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"You… Ahaha! You what-?! That's completely-! ...Ahem. Excuse me, my apologies for laughing; I must have misheard you, because it almost sounded like-"
"-I don't think you did, ma'am. I said; 'I want to dye my hair pink'!"
Lloyd was currently smack-dab in the middle of a live-T.V.-interview, holding the arms of his provided loveseat in a death-grip. He didn't really know what channel this was aring for; he's done so many of these in the past few days that all of them have started to blur together.
But- and he's just being honest here- this is probably his least favorite one. His least favorite one in a while. The interviewer (Lloyd couldn't remember her name.) was… a little bit rude. Just a smidge.
She's asked him very personal questions, one's he's expressed not being comfortable answering before. Especially on live T.V. (He won't get into what he's been asked. I'd say 'use your imagination', but the reality is probably even worse.)
But.
Lloyd, being Lloyd, attempted to look past that. So what she was being a bit too… much? She's a T.V. host! That's literally just her job!
…Sadly, he couldn't simply ignore everything else about her… lovely personality.
Everytime Lloyd says something she doesn't want to hear, she gets this look in her eye. Like she tasted something sour and wanted to spit it out. She doesn't even try to hide her disapproval, either.
So. To say Lloyd wanted to go home was an understatement. He stopped paying attention to his answers a while ago, saying the most basic and plain responses he could subconsciously come up with. Maybe if he bores the audience to death she'll let him leave early?
However.
When she made a 'questionable' ('Questionable' was putting it lightly- it was just flat-out rude.) comment on his appearance, he just couldn't hold his tongue. Lloyd's inability to do so somehow led to this conversation topic.
That 'topic' being the color of his hair, of course.
"Why- Why on Earth would you want to dye your hair? Especially pink?"
Lloyd smiled a strained smile, fangs out on full display.
"Because I would like to? I used to dye sections of it when I was younger, back when I was in Darkley's. But I was never able to go pink. 'S always too scared of being called 'girly' or more… offensive terms by the bigger kids to do so."
Lloyd leaned back in his chair, arms folded over his chest. There was a contemplative look on his face. Who would've guessed that this dull conversation could have led him to such a riveting realization?
There are, like, zero people that have dyed hair in this entire city. At least, not crazy colors like pink, green, blue…
The reporter was saying something, but Lloyd was too busy ignoring her snide remarks to care. Besides, there's only, what? Five, ten more minutes he has to be here? He can blur past that by hiding in his head easily.
Now, back to what's important. Lloyd really doesn't mean to brag, but…
…He has a lot of influence over the people of this city. That fact is both amazing and absolutely terrifying. Seriously, there are some people who worship the very ground he walks on! (Trust me. He's seen the Chirp tweets.)
So, to summarize what Lloyd has just realized…
(He's going somewhere with this, I swear.)
One: He wants to dye his hair pink.
Two: Literally no one else in the entirety of this cursed city has unnaturally colored hair.
And three: Lloyd has a near cult-like following of people who'll say- or do- whatever he wants.
Oh yeah.
Lloyd adjusted in his chair again, the reporter being nothing but a blur in his peripheral vision. There was a small, devious smirk slowly forming on his lips.
He knows what he's doing this weekend.
~
When Nya walked into the Monastery's bathroom, she was prepared for many things.
Maybe a busted water pipe, the chicken hiding in a cabinet; getting ready to kill those who disturb her, or even some burglar trying to break in…
…She was not ready to see pink hair-dye splattered all over the room, (Ceiling, walls, floor, everything.) the culprit- Lloyd- standing smack-dab in the middle of it all. There was a tube of dye in his mouth; hands tangled in his hair. Somehow, half of it was fully pink while the other half was completely untouched.
It was kind of impressive, in all honesty.
Lloyd froze like a frightened goat when Nya walked in, meeting her eyes through the mirror's reflection. He didn't even go to take the tube out of his mouth, speaking thickly around it.
"...'Sshup." (Sup.)
Nya just took it in stride, leaning on the open doors frame with an amused look on her face.
"Hey. What. What, uh, what are you…" She took a second to bite back a laugh, looking at how Lloyd's T-shirt was more pink than his hair. "...What are you doing?"
