Hey guys. I want to do one more chapter of the kids (and some adults) when they are 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 years old. The next chapter will be Harumi as empress and yes, how Nya is well known (which will kinda be in this chapter). I also want to clear up the ages of the characters real quick. Also, expect two uploads a month. Also, my sister helped me with this.
Also, this is about 6 months into the future. Crystal is now 1, and this is 2019, going into 2020.
Nya- 16
Lloyd- 17
Kai- 18
Jay- 16
Zane- honestly don't really know
Ultraviolet- 18
Skylor- 17
Rebecca- 17
Cole- 19
Haru- 19
Katherine- 18
Harumi- 16
Also: trigger warnings for this chapter include:
Sexual assault
Rape
Child abuse
Eating disorders
Without further ado... enjoy this chapter of Christmas!
"Ultraviolet, when will your parents and brother be here?" Harumi asked Ultraviolet on Christmas eve. She was wearing a festive sweater and black leggings and hanging up decorations. The tree was already up.
"In about an hour. Midvale is kind of far from here."
"And you're sure that they are different now?"
Ultraviolet took a Christmas banner and hung it up over the fireplace
"Honestly, Haru texted me this morning and said mom and dad are working on it. Haru said that mom is struggling to call me she/her and use the name Ultraviolet, but he also told me that they allowed him to get me a transgender and lesbian flag for Christmas."
"That's good to hear. By the way, did you hear about the new transphobic law in another city that prohibits transgender girls from playing on female sports teams?" Harumi asked Ultraviolet *cough cough Florida on the first day of pride month*
Ultraviolet signed in sorrow
"I did. Unconstitutional."
Suddenly Nya came downstairs with Jay
"Hey guys. My parents are going to be here tonight along with Jays. Ultraviolet, when will your family be here?" Nya asked Ultraviolet
"In about an hour. By the way, you were really brave for reporting Mike and suing him after he went to jail. That way, he's going to get more time."
Nya signed and sat down at the table
"Honestly, it was really hard. The hardest part is telling someone about it, and then going through all the legal proceedings. I don't want the matter to go to trial, but I understand that if I want a rapist convicted, it has to go to court. I think that after you tell someone, you have more courage to tell more people. And not to mention I have told everyone on social media this morning."
Jay stared at Nya
"Wait, you did?"
"Yes. Check my Twitter and the NGTV official website. It's all over the news right now. The lawsuit and everything."
Jay pulled out his phone and went to Nya's Twitter and saw this
"In the past, I have always been a firm supporter of the me too movement, and as a result, and I always thought it was easy to tell people you were assaulted or abused. It was not until I experienced it for myself that I understood how hard it really is to come forward as a victim of abuse, rape, molestation, or assault. While I cannot go into all the details here on Twitter, I want to let everyone know how much their love and support means to me while I am going through this challenging time."
"I also want to let everyone know that while this is a difficult time, I am doing much better than I was a year ago. Check my TikTok, which is nyasmith, for more updates."
Jay hugged her so tight Nya thought her lungs would burst
"Nya, that was incredibly brave. I was aware you sued him last week for sexual assault, but I didn't know you would come forward."
Harumi then spoke up
"You know, I may come forward too. Not to take the focus off of Nya, but to voice my support as another survivor of sexual assault. It time we change things around."
Suddenly Kai, Skylor, and Lloyd came downstairs.
"We saw your Twitter Nya. I am truly sorry that happened to you and you have my utmost support." Lloyd said
"Me too. I understand how it feels to be violated and abused. We have got your back Nya." Skylor said
"You can count me in as well. Everyone, we need to tweet something about this, so everyone knows we stand with my sister." Kai said
"We all do." Cole's voice came from the stairs
Lloyd then took out his phone
"What are you doing?" Harumi asked Lloyd
"Voicing my support for Nya."
Lloyd then tweeted the following
"When I first joined the ninja team, Nya was the first person to make me feel welcome and like a person. She and I have been best friends for years and we did everything together. Now, I understand she needs our support more than ever right now. My heart is with Nya Smith right now. Let's get the following hashtags trending:
#metoo #nomeansno #Istandwithnyasmith"
Cole then tweeted a short but sweet statement
"Trying not to say anything mean about a person, but god, I am so angry for Nya Smith right now.
#Istandwithnyasmith #nomeansno"
Skylor, Kai, Ultraviolet, Jay, and Harumi then tweeted
Skylor-
"A someone who has been abused as a child, I fully support Nya Smith.
