Chapter 2: A New Beginning
Normal POV
"Now, all you need to do is pull the trigger, and draw circles around the Pikachu to capture it! Understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Kaplan. Of course." A fairly short girl with spiky pigtails tied to the top of her head slowly opened her eyes, staring ahead at the Pikachu that stood in front of her. It seemed harmless enough, but even so, the young girl had to keep wary. Who knows what it could do.
She glanced to her right, a girl about her age stood at the sides, cheering her on. The tips of her chocolate brown hair curled outwards and she had long bangs at the sides of her face. Her attire consisted of what the school uniform was, a green sweater on top of a blue collar shirt, a yellow tie and blue shorts.
To her left stood the man that she had earlier addressed as "Mr. Kaplan." He was dressed in a turquoise outfit, with a turquoise hat to top it off. Quite a... simple outfit, to be blunt.
The twin tailed girl turned back to the Pikachu, who slowly stepped closer to the girl. It would be much easier if she could use her own powers at the time, but if she was to become a ranger student, she'd have to use the styler she was given. She took a deep breath, pointing the styler at the Pikachu. Pulling on the trigger, she cried, "Capture on!"
A disc spun out of the styler, followed by a trail of white light. An antenna seemingly made of light shot out from the styler, which the girl used to control the disc. She moved her arm around, quickly encircling the Pikachu with ease. Within a few more seconds, circle completely closed in on the Pikachu, and the light enveloped it. Once the light died off, the Pikachu ran towards the twin tailed girl and rubbed its head on her leg affectionately. The test was completed.
Clap.
Mr. Kaplan stepped out of the shadows, clapping at a slow pace. He gave a sly smirk, looking up slowly. There was an evil glint in his eyes as he said, "I see you two have now passed the test...you have proven yourself worthy in becoming members of our secret organization, which shall soon rule the world!" He started laughing maniacally, almost as if he couldn't control himself.
The brunette that had been standing at the side immediately grabbed Mr. Kaplan by the collar, growling, "HOW DARE YOU TRICK US INTO COMING HERE, I OUGHT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE LESSON IN PAIN! WE CAME HERE TO BECOME RANGERS TO PROTECT THE WORLD, NOT TAKE OVER IT!"
Even so, Mr. Kaplan could not hold in his laughter. "Mwahahaha, why, I assure you, you will not regret this decision! Not that you can anyways. You shall become one of our faithful minions, whether you like it or not-"
"MR. KAPLAN!" Everyone turned their attention to the woman standing at the door. Mr. Kaplan sweatdropped, nervously averting his eyes from the woman. She had shoulder length auburn hair, wearing a green sleeveless top and a white pencil skirt. "Would you just PLEASE stop-" she suddenly noticed the girl holding Kaplan by the collar. "Oh. Well, I see you have this all under control. Now, please let him down."
The girl glanced at Mr. Kaplan and gave him a glare before dropping him on the ground. He landed on the ground with a hard thud and muttered, "Remind me never to mess with this girl again..." he got up and quickly brushed himself off. "A-ahem, well, Kate, Summer, you have passed our entrance exam with flying colors! Congratulations! You are now officially students of this Almia Ranger School!"
Summer, the brunette that dropped Kaplan, turned towards her twin tailed friend, her brown eyes sparkling with delight. "Kate...we...WE'VE BEEN ACCEPTED! YES!" she exclaimed as she pumped her fist into the air.
Kate gave a small nod to Summer, then turned to the mysterious woman and bowed. "Thank you very much, I hope you'll accept us for who we are, Ms..."
"Ms. April." she smiled. "I'm your new teacher. It's a pleasure to meet you two. Come now, Kate Hitomi, Summer Minami. I'll show you the way to my- or should I say, our classroom."
This was it. Their new lives...were to start behind that door.
Kate took a nervous glance at the door that lead to her classroom. She could feel her heart racing as she took quick breaths to try and calm herself down. She was never very good with people or really, just being in the spotlight. On the other hand, Summer seemed to be bouncing with excitement.
"Are you alright, Kate?" asked Ms. April. "You seem a bit nervous."
Kate took a deep breath. "I'm alright, thank you, Ms. April."
Ms. April gave her a warm smile and said, "Good. Now, you two, please wait outside and I'll have you two come in shortly." Ms. April walked inside the classroom, closing the door quickly behind her.
