Hey Guys Back Again with a new chapter

If anyone didn't know I just posted a request oneshot book for Forgotten Family, you guys can go check it out if you have a prompt you want me to write!

Anyways...

Review Replies :

ItsYoGreenGirl- IKR Lying to your caretakers is never a good idea! Also yeah, Wu nowadays would have been able to smell his lie from a mile away ,but back then I like to think he was much more niave cuz he didn't have that much experience. Anyway hopefully with this chapter will be able to add depth to Morro's emotional turmoil.

Phetiamwantip- We're about to see that's for sure! Also thank you forunderstanding, let's just say I've definetly got more time to write so at least there's that.

Also, before you read I'm going to go ahead and issues a WARNING! MENTIONS OF HEAVY THEMES AND TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER!

Chapter 20

"Old friend, I need to tell you this before you go."

Well out with it then."

"You'll never achieve anything if you continue to treat those boys the way you do."

'Foolish... idiot! Should have never listened to that senile old woman!' Koso berated himself as he darted into the dark night with only his glowing green eyes and the reflection of moonlight to light his way through the thick meadow grass.

'I hope you're happy Greta! I tried doing as you said, and look what happened! You show them even a modicum of leniency and they think they can do anything!' The teal eyed man mentally ranted as he continued to charge through the unlighted meadow. A low whistle of wind began to pierce the air with every lightning fast step he took. Koso knew he had to be quick, there was no doubt an approaching storm, if the dark clouds beginning to swirl around the moon was any indication.

Thankfully, Koso didn't exactly have to wonder which direction Morro went, because a certain furry pest was unintentially acting as the perfect guide for him. With Jasper only a few meters ahead of him Koso was sure he could easily inconspiciously follow the stupid wolf, until it led him straight to his bratty relative. ( that is if, Morro was smart enough to see that a storm was coming and hadn't decided to fly through that mess yet and potentially get himself killed)

' and once I find the little idiot,...'

Koso couldn't help ,but allow a smirk to grace his angular features as he invisioned all the horribly cruel tortures he could subject Morro to for making him run out into the freezing cold night.

ForgottenFamily

'What am I doing here?! There's nothing left it's all just...pointless'

It was frankly a miracle that Morro had managed to run so fast, considering the meadow was becoming increasingly harder to navigate as he got farther and farther away from Koso's cottage. The darkness rapidly engulfed the teenager, till he was simply sprinting blindly through the pasture. His breath started to come out in quick pants and he could feel his shaky limbs begin to sweat. The breeze that blew through the valley caused a shiver to run down the boy's spine, but he could hardly give two sh*ts about it, all that mattered to the wind master was getting away. It didn't matter is he had no idea where he was going, he just needed to focus on using his spry legs to get him far away from that f**ing prison as possible.

Despite the fact his head was a mess of repetitive mantras, Morro was still sane enough to see that if he kept just running straight ahead like this, he would most likely end up colliding with one of the many stone mountains that surrounded the valleys. Koso would find him and drag him back. He had to change directions fast.

So withtin the blink of an eye, Morro made a harsh pivot to the right, and without even taking a moment to properly right his footing, the former ghost took off into the near by forestation.

Even as his body entered the shelter of the woods, Morro could still felt the pressure of the howling winds swirling around him like a miniature cyclone. The harsh blades of air were so intense against him he swore they were going to suffocate him(the irony was not lost on him) meanwhile inside his mind, the harsh whispers of truth he desperately wanted to suppress steadily crescendoed until they ultimately blended together into an agonizing cacophony.

'useless, unimportant, not good enough, stupid, idiot, just give up already! Giveup, giveup ,giveup GIVEUP GIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUP!'

"No...Stop it!" Morro shouted as he vainly tried to block out the noise by jamming his calloused palms against his ears.

...but you can't block out what's inside your mind...

' NothingleftnothingleftnothingleftnopurposenopurposenopurposeNOPURPOSENOPURPOSENOPURPOSE-'

"SHUT UP!"

Immediately Morro felt the presence of the howling winds disappear and leave nothing ,but pure, beautiful silence in their wake. After taking a moment to the wind master was soon able to open the eyes he hadn't realized he'd shut and what he saw almost shocked him.

