WORDS: 8015
NYA'S POV:
Harumi was not taking what happened at her home too well. However, she had a valid reason. Her last birth parent, the Emperor was there during the attack on the Palace of Secrets. He died there just like his wife, the loving Empress, Alice. Harumi had lost both of her parents in her own home. I believe that she would not be able to live there anymore even if they rebuilt the palace. Too many souls were lost and too many people couldn't be saved. There were no survivors in the palace besides the rest of the ninjas, Lloyd and Harumi.
We flew away from the palace when the sun was rising. Harumi had stared at her home until it was no longer in view. No tears from what I could see fell. She wore a solemn unsmiling face. Her hair was messy from the rush of the motorcycle she rode with Lloyd and she had a bloody brownish bandage on her forearm. She laid both of her arms on the rail grunting in pain as she laid pressure on her injured lower arm. Harumi's once vivacious eyes were now dull as she continued to stare at the city as we left.
The other guys except for Zane were discussing our next course of action. Usually, I and Zane would both join them, but Zane was busy contacting the police and working out some kinks. Meanwhile, I was fixing some wires that were out of place inside the control panel. As the only two girls on the ship, I decided to go over to Harumi. Of course, she needed time for herself, but I needed to check her wound.
"Harumi, " I began. "How are you doing?"
She left her gaze from the city and turned to me replying, "Mentally or physically?"
"Both?" I replied stretching the word out.
Harumi answered tiredly, "Mentally and physically weak."
Harumi had a good reason to be both mentally and physically weak. Although she has trained before, I don't think her body has undergone that much strain before. She was mentally fried because everyone in the palace had most likely passed away. Her 'Father' had also been one of the victims. I believe she thought that she shouldn't be with us. She thought that she should've been among them. I heard Hutchins mumbling, 'A captain always goes down with his ship' as I passed him a few hours before the attack.
"Your forearm," I said gesturing to her lower arm. "You got injured from what Lloyd told us."
She nodded, "I did. Did he give you any details about what happened?"
"All he said was that you got injured and dropped the mask by accident, " I stated while shaking my head.
She quickly apologized to me, "I'm sorry for dropping the mask. The woman with the high ponytail had slashed my arm when Lloyd and she had revved their engines and drove towards each other. Lloyd told me to keep my head down and clutched the mask between my arms. I guess she saw, or something and decided to slash me right there. And out of surprise, I dropped the mask. Then, as I realized I dropped it, Lloyd and the madwoman raced to it. I didn't manage to grab it as fast with one arm immobile and the other clutching onto Lloyd."
"Harumi, " I stated. "None of this is your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. I would recoil in pain too if someone cut my arm. You're extremely lucky she didn't cut close enough to get your veins."
She nodded, "Yeah."
"The bandage, who applied it onto you?" I asked.
She eyed the now brown bandage stained with dry blood and replied, "I did. Lloyd was busy driving the ship and we weren't there at the palace yet. So, I just found a bandage in a cabinet and wrapped it around."
"You know it was probably around 3:30 something in the morning when you got injured and it's currently," I paused checking the time. "It is 9:45 as of right now so roughly around 6 hours and a quarter. You need to get that bandage change. Did you apply antibiotics or anything?"
She shook her head, "No. I was only able to find the bandage."
"Follow me, " I said gesturing her to follow me to the med bay.
I signaled for her to sit down. In the med bay, we had all types of things needed to treat minor injuries and large ones. We even had an oxygen mask with the tank in case one of us needed assistance. I hoped we never had to use the oxygen mask. I removed my gloves that went along with my GI and put on some medical-grade ones. Then, I gently removed the bandage and analyzed the wound. It wasn't as deep as I thought it was but it was a bit larger than a minor injury. Her skin would be able to heal on its own without stitches, so that was good. However, we still needed to stop the bleeding.
There was still bleeding coming from her injury. To stop that I placed pressure on it with a regular towel. Harumi grunted and clenched her eyes together in pain. I tried to be more gentle, but to stop her wound from bleeding, I needed to press on it firmly. Although it was a bit silly, I raised her arm above her head to reduce the flow of blood. All this medical first-aid training came in handy thanks to Master Wu. Once the bleeding ceased, I needed to clean it first and then apply dressing to help it not become infected. First, I cleaned the wound using our quality tap water. I placed water on the wound splashing it. Then, softly, I patted away the excess water with the microfiber towel. I decided not to use antiseptic because it might damage her skin and slow her healing process. Once I was done, I finally placed a waterproof sterile adhesive dressing. The waterproof sterile adhesive dressing would allow Harumi to take showers or get wet.
Harumi had touched the dressing gently.
"Does it still hurt?" I asked.