#Istandwithnyasmith #metoo #nomeansno #survivor"
Kai-
"People have been asking me all week "Kai, do you stand with Nya Smith right now? Kai, do you support #metoo?" My response: Yes. 100%. Nya Smith is my sister, and I will do anything and everything to protect her.
#Istandwithnyasmith #nomeansno #antimikecotwald"
Ultraviolet-
"Nya Smith, you are so strong and amazing. I hope you win this case. I offer you my total support.
#metoo #Istandwithnyasmith #nomeansno
Jay-
"Nya and I have been dating for almost 2 years and we are now engaged. To hear that she has been raped and taken advantage of is absolutely heartbreaking. Nya Smith, my heart is with you.
#antirape #Istandwithnyasmith
And Harumi released a series of tweets
"When I was 13, I was raped and taken advantage of by a man who was over 15 years older than me, a man who was supposed to help me. after he did that for over 7 months and I was released from the clinic, I underwent private therapy and did plenty of tests at the hospital, only for them to be stashed away and ignored. It breaks my heart to see another woman go through what I went through."
"With more rapes being reported all across the city, especially the year I was assaulted, I didn't know how to voice my support for survivors of SA without coming forward myself. I am not saying this to take the focus off of Nya Smith, I am saying this to let everyone know I understand what she's going through and she has my total support."
"Rapists and child molesters have always made my blood boil, but when I find out that a rapist is someone I used to work with, you better know this girl is gonna throw hands and hold said person accountable. I will personally ensure that Mike is never released from prison."
#antimikecotwald #Istandwithnyasmith #metoo #antirape #survivor #nomeansno
Soon after, social media lit up with support for Nya. Many videos on TikTok, tweets on Twitter, posts on Instagram, and many more. Nya's parents even saw it as Nya received a text from her mom.
"Nya! My baby girl! I am so sorry that happened to you. I'm trying to process it, and Ray is having a mental breakdown right now. Can we talk later tonight about it?"
"Sure mom. Tell dad I'm fine and Jay is really good to me."
Nya then put her phone down
"Ok, so what's the plan for tonight?" Skylor asked
"Ultraviolets parents will be here soon, same with Jay and Nya's parents. I think Lloyds half-sister Aniver is coming with his stepdad." Cole responded
"That's how you do holidays with divorced parents..." Nya murmured
"Its rough tho. A lot of mixed feelings and stuff. Oh, and Sky, your dad was spotted earlier and I talked to him. He wants to start over with you and try to reestablish that relationship." Lloyd responded
Skylor was so surprised that she choked on her coffee
"What? I thought he was dead."
"He's not. He's been alive all this time. Anyway, how do you feel?"
"Well... he abused me my entire childhood and traumatized me. But I do believe in second chances. And I know he can't hurt me anymore. Does he have my number?"
Before anyone could answer that question, Skylor's phone rang. It was from a name she knew all too well.
"Speak of the devil, its him. Should I take the call?"
It was half and half. Skylor decided to take the call anyway
Skylor went into another room and Harumi went upstairs to get Crystal ready
For the next 30 minutes, Lloyd and Cole got the downstairs ready, Harumi, Nya, Jay, and Kai got food prepared, Killow, Rebecca, and Zane put up more decorations, and Ultraviolet wrapped presents, but not hers of course.
Suddenly, Skylor came back into the room, looking kinda nervous
Kai stopped what he was doing and went over to Skylor. who was shaking
"Honey, what's wrong?" Kai asked Skylor in a concerned tone
"My father will be here in 20 minutes. I mean, I know he wanted airpods and I have those for him, but what if he tries to control me?"
Harumi then came over with Lloyd, holding Crystal
"Skylor, he can say whatever he wants to you, and you cant control that. But you can control weather you believe it or not."
"She's right. You can hear it, but you can chose not to give a flying fuck about what he says." Kai said
"Kai, language! Crystal is 6 almost 7 months old, and she's probably starting to understand words." Skylor fiercely said to Kai
"She wont understand that word."
"Kai, Skylor's right. That's now babies learn to talk, and that's why my first word was the s word." Lloyd said
"Wait, your first word was the s word?" Harumi asked
"Yes. One of the teachers at Darklys School for Bad Boys said it on accident, and I repeated it."
Everyone laughed
"Come to think of it, mine was the n word. I said it when I was 1." Harumi said
Everyone stopped laughing
"You said the n word?" Killow asked
"Yes. One year, we were having a family gathering at my grandfathers house, who was extremely racist and homophobic, he didn't even try to hid it. He said slurs left and right, and he didn't care that me and my cousin were really young. When this happened, I was 1 and my cousin was 2. He was in the living room and he said the n word, and I happened to round the corner right when he said it, and I repeated it. My parents heard and they explained to me that's its not appropriate for me to say, and I understood."
