Morro groaned loudly as muscles he didn't even know he had ached. Tonight, with the dark moon, everyday activities such as talking, walking, and even breathing seemed to require ten times the usual effort. To make things worse, he and Lloyd had been scheduled to work at the tea shop today, and it seemed everyone and their grandmothers wanted a box of tea, as the place was packed.

If that wasn't bad enough, it was Harumi's birthday, and her father had decided to make it a huge event.

Due to a rare meteor shower passing over Ninjago tonight, Harumi's parents had organized a giant party for her. They invited all their work associates, their families, and everyone in Harumi's school, including the teachers. When they all received the invitation, it clearly stated that they had to bring their families. None of them knew what Richard was planning, but it wasn't like they could ring him up and ask him.

"Screw this, I'm not going." Morro suddenly growled after he finished serving yet another entitled customer.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are."

"Her dad knows it's a dark moon; he's done this deliberately to screw with us," Morro growled as he scowled down at the counter as if it was the source of his worsening headache.

"Okay, first of all, I doubt he knows what the dark moon does to us. Second, he planned the party for tonight because it's Harumi's birthday, AND it's a meteor shower. Finally, you will be at that party because, last I checked, Harumi is your girlfriend." Lloyd all but ordered, his expression exasperated.

Morro was silent for a moment before he laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry, it's just that you're starting to sound like an alpha." He chuckled, and Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm sounding like someone who's already stressed enough by all the stuff going on with this pack and school to deal with another relationship crisis, " he replied. As if on cue, Pixal walked into the tea shop.

"I'm not serving her," Morro growled as soon as he saw her. Pixal soon noticed them too and ducked her head to avoid eye contact. She was probably here to collect her and her Dad's usual order. Morro couldn't understand why she couldn't have some decency and go to the coffee shop across the street. He's pretty sure they sell tea, too.

An uncomfortable air settled over the shop, but no one other than the three teens was aware of it. None of them made a move. Pixal refused to make eye contact, but she still stepped up to the counter, making it clear she wasn't leaving without her order. Morro folded his arms and glared at her, refusing to serve her out of stubbornness.

By now, a long line had formed behind Pixal, and they were all getting frustrated when they realized that the girl in front wasn't getting served. Desperate to break the awkwardness, Lloyd was about to serve her when, by some miracle, Misako re-emerged from the back. She took one look at the scene, sighed, and proceeded to serve Pixal like any other customer. Lloyd quickly dragged Morro into the back before he could cause a scene.

"How long are we going to keep this up for?"

"Until she apologizes about the whole White Wolf Corporation thing AND changes her plans," Morro replied tenaciously.

"Then you'll be waiting a very long time."

"Hang on, you're not feeling sorry for her are you?" Morro asked incredulously. When Lloyd hesitated to answer, his glare hardened. "Are you forgetting she's the one who gave samples of our DNA to a psycho that tried to dissect me, Kai, and Nya and locked Zane in a cage?!"

Lloyd started to stammer, too scared to answer as if he would say the wrong thing. Morro continued to stare daggers at him, silently daring him to speak. As if sensing his distress, Misako poked her head into the back.

"Lloyd, do me a favor and grab your uncle. It's starting to get busy in here." She called to him and rushed back to the counter before he could answer. Lloyd didn't hesitate to take this chance and bolted off to find his uncle. Morro rolled his eyes and checked his watch. Relief flooded him when he saw that his shift was over, and he went to clock out.

Lloyd searched everywhere, from the back room to the shop floor to the toilets, but he couldn't find his uncle anywhere. He couldn't track him by scent due to all the strong-smelling teas stocked up in the shop. Out of options, Lloyd headed out to the alley, and that's when he noticed the fire escape. Not knowing what else to do, Lloyd climbed up the creaky metal steps until he reached the roof.

That was where he found his uncle. Wu was standing dead center on the roof, craning his head up to look at the clear blue sky.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

"Something is coming." He replied ominously, still staring up at the sky. Lloyd tried to follow his gaze but saw nothing but sky and clouds.

"Yeah, it's the comet." He replied, thinking that's what Wu was referring to. Eventually, Wu turned to his nephew and stared at him with a look Lloyd couldn't explain.

"Something bad will happen tonight... Something very bad." That was all he said before walking towards the fire escape and descending, leaving Lloyd on the roof to stare up at the sky with a growing unease in his gut...

Harumi was dreading tonight.

You'd think that with it being her birthday, she would be feeling something other than dread, but you would be wrong. Despite it being HER birthday, it had very little to do with her. She had no say in the decorations, the food, the cake, or even the clothes she got to wear. It was all picked out for her and she wasn't to complain if she knew what was good for her.

She didn't know if she was simply sick and tired of all the over-the-top parties or if this was what she truly wanted to happen, but if you were to ask Harumi what she wanted for her birthday she would say that she wanted a quiet day with just herself and maybe a couple of close friends, eating a simple meal, and watching a movie and that's it. No giant party, ten-tier cake, snobby guests that she didn't know, or ridiculous dresses her mom liked.

When envisioning her 18th birthday, Harumi didn't imagine hiding in her room as quietly as possible, too scared to make a sound in case her mother suddenly remembered she existed and dragged her down to 'help' with the party planning.

With a heavy sigh, her eyes turned to the far corner of the room.

Moving as if she were a spy on a deadly mission, Harumi crept over to the corner and carefully pulled up the carpet to reveal a hidden compartment. She opened it and pulled out the single photograph inside.

It was of her and Morro on their first real date.

It was the only picture she had of her and her boyfriend together. She used to have more, but her parents - mainly her dad - had found them and destroyed them. Even the ones in her phone were deleted. This photo was the last one she had.

