced by relief. “Shh, I’m gonna get you out. Do you know where the key is?”

“Just break it,” she suggests.

“That's a horrible idea. It’ll be loud.”

“Lloyd, I don't have a key! Plus, these stupid handcuffs make my arms hurt, and—”

“I get it, I get it!” He looks around, checking the top of the doorframe. “Stay quiet, I'm gonna look around for a key.”

“Lloyd, if you make me wait in here, I’ll—I don’t know what I’ll do!”

He smiles, confirming the frame is not the hiding place. “Just be patient, okay? I’m looking.”

Next he tries under the mat—because for some reason, the closets in this place have mats, and that doesn’t make sense, why would you need a mat by a closet? Of course, he finds the key underneath.

The Realm of Madness. Nothing is meant to make sense. He wants to break something, but exercises restraint as he unlocks the door. As it opens, he comes face to face with his yang: trussed up, red in the face, and annoyed.

He grins. “Hi, honey. I’m home.”

“I'm gonna hit you,” she grumbles. “What took you so long?”

“This place is huge and impossible to navigate! Not to mention I was trying to be quiet.” He reaches for her cuffs and begins to fuss with them. The key is almost a perfect fit; he jams it in the lock until it snaps open, grinding against the tumblers. “All this paperwork and security, but they have such cheap locks. Weird priorities around here…”

“Yeah, I'm not dangerous enough to warrant their other ones.” Harumi sounds throughly put out by that, and he has to fight back a laugh that ends up sounding more like a cough. “Honestly, with an insult like that, they could've just let me go.”

“And spoil my chance to save you? I’m glad they didn’t.” He takes the cuffs off her and sets them on a shelf in the closet, next to the garbage bags and a box marked SCP-173.

“I'm gonna hurt you,” she grumbles again, rubbing her wrists. “Here I am, locked in a closet, and you're enjoying your chance to be my knight in shining armor!”

“You don’t have to complain about it. Isn’t it nice to have someone come and save you when you trigger your SOS?”

Harumi pauses, taking a second to look him up and down. “…Maybe one person is allowed to do that.”

He snickers. “You can check me out at home. Come on.”

“Come on! If I'm going to be a damsel in distress, might as well play the part, right?” She grins at him, putting one hand on his arm and dramatically holding her other hand to her forehead. “My hero!”

He stifles a laugh, playing along and pulling her in by the waist. “Princess, we’d better get going. We’re not safe here.”

“Oh, but I know I'm safe wherever you are.” Harumi sighs dramatically, leaning against him. “You saved me from this evil closet! You're so brave!”

“I’d do anything for you.” It’s hard not to get a big ego, even knowing this is all a joke to her. Something about Harumi being in his arms, relying on him, makes Lloyd feel larger than life.

Even if she’s exaggerating.

Even if she doesn't really mean it.

He kisses her right there, barely even caring that they could get caught at any second.

Harumi squeezes his arm. When they pull apart, she whispers against his lips. “My hero.”

This time, it sounds like she might actually mean it. Maybe it's something in her tone, or the fact that she broke their kiss just to say it… he's not totally sure, but it might not matter. He loves her more.

Lloyd kisses her forehead next, and pulls away before he gets too absorbed in the moment. “Okay, damsel of mine. How’d you get here in the first place?”

Harumi shrugs. “Who's to say? It's all a blur.”

“Good try.”

“Look, I was maybe being a little bit dumb, okay? Nothing huge! It didn't warrant getting locked in a closet and an insulting pair of handcuffs!”

“Were you snooping around?”

She pouts and glances down at his chest. “…Maybe I was looking for something. And it maybe was information in their files.”

Lloyd glances back at the room of file cabinets. “In here? What could’ve lured you into the Administration? This place is crazy!”

Harumi shrugs, still not looking at his face. “I didn’t try to get to this room. I was in another fileroom altogether. They probably figured I got too close, which is why I got stuffed into the closet. I'm even more sure it's here because of that.”

“Sure what is here?”

She frowns, shifting uncomfortably. “Is now really the time? Can we go back to me flirting with you? That was fun too.”

He kisses her forehead again. “It was. Tell me, and then we can get back to flirting.”

Harumi huffs. “I was talking with some… people… and I have reason to believe that the Administration is watching everything—as much as they can, anyways. I figured that Elemental Masters would be pretty high on the list of people to be keeping an eye on, so…”

She finally looks at him and smiles weakly. “I thought that if anyone would know where Jay and Cole were, it would be them. And they keep files on everything so I thought I could just… nab it.”

Something in that smile makes his heart skip a beat. “Did you find it?”

She shakes her head. “No. But I think I must have been fairly close, because the way they stormed in there was… weird. They barely even listed off all the rules I'd broken before slapping me in handcuffs and tossing me in here.”

Lloyd blinks.

“What?”

That’s not how they acted when Arin and I were here. Something is different.

“Really,” Harumi sighs. “To be honest, I have to have been close. There's no other explanation. But if they know where they are… why haven't they done anything to reassign them back to the Monastery, or even the Crossroads? It doesn't add up. I mean, they have a whole department dedicated just for that.”

“Arin said the reassignment department just picks a place to dump people.” He frowns. “If they’re watching, then… that means they’re watching me. They might know I’m here.”

Harumi laughs a bit. “Oh yeah. The dangerous Green Savior who messes with dragon cores and other anomalies that should probably be destroyed? They're definitely keeping an eye on you, handsome. Honestly, I can't blame them. I mean… wow.” She pauses. “Although…”

“Although?” He prompts.

“If they're watching you, that means they have to know we're married. So, by my sneaking in here…” She laughs nervously. “I hope I didn't put Cole and Jay in any danger by looking for them like that. That would be… unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?” Lloyd searches her face, then looks behind himself—nothing’s there—in a slightly paranoid panic. “Rumi, you might’ve been bait!”

“I mean, that would explain the insulting handcuffs and unceremonious act of throwing me in a closet… also leaving the GPS tracker on me…”

“And why nobody caught me the three times they should’ve.” Lloyd turns away from her, rifling in his gi for a knife. He offers it to her, standing in the way, reaching for his own sword… but there’s nothing waiting for them outside.

The room of filing cabinets stands just as endless and silent as before, holding its breath, lest a single sheet of paper drift from its rightful place. If there’s someone pursuing them, they have no idea where to look.

Why didn’t they catch me before? The thought nags at Lloyd as he canvasses the space, and he can feel Harumi moving behind him, but for one short second he ignores her. Why did they happen to turn around, right before they saw me, and leave?

The last person had gotten a phone call in his cubicle, hadn’t he? And before that, the close calls all had to do with sudden emergencies…

Such coincidental timing…

“You almost got caught three times?”

“Be glad it wasn’t four.”

“Bit of an amateur at this breaking in thing, are we? Not quite used to the criminal side of things?”

He glances at her. “If they’re tracking me, it doesn’t matter. I think someone’s looking out for us.”

“Why would they do that? This whole place hates us.”

“Last time, it was Zane, but he’s at the Monastery. Whoever it is, they don’t hate us either.” He reaches for her free hand. “Either way, we need to get out of here as fast as possible. Forget the files, we’ll come back for them.”

“But I was so—”

“I know, babe, but we have to go now.”

A door slams and Lloyd stops, putting his hand over Harumi's mouth before she can protest any more.

The light!

Harumi's eyes flick to the switch at the same time his do, and she reaches over to flick it off. Lloyd steps back over the threshold of the closet, praying the darkness is enough to keep them hidden until he can close the door.

It latches with the quietest of clicks.

“You'd think that Leyton would be better at table football by now, wouldn't you?” A distinctly male voice floats over from the front of the room, sounding completely bored out of his mind. “I mean, it's just scraps of paper and a little goal. How do you miss every one?”

“No idea! He's sssso bad, that might be his only talent!” The reply comes from a female Serpentine.

“He has a talent?”

Both people laugh and Lloyd holds his breath, grateful that Harumi is staying as completely quiet and still as he is.

They might need something from this cleaning closet… this conversation might be part of the scheme…

“Don’t forget to pick up form 337-86-IN,” the Serpentine woman comments. “We need it for the Raspberry Accesssss Sheet for next month’sss meeting sssnacks.”

“As if I’d forget the 337-86-IN,” the man retorts, sniffing. “I wrote the form!”

“You did?”

“Well… it’s a figure of speech.”

Lloyd watches the light under the door, the way it shifts as they approach… and then slowly the shadows fade. The sound of footsteps recedes down an aisle of cabinets, and they’re slowly left in the quiet. Just a yin and his yang, somewhere secret, as close as two can be.

He struggles to control his growing smile, slowly allowing his hand to drop from Harumi's mouth.

Apparently, she's thinking the same thing, because Harumi whispers, “You know, some people might find this to be a bit of a compromising situation to be found in.”

“Compromising, huh? What am I compromising? Your spotless maiden reputation?”

"“'m a damsel in distress, Lloyd. It's part of the job description.”

“Doesn’t the hero get the girl?” He leans down to get a little closer. It’s only natural. “Or did the stories lie?”

He's not imagining the way her breath hitches, and he can hear the smile in her voice, even if it's too dark to see it. “A lot of stories are blown way out of proportion. Like the ones they tell about you in schools.”

“Aw, they tell the kids about me? They probably skip some parts, don’t they?”

Harumi chuckles a bit. “Maybe a few bits get skipped.”

“Probably the traumatic stories. I’d rather not relive most of those.”

“What, like all those times you almost died? Some of those were because of me, if you'll remember.”

“I remember.” He reaches for her again, bringing her close to him. In the dark, his eyes are adjusting, and a black-and-white shadow of his wife is coming into view. “I remember you coming back to me, too. That one was pretty special.”

Harumi smiles again, resting her hands on his shoulders. “Yeah… I think that was one of the best decisions I'd made in a long time. But there are other details the stories miss too—moments that I happen to like quite a lot.”

“I bet you're not talking about all the times I've come to save you.” She's close. So close. If someone is watching them, is this small, dark closet being watched too, or can he be frank here?

“No…” Harumi breathes, and he feels the word ghost over his face. “I'm talking about how you always double knot your laces, or how you steal all the blankets because you move around so much when you sleep. How you keep that stash of candy under our bed that still has a note to make sure Jay doesn't steal from it, even though he's been gone for so long. It’s the little things like that.”

Enough. He pulls her into a firm kiss, and takes his time before replying, because she's doing that thing where she steals his breath and thoughts away, and it's only fair that he return the favor.

“…They have no idea just how much I love you,” he whispers as soon as he can speak, and kisses her again.

Harumi sighs, her fingers tangling in his hair. “That's okay. They don't need to know. It can be just for us.”

For us and for whoever's watching me. He doesn't say that out loud. Best not to ruin the moment… though if anyone ever asks, he won't be able to shut up about how much he's in love with her. She won't want to hear that when he could be kissing her.

He kisses her again—a few times, how could he stop?—until they're both breathless, and then squeezes her into a tight embrace. He can feel both their chests heaving as they try to breathe normally again.

“We need to go,” he finally mutters into her hair. “No files, let's just go home.”

Harumi doesn't say anything for a minute, her breath brushing against his neck, sending goosebumps up and down his spine. “…I hate being so close and walking away.”

“We'll come back with a plan and some backup. That'll give you a fighting chance at finding them.”

“I know… you're right. Especially if someone is watching you. I don't want them to catch you.”

“Now who's saving the other?”

“Shut up, Green Savior. It's better for everyone if you don't get tossed in jail and they throw away the key. Besides, I've got selfish reasons for making sure you’re a free man.”

He laughs and strokes her hair, tidying it around her face. “Ever the damsel, aren’t you?”

“Hey, a girl wants what she wants. Sometimes it's revenge, sometimes it's chocolate, sometimes it's someone's son.”

He snorts. “The son of Garmadon, I remember.”

“I could hardly say no! He's not bad on the eyes.”

“Interesting. I think the wanting goes both ways. Can I have you?”

She tries to tap him on the nose, and it's not so dark that he misses how she almost pokes his eye. “Silly Lloyd. You already have me. Next question.”

He snags her hand and kisses the palm. “I have two more. Do you know how incredibly, ravishingly beautiful you are?”

Thank you, romance novels, for the smile she gives at that compliment. Even in the dark, she's like the sun.

Harumi squeezes his arm, letting him keep hold of her other hand. “I sure do, pretty boy. Next?”

“Will you please come home with me?” He kisses her palm again. “Now?”

Harumi smiles again. “Since you asked so nicely, why not? If only to get you out of here too.”

“Where you go, I go.”

“Mm, yeah, that's exactly why we're gonna be leaving.” She pauses. “Hey… thank you for coming for me. Really.”

He chuckles and kisses her forehead one last time. “As if I wouldn't come for you when you call.”

“I know. You always do.” Harumi reaches up and runs her fingers through his hair, combing it down so it'll hopefully be a bit more presentable. “You better be careful with that. I don't fancy continuing to be bait.”

“Unfortunately, you are the best bait for catching me.” He lets her finish—his ninja mask will ruin it, but it feels nice, and he returns the favor by tucking her loose hair behind her ears. Most of it is still tidy, captured in a bun, and he doesn't mess with it.

They pull apart as much as possible in such a small space. The knife he gave her somehow made it next to them onto a shelf; he presses it into her hand. “Keep an eye out when we're heading out of here. I came in through the vent system, but I don't think we'll be able to go back out the same way.”

“Did you have a plan for being able to get out?” Harumi asks, accepting the knife and watching him.

“Yeah, actually, I do.” He grins, then shifts toward the door. “When I tell you, run.”

Harumi laughs, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “We're back to doing this again, huh? Running seems to be a favorite pastime of ours.”

“You know it.”

He squeezes back, and then eases the door open. Silent, still, and completely deserted.

They slip out just as Lloyd hears another voice coming from the aisles of cabinets. “I can't believe the 337-86-IN was misplaced with the 337-86-IP! Can you believe the level of disorganization people allow here?!”

They walk faster, five yards from the door—

“I know! The nerve of ssssssome people!”

—subtlety is key, but the latch sticks—

“When I find whoever did this, I'm sending them directly to Officer Eigenbaum—hey, who are you? This room is off-limits to anyone below security clearance 14C!”

—the door opens. Lloyd and Harumi share a loaded glance.

“Run!”

They take off down the hallways, the bright fluorescents making Lloyd's eyes hurt after the darkness of that closet. He blinks away the pain, leading Harumi down the halls and letting go of her hand to grab his compass.

“Where are we going?” She asks, glancing over her shoulder just as Administration agents begin shooting at them, bright blue pulses of light whizzing past them and hitting the wall.

“This way!” Lloyd grabs her hand again and pulls her to the right, heading towards the other beacon he’s been watching since he arrived.

“I thought you didn't know your way around this place!”

“I don't!” The hallway makes a direct path, past rows of cubicles and long queues that gasp and point. Their prize is behind another unmarked door at the far end of the line. As soon as they reach it, he slams it open, revealing the prize inside.

His favorite green motorbike, waiting patiently as only a machine can.

Harumi stops, a huge grin splitting her face as she looks at it. “I love it! I wanna drive!”

“Hey, hold on—!”

He's too late. Harumi bolts for the bike and jumps on. She grabs her helmet from where it rests on the handlebars and jams it on her head.

Lloyd groans and follows, grabbing his own helmet—safety first, as always. “Rumi, it's my bike.”

“Oh come on, I haven't ridden in so long! And besides, I can do more dangerous things with it than you can.”

“How do you know that?”

She grins at him. “Hello? Biker girl over here?” At the look on his face, she taps her fingers on the handlebars, still smiling. “Okay, what if we made a little deal?”

Lloyd rolls his eyes. “What deal?”

“I'll owe you one if you let me drive.”

“One… what?”

“Anything at all. The world is your oyster.”

“I don't really like shellfish.”

“Then—I don't know! It's a figure of speech!”

He snorts and climbs on behind her, knocking their helmets together in greeting. “Fine, oysters it is. Let's get out of here.”

Harumi laughs triumphantly and kicks the bike into gear. He barely has a chance to grab onto her waist before she's sending them flying down the hallways, barely avoiding crashing into people, engine whining at the high number of revolutions—she’s pushing six thousand, and he’s not sure how much of it the vehicle can take.

Lloyd is suddenly very grateful for his helmet, especially considering the way she's moving this bike around. “The wall—Rumi!”

Harumi cackles, turning a tight corner with a metal-on-metal screech that sets his nerves on edge and gets his adrenaline pumping. “Better hold on tight, Son of Garmadon!”

He holds on as tight as he can, and silently curses every reason he ever thought he should let The Quiet One drive. (Including himself, because this is the woman he married!)

They go careening down a slowly widening hallway, the light getting brighter and brighter. She screams with laughter as they go up a ramp, and moments later, crash through an enormous glass wall. Shards fall around them, and Lloyd presses against her to keep any pieces from falling between them.

They emerge into a bright, hot midday, the sun shining with all its might over a dry and barren land. It's nothing recognizable, except for the Bounty hanging in the sky to the southeast.

