Hello everyone! Welcome to my new fic! This is my first time writing Ninjago, and this is centered around Harumi! It's an AU of if she had gone to prison and Garmadon had never been released to break her out. So, even if you hate Harumi, this was the point which after she crossed the line, so you can still enjoy this! It's kinda a redemption fic but not quite. I'm slowly working on this ^^
Pairings include Harumi and Lloyd, Skylor and Kai, Nya and Jay, and Zane and PIXAL. But the main focus is Lloyd and Harumi with everyone else in mentions or slightly.
Please enjoy!
I do not own LEGO Ninjago!
~0~
"The Jade Princess, Harumi Mako, recently apprehended by the Ninja for mysterious crimes including the destruction of the palace and deaths of the Emperor and Empress, has just been sentenced to five years in prison!"
"Five years in prison, says the verdict of the Jade Princess!"
"From Jade Princess to prison inmate, Harumi Mako!"
"Beloved Jade Princess not so innocent! Sentenced to five years of jail!"
~Five Years Later~
A small group of people were walking towards the large gates of the prison. A skinny blonde with long unruly hair guarded her weak eyes against the harsh sunlight, as she was led forward.
A man in a tan suit handed her a weak tote bag, "Here's a change of clothes, fifty bucks, and some hygiene stuff."
The blonde took it, carefully heaving it over her shoulder.
The man nodded to the officers beside them, and they moved ahead to unlock the gate in front of them.
The door opened, and the sun shined brighter from the opposite side, causing the blonde to flinch.
"Get on with it," the man said.
The blonde shrunk in on herself and carefully stepped forward, as if the door would slam before she could step out. However, she made it, and glanced back to where she came from, only to see the officers shutting the door behind her.
The man stared at her hard, then said, "Good luck."
With that, the group walked away.
The blonde stared after them. She sighed and turned her head down the sidewalk, starting her walk. It was a long walk to town from the prison, and they had only told her that it was to the left of the exit. She had no idea what to do next, but the words of the prison therapist helped.
"So, you'll be getting out soon," Dr. Elli said casually one day during her session, "It's going to be tough for you to readjust, especially because of who you were even before prison. Listen, what you should do is try to find a job. Make money and get a living. It won't be easy. But I know you'll be able to find something."
Harumi knew what she had to do first- and that was find a job. …But not before she changed out of her prison dress.
~0~
The sun was very bright on Harumi's weak eyesight. Her body was trained to the darkness of the inside of prison and her body was getting tired easily, causing her to take breaks constantly.
She made it to the center of the city, where the most activity was happening during the middle of the day. Which day, she wouldn't be able to tell you. She found a bench in a small street side park and sat down with her small tote bag for a break, breathing heavily as she spied around for places to work. Her body burned with stares, and she knew it was because of her appearance. Her once again blonde long jagged hair that needed to be cut yet tied back in a limp ponytail against her back, the worn down jeans and plain t-shirt from the prison, and her pasty skin. All characteristics of someone not to go near.
She knew she smelled too. But she didn't have anywhere to clean up. Now that she thought about it, she didn't have a place to stay for the night, either.
Harumi gulped down that thought. She would think about it later, when it started getting dark. For now, she stood up, she had to do some job hunting.
~0~
Her hunting turned out to be a bust. She went in and out of many places, but no one had positively responded to her requests of "I need a job," and "will you hire me?"
She sighed, lifting her head to stare up at the dimming light from the sky. It was getting late, and she was giving up for the day. Now she had to find a place to stay overnight.
Harumi rubbed her arm against a chill that ran up it. Her stomach twisted and burned with a hunger that she had to feed. Her gaze fell and rose in worry, and she alternated staring at her feet and around her.
She saw little kids running together, in dirty clothes. She faltered as she realized what area she was in, the homeless area of the city. Where you could find many people living on the street, including all ages.
Harumi's eyes fell and she turned around a corner of a building, leaning her back against it. Her breathing became heavy as memories flooded her mind.
Living on the streets as a kid after the attack of the Great Devourer. Orphanages were either full or also destroyed. She had to survive through the destruction, until she was picked up by the Emperor and Empress of Ninjago.
And after that, she had really taken food for the homeless. Years ago when her plan to take out the Emperor and Empress began and she led the Green Ninja out with her, it was a trick. But only a half one. She purposely set out at a time she knew that she was checked on. Her usual trips to give food occurred far less often and much later in the night than just after dinner.
That memory made her clutch her chest tightly, her body shaking in a panic.
Harumi bit her lip, holding a breath and letting it out slowly. She repeated the action a few more times, letting her mind calm. She leaned her head back, letting it hit the wall she was standing beside as she shook.
