Not that bad
"Huh!" Emily grunted as she rolled forward, knees tucked to her stomach, before springing up and catching her sword, dropping to one knee as she held out her sword at the side.
"Nice," Mia praised the youngest Samurai, helping her to her feet, "you're training is really improving."
"Thanks, but I've got to work to be a strong as you," she turned around and slashed at the air, throwing up her sword and working on catching it.
Mia smiled at the determined younger Ranger before picking up her own katana wooden sword and starting to work on a dummy. It was really hot in the outdoor dojo, so the Rangers were inside where there was an A.C, at least. Kevin was stretching out with Antonio, Mike was doing backflips to increase flexibility, and Jayden was fighting a dummy. Every once and a while he'd stop to look at his team.
Kevin was a disciplined swordsman who was working out putting him in his place. (As if.) Mike needed more work when it came to focus, but he was really strong and fast. Mia was beautiful and graceful with amazing swordskills who often challenged Kevin. And then he looked at Emily.
She wasn't supposed to be a Ranger, her sister was. Well, then Serena got sick, and they wound up with her. She was really having to work hard at everything she did, even more so with symbols. Often times she'd make rocks when she was trying to get a sandstorm or do her own symbol backwards. He knew she got angry with herself because of her weaknesses. But she was doing her best to be as strong as the others.
"Hiya!" he watched as she threw up her sword, did a front flip forth, kicked a dummy, and caught her sword to slash at the practice object. She was sweaty and puffing, but she kept on hacking it and working on catching her sword if something knocked it away.
After about another hour, Mentor entered and told them they could cool down. Mia wiped the sweat from her forehead and wrapped a towel around her neck, under her hair. Mike put his stick up first, hurrying in to flop on a chair in the meeting room. Rolling his eyes, Kevin finished his move before heading in with Mia. Antonio chuckled after them, already rolling up his shirt to shed it. Jayden stretched his body when they were inside, letting his muscles relax and his heartbeat return to normal. Then he noticed that one hadn't went inside.
"Emily," he looked at her, "come on in. Trainings over, give yourself a break."
"I've gotta' be strong, like you and Mia and Mike and Kevin," she replied, missing her sword and stomping her foot, "dang it!"
"Being a Samurai means letting loose," he chuckled at her determined face, "I like how your giving it all you've got. But give yourself a break so you won't be tired in battle."
"You're right," she sighed, wiping her face with a towel he offered, "thanks. It's just…I'll never be as good as you guys. I've got to work ten times harder to even be equal. And you…you're the best of us. To be equal to you…well, only Serena could."
She lowered her gaze and rubbed her arm with a sigh. He went up beside her and took her against his body.
"Look, you're the best of us," he spoke, "stop putting yourself down. You're the best of us because you never yield. Maybe I don't, but you are more strong to be doing all this for your sister and the world. I admire you for that."
"You…admire me?" she blushed, "well, I guess I can take a little break."
Laughing, he led her inside. True, he did admire her for that. But she was right: She'd have to really work if she was going to keep up. If she wasn't his best friend and teammate, he would have let her keep training. She needed all the help she could get. But at the same time he didn't want to hurt her. She was younger and weaker than the others, so they couldn't put all their strength into sparring with her. They'd probably break the innocent country girl.
After evening training that night, the Rangers decided to watch a movie before bed. Emily was curled up beside her boyfriend, Mike, fast asleep by the middle. Mia was leaning against hers as well, Kevin, and closed her eyes for the night by the end. Jayden looked over at Antonio, who was also passed out on the floor, tossing and murmuring something about fish. Cracking a smile, he hit his other best friend with a pillow.
"Go to bed," he smiled, and the Mexican nodded and yawned sleepily, stumbling into his room.
"Nite, Jayden," Kevin told his leader, carrying Mia to her room.
"See at some point in the morning," Mike did the same thing with Emily.
Now that he was alone, Jayden took off his shirt and stretched out on the couch. He was too worn out to move, so he decided to just crash in the living room. Closing his eyes, the Red Ranger fell into content dreams of battle and training.
A clatter woke him up. It was pitch dark in the room, and there was a blanket around him. Figuring Mentor had put it there, he chuckled and sat up. There was light coming from the indoor dojo, and he went to investagate, worrying for a attack. When he went in, however, he was greeted by the sight of Emily training alone.
"What are you doing?" he asked, making her jump.
"Late night training," she didn't stop slashing, "I didn't want you guys to stop me, so I acted like I was asleep. Thank goodness it's just you."
"Just me?" he raised an eyebrow to tell her to explain.
"You never discourage training. You do it all the time," she hit a dummy and did a backflip, "that's all. Want to help me?"
