Like I promised, a new chapter. Be ready for some feels. As an introvert, I am not very good at these things, but I tried 'cause I felt that it was fitting for this chapter.
Harumi watched the clock. Hours ticked by and she had to wait until midnight. Her nerves were getting the better of her.
She was nervous. More than she had ever been before. It was six in the morning. In two hours the oni would come to wake her and Lloyd. She would get a normal breakfast and Lloyd would go to….
The girl shook her head. She didn't even want to think about it. It wasn't natural. Not for him. Not for the sweet boy she had met and fallen in love with, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.
Today, at midnight, the ninja would attack and that was when she had to make her final choice. Betray him and complete the crystal as soon at the ninja entered the castle or fight with him.
But it wasn't a hard choice to make.
When she looked over, she could see his peaceful face. Even as an oni, he looked so innocent while sleeping. Almost all of his face was hidden in the pillow. During his sleep, nothing had changed about him. Lloyd still looked like a child.
How could he become so cruel when awake, but innocent when asleep? Was that another oni thing? If it was, then she didn't understand. Oni had no use of looking innocent. Everyone knew of their destructive nature. But Lloyd was different, an exception. He has always been.
Harumi sighed, snuggling closer. Maybe he would be able to forgive her when this was over. Maybe they could go back to where they started. Where she had played with him. Used him.
She didn't want that anymore. The person she was living with now was nothing like the Lloyd she knew. Not like the one she learned to love. And everyday she was reminded that this had been her fault. Her mistake.
Tonight, it would be over. And tomorrow he would be the person she loved again. Tomorrow he would have to decide if she got to stay with them, allowing her to earn his trust, or if she would go back to prison.
On the day he had come to ask her for help, she had played with him. Again. Used him to get out. Her plan was to let his oni-side win and live with him in this very castle. It had worked. But now that she had it, Harumi didn't want it anymore.
"Please" she whispered, hoping not to wake him. A tear escaped her eye. "Please forgive me, for everything. For today, and those days before. You were right. This isn't what I wanted."
Morro grabbed his head in frustration as he tried to understand the technology of the bounty. He hadn't been around by the time such things were invented. Hell, he didn't even know what a movie was.
And he sure as hell didn't understand why they were living in the monastery but making the plan on the bounty.
Yet here he was, trying to find out how to use that computer to draw a map. Zane had given him some sort of pen which didn't even have ink. Yeah, pens were another thing he had to get used to. People didn't use feathers anymore; pens were more useful apparently.
But how this one worked was more of a mystery to him than normal pens. The Nindroid had told him to just draw on the computer, this way they could make the map bigger or smaller. The former ghost understood none of it.
And in that moment, he began to ask himself what he was doing. Why he had even stayed when he was supposed to be dead, for real this time. No ghost, no cursed realm. After Morro had died for real, he began to realize that the thoughts he had had for decades weren't even his own.
What a fool he had been to listen to the preeminent. To her promises that he should've known she couldn't and wouldn't keep. She never cared for them, only what they could do for her. The only one the preeminent cared about was herself.
To get her way, she had used every single cursed soul she could find. To get into their heads and find out what they wanted, what made them angry and caused them to land in the cursed realm. Strengthen their hatred for people that betrayed them.
Or in his own case, the hate for the one he had thought had taken his place. But Morro had been a fool, he knew that now. It slapped him in the face every time he thought about why he even wanted it, and then … nothing. The only reason he wanted it was because he wanted to make Wu proud.
He could've helped otherwise. The former ghost bit his lip and looked at the computer once again. Somehow this had to work, right?
Deciding to get a closer look, Morro moved the pen closer, almost stabbing himself in the eye with it, closing one to get an even better look. No ink. Just a round tip with nothing else. There was no way this thing could draw anything at all.
He tried a different angle. Maybe the ink would come out when he started drawing? But didn't people use paper to write or draw? Or could this one draw on the surface of the computer too? It made no sense.
He huffed. Nope, still no idea how this worked.
"Morro"
He yelped, almost dropping the pen and turning around. Wu stood in the doorway, staff in hand like always and a worried expression on his face.
"Careful" the old master chuckled.
Morro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. No matter how old his sensei got, it would never bore him to get amused whenever he failed to do something simple. Not like this was hard. He would figure it out eventually.
