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By Elise

T

THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed Sight for Sore Eyes. This is the next in the series to be written and chronologically.

Disclaimer, standard. Jason and Tracy are my characters.

Jason growled as someone bumped into Hunter, causing him to lose his concentration. Hunter raised a hand to his friend, "Hey bro, it's cool. They didn't know."

"You have a cane for godsake! They should know." Jason sighed and looped his arm around Hunter's.

Hunter allowed himself to be led between the people. It was over crowded, the track and he wasn't necessarily wanting to be there. He had met Jason at the park. Hunter had crossed a street, not looking, and was almost hit by Jason. They'd been friends since that day a few weeks ago.

Hunter clenched and unclenched his hands, "They very well could be here."

Jason shrugged, "Who cares? You would've stayed if they were good friends."

Shaking his head, Hunter said, "That's not true. They've risked their lives for me."

"You mean, you've been almost hit by a car before?" Jason said, chuckling, "You're not the most careful of people are you, dude?"

"Something like that." Hunter bit his lip and Jason sat him down. He could hear the sound of the motorbikes and felt his adrenaline rising. He marvelled at how he was no longer afraid of them. Earlier in the year, Hunter had been in a biking accident which blinded him indefinitely. It had taken a long time to not be afraid of the sounds of motocross. Jason nudged him, shaking him from his reverie.

"Whatcha thinking dude?"

"What if I see him? I miss my brother, and Cam."

"If I had known you would've been whiny, I might've kept driving." Jason smiled, his voice allowing Hunter to recognize the sarcasm.

"We'll see. I hope they do show up. If they don't, no harm done. This race is for blindness... and well... i'm blind... Did i really pay twenty dollars to be a spectator when I can't see?"

Jason nodded. "Hey, there're some people looking at you strangley. What do they look like?"

Hunter's face lit up, "Well, one of them is asian and dressed in green. He's small glasses and is probably making a sarcastic comment. He's got a really good body, and his name is-"

Jason started laughing, "Cam. I got it. Man, you really are into this guy."

Hunter shrugged, "Gotta do what I gotta do."

Hunter listened for the people around him, standing up. Jason shook his head, "No, Bro, it's not him."

Hunter sat down. "Great. Well, I shouldn't be getting my hopes up."

Jason sat next to the crimson ranger and patted his leg. "The race is starting. There are ten people in the first heat. Damn... You know, Hunter, there are some famous people up there."

Despite feeling resentful that he had yet to find Cam and the others, Hunter's interest was peaked, "Who?"

"Factory Blue. Race X. Lime Racers. Even MTV's Extreme." Jason listed, "There're some I haven't heard of as well, Johnson Racers, Storm Chargers, Lucy Diamond..."

"Wait," Hunter said, "Go back. You said Storm Chargers?"

"Yeah, two racers... Brooks and Bradley... hey, you're a Bradley, are you related? Are these the guys you've been telling me about?"

"You gotta take me down there immediately. We gotta get down there." Hunter leapt to his feet, "Let's go. That's my brother and close friend."

"Whoa, slow down. We gotta stay here for a little while, remember? We're meeting with Tracy. She'll kill me if we ditch her." Jason said, urging the thunder to sit.

Hunter shook his head, "You don't understand dude, it's my brother. He'll know where the others are."

"Well, he's at the starting line, so its not like there's anything you can do right now. Let's sit and wait." Jason watched Hunter warily.

In all truthfullness, Jason didn't want Hunter to see his old friends. He had it in his head that they weren't good people, and that is why Hunter had run. Jason and Tracy were fiercely protective of Hunter. They hadn't known him that long, but he was nice and willing to learn new things. Tracy owned a car dealership and had hired Hunter on Jason's word. After Hunter had fixed a car that she had trouble with, Tracy was amazed to discover that he was blind. He didn't look it.

Jason scutted his foot along the ground. Hunter had a past. Both Tracy and Jason knew that, but he also had a personality that ached of a very well guarded vulnerability, increased by the handicap. After getting through the shell, Jason found that he really liked the person inside. He wasn't some blind kid running away from terrible friends, he was a loyal friend with excellent taste in cars and motorbikes.

Tracy whistled to get Jason's attention. Hunter nudged his new friend, "Your girlfriend is here."

