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"I imagine we all have homes and villages to get back to" 
~ Neuro

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"Who is the boy?"

Adam paused for a moment, wondering if he'd imagined the quiet voice while he cleaned up Harumi's meal tray. He turned to look at her. Sure enough, she was staring back expectantly.

"What boy?" Adam asked patiently, setting the tray aside. The girl shifted in her bed, wincing when she moved her head too much. Before she could even open her mouth Adam retrieved the cooling pack from the table and pressed it against her head.

The girl sighed with relief, her pale face regaining some of its colour, before she continued. "The boy who's always here." She said like it was obvious. "He was here when I woke up and he's always standing outside the door."

Adam tried to hide his grimace. So she had noticed. Lloyd had stayed out of the room but the green ninja was rarely able to leave the hospital for long. He tended to sit in the creaky chair just outside, enduring backaches and the guard's judgemental stare.

"He... uh-" Adam glanced over at the officer on duty inside of the room. They were conveniently looking away. "He's here to help you."

Harumi watched him carefully. Her gaze was never cruel like it had been in the news during Garmadon's rule. But it was still calculating. It made his hand stand up in the back of his neck in the most uncomfortable way.

"Help me with what? He's not a doctor." Harumi huffed. "I'm not stupid."

"Well, I mentioned to you before that your condition is rather... complicated. The young man, while not an expert on the subject, has a lot of knowledge and connections that can help us figure out what's happened to you." Adam tried to explain. He tried to keep it vague without her noticing but judging by her narrower gaze it didn't particularly work.

"Will he..." Harumi hesitated a moment. "Will he ever come back inside? Or is he too nervous to? Like everyone else."

"Everyone is not - uh- nervous." Adam stuttered.

She gave him an unimpressed look. It was a lot of attitude for a girl who'd previously only showed enough emotion to let Adam know of her discomfort. "There are guards around. Everyone seems on edge when they talk to me. No one stays long enough to tell me anything." Her soft voice bled into a harsher tone of frustration.

Adam pressed his lips together. It was a complicated situation. Now, Harumi was simply a young woman who had no idea who or where she was. But they couldn't risk triggering back her memories so suddenly and they still didn't know who brought her back and what they were capable of. When it came to Harumi, everything was more or less on hold until the ninja, doctors, and police figured out what they should do. The doctors would do physical and mental tests to check her medical and memory condition. Officer Morton did some light probing on what she might have remembered but did not go very far, It was a strange lull while everyone frantically tried to find answers, and while everything was relatively "calm" there was tension in the air. Harumi had picked up on it.

"I know it's been difficult," Adam said at last. "But it will take some time while the doctors figure some things out. The extent of your memory loss is quite startling, as was the condition you were found in. Everyone is just.. a little on edge. I wish I could give you more answers but for now, we need to be cautious. All I can do is try to make it comfortable for you until we're able to move forward." Even as he said the words they felt flimsy and useless. Adam wasn't able to promise her anything and while he was professional, he too was most likely tense and a bit nervous around Harumi. She may be a young girl but he knew what she'd been capable of and the oddness of the situation was hard to mask.

Harumi sagged, as he expected, disappointed by his answer. She looked down at her hands and Adam moved to get up, ready to leave the room and give her space. Just as he was gathering his things she spoke again.

"Is he scared of me?" He didn't need to ask to know who she was talking about. When he turned to look at the patient her eyes were wide and expression contemplative, sad. She was stock still. No ticks, no nerves, no stims. She just watched him, waiting.

Adam heaved a deep breath, hesitating on how to answer. He thought about how anxious Lloyd was when he first came, fingers shaking as he walked through the hospital. He thought about how determined he was as the green ninja, talking strongly and firmly with the officers. He thought about how heartbroken the young man was, staring in horror when Harumi didn't recognize him.

"He's wary of you," Adam told her honestly. "But you'll find that emotions can be very complicated. Joy, anger, sadness? They are all interwoven with each other. So what appears to be fear can very well be a mix of other things."

Harumi blinked and leaned back into her pillow, brow furrowed as she thought. It was like she had taken his words and pulled them inside of her, rolling them around and around she thought and thought.

Adam couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry about him for now. I imagine you will be able to talk with him yourself soon."

Harumi nodded slowly, face mellow once more, the activity seeming to wear her out. Adam quickly excused himself as she settled down on her bed, and he left the room. Unsurprisingly, as soon as he stepped out he saw Lloyd sitting on the chair nearby. This time he had the lightening ninja with him. Lloyd seemed to be working furiously away at some paperwork but Jay seemed to be working furiously as distracting him. The older boy would poke and prod him, asking him various questions and pestering him however he could. They looked up when Adam exited and Lloyd raised a hand in a wave.

