Hello and welcome back lovelies! I am so excited to get started on this chapter and see how it's going to change from the original. Working on the rewrites were taking a bit because of undergrad coursework and papers, but a good chunk of them are done so I can work a little bit more now. The goal of my working so quickly on the rewrite is that I want to get on to episode fourteen of Ninja Storm so that I can get on with the story. I have been stuck at chapter thirteen for some time now and I am eager to get on with more chapters. Nothing more to say at this point, so I will get on with the quote and the story after I repost the magic.
LunaWolfSunTiger: Hello lovely. It's nice to hear from you again. I have to agree that I too had crushes on the both of them when I was watching the show too. I think for Cam it was his sarcastic attitude and someone is always going to like the termed "bad boy".
Green-Extreme-Ninjetti13: Hello new lovely. I am so happy you like this story. I would love to hear about your OC and see if I could place them in the story.
Thatweridgirl: Hello lovely. I am deeply honored that you like this story so much. Even though I am the author of this story, I kind of ship Hunter and Belle a little bit more than I do Cam and Belle. You'll see what I mean in following chapters. As for being one of my fans...wow, thank you. I don't know how many times I had to read your review for the words to actually set in. I hope that I can continue making this story enjoyable for you. ^.^
Guest: Thank you lovely. I hope you continue to enjoy this story with each new chapter.
SnowKi: Hello lovely. I am happy to say that I have a new chapter up with another already in the process.
Moonlight Miracle Sakuriana Hime: Hello lovely, I fixed the formatting so that it is fully in the A/N on Google Docs. I literally did a spit take when I read your review during my break at work. After that was equal parts laughing and choking on my drink. So for the foursome, do you mean Belle, Cam, Hunter, and Xander? I have to agree that that is an interesting concept even if the boys wouldn't like to share her.
"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."
-Og Mandino
ooo0 Ninja of the Stars 0ooo
The next morning, Belle woke at her usual early hour and readied herself for her morning workout routine. While she got ready, her mind couldn't help but go back to her meeting with Hunter last night then Cam's words of comfort when she shared the story with him. Ron is right, Belle decided. I just have to get to know him better before I can make a decision. Satisfied with her thoughts, Belle went about her normal work out routine around town. Her workout and the trek back to Ninja Ops was uneventful so she was able to take a quick shower and get dressed so that she could start on breakfast. This morning Belle decided on berry french toast with sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns. As usual Belle poured a cup of coffee for Ron and fixed it how he liked it then sat it next to his plate of food just as he entered the room. Cam shuffled in like a zombie and all but plopped into his chair. Belle watched on in amusement as Cam picked up his coffee mug and took a large drink followed by a sigh. Only after taking another drink did Cam seem to animate a little more as his tired eyes landed on Belle.
"Morning Anna."
"Morning Ron. You know, it is so funny to watch you wake up in the morning."
"I'm sure it is," Cam grumbled in faux annoyment although he loved the teasing that Belle was giving him.
As Cam ate his food and Belle went to join him, Cam couldn't help but glance over the outfit that Belle chose to wear for the day. She had decided to wear a mid thigh length white dress that had straps over her shoulders but then had a large circle bare then continued on down to her wrists in a flowy design that resembled the hem of her dress paired with white sandal wedges that had strings she tied in bows at the sides of her ankles and her hair was plaited into a messy french braid down to the small of her back with some hair free to frame her face. She never seems to have a hair out of place, Cam mused to himself. The two ate in comfortable silence, happy to just bask in the comfort of each other while they had breakfast. However, Belle was quick to eat her breakfast so that she could wash the breakfast dishes, then go about making lunch for the beach. She made sure to make plenty of different wraps, some bite sized fried chicken, meat and veggie skewers, plenty of fruit, Italian pasta salad, cut up veggies with dressing wrapped up in lettuce like wraps, chips, brownies, and cookies. She then magicked a cooler to appear so that she could put the food inside. The next one she made appear had ice so that Cam could toss in juice, gatorade, and water.
"Are you going to come with us Ron?" Belle asked him as she put the finishing touches on the coolers.
"I wish I could," he sighed.
"But someone needs to keep an eye on everything happening around town. Sorry Anna."
"It's alright Ron. There's always going to be a next time."
He gave Belle a sad smile that she returned. Even though he wasn't able to come this time, it was nice that Belle was willing to extend another invitation. When he was younger, possible friends would always want to hang out with them but Cam had to turn them down more often than not which led to the offers to slowly decline until no one wanted to invite him out to do things anymore. I guess that is what a true friend is, Cam mused to himself.
"Now I just need Shane and Géant to get here so that they can carry these."
"I'll help you get them to the computer room."
Cam took one of the coolers in hand while Belle took the other so that they could be brought closer to the entrance just as the wind rangers entered Ninja Ops.
"Just the rangers I was looking for," Belle smiled to the group who looked at her in confusion at her attire.
"Are you going to the beach Anna?" Tori spoke up.
"Yeah, my friends from home and I are spending the whole day there," she explained. "You guys are welcome to join us. I packed plenty of food and drinks."
"Count me in Shorty," Dustin grinned down at me as he ruffled her hair.
When Shane and Dustin saw the coolers that Belle and Cam were carrying from the kitchen, they both stepped forward to take them.
"Thanks guys," Belle sighed in relief now that the weight was gone from her hands.
"We'll take these to the beach and watch them for you while you go get your friends," Shane offered the shortest ranger, hefting his cooler into a comfortable position.
"Thanks Shane. I'll see you guys in a little bit then."
All they saw were a shower of silver and gold sparkles that signaled Belle's departure from Ninja Ops.
