I woke up the next morning to Uncle Dustin shaking me.
"Hey Izzy…it's time to get up."
Groaning I looked at the clock which read 9:00.
"What? Why do I have to get up so early? I'm on vacation." I groaned.
"Because…I have a class to teach and you're coming with me. And if I'm late Sensei will yell at me…teacher or not." he said grimacing.
"Never thought I'd see the day when YOU were worried about being on time." I said as I climbed out of bed.
"Well get dressed and I'll make breakfast. Juice or Milk?" he asked.
"Coffee." I smiled.
He shrugged, "Okay then." and headed to the kitchen.
I quickly used the bathroom and jumped in the shower. After brushing out my hair I straightened it and headed back to my room to get dressed. It was then that I realized that I had no clue what I should wear to a Ninja Academy.
"Hey…Uncle Dustin?" I called.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Um…what should I wear?"
"Just put on whatever's laying around." he replied.
I rolled my eyes at his lackadaisical attitude towards what my fashion choice for the day should be and clicked on the light. That's when I saw it folded neatly on the bed. A black and red outfit made of leather.
Running my fingers over the supple leather I inspected it closer. It looked a little worn in certain places but mostly in good condition. A moment later I saw a name embroidered just inside of the coat.
Andrea Brooks
It had to be my mother's Wind Academy uniform.
Smiling I took off my robe and pulled on a black tank top before pulling on the uniform. It consisted of a jacket, gloves, pants, knee high boots and a belt. I wasn't sure that it would fit but it was perfect.
After pulling my hair into a ponytail I walked out into the kitchen. Uncle Dustin was standing at the counter putting sugar and cream into his coffee. He wore a black outfit similar to the one I wore but with yellow accents and a higher color and a badge at the base of his throat. When I walked in he looked up.
"What do you think?" I smiled doing a turn for him.
"Perfect fit." he smiled.
"Where did you get this?" I asked.
"Your Granddad's attic. Your Mom put it in a trunk up in there when she met your Dad. We were going through his things when you, your Dad and her came down for the funeral and found it. She wasn't sure what to do with it so I told her I'd take it back to the Academy but I never did. I don't know why but I kept it. Maybe I thought you'd go to the Academy one day but I'm glad I kept it even if you didn't. You look just like your Mom in it."
"Thanks." I grinned and decided to quickly change the subject before I started crying.
I looked over to the two travel mugs that were sitting on the counter.
"Those for us?" I asked.
"Yep." he said and handed me a cup.
I took a sip and grimaced.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I held my hand up and opened the fridge and pulled out chocolate syrup. Popping the top I poured a generous amount of syrup into the cup before grabbing a spoon from a drawer and stirring the concoction and snapping the top back on.
"Better." I replied as I took a sip.
"Great. Well we have the world famous Dustin Brooks Breakfast Burritos to eat on our way to the Academy. Now we'd better move." he said and grabbed his keys.
"What's so special about these?" I asked holding up the tinfoil wrapped burrito.
"It's a pancake and not a tortilla." he grinned.
"Yum." I smiled and got into the car.
Twenty minutes later we pulled up to a what looked like a patch of woods.
"This is it?" I asked.
"No. We have a way to walk. C'mon." he said and we headed into the woods, picking our way past trees and underbrush.
A moment later we came upon a beautiful waterfall.
"This is the entrance." he replied.
A second later there was a cracking sound and a guy in a suit like mine jumped out and charged at me. I was able to just make out his features before he did so.
He had bright cerulean blue eyes and messy chestnut brown hair. A cocky smile was stretched across his face as he moved toward me.
He brandished a kick out at me and I ducked it swiped my foot out, knocking him on his back. He was up a split second later and we were fighting again. He was good and it was hard for me to keep up. I had no clue where Uncle Dustin was at all. For all I knew he was fighting his own opponent.
"That's enough Drake stand down!" I heard Uncle Dustin shout and the guy immediately stopped fighting and bowed to me and him.
"I didn't realize that you'd gotten so good Izzy." Uncle Dustin said walking over.
"Well I'm just full of surprises aren't I?" I smirked.
"You didn't tell me she had training." Drake said.