Almost all of the trees surrounding him were now lifeless stumps, without so much as a severed branch left behind to evidence their viscous beheading.

After taking a moment to just stare at the destruction his powers had wrought, Morro was about to keep running when suddenly he felt something wet hit his shoulder. Looking up the wind master saw multiple drops of water cascade from the atmosphere as a bolt of lightening lit up the sky like a firework.

As water poured onto the wind master's shivering form with seemingly no end Morro decided to seize this as an opportunity to distract himself from his own mind and look for shelter

Surveying the area around him, the wind master was slightly surprised to see that at least one tree still remained in tact and for seemingly good reason, for it was a very large oak tree, with what appeared to be a very sturdy trunk that the first spinjitzu master himself would have a hard time taking down.

Not even sparing a second thought, Morro mindlessly sprinted towards and once he was under the confines of its magnificently thick leaves and branches the wind master wasted no time at all to do the one thing he could think to do at the point.

He violently threw himself face first into the cold ground.

Morro knew he must look pathetic ,but at that point and time he really couldn't bring himself to care. Nothing felt like mattered. His mind was in shambles, his only life goal was dead for a long time now and he can't believe it took this long to remember that fact completely. He had tried putting it off until now, in some vain hope of obtaining some modicum of peace (even then he still had his bouts of hopelessness overtake him) ,but now there was no more running away from it, no more hiding.

As the former ghost, numbly pushed himself up for a brief moment so he could position himself sitting cross-legged with his back leaning against the tree trunk, his mind finally allowed itself to process his thoughts in a much more sane manner.

'Is this is it?' The wind master couldn't help ,but sigh as he mindlessly twirled one of his raven locks between his fingers.

'Is this everything I worked for, DIED for, just to be brought back to life with no purpose,no home,no one besides an old man who sees me as nothing more than a disappointment, who even gives a so much as a sh*t about me?'

As the wind master's mind wandered to Wu, he couldn't help remember the last words he said to him when he was still alive.

"I'm going to find that tomb and once I do you'll see you were wrong about me." Now that Morro said the words out loud with no one ,but the drizzling rain as an audience he realized how corny they actually sounded.

'I wonder what you must have thought of them...old man.' The wind master couldn't stop a small humorless grin from breaking out at the clever nickname.'Maybe you were thinking I was just bluffing, that I would come back'

Perhaps that was the reason, Wu never went out to look for him, maybe that was why he never got a funeral, or even so much as a f**king lantern on all the Days of Departed that had come to pass through the years.

'Maybe Lloyd was right, maybe next year someone will mourn me.'

As that lone thought echoed inside the recesses of his mind, Morro found himself tensing. 'What am I saying? I don't,...I don't want to be dead again...or...wait.'

The former ghost shut his eyes as his fingers clenched even tighter around the lock of raven hair still in his grasp. 'I mean...what's the point of me even being here I don't...I don't habe anything left to live fo-'

Morro was torn from his thoughts when he heard footsteps rumble against the ground, looking up he was immediately met with the sight of Jasper charging right at him. Before he could think to try and dodge the annoying animal, the Nira wolf all too quickly collided with his thin frame and knocked him back even further against the tree trunk.

Spluttering out loose wolf hair that managed to get lodge in his mouth, Morro was quick to throw the creature off of him, completely ignoring the sad whine that followed.

When the former ghost was about to berate the wolf for following him, a familiar voice made him freeze.

"There you are."

Head shooting up, Morro was almost blinded by the sight of glowing green eyes peering down at him with less than innocent intent occupying them.

'F**k the old b***ard found me!'

Ignoring the former ghost's shock Koso was quick to speak. "Alright, I'll deal with you later, right now we need to get back. I'm already drenched to the bone thanks to you."

Koso bent down slightly, most likely to haul Morro to his feet.

"NO!" The wind master shouted instinctevly jumping up so he could back away and put some distance between them.

Koso frowned, as another lightening bolt struck and illuminated his angular face in the darkness.

"Sorry did my ears deceive me it almost sounded like you foolishly said no?"

The wind master rolled his grey-green eyes before responding with. " Yeah that's what I said a**hole!"

As those words left his mouth, Morro might have regretted them if he had any f**ks left to give about his well being, because as soon as he finished speaking Koso's eyes narrowed and his stance took on a familiar threatening stance.

