Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, Saban does.
*Italic indicates thought
Chapter Three: Emotions
A/N: hey! So this chapter is kind of short, but, off well. Please review!
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal." -an Irish gravestone.
Lauren disappeared into her room as soon as they returned to the Shiba House. Tears that had been long held back started falling down her cheeks. She collapsed on her bed as sadness took over completely. She sobbed quietly, Antonio's face running through her head. He hand closed around pendant. She sat up and went to sit on the ground. She sat with her back against the ground, staring at the pendant.
It wasn't worth a lot in price, but that didn't matter. To her it represented something special. A promise made to her by someone who she'd loved. A promise to be with her forever. "But you're not," she whispered. "You're not here forever and there's nothing I can do to change that."
Emily retreated to her own room as well. She stopped for a second outside Lauren's door. Her heart broke when she heard the red ranger crying. She didn't know why she wasn't crying yet herself. She walked into her room and shut the door. She stood there for a minute, unsure of what to do. Finally she decided on just sitting at her desk.
She went and sat down, the last few hours playing through her head. How long ago was it that Antonio had left for a picnic with Lauren, promising to cook them some fish that night. That morning...but it felt like thousands of years. The very thought of eating fish made her sick to her stomach. Tears slipped down her face as the definite finality of the situation hit her.
Antonio was gone. He would be forever. There would be no more gold ranger. No more fish, or talking about fish. No more exclamations in Spanish, no more light to brighten their day. She put her head in her arms, resting them on her desk and cried. It was all she could do. She'd lost one of her friends. Someone she considered family. She just didn't know why it had to be him.
Mia sat in the living room with Kevin and Mike. Jayden was out in the yard doing who knew what. She found it was a little hard to breathe as tears slipped down her face. Why Antonio? Why him? she shook her head in despair. Their energetic and loving gold ranger. The fishing samurai. She didn't bother to wipe away her tears as the dripped from her face onto the table. She snuffled a bit, afraid to talk. It wasn't as if there was a lot to say.
She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold. She wished that it could've ended differently. From the corner of her eye she saw Mike get up and leave, but she didn't move. She didn't even care. She felt too numb and sad to care right now. I shouldn't fee like that, she thought dully. I should want to make sure he's ok. That he doesn't need someone. but they all need someone. Someone to blame, someone to forgive. Someone to tell them it was ok. That everything would be fine.
Mike walked aimlessly. He had been sitting in the living room, but he'd been overcome by the need to do something. He walked through the halls, not watching where he went. He ignored everyone and everything. None of it seemed to matter. None of it could bring Antonio back. A couple of tears made their way slowly down his face as he wandered. Distantly he saw Ji walking past him, but he didn't pay attention.
Doesn't matter. Antonio's gone forever. He clenched his fists. He was filled with anger at this thought. Why him? Why Antonio? He was...good. He didn't deserve to die. From the back of his mind he saw the day the gold ranger attacked Kevin and Emily. No. Not even then. That guy...that wasn't him. He heard Emily and Lauren crying respectively in their rooms. Part of him thought of going to comfort the yellow ranger, but it was pushed aside quickly by other thoughts.
Vengeful thoughts. Someone will pay, he promised himself. Antonio didn't deserve that. Someone will pay. I swear it.
Kevin sat with Mia in stony silence. Thoughts and feelings muddled his thoughts. So many things were happening. He just wanted to wish them all away. Fall asleep, or wake up to find it was all a dream. He stared out at nothing, trying to figure out what he was feeling. Sadness? Yeas, plenty of that. Anger? Plenty of that too. Anger at who? Antonio for leaving them? No...well maybe a little. Jayden? Possibly. What else?
Lost? Yeah, he felt lost. Lauren and Jayden were equally broken in different ways. Mia and Emily were beyond sadness. Mike...well he wasn't sure about him yet. Ji was nowhere to be seen. Kevin thought over all of this again and again. He'd never felt this mix of emotions in this degree at once before. Never like this. He out his face in his hands. Antonio...please come back. Make everything normal again. Please.
Ji walked through the house, checking on all the rangers. He checked on Emily and found that she was sitting at her desk. Lauren was lying in her bed, probably crying herself to sleep. He passed Mike a couple times, the look on the green ranger's face worrying him. Better keep an eye on him. Keep an eye on all of them. He found Mia and Kevin the living room. They sat in silence, one crying, the other looking like he didn't know what to do.
He finally found Jayden in the yard. When he saw him though, he almost wished he hadn't. The red ranger was sitting on the ground in the middle of the yard staring at the gate. Ji walked around so he was standing in front of him. Jayden didn't move, or even make an recognition that he saw Ji. He just kept staring at the gate; like he was expecting someone to walk through.
Ji shook his sadly and stood up. "Jayden, you should come inside." No answer. "Just come in before it gets dark." Still no answer. Ji sighed and, against his better judgement, left him alone. He found that Kevin was gone when he returned to the living room. Mia sat alone, crying. Ji wished there was more he could do. The rangers need him, but more than that, they needed Antonio. He shook his head. "This is going to be a long night."