Harumi revs the engine and sets off for it at top speed, dodging around rocks and dead brush almost as quickly as he sees them. If anyone is chasing them, they’re long gone, lost in the dust.

“If we crash, I’m blaming you!” He shouts to her, even though most of the words get stolen by the wind.

Harumi only laughs and speeds up, racing for the Bounty, pushing the bike to go faster, faster! The engine whines with the stress, still cool, and Lloyd smells burnt oil. Only a few hundred yards to go, and it’s almost not enough time to stop.

And, as Lloyd realizes, she’s not going to. Not unless she has to.

He calls the Bounty down with a press of his remote, and it sinks down next to a small hill. “Rumi, make the jump!”

Harumi tenses in anticipation, adjusting their course to aim for the hill. Lloyd grips onto her a little tighter as they get closer and closer and closer and then—

Weightlessness. For a brief second, they're suspended in the air. Then they land hard on the deck of the Bounty and Harumi skids to a stop.

“Yes!” She laughs, letting the bike idle, one hand falling from the handlebars to rest on his knee. “Now that is what I'm talking about!”

Lloyd laughs with her, but it's a frazzled, nervous sort of thrill that runs through him. He slumps against her back. “That was insane!”

Harumi reaches up to take off her helmet, and he can feel her whole body shaking from the adrenaline. “I haven't ridden in so long… That was just as fun as I remember!”

“You almost killed us both,” he protests weakly.

“But I didn't! I've still got it!”

Lloyd groans. He reaches up to take off his helmet, letting the wind relieve the sweat and helmet hair, and he looks at her.

In a very small way, he's looking at Harumi for the very first time: a thrilled adrenaline junkie, a girl who never takes “no” for an answer, who could have created any sort of gang and chose a biker gang because it sounded fun.

He smiles, and when she looks at him, she's sparkling. Is that what she sees when she says that to him? That kind of joy?

Lloyd reaches up to touch a few strands of her now messy hair, falling out of the bun she'd put it in. “Every time I think I've seen all of you… you just keep surprising me.”

Harumi doesn't say anything for a minute, but she leans back against him, tilting her head to look at him. “Good. I'd hate for life with me to be boring. You signed up for this, after all.”

He lets his arms rest around her, a gentle guard against falling. “You could never be boring, but you're even more interesting than I thought.”

“Hm… let me guess… you're not going to let me drive again?”

“I might, but… let's talk about it later.”

“Why not now? I want to talk about it.”

“I know.”

“So…”

He can't help smiling and squeezing her a tiny amount. Sure enough, a light of understanding enters her sparkling, excited eyes.

“I see.” Harumi grins fiendishly. “Later, then. Once you've recovered from the shock of my fantastic and very safe driving.”

Lloyd snickers, and before replying, he kisses her shoulder. “That's enough out of you, troublemaker. Don't you know how to take care of yourself?”

She squeezes his arm, looking up at the sky. Her smile is so content, so soft! It makes him squeeze her again. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don't want to. I thought that was your job now.”

“I can try, but that—” he points behind them— “is out of my hands.”

Harumi snorts. “Clearly not. You're here, aren't you?”

“Am I?”

“Very funny. Admit it, you were both annoyed and panicky when you got my SOS.”

“Nope, not annoyed. Worried.”

Harumi smiles again. “You're so sweet. Honestly, I might just end up keeping you.”

He laughs and nuzzles her cheek, kissing it a few times. “You might, but I have no plans to let go of a girl like you.”

She relaxes against him, adjusting a bit to keep the bike steady, seeming to enjoy his gentle kisses. “I know. Besides, as my yin, it's your job to take care of me. Especially when I get myself into… messes like that one.”

“Oh? You are pretty messy, aren't you… I guess I'm your cleanup crew.”

“Nothing quite so impersonal as that. Put simply, I'd say you're mine.”

The sly-yet-innocent look on her face makes him laugh. “Aren't you the possessive type?”

She grins at him. “I think it's better than not trying to keep hold of someone you love at all.”

“Keeping hold…” He muses, looking down at their arrangement, how she slots in perfectly against him. “Now, there's an idea. Perfect timing, too. I just happen to have a hold on my smoking hot yang.”

Harumi laughs. “What's an idea? You gotta tell me now.”

“No, I don't.” He lowers the kickstand, then gets off the bike and leans it back. Just in case they don’t have as much time as he thinks, he reaches for the Bounty’s remote control and presses the button that makes the ship rise to sailing altitude. It kicks into gear, shaking only a little, and soon they’re rising to safety.

Harumi waits patiently until they get to cruising height, still listening for his idea, but Lloyd has no intention of saying anything. As she watches him, he tugs her off so she's standing to face him.

-----

“What if you wake up one day and I’ve stabbed you?”

Lloyd sighs, but he smiles too. This question isn’t a new one.

Harumi, his new wife, is lying next to him on their bed. She’s spread out, taking up as much room as conceivably possible—not to mention the nights she almost pushes him out from underneath the covers, as if she can’t understand the idea of sharing. She’s staring at him now, waiting for an answer.

Strands of her hair flow through his fingers like silk, wild and loose. He finds a tiny tangle and works it loose. “I guess I’d try not to bleed on our blankets.”

She frowns. “You’re okay with me killing you? You wouldn’t leave?”

“Why would I? You wouldn’t stab me anywhere fatal. If you did, we wouldn’t be able to fight anymore.”

She rolls her eyes, and raises her far hand. The late afternoon light flashes off a small blade she holds—why, exactly, does she have a knife in their bed? It’s three inches away from his Achilles. “I call you a masochist for a reason.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t like it too. We always end up here.”

“With me holding you at knifepoint?”

He snickers at her deadpan expression. “Sure.”

She points the knife at him. “Watch it, Garmadon. I haven’t put you in a cage in a while.”

“You wouldn’t do that again. Not after last time.”

“Are you sure? Don’t tell me you didn’t like it, at least a little.”

Lloyd rolls his eyes now, thinking back to last time. An ill-fitting disguise, a cave filled with purple crystals, a series of greater and greater losses that still weigh on him in his dreams. “No, thanks. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience.”

Even though he tried to make it a gentle delivery, Harumi pouts and looks away. “…That’s fair.” She lets the knife fall, and Lloyd tries not to wince as it lands a little too close to her hair.

(She’d better not cut it, even by accident. He likes playing with it, and it’s so soft. Even now he’s toying with three strands, weaving a messy braid that will come undone immediately.)

His wife sighs. “So, if I can’t cage you, and you’re fine with me stabbing you, how am I supposed to bother you now?”

“You could try to get along with me.”

“Nonsense. I’m the most important person in your life, I don’t have to try to get along with you. You have to try to get along with me.”

Lloyd cracks a smile and tugs very gently, teasingly, on her hair. “Maybe.”

She scoffs and bats his hand away. He parries, tangling their fingers together, and they’re in a lock now.

There’s no steel in the way she looks at him. “I think I could get away with anything except killing you. You’d be fine with anything else.”

“Do you have to phrase it like that? There’s plenty of things I’d prefer you not doing.”

“I’m not planning anything! It’s for the sake of discussion, Lloyd.”

“That’s what you’d say if you were planning my imminent demise.”

She laughs, the sound sparkling through the air. “No I wouldn’t! I’d go on a whole monologue about how you’re gullible, I’m angry about you ‘murdering’ my parents, being the one who got away, so on and so forth. You know the drill.”

“And then you’d put me in a cage.”

“Third time’s the charm.”

“Some argue that being married is like a cage…” Lloyd muses. “A lifelong tether…”

“If marriage is a cage, then I’ve trapped you at least four times.”

He shrugs lazily. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s along the lines of falling into the hippopotamus enclosure at the zoo.”

He’s rewarded with snickers. “So the cage count is still at four, but I wouldn’t be the one guilty this time.”

“Nope. I’d still be in the enclosure with you.” He reaches out and takes the knife, flipping it one way and another in his hand. “Double trouble.”

“So… we’d fight the hippo together? Or I’d sic it on you as a distraction?”

“Neither of those.”

“…Does that make me—”

“It might.”

Harumi pins him with a stern glare. “Lloyd!”

“Look, they’re the most dangerous animals in the world! I would’ve said a spider, but spiders don’t have enclosures!”

“Yes they do?! And you could’ve used a snake den!” Harumi laughs, poking him in the leg. “I can’t believe you just called me a hippopotamus. What a nice thing to call your wife, a flabby five-thousand-pound mud creature.”

“Excuse you, I respect the hippopotamus! It’s a mighty warrior!” Lloyd pokes her in return, tickling under her armpit—she squirms away, completely undignified. “I’ll have you know they’re more deadly than lions!”

“What a compliment. I haven’t killed that many people, your count is probably higher than mine!”

“We don’t have to talk about that. Most of them were stone, or nindroids, or snakes—”

His words are cut off as Harumi clambers onto hands and knees, reaching for the knife in his hand. “Serpentine lives matter!”

“The Vermillion aren’t Serpentine!” He pulls the knife out of her reach, scooting back on the bed. “I’ve never killed a Serpentine.”

“Oh, please. You wanna bet? They’d say otherwise.”

“Who are you asking, Pythor? He’s unreliable.”

The braid is falling out of her loose hair now, and she’s grinning like the cat who caught the canary. “I don’t know, he did a fairly good job on my Council.”

“When I met him—long before you did—he was already a cannibal.” Lloyd tosses the knife off the bed, where it falls to the floor with a dull clunk. “Try reaching that now.”

“Everyone has their quirks.” She begins to clamber over him, trying to get to where he dropped the knife, and he’s not imagining the huge grin on her face. “Just—he ate his own people! And he’s got the last name Chumsworth, which is very misleading.”

Lloyd grabs her by the ankle, keeping her back from the edge. “Chummy, right?”

“You sure thought so!”

“I was twelve.”

“Gullible, like I said!”

“When did you say that? I want receipts.”

He knows the receipts aren’t coming, because at that moment he reaches up and tickles the sole of her foot. Harumi squeals, kicking out, twisting around to tug her ankle free, to no avail. “That’s cheating! Let me go!”

“Nope! All’s fair in love and war!”

“I just want my knife!”

“I just want my wife.”

She laughs, turning to look him in the eye. “I’m literally right here. Don’t make me kick you in that pretty face.”

He tries to control his grin. “You wouldn’t.”

“Handsome, naive Lloyd. You wanna bet?”

He grins, grabbing at her other ankle, and begins to tickle her. “How’s that? I can take you!”

Harumi shrieks, and he takes the chance to go after her sides, gaining a peal of laughter. “Lloyd! We both know—haha—you can’t!” She tries to wiggle away, to no avail. “Don’t lie, it doesn’t suit you!”

“Only one of us is ticklish,” Lloyd crows, going after her armpits for another shriek. “My secret weapon!”

“I will kick you!” She tries, but fails miserably, and settles for trying to smack his hands away.

“Sure, try it,” he taunts. The look on her face is only a little murderous, and he realizes a little too late that he’s playing with fire.

Harumi twists around, gets her leg up, and punts him square in the stomach. Lloyd grunts, not so much out of pain but instead out of surprise. He recoils, falling back—

She hooks her leg around him, tossing him off of her and onto the mattress to her side.

He groans. “Hey, that was rude.”

To add insult to (mild) injury, Harumi laughs at him. “All’s fair in love and war. I’m getting my knife!” She swings herself off the bed, drops into a crouch, and comes up with the knife in hand. She waves it in the air teasingly. “Here you thought you could stop my plans. Silly ninja.”

He gets to his knees and folds his hands. “Please, I’m begging you. You don’t have to do this! You can change!”

“Change? But I caught a dragon!” She grins at him with plenty of teeth showing. “If only I had a cage to put him in…”

“You caught a quarter of a dragon, really. A quarter oni, too, but majority completely boring. I’m not worth keeping in your zoo.”

The gleeful glint in her eye is incredibly rewarding. “I like hybrids. Besides, ‘boring’ is the last word I’d used to describe you.”

He tries to keep back a smile. “Why stick me in a cage to rot if I’m so interesting? Aren’t you going to investigate?”

She looks him up and down, smirking. “The cage is only a temporary solution. I keep all the cuties for myself.”

“Sounds vaguely threatening, especially with you waving that knife around.”

“Does it? I thought you liked a bad girl.”

“Don’t use my words against me!”

She laughs. Harumi laughs so much now. Lloyd could get drunk on the sound of it, the way her laughter makes him forget everything but her, the way the world of things he cares about can be held in his arms.

She points the toy knife at him. “I’m giving you receipts, pretty boy. You’re the one who said it.”

Lloyd gapes at her. “Put me out of my misery. You’re taking my words out of context!”

“Why shouldn’t I? You tortured me, I torture you,” she says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“One minute of tickling,” he deadpans. “The world’s worst form of torture, to be sure.”

“I’m so glad you agree. Now you can suffer with me.”

“No thanks.” He gets to one knee, gaining an inch of height and losing stability as the mattress shifts below him. “I’d rather not.”

She eyes him. “…Deal with it.”

Now. “I will, thanks!”

He lunges for her and manages to grab one wrist, tugging her toward him. Harumi yelps, and a corner of his awareness notes that she intentionally points the knife blade away from him—how considerate! He uses it against her, pulling her back onto their bed, into his arms, where he holds on tight.

She laughs, wiggling to try and get away. Lloyd just tightens his grip, crushing her against him so she can't leave.

"Is this you dealing with it?" Harumi laughs again, still trying to break free.

“I’ve immobilized the threat,” he narrates, holding tight but letting his hands begin to wander. “Time to figure out how dangerous the wild hippopotamus really is.”

Harumi scoffs. “I can’t believe you’re calling me a huge, fat animal! You should’ve picked a pretty one, like a swan, or a dove!”

“Doves don’t match your personality. Maybe a swan is right! They’re mean.”

She levels a death glare at him. “They’re gorgeous and elegant.”

“Elegant, I can see,” he says, watching her. She’s watching him, too, and he decides to let the tension go. “And you are gorgeous.”

She elbows him, but the grin is pasted on her face now, and it’s not disappearing anytime soon. “You almost got yourself into huge trouble, Mr. Garmadon.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Garmadon. I was distracted.”

“By what?”

“By my wife.” He leans in and kisses her, tasting that smile of hers. “Y’know, the woman who’s threatening me with a knife at the moment.”

“Ha! You definitely have issues. We might need a stronger cage for you.”

“No cage is strong enough. You’re stuck with me for life.”

“Is this your way of opting for staying willingly?”

He winks. “What do you think?”

Harumi settles against him, resting her head on his shoulder. It’s as warm as sunlight, holding her, and more valuable than any relic or treasure.

Her voice is muffled as she says, “We can come to an arrangement. Maybe.”

“I’d like that, Rumi.”

“You like me.”

“Even with your terrible sense of humor.”

“So little faith, from the most important person in my life!” She gives him a puppy-dog look, big eyes and a little pout. “If my jokes are bad, yours are worse. They’re like my dad’s.”

Lloyd snickers. “Your dad’s? I’m not old enough to be your father, sorry.”

“You’ve got the jokes for it, so maybe you could anyway. I don’t think you could make a good joke to save my life.”

“To save your life? What about mine?”

She pauses, thinks about it, and shrugs. “Plot armor?”

He laughs. “Rumi, that’s not real. If plot armor was real, half of my family—including me—would not have died in some fashion over the years.”

“You always come back, don’t you? That can be plot armor!”

“I’m not so sure.” He lays his head on her shoulder with a smile that just won’t leave. “We can agree to disagree.”

Harumi rests her head against his with a sigh. “If plot armor were real, you would have it. You're basically the main character, chosen one.”

“Eh… I don’t need to be the main character. Do you want the title?”

She kisses him on the cheek. “I've got too many titles already. You can keep it.”

He catches her eye, and there’s affection there. It’s deep, hidden in some part of her he can’t quite name, something he only sees in moments like this one. It’s true love, the kind he’s always wanted. In short, it’s the most rewarding thing he can think about.

Lloyd reaches up and guides her into a sweet, indulgent kiss.

He's vaguely aware of one of her hands falling to the side; the hand holding the knife, which he’s pretty sure she’s still trying not to point in his direction. The affection buried in her simple gesture makes his heart feel fuller than ever. With her free hand, Harumi cups his cheek gently, seeming to enjoy the kiss just as much as he’s enjoying it.

She pulls away after a delightfully long moment. “Do you still want to know what else I think you'd like?” Harumi's voice is quiet, although the teasing tone is back in it. It makes him kiss her again, savoring the taste of her.

When they draw apart, he whispers, loath to let her go. “What else?”

“I think you'd like it more if I didn't accidentally stab you.” Harumi glances to the side, a goofy smile on her face. “Do you think I can hit the doorframe from here?”

That shakes him from his happy stupor. “What? The door?”

“That's an easy target. I was thinking the side.” She moves away a little bit, switching the knife to her right hand and resting her left on his leg. “Do you care if I throw it?”