"Alright, listen boy, I've tried being gentle, and kind ,but I've about reached my limit with you. I suggest you tread lightly."

Head filled to the brim with adrenalin Morro immediately bit back with. "Well if I'm such a f**king burden. Why don't you just leave me out here so I can rot in peace, just like everyone else does?!"

In a rare display of stupefied confusion, Koso couldn't stop the dumbfounded expression that appeared on his features. "What are you going on about? Have you gone mad?"

"Look, I don't know if you're actually what you say you are or not ,but I don't care! I never asked to be dragged out here in the first place!" The wind master panted slightly after he was done shouting. In the background he could hear Jasper emitting a scared whine as he sat frozen in place between the two men.

"Your point?" Koso asked appearing as nonchalantly as one could with rain pouring down upon them. "Perhaps you've forgotten this, but I didn't exactly ask the other one for his permission either." The perceptive sedge hat wearing man was quick to notice Morro wince as the blonde's name was brought up. "Let me put this in a way you can understand, you don't get a choice, I'm keeping you both here until you can summon my old elemental power. Once you can do that freedom is yours. Now if you wish to avoid an even worse punishme-"

"and what if I just tell you to go f**k yourself?" Morro asked without even a hint of humor present in his voice.

Koso might have chuckled if he hadn't been so exasperated by the response. " Haven't we been over this. You know I'm too powerful for you to beat and if you think you can run awa-"

" I just don't understand." The wind master interrupted. "Why does it matter if you have the two of us? Why don't you just keep Lloyd and teach him all about how to use your stupid power? Why...why can't you just let me finish drowning-yeah I know you were one who saved me I'm not an idiot." The whole time he talked Koso's sedge hat had lowered to the point his eyes became covered by the straw material, leaving his expression unreadable.

Not caring of what Koso thought of him The former ghost continued. "Why did you do it? I didn't want to be saved, everything would have been better if you had left me alone and just went after Lloyd, I mean it's not like he isn't used to getting to wield amazing power everyday." Morro mumbled the last part whilst he absent mindedly put a hand to his chest, twisting the grey fabric in a grip so tight it almost seemed as if he was trying to pry his heart out of his chest and squeeze it till it burst. The wind master then let out a sigh as he softly said. "I...I spent my whole life chasing a dream I knew I couldn't have ,but I.." Morro didn't know why he was telling Koso this, it's not like he even knew what he was talking about, so...Why? Why was he spilling his heart out, to this...this stranger!?

Maybe because he just needed to say this out loud to just... someone, anyone who...wasn't Wu.

" I really thought, that...if I just wanted it enough ,but you know what!? It was a stupid f**king dream!" The wind master yelled as he lowered his head to stare at the ground while clenching his fists and squeezing his eyes shut. "I...I know that now...and...and..I was an idiot for...for thinking I could have anything that,... that made me important." Morro sucked in a breathe whilst trying to collect his thoughts "I...I..Urgh! Why couldn't you have just left me dead!"

After a tense moment filled with nothing ,but the sound of raindrops and thunder.

Then suddenly Morro felt the left side of his face burning. He didn't even see the slap coming. The black haired boy was hardly surprised, he assumed, that any minute now Koso was going to start barking at him to-

The wind master almost choked as out of nowhere Koso's right hand shot out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. In a flurry of movement, Morro was suddenly staring Koso right in the sedge hat wearing man's reptilian like eyes, with his feet hanging limply in the air, at least a couple inches from the ground. The rain began hitting the former ghost again as he was wrenched away from the shelter of the tree.

Morro vaguely realized another lightening bolt had stricken down. He could hear a surprised bark coming from Jasper, followed by a warning growl. The former ghost barely cared though, because he had bigger problems to focus on, such as the absolutely infuriated expression on Koso's face.

ForgottenFamily

"I...I..Urgh! Why couldn't you have just left me dead?!"

Koso never considered himself to be quick to anger. At least, in the way that he never showed his rage, if he was angered it was usually child's play hiding it behind a mask of smirks and cold deliberate insults.

