Hello, all! I'm rewriting my story called Pieces because I've recognized some discrepancies that annoy me. I've made some changes to characters as well, one will readily be noticed in this chapter. I will try to update this every week! Hope you enjoy!

How far had I come? How much further until I reached him? It didn't matter, I supposed; I didn't have much of a choice, I had to climb until I reached the top. Even through the rain and the tears, I still had only one option. So tiredly I climbed, hoping I would reach him. A crash of thunder erupted from above me, and lighting struck repeatedly after it. More thunder, more lightning. I stop for a moment to catch my breath. Reluctantly, I turn around to see if I could still see the village.

I couldn't.

That was a good sign.

The further I was from the village I once called home, the safer I was and the safer my son would be. Silently, I turned to continue my journey. After a few steps, I had to stop to readjust my baby, who was snugly tied to my back. Once I finished with that, I turned to continue. When I look up, a particularly bright fork of lightning flashes, revealing my destination. At the sight of it, I am both revitalized and repulsed. This place was both my only hope, and my only regret.

This had been the home of my beloved, of my former husband. We'd met when we were young, and became close friends over the course of five years. After Sakai passed, he swept in and took me as his wife -a rare occurrence in my home village. If a widow could remarry, she could be redeemed. He had been my best friend, my only friend aside from Sakai at the time.

He would sing me to sleep, he would comfort me, and he took good care of me. He was my sole pillar of support. I relied on him for everything. I never suspected he would leave me. He never showed any desire to run away, especially after our son was born. After so many stillbirths, he was so pleased to be a father. He was overjoyed at the sight of his newborn son's face. It was love at first sight, it could be nothing else.

And now he was gone. When the village discovered that I'd been abandoned, my status as a widow returned and I was no longer accepted, much to the dismay of my mother, who considered me her pride and joy once my father passed. I was all she had remaining of him; and oh how she loved my father… Since I was part of him, she held onto me like I was her only possession. But there was nothing she could do for me. All of her protesting was in vain, she held no power to say weather or not I could remain in the village -that was all up to the Ona, the village priest. If they said leave, you left or stayed and died.

So here I was, out of options, praying that I might find refuge. As the rain poured down, I hiked up my skirt so that I could continue walking. I glanced up again, and saw two torches burning -almost out, but still glowing. The faint light gave me hope. When I finally reached the massive, blood red double doors, my energy returned. I rushed up to them and began pounding on them. "Wu!" I yowled. "Wu, please answer! Wu!" I used one hand to pound on the door, the other to keep my baby from slipping. At the sounding of the knocks, my son woke up and began crying from fright. "Shh, Saisho, shh." I said, still pounding on the door. After a few more moments, I heard heavy footsteps and the click of several locks. My hair slipped into my face, and as I reached to pull it back, Wu appeared. "Wu!"

"Aya? What are you doing out in this weather!" At that, he heard my son crying. "What's happened?"

"I've been run off," I said, trying to keep my wet hair out of my face. "They call me a widow."

Upon hearing this, Wu's face grew mournful and still. "Come," He said, stepping aside to let me into the monastery. Quickly, I made my way inside. By then, I was completely and utterly soaked, as was my son. Wu followed me, eerily quiet, as if he were pondering something. Wordlessly, he slid a door open, looked at me, and motioned for me to follow. I did so. "I'm sorry, my dear." He said quietly.

"For what? this is not your doing." I said, trying to pull my skirt up so I wouldn't get the floor dirty.

"No, but it is my fault that he left." Wu said, sharply turning left, sliding open another door. He motioned for me to come in. "If I hadn't-"

"Mori -I mean Morro- left of his own accord," I said sternly. "You just wanted what was best for him." I said. "It's not your fault that he would not listen."

At that, Wu looked back at me, his eyes dark and melancholy. "You can stay here."

