The Kid and the Bountyhutner

His Kid

Author stuff: More of this AU! Why? Bc I wrote several parts to it while bored at work.

Also, my brain wouldn't leave me alone while trying to write my other Ninjago fic. So, y'all get this.

Most of it is set before s2 (right after ), but the end is right after the end of s3 and before s4.

Trigger Warning:

- Brief mention of death/dying

- Brief mention of kidnapping

Of all the things he saw happening, Ronin never planned on parenthood. Well, not entirely.

At one point in his life — back in his early twenties — he and his then partner were expecting. The room was painted a soft yellow, a crib was bought and ready with linens, there was a matching changing table with diapers and wipes and diaper cream, little clothes had been washed and folded and placed into drawers.

If it hadn't been for Chen and his cult, Ronin would be the father of a little girl — much like the one sitting across from him at the greasy spoon of a diner. He tried to ignore the pang in his chest at that thought, but he was sure the girl caught a flicker of emotion on her face, judging by the way her eyebrows twitched.

She didn't say anything, though. She hardly ever said anything except 'yes' or 'no' or 'I don't know' or 'dead'. The last one was in response to a question about her parents.

Ronin couldn't say for sure, but his best guess was that she'd been orphaned in that attack by the giant snake thing that attacked Ninjago City. Lots of people were unhoused in that attack, but he'd heard hushed voices of people having died in it.

No one wanted to mention anything. Not in front of the pajama wearing, fruit colored teens who'd helped save the city. Well, Ronin thought they were teens. The way they acted and talked. Who in their right mind would set up a group of kids to save the city from a beast? They truly had to be a monster for that.

They weren't his problem, though. The little girl in front of him was.

He'd inadvertently adopted her, shooing away nosy police officers who were going to take her to an overflowing orphanage or something. He knew how bad they could be.

So, who could blame him for wanting to keep another kid out of the system?

"Almost finished?" he asked, looking over her plate. The burger and fries were nearly gone and the chocolate milkshake was polished off. He'd give it to her, she could eat.

She nodded, picking up one last fry and quickly eating it.

He gestured for the waitress to bring over the receipt. It wasn't worth trying to do a dine and dash with the kid.

She was the judgy type, based on the way he flirted with the waitress to get the free milkshake.

So, he quickly paid, trying not to care or notice how much he left behind as a tip (not that he had that much on him, to begin with). And they headed out.

They'd have to go to another shelter to sleep for the night, but with her in tow, he'd have to look for something more permanent. And a place to send her for school. She seemed like she was of school age.

Although, he doubted any school in Ninjago City was going to reopen any time soon. It was probably for the best. They needed to get out of here. Who knew what would happen if they stuck around in the city?

There weren't many places that Ronin could go where he wouldn't be known, which was a problem. Stiix was his first thought, but he wasn't sure he wanted to bring the kid there. Not unless he absolutely had to.

It didn't matter in the end. He wasn't given much of a choice.

First it was the black cloud sweeping over the city, and then the evil robots. Those were... Well, they weren't fine, but neither of them had been the target of an attack. They'd been left on the sidelines while others took care of it.

Honestly, Ronin wished he'd listened to his instincts after the black cloud. Everything in him screamed to get Harumi out of the city over a year ago. But then the robots attacked — which was okay, if he was honest. It was after that that he had a problem.

A problem known as Master Chen.

Harumi had only a few rules for when he was out on a job. One, don't go anywhere unnecessarily. Two, come straight home after school. Three, Ms. Arnolds promised to make sure she had plenty to eat — and, no, not just the instant noodles. Vegetables and fruits, too. Four, go to bed at a reasonable time and don't stay up until sunrise.

She followed all of those rules, and somehow Chen's minions still managed to capture her on her way home from school.

That had sent him into panic mode.

Chen asked him to do one thing, one simple little thing: Get the white ninja from Borg's tower, and bring the robot to him.

Ronin didn't even think twice before doing it. He wasn't going to lose his family again.