She nodded in response.
I started humming as I removed my gloves and moved to another cabinet while speaking to her, "We need to keep the dressing clean by changing it as often as needed. From the looks of it, I'd say at least one and three times a week. We should keep the wound as dry as possible, but because of the waterproof dressing I placed on you, that shouldn't be a problem." I then continued by adding, "As for your pain, if it's really bad, I'll give you some ibuprofen or Tylenol. However, Zane, Cole, or myself have to be there when you're taking it."
"Thanks for helping me treat my wound, Nya," Harumi replied with a half of a smile.
I knew that she was trying to give me a true smile, so I grinned at her.
After that, we both walked outside. I needed to join the rest of my family who were discussing our next course of measures. However, once we walked outside of the room, Harumi again made her way to the railing staring out at the view.
I asked gently, "Do you wanna come with me to go see what the rest of the ninjas are talking about?"
Harumi hesitated then replied, "Sure."
We made our way over to them while they were chewing over where we should go and what we should do about our current situation. Zane had already made his way over there. Currently, Kai and Lloyd are talking.
JAY'S POV:
Zane had joined us about twenty minutes ago. He was currently filling us in on what the police had found. Now, Nya and Harumi both came in together. Earlier, we all saw Harumi staring blankly into the city. No tears had fallen but she was struggling on the inside. Lloyd had wanted to go over to her to console her, but Cole stopped him. He told us that grief takes many shapes and forms. Zane also added that her brain was still trying to process everything that had occurred so far.
Around thirty minutes later, Nya walked over to Harumi. Even though me and the guys were all still talking, it was obvious we were all concerned about Harumi. She was the youngest one out of all of us with Lloyd being a month older. Even though we had just met her as well, we treated her as family and our younger sister. Because really, what did she have to go back to once we went back to the city when it was safe?
The answer was nothing. All her biological family had passed. First, it was her Mother, now her Father, and the closest thing she had to an uncle; Hutchins. The ninjas and I could act as her family but the question was would she accept us?
Harumi and Nya had a short conversation. Then we saw Nya gesture to Harumi's wound that was bandaged up. They had walked into the rooms in the Bounty where I assumed Nya was going to treat her injury. We were all so busy that we had forgotten to treat her wound. We all assumed that she had treated and cleaned it up herself, but I believe that she didn't receive first aid training in the palace or that she couldn't find the items she needed to treat herself properly.
"Nice of you both to join us now, " Cole said with a smile to Nya and Harumi.
In return, Nya grinned back replying, "We couldn't miss this conversation because we need the deats!"
"What's 'deats'? Did you create a new word or something?" Kai asked with a huge grin.
Nya rolled her eyes, "No, Kai. Deats is short for details. Get it together!"
"What the fu- flip, Nya! Details aren't even that long of a word to say, " Kai stated catching himself before he said the curse word.
Cole would've had Kai's head if he had said it out loud in front of both Harumi and Lloyd. Both were the youngest on the team. Well, Lloyd was. I wasn't sure if Harumi was officially a part of the team, but I considered her to be. Either way, we were all minors, but Kai used profanity often. This displayed a good indicator of his stress level and mood. It also showed his honesty in some ways.
Cole had placed a firm hand on Kai's shoulder preventing him from talking more and added, "Anyways, we must get back on track to what we were talking about. Zane, could you please share your findings with the police again? I'm pretty sure firemouth here wasn't paying attention."
Kai's mouth had dropped open and I began to start stifling my laughter. Yet as always, a few chuckles had escaped. Lloyd, Cole, Zane, and Nya had given me a dirty look.
"S-sorry! But Kai getting played is too good!" I cried out letting my laughter ring through the Bounty.
Kai scowled at me and then began to laugh as well.
Zane cleared his throat and began to speak after frowning at us, "While the rest of the ninjas were discussing our next course of action, I was contacting the police. We already knew that the Sons of Garmadon were behind the attack at the palace. What we need to find out is if anyone was caught and if there were any survivors."
As Zane said that, Harumi's eyes immediately became more interested in the floor.
"I talked to the Commissioner after a long hold and he said there are no current survivors but are still seeking for any subsisters, or survivors. The Commissioner also wanted to tell me that they hadn't found The Emperor's body or Hutchins yet. There was one person caught in the chaos of the ambush on the palace. His name is Dryden Vos. He is currently being held in custody and refuses to speak to anyone. He is set for release in two days. Perhaps we can get a few words out of him, " Zane reported.
Confused, I asked Zane, "Why are they releasing him? He was caught assisting the ambush on the palace and he is a part of a gang. A notorious one at that. Why would they decide to release him if he had committed such bad things?"
