I am forewarning you. This chapter is not that long for one reason: It's boring. There is literally no action. I apologize in advance.
Also, NRA, if you see this, please don't sue me.
After Harumi had called the school to pull Crystal out of the program, she put Crystal and Mika in a separate room. Lloyd then called a meeting with the entire group.
"Are we all aware of the events that took place at my daughter's school?" Lloyd asked the group.
Everyone nodded.
"Yes, Jay and I are aware and we are so sorry," Nya replied.
"We really are," Jay said.
Harumi brought in a plate of cookies.
"Lloyd and I appreciate that," Harumi said.
Skylor just sat there.
"Sky, are you ok?" Cole asked.
Skylor looked at Cole.
"Just fine. Just upset, that's all."
Nya put an arm around Skylors shoulder.
"It's gotta be more than that."
Skylor took a cookie.
"It's just, I was this close to losing Mika. I already lost Kai. I can't lose her too."
Skylor started crying.
"Skylor, we are so sorry," Jay responded.
"But the important thing is everyone is ok. Mika is safe," Cole said.
"I can personally ensure Harumi and I will pass stricter gun control laws," Lloyd said in an effort to calm Skylor down.
"Yes, we will," Harumi said, darkly.
Skylor buried her face in her hands.
"Mika told me the shooter killed at least seven of her classmates," Skylor started crying again.
Everyone gasped.
"7?" Harumi asked in a small voice, her voice breaking.
"At least," Skylor started sobbing.
"Do we know the death toll yet?" Lloyd asked.
Nya checked her phone and then dropped it out of shock.
"Nya, are you ok?" Jay asked.
Nya felt tears come to her eyes.
"10 kindergarteners, 7 first graders, 8 second graders, and 5 teachers/staff members. So 30 total."
Nya started crying.
"That means 25 students."
"All those kids," Skylors voice trailed off.
"I know. It's heartbreaking."
Lloyd and Harumi were too stunned to speak.
"We need to do something. This can't continue," Harumi said to Lloyd.
"I agree. Thoughts and prayers are no longer enough."
Everyone agreed.
Harumi picked up her political contact book and flipped to the "gun rights/control" section.
"I could meet with the NRA tomorrow."
Everyone looked at her.
"Maybe that's not a good idea. They don't care about gun control," Lloyd said.
"They practice gun safety though," Nya said.
"Doesn't excuse the fact that they pay politicians millions of dollars toward their campaigns in exchange for making sure gun control laws don't get passed," Lloyd said. *yes they really do that in real life*
Harumi thought.
"I guess you're right."
"And if you try to pass gun control laws, the NRA would probably pay someone who works in the house to block it," Jay said.
"I should try anyway. When I was younger, we had an incident where at the orphanage, someone came in with a gun, held people hostage, and shot and killed someone. When I asked why politicians weren't passing gun control laws, I was told they are often blocked due to gun rights organizations. I remember thinking at that moment it would mean a lot and prove something if they were to at least try," Harumi replied.
Harumi made a phone call.
"I'm meeting with the mayor tomorrow to try and pass gun control laws. Lloyd, she wants to know if you're available."
"Even if I wasn't, I would cancel plans. Human lives are more important than hanging out with my friends."
Harumi talked to the mayor.
"We're going to a meeting tomorrow at 1:30 to discuss a possible bill and/or law."
"Sounds good," Lloyd replied.
Skylor hugged Lloyd and Harumi.
"The fact that you guys are trying even though you probably won't succeed means a lot. Thank you for caring about Ninjago City citizens enough to pass laws and bills that would save lives."
Lloyd and Harumi hugged her back.
"We would do anything for human lives," Harumi said.
"Second amendment rights are less important than kid's lives," Lloyd added.
*for clarification, Ninjago has a mayor and an emperor/empress because that's the type of government they have*.
The next day...
As Lloyd and Harumi walked up to the mayor's office, Harumi had a thought, and Lloyd could see this.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
This was the first time it really hit Harumi. Ryan has his hands on her daughter.
"Yesterday, at the school, Ryan had his hands on our daughter."
