"I can't thank you two enough for coming," Mia smiled to RJ and Casey as she offered them a tea. It was getting to be pretty late and she had already shown them around the house and gave them the full story on why they were needed. RJ and Casey were more than happy to help, and Mia was extremely grateful.
She looked to the common room, while she sat with the men in the hallway. Inside the large room, Kevin and Mike were fast asleep. With their injuries, it happened a lot. They would sleep for hours on end, but be awake at random times of the day. Mia was finding it hard to keep track and tend to them, but as long as they healed up, she didn't mind.
"It's no problem, really," RJ assured the pink Ranger as he took a sip of tea from his mug.
"I really mean it. Especially after today. We don't know what came over our red Ranger. For some reason he thinks he has a right to take our Samuraizers away."
"How many did he steal?" Casey asked.
"Well, he has his own, obviously," Mia said, "And he took Emily's and Kevin's. We're only a team of five."
"So he's got three," Casey nodded. He looked into the common room.
"Mike can't even use his morpher," Mia said to the tiger Master. "Apparently Emily's got it with her now."
"And it's a good thing she does," RJ said, "If Jayden got in here, he would have taken it and you would only be down to one."
"That's what worries me," Mia looked at the mug in her hands. She wasn't a big tea drinker. She would have it occasionally. She found it helped her sleep when she was having trouble, and that it could calm her down when she was feeling stressed out, but she never drank it socially like this. She looked over her shoulder at Kevin and let out a sigh. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You're friends will be fine," she heard Casey say. She nodded her head.
"I know, I just can't help be worry about him," Mia sighed. She hated seeing Kevin stuck in bed. He was a strong Samurai. One of the best she had ever seen. He was dedicated, powerful and she cared for him deeply. She wished she could be in his position so that he wouldn't be hurting, even though she knew Kevin would never allow it. He wanted to keep her safe and she knew that very well.
"Speaking of friends," RJ frowned, "aren't there supposed to be more people. Your mentor told us Emily should be coming home with more help."
Mia checked her watch as she nodded. It was late and it had been a while since she phoned to tell Emily that Jayden had stolen Kevin's Samuraizer. She knew Blue Bay Harbour was a longer trip than Ocean Bluff, but still, something didn't add up.
The doorbell rang at that point, at which Mia turned her head, Mentor emerged from the kitchen, and Kevin and Mike were pulled from their sleep from the mysterious sound. Mia had always wondered why the Shiba house had a doorbell, considering only people who lived in the house knew of its location. There were never any salesmen or neighbours needing a cup of sugar who knocked on the door.
"I guess it still works," Mentor commented from the kitchen before he looked at Mia, "No one has touched it in years."
"Should I get it?" Mia frowned, unsure of what to do. Who would ring on the doorbell? Surely by now Emily knew she could just walk in, and everybody else was home.
"Did Emily forget her keys?" Kevin asked with a yawn.
Mia shrugged her shoulders as she got up, "It's unlocked anyways."
She opened the door and was surprised to see a blonde woman standing at the door, bearing absolutely no resemblance to Emily or anyone else on the team for that matter. Mia could quickly eliminate the possibility that a family member was stopping by for a visit.
"Is this the Shiba house?" the woman asked. She bit her lower lip nervously.
Mia didn't know how to answer, "Um… yes?"
A man walked up to the house from the van in front of the house and on his back was a sleeping Emily. Mia couldn't help but laugh. Typical Emily.
"Sorry, she fell asleep on the way up. She was pretty worked up and I guess tired herself out."
"That's Emily," Mia nodded her head. "She spends the entire day running circles around all of us, and then falls asleep on us… literally sometimes."
Mia opened the door a little wider to let the man carrying Emily inside. The woman stepped in as well with her friend, but didn't go any further than the front entrance.
Mia, assuming Emily had only gotten a ride with these strangers because she knew they were the Ninjas, closed the door and smiled.
"You must be the Ninjas," she said without hesitation.
The man, who hadn't yet found somewhere to put Emily down, nearly dropped her when he heard this. He looked over at his friend. She was just as confused.
"Tor…"
"How… how…" the woman stammered as she looked at Mia. She then shook her head, "No…"
"It's fine," Mia smiled, "Emily probably didn't get the chance to tell you before she fell asleep. We're the Samurai Rangers," she motioned to RJ and Casey, "they're the Pai Zhuq masters. I can't thank you enough for…"
"Wait a minute," the man, Dustin, interrupted. He looked over his shoulder at Emily, "this kid is a Ranger? As in a Power Ranger?"
"We're all Power Rangers," Mia nodded. She looked at RJ and Casey, who had only told her their secret after she revealed herself. They too nodded.
"You can't be Power Rangers," Dustin shook his head. "You're… you're all just… most of you are… kids?"