"Settle down, class." You could hear Ms. April speaking loud and clear. It was obvious the walls weren't soundproof. "As you all know, we have two new students joining us today."
Almost immediately, the class broke out into whispers.
"Oh, are they girls? Guys? Or maybe even both?"
"Are they famous?"
"I wonder if they're cute!"
"Hope they're fun!"
"Ugh, it's gonna be another one of those prissy girls-"
"Oh, would you show some manners?!"
"Excuse me? Says you, the one who interrupted me!"
"Please, I'm only trying to show you what true courtesy is-"
"QUIET!" The class immediately silenced themselves at the voice of Ms. April. A mental note: don't get Ms. April angry. She cleared her voice before speaking again, "Would you two come on in now?"
Kate stiffened at the sound of those words. This was it, the moment of truth. The true test awaited her, right in that classroom. Summer walked inside first. Her calm composure was something to be jealous about, it was a trait Kate didn't have.
Another deep breath. Kate stepped inside the classroom, trying to ignore the faces that were staring at her. Many pairs of eyes were staring at her, burning into her. Would they accept her or not, that was the question. She kept walking forward, concentrating on how to walk. Soon, she stood beside Summer, stiff as a brick.
"Now, girls, why don't you introduce yourselves?" said Ms. April.
Kate felt herself giving a small sigh. Introducing one's self was never necessary, but every single teacher would always tell them to introduce themselves, even if they didn't want to. But that sigh was enough to make Kate relax a bit more.
"Hey, Kate?" Kate turned to face Summer. "I'll go first, 'cuz I know you're afraid of big crowds and all." she whispered. Kate nodded in response, and turned her attention back to the class.
Summer took a deep breath before introducing herself. "Hi! I'm Summer Minami and I'm from Summerland, Fiore. I'm turning 16 in the summer, which is why they call me Summer." There were a few giggles, making Summer smile more. "I'm here to become a ranger, so I hope you'll all bear with me!" She gave a salute, concluding her introduction, which ended with a huge applause. Of course, Kate knew she wouldn't be able to manage that.
She sighed once more. It was now or never. "I'm Katherine Hitomi, but I'd prefer if you called me by Kate. I'm here to become a ranger. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Kate gave a slight bow. She received a small applause in response, but it was nothing compared to what Summer received. But it was expected. To be honest, it really wasn't a pleasure to meet them. Who knows, they could be like everyone else in Summerland.
"Now, for your seats-" Ms. April was interrupted by a loud yawn by a student who sat in a desk in front of Kate. "Keith, do learn to cover your mouth when you're yawning. It's impolite to yawn like that."
Keith looked up, a bored expression was written across his face. "I'm so sorry, Ms. April, I didn't expect our new classmates to be one overly eager, wannabe ranger and one stuck up snob." He had spiky auburn hair with amber eyes that shone with boredom. Yet, he seemed to be staring at Kate.
Kate simply stared back at Keith with disinterest. She had no care for who he was, nor was affected by his words. Summerland was a lot worse anyways, she was used to this kind of treatment. Kate would just avoid him for the rest of the year.
Ms. April sent a death glare to Keith before continuing on. "Well, as I was saying...Summer, please sit beside Ben over there, and Kate, please sit beside Keith."
How wonderful. Sitting beside someone like him for the rest of the year. She'll simply have to tolerate with him until the school year ends then. She would most likely be located in a different base than Keith, after all. Kate slipped into the seat beside Keith, paying no attention to him. But she could still feel his eyes on her.
Behind her was Summer and that other boy, Ben, was it? He sat directly behind her, while Summer sat behind Keith. At least Summer was still nearby. Kate would rather keep it that way.
"Well then, you two are now officially my students, which I take pride in teaching! Please give these two a warm welcome!" And with those encouraging words from Ms. April, the class burst into cheers, with only Kate who remained silent.
Once the class calmed down, Ms. April continued talking, "Alright, class. I will be changing the schedule for today. Today will be a free-study day. Rhythmi? Can you please show Kate and Summer around?"
"Alright!" On Kate's left was the girl who had spoke up, Rhythmi. Her blond hair was quite puffy, and she had a bit of makeup on. But yet, it seemed to make her look more professional like.
"If any of you need me, I'll be in the staff room." Ms. April quickly got up and left the room, knowing the students would want to ask the two new brunettes a few questions.
