Hey guys, while I'm waiting for bunnies or inspiration or something to return to me so I can update For the Love of a Goof I thought I'd start posting this new fic that I have been working on for a couple of months now. What I've done so far has already been posted on PRUnited and there is a trailer for this fic and For the Love of a Goof on YouTube, just go to my profile and follow the links.

Hope you like this new fic. Please review, the first three or four chapters have already been written so I will update after I (hopefully) get a little feedback. Enjoy!

Prologue

A soft growl of pain escaped from his lips as the wet towel was pressed onto his still fresh burns

A soft growl of pain escaped from his lips as the wet towel was pressed onto his still fresh burns. It didn't help that his companion couldn't hide his smirk.

"It's not funny," Hunter muttered. Dustin just smirked again as he pressed the wet towel onto another burn. Another moan of protest came from the blonde.

"In battle you are as tough as anything but afterwards you moan like a little girl."

"I don't!"

"You do." The firm but gentle reply silenced the crimson ranger. He turned and looked at Dustin, who still had a grin on his face. Hunter was about to say something but then decided against it. Silence remained until Dustin gathered the courage to say what was on his mind.

"…why did you do it?"

…

A loud cackle escaped from Shimazu's lips as he watched the red and yellow rangers hit the nearest wall with terrible force. He released another blast of energy and they were thrown across the floor. The force of the blast broke the pair's morphs and they tried to pull themselves to their feet, no longer protected by their ranger suits.

Shimazu had struck when the pair had been alone. Shane had called Cam for help but the others weren't there yet. Aware that the other rangers were coming, Shimazu had been quick and furious with his attack of the air and earth ninja.

Shane ran towards him and tried to kick him followed by a punch but Shimazu used his superior strength to throw him off. With the two separated, Shimazu turned to Dustin. With another powerful blast the earth ninja was thrown back and again hit the wall.

"Not even a worthy challenge," the general laughed as he clicked his fingers and formed a spark of fire, "…goodbye yellow ranger!" As he shrieked a huge ball of flames erupted and flew towards Dustin. Knowing that he didn't have time to avoid it he shut his eyes and guarded his face from the impact…which never came.

A growl of pain from a familiar voice was heard and he opened his eyes to see the crimson ranger stood facing him. Hunter was slouching slightly and clutching the back of his shoulder but apart from that his suit seemed to have absorbed the flames.

Grimacing slightly behind his helmet he turned to face Shimazu. Cam and Tori arrived at Dustin's side and gently pulled him to his feet while Blake went to help Shane, who seemed steady enough on his feet. Dustin almost gasped in shock when he saw Hunter's back. In some areas the flames had burned through his suit and there were deep red patches on his back where the fire had reached his skin. If he was in any pain, however, the thunder ninja didn't let it show.

The six of them lined up to face Shimazu.

"Ready?" Cam called to the other five. There was no need. Shimazu did not fancy the idea of facing the six of them alone.

"We will continue this another time, rangers!" the general watched Dustin for a short moment before disappearing in his usual way. Only Cam and Shane seemed to notice the way Shimazu had been looking at their friend.

Dustin wanted to go straight to Hunter but the navy ranger was already by his brother's side, supporting him.

"We'd better get back to Ninja Ops," said Cam. They all nodded and streaked away, the crimson streak supported by the navy, with the yellow streak close by…

…

Hunter shrugged his shoulders. Dustin was disappointed by the simple response but he stayed silent. Hunter did the same even though he knew there was so much he needed to say.

"Hey bro, how you feeling?" greeted Blake as he jogged into the room. Hunter smirked at his brother.

"I've been better." Blake laughed and slapped his brother on the shoulder, earning a cry of pain from Hunter and a look of disapproval from Dustin. After seeing the look on the earth ninja's face Blake held up his hands in submission and left the room, offering the crimson ranger one last smirk before he left.

Blake left the medical room and came back into the main room where Tori was waiting at the side as Cam and Shane were in deep discussion. The navy ranger approached Tori.

"What's up with them?" The water ninja shrugged her shoulders.

"I heard the words 'Shimazu' and 'Dustin' but I couldn't catch anything else." Deciding that if it was to do with their friend then they should all know Blake spoke up.

"Hey guys, what's wrong?" Shane and Cam turned around to face them. Shane answered for the pair.

"Nothing…it's just, Shimazu looked at Dustin before he disappeared."

"…okay…so what?"

"Well, it's just the way he was looking, as if he was planning something…and it had something to do with Dustin." They all looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"It may have been nothing…but I suggest you all proceed with caution, especially around Shimazu," they turned around to see Sensei standing on the small table, "With cannot afford to take chances with Lothor and his generals, especially one of them seems to have taken a particular interest in Dustin." They all nodded their agreement. They turned back around when they heard someone walking in.

"Hey Dustin," Tori greeted her best friend with a smile, "how's Hunter?"

"He's just resting for a bit, the wounds don't look too serious," the yellow ranger replied with a smile as he walked in. He passed the remaining medical kit back to Cam. Shane turned to his green samurai friend and gave him a look that didn't need speech:

You let Dustin play doctor beeecaaaause…?

Cam smirked and sent him a look back that said:

I'll tell you when you're older.

Shane frowned at his friend's cheeky response but didn't pursue the point further. He looked over at Tori who was poking Dustin in a teasing way. The yellow ranger was wearing a rather deep blush and Shane was even more confused than before.

Back by the computer Cam was doing research on a particular subject and nobody noticed the look of concern that was spreading across his face…

You like? Yeeeeees? Then please review! Chapter 1 coming soon...