"She's not my girlfriend." Jason said sharply.

"Even I can tell you're blushing, and I'm blind." Hunter said, laughing.

Tracy made it to the duo in time to see them in a shoving match. She laughed and separated them by sitting between them. "Alright you two, knock it off. The race is about to begin."

"My friends are racing in it, Trace, perhaps you'll get to meet them." Hunter said excitedly.

Tracy looked nervously at Jason than back to Hunter. "Sweetie... the friends who haven't called you or spoken to you? The ones that made you leave in the first place?"

Hunter shook his head, "it's different. You don't know them. Blake, my brother, is racing. I bet he's in a navy bike. There's also Dustin, and I'm betting he's dressed in yellow."

Tracy looked and sure enough, two riders high fived each other before revving their engines. Hunter jumped and then blushed, covering it up. He leaned to the edge of his seat. The announcer's gun went off, and the race began. The crowd began cheering as the cacophany of motors rang through the air. Tracy and Jason watched Dustin and Blake lead the pack of racers. "It looks like they might win."

"Of course." Hunter said, his head held high. "They always win."

"Modest, aren't we?" Tracy said sarcastically.

"It's not like that. It's just that Blake is the best there is, and Dustin is second. We discussed coming to this together. It was Dustin's idea." Hunter sat back, contemplative for a moment.

Tracy reached over and squeezed his hand. "You miss them, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I need the break. I was so taken care of that I didn't have a chance to become independent, self reliant." Hunter pointed out, while hearing the motorbikes zoom by on their second lap. He guessed they had four more to go, standard motocross.

"You are self reliant, dude," Jason pointed out, "You live in an apartment building, take a bus to work every morning. Hell, you even tutor kids in martial arts. You're kindof an over achiever."

Hunter snorted, "No one ever accused me of that before."

The group fell into a comfortable silence, watching the race. When it was over, sure enough, Blake Bradley had taken first, with Dustin Brooks in second. Hunter smirked, "See? Now can we go down there? I want to see them."

Tracy shifted foot to foot, "Hunter... if you see them, will you leave us? I mean, I know we can't replace what you had in Blue Bay, but we like you, you know? I mean, you still work for me, and I won't let you quit, and we're your friends."

Hunter leaned back, his face blank. He had long ago learned to control his eyes, in terms of emotion. HUnter rubbed his face for a second before answering, "I really like it here as well."

"That, my friend, is not an answer." Jason said.

"I like the both of you. You've both been friendly, and helpful, and there for me." Hunter said, "If I leave, it'll be hard. You knew i was going to go home one of these days."

"I just don't want that day to be today, Hunter." Tracy said.

"It won't be." Hunter pointed out as he stood, "I'm not going home with them. I still haven't found what I'm exactly looking for."

"Dude, this zen stuff has got to go." Jason said, helping Hunter down the bleacher steps towards the pit.

Hunter grinned, "My blue bay friends would note the irony of that statement."

Hunter, still nervous with the loud noises, heard over the crowd his name being screeched at the top of someone's lungs: Tori. Without even a second to register, Hunter felt a body fly into him, hugging him in a death grip. Jason and Tracy stepped back as Hunter laughed at the bundle of Tori in his arms. She stepped back and grinned, "Not that I missed you or anything." She said sarcastically.

"Oh right, that was quite the hug for someone who didn't miss me." Hunter smiled and reached out for Tori's hand. "Who else is here?"

Tori grinned and turned, "The entire crew. Dustin and Blake are meeting up with us at The Blue Parrot Cafe."

Hunter grinned, "So Cam... you're here?"

Cam grinned and stepped past Shane, placing a hand on Hunter's arm. "Right in front of you, Hunter."

Hunter launched himself on the green samurai, rivalling Tori's hug. Hunter leaned back and Cam placed his hand on Hunter's face. Jason and Tracy exchanged glances and grinned. Jason stepped forward, separating the two, "Alright, I think it's about time you introduced us to your friends, Hunter."

Hunter reluctantly stepped back, placing a hand on Jason's arm, to situate where he was. "Everyone, this is Jason, a friend of mine, and Tracy, my friend and my boss."

