Chapter 5

"Lloyd there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time now..." Harumi sighed, still sitting under her covers, the sketchbook next to her.

Lloyd turned to look at her, a sheepish look on her face.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Lloyd quickly questioned, sitting back onto her bed.

Harumi's gaze dropped to her hands, as she was fiddling with her fingers. "I um..." she started, but couldn't find the right words.

Lloyd gently lowered his hands over Harumi's fiddling ones. He took them into his hands, Harumi's head lifting to look at him. Their hands intertwined, her hand warm and soft.

"You can tell me anything," Lloyd smiled warmly, a smile spreading to Harumi's lips as well.

They studied each other, a comfortable, yet tense silence above them. Lloyd's gaze travelled from across Harumi's face. Taking in all of her features, from the shape of her nose to her round cheeks, from her eyebrows to her captivating eyes, his gaze ultimately falling to her lips.

Harumi let out a sigh and Lloyd shot his gaze up to meet her eyes. "Lloyd, I want you to know that you don't have to say anything to me. You don't have to answer anything I say, we can talk more about this tomorrow," she started, worry building in Lloyd.

"Of course we can talk about it now, something's bothering you," Lloyd encouraged her, squeezing her hands gently.

A warm smile spread to Harumi's lips. "I... I love you Lloyd," she revealed with a nervous scoff. "I... I think I've loved you for a long time now, but I was scared you wouldn't like me back... I'm still scared, but I can't keep this secret any more, I had to tell you. Even if you don't like me back, that's fine! We can still be friends but I just wanted to-" "Harumi," Lloyd stopped her ramble.

Harumi quieted, her gaze dead-set on Lloyd's eyes. Lloyd studied her face, then let go of her prosthetic. His right hand raised to cup Harumi's cheek, Harumi's warm breath tickling his arm. Her cheek was soft like butter, Lloyd brushed his thumb across it. Her gaze was tentative, the moment stood still in the room.

He couldn't hold himself back anymore. His mind was mush as his sensible brain was pushed away by his wanting heart.

"Can I kiss you?" he whispered, quietly, eagerly.

Harumi stared at him, her brows slightly scrunched together, a soft blush on her cheeks. Her eyes flicked between his, she was thinking.

Then she dove into him, pressing her lips against his. Lloyd fell over onto her bed, Harumi falling over him. Harumi cupped Lloyd's face and kissed him deeply. Lloyd closed his eyes, let his left hand lift up to Harumi's neck and into her hair.

Harumi parted their lips and lifted her head. She was breathing heavily, as was Lloyd.

"Lloyd I-

"Emergency ninja meeting! Forty-seventh floor lobby!" A booming voice rang in Lloyd's ears.

He flinched violently, sure that someone was dead. He quickly bolted up from his bed and ran to his door.

"What's going on?!" he yelled, the adrenaline in his veins ready to fight someone to death.

"I need to talk to all of you!" the voice replied, which Lloyd could now identify to be Cole.

As Lloyd's eyes got used to the dark lighting in the hallway, he could see Cole standing in the middle of it in his pajamas.

"Right now?" Lloyd rubbed his eyes, as the adrenaline drained away from his veins, and the cold around him creeped into his bones.

"Do you know the meaning of 'emergency'?" Cole questioned, his hands on his hips.

The other doors opened as well, next to peek out was Nya, then Zane, Jay, Master Wu, Harumi and ultimately Kai.

"Let's go!" Cole yelled and started walking towards their floor's lobby.

Lloyd turned to look at Harumi. Her bun had loosened, she had taken her prosthetic off and her expression was incredibly tired. She yawned as she exited her doorway. She turned to look at Lloyd. She nudged her head toward Cole and continued walking.

That is when Lloyd remembered his dream. His ears turned hot red as he thought what her lips had felt like, what her panting sounded like-

CONTROL YOURSELF! Lloyd internally slapped himself as he left his room as well and walked behind Harumi.

They descended down a short flight of stairs, into the dark 47th floor lobby. Cole walked ahead energetically, while the rest sat onto the stairs with groans.

