Disclaimer on Chapter 1
"Hey, Grandma Bradley," Tori said approaching the pagoda where Grandma and Omino Sensei often watched the ninjas train.
"Hello, Tori. That was quite a spectacular display of your water powers today." The older woman smiled in welcome and continued to knit and scan the field occasionally as if to see that all her children were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to do.
Tori smiled indulgently at Grandma Bradley. The older woman had quickly become the heart of the Thunder Ninja Academy and was adored by all of the wind ninjas who had come to visit. Tori settled into a chair next to the older woman. "The water ninjas are doing well. I think Hunter is glad that Blake is back to take over more of training during the off season. I'm also going to recommend that Tahnee take over some of the basic water classes, she's doing extremely well," Tori said with a smile.
"Then you will be traveling less," Grandma replied with a smile. The Thunder Ninja Academy mostly trained ninjas in the art of thunder. However since the new relationship with the Wind Academy, they had branched to include small training groups of water, air and earth training. Hunter taught a Thunder section at the Wind School. Shane, Dustin and Tori took turns teaching the element portions with Watanabe and Omino Sensei.
"I have to talk to Hunter. It will be nice to spend more time with the Wind ninjas. Not that I don't adore all the students here, but it is difficult and time consuming to cater training to two different schools of ninjas. It will be nice to have some time for myself, too. We can't stay away too long, Grandma, what would we do without your cookies?" Tori said with a smile.
Grandma frowned before saying, "I think Hunter wanted Marah to eventually take over teaching the earth ninjas, but she seems to be having some difficulty lately. Her control has been sporadic. She hasn't been very happy lately. She was quite herself this weekend. We are all happy that Blake is back."
Tori frowned. She was too often at the Thunder Academy, now. Any time spent at Blue Bay was spent at the Wind Academy with her students. She and the guys had been so busy training and teaching that they hardly spent any fun time together anymore. Well, time with the guys was generally fun, just that it was always at the school. "I haven't talked to Marah, lately," Tori said with a grimace, "or with Kapri much. I've kind of just been getting updates from Cam and Dustin."
"What does Dustin say?" Grandma asked.
"That her training is going fine. That all his students are doing fine," Tori frowned, "but if her control is getting spotty, I'd better talk to all the teachers about it."
Grandma Bradley looked out over the field again and saw Blake correcting a student while Hunter demonstrated a new technique. "I guess you will be seeing a bit of Blake over at the Wind School," she noted with a smirk, turning back to her knitting.
Tori rolled her eyes, "I don't know what gets into them sometimes. Despite the bet, Hunter won't be able to stay away. More than any of us, Hunter and Shane look at all the academy students as 'their' students. I certainly will appreciate the help, though, and it will be good time to go over how closely the two schools are now integrated while he's here during off season." Something about that statement didn't sit right with Tori, but she couldn't get a grasp of what that was.
"It was fairly amusing to see Blake get dunked at the river," Grandma said.
"It was also amusing that I soaked Hunter for laughing at Blake," Tori said smugly.
"I think the students really enjoyed the impromptu water fight," Grandma smiled and her fingers flew.
"That's one of the best things about being a teacher," Tori said softly, "The training is important, the skills are necessary, the strength, power, confidence. The best thing, however, is the joy, the laughter, the sense of being part of a whole and that the whole is what is important." Tori paused for a second, her eyes narrowed. "Marah doesn't have that joy, anymore." Tori stood, a gleam in her eye, "Thank you, Grandma. I have an earth ninja butt to kick."
Grandma just smiled and pulled a paper sack out of her knitting basket. "For Dustin to make him feel better. You know, after the butt kicking."
Tori took the bag, bowed and with a kiss to Grandma's weathered cheek, she streaked away.
Grandma looked up to see that the students were formally dismissed. A few of them wandered off to the dormitories, some wandered down to the water course and some to the air course and some to the forest where most of the earth training was done. A few students continued to practice techniques.
"Did Tori just leave?" Blake asked a little disappointed, as he walked up to the pagoda. He had seen Tori talking to Grandma, and he saw the streak just before class ended. He had hoped that he could steal her away for a moment for a talk.
"She said she had some business to take care of at the Wind school," Grandma said putting away her project, "Be a dear and take my basket in?" As Blake picked up the knitting basket in one arm, he offered his Grandmother the other arm, which she took, "Don't worry, Blake, I'm sure she will be back soon enough."
Tori arrived at the Wind Ninja Academy just as classes were winding down. She watched carefully as Shane and Dustin ran the students through drills, techniques and forms. While Shane demonstrated and called instructions from the platform, Dustin wove his way through the student ranks, correcting and giving encouragement. A smile and a nod, a "good work" or a gentle "turn slightly" spoken softly or a pat on the shoulder was Dustin's way of interacting with students.