Seconds later Belle appeared a block or two away from the hotel her friends were staying at where no one could have seen her appear. She then continued on her way to the hotel where Xander, Chip, Vida, and Maddie were waiting for her at the entrance.
"Anna!" Chip greeted her brightly, his face lit up with excitement.
"Hey chica," Vida smirked to her partner in crime while bumping hips together. Belle then took the time to look at the outfits that the others were wearing. Vida was wearing a dark pink two piece with a hawaiian pattern whose top was secure around the back of her neck and a matching cover up over bottoms of the same pattern that only went to the top of her thigh. Maddie simply came forward in a white to dark blue ombre one piece to hug the galaxy haired girl. Chip appeared behind her in the Avengers Thor swimming trunks to wrap Belle in a one armed hug. The last one to step forward was Xander who picked up Belle and spun her around in a circle who wore green Slytherin swimming trunks.
"I hope you're all ready for a day at the beach," Belle smiled to all of her friends once Xander put her down.
"Of course I am," Xander answered easily.
"Great, cause I have a lot of food made for us and Tori, Shane, and Dustin are gonna be there so we'll have more people to play games with."
As the others moved to walk forward, Belle hopped on Xander's back to which his hands reflexively came up to catch under her legs so that she wouldn't fall flat on her face. Everyone was used to Belle's antics so they said nothing as they all made their way to the beach.
"Hey Shorty!" Dustin called out to the group from a spot the Wind Rangers found to hold everyone.
"That's hilarious," Xander chuckled. "I should call you-,"
Belle was quick to lock her arms around his neck lightly while she leaned forward to speak in his ear.
"You try it and I kill you."
"What a way to speak to your Slytherin," Xander gasped in mock horror. "I think I need to teach you a lesson."
I could see the exact moment his eyes went to the water and it became very clear what his intentions were.
"Don't you fucking dare Xander James."
He pretended not to hear her as he started running towards the water.
"XANDER!"
No one decided to help poor Belle and instead chose to watch Xander barrel into the waves lapping against the sand. She made sure to hold her breath when they reached the higher water and held onto him when he rose above the water again. As soon as they resurfaced, Xander shook his hair like a dog and Belle sputtered like a drowning cat.
"Damn it Xander!"
"Take your punishment as it is."
Minutes later everyone else joined them out in the water and by that time Belle had let go of Xander's back and floated around him.
"Don't hog her Xander," Vida scolded lightly when she swam to her side. "We haven't seen her in a while either."
All Xander did was roll his eyes and splash water towards Vida, who after gasping at the act, sent a large wave of water splashing towards the brown haired teen. This of course is when they both engaged in a water war that was kicking up vast amounts of water to the bystanders.
"Hey!" Shane protested when a particularly large splash hit him. "Act your age!"
Both Vida and Xander looked at each other as if debating something before they turned back to the red ranger.
"Nah," they dismissed, sending another splash at him.
"Relax dude," Dustin laughed when he joined in on the water fight.
"Yeah Shane," Tori agreed with a laugh. "Lighten up."
A devious smile grew on Belle's face at Shane's irritation as a thought formed in her head. Shane seemed to catch on to her thoughts because a look of alarm flashed across his face.
"Don't you dare Sabrina," he warned with slightly wide eyes when he caught sight of her look.
"Don't what Shane?" she questioned, a grin stretching her full lips.
Before he could blink, Belle had doused him with a healthy sized wave that had him sputtering and blinking his eyes to get the water out. Belle cracked up laughing at the sight of Shane's face so hard that she bent over slightly with an arm around her middle. The others couldn't help but smile at the way Belle was earnestly laughing at Shane's predicament. Even Shane couldn't help but crack a small smile at Belle's happiness. The others are right, Shane thought to himself. We should all have the chance to relax like this.
"What did you make for lunch Anna?" Chip spoke up once Belle had stopped laughing and was catching her breath.
"Wraps, fried chicken, meat skewers, fruit, and pasta salad," Belle answered while ticking off the list on her fingers.
"Oh! And we have dessert."
Dustin gave a whoop at the list of food as he swept Belle up onto his shoulder then proceeded to carry her out of the water. The others trailed behind him up to where the food sat on the shore. The girls made sure to grab their food first before the boys so that they could actually get food for themselves.
"This is great Anna," Tori praised her fellow ranger after the first bite of her wrap.
"Thank you Tori," Belle smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
"No matter what Anna makes," Chip began through a mouthful of food.
"It's always good. She won so many cooking contests for our grade during spirit week."
"Did you take classes?" Dustin asked in curiosity.
"No," Belle answered. "It was all that my mother taught me from a young age."
"Mama Luna's food is amazing," Xander agreed with a large smile.
"She's been inviting us over for meals and after school," Vida told Belle.
"She really misses you," Maddie added with a small smile.
"I know," Belle sighed. "I'll have to arrange a day when I can come back home soon."
The group were just finishing up their meal to start dessert when someone called out to Belle.
"Hey, Little Firecracker!" Hunter called when he spotted the galaxy haired girl.
A faint blush settled on Belle's cheeks that her hometown friends didn't fail to notice.
"Hey CB," she returned when he came to stand by the group. "What brings you to the beach?"
"Blake and I had some down time so I came to watch the waves."
"Sweet," Dustin commented. "You should join us. It'd be a lot less lonely than being by yourself."
Belle, Tori, Chip, Vida, and Maddie were happy to agree with Dustin, but Shane and Xander were wary of the new person although they didn't voice it.
"Great," Hunter grinned while he plopped down next to Belle.
"Want some brownies?" Belle offered, holding out a pre-cut brownie square wrapped in a napkin.
"Sure."
