Long ago, the great King of Ghosts, Zhong Kui, was journeying across Ninjago, and came across a village full of despairing yokai. When he asked what was causing his subjects such trouble, they replied, "Our princess of the sea will not release any breezes for sailing, and to lift this spell she demands a husband. Yet she claims to only accept those powerful enough to tame the creatures of the depths. We have sent our finest fishermen, but she will not take any of them as her groom."

"I am the lord of yokai, the ruler of ghosts and spirits between this world and the next. I have made friends with numerous great beings throughout my travels. Surely, I may find her a husband that shall quell her desires," Zhong Kui replied. And so he went to the docks and called out for the princess of the oceans. She rose to the surface, the water becoming her very body and clothing. The Ghost King was instantly allured by her shimmering visage, and asked her name.

"I am Otohime, lady of the sea," she said. "Have you brought me a husband, mortal?"

"Indeed. I shall be your lover," the lord responded with a smile. "I am no mere mortal. I am the great King of Ghosts, summoned by Yama to quell all creatures that stand against me. From the dragon that soars through the clouds to the fearsome shachihoko that dwells in the sea, I have tamed and slain them all in the name of the Underworld." The princess grew joyous, and lifted the curse that kept the villagers tied to the land. They were wed, and soon a child was born. Like his father, he had the appearance of a human, but the powers of his mother created a second form that would only appear with time.

He grew on the land, for he had no gills, and played with the children in a human village. Zhong Kui left for months at a time, so he enlisted a young sage to take care of his child. During his time abroad, the ruler of spirits was given a prophecy about his son, and with a heavy heart, he carried it out.

"The child is named Morro," he told the sage, one day. "Despite his current physical form, he shall one day rule over the yokai who have no true love, and join his mother in the ocean. I give you this, the Guardian's Sapphire, to protect until my son is old enough to bear its power. He will never find romance, nor purpose behind his duty, and shall live out his days supporting those who share his fate." With that, Morro's father disappeared from the world, supposedly fighting a great battle with the Oni of the Sun. The young boy grew up training with the sage, learning about the balance of everything in the universe and how to harness the powers of nature.

Eventually, the child found the Sapphire, and tried to use it out of curiosity. When the man took it away from him, the boy cried, "What is it? Why can't I know what it is, Master Wu?"

"Because you are not old enough to understand your place in the world," the human replied. Morro let that message sit in his mind for years, and when he came of age, he attempted to steal the stone and unlock its secrets, believing he was ready to wield it. After all, the sage would only hide something if there was something to be gained from it, right? The young man was unsuccessful, for only Wu was trusted to control the gem. The man grew angry with the rebellious boy when he found him with the Guardian's Sapphire, and in a fit of frustration he activated the crystal.

"If you wish to see what this Sapphire holds for you, so be it!" he shouted as he cast the spell. Immediately, the boy was transformed into a beast. His legs were swapped for a tail, his arms and back were covered in scales, his ears grew into fins, his fingers became webbed and clawed, his eyes were outlined in dark markings, and a green streak blossomed in his hair. The sage immediately regretted his decision, but knew that he would have had to take this ningyo form at one point or another. He carried his sleeping body to the sea's edge, and delivered Morro to Otohime.

Zhong Kui bid her to abandon the child for the merfolk to raise, so that the prophecy would be carried out correctly. Although she shed many tears, Otohime did as she was told, and handed her son over to her council. The two great spirits vanished from Ninjago, leaving their child to be brought up as a great warrior in the Dragon Palace. The elders tried to teach him the arts of yokai souls, and to control the happiness of the Bondless, however the young man's heart was set on revenge. His every waking moment was devoted to seeking out a way to regain the Sapphire and walk among the humans once more, so that he may take away everything that they loved as well.

Desperate, the elders turned to the princess of Soaring Paradise, and asked her to reach out to her fellow youth and help him learn how to control his sorrows.

"Violet, make sure you fend off the kōjin," Harumi said to her knight. The spirit nodded, holding her sai in one hand while she steered the boat with the other. The princess could already see the aquatic heathens below her, and scowled at their scaly faces. No yokai that lived beneath the sea ever found love because their ruler never gave them proper forging ceremonies. He was always wrapped up in his schemes, and never paid any attention to his subjects. It made her sick to see that the once great cities that resided below the waves had been ruined by his negligence. In order to distract herself, the peacock turned to face her guardian. "Tell me the details of our pact."

"Yes, Princess," Ultra Violet nodded. "I was going to be dragged to the Underworld for using forbidden dark magic, but you saved me. In exchange for allowing me to stay as a spirit here in Ninjago, I am your loyal servant until your lineage dies."