"Geez."
"I know."
Everyone continued decorating and getting the house ready for the guests. Then the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Cole said and opened the door.
It was Chen.
Skylor had her back turned to him and Kai tapped her on the shoulder.
"Sky, your dads here. If you need more time or something, I can say you had to go to the bathroom."
Skylor took a brief look at her dad and then back at Kai
"No, its fine."
Skylor then walked over to her dad
"Hi, dad. Nice to see you."
"Nice to see you too."
Harumi whispered to Nya after hearing their greetings to eachother
"I am definitely feeling some tension between those two."
"I know. Somethings going on between them."
"I know right."
"Should we really be letting a villain and an abuser in the house?" Nya asked Harumi
"He's a villain?" Harumi asked Nya as she had no knowledge about the tournament of elements
"Omg yeah girl, he scraped our friend and invited us to his island for something called the tournament of elements to get him back. But he really tried to take all of our powers for his gigantic staff thingie and he almost killed Lloyd. And he almost turned Kai on us." Nya replied
"But isn't Chen Skylors dad? Did she know what was going on?"
"As a matter of fact, she did and actually helped him until we explained to her that she really has potential and doesn't have to be under his rules anymore. She didn't listen at first until we found out about her ED and kinda forced her to join us. But like, in all fairness, he did brainwash her and that island was really the only place she ever saw because like she said he didn't let her go to public school or have any friends from outside the island. That's one good thing out of that trip. That's where we met Skylor."
"And where your brother found love."
Both girls laughed at that comment
"I find it so funny that he gets on me for being with Jay and on Jay for being with me, but he is literally dating someone." Nya said after she stopped laughing
"I think he's worried your gonna get pregnant at 16, and Jay will leave you." Harumi replied
"Omg no, we aren't even having sex. We never have anyway. Even though I do want kids in the future, but not right now."
"Trust me, a kid is a lot of work. I have one."
Both girls laughed again
"Harumi, can I ask you something?" Nya asked
"Sure, what's up?"
"Did you experience low sexual attraction after being assaulted?"
"Short answer, yes. A lot of times, survivors of sexual assault experience low sexual attraction, or the opposite, a lot of it. Why?" Harumi replied
"I want to have kids, or at least be with the person I love so much and would die for. I want to take our relationship to the next level, and Jay does too, but everytime we try or even get close, I end up chickening out. He always wondered why, but he always said that he understood if I wasn't ready yet and that love isn't all about sex. He said that he would never force me into something I wasn't comfortable with and that he understood if I needed more time. I'm wondering if me being raped has anything to do with it." Nya told Harumi
"It most likely does. Does it cause flashbacks or anything while you try?"
"Not really. One time it did, but that was recent and I had an actual explanation for it and Jay understood."
"Is he treating you well?"
"He treats me like a queen. He tells me I'm beautiful every morning, and doesn't let me say anything negative about myself. Ever."
"Kai wouldn't allow it anyway."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang again and this time, Kai got it
It was Ultraviolets parents and Haru
Haru did not waste any time in running over to Ultraviolet and hugging her, something that startled her but accepted
"Haru, I just saw you 2 weeks ago at dinner, and your acting like you haven't seen me in years." Ultraviolet said once Haru was done hugging her
"I know, but I missed you UV."
They then went upstairs to Ultraviolets room and talked for a while
As for Skylor and Chen, the conversation had not gotten heated, yet...
"So... how are you Skylor?" Chen asked Skylor in a nervous tone
"Good."
"What have you been up to recently?"
"Not anything really."
"Are you still running the noodle shop?"
"Yes, but I closed it for 2 weeks due to Christmas and new years. But I am opening it on Christmas for the homeless." Skylor replied coldly
"That's good I guess. Do you go to school?"
"Yes. I'm in my last year of High school."
"Do you go to Ninjago City High?" Chen asked. he wanted to know more about his daughter, even if she was being cold and dry. He couldn't blame her anyway.
"No, I go to the High School Harumi dropped out of last month to take care of her daughter, Breacher High. It's a private school."
"I think I heard about Harumi. Wasn't she the princess of Ninjago?"
"Yes and she will be Empress about this time in 2021." Skylor told her father
"Who else goes to school with you?"
"Kai graduated last year, along with Cole the year before that. Lloyd also dropped out with Harumi to take care of their daughter. Jay, Nya, and I are the only ones still in school, with Jay and Nya in their Junior year. Nya will be 17 this September, and Jay will be this April. Rebecca, Kai, and Ultraviolet both go to College about 20 minutes away from here."
