At the borders of Ninjago everyone noticed the change. The darkness of the oni did only reach so far. So, when they left the island of Ninjago it was neither dark, nor cold anymore.
The sun was rising on the horizon. Their ambush had taken longer than they thought. It must've been about 3am by now. Everyone was keeping an eye on the tied-up oni that was traveling with them. He was riding with Kai, the fire ninja making sure that he didn't fall down.
Harumi was riding with Morro. For some odd reason, she felt better than she had the whole time she was staying in the castle. Now that she was out of there it felt like she could breathe again. Like she could relax again.
No more worrying if some oni was around the next corner, listening to her. The air around her didn't feel so tight anymore. It had been so cold and dark. It had been suffocating even though she could breathe without problems.
Harumi watched as Kai kept a constant hand on his brother, sword touching one of his arms. Lloyd was out cold, and she was sure that it would take hours for him to wake up. Even if Sensei Wu had said it wouldn't work too long, the effect seemed stronger than any of them had thought.
It worried her. Maybe he was seriously hurt because of the effect. Maybe the presence of the golden weapons was to much for his body to handle. But he was still breathing, right? Kai would check on that, right?
She nodded to herself. Of course he would. Harumi had known from the very beginning that Kai was the closest person to Lloyd. He'd do anything to protect his brother.
Hours passed by and the sun began to set on the horizon. Nighttime was the time where oni were the strongest. Darkness and shadows were their friends. And when Lloyd woke up before they reached the temple, then he would fight.
Harumi wasn't sure if the pure presence of the golden weapons was enough to hold him back, or if he would attempt to jump off of the fire ninjas dragon. Even if he was tied up. He'd find a way to get to land.
"Are we almost there?" she asked over the sound of the wind.
"One more hour, maybe two" Cole replied.
Harumi bit her lip. That wasn't enough time until the sun would settle. And if they would make it through the night without any incidents, she wasn't sure.
"Then we need to take a break for the night" Morro said as if reading her thoughts.
"Nah, we'll be fine. Lloyd's out cold" Jay waved him off. Clearly, he was not concerned at all.
"I believe Morro is right. Oni are stronger during the night. Taking a break would be more logical" Zane retorted.
"So? That's why we have these with us" Kai meant, holding his sword in the air.
Harumi sighed. They didn't know much about oni, did they? One would think that they'd do more research with the current situation. Then again, they probably had other things to worry about.
"No, I mean they are much stronger. With Lloyds amount of power, I would not be surprised if he was able to beat us all. Especially in the air" Zane said, worry laced his words.
"Okay, but there is no other land between Ninjago and the dark island" Cole said. "Or is there?" he looked at the others for answers.
"Negativ."
Or course there wasn't. Harumi had heard about the final battle. She had been there, hiding in the boulders of a fallen building. The overlord that came from the dark island. The one place that was the opposite of Ninjago.
There had been no known land besides Ninjago. Well, no mainland at least. She knew only one place they could go now.
"I know a place. There is a small island not far from here. The emperor and empress would take me there for vacation. We had a small house there. A storm destroyed it though. No one lives there" she said.
"Sounds good to me" Nya shrugged.
"It does. We just need to stay there for the night. We can leave at dawn and reach the island tomorrow" Morro nodded.
"Why is the island so far out here though?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Hell, if I know" Harumi shrugged. "I would've preferred to stay in Ninjago, but they insisted on a place far away from the mainland."
Leading them into the right direction, they soon reached the island. By now it was almost completely dark. None of them planned to stay the night somewhere, which meant they had to improvise a camp.
At least the ninja had packed some food and water. They had hidden it outside the castle, taking it with them when they left. Still, there was no tent, nothing to properly sleep with. It was going to be a tough night.
Harumi had volunteered to keep an eye on Lloyd while the others were going to find some wood for a fire before the sun would settle completely. They had left the golden weapons with her. Just in case.
Because if he did wake up, Harumi doubted she had an actual chance against him. Not with her current feelings.
So, she sat there, knees tucked against her chest and her arms keeping them in place. Lloyd was sitting against one of the trees, his head hanging down. He looked peaceful.
She sighed, looking up into the sky. Tomorrow this would be over. And somehow, she knew that this was where their ways would part. She would either go back to prison, or leave and never come back
Right now, she wasn't even sure of his feelings for her. And her own were very clear. Someone had once said to her that if you love somebody, let them go. For if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.
How true. But Harumi wasn't sure if it would be her returning to him, or the other way around. In their case, maybe they would meet in the middle.
"Harumi?"
She yelped in surprise and looked over to the source of the voice. It was Lloyd. He was awake…and looked normal.
She squinted her eyes in confusion. That was not how the golden weapons worked in combination with the realm crystal, was it? She had thought that only the golden power would be able to help him.
That only then he would be able to fight off the oni genes. Or whatever it had been. He had never given her a full explanation as to what had actually happened. Was she imagining things?
"Lloyd?" Harumi carefully inched forward.
"Man, I have the worst headache" the blond moaned. "Where are we?" he asked.
Harumi stood up, carefully taking in his appearance. Blond hair, green eyes. Everything seemed normal. But this couldn't be right? She had to be sure.
"What's the last thing you remember?" she asked.
She saw him think for a minute, as if to progress what was happening right now. Did he have memory loss? She wouldn't be surprised if he had actually forgotten those days where his oni side had been dominant.
"Ah, I was in the city with Morro. We were gathering the pieces of the realm crystal. After that, I don't know" he shrugged.
Harumi hummed. Seemed about right. They did go to gather the pieces, and Lloyd didn't come back again. If this was the last thing he remembered, then he really was telling the truth.
"You really don't remember?" she asked with some suspicion in her voice.