"That's the thing, " Cole said. "We don't know why they're releasing this murder. Zane tried to question the Commissioner over the phone, but he said he was busy and would contact us another time."
Kai scoffed, "I doubt that."
"And you're right. I think we know the Commissioner well enough to know he wouldn't call us back. So, I think that we should go visit this, 'Dryden Vos' and give him a piece of our minds while he's still being held in custody, " Lloyd added.
Nya replied, "That's probably the best idea for now. But I also think we should head to Hollow's Bluff to stay low for a bit. The city isn't far away from there, just about a day's flying should do it."
"We're already past the rural areas of Ninjago. This was where you were deployed to take care of the villages there Nya! If we're just going to turn around and head back to the city anyway, shouldn't we stop here?" I suggested.
Nya paused thinking, "I believe it would be safer going to Hollow's Bluff for now. Although the rural areas of Ninjago are pretty calm, they could have Sons of Garmadon gangsters there. And they know that we've got Harumi. We'll need to keep moving to keep her and the rest of us safe."
"Nya's right. Our number one priority right now is safety," Kai stated while agreeing with Nya.
The whole time we spoke, Harumi's eyes had remained motionless. They only blinked every few seconds and not at regular intervals. Her once vivacious eyes had become so dull and empty. No longer was the Princess who smiled. However, we knew that she was listening to us talk. I could see her gears turning at every word being spoken.
I also caught Lloyd glancing at her a few times. We were all gathered in a circle and Lloyd stood next to Cole who was standing two spaces away from Harumi. Regardless, Harumi hadn't even glanced at him or anyone. It pained Lloyd to see Harumi like this. He was used to seeing her smile and laugh all the time. Yet now, all she did was stare out the Bounty. Her gaze never left the view. She never spoke and only did if needed.
Cole looked at Harumi then smiled widely, "So, Harumi, it looks like we're gonna have a sleepover all together, hm?"
"It would seem so," Harumi said finally glancing up from the floor.
An idea popped into my head and I added, "Hey! Let's take Harumi to our sleeping quarters!"
A collection of 'great idea' and 'sounds great' had all echoed from my family. I lead the way through the Bounty into the sleeping quarters.
"Tah-da!" I said happily trying to get her to smile a bit.
As she came inside, a small spark of light had ignited in her eyes as she took in the appearance of our sleeping quarters. However, that spark of light had disappeared as soon as it ignited.
She stared at me, "Is this where you all sleep?"
"Yes it is, " Kai replied before I could.
Harumi tilted her head to the left in confusion, "You don't have separate rooms?"
"Ha! I wish. Then I wouldn't have to listen to Kai's loud snoring!" Cole laughed.
Nya nodded quickly, "And I wouldn't have to listen to Cole mumbling about cake at two in the morning!"
"I would also not be able to hear Lloyd and Jay talk about video games all night. They need their sleep yet they speak about new game updates, versions, and new characters being added to their favorite video game. It's very peculiar, " Zane stated with a smile.
Kai burst out and said, "What do you mean I snore loudly? That's all you, Cole! All you!"
"Nu-uh. Not true. You keep the whole Bounty up! And also, I don't mumble about cake. I eat cake. Not mumble about cake, " Cole teased while also glaring at Nya.
I defended myself, "It's Fist to Face 4! How can you not expect us to talk about it? It's the best game ever! Right, Lloyd?"
"Jay's right! And what about you, Zane? I know that while you're trying to sleep you try singing yourself a lullaby. And guess what lullaby it is? It's that song from that one movie. What is it again? Ah. The song's called 'Let It Go'!" Lloyd said while laughing.
Soon laughter and joy began to ring throughout the Bounty. It was almost as if we had forgotten about what happened at the palace. We even forgot about Harumi's initial question.
However, during the small party of laughter, a little smile burst onto Harumi's face. Although it wasn't a large one like it had before, it was a start. It was the start of healing. Healing from trauma takes a while. Sometimes you can't just put it in the past. It stays with you forever haunting you.
To heal you need to acknowledge the events that occurred. You need to accept support. You can't heal on your own. You need someone to stand beside you; someone to lean on. You have to practice self-care as silly as it may sound. Then, focus on your physical health. Your mental health cannot be healthy if you're losing yourself physically as well. We need to practice mindfulness and or meditate. Doing that helps clear the mind of any distractions. Finally, we get back into our routine no matter how hard it is.
Yes, I did pay attention to Master Wu's guiding lessons. Ninjas aren't only trained to kick and fight. We're trained to protect those who cannot protect themselves. This applies to people not being able to protect themselves in physical situations and in mental situations where they experience a traumatic event or are fighting something in their minds.
