Hello lovelies. We're on to chapter seven with five to six chapters left of revision before we continue on with the story. I maysel fans excited to get on with the story and I hope you guys are too. There's not much that I want to address here and there are nor reviews to answer, so I will just get one with the quote.
"You can always say sorry, But the real apology is when you hear the sadness in their voice and see the look in their eyes. And you realize that they have hurt themselves just as much."
– Kid Cudi
Edited: 4/8/21
That was all so let's get on with the story.
ooo0 Ninja of the Stars 0ooo
The next morning Belle rose at her normal early hour to go through her normal routine of her workout through town then had a quick breakfast by herself. She didn't bother to make breakfast for Cam, although there was still a plate for Sensei Watanabe in the microwave. Cam didn't fail to notice Belle's actions and he was riddled with hurt. He couldn't even bring himself to be really angry with her. He understood that he shouldn't have yelled at her and he would admit that he was a little irritated at how she took it. The thing that Cam hoped for the most was that the two of them could quickly get past this and back to how they used to be. Maybe I should try talking with her again, Cam thought to himself. However, at the time, Belle had already flashed through a shower, dressed, and headed out for Storm Chargers.
"Anna," Cam called out as he knocked on her bedroom door. "Anna, it's Cam. Can we talk?"
He waited a good five minutes, straining his ears to pick up any noise or movement from inside the room. When he heard nothing, he ventured into Belle's room to see that she had already left. Cam heaved a sigh at his luck and made to leave but something on Belle's desk caught his eye. It was discarded papers that looked to be sketches of two people going through the steps of a dance. Is this the dance that Belle mentioned that she was working on with Hunter, Cam asked himself while he flipped through the papers. If it is, she is very talented with coming up with routines. Cam looked through them for a few more minutes and then carefully put everything back where he had found them before he left her room. I guess I'll have to wait until she gets back, Cam sighed to himself as he went back to the computer in the command center.
ooo0ooo
Meanwhile Belle was at Storm Chargers to meet up with Hunter about their dance routine. Instead of using her time to cook breakfast like how she usually would, Belle had sketched out the dance moves for their dance routine so that Hunter would be able to go over it when they weren't able to practice.
"CB," Belle greeted Hunter with a wide smile when she saw him enter the store.
"Hey Lil Firecracker," Hunter easily returned.
"I have something for you," Belle told him while holding up the folder she had placed the sketched dance moves in.
"Why don't we go sit down and you can show me?" Hunter offered while gesturing towards one of the couches.
Belle didn't hesitate to follow Hunter over and offered no protest when he pulled her onto his lap. If anything, she leaned back into him and got comfortable so that she could pull out the sketches.
"This is what I'm thinking of for our routine," Belle explained as she fanned out the pages.
"This is great," Hunter smiled just as he caught sight of his ring still on Belle's finger.
"You're wearing the ring," he commented softly, his face inches from hers.
Belle opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a shout.
"Anna!"
Belle gave a deep sigh before she turned to face Shane who was power walking over to her.
"Yes, Shane?"
"What are you doing with him?" he demanded with no preamble.
"I'm going over a dance routine with him," Belle said with a neutral facial expression.
"Chill out dude," Hunter glared at Shane while squeezing Belle's waist a bit.
"No, I won't 'chill out'," Shane ground out through clenched teeth. "Sabrina, I want you to get away from him and don't speak to him again."
"You're not my boss Shane," Belle bristled in anger.
Both her and Shane had a glaring contest until Belle stood from Hunter's lap.
"Come on CB, let's go practice at the studio."
Hunter happily took her offered hand then followed her out of Storm Chargers.
"Anna!" Shane called after her to no avail.
"Are you sure you're okay with that?" Hunter asked Belle, referring to her stand off with Shane.
"Of course I am," Belle huffed. "He has no right to order me around."
Hunter wisely chose to stay quiet lest he invoke the galaxy haired girl's anger.
The walk to the studio was relatively short and they were greeted warmly by Valentino.
"Welcome back! What can I help you with?"
"We're working on our routine," Belle said with a smile.
"May I see it?"
Belle shrugged and handed over the folder.
"I see what you're doing," Valentino commented thoughtfully while leafing through the pages.
"Would you help Hunter by giving him a run down before the two of us attempt to go through the routine?" Belle requested.
"Sure. Alright Hunter, I'm going to go through the routine with Annabelle so that you can see how the routine would go. After we dance through the routine, I want you to go through it with her. If anything needs to be adjusted, I will stop you and fix it."