Suddenly, her phone started buzzing on her bed. Harumi quickly but carefully put the photo and the carpet back in place and grabbed her phone. She saw a message from Morro.

-Come outside. I've got a surprise xxx

Excitement rapidly replaced her dread, and Harumi leapt off the bed. She fixed her makeup, brushed her hair, and threw on a jacket before rushing downstairs. Her mother was nowhere to be found. The only people in the penthouse were the team of caterers using the kitchen who paid her no mind, and she headed for the elevator. Foolishly, she thought she could simply walk out of the building.

That thought died on the vine, however, when the elevator doors opened on the ground floor and she saw her mother.

The older woman thankfully had her back to the elevator, so she didn't immediately notice the teen. Fight or flight kicked in, and Harumi dove to hide behind one of the clothed tables before she was seen. Peaking out, Harumi almost cursed when she saw her mother was effectively blocking the way to the entrance. There was no chance she could sneak out without being seen by someone.

Giving up, Harumi pulled out her phone to cancel whatever plans Morro had when fate intervened.

A sudden bang echoed across the floor, and everyone jumped at the sound. Taking a risk and peeking out again, Harumi saw that a clumsy employee had knocked into one of the giant floral arrangements, causing it to fall over and spill dozens of flowers across the floor. Upon seeing the mess, Harumi's mother unleashed an unholy screech and charged toward the trembling employee.

Seizing the opportunity, Harumi bolted for the entrance and made it to the streets safely.

Looking around, she soon found Morro across the street leaning against a black pickup.

It took her a moment to recognise him. His usually shaggy hair was slicked back with hair gel. He wore a dazzling white blazer with matching pants and a green shirt.

"Happy birthday!" He beamed and presented her with a small bouquet of red and white roses. "Wanna go on a little trip?"

"I'd love to." She smiled, and the two shared a kiss before climbing into the black pickup Morro had been leaning against. "Isn't this Cole's truck?"

"Yep, and he's made it clear that if I return it with so much as a scratch, they'll never find my body." Morro laughed and they headed off but making sure they were going a few miles under the speed limit; you know, just to be safe.

They rode in content silence for a while, enjoying each other's company, until Harumi noticed they were leaving the city and heading towards the forest.

"Where are we going?"

"Just hang on a second." He reassured her before turning down some narrow trail off the main road that she hadn't noticed at first. After a few more minutes a driving Morro suddenly hit the brakes and announced: "We're here!"

Getting out of the car, Harumi found nothing but dense forest surrounding them. Unsure of what the surprise was, Harumi looked expectedly at her boyfriend. He smiled, took her hand, and led her into the forest. She let him with little fuss.

It didn't take long before Harumi suddenly noticed the path under her feet was covered in rose petals ahead of them.

"What is all this?" She asked. Morro smiled and parted the bushes before them, revealing a small field of wildflowers. A sparkling stream flowed by the edge of the field, and when she looked up, Harumi could see a fancy ornate gazebo made of white marble and gold railings standing in the centre of the field. The couple continued up the petal path towards the gazebo, and Harumi saw a candle-lit dinner for two with a silver cloche.

Completely speechless, Harumi couldn't even form a thought as Morro pulled out her chair for her.

"Complete with a meal fit for a queen." He beamed and pulled off the cloche lid, and Harumi smiled when the smell hit her.

"Is that garlic noodles?" She gasped, and Morro nodded as he prepared a plate for the both of them. Starving, Harumi immediately started devouring the meal before Morro had a chance to sit down. He didn't mind, though, and smiled warmly at her as he ate his food. Everyone who really knew Harumi knew she unconditionally loved noodles with a lot of garlic. It was her favourite meal, although she was hardly allowed to eat garlic since 'ladies weren't allowed to have bad breath', according to her mother.

"This is delicious! Did you make all this yourself?"

"Uh, well... Zane helped with the food, and Nya and Jay fixed up the gazebo... and Cole and Kai got the flowers." Morro listed, growing more and more red when he realized his gift to his girlfriend was more of a group gift. Wisely, he kept quiet about how it was Skylor who found the gazebo and how Lloyd was covering his closing shift right now. "B-But I got you this!" He exclaimed and pulled out a box in green wrapping paper.

Having finished her meal, Harumi put aside the plate and took the box from him. She unwrapped it, and her eyes sparkled when she saw it. At first, she thought it was a hair comb, but then she realized it was a white lotus flower hanfu with jades.

"It's beautiful." She smiled lovingly and kissed him. After their meal, the couple sat on the stairs of the gazebo and watched the sunset. "This has been the best birthday ever."

Morro kissed her again, which she deepened, but before it could go any further, her phone started blowing up with texts.

Sighing in frustration, Harumi pulled out her phone and saw that her mother in the span of a minute and sent her a dozen messages.

-WHERE ARE YOU?! You're party will be starting soon and you need to get ready!

Morro whined when he read the texts over her shoulder.

"Think people will notice if you miss your own party?" He asked and started kissing her neck.

Harumi rolled her eyes and gently pushed him off. Quickly, they got up, blew out the candles, and took the plates back to the car so Morro could hand them back to Zane.

The drive back seemed quicker than the journey there. When they got back to Harumi's home, they saw many more people rushing around frantically. The party wasn't for another couple of hours but Harumi wasn't blaming them for being hectic; she knew what her mother was like.

"I love you," Morro said as she got out of the car.

"I love you too." She replied and blew him a kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

Morro watched as she entered the metaphorical gates of hell before heading off to meet with the others at Zane's.

They had a party to get ready for...

NEXT CHAPTER: Pixal is given a reality check...