Cole interrupted my train of thought and asked to no one in particular, "Where's Harumi going to sleep? There are only six beds. And now there's seven of us."
"I suppose Harumi could share a bed with one of us," Zane stated answering Cole's question.
Nya smiled then placed a hand on Harumi's shoulder, "You could bunk with me!"
"That's alright. All I need is a blanket and a pillow. I'll sleep on the floor, " Harumi replied.
Lloyd then questioned, "Why would you wanna sleep on the floor?" Then he continued a lightbulb clicking in his head, "There's a spare mattress in the storage room! Maybe after, we could build you a bed frame and fit it into one of the spaces. But for now, you'll just have to sleep on the bare mattress."
"Sleeping on a mattress is fine with me, Lloyd. Thank you," Harumi said with a small smile.
Cole and I quickly went to the storage room while everyone else shuffled out of our sleeping quarters.
I began to ask Cole, "So, what do you think about Lloyd getting a girl?"
"And who would that girl be?" Cole asked with a smirk.
I smiled back feeling a little cheeky, "Oh, I dunno. Maybe a girl whose favorite color is green. She has jade green eyes and she's very pretty to a certain someone."
"I think I know who you're talking about! She probably is a good match for Lloyd from what I can see. But we'll just have to wait for now, " Cole answered with a grin.
It was quiet for a few minutes as we dragged back the mattress from the storage room. We had two rooms for storage. One was for household supplies like brooms, mops, soaps, and other things. The other room was packed with blankets, pillows, provisions, and a mattress.
Unluckily for us, Harumi's mattress was wedged between lots of boxes that we stuck to the ground after not being moved for a while. It was also probably stuck because of the sticky floor. I assumed the boxes were filled with provisions and something had leaked causing the floor there to be sticky.
"Cole squeeze yourself into the back of the room so we can get the mattress out!" I yelled to him.
Cole grunted, "Workin' on it!"
"Push!" I yelled while cheering.
Cole hollered loudly, "You pull it out then! I don't feel you tugging it outwards!"
"Erm, I was," I said feeling way too mischievous. In truth, I was not helping tug the mattress outwards.
It seemed Cole caught on to my little joke.
Cole said my name menacingly, "Jay. If you don't help me pull it outwards, I'll tell Nya to revoke your video game privileges. You know she won't hesitate to."
"Okay, okay! I'll help, " I said pouting.
Once the mattress was out, me and Cole both carried it towards our sleeping quarters. However, we ran into a small problem.
Cole asked me, "How are we supposed to get it inside?"
"Maybe we fold it in half?" I said questioningly.
After ten minutes of pushing and folding, we finally made the mattress fit through the door.
"Alright let's place it in the empty spot where Lloyd told us to set it, " Cole stated.
I smiled with satisfaction, "That was easy."
"Totally. Not like we were struggling or anything, " Cole replied.
All it took was for us to share a glance and make eye contact with one another. Seconds later we burst out laughing as we walked out of the room to the upper deck of the Bounty.
KAI'S POV:
While Cole and Jay were out on the lower deck setting up Harumi's mattress, Nya, Lloyd, and I were talking about a certain someone.
"Don't you think it's suspicious how Hutchins was last seen in the secret entrance right before the palace exploded?" I asked.
Lloyd hissed at me quickly glancing at Harumi who was staring out at the ocean, "Keep your voice down, will you? And to answer your question, yes, I do think it is rather suspicious."
"You both would be correct. Hutchins was last seen entering that passageway when the palace exploded a few moments later. Cole saw him. The thing is, Lloyd told us that Hutchins had saved him, " Nya stated.
Lloyd responded, "He did save me. The woman who was yelling like a banshee would've had my head if he hadn't shoved me out of the way."
"It's just so strange though. Harumi practically only had him to confide in while she was at the palace. It makes no sense why he would do it. I also don't understand why he went to go look for The Emperor if he already knew that he abused Harumi. Why would he sacrifice his life just for The Emperor?" I added to the conversation.
Nya nodded and responded, "I agree, Kai. It doesn't make any sense why he would sacrifice himself knowing what he did to Harumi."
"Yeah, Hutchins could've come with Harumi and me. Although he would have to grab his motorcycle. Regardless, I believe Hutchins is our number one suspect, " Lloyd said with a small glint in his eyes.
I began to speak, "I think that we should ask Harumi what Hutchins was to her. The second question we should ask is what Hutchins was to the Emperor. Those two questions are important because we need to see the relationship between the two."
"Apologies for interrupting friends, but may I ask what we are discussing?" Zane asked.