"Well now you do!" Uncle Dustin grinned and turned to me.
"Izzy this is Drake Valentine, he's a senior pupil of Shane's. He's studying Wind. Drake this is my niece Izzy Oliver. She's going to be here for a couple of weeks." he said introducing us.
"Nice to meet you." he said holding out his hand.
I shook it and smiled, "Same here."
"Anyhow it's getting late. We'd better get to the Academy." Uncle Dustin said but I grabbed his arm first.
"You planned all that didn't you?" I asked looking at Uncle Dustin who shrugged.
"Did you really think you were just going to wander around here and do nothing all day? Pssh…follow me kid." he replied and walked to the lake.
I watched as he took a step out and began to walk across the water, the guy, Drake, following.
"How am I supposed to follow you!?" I asked.
"Just try!" Drake yelled.
"Yeah concentrate! It's in your blood Izzy!" Uncle Dustin added.
I took a deep breath.
I looked down at the water.
I took a step out.
And my foot stayed dry.
Smiling I took another and then another and soon I was standing beside Drake and Uncle Dustin.
"That was easy!" I smiled.
"Told you. Now c'mon." Uncle Dustin said and raised his hand and parted the water and we walked through, emerging on the other side dry.
Standing before us was a huge building and a huge stretch of land with people in outfits like mine for miles.
"This is amazing!" I said looking around.
"C'mon and I'll introduce you to Sensei. Drake I believe that you have a class right now." Dustin said.
"Yes Sensei Dustin." he said and bowed to Uncle Dustin before hurrying away.
"Wow…it looks like you actually have some power around here Uncle." I said as Drake hurried away.
"Yeah. I'm pretty much a big shot." he boasted.
"Dustin you're late." a voice said and Uncle Dustin jumped and spun around.
I had bite my cheeks to stop from laughing at the mix of embarrassment, seriousness and perhaps a bit of terror that had replaced the cocky smirk he'd had a moment ago.
I turned around and saw a guy in a robe, his face serious.
"My apologies Sensei." Uncle Dustin said and bowed deeply to the guy.
"I can forgive it this time seeing as you have your niece with you today and this was obviously a reason for your tardiness." he said.
"Thank you Sensei and yes this is my niece Izzy Oliver. Izzy this is Sensei Kanoi Watanabe." Uncle Dustin said.
I bowed just a deeply as Uncle Dustin, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You as well. I understand that you yourself are a proficient warrior in your own right or so your Uncle, his friends and my son tell me." he said with a smile.
"I am a black belt." I smiled proudly.
"Very impressive. I also understand that you and your Uncle share another similar trait in your past." He replied.
"Indeed. I was the Pink Crane Ninjetti Ranger until quite recently." I nodded.
"Dustin has told me that you are having a difficult time adjusting to life without your powers because you gave them up under unfortunate circumstances and that you have come to spend time with him and to clear your head." he said.
"I did. It's been very hard to see my friends have their powers and feel that I'm being left behind." I replied.
"Well I hope that in your time here you will be able to find the peace you are seeking." Sensei said smiling at me.
"Thank you Sensei." I said and bowed again.
"Now Dustin I believe that you have students to attend to do you not?" Sensei asked.
"I do and I plan to as soon as I settle Izzy into her class with Shane." Uncle Dustin said.
"Very well Dustin. And Izzy I wish you good luck." Sensei smiled.
"Thank you." I smiled and we bowed to Sensei before hurrying off.
"So you'll be in Shane's class. It will be a little advanced but I think you'll pick it up pretty fast. I mean you are my niece." Uncle Dustin grinned.
"But you told me that you were horrible at your Ninja studies before you became a Power Ranger." I said and his grin faltered.
"Fine…you take after your mother. She was pretty good back in the day." he replied shaking his head.
"How do you know that I'm good at Air? I mean what if I'm better at Earth like you or if I'm better with Water like Tori?" I asked.
"Really it was Cam who decided that you would study with Shane. Your Dad gave me the background on you as a Ranger and then I told Cam and he said that since you were a Crane that you would be probably be good with it. If not we'll switch you around and find something for you to do while you're here." he replied.