"Are you thinking about college yet? What major do you want to take up?"
"I'm thinking of applying to makeup school and going there and becoming a professional makeup artist. like getting a degree in cosmetology. You never let me wear it growing up, so I want to now. I also want to be an activist of some sort and speak out against injustices."
Before Skylor knew it, she told her father everything she wanted to do, before she stopped, cleared her throat, and tried to change subject.
"Skylor, we can't sit around and pretend like nothing ever happened. We can't pretend I was a great father when in reality I wasn't. And you can't pretend like you don't care. You tried to kill yourself twice, harmed yourself, had a severe eating disorder, was raped by my assistant Clouse when you were 7, abused your entire childhood by me, and was extremely overworked. And I didn't care. There is no way that does not hurt."
Skylor didn't know what to say. She never mentioned what happened with Clouse to anyone, so she didn't know how her father knew.
"How did you know what Clouse did? I never told anyone."
"One of the kabuki servants found out. They saw him go into your room at night and decided to follow him. That's when they saw him. They tried to stop him but they weren't strong enough. They went and told me. I will never forget the fear in their eyes and what they said."
"Well, what did she say?" Skylor questioned
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes."
"They told me "I just witnessed your assistant Clouse go into your daughters room and then assault her."
"Did you believe them?"
"No. That was my mistake. I should have fired Clouse the second they told me that. I should not have kept him around you after that. I'm so sorry Skylor. I can understand if you never forgive me."
Skylor sighed
"Honestly dad, its going to take a lot more than sorry to fix what you broke. And its going to take a lot for me to forgive you. But I know that if we keep working on it, maybe I can someday. But the first thing that you can do is call me your daughter. Skylor sounds formal."
Chen smiled. He liked seeing his daughter happy. But he's going to need to do a lot for her to even get close to forgiving him.
"What's the first thing I can do for you to repair what I broke?" Chen asked
"Just be my dad and support me, no matter what I chose to do with my life."
"It would be my pleasure. Tell me, how are you and Kai holding up?"
Skylor was shocked. Her father does not know about Kai, does he?
"How did you..."
"Oh come on, its obvious. I have see the way you two look at eachother."
"Were just friends!" Skylor tried to protest
"I saw you two making out on the island at night, when you thought no one was looking. I saw you sneak Kai into your room and go on the porch." Chen grinned
Skylor looked down. She forgot her fathers office had a window that had a clear view of her room and the attached porch.
"We aren't dating, I swear! I don't know what you saw, but it wasn't Kai!"
"Bro, I saw Kai kiss you when I walked through the door. I'm not judging. Its normal for a 17 year old to want to start dating boys."
Skylor sighed
"Fine, we have been dating for the past 4 years. But we haven't been...intimate lately."
"Define intimate, dear daughter of mine."
"This is getting too inappropriate." Skylor said, trying to change subject. She really didn't want to tell her father that she and Kai had been having sex for the past 2 years.
"Skylor, your 17 almost 18. It's fine. Your almost an adult. Most of my servants were biological women who would tell me about their sex lives every day. I can handle it."
"Promise you won't yell?"
"Promise."
"We may or may have been having sex for the past 2 years..." Skylor's voice trailed off
"You told me you two were not intimate with eachother yet!"
"I lied."
"At least tell me he's good in bed." Chen said laughing
"Changing subject.."
"No I have to know more. This is juicy."
"This isn't a conversation that most fathers want to have with their children. Or more importantly, should have. I mean, what more do you want to know?" Skylor said distressed
*I cant go any further because this fanfiction chapter would be R rated, and I try to keep it strictly PG-13, and if it is R, its for language and swearing. Basically, Chen wanted to know about *cough cough* intimate details *cough*
"Ok, I'm done with this conversation. Do you want to come with me to get food?" Skylor told her father.
"No, I need time to process. It warms my heart to know that I will be a grandfather soon."
Skylor rolled her eyes and went over to get Kai
Skylor tapped Kai on the shoulder to get his attention
"Hey sweetie, how did the conversation with your dad go?" Kai asked Skylor
"Pretty good, except for the part where he wanted to know about my sex life."
"Seriously?"
"Get this, he thinks he's going to be a grandfather soon."
Kai laughed
"He isn't wrong."
"Yes he is, I'm not pregnant!"
"Skylor, typically when women have sex, they get pregnant. I mean, I don't use protection or anything, you just rely on birth control pills and the morning after pill." Kai laughed again
Skylor sighed
"I guess you're right. I do want kids eventually, but not now."
