Y/N's POV

"Are you feeling okay Y/N? You haven't even touched your food." Cole asks, frowning. I continue to push a piece of rice around on the purple plate. Purple, like Harumi's eyes. The eyes that could swallow my soul whole and laugh all the while. 

"Y/N? Are you okay?" I hear various forms of that sentence, which breaks the wandering of my mind. I take a sharp breath and look up. "Y-Yeah, I'm. . ." I didn't want to spill all your emotions out, but everyone knew what I was thinking about. 

"It's okay Y/N. We won't let Harumi hurt you." Kai tells me. 

"Yeah, she wouldn't dare lay a finger on you!" Jay nods fiercely. When he wasn't chickening out, Jay could be an overprotective "brother". 

"We're all mad at Harumi. She's done unforgivable things." Cole adds. 

"I don't believe that is what's upsetting Y/N." Zane scans me. "Her emotional distress levels are high as well as her heart rate. But she isn't afraid of Harumi. She is upset about having to watch and care for someone she hates and having to be reminded of past trauma." Pixal nods. "It is hard to see someone who caused so much damage in the same place as you."

Yes, I'd gotten used to Zane and Pixal being able to scan and figure me out, and honestly was glad that some people can understand me emotional silences. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. Jumping slightly, I hear a soft voice, brushed with sadness. 

"I understand, Y/N. We all hate her. She's. . . She's a monster." Lloyd is half trying to convince himself and half mad-sad. "She won't be here for long. Just until we get things worked out." Lloyd leaves, and it's silent for a moment. 

"If it's too much for you, I'm sure we can find--" I cut Misako off. 

"No. I'll--I'll be okay." I wasn't convinced, but I had to be. For Ninjago. For my family here at the Bounty. For Lloyd. 

"I guess I'll bring her something to eat." I add begrudgingly, picking up my plate. I still wasn't hungry. Well, there's always ice cream in the freezer if I need a snack later. Well, unless someone else gets to it first. Good thing I hadn't eaten, or there would have been no leftover food. That was because, of course, Zane had cooked tonight, and he was a very good cook. "I'll do the dishes first." Misako shakes her head. I feel confused. "It's my turn, right?"

"Well, yes, but no." Misako says. 

"The others will take your chores for the time Harumi is here with us." Master Wu rises from the table. There are protests, but they all end up nodding. Sensei has spoken. I grab the plate of food and take a deep breath. Time to see Harumi again. 

"Oh! Won't I need a key to unlock her chains?" I ask Misako, praying she wasn't going to tell me to spoon-feed the brat. 

"Ah yes, of course. How could I have forgotten?" She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small silver key. It was curled on one end, and the metal was as small as a paper clip. I thank her and begin walking down the hallway. I hear footsteps behind me, recognizing them as Jay's. I would be able to pick out the sound of his gait anywhere. 

"Y/N?" I glance at my cousin, the boy I grew up with when my parents died. He is like a brother. No, he is my brother. Like the ninja are. Well, some of them, I'd like to think of as a little more than brothers. . .

"I just wanted to. . ." Jay gets awkward and bad with pep talks. He's always so pessimistic in bad situations that he wouldn't make a good pep-talker anyways. He gives me a hug instead. I smile and, with one hand, the other holding the food, hug him back. Actions speak louder than words, anyways. 

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." Jay's electric blue eyes lock with mine. "I will always listen to whatever you need to talk about." 

"Hmmm, even if it's about how annoying you are?" I ask. He crosses his arms and frowns. "Well if you wanna be like that--when am I annoying anyways?" 

I laugh, and grin. "Most of the time." I bump him gently, signalling I really am teasing (mostly). My face turns more serious. "Thanks though. I hope you know what you're doing, though. . . This girl can rant." We laugh and bid each other goodbye. I stand on my tiptoes and slide back a piece of wood that reveals a tiny window. Harumi is sitting on the bed, knees to her chest. I close it softly and unlock the door. She doesn't turn to acknowledge my presence, and I lock the door behind me. "I brought you dinner."

Silence. 

"Zane cooked."

More silence.

"He's a really good cook." 

Still silence. 

I sigh and place the food on the bed. "Don't you want to eat it while it's warm?" She doesn't look at me, so I tap her shoulder slightly. Her head snaps over in my direction, teeth bared, like she'll bite me, and eyes narrowed to slits. I jump ever so slightly, which gives her satisfaction. 

I point to the food. "How about a thank you?" No response. She glares at me then looks at the loaded plate. The smell wafts over to me, and hunger begins gnawing at my stomach. Great, now I'm hungry. I think. "Did they not teach you manners in the palace?" I ask. 