When Belle handed over the brownie, both Hunter and her could feel a slight current under their skin that neither decided to bring up. Belle because she was a little embarrassed and Hunter because of their talk. Belle's childhood friends didn't miss the way that Belle cut her eyes away from Hunter or the very slight coloring in her cheeks.
"Hey Hunter," Xander spoke up in a light voice. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"I would have thought that you were older," Vida commented offhandedly.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Once the group had finished their food, they waited the recommended half hour before they ventured back into the water.
"Let's play marco polo," Chip suggested.
"Who's gonna be it?" Tori questioned.
"Rock, paper, scissors," Belle declared with a grin. "Whoever loses is it."
Everyone gathered in a circle with their dominant hands raised above their heads.
"Ready?! One! Two! Three!"
At three they all thrust their fists forward in a variety of rock, paper, scissors. Chip Vida, Xander, and Hunter were the ones to lose so they moved on to face the others. Vida faced Hunter while Chip faced Xander. The groups squared off again which left Hunter and Xander as losers. Almost everyone could sense the tension between the two whey they turned to face each other. Within seconds Xander was declared the winner, leaving Hunter as it.
"Alright CB." Belle began. "Cover your eyes and spin around a bit. Count to five and then we'll start the game."
He followed her instructions without a fuss then stopped with a slight stumble.
"Marco."
"Polo!"
He made a show of reaching about while turning his head this way and that as he edged closer to the group.
"Marco."
"Polo!"
They all moved about in the water to try to avoid Hunter's reach, but that only alerted him of their presence.
"Marco."
"Polo!"
It was then that Hunter scooped up Belle around her waist that had her give off a short squeal as she was lifted into the air.
"Caught ya Lil' firecracker," he grinned down at the girl he had close to his chest.
"Damn," Belle laughed happily while pushing some hair out of her face. "I thought I would be caught last."
Hunter wanted to keep holding Belle to his chest yet he sat her back down carefully so that the game could go on.
ooo0ooo
The game went on with the others getting a turn to be it and those who wanted a second turn got the opportunity.
"I say we play chicken," Hunter suggested with a mischievous look in his eye.
"That sounds like a good idea," Belle agreed almost at once while turning to face Vida.
"You're going down V."
"You wish Chica," Vida snorted. "Xander, kneel down. You're my stand for now."
"So we're getting tall people? CB."
Hunter bent down slightly so that Belle could climb on his back then helped her put her legs on his shoulders.
"Get ready to lose Xavier," Hunter taunted Xander when the two faced off.
"It's Xander," he deadpanned with slight irritation.
Not only was the cocky man purposefully taunting him by saying the wrong name, he had Belle's toned legs wrapped around his neck and shoulders. Hunter caught onto Xander's gaze and couldn't help but smirk. Both males glared each other down while Vida and Belle clasped hands. Off to the side Tori and Maddie faced each other from Dustin's and Chip's shoulders respectfully. Tori and Maddie kept their face off a friendly, non-competitive thing while Vida and Belle were actively pushing each other and throwing names back and forth that had Shane looking on in surprise.
"They're always like this," Maddie told him when she saw his expression.
"And they're still friends?"
"The best of friends," she assured him.
"Ah ha!" they heard Belle exclaim in triumph followed by a splash. Everyone turned to see Belle sitting proudly on Hunter's shoulders with a large grin.
"Take that bitch."
Instead of Vida getting angry and shouting like Tori, Shane, Dustin, and Hunter expected, she laughed from her position in the water.
"You got me Chica," she admitted. "Now help me out before I throw you into the water."
Belle easily slipped down from Hunter's shoulders to help her friend up while Xander watched the pair with a smile.
"That was fun," Belle sighed in contentment before she noticed how late it had gotten.
"Wow, I didn't realize it got so late. V, Chip, Maddie, Xan, I'm going to drop things back off at my dorm and I'll meet you at your hotel."
"Okay," Maddie agreed happily. "It'll give us time to wash the sand off."
The group then left, leaving the Rangers and Hunter at the beach. Tori and Dustin then began to pack up while Hunter pulled Belle to the side.
"Are we still going to meet up tonight?" he asked her in hushed tones.
"Of course."
He gave a bright smile and pulled her into a hug.
"Then I'll see you later tonight, Lil' Firecracker."
"I'll see you CB."
Hunter then left the group and Shane wearily watched him go.
"You should be careful around him Anna," Shane warned her, feeling worry for the younger ranger who he had begun to think of as a younger sister.
"What do you mean Shane?" Belle questioned in confusion.
"I don't like him and I don't want you getting hurt."
"I'm a big girl Shane," she deadpanned. "I can take care of myself."
Belle then took both coolers then disappeared in a shower of silver and gold sparkles.
Like she had promised, Belle dropped the coolers off in the kitchen then flashed to her room to grab a shower. She then dressed in a shorts and tank top pajama set that had a badger at the hip with a Hogwarts sweater over her shirt and a pair of black ankle slippers donned her feet. The last thing she did was plait her hair into a messy braid. Satisfied with her appearance, Belle ventured out of her room to the computer room after she slung her purse over her torso.
"Hey Ron," she greeted the speckled man who was typing away at the computer.
"Hey Anna," he returned, briefly glancing at her before focusing back on his task.
"I'm going to be late coming back tonight," she told him.
"Do you want me to wait up for you again?" he questioned.
"You don't have to Ron. I can get home alright by myself."
There was silence for a few seconds until Cam began typing again.
"You're still gonna do it, aren't you?"
"Yep."
Belle let out a small chuckle as she walked up to Cam's side.