Lloyd blinks, and blinks again, and looks down at her hands. “I—why are you throwing knives in our bedroom, exactly?”

“So I don't stab you!”

“Don’t you think that would be more dangerous?”

“To… throw it?”

“Yes?”

Harumi giggles. “I've been throwing knives for years, and we're the only two here. You're not gonna get up and get in the way, are you?”

“Obviously not.” Lloyd rolls his eyes. “You know what? Go for it. I can’t judge you.”

“Will you kiss me again if I hit the doorpost?”

“What is this? Are you jousting for my hand? Earning the right to have me in single combat against a doorframe?”

She brightens. “Absolutely! Is that a yes?”

“…Sure. Go for it, babe.”

Harumi turns, adjusting her grip on the knife's hilt before throwing it. It hits the doorframe with a solid thunk, the blade buried tip-first into the wood.

Harumi laughs victoriously. “Ha! Three points! And you're not longer at risk of being stabbed!”

Lloyd snorts. “My doorframe, on the other hand, has sustained a fatal wound. Even now, this place is still being punished for having people live in it.”

“Hey, at least I asked first.” She turns back to him with a grin. “I could have just done it.”

“You could’ve. I’m not sure I would have liked it as much.”

“Oh, so you did like it?”

Lloyd smothers a grin, trying very hard not to betray it. From the look in her eye, he’s failing. “No comment.”

“No, come on, I killed a piece of wood for you! You can't just weasel your way out of this one. I have to know the truth!”

“I have the right to remain silent about appreciating your skill with knives.”

“Oh, is this like how I like to not say anything about how hot you look when you're working out.” Harumi nods wisely. “I see. I can respect that.”

The urge to smile comes again, and he struggles to remain straight-faced. “You wanted a kiss, didn't you? Aren't you going to claim your prize?”

“As tempting as it is, you can't distract me from this realization that you liked that little demonstration of my skills. I always love being right!”

He breaks, laughing at her boasts. “You are something else, Rumi! Yes, I liked it, I like you. I like damage to the doorframes a bit less than that.”

She dismisses the comment with a wave of her hand. “Eh, it was just this once. I'm sure there's been worse property damage than that before.”

“That's true. We've had a few counts of arson, now and again.”

Harumi grins. “Arson. My favorite crime of all.”

“The one you got away with.”

“I am the one who got away.” She pauses, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Although I did help to rebuild this place after I had it burned down.”

“I was thinking your palace, but sure.” Lloyd taps her forehead teasingly. “Do you remember every one of your crimes?”

“What is that, two counts of arson now?” Harumi snags his hand, kissing his palm. He immediately resolves to never admit the happy shiver it sends up his spine. “Most of them, yeah. I've forgotten some of the early ones, though.”

Lloyd doesn’t bother stealing his hand back. He just caresses her face, drawing her back to him with his other arm. She comes willingly, and soon Harumi’s face is only inches from his.

“I think your later ones matter more. One of them especially, and it’s not arson or murder.”

She smiles. “I feel like I know what you're going to say… but tell me anyways.”

“It’s cheesy. You got away.”

Harumi giggles. “I thought you were gonna say I stole your heart.”

He snickers, nuzzling his nose against hers. “I almost did.”

“You are such a sap, you know that?”

“Sometimes I think so too. I know you actually like it.”

She smiles, tilting her head up to kiss him on the nose. “Yeah, it's sweet. Makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.”

“Like I love you?”

“Also a little bit like I love you. I might like feeling like this more than I used to like fighting with you all the time. Maybe.”

“Really? You don’t actually want to fight me?” He nuzzles her again, kisses her cheek. “And here you were worried you’d hurt me, but you’re doing nothing like that. One might accuse you of having changed, Harumi.”

“Who, me? Now don't get me wrong, there is still something satisfying about fighting with you. But… I think I may like this feeling better.”

“If you like this feeling better, then let’s not bother fighting right now. I promised you a kiss.”

Harumi smiles at him, squeezing his hand before tangling their fingers together. “You did! And you don't break your promises, right?”

“You know it. Just like you’re stuck with me, and me with you.”

She smiles a little wider. The words aren’t new; he’s said them every day, in one way or another, since the first time he made her cry. Her smile is one of forgiveness, and she doesn’t say anything. She never has to.

-----

The situation before Zane does not compute as it should. Too many variables have been changed; it will take manual intervention to accommodate them within his system.

Some of the Ninja are home—Zane knows he is the latest, but not the last—and the situation at the Monastery is strange for many reasons. Between the Merge, the loss of Cole and Jay, the confusion of dealing with Imperium’s Dragon Hunters, and now adjusting to the fact that he has somehow lost several years… he’s not sure what to think.

Especially because Harumi, formerly the Quiet One and Lloyd’s worst enemy, has moved into their home.

Permanently. Her belongings are in every room of the Monastery. She knows where everything is. She is comfortable, even casual, with living there. She’s often in Lloyd’s room—Zane’s opinion that she sleeps in his bed is within the 95th confidence interval.

It is all unexpected, but what had he expected? He hadn’t even known he was powered down until the other Ninja rebooted him. The events with which he has been greeted are extremely unlikely, but even extremes appear within a normal distribution with some regularity. Nothing that has happened is truly impossible.

But why have they happened?

Zane opens his eyes. Morning meditation with Lloyd is peaceful, a good time to de-frag his hard drive and remove temporary files. Today, however, he has elected to observe Lloyd as he contemplates recent events.

Lloyd is, by all measures, completely calm. His breathing is steady, his pulse is regular, his blood pressur appears to be low. His stress seems to be minimal, as if Harumi’s sudden arrival calmed him instead of causing him distress.

Again, Zane wonders, why?

Lloyd opens his eyes, peering at him sidelong. “I can feel you looking at me, Zane.”

Zane smiles. “My apologies. I am simply glad to be home.”

“Makes sense. How are you doing?”

“I am well. How are you, Lloyd?”

Lloyd shrugs. “As good as I can be, I guess? With all the ‘conduit’ stuff going on, I’m just glad everyone is home.”

“Everyone?”

“Well, everyone we’ve found since the Merge,” Lloyd amends, looking appropriately sheepish.

“Of course.” What an odd statement. “You seem calm today.”

“Do I?”

“Indeed. You are breathing more slowly and regularly. Your blood pressure appears to be lower as well. Both of these metrics constitute an improvement from yesterday.”

Lloyd blinks. “You’ve been keeping track of my blood pressure?”

“Yes. I have for years, though I don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Lloyd blinks again. “…Oh.”

Zane notes his confusion with interest. Lloyd’s speech is slow, even thoughtful. It is an improvement from his behavior as a child, to be sure; what is surprising is the difference from what still feels recent to Zane. In the intervening time since the Merge—however long it actually has been—Lloyd seems to have changed.

A change for the better.

“So… why are you mentioning it now?”

Zane smiles. A predictable question. “Because I find it interesting. Surely there’s any number of reasons for your calm attitude.”

“Such as?”

He chuckles at Lloyd’s considering look. “Perhaps you are relieved by our success in Imperium? The release of many captured dragons is a large victory. I imagine you have been sleeping better since that relief, with fewer nightmares.”

Imagination or not, Zane knows it’s real when Lloyd’s neck and face turn a rosy shade of pink. His thermal sensors detect it, the infrared signature a dead giveaway for Lloyd’s blush. “I—uh, yeah! Definitely the dragons. Yeah. The weird dreams have been messing with my sleep.”

“Indeed. Harumi’s presence is also a contributing factor, is it not?”

“To, uh, to my dreams?” Lloyd sounds a little strangled.

“I suppose.”

(Zane keeps himself from smiling any wider—it would be difficult for any of their brothers, but he knows how to keep a poker face, and the advantage of complete control over his facial expression servos is greater than he’d let anyone know. Lloyd should know this trick, having grown up with Zane, but it still works most of the time.)

At last, he broaches the issue he’s actually been curious about. “How has she been settling in, Lloyd?”

“Fine! I’m sure she’s… fine.”

Zane studies how he rubs the back of his head, nervous and awkward. It’s immediately obvious that Lloyd isn’t telling the whole truth. “It seems I’ve missed much in these intervening years.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Zane. I’ve been sitting around the Monastery for a lot of it.”

“Alone?”

He squirms. “I… are you interrogating me, Zane? I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I simply want to hear what you want to share.”

Lloyd squirms and sighs a little more, betraying his nerves to Zane’s sensitive receptors. Every little motion is a revelation. Whatever he has to share, he’s not sure if he should speak to it.

Why would he not want to share?

“I guess… all the interesting stuff happened to the others. I was just here, at the Monastery. Being sad. You know how it is.”

“Hm.” It’s not an agreement. Lloyd’s too lively to be entirely sad. Some good things occurred, or at least they felt good. Zane can’t judge with so many variables, so he settles on a calm nod. “I suppose I do. What of the present?”

“Well, I’m hardly that sad now. You’re home! We’re almost back to normal.” Lloyd grins, like he actually means it. “This place feels more alive than it has in a long time.”

“And it will be a good home for Harumi during her visit?”

“Yeah! You know what Master Wu always said. ‘The best way to defeat an enemy is by making them your friend.’”

“He did say so,” Zane comments dryly, “but I do not recall a clause in which he mentioned sharing a room.”

Lloyd almost flinches, and the blush returns with greater force. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t try to fool a nindroid, Lloyd. My receptors are exceptionally sensitive. I know where everyone is in the Monastery at all times.”

“She—you’re bluffing. Why would Harumi be sharing a room with someone?”

“The guest rooms are taken up by Arin, Sora, and Riyu, are they not?” Zane smiles again. “It’s no bluff. I can hear her stomping.”

He open and closes his mouth a few times like a fish. “I—Zane—it’s not what it looks like.”

“What is it, then?”

“She needs a place to sleep. Everyone does!”

“We have a perfectly serviceable couch. I myself have taken time to shut down there.”

Lloyd sighs. “Spit it out, Zane.”

The final conclusion arrives. “If she’s sleeping in your room, then you must forgive me for making certain conclusions about the nature of your relationship with her at this time.”

The point is made, and Lloyd wilts, but he looks like he’s still unwilling to admit the truth. Anything he admits will be begrudging, at best. The quiet is settling—and what has Lloyd gotten himself into? Lloyd is young, but not so foolish as to become involved with his enemy on a whim. There is more to this story than the surface appearance.

“If you are not willing to illuminate the situation, then I have only one piece of advice for you, Lloyd. While your relationship with Harumi is none of my business, do take care to be wise about how you act. Do not take risks which may have lasting consequences.”

Immediately Lloyd chokes, then bursts into a violent fit of coughing. “Zane!?”

Zane reaches over and pats him on the back firmly, causing Lloyd to double over and cough a little more. “Clear your lungs fully.”

He wheezes, takes another deep breath, and tries to speak. “Look—”

“Before you finish,” Zane interrupts gently, “I am not questioning your judgment. You are an adult, and have grown while I was gone. My only caution is that we’re speaking of Harumi, and with your history concerning her, it’s worth it to be careful. I want you to know that.”

Lloyd looks down, as if he’d been chastised, though he’s finally breathing normally again. “I… okay.”

Zane nods, and waits.

Is that all?

Good things happen when he waits, and today something good does happen. Lloyd volunteers a little information, a quiet plea that reminds him of the twelve-year-old Zane helped raise.

“Zane, please don’t tell anybody. I really like her.”

“I… know you do.”

“She’s changed.”

Zane nods. “If she has, I will see it for myself. You don’t have to convince me.”

“You’ll give her a chance?”

Zane sets a hand on his little brother’s shoulder. “Think of it this way. I’m giving you a chance, just as I have in the past. You haven’t proven my trust to be falsely placed, and I don’t expect you to start now. If Harumi has earned your trust, then I will extend an olive branch.”

“She has! I swear she has.” He looks up, suddenly smiling. His eyes glimmer with excitement, the sparkling green color Zane’s gotten so used to—#5FCC3D, as always. “This isn’t really Harumi moving in, per se. It’s… more like she’s moving back.”

This goes deeper still, Zane notes with some surprise. He smiles at Lloyd—how could he not?—and squeezes his shoulder. “In that case, if I were you, I’d take greater care to hide the true nature of your relationship. At this rate, the others will notice very soon.”

“You’re not going to tell them?”

“Tell them what? It’s not mine to speak of, even though I’m curious as to the extent of your situation. If you wish to share with me, I will keep it private.”

Lloyd blushes again, bashfulness coloring his excitement. “It’s a story for another time, but it’s serious. She has a right to live here.”

Zane quickly recalculates the probabilities, and immediately the greatest likelihood comes to light. In this set of dependent events, he knows which one is more likely than anything else.

It is more than 86% probable that Lloyd and Harumi are secretly yin and yang.

He smiles again. “Very good, Lloyd. I’m glad to hear this news.”

Lloyd laughs nervously, his voice rising as he says, “What news? I didn’t tell you anything specific.”

“Of course not.”

Lloyd laughs a little more, and then returns to his meditation with a smile. Zane lets the moment settle, content to process these events—and, soon, to defrag his drive as usual.

Our family has gained a sister. What a strange set of events. What could have prompted this?

-----

First Master, it's hot today! Kai pushes his sweaty hair off his forehead, the sound of shouting and laughter ringing in his ears as he takes a few labored breaths.

“Hey, Arin! Focus.”

“I am focusing.”

“Make it look like you are!”

“But—”

“Are you ready to go again?” Nya asks, cutting through the noise. She’s brandishing a trident, just like he has a katana, and dripping in sweat from their just-finished sparring session. “I won’t let you drag this one out into a draw again.”

Kai rolls his eyes. “Yeah, just had to breathe.”

“You’re out of shape, Kai.”

“I know. It wasn’t intentional,” he lies. Most days she doesn’t seem to question his bluffing, but when she found his fur-trimmed cloak, it was a little harder to explain.

It would be hard to explain why Kai never wants to go swimming ever again—even with a previous fear of water.

She doesn’t need to know about what I went through.

Kai raises his blade. “Okay Nya, come at me!”

She grins at him, shifts her weight to her right foot—her usual tell—and lunges. Kai ducks under the triplet points.

“Woah! Trying to skewer me, huh?”

She snorts and sidesteps. “Not my fault that you’re slow. Old age is getting to you, huh?”

“Since when am I old?!”

“Since you started gossipping like a grandfather?”

He rolls his eyes. “I like to be well informed. Besides, with age comes wisdom!” With the last syllable, he strikes out suddenly, smacking the flat of his blade against her ankle. Nya yelps and steps back, and he advances with a speedy set of slashes.

Three steps in, Nya regains a comfortable stance, and he loses the advantage. They start circling each other as she taunts him.

“Wisdom? I’m not hearing much of that these days.”

“Just you wait. I’m still warming up.”

“Funny, it’s already pretty hot out here. Not to mention after those warmups Lloyd made us do!”

He snorts. “I’m gonna be honest: I ignored most of those. He’s almost as bad as Master Wu was!”

“I think it’s good!” She takes a step forward and blocks his offense with her trident. Moments later, she’s whipping around, kicking back, and nearly smacking him with the butt of her weapon. “Plus—! It’s good for Arin, Sora and Wyldfyre to have that discipline.”

Kai laughs at that, and he chances a glance at Lloyd as he directs their young students—three humans and Riyu, all navigating an old Spinjitzu training exercise. Wyldfyre looks ready to burn something, Arin looks exhausted, but Sora and Riyu are still bright-eyed as they go through the motions with varying ease.

Something moves in his periphery, and his gaze snaps back just in time to see Nya’s trident moving. He blocks it, spinning his katana around and catching between the tines. It just barely misses the skin of his neck.

“All things considered,” he says, trying to sound unbothered by the attack, “Lloyd is doing a pretty good job at this.”

“This meaning what, exactly?” She fends off his next swing and takes a step back. “Though I agree.”

“You know! Teaching, the stress, all this stuff with Imperium… Harumi…”

Nya rolls her eyes. “You’re really back on this again?”

“Hey, he seems happy! I just don’t get why.”

“Maybe because things are going well? Everyone’s coming back, one at a time, and we’re just missing Jay and Cole. That’s something to be happy about. Plus, he obviously loves teaching.”

“And that’s enough reason to be happy?”

She rolls her eyes, then spins her trident and strikes out with the butt end. Kai takes a step back, coming in for a low strike—he just manages to avoid getting the blade smacked out of his hand. Close, but no contact, so no points; they’re still at square one.

Nya grins at him toothily, but there’s no bite to it. “Maybe Harumi is going to be here for a long time. That might be what’s making him so happy.”

He groans, then glances at Lloyd—still preoccupied, so he feels confident enough talking about it without getting smacked. “Why is she here, Nya? I’m not sure I buy that they ‘made up’ while I was… wandering the Merged Lands.”

“I buy it. Have you seen the way they act around each other? It’s so much less arguing than it used to be. Lloyd looks at her like she’s personally responsible for making the world keep spinning.”