Contrary to what he usually does, this time Lloyd sat next to Master Wu, and not next to Harumi, who was on the other side of the stairs, next to Nya. She hadn't done anything wrong, Lloyd just wasn't sure if he could be that close to her and not freak out right now...

"Alright, everyone here?" Cole said, looking around.

"Just get on with it," Kai yawned.

"Okay, so I was soundly sleeping in my bed, like we all were, until I woke up to a weird noise. It sounded like steps, and when I opened my eyes, there was a purple creature right in front of my face!" Cole yelled in panic. "So then I yelled 'what!?' and then the creature yelled something about 'Gillies', and then I attacked him, but then I noticed he had a locket with a picture of my mom and dad inside it!" He continued on with his ramble. "And then it escaped before I could catch it!"

Lloyd wasn't sure if he was still dreaming, he blinked slowly trying to gather his thoughts.

"So, let me get this straight..." Jay started. "You pulled me out of the most luxurious bed ever, because you saw a creature in your bedroom?" he asked, his tone surprisingly sarcastic, even though he just woke up.

"Yes! I don't know what he wanted from me, but I do know he had my mother's necklace!" Cole answered, the same panic still present in his voice.

Lloyd shifted his gaze off Cole to look at everybody else. They were tired, yawning and rubbing their eyes. Lloyd cleared his throat gently and stood up.

"Cole, um..." he started, walking off the steps and towards the panting man. "Are you sure this happened, like... in reality?" Lloyd worded his thoughts carefully.

"What do you mean?" Cole asked, his brows furrowing together.

"I believe Lloyd is trying to imply that it was only a dream," Zane commented from the stairs.

"It wasn't a dream!" Cole protested loudly. "When I saw the pictures in the necklace, I recognized it right away!" He argued.

"So where is it now?" Nya questioned.

"I told you, the creature ran away with it!" Cole explained, desperation now present in his voice.

Kai yawned loudly: "Cole, buddy, go back to bed."

"It must've been a dream, Cole, because I do not recall your mother ever having a locket," Wu commented.

"But I know she did, I've seen it in pictures! We have to tell King Vangelis!" Cole proposed, his tone almost pleading.

"Okay, slow down now," Lloyd calmed him, resting his hands on Cole's shoulders. "It's not that we don't believe you, but we're guests here. We can't just wake up the King in the middle of the night," Lloyd explained, trying to keep his tone reaffirming, but determined.

"But-" "Cole, let's go back to sleep. We can discuss all of this in the morning, okay?" Wu interrupted Cole, standing up as well. Lloyd let go of his shoulders and turned around to climb the stairs.

"I..." Cole sighed. "Fine..." he said.

They all walked the stairs up and went back into their bedrooms. Lloyd still evaded Harumi, not getting the dream out of his head. She flashed him a tired smile as they returned to their bedrooms, which Lloyd did return. He climbed into his bed and closed his eyes.

Only, he couldn't sleep. He twisted and turned in his bed. The bed that just 15 minutes ago had been a place that he didn't think could be more comfortable, but now it felt like Lloyd was laying on a bag of rocks. He flipped his pillow at least five times, tried to sleep on the left side, and the right side, and in the middle.

But his mind wouldn't let him fall asleep. The uncomfortable feeling that he had after dinner had been calmed by Harumi, but now it was back tenfold. Cole saw a creature, with his dead mother's locket? In his room? In a palace that is swarming with guards? It didn't make sense in any way, Cole must've dreamt it. None of them had heard him scream, but could it be that the walls are just that thick? Maybe the purple creature had been able to sneak past the guards. Maybe, just maybe, Cole was actually in danger. Maybe they were all in danger.

After that thought Lloyd couldn't even think of sleeping. He sat up in his bed, and checked his phone. 3.34. It had been thirty minutes since Lloyd had returned into his room. It was still dark outside, but because they were so high up in the mountains, the sun must rise soon.

With a groan at his thoughts, Lloyd got out of his bed and walked to his door. He sneaked out of his room, into the dark and deadly silent hallway. He knew Cole's room must be the first on the left, so he walked to his door and knocked gently.

