(Week 29 - 32)
The word spread fast like a wildfire running through the forest. After Lumi's little reveal at the studio, Darreth quickly insisted that they pose for a father-daughter photo, which he assured them would make the cover of magazines, much to Lloyd's dismay.
However, Lumi Garmadon felt otherwise for she was more than happy to spend time with her dad and often smiled for the camera even if she didn't know what she was doing. Harumi was then asked to join too, and she knew they were going to be in big trouble.
"Those two are in very big trouble." The Police Commissioner stated behind gritted teeth, throwing the magazine away from his hands and onto his desk with brute force.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tight only to get a glimpse of the family portrait once more when he opened them.
He reached for the phone, quickly dialing a number. "Person on the other end of this phone, get me the Green Ninja!"
Lloyd grabbed Harumi's arm and dragged her into one of the vacant changing rooms. He was mad. Furious that she went behind his back.
"Are you kidding me?" He started, pacing around the room. "What were you thinking, Rumi?! Bringing her here? In public?"
Harumi crossed her arms, after placing Lumi down on one of the chairs, and scoffed. "She's my daughter too! And it's time the people know who she is."
"The people were not ready to know!"
"And you get to decide that?" Harumi raised an eyebrow. "Lloyd, if we wait until they're ready then we will be waiting for the rest of our lives!"
"We were under strict orders from the Police Commissioner to wait it out."
He never liked disobeying orders, especially Master Wu's, but he understood the point of her actions. Sometimes, not all orders are meant to be followed.
"You brought her out before too!"
"We were wearing a disguise."
"Do you really think that fooled anyone?!"
He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. This was definitely not like any of the other fights they had.
"I wasn't going to listen to some man decide what's best for our daughter!" Harumi argued.
"He's only thinking about our safety!"
"But maybe you're only thinking about yourself!"
Lloyd tried to calm himself down, trying to have a better control over the situation. But he was too late.
"Look, if you can't appreciate a simple surprise that we planned for you, that's fine. But if you're just embarrassed of us," Harumi grabbed their daughter from the chair and packed up her stuff. "Then maybe you shouldn't be seen with us at all."
"Mama?" Lumi asked, her tears threatening to fall down her eyes as she listened to her parents yell at each other.
"Let's go, Lumi."
Before Lloyd could even speak, Harumi stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her on her way out. He could hear the cries of his daughter echo through the studio, and he couldn't help but feel guilty to be the cause. Lumi never liked them fighting.
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Harumi stomped all the way to the car, her mind raced with thoughts but her heart ached the most. Before she could get in, something–or in this case, someone–held her back.
"You shouldn't drive when you're angry. It would compromise the safety of you and your daughter."
She turned around to find a familiar Master of Amber standing behind her, arms opened wide. Harumi wasted no second in running into them, bracing Lumi for the hug as well. She didn't bother find out how Skylor appeared there, she was just happy to have someone to talk to.
"Come on, some noodles would do you good." Skylor patted her hair and guided the girls towards her restaurant.
It didn't help that Darreth already had the magazine published. And it most certainly didn't help that everyone was now aware of who they were. When Harumi entered the restaurant, she could feel everyone staring holes in the back of her head, watching their every step as they walked through the place.
Skylor looked around, shooting everyone a glare as she did, before turning to face Harumi and placing a hand on her shoulders. "Perhaps, we should go upstairs."
For the hours she had spent working here, Harumi never knew the restaurant had another floor. It seems like the Master of Amber had secrets of her own too.
The second floor was more peaceful than the ground–given the lack of judgemental customers–Harumi realized it was an apartment. In one corner, a huge double bed with a night stand right beside it, while in the other was a door that led to which she assumed was the bathroom, and a small kitchen right behind the makeshift living room.
"Make yourself at home." Skylor offered, flipping on the light switch, and walking over to her fridge to find some food to prepare.
Harumi took a good look around, for someone with a noodle empire, she didn't expect her to live this close to her business. Let alone, above it. She set Lumi down on the floor along with all her toys, leaving her daughter to play so she could get a proper hug from Skylor.
Skylor immediately returned it with an equal force and let the girl cry into her shoulder. When Harumi looked up, she caught a picture of Kai stuck on the fridge with a magnet.
She sniffed and pulled away. "You really love him don't you?" Harumi giggled through her tears once she saw her friend's cheeks turn red. "Does Kai know about this place?"
"Know about it?" Skylor scoffed in a playful manner. "He's practically hanging out here every chance gets."
"Is that why Kai missed training for three days straight a few months ago?"
"It wouldn't be the first."
Harumi laughed. It may not be healthy, but she always found laughter–which used to be quite an evil laugh–as a good coping mechanism when she faced her problems.