"Hey, Adam."

"Hello, Green Ninja." Adam dipped his head respectfully. "You're a little later today than usual. Not that that's a problem!"

The blonde flushed, which was all the more apparent thanks to the stress and lack of sleep making his complexion look waxy and pale. "I had to do some media damage control this morning."

"Which is why he should be taking a break and doing something fun! Right nurse?" Jay piped up, plucking the pencil from Lloyd's fingers.

Lloyd's eyes flicked towards him with an exasperated glare. "Jay, I need to get this done before we leave."

"You're going?" Adam was surprised. Lloyd usually stuck around for longer than this, until one of his teammates forced him to go back to the monastery.

Lloyd nodded. "We might have something that can help," Adam noted that he didn't specify what that was. It was fair, considering he didn't know Adam that well.

"Alright," Adam replied easily. "Be safe out there."

Jay grimaced. "We're not so great at that."

*****

The clink of dishes, the scrape of chairs, and the sounds of laughter were in the air as a family made their way through their simple summer afternoon. The dining table was crowded with everyday items and lunch plates, all shoved aside to make room for a large crossword puzzle that had appeared in the newspaper. A young teenage girl was leant over it, chewing furiously on the back of her pen as she scanned the next prompt. Her mother, a woman in her forties, was helping her out, offering her thoughts and exchanging ideas while supervising the rowdiest game of chess there was.

Two young boys, one around seven and the other ten were cackling as they moved their pieces across the board. The ten-year-old was clearly winning, his queen and knight positioned in the perfect place to pin the king on the next move, but the younger was none the wiser. He continued to push his bishop along without care.

Stationed at the sink, washing away their previous meal, was a tall man watching it all. He smiled warmly as he took in his family, not noticing how the water splashed up onto his shirt as he enjoyed the sounds of chatter that filled the kitchen. As if she felt his gaze, his partner looked up, grinning when she caught him looking.

You're such a sap, she thought fondly.

You like it, He shot back.

A loud series of knocks on the door interrupted them, causing the family to pause. The adults exchanged wary glances, knowing they hadn't been expecting visitors. The oldest child sensed the unease in the room and stood, gesturing for her siblings to come closer to her. There was another knock again and the parents both moved towards the door, the mother motioning for the kids to slip towards the fire escape as the man approached the door.

He paused it and didn't reach for the handle. Instead, he raised his hands to his temples and closed his eyes. The world seemed to expand for him, like plunging into another realm. Something almost like sounds wafted through the space, echoing and bouncing around. His brows furrowed as he concentrated reaching through the slower, thicker environment for something. Then quickly, there it was. It was fainter- much fainter than usual. But nonetheless there. He locked onto it, and dove deeper in. To his surprise, instead of a cold trickle up his spine like he'd been expecting, he was greeted by something warm, inviting. There was a light that seemed to flicker in this new space. Shining and brilliant and ... green.

He gasped, eyes flying open, and he threw open the door.

"Hi Neuro," A certain blonde boy greeted him. "We're sorry that we came unannounced."

The man instantly relaxed, chuckling softly as he took in the familiar crowd of ninjas at his door. "Don't worry about it. You're always welcome here."

"Neuro?" He glanced back to see his family looking at him expectantly. They were still wary but seeing that he recognized the people at the door they were visibly much less tense than before.

"Don't worry," Neuro assured. "It's just the ninja." He turned back towards them and pulled the door wider, stepping back and waving them inside. They all somewhat awkwardly stepped into the small entrance, the six of them squeezing inside the already tight space uncomfortably,

Neuro moved past them back into the living space. "We just had lunch but if you're hungry I can still whip something up for you all."

"No, that's alright," Lloyd said quickly. "But thank you."

The earth ninja shot him a look. "Well, let's at least see what he's offering!"

The man shook his head, amused, and moved into the small kitchen space, grabbing a few muffins from the container that sat beside the fridge. "How did you know to find me here?" He asked curiously, coming back to present the plate to Cole, who excitedly grabbed three and then put two back when Nya slapped him on the knuckles.

"We contacted Skylor and she directed us here," a modulated voice answered. The boy's jaws dropped as they stared at the nindroid before them, who was simply standing pleasantly in their entryway.

Neuro hummed but he didn't seem bothered by this. "Then you just not have met my family before, have you?"

Lloyd startled, as if he'd only just noticed the four other people in the room. "No, uh, we haven't. I'm so sorry that we interrupted you." He directed this to both Neuro and the rest of his family, doing a quick bow to his partner.