"You're a sweetheart Ron," she smiled followed by a kiss to his cheek. "You might wanna take another look at that algorithm."
She left a clearly stunned Cam in his chair while she left Ninja Ops. As soon as she stepped foot outside she ninja streaked to the alleyway by the hotel her friends were staying at so that no one would see her suddenly appear in the street. She wasted no time in entering the lobby to see that Xander and Vida were waiting for her.
"You took forever Chica," Vida complained when she caught sight of the galaxy haired girl.
"You're just impatient," Belle pointed out.
"Belle's right," Xander agreed.
"Don't say it like you're any better Xander James."
He ruffled Belle's hair at her comment that made her huff in irritation. Vida rolled her eyes at the two as she came to stand beside the two.
"C'mon you two," she insisted. "I want to watch the movie already."
"What movie are we watching?" Belle asked on their way to the elevator.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl," Xander announced.
"I've been wanting to see that," Belle cheered quietly.
Both Xander and Vida smiled at Belle's excitement as if it were contagious. Before long the group reached the room where popcorn, snacks, and drinks waited for them. The movie was even placed in the player and the movie was paused on the beginning scene. Belle was quick to take a spot on the bed, lying on her stomach to face the foot. Xander came to lay next to her while Maddie and Vida sat on the little couch at the foot of the bed while Chip sat on the floor in front of the bouch with his back against said couch.
"Everybody ready?" Chip asked the group once everyone was settled.
"Just start the movie already Chip," Vida said with a nudge to his side with her foot. He heeded her words and started the movie. It didn't take long for the group to be immersed in the story with Belle stiffening when she saw the first undead skeletons come on screen. Calm down, Belle told herself. They're not zombies and they can't hurt you. But they look so much like zombies, her mind protested. Xander's arm immediately wrapped around Belle's waist while Vida and Maddie placed a hand on each of Belle's. She smiled weakly to her friends while she soldiered on through the rest of the movie all the while shouting at the screen to kill all of the zombie-like skeletons. None of the people in the room knew why, but for as long as Belle could remember, she has been terrified of zombies or something along those lines. It used to be so bad when she was little that she would just freeze up and she would be unresponsive to the things around her. Thankfully she had come some ways since then. Instead of freezing up, she would curse and either try to fight the said zombie or run away. Hence why everyone reached out to her when the skeletal men were shown.
Minutes later, the end credits rolled and Belle let out a deep breath.
"Did you like it Anna?" Chip ventured with hesitant eyes.
"Yeah," she let out in one breath.
"I loved the plot and the characters, especially Captain Jack Sparrow. I just had to get through the unholy undead creatures."
While the others knew that Belle's fear was real, they couldn't help but feel the need to laugh at the way Belle described the skeletons.
"Do you wanna watch something else?" Vida offered, preparing to get up to change the movie.
"No," she answered with a shake of her head. "I have to stop somewhere before going back to the dorms."
"Do you want me to go with you?" Xander jumped in at once.
A small smile was quick to spread on Belle's lips.
"It's ok Xan," she assured him with a peck to his cheek. "I can take care of myself. I'll call you guys when I get home."
"You better," Maddie insisted as she rose from the couch to get a hug from her. The others came up to her to get their goodbyes and hugs in that warmed Belle's heart. She loved her friends and she felt so lucky to have them. They all said their goodbyes before Belle left the hotel.
ooo0ooo
Belle was quick to reach a nearby tree and tree travel near the meeting place that had quickly become Hunter and Belle's secret place. Usually Belle was the first one to arrive, but today Hunter was there first. A blanket was spread on the ground while a couple pillows and a large blanket was sitting atop the bottom blanket.
"What's this?" Belle asked when she saw the setup.
"Our star gazing party," Hunter told her with a small smile.
She said nothing more as she moved forward to sit on the blanket.
"Thanks for the blankets," Belle voiced while she took off her booties. "I forgot to dress warmly."
"I'm not complaining," Hunter grinned while he eyed Belle's bare legs to her upper thighs.
Her face deadpanned at his comment in the same second she chucked her boot at him. Instead of catching the footwear, Hunter dodged it with a laugh.
"You're going to get that boot," she stated without room for argument.
Hunter rolled his eyes yet he obeyed and retrieved said boot so that he could place it back with the other. Once that was done, he climbed onto the blanket beside Belle and pulled the blanket over the both of them.
"I had something to tell you," Hunter realized with a start after a few minutes of staring up at the stars.
"Hmm?" Belle vocalized through her peaceful haze.
"There's a salsa/tango class on Tuesday and I thought you'd be interested."
"When and where?"
"At the dance studio a few blocks from Storm Chargers at one."
"There's a dance studio?" Belle started happily.
"Yeah."
There was a considerable pause before he spoke again.
"I could go with you if you wanted."
"You'd learn to dance with me?"
"You're growing on me," he admitted, moving his arms so that they folded under his head.
From its place on her pillow, Belle's head turned slightly to look over at the taller ninja. She couldn't help but think that he was growing on her too, then turned away quickly to look up at the sky when she remembered the kiss they had shared. Hunter on the other hand was thinking about what he had said. No one had ever gotten his affection besides his brother and his parents. Before he had been adopted by the Bradleys, he had been angry at the world for how they treated him. So many days he had gone hungry and other children thought it was a game to see how much they could mess with the homeless orphan before they went home to warm beds and full bellies. When the Bradleys had first adopted Hunter, they said they had fallen in love with him. They had taken him home at once and fed and clothed him. At first he had been wary of them, along with Blake, thinking that they would have their fun and then they would toss him back out on the streets. He even lashed out at them before he eventually came around. Before long he came to love his new family and became exceedingly loyal and loving towards them. That just made their death all the more devastating. If it hadn't been for Blake, Hunter would have lost it. Now this little girl was worming her way into his heart and he didn't know what to do. He loved the way she argued and made sassy remarks back and forth with him. He also just loved having her around. She just oozed light and acceptance from every pore that wrapped him up in it every time he was near her. She kind of reminded him of the stars that sparkled above them. She is always there when he needs her most and she always shone so brightly in his eyes.