Harumi started shaking and Lloyd put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, remember this. He is a police officer. He didn't do anything to her," Lloyd said.
"I know, and I'm grateful for that. But it's the fact that he had access to our daughter. How did he get access to our daughter?"
Harumi took a shuddering breath.
"We're expecting another child relatively soon. If he gets access to them too, I don't know what I would do."
Lloyd pulled her closer.
"If it makes you feel better, I'll hire top security for the next 2-3 months, or at least until we have the baby. But I promise nothing is going to happen to Crystal or our unborn child. I promise."
Harumi put a hand on her stomach.
"I've tried to give Crystal a different life than the one I had. All that pressure, all that trauma I have from people who were supposed to protect me, all those hospital visits, they traumatized me. But the thing that hurt the absolute most was being forced to stay inside and never go out. It felt like my parents were neglecting their duty. And I understand they loved me and they were trying to protect me, but at the end of the day, it just made me depressed."
"And you don't want that for our children," Lloyd finished her sentence.
"Exactly. So, when Ryan was close and alone with my daughter, it scared me because he could have done anything and she would have had a traumatic life." Harumi went on.
Before Lloyd could answer, the door opened, and there was the mayor.
"Welcome, Emperor and Empress of Ninjago! It's such an honor to have you!" The mayor said.
Harumi shook the mayor's hand.
"We're glad to be here."
The mayor led them inside.
Once Harumi and Lloyd got to the mayor's office, the mayor sat down at her desk.
"First of all, get me just say how incredibly sorry I am. This was a tragedy that never should have happened," The mayor started.
"Thank you, ma'am. We appreciate it," Lloyd said.
"Your welcome. I am with you on gun control. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed."
"I just don't know why we didn't address it sooner," Harumi added.
"Exactly. The hard part is knowing where to start."
The mayor pulled out some papers.
"These are legal documents from the NRA. They are offering you and Lloyd 4.5 million dollars towards your charity about fighting cancer to not pass the laws you submitted on this paper," The mayor showed them the laws they were hoping to pass.
Harumi took the paper from the NRA.
"I'll tell them that there's no amount of money they could offer us to even think about passing anti-gun control laws."
"She's right. Kid's lives are at stake here! I don't care how much money they'll give us. It's not happening," Lloyd added.
The mayor showed them the paper they submitted.
"I thought you might say that. Anyway, here are the laws you two want to be passed. These laws include universal background checks, age restrictions on purchasing guns, a law that you have to lock your gun up in a safe, and an outright ban on assault weapons. Am I correct?" The mayor asked.
"Yes." Harumi and Lloyd said together.
The mayor pulled out a sheet of paper.
"Because these are big laws, they need to pass through the Senate first. However, because the senate is mostly democratic, I have faith that they will vote in favor of these laws being passed. If they don't, then it's no biggie because as long as you get at least half the Senate to vote on one, then the entire bill gets passed."
Harumi nodded.
"And what about gun rights organizations? Do we need to worry about them?" Lloyd asked.
The mayor paused.
"Well, technically no. Since you and Harumi are Emperor and Empress of Ninjago City, you ultimately have more power than the NRA or any gun rights organization. I wouldn't worry too much."
Both Lloyd and Harumi nodded.
The meeting went on for another hour and both bills were sent to congress for review.
One week later...
"Have we received a response yet from congress?" Lloyd asked Harumi.
"Not yet, but we should get a response later today," Harumi responded.
Suddenly, Harumi's computer chimed because she had received an email.
"Is it them?" Lloyd asked.
Harumi checked her email and then her breath tightened.
"Yes."
Harumi opened the email and then she was in disbelief.
"They said yes."
Lloyd looked over her shoulder to look for himself.
"Oh wow, they really did?"
"Did you think I was lying?"
"No, but I wanted to see for myself."
Sure enough, congress had approved the bills.
The bills later arrived in the mail for Harumi and Lloyd to sign. When Harumi and Lloyd finished signing the last bill, Harumi looked out at the sky.
It was a new day for Ninjago City. If only they had done something earlier.