"Definitely not now."
Both laughed
"Kai? If I'm pregnant, and your the father, will you leave me?"
Kai thought about it
"Honestly, I would ask you if we are in a good physical and financial place to raise one. If we weren't, I would try and convince you to get an abortion, but ultimately it's your choice and your choice alone, and I would support you in that. So no."
Skylor hugged him
"I don't deserve you." She said into his shoulder
"Yes you do. But we should really be careful now that your bringing this up. We don't want to end up like Lloyd and Harumi."
"That's true I guess. But didn't they use protection?"
"Lloyd told me he thinks the condom had a defect or something. As for Harumi, I don't know."
Skylor then thought of something. She tried to push it away but couldn't.
"Kai?"
"Yes?"
"I thought of how Harumi may have gotten pregnant."
"How?"
Skylor took a deep breath
"We know Harumi's original plan was to mislead Lloyd because she actually told him that there was nothing between them. But somehow she was carrying his baby."
"Go on."
"If she didn't like Lloyd like that, and she has rape trauma, why on earth would she want to sleep with him?"
Kai knew where this was going
"You said Lloyd told you the condom had a defect, but what if Harumi poked holes in the condom and didn't actually take the pill like she said she would?"
"And she got pregnant to trap Lloyd because she knew he wouldn't leave her!" Kai finished
"Exactly. She could have gotten rid of it if she really didn't want it because Ninjago City is very liberal and doesn't have crazy, outrageous abortion laws like other city's and realms do *cough cough* Texas and it's 6 week law *cough*. But she didn't, and I think she did this on purpose. I also have reason to believe she's misleading Lloyd again."
Kai was listening. He wouldn't allow Lloyd to get hurt again.
"The other day, I was rummaging through her stuff because I was cleaning all the upstairs rooms for tonight's gathering. When I was, I opened the drawers on Harumi's side to put her clothes away and I found a small book. I was curious so I decided to read it. It turned out to be Harumi's diary."
"Nothing was dated, but it was all signed at the end Harumi Anestesia Carter, which is her full name. The first 20 or so entries were innocent, like talking about her bisexuality, her first kiss and first girlfriend, or how fucked up eating disorder recovery is. But the 21st entry was talking about how her plan worked and she succeeded. I was curious so I read on and she kept talking about this said "plan" and how she did it."
Kai was shocked.
"Did she ever say what the plan was or specify?"
"No. I wish she would have though. But something else that stood out to me is how she said that she doesn't like the ninja and she loves leading the Sons of Garmadon. Again, no dates or anything to give us a clue."
"That's hella sus. But what if those entries are from a long time ago? Like, from when she first got pregnant?"
"I guess that's possible and I did think about that. That's why I'm going to sneak in there tonight and see if she writes in there. If she doesn't, then its safe and she probably isn't misleading Lloyd. If she does, we confront her."
Kai thought
"Skylor, no offense, but there are 2 things wrong with that plan. Number one, what if she doesn't write in it every night? And second, that's her personal diary! If we confront her and say the reason we think she's misleading Lloyd is because of her suspicious diary entries, she will know we went through her stuff and read her diary without permission and snuck into her room. We will sounds like terrible friends and creeps."
Skylor hadn't thought about it like that
"Sky, if I were you, I would ask Harumi nicely if she keeps a diary and if she does, how often she writes in it. If she says she doesn't, that will be proof enough to alert Lloyd, who can confront her safely without her calling him a creep or anything because they sleep in the same room and share a dresser. She will be forced to show him the diary, and he can take it from there."
"I want to wait until there's more evidence. These could be from a long time ago when she did have an actual plot. I don't want to ruin her and Lloyd, or she and Nya's friendship." Skylor said
"That sounds good. She and Nya have really been bonding lately."
"I know right. It's hard to believe Nya once hated her. Now you can say they're friends. Best friends even. In fact, I'm willing to bet she will make Nya her personal guard once she's Empress."
Kai was taken aback. Everyone in Ninjago City knew that when there is a new Emperor and Empress, they each select someone to be their personal guard, and its a huge honor to be selected. Of course your allowed to decline the offer, but its rare to decline. You get to go to private meals with the Emperor and Empress, stay in the palace full time if you want, can go before the Emperor and Empress without asking first, have private meetings with them, and so much more. When you have kids if you have kids, they get to stay in the palace with the Emperor and Empress, along with their partner. Not to mention that Ninjago City has to bow down to you as well.
