Chapter Text
The morning sun had barely crested the mountains, painting the training courtyard in crisp shades of gold and amber. The air was freezing, each breath escaping in small, white plumes of mist.
Clack!
The sharp sound of wooden training swords colliding echoed off the monastery walls. Harumi executed a flawless, predatory strike, her movements blindingly fast as she drove Lloyd backward toward the edge of the arena.
"Your guard is lazy this morning, Green Ninja," Harumi teased, a sharp, confident smirk playing on her lips. She lunged again, the wooden blade whistling through the air.
"Are you distracted?"
"I am not distracted!" Lloyd protested, his voice straining as he barely brought his sword up to parry her blow.
The truth was, he was completely losing his mind.
Harumi had her hair tied back in a high ponytail, her cheeks flushed pink from the exertion, and she was moving with a lethal, fluid grace that made it impossible for Lloyd to focus on the actual combat strategy.
His eyes kept darting to her lips, and his elemental green eyes were soft, bright, and utterly unfocused.
Harumi caught him looking. "Oh, you are so distracted," she laughed. With a rapid, fluid twist of her wrists, she locked her wooden blade against his, twisted the hilt, and yanked.
Lloyd’s sword went flying, clattering loudly across the stone tiles. Before he could even blink, Harumi stepped deep into his guard, sweeping her leg behind his ankle.
Lloyd tripped, tumbling backward onto the soft training mat. Harumi followed him down, landing gracefully over his lap, the tip of her wooden sword resting gently right against his throat.
"Match point," Harumi whispered, her chest heaving as she smiled down at him triumphantly. "You're dead. Again."
Lloyd lay flat on his back, his hands resting flat against the mat, completely at her mercy.
He looked up at her, his face instantly exploding into a deep, brilliant crimson that traveled all the way to his ears.
"You cheated," Lloyd mumbled, his voice a breathless, flustered squeak.
"I didn't cheat, you just stopped fighting," Harumi countered, her voice dropping into a softer, lower register as she tossed her wooden sword aside. She leaned down closer, her silver hair brushing against his forehead.
"You were staring at me."
"Can you blame me?" Lloyd muttered, the words slipping out before his brain could stop them.
Harumi’s smirk melted into something deeply genuine, her eyes softening as she looked at him. "No," she whispered. "I suppose I can't."
She reached down, her small fingers tangling into his messy blonde hair, and closed the remaining distance between them.
When her lips met his, the freezing morning air instantly evaporated. The kiss started soft, a sweet acknowledgment of the quiet morning, but as Lloyd’s hands moved up to grip her waist, pulling her flush against his chest, the dynamic violently shifted.
The lingering tension of their dark past, the relief of their survival, and the raw intensity of their feelings crashed together.The kiss grew deeply heated, heavy and urgent.
Harumi let out a soft, breathless gasp against his mouth, her fingers shifting from his hair to grip the collar of his green gi, pulling him impossibly closer.
Lloyd rolled them over with a sudden surge of strength, pinning her beneath him on the mat. He kissed her deeply, his lips tracing a path from her mouth down to the sensitive skin of her jawline, making her shiver as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Ahem.”
A loud, exaggerated, and entirely unsympathetic cough shattered the silence of the courtyard.
The couple violently bolted apart.
Lloyd scrambled backward so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet, landing in a tangled, undignified heap on the edge of the mat.
Harumi sat up slowly, her ponytail messy, her lips slightly swollen, and an expression of pure, unadulterated annoyance stamped across her face.
Standing at the edge of the courtyard, holding a clipboard and a whistle, was Nya.
"As fascinating as this elemental study of human anatomy is," Nya said, her voice dripping with deadpan sarcasm as she tapped her foot, "the courtyard is reserved for Master Wu’s meditation class in exactly five minutes."
Lloyd was a walking catastrophe of embarrassment. His face was a dark, bruised burgundy, his breathing ragged, and he was desperately pulling at the collar of his gi as if he could hide his entire head inside it.
"Nya! We—we were just—the training session—she was teaching me a move!"
