Emily and Mia made their way out into the main room early in the morning, even earlier than everyone was used to. Although 5 or 6AM wake-up calls were common to get some training in before breakfast, this time the sun was nowhere near up, and they were almost into summer.
Mia was yawning as she came into the room; she was pretty much hopeless if she didn't have a good six hours' sleep. She was a creature of habit. Emily noticed Kevin faking a yawn to match and had to suppress a chuckle. Mia was oblivious, but everyone else had picked up on how obvious his feelings for Mia were. He pretty much worshipped her, and seemed to do everything he could to make her not feel singled out in the group by almost trying to ensure that at least he was always doing or enjoying the same things she was. His yawn was so obviously fake to everyone that it caused a few of them to almost laugh.
Emily though was more worried about her own situation. She had dreamt about him again that night, not the guy she should be thinking about, the one that adored her and treated her so well. Looking at Mike, she felt the usual lift in her spirits as he straightened out his training uniform, and smiled at her. Mentor Ji came in carrying five backpacks with a little bit of a grin.
"I promised you a special treat." He told them.
"Waking up at four in the morning is a treat?" Mike muttered. Mentor Ji just gave him a warning glare that immediately silenced him.
"Today, you will all run up to breakneck point." He announced. They all rolled their eyes, but knew better than to protest. They had too much respect for Mentor Ji to question him. Breakneck point was a cliff that overhung the coast. It was almost three miles from the academy, and by the time the climb to the summit, a difficult route through forest, and up rocks, it was closer to ten. "There, you will meet some friends of mine, who will help you train today."
"Friends?" Mike asked, a slight smirk crossing his face. He hadn't really gone into too much detail with the guys what had happened in Blue Bay Harbour, but he had done his own research in the meantime on the internet. One of the Blue Bay Harbour team had been designated the Green Samurai Ranger, and while he hadn't directly asked, Cam had been trained in the ways of the Samurai, and his uniform's trim was green. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the connection.
"You will need these." He told them, pointing to the backpacks. They each came up in turn, picking up their backpacks, but they looked at each other with slightly disgruntled and confused looks, all except Jayden and Kevin, who just strapped them on dutifully.
"These things must weigh a hundred and fifty pounds." Mike protested. "What's in them?"
"Sandbags." Mentor Ji said curtly. "And they all weigh exactly one hundred pounds, so please don't exaggerate."
"You want us to carry sandbags?" Mia asked him.
"It'll make your run more challenging." He told them. "Oh, and don't bother hiding them, they are all marked. My friends will know if you carry them all the way and inform me."
"Alright guys, the sooner we start, the sooner we can get to breakfast." Jayden announced. Mentor Ji just held up a hand.
"Emily will catch up." He told him. "The four of you go without her."
Emily waited dutifully, the backpack weighing heavily on her spine and digging into her shoulders as she approached him. The others filed out, Mike last of all, giving her a little look. Mentor Ji just sighed.
"What troubles you?" He asked her.
"I'm not sure..."
"You've been distracted in training." He told her, before reaching into his robe and pulling out a letter. "And I got this yesterday morning."
Emily took it from him and her heart sank. She hadn't finished High School; she had only been seventeen when she came to the academy, and still a few points shy of her High School Diploma. Since she had been brought up to replace Serena, Mentor Ji and her parents already knew that certain allowances would have to be made. She had been enrolled in online classes in order to make up her grades so that once she returned to her life, presuming she ever did, she would have an education to fall back on. Even though she had now turned eighteen, and strictly speaking had no legal requirement to pursue education, her parents insisted. Since she was at the academy, Mentor Ji was listed as her guardian, and so the letter had been addressed to him.
"You're falling behind in your classes." He informed her. It wasn't much of a surprise really, she couldn't remember the last time she had completed an assignment. Things had been pretty up in the air lately. She looked to him sadly, awaiting a lecture that didn't come. He simply put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "This isn't like you."
"I've just been through..."
"You have a lot of responsibilities for one so young, and you bear them as difficultly as you do that backpack." He told her. "I also know you have had some distractions. I simply wanted to know if you wanted to talk about them."
Emily just looked to the floor and shook her head. She didn't know how to speak to him, or even if she could. The problem was that she had no idea what was going on in her head or her heart. Although she was with Mike, and she felt safe and secure and good about herself when she was with him, she was also having pretty hot and heavy dreams about a guy that had tied her up, beaten her and threatened to kill her and one of her best friends. Mentor Ji was wise, but she wasn't sure this was the kind of thing he could or would help with. He just sighed.