"Ah, no? Where are we?" he asked again.
She eyed him again. Nothing about him gave her the thought that he was lying. Lloyd had always been a bad liar after all. It was impossible for him to lie to save his life. Which she was sure he had tried many times already.
Yet she couldn't understand how Sensei Wu could've been so wrong. He must've known about this. If he knew about the golden power, then she didn't see how he could've missed this. Oh well, everyone made mistakes.
"We're on an island near the dark island" she said.
"Okay…..why?" he leaned his head to the side. "And why the hell am I tied up?"
"Ah" Harumi brushed some hair behind her ear. "This is a little harder to explain."
"And what the hell are you wearing?" the blond practically shrieked.
Harumi looked down at herself in surprise. Right, she hadn't been able to change out of her dress yet. She had only torn off the end to make it shorter, allowing her to move more freely. Feeling with this thing would've been impossible. She had abandoned her heels as well.
"Another long story" she sighed. "But everything is fine. The ninja are around to gather some wood for the fire. We're leaving tomorrow" she smiled lightly.
"I am very confused right now" Lloyd admitted.
"I can imagine" Harumi laughed. She sat back down, a little more near Lloyd this time, but keeping her distance. She could imagine that this was weird for him right now.
She saw the way Lloyds eyes squinted, when he looked at the golden weapons.
"I don't know why, but their presence kinda hurts" he said.
Harumi hummed. That meant that his oni blood was still fighting for control. He probably didn't notice it though. It also meant that the weapons and the crystal alone weren't enough to keep the oni blood from taking back over completely.
"Don't worry, tomorrow it'll be fine again" she smiled.
"Tomorrow?" he repeated.
"Yeah, tomorrow. You remember right? Getting your golden powers back?" she reminded him.
"Yeah" he sighed, leaning his head back against the tree.
Harumi could only imagine how confused he must be right now. With the last thing he remembered being in the city with Morro. That had been over a week ago. And for him it was like it had happened an hour ago.
Waking up and being tied up with the only person around being your former enemy, yeah she wouldn't feel good either. She'd probably freak out and start screaming.
"Would you mind untying me?" he suddenly asked.
Harumi quickly looked at him in surprise. "I-I don't know if that is such a good idea" she mumbled.
"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Right now? That would be you attacking me" she shot back.
"You beat me before, remember?" the blond raised an eyebrow.
"Because you weren't expecting it! Under different circumstances I wouldn't have a chance!" Harumi grumbled.
"Rumi seriously, why would I do that? Do you think I'm lying to you?" he rolled his eyes.
She jumped back a bit in surprise. He hadn't called her that in a long time. Mostly because she didn't play the innocent girly anymore and he saw her true intentions.
It had been a nickname. Those were given to trusted people. To people one liked. Harumi didn't think she counted as one in his eyes anymore, but maybe she did. And the way he was looking at her, with innocent emerald eyes, she couldn't say no.
"Alright" she sighed, standing up.
She really hoped she wouldn't be regretting this. After all, there was no reason for him to not be mad at her and take revenge. She shook that thought out of her mind as she began to work on the knots tied on his back.
Harumi was about to reach for the first one to loosen it, when a voice interrupted her.
"What are you doing?" the voice yelled.
She was ripped away, with the blond leaning back against the tree. Harumi was surprised that the ninja were back so fast. How long had it been?
She looked at Kai, who had dragged her away from the blond.
"Untying him?" she said as a matter of factly.
"Are you serious? We tied him up for a reason" Nya growled.
"But look at him" Harumi gestured over to the blond sitting calmly against the tree.
Lloyd hadn't moved at all, just looking at his friends. Not like he could've done much, being tied up and all. Doesn't really give you much movement.
"Hey guys" Lloyd greeted his friends with a small smile.
"Lloyd?" the lightning raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Sensei didn't say that this would happen" Cole said, eyes wide.
Kai grinned, dropping the wood he had been holding to the side, jogging over to his youngest brother. "Hey buddy, how are you feeling?"
Lloyd shrugged. "Confused, mostly. A giant headache."
The others came closer as well, laying the wood onto the pile that the fire ninja had dropped. They seemed relieved. Well, everyone beside Morro.
"Oh please" he huffed, walking past the others. "Drop the act" he hissed, crossing his arms.
"What act?" the blond asked with confusion.
The former ghost narrowed his eyes. He didn't need to say much to prove that he didn't believe the blond at all. He could see right through him.
With a long sigh, Lloyd rolled his eyes. In the middle of doing so, they turned purple once again. His hair also turning back to a blackish color.
"Wha-" Jay gasped.
"Oni are shapeshifters. They can take any form they like" Morro explained. He turned back to Lloyd. "You've never been a good actor."
"And you always have to know everything better" he hissed back.
"But I-he" Harumi was beyond confused. She didn't know about that. But why hadn't she noticed? She knew him so well by now. She should've noticed it.
"Don't blame yourself. I'm sure you saw it; you just didn't want to" the wind master said.
"Yeah right. She was going to get me out of here" the oni smirked.
"I was not!" Harumi yelled, hoping to defend herself.
"What did I say about the acting?" Morro rolled his eyes. This was getting annoying.
Lloyd rolled his eyes, leaning back against the tree.
"Whatever. We should get some sleep. One of us will be watching Lloyd. We change shift every three hours" Cole said. Everyone agreed.
Kai started the fire while the others were trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. In the end, Morro took the first shift and watched Lloyd. They didn't even interact. Lloyd just sat there and waited for one of them to slip up.
This was going to be a long night.
Another chapter done. We're moving closer to the end. Lloyd's being a little ass, but who doesn't love that? It*s fun writing like that