TIGHTROPE | Llorumi fanfiction

Pt 7.1 Powerless

They kept walking in silence along the white-stoned trail that was twisting between the giant trees, each of the two lost in their thoughts.

Lloyd couldn't help but notice that Harumi acted differently from what he remembered. The enchanted forest around him resembled the jungles they had to cross together when she was searching for Oni Masks...

But the Oni Masks and the SOG were not the things he was thinking about. His mind was coming back to the moments of comfort and joy they shared not as enemies, but as friends and partners. He remembered the way Harumi treated his broken arm when they fell in the jungles, how they searched for the temple together and how she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

After Harumi fell from the building, Lloyd recalled these events numerous times. He has always thought that this was the time he could do something to avoid all of this destruction, that he could change her if only he... if only he had a chance.

Why does everything happen on purpose in the city of Limbo...

***

The forest was perhaps older than the world Lloyd and Harumi came from. And for all those years it has been untouched. Like an endless temple to a dead god, it exuded horror without having anything to frighten the intruders. Or did it try to mislead them?

The forest was very chaotic. Needles and leaves, tree climbers and bushes, tall grass and bare earth. It had no structure, no logic, no purpose, besides making it difficult to navigate and see through.

"There's light ahead" – Harumi said, pointing her finger forwards, where the forest seemed to... end. Just like that.

They rush towards the end of the forest. There are beams of light making their way through the leaves, they grow brighter as they run, just to run into...

"The forest ends... on a rooftop?"

Roots and tree climbers hold tight to the edges of a skyscraper. Pushed by the ninja's feet, dirt falls down from the height of the tallest building in the city. The tallest building in Ninjago City.

The roads are not busy today. Adults don't work, children hide in the basements of their schools. Sirens' sound fades before it reaches the roof of the building.

The city is scared. It's scared of the giant snake that makes its way through the streets, through the building, through the neighborhoods. Its teeth are poisonous, its skin is bulletproof. Its name is The Great Devourer.

"It wasn't my fault..." – Lloyd carefully says. Harumi looks into the distance; her eyes are glued.

"I never wanted for this to happen..." – Lloyd can't turn his eyes away either. He looks into every window, trying to find a way to save someone. He knows too well that's there's a soul behind each one of them.

"You never did... But it happened, and it happened because of you!" – Harumi's voice trembled. "How could you do that?"

"I didn't..."

"Don't you even try to defend yourself! I've seen how your carelessness leads to destruction, I've seen it with my own eyes. How can we ever call you our hero after that? My parents were there, I was there, and you didn't come to save us. It seems that everyone has forgotten what you did, but not me! You're not our protector, you're no hero and you deserve every punishment for what you did!"

The giant serpentine slowly waves its tail. Buildings collapse and people die. It all happens in slow motion, in great distance. Screams are not heard at the top of the highest building.

"You're right." – Lloyd said, almost crying.

"You're right, but you're not fair. I've tried everything to amend my mistakes, and it I know it will never be enough. But I try..."

A tear fell from his eye.

"You know I do, you've gathered information about me for years. Why do you still hate me..."

Harumi's rage was instantly blown away. It had happened before. She had been teaching herself to hate the green ninja, and yet the reality made her forget that. She didn't expect him to agree with her.

"If there was anything I could sacrifice to help those people, I'd give it, believe me. But I can't. People call me a hero, the green ninja, but in reality, I'm powerless... My only power is that I never give up trying."

The pair heard hissing from the forest. Someonecut off their escape route from the roof. From behind of the trees, serpentines crawled. Wielding swords and axes and hammers, they surrounded the pair and prepared for a fight.

"I'm going to need your help right now, Harumi." – Lloyd said, still a bit shook shaken by his confession. "I'm not asking you to protect me, I'm asking you survive."

Harumi saw in his eyes that he was really afraid she'd leave him right now. Either run into the forest, or...

Harumi looked at the city where the Great Devourer was rampaging. The building's edge was tempting. Maybe that's her way out, a way to reunite with her parents.

But something stopped her, didn't let her take the easy way. He caught the katana Lloyd threw her, her sword is finally back in her hands. She's going to beat these snakes so hard they'll wish they were eaten.