The drive home from the battle was far from fun. There was no music, no talking, and certainly no laughter. This battle had not ended in victory, and as much as they weren't going into it right now, having agreed after some heated words were exchanged to deal with it at the academy, there was a definite atmosphere in the truck.
Mike sat in the back seat, staring out the window with a glum look on his face. He had screwed up in battle, he knew he had. It had been completely by chance that Mia was disarmed of the Beetle Disk, but when he recovered it, he had tried to use it himself. He still didn't understand why it hadn't worked; he had been studying symbol power tirelessly for ages. While he and Emily were still in the early stages of their relationship, she was still happy for him to spend a few hours a night away from prying, judgemental eyes with her, trying time and time again to master it to the same level the others had. He had the power; he just had trouble making it work for him.
Emily was holding his hand softly in a comforting gesture as she sat next to him. He appreciated that she was trying to make him feel better, but just one of the reasons he was looking out of the window was as a result of the Nighlock's counter. Since Mike couldn't use the power of the disk, and Kevin was covering the team by himself, he had an opportunity to fire a blast back at them. Although he knew Emily would never blame him, he couldn't look at her. Some nasty looking grazes across her right cheek and forehead as a result of hitting the ground unmorphed after the attack just reminded him of the cost of his actions painfully.
Jayden was sitting next to Emily in the back seat, and despite some rather noticeable injuries, the most noticeable of which was a spectacular black eye, was as silent and stoic as always. His reaction was the worst, Kevin and Mia had yelled at Mike, at least letting him have some measure of penance for his actions as a result of allowing them to vent their anger. Jayden though had picked up this habit from Mentor Ji, the "wait till father gets home" reaction as he had called it. He wouldn't just unload and scream at people when he was angry, he would leave it so he could think about it and form his answer over time. In the meantime, the person who had messed up had all the time to think about what had happened and worry about the results punishing themselves even before whatever measures were deemed necessary were taken.
Mia was sitting in the shotgun seat, the Beetle Disk in her hands. Just like Emily and Jayden, she had caught the harsh end of the blast. She had limped back to the truck on her own, despite Kevin trying to help her. She hadn't really yelled at Mike about him taking the disk, she had expressed her anger that he couldn't keep the team covered. He had let them down. Kevin had no such reservations though. It had taken Jayden intervening to stop things spilling into violence. Kevin was livid. If it hadn't been for Jayden, he was sure they'd probably still be at the battle site now, still going over his disastrous failure.
As they pulled into the driveway, Mentor Ji was waiting, and far from a simply disapproving look, the one Mike was so used to by now, this time he seemed to be as angry as Kevin. As they got out, he gestured inside.
"All of you, inside." He said a lot more abruptly than they were used to. Emily looked between him and Mike, feeling uneasy; while Mike was sure he knew what was coming and felt nothing but shame. As they all stood, Ji slammed the end of his cane into the floor. "NOW!"
They were all taken aback somewhat by the change in his tone. They had all seen him angry before, it was only natural that occasionally his patience would be tested with so many young people in his home at one time, but this was unlike anything they had ever seen. Dutifully they all filed in, finding seats around the room. As Mike was about to sit, Mentor Ji just snapped his cane down on the seat. Mike looked to him in shock and he just shook his head, gesturing to the mat in the middle of the room, surrounded by the others.
"Kneel." He barked. Mike just knew that arguing would only lead to a bigger fight, especially since Kevin already seemed ready to kick his ass over the result of the battle. Mike just went to the middle of the room and knelt down, his head hung in shame as he awaited judgement.
"What were you thinking?" He asked as he began pacing. "I thought you were finally ready to listen to me and learn, but when it matters you act like this?"
"Mentor..."
He silenced Emily with a hand as he continued to glare at Mike.
"Your selfish actions cost us the battle, and your behaviour has been unacceptable for some time." He ranted. "You have become a danger to the team!"
"Mentor!" Emily protested getting up. "He messed up..."
"I'll say he did!" Kevin snapped angrily. "We could have been killed! He acted out of line! Mentor Ji made his decision! He just felt his ego being bruised and acted out!"
"My ego?" Mike asked him. "Do you think this is what this is about? I've been working my ass off here!"
