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"When your father is reborn, he WON'T be the man you recognize! His soul will be gone."
~ Harumi (The Quiet One)
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"What is it..." Harumi had asked one day. "That you saw in me? What makes you see me different from everyone else ?" Her eyes were wide and vulnerable, a serious expression on the usually very calm face.
Lloyd chuckled a little and rubbed at the dirt on his gi as he thought. "I don't know..." Lloyd answered honestly. He leaned over the rail of the boat contemplatively. "Something drew me to you. Like you're a piece of my life I needed to complete my puzzle. You and I? We're kindred spirits."
Something had flashed in Harumi's eyes. Lloyd hadn't noticed it then. "Kindred spirits?" She said smoothly with a giggle. "You barely know me, you know. How are you able to tell who I am? Maybe I'm secretly an emo goth girl and you would've never guessed."
"Hey! I had an emo phase too!" Lloyd turned, a wide crooked grin tilting his face. "You see? We are very alike!"
Harumi shook her head. "We are very different, Lloyd." She said with a smile. "Roads join and diverge. Paths that cross aren't parallel."
Lloyd scrunched up his nose. "We must be different. I was aged up so I missed a lot of school. Any math terms are going to blow over my head."
The girl rolled her eyes, her hand gently cradling the wheel. It moved easily in her fingers, only using the tips to push it where they needed it to go. "I think the lack of education is becoming obvious. Kindred spirit." She teased.
Lloyd laughed but when he spoke his tone was slightly more serious. "We're connected somehow. I don't mean that in a cheesy way. I can feel it. That red string of fate ties us together and it has big plans." He sighed, turning back to feel at the depth of the river with a stick.
"Fate is funny like that." Harumi said distantly in the background. The seemingly off-hand comment made something in him buzz warningly but Lloyd dismissed it, prodding for rocks. He didn't think about it again as Harumi began to sing softly under her breath.
"Spider's in the house. Sleep, sleep..."
****
It was strange seeing her after all this time.
Lloyd had spent so much time picturing her face, remembering what she had been like, carefully crafting together an image in his mind until it was almost as if she was really there.
And now she was.
And Lloyd didn't know what to feel about it.
She had aged some. As had he. There was more maturity in her features but they were still youthful, reminding him of how quick her life had been taken. Or how quick he thought her life had been taken.
Harumi was paler. She had already had a fair skin tone but now it was almost translucent. Her hair seemed almost whiter. Standing out on the pale blue sheets. She was a living ghost. A person from the past brought into the future. It made a deep dread crawl under his skin, him feel itchy and unnerved. Nothing goes well when the past comes back to haunt you.
"Mr. Garmadon?" It took Lloyd a moment to realize Adam was talking to him. The nurse's eyes were patient but concerned as he held a hovering hand over his shoulder. "I'm going to need you to breath."
Oh right. I forgot that was a thing I needed to do. Lloyd thought distantly as he slowly forced his lungs to expand and then let the air out. He did it a few more times until he felt the ache in his chest leave.
"How-" Lloyd cleared his throat as it cracked. "How is she alive?" How long had she been out there without him knowing? How long has she been haunting him since the moment that building fell? How many times had he run over every possible way he could've done something different? How was it that just as soon as he was pulling his pieces together that she could smash them on the floor all over again.
"We're not completely sure." Dr. Williams said honestly. "All of the medicinal items they had brought from the site where she was found are herbs, poultices, honey. Home remedies. Nothing strong or innovative enough to keep someone of her condition stable for so long, much less bring her back from the dead."
Lloyd closed his eyes. A migraine was starting to form between his eyes. Lloyd never used to get headaches. But lately the most relief he can get from them was a dull throb.
"But- I thought she was dead! As in dead dead! Did you not find a body when you cleared the damaged building? Didn't you give her a burial?" Lloyd spun on Officer Morton, his voice hardening as he talked.
The officer stared back unflinchingly. "People like her would've been placed in the Cryptarium's cemetery. The damages from Garmadon's attack are still being fixed, Green Ninja. We hadn't had the time to search the rubble too deeply. The city has been focusing on the main buildings. The one that Harumi died in has not been one of the main priorities. The Villain Disaster Search and Rescue Team had combed through the rubble for survivors but we've had no reports of her body that I know of."
"What about whoever has been keeping her alive?" Lloyd's mind was buzzing with questions. Who had found her?
"No reports yet. The building is under surveillance. The Supernatural Investigation sector hadn't meant to find Harumi. They had just been getting small readings of what seemed like elemental activity. It was only supposed to be a scouting mission until they came across her." He jerked his thumb towards the unconscious girl. The machinery attached to her beeped back.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "Supernatural Investigation? You never had that before."
"It's new. We want to be more prepared for attacks. Part of that is controlling the source when it starts to become a concern." Morton replied pointedly, his lips pressed together in a thin line. He seemed to think of himself above Lloyd. Though he was older he didn't have any more experience than Lloyd did dealing with the dangers of ninjago. Lloyd was going to make sure he knew it.
"You could've just asked the ninja. It would've cost a lot less." Lloyd said slowly. He didn't like the idea of governmental groups dealing independently with supernatural situations. Certain officers have a hard time separating friend from foe.
"May I remind you that of the time your group went off looking at supernatural instances you set another group of serpentine free? And after that it was an undersea prince with- guess what?- more serpentine." Officer Morton snarled sarcastically. Lloyd blinked in shock. He was right of course, they did always mess something up but at the moment his sleep-deprived brain could only realize that the ever-serious officer had cracked a joke. It was at his expense but still a joke nonetheless.