I looked at the room. It was clean and pristine. At the far wall was a small window through which one could peer into the courtyard. Unlike most of the monastery, this room was primarily red, purple and black -colors considered to be evil. Red for revenge and bloodshed, black for death and loss and purple for hatred. "Was this your brother's room?" I ask quietly. I watched Wu as he silently made his way to the dresser at the left hand wall of the room. He opened it and looked through things, seemingly dissatisfied. Slowly, I stepped over to the dresser and pulled out a note, unfolded it and laid it upside down to dry.

"It was." Wu said. As he spoke, he turned and handed me a dark set of robes; they were black with a red and purple trim. These too once belonged to Lord Garmadon. "Get comfortable, I sense you will be here for a long spell."

As much as I wanted this to be wrong, I knew it likely would be a long time before I was able to leave. Wordlessly, Wu disappeared. Once he was gone, I unwrapped my grumpy and uncomfortable son and laid him on the small bed mat at the far left corner of the room. As he lay there, he threw up his balled fists in protest. He lay there whining as I changed into the clean, warm clothing. It was difficult to manage, as the person who once fit into this was twice my size and of stronger build. I picked up my old garments and hung them up to dry. On the opposite side of the room, my child was still making sad noises, waiting for mom to return. I looked around for something to put on him, but there was nothing. So I had to be satisfied with taking him out of wet clothes and carrying him around naked. I picked him up, and with the extra cloth from my new clothing, I fashioned a makeshift carrier for him. I didn't realize until that moment just how cold he had been; but now that he lay against my breast, he was content and warm, thus ceased his whimpering and fell asleep. I stood there a moment, in awe of him. One of my arms was already protectively wrapped around him, but I raised my other hand to his head and ran my hand over his long, thick hair. I leaned down to kiss him, and as I did so, he twisted away from me, as if telling me to cut it out. In only moments, he was completely asleep, and I was free to go off and walk.

I could hear the rain as it struck the roof. I walked quietly and quickly through the monastery, looking for Wu. I found him in the dining room, trying to scrape up enough food for me to eat. When he saw me, he smiled, even though it was clear that he was quite stressed. "Wu, you-"

"Hush," He said. "Sit and eat." So I did. He sat with me, sipping on his tea. After a few tense moments of awkward silence, Wu said, "When did they chase you out?"

"This morning."

"Was it raining then?"

"No," I said quietly. "It didn't start raining until I was near the top." He stared into his drink, as if attempting to scry the future.

His face was dark and morbid, which was very much unlike his normal demeanor. Morro had left two months ago, but already Wu was changed. His face had aged two full years, his hair had begun to gray from stressing and worrying over his former student; small wrinkles had appeared on his face, particularly around his eyes. His face was also not shaved, the stubble made him look older and dirty. He was only 40. "I'm sorry." He said finally.

"Like I said, this is not your fault."

"Aya, you don't understand. This is my fault."

"No, you don't understand. Mori was always this way. I remember him once telling me 'People are like the wind. One day, they blow to the east, and the next day to the west. It can not be predicted, and neither can we.' Wu, as the Master of Wind, Morro was more wind-like than most. You know that. He could not be controlled."

"But if I had not told him that it was possible he could be the Green Ninja, then he would not have run off chasing a dream that was just that -a dream." Wu shook his head and ran a hand through his shaggy, unwashed hair. He sighed. "He would not have left you or his son if I had just remained silent."

I pressed my lips together. Morro had promised he would not leave, yet he had.

He'd had potential, so, so much potential. When we were young, he'd gone up to the monastery in hopes of securing something to eat. He'd not just gotten a warm meal, he'd gotten a home and hope. He was grateful for Wu and everything he'd given him, and in return, when Wu found out he had elemental powers, he let Wu train him. He never refused any lesson or training technique; he was an ever obedient student. After a year, Wu regarded Morro as his son and he protected him and treated him as such. After two years, Wu was certain he would be the destined Green Ninja of legend that was destined to save Ninjago from its evil. When Morro found out about this, he too changed. He became hungry; he became hungry for power, for respect; he was desperate to find where he belonged. Even when it became clear that Morro was not the destined savior of Ninjago, he would not give up. Months of non-stop training had taken their toll on him. He scarcely ceased his training. He often had dark circles under his eyes that showed just how relentless he was. He became reckless, relentless and violently ambitious. "I made a grave mistake telling him that there was a chance he could be the Green Ninja."