"Right. A move," Nya sighed, rolling her eyes but unable to hide the small, amused smirk tugging at her lips. "Seemed highly effective, Lloyd. Your face looks like it’s about to combust. Go get some water."
Harumi slowly stood up, brushing the dust off her gray training trousers. She crossed her arms, glaring at Nya with a pout that was a mix of irritation and lingering heat.
"Your timing is atrocious, Nya. Truly. We were right in the middle of a very critical instruction."
"Save it for your private quarters, Princess," Nya laughed, turning on her heel to walk back inside the monastery. "And Lloyd? Fix your hair. You look like you got caught in a lightning storm."
The moment Nya vanished down the corridor, Lloyd buried his face completely in both of his hands, letting out a long, agonizing groan of pure flustered defeat.
Harumi walked over to him, picking up his discarded wooden sword and tossing it to him. She leaned down, a wicked, playful glint returning to her eyes as she noticed his ears were still bright red.
"Don't look so miserable, Green Ninja," she whispered, her voice a low, teasing purr that made his stomach flip. "We can always continue the... instruction... later tonight."
Lloyd looked up through his fingers, his eyes wide and completely captivated as she turned and sauntered back toward the monastery, leaving him utterly breathless on the cold stone floor.
Lloyd waited until the sound of Harumi’s footsteps completely faded before he finally dropped his hands from his face. His cheeks still felt hot enough to melt the polar ice caps. He grabbed his training sword, checked the hallway three times to ensure the coast was clear, and bolted toward the kitchen.He needed ice water.
Immediately.
He burst through the kitchen doors, practically diving for the refrigerator. He grabbed a pitcher of water, filled a glass to the brim, and chugged it in three massive gulps.
"Well, look who finally decided to join the living," a voice drawled from the kitchen island.Lloyd nearly choked on his fourth gulp, coughing violently as he spun around.
Kai was sitting cross-legged on a stool, casually tossing an apple in the air. Next to him, Jay was nursing a mug of coffee, looking far too awake for this hour.
"Hey, guys," Lloyd squeaked, his voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat, trying to lower his pitch. "Good morning."
Kai caught the apple and set it down, leaning forward with a massive, predatory grin. "Hey, Jay. What color would you say the Green Ninja's face is right now?"Jay squinted dramatically, leaning in to inspect Lloyd.
"Hmm. It’s passed 'cherry.' It’s definitely deeper than 'tomato.' I’d say we have officially reached Maximum Crimson."
"Maximum Crimson!" Kai laughed, slapping the counter. "A new personal record! Nya texted the group chat. She said she had to deploy a fire extinguisher to save you from spontaneous combustion."
"Nya promised she wouldn't say anything!" Lloyd groaned, burying his face in his hands again.
"Oh, come on, Lloyd," Jay teased, giggling. "We all know Harumi eats you alive during training. She flirts, and you completely short-circuit. It’s a flawless tactical strategy."
"I don't short-circuit!" Lloyd protested, though his ears were turning a deep shade of pink that perfectly disproved his point.
"It’s just... she’s very intense. And she doesn't get flustered at all! How does she do that? It's not fair.""Because she’s a former villainous mastermind, buddy," Kai said, hopping off the stool and patting Lloyd’s shoulder.
"She spent years practicing her poker face. You, on the other hand, wear your heart on your sleeve. You're a softie. A cuddly, innocent golden retriever ninja."
"I am a lethal master of Spinjitzu," Lloyd muttered, though he didn't push Kai's hand away.Right on cue, the kitchen doors swung open.
Harumi walked in, completely unbothered. Her hair was still tied back, her posture perfectly relaxed, and she carried an aura of absolute, cool confidence. She didn't have a single hint of color on her cheeks.Jay and Kai instantly went quiet, exchange a nervous look. For all their teasing of Lloyd, they still harbzed a healthy amount of respect (and slight fear) for Harumi’s sharp tongue.
"Good morning," Harumi said smoothly, walking right past the two fire and lightning masters.
