Bravery
Author Note: *Picks up random trumpet and blows on it* Here hee, here hee. Tis I', GoseiGokaiRed, here to bring you the not-very-long awaited sequel to Fears! If you enjoy being confused, read on to this one-shot before reading the first one. And if you have...
Time for me to make this showy!
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Doc collasped on his bed, breathing heavily and clutching his pounding heart. For the past week, he'd been dating Samantha...and she was a kisser. He beamed at the lipstick all over his face and neck, blushing in spite of himself and falling back again.
"I like Samantha..." he shuddered happily, hugging himself and all but dancing to his bathroom.
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Luka watched Doc's new girlfriend mosy her way in Bath and Body Works threw a bush. She was always one to spy, and she had to make sure she wouldn't her friend. A little to her disappointment, all she did was buy some lotion and lipstick to apply to her full lips. That's when Doc himself came up, and they started making out. Face palming, the girl with light brown hair trudged back to the Gallen and sighed. She missed having him around...the whole reason for that first blind date was to get him out of the house. But now...
He was never there.
"Luka-san?" Gai had returned to the Gallen and was concerned for her. She was slumped over and staring at her feet, after all.
"What do you want?" she was in no mood to deal with the noisy apprentince.
"I was just making sure you were okay," he sat beside her on the couch, looking at her with eyes that showed his concern.
"'Course I'm fine," she mumbled, turning away from that face, "goodbye."
"Luka-san..." when he dared to grasp her hand, she slugged him, of course, but looked up to him. Her usaully exicted eyes were dull and looked lifeless, like she'd just given up all hope.
"It's just Don, okay?" she snipped with a shaky voice, "he's in love with that Samantha chick. And...he's just never around." She dropped her head once more and rubbed her temples with one hand, sighing shallowly.
"I understand," he let go of her hand and rested a hand on her back, "demo...this won't be forever."
"And what if it is?" she fired back, burying her face in her hands, the blush deppening on her face. She hated being so weak...and it was just worse doing it in front of Gai.
But she just couldn't bottle up those pent up emotions any longer.
"Demo..." he was, for once, at a loss for words. The awkward silence hung in the air until Navi entered, flying around, looking paniced and almost taking Gai's head off.
"Ahim-san's gone!" she yelped, and both Gokaigers' heads shot up to stare at her.
"NANI!"
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"Miley?" Joe repeated after the female redhead, "who the heck is Miley?"
"My dog!" the girl crowed, breaking into a wide grin and dropping to her knees, "Miley! Come here, girl! Miley..." She held the puppy close, and Lucy wagged her tail, barking happily and soaking up the attention like a sponge.
"Oh..." GokaiBlue knew he couldn't just take Lucy...not when this girl was her owner, "I aplogize, mam. I thought...I didn't know she had a home."
"It's fine...oh, Miley..." she was crying her happiness, and the male with a ponytail slowly walked away, heart sagging to his ribs.
He'd really grown close to her. Demo...it didn't matter when she'd probably been missing her real master. He had found her in the dog park, after all. The two had probably just gotten seperated.
"Wait..." the slighty younger person's voice called after him, and she got in front of him, "arigato...for taking care of my Miley. What is your name?"
"Joe Gibskin," he replied, really just wanting to leave and never have to remember the Yorkie and her master, "what's...yours?" He forced the words off his lips, and she didn't seem to notice.
"I'm Chloe," she bowed respectivley, and Lucy...er, Miley, wagged her tail and licked her face, struggling to balance on her owner's wrists, happily looking up at Joe while her paws pressed to his chest.
"Nice to have meet both of you," he quickly put her back in Chloe's arms, "if you will excuse me..." He walked away quickly, dabbing at his eyes and keeping his head low, his bangs hiding his heartbreak.
Sitting on his bed on the Gallen, he sighed shallowly and thumbed a chew toy Miley had adored. She was gone now, and nothing would change that. He knew he did the right thing, but...it still hurt.
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Marvelous just stared at the clouding horizon from the crows nest. With Ahim gone...it was too much for him to bear. And he knew he was the reason, too. Guilt burned up his chest as he looked down at his hands, squeezing them so tightly they turned a shade of blue.
"Marvelous-san?" Gai spoke from behind, and when he turned, he discovered the rest of the crew staring back.
"What do you guys want?" he turned right back around, avoiding their eyes.
"Do you know where Ahim is?" Luka walked to stand beside him, trying to get him to look at her, which he still refused to do.
"No," he snarled, "just leave me alone." If he was going to fall apart on the inside, he didn't need them prying it to his outside.
"We're all worried for her," Joe put his hand on one of his shoulders as Gai did the same with his other.
"But we'll find her...I'm sure there's a reason she did this," Doc encouraged, but it only made him feel worse.
