Precious Bonds

One month later

After the trio had successfully graduated from Hayate's Way Ninja Academy, they said goodbye and parted their own way. While Yousuke decided to travel all around the world and Kouta started working hard to start a small business of his own, Nanami had no idea what to do next. Surely she wanted to become a famous singer, maybe also an actress, or even a model too! But right now, Nanami just needed quite a time to get back on track again. Her career had been improving much more as well as her vocal range, yet she still felt… unexplainably empty somehow.

Being far away from her sensei's guidance and Oboro-san's care as well as her teammates, she was lost. Still wearing the same old uniform she had used to over three years, it saddened her to let it all go. Wandering through the city, Nanami looked desperate to find some memories of the old days – when she and Yousuke with Kouta, sometimes the Gouraigers and Shurikenger too – fought against the evil Jakanja, being in countless dangerous situations yet somehow still made it out alive. It was hard, she admitted, balancing between being a secret ninja and a normal 18-year-old girl. But now that her ninja days had ended, she couldn't help but dread for them to come again. Time has changed, the Hurricangers were split apart, the Gouraigers disappeared, both Shurikenger and Lady Gozen sacrificed themselves – nothing was the same anymore.

Nanami sat down for a rest, moving back and forth on an old swing, letting her mind traveled elsewhere.

§

"Nanami?" A familiar voice called out her name, and in this situation it made her happier than ever.

Kasumi Isshu walked toward Nono Nanami, but not like her, he wore normal clothing instead of his usual uniform. Because of this, she felt a bit irritated that everyone was able to move on so soon, unlike her who was still sitting here like an idiot, moping over the past.

"Hi, Isshu," she greeted him with a monotone, almost too formally for two friends – at least she was sure that they were friends now, even though the Kasumi brothers always had a bad habit of distancing themselves a bit.

He sat down to the swing next to her and stayed still, didn't even speak a word after that. His silence distracted her, pulling Nanami's attention toward the brown-haired man nearby. Isshu was just as good-looking as his brother, she could easily tell just that by witnessing the remarkable number of females tracking on them each day; yet putting that aside, there was something in his character that attracted her more than anyone used to, whether if it was his strong and determine attitude or his stern characteristics.

Finding herself staring enough at Kasumi Isshu, Nonomi started to break the awkward silence:

"Where's Ikkou? I thought you two are rebuilding Ikazuchi Academy back?"

"Ikkou and I had almost finished already, he said he could take it from here, but I knew he was preventing me from turning the school back to where it once was."

She could understand Ikkou's action as well as Isshu's resentment over their father's legacy fairly well over the past time. Knowing the conversation had changed into a bad atmosphere, Nanami tried to change the subject quickly.

"Do you have any plans after the school is built?"

He shook his head, then turned and asked her:

"How about you? I thought you were with Yousuke and Kouta?"

This time it was her turn to feel bad.

"They left," she said softly, as if afraid to admit that was the truth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he quickly said sorry, feeling stupid how inconsiderate of him even though Ikkou had warned him about Nanami's condition when Yousuke and Kouta left. Being near her just messed up his head, and he didn't feel good acting like an idiot in front of her.

…..Another moment of awkward silence ~

"Oi oi oi oi oi oi…!"

Nanami's communicating watch beeped, in which she answered in total shock – never would she had thought in her depressed moments it would rang out the sound so familiar, also too irritating to ignore at the exact moment.

"Hai! Nono Nanami here!"

"Ah, Nanami, thank god I finally managed to reach one of you three!" Oboro-san's voice was still the same, adding a touch of relief and familiarity she missed.

"What's wrong Oboro-san?" She asked, feeling down again, knowing it wasn't time to celebrate if Obora-san contact her through the emergency line of Hurricanger.

"There were suddenly big fires in some new ninja schools at Hiroshima, do you mind going there and helping them out Nanami? I know you graduated, but we really need all the help we can find."

"I'll go. Please send me the address as soon as possible," Nanami ended the call, running and shouting some apologetic words at Isshu and disappeared in a flash.

Isshu sighed, feeling heavy-hearted to see Nanami unhappy and had to be in a dangerous mission like this.