“Does he? Huh…”

Kai takes another look at Lloyd, watching as he demonstrates a move for Arin. He’s taller now, finally at his adult height, and lean.

He’s grown up… but is he smart enough to handle this?

“I do think he’s hiding something.”

“Definitely. How are we gonna weasel it out of him?”

She snorts. “Can’t the man have a few secrets? I doubt this one’s gonna hurt him.”

“Absolutely not. Last time he crushed on her, she crushed him.”

“Don’t you think he’s learned his lesson?”

Kai looks at her. Nya looks at him. For a long moment, they stare.

Kai raises one eyebrow, and that’s all Nya needs before she brandishes her trident. “Kai, stop being overprotective. I know that’s your whole thing, but Lloyd is not in danger. If worst comes to worst, he’ll just get his heart broken again, but he’s not going to die.”

“I’d rather there wasn’t an ‘again,’” Kai mutters, feeling slighted and annoyed.

“Some people have to learn the hard way.”

That’s enough! Kai raises his guard, strikes out, and gets his blade caught in the prongs of her trident. He twists, tugging against her grip, and Nya digs her heels in as usual.

(She always acts the same, in every circumstance.)

He spints, then feints, and pulls his blade back. His katana catches the handle of her trident during its backstroke—cling!

Nya huffs, sounding about as annoyed as he feels, and raises her trident up. When Kai’s katana slides off, he has just enough time to sidestep before she swings her weapon around—

“Ow!” Kai dances backwards, his back and shoulder stinging where Nya struck his shoulder blade. “What was that for?!”

“Because you’re being an idiot, obviously!” Nya grins, giving him a moment to breathe. “You overextended your defenses.”

“You dug your heels in and wouldn’t budge.”

“I didn’t get myself hurt.”

“I didn’t hit you that hard earlier, that was unfair!”

She shrugs. “You can move your arm, can’t you?”

“Sore winner…” Kai grumbles, ignoring the fact that she’s completely right.

“At least I won! Wanna go again?”

“In a few minutes, once my pride stops hurting. I’m gonna drop by Spinjitzu 101 over here and see if Lloyd’s actually making any progress.”

“Oh, I might… too…” Nya trails off. “Where’d he go?”

In that short minute, Lloyd had disappeared. In his place, Zane is coaching the kids, occasionally correcting their movements. There’s no sign of green anywhere.

“I guess he got a chance to step away from the chaos. Good for him.”

Immediately the alarm bells in Kai’s head begin to ring. “You know what? I changed my mind. I want a snack.”

His sister begins saying something in warning, but Kai doesn’t hear it. Instead he heads toward the clump of students. Wyldfyre perks up as soon as he nears them, excitement in her eyes. “Yes! We’re gonna fight now!”

“If I remember correctly, Lloyd is the one in charge of the schedule,” Zane corrects. “Right now, we’re practicing Spinjitzu.”

She groans. “Come on, this is so boring! Kai got to fight!”

Kai grins, offering her a shrug. “Learn to do Spinjitzu and you’ll get some more leeway too.” He looks to Zane. “Where’s Lloyd?”

“He is inside the Monastery, having a discussion with Harumi. I would advise you not to disturb him.”

He frowns. “Her again?”

“What do you mean?”

Zane looks honestly confused, and the kids are watching with interest, so Kai watches his words—as much as he can, considering how he’s already put his foot in his mouth. “I’m just surprised he needs to talk to her. That’s all.”

He gets an unimpressed yet stern look from Zane, no doubt at his weak attempt at covering up his disgust. “His business is not ours, Kai. How would you like to help me direct the next set of exercises? They are ready to begin working on the jump.”

“The jump!” Arin cheers. “As in, ‘jump up, kick back, whip around and spin!’”

“The very same.”

“This is awesome! And we get to train with Kai!”

It’s obvious that Zane is backing whatever Lloyd’s doing, and that he doesn’t love the idea of Kai getting involved, so Kai allows himself to be volunteered. He’s supposed to be Lloyd’s older brother, but all of the Ninja are family…

Still, the suspicion in the back of his mind won’t quiet down. What exactly is going on with her? There’s more than what Lloyd lets on, and at this point it seems more advanced than a crush.

It can’t be that much going on… can it?

He crosses his arms. “Okay, I’ll help teach you guys. Don’t expect me to go easy on you like Lloyd does.”

Sora looks frustrated. “Lloyd works us for hours at a time! How is that easy?”

“You don’t want to see what hard days of training look like.”

“That’s not a hard day? Why would you ever train harder than that?”

“When you’re getting the Green Ninja ready to fight his father, you take all the time you can get.” He points at each of them individually. “First, have you all drunk water in the last hour?”

“Water, schmater,” Wyldfyre complains. “Fire doesn’t need water.”

“That’s it, go get some.”

“But—”

“Go! Training in five, don’t be late!”

The kids all look at each other, and then they bolt for their water bottles, resting against the weapons rack across the courtyard.

Zane watches them for a second before glancing back at Kai, lowering his voice a little. "I would advise you to not think too hard about this. Lloyd's business is his own."

"I'll think what I want. It's suspicious."

"It’s none of your concern."

"Why is she here, Zane? I don't get it."

Zane’s stare, unblinking, is actually slightly intimidating. “Kai, you don’t have to understand. This is his home; arguably he has the right to invite people to live here. If he says that he’s made up with Harumi, he has. We should respect his choices.”

“Wh—Zane, you saw how badly she hurt him. He was heartbroken for years!”

“I know.”

“She’s just going to hurt him again! Do you want to see him that sad?”

He frowns, still unconvinced. “Kai, I know it’s hard for you to believe this, but maybe he’s right. Reserve your judgment for now.”

“She’s staying in his room. Isn’t that a little messed up?”

“Enough.”

“But—”

“Kai.” Zane sets his hands on Kai’s shoulders, the same intense look boring into him. “If you can’t trust her, and you can’t trust Lloyd’s judgment, trust mine. I am a nindroid. I do not have the same impulsivity as you do, and as a being ruled by logic, I am willing to allow this situation. Set your mind at ease.”

Kai shifts uncomfortably before relenting. "I just want him to be okay."

"Perhaps you should tell him so. He may open up."

"I doubt it. He's been pretty cagey."

“Perhaps his caginess has less to do with him not wanting to tell you and more to do with how he will be judged if he does.”

"I'm not judging him!"

"Aren't you?"

Kai is about to argue back, no, I’m worried, I don’t trust her, when the kids come bounding back. They cut him off, swarming around him and Zane, with Arin at the lead.

“Now will you show us the next step?” Arin’s grinning like this is what he wants most of all in the whole world. “We’re ready! We had water!”

Kai summons up a smile. It chafes, just like the fact that Zane is right. “Yeah, now I will. Zane, want to help me demonstrate?”

Zane nods. “I’ll follow your lead.”

I guess I’m following yours too. You’d better be right. Completely right.

It’s a hot morning, even though the sun is barely an orange glow in the east. The air is stagnant, with a slight breeze through the all-the-way-open window barely stirring the dust. The birds sing outside the window, but quietly—they’re already tired.

Harumi, awake early due to the heat, lies awake, stares at the ceiling, and wishes for answers.

Her life is… not what she wanted. It’s not not what she wanted, either. Whatever expectations she had are no longer of consequences. When she’d had expectations for her life, she’d seethed at her burdens as a princess; she’d gloried in leading a powerful biker gang; she’d suffered as the slave of a would-be conquerer.

This morning she’s in a quiet monastery, alone, except for the other soul that shares her bed.

It’s not what she wanted, but it’s all that she has left.

And she hates it, because she thought she was better than this. What has she become? A sad-sack live-in something to a boy whose life she destroyed? She knows Lloyd. Even if he says he's okay—FSM forbid, happy—he's probably lying. He wants her dead more often than not, but he’ll never say so.

(She warms his bed, shares his meals, spends her days with him. What more can she give? She’s already given him all of herself, and he’s been too hesitant to take it all yet.)

(It's still not good enough. It will never be good enough. He will hate her eventually; especially when he realizes how much of a wasted experience she’ll be, no good for even a moment.)

It weighs on Harumi, and this morning, the silence almost feels like glass. It’s breakable. There’s danger to breaking it, but danger to staying under its oppression too.

Fears and all: it’s better to be known and abandoned than never understood in the slightest.

She wants to cry as she stares at the ceiling.

“…Lloyd?”

He takes a moment to respond.

“Yeah?”

His voice is gravelly, not exercised since yesterday. Not since they said goodnight—since she'd let him have his way, since he'd kissed her and she'd stupidly believed he meant it, since he’d made her feel wonderful. The thought of it makes her want to shrink into the bedding and disappear.

She hates the honesty of her questions. “Do you ever feel like nobody loves you?”

He pauses. The weight of it is crushing. It's almost a confirmation, almost as if he's agreeing with her. He may as well say it, call her a fool and tell her—

“I don't. Not usually.”

She breathes out, releasing the tension, disappointed and relieved and horrible.

It was a stupid question. Why would the Green Ninja ever feel unwanted? He was the savior of Ninjago… wasting his time with a nobody. Sharing his bed with a failure.

She turns her head away to stare at the nightstand. Her empty glass of water stares back at her. It feels like it's mocking her. Harumi, you're not good for him. You never have been. Deep inside, you're emptier than I am.

Lloyd shifts in the bed next to her. The covers bunch up between them. He sounds restless.

She doesn't know if anything she can say will bring him ease.

“Rumi.”

She doesn't say anything.

“Rumi, talk to me. What's going on?”

Throw up the defense, you coward. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

She feels him move again, and the whole mattress shakes. “Are you just saying that? Did you have a nightmare?”

She closes her eyes and buries her face in the pillow. She can't move farther than that; her body feels like it's full of lead shot. It's just too awful to bear…

Lloyd moves again, and she feels him get closer. His shadow blocks out the early morning light.

“Look at me, Rumi.”

She hates it. She almost hates him—almost, because she still loves him like she loves breathing, just like she has for years.

Of course he can’t be unloved. She loves him. Another reason her doubts are foolish.

Harumi opens her eyes and turns her head toward the ceiling again. He’s there, leaning on one outstretched arm. He’s watching her, a crease between his bushy blond eyebrows that desperately need her to pluck them. When did she become the one who took care of him?

“Harumi?”

“What do you want me to tell you, Lloyd?”

He frowns more deeply. “The truth.”

“About what?”

“You’re upset. Tell me why.”

She wants to close her eyes, wants to hide, wants to lie and say it’s nothing. The temptation is always there. Just keep it quiet. No one has to know you’re weak. You can handle it yourself.

Hasn’t she handled it poorly enough already? When was the last time independence led to her being happy?

Never mind the fact that she has been happy, ever since her life and Lloyd’s became intertwined, ever since they made a life together.

Never mind the fact that waking up next to him makes her happier than anything else.

Never mind that she relies on him all the time, now, and has for a long time. The truth is slipping out anyway.

“Lloyd, do you love me?”

Lloyd blinks, and blinks again. “Why are you asking that?”

She breaks, and glances away, otherwise immobile. “I… need to know.”

He doesn’t. He’s only been using you for the little enjoyment he could get. You’re not worthy of him, you never have been.

Lloyd sighs, but it’s not a heavy, disappointed sound. It’s just… Lloyd.

“Yes, Rumi. I love you.”

She closes her eyes tightly. It’s a lie. “Do you actually?”

“Do I lie to you?”

“No.” Sometimes she wishes he would. “You always tell the truth, no matter how ugly it is.”

"What’s ugly about—about this?”

Finally she looks at him. He gestures between them, as if to explain the tangled mess of interdependence and bedding they’ve woven. Not quite dating, definitely not marriage, something strange. It’s not what Harumi had ever pictured for her life.

(She never once imagined lying next to someone, letting him kiss her and touch her and whisper sweet things in her ears. She never imagined Lloyd Garmadon doing that with her, or anyone.)

It’s better as what she hadn’t pictured, but still she doesn’t know if it’s good for them. She finds herself frowning. “It’s not ugly.”

“I know it’s not. Do you know that?”

“I don’t know anything, Lloyd.” He frowns a little deeper; it was the wrong thing to say. “I just wanted to know if you knew how I felt.”

He doesn’t look convinced, but Lloyd lowers himself down to rest on his forearm instead. He’s still there, above her, practically pinning her… but this feels safer, in a way. Like she really could run, but she doesn’t have to, because he wouldn’t make her leave.

His free hand touches her arm. “You feel like nobody loves you?”

Words don’t come to her. Harumi watches him in silence as he grapples with what he’s said, what she’s meant.

He grasps her upper arm gently. “Is something else wrong?”

Harumi can’t even frown. All she can do is stare at him, at her maybe-boyfriend, not-husband, kind-of-friend. “No.”

He squeezes her arm, ever so softly. Just enough to feel. “You know I’m here, right?”

She nods.

“I’m not going anywhere. I love you.”

She frowns now, struggling to believe his words that sound like lies. “I feel like you’re going to leave.”

“Where’d you get that idea?”

“It’s bound to happen.”

He frowns too, as if offended. “I don’t think so.”

“You might not have any control over it. People come and people go.”

Lloyd leans closer, and his overgrown bangs brush against her forehead. “That’s fear talking. You don’t have to listen.”

Harumi frowns a little deeper, the rush of fear in her stomach reasserting itself. “Lloyd, you’re such an idealist. How do you even survive?”

“I have to. Destiny’s tried hard enough to kill me, and it failed. I have to keep living.”

“Life is awful.”

“That’s not true.”

“How do you know?!”

He cracks a smile, and it lights his whole face. It breaks the horrible gloom. It practically glows. “Because you’re here with me. An awful life wouldn’t have you in it.”

She hates it. She hates it! “How do you do that?! I’m in a horrible mood, I’m doubting you, I’m ruining a perfectly good morning. How are you smiling?!”

“I don’t know. I’m happy?”

“What is there to be happy about?!”

“I just told you!” He slumps down, closer to her, and cages her in.

One arm on her left side, the other on her right, he’s poised over top of her like she’s been captured. She’s his prey. He’s the one manning the trap. She can’t escape even if she wanted to.

Harumi closes her eyes, heart in her throat, feeling her pulse pounding its way out of every part of her body. “Just… put me out of my misery, Lloyd.”

“You don’t have to be miserable.”

“Well, I am.”

“I can’t make you stop being afraid, Harumi.”

“You’ll leave. Everyone does. You did.”

“I didn’t have a choice then, Rumi. Remember I took you with me, too.”

She remembers. The Crystal King’s floating temple was terrifying, even for his most trusted advisor—a title she hates, because it never felt true, and it turns out her gut was right the whole time. Then she brought Lloyd there, and even though she’d only ever hurt him, he dragged her out with him.

She remembers the fall, and how they should’ve died.

She remembers pleading for his life to be spared.

She remembers how he vouched for her, in front of his family and all their allies. How he’d announced she’d changed.

She remembers how, when she finally got a chance to have everything she wanted, she ran.

You ruin everything you touch, Harumi Jade. You’re the worst woman he’s ever met. You’re horrible. You should just die.

“I love you, Harumi. How many times do you need to hear it?”

She screws her eyes even more tightly shut. “…Again.”

“I love you.”

“Please.”

“I love you.”

“Tell me something true.”

“I love you? I’m not leaving.”

“Something else.”

Lloyd sighs heavily, and she feels his one arm stray to her neck, to her hair. “…I think you’re beautiful. I don’t want you to leave. I need you, too.”

Tears prick at the backs of her eyes, and Harumi opens them, knowing she’ll see something painful—

—but she’s wrong, because Lloyd’s eyes are gentle, his face close to hers. He breathes out, and it brushes against her face pleasantly. It doesn’t scratch, it doesn’t maim. It just is.

He just is.

Lloyd winds his hand underneath her neck to support her head, and he leans down, hair pooling around her face.

He kisses her, slowly and surely, taking every moment available to be there.

She closes her eyes again, letting him do it. She doesn’t hold him close. She responds, but only softly.

Lloyd doesn’t seem bothered. When he pulls away, it’s not until after he presses a firm, stern kiss to her lips—one that might bruise. He’s usually far too gentle for that.

(She likes it.)

“Don’t run away from me again.” His voice is husky. “I don’t know what I’d do if you did.”

She can barely whisper in reply. “You wouldn’t follow me?”

“I’d follow, but I know that the only way you’d come back to me is if you wanted to. Eventually I’d just have to wait.”

Harumi opens her eyes.

He’s watching her. His eyes are honest. They glisten with the faintest hint of tears. They hurt to look at.

She reaches up and pulls him down into another kiss, and this time, he lays down in her arms and stays.

It takes a few minutes, and several more kisses, before Harumi finally finds something truthful to say. She whispers them against his sternum, inside the cage of his arms, where everything feels safe and warm.

“I love you, Lloyd.”

“You love me?”

“I know. It's stupid.”

He kisses her hair. “It’s not. Stay with me, even when it’s scary.”

“You want me?”

“More than breathing.”

The tears prick at her eyes again. Their disproportionate affection is wrong. “Lloyd, I’m horrible.”