"Please...at least help us find her," Gai squeezed the shoulder he'd been holding, and they finally left him be.
"Do you know where Ahim is?" Luka put a hand tightly on his shoulder to imply he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and he growled, pushing her backward.
"I don't. Go away," if he was going to be depressed, he'd rather do it alone.
"Look, we're all worried about her," Joe rested a hand on his shoulder as Gai did the same with the other shoulder.
"Demo...we will find her," Don encouraged, "and find out why she did this."
"Until we do..." the redhead was the last to leave, "at least try and help?"
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Ahim stared up at the sky above. Whatever remained of Planet Famille was out there, somewhere. She just had to get there. She could...she could rebuild the planet. Things could just go as they should. But how in the world would she ever manage that?
"Ahim!" a voice called behind her, and she heard familar footsteps rushing toward her.
"Joe-san..." she looked down, burying her face in her hands as he threw his arms around her.
"Ahim...what were you thinking?..." he lifted her off the wet group, carrying her bridal style back to the Gallen with rapid pace and setting her down on the sink counter of his bathroom, "you're sick..."
"Neit..." she tried denying it to lessen his concern, but at that moment her body racked with coughs, and she slumped over, weakened with fever climbing up her face.
"Here," he held a spoon full of dark purple medicine to her, and she recoiled.
"Ewwww..." she whined softly, "that is going to be nasty..."
"Please?" his eyes were begging her, "it'll make you better. Please, Ahim. For us...for me?"
Frowning sadly, she allowed him to slid the spoon into her mouth. Recoiling and shuddering, she wrinkled her nose and nodded weaky, "Arigatio..."
"No problem," he lifted her up once more and carried her to her own quaters, "change and come into my quaters, okay?"
"H-hai..." she did so when he'd gone, quickly going to his quaters and shivering, exhausted and slightly cold.
"Come here," he patted the place beside him on the bed, and she crawled beside him, curling to his warm body.
"You know I care about you, right?" he whispered ever so softly into her ear, and she slid in deeper to his chest.
"Hai..." her eyelids drooped shut at that point, and he just couldn't bring himself to move her freezing body off his arm.
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"Don't worry, I'm positive you will find your friend," Samantha was trying to sooth her frantic boyfriend. She'd decided to tag along with him and Luka's search party, which Luka hated.
"Thanks, Sam," he sighed, and that's when Luka's Moterbite rang.
"Really? Thank God...alright...good...we'll be there in a minute...alright, bye," she looked at them with a look of pure relief, "Joe's got Ahim. She's just a little shaken up, but not hurt and is asleep."
"Thank God," Doc let go of the breath he'd been holding, and he turned to kiss Sam, "did you hear that?"
"I sure did!" she was smiling just as wide, grasping his hands, "let's go get some ice cream to celabrate!"
"Okay!"
"Wait..." Gokai Yellow couldn't believe him, "aren't you comin' with me to check on her?"
He was already gone.
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Marvelous banged his head against the tree again. He was hurting himself as punishment for ever doing what he did to Ahim, and his head was throbbing as his knuckles were bloody. Kicking the tree, he collasped in a heap, shivering violently and feeling the burn on his body and in his heart.
"I...need...to...die..." he choked, loosing conscienceness.
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"This is just great," Luka ran her fingers through her hair as she stared at the two Gokaigers. They'd found Marvelous pretty quick, and he was now all fixed up on the couch.
Ahim was leaning heavily on Joe, who had sat in front of Marvelous to watch after both of them. She'd fallen asleep in tears, feeling horrible about her captain, no doubt, and Doc was still gone with that Samantha...and who knew where Gai had run off to... She'd never felt quite so alone.
"Luka-san..." she barely looked up at Gai's concerned voice in the doorway, "I..."
"I need to just..." she threw her hands down, standing arputidly and pushing him down getting past.
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Doc furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Luka race past the ice cream shop with her head down, Gai scrambling to keep up. Samantha followed his gaze and squeezed his hands.
"Do you think she's okay?" she inquired, and he shook his head, starting to rise.
"I'm goin go check on her," he smiled at her, but she snatched his chest, digging in her nails and yanking painfully to the ground.
"You will forget her," she hissed lowly, "and pay attention to me, got it? You know what I'm like when you make me mad."
"H-ha-hai..." he sat back in his chair weakly as her lips crashed forcfully to his.
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"Marvelous-san..." tears slid down Ahim's cheeks as she stared her captain, "cominasai..."
Joe stirred beside her, and she hid her face into his shoulder. Guilt was overcoming her heart, and she grasped GokaiRed's hand and sobbed softly.
"Cominasai..." she choked, "cominasai, cominasai..."