Casey was lifting weights, exhaling almost angrily every time.

Sitting in his chair, RJ rolled his eyes, bored of hearing him. He had been trying to think how to improve the rangers powers, thinking maybe a power-up would lift their spirits, but Casey's constant angry puffing was distracting.

The master picked up one of his remotes and began checking the footage from the earlier fight the three rangers had had with one of DaiShi's many beasts. It had been a close call, but they had pulled through, as usual.

He found what he was looking for and smiling to himself for being so smart and such a good master, he paused the video and called over his shoulder: "Casey!"

He waited but the red ranger just kept puffing from the weight table. The wolf master got up from his chair and walked towards him. The boy was red on the face and covered in sweat and his arms were shaking as he pushed the weight up.

RJ put his hands under the bar and lifted it all the way to the holder. Casey looked up at him from the table and RJ gave the cub a smile. "I think that's enough weight lifting for a few days," he told him.

Casey rolled his eyes and sat up, not looking at the master, keeping his head bowed.

It was RJ's turn to roll his eyes. "Come on, man," he encouraged, putting a hand on Casey's sweat covered shoulder. He noticed the red rangers muscles were hard under his skin. He ran an inspecting hand on the cub's back and nodded to himself, pursing his lips. "Come here, I want to show you something."

"Not now, RJ," Casey said, sounding resentful. "I'm not in the mood."

"I know," RJ said, putting his hand on Casey's shoulders again. "Which is why I have to show you this right now."

"I don't care," Casey spat, shoving his hand away and getting up. "Whatever it is, I don't care right now."

RJ looked at him, trying his best to not look hurt. He debated what the best strategy for this case was and opted for the master way rather than the puppy eyes.

"Casey," he said in a serious tone that made the red ranger look at him, still boiling in anger and frustration. "Come with me, I want to show you something," RJ repeated, making sure his voice indicated it was not a friendly request. Casey rolled his eyes and RJ pointed at his chair, to indicate that's where they were going.

"I thought we weren't allowed to go near the chair," Casey mumbled as he walked towards the TV sets.

"You're not allowed to sit on it," RJ said, strutting past Casey and sitting on the chair, his legs crossed . He pointed at the space in front of him, between the chair and the TVs.

Casey showed him the palms of his hands, asking without words what he was supposed to do.

"Sit down," RJ ordered. He offered a small smile that was still not returned. "Right here," he indicated the space right in front of him.

Casey sat down, crossing his legs as well. He took a look at the screen in front of him and groaned. "RJ! I don't need to see today's battle, I was there!"

"Were you?" The master asked, looking around himself for the correct remote control.

"Yes! I have the bruises to prove it!" Casey almost shouted over his shoulder.

RJ found the right remote and pointed it at the TV. "Oh, your body was definitely there, getting its ass kicked," he started. He pressed play and the footage started playing. "But your mind was not there."

Casey watched himself, Lily and Theo getting thrown across a rock quarry and getting blasted. He let out a grumpy breath and looked over his shoulder again. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"The screen," RJ said, softly pushing his face to make him do as he said. "but don't look, observe."

Casey was still strung up and his face was still contorted in anger, so RJ leaned forward and put one hand in each of the red ranger's shoulders. Casey took in a sharp breath and held it, but said nothing.

RJ began softly rubbing Casey's shoulders. "Breathe," he reminded the other man after a few seconds passed and Casey was still holding his breath. "Now, look at the screen and tell me what you see."

"I see us getting our asses kicked by some stingray beast," was his frustrated answer. RJ exerted more pressure on his muscles, burying his thumbs where he found a knot. "OW!"

"Pay attention," RJ said, going back to the soft massage. "Observe, Casey, what do you see?"

Casey watched the fight in silence for a minute, relaxing under RJ's touch. "I see me leading my team into a massive defeat." RJ pursed his lips and pinched Casey's tight muscles. "OW!"

"You are frustrated," he pointed his words with more painful digging of his fingers in Casey's muscles. "You're angry," he rolled his hands into fists and rolled them hard on Casey's shoulders, making the red ranger yell in pain again. "And that is blinding you." He put his hands on the back of Casey's neck and very softly ran his thumbs up and down the red ranger's neck, more a caress than a massage.

"I don't understand, RJ," Casey whispered. "I'm not smart like you, I can't see things as clearly as you can."

RJ removed one of his hands from Casey's back long enough to use the remote to rewind the battle and play it again. "You're a very smart man, Casey," he said, his hand rubbing Casey's back softly again, almost tenderly. "You're just very visceral. Let go of the feelings and observe. What I want you to look at is right there, in your face."

Casey observed the fight in silence, trying to do as he was told. RJ kept rubbing his shoulders distractedly. The master was looking at his student as he looked at the battle.

"I can't see it," Casey admitted and RJ pinched his shoulders again. "Are you giving me a massage or punishing me for being stupid?" Casey asked over his shoulders.

"A little bit of both," RJ told him, suppressing a smirk he knew would not be welcomed. But when Casey turned to the TV again, he smiled pleasantly, his hands rubbing Casey's shoulders softly again. "Massages can be painful."

"I'm not following this lesson, RJ," Casey whispered and clenched, waiting for the pinch, but it never came.