Lloyd finally turned to look at her, hands still stuck in his hair. He spat the tube out of his mouth with a nervous smile, making Nya let out a loud laugh.
"...Dyeing my hair…"
"Dyeing your hair, or dyeing the whole bathroom?"
Lloyd blinked owlishly at that, seemingly realizing the state of the room for the first time in that moment. He was really trying if he was that unaware of his surroundings, huh?
"Well… The bathroom needed a new paint-job anyway."
Both occupants laughed at that, Nya walking forward to assess the damage. Avoiding random dye-drops was like playing the most shoe-endangering game of hopscotch of all time. It ended when Nya got next to Lloyd, balancing herself by placing a hand on his shoulder.
Her face morphed more and more into a smile as she took in just how much of a mess Lloyd was right now. She couldn't stop herself from letting out a few more laughs at his embarrassed expression- his cheeks were pinker than the dye!
Catching her breath, Nya slowly stopped laughing, her head resting on Lloyd's shoulder. Said half-blond had his arms crossed over his chest, a flustered pout on his face.
"Shut up, pink doesn't look that bad."
Nya raised her head and wiped a tear from her eye, shoulders shaking with aftershocks.
"No, it's not that! You look great in pink! I'm just trying to figure out how…" She gestured to Lloyd's hair before doing the same to the rest of the room "...All of this happened. Did you even read the instructions?"
Lloyd had the decency to let his angry-embarrassed expression melt into pure mortification.
"...There were instructions..?"
"Oh my FIRST-"
"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP- NO ONE AT DARKLEY'S EVER SAID THERE WERE INSTRUCTIONS- SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!"
Nya's laughing-fit returned in full force, Lloyd lightly pushing her off his shoulder to lean against the sink. He finally removed his hands from his hair to instead bury his face in them. Nya got herself together enough to gently move two of Lloyd's fingers, making it so that he could see the sincerity in her eyes.
"You want help?"
Lloyd moved his hands to breath a solid huff, going from embarrassed to intrigued in one swift moment.
"...You know how to dye hair?"
"No, never tried. But- not to be harsh, here- I'm pretty sure I can read some instructions, Lloyd."
"'i'M pREttY sURE i cAn rEaD sOmE iNSTrucTions, lLoyD'."
Nya took this opportunity to lightly smack the back of Lloyd’s head, said Oni-hellspawn letting out a quiet hiss. They were both fighting back childish laughter. Nya spoke while gently fiddling with Lloyd's hair, assessing the damage.
"Oh hush. Besides, it'd probably be easier for someone else to do it. Just sit on the counter, I'll grab some gloves and see what I can do. 'You have any more dye?"
"Fine, fine. And yeah, I do. It's in a bag on my bed. I might've bought…" Lloyd took another moment to assess the room, eyes following a dye-drop slowly making its way down the wall. "...A bit too much."
"A bit?"
"HUSH."
Nya maneuvered out the room with one last laugh, making Lloyd huff and bring his knees to his chin. He was sitting on the sinks counter, back to the large mirror accompanying it. After a moment of consideration, he turned his upper body to look at himself, fingers combing through the mess on his head.
Yeah, it looked like a raging dumpster fire right now, but…
'...Pretty…'
If thoughts could take on a physical manifestation, that 'pretty' would be everything good in the world. Pink just felt… Well, perfect!
Lloyd hummed happily, continuing to admire the few sections that dried well until a curt knock on the door alarmed him of Nya's return.
Said water ninja re-entered the room with not only gloves and two more dye tubes in hand; but an entirely different outfit as well. One she's not too worried about getting messy, Lloyd supposed.
Now unapologetically stepping in various pools of dye, Nya marched towards Lloyd with an excited expression. Her emotions were contagious, making Lloyd gently flap his hands to release energy. (And not the elemental kind, mind you.)
"Alright, you ready?"
"As long as you don't find a way to somehow make me go bald, then yup!"
"I mean, even if I did, that's why wigs and hats exist, Lloyd."
"...Nyaaa…"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"
Rolling his eyes, Lloyd hopped off the counter to straighten himself out, dusting off his clothes for effect. Nya pursed her lips and tilted her head at this, beginning to snap on the latex gloves.