Kai and Skylor talked for another hour, mainly about how Nya might be selected. Suddenly, the door rang, and there were Kai and Nya's parents. As soon as Maya saw Nya, she ran over to her and hugged her.
"Nya my baby girl! I haven't seen you in 2 years!"
Nya hugged her mom back
"Its nice to see you mom."
Ray just stood there in shock and in a trance
Nya saw him and alerted her mom
"Is dad ok?"
Maya pulled Ray inside and closed the door
"He's fine, just a little shocked that's all. He stalks your Twitter."
It didn't take Nya 2 seconds to figure out what's she's referring to
"Oh...that."
Maya put her hand on her daughters shoulder
"Yes, that. Nya, can we talk about it? I know you probably don't want to, but it's important to get closure for things like this."
"What, rape?"
Maya sighed
"Nya, please. I didn't want to have to say that word out loud but-"
"Listen, I live in a house with more boys than girls. I hear rape jokes all day long when they think no one is listening. It's mainly Garmadon and Darreth. They don't do it in front of me, but I hear it."
"What do they say?"
"Things like "no matter how big or small your dick is they can't feel it either way", and "just find one that doesn't talk when you ask her for consent and its yes every time." Things like that."
"That isn't a joke. That's a serious matter. Rape is a violent crime, not a joke."
"I know it's not a joke, but there's nothing I can do about it. Everyone has their own voice, weather they use it for good or bad." Nya said
"If that's what you want, then I won't ask you anymore. But were still having that chat later."
Little did Nya know that Lloyd, Jay, and Harumi all overheard the conversation.
"Well, there goes my faith in my family." Lloyd said, annoyed
"There goes my faith in humanity." Harumi added
"If you don't like men after that, I completely understand." Jay responded
"It's not that I don't like them, it's just I'm careful around men I don't know."
"That makes sense. I mean, 95% of violent sexual crimes are committed by men, and there aren't many crimes where men don't commit at least 85% of that said crime. There is that 5%, but I understand why you feel that way." Lloyd went on
"And not to mention that out of 1000 rapes, 310 are reported to the police, 57 lead to an arrest, 11 get referred to prosecutors, 7 will lead to a felony conviction, and only 6 will be incarcerated. That means 994 rapists, or 99% of them, just walk free and nothing happens. In other words, the criminal justice system is misogynistic, fucked up, and protects rapists. And with more rapes being reported, I don't feel very well about the safety of this city. And not to mention that we have mentioned it to the police before, and they don't do anything."
"I wonder if they will listen to you after your Empress."
"They better. In Ninjago City, the max sentence for rape without a weapon is 3 years. And to my knowledge, my rapist got 2 years because it wasn't stranger rape and he didn't have a weapon. That means he will be out in March of 2021, and when he gets out, I will be Empress and he will know where I live because it will be the palace, and he will try to find me and come for me if he can, and that's fucking terrifying, for me, you, and Crystal. I'm thinking of hiring top security to be outside Crystals room at night once he's out because he knows I have a kid."
Lloyd went white. He hadn't even thought of Crystal.
"How does he know?"
"I ran into him last June on a run, and for some reason I stupidly told him. Come to think of it, we had an actual conversation."
"How? He didn't get out early did he?"
"No, but he somehow broke out. I don't know how because he's at Kryptarium."
"Do you think someone helped him? One of the guards maybe?" Lloyd added
Harumi hadn't even considered that.
"Come to think of it, it had to have been. There is no way he climbed that fence by himself because I had to help him get back in. One of the guards must have let him out at night or something."
"That's disturbing. Like, really disturbing. We should contact the police tomorrow. He didn't put his hands on you, did he?"
"Well... he did shove me into a wall but I called a taxi to take us back before he did anything."
Lloyd was really concerned now. Harumi had permanent restraining and no contact orders on him.
"Don't you have a permanent restraining order on him?"
"Technically yes, but he didn't rape me."
"I'm really glad he didn't rape you, but a no contact order and a restraining order means one, he can't touch you, even if its a hug, and two, he can't go within 100 feet of you. He broke the law, even though he didn't assault you again."
"It's fine Lloyd. But your right, we should contact the police."
"We can right now. The station is open 24 hours, every day of the year." Lloyd told Harumi
"What do we tell them? That my rapist somehow broke out last June and found me?"
"Yes, but leave out the part where you talked to him. They may not take it as serious if you tell them the full truth. I should know, I'm a ninja and I deal with rape and sexual assault cases all day."
"You deal with rapists?"
"Yes. I'm at the police station and the FBI headquarters 3 days a week, and it's against policy for me not to report one, hence why I reported Ryan. And before you ask, I do take it serious, but others don't. Some just don't report it, but I do."