RJ just sighed and put his hands on the back of Casey's neck again. "Look at your team, the one you say you're so far behind," he pointed out. "They are following your lead, without question, Casey."

"Yeah, because you are the master and you told them to!" He waited for another pinch but RJ's hand didn't move from his neck and his thumbs didn't stop the soft touch on the back of his neck. Casey could have sworn RJ was just caressing him.

"It has nothing to do with me," RJ said, moving his hands a little lower on Casey's back. "They follow you because they trust you." Casey said nothing and RJ kept massaging. "They follow you because they know you will lead them to victory."

"We almost got destroyed today, RJ, because of my great leadership skills."

RJ put his hands back on Casey's shoulders and leaned in. "But you didn't."

"I didn't what?"

"You didn't get destroyed," RJ said cheerfully. "In fact," his hands were moving again, tenderly. "You won."

"Because we landed a lucky blow."

"Luck had nothing to do with it, Casey," RJ stopped the footage and put his hand on Casey's head. "Have you ever wondered why I made you, and not Theo, the leader of this team?"

"Every single day."

"You had never seen me when you came here for the first time, but I had seen you," RJ admitted. "I was there when you stood up to Jarrod."

Casey twisted his body so he could look at his master properly and was surprised to see he was being perfectly serious. "You were there? How could you be there? Why were you there?"

"It was the final of the tournament for the selection of the chosen ones, Casey," RJ's voice left it pretty clear he thought it should be obvious why he had been at the academy that day.

"I saw all the masters, you were not there."

"I don't wear my master robes," RJ admitted with a smirk. "I always wear student robes when in the academy."

"Why?" Casey asked, turning completely to face at the wolf master, who just shrugged.

"I will always have something to learn, so I will always be a student." Casey's eyes widened and RJ offered a smiled. "Point is, I saw why Master Mao chose you instead of Jarrod. And I agreed with his decision."

"I knew nothing about anything at that point," Casey said, reeling up.

RJ raised his hands to ask him to call down. "You knew all the important stuff. You knew right from wrong, you knew how to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation and you showed courage and initiative."

"I gave a bully a towel and then cowered in fear when he turned to me."

"You put yourself down all the time," RJ said with a sad face. "It would be great if some of the red ranger's assertiveness and confidence rubbed on to you when you're not morphed."

"You all say you see potential in me. I think, no, I know I will only disappoint you all."

RJ smiled at him and Casey had the feeling RJ was being tender to him again. "You haven't disappointed anyone, Casey. In fact," he put his hands on Casey's shoulders again and squeezed softly. "You have exceeded everyone's expectations."

Casey looked at him, feeling his master's hand on his shoulders and the pride and, yes, tenderness, coming out of the wolf master.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked finally, surprised his voice almost broke when the words left his mouth.

RJ put a hand on his head and caressed his hair briefly. "Because the world is full of mean people who will want to put you down, Casey. You are supposed to fight against them, not help them." Casey's expression left no doubt he had never noticed exactly how often he put himself down and RJ felt like kissing him but he restrained. This was different, he reminded himself. This was for the long run, they lived under the same roof. "Food for thought, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Casey admitted, his eyes still fixed in RJ.

RJ smiled, glad to have helped calm the tiger down. He wasn't unaware that he had effects on people and he often took advantage of that as a master, and as a man. "You were supposed to see that, while not a straight line, the path you chose did, in fact, lead to victory." He ran his hand down the side of Casey's head and rested it in his cheek. "You're a great leader, Casey. You are a great Pai Zhua student and, above all, you're a great person. Don't ever doubt that." Casey nodded, transfixed by his master's kind words and just the way he was looking at him, so tenderly.

As if trying to shake a thought, RJ blinked and shook his head, removing his hand from Casey's face. "Anyway, that's what I wanted to show you," his demeanor was nonchalant as usual and he held up his hands to indicate to Casey that he could go. "Hit the shower, you can skip the dinner rush today."

Casey got up, still trying to understand the change in RJ's entire behaviour while they had been talking. "Thanks, RJ." He muttered.

"No problem," the master said getting up himself and turning to go to his room.

"RJ," Casey called after him, suddenly realizing something.

"Yes?"

"How did you stop putting yourself down?"

RJ smiled and looked at the floor. "I just did. It's a state of mind, Casey." The red ranger nodded and was about to turn away when RJ said: "But it did help when my master told me he trusted me to mentor the chosen protectors, against everyone's opinion, including my own."

"You didn't want to mentor us?"

"I wanted nothing more in the world," RJ admitted. "I just didn't think I could do it, until I found myself doing it."

"You're doing a great job," Casey said with a smile.

"I know," RJ said with a shrug. "Do you feel better?"

"Yes, thanks."

RJ smiled and said nothing, just turned away and walked into his room closing the door behind him. He closed his eyes, enjoying the memory of Casey's muscles relaxing under his touch. He shook his head and went for his chef jacket.

Out of all the times and people to have a crush on, he had to have chosen Casey.

It was a real demonstration of how good a master he was that instead of going for it, he had put the fate of the world first. If that didn't exceed Master Mao's expectations of him as a master, he didn't know what could.