“You were. Not anymore.”

“I am! All I know how to do is hate.”

He chuckles, and it doesn't feel as mocking as it should. “Harumi, you just said you love me. Which is it?”

She closes her eyes tightly. “Both? I don't know how to love.”

“You loved your parents.”

“And then I killed them.”

He sighs, finally annoyed. It's not as rewarding as she'd hoped. “Look, Rumi. You can try to run, but we both know you won't get far. Your demons will go with you until you deal with them or you die.”

“Then kill me and get it over with.”

“If I kill you, then I'll be the one who's haunted my whole life. No thanks.”

“You're impossible.”

“Why won't you listen to me?”

“Because wishful thinking won't solve our problems.” Harumi opens her eyes again. He's still caging her in, or still holding her tenderly—which is it?

Lloyd smiles.

“What do you want now, you green cockroach?”

He laughs. “Our problems?”

A question springs to her lips—what are you rambling about?—but she catches it and bluffs. “Yeah, I have a problem with you.”

“More than one?”

“Yes.”

Lloyd leans in and kisses her, even though she tries to pull away, and she isn't really trying that hard. Instinct demands she comply. The Green Ninja, savior of all, wants this.

The Quiet One, Ninjago’s number one troublemaker, actually does want it. Harumi reaches up, digs her hands into his hair, and pulls. She's rewarded with a surprised, muffled yelp, and then Lloyd is pulling her in much more tightly.

This she can take. It's almost a fight already! She gnashes her teeth against his lip, and his matching response makes her feel like things are finally right again.

Duelling Lloyd has always been the right choice. The Green Ninja is her opponent, and she is his most masterful enemy, knowing all his weaknesses. His body is hers to control now.

Lloyd makes her feel powerful. He even makes her feel beautiful. He makes her satisfied. It’s the thrill of victory; it just feels different this time. After all, Lloyd Garmadon doesn't quit, he just gives her what he's given, forceful and perfect and somehow right.

(She knows the true name of this emotion, but she can't call it passion. Passion is too good for their screwed-up situation.)

They end up tangled in the sheets a few minutes later, Harumi straddling Lloyd. They’re both out of breath and red in the face. He beams at her, like the cat who caught the canary.

“…I told you, Rumi,” he pants, “I love you.”

“You just want to use me.” Why do you always complain?

“Whatever helps you sleep at night. I know what I really want.”

She sighs, and plays the game they always play, because she needs to hear it again. “Which is?”

Lloyd reaches up and cups her face in his hands. His blond hair is splayed over the pillow like a halo. His eyes shine with delight, or something similar. “I want you, and everything that comes with you.”

Baggage? My body? The usual excuses feel hollow. “You don't really want me.”

“I want you with me. You're here, aren't you?”

“Against my better judgment…”

“You said you love me.”

“I lied—”

“No, you didn't.” He strokes her cheeks, and she somehow likes it. “I'm not letting you get away again. I just got you back.”

“Masochist.”

“Maybe.”

“I'll kill you one day.”

“Maybe when my hair's white too. You'll still be around then.”

“What if I find someone else?”

And he grins again, eyes sparkling. He's annoyingly handsome. “That’s tough. You may be trouble, but you're no cheater.”

Her heart drops to her stomach. “I… Lloyd, no.”

“I haven't even asked!”

“No. I can't.”

He pauses. “…There is someone else?”

Sweet, stupid man. “No.”

“Oh.” He brightens again. “Then you can!”

“You're that desperate to ruin your life?”

“When it comes to you, I am. I want a life with you, and I don't care if it hurts. Let me take care of you.”

Lloyd reaches for his nightstand, tugging open the old, stuck drawer. It clunks when it slams open, but he doesn't appear to care. He pulls out a velvet drawstring bag, opens it, and tips out just the shiny objects Harumi had feared. They’re a set of pins, yin and yang, trimmed in gold and green.

He separates one half and offers it to her. “Now I'm asking you. Will you be my yang?”

She hates it. She hates this feeling, how her vision is swimming and blurring. She can't look away but she can't look at him. The pin is beautiful in its simplicity. They have never been so simple. “…Is that what we are?”

Lloyd is quiet, but he runs one encouraging hand up and down her arm. “I think so.”

She wants to curse it all and leave, but something tremendous stops her. She knows its name, too.

Hope.

Harumi sniffs, her tears splattering on Lloyd's shoulder. “Okay.”

“You will?”

She nods, struggling to get past the lump in her throat. “Why not? It's already the end of the world.”

His hand pauses, and she feels Lloyd squeeze her arm gently. “No, Rumi, it's not. It's the start of something new… and we'll do it together.”

Together. She's never known that word. Lloyd fixes her yang pin to the collar of her pajamas, then the yin pin to his own, and that's that.

It's that simple?

She lets herself get lost in another kiss, and hides in his embrace. The summer heat is sweltering, but at least she's safe.

It’s a quiet fall morning at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, with wind sweeping over the walls and the first colorful leaves dancing in the wake. The seasons’ eternal dance carries every living thing with it. The Merge changed so many worlds in so many ways, large and small, but some things are perpetual; mysteries remain unsolved, questions still go unanswered.

For now.

The sun is well over the horizon, and Sora has been awake for hours. She rises with the sun now, with her master Lloyd and best friend Arin. It’s a principle her master’s master taught, and Lloyd follows everything he was taught to a T.

(She’s not sure if it’s speaking ill of the dead, but his quotations of Master Wu’s teachings always sound a little… cracked. Maybe it’s just the worshipful way he says them?)

At this hour, they’ve gone through their morning exercises and eaten breakfast. They’re just getting ready to start their weapons training for the day when—

Thud! Thud-thud! Thud!

Sora and Arin jump at the interruption. It’s the sound of the reverberating courtyard gates, ten feet of wood and steel. The two look at each other, paused mid-step.

Who is it?

Sora glances at the gates curiously. “Is that… someone knocking?”

Arin gasps, in his highly excitable way, and drops his staff. “No way! A visitor!” He runs to the gates before Sora can even open her mouth, let alone follow.

He pulls them open to reveal a slender woman with straight white hair. She’s dressed all in black, except for a purple belt, from which a red-handled knife hangs in its sheath. She wears a matching red-handled katana on her back. The weapons once again match red face paint which is smeared around her eyes, visible even through her overgrown bangs.

Arin falters, and the woman looks at him curiously. She speaks first. “Who are you?”

He rallies, announcing, “I’m one of Ninja Master Lloyd’s students. Who are you?”

“A friend of his,” she replies smoothly, curiosity apparently appeased as she looks past him. “Can you go get your master?”

Arin frowns. “Uh… sure? Do you want to come in?”

“Please.”

He steps back, and she enters with a surprisingly graceful gait. Sora watches her with a careful eye, but the woman quickly sees her, too. She offers a nod, but no smile, and continues toward the kitchen door.

Arin races past, getting in her way and making the woman stop in her tracks. “Wait a second, I’ll get him. I know where he is!”

“Oh, I’m sure I do too.”

“Really! Just, uh, wait here.”

The woman laughs. “Fine, if you insist.”

Arin nods frantically, and then he’s disappeared inside, to Sora’s dismay. That little traitor, leaving me alone with the stranger! Would she have to make small talk? Keep the woman occupied? Protect Lloyd? What if she’s dangerous?

The woman apparently doesn’t care about Sora, because she’s busy walking over to Lloyd’s meditation table, on one side of the Monastery’s roofed deck. She looks at the wood floor where Lloyd kneels before it every morning—sans carpet, because he’s still not replaced the one Sora ruined—and toes the area with a wry smile. Then she turns her attention to the framed photos on the table.

Sora watches, and finally decides to talk when the silence starts to get uncomfortable. “What’s your name?”

The reply is immediate, a little snappy. “None of your business.”

“Why not? Are you not actually Lloyd’s friend?”

“No, I am. I’d rather let him introduce me.” She reaches for the picture of Master Wu, picks it up, and turns it this way and that. She adjusts all the others too, just a little bit.

She’s messing with Lloyd’s stuff! The thought makes Sora' flush with righteous anger. “I don’t think Lloyd would like you messing with that, even if you’re his friend.”

“Hm… he can tell me that himself, if he wants.”

“Put it down.” The woman stays quiet, so Sora repeats it. “Put it down, right now.”

The woman glances over her shoulder. Her eyes are so bright that Sora notices them immediately. Green, flecked with pink. How is it even possible? Is she from another realm?

“You’re a pushy one,” the strange woman notes. “I can see why he chose you.”

Sora stiffens, raising her staff. “Is that a threat?”

The woman smiles and opens her mouth to respond, but the door slides open at that moment. It slides so forcefully that it knocks into the frame with a clack. Lloyd—the one doing the door-slamming which he always tells Sora and Arin not to do—has a wide smile on his face as he steps over the lintel. “You’re home!”

The woman smiles and sets the framed picture down. “Hi, Lloyd!”

Lloyd runs to her, immediately engulfing the stranger in a hug, lifting her up onto her toes. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?!”

She laughs quietly. “Can’t I surprise you from time to time?”

“Yes, but—”

“Give me a break! I went pretty far this time.” The woman pulls back, turning her head somehow. Sora can’t quite see their interaction, with Lloyd’s face closer, but his beaming smile is all the reason she needs to put her staff down. Whoever this is, she’s not a threat… just weird.

Lloyd doesn’t let go of her, standing close to the woman. “Did you get all the way to the edge of the Wyldness?”

“Yep. I met some snail people.”

“Mucoids! They’re pretty nice.”

“I’m not sure they liked me.”

“What, your sunny disposition didn’t do the trick?” He wiggles his eyebrows, and earns a smack on the shoulder. “Hey!”

“Be grateful my katana is still on my back.”

“Oh, I am.”

“Good.”

I can’t take any more of this! Sora clears her throat, drawing their attention. Lloyd looks surprised. Did he forget she was there? Did he not hear Arin’s stomping behind him as he came to stand with Sora? His weird behavior already rubs her the wrong way.

“Soooo… are you going to introduce us?” Arin asks before she can, taking the lead as usual.

“Oh! I figured you already knew, sorry! You seem to already know so much about me!”

“We don't know her,” Sora points out.

The woman glances at them. With such a direct view, Sora now sees how her face paint makes a serrated pattern over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. It’s like she decided her face should be sawed in half. Her expression is pure disdain. “You don't need to.”

“Rumi, be nice.” Lloyd turns to stand next to Harumi, resting an arm around her shoulders. “Kids, this is Harumi. Rumi, this is Arin and Sora, my star pupils.”

“Your only pupils?”

“So far.” Lloyd grins proudly at her. “They’re already doing so well! You’ll see.”

Arin laughs at the unimpressed raise of her eyebrows. “Hi, Harumi! How do you know Lloyd?”

Harumi and Lloyd share a glance, as if somehow speaking silently. “We go back. I'm not part of the old team, if that's what you're asking.”

“Then how did you meet?”

“It was an old battle,” Lloyd says, brushing it off. “I’ll tell you the stories later, but not right now. Just know she's one of the good ones.”

Harumi rolls her eyes. “Now it's my turn. Did he pick you two up off the side of the road?”

“Out of a train car, actually,” Sora corrects.

“Huh. Same thing.”

“Pretty much. Nice to meet you.”

Harumi cracks a smirk. “Yeah, nice to meet you too. You'll fit in with Mr. Goody Two-Shoes.”

Lloyd rolls his eyes and finally steps back to a reasonable distance. “Okay Rumi, enough of your jokes. Come inside. Do you want some lunch?”

They start walking to the door, Harumi now focused on their conversation. “That would be good. Got any of that Merlopian chili around?”

“I can make some for you.”

“Please.”

Arin looks at Sora, a question on his face. She knows what he’s wondering, because she’s wondering the same.

Who is this? Lloyd never offers to make special meals for us. Why her?

“Um, Lloyd, we’ll let you catch up. I—uh—need to ask Arin for some advice.”

Lloyd frowns, pausing mid-step. “About what?”

“Uh… um…”

“About hair!” Arin supplied. “She needs to talk about hair care!”

Harumi raises an eyebrow. “You’ve got curls, she doesn’t. Why does she need your advice?”

“My mom never taught me!” Sora exclaims. It wasn’t entirely a lie: her mom had never taught her plenty of things about being a girl, but she’d always had tidy hair. Harumi didn’t have to know it was a half-truth—Sora was a decent liar.

Harumi shrugs, seemingly convinced. “Okay. Have fun.”

Harumi and Lloyd enter the kitchen, pulling the door shut behind them, and Sora immediately leans over to whisper to Arin. “What was that?!”

“What was what?”

“Did you see how they’re acting? Lloyd’s way different than usual!”

“Uh… we’ve never seen him with any of his old friends,” Arin argues. “Maybe this is normal for him.”

“That hug? Seriously?”

“What about it?”

“Arin, you’re hopeless. Trust me, something’s going on. Do you think she’s a girlfriend we don’t know about?!” Sora points at the meditation table, now with a skewed arrangement. “We’re not even allowed to touch that, and she goes and messes with it, no problem. No lecture for her!”

“She’s an adult. And not Lloyd’s student.”

“So?”

“So maybe it’s fine?”

Sora groans. “Never mind, it’s not important. Do you know anything about this girl?”

Arin frowns. “Uh… no? I think I’ve maybe heard the name before, but she’s not in anything I used to read. She’s probably not a ninja.”

“Then why does he know her?”

“Lloyd knows a lot of people, Sora. I bet he just met her on one of his adventures.” After a moment of pause, he grins. “Hey, maybe she’s from another realm!”

“That’s ridiculous. She doesn’t have an accent.”

“Most people in the Crossroads don’t.”

“We don’t know that she’s from the Crossroads.”

“Oh… um… hm.” Arin frowns. “Well, let’s just go talk to them! Get Lloyd to tell us a story!”

“Fine. That’ll work.” Annoyed, Sora stalks to the kitchen door and pulls it open.

Inside, Lloyd and Harumi are standing at the kitchen counter. There’s a few ingredients and kitchen tools spread out before them, but they seem uninterested, because they’re just looking at each other… and she could swear Lloyd’s hand is on top of Harumi’s.

They are dating! I knew it!

Lloyd turns and smiles widely, turning away from Harumi. “Hey, you two! Figured out that ‘hair-related emergency?’”

“Yeah, I just need new conditioner,” Sora bluffs. “You’re making chili?”

“Yep. It won’t be ready for a while.” He shrugs. “Why don’t you two enjoy some free time? Rumi and I have some catching up to do.”

“We actually wanted to hear those stories you mentioned,” Arin begins.

“Later.” Lloyd brushes him off. “You two should go down to the Crossroads! Actually, while you’re there, can you get some more chili sauce? This is the last of it.”

“Where are we supposed to find that?”

Harumi shrugs. “Figure it out, kid. Get going.”

Sora bristles. “Hey, don’t call us kids!”

“You are kids.”

“So? It’s rude.”

Harumi rolls her eyes. “Oh well. Get used to it, kid. Some people are rude.”

“Rumi,” Lloyd warns, his voice a little firmer. “Remember what we’ve talked about?”

She glances at him and sighs. “…Sorry, Sora.”

Sora nods, but she’s still uncomfortable. This time, it’s the kind of discomfort she definitely wants to leave. Whatever weirdness is going on here—especially if it’s romantic stuff—is something she doesn’t want to see. “Arin, let’s go. Maybe we’ll go see Lobbo.”

“Oh, sure! It’s been a while, ‘Lobbo Lobbo,’” Arin parrots. “We’ll see you later, Lloyd!”

“Sounds good! Just be back for Spinjitzu practice tonight.”

“Can do!” He grabs Sora’s hand, and they leave together, closing the door on their way out. They go all the way to the gates, which they close behind them, before they look at each other and both speak at the same time.

“That was weird—”

“I don’t know what that was—”

“—but something’s definitely going on,” they finish together.

-----

The kids have just left, the kitchen door barely closed behind them, when Harumi grabs Lloyd and pulls him into a searing kiss. He enthusiastically responds, throwing his arms around her tightly.

Lloyd revels in it, in her. Harumi’s absence has pulled at his soul since she left him, and now that she’s home again, he’s flooded with relief.

Relief and passion. The time they’ve spent apart needs to be made up. She seems to agree, because she's holding him about as tightly as humanly possible.

When they come to a stopping point, he pulls back, breathing hard, and whispers against her lips. “I missed you so much, Rumi.”

She laughs, just as out-of-breath, and kisses him again. They might both bruise from it all. “I couldn’t tell.”

He grins. “Liar.”

“It’s sarcasm, you idiot.” She’s grinning, her cheeks flushed, all joy and cheer. “I’m impressed you didn’t lead with a kiss.”

“In front of the kids?” Lloyd laughs, running his hands through her hair. “They don’t know who you are, or that I even have a yang. I never got around to telling them.”

“I don't mind keeping it that way.” Harumi wraps her arms around his neck comfortably. Her hair is shorter now, only brushing past her shoulders, and he delights in running his hands through it. “I don’t want to share you.”

