Chapter 9-

After the battle in the park Mike felt awful. He watched as his fellow rangers congratulated each other, each one pumped with the adrenaline from their long fight, however he didn't join them. Jayden declared that victory was theirs and demorphed indicating to the others that they should follow his lead. Mike was the last to change scared of having to go back to reality to confront the drama he had just caused. The teen began to walk to the Apollo diner hopeful that his girlfriend would still be there when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Mike?" asked Jayden, "Where are you going?"

Mike merely shrugged. "I'm a little frustrated from the battle. I was hoping to clear my head." It sadly wasn't even a lie. Mike was completely lost throughout the fight his mind clearly on Rebecca and whether she had made it home safely. Mike saw the hurt look on her face when Emily told her that everyone had evacuated and it took everything the green ranger had not to run to her right then and there and show her who he really was. But he didn't and his strength in the battle was affected because of it. Every move he made was half-hearted and if it wasn't for the others he would have probably been killed for his lack of focus.

Jayden stared at his friend for a second, visibly concerned. It was obvious that Mike wasn't fighting at his peak and all the rangers had noticed. Jayden in particular had wondered whether or not to tell the green samurai to leave the fight scared that he would hurt himself or one of the others. Even though Jayden could understand his need to want to go off by himself and clear his head, he couldn't allow it. "No" the red ranger held firm, "No you need to come home now."

Mike sighed impatiently but agreed and as the others headed back towards the house, he sent a quick text to Rebecca apologizing for his behavior. He asked if she was okay, exclaiming how worried he was for her safety but received only an "I'm okay" response back. Before he had a chance to respond further, Jayden was at his side once more this time looking curiously at who he was texting.

"Mike" he asked sternly, "Who are you messaging?" He reached for the phone but Mike shoved it into his pocket. "Just checking the time." He explained and he quickly went to catch up to the others.

Once home, each of the rangers sat on their respective stools and waited for Mentor. Ji praised them for their hard work and congratulated them on a good job. He urged them all to rest up and get a good night sleep. Dismissing them all, the rangers began to leave. Kevin and Mia headed for the girls bedroom while Jayden and Emily went to sneak some food in the kitchen. Mike however stayed seated giving Mentor the opportunity to talk to the young samurai alone.

"Michael" Ji took a seat on the couch, "is something bothering you?" His eyes showed curiosity and concern toward the young man. He watched as the boy sighed uneasily.

"I was a total mess out there today, Mentor."

"So I noticed" Ji spoke candidly. "But it is not unusual for samurai's to have an off day now and again. Perhaps you were exhausted from your training?" he suggested.

"No" Mike shook his head.

"Perhaps something is on your mind?"

Mike stared lost in space for a second confirming Mentor's suspicion. He smiled at the green ranger and banged his staff noisily on the ground. "Go get some rest Mike, tomorrow we will work on fixing your attention span."

Michael blushed softly but listened to his mentor. Heading towards his room he decided to make a pit stop at Mia's first, hoping she could help him with his dilemma. The young man knocked on the door twice and let himself in only to find Mia and Kevin curled up in the bed under the covers.

"Guys" Mike yelled, "Not in the house!"

Though both of them were fully dressed and only kissing, both Kevin and Mia blushed in embarrassment. "Mike" called Kevin, "learn to knock" he warned as Mia pushed him off of her and started to fix her hair.

"I did knock" Mike argued taking a seat on Emily's empty bed, "but I guess you guys were too busy doing it, to hear me."

"We weren't doing anything Mike okay we were just cold and decided to go under the covers-"

"Just cold" Mike interrupted childishly, "I forgot how cold you get when you make out with some one."

Before they could argue any further, Mia interrupted. "Why did you even come in here Mike?"

"Oh well I was hoping you could give me some advice. About how to fix things with Rebecca."

Mia smiled brightly, "Of course" she answered at the same time Kevin groaned. She smacked him playfully on the back and turned to the green ranger. "What's the problem?"

"I thought you want me and Rebecca to stay together" Mike asked his roommate suspiciously ignoring the words from Mia."

Kevin shrugged, "Not when it interferes with my date."

"Here" Mia kissed him forcefully on the lips and continued to make out with him for a few solid minutes. When they finally broke apart she smiled, "That should hold you over for a bit." She turned back to her friend, "So you went to see her today right? How did that go?"

"Amazing" his voice sounded giddy. "I told her I loved her."

Kevin's eyes widened, "that's a big step" he exclaimed.

"I know but I meant it."

"Okay so then what happened? Did she say it back?"

"No."

Mia frowned, "Well why not? I thought you said she was as crazy about you as you were about her."

"I thought she was, but she said she wasn't ready cause I'm not honest with her. Like I don't tell her anything about me. And she wants to meet all you guys but I always say no and she wants to meet my family. I can't even see my family," the young man sighed, "how can she meet them?"

"Well could you blame her foe being mad about that?" Kevin responded. "I mean I'm sure she likes you but its smart of her to be cautious especially if you don't tell her anything."

"Yeah" he agreed sadly. "And then with the battle and how I had to run off like that. I felt awful. I mean something could have happened to her and I just walked off."

Mia shook her head, "You didn't have a choice."

"It doesn't make it better."

"So what are you going to do?" the blue ranger asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't know. Probably beg for her forgiveness or something."

"I got an idea" Mia shrieked happily jumping up from her bed and running over to her desk. Both boys watched her curiously; a little shocked from her outburst. Searching through her desk Mia pulled out a shopping list and handed it to Mike. "Here" she said, "Tell Jayden you are going food shopping and then go visit her."

"Mia how is that going to make things better?"

"Bring Kevin along, that way she'll get to meet someone from the house."

"Wait why do I have to go?" Kevin whined.

"'Cause I have other chores I have to do anyway and its you week to go. I only took the list because I was going to go with you and spend some more alone time."

Kevin stared angrily over at Mike. "That's another date you've ruined."

So this was a short chapter I know and I'm sorry. It's really just a filler. I feel like next chapter should feature Kevin and Rebecca's meeting but I think I might just skip that part and head into the next big scene. Of course if people really want to read it then I guess I could write a quick one but anyway hope you liked the chapter regardless of its short length.