"Right," Harumi agreed. "Now, what would you do if I let this happen to you?" The avian yokai gestured to a nearby kōjin that was circling the boat. It leapt once above the water, hissing and bearing its shark-like fangs.

"I would still be your servant, Princess," said the ghost. "I'll always be by your side." Harumi smiled at her companion, then ducked when she heard a startlingly close splash. The kōjin finally decided to attack, but Violet was ready. Her blade sunk right into its stomach, and cut through it as it dove over the boat.

"Thank you," the princess sighed. "How close are we to the castle?"

"Funny you should ask," said Ultra Violet. "We're here." The spirit pulled a lever to her right, and the ship whirred with magical energy. A large bubble formed, creating an opalescent barrier around the vessel. Harumi adjusted her position so that she could watch her knight steer the ship below the surface of the sea. Kōjin and other vicious yokai tried to penetrate the glassy surface that protected the boat, but to no avail. She could barely see the outlines of the massive Dragon Palace in the distance. If the waters were not so murky, she could have easily viewed it by now.

Guards approached them brandishing spears made of sharpened shells, quickly recognizing the ship and escorting it. Harumi situated her crown, tucking a few loose locks behind it. The ginormous aquamarine castle was finally visible. The outside was completely covered in seaweed, barnacles, and various weed-like vegetation. The towers were made of prismic jasper, but they were overrun with various plants that dig into the cracks. It was disgusting, eerie, mysterious, yet also strangely intriguing. Each time that she arrived, the princess would find a new fault in the structure, as if she were a treasure hunter exploring a dilapidated structure lost to the sands of time.

"The Prince is waiting for you in his throne room," said a deep-toned sentinel. The bubble situated around the ship disconnected and followed the two while they walked.

"Thank you," the peacock replied with a small bow. "Violet." The mage followed her with a sneer at the guards she passed. Harumi had always loved how she was already to show others their place.

"Morro!" Harumi called out into the vast hall. She could see him sitting on his throne, leaning the side of his jaw against his propped up arm. "How are things going, around here?"

"Fine," the merman shrugged. "How have you been, Harumi?"

"Absolutely splendid," the princess beamed. "And I believe that I have some very interesting news that you will be overjoyed to hear." She dragged her finger across the metal band of her tiara, signalling him that they needed to chat in private. In response, Morro waved at his servants.

"Leave us," he commanded, and with they swam away with dipped heads. "So, what happened?" Harumi snapped her fingers, and Ultra Violet rushed forwards, producing a silver hand mirror that was decorated with impressive embossings and jade. The partial bird took hold of the object, and glided up to meet the ningyo at his side, making sure to keep the bubble where it was so that she could get close to him. He still reeked as though he simply abolished the thought of bathing and his hair was lengthy and disheveled, still sporting that lime stripe amidst the black. However, his piercing green eyes still flashed underneath the shadows of his hair, showing his fiery passion and desire for retribution. The tail of the prince was of the same color as his locks, jet black melting into an ombre of chartreuse, and his fins looked like those of seaweed. Along his collarbone and outer upper arms, tattoos of various spiritual symbols covered the scales and skin. He drummed his clawed, webbed fingers against the arm of his throne, even as she approached.

"Do you remember the human and falcon that I told you about?" asked the avian yokai.

"Yes," Morro nodded. "What do they have to do with anything?" Harumi waved her hand over the reflective surface, waiting for the mirror to show the image of the bonded couple in the snow.

"I saw the falcon, Zane, flying towards Jamonikai. I was curious, so I followed him. Turns out, he is planning to meet with his mate, Kai, in three days and discuss their future. After spying on the human for a little while longer, I learned that his friend is your betrayer's nephew." At that, Morro's claws scraped against the stone of his seat as he gripped it.

"Intrigued, I see," Harumi giggled. "That boy is being trained to follow his father and uncle's footsteps. Therefore, he is able to enter the temple where the Sapphire is kept."

"He can pass the barrier that I can't cross," the ningyo chirped as he schemed. "This is perfect."

"I thought so, too. If I can get Violet close enough to control him for a little while, I can make him give the stone to me. Then, I'll bring it back to you so you can get your revenge."

"And as we agreed, you will take the humans' land after they kill each other off."

"And you can return to the land and finally get rid of Chen."

"He is merely a general. He was never meant to get so out of hand," Morro scoffed. Harumi wrinkled her nose at the statement.

"You could have at least contacted him and gave him orders," she pointed out, a tiny bit of anger in her tone. "He has been sending out agents to kidnap young yokai for his so-called royal mate circle. It's despicable. You could have told him to stop."