I nodded as we walked into a clearing where there was a raised platform. Shane stood towards the back watching as two students went at it.
I stood off to the side and watched as the wind whipped around them. They were fighting with everything they had and it was amazing to watch. Every flip and kick was higher as they used the air to their advantage.
Soon the match ended and Shane's eyes broke from the students and over to Uncle Dustin and I. He smiled and walked over to us.
"Welcome to my class Izzy. C'mon and we'll introduce you." he said and held out a hand to help me up on the platform.
I took it and hopped up.
"Looks like you're good here. I'm going to go teach my class I'll see you in a while." Uncle Dustin said.
I waved and followed Shane to the center of the platform.
"Students! I have a new pupil to introduce you to. This is Izzy Oliver, Sensei Dustin's niece and she's come here from Angel Grove to train with us for 2 weeks. She has had no official ninja training but she is a black belted martial artist. I ask that you please welcome her into our group." Shane said.
"So…how would you like to show everyone what you can do?" Shane asked looking at me.
"Um…sure." I replied.
"Alright…any volunteers?" Shane asked.
Immediately Drake raised his hand and I smiled.
"Come on up." Shane called and he hurried forward.
"So you ready to finish this?" Drake smirked.
"Oh totally. I didn't get the privilege of handing your tail to you last time." I replied.
"So you two have already met?" Shane asked.
"Ask Uncle Dustin and he'll tell you how." I replied.
Shane looked at us weird but shrugged and stepped back.
Drake and I bowed to each other and got into stance.
"And…go!" Shane said and we began circling each other.
I kept my eye on him and he kept his on me. A moment later I charged and managed to land a kick to his side before he could realize what I had done. He brought his fist up and I blocked it before hitting out at him.
He dodged it and a second later jumped and was in the air and just out of reach.
"Oh! That is so not fair! Get back down here!" I yelled and he laughed at me, sticking his tongue out.
"Get down here!" I said and stomped my foot feeling like a 2 year old but not caring.
"If you insist!" he said and swooped down and delivered a kick at me then was right back in the air.
An idea quickly formulated in my mind and I smirked at him, "Bet you can't do that again Ninja boy!"
He shrugged and dove again. This time I ducked at the exact moment he lashed out, standing up and grabbing him by the belt. He couldn't move and I took the opportunity to flip him over my shoulder and slammed him on the platform.
"Yah!" I yelled and put my foot on his shoulder, pinning him down.
"The winner is Izzy!" Shane said and the others clapped.
I helped Drake up and we bowed to each other before shaking hands.
"You okay?" I asked as we climbed off the platform and joined the others.
"Yeah but you're even better than I already thought." he said.
"Thanks. You're really good too. It took me a second to figure out how to get you to come down." I replied.
"Yeah I'm a bit of a sucker for a taunt." he sighed.
"I don't blame you. They used to get me all the time. It took a while to block it out." I said.
We watched as Shane brought up others and they faced each other. Another ten or so groups must have gone before Shane dismissed everyone and walked over to where I was still standing with Drake.
"So Izzy how did you like your first class?" Shane asked.
"It was pretty awesome. I just wish I could do the running in air thing." I replied.
"Maybe before you leave you'll pick that up." Shane smiled.
"I'll help you if you want." Drake offered.
"That would be awesome. Thanks." I replied.
"Anyhow I have about two hours until my next class, c'mon and I'll show you around." Shane said.
"Sounds great." I replied.
"Do you mind if I tag along? I don't have another class for awhile." Drake asked.
"I don't mind? Shane?" I asked.
"No problem. Just don't be late for you other lessons." he warned.
Shane led me around showing me the different grounds that surrounded the area. There were different ones that were for each element along with a new one that was for Thunder. Apparently Hunter had previously taught at a different school but had merged the two to become the largest Ninja school on the west coast after Blake had retired from Motocross.
The tour ended when we came across Uncle Dustin talking with Cam and Hunter.
"Hey! How was your first class?" Uncle Dustin asked as we walked over.
"It was great. I even won a match against Drake." I smirked.
"Wow. Very impressive." Cam said with a smile.