"Aniki?" He also checked his communicator, receiving a call from Ikkou.

"You're on this mission too. Take her to point 5-1-4 Hiroshima, I'd brought your ride to you already."

Isshu turned around, surprised to see his motorbike behind him already and Ikkou, standing leisurely behind a tree with a smirk on his face.

"Aniki, I don't understand."

"You will soon," he patted on Isshu's shoulder, "Talk to her before it is too late."

Ikkou walked away, leaving Isshu in a very uneasy position to be in.

"You didn't have to do this," he shouted to his older brother, irritated that his feelings to Nanami was so obvious to him.

"As an aniki," he turned around, walking backward and smiling deviously, "I should help my little brother get out of his daydreaming of Nanami after she left." With that Ikkou ran off, leaving a very flustered Kuwaga Raiger behind.

He sighed, putting his helmet on and sped away, tracking down the presence of Hayate's power inside her. Soon enough, he caught a wide-eyed Nanami looking at him with unsure eyes, giving her the extra helmet his aniki prepared and pulled her on the motorbike. Taken by surprised as Isshu suddenly sped up, Nanami held on tight to him reflexively, shutting her eyes as the wind and his low, warm voice battered by her ears.

Isshu was in complete shock, trying his best not to suddenly forget how to drive and send them both to the hospital. It was hard to concentrate feeling her soft body against his back as well as her delicate arms circling around his waist. He started to regret Ikkou's idea even though he was thanking him in some part for pulling him closer to the water ninja girl behind.

He must admit, he wasn't the nicest person to use some tricks on her. Whenever she seemed to loosen up, he would sped a bit faster, letting her arms inevitably tighten even more and ignored her call for him in the wind though he could hear, quite clearly in fact, his name being formed out of those pinkish lips. Eventually, Nanami gave up, buried her head onto his back, inhaling his intoxicating manly scent while clenching on him like he was her life line. Isshu could also feel this change, smiled contently to himself and finally slowed down, trying to lengthen the road trip as much as possible.

§

"Ninpuu! Shinobi change! Ha!"

"Jinrai! Shinobi change! Hm!"

As both of them transformed into their suit, the loose dark ninja ran away from sight. With swift movements, they chased after him, finally cornered him and fought hard against their opponent.

"Stag Breaker!"

"Sonic Megaphone!"

"Grh…" The dark ninja shrieked in pain, roared with rage and attacked back.

Although he was just half as tall as Nanami, he had put up quite a fight for them. It was her first time actually fighting side-by-side with Isshu, and to be honest it wasn't bad – they cooperated perfectly in rhythm, almost too well to be true.

Just as before they could finish him off with a final move, he desperately used all of his leftover strength to create a huge fire, aiming straight at Nanami and Isshu. Knowing it was too late for them to avoid the rapid flames, Nanami braced herself, ready to fight back. This fire was strong beyond her thoughts, nullified all of her water power, leaving herself exposed as a bait to the raging heat.

But the fire never got to her. Nanami opened her eyes in shock, finding herself cradled safely in Isshu's arms and chest while his whole body protected her from the flames.

"Isshu!" She cried desperately, feeling his body stiffened as the fire pushed toward faster.

He didn't reply, his gaze blurred as the temperature became normal again. All he could think was how to keep Nanami safe, no matter what the price was – just like that time when he got hit with the love arrow. With that, he closed his heavy eyelids, fell asleep soundly knowing Nanami was still in one piece.

§

The mission ended with Isshu hospitalized for a few days as Nanami carried on the mission by herself, settling down the ninja schools in Hiroshima and taking care as Isshu for the same time. During that time, she couldn't help thinking of Isshu. From an enemy, she never knew he would become more than a close friend like Yousuke and Kouta, and it made her blush. Isshu got better too, finally got back on his feet and spent the last few days discovering Hiroshima with Nanami. Going from place to place, having meals together, walking and even holding hands since he afraid she would get lost in the sea of people – yet Nanami didn't even refuse when he held her hand the whole time. Sometimes, he felt like this was so unreal, the fact that they have been closer than ever day by day. Was this what people call a 'couple' and a 'date'? He had no idea, being in a ninja school with strict trainings every day for more than half of his life wasn't the ideal environment to learn about what was the world outside Ikazuchi revolved like.