I answered back, "We- Well, I was thinking that we should question Harumi's relationship with Hutchins. To me, it seemed he was the only person Harumi trusted in the entire palace before we came. However, we also need to find out what Hutchins's relationship was with the Emperor. After, we can compare and contrast both of them."
"Hey, Zane, you aren't busy right now right?" Lloyd asked.
Zane shook his head, "Not currently. Do you need my assistance?"
"Yes. Perhaps you can speak to Harumi and ask her the questions that Kai said earlier. She trusts all of us, but right now Cole and Jay are busy setting up her mattress and we're just talking. So, you would be the most logical choice, " Lloyd replied gesturing towards Harumi.
Zane nodded his understanding then made his way towards Harumi.
ZANE'S POV:
I needed to help my friends ask Harumi these questions. Her answers could potentially show us who was responsible for the ambush on the Palace of Secrets.
Harumi was currently staring out at the ocean. She seemed so captivated, so focused on the waves. She didn't even notice when I approached her. I gently tapped her shoulder.
"Harumi?" I asked.
She turned and met my gaze.
"Yes, Zane?"
I replied, "Do you mind if I ask you some inquiries right now?"
"I don't mind," Harumi said whilst shaking her head.
I gestured towards the hallway leading to the lower deck.
I asked, "Would you like to head down to the lower deck or do you prefer the ocean breeze?"
"The ocean breeze is fine, " She answered gently.
I nodded, "If that is what you desire." I followed up by asking the question Kai wanted me to ask, "How close-knit were you and Hutchins?"
Harumi seemed to falter when I asked her. It took her a few moments for her to recollect herself and then reply.
"Hutchins and I were always close. Before my mother's death, he would always make time for me to play with him whenever my parents were busy. My mother and the Emperor would call him my uncle. He would take me on walks around the courtyard and show me some secret hallways and passages. After my mother's death, he still had tried visiting me. Those visits were not often though because of the heavy workload that was brought onto the Emperor. With my mother gone, he had to take up her responsibilities as his own. He didn't trust me with them yet, " Harumi stated.
I began, "So Hutchins was there with you all from peaceful times to the chaotic ones, yes?"
"That's right," Harumi replied. She then continued her story, "The Emperor had split his work up with Hutchins which was rather strange because all Hutchins's job was just to protect the royal family. He wasn't there to do paperwork, yet he still did it. It was because the Emperor and he had been friends since they were teenagers. They were friends; greater than friends. Hutchins had been there for me in my darkest times. He once saw me running away from the throne room after the Emperor had abused me for one of the first times. He tried to stop me, but the grief I held in my heart was too much. Hutchins was one of the only people to whom I told my secret. As you know, my secret was how the Emperor had hurt me mentally and physically."
"I see," I acknowledged.
I made a mental note to remember that Harumi and Hutchins were very close. They had been around each other since Harumi had been born. As a result, they had a strong bond and relationship.
"And the Emperor, how close was he with Hutchins?" I asked. "I know you touched on it a bit, but I would like it in more detail. I have nothing to do and would just like a short story."
Harumi nodded and began her next story, "From what the Emperor told me before our relationship got rocky, he and Hutchins were the best of friends. They had met when they were teenagers. Hutchins and excellent skills with the sword and was nothing but a mere private. The Emperor immediately took an interest in him and requested his father to rank him up. And so he did."
"So Hutchins started as the lowest royal soldier rank?" I questioned.
Harumi nodded and continued, "Yes. Hutchins began to work his way up the soldier ranks. He had the Emperor and had become the best of friends always supporting each other through thick and thin. Through peace and chaos. Even though arranged marriages. Hutchins had supported him throughout everything. Eventually, Hutchins was promoted to Master of Arms to the royal family. Hutchins would do anything to save the Emperor. Because they were all on each other hands. When the Emperor lost my mother, Hutchins had tried very hard to complete his half and heal him. He had gone above and beyond to support the Emperor. They were very close."
"Hutchins was very close to your whole family, " I stated.
A small smile had appeared on Harumi's face and she replied, "Yes. Yes, he was."
Her smile faltered as I assumed she began to think about him.
"I cannot believe he is gone. Both of them, " Harumi said. "Although he hated me, I did not. He was still my birth parent. I couldn't hate him. I still loved him. And Hutchins was the only father figure and person I had in the palace. He supported me when I couldn't support myself. He lifted me out of the dark. He gave everything to save me. He did everything to drag me out of the hole that the Emperor had done to himself. Without him, I would've spiraled into madness as well. I would've lost myself just as the Emperor had done. Hutchins didn't want me to turn out like him."
Harumi didn't cry. No tears fell out. She wore an unsmiling and somber face. Her eyes were closed as I assumed she pictured herself with Hutchins and her family when they were happy.