"Don't speak of that place." She hisses, glowering at me. Now I'm on top. I realize I could use this to hurt her, the way she hurt me earlier. But Lloyd's words come back to me. "She's a monster." Did I want to be like that, too? What would hurting her do, anyways, if I could indeed hurt her the way she did me? It wouldn't reverse the damage done to Ninjago, or my family, or Lloyd. I still wanted to strike her, to watch her face contort with pain the way my heart twisted into knots of suffering, but I didn't. Because that wasn't how you made your enemy your friend. 

So I sit down in the chair again. I was going to ask her how she's doing, but clearly it's not very well.  It would be like asking a criminal if they were enjoying their stay in a small, cold cell where they were beaten by other prisoners or something. Not super great. 

"You know, we should really get to know each other better if I'm going to have to be watching you for who knows how long." I start. I push past my anger and hurt. "So, what's some, uh, fun facts about you?" I wince. I sound like an idiot, I think. She gives me a glance as if I had two heads. "Well, uh, lemme tell you about myself. My favorite color is F/C, I'm almost sixteen, and my favorite animal is F/A." I love animals. Who doesn't?

"Well isn't that nice." Harumi replies icily. "You know, if you think you can butter me up to make me spill everything, you're wrong. I don't care about you. I don't care about anyone." The words jabbed me, but I know I shouldn't care. It was coming from the Quiet One, for Heaven's sake! "Look at me. Do you really think I, of all people, will fall for your little games?" I actually take a minute to look at her. She looks thin, like she hasn't eaten for a while. I'm actually surprised she hasn't wolfed down the food set in front of her, but maybe that is because she doesn't want to look desperate. Her skin is pale, just like before, but as I study her face she looks near sickly and malnourished. Her purple eyes have lost their glow, as if she's forgotten what her purpose for living is. Her lips have thinned out and they're chapped, pale, and has a scab. Her normal ultra-blonde pure white hair is dirty and disheveled. The more I look at her poor appearance, the less of a threat she looks like, and more of an underfed, unwanted orphan girl. 

I shake myself from my thoughts. I can't pity her! She's evil. But the voice inside prods me. It tells me I know how it feels to be alone and unwanted. I push it away, but promise it I will hear it out later. Just not here. Not now. Not with her.

"They're not games." I say, but my voice is light and fragile sounding. "They're not games." I repeat louder, more confidently. She looks taken aback. "If I'm going to be watching you, I might as well get to know you better. I'm not here to hurt you. It's like Sensei said. . . You're a guest. I'll make sure that if anyone is out to get you, they won't succeed. You're safe here. It doesn't seem like it, but you are. No one will approach you harshly and no one will hurt you physically. We are your best option here. And I'm here to make sure that you are looked after properly." I stand up and nod to her food. I check my phone. "It's 9:14. I'll leave you be for tonight." I get up and walk out. Slowly, to hear if she has to say something in return. But she doesn't. So I walk out and let her be for the rest of the night. 

I know it's stupid to try and bond with her. I still hate her. I do. She's awful, and I know it. My blood boils when I think of all she's done, but it fades when I look at her present state. I shouldn't get so close with her, I shouldn't try to get personal. It's insidious, doing what I'm doing. Gradually approaching her like she's a lost little girl. It will cost me dearly if I trust her too quickly, or even at all. I had to proceed with great caution. I can only hope this is the right way to go about things. 

\/\/\/\/\/\

I creep back up in the middle of the night to check on Harumi. I slide back the wood to get a glimpse of her. The plate is licked clean and she is rolled over, asleep. 

I smile.

(1,758 words! I hope you like it so far! Sorry if it's slow or boring to you right now, but I like easing into things and being real with the current situation. No fluffies or sweet or really deep things yet. I'm hoping to give you roleplay and plot twists and conflict and more interesting things to read about soon! The art for this one isn't that great, I guess cuz this semi-realistic type stuff isn't really my gig :(. I have so many more ideas for fanfics and fictions in general, but I know I must be wise and wait for the right timing! If I start too many at once, I won't be able to keep up with all of them and I want my postings for new chapters to be somewhat consistent, not like I'll post one then it will be two or three weeks before I post another. I'll be posting almost every day though probably for now because this is a new story and I love new things and it's Summer so yeah. But I'm also working on a story I want published and my original music so I do have other time consuming fun activities to do, plus normal life stuff. All things considered, I might start a new fiction soon anyways. As I'm writing this, no one that I know of is reading this fanfic yet :(. PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR OPINIONS, FOLLOW YOU, AND FEEL YOUR SUPPORT! I hope people will come to find and love this fanfic though because I was really inspired to write this. No one really does Harumi fanfics besides Llorumi stories, maybe that's cuz no one wants to read about her so. . . If you are reading this, I would love to hear your thoughts and such. Bye for now my little flames, hoping to upload a new chapter soon. -Ash)