However in this point in time, getting drenched by none stop rain, with his favorite white cloak no doubt ruined (at least until he got the chance to perform a drying spell) and hearing this...impudent, stupid, idiotic, child say those words ignited a fury deep down inside his heart of stone, and Koso couldn't stop himself from grabbing the teenager.

Truthfully he didn't know what he was thinking.

All Koso knew was that he was now staring into the hopeless abyss that was Morro's grey green eyes and felt he had to say something, anything!

Suddenly, before Koso could stop himself words he couldn't believe he was saying began tumbling out of his mouth.

"You wanna know why I saved you!" The sedge hat wearing man gave a the boy a rough shake to emphasis his point. "I did it, because whether you like it or not, we're family. If we weren't believe me you wouldn't be alive right now!" Koso all ,but screamed. "and you want to know something else, I never once thought any less of you than that blond brat! I don't care what all those years in the Cursed realm did to you or what anyone else tells you. You two are both equally infuriating in my book!" The sedge hat wearing man had to stop to inhale, he couldn't believe what he was saying. "You act as if there's nothing left for you, just because what? You didn't get awarded some arbitrary label!? The green ninja." Koso said with a less than subtle hint of sarcasm

"For f**k's sakes give me a break. I can count at least a dozen more fancy titles such as that on my hand alone, cause you know what? That's all they are, vapid labels that mean nothing I mean, LOOK AROUND YOU!"

Koso gestured to the graveyard of lifeless stumps surrounding them. "You can do this and you still think you need to possess some meaningless title to prove yourself!"

It was at this moment Morro decided to bend his head down and stare at the ground once more.

Letting out a loud sigh Koso continued "I suppose you're wondering how I know so much about your past well I have a confession to make. I lied before when I said I didn't know about what happened between you and Lloyd. Truth is I know about everything ; the cursed realm, the hardships you put Lloyd through, YOU almost releasing a hellish shebeast onto Ninjago."

The teal eyed man paused to take a breath. "You'd be surprised what a trip to the Ninjago Museum of History can reveal." Koso explained with a humorless laugh. "I thought, that if I left it alone, that if I left the two of you to your own devices you would work these things out on your own."

The teal eyed man couldn't help ,but scoff before he continued. "Of course nothing can ever be that simple can it-"

Koso froze as he suddenly felt a drop of water fall upon his right hand. It might have been easy to sweep it off as nothing more than rain, but that was difficult because this particular droplet of liquid felt particularly warm.

The drenched man could hardly believe what this might entail, but he had to be sure. So as slowly as one might open a strange box that could contain Departed Realm knows what, Koso used his left hand to gently tilt Morro's head upwards.

As soon as those grey green orbs were within his line of sight, Koso was immediately thrust back sixty-five years ago when his darling Elizabeth had stared up at him with that same teary eyed look. For the life of him he can't remember what it was that upset her. She had been only five after all, what could problems could possibly make her look so...sad.

Though it was rather simplistic, Koso could think of no better adjective to describe the way she looked at him then.

Whatever he said to get her to replace that look with her usually bubbly smile is lost to him, but what Koso can remember is how that singular look had made him feel ; like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

Koso became so lost in the far away memory he didn't realize he had let Morro go.

ForgottenFamily

As his feet once again became in contact with the ground, Morro felt like he was going to throw up. If he could tear his eyes out of their sockets to save himself from the humiliation he would.

Against his wishes though, unwanted tears kept pouring out and running down his cheeks at an alarmingly fast rate. It felt like the more he tried to stop them the heavier they came down.

The wind master thought to make a run for it so at least he could say this embarrassing moment was short lived, but his hopes were soon dashed because as he turned to bolt, he stupidly forgot Jasper was sitting in his path and he ended up tripping over the wolf and falling right back against the oak tree.

Jasper let out a whine of concern, whilst quickly darting to Morro's side and soundlessly rubbing his head against the wind master's leg most likely trying to apologize. Letting out a groan, the former ghost turned around so that his back was pressed against the tree.

Morro was furious to feel the flow of salty tears still streaming down his face, he almost felt like screaming frustration ,but he knew that wouldn't make him stop crying.

still staring off blankly into space. After a few moments Koso finally moved and it appeared the shock of seeing the wind master cry had worn out and he was slowly coming back to reality.