"You didn't know that he would react this way." I said. "Neither of us had any idea."

Wu covered his mouth with his hand. Then I remembered that I had food to eat, and I started eating. "That may be so, but I should have known the risks."

It was then that my baby had begun squirming. Moments later, he began crying. I carefully took him out of the pouch I'd fashioned from the excess cloth and pulled him down to feed him. I covered him quickly and he soon stopped crying.

Though severely flawed, Morro truly had been a good person. If he came home at night -which became a rarer and rarer treat as the years passed- he was kind and patient; such a vast contrast to when he trained. In any arena, he was ruthless and spiteful. There was no pity in his heart for any of his opponents. He would mercilessly beat them down…

But I loved him regardless. If there was anyone who knew how good Morro truly was, it was me. No one knows a good man better than a good man's wife. When he was smaller, before he began training, he was the kindest and humblest boy I had ever met. He he'd had his fair share of suffering, being the son of a prostitute and a drunk. He'd had many sleepless nights, and days where he'd gone hungry. But I? I'd never known such trials. I was born to a kind family, one who loved me and wanted me. I never went hungry, we were fairly wealthy compared to many of the others in my village.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on one of my hands. "Aya, what is his name?" Wu asked. I looked up, confused. "Your son," He said nodding to the babe at my chest. "What's his name?"

"Saisho." I said quietly. It was a name commonly given to first children, or only children. I'd intended Saisho to be the first of many siblings, not an only child.

"Mm, it suits him." Wu said, taking another long sip of tea. "Both your first, and your only child."

I looked down at my son. Even though he was only two months old, it was clear that he'd look like Morro. His eyes had already turned the same shade of brown, and his hair was the same thick black. His nose would also be that of his father's. I blinked slowly at him and looked up at Wu, who was pouring himself another cup of tea. " You don't know that." I said defiantly.

"I'm sorry?" Wu asked tilting his head up to look at me.

"You don't know that Saisho will be my only child. Morro'll come back once he comes to his senses."

"Perhaps." Wu said in an almost mournful tone. "But I don't count on that. Morro…" He shook his head, either unwilling or unable to continue. After a long and awkward pause I spoke again.

"What kind is it tonight?" I say quietly. "The tea I mean."

"Chai," Wu says just as quietly. "Would you like some?" I nod. Chai was always my favorite kind of tea.

Wu got up and retrieved a teacup and poured some for me. He then wordlessly passed it over to me. Though it was hot, I drank it quickly. "Thank you," I say in a voice that is hardly audible.

"No need to thank me," He said. "I dearly loved your father, it's only right that I love the daughter that was just like him."

I smiled. My father had been wonderful, he truly had. He died almost three years ago from a plague that would periodically take many lives. According to my mother, the red death appeared every fifteen years, give or take one or two years. The fact that my father had been caught and killed by disease was miraculous. Typically, my father could bypass any sickness without it ever touching him. Until three years ago, I had never seen my father get sick. He told me that he'd never once been sick in his life, something I willingly believed; after all, I had never seen my father sick once in my entire life; he never had a headache, fever, stiff muscles, cold or flu. He'd always remained healthy. This was due to his incredibly special ability. Like a few other people in the village, my father possessed a rare trait called an Element. Depending on the element, people could read minds, control fire or water, or do things beyond human capabilities, such as lift a horse off the ground without breaking a sweat. My father's element would always be my favorite. Some could turn their skin into inch thick steel, or freeze water on contact. My father? My father could heal people. That doesn't sound very incredible, I know, but it was beautiful. My father was an apothecary, and a very talented one at that, so his element suited him. Even the most deadly of wounds and ailments were no match for my father. Just a few moments of him laying hands on a person could heal them -so long as he took on whatever ailed them temporarily. He couldn't die from doing this, he would always heal. One thing he could not do, though, was bring people back from the dead. Once they passed, they were out of life's domain. We referred to his element as Life.