Hunter started to say something but was interrupted when my phone rang. I pulled it out of the pocket that was concealed in the front of the jacket and looked at the screen. It was Nathan.
"Hey…I gotta take this. I'll be back." I smiled and walked a distance away so I could talk to him.
"Hey Tiger." I said as I sat down on the grass and answered the phone.
"Hello to you too Beautiful. You sound happy." he replied.
"Yeah I just won a match against one of the best pupils at the school that my Uncle teaches at and yesterday I went dirt biking with him. My Uncle that is…not the pupil." I laughed.
"Aren't you supposed to be on vacation? What on earth are you doing fighting?" he fake chastised me.
"Oh please. You know that there is nothing more relaxing than sparring with someone else." I replied.
"I know. But I just wanted to call you and tell you that I miss you Iz." he said his voice kind of quiet.
"I know babe. I miss you too. I miss all of you." I sighed.
"Yeah but you've been missing us longer than we've been missing you. I'm still sorry. I'm sorry that we made you feel left out and neglected. We never meant to make you feel like you weren't part of our team. Honest Izzy." Nathan said.
"I know babe. Hopefully I'll come back and be me again." I replied.
"I hope so. I love you Beautiful." he said.
"Love you too Tiger." I smiled.
"Anyhow I gotta go. I just thought I'd call you between classes and talk to you because I missed your voice. I'll call you later." he replied.
"Okay. Talk to you later babe." I smiled and hung up.
"So who was that?"
I looked up to see Drake walking over towards me.
"Oh. That was Nathan, my boyfriend back home." I replied.
"Boyfriend?" he asked.
"Yeah. We've never actually been apart since we got together." I smiled.
"Well I guess me asking you out on a date before you leave is out of the question then huh?" Drake asked.
"Oh my god…you were going to ask me out?" I asked my face heating up.
He laughed, "Yeah but don't worry I know when to back off."
"We can still be friends can't we?" I asked.
"Of course! If anything it's better that we're friends. I can be more me around you than I could if I saw you as anything else." he replied.
"Same here." I smiled.
"However I would like to ask if you would like to go grab lunch with me. I for one am starving and I know a place that's about a ten minute walk from the entrance to the school." he said.
"Sounds good to me. Just let me go tell my Uncle." I said and stood up, dusting the seat of my pants off.
When I got there I saw that Tori and Blake had joined the group.
"Hey! We heard you totally kicked butt in your first class!" Blake grinned.
"Not totally. The other guy got some hits in but I did win." I replied.
"Still. You won against an advanced student. That's something." Tori replied.
"I guess you're right. But hey…Uncle Dustin would it be cool if I walk with Drake to go get something to eat?" I asked.
"Izzy you're 17. You don't have to ask for permission but yeah it's cool. Just be back in time for his next class. We were talking and we thought we'd let you try out the other classes and see what you thought." Uncle Dustin said.
"Great! That sounds like a blast!" I smiled.
"How are you guys getting there?" Hunter asked.
"Oh we're walking." I replied.
"Are you kidding? Anything close to here is like miles away. Drake probably forgot that he's not allowed to flash step until he's passed his test!" Shane said raising his voice and I saw Drake blush.
"Here take my van. You're about my size so there's extra clothes in the back that should fit you." she said and tossed me her keys.
"Thanks Tori." I smiled and hurried to meet up with Drake.
"I got Tori's van." I smiled swinging the keys around my finger.
"Sweet. Let's go then." he replied.
"So how long before you were going to tell me that you planned to flash step us?" I grinned as we walked.
"Um…right before I did it?" he grinned sheepishly.
I laughed, "Well now we don't have to. I just have to change out of this." I replied.
"DRAKE!"
I turned and saw a girl with a head full of white blond curls running over to us wearing a Water Ninja outfit.
"Who's that?' I asked.
"Daphne." He replied.
"Oh so you had a girlfriend and were still going to ask me out?" I asked looking at him.
"No. Not a girlfriend. A twin sister." he replied smirking at me.
When the girl stopped in front of us I saw that they had the same bright blue eyes and face shape.
"Who's this?" she asked looking at me.
