The Crazy Art Called Love

20 | Damp Grass

~~Lloyd's POV~~

"Uh, are you sure this is the way to your place?" Harumi inquired. I pulled up in front of two large gates before opening the car.

"No. But we have something important to do first." I offered my hand and helped her get out. I could tell she hesitated but I kept a firm hold on her hand.

"Where are we going?" She asked as we walked on the fields. The guard noticed who I was and immediately opened the gates, we were lucky the emperor and empress let us out early.

"You'll see." Was the only thing I responded with before turning to her. "You may want to hold these." I held out my hand which had a small bouquet of flowers.

She nodded and we continued walking without another word. The night grew closer as the last of the sun began to set. I have to admit it was creepy visiting these parts of Ninjago at night but we didn't really have a choice. Instead, I focused on what the commissioner had told me and soon enough we stood in front of the grave of,

"My parents." Harumi gasped after one look at the tombstone. "H-how—what?"

"You asked me to find out remember? I managed to get the location from the commissioner."

She let go of my hand and sank to her knees on the damp and cold grass. I could see her hands tremble and tears started forming in her eyes. I took a seat next to her and began cleaning the grave.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Valentin. I bet you don't recognize your daughter anymore." I tried to keep the air light. This was meant to be a happy moment for Rumi and I was more than happy to support her. "She grew up beautiful, don't worry. I'm sure she took after one of you."

"They used to call me Rumi-roo. Because I was just so energetic all the time." Harumi laughed and wiped the tears in her eyes. She laid out the flowers and helped me clean the grave. I could tell she would come here often from now on.

"You still are you know." I nudged her with a small smile. There were still a few twigs and vines attached to the tombstones but it was probably best to leave that to a gardener.

"Yeah. I guess I still am." She nodded and laid her head on my shoulder which made me rest my head on top of hers. "I miss them."

I ran my hand through her hair, slowly stroking it while she cried. We remained in silence and I took the time to say a silent prayer for my father because being here was just a reminder of him.

"Thank you." She whispered after a few minutes and I lifted my head to get a look of her face.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm more than happy to do anything for you." I stated and cupped her cheeks. Another tear fell from her eyes and I wiped it away.

Harumi leaned forward and launched herself at me. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the hug. Perhaps it was a happy moment after all.

"Come on. We have a party to get to." I stated as I got up and dusted off the grass that stuck on my suit.

"I'll see you guys again soon." She whispered towards her parents before smiling at me and walking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It took us 15 minutes to get to the monastery. Harumi and I stood in front of the giant double doors.

"You'll be fine. Nya and Pixal will love you." I exclaimed and grabbed her hand in mine before pushing the doors open.

As expected, the courtyard was filled with most of our guests who were dancing or enjoying some snacks at the buffet table that Skylor prepared. I could recognize some familiar faces in the crowd but I was more focused on finding my friends.

"Hey, Lloyd!"

"It's the Green Ninja!"

"Merry Christmas, Lloyd."

I smiled toward the people who greeted me as we pushed past the crowds. I made it across the monastery and opened the doors to the living room. I could tell Harumi was looking around.

"You live here?" She gasped and took in the scenery.

"Yep!" I declared proudly.

"It's beautiful."

"Your palace was beautiful too."

"It hard to appreciate the beauty if it's your cage." She rolled her eyes before it landed in front of me. I turned around to find the team gathered in the living room with Santa hats on their heads.

"There you two are! Come on, we're taking pictures." Nya placed a hat on my head before turning towards Harumi. "You must be, Rumi. I'm Nya!"

"It feels good to finally meet you." Harumi giggled before taking the hat.

"Likewise. I have a feeling we'll get along pretty good."

Nya grabbed our hands before dragging us to the center of the room.

"This is my boyfriend. Jay." Nya brought him over to Harumi and the two shook hands.

"The master of lightning, right? I have heard a lot about you."

"Well then you should know that he is also the master of blabber." Cole joked from the side which made Jay glare at him.

"Nice to see you again, Harumi. I'm glad you could join us." Skylor came up and I went up to Kai to give the girls their time. Pixal joined in the conversation and I could see they easily got along.

"Come on, we have a party to throw." Vania stated from behind the camera and Harumi immediately ran up to her which made me laugh. I forgot about that. Perhaps Vania never told her yet.

After taking some group photos, we then moved onto couples, as insisted by Kai who wanted to show off his new outfit. He was wearing a matching ugly Christmas sweater with Skylor and even I wouldn't wear that.

"Where did you even find that?" Jay was laughing behind the camera as Kai posed for the camera.

"The night market." Skylor shrugged and joined him.

Harumi nudged my shoulder and gave me a smile. I sighed before leaving to change into more casual clothes.

"Aw. I thought you would wear the suit again." She teased when I came back inside the living room.

"That was a twice in a lifetime thing." I made it clear that I was never going to do that again. We stood in front of the camera and smiled.

"Come on, that's it?" Cole complained and I rolled my eyes before wrapping an arm around Harumi's waist and turning her to face my direction.

Her hands landed on my chest, I wish she won't feel how fast my heart is beating right now, and I could tell she was flustered. I looked straight into her eyes and smiled to calm her down no matter how hot my cheeks felt.

I focused on how adorable she looked in a Santa hat. Kind of like a little elf. A snap from the camera was heard and we instantly pulled away from each other.

"Perfect!" Kai winked at me and I groaned.