Mike couldn't stop scratching the palm of his hand.

He had been bit by a spider before. As a child he loved to play around with the eight-legged creatures and it had earned him a few painful bites. He knew they could itch for days. Sometimes he even needed to go to the doctor's, but for the most part he was okay.

This bite felt different, but even though it hurt, he was still having fun. As Jayden finished the last bite of his lunch, Mike stuck his hand in the red Rangers' face.

"SPIDER BITE!" he cried loudly. Jayden pushed his chair back, moving away, but he didn't shriek like he had when he had seen the spider. He glanced up at Mike, down to his hand, and then back at the green Ranger.

"Was that supposed to scare me?"

Mike looked at his hand. Though there was a bump and it looked painful, it was really no more terrifying than some of the injuries the Rangers had come home with.

"Would it scare you more if I told you Mia failed to kill the spider and it got away. It's still somewhere in the..."

"Got it!" Serena said. She was carrying a shoe to the kitchen and over to the garbage. Mike could tell she had found a spider (not necessarily the one from earlier) and had killed it. "You're safe now, scardy-cat," she chuckled when Jayden shot her a look.

"I was bit by a spider as a kid and rushed to the emergency room," Jayden sighed. "I was just a little boy and had a bad reaction. Ever since, I've been terrified. Now will you stop teasing me?"

Serena and Mike looked to each other and then shook their heads, "Nope."

"You both suck."

"Oh, c'mon, Jay," Mike took his seat at the table and continued to scratch his hand, "You've been fighting Nighlok for how long now? And a teeny tiny spider scares you? I mean, I would get… actually; you fight Nighlok for a living. You're not allowed to be afraid of anything."

"You fight Nighlok for a living too," Jayden smirked. "You're afraid of stuff."

"I'm not the red guy," Mike pinched his shirt, showing off his colour. "Besides, name one thing I'm scared of?"

Jayden cocked an eyebrow and smirked. Serena approached Mike from behind and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Me."

Mike jumped and moved away from Serena, "That's different. She can kill me."

"I would never kill you, Mike," Serena put her hand on Mike's shoulder, squeezing tightly so it hurt, "Unless, you, you know, made my baby sister cry or did anything to her that I don't approve of. Then I would kill you. Slowly. So it hurts. A lot."

"See," Mike pointed to Serena as he gave Jayden a look, "That's scary. A spider…"

"Has venom and eight legs," Jayden said, "Serena's only got two."

"All I need is one to kick his ass," Serena smirked. She gave Mike a pat on the back, "Actually, I kicked your ass when I was paralyzed, remember that, Mike?"

"Scary!" Mike pointed to Serena to prove his point, "See, that's terrifying! An itty bitty, teeny-tiny spider is nothing to worry about. You step on it and it's gone. Dead. You're the bigger man, Jay…"

"I don't like spiders," Jayden said. "They're my Serena."

He put his bowl in the sink and made his way out of the room, "End of discussion."

Mike turned to Serena. She just grinned, "Boo."

"I haven't done anything to Emily," Mike said and stuck out his tongue, "You can't kill me."

"Yet," Serena picked up her bowl to take it outside to eat, "I'm just waiting for the day. And the longer it takes for the day to come, the more time I have to plan."

Mike shuttered as she walked out. Though she was one of his best friends, she scared the shit out of him sometimes.

"Mike!" Jayden called, "Training! Hurry up before I send Serena to come get you!"

"Coming!" Mike answered back and stood up. He pulled his hand up from the table and groaned when he found it was sticking slightly. He rubbed his hand against his pants, "Ha-ha, Serena," he muttered, "gluing my hand to the table. Ooh, I'm so scared."

When he got what he assumed was glue off his hand, he started to scratch it again. Boy, did it itch.

-Samurai-

No one attacked Emily. At least, not while Storm was around.

"Bad dog!" Kevin cried and as tried to pull the bottom of his pants out of Storm's mouth. She had gotten out of the house while the Rangers were training and saw Kevin swinging his sword at Emily. As usual, she didn't like seeing anyone putting the yellow Ranger in danger and she attacked.

Emily was too busy laughing to get her away from Kevin.

Mia leaned over and removed Kevin's pants from Storm's jaw. She picked the small dog up and walked her back inside the house, making sure to close the door so she couldn't get out. She then looked to her fiancé and started to laugh.

"Point: Storm."

"Ha, ha," Kevin frowned and straightened out his pants, "Just make sure she doesn't get out again."

"Why?" Emily smirked, "Scared she'll get another point?"

Kevin shook his head, "She could get hurt. What if we accidently hit her with a sword?"

"Don't hit her," Emily said, smacking Kevin in the arm.

Mia laughed again, "Point: Emily. C'mon, Kevin, pick it up. You're losing."

"Damn dog," Kevin rolled his eyes and got into his stance. Just as he and Emily were about to go at it, the Gap Sensor sounded. Jayden flipped open his Samuraizer to see the Nighlok's location."

"He's just entering city limits now," Jayden said. "We can cut him off before he starts terrorizing everyone."

As the Rangers dropped their training gear so Ji could put it all away while they were gone, Mike looked to the Gates and then down at his hand.

"Michael," Ji called. Mike looked up and everyone was already far down the path. Ji put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Mike looked to his hand again. It still itched but it was starting to hurt quite a bit. He flexed it, but that did nothing to help.

"It's just kind of sore," Mike answered. "It's just a spider bite."

"A spider bite, hmm?"

"I've been bit before," Mike said. He pulled his Samuraizer out of his pocket, "I'll be fine. Once the adrenaline kicks in, I doubt I'll even remember it's there."

Ji nodded his head and he let Mike go, but he had a strange feeling that something wasn't right. Knowing the Rangers would be gone for a while, he decided he would have a quick look around.

He knew it wasn't likely to be a Nighlok attack. The house was so well protected that it was impossible for a Nighlok to get beyond the gates. However, just because the Nighlok couldn't get it, that didn't mean they didn't have ways of messing with the Rangers.

He got inside the house and noticed a spider crawling up the wall. He chuckled to himself at the thought of Jayden's reaction while he squished the spider with his hand. When it was dead, Ji went to the common room to check the map. Just as he expected, there hadn't been a single trace of Nighlok activity up until the one just now that triggered the Gap Sensor.

So Ji went to his room next. Part of being a Samurai mentor was making sure his Samurai were all in good shape, and keeping them in good health. When they arrived at the Shiba House, their parents gave him access to all their medical files, as well as hard-copies of what they could get their hands on. Ji had also gotten in contact with each of the Samurai's families doctors just to be sure the information he had was correct. The last thing he needed was one of his Samurai dead because he had fed them a peanut, or in the hospital because of a medical condition that could have been avoided.

Mike had no record of allergies or sensitivities, and just as he had told Ji, he had been bit by a spider before and had seen a doctor for it, but it had never amounted to anything too concerning. Of course, things changed over time. Ji was going to have to keep an eye on the green Ranger. It was just a small bite, but sometimes that was all it took.