"My condolences, Harumi. You are not alone. Do not forget that, " I assured her to comfort her.
COLE'S POV:
Jay and I walked up to the upper deck of the Bounty. We saw Harumi once again resting near the railing staring out into the distance. She looked so fascinated with the view, however she paid us no attention. The scenery was all her eyes gazed upon. She didn't talk to anyone. She only spoke when someone engaged in a conversation with her. Her once effervescent eyes no longer had that light in them. Where Harumi was once full of life, she now looked like an old person knowing their time was almost up.
Every time someone tried to speak to Harumi, I gently stopped them. Master Wu once told me that grief takes shape in many forms. When my father lost my mother, he began to sing as it was one of his forms of happiness. And what I did to let out my grief was to climb mountains. Perhaps Harumi's grief was taking the shape of watching the views and scenery. Harumi never had been taken out of the palace. She was confined in the palace. Since the Bounty was raised so high into the sky, maybe Harumi was very fascinated with it. The views were beautiful. But it did seem she was reminiscing and sulking too.
My best friend and I went into the gaming room to play one of our favorite video games, 'Fist to Face 4'.
"Yeah, I'm gonna beat you!" Jay cried happily as he plopped down onto the couch.
I scoffed, "You wish, lighting mouth." Then I gestured to the mini-fridge asking, "You want something to drink?"
"Duh! What do we have?" Jay replied questioningly.
I opened the mini-fridge and looked through our options.
I called back with my head still inside the small fridge, "We've got some soda, boba in a can, a half-drunken smoothie, one slushie, and water."
"I'll have a- Hm, " Jay said stretching out the word. "Hey...what if we mix the soda with the boba?"
I laughed, "That's an amazing idea! Let me get two cups!"
"I know, 'cause I'm smart," Jay said smugly.
I came back with two large reusable cups and took out two soda cans each for our cups. Then, I placed some ice in our cups. Personally, putting ice in soda makes it taste so much better. After, I poured in the soda. As I waited for the soda to stop bubbling, I grabbed the boba cans. Again, I used four cans so I could use two cans for each of our cups. Finally, once the soda stopped bubbling, I poured in the boba.
Once I poured in the soda, I was puzzled because the soda was still bubbling. The reason soda bubbles is because, like all carbonated beverages, they contain carbon dioxide that dissolves under pressure. Once we open the can containing the carbonated beverage, the liquid cannot hold as much carbon dioxide anymore, so the excess bubbles come out of the liquid.
And yes, I did pay attention in my online science class.
I held out Jay's drink, "Here you go!"
"Mm, yummy! This tastes good!" Jay exclaimed after drinking it.
I raised my eyebrow seeming a bit skeptical, "I don't trust you. I bet it tastes really bad and you're pretending so I can throw up my insides."
"I guess you'll never know then, " Jay said while giggling and drinking his beverage again.
I groaned in frustration, "I guess- I guess I'll drink it."
All Jay offered me was a mischievous smile.
"Hey, this is good! You weren't lying," I said happily as I sipped more out of my cup.
Jay grinned again while drinking more, "I told you! This is the best drink I've ever tasted!"
I mumbled an 'mhm'.
"Anyways, let's get to our gaming sesh, " Jay said.
I nodded vigorously then cracked my knuckles, "You're on blabbermouth."
"Right back at you, dirt brain," Jay said with a teasing smile.
We played our video game for about four hours not even realizing what time it was. The time was currently 9:30 P.M.
Jay stared at the clock in amazement, "Did we miss lunch?"
"I think so. Let's go see where everyone is, " I replied.
We found everyone else in the control room. From what they were talking about it seemed serious.
"Nice of you two to join us," Kai said.
Nya nodded then asked, "Yeah, where were you guys? Was it that hard to bring out the mattress?"
"What? No. It was super easy. Right, Cole?" Jay responded and then asked me for validation.
I backed Jay up, "He's right." I trailed off with my words when I began a new sentence, "We just kinda... you know..."
"You played Fist to Face 4 without us!" Lloyd whined.
Kai raised his hand to hit me playfully, "Traitor! I bet you two were gonna try and beat my high score!"
Lloyd and Kai in sync began to wave their fingers at us angrily. Nya and Zane were very amused.
I quickly changed the subject, "Did we miss lunch?"
Zane laughed and replied, "Yes you did. I have your plates in the microwave."
"Thanks, Zane! You're the best!" Jay said as he rushed into the dining room.
I was about to follow Jay when a thought struck me. When I lost my mother, I stopped eating and so did my father.
I questioned them all, "Did Harumi eat at all?"
Lloyd shook his head, "No. We tried to give her some food but she didn't budge from the railing."
