"I totally failed those exams," Harumi grouched, slumping against the cream-colored doorframe as she dropped her musty backpack on the polished floor.

    "Ru!" Lloyd ran into the room, a blur of blonde and green. The seven-year-old eagerly crashed into her arms, immediately grabbing her hands and pulling her towards the yellow living room, where the staircase was. "You've gotta see the new game I made up with checkers."

     Harumi wiped her unwashed bangs out of her face, trying to smile as the vicarious boy dragged her away. Nya, one of Lloyd's guardians, grinned amusedly as they passed her.

     "Kai should be home around eleven," she said, not looking up from her book (Knife Throwing for Dummies?).

     Harumi weakly cheered as Lloyd continued to yank at her hoodie's sleeves. They walked up the pristine stairs, past the perfectly symmetrical pictures of smiling, colorful people, down a hall of closed doors. The blacksmith shop's living area was really nice compared to the rest of downtown Ninjago. Harumi had been to other college students' houses before, and a lot of them resembled her and Ro's apartment. Messy, dilapidated, and heavily overpriced. Harumi was pretty sure the landlord had something against all of his tenants. Kai's home, however, was well-kept and nice. It resembled an explosion of cotton candy colors. Harumi wondered if this was what most houses in the richer areas of the city looked like.

     Nya left soon after Lloyd sat Harumi down to play checkers. His 'new game' included trying to stack the checkers like dominoes on a blanket. Whoever could stand the most up before they all fell was the winner. Lloyd's ideas for entertainment were ridiculously boring, but Harumi needed money, so there they were.

     He loved telling stories. During dinner, during bedtime, during the times he was supposed to be asleep—Lloyd made up a hundred adventures to tell her. Often, he would be a Dark Lord and everyone would bow down to give him candy. In others, he would tell tales about the Ninja defeating the Serpentine. Lloyd adored the Ninja, even if he made them villains in his 'Dark Lord' stories.

     "I want to be a Ninja one day," he staunchly announced as Harumi was attempting to get him to brush his teeth.

     I don't care, Harumi thought, but she patted his head and said, "That sounds wonderful, Lloyd."

     He grinned, spilling toothpaste out of his mouth.

     In the end, it was one of his better days. When Lloyd decided a day wasn't a good one, he'd often be a brat to work with. He'd resist everything Harumi tried to get him to do. Once, he'd thrown a plate of spaghetti at her. It'd been two months and she still had those stains on her clothes. But today was a good day, and Lloyd decided to fall asleep beside Harumi on the couch after telling her about how he was going to one day own the world's largest lollipop.

     Harumi stared at his sleeping, rosy-cheeked face and frowned.

     She despised that kid.

     Her homework was troublesome. She couldn't for the life of her figure out how to convert Maclaurin series to summation notation, and the test over it was next week. Her eyes kept drooping during her flashcards for the War of the Oni; she almost drifted off to sleep studying the anatomy of a grindle.

     Keep awake, Ru, she reminded herself. Lloyd had left checker chips all over the house, so Harumi busied herself cleaning those up. Kai would be home soon. She could go back to Ro's apartment and steal whatever he'd brought home from the Noodle House. There was never a lot of food in Kai's fridge; normally there was so little that Harumi wondered if he and Nya even ate here. With Lloyd at school during the day and eating from a cabinet of ramen at night, there wasn't a need for other food in the house unless Kai and Nya ate something. However, the blacksmith shop was closed ninety-precent of the time, and the two were constantly out on 'errands' or whatever. If Harumi was nosier, she would have looked into it. But Harumi could care less what the Mayason siblings did with their lives. At the end of the day, her goal was to put up with the brat, earn enough money to satiate her debtors, and go to school. The sooner she graduated out of this dumpy part of town the better.

     She certainly wouldn't miss loud, little Lloyd and his fascination with those pesky Ninja.

     The Ninja killed her parents.

     Why should she even try to sympathize with his love for them?

     The doorknob rustled, knocking Harumi out of her thoughts, before Kai Mayason himself walked in. His spiky hair was wet, and his face was warm with exertion. He was dressed casually, adorned with a red overshirt and black sweatpants. He yanked off his sneakers, hanging up his motorbike's keys on the key rack by the door like this was a normal, everyday routine. It was, Harumi supposed, but for some reason, every time Kai Mayason walked through his front door she expected something marvelous to happen. She didn't know why. It was just a feeling in the back of her brain, like a sixth sense that signaled danger.

     "Good evening, Ru," Kai greeted cheerfully upon seeing her, scooping up the comatose Lloyd into his arms gracefully. There was an ease Kai had with Lloyd that Harumi didn't, like they were somehow brothers yet also a father and son. Lloyd fit perfectly into the crook of Kai's arms, and nothing the two said or did could make enemies with the other. Harumi could live a lifetime and never understand the bond they had.

