Work Text:
Garmadon came home after a long day. He opened the door to see his wife on the couch with his son, Lloyd.
"Ah, welcome back!" Misako said as she turned to look at him. Lloyd got off the couch and ran to hug him.
"Daddy!"
Garmadon scooped the little boy up in his arms and laughed. "Hello my son! How was your day?"
He had the biggest grin on his face as he talked. "Well, I woke up, and I brushed my teeth, and then I ate food, and then I sat in front of the TV for a while watching shows with mommy, and then you showed up!" When he finished rambling, he raised his hands up in the air triumphantly.
Misako was watching them with the sweetest smile on her face, and walked towards the kitchen, yelling out to the both of them: "do you two want anything to eat?"
"Ah, no, I'm alright Misako. Are you hungry, Lloyd?"
He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Nope! Not one bit!"
Then his stomach grumbled.
"That sounded like a tummy grumble to me. Let's bring you to the kitchen."
They walked into the kitchen, and sat Lloyd down; bringing food suitable for a little kid to easily eat. Soon enough, he started digging into it.
"Ah, Lloyd, don't be too messy." Misako added on as she watched him put his face into the food.
Lloyd looked up at her, his mouth and the area around it stained.
Garmadon laughed and grabbed a paper towel for him to wipe his face.
After giving him it, he saw Misako in the corner of his eyes, a look of serious thought on her face.
He tapped her and signaled towards the hallway where they could talk out of earshot of their son.
"What's bothering you? I saw that look on your face."
She didn't speak for a moment, then sighed and grabbed a very folded piece of paper from her pocket.
She spoke quietly as she unfolded the paper. "I found this flyer for a boarding school today. I thought we could send Lloyd to it."
He looked at the flyer in her hands, it read:
Darkleys Boarding School for Bad Boys.
Has your child been a hassle? Well at Darkleys Boarding School for Bad Boys, we can nurture them into the worst they can be!
Just call the number below or go to the building located closely outside of Ninjago City!
A number and location was stated at the bottom.
Garmadon couldn't believe what he had read.
"A boarding school for bad boys..?" he repeated with confusion in his voice, "But Lloyd is a good child. We can't send him there."
Misako folded the flyer back into her pocket. "I know, but soon, I want to research and figure out the old stories of the past, and I couldn't-."
Misako was going to finish her sentence, when Lloyd shouted from the kitchen.
"I'm finished!"
Misako spoke out before he could. "Ah- we'll be right there, sweetie!" And then turned to him once more, speaking in a more serious tone. "We'll discuss this once we put Lloyd to bed."
She then walked to the kitchen, Garmadon following suit.
———
"Good night, my child."
He heard Misako quietly say that before closing Lloyd's bedroom door and walked to the living room where Garmadon had waited, sitting on the couch with the pit in his stomach getting heavier.
Her face was stiff as she grabbed the flyer out of her pocket again and placed it on the table for him to look at.
There was silence before either of them spoke.
"..Why would you want to send him here?"
"Well, because I'll be away, and you will too."
He looked up at her in confusion. "When would I be away?"
She looked away for a moment, then looked back.
"When you become a mentor one day and teach others your ways.. you will be busy."
He heard lying in her voice, but decided to go with it. He heard the anger raise in his voice as he talked.
"If I became a Sensei, I would train my son along with others. I thought you would know that."
Misako sighed with frustration, her voice cold. "Listen. I know what's wrong with you. Soon, you will lose yourself to your evil blood. I see you slowly dwindle over time."
"Do not bring my blood into this. This is about Lloyd." He felt unwanted anger appear in his body. "And if that time did come, what makes you think you cannot take him in?"
Misako seemed calm.
It frustrated Garmadon, it frustrated him beyond anything.
She responded again to him, this time her voice sounding frustrated.
"I cannot take care of him and do research. That is not how it works." Her fists were clenched, she was trying not to raise her voice much.
Garmadon was more careless however in containing his anger. He stood up from the couch.
"No, That is not how you work! You don't trust me enough to let him be left with me," He watched her face turn away, but not in shame or sadness.
It turned away like someone being caught.
It hurt him greatly to be like this, but the anger in him was burning too bright to let him be able to come to his senses. "And you don't want to bring him with you. You just want to leave him somewhere and FORGET ABOUT HIM!"
He yelled out that last part.
He didn't want to do that.
Misako retaliated, her voice straining with anger. "This is the only option I found for him! I thought you wanted what was best for our son. Either you send him there, or I will do it myself!"
Garmadon couldn't hold his anger inside him anymore. His hands were clenched and shaking uncontrollably.
In one instant, he slammed his fists down on the table below him,
And shattered it.
The flyer stayed intact. It was crushed, but no part of it ripped.
"..Daddy?"
They both turned to look at Lloyd.
His face had one thing on it: fear.
"Lloyd, I.." His anger had disappeared immediately. It was replaced by.. something. Emptiness, fear, anxiety, guilt; he couldn't tell what it was.
He looked to Misako. Her expression was unreadable.
He watched as Lloyd ran to her legs, clinging to them, horrified, hiding from him.
"I will send him there tomorrow." she said.
Garmadon couldn't speak.
He felt distraught.
She had kept her word; he was gone. He never said goodbye to him, and he never said goodbye to Misako either when she had left days later to begin her research.
Days had passed, maybe even weeks, and as he walked into his house, the silence welcomed him inside, as it did every day before.
The table was still broken, and the flyer was gone. He hadn't bothered to fix it.
One day, he left his things there, left through the door he had came through, and walked away.
He walked far, far away.
He didn't care where he was going.
He just walked.