"Again, Marah," Dustin's voice was suddenly harsh. Tori started at the tone. Marah looked down at her feet like a kicked puppy and tried the technique again. Loose limbed and without much power, Dustin was able to catch the weak punch she threw, "Once more." This time, Tori saw Marah grit her teeth and perform the technique again. "Still needs work," Dustin shook his head and moved on to the next student.
Tori saw Marah droop and continue to follow Shane's instructions. Tori furrowed her brow and wondered who to talk to first. This question was solved, however, when Watanabe Sensei appeared at her side. "Sensei," Tori said turning and bowing to the head of the school.
"How was the Thunder Academy today?" Sensei asked in his soothing voice.
"Blake is back. He's teaching at the school. Hunter and Grandma Bradley are very glad he is home."
"Yes, Kapri and Marah could not wait to tell the others. They seem very attached to the brothers," Sensei offered.
"Speaking about Marah," Tori started.
"Ah, you have noticed the discontent of our earth ninja?" Sensei said, "She is a good student and a very sweet niece, however, her training seems to be suffering."
Tori nodded and watched again as Dustin corrected Marah without a hint of encouragement and moved on. "I think it has something more to do with just Marah and her training. It may have something to do with the trainer," Tori said sadly.
"Moving from student to teacher is always a difficult assignment. You have all done very well, however, each of you also have baggage from the time you were students."
Tori grinned, "I know. I push the girls harder than I do the guys. I give them more encouragement and spend more time with them. Shane tends to be a little too serious and tries to steer Dustin and I into teaching a certain way. Dustin tends to still think of himself as a student when he should be thinking more like a teacher."
"And Cam?" Sensei asked.
"Cam is, as usual, over thinking and trying so hard to make his program technically correct, that he forgets that his students are people, not computers," Tori paused, "Oh."
"Ah, it seems you don't only need to speak with one teacher, but all of them. Tori, one of your strengths is that you can stand back and see the big picture. You can see what the individuals need. Although you complain about them being boys and are exasperated by their antics, you have always been there for them. They needed you then, to be the peacemaker, calm, reasonable and practical. They still need you now. Both Wind and Thunder Schools need you. And they always will," Sensei said with a smile.
"Will you help me, Sensei?" Tori asked, humbled by her teacher's words.
"I will always be there to help you, Tori," he replied, squeezing her shoulder affectionately before walking away.
Tori turned back to the field where Shane was dismissing the students. Tori took a moment to walk up to Marah. "Hey, Marah. Wow, what a gorgeous necklace."
Marah's face lit up into a genuine smile, "It's a present from Blake," she said proudly, "Kapri got one with a Samurai star." Her face fell a little, "I wish I was training to be a samurai."
Tori tilted her head to the side and then pulled on Marah's arm. "Hey, Shane, I've got to talk to Marah, will you tell Kapri to go ahead back to the Thunder school?"
"Sure, Tori," he said giving her a puzzled look before shrugging and turning to talk to another student.
Tori led Marah to the lake outside the waterfall and they sat in a clearing. "Is this a sensei-student moment?" Marah asked uncomfortably.
Tori smiled and said gently, "Even if it is, I would like to think we are friends, too. Marah, you want to tell me what's going on in your head?"
"I just am so frustrated. Kapri has it easy, she had no element affinity and she never seems to have any trouble with her lessons. I had a choice, you know, to be an air ninja or an earth ninja. I chose earth because, oh, so many reasons that seem stupid now, you know, girl reasons," Marah flashed Tori a sad smile, "I guess those reasons weren't good enough."
"I'm going to tell you something, Marah," Tori said, "something I never have told anyone else. Hunter asked me out, once. Everyone knew I had a crush on Blake and that Blake liked me, but he went off to ride with Factory Blue and after a couple of years, when we were setting up the exchange program, I was spending all that time at the Thunder School, Hunter asked me out. I turned him down. I thought I might come in between Blake and Hunter. I always thought I liked Blake and to be interested in Hunter seemed like a betrayal of sort."
"So you were interested in Hunter?" Marah asked, wide-eyed.
Tori shrugged, "So I made a choice, a silly, girly choice based on nothing concrete. It was just dinner and a movie, not some passionate affair and it wasn't even as if I had even kissed Blake. And it was confusing and it kind of hurt, but I went on. I'm just letting you know that sometimes we make decisions based on silly, girly reasoning, but the whole thing with Hunter and Blake didn't stop me from working with them, working out with them.