"Yep," he walked straight to her and picked her up by the waist.
"Hey!" she squealed a little, squirming in his grip as he carried her, "where we goin? Jayden!"
He turned off the light in the dojo with his hip and walked her into the living room. She'd given up on freeing herself, so she was now pouting in his arms. He laid her on the couch and sat in front of her.
"Go to bed," he wrapped the blanket around her, "I will see you in the morning. And if you try to get up and train, I will know." To prove his point, he put two chairs together and laid on them.
"But I know you look down on me," she whispered, her voice trembling, "why won't you let me get better?"
It was then he realized she was crying. It must have been painful, thinking someone looked down on you.
"Em, I do not look down on you," he assured her, "I think you have room for improvement. But I do know that you are trying really hard and I like that, I promise. So stop worrying, just train hard when it's time to with the rest of us. We'll help you."
He heard her sigh and sniff. By the pale moonlight he saw her wipe away her tears as she tried to sleep. Now, if there was one thing he hated, it was crying. It pained him to see someone else upset or hurt, so when someone cried he usually blocked it out and closed his eyes. But not to sweet, innocent Emily, his best friend and companion. No way was he going to let her cry.
"Emily," he sat up, "are you crying?"
"N-no," she sniffed.
"Oh, really?" rising, he sat in front of her again and put the blanket to the side, "then I guess you wouldn't mind if I…" She burst into a fit of giggles when he started tickling her.
She squirmed and squealed, trying to escape his dancing fingers. But he kept breaking through, letting his fingers find her ticklish spots. She shrieked and wrestled him to the bottom of the pile. Grinning between giggles, as he was still tickling her, she started to blow air all around his exposed stomach.
"Ahhhh!" he laughed, letting his fingers go all around her stomach and under her arms.
"Eeeeep!" she fell back, which resulted in him grabbing her ankles to work on her feet.
Squealing again, she kicked out and caught his jaw. He gave her mock look of shock as he rubbed his muscle.
"Sorry," she turned red, glad the darkness covered her blush.
"Now you've done it," grinning evilly, he pinned her to the couch once more and lifted her shirt up a little.
Filling his cheeks with air, he put his lips to her stomach and blew. She shrieked louder than before, bursting into uncontrollable giggles. He kept on doing it, and she soon had tears going down her red face. Squirming out of his grip after the fifth time, she managed to lay him down so she could do the same to him. He laughed loudly before going back to tickling her squirming body.
"What is going on in here?" Mike yawned, stumbling in with Kevin, Mia, and Antonio.
"I just learned," Emily giggled loudly as Jayden froze in mid blow on her exposed stomach, "that this guy is really silly."
"Silly?" Mia looked at the Red Ranger, who was his suit's color, "our serious, disciplined, stubborn Red Ranger leader Samurai being silly?"
"Never heard of it," Mike shook his head and Kevin exchanged a smile with Mia.
"He tickled you, didn't he?" Antonio asked Emily, who was giggling all that harder.
"Yeah, then I blew air on his belly, and he grabbed my foot to tickle it, and I accidently kicked him. So, for revenge, he lifted up my shirt and blew air into it!" she laughed and nodded.
"Silly boy," Mia was laughing herself, ruffling Jayden's hair.
Ah, what the heck, he thought as he picked her up by the waist. She gasped and squirmed as he laid her on the couch, getting over her. Kevin went tense as Mike look amused as Antonio laughed with Emily.
"Run!" the blonde giggled.
But it was too late. He started to tickle the older girl all over, finding her ticklish spots. Shrieking, she squirmed and squealing, big smile on her face and her laughter ringing through the Shiba House. Kevin was laughing now as well as he sat Mia up a little so he could put his fingers under her arms. Squealing, she was soon trying to escape both boys.
"Eeeeep!" Emily squealed as Mike and Antonio came toward her ,grinning as wide as Texas and corned her.
She was soon on the floor as well, squirming as they tickled her as a team. As Mike got to know her ticklish spots, Antonio was blowing air in her skin on her now exposed stomach.
"Attack!" Mia shrieked with laughter, tackling Antonio and starting to get him.
Giggling really loud now, Emily got Kevin and did the same. Mike was soon trying to help the African Amercian while escaping Mia's fingers. Emily then looked up at Jayden and grinned.
"He's ticklish!" she squealed before he covered her mouth and got back to tickling all over her body.
"Jayden's ticklish?" the other Rangers all grinned widely at each other, and pretty quick the Fire Samurai was squirming and squealing like the girls had as the others all tickled him with Emily blowing on his stomach.
Mentor walked in, half asleep. When he saw the wrestling tickling pile his Samurai were, he shook his head.
"Kids," he muttered, leaving to laugh and squeal all night.