"Hi…I'm Izzy." I smiled.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Daphne…Drake's older sister." she smiled.
"Just by a minute." Drake retorted.
"A minute none the less baby brother." she grinned.
"Whatever. Izzy is Sensei Dustin's niece and we were just going to go out and grab some food." Drake replied.
"Oh. I was just about to ask if you wanted to come grab some lunch." Daphne said.
"Why don't you come with us?" I asked.
"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt anything." she said looking between Drake and I.
"You won't be. C'mon. I was going to show her Sal's." Drake replied.
"Ooh! I love Earl's! They have the BEST burgers! You will LOVE them!" Daphne gushed.
"Then it's official. Let's go!" I said and we headed out.
"You got Sensei Tori's van?" Daphne asked.
"Yeah. She said we could use it." I grinned and from the backseat I grabbed the aqua colored cargo shorts and black flip flops. After changing in the woods I walked back out to find Daphne and Drake already changed.
"How did you change so fast?" I asked.
"Ninja powers." they replied at the same time.
"You're not going to do that whole day are you?" I asked.
"Oh trust me…it's not something we try to do. It just happens." Daphne grimaced.
"Okay." I laughed and we climbed in the van and headed to Sal's.
It was true. Their burgers even rivaled Ernie's which were the best I'd ever tasted.
We sat at a table and talked about everything. They told us about growing up in Virginia with their parents before leaving home to train at the Wind Academy. It was where their parents had met and they had wanted to go since they were kids. I told them all about Angel Grove and my friends, my Dad, my brother and Nathan.
After we ate we headed back to the Academy but not before making plans to hang out that night.
My next class which was with Tori. After that came one with Hunter and Blake and finally one with Uncle Dustin. All of them were great but none struck me like the Air class had. If I was going to learn an element I was going to learn it was going to be Air.
"So Tori is having a movie night. You up for it?" Uncle Dustin asked as we walked towards the car after all the classes were over.
"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that. Drake and his sister Daphne wanted me to hang out with them tonight. Is that okay?" I asked.
He nodded, "I don't see why not. I mean I don't expect you to be stuck with all of us the whole time you're here. It's great that you made friends. And if you want you can borrow my car."
"Seriously?! You are like the BEST uncle EVER." I grinned and hugged him.
I dropped Uncle Dustin off at Tori's before heading to his apartment and changing into jeans and a Harry Potter t-shirt that Jakob had bought me for my birthday. I added a pair of yellow Converse borrowed from Tasha, smiling at the thought that she would be happy that I was going to have some fun.
After I changed I headed back to the Academy and found Daphne waiting for me outside the dorms.
"What's up chica?" she smiled walking over to me. She wore a blue t-shirt, jean Capri pants and a pair of blue slip on shoes. Her curly hair was still a crazy mess of curls.
"Nothing much. So what are we up to tonight? I have my Uncle's car." I smiled.
"Well we thought we'd head into town and then wander for a bit. Sound like a plan?" she asked.
"Totally. Where's Drake?" I asked.
"He'll be here in a moment." she replied and a second later I felt a breeze pass me and Drake was standing beside me.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
I laughed, "Yeah. C'mon." I said and we headed for the car.
We ate dinner at a little restaurant that was actually near Storm Chargers. Once we ate I had to duck in and say hi to Kelly.
We walked in and found Blake and Hunter behind the counter.
"Hey Izzy! What's up with you tonight?" he asked.
"Nothing much just hanging out with Drake and Daphne. What are you two doing here working the graveyard shift?" I asked.
"Kelly had a dentist appointment and asked us to look after the shop." Hunter replied.
"You two showing Izzy a good time?" Blake asked.
"Yep. We're going to wander around Blue Bay Harbor for a bit and show her around." Drake replied.
"Awesome. Oh! Izzy! Dustin got a new pair of boots in. Would you mind taking them to him?" Blake asked.
"Sure Blake. No issue." I replied.
"Great. I'll go get them from the back." he replied and walked to the back of the store.
"It's so weird to hear that you're on first name basis with our teachers." Daphne smiled and Hunter laughed.