"Cole, it's me," Lloyd whispered.

Nothing.

"Cole, I think you're right, open up," Lloyd whispered again, knocking a bit louder that time. He anxiously fiddled with the string of his hoodie that he slept with.

Nothing.

Lloyd knocked even harder, sure that he had now woken up whoever slept in the room next to Cole's. "C'mon, I'm sorry I doubted you, but I think you're right," Lloyd said louder. "You're freaking me out man, this isn't funny," he said as he knocked again.

The walls around Lloyd felt like they were staring at him, Lloyd looked around himself. He started seeing purple creatures in the dark corners of the corridor. Lloyd glanced behind him, giant windows on each side of the entrance to the corridor. The moon still shone in the night sky, casting a blue light into the hallway.

"Okay, I'm coming in, man," Lloyd finally gave into his anxiety and pushed Cole's door open.

Lloyd's heart sank as he stepped into the empty room. Cole's bed was unmade, his pjs on the bed and his drawer open.

"Shit," Lloyd muttered under his breath, adrenaline trickling into his veins. He quickly turned around and ran back into the corridor. "Cole's gone!" He yelled loudly, just like Cole had about an hour ago.

"What?" Nya's sleepy head poked out of her room.

"He's gone, we need to find him!" Lloyd repeated, his breath quick and tone hasty.

"Lloyd this better not be a joke..." Kai's voice grumbled as the rest peeked out of their rooms as well.

"It's not, he's gone! Suit up, we need to find him, now!" Lloyd said, quickly running into his room.

"You heard him, suit up!" Nya repeated, after him.

Lloyd quickly changed into his gi, and walked back into the corridor. He was relieved to find his whole team there, including Harumi and Master Wu.

"Okay, we need to cover as much ground as we can. But we can't alarm the guards, I don't think it'd be wise to let them know just yet. This could be a false alarm, but we need to be sure," Lloyd instructed.

"I can search the lowest fifteen floors," Zane informed.

"I can take the next fifteen," Nya shrugged.

"You do ten, I do ten, deal?" Kai proposed, looking at Jay.

"Deal," the two shook hands.

Lloyd looked at the two remaining team members, both looking uncertain in what to say next. "Okay, Wu, can you search the palace gardens?" Lloyd asked.

"Of course," Wu nodded.

"Harumi, what if we split the city?" Lloyd looked at her.

"Sounds good," She nodded determinedly.

"Okay, everyone's got their section, now let's go! Let's keep in touch through the comms," Lloyd tapped his ear.

"Ninja, GO!" They all said and then dispersed.

"How will we get out without any guards catching us?" Harumi questioned, as the two left their bedroom corridor.

"I don't think you're gonna like it..." Lloyd whispered, his tone apologetic.

Harumi's head tilted to the right, her brows stitching together. Lloyd nudged his head toward a window.

The realization dawned on Harumi, her mouth falling open. "Are you crazy!? I'm not jumping out of a window!" She whisper-yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you if you fall, I promise," Lloyd smiled, trying to sound convincing.

Harumi stared at him. She looked like an angel in the dim moon light, her white hair looking like it glowed. Lloyd's mind wandered back to his dream, as his eyes dropped onto her stretched lips.

"Ugh, fine!" she scoffed. "But if I die, I'll kill you!" she pointed her finger at Lloyd.

"I know, I know. Wouldn't have it any other way," He smirked, his hands lifting up in defeat.

The two sneaked to a window, Lloyd carefully and quietly opening it. He grabbed the rope off his toolbelt and secured it around a column in the corridor.

"Here put this one on," Lloyd said, handing her his spare-glove.

Harumi swiftly put it onto her right hand, and secured it tightly. Lloyd put his on as well. He lifted the rope off the floor and approached Harumi.

"Ladies first," he smiled, handing her the rope.

"Uhm..." she looked at the rope confused. Then up at Lloyd, her brown eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Could you? I'm not confident enough in my skills yet," Harumi handed the rope back to Lloyd.

