Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.

Chapter 12: Explanation
Acciala's POV

I stopped stroking his blonde hair for a few seconds, and started racing to think of a way to answer him. The alarms finally quieted down, making it so that we didn't have to shout our lungs out just to talk to someone sitting mere centimeters away.

"Someone who I don't like, and I don't want you to go near her." I replied sternly. Lloyd didn't answer, and I sighed. I was still angry and my vision was clouded by the thoughts of Misako leaving a young, helpless Lloyd and his father to the evils of the world without even giving an excuse of any kind. "Lloyd, there are some people who do bad things, things that hurt other people. And its not just hurting their body, it hurts their feelings. Those are the people who are truly evil."

"Can they get better?" Lloyd asked, hopeful.

"Sometimes, but, imagine a bear mom leaving her newborn cub on a frozen riverbank. Just leaving him there. Never returning, nor even taking an interest in helping the cub. There are people like that in this world." I tried to explain.

"Like my mom?" Lloyd asked sadly. I didn't want to hurt him, but I also didn't want him to grow fond of Misako. "She left me like a baby bear cub. I never knew where she went, but it still really hurts." I knew Lloyd well enough to know that his eyes were watering, so I stroked his hair more. "I think that, if I ever saw her, I would want her to know how much it hurts. And, honestly, a part of me doesn't want to see her. Ever. But I won't get any better if I never do."

I hugged Lloyd. "Just know that I'm always here for you, Lloyd, no matter what." I assured him. My words caused a few seconds of silence from the both of us.

"Thanks, Acciala." Lloyd finally said, before promptly falling asleep. Despite it being morning, everyone was still tired, not to mention how the panic and pandemonium didn't help in any case.

A few hours later, Havas started talking over the loudspeaker.

"I am truly sorry for that disturbance. I apologize, but it was just a simple misfire. However, I do want to congratulate how well everyone handled the situation. Flawless. Well done to our soldiers, but most importantly, well down to the citizens who stayed calm and precise this whole time. Thank you. And well done everyone. Now, just listen to the soldiers and, if you all do what they ask of you, everything will go along smoothly and without a hitch. After we are all settled down, it will be calm time until the next block of duty." Havas lectured. "Again, I am truly sorry for the confusion caused by this careless mistake."

"Really? Just a misfire? I think not." I murmured to myself, cursing Havas in my mind. I nudged Lloyd. "Come on Lloyd, get up. We're going back."

"Why? I just fell asleep." Lloyd complained, sitting up straight and rubbing his eyes.

"No, you fell asleep about three hours ago." I told him, standing up and moving with him out of the room.

On the way back to the lunchroom, I pulled Lloyd aside to talk to him. I kneeled down to get eye level with him and put my hands on his shoulders.

"Lloyd, you have to promise me you won't go near that woman I glared at, alright?" I asked him.

"Why, though? What has she done to you? Did she hurt you like the bear?" he asked me, his green eyes meeting mine.

"Yes, and no. She hurt someone I cared very deeply for, and, by doing that, she hurt me. Do you understand?" I asked.

"I do, but what did the woman do?" Lloyd asked. I sighed.

"That is something I'll only tell you when you're much older." I told him. He looked away from me. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but, honestly, I wish I didn't know her either."

"Is she a bad person?" Lloyd asked.

It was that moment that I realized I hardly even knew anything about Misako. All I knew was how she was related to Lloyd, and how she left him long ago. Aside from that, she was a stranger to me. And yet, I hate her. I thought with hatred. I took a deep breath, trying to put together words that would make sense in my mind.

"Some people, Lloyd, aren't necessarily bad. But, because we are human, and we are imperfect creatures, we make bad choices and decisions." I sighed again. "As for her, I can't say. But, because we don't know much about her, please, Lloyd, stay away from her. Remember, we are still new here, and who knows what the others here think of us. And I can't say that everyone here is my best friend either, so that doesn't help us at all. Just, don't talk to or go near strangers."

"Alright, I understand." Lloyd responded.

"It seems like after this, everything is going back to normal. I'll see you later, Lloyd." I stood up and walked him to his next period, school.

The school part of the living area looked like any other part from the hallway, but the inside spans much farther. I didn't take the time to peek in and see just how far, though, and the teacher seemed to be slightly panicky. She was normal height, with short, brown hair, she wore glasses over her hazel eyes, and she had plenty of wrinkles on her face, however she didn't seem very old.

I left and headed back to my room after dropping him off. I decided not to go anywhere else for the rest of the day. Soon enough, I drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

A/N And now for my explanation as to why I haven't been updating. A trillion apologies! I lost my Mockingjay book (shame on me) and I haven't got around to cleaning my room (again, shame on me.) I must thank all of you who have stuck with me throughout this trilogy despite my laziness. Thank you so very much! I can't thank any of you enough!

In other news, I have officially entered the anime fandom, and have a few ideas for some fanfics. However, I refuse to start them until I finish this one, so no need to fear distractions. Once I find my Mockingjay book, I promise that I will start to update more.