As expected, all of their classmates soon gathered around them, eagerly throwing out question after question.
"How was life in Summerland?"
"Oh my gosh, you two are soooo cute!"
"Hey, they do look like fun!"
"Come hang out with us after school, won't you-"
"HEY!" a voice rung out above the other ones. Everyone turned to the redhead who had been staring at Kate. He pointed at Kate, saying, "New kid! Tell me, what was your score? Or was the princess unable to finish and convinced Lamont to let you in anyways?"
Summer quickly stepped in front of Kate, glaring at Keith. "If you want Kate to respond to your question, why don't you address her by her name?! Surely you could at least process enough from our apparently 'boring' introductions to at least remember her name!"
"No, it's alright, Summer." Kate stated as she took a step forward. "What I'm wondering is why you called my dear friend here an 'overly eager, wannabe ranger'."
Keith scoffed. "Please. That introduction was way too enthusiastic for her own good. What is this, kindergarten? Besides, her entrance score couldn't have been higher than mine, so don't get too cocky."
"I'd be more cautious with my words if I were you. 7 seconds was the highest score in the school, was it not? To capture such a simple Pikachu... quite an impressive feat for a first at a styler. That score was held by you, wasn't it?"
"Well, of course, I'm the best ranger in this school-"
"Why don't you ask the person who beat your score what their score was?" Kate turned towards Summer, signalling who this person was.
Summer sighed, "Geez, Kate. You don't have to make everything so complicated..." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "6.8 seconds. That's my record."
The class immediately gasped, turning to see what Keith's reaction would be. It was definitely worth it though.
"Y-y-y-y-y-you...what?!" He was beyond flabbergasted. "H-how could you beat me, Keith, ranger prodigy-"
Kate took a step towards Keith, looking up at the slightly taller male. "Why don't you learn to keep your ego in check? I'm sure it would help to not make you look like a fool." She took a step back, walking away from the crowd of students.
Summer immediately followed, grabbing Kate by her hand. "Kate!" Summer kept her voice at a whisper, so the other students wouldn't hear her. "I know you can't stand when someone's picking on me or anything, just like I can't stand when someone picks on you, but you really ought to loosen up here! This isn't Summerland."
She sighed. "I guess..."
"Hey! Kate! Summer!" Kate and Summer turned around to see Rhythmi following them. "Wow! Nobody ever has the guts to stand up to Keith like that! You two are really something!" She gave a warm smile before grabbing their hands. "I'm Rhythmi Note! Nice to meet you! From now on, we're friends, alright? Oh, and don't mind Keith, he might be my childhood friend, but he's still as much as an idiot as he was before."
Summer grabbed Rhythmi's hand in return. "Nice to meet you too, Rhythmi! I hope we'll be good friends! C'mon, Kate! She'll be our first friend coming to Almia!"
Kate looked away, a scowl forming on her face. "...nice to meet you."
Rhythmi frowned, pulling her hand back. "You know, there's better ways to make friends than that. Try it again, Kate! And try to put some more enthusiasm into it!"
"...nice to meet you...R-Rhythmi." grumbled Kate, not daring to make eye contact with her.
"Don't try to push her that much, Rhythmi!" said Summer, waving her hand. "She's a bit socially awkward."
She smiled. "It's alright! Everyone here is friendly, there's not much to worry about. You'll get used to it in no time! Well, Keith's an exception. C'mon! I'll show you around the school! That ought to get you warmed up to us!"
"Hey, Keith?"
"What do you want, Ben."
"You're an idiot."
Keith smashed his head on his desk. "I KNOW, I KNOW! YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUB IT IN!"
Their classmates had scattered earlier, after Kate and Summer left on their little "tour," but Ben would never let him live this down. Keith's very first attempt of making a friend. And it was a huge failure.
When that other new kid walked in... what was her name? Martha or something? Well, it didn't matter what her name was, Keith just didn't care about her. Nothing interesting about her. But when... Kate walked in, Keith was immediately drawn to her. Those cold eyes... they were similar to his. Keith found her interesting. There was something about her that... attracted him to her. As if they were destined to meet. But it wasn't just the eyes that had drawn her to him. No, there was something else... but he couldn't put his finger on it.
As the new girl spoke, Keith had unconsciously stared at her as he was caught in his own thoughts. He wasn't even paying attention to her words until the girl said "ranger." His thoughts had suddenly cleared and that's when he started to examine this girl.