Skylor was able to prepare them a meal within a few minutes and Harumi immediately went to feed Lumi. The baby had grown quite the appetite since her last meal and was more than happy to be eating a lot.
The girls talked and laughed, only dragging Harumi away from her problems more. She fidgeted with the chopsticks in her hand, occasionally dipping the tip in the soy sauce before creating tiny ripples through the liquid.
"Did I make the wrong choice?" She asked out of the blue, catching Skylor by surprise. She was fully aware that the girl did not want to talk about what was troubling her, despite a brief recap of what happened, and Skylor respected that.
She waited for her to say something first, and she was glad when Harumi finally did. "About bringing Lumi out in public?" The blonde simply nodded in response. "She's your daughter too, and mind you, Lloyd never knew about her until the day she was born."
"That's because I never told him."
Skylor sighed, not knowing how to handle this.
I could always tell her what she wants to hear.
Luckily, something made her decision simpler. "I think your only mistake is accusing Lloyd of being embarrassed of you."
Harumi raised an eyebrow and with the help of Skylor pointing to the flat screen mounted on her wall, she never would have understood what she meant.
"Dada!" Lumi exclaimed at the sight of her dad.
"And here I am with Mr. Lloyd Garmadon, who has agreed to talk give us a clear explanation of this season's baby fever." Gayle Gossip announced from the other side of the screen, wearing her usual pink attire, but her hair was styled in a special way for the broadcast. "Tell us, Lloyd. Is it true that the baby in the magazine is yours?"
The girls watched as the camera turned to the Green Ninja who wore a proud smile on his face. Harumi paid close attention to what he had to say.
"She is indeed, Gayle. I am happy to announce that my daughter, Lumi Garmadon, is celebrating her first Christmas right here in Ninjago city." Lloyd smiled, taking Harumi by surprise. She never expected him to go this far.
"And who, may I ask, is the mother of said child?"
Lloyd made no hesitations. "Harumi Jade."
A series of collective gasps could be heard throughout the city despite being secluded in an apartment, including Gayle Gossip herself.
"I'm afraid that's all I could give you, Gayle. My family likes their privacy." Lloyd bid goodbye to the camera and using a few ninja skills–which he thankfully hadn't lost–he disappeared from the camera.
Harumi was in disbelief when a knock came on the door a few minutes later. Today was definitely filled with surprises. As she walked over to open it, her shaky hand reached for the doorknob–despite knowing exactly who it was–and turned it to the right.
"I'm sorry." Said a tired and panting Lloyd Garmadon who was bent down, hands on his knees, catching his breath.
"How did you–?"
"Skylor sent me the address." Lloyd said between his breathing. "I–I never knew it was this tiring to...do stunts."
The girls held back a snicker. It seemed like the legendary Green Ninja was starting to lose his hard-earned ninja skills.
Harumi barely had the time to shoot Skylor a glare before Lloyd grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the apartment, shutting the door behind her as he did.
"Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you and maybe you were right." He started, taking both her hands in his. "Maybe I was just trying to protect my image but I realized that was wrong. A reputation is nothing compared to the life I have going on now. You and Lumi deserve every bit of protection I can give."
"I'm sorry too." Harumi looked down and bit her lip. "She may be my daughter but she's yours too. Sometimes I forget that and start making rash decisions alone."
"Hey, I already cleared up everything. I just needed a push to be brave enough to do it."
Harumi smiled, the corners of her mouth almost reaching to her ears, and jumped into his arms. Lloyd immediately caught her, twirling her in the air when he did.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything."
The door opened beside them to reveal a very distressed Skylor and a crying baby Lumi in her arms.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your moment. But your child seems to have abandonment issues and wants her parents back." She held out the baby and placed her in Lloyd's arms.
The couple looked at each other, sometimes, it was also hard to tell whether Lumi was really their child or not. It was at moments like this when the answer was made clear.
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All of Ninjago City had seen the face of Lumi Garmadon and they all shared one opinion. She was absolutely adorable. With her recent reveal to the public, it brought attention to a certain disappointed police commissioner who had insisted the parents of the child meet in his office at once.
"We had a deal! You were not supposed to reveal her existence." The commissioner paced back and forth in front of his desk as Lloyd and Harumi sat there, unbothered by his distress.
"Oops." Was all Harumi could give along with a forced giggle. "Last time I checked, she was our daughter and not yours."
Lloyd snickered but quickly covered it as a cough when the police commissioner glared at him.
"May I remind you, Ms. Harumi, that you are only roaming free because I let you." He leaned in, close enough to intimidate her, before Lloyd stretched his arm in front of her, creating some space between them.