"How many have you arrested?" Harumi asked
"A lot. At least 45 a week; I'm all over the city. But I can't do anything other than arrest. It's up to my boss if there is enough evidence for it to go to trial or not. And half the time, there isn't and they are released after like 3 days. Anyway, do you want me to call the police?"
"Not right now. People are here, everyone's happy. I don't want the police to come tonight and ruin the mood."
"That makes sense. Do you want to talk to my dad and Darreth? They are right over there." Lloyd made a gesture to the living room
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble."
Lloyd and Harumi started walking toward the living room but Jay ran up to them and followed them
"I'm coming too. If those men are making rape jokes around my girlfriend I'm gonna find out."
"The more the merrier." Harumi said in a monotone
Lloyd approached his dad and Darreth while Jay and Harumi stayed back
"Dad. Darreth. We need to talk in private for a minute."
Harumi could tell by his tone that he was angry. Jay was nervous.
"What ya look at that? The green ninja wants to talk to us." Darreth almost immediately let out
Lloyd rolled his eyes but remained focused
"Darreth, this is a serious matter. It's not the time for jokes."
Darreths face dropped and he looked at Garmadon nervously
"I thought you said you wouldn't tell."
"I didn't..."
"Nya told her mom and we overheard. Now, we need to talk. Now." Lloyd interrupted
Garmadon didn't argue and neither did Darreth. They went to a private room and Lloyd beckoned for Harumi and Jay.
Once in the study, Lloyd closed the door and Harumi and Jay stood there
"I'm going to ask you two something, and I need an honest answer. Have you been making rape jokes when you think no one is listening?" Lloyd asked both men in stern but calm tone
Garmadon and Darreth started stuttering
"N-no."
"We w-would never."
"We respect women."
"Women deserve to be treated with respect."
"No means no."
They both looked at the floor after they said that
"So you don't believe silence is consent? That no matter how big or small your dick is they cant feel it either way?" Harumi cut in
"I didn't say that." Both men said together
"Then why was Nya saying you were?"
"Nya lied..." Garmadon fibbed
"Why would my girlfriend lie about 2 men making rape jokes in the house? Nya does not make sick jokes or makes untrue claims about people. I know her too well." Jay responded very coldly
"She did today." Darreth tried to defend Garmadon
"Here's the thing. In the history I have known Nya, which is about 8 years, she has never lied about something like that." Lloyd said
Both men were silent
"So I'm trying to comprehend why she would now as a 16 year old."
Darreth looked at Garmadon
"We should come clean."
Garmadon tried to stop Darreth but to no avail
"We did make those types of jokes because we thought it was funny."
"So you lied to us." Harumi responded
"We misled you because we didn't want you to get mad." Garmadon said quietly
"This isn't misleading. This is a serious matter, and is in no shape or form a joke." Jay added
"As far as I know, 3 people in this house have actual legitimate trauma from it. And the number of sexual assaults around Ninjago city are going up, and they were already really high." Lloyd told Darreth and his dad
"To add on to that, the sexual assault data for 2019 in Ninjago City and this realm has not been released yet, but in 2018, sexual assault cases were at a record high number, with at least 87% of Ninjago residents experiencing an attempted or succeeded assault, 97% of women between the ages of 18-24 in this city being harassed or assaulted by men, and every 8 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted. And every 40 seconds, that victim is a child. I was that victim, and although my rapist is currently in jail for 2.5 years for it, it's still not going to change the way I am or un-traumatize me." Harumi informed
"With all of that said, rape and sexual assault is not a joke and never will be." Lloyd added
"I think we get that now. Rape is never a joke and I'm really sorry." Darreth apologized
"I am too. I had no idea you went through that, Harumi. I'm so sorry." Garmadon said
"It wasn't the first time it happened anyway. I was sexually abused my whole life, starting when I was 2 by my uncle until I was 3, then at a sleepover when I was 5, then by my babysitter once when I was 7, then in the orphanage by an older boy when I was 9 three times. So really, it wasn't new."
Everyone was quiet
"You were raped when you were 2?" Darreth asked out of the blue
"Darreth!" Lloyd hit him on the arm
"No, its ok. Yes, my uncle did. He was watching me one day and he followed me to my room. Then, when I was 5, I had a sleepover at my friend Mary's house and her dad came in, pulled me down the bed on my stomach, and that's that. My babysitter did the same, only he did it when I was asleep. Then, at the orphanage, I was getting a basketball when an older boy came in. Before I could say anything, he closed the shed door, slammed me against the wall, and assaulted me. But the past is past."