From Keith's impression, she seemed to be a cold hearted person. She had a quiet demeanor and a face that showed no emotions. But she seemed a bit nervous, as if nobody would accept her. To Keith, this would've been some snobby rich kid, unwilling to accept any of his challenges. Another girl for Keith to hate. But...there was more to her than meets the eye. Those eyes of hers seemed... empty. Just... empty. Like she'd been broken apart and then forced back together.
But, he was awfully tired, especially after pulling an all nighter trying to finish the homework he procrastinated on, only to find out it wasn't due today. Keith had let out a loud yawn, which obviously caught Ms. April's attention. Being the expert liar he was, he mentioned something along the lines of the new kids being prissy and overly excited. He kept examining Kate though... he wasn't able to look away.
And that disinterested look in Kate's eyes when she met his gaze. He could feel a click. This was fate. He would have to make Kate his friend... one way or another. Eventually. Once he figured out how to do that.
Soon enough, Ms. April assigned the Kate to sit beside him. Boy, was he happy. The amusing girl sits beside him for the rest of the year. Yup, it was official. He definitely wanted her- no, no, not like that. Just as a friend. But that's rare for Keith. He never made any friends. Well, Ben and Rhythmi happened to be his childhood friends, but they asked him to be their friends, not the other way around. It was... really nearly impossible to get Keith to want a new friend. And he wanted this girl as her friend.
Yup, Keith wanted the cold hearted "demon" as his friend. The girl that had basically turned his words upside down, yet still remained modest. And, maybe it was just him, but there seemed to be that little... spark in her eyes. That... glimmer from protecting her friend like that. But of course, he killed his every chance of making a new friend. Just with his over inflated ego.
But even if he wanted her as his friend, Keith would never admit it. He would never admit it to anyone... but Ben.
"You know, Keith, if you wanted to be friends with Kate, why don't you approach more... normally?" said Ben.
"Hey, Natsuya? Why are you trying to give someone who's never made a friend before in their life advice after they screwed up big time?!" said Keith, turning towards the brunette. Ben had spiky, brown, gravity defying hair with dark brown eyes to accompany them with. Of course, Keith really made the worse decisions with who he became friends with.
"Speaking of which... how did you even know I wanted her to be my friend?" he asked.
"I'm an aura guardian in training, Keith. Even if you're a master liar, your aura changes whenever you tell a lie. I'm surprised you forgot about that, Keith..."
"Oh... riiiiight."
Even if Keith was a master liar, he couldn't get past Ben's abilities. Ben was an aura guardian-to-be, but really, barely anyone knew about this. He kept his secrets well and never used his abilities to be noticed as one of them. Out of everyone in the school, only he, Rhythmi and another kid in the other class knew about his secret.
Ben sighed. "Besides, Keith, you never really talk to anyone but me, Rhythmi and Issac, so it's obvious when you want to make a new friend."He looked at the time. "Well, it's not too late. We can almost go outside, and maybe, you can try and befriend her then-"
"A capture contest!" Keith bounced back up, slamming his hands on his desk. "Yeah! I'll show that know-it-all who's in charge here!"
"Are you stupid?! You don't befriend someone like that!"
"Who said I wanted a friendship, Natsuya?!"
"YOU DID!"
"What the hell, Ben, I never even said a thing."
"I already told you, my initiative is way stronger than your ability to lie."
"Shut up, any rivalry is better than some stupid friendship. Besides, who wants to be friends with some snob like her?"
"YOU DO! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTS TO BE HER FRIEND-"
The school bell rang, interrupting Ben's sentence. Keith stood up, pushing his chair out of the way. "MAKE WAY!" he cried, dashing out of the classroom.
A tumble weed rolled past Ben's feet. "Why won't that idiot listen to me. Ever."
"Why is Mr. Kaplan... so obsessed about this school being an evil organization?" asked Summer, stepping out of the training room where Kate and Summer had taken their entrance exam. "I mean, who's going to fall for that kind of joke?"
"You did, Summer." muttered Kate, making Rhythmi burst into a fit of giggles.
"A-ahahahaha, o-oh gosh, did you actually...?"
"I DID NOT-"
"You did too."
"BE QUIET, KATE!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SOMEONE HELP, ANYONE!"