     "Good evening." Harumi did her best to smile prettily, though that was kind of hard due to her unwashed hair, lack of makeup, and generally wrinkled appearance.

     "Kai! Kai! Ru and I played checkers. She's sooo good at it! Can she come over tomorrow—"

     Harumi zipped up her backpack loudly, drowning out Lloyd's sleepy voice from the stairway as Kai carried him up to Lloyd's room. Lloyd adored Harumi, yes, that was the reason she had this job. She didn't need to hear the reasons why.

     Kai came down a moment later, holding a wad of bills. Harumi tucked them into her pocket, not caring to study the amount. She just needed money. It looked like enough, so why should she care if she got a raise or deduction? Kai Mayason wasn't the type of person to cheat people out of wages.

     "Can I walk you home?" he asked when she reached for the door handle.

     Harumi looked back, inquisitive.

     "There've been more reports of gangs on this side of town," Kai hurriedly explained, his cheeks flushing again. "Just wanted to make sure you're safe."

     "I live literally a block away."

     "Still."

     "Okay," Harumi sighed, slinging the backpack over her shoulder and gesturing out the door. "Fine, let's make sure I'm tip-top super safe."

     "Your lack of concern towards your safety is a bit troubling," Kai teased as he glided out the door. His steps were never clunky or awkward. He seemed like he was a ballerina in a past life. He stepped into the damp street, raising a bronze hand to catch the few droplets of water that were struggling to find their way off the crooked roofs of the nearby houses.

     "If I were smarter about safety, I wouldn't live on this side of town."

     He grinned at the comment. The docks were dimly lit by streetlights that didn't want to work properly. Half of them were out, and the other half were flickering, reaching for the last bit of electricity they could muster. The smell of nauseating trash-water was in the air, and the path ahead was slick with slimy seaweed coughed up from the area's several fishing adventures. It sure wasn't a pleasant place to live.

     Harumi spent the time counting down the houses until her and Ro's.

     Seven, six, five—

     "Why do you live on this side of town, Ru? Normally people don't come here unless they're dirt poor or they need to hide," Kai mused, studying her with those intense eyes of his. Harumi made it a point to not make eye contact with him. She was afraid if she looked into his eyes, he'd see straight through the walls she put up to hide herself. Because unlike Ru, Kai loved to be inquisitive.

      Harumi laughed, half from amusement and half out of habit. "Who's to say it can't be both? I mean, I babysit for a living. I think the real question of the hour is why you live here."

      He made some vague remark she didn't listen to; she was too busy counting down the houses. Three more houses until she was out of this oaf's presence. Two more houses—

     "How do you think you did on your exams today?"

     He never failed.

     This guy had to take lessons in boring small talk.

     Besides—

     "How did you know I had exams today?"

      Kai stiffened slightly, as if being caught in the act, but the charm was back in an instant. "I have a friend who goes to DNU; his name is Zane. He's a graduate student studying to go into cancer research—anyways, he said today was a popular day for students to take tests."

      Last house!

      "Good excuse," Harumi commented, fumbling for her keys as fast as possible. "At least I know I'm not being stalked."

      "You're much more pleasant when Lloyd's around," Kai said, watching her. His stare was fire, burning through her twitching fingers and sweaty grip.

     Ro opened the door first, his stoic face turning from Harumi to Kai with a sour frown.

     "You didn't tell me you'd be bringing a boy home, Ru," he said at the same time Kai asked, "Who's this?"

     "I'm not," Harumi promised Ro before rounding on Kai and saying, "he's my... my brother. I don't talk about him because he's not very interesting."

     Ro's glare burned into the back of her head, but Harumi gently shooed the Mayason boy away.

     "You two don't look related," Kai's voice was a hushed whisper.

     "Different mothers," Harumi shot back before practically scurrying to the front door. "Same time tomorrow?"

     "Sounds good!" Kai winked, taking his cue and gliding back to his house.

     Harumi slammed her front door, slumping against the doorframe as she dropped her backpack on the dusty floor. Ro watched with narrowed eyes. Wordlessly, he offered her a small takeout box of noodles.

     "Ah yes, I'm your brother," he said.

     "He lives with his sister, so it shouldn't be weird," Harumi scrambled between mouthfuls. Ro's face was stoic again, pondering. He still had his Noodle House uniform on, and a spare angel hair was lodged unnoticed over his shoulder. Ro looked at Harumi, patting her shoulder twice before retreating to his room. His eyes were wet, wistful.

     Ru smiled gratefully, allowing the few seconds of solitude to calm her.

     Then, she pulled out her homework from her backpack.

     The night wasn't over, and she still had school to do.