"You remind me of the stars," Hunter commented offhandedly that surprised the both of them.
"Thank you Hunter," Belle smiled at the compliment.
Silence then lapsed between the two that Hunter used to study Belle. For some reason, the more looked at her, he could see that something was wrong. Even if it was just a little shade, she seemed to be a little bit pale.
"Are you okay Little Firecracker?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she assured him with a smile. "What makes you think something is wrong?"
"You're a little bit more pale than usual," he commented, reaching forward to brush a lock of hair from her face. A soft blush grew on her cheeks at the gesture while she gazed up at his eyes. Chocolate brown eyes got lost in baby blues as Belle got the urge to tell him what had happened. And tell him she did.
"That's a new one," Hunter admitted. "I've never heard of anyone being that afraid of zombies."
"It's a common phobia," Belle defended herself with a huff.
Hunter thought that the slight pout that Belle had was cute and couldn't quite help leaning over to kiss her forehead. Warmth gathered in Belle's chest that had her looking at Hunter in a more endearing light. I guess he's not always an asshole, she thought to herself.
"Hey CB."
"Hmm?"
"Do you wanna meet at Storm Chargers on Tuesday at eleven? We can grab something to eat then head over to the studio."
"Sure," he smiled over to her from his spot reclining back on the blanket.
"What kind of food do you like?"
"I'll eat anything. I'm not picky."
"Great."
He was happy that he had a "date" set up with the feisty galaxy hired girl, but it diminished slightly when he realized that his brother was going to disprove of his methods. Well, if he told him that it was to gain her trust, it should be fine. When he came to that conclusion, he heard Belle yawn next to him.
"Hey, why don't we call it a night," he suggested with a soft voice. "We still have tomorrow night."
"Ok," Belle agreed. "I guess I'll see you later."
"See you Lil' Firecracker," Hunter said, holding back the urge to kiss her again.
Belle quickly pulled on her boots then headed in the direction of Ninja Ops. She stopped a few feet away from Hunter to turn to give him a wave before she continued on her way. When she was sure that he could no longer see her, she touched a tree and tree traveled back to Ninja Ops where darkness met her when she entered the command center. I wonder where Cam is, Belle thought to herself. But this darkness is not helping how jumpy I am after the movie. Now that the movie was fresh in her mind, Belle was tense as she made her way through the hallway to the living quarters part of Ninja Ops. It's just a movie, Belle repeated in her mind like a mantra in vain to get herself to calm down. She had just passed the kitchen door to the living room when she was spooked.
"Hey Anna-,"
Belle gave a yelp and a fist shot out to punch whatever had scared her. In this instance it turned out to be Cam who stumbled back a little. Belle quickly turned on the light and immediately felt guilty when she realized who she had punched.
"Ron, I'm so sorry," Belle said in a rush as she stepped closer to him to check his nose.
Thankfully it wasn't broken, but it would no doubt be sore.
"What was that for?" Cam groaned while massaging his nose.
Belle then told him of the movie she had watched and her fear of zombies that had led to her lashing out.
"I'm really sorry," Belle apologized again.
"It's fine," Cam told her, waving his hand as if brushing the incident off.
"But how are you? Do you think you're going to have nightmares?"
"I might," Belle mused. "Normally my friends and I would make a fort in my living room after watching a movie with zombies."
"We can do that," Cam offered at once. "I'll grab the blankets if you want to go grab your pillow and set up the base for the fort."
Belle gave a nod then rushed off to gather what she would need. In a matter of fifteen minutes, both Belle and Cam had a large fort set up with comfy layers making up the inside so that they would both be comfortable. They both crawled in to lay beside each other where Belle sought out Cam's hand to hold. That seemed enough to settle Belle's nerves to where she could slip into a half awake state.
"Hey Ron."
"Yeah?"
"You'd make a good samurai."
"What?"
"I saw your room decorations," she supplied sleepily. "You would make a better samurai than a ninja."
"Midoribushi(Green Samurai)," was the last thing she said before her breaths evened out in sleep. A soft chuckle left Cam at her words. Well, his dad did say that he couldn't be a ninja. He didn't say anything about being a samurai.
The next morning, Cam was the first to wake up to him spooning with Belle with her head resting on his bicep. While his arm was asleep with how long Belle's head had rested there, he couldn't bring himself to move or wake her up so that he could get feeling back in his arm. After how freaked out Belle was the night before, it made him happy to see her so relaxed with her hair splayed out on his arm from her messed up braid. I could wake up to something this peaceful all the time, Cam thought to himself as he chose to cuddle closer to her to get some warmth from Belle's sleeping form. Just a few more minutes of this, Cam reasoned with himself before he slipped back into sleep. About an hour later, Belle was the one to wake up and panicked a little at the weight behind her and around her waist before she realized that it was Cam. Huh, she thought sleepily to herself. I wouldn't have pegged Cam for a cuddler. And this is super comfy. Maybe I should let myself sleep in a bit. With that tempting thought in mind, Belle let herself fall back asleep while Cam woke again when Belle had just fallen asleep. She's still asleep, Cam questioned. Since she had always been awake before him, it was kind of weird that he was awake before her. I'll make breakfast for the both of us, Cam decided. I think she has her cookbook in the kitchen and it shouldn't be hard to follow the recipes. It took a minute or two to get himself untangled from Belle's sleeping body, but once he was free, Cam padded into the kitchen where Belle's cookbook was waiting to be used. Before he attempted to cook, he flipped the switch on the coffee maker that would start the coffee so that we would be a little bit more awake. When he actually started to look in the cookbook after taking a couple swigs from his mug, he could see that Belle's favorite foods were marked with pink tabs and hearts that showed biscuits and gravy with gumbo omelettes were her favorite breakfast foods. After eyeing all of the ingredients of the recipes, he moved to the fridge and pantry to grab what he needed. He had just placed the things on the counter and was starting to cook when Belle shuffled into the kitchen.