"We even told her she could eat over there and she still refused!" Nya cried.
Kai spoke next, "It's because she's feeling a lot of grief now. Let's all remember that many people passed away in their own homes. We're also assuming her father and Hutchins are included in the victims. The Commissioner and his troops have found no survivors currently. Imagine how torn she must be."
Zane nodded and added, "Kai is correct. Harumi has lost both of her birth parents and her nonbiological uncle. From the information gathered from Harumi earlier, she called Hutchins her uncle. All of her family has passed away. That can cause total heartbreak to that person. People experiencing traumatic events stop eating for a while."
"Well, she has to eat something! She'll go hungry!" Lloyd said worried. "You know what, I'll go."
I quickly stopped him, "No, I will. I've been through this. My father has been through this. I'm the one who got him back on track. One of the first steps to getting him back to normal- or close to normal was to get him to start eating again. I can handle this."
Everyone nodded at me.
Once again, Harumi's gaze was set on the beautiful scenery. Harumi was sitting down on the floor as her eyes stared into the world in front of her. It was rather cold outside, so I hoped that she wouldn't catch a cold.
"Hey, Harumi," I began while gently sitting down next to her.
She responded, "Hi."
"How are you handling things?" I asked.
She sucked in a shaky breath, "It's okay."
Harumi's stomach growled while she replied. She quickly wrapped her stomach with her arms squeezing it.
"Why don't you eat something? You can come to the dining room with Jay and me, " I said with a smile.
She frowned, "I don't feel like eating. I just feel sleepy."
"Your stomach just growled though, so you are hungry. It's not good to sleep on an empty stomach. Otherwise, you won't sleep at all," I answered back.
Harumi hesitated before responding, "Alright. I'll join you guys."
HARUMI'S POV:
I appreciated how everyone wanted to comfort me. The thing was, I had to take my steps to heal. I didn't want to make it seem I was pushing everyone away. But it did feel like I was.
No matter what, I wouldn't go back to the palace. I would never live there again. Nothing could make me move back there. Too many lives had been lost. Too many tragic memories. Too many traumatic events.
I followed Cole to the dining room. In the middle of the table was some fruit which had my favorite, strawberries all cut up. In the basket, there was pineapple, watermelon, and some grapes. To the side were plates of teriyaki and a bowl of rice for all of us to share. We each got our help.
Jay and Cole both attempted to make me laugh. They failed. Although Jay had managed to make me smile, or at least a half smile appeared on my face. I did hope it looked like a smile.
The food was delicious. Whoever cooked this put their entire soul and heart into this dish. It tasted savory yet sweet. The flavors clashed inside of my mouth. I immediately felt a smile tugging on my lips. Teriyaki was one of the dishes my mom had always made me and my father eat during our little picnics in the Royal Courtyard. It brought so many fond memories. The teriyaki didn't exactly taste like mothers, but it did taste similar.
I was eating peacefully when Jay interrupted me asking a very peculiar question suddenly.
"So Harumi, what do you think about Lloyd?" Jay asked.
I stared at him for his abrupt speaking in the middle of a silent eating session.
I swallowed my food and then responded, "He's very sweet and kind. He has a heart made out of pure light."
"I see. I see," Jay said while nodding.
He didn't ask any more questions after that and neither did Cole. It was once again silent as we ate.
Once we were done eating, I excused myself to head to bed. Nya had given me some of her old sleeping clothes to wear to bed. After all, I couldn't wear my casual outfit I was worse as the 'princess kidnapper' all day. It would stink. I decided that I would do the laundry tomorrow and help out.
I quickly took a shower and brushed my teeth. I jumped into my clothes and went to my mattress. Someone must've spruced it up a bit because now there was a bedsheet, a blanket, and three pillows waiting for me.
I immediately dove into it. I faced myself away from the ninja. I wanted to be consumed by sleep. It had been quite a long day. I heard them all walk in. They were pretty silent because I assumed they thought I was asleep.
I kept my breath steady as they entered. They settled down pretty quickly as well. Perhaps with all the adventures they've been on, they knew how to sleep on command.
It was 11:35 P.M. when I finally fell asleep.
NYA'S POV:
Harumi was sleeping and before we all walked in I scolded everyone to be quiet. If they knew what was good for them, they would stay silent.
Harumi was sleeping rather comfortably on her mattress. Her blanket was on top of her. She was hugging the third pillow that she had. She was facing the opposite way from us with her back facing us.
Harumi went to bed at 10:10. She slept comfortably and peacefully until around two hours later at midnight.
We ninjas never slept with both our ears asleep. When we had to camp out in the wilderness on one of our adventures, we kept an ear open to listen for anyone coming to attack us.