The three girls turned towards a woman with puffy brown hair, wearing a maroon shirt and brown skirt with a white apron around her waist. Around her were a bunch of Bidoof running away, almost seeming to all be in a state of panic.
"Oh my gosh! Janice needs our help!" cried Rhythmi. She turned towards Kate and Summer with pleading eyes. "Could you please help capture them? I don't have any styler of my own, since I'm here to become an operator, and you two are the only rangers-to-be here to help-"
"Well, I was wondering what all that noise was about! Hah, I guess I didn't need to create a capture contest myself!" Keith stood at the school doors, smirking like the idiot he was.
Kate's eyes narrowed at the sight of Keith. "Well, if you're here, why don't you capture all those Bidoofs yourself?"
Keith's grin grew bigger as he rested his hands on the back of his head. "Nah, that'd be boring! Why don't we have a capture contest? Me, you, wha'dya say? Of course, we know who'll win."
Kate raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you." Kate stepped forwards, taking out her styler. "Fine. We'll play it by your game. Don't come crying to me if you lose though."
"Cold much? Besides, I won't lose." Keith smirked, whipping out his styler. "You ready, princess?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Heh. Ready..."
"Set..."
"GO!"
"The two took off, capturing Bidoof after Bidoof, not taking a second to rest! Keith dashed in, pouncing at the first Bidoof! But Kate intercepted and stole his capture! Who knows what'll happen in this match, it's so close! It's neck and neck, it's-"
"Ben, what are you doing?!" Rhythmi screeched to the brunette by the school doors.
He blinked a few times. "I'm narrating their capture contest, of course!"
But Ben wasn't wrong, both Kate and Keith were equally matched, quickly finishing their captures in mere seconds. Neither of them were giving up, neither of them were slowing down. In a matter of about one or two minutes, all the 9 Bidoofs were captured.
Keith started counting the amount of Bidoofs he had, and the amount of Bidoofs Kate had. The result was undeniable, it was clearly written on Keith's face. "ALRIGHHHHHHHHT!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air and doing a small happy dance. "Who's awesome? That's right, me!" Keith had beaten Kate by one Bidoof.
"Oh, thank you, Keith, Kate! I don't know what I would've done without the two of you!" said Janice, bowing to the two. She bent down towards the Bidoof, petting one's head. "I'm sorry about stepping on your tail and making you go into panic! I'll feed you some extra treats today!" Janice quickly lead the Bidoof away, leaving the five students alone.
Keith turned to Kate with a large smirk on his face. "I know my capabilities, dear. We know who's the better of the two here."
"And we both know who's overly arrogant and cocky here." Kate retorted, sending Keith a glare. "You'd be wish to keep your mouth shut before something, or someone will shut it for you."
"Keith, what the heck is wrong with you?!" asked Ben, punching him on the arm.
"OW- NATSUYA, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE BOTH OF YOU?!" Rhythmi tugged on both their ears, pulling them down. "ONE IDIOT IS GOING AROUND HAVING CAPTURE CONTESTS WITH KATE, AND THE OTHER GOES AROUND NARRATING THEIR CONTEST AND LATER COMES TO YELL AT THE OTHER IDIOT?!"
"R-RHYTH- OW! MY EAR IS REALLY SENSITIVE!"
"LET GO OF MY EAR, NOTE- OWOWOWOWOW!"
"Oh, you better want me to let go, because THIS WILL HURT MORE FOR YOU THAN IT WILL FOR BEN!"
"Uh... Rhythmi... don't you have to finish the tour with us?" asked Summer.
A moment of silence.
"OH MY GOSH, WE FORGOT ABOUT ASCENSION SQUARE!" Rhythmi immediately let go of the two boys' ears and grabbed Summer and Kate's hands. "ONWARDS!" She dragged the two down the stairs, leading to a pier with a giant statue in the middle.
"H-hey, wait up, Rhyth! Keith, c'mon!" cried Ben, dragging Keith along.
"W-what- I DON'T WANT TO COME FOR ANY SAPPY TOUR THING-"
The five students stood in front of the statue that resembled the ranger sign. Rhythmi was beaming with joy and Keith was obviously not wanting to be there. "This is the Pledge Stone! The famous monument of our school! They say if you make a pledge with your friends here, it'll come true one day!" Rhythmi smiled and twirled around, posing with a "v" sign made with her fingers. "And that concludes Rhythmi's Tour of Awesomeness and Fun! With some interruptions of some idiots named Keith and Ben." She turned to her childhood friends, sending a glare their way.
