The walk through the coastal countryside had been tough going. If they had been equipped for a hike or even had shoes, then it may have been enjoyable. The terrain was rough and erratic. Soft hills and rocky cliffs sat like warring neighbours, too close to feel comfortable but awe inspiring in their beauty; a physical reminder of the chaos of creation. As the world was split into its two component parts, Lloyd could only imagine the effort of The First Master to create balance, a balance that required both good and evil, light and dark. He looked back down the rocky face to Harumi, resting at its base. She was his balance and he hers.
She turned to him hearing the slip of loose shingle as he made his way down the craggy rocks 'do you think those kids were caught by your crew?'
'That's what you're thinking about?' Lloyd asked.
'I guess so... They would have got an awful shock. The elemental Ninja descending on them in full fury' She laughed at the thought and then bowed her head 'I'm still a bad person Lloyd'
'Well, old habits die hard... if we had told them, the kids; I don't think they would have accepted the challenge, or my money'
'I'm dragging you down already'
'That's not really the case. Coercing a couple of kids to take our shoes and run as far from the city centre as possible? That won't turn the Green Ninja into an evil despot' Harumi raised an eyebrow at him 'though the monetary incentive might have just tipped me over the edge...' Lloyd joked and they both laughed at the ridiculousness of their escape. Lloyd went to sit next to Harumi on the rock and they leant on each other 'I'm sure those kids will be fine, Zane would have realised before they even reached them I'm sure. Nothing escapes him. But the fact you wondered about them is good I think. I know you probably thought the fear on their faces would be hilarious... but you still considered them'
'So I'm not a lost cause then?'
Lloyd shook his head 'No' and looked at Harumi kindly.
'I'm sure my parents never had my past in mind for my future' She balled up her fists and held them over her eyes in frustration.
'Stop Harumi' Lloyd took hold of her wrists and helped her to release them down 'trauma and loss can cause all kinds of damage. You couldn't have controlled your reaction, even if you tried' She put her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder 'don't cry Harumi, everything will change from now on'
'I'm not crying' she said sharply, raising her head 'I think I'm incapable' she stared over Lloyds shoulder at nothing. Something told him to wait, to stay silent as she processed her thoughts 'it wasn't... just me. I see that now. My mind is changing, releasing from a hold; some kind of knotted web that my Master wove within me...'
'What? Your Master? You had a Master?' Lloyd sat in shocked silence and Harumi snapped out of her trance, a trace of fear flickering in her expression.
'I... am bound to silence'
'Harumi! If you had a Master...' Lloyd stood, this new piece of information overloading his thoughts. 'A Master is your mentor, trainer and creator. They created you Harumi!' He turned to her with an intense gaze 'you know what this means? Your mind was not your own and your hands carried out the will of your Master' He knelt at her feet and looked up at his beautiful, damaged love and implored her 'You were a child Harumi. You must tell me. Who is... was your master?'
Harumi's face distorted into an ugly sneer 'you think I didn't have my own will? That I could be led and manipulated so easily?' her anger was real and Lloyd had not foreseen that his words would have insulted her. He sat back on his heals and remembered the last time he saw this particular face and wondered if the 'balance' the First Master had created was necessary after all. He stood and looked down at her 'well you would know all about manipulation' and walking away, shouted 'time to move on'.
They continued their walk, Harumi ten paces behind Lloyd. The passion of their night alone in her cell, felt very far away as life started to creep into reality. Lloyd knew he was a dreamer and had probably built up his hopes regarding Harumi's state of mind. Deep down he knew she would be far from rehabilitated and part of his desire was rooted in pulling the real Harumi back from the abyss she fell through as a child. Her revelation of a Master was something he had never expected. His thoughts swirled at the implications. They all thought Harumi had worked alone as the Quiet One; masterminding her devastating plan to gain revenge on him and take down a world that made no sense to her. Harumi had never tried to exonerate herself by offering up this information before, but if she had a Master, there would be a very different story behind the fall of the city. Whether Harumi believed she had free will or not, a Master capable of such a plan would not blink at demanding their students be his servants and her free will may still be held in subjugation by this shadowy figurehead.
Lloyd had been so engrossed in his thoughts, he did not hear Harumi approach him, but felt the gentle touch of her fingers in his and they paused from their brisk walk 'I'm sorry Lloyd. I don't now what came over me. I feel ashamed I acted like that to you'
'Harumi... You know, I can't be baited and I won't argue with you. Your life has been very... complex and whatever has happened in the past will remain with you for the rest of it. Its what you do from this point on that will define you. I hope I can help you with that and I hope we can be honest with each other'
'Yes. You are right, of course...'
Lloyd tilted his head, giving Harumi a questioning stare 'Right now, for instance. I don't quite believe your response. It's far too pious and subservient, even if you are a reformed character. You're drawing on roles you've played and kneejerk reactions. You have a different answer for me, but don't know how to deliver it. You're in there somewhere Harumi and you've just got to find your way out' He pointed his finger directly at her forehead and she swiped it away.
'Phttt!' She snorted 'yeah well, you want Harumi the lost princess. I can tell'
Lloyd snorted back 'Phttt! Shows what you know your Highness!' and he lowered his head into a sarcastic regal bow.
She pulled back slightly, confused and Lloyd looked up at her. Standing tall he moved forward 'I want you Harumi. Belligerent, feisty, wide-eyed and strong; Harumi, who is the sum of her parts; faulty and perfect, lost and found, bad and good, yin and yang' Excited by the possibility of the person she could be, he moved towards her looking into her eyes 'I want the Harumi who knows she had not found her place in the world, but wants to find it... with me'
She looked up at Lloyd, her brow furrowed, searching his eyes and her soul equally. The silence between them felt like an eternity and Harumi felt time as a still point, where it was purely her and Lloyd and nothing else; no past, just an empty future waiting to be filled and she liked that.
Harumi couldn't stop herself, she grabbed Lloyds collar and pulled him to her. In one fluid movement she had wound her arms around him and demanded that his body be with her. He had, in a few simple words, reached into her soul and plucked her true-self free of the puppets that had wrapped their strings around her life.
'There you are' Lloyd said.
'Hello' Harumi replied and smiled. A crooked lopsided smile; not perfect, nor refined, no longer malevolent or hiding a lie.
Lloyd kissed the corner of her crooked smile and tasted salt from a tear that rolled involuntarily down her cheek.