"Chen is not a man that listens to orders. That's why I like him. Yeah, what he does is absolutely awful, but sometimes we gotta make sacrifices for order."

"Order?" the peacock gasped, feathers sticking out just slightly. "Order is keeping your general in line when he's creating a harem out of my subjects!" Morro laughed and swam to an upright position, drifting towards the bird with a sickening grin.

"You forget how much you need me," he sneered, sliding his tail along the glassy surface of the bubble. "Your people are not ready for a war. I have an army, and I can suppress the humans if they get out of hand. Chen is also at my command, and he has been waiting for a good fight for years. If he finds out that you were the one who took that chance away from him, you will find it much harder to keep your own subjects safe."

"Are you saying you would send troops to my side of the territory?"

"It's our territory, Harumi," Morro hissed. "We share it, as protectors of yokai." The princess was about to bite back, but she saw Violet taking out her weapon in the corner of her eye. She turned and softly shook her head. If they argued and threatened each other, neither of them would get what they wanted.

"I'm sorry," the albino bird mumbled as her knight warily put away her sai. "I never meant to get upset with you. I'm just ready to get this whole thing over with and expand our borders."

"Whatever," grumbled the merman as he returned to his throne. "Is there anything else you wanna say before you leave?" The princess turned to her mage, and Violet stepped forward while she cleared her throat.

"There is one thing," said the knight. "In order for us to mask our yokai appearances, we must drink a special potion made from the giman flower. It only grows in your mother's special garden, so I must request-"

"It's yours. Take as many as you need," Morro interrupted. "I'll tell the guards to let you in." The two land-bound yokai smiled and exchanged bows with the ningyo before turning towards the hallway he pointed to. Harumi smirked as she stepped through the shambles of the once beautiful palace. Soon, her people would never have to worry about being hunted ever again.

Lloyd chopped up meat while Kai peeled a carrot. The sage could not help but notice the distant look on the hunter's face, and decided to investigate. He put down his knife and wiped off his hands, then poked his friend in the cheek.

"What's up?" asked Kai.

"Are you thinking about Zane?" Lloyd's question caused the brunet to fumble with the peeler, almost dropping it in a fit of anxiety.

"What makes you say that?" the hunter inquired nervously. The apprentice watched as Kai began to run the blade over the vegetable more rigidly.

"'Cuz I saw you talking to him last night, and you're most likely thinking about him."

"What?" It was true. When his companion had suddenly wandered off with a look of confusion on his face, Lloyd knew that something was up. Kai had told his sibling that he was going to run back home and get something, then took off in a completely different direction. Nya was too busy catching up with her friends to pay much attention to her brother's sudden excuse, but the sage was exceedingly curious. After mumbling that he had to use the restroom, he slipped through the crowds as well and went in the direction his friend had gone. He heard the distant sound of running, and followed the sound before reaching the edge of the village. He hid behind an old bridge that spanned the footpath, and saw the two separated mates conversing in a very close-quarters manner.

"Yeah. I dunno what you guys said, but you were definitely talking to Zane," Lloyd shrugged. "Who else has giant, black wings?"

"You're not gonna tell Nya, are you?" fretted Kai. The blond thought for a moment before turning to the huntsman.

"Are you gonna let him kidnap you again?" The younger of the two waited for his answer, witnessing a hundred different emotions cross Kai's face.

"No," the hunter finally shook his head. "We just talked about what we wanted to do in the future. He's not taking me back to Kyoboku any time soon."

"Then I'm not gonna tell her," said the apprentice, returning to his work.

"Wait… Really?"

"I'm done trying to calm Nya down. The only reason I didn't listen to you or Zane when we came to get you was that I just wanted her to stop obsessing over getting you home. You know her, she's extremely persistent. In my opinion, you should do whatever you want. If Zane made you happy, then I think Nya should've respected that. I was just ready to go back home as soon as possible."

"So you're not gonna say anything?" Kai repeated. The younger of the two shook his head as he continued to dice up the game. "Nothing at all?"

"Nope," Lloyd sighed. He glanced over at the taller boy, who had whittled the poor carrot down to a twig in his absent-minded worry. "You should just throw that away." With a quirked brow, the huntsman turned his gaze down to the destroyed piece of food.

"Damn it," he grumbled under his breath as he chucked it in the trash.

"Kai, did you like Zane?" Lloyd inquired. The brunet cocked his head to the side and took a deep breath as he thought.

"Yeah, he's a nice guy."

"No, I meant… Here's a better question: Did you want to kiss him?" With a flinch, the hunter threw his brows up. His surprise only lasted a moment, then his face contorted with a downtrodden and frustrated expression.