"Excuse me but can we please stay on task?" Dr. Williams interrupted with an irritated look.
When they both begrudgingly nodded the doctor proceeded. "Harumi's condition is worsening. Whatever had been keeping her alive isn't here anymore and her body is slowly shutting down." The doctor explained, gesturing to the slow heartbeat on the monitor. "I assume she's been in a coma for some time. Her brain is fully active but she hasn't been responding to any attempts to pull her out of it. We assumed she would stay in the coma forever until this morning when Mr. Stevenson came in to replace her I.V."
Williams nodded to the nurse who swallowed nervously as they all waited for him to speak. "She had shot upright, this terrified- almost manic look in her eye. I don't think she was aware of her surroundings. She was saying something... mumbling about spiders? And then she fell back unconscious."
Lloyd's head shot up. "Spiders?"
Morton raised an eyebrow. "Is that significant in some way?"
"It was a song she would sometimes sing." Lloyd but his lip, starting to pace as he thought. "Something like: Spider in the house...sleep, sleep. Don't wake up or find a spider in your mouth? Nose? Eyeballs?" Maybe Lloyd should pay more attention.
"How pleasant." Morton grumbled dryly.
Doctor Williams watched Harumi carefully before she nodded and straightened herself. "This is progress. We know that Harumi is able to come out of the coma briefly we just need to focus on keeping her up."
"Hang on," Officer Morton stepped in. "Do we want her up? This is a dangerous criminal. And an advanced supervillain at that! Waking her up would mean risking her wraith on Ninjago once more."
"What? We can't just leave her in a coma!" Lloyd felt his anger flare. He couldn't believe that Officer Morton would suggest something like that!
Fury rolled like crashing waves and something dangerous swirling in his chest. The unkempt energy that had been buzzing in him all morning flooding through his veins and tingling in his fingertips. There was something beautiful and relieving in it, begging for him to release it all. Lloyd just wanted to embrace it, sink into the feeling and let the anger take its course.
Immediately, Officer Morton drew a handgun, his eyebrows drawn as he focused his intense gaze on Lloyd. "Easy there, Green Ninja." He said slowly, the words drawn out and patronizing. Lloyd clenched his fists, the flame inside him only growing.
"Lloyd," Doctor Williams exclaimed urgently, her eyes wide and fearful. "I'm going to need you to calm down. No powers."
Lloyd blinked almost drunkenly and raised his hands. A trickle of surprise escaping through the fury as he stared at the burning green starting to swirl in his palms.
"Put away your gun, sir." Nurse Stevenson instructed Officer Morton.
"Not unless he aborts his firework show." Morton narrowed his eyes stubbornly. Lloyd bared his teeth, a snarl pulling his lips back as he took a step towards the officer.
"No! Lloyd, stop. Morton, gun put away now." Williams ordered, her voice filled with authority.
A little voice inside of Lloyd's voice was telling him to take a step back. To listen to her. A part of him refused, the devil on his shoulder whispering for him to let the anger he apart of him. But the voice was louder than he thought. You can't help by attacking him. It reminded Lloyd. With a deep breath Lloyd forced the energy deeper in him. Collecting it somewhere under his heart as he steadied his breathing, tricking his body into relaxing.
"We are not going to leave Harumi in a coma." Doctor Williams said seriously. Her hands were still raised to block Lloyd or Officer Morton if they decided to go at it. "But we should have the necessary security in case Harumi wakes up, especially for if she becomes mobile. Does that seem fair?" She fixed them both with a hard store.
Morton nodded, his jaw clenched and his glare still set on Lloyd. The ninja copied, an equally venomous look in his eyes.
"Good." Doctor Williams rolled her eyes and straightened. "Mr. Stevenson, can you please change Harumi's medicine today. I'll be researching with some of our surgeons and residents for solutions to keep her stable and you two can work out how Harumi will be dealt with."
Officer Morton frowned a little as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "Perhaps we can schedule another meeting tomorrow. I have to check in with the chief and do a few reports." He directed his words to Lloyd with forced politeness. Lloyd agreed with an equal amount of cool neutrality.
They all began to leave, except for Nurse Stevenson who prepared to give Harumi her medicine. Lloyd lingered a little longer. He waited until Officer Morton left before stepping hesitantly towards Doctor Williams, glancing back at Harumi. "Am I allowed to stay here a little longer?" He asked softly.
Doctor Williams softened and gave him a gentle smile. "Of course. Until visiting hours are over. Listen to the security guard, Hai Lin, and stay out of trouble. If we need Harumi for scans you'll need to leave."
"Of course. Thank you." Lloyd said gratefully.
Williams gave him one look. "Don't stay here for too long, Mr. Garmadon. Harumi's situation is a miracle but it doesn't do well to dwell on the past."
And with that she turned and left, Lloyd staring after her. Officer Lin stepped in as she was leaving and gave a nod to Lloyd, his dark eyes searching. The green ninja heaved a deep breath, his fingers curling and uncurling as he turned back to the pale face of Harumi once more.
How are you here? Lloyd asked silently as he sat heavily down in the rickety seat. How can I pull you back?"
NOTE******
Ayeeeee it's literally been since October! Sorry, I am currently on a half-hiatus that actually is planned to be ending soon but I had some late night inspiration and wrote a new chapter!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I actually don't know how these situations work and while I know that research is important as a writer I'm a busy student and person. I will research the things I find important but at the moment ninjago security and health care protocols are not one of them.
I hope you all have a nice day! Sorry the chapters are always so dialogue heavy lol. 😅
LuckyBugBooks 🐞
[Light Editing. There probably are some typos]