"You want a chair or something? This might take a while."
Lloyd thought about it for a second before shaking his head, a contemplative hand raised to his chin.
"Nah, I'm fine. It might be more comfortable, but do you really want either of us to try and fit an actually comfortable chair through that door? I think I'd get less back pain just standing instead, actually."
Nya let out a quiet semi-nervous chuckle at that, mumbling various terms of agreement as she shimmed her last finger into a glove. She finished by pulling and snapping the latex against her skin, much like doctors do.
"You make a point, actually. Now…"
She grabbed one of the tubes she threw on a counter, slathering some dye between her right pointer and middle finger.
"...You ready?"
Lloyd forced his shoulders to relax, fingers thumping against his sides in excitement.
"As I'll ever be!"
Nya continued without another word, starting by focusing on the side of Lloyd's hair that was still blond. A small shiver ran through Lloyd- he forgot how cold it was!
The first few minutes were filled with silence, the only sounds in the room being the quiet whirring of A.C., and when Nya went to squeeze more color onto her hand.
After around the fifth time Nya did so, she finally started up a conversation.
"Close your eyes, I'm almost at your bangs. …Also, if you don't mind me asking, what made you do this? No pressure to answer, though."
Lloyd took a moment to smile at that. That extreme sense of non-invasiveness was something he's always loved about his sister. Unless it was something potentially dangerous, Nya's never one to question why Lloyd does what he does, she just supports all his weird endeavors. He hopes she knows that he tries to treat her the same; with an air of constant, unwavering trust.
"Okay, and, uh… I dunno, really. A mix of I wanted to and also spite, I think?"
"Spite? Who managed to actually piss you off? If they didn't try to, like, murder you I think that's almost impossible."
"Rude reporter."
"...Yeah, no. I take my remark back. Get more pissed, actually."
Lloyd laughed at that, making a small fleck of wet dye fall on his cheek. Nya wiped it away just in time. The silence was much more comfortable from then on, so it didn't take much longer until Nya finished.
With her tongue poking out of her mouth, Nya hyper-focused on the last section she was working on, pulling on the last strand of blond hair and painting it with a huff.
"...Aaand done! Phew. Okay, let me wipe your face before you open your eyes again-"
"-Hurry, hurry!"
Lloyd was bouncing in place, hands going up and down as he stimmed in excitement. It feels good, but does it look good?
"Nya, does it look good? Does it, does it?"
Said water ninja gently maneuvered Lloyd's hands out of the way, running a washcloth over his eyes and forehead. She chuckled at his excitement, smiling at how genuinely happy he seemed right now.
"Yes. Yes, it does. Or at least I think it does. Pink might be your color, Lloyd."
Lloyd just stimmed harder at that, so hard that his entire frame was shaking. This forced Nya to gently hold his cheek as to not accidentally poke him with one of her nails.
"Alright! 'You ready for a countdown, Green Machine?"
Lloyd gave no verbal response, instead just beginning to pat on his thighs to make a drumroll sound. Nya joined in with her voice for one moment before switching to counting down.
"3… 2… 1! Look, go, go!"
The seconds felt like hours until Nya hit one, Lloyd's eyes flying open in a heartbeat. It took a moment for his eyes to focus on the mirror before him, but when they did, Lloyd let out a quiet little gasp. He almost felt on the verge of tears
It looked absolutely beautiful.
But, not only did it look beautiful, it just felt right.
Yeah, he's gonna dye his hair more colors after this fades, that's for sure.
Lloyd turned to face Nya- who was looking at him with crossed arms and loving, bemused eyes- and squealed; immediately running over to squeeze her in a hug. Nya reciprocated immediately, just barely keeping her face out of his hair.
"NYAAA THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I LOVE IT SO MUCH! AND I LOVE YOU!"
"I LOVE YOU TOO. And good to hear, but watch it! You're gonna get dye on my face!"
Lloyd pulled away swiftly, bouncing on his heels when a stray strand of hair fell between his eyes. Seeing pink instead of blond in his peripheral vision was odd, but not bad. Not bad at all.
Nya took a few more seconds to admire her handiwork (And Lloyd's unabashed happiness. He isn't much like that, not these days.) before stepping forward to throw an arm around his shoulders once more; pulling out her phone as she posed them side to side.