"That's…" Kai trailed off, shoving his hands in his pockets as he almost glared at the floor. "That's a touchy subject. Do we need to do this right now?" Now it was Lloyd's turn to think.

"Y'know what? Yes. Yes, we do need to do this right now," he responded with a decided tone. "I've known you since I was a baby. I don't mean to be rude, but I feel like I kinda deserve to know." Kai leaned forward as if he were about to protest, but then slumped as he took a deep breath.

"You're right," he nodded sadly. "But if I'm being honest… I don't really know. There were a few times that we came close, but we never actually kissed. I mean… my heart was kinda in it when we leaned in, but I was never disappointed when we pulled away." Lloyd nodded, scraping the now perfectly cut chicken into a bowl. There was a heavy silence between them, almost as if they were daring each other to carry on this uncomfortable conversation. A knock from the front entrance alleviated the tension, however.

Oh thank god, thought the young sage. He trotted over to the door and opened it to see a young woman with bright amethyst eyes and a hairdo that was completely barren everywhere but the top of her head. Her skin was deep cocoa, with little splotches of vitiligo. Behind her was a pale girl, sporting a pure white ponytail tied back with chopsticks.

"Good afternoon," he greeted them. "Can I help you?"

"Are you the son of the keeper of the temple?" said the first girl, her voice somewhat raspy and snarky.

"I am," Lloyd nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"Your father told us to bring back a certain gem from the sacred cabinets, so that we can restore it to its former luster," said the smaller, less intense woman. "It's called the Guard Sapphire, or something like that?"

"The Guardian's Sapphire?" asked the apprentice, bewildered. "Nobody is supposed to take that thing from the temple-" The white-haired girl snapped her fingers, and suddenly everything made sense. These two desperately needed that stone. As a sage in training, he was obligated to do whatever he could to assist the people he protected. With a bow of apology, he quickly followed them out.

"I'll be back in a minute, Kai!" he called into the house as he closed the door. "I've never seen you two around. Do you know where the temple is?"

"No, actually," said the snippier of the two. "Thank you for leading us there."

"I'm happy to help," Lloyd beamed. They made their way through the streets and marched up to the temple. Suddenly, the paler girl winced, causing her companion to stop in her tracks and tug her back a step or two. "What's wrong?"

"Headache!" the violet-eyed girl immediately said. "We've been traveling for a while now, and she's really tired. As soon as we get the Sapphire, we'll be returning to our village to polish it up."

"I see," Lloyd nodded. "Go ahead and take a seat on the steps. I'll be right back." He swiftly turned and bounded inside the temple. The cabinet that held the stone was guarded by many talismans that only allowed those who ran the monastery to open the doors. He even had to activate a personal aura to bypass certain protective spells.

The shine of the stone was as mesmerizing as ever, but they did have a point. After going so long without any upkeep, the Sapphire had lost a little of its trademark shimmer. He pulled the gem from its holder, then walked back outside. The poor things looked tired, so he quickly handed them the stone.

"Do you need anything before you leave?" the apprentice inquired. "Food? Water?"

"No, that will be all," the pale woman suddenly replied, standing upright as if she had been instantly alleviated of her pains by simply grasping the Sapphire. "Thank you very much. We'll return with the stone the night after tomorrow." The young sage nodded with a grin. For some odd reason, the smaller of the girls seemed familiar. Something about her snow white hair and ruby lips told him that they had met before.

"Hold on. Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. The two startled before him, then the shorter woman snapped her fingers again. His mind went blank when he heard the clicking sound.

"No," she assured him before spinning around. "Goodbye."

"Uh, yeah. See you around," he smiled before turning back towards his home. The group parted ways, and Lloyd found himself in such a dazed state that his feet were on the front porch before he saw it. As he opened the door, he called out, "I'm back!"

"What'd they need?" Kai asked. Lloyd opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He could not remember, for the life of him.

"Huh. Funny. It just happened, and I don't even know," he shook his head with a nervous laugh. "Something at the temple." The hunter shrugged and stirred the pot that they had been preparing when the sage had left. He must have started up the stove in his absence.

"Nya came by," murmured the huntsman. "Dropped this off for you." He pointed to a basket on a nearby counter, which was filled with the reagents he asked for her to get at the market. While Lloyd rummaged through the contents, Kai continued to add ingredients to the pot. He wore another faraway look, this time with knit brows and tight lips.

"Something wrong?" the sage asked.

