Chapter 36 – Calm After The Storm
October 28 2003 – Wind Ninja Academy
For the first time in several months, the Wind Ninja Academy was buzzing with the sounds of hundreds of students. The wind ninjas had fully recovered from their imprisonment on Lothor's ship and were ready to resume their normal lesson. Up on the stage, Sensei Watanabe approached the gathered assembly and held his hands out for some silence. Standing off the side were Shane, Tori, Dustin, Rocky and Cam. All of them had been kept in the dark about the announcement that Sensei was about to make, "Welcome everyone", he began, "I glad to see so many of you have opted to resume your studies at the Wind Ninja Academy".
"Don't forget the new ones", Cam called out from the side of the stage.
Sensei sighed, "Thank you Cameron", he shook his head and continued with his speech, "at this point I would like you to join me in a moment of silence to remember the students who won't be returning". The gathered assembly bowed their heads in remembrance of their fallen comrades, the ones who had been killed during the initial raid by Lothor and then on his ship.
After a minute, Sensei continued, "The trials we have all faced over the last few months have shown me that changes need to be made to the way the Academy is run". There was a brief pause to allow Sensei's words to sink in, "I believed that I could handle the potential threat from Lothor in my own way but all that earned me were several months as a guinea pig. It was similar to how I felt that I could run the Academy singlehandedly".
A few light chuckles echoed through the students at Sensei's words, meanwhile Cam and Rocky were frowning, "Those months in my own personal cage gave me time to think and to observe. I have to say that I was amazed with the leadership shown during my period of incapacitation". He paused and took a deep breath, "Therefore I have decided to step down at the Sensei of the Wind Ninja Academy".
Almost immediately after his announcement, a loud roar of disapproval from the crowd rang out, most vocally from the Wind Rangers. Sensei Watanabe let the noise continue for a few moments until he raised his arms, "Thank you, that will do", he said, "firstly I would like to announce some new appointments to our staff. We have three new teachers in the air, earth and water style", he pointed towards the Wind Rangers, "Shane Clarke, Dustin Brookes and Tori Hanson respectively".
The trio looked stunned and it took them a few moments before they joined Sensei Watanabe on stage. They gave the gathered students a nervous wave, it was only a few months ago that they were students themselves and near the bottom of the class. Now they would be teaching them, "Next I will be delegating the administration of the Academy to my son, Cameron Watanabe", Sensei continued, "he has shown himself to be highly capable, especially under pressure".
After giving his son a reassuring smile, Sensei made his final announcement, "Now I would like to invite Rocky DeSantos onto the stage". Rocky nervously stood next to Sensei, "What this Academy needs is a youthful touch", Sensei continued, "therefore I name Rocky DeSantos as my successor to the Sensei position. Please show him the same respect that you have shown me over the years". The students were silent for a moment before breaking into a loud cheer, "That is all, you are welcome to use the rest of the day for personal reflection".
The students slowly ambled away from the stage but stayed near the stage. Sensei Watanabe made his way down the steps and was heading towards his personal quarters when he was ambushed by five people, "Dad, why didn't you tell me about this", Cam began, "you've still got a few years let in you".
"Thank you for not making me feel ancient Cameron", Sensei chuckled, "but I feel that the time is right for the next generation to take the lead". He paused for a moment, "This year has been extremely draining, both physically and emotionally. The Academy is still my home and I will always be able to offer assistance if needed so you are not getting rid of me that easily".
"Well I think I speak on behalf of my teaching staff", Rocky chuckled and pointed to the three new teachers, "when I say thank you for your years of service".
"And thank you for believing in us", Tori added for her fellow teachers.
The door that led down to the remains of Ninja Ops opened and Kelly stepped out with a bottle of champagne, "Good job with cleaning up down there Cam", the fire ninja stated. The supercomputer would never be the same again but hopefully it wouldn't be needed again. Cam had also examined their morphers, they were repairable but again, they were not the former green ranger's priority anymore. "I heard the good news", Kelly continued, "and I think this calls for a celebration". She popped the cork on the bottle and handed out some glasses.