"Ron?" Belle questioned in surprise upon seeing him cook.
"I can cook breakfast."
"No, no," Cam denied with a shake of his head. "You cook breakfast all the time. Let me do it this morning."
Belle was speechless as she came to sit at the kitchen island, having some trouble getting up onto the barstool.
"Thank you Ron," Belle smiled over to the bustling man as she leaned over the counter causing some hair that was restrained in the braid to fall down against her slender neck. While Belle watched him bustle about, she saw all of the ingredients Cam was using and immediately figured out what he was making.
"You're making my favorite breakfast foods?" Belle gasped in giddy surprise.
"Yeah," Cam smiled with a look over his shoulder. "I wanted to make you feel better."
A large smile settled on Belle's face at his words while her eyes softened. Finishing up breakfast and eating it passed by without a hitch which left Belle with dishes. Cam had insisted that he could do the dishes, but Belle simply brushed him off with a wave of her hand. Breakfast was normally her job, and since Cam cooked, it only made sense that Belle did the dishes. At least in her mind it was. Upon seeing that he was not going to win the argument, he instead offered to help her. She was going to deny him at once, but she relented when she saw how much he wanted to help. Belle set up the dual sink with one side being filled with slightly hot water and soap then placed all of the dishes in the soapy water to soak for a few seconds. Cam on the other hand stood at the empty side of the sink to wait for dishes to rinse. All Belle did was shake her head at his actions while she began to wash the dishes.
"You are really stubborn Ron," Belle commented offhandedly with a small smile at his actions while she began to wash dishes.
"So are you," Cam countered with a soft laugh.
Seeing as though she couldn't argue with his comment, Belle simply laughed along with him. It was moments like this that Belle was grateful for Cam's friendship. Their dynamic was a comfortable thing that accepted each other as they were. Besides that little dialog, they were both content to work in silence except for the little breaks of Belle humming. Belle didn't realize she was doing it, but it was a soothing and comforting action that made Cam content with the moment they were sharing.
The dishes didn't take long to finish up as well as tidy up the rest of the kitchen, so the two ventured into the command center where they both could start up their work. Cam with his coding and Belle with her coursework. As usual, Belle was done with her work for the day then moved on to learning coding from Cam. Instead of starting out with instruction, Cam figured that learning on her feet would be better for Belle. For the things Belle already knew, Cam kept quiet and explained things when she looked stumped. This sort of process continued until Cam went through all of the things that he could have taught her of the top of his head.
"Wow Anna. The next time we try this, it might be better to set up your own little computer. That will definitely make going through coding faster."
Belle couldn't help but beam at Cam's praise before a thought popped up in her mind.
"Hey Ron."
"Yes, Anna?"
"Why don't I teach you something about what I do?"
Cam looked taken aback at her words yet he didn't seem to be against it.
"Don't I have to have magic to do what you do?"
"Not potion making," Belle pointed out with a smile.
"I don't see why not," Cam relented after seeing how enthusiastic Belle was about it.
"Great!" Belle exclaimed happily with a clap of her hands. "Follow me to my room and I can start teaching you."
Cam looked a little apprehensive about stepping foot inside Belle's room, but he nonetheless followed behind the petite galaxy haired girl who was all but skipping down the hallway. Belle didn't even pause in opening her bedroom door that had an intoxicating scent seeping out of the doorway. Cam's first reaction was to breathe in the scent that flooded his senses with hints of vanilla, lavender, sandalwood, and another floral scent that he couldn't quite place. The scent itself was warm and it felt like it was wrapping itself around Cam like a warm blanket. It made sense that this type of scent would belong to Belle. After Cam got used to the scent, he could focus instead on the layout of Belle's room. Shock was the next thing that Cam felt when he saw how Belle changed the room. The room used to be of moderate size with a twin bed and sparse furnishings, but now the room was slightly expanded with a queen sized bed at the back of the room and a new vanity table to the side. When did she get that, Cam pondered before his attention was taken by Belle. She led him over to the little corner of her room where her cauldron, ingredients, and spell books were stored.
"Let's get started," Belle smiled that in turn made Cam smile.
"I don't know how well I'll do, but I'll give it a try."
"Don't worry about it," Belle assured him. "I'll help you through each step."
To start, Belle pulled a spell book from her bookshelf then flipped through it until she came to the potion recipe she wanted.
"This is one of the easiest potions in any of my books," Belle said as she moved some hair back behind her ear.
"What kind of potion is it?"
"A pain reliever potion."
"What other potions do you make?"
"There are a lot of varieties I make," Belle told him after waving her wand to put labels under or one ingredients to make it easier for Cam to find them.
"I like to expand my knowledge."
Cam nodded in understanding as he came closer to the work station.
"Okay, first I'll let you familiarize yourself with the different tools you have. You'll of course need bowls and a knife but you'll also need a mortar and pestle that you'll use to grind up any ingredients that need to be ground up or crushed. The other tool you'll need for the simple potions is the scales. Right here is a switch that can change from US measurements like pounds and ounces to the metric system of grams. There is also measuring cups and beakers that use both US measurements and metric measurements."
