Black Sheep AU《Ninjago》

Chapter 3.

"Wu, I can't. I can't.. No matter how hard I work, I can't take care of both... just, one..."

Koko was torn by all sorts of taxes. The pain of having to part with one of his treasures. She tried for many years to be able to have enough money for everyone, to be able to support the family since Garmadon's departure.

Wu was shocked and skeptical only at the last sentence. He knew about the redhead's money. He wanted to help her, but she refused. And now it's too late.

"And what are you going to do? Take Morro back to the orphanage?" He asked in a strained tone. He knew he couldn't leave Lloyd. This did not even cross his mind alive or dead. So the only option was Morro himself.

"What?! No! Never Wu. It's like my own child. I would never do that to him." She couldn't do that. She felt that she would die on the inside if she will take him back to the orphanage. "I wanted... I wanted to ask you to take care of him." Wu's attention was taken to the maximum. "Until I can take care of both of them. Please, Wu. Please. You're my only option."

Wu took this as an opportunity to take care of Morro as his own son, as he had wanted from the beginning. Even if it's not legal, that won't stop him. Maybe who knows, he manages to do it in such a way that he has it. So, he accept.

"Okay. I'll take care of Morro."

"Thank you so much, Wu. Thank you very much..."

"But Lloyd?" The redhead looked at him intently. "What will Lloyd said? What will you tell him? He's still small, fragile."

"I don't know... I didn't think about that. Oh God, he'll be devastated. He's holding on to Morro. It's like a pillar for him. To imagine how sad he will be when he finds out. "

Wu put his right hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine. I'll help you."   'You won't have it anymore, I'll take care of it.'

"Thank you very much Wu... at least you stayed."

"But," he had stepped back. "I have a condition."

"A... condition?"

"Yes. Unless you agree with her, I will do as you ask."

"Okay... of course." She was slightly afraid of this condition. "What's the condition?"

"Give me Morro. Legal."

------

"What...?!"

Morro was sitting on the couch between his mother and his uncle. He had just heard words, phrases he didn't think he would hear in his life.

"What do you mean I'll stay with Uncle Wu? For how long? Why?"

"Morro, darling..." The redhead had taken his hands in hers. It was hard for her to tell him the truth, to tell him why he was leaving. She didn't want to misunderstand her choice. "I can't take care of you and Lloyd, both of you... I can only afford one."

She looked straight into her son's dark green-gray eyes. She could see the sadness and despair said not to take her from him, from them. Morro knew how to hide his feelings well, but when there were too many together, his eyes spoke for him. Morro had slowly begun to love Koko, to love her like a mother, and the thought of having to leave made him shudder. The redhead shook his hand lightly. She stopped crying a lot that assaulted her every minute. She longed to be strong in front of her son- no, in front of her nephew.

"You'll stay with Wu, just enough to take care of both of them, I promise."

Morro felt his chest begin to ache. It was too much. Too much for him. He didn't want this to happen to him, why is this happening to him? Dark thoughts slowly appeared in his mind, but little did he know that they would increase along the way. He had begun to cry. To cry for them for the first time.

"Morro, Morro darling... don't cry." She tried hard to calm him down. "You'll see, it'll pass quickly, you won't even know. when you'll return to us."

Morro threw himself into her arms and hugged her as hard as he could. He didn't want to leave him, he didn't want to leave them, he didn't want to go anywhere. He cared too much about them. He was attached.

Koko kissed the top of his head. A soft cry gripped her, too. She looked Wu in the eye, and he knew what the woman had in mind. He felt how difficult it was for her, for a mother to tell her own child that she could not take care of him and that she had to stay with someone else, or... somewhere else, worse (the orphanage).

Morro calmed down after minutes of trying hard to tell himself that everything would be fine, that it wouldn't be so bad, and Lloyd had it in his mind.

"What... what will Lloyd said...?" His voice was choked with tears.

"I don't know..." He didn't have the courage to look into his eyes again. "I don't even know how to tell him all this."

"Tell me what?"

Lloyd's innocent, shy voice silenced dead the room. The little one was in the doorway with the green dragon in his arms. He hadn't heard their whole conversation, only since Morro's last question.

"Mommy? Tell me what? Why is Morro crying...?"

"L-lloyd... uh.." She didn't know how to tell him, how to tell her son everything. How to tell it all again. "I have to... I have to tell you something."

------

Lloyd watched his brother throughout the  conversation. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He wanted all this to be a bad dream, and when he woke up, none of that had happened. But unfortunately, everything was true.

"Say something..." He begged him. "Please Morro, say it's not true what mommy is saying.. Say you don't have to leave.. Please...!"

"..I'm sorry, Lloyd..." A tear fell from his eyes.

The little one took him tightly in his arms, dipping his face into Morro's coat. If these are the last moments with him, he will make the most of them. Morro also took him tightly in his arms. He tried hard not to cry again, but his eyes were still full of tears.

"P-promise me that if we can't communicate..." Lloyd had begun through tears. "..you will not f-forget me.. us..."

"Never... I promise, I promise I'll be back to you. I promise."

------

"You will live here from now on."

Morro looked at a modest house covered with fallen rose petals from the surrounding trees. A restless wind had caused the flowers of the trees to fall off. A small lake could be seen close to the house.

Morro sighed. He didn't know how he got here. He couldn't remember his way back. He couldn't remember if life still made sense and why it was so unfair to him.

Wu was slightly happy, but more than that, he was at peace. Reconciled that he has it over. He waited for this moment for years, and now his termination is over. But now comes the hard work, to gain his trust even more.

Wu looked down at the little boy. It was obvious that he was scared, worried, confused, anxios. Too much for a being as fragile as he is.

"Hey, everything will be fine, son."

His breathing is short. His eyes fell dead on the man in fear.

"Son...?"

"Mhm. Koko gave you to me, legal." He lowered himself to the little boy, placing both hands carefully on his shoulders. "Isn't it wonderful? Morro, the truth is, ever since I saw you at the orphanage, I've wanted you. But my brother was before me and took you away from me." He looked him straight in the eye. He could see confusion and fear in them. "You will be safe with me. Trust me, yes? I do not force you to address me as a father... it is your choice. But I want you to know that you are wanted and loved by me." He had taken him in his arms. "Now come on, let's eat something. I bet you're hungry, right?"

Morro just nodded.

'It's too fast. This is not happening to me.  It's too much. Too suddenly. No- '

'Shhh~ You don't have to be afraid, Morro. You're safe with Wu. You will be much better off with him than you would have been on the other side of the Garmadon family. And stay calm, you're still related to Lloyd. Cousins. So sit still, Ghost Warrior.'