"What troubles you?" he asked.
"Nothing…." The teen shrugged, turning back to the computer.
Wu was beside him faster than he could think, whacking him on the head. Okay, pain he had to get used to again.
"Ow!" rubbing his head he winced a bit at the throbbing pain that ran through his head for a short time. It wasn't that bad. But after not feeling any pain for decades, he became a little more sensitive.
"Can you not remember what the castle looked like on the inside?" the old master tried again.
"Of course I can" Morro scoffed.
Wu sighed. After all these years it seemed that there were still things, he could teach all of them. Some more than others. But as he had learned himself long ago, there was no point in life where you couldn't learn something.
He knew that look on his student very well. Even when he was a kid, Morro used to have that determent look, but something changed whenever he was frustrated with something. Anything really. And the old Sensei had a good idea what the problem was.
"Morro it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Focus on your strength not your weakness. The rest friends and family will help with" he said.
"I am not good at anything! I used to think I could to everything! That I was the best, but I'm not!" the former ghost yelled in frustration.
"Lloyd was right" he mumbled. "This isn't my world anymore" Morro sighed, looking at the computer.
Wu looked at his first student carefully. Yes, he had changed once again. Not so long ago he was just an angry teen that wanted to be seen. To have what others had. Friends, a family.
Now, he realized, Morro was back to the child he had found at the gates of the monastery. Lost in the world and unable to find his place. Thinking that he belonged nowhere. Not until he decided to take the child in. Teaching him everything he needed to know.
"What you thought to have known was my fault too" Wu admitted.
The wind master looked back at his Sensei. "It's not" he sighed. "It's not your fault. It was me that was too fixed on the green ninja thing. I thought that, if I didn't make it, you would throw me out. That you wouldn't want me to stay anymore."
Just like they had…
"It was never your element that made me teach you, nor was it the destiny of the green ninja. I took you in because I saw someone that needed help. A lost child that was starving on the streets. Left alone with no one to care" the old master explained.
The teen sighed once more. There it was. The proof that it had been his fault alone. If only he hadn't left that day. If only he had stayed, skipping over his fear. Instead, he died alone in the darkness of the caves.
No one was there to care on that day. Morro would never forget that day. It had been years since he had left. But he was lost, alone and scared. But now he had a second chance. A chance to make everything right. And he would.
"I thought she cared" he admitted.
"I know" Wu nodded, knowing who he was talking about, none of them wanting to say their name.
"But she didn't. Only you ever did. And so does Lloyd" a small smile.
God, what a fool he had been.
"As much as it hurts, the best way to learn is from out mistakes. Some make less, others make more. How many one makes does not define who they are. You must forgive yourself too, just as they have" Wu said wisely.
"Have they though? Or are they tolerating me because of Lloyd?" Morro asked, a hint of frustration in his voice.
"Who knows" Wu shrugged. "Is that important to you? Do you wish to be accepted? Or are you just trying to redeem yourself?"
The wind master hummed in thought. Perhaps both. Perhaps it was important to be accepted to finally have a real home. It has been such a long time since he actually felt safe.
The places he had traveled after leaving the monastery had not been, neither was the cursed realm. But being back was the best thing that could've happened. Sure, the departed realm was nice. But it was lonely too. He was alone wherever he went. Except the monastery.
"I do need it" he decided.
He looked down at the strange pen again. How hard could it be? Zane had told him how it worked. He was just confused about technology. He could learn, would learn. And he would finally fit in somewhere.
"Then do what you think is right to earn it."
With a bit of hesitation, Morro let the pen touch the screen, pulling it back instantly. A small part of him feared that he would break something if he wasn't careful enough. But nothing happened. Instead, a small dot appeared in the spot he had touched with the pen.
The teen brought the pen down again, this time drawing a line. Like expected, a line appeared on the screen. A small smile turned into a grin. He got it! He got it!
What had he even been worried about? It was easy as that. Just like Zane had said. The Nindroid had been right all along. He should really learn to listen more.
Wu smiled as he watched his student begin to draw a map. Yes, he would get their forgiveness, he knew it. And maybe he has already earned it.
The thought of Morro being utterly lost with technology was kinda funny to me, so I put it in here. Hope you liked the chapter.
Bye