He was the perfect gentlemen in front of the others. Harumi could detect no limp to his catlike steps, nor a flash of pain behind his brilliant grey eyes. He spoke to her adoptive parents in a pleasant tone, his unmasked voice coming off as deep and smooth. She wondered if he was a singer.

     But the minute her parents were distracted with other things, her hand was snatched and she felt herself being dragged away.

     Harumi's mind screamed that she was going to be beaten, and her heart told her she was going to die.

     Cole locked the door behind them. Harumi squared her shoulders, fluttering her lashes to hold back fear. She'd die before ever knowing if Ro made it out of the dregs. She'd die right before she was forced to bond herself to a murderer forever. Harumi supposed that death came with a list of pros and cons. She would never truly be satisfied with a time to leave this world, because there was always something else to do.

     But instead of thrusting a knife into her back, Cole said, "So I'm supposed to marry the señorita who wants me dead."

     Harumi turned to look at him. He didn't pace around her like he had that one night on the rooftops. He just stood there, waiting, watching.

     "I suppose there is a benefit to it," Cole continued, unabashed by Ru's studying. "If I'm your husband, then I can keep an eternal eye on you to make sure you don't spill my identity."

     "I don't care about your identity," Harumi said, crossing her arms. "The only reason I cared before was—"

     "Because you had a deal with the Sons of Garmadon, a gang notorious for going back on deals," Cole finished for her, raising a bushy eyebrow. He wasn't as ruggedly handsome as Kai or as coolly beautiful as Nya, but he sure was up there.

     "They were going to ruin us if we didn't find you," Harumi said hotly, tired of waiting for death. "I had no choice."

     Cole just looked on, his grey stare unmoving.

     "Are you going to kill me or not?"

     "Funny," a new voice joined the conversation. "I for sure thought you'd be happy about this. Poor, little kidnapped Ru coming back to the wealthy light. Her kidnapper captured. Her wedding into the most powerful family in Ninjago scheduled. Her life back on its perfect track."

     Harumi froze, slowly swiveling to see four figures crouching next to the window. The one who had spoken was standing up, arms crossed, with her weight on one hip. Nya's eyes glinted dangerously. "But instead you wish for death."

     "Wait... what about my kidnapper?"

     "The boy who held you captive for a year—" Cole's grin was downright murderous, "—Morro Wiggins. He's been locked in Kryptarium for his crimes and is facing a firing squad tomorrow morning."

     "Morro's innocent!" Harumi screeched, her heart leaping into her throat. No, no, no, no, no—she had to get him out. There was still time. There had to be something she could do.

     And then Ru remembered she was in a room filled with Ninja.

     "Don't look at us," a light, male voice pitched. The auburn boy stood up and stepped into the light. Harumi winced upon seeing the bruises dotting his face, tightly wound bandages wrapped around his right hand, and the bright red lines peeking out from beneath his far-too-bright silver eyes. Jay Gordon-Walker. While the others didn't seem harmed at first glanced, Jay looked as if he'd been tortured for days. The Sons of Garmadon wasted no time on him. "You left us to die."

     "You left Lloyd to die—" Kai scorched from the shadows. Harumi had been trying to ignore the fact he was there.

     "We're not going to help you, Runita," Cole said quietly. "Your life being ruined is punishment enough. Besides, you'll have to deal with us all the time now since you're a threat."

     Harumi was at a loss for words... until she remembered something. She still knew the Ninja's identities. And that was leverage. Even a little leverage could be enough, but only if she was smart with it. Harumi fixed her face.

     "Yes," she drawled, "yes, you will help me. You'll rescue Ro from Kryptarium. Because you can't kill me. I'm not a threat to the mayor or his power. Heck, I'm marrying his son. Kill me and you'll expose yourselves as frauds to your narrative. And if you don't rescue Ro, I'll just happen to have too much wine at the wedding. Someone there will 'accidentally' learn who one of the Ninja are. News will spread, and there'll be too many people to kill without slaughtering half the city."

     Cole's visage didn't change, but Harumi caught Jay's freckled face paling in the corner of her vision. Then, Cole's eyes flicked to the one figure who hadn't spoken.

     "There is an 83% chance that plan would work," Zane Roberts said, his monotone voice muffled by his mask. Harumi noticed the Ninja were wearing looser suits, as if they didn't have backups ready for the ones they always used to wear. "But also a 42% chance we could get away with eliminating Harumi now. We would be required to blame ourselves."

     "Fine," Cole huffed, turning back to Harumi. "We'll rescue your friend."

     Harumi let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you thank you—"

     "On one condition."

     Harumi's shoulders slumped, only slightly. Of course there was a condition.

     "You're too dangerous to be left alive, Runita," said Cole, his grey eyes scathing. "If we rescue Morro, then the wedding's going to have a little accident and you're going to be murdered... for real. Or, Ronito will die to a firing squad tomorrow, and you'll live on as my heavily supervised wife."

     "Why does Ro's life need to be bargained with?" Harumi searched for loose ends—

     "Because sending in half of my injured squad to rescue him will result in precious time you could be spilling our secret. And I don't take dumb chances with witches."

     Harumi looked around the room, searching for sympathy that didn't exist. As far as the Ninja were concerned, Ro's life didn't matter. He was just another citizen of Ninjago City. It didn't matter if he lived or died. They didn't know the extent of his kindness; they didn't know how hard he'd worked to provide for both himself and Harumi.

     Even Kai was as unmoving as stone, his molten eyes burning through the darkness.

     "Save Ro," Harumi's voice was barely a whisper.

     Cole motioned to his squad. Zane, Jay, and Kai stood up. Wordlessly, and with utmost grace, they pulled masks over their heads and swung out of the window. The fabric of their suits didn't even make a noise when they moved out into the open air.

     Nya pulled her hood over her sharp face, extracting a small detonator from her suit.

     "You're going to blow me up." Harumi couldn't be more incredulous. Stabbing her would have been less messy than a bomb.

     "No, Runita," Cole hooked his arm through hers, flashing a catlike grin. "We're going to blow our wedding venue up. And both of us are going to die in the explosion."

     Harumi's heart dropped to her toes.

     These people were crazy.

     Why couldn't they just kill her now and get it over with?

      But the Ninja seemed to enjoy theatrics. Cole's arm was tight around Harumi's, and his cautious steps made him look like he was walking on air. A show, yes, the mayor and the Katsukis would need a show. Then, Harumi Katsuki would disappear forever.

     "This wedding is a threat the mayor's power," Cole said, his words sealing her doom, "and it's time to eliminate it."