“You won’t share me, but you won’t stay home. Make up your mind.”

She kisses him. “Leave the bad jokes at the door, Garmadon. I’m just glad you’re not along in this big monastery. Didn’t I tell you that you’d find some kids to take care of?”

“They’re my students, you know. Not my kids.”

She laughs. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

His cheeks feel warm, especially where her breath brushes across his skin. It’s a feeling he’s missed in the last several weeks of teaching. It's been good, but he's missed her more than any of her other trips. It's clarified some things.

So he rests his forehead against hers. “You know I want kids with you.”

Harumi grins at him. “Best of luck with that one, Lloyd. It's not happening.”

“Never say never. You might change your mind.”

“When have I ever done that?”

“Well—”

“Don’t mention last time, it doesn’t count.”

Lloyd tugs her into a kiss, buying time to think of a good response. She always knows what he’s thinking—this time, about how they got to where they are, and the future before them. How she said yes to his proposal, even when she had her doubts.

It was the first of many hard mornings, none of them worth reliving now, when the present is so much happier.

The future will be happy too. He knows it's inevitable.

Lloyd pulls back and rests his forehead against hers. “Just think about it, okay? You know they’d be adorable. Think of it, a couple blond babies…”

Harumi kisses him again, and he can feel the hesitancy, the nervousness in it. She breaks away to whisper softly. “We both know how stubborn I am. I'm not good with kids.”

“Don’t even start, Rumi. I saw you with the kids in Ninjago City.”

“I was acting.”

“What about when Wu became a baby? You’re the only one who could get him to calm down.”

“Because he was tired and you all had apparently never interacted with a little baby before! That hardly counts.”

“I think it does.”

Lloyd reaches up and strokes her hair back from her face, caressing her cheek. He knows she’ll never admit how she presses her face against his palm, closing her eyes for just a moment. She’s not fragile—she almost never is—but moments like these bring out her vulnerable side.

It’s his favorite of all her faces. He loves it because it’s the face that loves him, too.

“Rumi, my mom always says that no one knows how to have kids before they have them. I think you’d learn to be a great mom.”

She opens her eyes and looks at him, the teasing smile coming back. “You really want kids, huh? Funny how that's one of the things we didn't talk about before…”

“Before we decided to stick together?” He can’t help but smile as he pulls out his pin, strung on a cord around his neck. It’s always with him, even though no one ever sees it. “I didn’t think we needed to talk about it.”

“Some people might say that would be the smart thing to do.” Harumi lets go of him to take out her pin, also strung on a cord. “I guess I just find it funny.”

Lloyd reaches up and takes her pin, slotting it in to match with his. A perfect pair, they fit together to form a circle. Endless, unstoppable, yet delicate.

She traces the seam between their pins, her voice quiet. “So this is what we talk about right after I come home? Funny.”

“It is funny. You know how we are.”

“A bit stupid?”

“No, I was going to say we’re a matched pair. We complement each other.”

Harumi grins at him and reaches up to grasp their connected pins, her fingertips brushing against his. “That's one of the many things I love about you. Although… I'm not sure what that has to do with having kids someday.”

“You’re not picking up on it?” He snickers, abandoning the pins to her hand so he can bury his hands in the soft curtain of her hair. “If you fail, I won’t. When I fail, you don’t. Our kids will be fine.”

Harumi raises an eyebrow at him. “You say that like it's inevitable. What if something bad happens? Having kids would just complicate things.”

“That sounds like an excuse, Rumi. There’s always something going on, so why stop when things get hard?”

“I just…” Her eyes flicker down to the pins between them, still connected, two halves of a perfect circle. “It's big and it's complicated… that's all.”

There lies the same story, the one he’s heard so many times. The side of Harumi which no one else gets to see. It’s a privilege, and he knows it. Even so, the same story of fear, resignation, and running away gets tired. Why act it out again? Fear never stopped the Quiet One, but Harumi Garmadon lets it get in her way more often than not.

That is where Lloyd’s conscience rears its head to scold him. She just came home after a long trip, and you’re scaring her off again. Good going, Lloyd. Keep it up and you'll get her to cry.

There’s only one way to get her out of a funk like this: feed her.

“Let’s make that chili, Rumi. I’m starving.”

Harumi looks up at him and smiles again, immediately pleased. “I thought you were missing something and couldn't make it! Or was that just to get the kids out of here so you could kiss me?”

“Maybe it was both. We will be out of something once we make it.”

She laughs, and the sound makes his heart flutter. “You're a lot sneakier than people give you credit for. Here I thought I was the devious mastermind here.”

“‘Devious mastermind?’ Good to know your pride is still intact.”

“I tell it like I see it,” she says smugly.

Lloyd laughs and pulls her in for another quick kiss—she tries to drag it out, but he cuts her off. “Hey, lunch first. We have all day.”

“That's not fair! What if I want you instead?”

“You can take me to bed after lunch. Don’t you want to be awake enough to enjoy being home?”

Harumi pouts, green-pink eyes pleading with him. “I don't like your logic. It makes too much sense.”

He smiles sympathetically and kisses her forehead. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t pick me for my brain, but I do have one.”

“You see, that's where it gets complicated. I do love your brain, but I've also missed you.” Harumi smiles, disconnecting their pins and giving hers a quick kiss before tucking it away again. “I guess you’re right for once. If your students come back and there's no chili, they'll know you're a liar, just like me!”

He laughs louder than he has in a long time—since she left, maybe—and tucks his pin inside his neckline as well. “We can’t have that. They need to trust my training!”

“Oh right, Master Lloyd, how's it feel having to wrangle two teenagers?”

“Well, Mrs. Garmadon, it feels frustrating. Did you see the meditation table?”

She grins. “Yeah, who did that? It's a bit of a mess. You should have seen the look on her—what's her name?”

“Sora?”

“Yeah, you should have seen the look on her face when I fixed it up a bit. She looked like she was gonna skewer me.”

Lloyd snorts. “That would be because she is the one who destroyed my meditation carpet!”

“That's what was off about it! It was such a nice carpet too. Very good for… meditation.”

“It was! I liked that carpet!”

She snickers. “Now you know how Master Wu must've felt with all six of you going around destroying things. Precious artifacts, ancient bells…”

“We didn’t treat Master Wu like that,” he protests, turning to the food. “We were respectful.”

For some reason, that makes her laugh even more. “You were teenagers. That's what teenagers do! They're clumsy and forgetful and loud and destroy meditation carpets when you're not paying attention. This is Teenagers 101, Lloyd.”

He spies her in his periphery, leaning against the counter, smiling and carefree.

She’s beautiful.

The vision that follows Lloyd around rears its head again. Little blond and white-haired troublemakers running around his monastery, tiny feet slapping against the floor. Little hands and fingerprints on everything, piles of laundry, piggyback rides through rice paddies. Visits to Ninjago City—now the Crossroads—to see the museum, Dareth’s dojo, the zoo.

It’s a future he’s wanted for a long time now. He’d do anything to make it happen.

“You say you’re bad with kids, but your opinions disagree.” He knows the truth. She would be the best mother to his children. It's only a matter of time until she comes around.

Harumi shrugs, still smiling. “Just because I have opinions doesn't mean I want to act on them.” She doesn’t sound so stubborn at the moment.

“We’ll see. Can you cut the veggies?”

“Sure.” Despite saying so, Harumi comes to him instead. She wraps her arms around him from behind, and he sighs as she kisses his shoulder and lays her head on him. “I missed you, Lloyd.”

He leans his head against hers and smiles. “I missed you more.”

I’m the only one left.

The rooftops weren’t as distracting as Lloyd had hoped. Down at street level, the Crossroads were a barrage of color and noise. Sixteen realms and countless cultures had moved into Ninjago City, making it their own.

Lloyd, a remnant of the old Ninjago, was left behind like garbage.

Memories of the city he loved grated against Lloyd’s heart, in places that were still raw from the last time he’d remembered–

–the last time he’d bled.

Don’t think about it. Just go home.

The way down from this roof, the peak of the Crossroads’ highest building, required a challenging jump to the next building. The pagoda-styled roofs provided a decent footing, but still it took him a moment to calculate just how hard to push himself.

Just before the jump, he reached for his mask, and found nothing.

I really need to get a new suit, he thought with some frustration. This is getting annoying.

He leaped.

Seconds later, he rolled to a stop on the lower roof, and from there, latched onto a water spout. He rode it down the wall, maneuvering his body weight to avoid the clamps that held it to the brick, and was on the dirt street below in moments.

The Crossroads turned a blind eye to him, just as it needed to. A ninja couldn’t always be seen. He needed secrecy, especially because he worked alone–

Lloyd shook his head, trying to banish the miserable thoughts that followed him. Why can’t I focus today? I sound like a supervillain, monologuing everything. Nobody needs that.

Besides… the Monastery was empty. He could cry about his terrible fate as the fated Green Ninja in privacy. Nobody had to know what he did there.

Nobody saw that every night, when he sat before his uncle and father’s pictures in the courtyard, he cried.

His family, his world, the life he was supposed to have. All stolen, according to some fate.

I didn’t ask for this.

He let himself focus on the hustle and bustle of the Crossroads, the comforting weight of his well-worn sword on his back, the sound of crowds, the crashing noises–

What was that?

The sound repeated, and Lloyd turned, hearing it come from down the street. It sounded close, and worse, someone was groaning.

He ran, turning the corner to see a pile of rubbish spread across the street. The majority was a rather tall pile, pinning down a prone figure. A few passersby were approaching the figure, pulling off garbage to let the person stand.

Lloyd watched, not sure what to do.

After a few minutes of garbage removal, a Mucoid stepped forward from the crowd and offered the unfortunate person a hand up. The figure stood– a woman, based on height and frame– and nodded appreciatively.

Lloyd was just about to turn and leave when the woman turned her head.

Green eyes, tinged with pink, watched him.

He watched, too, in mute fascination and horror.

The woman pushed back her hood. White hair came spilling out, now cut to only brush her shoulders.

Still, she didn’t look away, and Lloyd reached for his sword out of habit.

Harumi, the Quiet One, the Jade Princess, his arch nemesis… shook her head.

He narrowed his eyes. “Harumi!”

She flinched as a few pairs of eyes turned toward him. He ignored them, stepping close enough to speak with her. “Please. Not here.”

“Why not?”

Harumi glanced around. “There’s too many people around.”

Lloyd’s skin prickled, fear and anticipation warring in him. She was still the same person who had lied to him, kidnapped him, caged him, tried to kill him. Some people never changed. “I don’t think so. Why are you here? To kill me?”

“No!” She took a step back, looking genuinely offended. “Geez, Lloyd. You have a one-track mind.”

“Well excuse me for wanting to get to the truth. What do you want?” His voice cracked on the last word, betraying its disuse from too much time living alone.

She noticed, and smiled weakly. “Can’t a girl just go about her day in peace? I just got squished by a pile of trash. It’s not been a good day already.”

Imagine how I feel, he thought, but didn’t say. “And what exactly do you do in a ‘peaceful’ day?”

“What is this, an interrogation?”

“If it needs to be.”

She scoffed, and with a roll of her eyes that he’d all but memorized, she stepped past him and began walking down the road. “Fine. I don’t have to stay here and let you insult me.”

“Hey!” He wheeled on her, drawing his sword. “Stop!”

“Or what? You’ll cut me down where I stand?”

“If it comes to that.”

She waved a nonchalant hand. “Please, Lloyd. Do you think I’m really going to let you do that? I can always take you in a fight.”

“Hand-to-hand versus a sword? I find that hard to believe.”

Harumi smirked, and Lloyd felt like a spider had crawled up his spine and settled right on his neck– right where it could bite and bleed him dry. “As if I ever go unarmed. You’re as foolish as ever.”

Lloyd felt his pulse pounding at his temples. “Well– well I’m not letting you go.”

“Oh, no! The Green Ninja isn’t letting me go.” She pouted. “I’ll just have to do whatever he tells me.”

Unkind memories sprang up, of time on a boat and an almost-kiss that he hadn’t quite expected. They made Lloyd white-knuckle his sword grip, all his muscles tensed for a fight. “Explain yourself. Why are you in the Crossroads? Why now?”

“Maybe I’ve been here this whole time.”

“Then why show up now?”

“See my previous comment about having a pile of garbage dropped on me. Seriously, Lloyd. You’re not stupid.” She paused. “In fact, you’re supposed to be the dead one. Why are you questioning me? I have every right–”

“You have the right to remain silent,” Lloyd cut in, irritated by her non-answers.

“Did you take a job as a cop?”

“...No.”

“Then don’t treat me like I’m under arrest.” She rolled her eyes again. “Look. Why don’t we find somewhere to just talk this all out. If it makes you feel better, I can swear on my dead parents that I have zero evil plans right now.”

Lloyd was about to yell at her, but he stopped himself. There was something about her frustratingly casual demeanor that didn’t quite look like when she was tricking him– any of several times. “...Swear it.”

She crossed her heart. “On the lives of all of my dead parents, I swear.”

He watched her closely. Show me a tell. Give me a reason to beat you into the dirt.

She met his gaze with an even stare.

All he got were those green eyes, still with pink flashes now and again. A poker face trained by years in the Imperial court, keeping secrets and telling lies like a second language.

She’s telling the truth this time.

He felt sick to his stomach, but sheathed his sword. “Fine. Say I believe you,” he bluffed. “Come back to the Monastery, and we can talk.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Seriously? You want me in your home?”

“Where I can keep an eye on you,” he corrected, not sure if either statement was more true than the other. “I’ll sweeten the deal, even. We can have an even fight and work out some of these old grudges.”

Harumi laughed, throwing her head back. “You want a fight? Haven’t I almost killed you enough times?”

He glared at her again. “With staves. I’m a ninja. We value the sanctity of life.”

Harumi, for her part, listened to his correction with only a trace of a smug smile. “...Don’t you mean ‘staffs?’”

“No, I meant staves,” he snapped. “Who’s the trained ninja here?!”

She shook her head in dismay. “Clearly not you, or you’d be harder to rile up.”

“I will drag you back to whatever prison replaced Kryptarium, or so help me–”

“Fine.” She interrupted him, and offered a hand to shake. “If you want to work our your repressed emotions by letting me throw you around, then fine. I’d love another chance to show you who’s the boss here.”

Lloyd felt himself flushing, but he took her hand and shook it with as much strength as possible. She winced at his grip, which made him smile. “It would be nice to show you just how wrong you are, actually.”

“Fine. Let’s get on with it.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” she snapped, always having to have the last word.

Lloyd turned on his heel, heading in the direction of the Monastery, and listened carefully to the footsteps that followed him through the crowd.

If fate wants to punish me, I think I just asked for it.

-------

In a parody of everything normal in Lloyd’s life, he walked the thousand steps to the Monastery of Spinjitzu with Harumi at his heels.

The Merge had made everything discordant, but nothing was more grating than her constant talking, boring into his brain through his ears.

“How is it, being dead? Are you liking being ignored?” She sounded flippant, but the words cut deep, making Lloyd step a little more firmly as they rose toward the not-so-ancient building. “I didn’t like it very much, you understand. Nobody to talk to gets quite boring.”

Lloyd balled his hands into fists. “I liked it, actually. Nobody to talk to leaves plenty of time for meditating.”

“Meditating? What are you, a guru?”

“I’m a ninja master. Meditating is an important part of the job.”

“Please,” she drawled. “You’re just mulling over all your past mistakes, like letting me get squished by a skyscraper.”

“I told you already, that’s not true.”

“And I still don’t believe you.”

Lloyd stopped walking and turned on her. Her expression was smug, a smile pasted across her pale cheeks. “Harumi. For the last time, I didn’t let that happen to you! The Overlord may have revived you before I got there, but I was there.”

She paused, obviously considering her next insult. “You could have been more timely about it.”

“I was a fugitive!”

“I was dead!”

“Gah! You are impossible!” Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Just shut up, we’re almost to the top.”

Harumi snickered. “Make me.”

Instantly he tensed. The look on her face was oddly mischievous, and it sent shivers up and down his spine– a sensation that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“No.”

“Really?” She clasped her hands behind her back, fluttering her eyelashes in a girlish manner. “That’s too bad. Seems like you’re stuck with my chatter.”

Lloyd opened his mouth to retort.

You’re only giving her more ammunition. Quit digging a deeper hole for yourself, Lloyd Garmadon.

He shut his mouth, turned his back, and started up the stairs again.

She followed, walking at his side with only an inch of air between them. Every few steps, her knuckles brushed against his.

He pulled his hand back and veered to the side, and then a few steps later, it happened again.

Ignore it, Lloyd. You’re almost home, you can beat her senseless there.

The thought was not helpful, and neither was the one it came with.

This is too much like the first time I met her.

Harumi kept talking, but this time she didn’t demand any replies. Instead, she commented on the Merged Lands, with their nonsensical combination. In the time since the Merge, he’d noticed strange combinations, and she spoke aloud the things he hadn’t mentioned to anyone.