"It might be a little bit darker when it dries, but 'you ready to break the internet?"
It took exactly .2 seconds for Nya's words to register, Lloyd's smile transforming into a smug, devious grin. Oh he can't wait to be the sole cause of Chirp going down for a few hours.
"Oh you know I am."
Lloyd looked to the camera to throw up a peace sign paired with a wink, tongue poking out of his mouth. Nya had a much more leisurely expression, but she decided to mirror her brother's fingers. She took the photo with a click, making Lloyd quietly laugh as the picture loaded into place.
"What are we captioning it?"
"...Gay gay homosexual gay."
"YEAHHH!"
Nya posted it with a click, her phone releasing so many notification noises that she had to mute it not even three seconds after. The duo looked at each other one last time before breaking into ecstatic laughter, ready and waiting for when the rest of their family realized what they did.
~
The response to Lloyd's hair was… mixed, to say the least.
His friends, family, and even that gaggle of robbers he beat up yesterday thought it was cool! Some Chirp users called it 'pretty', others called it 'beautiful', a few even deemed it 'hot'...
…And, of course, a handful of the craziest people already drew him in the strawberry dress.
So, overall, it was a win!
…There were a few discrepancies, though.
A few stray discrepancies of rude comments. One's that were half-baked compliments, ('It looks good, but I prefer you being blond! You look way better that way!') a small pot of flat-out insults, maybe even a slur or two.
And Lloyd- in typical Lloyd fashion- chose to latch onto the miniscule amounts of criticism all while blatantly ignoring the numerous amounts of compliments and support he received. (With maybe the exception of his family's support. Their words hold more weight than any faceless individual on the internet ever could.)
Now, onto our current location.
Lloyd was currently sitting on top of a large hotel's roof, legs dangling leisurely off the edge. Don't worry, he's completely safe! He was just out on patrol and needed a place to relax; to breathe it all in. And what better place is there than the top of a tall building, the one location in such a bustling city where literally no one goes-
-The door to the rooftop suddenly slammed open, making Lloyd yelp and almost drop the packet of mints he just took out of his pocket. He lifted up the mask of his gi, turning to face the intruder with eyes creased in a mild glare…
…Before immediately relaxing upon noticing;
'Ah. That's a child.'
More specifically, a little girl. A little girl in a white knee-high dress and high-top sneakers, arms overflowing with what appeared to be ninja figurines. Her eyes were gray, pupils wide in what seemed to be a sense of mesmerized wonder. She couldn't have been any older than six.
Lloyd couldn't help but pull down his mask, shyly waving at her with a somewhat apologetic smile.
There was one more moment of silence until she let out a loud, excited shriek; running towards Lloyd while desperately trying not to drop her toys. He stood to help her, but immediately sat back down as she shook her head at him, working her way over to the edge. The girl dropped the figurines on her left right before she hopped up to join Lloyd. Said pinkette appeared relaxed, but was ready to catch her at any moment if she were to fall.
The child was just looking up at him with wide, unabashedly adorning eyes, so Lloyd decided to start the conversation.
"Hello! What's up? I think you know my name, but what's yours? Love your dress, by the way!"
The girl blinked before flushing red, breaking eye contact to instead observe the floor. She was fisting her skirt, legs swinging back and forth. Lloyd felt panic seize him. Did he misinterpret this situation? Does she not care about who he is? Oh, First Master forbid that he scared the poor thing-!
"My-!" Her voice cracked. Badly. Lloyd made no comment, just waiting for her to continue talking with a patient smile. "Sorry, my name's… Cloud… I-I'm sorry, my momma's gonna get worried 'n sad if I stay up here for too long, she's making me dinner! I just wanted t' t-tell you that I love your hair so so so much! I saw some people bully'n you about it, but they're just stupid, mean bullies! The pink is so pretty! …O-Oh, and… I wanted to give you… this…"
Lloyd opened his hand and let Cloud drop whatever she was holding into it. He let out a quiet gasp as it came into view. So small, so genuinely thoughtful…
It was a yellow butterfly hair clip, barely weighty enough to remain stable in Lloyd's hand. It must’ve been one of hers.