The ride back to Tokyo was peacefully silent, not a sound was made but he felt content thanked to the warmth of the girl sitting behind him. Stopped at the park where they left off, they went to the old swings again, feeling the crisp breeze of the autumn coming in close. Although they were both tired from the long ride, there was no need to rush past their time together anymore.

"Isshu," Nanami started off awkwardly, "I guess I couldn't run away from the fact that all of us are parted already anymore, huh?" She smiled and turned away, didn't want Isshu to see that fragility of her.

"And I want to thank you, for everything you and Ikkou had done for us," she turned around, looked at him with such sincere eyes that he couldn't even tear his gaze away from those black, watery orbs. "Goodbye, Isshu."

She walked away, feeling her heart would break to say another goodbye again. As a Hurricanger, Nono Nanami supposed to be strong, but she just couldn't. She trusted Furabijo and been betrayed, she was happy that Lady Gozen ate her food, yet she sacrificed… Now, her best friends had left her, making this somehow much harder for her than it needed to.

"NANAMI," Isshu suddenly shouted from behind her, making Nanami startled and turned to look at him with bewildering eyes.

"I LIKE YOU!"

As if shouting out a death sentence, Isshu lowered his head, bashing himself mentally for doing something so impulsive. But at the same time, he felt glad it was finally out of his chest, yet also nervous as hell waiting for Nanami's answer without even having the courage to look at her.

Ages had past until he felt his body melted into a soft embrace with Nanami's arms around him, her head rested lightly on his chest. Without any more hesitant, Isshu held her, protecting Nanami safely in his warmth.

"I like you too, Isshu," she whispered, barely enough for him to hear, yet made him happier than ever.

With no more barriers between them, he leaned down, touching and tasting her lips like he had wished. Nanami didn't feel the urge to fight back, instead letting Isshu doing whatever he wanted. For a moment, she felt all the pain had been relieved, and tears were needed no more. She had Isshu, a connection between the life she missed and a life she has dreamed, what could be better?

§

10 years later

"Woah, Nanami… I can't believe how much you've achieved in these 10 years! Best singer award, best actress of Japan… You're amazing."

"Thank you Kouta, you're not too bad yourself. How's your wife and daughters?"

"They're good as always," he smiled proudly, showing her pictures of them, yet his face fell a little when she asked more about his daughters. "It's hard to hide the fact that I am a Hurricanger to them, and you know I hate lying to them."

"Maybe you should try telling them the truth?" Nanami suggested.

"I can't. Our identities supposed to be a secret, also it would put them in dangers too," Kouta exclaimed, this was an itch inside him that he couldn't scratch even if he wanted to.

"Do you have any idea where Yousuke is? We promised to get together every now and then, didn't we? And it had been months since I heard from him," Nanami steered the conversation, saying out the thing that has bothered her forever since weeks.

"Now that you mentioned it…" Kouta was in deep thoughts as well, just like Nanami, worrying and wondering about what he had been doing for the past 10 years.

"Hey Nanami," a voice called her name from inside, walking out Isshu with hair still dripping wet and a towel in his hand.

"Oh! Kouta? Nice to see you again! How long was it, 9, 10 years maybe?" They hugged each other briefly, exchanging stories while Nanami focused on Isshu's wet hair.

"Sorry Nanami, Kouta, I have to go now. Aniki won't be too happy if I stood him up again," he said goodbye to them, leaned down to kiss Nanami like he always do and left.

As Isshu went away, Nanami turned to a jaw-dropping Kouta and smiled brightly: "Make yourself comfortable, I want to take a quick shower too."

"Wait… How did it… You and Isshu… When? How?" Poor Kouta just stuttered meaningless words when Nanami slammed the bathroom door, couldn't believe his eyes to see these two together after 10 years. Seemed like he and Yousuke were missing on a lot of different details about their friends now, Kouta thought, grabbing a newspaper nearby to read.

He got a lot of waiting to do in order to get some decent information out of his friends' mouth now, especially about Nanami and Isshu's relationship.

"Yousuke," four voices suddenly called out his name, "Hurry and come back."