"I'm guessing this is at least partly to do with a certain member of your team." He concluded. She just nodded. While they hadn't exactly made an official announcement or anything, she and Mike hadn't really done anything to hide the fact their relationship had gone beyond mere friendship. He just nodded. "I am not as old as you think. Just...consider what I have said."
With that, he dismissed her. Emily stopped at the door to shift the weight of her backpack into a marginally more comfortable position. It was then a thought occurred to her.
"Mentor Ji?" She asked him.
"Yes Emily?" He asked, his voice sounding almost hopeful.
"Each of these backpacks weighs a hundred pounds." She reminded him. "You carried in all five, and this one's practically breaking my back."
"Like I said, I am not as old as you think." He said with a chuckle. "The others have a good start Emily; I would suggest you make your way to catch up."
With that, she turned and ran out in pursuit of her friends.
In a small plateau a little way up the cliff, the others had stopped for a quick breather, and to give Emily a little time to catch up. Mia was sitting on a tree stump, slugging some water as Mike paced, looking around with the kind of intensity that made it look like he was waiting for the meaning of life.
"She's coming." Mia assured him. "You know how strong she is."
"Given the bruise I had on my ass the last time I sparred with her?" He chuckled. "Yeah, that little five foot four ninety pound frame is deceptive."
"So why are you so agitated?" Mia asked him. Mike just sighed.
"I don't know." He told her. "I mean, I guess there's a part of me that wants to take care of her and protect and help her, but...I guess at times..."
Mia pulled him away as she saw Jayden and Kevin were going over some mild exercises to pass the time.
"Mike, Emily's crazy about you." Mia said reassuringly.
"I know, but...sometimes she's just so strong that at times I feel like, what does she need me for?" He admitted. "Look, if I talk to you about something, can it just stay between us?"
"I guess." She said with a nod.
"I'm serious; I've only told Emily about this." He reiterated. "I need..."
"Yeah, sure." Mia interrupted him. He just made sure Kevin and Jayden were well out of earshot before sitting down next to her. He wrung his hands intensely as he prepared to tell her.
"This is my...first time around." He admitted. "I know I act all confident and cocky, but a lot of it is bravado. Seriously, do you know what most girls do if you tell them your main passion is video games?"
"Shove you in a locker till lunch time?" Mia asked. Mike just looked at her a little stunned. Mia just shrugged. "I grew up in a city too. I know what kids are like."
"Me and my friends were kind of considered dorks." He told her. "It's only my training that meant I didn't spend most of my formative years being given swirlies. I've never had what I have with Emily before."
"It's always going to be scary." Mia told him. "You don't know what to expect."
"Yeah, so I just get worried." He told her. "She's kind of...cooled off on me recently."
"Cooled off?" Mia asked him.
"Yeah, you've see us, we like each other. She loved it when we cuddled, and the kissing...OK, I've got nothing to compare it to, but I think it was good, but recently...she just seems to be somewhere else."
He turned and looked to her pleadingly.
"You don't think she's bored with me do you?" He asked her. "I mean, I told her I don't know much about this stuff. Maybe she's..."
"Somehow I doubt she could be bored with you." Mia assured him, popping him on the shoulder as she gave him a little snigger.
"I'm serious about this Mia; I don't want to lose her." He told her. "She's amazing, and I can't bear to think that I'm driving her away. Do you think she wants to...you know...go further?"
"Look, I don't have a great romantic history either, just look at what happened between me and Jayden." She told him. "I sniffed after him like a schoolgirl only to get the 'just friends' talk."
"That must have sucked." Mike agreed.
"The thing is, I saw things that weren't there." Mia told him. "Maybe you should just give her a chance. If she's got a problem, she'll let you know in time."
"What if she lets me know too late?" Mike asked her. "Mia...I don't know what to do. If she wants me to go further, I don't know if I'm ready for that, but if she isn't ready..."
He just groaned and slumped forward, placing his head in his hands.
"Is it meant to be this hard?" He asked her. "I don't know what the hell to do."
"Like I said, given my romantic history, I don't know if I'm the right person to ask." Mia told him. "But if the movies I love are anything to go by, it's never going to be easy."
"I just don't want to risk losing her." Mike told her. Just then, Emily arrived, panting heavily as she leaned forward, supporting her weight on a tree. The others looked around.
"I think another five minutes are in order." Jayden stated. Emily just smiled before slumping back onto the ground, and smiling contentedly at the prospect of a rest. Mike ran over to her to tend to her, making sure she was comfortable as she caught her breath after playing catch-up.