Belle let Cam familiarize himself with the different tools before she lit the fire under the cauldron and started a base for the potion.
"Alright Ron, you're going to want to gather all of your ingredients before you start preparing them."
Both worked well together, with Belle mostly watching over Cam, while the ingredients were separated then added into the cauldron. Cam paid close attention to the ingredients of the recipe while he stirred the potion as instructed. Belle had to admit that Cam was progressing nicely in making his first potion. He may not be be an up and coming potions master, but he could make a decent potion.
"That is a good first attempt."
Cam couldn't help but smile at Belle's praise.
The two then went on to brewing more first aid potions and salves before they took a break for lunch.
"Are we still on for movie night?" Cam asked as Belle pulled out the ingredients she needed for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and potatoes for french fries.
"Of course Ron," Belle smiled. "We made it a routine, didn't we?"
There was a small lapse in the conversation as Cam gazed fondly at the petite galaxy haired girl as she prepared lunch. God is she beautiful, he thought to himself before he answered Belle's question.
"That we did."
Belle made quick work of cutting french fries from the potatoes then tossing them in oil so that she could start cooking the sandwiches. While Belle was cooking lunch, Cam bustled around getting plates and glasses for their meal. They both worked to get lunch on the table for them and lunch in the microwave for Sensei Watanabe to eat later.
"How do you feel about making your first potions?" Belle spoke up once they were sitting at the kitchen table.
"It kind of reminded me of science class," Cam told her with a smile. "I felt like I needed to be wearing goggles and gloves."
Belle couldn't help but laugh a little at Cam's admission.
"Don't worry Ron. I won't let you hurt yourself while making potions."
Cam shared in Belle's merriment before he voiced his own question.
"What are you doing after lunch?"
"I'm going to practice my magic," Belle said. "I think I'm starting to get rusty."
"Can I watch you for a bit?" Cam piped up after a bit of silence.
"I'm a little curious."
"Sure. Just make sure that you stay on the sidelines. I don't want to hit you with any rogue magic."
Cam nodded hesitantly to show he understood, all the while thinking 'what did I get myself into?' as Belle led Cam into the dojo. He still held his doubts but held it in while Belle pulled out her wand whose star crystal glowed at being used. Cam was quick to slip to the side of the dojo while Belle padded over to the center of the room. She rolled her shoulders to loosen up while she twirled her wand around to relax her wrist. When she was satisfied with how relaxed she was, she raised her wand to the air.
"Galwit Inanis!" she called out that made the crystal light up with a white gold glow.
The magic then spread around the room until the normal dojo was replaced with a clearing surrounded by lush trees and an expansive night sky above. Cam couldn't help but be in awe of the scenery.
"What is this place?"
"This is my personal magic domain," Belle told him. "Everyone who practices magic has their own magical domain that enhances their type of magic."
"Your magic is star magic, right?"
All Belle did was smirk and nod as she readied herself for training. With a snap of her fingers, numerous foot soldiers that Cam didn't recognize came pouring out of the trees that had Belle settling into a battle stance that differed from her ninja training. Her wand was quickly switched for two tessen resting comfortably in her hands. She waited until they were almost upon her, which did nothing to soothe the frantic beat of Cam's heart, before she acted by twirling in a circle on her toes that resembled a pirouette that unleashed an arc of stars on her opponents. The attack met the magical protective barrier that covered their bodies and knocked them back with a shower of sparks. The next wave was met with her sharp blades of her fan as she danced about like she was putting on a deadly ballet performance that often had her landing on a disk of white gold magic that she used to both catch and propel herself through the air. Again Cam was struck speechless as the skill Belle demonstrated in her fight. This only further cemented the fact that Cam was becoming incredibly fond of the galaxy haired girl who was mowing down her enemies left and right. Before long, Belle wiped out all of the grunts that had poured out of the trees that left her grinning while her chest heaved slightly. All she did was give a wave of her wand and they were transported back to the dojo.
"That was amazing," Cam congratulated her when he found his voice. "How long have you practiced magic?"
"Ever since I was born technically," Belle replied. "I didn't start any large scale magic until I could speak properly."
Cam made to say something else, but Shane, Tori, Dustin, and Sensei Watanabe entered the dojo thus breaking Cam and Belle's moment.
"It seems Annabelle is excited about today's lesson," Sensei Watanabe remarked when he saw Belle already in the dojo. His eyes then fell on his son who was close to the edge of the room.
"Cam, what are you doing here?"
All three of the other rangers adopted a teasing look towards Cam that had him huffing in annoyance. They were going to give him grief for the next few days.
"I was showing Ron how I trained my magic," Belle explained, showing her wand before she tucked it into the pocket against her calf in her ninja uniform she had flashed into.
"What did it look like?" Dustin asked with sparkles in his eyes at the thought of seeing Belle practice her magic.
"I would definitely stay out of the way of her fans," was all Cam said before he left the dojo. Sensei Watanabe then took that as the opportunity to take the reins of the class.
"Alright, today's training is going to work on teamwork," Sensei Watanabe announces.
"Annabelle is a new addition to the team and it would be best to figure out how she will benefit the team. It could very well tip the scales in your favor."
Everyone nodded but became surprised with Sensei's next words.
"For this, I will turn the lesson over to Annabelle."
"Sensei?" Belle questioned.
"Sensei Tsukiyomi is renowned for his battle tactics. I am sure he passed them down to you."
Belle was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of pressure put on her, but she was able to set that aside to focus on the others.