"Thank you Kel", Dustin began, "although with my new duties, I think I'm going to have to resign from Storm Chargers".
"I thought as much", Kelly sighed, "with Alyssa now back in College, I have been thinking about hiring some new staff". She looked over the shoulders of the ninjas, "Ah here they come now".
The ninjas turned around and saw Marah, Kapri and Yuri walking in their direction. Some of the ninjas stared at the Clearwater sisters, cleared confused and annoyed that the pair were waltzing into their Academy. Kapri probably didn't help the situation by glaring back at them, "Hey everyone", Marah greeted him and gave Dustin a quick kiss, "we've got some great news".
"You're the new employees at Storm Chargers", Tori replied.
"Well yeah", Marah began, surprised that Tori guessed so quickly, "but we're also moving to Blue Bay Harbor".
Dustin smiled broadly and grabbed Marah around the waist, spinning her around, "This is fantastic", he put her down, "but I thought you wanted to stay in San Diego with your mother?"
Kapri nodded slowly, "That's the other reason why we're here". She pointed to another person that was approaching the group, "Mom's moving to Blue Bay with us".
Kazumi Clearwater nervously approached the ninjas, leaning on her daughters for support. She gazed at her brother that she hadn't seen in nearly twenty years and a few tears rolled down her face, "Kanoi", she sniffed, "I'm so sorry for all those things I said".
"It's all in the past", Sensei Watanabe shook his head and embraced his estranged sister, "I'm sorry that I couldn't save Kiya".
"You helped return my daughters to me", Kazumi began, "you all did. That is worth more to me than anything in the world".
A loud sniff could be heard from the back of the group, "Dustin, are you crying?" Rocky asked.
"No", the yellow ranger wiped his eye, "oh, who am I kidding, this is the happiest thing I've seen all year". He enthusiastically threw his arms around Marah and Kapri, much to the annoyance of the ice ninja.
"Maybe we should leave them to their moment", Yuri suggested, "there's a few people outside who want to say their goodbyes". Tori's heart sank, she knew this moment was coming but it still wasn't going to make it any easier. As the group, minus Sensei and his sister, made their way out of the Academy and into the woods the blue ranger hung back slightly, she wanted to put this off for as long as possible.
In the forest, four thunder ninjas stood waiting for their friends from the wind ninja academy to arrive. They smiled warmly when they made their way through the waterfall, "Greetings", Marcus smiled, "how did the ceremony go?"
"Awesome", Dustin began, "I've been made and teacher and so have Shane and Tori. Oh and Rocky's the new Sensei, isn't that fantastic?"
"Congratulations", Hunter replied with a small smile. The thunder ninjas stood in silence for a few moments until the crimson ranger spoke again, "I think you know why we're here today".
"So it's official then", Cam began, "the Thunder Academy have exiled the four of you", he quickly looked at Marcus, "well re-exiled in your case".
The thunder ninjas nodded sadly, "Unfortunately our father isn't as progressive as yours", Leanne replied. She hadn't believed Marcus during his complaints about how inflexible Sensei Omino could be but now she was dealing with it first hand, it was a different story. "Collaborating with wind ninjas is strictly forbidden and punishable by expulsion he told us".
"Apparently saving the world doesn't get you a free pass from that man", Blake added.
"Sorry to hear that", Shane replied honestly, "it'll be really quiet without you". He walked over and shook the hands of all four thunder ninjas, "If you ever need any help, just let us know".
"We've come a long way since the first time we met", Hunter stated as he shook the red ranger's hand.
"We certainly have", Shane smiled.
"It's been an interesting experience", Leanne added, "maybe our paths will cross again in the future".
"Can we ask where you're going?" Rocky asked.
Marcus shook his head, "Probably best not to, we won't stay in one place for too long anyway".
