Secrets of the Administration

  Chapter 9- Rumi

When they arrived back home, they heard a faint singing sound. Curious, she and Cole both ran to the origin of the singing. There was a sight that baffled them. Cole gasped, covering his mouth, while Rumi turned away and screeched.

Mia was taking a bath. In the bell of Dignity. Singing.

Mia, blissfully unaware of the pandemonium she was causing, didn't have a care in the world. Her hair, lathered with a thick layer of fragrant shampoo, resembled a fluffy white cloud. Soap bubbles clung to her skin, shimmering like tiny rainbows. In one hand, she clutched a brightly colored rubber duck, splashing it playfully in the water as she hummed an off-key tune.

The other ninja, alerted by the commotion, came rushing out. Kai, ever the hothead, sputtered in outrage.

"Mia! What in the name of Ninjago are you doing?!" he roared.

Mia, jolted out of her reverie by the sudden influx of people and the sheer volume of their combined gasp, jumped a mile high. The rubber duck went flying through the air, landing with a plop in the communal washing tub.

"Agh!" she shrieked, clutching her chest and sending a cascade of suds cascading down into the polished metal of the Bell. "What are you all doing here? Can't a girl enjoy a peaceful bath in peace?"

The silence that followed her indignant question was deafening. The other ninja, still frozen in various stages of shock and disbelief, simply stared at her.

Finally, Nya, ever the voice of reason, managed to sputter out a question. "Mia... the Bell of Destiny... a bath...?" She gestured weakly at the scene before them, the image so surreal it defied explanation.

Mia, realizing the enormity of her transgression, deflated. The color drained from her face, a sheepish grin replacing her earlier bravado. "Uh... well, you see..." she stammered, struggling to find the words.

Before she could stammer out an explanation, Lloyd came out hobbling with Zane acting like a crutch. His face contorted in a look of utter horror as he surveyed the desecration of the sacred Bell.

"Great Dragon!" he boomed, his voice echoing through the room. "What have you done to the Bell of Destiny?!"

Mia, under the combined scrutiny of Lloyd and the other ninja, could only shrink further into the soapy water, her bath time serenade replaced by a chorus of nervous whimpers.

The tension in the room was thicker than the suds clinging to the Bell. Before Lloyd could unleash his own brand of green-tinged outrage, Mia scrambled out of the holy vessel with surprising agility for someone covered in soap.

With a frantic yelp, she grabbed the nearest towel – a vibrantly colored one adorned with a cartoon cat – and wrapped it haphazardly around herself. Water cascaded down her legs, creating miniature waterfalls on the polished floor.

Ignoring the stunned silence and Lloyd's sputtering indignation, Mia sprinted past the ninja, leaving a trail of wet footprints and a lingering scent of lavender shampoo. A flurry of movement later, her bedroom door slammed shut with a resounding thud.

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Rumi, who had been unusually quiet throughout the spectacle, finally spoke. Her voice, though soft, carried a surprising weight.

"She's hurting," Rumi said, her eyes filled with a newfound understanding. "Badly. Not physically, but... emotionally."

The other ninja turned to her, surprised by her insight. Rumi continued, her voice barely a whisper.

"I know that feeling well," she confessed. "Losing your parents, being alone... It leaves a scar on your soul."

A collective look of realization dawned on the faces of her teammates. They hadn't realized that, out of everyone who was looking for the rest, Mia was the most hurt.

Lloyd, his anger replaced by a flicker of sympathy, scuffed his foot on the floor. "Maybe... maybe we should give her some space," he mumbled, surprising himself with his newfound maturity.

Kai, ever the impulsive one, scoffed. "Space? She just desecrated the holiest artifact in Ninjago!"

But Nya, with a gentle nudge of her elbow towards Kai, silenced him. "Kai has a point," she conceded, "but there might be a reason behind Mia's actions. A reason rooted in pain."

Cole, his usual cheerful demeanor tempered with concern, looked at Rumi. "You think you can talk to her, Rumi?"

Rumi nodded, a flicker of determination replacing the earlier sadness in her eyes. "We both lost something precious. Maybe... maybe I can help her understand it's okay not to be strong all the time."

With a newfound sense of understanding and a shared mission to mend their teammate's broken spirit, the ninja team, minus Mia for the moment, stood united. The Bell of Destiny would have to wait. Right now, their friend needed them, and for the ninja, there was nothing more important than protecting their own.