She stopped right in front of Lloyd. She didn't look around to see if Kai and Jay were watching. Instead, she stepped right into Lloyd's personal space, reached up, and gently smoothed down the messy tufts of his blonde hair that Nya had mocked earlier.
Lloyd froze, his breath hitching as Maximum Crimson threatened to turn into an entirely new shade of purple. He instinctively leaned into her touch, his hands hovering awkwardly near her waist, wanting to pull her into a hug but too shy to do it in front of his brothers.
Harumi noticed, her lips twitching into a soft, private smile. She leaned up on her tiptoes, pressing a cool, lingering kiss directly to his burning cheek."Don't let them bully you," she whispered against his skin, her voice a low, soothing balm.
"I happen to like the red."She pulled back, grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl, and gave Kai and Jay a singular, icy look that effectively promised a very painful training session later if they said another word. Then, she turned and sauntered out of the kitchen.The silence in the kitchen was absolute for three full seconds."Okay," Jay whispered, wide-eyed. "She is terrifyingly cool."
Kai looked at Lloyd, who was now staring at the doorway with a dazed, completely captivated smile, utterly lost in his own world."Yeah," Kai sighed, shaking his head with a fond chuckle. "He's completely goner."
The monastery was entirely silent by midnight. The cold mountain wind howled softly against the windowpanes, but inside Lloyd’s quarters, the small hearth kept the room wrapped in a cozy, flickering warmth.
Lloyd sat on the edge of his bed, wearing a soft, oversized green hoodie instead of his standard stiff gi.
He was trying to read a scroll on ancient elemental history, but he hadn't actually absorbed a single word in twenty minutes.
His mind was stuck on a loop, replaying Harumi's low whisper from that morning.
“We can always continue the instruction later tonight.”
A soft, rhythmic knock sounded against his door. Lloyd flinched so hard he nearly dropped the scroll.
His heart did a violent flip against his ribs. He scrambled off the bed, hastily smoothing down his clothes, and cracked the door open.
Harumi stood in the dimly lit corridor.
She looked completely relaxed, wearing loose gray sweatpants and a black tank top, her silver hair untied and falling over her shoulders in soft waves. She didn't look anxious, sneaky, or hesitant. She looked like she owned the place.
"Are you going to let me in, Green Ninja?" she teased, raising a single, perfect eyebrow. "Or are we letting the draft out?"
"Right! Sorry," Lloyd squeaked. He stepped back quickly, pulling the door wide open.
Harumi slipped inside, her bare feet making no sound on the wooden floorboards. The moment the door clicked shut, the isolated quiet of the room enveloped them.
Lloyd turned around, his face already warming up to a bright, familiar pink."I brought something," Harumi said. She held up a small, ornate wooden box. "To help you relax. Kai and Jay spent the afternoon throwing training daggers at a target with your face drawn on it, didn't they?"
"They did," Lloyd groaned, burying his face in his hands. "They kept screaming 'Maximum Crimson' every time they hit the bullseye. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die."
Harumi let out a soft, genuine laugh. It wasn't her sharp, mocking laugh from the battlefield, but the quiet, melodic one she saved exclusively for him.
She walked over to the bed, setting the box down on the nightstand, and sat cross-legged right in the center of his mattress."Come here," she commanded softly, patting the space right in front of her.
Lloyd blinked, his blush deepening as he walked over like a nervous puppy. He sat down facing her, his large frame making him look incredibly soft in the baggy hoodie.
"What's in the box?"
"Arcturus blossom salve," Harumi explained, opening the lid. A soothing, minty scent of winter flowers drifted into the air. "It’s an old palace remedy for sore muscles after an intense training session. Or after getting kicked across a courtyard."
"I didn't get kicked, I was tripped," Lloyd muttered defensively."Mmhm." Harumi scooped a small amount of the cool cream onto her fingertips. "Turn around."Lloyd complied, shifting so his back was to her. He pulled the collar of his hoodie down slightly, exposing the base of his neck and his broad shoulders.
He felt Harumi lean closer, her cool breath brushing against his ear, and he shivered."Still so sensitive," she murmured, a wicked little smirk playing on her lips.