Marah, you are a good student. You have talent and heart. You have all the qualities of a good earth ninja. So what if you thought being an earth ninja would get you more time with Dustin," Tori said gently and was amused to see Marah blush, "So things didn't work out exactly as you would have liked. Don't let that stop you from being the best earth ninja you can be."
"But, Dustin," Marah started with a worried look in her eyes.
"Don't worry about Dustin. I watched class today. Something is up with him, too. And I will find out. But, just like this is a sensei-student thing. What I discuss with him will be a sensei-sensei thing, so don't expect any explanations."
Marah shook her head with a smile on her face, "Thanks, Tori, you really helped."
"Thank Grandma when you get back," Tori said with a wink as she stood. Marah took the hand that Tori offered and was pulled to her feet into a hug by the shorter girl. "You can always talk to me if you need help, Marah, you and Kapri both."
"Thanks Tori," Marah said using the heel of her hand to wipe away a dab of moisture beneath her eye. "I think I'm going to go on a short run, clear my head, you know, before going home?"
"No problem, stay on the usual trails," Tori said with a smile and a wave as she watched Marah take off through the trees. "Now," Tori growled, "I get to find Dustin."
Cam and Kapri were just about to finish their lesson when Shane approached the pair. There were so few students that had no affinity with even one of the elements that Cam's classes were very small and he was able keep many of the teaching sessions private. Kapri was Cam's most advanced student.
Noticing Shane's approach, they turned and bowed to Shane and Shane returned the courtesy. "Tori and Marah are off the woods to have a talk. She asked that you go home without her." The way Cam and Kapri looked at each other, encouraged Shane to ask, "Is something up with Marah?"
Kapri shrugged, "Her control has kind of been off lately. Not badly, but Hunter's a little worried, too."
"Let's finish up and you can head home and tell the brothers that Marah's going to be home late. I'll make sure she gets home safe," Cam said bowing to Kapri to formally finish the lesson. Kapri bowed and nodded giving Shane and Cam a quick hug and kiss to the cheek before smiling a little sadly and streaking away.
"Everything fine with Kapri?" Shane asked.
"She's coming along well," Cam said, "I think she can start taking over basic classes at the Thunder Academy next year. She needs a little more work, but since Blake is back for the summer, there is another high level teacher there that can help her. Hunter just didn't have the time to do much one on one training with her. Mostly he had her helping him keep all the school paperwork straight."
"Yeah, it's a good thing you got us computerized and got them up and running, too. More time to hang out now that Blake is back," Shane said with his characteristic grin, "We can go riding, and hang out at the beach. It's going to be good to have some free time now that there's another teacher for the summer. Oh, and don't forget the Factory Blue signing on Saturday. Kellie is going to want all of our help, if possible, you know, the usual, sales, keep people in line, clean up."
"Sure," Cam said with a smile, "You guys can count on me." He clapped Shane on the back, "I'm going to check in with Dad that everyone left safely and do a last sweep of the grounds."
"Dude, you worry way too much about that monitoring stuff."
"That's how we remain a 'secret' ninja academy, Shane," Cam replied with a shake of the head. "Tori driving you guys home?"
"Nah, Dustin and I brought our bikes today because Tori was over at the Thunder School this morning. I'll catch you later, bro."
Shane changed from his teaching outfit to street clothes before going to the hidden entrance near the waterfall. He slipped through the portal and was surprised to see Marah, still in uniform running the 5-mile trail. He sighed wondering how he was going to fix the problem that was rapidly developing between the friends. Perhaps, he'd go over to Hunter's tonight after he spoke with Kellie about the signing this weekend. Moving to his bike, he again smiled at the converted Tsunami cycle that was he main mode of transportation when Tori was unavailable with the van, he hopped on and tore off towards town and Stormchargers.
Tori wandered the re-built ninja ops looking for Dustin. He was no where on the grounds, but his bike was sitting in the parking lot next to her van, so she knew he was still around. She roamed to the old Zord bay which was now just Cam's workshop of electronic gadgets and through some of the training and meditation rooms until she found him, just sitting looking out over the running trails where she could see a figure in the distance running.
"Dustin?" Tori said softly as she entered the room. Dustin looked up at her with a smile on his face, but it looked forced. Tori's smile reflected her worry. "Keeping an eye on Marah?" she asked with a teasing tone in her voice as she moved to sit next to one of her best friends and bumped her shoulder into his.
"I'm doing something wrong, Tori," Dustin said in a deflated tone of voice. "I mean, Shane was always the leader. We'd follow him anywhere and Cam was always the smart, steady one, you can depend on him like a rock. You, Tor, you are our heart, you keep us together. Me, I'm just the goofball; I'm not cut out for this."
"Cut out for what?" Tori asked gently.