Tracy smiled and waved and Jason grinned, placing an arm around Hunter's shoulder, "Yes, yes, this one walked in front of my car, and I nearly hit him."

"You love that story." Hunter said, rolling his eyes, "I mean, absolutely love it."

"Well, I like pointing out your flaws. Makes me look good." Jason said, laughing.

The group laughed along with him, except for Cam, who was watching Jason's arm over Hunter's shoulders. Jason was tall enough to reach Hunter's shoulders. Cam ducked his head. Tracy raised an eyebrow but felt that it was none of her business. "Well," She said, "You need to introduce yourselves."

"I'm Shane." The red ranger said, reaching to shake hands with the two.

"Tori Hansen." said Tori with a smile.

Jason smiled, winking at Tori. At that moment, Dustin and Blake had walked up to the group. Neither racer had seen Hunter yet. Dustin was complaining, "Dude, you totally cheated somehow. I've been practicing like non-stop."

"No way, bro, i always win. Especially if the race is for blindness. I was going to work extra hard." Blake smiled, "Turns out though that this race was a breeze. Man, it such a burden being a winner all the time."

Dustin shoved Blake, smiling. "Jerk."

"Hey you're the one complaining about second place, which is still good." Blake said.

Both boys finally looked up at the amused group. Their eyes landed simultaneously on Hunter. Blake seemingly flew over the ground, attacking Hunter. "BRO! I've missed you!"

Hunter grinned, too happy to say anything. They both stopped hugging each other, but still kept a hand on each other's backs, as if to prove they both were still there. Dustin clapped his hands in excitement, "Dude, what's up? You're not afraid of motocross!"

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, I know. I still jump on occasion but, I'm all good."

Tracy extended her hand to Dustin, "I'm Tracy. You must be Hunter's brother, Blake, right?"

Dustin shook his head, pointing at Blake. "I'm Dustin, that one is Blake. Adoption."

Jason reached out and shook both of their hands. "I'm Jason. Well, I overheard that you were all going to the Blue Parrot, and I gotta tell you guys... the place is terrible."

Hunter laughed, "He's right guys. I hate the Parrot. Jason, remember that one night when Tracy dragged us there after work?"

Tracy crossed her arms, "It wasn't that bad."

"It was karaoke night." Jason pointed out, "AND a high school tour group was there. I didn't even know we had a high school in the area!"

Hunter laughed at the memory. The other rangers exchanged glances. Knowing that Hunter had another life was quickly making them uncomfortable. Hunter clapped his hands together. "Here's the plan. We get our things and meet at The Village Grille."

Tracy shrugged, "No... there's that creepy guy there."

"We'll protect you, Trace, don't worry." Hunter said.

Tracy scrunched up her nose and nodded. "OK... who is going to go with your friends? They need to know how to get there."

"I can take them." Hunter said, "I haven't seen them in so long."

Tori put up her hands. "Whoa. The Village Grille? Is that a restaurant? A bar? How long? We've gotta get back to... Sensei for more training. Which you're missing out on a lot of fun, Hunter."

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, "He trains here. He teaches for a few hours each week at the local dojo. There's a lot you don't know about Hunter here."

Shane crossed his arms, "And a lot you don't know. Listen, we appreciate you looking out for him, but Hunter is a close friend of ours and we kinda would like him to come home."

Cam cleared his throat, "He belongs with us."

Tracy mimicked Tori's actions from earlier. "Hey. It's just a bite to eat. Hunter will decide whatever Hunter decides. I'm starving lets get food."

Hunter grabbed onto Jason's arm again. "Lead me outta here. it's too loud. Cam, follow us in the car."

Cam nodded, watching Hunter walk away. Hunter's face was blank, a sure fire sign

that Hunter was upset. Cam looked at the rest of the rangers and put up his hands. "I don't know what to think. I don't like seeing Hunter dependent on that guy, Jason."

Shane shrugged, "None of us do, dude. Let's give them all the benefit of the doubt, alright? We gotta focus here on Hunter and what's best for the team."

Blake bit his lip, "Alright guys, Hunter is still Hunter. Let's eat and learn about his time away."

A few nods and they all left. The same haunting fear floated above the ranger's heads. What if Hunter didn't want to come back?

tbc?