A very tense beat of silence-save for the roaring thunder and the loud pitter patter of the rain- passed before suddenly Koso looked right at Morro's who's tears still continued to fall against his will, and the wind master felt his breathe leave him.

The enraged expression that had existed on Koso's face just a few moments prior was gone and replaced with a look so blank a master of telepathy wouldn't be able to gauge his thoughts.

For a moment that's all Koso seemed capable of doing ; just standing there. Then before Morro could even properly register it, the sedge hat wearing man was standing right in front of him. He had either moved so fast Morro couldn't have possibly caught him, or the wind master had been to distracting with pointlessly rubbing his arm against his face in a futile attempt to stop the flow of tears still pouring down his face.

The former ghost wanted to tear his hair out, he wanted to screech into the void, he wanted to punch Koso right in his stupid face! But...most of all he just wanted to be left alone.

Morro briefly considered another escape attempt ,but that train of thought was promptly derailed when suddenly he felt cold, wet hands gripping his shoulders. Mustering any pride he had left, the wind master bravely looked up at Koso.

...If he had wanted to throw up before, he was sure he definitely would now. Not because Koso was giving him a look of contempt,anger,smugness, or even really pity.

The way the sedge hat wearing man was looking down upon him, with nothing ,but pure unfiltered sympathy shining in his teal eyes made the boy suddenly long for his sensei.

The want sent shivers down the boy's spine ,but it was the truth. He wanted Wu, he wanted his sensei to be here with him telling him everything was going to be okay and that it was alright to cry and show weakness because he was safe, safe because his sensei would be there for him and hold him and no matter how much he broke himself apart Wu,..his...fathe-sensei would always be there to piece him back together.

The realization made Morro hunch in on himself. He knew it was stupid, he knew he was being weak ,but...he just needed to feel like he wasn't falling apart at the seams.

That was the logic that allowed the wind master to let himself fall into Koso's arms. He didn't care how much this must have shocked the teal eyed man, he didn't care how much of a wet blanket he must look like right now, all Morro cared about was the fact that Koso's white robe despite the fact it was absolutely drenched was close enough of a duplicate to Wu's sensei garb that he could pretend, just for a fleeting second that it was actually Wu who he was sobbing against.

ForgottenFamily

If Koso had been slightly surprised with his own actions before, now he was down right questioning if he had any sanity left.

The teal eyed man had no idea how to react when Morro had become all ,but thrown himself into his arms. For a moment, Koso just stood there as the wind master's warm tears bled into his already drenched cloak. The sedge hat man might have had the sense to be annoyed if the circumstances were different, but as it were he just couldn't muster the strength. Then without even realizing what he was doing, Koso did something he would have never in a million years have seen himself doing.

He gently moved his hands down from Morro's shoulders to his forearms and with any thought whatsoever he hesitantly began to capture the child in a very loose embrace

As he did this he was vaguely aware that the rain had finally slowed to a stop and the storm seemed to be over. Without the sound of roaring thunder and howling winds pervading the air, all that could be heard was Morro's muffled sobs which seemed to have increased in volume tenfold the minute his forehead touch Koso's chest.

The sedge hat wearing man sighed in exasperation before he softly began to run his hands up and down the wind master's back.

Jasper, seeing all of this whined pathetically before wedging himself right up against the back of the former ghost's legs in an obvious attempt to comfort the crying wind master.

As Morro continued to hiccup and sob against his chest, Koso had to wonder how he had let himself get into this mess.

First he saw they boy cry and then he thought of Elizabeth, and then apparently he had thought it was a good idea to approach the boy and...hold him? Perhaps he should blame old age for this bout of softness and nothing more.

Koso wasn't quite aware of how long he stood there silently embracing the child in the pitch black, all that he knew was when he had felt Morro's head leave his chest and he looked down to see the wind master's tears were all gone and dried up he couldn't help ,but let out a breath of relief.

Koso was even more relieved that when he took the lead back to the cottage, Morro silently followed along without hesitance.

So yeah, that happened. Just imagine Lloyd still at home being like. 'I wonder if they're fighting right now?'

Feel free to let me know what you guys think. Do you think I wrote this chapter too melodramatically? I don't know, I just want to properly portray Morro as a character.

Well Till Next Time! Stay Safe