Mountains giving way to oceans of deep purple waters that were safe to drink.

Petrified forests that only reached up to the knee.

She told him stories. Last year, she got caught in a spring snowstorm, and she was trapped in the home of friendly strangers for a week. They weren’t from Ninjago, so she’d been welcomed.

(It wasn’t worth asking if they were still alive.)

She walked the bank of a river which split two realms, and helped the locals build a retaining wall along it. They were using the water to irrigate their fields, and had cooked for her as long as she kept working with them.

(Manual labor? Hard to believe, but…)

Worst of all, in the middle of the Wyldness, she ran out of hair products. As it turned out, the pre-industrial apocalypse was rather unwelcoming.

(He’d had to snort at that one, and her smile in return was unsettling.)

The walk kept going, and going, and going. Lloyd’s thoughts wandered toward his family– and Jay’s much more tolerable rants.

I miss them so much.

I’m a complete moron.

-------

They reached the Monastery, whereLloyd hauled one side of the gate open. “After you.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t argue. “Thank you.”

They stepped inside, and Lloyd was hit with a realization that it was rather sad to be here alone. He’d gotten used to dead silence, but it made him want to cry now that he faced it; that, and throw something off the edge of the cliff.

He ignored both urges, instead shutting the gate behind them.

Harumi blinked. “Did it get larger in the Merge?”

“No,” Lloyd grumbles. “It’s just bigger than one person needs.”

“I suppose so,” Harumi replied lightly. “It still looks nice, like new construction. I suppose I won’t be receiving a tour or a cup of tea?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You want to play houseguest? That doesn’t sound like you.”

“No, it’s not. Perhaps I turned over a new leaf.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“You shouldn’t.” Harumi rolled her shoulders, smiling mischievously. “Knives or no?”

Lloyd gave her one dry look. “I told you, staves only. Cleaning blood off stone is harder than it sounds.”

She laughed. “I’ve heard that. But really, I’m not a heathen. I would only try and really kill you after we’d fought a couple times! Imagine if I succeeded the first time– which is quite likely. How awkward.”

“You’ve become a master of understatement,” Lloyd commented dryly, then walked across the courtyard to put away his sword. “Maybe the Merge did you some more good than it did me.”

Harumi chuckled softly, and when he glanced over at her, she was plucking a knife out of her waistband and placing it against the wall— far enough away so neither of them would be able to get to it while they were sparring. “Maybe. It’s been an odd couple of years.”

“Tell me about it,” he commented, focused on re-tying his gi so it wouldn’t get in his way. He hadn’t had a good fight in too long, and the training course wasn’t a great substitute. Could he still take a real opponent, with months or years of cooling his heels only dulling his skills?

It’ll be good for sharpening your skills, the practical part of his mind contributed. Iron sharpens iron.

Harumi taunted, “I can still kick your butt.”

Lloyd scoffed in reply. “Doubt it.”

Harumi’s laugh echoed off the silence etched into the courtyard walls. He approached and stopped in the center of the yard, assuming a defensive position. She stepped closer and did the same. Again he noted the strengths and weaknesses in her stance— how best to knock her off balance, to force her to retreat. She was easily exploited, when done right.

He grinned. I really needed some action.

Harumi grinned back. “You’re so slow. Scared to hit a girl, Lloyd?”

“Is that what I should be calling you?” He taunted back, squaring his heels, and launched himself into a roundhouse kick. “I was referring to you as my sworn enemy!”

“Aww, I’m flattered!” Harumi snorted, dodging his kick and launching an attack of her own. “Sworn enemy does have a nice ring to it!”

Lloyd dodged her punch easily. “That’s what you focus on?”

“What, would you prefer something else? I’ve got a whole host of names I could go by.”

He ignored her comment for just long enough to try to sweep her legs out from under her– and miss, coming back into a standing position. He was just quick enough to block a blow to the head. “Don’t call yourself the Quiet One anymore. You’re not quiet!”

“Pssh, no one calls me that anymore. I’ve also avoided the whole ‘damsel in distress.’”

“Really? Your list of former nicknames is getting long.”

“I could make it longer. I even managed to shake being called your girlfriend,” she shot back.

Lloyd stiffened, despite all his training demanding flexibility and loose muscles, and his rhythm dropped. He stood back, resting on his heels, steadying himself. “...Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Harumi smirked, still in defensive position. “Are you still going to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about?”

Lloyd’s annoyance flared into anger. He knew his face was red, and worse, he didn’t care. “I’m not interested in your games.”

“Funny. I don’t believe that you invited me all the way up here to get even. You’re lonely, and I was there.”

He returned to a boxing stance. “I’m not that pathetic.”

“Just a little pathetic,then.” She rolled her eyes. “Tell me I’m wrong, Lloyd. I dare you.”

“We both know you’ll ignore anything I say. Stop stalling.”

“Hey, I’m right here!” Harumi spread out her hands, opening up to a punch they both knew Lloyd wouldn’t throw. “If you have something to say to me, just spit it out already! I’m not going to tell anyone. I’m good with secrets, you know that.”

Irritation won out, and Lloyd threw a kick. He aimed for her head, almost landing it, but she ducked just in time. He lost his balance and took a moment to step back, but the deep, heaving breaths from the failed strike only made him angrier.

“Do you know what the problem is?” Harumi was still talking, and watching him with a heavy gaze. “You’re not used to being alone anymore. You can’t handle yourself now that your team is dead.”

“They’re not dead. They’re missing. It’s different.”

“Really? Then why aren’t you looking for them? You’re just rotting away, up here in your lonely castle.”

“My monastery–”

“Is empty,” she interrupted, crossing her arms. “And you’re empty too.”

Anger won out, again, but this time Lloyd couldn’t lash out. The rules of sparring were too deeply drilled into his mind, from years of training with his brothers and sister. When sparring with a friend, never strike when they’re undefended.

Harumi, with crossed arms and unbalanced posture, wasn’t prepared. Despite how much she grated on his nerves, she was his guest.

He poured his anger into words instead.

“My family is not dead. I’m doing fine, no thanks to you, and all the ways you’ve tried to ruin my life. Insulting me is a step too far, actually! You could’ve walked away, ignored me, left my life again. You came to my home, because I invited you, of your own free will. And now you’re playing it like you hate me?!”

She scoffed. “Hate is a strong word. I loathe you, Lloyd Garmadon.”

“Fine, that’s just as bad! If you’re going to act like you’ve always hated me, then I guess there’s no pleasing you. There’s no such thing as ‘good enough’ for a prissy princess like you!”

Harumi glared at him. “Do not call me that.”

“I’ll call you whatever I want! You’ve always wanted to destroy my life, Harumi. Congratulations, it’s destroyed, and you get to see it!” He gestured at the rest of the Monastery courtyard, just as miserably empty as before she’d come to visit. “Are you happy? You didn’t get to do it yourself, but you still got what you wanted. Is it good enough?!”

Harumi shifted her weight, uncrossing her arms. “Now you’re putting words in my mouth? That’s so mature, Green Savior. What’s next? Are you going to tell me that I should still be dead?”

Lloyd grasped at words, finding nothing good to throw back at her. “You– you really love ruining my day!”

She rolled her eyes and settled back into a fighting stance, fists raised to protect her face. “You ruined your own day.”

Finally! Lloyd didn’t wait for an invitation to whale on her. Instead, he launched himself full-body in her direction.

They collided, and Harumi fell back with a cry of surprise. Her feet slipped out from under her, and Lloyd angled just so she didn’t crack her skull on the stone– not that he would have minded, once upon a time– and instead bore the first impact with her shoulder.

Harumi grunted loudly, and Lloyd took advantage of her dazed state to pin her down by the shoulders and hips.

Red and purple tinged his vision, pounding with his pulse. When was the last time he’d been so angry?

Harumi tapped out, pounding her fist three times against the flagstone. Her breath was coming in gasps, and a secret, evil part of Lloyd wished she would just stop and be quiet.

He sat back, letting up pressure on her chest, and sat on her legs to keep her down on the ground. The haze of anger was beginning to clear, and he realized he was panting just as hard.

The red vision cleared, and he slowly came to see the blinding paleness below him. Harumi, with white hair and pale skin. There was no healthy flush in her cheeks, despite all the exertion. She was more dazed that he’d realized, and presently began to cough.

I did that to her.

Lloyd let up, getting off her so she could roll onto her side. Harumi was heaving full gasps of air, and she curled into a recovery position to regain her breath. He watched with some measure of worry, but within a minute, her cheeks were flushed again.

Good. If she was hyperventilating… He didn’t let himself finish the thought, along with its awful implications. She’s fine. Just don’t get so rough with her next time, Greenie.

When she was able to sit up, she choked out a few breathless words. “You were holding out on me. I haven’t seen you act like that since…”

Lloyd looked away, answering the unasked question. “That’s because I haven’t. I refused then, and I refuse now.”

“I’m not surprised either way… your father is a real piece of work.” She took a deep breath, sounding more stable. “Like father, like son.”

Lloyd bristled. “You’re still insulting me after I almost give you a concussion? You must love to hate me, Harumi.”

“I told you already, I don’t hate you.”

“Oh, right. How could I forget. You loathe me, which is a synonym for hating me.”

“It’s not the same.” Now it was her turn to avoid his gaze. “Besides, we’ve been enemies for years now. If I treated you any differently, you’d think I’m lying. It wouldn’t even be a bad assumption.”

Lloyd couldn’t help scowling, even though she wasn’t looking. “And where do you think I got that assumption?”

She rolled her eyes, but looked at him again. “Probably my devastating betrayal that broke your heart, followed by resurrecting the evil reflection of your dead father, dying as a direct result of your actions, and then acting as the right hand woman for your greatest enemy.”

Lloyd stared at her incredulousy, and she had the audacity to laugh. “Come on, Lloyd. I’m more self-aware than you give me credit for.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Then you’re a fool.”

Enough was enough, so Lloyd stood up and offered her a hand. “If you don’t hate me, then you could have the decency to be honest and tell me how you really feel.”

Harumi accepted the hand up, letting go as soon as she was on her feet. Her hand was smaller than he remembered, but still strong, and he wondered how strong her grip would be if she was trying to hurt him.

As soon as she was standing, Harumi drew back her hand. He thought she would make some witty retort, but instead she took hold of the hem of her hoodie and pulled it over her head.

Lloyd averted his eyes. She wasn’t wearing a shirt, and her pale skin on display made him distinctly uncomfortable– that, and hot under the collar. “Do you have to do that?”

“Do what?” She sounded genuinely confused.

He felt a blush creeping up his neck and ears. “...Not wear a shirt.”

“Oh.” She laughed at him. “No thanks. If I’m going to get hot and sweaty, I’d rather not make my jacket stink too. You’ll just have to deal with it.”

He groaned. “Fine. Then you should at least answer my question.”

“What was your question, again?”

“Your feelings,” he gritted, glancing at her. She was wearing a smug grin, of the type that made his skin crawl– and not entirely unpleasantly, which irritated him even more. “Since we’re apparently working out all our issues today.”

She laughed, throwing back her head with amusement. “Apparently, but you seem content to insult me instead. I can play dumb, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

“Less of a play for you,” he sniped, “and more of a reality.”

Harumi sighed, still sounding like he amused her, and looked him in the eye. “Look, you were convenient at the time, alright? My feelings had nothing to do with it.”

Nothing.

Lloyd watched her, thinking of all the times they’d had this conversation already, all the times she’d held a knife to his throat.

The ways she’d touched him, spoken to him– it was too convenient for her to say that. It was the most convenient option. The easiest answer, to change the topic and make him move his focus away from the real her.

She’s lying again. I need to try something new.

Lloyd turned away from her and approached the wall where the training weapons were kept. “You know, Harumi, I’m not stupid. You might think so, but I’m still the Green Ninja. I’ve had girls screaming over me for more than a decade, and you know what I’ve learned?”

She snorted. “You’ll tell me even if I don’t ask.”

Lloyd was glad she couldn’t see him roll his eyes. She’s predictable now. He opened the cabinet and pulled out two bamboo staves, both engraved with simple words of power his uncle once remembered from ages past.

“Here’s the bit you don’t get, Harumi. Those girls really did like me, even if I didn’t pay them any attention. And you’re no different! You’re not the first to have a crush on the most powerful martial artist in all of Ninjago.”

She laughed at him, but when he looked at her, she seemed uncomfortable. “Believe me, Lloyd, my only screaming at you has been from pure anger. You were the easiest target to reel in, not to mention the most likely ninja to sympathize with a defenseless princess. It’s as easy as that.”

Lloyd closed the cabinet with the butt of one staff, thinking over his next reply. She was watching him, taking note of his reactions. If he wanted the truth, he’d have to force her into a corner.

When he came back to Harumi, he thrust one staff into her hands. “I know a lie when I smell it. You can’t trick me again.”

She took it with a bitter sneer. “Even if I tell you the truth, you don’t believe me. At this rate, let’s just bet on it.”

Lloyd eyed her. “Bet on what? The odds you tell me something true for once?”

“No, stupid. A true, honest answer.” She tested the weight of the staff he’d given her, tapping the ends against the flagstones. “The catch is that you have to beat me in another fight.”

Lloyd spun his staff around, testing its familiar balance. It was just like his uncle’s old weapon, but still too new– there were no ridges or damage, no scorch marks, to attest its age and usefulness. It wasn’t ancient yet, and neither was he. Sometimes he wondered if he’d ever get to that age, but today he didn’t particularly care.

“Will you give me a truthful answer?”

“Only the truth. No tricks, no lies.”

Lloyd thought it over as he examined his staff. It was a tempting offer… would she deliver on it? What if he lost?

He glanced at her. Over so many years of fighting, he’d figured out her tells– she never covered them all completely. Here and there she’d smile, or toss of the hair more than she really needed to. Her fingers would twitch if she lied, like the truth was itching to escape through her fingertips.

She was still, calmly gripping her staff. Truth.

“Swear it to me.”

Harumi rolled her eyes. “I swear on the lives of all of my dead parents. Happy?”

Lloyd nodded, taking the stance required by bo staff combat. “Yeah. It’s a deal.”

Harumi stepped back the same way, raising her staff readily. “Deal. Let’s get on with it.”

They faced each other again. Lloyd watched her, an unshakeable feeling of premonition coming over him.

They were a matched pair, and not really opposites anymore. One predator and one prey, but even the prey was still a predator of its own right. Harumi twitched like prey, but if he went too easily on her, he would lose quickly.

The promise of a truthful answer was too valuable to risk.

I have to win this fight. I owe it to myself!

Lloyd stepped to the side, and Harumi copied him. They began to circle, and he settled into waiting, prepared…

The ghost of a smile, right at the corner of her mouth, betrayed her attack. He had his staff raised in a moment, blocking her blow with a hollow thock!

Harumi smirked, and he smiled reflexively as he threw her off.

She tried again, striking multiple times– high two, low five, a strike toward the ribs. He blocked them all, but the force behind them made him step back once.

With a little more ground, Harumi became bolder and stepped forward again. Lloyd pushed back. She’s got too much momentum.

He gained one step, and they were right back where they started. Their staves cracked against each other loudly, echoing off the silent walls of the courtyard, echoing off the ghosts of the empty space.

Once, these sounds had been second to cheering and laughter…

Harumi moved suddenly, jerking Lloyd out of his reverie. She feinted, then side-stepped, and suddenly they were all turned around. Lloyd had his back to the gates, and she was gaining momentum again.

Stupid! You know better than to get distracted! Lloyd berated himself internally, but he knew why he wasn’t focused.

Harumi was silent: no taunts, no insults, not even heavy breathing. She seemed completely unharmed from her previous fall, and she attempted to hook his staff and pull it out of his hands.

Lloyd turned his staff instead, trapping hers, and pulled. She stumbled, and he freed himself for a chance to land one strike on her right shoulder.

She grunted, stepping back so she could defend more easily.

Factually, Lloyd knew that he was the better of their two. He had more training, better technique, sharper skills, experience. All the things that a battle-hardened ninja should have. Harumi had none of them.

She still gave him a run for his money. Between constant attacks, she spoke. “You know, on the walk up here, I realized something.”

Lloyd grunted, blocking a poorly-timed strike at his abdomen. “Something besides everything you were rambling about?”

“I used to read a lot about you,” she continued, ignoring his jab– and when she ducked, she made a reach for his staff and tried to steal it. Lloyd landed a weak hit on her arm instead, making her pull back.

Lloyd watched her closely. “And?”

Harumi rolled her eyes. “And I remembered that you used to fly dragons up here. You weren’t ever supposed to walk, were you?”

He made an attempt at an attack, but she seemed to be expecting it. “That’s difficult when all your dragons are dead, Rumi.”

“Pity. I like dragons.” She grinned, pausing her attacks. “Did you just call me ‘Rumi?’”

Lloyd’s heart sank to the bottom of his chest– or maybe that was his stomach churning, some unseen power making him sweat. He looked at her with what he hoped was a withering stare. “Slip of the tongue.”