The atmosphere took an awkward turn as everyone turned towards Blake and Tori, neither of them had taken their eyes off each other, "Why don't we leave these two alone for a minute?" Cam suggested. Everyone agreed and moved off to one side to finish their goodbyes.
"This isn't the end for us Tor", Blake began whilst holding both of her hands, "I can guarantee that".
"Do you have to go, can't you hide out around the city?" Tori pleaded, "if Marcus can hide somewhere for a couple of years, surely you can stay a little longer".
Blake sighed and shook his head sadly, "Sensei Omino made his conditions very clear, he's given us all one day to leave the city and never return". The navy ranger gave Tori a cocky smile, "I was never very good at following his orders though".
A small glimmer of hope appeared in Tori's eyes, "So you're staying?"
"No", Blake stated, "but that doesn't mean I can't sneak back in whenever I want". He leaned down and gave Tori a passionate kiss, placing his hand on her cheek in the process. The couple broke apart and they touched foreheads, "After all, we're ninjas aren't we", he chuckled. Tori laughed and a couple of tears rolled down her cheek. Blake smiled and wiped them away with his thumb.
"Blake", Hunter called out, "I'm sorry bro but it's time". The navy ranger nodded and gave Tori one last kiss before joining the other thunder ninjas. There was one last goodbye from the wind ninjas and their associates before they retreated through the waterfall. Blake sighed went her saw Tori leaning her head on Kelly's shoulder for support, "Sorry again", Hunter placed his hand on his younger brother's shoulder.
"Yeah but like I said to Tori, I'm terrible at following Sensei Omino's instructions anyway", Blake replied. He took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself, "So what's the plan?" he asked.
Marcus walked between the brothers and placed an arm on their shoulders, "Freelancing", he began, "something I've been doing for a while now".
"I get the feeling I'm not going to like this", Leanne sighed.
"On the contrary my flame haired sister", Marcus continued, "we've been hired by a couple of old friends of mine to do a little bit of digging into Hexagon". He pulled out a newspaper form his back pocket, "I assume you've all read this today".
Hunter took the paper from his fellow thunder ninja, "Yeah, it's just more coverage about Spader's successful election campaign". The elections for the Governor's position had been held a couple of weeks ago. The result hadn't been confirmed but it looked like that Philip Spader would be elected as Governor of California by a landslide.
"Look on page eight", Marcus stated.
The crimson ranger turned to the relevant page, "Noted campaigner and company director Desiree Wilson reported missing", he quoted.
"Funny isn't it, Spader gets out of hospital and within 72 hours his main opponent and potential successor at Hexagon goes missing", Marcus raised an eyebrow. "we've been hired to investigate her disappearance".
"I didn't know that we were detectives now", Leanne frowned.
"Ah but you're forgetting, the police have to follow the rules", Marcus replied, "we don't".
Leanne shook her head and sighed, "I was right, I don't like this".
"Come on Leanne, live a little", Hunter slapped the newspaper against her shoulder, "so where are we going?"
"To meet our employers", Marcus began, "I've worked with them for the last couple of years, in fact they were the ones who hired me to build the Thunder Morphers". He gave them a small smile, "I'd wrap up warm, Toronto gets pretty cold this time of year". He streaked away, leaving the others behind momentarily. Leanne, Hunter and Blake looked at each other before they too disappeared in a streak of light, heading towards their next adventure.
THE END
A/N – There we go, Ninja Storm has been completed. Anyone who's been following this series closely will know exactly who commissioned the Thunder Morphers. Some of you have guessed so gold stars to you.
Next up is Dino Thunder which is probably going to go down as the darkest piece of work I've done so far. So if you want to read about an obsessive stalker with sociopathic tendencies, two people clinging on desperately to a failing relationship, plenty of teen angst, a few violent deaths and maybe even a sex scene, join the ride called "Wasted Years" which should be up in a couple of weeks.