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Misako watched Lloyd closely. She did this every time he was around her. She also made notes on what he did, how he did things, how he dressed, the style of his hair. How he acted with his friends.
Lloyd knew Misako watched him, but he also knew she was just looking out for him. Obviously this was just how mothers were. He wouldn’t lie, it stung when she made a remark on his clothes being too girly or baggy, his hair was getting longer, how he still acted like a kid at some point.
Kai did not like Misako. She was too…nitpicky with Lloyd in his opinion. She also watched him like a hawk. Kai knew she was being extra. Last week she made a remark to Lloyd that the pastel green Keroppi hoodie he was wearing was ‘a little too girly for him to like it’ ‘he’s only wearing it to be nice’. As if. Kai had gotten him that hoodie for his birthday last year and he loved it. Helicopter mom just didn’t know boundaries.
Misako didn’t really like Kai. She saw him as a bad influence, that he and Lloyd’s relationship wasn’t healthy. She felt that Lloyd was seeking out figures as a result of his trauma. But she also felt that Kai was not a good fit to be a figure in Lloyd’s life. She often contemplated taking Lloyd with her whenever she went on an expedition in order to break this unhealthy bond.
Lloyd loved Kai. He was his family. His older brother who stayed up late to be with him. The one who taught him all about the cool constellations in the night sky. His mother was a rough topic. He didn’t really see her as one. Anytime the topic of ‘mother’ came up, he could only ever picture the Ninja. They basically raised him.
Kai was going to sock Misako in the mouth if she made one more remark about Lloyd’s appearance. She walked up to him, grabbed his hair and said “It’s getting so long. Why won’t you just cut it?” Then she looked at the bracelets on Lloyd’s wrist. A few years ago, Lloyd and Kai made and traded friendship bracelets. She pointed to the red one, the one Kai gave him, and said “You shouldn’t wear this. It’s a symbol of an unhealthy friendship.”
Misako was going to persist in having Wu give her Lloyd. He clearly didn’t raise him properly. Much less his other students. Sure, they saved Ninjago, but behind closed doors? Don’t get her started. He would have been better off at his old boarding school, where they could have reversed the prophecy. But of course, Wu had to step in.
Lloyd didn’t know what to do anymore. He honestly just wanted Misako to go away. He didn’t like how she picked him apart and pointed out his ‘flaws’. If he wanted to wear the pastel sweater, he was going to wear the damn sweater.
Kai was there for Lloyd. Misako wasn’t. She just ran off on her expeditions and only came back when something big happened, like a villain attack or something. Even then, Kai was still waiting for at least a ‘thank you’ for going to a dangerous island to save her, and barely making it out with Jay.
Misako didn’t know how she could possibly be in the wrong. She was his mother! She knew what was best for him, whether he liked it or not.
Lloyd knew his mother was toxic. He just wouldn’t say it to her face. Kai, Nya, Zane, Cole, and Jay were his true family. He would trade them for her every single time.
Kai would always do his best to protect and look after Lloyd. You bet he would stab himself if Lloyd ever got hurt.
Lloyd had already found his family. Sure they weren’t blood related, but it didn’t matter. It would never matter until the day they lay down their lives.