"To me it's weird that other people call them Sensei. I mean they've been friends with my Uncle since I was like 5 or 6. They're just Tori, Shane, Blake, Hunter and Cam." I smirked.
"And here are the boots." Blake said handing me a bag with the boots inside.
"Thanks. I'll be sure to give these to him tonight." I replied.
"Alright. Well you guys have fun and tell the others that we said hi." Hunter said and we headed out.
"So tell me…how do you do this whole floaty thing?" I asked Drake as we walked.
"It's mostly concentration. Everyone has the ability to do it. It's just tapping into it that's the hard part." Drake replied.
"Does that mean that I won't be able to do it?" I asked.
"Maybe, maybe not but I bet you could if you tried. Your Mom was a Wind Ninja right? And then your Uncle is a Ninja too. It's in your blood." he smiled.
"I seem to keep hearing that." I laughed.
"As much as I hate to admit it, my brother has a point." Daphne nodded.
"Wow…that's gotta be a first. How much did it hurt to say that?" Drake laughed.
"More than you will ever know." Daphne said rolling her eyes.
"Anyhow all you have to do is try. Here…come here." Drake said and grabbed me by my forearm and pulled me over to a bench.
He took the bag out of my hand and situated me so that I was standing behind the bench.
"Okay. Close your eyes." he ordered.
"Right." I nodded and closed my eyes.
"Now I want you to concentrate. Find the energy that you have somewhere in you. Tell me when you find that." he said.
I relaxed and concentrated just like he said and a moment later I felt my hands tingle, almost like it had when I had touched the Power Coin.
"I think I found it." I said.
"Good. Now I want you to feel the air around you and try to combine that energy with the air." Drake said.
I pushed the energy out and felt it whip around me, the air along with it. I don't know how I did it but a moment later I felt my feet leave the ground.
"Now…slowly open your eyes." Drake said.
I opened my eyes and looked down. My feet were a good three inches off the ground.
"Whoa! I'm doing it!" I laughed and that was the moment that I broke concentration and I fell to the ground landing on my rear.
"Well you almost had it!" Daphne laughed reaching out and helping me up.
"And that was really good. You got further off the ground than most people do their first time." Drake replied.
"Thanks." I smiled.
We wandered around for a while longer before we decided to go home. I dropped Daphne and Drake off at the entrance to the Academy before heading to Tori's where Uncle Dustin was still hanging out with Shane, Tori and Cam.
"Hey! C'mon in." Tori said answering the door.
"Have fun?" Uncle Dustin asked as I walked in.
"Totally. It was great! Oh! And your new boots came in." I said and handed him the Storm Charger bag.
"Sweet! I've needed these!" he said pulling the boots out to look at them.
"Yeah Blake gave them to me when I stopped by. Oh and they both say hi." I replied.
"So what else did you guys get up to? Just wander around?" Tori asked sitting down, sipping her soda.
"No. Actually I did learn a new trick." I grinned.
"Trick?" Cam asked.
"Yeah! Watch!" I said and closed my eyes and followed the instructions that Drake had given me.
A moment later I felt my feet lift off the ground once again and I opened my eyes, grinning at my Uncle and his friends. All of them started laughing and clapping.
I cam back down and gave a little bow, "That was compliments of Drake."
"He taught you that just tonight?" Shane asked.
"Yeah. That's my second time doing it." I replied.
"That's really impressive. You have the potential to be a really good Ninja." Cam smiled.
"Wow. Thanks!" I smiled and sat down.
It was early so we started one more movie before Uncle Dustin and I headed home. Before bed I called Nathan and talked to him for a little bit before calling Ethan and Dad. After hanging up with them I finally crawled under the covers and fell asleep with a smile. Happy for the first time in a while.
So i'm thinking that I only going to continue this story for another few chapters. . . . .
BUT! I will start a sequel! If I keep going with this one story there will be around a million or so chapters so why not seperate it into parts? So if I posted a sequel to this that is still very much centered around Izzy, Ethan, Nathan, Tasha, Chris, Jakob and Ryan as the primary Rangers, just like this one, would you read it? Or should I just keep up with one story? Let me know! And thanks for reading!