As she stood in her personal silence surrounded by the noise around her, words filed into her ears, "Fruit! Cheap fruit here!"
Harumi slowly opened her eyes to look across the street at a small shop illuminated by the setting sunlight. A man stood outside, calling pedestrians over to his stalls that carried a few fruits, most likely the last ones of the day.
Harumi's stomach grumbled at the thought. Back in the palace she had access to all kinds of beautiful exotic fruits. In prison, she was limited to the browning fruit that they were provided.
She hadn't eaten since she got out earlier that day, so she carefully she pushed off the wall. She crossed the street carefully and faced the stall of fruit. A few peaches, plums, apples, and bananas remained. A flimsy piece of paper above it read "after 8 fruit .50 each."
Harumi reached for a peach, one that was a nice orange hue but very mushy. It had to be eaten right away. She grabbed two if the lesser brown bananas, another peach, and a single plum, then presented them to the shop owner, who asked for the correct amount. Harumi pulled out one of her 10 dollar bills and waited to get her change, before stepping away and crossing the street again to where she had taken off from.
She leaned back on the wall once more, biting into the peach in her hand. The sweet juice squeezed and ran down her face as she ate it. As she finished the peach, she threw the pit to the side, and reached in for a banana.
A cough interrupted her actions. A little girl who looked about 6 years old due to her size with twin braids was passing her, holding her stomach closely.
Harumi reached out before she knew what she was doing, "Here."
The little girl stopped and stared at the offered banana.
Harumi inched it closer to the girl. She knew it was every man for themselves on the streets, as she was loving it at the very moment.
The girl finally acted and snatched the banana from her hand, scurrying off without another word.
Harumi let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and reached in her bag to get the other banana. She had a long night left ahead of her.
~0~
Eventually, she had to settle in the park behind a tree. She couldn't risk it on a bench, as officers patrolled the area continuously throughout the night to prevent homeless like her from inhabiting it. The tree she slept behind was large enough to cover her and far enough from the main path. She slept on her bag of things, to keep them with her, use it as a pillow, and prevent any theft.
The morning after, she woke up sore in the back and side, but had to ignore it. She ate the peach and plum she had left, then went into the city again, asking for jobs. She ignored hunger that rose during the day in favor of returning to the fruit seller at night.
She tried countless places, slowly dipping in and out of many shops and businesses. None of them responded, and before she knew it, it was night again.
The rest of her afternoon was basically a repeat of the day before, except something much worse happened that evening. She was on her way to get some fruit again, when a gang of men dressed worn out and dirty approached her.
"Hey pretty lady," the front most one called, causing Harumi to take a step back in surprise. He let out an easy smile, "No need to be scared. We just wanna talk."
Warning bells rang in her head, and she turned away to walk off.
A hand reached out and grabbed her around her arm tightly. Harumi gasped and snapped her gaze up.
"I said, we just wanna talk," he growled.
Harumi narrowed her eyes, "Get off me."
He only tightened his grip around her arm. Harumi tried to pull away but she was too weak. She cursed it mentally.
When he started pulling her close to his face, dark eyes glowing in the dim light with his pasty hair framing his face, Harumi reacted.
"Let go of me!" she cried out and swung out her arm. Her hand hit his face square on the side, and she felt her palm sting from the slap. The man's face snapped to the side, but he didn't let go of her arm, only wobbling and slightly loosening his grip. Harumi kicked out her leg, hitting the man's shin, hard. This time, he cried out in pain, and let go of her arm to defend his arm.
She didn't hesitate to start running. She made it down to the corner when she heard the man cry to his two pals, "Get her!"
Harumi gasped and continued her run down the dark street, but heard the quick footsteps of the ones following her. She wasn't going fast enough. She was getting tired. She closed her eyes and continued running as fast as she could, which wasn't enough. To add to her luck, she trip over her tired feet, landing forward.
She glanced up to see the two others right above her with sick grins on their faces. Harumi squeezed her eyes tight, thinking how no one would help her. One of them pulled their legs back and kicked her in the side. Harumi let out a cry, her eyes shut tight.
A flash of light flicked over her form, and suddenly the two men let out cries of pain. Harumi opened her eyes slowly, then her eyes widened.
An armored figure stood between her and the men. "You will leave this pedestrian alone."
One of them stuttered, tripping backwards as they tried to get away, "I-I-It's Samurai X!"
"Let's get out of here!"
Harumi stared at the robotic figure as it turned around. "Samurai X…" she muttered.
Samurai X bent down and offered a hand to Harumi, which she accepted. "Are you alright?"