His hope must have been misplaced, because she just kept grinning. “You’re really not a good liar, Lloyd.”

“Then you should know that was true,” he rebuffed, and meant it entirely. “Unlike you, I don’t make a habit of lying to people.”

“You must not be including yourself in that statement.” She rested the end of her staff against the flagstones. “I like the way you say it.”

His stomach churned a little more. “Say what? ‘Lying?’”

“No, idiot.” She rolled her eyes again. “My nickname. It’s nice to have someone call me that again.”

Unsettled, Lloyd only found the presence of mind to smile back at her– and weakly, because he still wasn’t sure he meant it. Last time Harumi had made him smile, she’d tried to kill him. “I guess that’s good?”

“I’d say so,” she said with a laugh. “Especially these days.”

Harumi gave no warning. In a flash, she struck out with her staff and hit against his, yanking it from his hand. Lloyd barely had time to process it before he heard the sound of it clattering against the ground, useless at a distance.

Then she went after his feet, and he fell hard. He grunted in pain as his back struck a particularly rough stone, immediately smarting, not to mention his pride at being bested so fast.

He glared at her. “Hey! That was a dirty trick!” He pushed himself up on his forearms, but before he could stand, Harumi had her staff pointed at his head.

She raised an eyebrow, and he glared. “You’re a bad sport.”

“Hey, I could have used a dozen other ways to take you down. At least I was quick.”

“That’s not better!”

“You’re really going to complain about this?”

“When you cheated in a fair fight? Yeah, I’ll complain!” Lloyd slapped her staff out of the way and stood up.

“Oh, please.” She put her free hand on her hips, shifting her weight. “Lloyd, it’s not cheating to move quickly. If I took you by surprise, that’s on you.”

“You weren’t following the rules of sparring. That wasn’t a fair win. The deal’s off.”

“I still don’t see the problem,” she argued, watching him with a careful eye. “I won, you lost. By all rights, that means you don’t get any answers from me.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes, searching for some good jab to throw her way, but he came up empty. “Since when do you care about rights?”

Harumi groaned. “You are impossible, Lloyd!”

“So are you.”

“...Touché.” She rolled her eyes. “If you’re so set on it, then let’s go again. Same terms, but if you win or I cheat, you get two honest answers. Does that sound fair enough to you, Green Ninja?”

Lloyd paused to think about it, but the deal was too tempting to resist. The real truth was on the line, and honestly, his broken heart still hurt.

I still want answers.

Lloyd took his time retrieving his staff from where it had rolled away from him. When he came back to face her, he focused on his determination.

No more standing around with my guard down. “Fine. Time for a rematch.”

She nodded, and again they faced each other in ready stances. Harumi held her staff lightly, but in such a way that Lloyd knew she would defend herself. Again, he let himself begin on the defense.

She wasted only a moment.

Harumi threw herself at him, striking her staff against his with another hollow thock! It made his hands vibrate painfully, the sensation running up his forearms. It took more than a little effort for Lloyd to push her off.

She was playing with me before, wasn’t she?

Harumi was silent, and this time, intentional with her strikes. Lloyd had to keep moving– every time he slowed down, she prodded at his weak spots, and once she landed a smarting strike against his shin.

He replied with a jab to the shoulder, making her stumble. Her expression afterward was not angry, per se…

Competitive, his mind supplied, and motivated. You poked the bear.

Not the first time I’ve done it, either.

Harumi was still the Quiet One, even after all this time, and she kept Lloyd on a constant defense. His few thrusts at her were easily parried away. How had he forgotten that she’d studied him, not so long ago, and knew his weaknesses?

Spider bit the mouse, sleep deep…

She’d caught him like a fly in her web, penned him in and trapped him. She was still the same enemy he’d fought for months while living on the run, the same villain who’d given him the slip repeatedly in more recent years.

She did have skill, and it was obvious now.

Lloyd threw himself into a desperate offense toward her legs and head, but it was no use. Harumi seemed to know where he’d go before he moved, and her back was still to an open space, while his was not. She had no problem maneuvering, pushing him back one step at a time, until he bumped against something waist-height.

Harumi took a menacing step.

Lloyd backed again, and tripped over the column which held the switch for the training course.

Despite the stumble, Lloyd raised his staff just in time to block her downward blow.

Harumi, still silent and more than a little intimidating, had a strange look in her eye. Why was it so unsettling?

Her constant chatter had been annoying, but silence from her felt wrong. Where were the insults and the gloating? She was forcing him onto the defensive without even saying a word!

He struck his staff against hers with a fervor, unable to find an opening. When he did find one, she feinted, and the trap closed.

One deft upward motion stole the staff from his hands. She butted the end of hers against his chest, thrusting him to the ground.

He landed hard for the second time, and Harumi pinned him down with one knee pressed down on his chest.

She was breathing hard, panting as she stared at him.

Lloyd swallowed, trying to catch his breath. She's so fast. Her breath was brushing against his face, confusing and disorienting him.

The ground below felt like it was spinning.

They stared at one another. Harumi had that same strange light in her eye, but Lloyd didn’t know what it meant. She eased her knee off his chest slowly, once she was sure he wouldn’t try to fight her off.

(Not that he could.)

“Was that fair enough for you?” Harumi was still breathless, still quiet, still confusing.

Lloyd swallowed. “...Yeah. This time.” His voice was weaker than he liked.

“Are you going to ask me a question?”

Lloyd blinked. “I… I lost. I thought I didn’t get any.”

She shrugged. “Since when has that ever stopped you?”

It was true… and not worth denying it. Lloyd didn’t have to justify himself to Harumi! When had he ever needed her to understand him?

Besides, it always worked. Annoying people led to them putting down their guard. If he was an annoying kid, he’d get his way–

Focus! Lloyd wished he could slap some sense into himself. Harumi was still watching him, and the quiet dragged on to the point where she almost looked bored.

He blurted out the years-old question, not trusting himself to be careful with his words. It would just have to do.

“You said I was the easiest to trick. That you picked the easiest target, and that was me, and– and that’s all it was to you. Was any of it actually real? Anything?”

Harumi watched him, her pupils dilated. Her gaze flicked all over his face.

For a second, Lloyd wondered. Would she answer him?

But…

Was this the real Harumi? A glimpse of the girl he’d actually fallen for? The one he thought he’d known, without all the walls?

(Walls, built with bricks of disgust and hatred, were only that: walls. Not real hatred.)

Harumi leaned down, and Lloyd strained to hear past the ringing in his ears.

She paused, a few inches above his face… and touched his cheek.

He shivered, but her only reaction was a smile. She spoke quietly. “There’s one thing you should know about me, Lloyd. I’m a liar. Feelings are always involved.”

He took a breath, meaning to ask her why, what do you mean–

She silenced him by leaning down, and without bothering to ask, Harumi kissed him.

He froze.

She ignored his abject confusion, keeping the kiss going. It was his first, and he didn’t know what to do. He reached up to touch her face, and when he thought he felt her smile, reached farther to tangle his fingers in her hair.

She sighed quietly, oddly patient as he figured out just what he was supposed to do, and Lloyd suddenly realized just how much he wanted her to touch him.

He’d been starved of the touch of loved ones for so long. It didn’t matter that it was Harumi– her warmth pushed away the loneliness. Her exposed skin was radiating warmth, bringing heat to his face in a rather pleasant way.

He wanted to laugh at the stupidity of it all– he was comforted by the presence of his greatest enemy.

Then Harumi tore away from him, and the moment shattered.

 She sat up, and then pulled away and got off of him. He watched, breathless and confused and reeling. Her shoulders were heaving with large breaths. Her cheeks were rose pink.

She swallowed, speaking quietly. “I… shouldn’t have done that.”

Lloyd felt light-headed, but he sat up anyway. “Rumi?”

“Don’t.” She wouldn’t look at him. “Don’t do this to yourself.”

“Do what?”

She wouldn’t look at him now. Her flush was pretty, bringing color to her normally pale face. She clutched at the fabric of her pants, holding it in tight fists at her sides, and her scarred knuckles were white.

Lloyd hesitated. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She jerked her head over to look at him. Her green eyes were shining, filled with more emotion than he’d seen from her in a long time– more than she’d allowed as any of her masked selves. Her true self was here, and hurting.

“You can’t trust me, Lloyd. Stop while you're ahead. You got everything you wanted.”

He didn’t allow himself to flinch at the bitterness of her tone. She was angry about something, but he didn’t know what. Maybe angry at herself– it didn’t actually matter, did it?

He looked her in the eye, and in that moment, his determination crystallized into a more powerful motivation. “Stop lying to me, Rumi.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Yes, you are.” He shifted to kneel in front of her, the flagstones digging into his kneecaps, reminding him of the arthritis he’d surely develop in the next fifteen years. “Enough of the lying. Be honest with me.”

“What is there to be honest about? I gave you what you’re looking for, right? Or are you trying to get more out of me?” She looked down at the ground, defeated. “You should know I’m worthless.”

“Stop!” He reached out and touched her knee, and while it made her flinch, she looked at him again. “Harumi. Listen to me.”

She scowled. “How could I not? You never shut up.”

“Enough of this,” Lloyd insisted. This was too important to abandon.

The unpleasant, obvious truth. It was scraped bare, an angry red gash against their futures. It was like every other important relationship in Lloyd’s short, painful life: undeniable.

The bedrock of their broken relationship was painful enough to at least try repairing it.

“I think…” He searched for the right words, watching her expression shift. “...I finally understand you, Harumi.”

She laughed miserably. “Yeah? What makes you think you have any idea what’s wrong with me?”

‘Because we’re the same.” He smiled, trying to be encouraging. “Rumi. You don’t actually want me to leave you alone, do you? You’re not just lying to me– you’re lying to yourself.”

She shook her head. “No. You really don’t want this, Lloyd. You don’t know me.”

“Don’t I? I know what it’s like to be lonely, to be self-destructive.”

She rolled her eyes, so he pressed harder. “Harumi. Listen to me for just five minutes. I want the truth.”

“That’s not what you sound like you want.”

“Well– well maybe that’s not the only thing I want! So what?”

“So you’re asking to get hurt. There is no us,” she spat.

“But there could be! Don’t you want a relationship that’s not based on betrayal?” Lloyd laughed, unable to hide his bitterness. “That’s all I ever wanted from you.”

Harumi scoffed. “We’re not meant to be! We’re horrible to each other. It’s not possible. It’s not healthy!”

“So? Since when do you care about healthy?”

“Since I started to actually care about you! Somehow, I managed to end up caring what happens to your useless carcass!”

Lloyd blinked, taken aback by her shouting. “...Yeah? Obviously.”

She flushed an angry red. “You are so–! Lloyd, we can’t. We’re just not right for each other!”

“Who says?” He looked around, gesturing at the empty courtyard. “The world’s practically ended already. Nothing is what it was before. Why hold on to this?”

“Because I’m going to hurt you again. It’s inevitable. That’s the truth. That’s what we are.”

“That’s what we were!” Lloyd groaned, his heart aching. “It doesn’t have to be that way, Harumi. We could be better, happier–”

“Can we really? How do you know that?”

“I don’t need to know. There’s no way to know.” He reached out and took one of her hands in both of his, and he held on tightly. She almost yanked it back, giving him a dirty look, but didn’t actually make a move.

Lloyd stared her down. “Harumi. Don’t you understand me yet? We don’t have to keep playing this stupid game. The entire world has moved on, we can rebuild too.”

“Oh, sure. Rebuild what never existed, great idea. You know better than to trust me again.”

“Well, maybe I’m stupid enough not to listen.”

She laughed. “You’re not stupid. Don’t make me be the one who’s talking sense.”

Lloyd smiled, absurdly hopeful. “Hate to break it to you, but that’s never how it works between us. That part isn’t going to change.”

Her good humor dissipated. “You’re not thinking straight. You don’t actually want this, Lloyd.”

“You don't,” he countered. “Why not?”

“We both know there’s no future for us. You need someone who hasn’t tried to kill you multiple times. Lying to ourselves won’t change how pointless this all is.”

“It’s only pointless if we think it is!” He leaned forward, daring her to pull away. “Harumi, you have to try to make it work, or it never will.”

“It’s always me who has to try–”

“I’m already trying!”

“Still!” She tried to pull her hand back, but Lloyd kept his hold, and she didn’t end up moving. “...Look. Even if I wanted it to work, it’ll get messed up again. It would be easier on us both if we stopped trying.”

Lloyd watched her, feeling their pulses through their entwined hands.

He saw her, and what he saw made his heart ache with compassion.

Harumi was… anxious, scared, angry. Confused above all else. She wanted comfort, some encouragement that it wasn’t futile.

And he knew how that felt, because that’s how he felt and what he wished for.

“It’ll hurt,” he admitted, watching the way her eyebrows rose in vindication. “I’m okay with hurting, Harumi. That’s how loving people works. But… there’s no one left. It’s just us, and the world is moving on. Ninjago doesn’t need me anymore, and it won’t remember you either. There’s no better time for a fresh start.”

She hesitated, listening, thinking.

Maybe… they could try again. A real shot at actually working. No more lying, no more hurting each other over and over; a real future, a possibility.

Could I actually be that lucky?

Harumi leaned closer, and with her free hand, she brushed one loose curl off his forehead and behind his ear. Her fingers were gentle as she tucked it back, and her expression was soft.

“You’re right, Lloyd. You do need a fresh start.”

Lloyd thought his heart should be soaring, but something stopped him. “...We need it.”

She smiled, the gentlest he’d ever seen her, and her hand fell back into her lap. “No. Not together, or at least, not right now.”

Crack– the sound of Lloyd’s heart fracturing anew. “But…”

She sighed, reaching up to press a finger to his lips. “Not with me, Lloyd, even if we both wish for it. I don’t deserve you, and I never have. If you really want me to love you, then believe me now. Let me go.”

He stared at her, every word a separate blow. Her touch kept him silent.

She’s lying. She’s always lying. The mantra repeated in his mind, like always. You can’t trust Harumi or anything she says.

But she looked so sad! What if she was being honest here? Did it matter, when her words felt like a knife?

Lloyd pulled back and let go of her hand. “I…”

Harumi sighed, and after a moment, she stood up. There was hurt written across her face, in the lines of her frown. She seemed small.

It’s not an act.

She reached down to pick up the two staves from where they’d rolled away, then offered them to Lloyd. He took them numbly, listening to her.

“It’s past time I left, Lloyd. You won’t have to see me again.”

He looked down at the staves, with their uncomfortably new wood and grain, because it hurt less than looking her in the eye. If his brothers and sister had been here, these staves would already be battered and useless from too much training, but they were still new. An artifact of the world which created the Green Ninja, now they sat around and rotted. They would slowly return to dust, just as Lloyd eventually would.

He forced back tears. His voice was pitifully weak. “...Good luck, I guess.”

“Same to you,” she said softly. “Don’t give up yet, Lloyd. Your family isn’t dead, you’ll find them.”

He nodded, not sure what to say to that. “Ninja never quit.”

“I know, believe me.” Harumi stepped back. “Don’t lose that annoying optimism quite yet.”

Lloyd had to laugh, feeling a bit sorry for himself. “Yeah, well, I have a talent for being annoying. I’ll be alright.” He finally looked up at her, despite how it gouged at his heart. “You’re tough, so… I know you’ll be fine out there.”

Harumi smiled, but it wasn’t mean spirited. It was softer, more amused than anything else. “I’ll figure it out. Just don’t die– I still reserve the right to kill you someday.”

“Yeah?” He smiled in return. “Sounds like a date, Rumi.”

She sighed, beginning to walk across the courtyard again. She retrieved her knife and put her hoodie back on, and when she straightened, she was smiling at him. “Thanks for the spars, Lloyd. It’s good to know we’re still evenly matched.”

“I guess you’ll have to keep working at it, if you want to kill me. You might figure it out next time.”

She laughed and pulled open one of the gates. “Just you wait. You never know with me.”

Lloyd nodded as she slipped through the gate. The only thing he could think to say choked him.

Of course I never know! You run away as soon as you’re honest with me.

But there was no way to change a person, no matter how much he wanted to do so.

He didn’t get up until she was well and truly gone. Numbly, he put the staves away, carefully closing their cabinet to keep away the dust.

He sat down on the shallow wooden steps by his uncle’s memorial and rested his chin in his hands.

Then, and only then, did Lloyd cry: miserable, silent, and embarrassed. There was nothing else to do.

Harumi’s words played over and over in his head.

Not with me, Lloyd, even if we both wish for it.

What was he supposed to do? What ‘fresh start’ did she think he needed? He’d only meant another chance for them to… get along? Be friends, or more? At least not try to kill each other every time they met, maybe even enjoy each other’s company. It had been a reasonable thing to want– even something reachable, if it weren’t for her blasted habit of giving up on everything good in her miserable life!

Besides, what about Lloyd? What about his feelings? Harumi was the only person he had left!

He cried a little harder, burying his face in his hands.

And now you’ve left me too!