"Oh, uh, yeah sure," Lloyd chirped and grabbed the rope back. He stepped towards Harumi, wrapped the rope around her hips, looped it and then secured it. "There," Lloyd said, lifting his gaze.

Only now realizing how close they were, as Harumi's face was just inches away from his. He could feel her breath on his face, he could feel the body heat radiate off of her. Her eyes looked up at him, as if she was waiting for something.

For something to happen.

Maybe for him to do something. For him to... kiss her-

Lloyd coughed out, taking a step back. He's pretty sure he forgot how to breathe, his ears burning hot. He stumbled back, tripping on the rope. Harumi quickly reached out and grabbed his arm with her prosthetic.

Lloyd quickly stood up straight, and scratched his neck. "Thanks," he said quickly, avoiding Harumi's gaze. He picked up the rope from the floor and tied it around himself as well.

"Ok, let's go," he said as he walked to the window and threw out the rest of the rope.

He carefully stepped out, the wind cold, but weak enough that it wouldn't bother them. He started carefully descending, stepping backwards, using the castle's wall as support. Harumi's head peeked out the window as she followed Lloyd's movement.

It took him about 15 minutes to descend, lowering himself into a bush that lined the front of the castle. He pulled the rope three times, signaling that it was Harumi's turn. She stepped out the window, and started carefully descending.

Lloyd followed her descent closely. Everything had gone smoothly, until she was about five stories from the ground.

Chatter.

Guard chatter.

As they flew around the castle.

"Shit!" Lloyd cursed under his breath. Of course they have guards flying around the castle, they have wings! Lloyd tried to quickly come up with a distraction.

He tugged the rope, Harumi's head first turning down, and as Lloyd pointed in the direction of the guards, Harumi's head turned toward them. And after that, a panicked look turned back down toward Lloyd.

He tried to wave his hands in a way that would signal Harumi to calm down, but instead she started descending down the rope faster! Her grips became looser as she just tried to get down as fast as she could.

Lloyd's gaze switched between Harumi and the guards, who were about a 100 meters away from her! Lloyd wasn't sure what to do, but he didn't even have the time to do anything as-

Harumi just grabbed the rope with her prosthetic and started sliding down!

"What in the mountains, is a rope doing here?" Lloyd heard one of the guards ask, just as Harumi dove into the bush.

"Quickly!" Lloyd whispered, grabbing a small knife and cutting the rope around Harumi's waist.

"We gotta go, or they'll see us!" Harumi quickly commented, the two sneaking out of the bush as the guards were busy examining the rope.

"I'm never doing that again!" Harumi panted as the two reached the city, hiding behind a house.

"Yeah, didn't think that one through..." Lloyd panted, his breathing quick.

"Clearly..." Harumi scoffed.

Lloyd tried not to notice that, but couldn't help feeling hurt by the simple comment. He peeked out at the city.

"I don't think there are any guards here. Now let's split u-" "I think I found something!" Wu's voice interrupted Lloyd through the comms.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you see anyone?" Harumi asked quietly, looking up at Lloyd who was standing straighter than her.

"No, I think the route's clear," Lloyd answered, but Harumi could notice the tremble in his voice.

Wu had told them he had found something odd in the gardens and said that they should "come here at once!". Lloyd and Harumi abandoned their original plan and started heading for the gardens, which was relatively easy, as the streets were littered with signs pointing to the right way. They sneaked through the city silently, Harumi slowly calming down from her adrenaline spike.

She wasn't angry at Lloyd for what happened, but she was slightly annoyed. Lloyd knew her biggest fear, but still he made her face it and if she didn't, well then she wouldn't... she wouldn't be... good enough...

Of course Lloyd hadn't said anything like that, but that's how Harumi interpreted it. So out of pure spite, she had agreed to the plan. Spite that was mainly put onto her by herself to prove herself.

"Let's go then," Harumi straightened and took a step forward.

"Wait!" Lloyd said sharply as he grabbed Harumi's forearm and yanked her back.

Harumi quickly squatted down, slightly faltering backwards and pressing onto Lloyd.

"Guards," He whispered, his mouth right by Harumi's ear.