Harumi nodded, not knowing what to say. Memories flooded her mind, of when she set the plan to plant a bug on Zane and take down the Destiny's Bounty, and the computer program of the Ninja's, PIXAL, confessed her identity of Samurai X.
She ducked her head and let her hair cover her face, not wanting to be discovered.
Samurai X patted her on the shoulder, "Stay safe. Have a good night."
Harumi nodded with her ducked head, waiting until Samurai X left to finally pick up her head. She dropped to her knees and covered her face in the middle of the sidewalk, tears threatening to fall. Living on the streets sucked.
~0~
She went hungry that night, and retired uncomfortably behind some dumpsters in an alley nearby, not wanting to get up and find the park again in the dark. Harumi picked herself up when the sun was high in the sky. She found a large and sore bruise on her side where she was kicked yesterday, and a bruise on her arm where she was grabbed. She couldn't do anything about it, but stare at the purpling marks. In the palace, even tiny scratches were treated immediately, and she would be in big trouble. Out here though, she had nothing.
Harumi pushed those thoughts away, standing up and wandering the streets a bit to collect herself, before starting her hunting again. However, she had a feeling that she wouldn't have any luck, not with her current state of filth.
The third place she asked at was a laundromat. The people there were nicer than the previous places she looked for employment, but still said they weren't looking for new workers. Harumi dragged herself down the sidewalk, still busy but less so than before. Her eyes squinted against the brightness of the day, darting back and forth, taking in her relatively new medium constantly.
Her stomach growled with hunger, but she ignored it in favor of her search.
She paused, however, when she spotted a small dark sign sitting in the corner of a clear window. It read "help wanted."
Harumi took a deep breath and entered without looking up at the giant figure holding a bowl above the entrance.
Delicious smells flooded her senses, causing her stomach to churn uncomfortably. She shuffled inside, taking a far seat along the bar by herself. Other couples and groups were littered all across the restaurant, eating and chatting with each other. Harumi stared at the food that rotated around the conveyer in front of her, then grabbed the first one she saw and began eating without another thought.
The dish settled nicely in her stomach. She sat still, watching others to figure out what she should do next. A couple across from her on the bar lifted their hands to get the attention of one of the ladies running around in a dark red shirt with a logo on it. They were led to the front, where a desk was with another person dressed in the same red shirt, paid, then left.
Harumi swallowed thickly, preparing to do the same. Something slammed down in front of her, shocking her out of her thoughts.
She looked down to see a glass of water, and an arm covered in an orange sleeve leading up to a woman with bright red hair and friendly eyes. "Water?"
Harumi shrank back with surprise, but reached out and took the glass when the woman kept staring at her.
"Are you finished for today?" She asked.
Harumi nodded, having downed half the glass in a sip.
The woman smiled, "Okay, let me help you with the-"
"Wait," Harumi spoke.
The woman stopped in surprise of being interrupted, but waited.
Harumi froze in surprise as well, not ready to speak but forcing out words, "I, uh… want, want a job."
Her response was a slow smile, "Okay."
Harumi blinked, "O-Okay?"
The woman nodded, "Yes. But, you'll need to do an interview first."
Harumi nodded quickly. No way she was going to pass up her first opportunity.
"Great," the woman smiled, "Wait here for a bit, okay? I'll get everything ready."
Harumi nodded again, watching the woman leave to the back, before shrinking back into her seat. She let out a few short breaths. This was her chance.
A few minutes of people watching later, the woman returned, asking her to follow her into the back and leading her to a small office room. She closed the door while Harumi took a seat.
"My name is Skylor, by the way," she greeted, reaching out a hand.
Harumi quickly took it, shaking it, "Ha-" her voice got stuck in her throat. Harumi? Her name would reveal her identity like a too easily. She couldn't have that. "Rumi," she settled for. "It's just Rumi."
Skylor smiled, sitting down, "Nice to meet you, Rumi. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just answer them normally."
Harumi nodded.
"Okay, why do you want a job at Mr. Chen's Noodle House?"
Harumi blinked at the question. She took a moment before answering, "Because I want money?"
Skylor hummed, her face plain. "Okay,
Harumi didn't understand, but she continued.
"Do you have experience in customer service?"
"No…"
"Would you accept training for it?"
"Training? What do you mean?" Harumi asked.
Skylor answered, "Since you have no experience with dealing with customer, I want to teach you how to do so. Customers are tricky. Sometimes they're happy, sometimes they're upset, sometimes they get upset easily. You have to be able to deal with everything calmly."
Harumi gulped. She nodded, "Okay, I'll accept it."
Skylor smiled, "Great. Let me ask you a few more things." She did, and let Harumi answer each one. "Thank you," she finally said, "And how old are you?"