"And may I also remind you, Commissioner." Lloyd stated, making sure the man stayed away from Harumi's figure before he retracted his hand. "That the whole city is now aware of Lumi's parents. Throwing one of them into jail would certainly ruin your reputation."
There were rare times when Lloyd would disobey the law, this was one of those times. But he knew it was for a good cause.
"So what's it going to be?"
After a brief–yet very informative–meeting with the police commissioner, the couple left the station in victory. They had managed to convince the commissioner to finally leave them alone. It was a good start to their day.
A familiar car passed by right in front of them.
"I didn't think the Green Ninja knew how to break into cars." Harumi rested her hand on her hip, watching him fumble with the lock of a car they found parked in the street.
With Garmadon's reign over the city, it was safe to assume that the original owner was never coming back for it.
"I know more than you think. They teach you a bunch of evil stuff at Darkley's." Lloyd heard a satisfying click and pulled the door open. "Gotcha!"
He held it open for her, afterall, he was still a gentleman. No matter how intoxicated he was.
Harumi smirked at him, her hand resting on top of the door. "Someone just got hotter."
Harumi froze in her spot, watching as it drove by them without a second glance. She nudged Lloyd who gulped beside her.
"Do you think the owner knows what we've done in that car?" She whispered, her voice shaky.
"Shhh." Lloyd shushed her, grabbing her shoulders and guiding her away from the group of policemen walking out the building, but contemplated his own answer. "Only if he took a good look at the backseat." He said in her ear, walking further away from the station.
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Christmas time was one of the most awaited and celebrated holidays of the year. And what Lumi Garmadon had in store for her was definitely something given she lived with the ninja.
"Why do we need a mistletoe?"
"Because someone needs to get a girlfriend."
"I heard you!"
The monastery was filled with different decorations from wreaths, to lights, to a huge Christmas tree right in the middle of the courtyard–which Lumi was tasked with putting the star on top later.
"You're kidding right?" Harumi asked, leaning against the door frame as she watched Lloyd dress up their daughter. "I thought we agreed she was going to be an elf?"
Lloyd finished zipping up the brown onesie and lifted Lumi from the bed to get a good look of her outfit. "Yeah, but I found this cute reindeer one in the store."
Lumi turned around in his arms to show her mommy her costume. She was dressed in a brown onesie with a white part on her tummy, she had the hood up which showed two antlers on top of her head. Lloyd had managed to place a small red dot on the tip of her nose to complete her ensemble.
"Alright, alright." Harumi sighed, melting at the sight and immediately picked up her daughter. "You're lucky you're adorable, sweetie."
Lloyd placed on the red nose that came with the costume and smiled at her. "Me too?"
Harumi giggled and patted his head. "Yes, Greenie."
After a couple photos, Christmas carols, and a batch of cookies from her Aunt Skylor, Lumi found herself sitting in front of a pile of presents. She whined and crawled to her mom to hide.
"Are you scared?" Harumi whispered into her ear, patting her back to comfort her.
Lloyd smiled and picked up a box. "Look, Lu. This is for you." He removed the ribbon and opened it for her.
Inside was a blue stuffed bear, soft enough to cuddle with but also hard enough to play. Lumi stared at it for a few seconds, taking in the gold bell wrapped around its neck.
"Bah!"
"No, Lumi. It's called a bear."
"Bah!"
Lloyd sighed, deciding to teach her the right term when she started talking more. She reached out for the toy and brought it to her chest, engulfing it in a hug.
For the rest of the evening, Lumi found herself sitting in the middle of a pile of stuffed toys. Different animals and fruits surrounded her but she wasn't complaining. In her hands was a purple and pink ninja star made from rubber that she used as a teether.
A convenient gift from the ninja.
"How did she get that many?" Lloyd whispered to Zane, watching his daughter giggle from her place.
"Some citizens of Ninjago City sent us gifts a few hours ago. Most of them were addressed to Lumi."
Lloyd raised both his eyebrows at the news. "I see." He wondered how long it took the mailman to climb up the steps and deliver all the presents.
"Where's my favorite model?"
The door to the living room slid open to reveal Darreth holding five boxes of presents in his hands and one of the cameramen, that Lloyd recognized from one of his shoots, was pulling a wagon of toys behind him.
Lloyd took the hint that he was not the person Darreth was referring to.
Before he could respond, he watched Darreth make his way to Lumi and drop the presents in front of her.
"Uh, Darreth?" Harumi started, watching Lumi tap the boxes and looked up at Jay to open it."This is a little–"
"Too much." Lloyd finished.
Darreth chuckled and beckoned his cameraman forward. "Nonsense! The people would love to see her covered with their gifts."
Lloyd shook his head, things were definitely falling out of his control now.