She knew exactly what effect she had on him, and she wasn't a bit flustered by their proximity. She was completely in control.Then, her hands met his skin.
Lloyd let out a soft, embarrassing gasp. Her fingers were surprisingly strong, digging into the tight knots in his shoulders with practiced, effortless precision.
She leaned her weight into the massage, her thumbs tracing the tense muscles along his spine.
"You're carrying too much tension, Lloyd," Harumi said, her voice dropping into that smooth, low register that always made his brain short-circuit. "You need to learn to let go."
"Hard to... let go... when you're doing that," Lloyd gasped out, his face completely crimson now, burying his burning cheeks into the fabric of his hoodie.
He was a total goner, completely melting under her touch. He leaned backward into her hands, completely yielding to her.
Harumi smiled, her eyes softening beautifully as she looked down at him. She loved this about him.
Outside, he was the legendary leader of the ninja, fierce and powerful. But here, with her, he was just a sweet, innocent boy who trusted her completely.
She stopped massaging his shoulders, instead wrapping her arms completely around his chest from behind, pulling his back flush against her front.
She rested her chin on his shoulder, her silver hair framing his face.
"Is this better?" she whispered.Lloyd nodded quickly, his heart hammering against his ribs.
He brought his own hands up, covering her smaller fingers with his own, holding onto her tightly. He loved being cuddly, craving the warmth and security of just holding her.
"You're not cold?" Lloyd asked softly, turning his head slightly to look at her. Their noses almost touched.
"Not anymore," Harumi whispered. She leaned in, closing the distance, and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.Unlike the morning kiss, which had been frantic and interrupted, this one was slow, deep, and deeply intimate.
Lloyd leaned into it fully, his hands moving to grip her waist, pulling her onto his lap. He hid his blushing face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent of winter flowers.
Harumi ran her fingers through his messy blonde hair, holding him close, her expression fierce, protective, and completely unbothered by the late-hour secrecy.
"See?" Harumi murmured against his hair, a soft smile on her lips as she held her favorite golden retriever ninja.
"No Nya to save you tonight."
~~
The cold mountain air did absolutely nothing to cool the raging inferno on Lloyd’s face.They were wrapping up a standard rooftop patrol, the city of Ninjago sprawling beneath them in a grid of neon lights. Lloyd was standing near the ledge, checking his wrist-comm, when Harumi sauntered over. Her steps were silent, her posture relaxed, and that signature, wicked smirk was firmly in place.She leaned in close, pretending to look at his scanner, but her lips brushed right against the shell of his ear."If you move that fast on patrol, Green Ninja," she murmured, her voice a low, bedroom purr that carried a wildly inappropriate detail about what they had done the night before, "it's no wonder you couldn't keep your hands off me until morning."Lloyd froze. His brain entirely stalled.A heavy, bruised burgundy color violently erupted from his collar, racing up his neck and flooding his cheeks until his ears practically glowed. He let out a strangled, high-pitched squeak, stumbling backward and nearly tripping over a ventilation pipe.From across the roof, Cole, Kai, and Jay burst into an obnoxious chorus of howling laughter."Oh look! Maximum Crimson strikes again!" Jay cackled, clutching his stomach. "What did she say to you, man? You look like a tomato that’s about to explode!"
"She's a menace, Lloyd! Just accept defeat!" Kai yelled, wiping a tear from his eye.
Harumi didn't even blink. She just turned around, offering the team a perfectly calm, innocent shrug, looking like a cool, unbothered badass while Lloyd wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
As they headed back to the Destiny's Bounty for the post-patrol debrief, Lloyd made a pit stop at the bathroom.
He splashed ice-cold water on his face, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He was tired of being the cuddly, innocent one who always got laughed at. It was time for revenge.
How nice would it be to have the team laughing at Harumi for once?
He took a deep, centering breath. He tapped into his inner Master. He was going to change the game.
When Lloyd entered the bridge's conference room, his entire aura was different.
The flustered, stuttering teenager was gone.
He walked in with an effortless, slow stride, casually pulling out his chair at the head of the table. He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, a completely calm and unbothered expression on his face.