Her lips twitched as she exchanged amused glances with Neuro. "It's no bother. When the green ninja comes calling I think that's a fair interruption." She came forward with a hand outstretched towards the young boy. "My name is Michiko, it's very nice to finally meet you."

Lloyd shook it gratefully and the rest of the team excitedly lined up for one as well. She laughed and took all of their hands, giving each a firm grasp. She had a firm grip for a woman who was on the shorter side, but she had warm brown eyes and a kind smile.

"She's a professor at Ninjago City University," Neuro told them proudly. "One of the best."

"He exaggerates," Michiko huffed with a smile. "It's my students that are the talented ones."

"What do you study?" Zane asked, curiously.

"I'm a psychologist," She answered. "Currently, me and my team are looking at the effects of environment and outside factors on the brain's functions."

The nindroid's eyes widened, interest piqued. "That is quite fascinating! Perhaps another time we can talk more about your work!"

She laughed. "That would be lovely."

"And who are these cute kiddos?" Jay piped up, bored by the conversation and intrigued by the children.

The teen girl rolled her eyes. Like Neuro, she had white and black hair, but most of her colour was white and the black showed underneath, creating what looked like a cloak of darkness at her nape. Her hair was cut into a choppy bob, wispy and stopping close to her chin, and she had her mother's sharp eyes, dark and clever. Her brothers seemed to take more heavily after Michiko, with dark brown hair, a little bit curly. The youngest was a bit rounder, with a softer face and a stockier body, while the older brother was slightly more lean and wiry like Neuro. The younger one smiled widely at the ninja, positively elated to see them, while the middle child tucked in closer to his sister, nervous.

"This is Athena, our oldest," Neuro said with a touch of pride, reaching to ruffle her hair. She grunted, pulling away with a scowl. "And the other two, Cato- our middle child, and Mika the littlest."

Mika tipped his nose up. "I'm not little! I'm seven and a half!"

"That's pretty old, little dude." Jay said, nodding seriously."

Cato squinted at them. "You don't look like a ninja."

Kai scoffed and crossed his arms, trying to look tougher. "What are you talking about, kid? We couldn't be more ninja."

"Only one of you is wearing black." He pointed out.

"And he barely has any sleeves," Athena added with a snort.

"It's not my fault most sleeves are too tight!" Cole protested. "It is very hard to find shirts that accommodate my lava arm!"

"We're elemental ninja," Jay said proudly. "That's why we have the different colours."

Cato still looked confused. "So you don't ever sneak around?"

"We do!" Jay replied immediately. He winced. "Well... Sometimes."

"But can't bad guys see you super easy in blue?"

"And you're identified right away," Athena added.

Kai laughed. "Puh-lease. They'll figure it out anyways once they get hit by my awesome fi-yah!"

Athena raised a disbelieving eyebrow and that was enough to rile up the rest of the team into joining the debate. While they were distracted, Neuro pulled aside Lloyd, and Nya, who was uninterested in the argument, joined as well. They stepped into the hallway that led to the bedrooms, leaning against the walls- careful to avoid the many picture frames hanging.

Lloyd smiled at a group shot of them all on the beach. Neuro had been buried to his chin in the sand, Michi was reading in the background, a hand to her head to keep her hat from blowing away while the kids were working to make an intricate sandcastle around their father. "You have a lovely family, Neuro." He said softly.

"I'm very lucky." The man agreed, propping his shoulder against the doorframe. "But I'm sure you're not here to see the kids." He gave them a knowing look.

Lloyd grimaced. "Unfortunately not."

"None of this is public yet," Nya warned. "So confidentiality is very important."

Neuro nodded. "I understand. Though, I will say that honesty is an integral part of my relationship with Michi. I don't plan on stopping, even now."

"If you trust her, then I do too," Lloyd told him. Nya looked skeptical but she didn't protest. The green ninja glanced around carefully, rubbing his sweaty hands on his pant legs before he finally blurted out, quick but soft, "Harumi was recently found- alive."

"The Quiet One?" Neuro blinked in surprise. Out of all of the things he thought Lloyd would say this was not one of them. "I can see why you want this kept private then."

"Yes," Lloyd ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "She was found in a small abandoned building. We don't really know much about who had been caring for you. But she's alive and lucid now."

Neuro tilted his head. "I'm assuming this is where I come in."

"She seems to have a very severe case of amnesia," Nya explained. "She didn't even recognize Lloyd upon waking up."

The man's brows furrowed. "That is curious. And you're certain she isn't lying?"

"She would've had to be very quick in coming up with a lie."

"This is The Quiet One we're talking about." Neuro pointed out.

Lloyd sighed. "Fair enough. But she was very alarmed and disoriented. The doctors seem to think she's genuine as well."