"It shows doesn't it?" Kevin said sarcastically.
"Enough!" Mentor Ji snapped, slamming his cane into the floor again. They all sat dutifully like children being scolded by their father. He held out a hand to Mike.
"Turn over your Samuraizer." He demanded. Mike just got up, looking at him judgementally.
"You're benching me?" He asked.
"You have become a danger to the team." Mentor Ji told him. Mike just took out his Samuraizer, giving Emily a little look as he did so. She watched on, wide-eyed in horror as he handed it over.
"You don't know a thing about me." He responded. "I'm out of here."
"We're not finished!" Mentor Ji barked as he turned his back. Mike turned back and sighed.
"I'm tired of your lectures." He told him. "We both know you don't want me here..."
Mentor Ji just pulled an envelope and a piece of paper out of his robes and presented them to Mike.
"In the envelope is an open-ended Greyhound ticket." He told him. "The paper is a meeting place for a good friend of mine. Someone I feel can teach you."
"But..."
"The ticket is open; you can use it to go to that address and to come back." Mentor Ji interrupted him. "Or you can use it to go home. It's your choice. However, I warn you, until you have a letter written in my friend's hand, and bearing his personal seal, you are not welcome here."
He pointed to the corner, where Mike noticed his back pack, which had obviously been packed for his journey. He snatched up the backpack and stormed out. Emily rushed forward, snatching the paperwork from Mentor Ji's hand.
"Em..."
"Let her go." Jayden cut off the Blue Ranger. "She'll do what she has to."
As Mike was about to leave the grounds, he heard a scuffling of the gravel path and turned to see Emily sprinting towards him. She presented him with the paperwork.
"You forgot these." She told him, fighting the tears.
"Who says I want them?" He asked her. "It's clear Mentor Ji hates me. He hasn't done a damn thing...!"
"Mike!" She cut him off as she tried to find the words. "You're angry and disappointed, I get it, but you can't just give up on this!"
"Why not?" He asked her.
"Because that's not the man I..." She paused as she thought about it, trying to compose herself. "That's not you. You never quit, no matter how long the odds are."
He put the backpack down and approached her, but she pulled away.
"Mike, you messed up, but I don't blame you. I know you; I know no one's punishing you more than you're punishing yourself." She told him. "Please, if you do this..."
"I can come back to have Mentor Ji look down his nose at me all day." He interrupted her. She shook her head.
"You can come back to me." She told him. Mike just moved closer.
"Emily, we can still..."
"Can we?" She asked him. "Mike, this is already hard enough. I'm already so far away from my family, and it's so hard..."
She approached him, taking his hand in hers.
"Look at me. You know what I told you. I promised I wouldn't cry anymore, I promised because of Serena that I wouldn't cry anymore, that I'd be strong." She told him, gesturing to some fresh tears. "I'm crying, breaking my promise because of you. If I can let go, maybe you can too."
She wiped away some tears as she composed herself.
"I'm not asking you to choose." She clarified. "But, I really don't see how it could work."
He took the paperwork from her and placed his hands on her hips, looking deeply into her eyes.
"I can't say I've never failed in my life, but I've never given up before." He told her, stroking back some of her hair. "I guess I can give this a try."
He reached behind her head, pulling her in for a long, slow kiss that made him feel a lot better about himself. He had failed the team once, but he wouldn't do so again.
"I guess the sooner I pass this, the sooner I can come back." He told her. She just nodded.
"Take care." She told him. With that, Mike picked up his back pack and walked away, making the long, lonely walk to the Greyhound station.
Meanwhile, from a vantage point a little way off, Dekker kept an eye on the scene unfolding. He just smiled as he saw the Yellow Ranger head back into the building and the Green Ranger head for the Greyhound station.
"Too easy." He commented as he pulled out his sword. He inspected the glowing blade, which burned with anticipation, knowing that its chosen opponent was close by.
"Patience Urumasa." He told it. "We have already found him. The greatest duel in the history of the world will soon take place. Now we just need to wait for the time and place."
Mike was shaken awake by the driver as the Greyhound reached its destination. He didn't really know why Mentor Ji had sent him out of town, but apparently, he had arrived.
