The Crazy Art Called Love

28 | Man With a Fish Basket

~~Harumi's POV~~

The secret passageway was dark and damp. I couldn't see anything and it didn't help that I had to be closer to Lloyd than I'd prefer. He had the mask in his hands and I could see some scratches on his face.

Nya and I had continued talking for past few days and one of the things she told me was to not run away from my problems.

"Are you okay?" I asked to try and diffuse the tension between us.

I was still nervous to be around him after confessing but he doesn't seem to mind. I wonder if he actually cares about it or maybe he's just focused on the mission. Probably just focused that's all.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." He responded with a smile and I think I pulled him out of his thoughts. "How about you?"

"I've been better." I shrugged. The ambush was definitely well thought out and I wonder how they were able to plant bombs in the palace.

"Look, Rumi—." He tried but I immediately cut him off.

"Let's not talk about it, okay? You have other things to worry about." I informed him and pointed towards the mask in his hands.

"But—."

"Just don't, Lloyd. I don't want to talk about it."

I readjusted the straps of my emergency survival backpack and took a deep breath. So he did care, but I do not want to know what he thought about it. At least, not right now. We both walked in silence and I prayed that the tunnel would finally end. 

I couldn't stand the awkwardness and I really wish I never said anything. This was the exact reason why I didn't want to tell him. I was scared of ruining our friendship for something more.

Eventually, we reached the end of the tunnel which lead to the grand staircase at the entrance of the palace. There were more incoming bikers and some of the guards were holding them off as much as they could.

Another explosion happened from behind me and a huge flame was now present on the roof of the palace. I immediately started to worry about the ninja who were probably still inside. A motorbike circled us and in one swift motion, Lloyd handed me the mask, kicked of the driver, and lifted the bike over my head, smoothly placing it in front of us.

"Get on." He instructed with a jerk of his head and I could feel my cheeks heat up for I didn't expect him to get hotter than he already was but I shook my head and immediately grabbed a helmet.

I sat on the back of the motorbike and held the mask on one hand while the other was on Lloyd's shoulder. The tires screeched and were out of the palace territory. To say that I didn't enjoy the ride would mean I was lying. The wind flew past my hair as we drove through the streets and it reminded me of the time Lloyd allowed me to drive his car.

I smiled at the memory but that immediately vanished when I saw the same girl from earlier chasing us. Lloyd swerved left and right to avoid the cars on the skyway and I had to tighten my grip so I wouldn't fall.

"Are you trying to get me to hold onto you?" I made sure my voice was heard through all the commotion.

"Would you prefer we get caught?" He called back and returned his focus to the road.

"Fair point."

Every time I looked back I could see them getting closer and closer. I knew it was irrational but I was scared they would eventually catch up with us. Lloyd took a look as well before turning the handle to get the bike moving faster.

"They're right behind us!" I stated after seeing the girl topple a car just to get ahead.

"Hold on!" Lloyd commanded and I did what I was told. We swerved between two cars before he turned off the headlights and hid behind one of the trucks.

It was impressive! I never knew he could pull that off but that was amazing. And this was definitely not helping me forget my feelings. I could hear my heart beat in my ears and I knew it had no plans of calming down.

The tires screeched as we changed directions and entered a different road.

"Ha-ha. Lost 'em."

He was getting confident and I was not sure if he was showing off on purpose but I wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now. We continued driving through the roads and it was clear everything was far from over when the girl jumped off the skyway with her bike and started driving towards us.

I wanted to know if this was legal. Even if he was the Green Ninja he clearly broke a lot of rules.

"Her again?" He asked and I could hear the irritation in his voice.

Lloyd pulled out his sword the second he spotted the girl doing the same. He was now driving with one hand as the other held out the gold sword.

"Keep your head down."

I immediately leaned my head on his back and braced for impact. Their weapons collided creating a ringing sound that echoed in my ears. Our bike turned and this time we were the ones on the wrong side of the road.

"Oh no." I gasped as I felt nothing in my hands. I dropped the mask!

I could hear the girl's laugh from the distance and Lloyd revved the bike's engine once more. The mask was in the center where we clashed earlier and I knew I was the one who had to get it. Lloyd placed the sword on his back and immediately raced towards the mask. I held onto his waist as I leaned down to grab it.

When we turned once again, I wore a proud smile on my face.

"Nice one, Rumi!" He commended which made me giggle.

"Let's get outta here!" I called as a group of bikers joined behind the girl.

We began driving on the wrong side of the road. It was a long drive through the streets and the biker gang was getting closer and closer. We arrived at a road near the docks and I was confused why he would lead us to a dead end.

Lloyd dodged a man carrying a basket of fish but the gang did not seem to care about him. We got closer and closer to the coast line and I still couldn't figure out his plan.

"It's a dead end!" I pointed towards the ship a few feet away from us.

"Yeah, but we're not dead yet." Was all he responded before speeding up. My eyes widened at that and wrapped my arms around his waist to brace for impact again.

I didn't know what happened next because I was too busy closing my eyes and begging that Lloyd knew what he was doing. We came to a landing inside a ship and he immediately shut off the bike.

"You can let go of me now, Rumi." He chuckled and I immediately removed my hands from around his waist.

"Right. Sorry." I cleared my throat before hopping off.

"This way, Princess." He grabbed my hand and began dragging me around the ship.

"Greenie, you're not going to steal this, are you?" I asked with genuine concern.

"What? No!"

"Then what are you thinking? We can't get away from them in this thing!"

"Hey, now. This thing still has a few surprises in her."

He pulled down a sheet and I still couldn't understand what he had in mind. The Oni mask felt weird in my hands. It gave off this certain aura and I immediately placed it on the ground.

"They're not gonna just let us sail away." I stated as he pushed some buttons on the keypad. The screen lit up for a few seconds until it died down. "Here, let me."

I walked forward and gave it a swift kick. The screen lit up once more and Lloyd nodded with a proud smile.

"Who said anything about sailing?" He smirked before turning on the engines.

It was at that moment I realized what I was standing on and where I was.

"The destiny's bounty." I gasped as the light started brightening up the place.

"Welcome aboard, Rumi."