"But she can't remember anything really," Nya added. "She has basic skills and knowledge of the word but not who she is- her name, family, Garmadon- anything!

Neuro hummed. "That is more unusual. Amnesiacs typically have some memories at least. Usually, only years or days have been forgotten."

"Which is why I, at least, am still a bit suspicious." Nya avoided Lloyd's surprised glance. "I don't want to take any chances."

"So you'd like for me to take a dive into her mind, correct?" Neuro clarified, looking between the two.

Lloyd shifted into a stand. "I know it's a lot to ask, especially with having a family, but... like Nya said, we can't take any chances."

"And if she is being truthful you may be able to help us get more information on her condition." Nya agreed.

Neuro thought for a moment and did not answer right away, his face contemplative. In the past, he'd gotten involved without a second thought. He'd joined the tournament of elements and participated in quite a few battles, but with the kids getting older and Athena... Neuro shook his head. He had to be more cautious. It wasn't just about him anymore. He'd finally seen what it was like to live a somewhat normal life. It was warm and lovely, and for some perhaps boring, but it was perfect for him. And there was also Michi to consider. He never wanted to keep her separate from his life. When they got together and especially when they started a family, Neuro had been tempted to keep things closer to his chest but Michiko wouldn't have it.

"This is what being in a relationship is." She insisted. "We trust and rely on each other. You're just as a part of my life as I am of yours. We're independent people, yes, but I'm not going to sit back, oblivious and ignorant. I need to know the whole you if we are to be together. Otherwise, how can we call this love?"

So, Neuro told her everything. He confessed about his powers, would vent and talk about how he'd struggled with them when they manifested. Mind reading was painful at times and it could be invasive. When he had been unable to control it, Neuro had been able to hear everything and people's honest thoughts could be hurtful. It was a complicated issue of ethics as well. Neuro still had trouble deciding on what was "good" or "bad" to do. There were times, especially when he was young when he took things too far. He would read everyone's mind, cheat for some things, or sometimes use it for kindness. There were also concerns about how much control he had over people. Neuro usually stuck with offering suggestions to people rather than fully controlling them but it was an ability that he had and it could be quite frightening. And those who found out about this ability often looked at him differently, usually with fear. But Michi never did that. She was cautious, sure, and plenty of times she would call him out, but she was always very understanding and would try to offer her own advice whenever he needed it. Even when she did not fully know what he was going through.

But even with Michiko being so involved, Neuro was hesitant to push her into more. It was completely different for her to know and help him with his powers versus being a part of the more political, more violent part of being an elemental master- being someone who occasionally got involved with the ninja. She had supported him in being a part of the resistance- hell, she was one of the biggest civilians part of the resistance. She saved and hid books before they could be confiscated by the Sons of Garmadon and assisted in getting many out of the main city. Even so, it had been a terrifying time. Neuro hated that his family were being affected and tied into magic, politics, and villains. Michi had her own baggage to carry. Things that she had shared with Neuro with trust and care, knowing that he would never try to hurt her or take advantage of being the one person to know her. All of her. It would be too easy to get too into the ninja work- to slip up with Harumi- and his beautiful life, amazing family- all of it would come crumbling down.

But as Neuro looked back into the living room, to where Jay, Kai, and Cole were bickering with her ten-year-old, while Mika was staring in awe at Zane, babbling with question after question that Zane indulged, and Athena, though she pretended to be uninterested, listened in and pitched in her own thoughts, with Michi watching over carefully. Neuro knew that no matter what, his family was now a part of this. This messy, awful, beautiful reality that he was in. He couldn't back out now. And if he wanted a life of peace for his family, the best way he could do that was to help the ninja.

He turned back to Nya and Lloyd, raising his head to meet the young boy's brilliant green eyes. "I'll do it."

Lloyd's shoulders slumped, relief pooling out of him. "Thank you."

And it was at that moment that there was a small rumble, a foreign presence tingling in the back of Neuro's mind before the world erupted in crashes, rubble, and fire. All hell broke loose.

NOTE*****

I'm sorry! I know you guys want Llorumi moments! This is the slowest of burns. A simple simmer if you will. A few sparks. But I was so inspired by Neuro and suddenly I was making him a family and giving him lore- 😂 I dunno! I had been so stuck on this chapter (which is why it took so long 😬) but everything just clicked into place!

This chapter was also decently long for me. I'm trying to get farther than 2000 words now and I'm setting up more ✨drama ✨ so y'all can't be too mad at me! 😂

I hope you enjoyed! It's been quite hard to write with school and health issues and life ugh! So I'm glad I was finally able to work on this.

Have a lovely night or day!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