"Hate to break it to you, Dustin, but it's not like you're a mature adult yet," Tori laughed. She pulled out the Samuraizer from her pocket. She had been holding onto it since it fell out of Emily's pocket while Dustin was trying to get her out of the van. She handed it to Mia, "That explains this."
"Mike's Samuraizer," Mia smiled as she took it. She could hear Dustin sighing with relief.
"Mike? Phew. I saw all the green on it and didn't think it fit her."
"Dustin and Emily kinda hit if off before she fell asleep," Tori quickly explained to Mia, "Coincidentally, he claimed her as an honorary yellow… is she the…"
"Yellow Ranger," Mia nodded, "yep."
Mia noticed Dustin was still carrying Emily's weight. The girl wasn't heavy, but enough was enough.
"Just drop her on Mike's bed," she told Dustin, "It's the one with the nasal trumpet player."
Dustin nodded and headed into the common room, following Mike's snoring to figure out which bed to place Emily in.
While he was doing that, Tori continued her conversation with Mia.
"So, um, how did you know about us?" she asked. She looked at the two Pai Zhuq, "And these guys are Pai… what?"
"Pai Zhuq," RJ got to his feet and held out his hand, "It's a Kung Fu Academy that trains humans to harness their inner animal spirit. I'm RJ, the wolf Master and over there is Casey, the tiger Master."
"We need your help," Mia said to Tori, "Our red Ranger left us and took most of our Samuraizers, two of our Rangers are confined to bed, and you saw the state our yellow was in. There's no way we can face the Nighlok or the Moogers alone."
"And you need help from Ninjas because…?"
"We're dead without help," Mia answered. "Please, can you help us? I don't know if you were Rangers once, but we need all the help we can get, and I've heard Ninjas were skilled fighters."
"We're always willing to help fellow Rangers," Tori nodded with a smile as Dustin returned to the hallway. She gave him a look and he too nodded in agreement. He wasn't too sure what he was agreeing too, but he was smart enough to know that it was unwise to disagree with Tori Hanson.
"Thank you!" Mia collapsed into a chair. A wave of relief finally washed over her. Now not only would she be getting some help from Pai Zhuq Masters and Ninjas, but she also no longer had to worry about her friends and their safety. Kevin and Mike could take all the time they needed to recover, and Emily didn't have an excuse to rush back into battle before she was ready. "We owe you so much."
"Not a problem," RJ assured Mia once again. The girl was definitely grateful. He was just happy he could help, as were the other recruits. The Ranger career was like being a doctor: there was an oath. Only rather than never do harm, Rangers had to abide by the rule of once a Ranger, always a Ranger.
Mentor walked into the hallway at this point, "I'll show our friends to their bedrooms. Mia, would you mind giving up your room for…"
"They can have it!" Mia nodded. "They can take anything at this point. I'm in their debt."
"Where will Mia sleep?" Casey asked.
Mentor smirked, "I'm sure she'll find somewhere. C'mon, it's just down here."
Mia had an idea of what Mentor meant with his comment, but at least he had given her an idea. She turned to the common room and saw Kevin was still awake from when the doorbell had rung. She flashed him a smile before walking over to his bed.
"Do you…"
"You don't even have to ask," Kevin chuckled. Mia pulled up the blankets and slipped inside. She snuggled against Kevin as he wrapped his good arm around her.
"Are you still comfortable?"
His bruises hurt, his arm was in pain, his head was pounding and there was an itch he couldn't reach.
He looked at Mia and nodded, "I've never been more comfortable."
Over in Mike's bed, the green Ranger had been reawakened when Emily's weight had been placed on his bed. Since then he had been watching her and gently stroking her hair. He thought about what had happened between the two of them earlier. Emily had kissed him. She hadn't tripped and landed on his lips, and surely it hadn't been a dare.
Since that kiss, a lot of questions went through Mike's head. Why had she kissed him? What did it mean? Why did she run? He'd talked about it to Kevin, who didn't really want to hear, but the blue Ranger had given some plausible answers.
"She likes you. She likes you. She likes you."
So when Emily opened her eyes Mike leaned in for another one. This time, when they parted Emily didn't run off. She crawled up closer to Mike and rested next to him.
"Hey, Kevin," they heard Mia asking once they were comfortable.
"Yes, Mia," there was a chuckle in Kevin's voice.
"Is it just me, or is that like watching your little brother and sister kiss?" Mia teased.
"That's what that feeling is!" Kevin laughed.
"Ha-ha," Mike frowned before throwing a pillow at Kevin. "You're just jealous."
"Yeah, that's it," Kevin rolled his eyes. "Now remember, kids, I have my eyes on you."
"And we're in the next bed over," Mia added.
"Same goes for you," Emily chimed.
The girls grinned. The boys glared at each other. Things were definitely different in the Shiba house. But everyone was happy.