Harumi, sitting across from him, raised an eyebrow.
She looked slightly amused, clearly thinking she had won the day and that he was just trying to play it cool.The meeting dragged on for ten minutes, with Nya going over anomalies in the city grid. Throughout it all, Lloyd remained entirely unfazed, nodding casually and offering concise orders.
Harumi’s smirk slowly began to fade, replaced by a subtle, curious squint. She really thought she had gotten away with it.
Then, Nya turned her back to update the main monitor.
Lloyd seized his moment. He didn't hesitate.
He leaned across the small gap between their chairs, closing the distance before Harumi could even react.
His green eyes were dark and entirely focused as he pressed his lips right against her ear. He whispered something incredibly dirty—a low, explicit promise about exactly what he was going to do to her in their private quarters tonight, throwing her own teasing right back at her with triple the intensity.
Lloyd pulled back, settling smoothly into his chair with a smug, victorious smile. Harumi’s eyes went completely wide. For the first time in her entire life, her flawless poker face shattered.
A brilliant, shocking, and unmistakable pink blush ignited across her cheeks, traveling rapidly up to her hairline. She literally gasped, her posture going entirely rigid.
The table went dead silent.
Then, it absolutely exploded.
"NO WAY!" Jay shrieked, slamming both hands on the table as he jumped out of his chair.
"Look at her! She's pink! The Princess is blushing!"
"Oh, my Spinjitzu, Lloyd actually landed a hit!" Kai roared with laughter, pointing enthusiastically at Harumi’s burning face.
"Look at the master mastermind now! She's melting!"Cole was laughing so hard he was practically choking on his breath, and even Nya spun around, her jaw dropping as she joined in on the absolute chaos.
Lloyd leaned back, a proud, triumphant grin stretching across his face.
He had done it. He had finally flipped the script.
But his victory was incredibly short-lived.Harumi’s shock quickly morphed into something entirely different.
Her eyes narrowed into a fierce, dangerous glare, the blush on her face turning from embarrassment to a deep, simmering heat. A wicked, predatory smirk returned to her lips.
A punishment was officially in order.
Before Lloyd could even register the danger, Harumi lunged across the space between them. She grabbed the collar of his green hoodie, yanked him forward, and slammed her lips onto his.Lloyd’s proud grin vanished into a muffled gasp.This wasn't a sweet, comforting kiss. Harumi initiated a deeply heated, aggressive make-out session right there on the conference table. She climbed halfway into his lap, her fingers tangling fiercely into his blonde hair, deepening the kiss with a raw, dominant intensity that completely shattered whatever confidence Lloyd had just built up.Jay’s laughter instantly cut off into an awkward, high-pitched strangling sound. "Uh. Guys?"
"Whoa, okay, eyes on the ceiling," Cole muttered, backing away.
Lloyd was completely helpless, his hands gripping her waist as his face reached a whole new, unprecedented level of Maximum Crimson under her onslaught.
Harumi briefly broke the kiss, her chest heaving, her eyes burning as she whipped her head toward the rest of the team.
"Leave. Now," she snarled, her voice dropping into a terrifyingly lethal register that promised absolute doom if they stayed.
"Yup! Going! Re-patrolling the city! Right now!" Kai yelled, his hands up in surrender as he practically sprinted for the door.
"We are leaving! We were never here!" Jay squeaked, scrambling over his own chair.
Within three seconds, the room violently cleared out. The door slammed shut, leaving the rest of the ninja sprinting down the corridor in a panicked, terrified rush to escape.
Harumi looked back down at Lloyd, her expression softening back into that dominant, unbothered smirk as she traced a finger down his burning jawline.
"Now," she whispered against his lips, "where were we, Master?"
Lloyd didn't even try to answer, his brain entirely melted into a puddle of flustered bliss as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
He pulled her flush against his chest, completely yielding to her as she leaned down to claim his lips once again.
He might have lost the battle of wits, but as Harumi kissed him breathless in the quiet room, Lloyd decided that losing to his badass princess wasn't a bad strategy at all.