"Teaching," Dustin replied flatly as he threw himself back to lie on the tatami mats. He threw an arm over his eyes before continuing, "I tried to be like Shane. His students are so focused and disciplined. They take learning seriously, but I just felt like I was going to have a goofball moment and ruin the whole image and I started getting so nervous that I was going to mess up I was feeling nauseous before each class. Then I tried to be like you, calm and soothing, but I felt all girly, no offense," he shot a look at Tori's face and noticed her grin, "Then I tried to be laid back like Cam is, but then I felt that they weren't learning enough and that I had to push them harder. I think I'd better tell Sensei to find someone else to teach the earth techniques."
"Now why would you think that?" Tori said, "Dustin, the students love you. You of all of us make the learning fun. Shane is great, and he is really well respected, but you know there are times when he gets too serious and intense. He sometimes intimidates the students. You have a much more hands on approach and the students feel like you can relate to them. Cam is lucky because he only has a few students. He can build really close relationships with them and he just seems laid back. He's a pretty serious teacher and expects a lot from his students. Me, I have doubts about my teaching, too." She wrapped a hand around his and squeezed. "It was the scariest thing today, letting Blake see how I had been training the water students at the Thunder Academy. I know I worked hard with Hunter to develop a curriculum that maintained the style of the Thunder Ninja, but I included lots of stuff I learned here, too. I don't teach the same way they were taught. It was like I was being judged, not only by Hunter and Omino Sensei, but really by Blake. What if I had messed up?"
"Whoa, you had a tough day, too, huh? We didn't even think about that," Dustin said sitting up and looking deeply at Tori to see if she was upset.
"You didn't even know Blake was back until Marah and Kapri told you guys," Tori said in rebuke.
"So did he say anything? Blake? Did he tell you that you were a horrible teacher and stuff? Cause, Shane and Cam and Sensei and I, well, maybe not Sensei, but we could go over there and kick his ass," Dustin said earnestly, before a twinkle came into his eye and he teased, "or was he just watching your-?"
Tori narrowed her eyes at Dustin and shook her head, "Don't even go there. I don't know why I put up with you."
"Cause I'm your best friend?"
"Can I ask you something?" Tori said looking over the forest and seeing a streak of orange and green take off into the sky. "What's up with Marah?"
"Nothing," Dustin replied, "I mean, she's a student and she's a friend."
"Why were you so hard on her in class today?"
"You were watching?" at Tori's nod, Dustin sighed, "About three months ago, Hunter asked me when I would have a senior student that could help him teach the earth techniques at the Thunder Academy. They have lots of talented students and the program just wasn't taking off with me there only half the time. He asked specifically about Marah.
"I guess I started really looking at where she was, and where we were when we started teaching, so I started to push her a little harder, instead of getting better, her control got worse, so I pushed a little harder and now I don't know how to fix it. It's just so disappointing and I feel like I'm failing her, I'm failing Hunter and that I'm a failure myself."
"Is the only reason you looked at Marah was because Hunter asked?"
"Well, yeah," Dustin said. Tori sighed at tilted her head with a small smile and looked at Dustin expectantly. Dustin thought through the process, Hunter asked, Marah, Teacher, Marah does not exactly have to equal teacher.
Dustin groaned, "I could send one of my senior earth students. Some of them could really teach the beginning classes well," Dustin dropped his head with a sigh, "I messed up again, huh? I was too fixated on Marah, I wanted to push her and present her to Hunter like 'look what I did,' but it's not about me, it's about her."
"I think Hunter would think any of your senior students would be a great help to his teaching program. I think Marah is going to be a wonderful earth ninja. And mostly Dustin," she said waiting for Dustin to look at her before finishing, "I think you are an awesome teacher."
"Thanks, Tori," Dustin said, this time with a genuine smile. "I've missed this, you know, just the three of us, and then the four of us with Cam. It seems like so long ago and with you going over to the Thunder Academy when I'm here and vice versa."
"I know. That's why, in honor of Blake's return, we are going to have a party at the beach house on Sunday afternoon. We'll have all the gang and the Senseis and some of the students. You could introduce some of your earth students to Hunter and Omino Sensei. It will be great!" Tori said standing. "I've got to get Cam to help me."
"Why Cam?" Dustin asked standing, "Shane and I can help."
"And don't think you won't," she said leaning over to kiss his cheek, "but you guys are going to be busy this next week helping Kellie set up Stormchargers for the Factory Blue signing, so don't worry too much about my party, o.k.?"
"O.k., Tor, we won't. If I haven't said this, Tor, you know you're the best, right?"
Tori grinned at him and pulled out the package of Grandma Bradley's cookies. Tossing them casually to him, she said, "I know I am."