Harumi actually stopped this time. How old was she? She didn't really know herself. If she was around 17 when… everything happened, and she was released after 5 years, then she should be around, "22?"
Skylor gasped, "What, really?"
Harumi shrank, "W-Why?"
"You look so small! I thought you were at most 19!" Skylor explained.
"I…" Harumi stuttered, "I'm not… I just, I've been having a rough time."
Skylor was silent, eyes trained on her figure.
Harumi wrapped her arms around herself, "I recently got out of jail," she admitted to the woman, feeling a load come off of her shoulders, "and I am trying to figure things out."
Skylor took in a deep breath. "Okay. One last question, when do you want to start?"
Harumi's eyes jumped to meet the older woman's. "R-Really?"
Skylor nodded with a kind smile, "Yes."
"I… as soon as I can, I guess," Harumi replied softly.
Skylor stood up, "Perfect! We can get you in tomorrow! How's that sound?"
"Good," Harumi replied.
Skylor came around the desk, "I'll have you sign papers and everything then." She paused, "I lied, sorry, I have another question."
Harumi raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"
"Do you want to take a shower?"
~0~
It came to a surprise to Harumi when Skylor offered her a place in her apartment right above the restaurant. Obviously, Harumi didn't decline it. Anything was better than the streets.
"I only have one bed, but my couch is a pull out sofa," Skylor explained, leading Harumi up the stairs into the quaint apartment.
Harumi frowned, "Why?"
Skylor laughed, "When my boyfriend visits, sometimes his friends come over, so they sleep on the couch."
Harumi nodded slowly, "Okay…"
Skylor moved the coffee table then messed with the sofa, pushing the cushions off and pulling out a mattress from the body of it. "Come on, I'll show you to the shower, while I set the bed for you."
Harumi just nodded and followed her into a bathroom, where Skylor handed her a towel and some clothes, saying that it was some of her old things that should fit her, and that she was free to use any of her soaps. Harumi took some time to enter the shower, but didn't take too long to wash herself.
She wrapped the towel around her long hair after she finished dressing in the clothes that hanged off of her frame. Stepping out, she found her way to the open area where Skylor was in the kitchen.
"Have a seat, I'm almost done here," Skylor said.
Harumi pulled out one of the four chairs of her table and carefully sat down, "Done with what?"
"Dinner, of course," Skylor replied.
On cue, Harumi's stomach grumbled.
On another cue, Skylor placed a bowl of noodles in front of her. "Here you are, some fresh noodles. They always cheer me up."
"Thank you," Harumi said, waiting for Skylor to sit before picking up her chopsticks. They ate in silence. When Harumi finished before Skylor, she waited, thinking. "Why are you doing this?" She asked suddenly.
Skylor looked up at her, noodles halfway in her mouth. She finished them and swallowed before she answered Harumi. "Helping you, you mean?"
Harumi nodded shortly.
Skylor paused, then stood up. Harumi watched her go over to the counter of the kitchen and grab something and return. A newspaper. She opened it up in front of Harumi and let her see it.
Harumi read it slowly, "Jade Princess to be released May fifteenth." Her eyes widened, and she snapped her gaze at Skylor. "Y-You… you know who I am."
Skylor smiled nervously, "Rumi? From Harumi?"
"B-But how?" Harumi stuttered.
Skylor shrugged, "I figured."
Harumi covered her face, trembling. If she figured it out, then how many others did too? She didn't want this kind of attention.
"Hey, don't worry," Skylor said, "It wasn't easy. What tipped me off was that you said you were in jail. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have figured it out."
Harumi took in a shaky breath, and lifted her gaze to Skylor, "Really?"
"I promise it's all okay," Skylor replied simply. "I, I want to help you, Rumi." Harumi flushed, and Skylor looked down for once, "I was in some trouble once, too. But I got help from people who didn't stop trying to help me. I want to do that for you now. Will you accept my help?"
Harumi gawked in surprise, she didn't know what to say, "I…"
Skylor laughed suddenly, jolting Harumi, "I'm sorry, that was a weird way to put it. But I really do want to help you."
Harumi's eyes watered, and she clenched her fists. She pressed her eyes shut, then nodded, not looking up at her companion, "Yes. Yes, I accept."
Skylor smiled happily at Harumi. "I'm glad." After a moment, she stood up, "How about we get you to bed now?" She helped Harumi up, guiding her to the sofa. As Harumi slipped under the covers, Skylor smiled at her, "Good night."
"Thank you," Harumi called out softly, before Skylor disappeared behind the door, "very much."
Skylor stopped and smiled back at her, "You're welcome."
~0~
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review! I hope I did well with Skylor. Harumi is definitely going to be OOC because it's been 5 years.