At Lloyd's silence, Cloud began rambling again, fists pumping and legs kicking in a nervous excitement.
"I k-keep seeing pict'rs of your pretty hair and your bangs are always falling into your eyes! It must be sooo annoying, s-so! You can have that if you wan' it!"
Lloyd almost started crying. Her tone was so nervous, yet her words were so sincere. He gently closed his hand around the pin, meeting Cloud's eyes with what he hoped was an endlessly thankful expression.
"Yeah, it is!" (He wasn't lying about that, actually. Lloyd's very comfortable with his current haircut, but First Master if it isn't annoying sometimes.) "I'd be honored to have it, and I promise to keep it safe."
Cloud's eyes seemed to light back up as she jumped back onto the roofs floor; she let out another ecstatic squeal, hopping up and down with an infectious smile. Lloyd silently leaned over to pick up her toys, handing them to her whenever she calmed down. (He was a little shocked at how well their condition was. They're played with by what seems to be a very rambunctious child, afterall!)
Cloud paused to take her toys all in one arm before returning to jumping around on the roof, flailing her free arm or pulling on her dress while squealing. Lloyd smiled a warm smile at the display, running his thumb over the small clip.
The girl looked back at him one last time, cheeks aglow with joyous whimsy.
"YOU LOOK SO PRETTY!"
Lloyd once more felt his heart squeeze in joy, the smile poking at his face coming in full-force. Being a ninja- especially the Green Ninja- sucks a lot of the time. But… man, do these moments make it worth it. So incredibly worth it. This is why he does what he does.
"Do I really? Well… If you say I do, then it HAS to be true! Guess I'll have to tell the bullies that they're wrong, okay?"
Cloud finally stopped hopping around to face Lloyd head on, frantically nodding with a huge grin.
"Mhm, mhm! My momma's g-gonna get super worried if I don't come back soon so I gotta go! ...You're gonna keep the clip, right? A-And wear it too, right?"
Her expression suddenly grew sheepish again as she looked at Lloyd through half-hidden eyes. She was really going to let her entire mood be dictated by his answer, wasn't she? Man… What a sweet kid.
Lloyd responded by meeting her eyes with a goofy smile, pulling out a piece of his bangs to snap the clip on to. It felt nice, actually. It really did help keep hair out of his face!
"You know it!"
Cloud's face lit up as she let out one last happy squeal, rocketing down the stairwell seconds after. Lloyd only turned around when he couldn't hear the distant echoes of her laughter, once more gazing at the bustling city below.
He traced a finger through his hair, all weight lifting off his shoulders when it ran across the clip. Lloyd pulled out his phone with an excited hum, getting ready to take a quick picture with it. He was going to leave soon anyways, so it doesn't really matter if people pinpoint his location.
Providing his signature peace sign; Lloyd added a quick summary of what just went down, pressing 'post' with utmost confidence. The picture received copious amounts of tooth-rotting sweetness in the replies. The ones from parents saying their kids did the same type of thing were his favorites.
But. There was one that caught him off guard. It was a reply from Nya.
'LLOYD HOLY SHIHAHAHAH. DID U SEE WU'S LATEST CHIRP? M CRYIN AFGAAGAGGA'
In a sense of morbid intrigue, Lloyd maneuvered himself to his uncle's page. Once he saw it, he let out a loud gasp; one that eventually dissolved into breathless, free laughter.
To summarize and paraphrase, the caption was roughly 'Please, be kind to my Nephew. He is happy with his decision to dye his hair, and therefore I am as well. We should all be supportive.'
Yes, he said it in a much more eloquent manner…
...One that didn't match its provided image, which was of Wu with his braid dyed rainbow. He was flipping off the camera.
Lloyd kept laughing and laughing until he fell back, hitting the concrete with a solid 'thump'. His breath hitched when the piece of clipped-hair fell in front of his eyes. He almost wanted to cry again.
'First Spinjitzu Master…'
He kicked up, wiping his tearducts and beginning to parkour across more rooftops, feeling lighter on his feet than he has in months. Maybe even years.
'I love my family so much.'
He jumped off a much shorter building and landed in a tuck-and-roll on the ground, pink hair flowing behind him all the while.