"For our small numbers, I would say that the DMS formation would work best," Belle told them that had her leader voice leaking through.
"What does that stand for?" Shane voiced.
"Defense, main attack, and support. Based on how we fight, Tori would be best suited for the back as the support. Your fluidity would help you weave through all of us to get the enemy. Dustin, you would be best in the front as the defense. With your style focusing on the stableness of the earth, it makes the best choice. As for the main attackers, that should be Shane and I. Having me go in with me heavy attacks will stun them long enough for Shane to flit through and deliver the final blow."
Everyone but Sensei Watanabe looked surprised at the words that came from Belle's mouth that had them almost gaping.
"How did you get all of that from watching us fight a few times?" Shane voiced in surprise.
"I was taught to evaluate everything about my teammates when first working together to come up with as many battle formations as possible," was all Belle offered.
With that said, Belle continued on by making a diamond formation with Tori at the back, Shane on the outside left, Dustin in the front, and herself at the outside right.
"How are we going to practice this?" Tori asked after looking at how everyone was placed.
"I can make a place for us to train with moving enemies," Belle offered. "Sensei, what do you think?"
"It will be beneficial to practice this formation before battle," he agreed.
"Alright. Everyone brace yourselves," Belle warned them, pulling her want back out.
"Galwit Inanis!"
This time the group was transported to a city setting that resembled the streets of Blue Bay Harbor. Belle slipped her wand back into her pocket so that she was in her battle stance beside the other un-morphed rangers.
"We should fight without morphing first," Belle suggested to which Shane nodded along with right as a group of Kelzaks trickled out from around a building. All of the rangers tensed up and fell into their own fighting styles. The Kelzaks tried to attack the group, but Dustin blocked any attack from hitting them. Shane and Belle then darted forward to land attacks on them. In ture Air Ninja style, Shane leapt into the air to strike down a Kelzak or two after Belle would batter them up and launch an attack that sent them flying. Tori, at the same time, would be moving about to watch Shane's and Belle's backs so that they were protected. Once they had beaten all of the Kelzaks, the battlefield cleared until only the rangers were left.
"Let's ranger up!" Shane ordered.
"Ninja Storm!"
"Celestial Storm!"
"Ranger Form!"
The next opponent that came onto the scene was an almost exact replica of the monster Belle met on her first day in Blue Bay Harbor.
"Keep the formation!" Shane called out that had Dustin whipping out his lion hammer and striking the ground so that the enemy slightly lost their footing. Shane and Belle were quick to dash forward and attack, Shane with his Hawk Blaster from above while Belle streaked back and forth with her Stellar Fans. Tori stayed towards the back so that she could blast anything that tried to attack the others. Dustin also then joined in on the attack to keep the enemy from gathering his bearings. Before long, Belle stayed forward to keep attacking the enemy while the others combined their personalized weapons into the Storm Striker then backed up to send her own attack forward.
"Shining Slicer!"
The Storm Striker was then ready to fire.
"Ready?! Aim! Fire!"
In a blast of awesome firepower, the enemy was no more which left the rangers victorious. Grinning underneath her helmet, Belle demorphed and gave a wave of her hand to deposit them back in the dojo.
All the renagers gave a cheer as they trickled out of the dojo leaving Belle and Shane as the last ones to leave.
"Hey Sabrina, can you wait a sec?" Shane asked the younger ranger while grabbing a hold of her wrist.
"Sure Shane. What's up?"
Shane then let go of her wrist and rubbed his neck uneasily. Belle was patient and simply waited for him to say what was on his mind.
"I just wanted to say...you're a valuable member of this team."
Rather than say anything, Belle simply stayed quiet so Shane could finish his thought.
"When I first learned that you were so young, I thought that I would have to constantly keep an eye on you. But you proved me wrong. You have done your part with wisdom that could almost rival Sensei."
At the end of his sentence, Belle was moved to tears. This was a far cry from how he had treated her in the beginning and Belle couldn't help but be proud that she had gained Shane's approval.
"Thank you Shane. That means a lot to me."
"Don't you go crying on me Sabrina," he warned her when he saw the glossy look in her eyes.
"I don't do tears."
"Don't worry, I'm not," she assured him with a small smile.
Satisfied that he wasn't going to have to deal with the girl's tears, Shane placed a hand on her shoulder then left the dojo. Belle gave a little sigh before she ventured towards the kitchen to cook dinner, switching her clothes on her way there with her magic.
ooo0 Ninja of the Stars 0ooo
Alright guys, there wasn't a lot changed for this chapter, but I did notice that the chapter ended up being a bit shorter than the original. Though, I have to say, most of the changes that I made for this chapter happened more towards the beginning than the end. When I started writing the end, it felt like I just needed to tweak it rather than change big chunks of it like I did with previous chapters. So, in this chapter, we have Belle catching up with her childhood friends along with said friends meeting the rangers and the Bradley brothers. I just want to know what you guys think of how things went with the revision versus the original. I also changed Belle's reaction to her kinemortophobia. I too share the same phobia so I wanted to add in my reaction to give her a more realistic reaction. I honestly did not know what the name of this fear was before I did some research to rewrite this chapter, and I agree with how the phobia is named as a moving dead fear. I don't do so well with dead things either so I feel it fits. Anyways, getting back on track...I really want to hear your feedback on the changes to see if it feels just a little bit more realistic for you guys. I know that you won't be able to read this until I get caught up, but I want to put my thoughts down for you guys so you can kind of see how my thought process went as I revised these chapters to kind of have a closer relationship with my readers. So, that was all I wanted to say so I'll get on with the outro. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to shoot me a pm or leave a review. Remember, reviews are magic!
-White Wolf