"Ok, that's really fucked up." Jay said through tears
"Jays right. That's never ok. Like, never." Lloyd added on
"Its ok. I know you two are sorry." Harumi made a gesture toward Garmadon and Darreth. "Lets just go outside and have a nice celebration."
Without another word, Harumi left the room.
"Are you gonna talk to her later?" Jay asked Lloyd
"Maybe, maybe not. Reliving trauma is hard. Although I have never been assaulted, I understand that it's really hard to go through one traumatic experience, and then go through another so soon after. Fighting my own father and then losing a close friend 3 months later was really hard. But I'm not even gonna try and compare my trauma to Harumi's. Sexual assault is one fourth of her trauma."
"She has more?" Garmadon asked
"Yes. I won't tell you what, but you can ask and she may tell you. She won't tell you about it unless you ask."
"She just did."
"That was one time when we were explaining why rape isn't a joke."
Lloyd then left, followed by Jay
"I would have never thought Harumi was a survivor of sexual assault when I first looked at her." Darreth said to Garmadon
"Me neither. She always acted so tough, but she was hiding a painful secret."
Then they both left and went to the living room
X
After the gift exchange, everyone went and did their own thing
Well... everyone expect for Cole
Cole sat there and watched all of the parents. Kai and Nya talking with theirs, Lloyd with his biological and step parents, Zane with Cyrus and PIXAL, and Jay with his.
But Cole didn't have parents. His dad had passed away the year before. Cole tried to forget the day he got the call, saying his dad had been in a hiking accident
Cole sat on the porch, watching everyone and wishing he had parents too
Harumi noticed Cole by himself. She knew it was probably because of his parents, so she put her coat on and went outside
Harumi closed the door and called to Cole
"It's freezing out here. You may want to come back inside. I mean, you don't even have a jacket on."
Cole saw Harumi standing there in her black leggings and white coat with her hair in a bun.
"Oh, it's you."
"In the flesh. I brought something for you."
Harumi pulled out a piece of cake and gave it to Cole
"Chocolate, my favorite. How did you know?" Cole asked Harumi
"Lloyd told me."
Harumi walked over to Cole, who was sitting on the rail, so his feet were over the edge. He was at least 3 stories up, so if he fell, he would be done for.
"Are you ok?" Harumi asked Cole in a concerned tone
"I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine."
"It's nothing. You wouldn't understand." Cole snapped
"Maybe you'll be surprised and I will."
"I don't want to trauma dump."
"I don't care if you do. Don't even worry about triggers."
Cole sighed
"Everyone here has parents or a loved one that they are celebrating with. You have Lloyd and Crystal, Kai and Nya have their parents, Zane and PIXAL have Cyrus, Lloyd has you, his daughter, his mom and dad, and his step parents and half-sister, and Jay has his parents. Everyone seems so happy. But my parents aren't here. My mom contracted this weird disease when I was about 7 and she died, and my dad was in a hiking accident last year. So I'm alone."
Cole felt tears come to his eyes. He tried to hold them back but to no avail
"My dad practically raised me. He sent me to school, supported me being a ninja eventually, and doesn't care that I'm gay and he supported me. So when I heard that he fell off a cliff and died, I was so upset. I had never lost someone that close to me before, except for Zane, and he turned out to be alive." Cole said through tears
Harumi sat next to him on the rail
"I'm so sorry Cole. That really sucks. Loss is hard to cope with. I was orphaned when I was 9, and it was really hard. Im always here for you. And your part of our family. You always have been."
"Thanks, Harumi. I'm sorry that happened to you too."
Cole suddenly stood up on the rail and walked on it
"Cole, get down! You'll fall and die!" Harumi shouted once she was on the porch
Cole realized she was right and tried to get down, but slipped
He grabbed onto the rail and was hanging on by his arms
Harumi lunged forward and grabbed his arms
"This happened a lot at SOG training. We had a porch where people could do this and I rescued a lot of people. Cole, grab onto my arms fireman style."
Cole did as he was told
Without warning, Harumi threw herself backward and Cole lunged forward and fell onto Harumi
Once they got up, Cole thanked Harumi
"Thanks, Harumi again. Do you still run the SOGs?"
"Yeah, but we're good now, and we have safer trainings. But I have saved people before. One time, I saved a 250 pound man when I was 11 and about 90 pounds."
Cole was really impressed
"That's really cool Harumi. We should probably get inside."
X
Hey guys I hope you enjoyed that chapter.
I'm really sorry for the long wait
Next update soon. I promise