I didn't inherit his element. If I had, it would certainly have shown itself by now. Usually, the children of Elementals are born with unusual abilities, like strength for example. Masters of Earth are born naturally strong, stronger than the normal person, but not yet wielding superhuman strength. Like my father, I became an apothecary. He taught me how to use what was around me for medicine so that I could one day take over his place in the village. He wouldn't be there forever after all.

I traced my finger along the rim of the sky blue cup. Even in the dimness of the fading lamplight, it shone beautifully. Slowly, I raised the cup to drink the remainder of my tea. "Here, let me see your cup." Wu said before I could drink everything. Confused, I handed him the cup. He tilted it towards him and looked deeply into it. Only then did it occur to me that he was reading my fortune. "I see a person," He said quietly.

I looked at him skeptically. "A person?" He looked up at me, unphased by my disbelief. "What kind of person?"

"Someone we both know." He said patiently. "He looks very familiar."

"I don't believe that." I said. "Let me see."

Wu waved me over to him and I looked over his shoulder into the cup. "Who does this look like to you."

"Morro." I said. Wu nodded. "What do you think that means?"

"I can't say." Wu murmured. "Perhaps it means you'll see him again."

"Only if he gets what he wants." I say quietly. "There's no way I will see him again, not the way he was."

"This may be true," Wu said. "But it never said that he'd be the same, only that he'd reappear."

I shook my head. "There's no way. He's not going to come back unless he gets what he wants, and what he wants is impossible to reach. He knows that, but he refuses to be wrong."

"I understand." Wu said, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. "But keep your eyes open. You never know." With that, he stood up, took the dishes and put them away. "Now, you should go to sleep." He said when his back was to me. "You've had a rough day." Without hesitation, I got up and rushed back to the room Wu had let me use.

At last I could rest. For the first time in eight hours, I could sleep. I sat down on the edge of the bed mat in the room cross legged and thought. What would happen from here, now that I was safe? Was I safe? I hoped I would be. Wu was a well respected man, very much beloved by the people of our village. If they knew he was housing me, perhaps I would be okay, and Saisho would have some kind of future. If Jamanekai village loved Wu as much as I had observed, then Saisho would not hold my legacy.

I glanced up at the note on the dresser above me. The note was still there, and presumably dry. I stole a quick glance at my baby, and lucky for me, he had stopped nursing, so I could finally lay him down to sleep. After placing him near the head of the bed, I got up and picked up the note. I was so lucky to find that the ink had hardly bled. The note was disfigured and warped from water damage, but intact. For this I was beyond grateful. I had already read it a thousand times, and a thousand times I recalled his promises to me. I was torn between keeping it and burning it. Though it was the last thing Morro had given to me, but it would always be a reminder of his abandonment… I looked it over and over again, looking for anything that I might have missed before, but there was nothing. It was just the same thing…

Aya,

There was nothing you could do. I was going to leave eventually. He is wrong, I'm telling you he's wrong. I know you don't believe me either. Well, you'll see. You'll see! And then you'll both apologize to me and you'll be the ones who are wrong! I refuse to be wrong this time. I will find the tomb if it kills me. That will prove it. And when I come home, you'll respect me again. You won't doubt me. You won't think a fool of me… I will matter to you, finally, I will matter to someone. I will come back to you. That you can count on. I will be back for you, so wait for me. Don't let my son be raised by any other man. I will be back.

Mori