The trick was to appear you were sleeping. You needed to breathe in deeply without making it seem you were faking. Even if the attacker was approaching you with your back faced away from them, you wouldn't move until you felt them try and attack you. That's when you would take them down with the element of surprise. With one ear listening, the rest of the ninjas and I were able to protect ourselves.
As such, I heard whimpering and grunting at midnight. I didn't stick my head up from my bed. I kept my steady deep breaths and listened carefully. From what I could tell, the person was near us. They weren't moving. So I hesitantly opened my eyes to a slit. It was Harumi.
HARUMI'S POV:
I couldn't sleep. I would not sleep. The grief I held in my heart was too much for me to bear. My mind was spinning with pain and migraines. My head pounded to the beat of my heart. I could hear each heartbeat. I clutched my head roughly trying to stop it.
I quickly ripped out the blanket and quietly treaded out of the room. I didn't even bother to put my shoes on. All I wore was my sleeping clothes and some socks.
I walked outside to the deck where the railing was. The view always seemed to comfort me when I sat or stood there. However, that was not the case this time.
The pain in my heart pounded more as I gripped the railing. I stared down at the waters below.
My head was pounding stronger and yelling at me, you should've joined them Harumi. They died because of you. You were the only survivor of the Palace of Secrets. Doesn't that make you feel guilty? And Hutchins, dear, dear Uncle Hutchins had sacrificed himself to go after your father because you asked, 'Where's my Father?' He would still be alive today, wouldn't he? You, the princess are supposed to protect your subjects yet you ran away. And they all died.
I screamed in pain clutching my head. Who's voice was this? Why was this happening?
All you need to do is jump Harumi. Jump into the waters. There you will find peace. You will no longer be in pain. There you will see a light. You'll see your mother and father including Hutchins all happy again.
I cried loudly and screamed, "It is my fault! I should've joined them! I should've been one of them! I don't deserve to be alive."
Yes, the voice seethed. You killed them. They could've been alive hadn't you tried to save them. But you didn't. Just like how you made your precious Hutchins go and save the Emperor. Jump Harumi, jump.
My breath hitched as I gripped the rails tighter. I began to cry deliriously and scream louder.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I should've gone down with them. I should've died! I could be with both of my parents if I died. I could be free!" I yelled while crying.
My gentle cries soon turned into gut-wrenching sobs as reality slapped me in the face. Everything I knew was gone. My home was gone. My father was gone. Hutchins was gone. And May, what had become of her? She was gone. Everyone was gone. I was the only one left.
"I SHOULD'VE DIED!" I screamed and collapsed to my knees.
I gripped my shirt tightly right over where my heart was. My screams echoed the Bounty. Tears were streaming down my face and I looked like a complete mess. My heart ached so much. Too much pain. Too much grief. I needed some to hold me. Someone to lean on.
And that someone came. They went down to their knees too. They were strong, loving, and warm arms. They wrapped their arms around my shaking body. We stayed like that until I calmed down. The person let me cry into their clothes not caring if I wet them. They stayed there with me for as long as I needed.
In their arms, I felt safe. I felt calm. I felt loved.
LLOYD'S POV:
It pained me so much to hear Harumi scream. Just seeing her unhappy made my own heart ache with pain. I knew that she was hurting on the inside. But I didn't want to ruin it more by trying to push myself to her. At first, I knew she needed time alone. But you can't stay alone forever.
You need someone to hold onto. You need someone to lean on. And I believed I was the right person for that job.
I cared about Harumi. She made me feel a spark I had never felt before. It gave me so much joy to see her smile and laugh. It gave me so much pain to see her somber and wear an unsmiling face. It pained me to see her dull eyes that were once filled with life.
Harumi needed someone to hold on to and lean on. Like her, I was broken. My family was the people I leaned on. But she didn't have anyone. I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be there for her no matter what. I wanted to let her know that I would be by her side for as long as she needed it. I wanted to let her know that I would stand by her decisions and what her choices were.
The ninja and I had all heard what Harumi yelled. We stood there for a while listening. Once she dropped onto the floor in pain, I ran from my spot and embraced her in a comforting hug. I wrapped my arms around her trembling body as it shook violently with sobs.
What Harumi needed was for someone to give her physical touch and affection. She told us that her parents always used to hug her, hold hands with her, and do everything with physical affection.
Harumi hadn't had any physical affection in a long time. She had forgotten what it felt like. With her mother gone, she relied on Halt to give it to her. He did not. Hutchins was also too busy to give her any affection. The most he could do was stop by and offer comforting words.
So, I did what I knew she needed.
I gave her physical affection; a simple but warm and loving hug.