"Hey, I just happened to be passing by-"
"What a lie, that was completely intentional." muttered Ben.
"Wait... THAT WAS INTENTIONAL?! KEITHHHHHHHH!"
"W-WAIT I CAN EXPLAIN- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY, KEIIIIIIITH!"
"RHYTH, LET HIM EXPLAIN!"
Summer and Kate stood to the side, watching the three bicker with each other. Summer sweatdropped as she watched the scene unfold. "Are they like this all the time...?" After a moment of silence between the two girls, Summer spoke up again. "Hey, Kate? I know this is something I don't normally say...but should we give them a chance?"
Kate knew what Summer meant by that. But...was it worth it? Would it be a good idea? Should she...risk it?
"Summer..."
"Think about it, Kate...I don't think we'll regret it this time." Summer looked back at Kate with gentle eyes. "And you know me, I don't make the wrong decisions."
The brunette took a glance at the three childhood friends standing before her. Sure, they seemed like a fun bunch, but she's never had the best experience with... friends. Could she even manage to get close to them at all? Kate came here to start a new life... and a new life means... new friendships.
She sighed. "Fine. I'll give you a chance."
The others turned around simultaneously. "What?"
"I told you. I'll give you a chance."
"A chance for what?!" said Keith, escaping Rhythmi's grip on his ear.
Kate averted her eyes elsewhere. "A... chance." she mumbled.
Summer started to beam, her eyes sparkling. "Kate...don't you worry about this! I have a good feeling about them! And you know me, I don't make the wrong decisions!"
"Is ANYONE going to tell us what princess meant by a chance?!" cried Keith.
"She means she'll give you a chance to be her friend! Of course. This is a high privilege, you know! Feel special!" said Summer with a large smile on her face.
Rhythmi laughed a bit and said, "Why don't we all introduce ourselves again? Just to make sure everyone knows each other and all! And we can make a pledge too! This is the Pledge Stone, after all! C'mon, this should be the proof of our friendship! The five of us together! The greatest team in history! Let's do this!" Obviously, Rhythmi wasn't taking no for an answer. Resistance was futile.
She started first. "I'm Rhythmi Note, operator-to-be! Since all of you are planning to be rangers, I'll be your one and only operator! You can count on me! I pledge to become the greatest operator there is!" She stuck her hand out, giving everyone a huge smile.
Ben went next. "Name's Benjamin Natsuya, descendent of the aura guardians, future ranger! I'm technically training to be a full aura guardian and ranger, so I've got a lot on my plate! But hey, I'm Ben! I can do anything if I try! I pledge to help all pokemon, whether as an aura guardian or a ranger!" He put his hand on Rhythmi's hand.
"Woah, wait, you're an aura guardian in training?!" asked Summer, completely baffled. "Are you even supposed to go around blurting those stuff out to the world?!"
"Hey, you're my friends! Can't I say these stuff to my friends? C'mon!"
Summer rolled her eyes before she put her hand on top of Ben's. "I'm Summer Minami, greatest ranger student in this entire school- hear that, red? I'm the best now! I've got a huge love for nature, call me a nature freak, but I could care less! I pledge to protect nature with all my power!"
"You know, I hate you, Minami." Keith put his hand on top of Summer's. "Keith Dazzle, greatest ranger in all of history- that's right, I'm still the best in the history books, Minami! I'm also the best, and most awesome, prankster this school has ever seen, so look out, Almia! I pledge to become a top ranger!"
Kate let out a sigh. She already regretted saying she would give them a chance, what was she thinking? She shouldn't have said anything. But it pleased Summer, so she supposed she would carry on with this charade for a bit longer.
After a slight pause, Kate put her hand on top of Keith's hand. "I... I'm Katherine Hitomi, but I would prefer if you called me Kate. I really don't like the idea of friends, but apparently that would make Summer happy, so I guess you can regret it later. I pledge to fulfill the prophecy."
With one push downwards, the five threw their hands in the air, with Kate's hand being forced upwards. The group was laughing and smiling, all except Kate. She didn't know if she made the right decision, she didn't know if this was her path. She definitely made the wrong choice. But... she'll keep her word... she'll at least give them a chance. After all, it's a new beginning.