Her heartbeat quickened and her hand started to sweat, but not because of the guards.

She followed closely as two guards walked right to the entrance of the Royal Gardens and posted up there.

"Shit," Lloyd cursed softly, his warm breath tickling Harumi's ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

Harumi wasn't sure if it was Lloyd's body heat, his body pressed against her, or his warm breath on her skin, that made something click in her brain.

"I have a plan," Harumi whispered, turning to look Lloyd in the eyes. "Just play along, ok?"

"Ok?" Lloyd's uncertain voice said, his brow rising.

"Let's circle back around and act like we're coming from the city. Let's act slightly drunk, laugh like you're trying to keep your voice down, but I just said the funniest thing ever," Harumi quickly instructed.

Lloyd blinked slowly. "What?" he chuckled.

"Just, follow my lead," Harumi rolled her eyes and started sneaking back the way they had come.

As she and Lloyd reached the other side of the house, she stood up and quickly peeked to see if the guards were still at their places.

And they were.

Lloyd stood up next to her. Harumi turned to look at him and gave him a determined nod, which Lloyd mimicked.

"Take my hand," Harumi then whispered, and offered Lloyd his hand.

Lloyd glanced down at her hand, and without a second thought, he grabbed it. His gloved hand wrapped around Harumi's, squeezing lightly. Harumi stepped closer to Lloyd and then stepped onto the road.

Harumi giggled loudly, pressing herself against Lloyd. She walked slightly wobbly, trying to look like she was using Lloyd as a crutch. For a second Lloyd looked confused, but quickly started to laugh as well, leaning against Harumi as well.

"You can't say that!" Harumi said in a teasing tone, nudging Lloyd with her shoulder.

"Halt! Who goes there!" One of the two guards shouted, both of them holding out their spears.

Harumi gasped dramatically, stopping in her tracks. Lloyd stopped as well, gasping more normally than Harumi.

"Oh my, I didn't know the garden was guarded!" Harumi gasped, taking a few steps forward.

"Are you... are you the king's guests?" The other guard asked with a confused tone, slightly lowering his weapon.

"Oh, yes we are! This is Harumi and I'm Lloyd," Harumi smiled and then laughed, face palming. "I mean, this is Lloyd and I'm Harumi!" she corrected herself with a smile, leaning against Lloyd.

"Did you sneak out of the castle?" The first of the guards asked, her weapon still pointed at them.

Harumi chuckled, trying to hide her fake grin with her hand. She looked up at Lloyd, and Lloyd looked down at her. He quickly mimicked the look on Harumi's face as they turned to face the guards again.

"Uhm... if I were to say yes, would we get in trouble?" Harumi asked, trying to bite her cheek to hide her smile.

"Depends on the reason," the same guard said, her tone serious.

"Well um, you see..." Harumi left Lloyd's side and walked closer to the guards. "I've been crushing on that guy for months, and I kinda... wanted to ask him to be my boyfriend tonight," Harumi smiled widely. "I thought I could do it in the palace gardens, I've heard they're absolutely beautiful. And I just want to remember this moment forever and ever, so I thought what's a more beautiful place than the fabled Shintarian gardens," she lied, the words easily slipping out from her mouth, because they were true...

The other guard, who already lowered his weapon, first eyed Harumi, then Lloyd, and then his partner. The guards looked at each other, the second guard nodding, after which the first guard finally lowered her weapon.

"Well..." the first guard cleared her throat. "I guess we all do crazy things for love..." she sighed.

"Was it your rope that hung out from the window?" the other guard asked, his tone not accusatory, more genuinely intrigued.

"Yes... And we are sorry if we caused any trouble for you, that was not my intention at all!" Harumi said sincerely.

The guards glanced at each other once more. The first guard sighed. "We're not supposed to let anyone in the gardens at this hour, but you are valued guests of the king..." she said.

"Just... be quick. And if anyone asks, we weren't the ones that let you in, okay?" the other guard said, Harumi could practically hear the smile he had on his face.

"Ah, thank you, thank you, thank you! You've just made this girl very happy, thank you so much!" Harumi waved her hands in excitement, then turned back to face Lloyd.