He hefted his backpack onto his shoulder as he got off the bus, looking around. He had never been here before, indeed before Mentor Ji had called him, he had never left his hometown for more than a few days. He pulled out the paper and inspected it. He just stared at it, completely confused. Mentor Ji had described the meeting place as an address, but it didn't have a street name or anything, just some numbers and vague directions. It looked more like some form of co-ordinates.
He approached the tourist information desk, where a young, red-haired kid was watching Beavis and Butthead on the small television in the corner. Mike just coughed.
"Um...could you tell me where this is?" He asked. The kid looked at it and just shrugged.
"The maps are over there." He told him. Mike just took one and left, thinking that the term 'tourist information' was more than a little ironic in these circumstances.
A couple of hours later, Mike found himself far from the city, somewhere in the wilderness surrounding it. He had followed the map and the directions as best he could, but so far, all he had found was...
It was then that something donned on him. He was in the mountains surrounding the city, deep in a forest. His element was forest. He just sighed.
"I guess he just wanted me to..." His words tailed off as he saw something odd. A wooden practice sword was sticking in the ground, the hilt in the air. He approached it, inspecting it as he did so from a distance. It was unremarkable in and of itself, but he was miles from the city, miles from anything to be honest, and it looked to be polished and ready for action, indicating that it had not been there long, perhaps only placed there within the last few hours for him to find. There was a note pinned to its hilt. Mike looked around cautiously before approaching it. The note was written in Japanese.
"Only take this if you are serious." Mike read it aloud. He could only think about what Emily had told him. Mentor Ji had given him a chance, he had sent him to someone to get some lesson he needed to learn. The sooner he learned it, the sooner he could return to duty, and the sooner he could go back to her.
The thought occurred to him that Mentor Ji's patience had worn out with him. If he was sending him here, it seemed probable that the new mentor was a lot more hardcore than he was. Thinking about Emily, and the fact that it was likely they would go their separate ways if he failed, he made his decision and pulled out the training sword.
As soon as he had done so, he heard a savage yell, which he located several feet above him. A dark figure plummeted from the tree with a swing that was bound to split his head open. Mike managed to parry the blow, as he was dashed to the ground, unbalanced but uninjured.
"I guess you're Mentor Ji's friend." He commented. The man was clad entirely in black leather. He was holding a wooden sword, indicating that the strike was not meant to be lethal. He threw off his backpack as he confronted the man.
The stranger just rushed him, throwing forward several blows. Mike parried and defended himself as he fought desperately for balance. He was a strange opponent, his garb, flair for dramatics and his footwork all seemed Ninja in origin, but his sword work was amazingly similar to that of Jayden and Kevin. He recognised a lot of the techniques the opponent used, but it was interspersed with a differing technique. It was a hybrid form that threw him off balance.
It didn't matter though; the foe was highly skilled with a sword. Mike was sure he'd give Jayden and Kevin a good run for their money.
He locked blades with the opponent, but found himself on the receiving end of a sacrifice throw. Before he knew what was happening, his sword had been flicked from his grip several feet, and his opponent was standing over him. He raised the wooden sword overhead and brought it down, falling to his knees mounting Mike. He closed his eyes in preparation, but the strike never came. He could feel his hair parted though. He opened his eyes, finding the sword almost at skin-contact level with his face in a blow that would have been lethal, even with a training sword, a blow that would have threatened to split his head wide open.
The mystery man got off Mike and held his sword in his left hand, before offering him his right. Mike accepted it humbly, realising that this tutor had his number. He took a more detailed look at him.
He wasn't quite as tall as Mike, and a little smaller. His black leather garb was trimmed in green, and he had a symbol stitched into one of the shoulders. He pulled his hood off, revealing his face.
"It looks like Mentor Ji wasn't joking when he said you had a lot to learn." He sighed, offering a handshake. "I'm Cameron Watanabe. You can call me Cam."
"Mike." He replied, shaking his hand. "So, you're here to teach me?"
"I am." Cam told him, gesturing to a point a little way off with his sword. "You can pitch your tent there."
"How long is this going to take?" Mike asked him. Cam just smirked.
"That's up to you." He replied. "Tell me when you've set up your tent, and then we can begin again."
