So I've had this idea in my head now for a very long time, and I finally got around to finishing it and uploading it. The history between Garmadon, Misako, and Wu is one of my favorite things to speculate about, and this is a small part of it that I finally got into story form, herp
So, enjoy, and I do love reviews~
Misako cringed slightly as the bed creaked once again after rolling over onto her side. She strained her ears for any noise coming from outside of her room; for any footsteps coming down the hallway. Nothing. She slowly sat up, placing one foot after another on the cold wooden floor before carefully standing up. As predicted, the empty bed cried out in protest. She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. She needed to be quick.
Not daring to turn on the light, she felt around in the dark for her clothes and quietly slipped them on. Then she turned to the small cradle on the other side of the room. Lloyd. Oh, how she prayed to the gods that he wouldn't make a fuss tonight. She reached inside and carefully picked up the small sleeping bundle, cradling him in her arms more gently than she ever had before. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at him, knowing that she probably wasn't going to see him for a long time after tonight. After dropping him off at Darkley's, she was going to leave, traveling Ninjago in search of as much information about the prophecy as she could. It was her only choice... She brushed a gentle hand across his sandy hair; the infant didn't even stir. She smiled in spite of herself. Fate was on her side tonight.
She reminded herself that she needed to hurry and went to her closet for her cloak. She slipped it around her shoulders, being careful not to wake up the boy in her arms in the process, grabbed the small bag she had packed the night before, and headed for the door.
After successfully escaping the bedroom, she quickly and quietly made her way toward the last thing standing between her and the outside of the monastery. She was only feet away from the sliding doors that led outside when her perfectly sculpted plan was dashed into pieces across the bamboo floor.
"...Misako?"
She froze as the all-too-familiar voice rang through her ears.
It wasn't until then that she realized that she didn't have a very good alibi for if she were caught. She hadn't thought it through that far... She bit her lip and turned to face the young man standing behind her, who was standing in the doorway of the hall leading to his personal quarters. He held a small candle in his hand and wore a frightened expression.
Misako sighed. "Wu, I..."
"Were you leaving?" He asked tightly, his shaking voice betraying him.
The woman looked down. "I have to."
"You don't have to... please..." Wu pleaded.
"I'm sorry... but I cant take it anymore," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. That was not the real reason she was leaving, of course. But if she told him the truth it would put them both in danger. And she just wanted him safe... She turned away from him, pursing her lips as she tired to bite back the emotion that she promised herself she would never let show. She didn't want him to see her like this.
"Misako... just tell me the truth. Why are you really leaving?"
"...I can't tell you. But please trust me when I say that this is for the best."
"The best?" Wu was getting desperate. He didn't know what he was going to do if she left. He had already lost his brother; he couldn't lose her too. She was the only family he had left. And even though it hurt to admit it, he still harbored feelings for her. "How can you be so sure?"
The woman gently shifted the bundle in her arms. "Look..." She began softly. "I'm sorry things had to happen this way. Neither of us wanted them to, but there are times when we need to move on. We cannot change the past."
Wu tried to hide the pleading in his voice. "But Misako, there is always the future... you know that."
Misako looked down and shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper as she murmured, "...not like this."
Wu's heart was breaking once again as he watched her make another move toward the door. As if in some kind of trance, he reached out toward her, grabbing her hand. She stopped and turned around, facing him again. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed for the first time that there were tears in her eyes. He watched as she glanced down at the hand that Wu was holding on so tightly to, her gaze slowly and sadly following his form back up into his frightened eyes.
Misako's thoughts were rushing a mile a minute as the full weight of her decision was finally bearing down on her. She knew how much she was hurting him right now; how much she already had. And it was killing her to know that it was all her fault. A part of her wanted nothing more than to stay with Wu-to start over and try to mend things from the bottom up. She knew deep down that he had always loved her. That he could take care of her; fill a piece of that emptiness that had been torn in her heart when she had lost her husband.
But then another part of her knew better. This was her fault, and she needed to be the one to fix it. Wu needed to stay at the monastery and protect the golden weapons like he had promised his father, so it was up to her to learn everything she could about the prophecy in order to prevent the great evil from ever getting the upper hand. Even if it meant traveling all of Ninjago for the answers... even if it meant not being able to raise her own son. It was something she had to do. She had read the scrolls; it was never her destiny to live a normal life. She just had to accept it.
She couldn't stay with Wu. He couldn't know of her intentions or of the prophecy. And he couldn't know how much she wanted to stay...
With a heavy heart she let her fingers slide away from his. As if to tell him not to worry, she gave him a small, sad smile though her teary expression. "Goodbye, Wu." She murmured.
Nothing more was said as she left the monastery, Wu watching her retreating form from the doorway until there was nothing left but the moonlight casting a solemn glow on the empty landscape.