"Yes!" Kai suddenly burst, turning down the heat of the stove and gripping the spoon he was holding even tighter. "When Nya came over I asked to go out on the hunt this afternoon, and she said, 'I don't think you should go hunting for a while'! God, she's just… Agh! She thinks I'll disappear again if I leave the village! I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself! And she can't just-!" He suddenly slapped a hand over the back of his head, a flush of embarrassment washing over his features.

"What happened?" said Lloyd, taking a step closer as the hunter rubbed that spot he had covered. Kai darted his gaze to meet his for a moment, then screwed his eyes shut.

"This is gonna sound really, really weird," the brunet mumbled.

"Kai, literally everything this week has been weird," the apprentice replied, rolling his eyes. The huntsman let out his tension in a puff of breath, letting his shoulders slump as he prepared something to say.

"When I bonded with Zane, I… No, I should really explain this to you. You literally bond your souls together during your forging ceremony, er… I guess your wedding ceremony. I have this little itch in the back of my mind, a buzz that kinda tells me what Zane is feeling. Sometimes I can tune it out, but when he gets really emotional or upset it's hard to ignore. Like right now? I got a little heated, so he obviously felt that. And I could feel him worrying, which is why I panicked."

"Is it hard?"

"Hard to what?"

"To be here, without Zane." Kai took a moment to look to the side and think, folding his arms and leaning back against the counter. He stirred the pot once, then twice, in an absent-minded daze.

"I wanna be here at home, but I also want Zane to be around me. If he's not here, we both get this feeling that we're not where we're supposed to be. It's different from when he leaves for work every day. We know that we're not gonna be near each other for a while."

"So you miss him?"

"Yeah, but it's more complicated than that. Even just being close to each other last night helped get rid of that pull, because we knew that we were gonna be together again in three days. Soul bonds work in really dumb ways, but… they are what they are. I mean… I don't know how to explain it, but because I'm fated to be with him, I wanna just talk to him? Or just sit on the couch and draw like we did a few times? Going to the marketplace wasn't bad, either. He was always really nice to me and, uh, never thought I'd say this, but... " Lloyd waited for him to continue, heart nearly skipping a beat in anticipation.

"I really care about him. Like he's already a part of the family. Er, no. Like he's been a part of the family. I don't wanna ever let him go, and I wanna at least let him do the things that he always wanted to. But like… way later when I'm actually used to him. That's not love though. It's not." The sage drew his brows together, seeing the battle in Kai's expression.

"That's not love?" Lloyd mumbled. He pursed his lips when he realized that it slipped out on its own, but was thankful that the brunet did not seem to be paying him any attention. "Is he handsome?"

"Hm?" Kai hummed, snapping out of his distant stupor.

"Is Zane handsome?"

"Well, yeah- er, I mean… He's good-looking, but I'm not like… attracted to him in a way that means that I uh… I don't like him because he's handsome, I like him because… No, wait! I don't like him. I don't love him, I don't like him, he's just um… You get it." The sage in training stepped away from his companion, hiding his mouth with his hand. He could not smile, not now.

"I'm gonna go put these away," said the blond as he snatched the basket. "You think you can handle the cooking?"

"Yeah," the hunter nodded, once more sporting a completely detached look. Lloyd practically skipped away, fighting back a huge grin as he rounded a corner. He had to cover his mouth to stifle his laughter.

How could Kai not see it? Lloyd was many things, but he was certainly not blind. After years of studying under his father, he had gained a modest affinity for books. Occasionally he would even flip through his mother's romantic novels. They were rich in story, and definitely helped him out in this situation. It was the classic scenario of a delusional man who was desperate for the presence of the person they had fallen for. Normally he would have been at least a little bit concerned about the fact that he had come to love a yokai, but right now he was too amused to care. He quickly threw his package into his room and grabbed his spellbook. Once he re-entered the kitchen, Kai was already cleaning off the utensils while the meal simmered.

"What'cha need your book for?" the huntsman inquired.

"Oh, nothing," Lloyd replied, nonchalantly searching through the contents before he landed on the page he wanted. "Just a little bit of practice." He sat the book on the table and folded his hands together, waiting for Kai to return to the food before he chanted a low mantra. Dull pink lines lit up his hands, and when he pointed at his companion a little glimmer shot from his finger. It connected to the hunter, allowing him to read into his heart. A cat-like grin snuck over his features, and he quickly shut the compendium as the brunet turned around. Luckily, his friend was not paying any attention to him.

His heart really did belong to someone, although he did not know it yet. It was entirely possible for Kai to lose all affection for the beast, but for the moment he was interested in how this would play out. There was the question of Nya and how they were supposed to get her to change her mind about Zane, however that could all be sorted out later. It had been so long since he had been able to keep a secret from Kai, and now he was definitely going to take the chance to hold something over his head for once.