He seemed to quickly straighten himself, an anticipatory smile rising to his lips.

"Go get him," the other guard said, Harumi turning to face him. She gave him a determined nod and then turned back towards Lloyd.

"C'mon, let's go!" She waved her hand, as the guards opened the garden gate.

Lloyd's expression seemed to falter slightly, genuine surprise settling onto his features. He quickly walked towards Harumi and they stepped into the garden, hand in hand.

"That was amazing! What'd you say to them?" Lloyd questioned as soon as they were far enough from the gate.

Harumi debated for a moment, if she should tell him or not. But she couldn't resist the big smile on Lloyd's face. If he were a dog, he'd be wagging his tail right now...

"I just said that I wanted to confess my love to you in these gardens," Harumi smiled, only realising what she had said as Lloyd's smile seemed to drop. Harumi panicked, quickly letting go of Lloyd's hand. A heavy blush rushed to her cheeks as she realised how utterly creepy that must've all been.

God, she had made him feel uncomfortable, yet again!

"A-and they bought the act perfectly!" Harumi quickly added, putting all of her emphasis on the "act". Her heart felt like it could fly out of her chest, Lloyd's smile didn't return back to his face.

"Right, the act," he finally chuckled, a small smile returning to his face.

"I'm so sorry if that made you uncomfortable, I didn't mean that at all!" Harumi quickly apologised, as she could see that Lloyd's smile wasn't all genuine, as if he was trying to hide something.

"No, no, I wasn't uncomfortable at all!" Lloyd quickly said. "I'm just..." he quieted for a second. "I'm glad that your plan worked," he smiled then, a more genuine smile this time. "Now come on, we need to find Wu," he said determinedly.

"There you are! I was getting worried," Wu sighed as Harumi and Lloyd found them, in one of the garden sections.

They were the last to arrive, everyone else sitting or standing around.

"Sorry, there was a slight complication," Lloyd quickly explained as they walked to the rest of the team. "Now, what did you find, master?" Lloyd asked.

Harumi noticed an odd smile on Kai's lips, as he tried to hide it with his hand. She also noticed him glancing at Nya, who held a similar smile.

Before either of them could notice Harumi's gaze, Wu cleared his throat.

"Over here," he walked to the edge of the garden. They were in the innermost section of the garden, the castle wall ending the garden. Wu walked into the bush, the team following with questioning glances thrown around.

"There!" He then pointed.

As Harumi reached the end of the flower bed, there was a slight dip downwards. And right there, on the castle wall, was a hole. A hole that a human could fit through easily, next to it a bent grid on the floor.

"There's only one person who's strong enough to bend hardened metal..." Lloyd sighed.

"My thoughts exactly," Wu nodded. "I fear that Cole followed the creature's trail, in there..." he said, worriedly looking at the hole.

"Where the hell does that go?" Kai questioned.

Lloyd sighed: "Only one way to find out." He jumped down and walked closer to the hole, slightly bending down. "It's pitch black, but it does go somewhere. If Cole is in there, we need to go get him." He glanced up at the sky.

Harumi did the same, noticing that it had become brighter out, meaning that the sun was probably already rising. "We need to get back before anyone notices that we're gone," she commented, looking down at Lloyd.

"I will stay behind," Master Wu said, everyone's attention turning back to him.

"Master Wu, no, we need you, you need to co-" "This isn't about... my 'funk'... If you do not return soon enough, you need a decoy to distract the king and princess until you return. And if we are wrong, and Cole hasn't gone down there, I will be here to inform you," He quickly cut off Lloyd.

Lloyd seemed to swallow his words, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something more.

"Master Wu is correct, we need someone to stay behind. Since he has volunteered I suggest the rest of us need to get moving, as time is not in our favor," Zane said.

Harumi noticed Lloyd sigh, glancing at Master Wu once more, before saying: "Fine, you're right. Let's go."

"Be careful, we do not know what secrets lie at the end of that tunnel," Wu warned once more, before Harumi stepped into the darkness with the rest of the team.