Hunter wanted to protest at the suggestion, but he knew that Anna and Valentino definitely knew what they were doing so it would be best to let them have the reigns until he could pick up the routine. That was how Belle came to stand behind Valentino with her head only coming up to the base of his shoulder blades. With a press of a button from a remote, the music that they needed started over the speakers. An intense atmosphere seemed to settle over the two as Belle's hand slowly inched forward to settle over Valentino's chest that Val then placed his own hand over. Belle stayed for a few moments before she stalked out from behind Val. Hunter couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of envy and jealousy at the way Valentino was putting his hands all over Belle. It'll be alright, he told himself while watching them. This is just for you to see what you have to do. After this, it will just be you and Belle. However, he was impressed with how Valentino was able to effortlessly and gracefully swing Belle around and the way Belle was moving so flexibly around the instructor. The climax of the routine was Belle being twirled around Valentino's shoulders. The last little burst of choreography was some impressive footwork that ended with Belle in a little dip. Both of their chests rose and fell quickly as they both caught their breaths while Valentino gently pulled Belle up to her feet.
"Did you catch all of that Hunter?" Belle asked him with a warm smile on her lips.
"Yeah," Hunter assured her so that they wouldn't have to have a repeat of Belle dancing with Valentino.
"Good," Valentino smiled, moving to push Hunter closer to Belle.
"Then we can have you go through the steps with your lovely partner. I'll blow up the sketches on the projector and you can look at them if you need a reminder."
Hunter flashed him a grateful look while he took his place in front of Belle.
"Don't worry about getting it perfect the first time Hunter," Belle assured him in his ear as the steps were put on the wall.
"Valentino and I will be right here to help you through the steps."
Hunter felt a warmth enter his chest under the hand that Belle had snaked around him that he couldn't help but cover with his own. Then when Belle pulled her hand back to move around him, Hunter's hand made to follow hers but he stopped himself in time. With a glance at the screen in front of him, he turned to face Belle and tried to spin her in front of him.
"This dance is all about the woman wanting to seduce the man and the man taking the control in the seduction. Make her yield to you. Again."
Hunter had a fire light in his eyes as Belle moved back around to his back. This time when Belle's hand came forward, Hunter whipped her around so that her back hit his chest with his hands over her possessively.
"That's it," Valentino congratulated him. "That's what we need in this routine."
For the next few hours, Belle and Hunter were able to get through the whole routine except for the lift and spin around Hunter's shoulders.
"We'll get there," Belle smiled to him when they were taking a break. Hunter wanted to answer her back, but his phone rang that silenced anything he was going to say. He held up his hand to have her wait for a moment so that he could answer the call.
"Hey," Hunter greeted the person on the other end of the phone when he saw the caller ID.
"It's time," Blake told him over the line that had Hunter's heart sinking.
He knew that he needed to do this to get to the rangers and their sensei to get revenge for his parents, but he wished that he didn't have to drag Belle into any of this.
"I'll be right there," Hunter answered back before hanging up his phone.
"What's wrong CB?" Belle asked when she saw the way his shoulders tensed up.
"Nothing's wrong," he denied. "I just have something to take care of."
Belle eyed him for a few seconds while he rose to his feet and she could tell that he was not liking what he had to do. She felt a little suspicious of Hunter's attitude, but she chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Do you need help?" she offered in hopes of easing the stress a little bit.
"I actually could use some help, yeah," Hunter agreed. "Are you sure you have the time?"
"Of course I do. Let me just tell Valentino we're leaving and I'll meet you at the entrance."
With a squeeze of his shoulder, Belle went to Valentino's office to let him know they were leaving. Hunter's stomach was in knots while he left the studio and waited by the door for Belle to join him. What if Belle didn't want to be around him after today? He wouldn't want to be if everything went according to plan. Man the fuck up, he scolded himself when he caught his train of thought. Your mission is your first priority right now. You'll be free to chase after her when it's all over. He continued to have his internal battle with himself when Belle came out of the door.
"Where to?" she questioned, skipping to his side.
"My brother wants me to pick up something from our training track for him," Hunter explained as he began walking towards the race track. However, instead of heading to the right towards the main race track, Hunter led them to the left that bordered on the edge of the woods. Belle couldn't help but feel that the setting was a little sketchy, so she sent a copy of herself off to her room in Ninja Ops in case something went wrong. She was never one to ignore any premonitions that she had and she wasn't about to now. It didn't matter if she had chose to trust Hunter, this still spelled bad news.
ooo0ooo
Hunter was right in there being a private race track in the large clearing close to the woods. This somewhat eased Belle's nerves, but she still felt uneasy about something. She grasped one of her arms with the hand of the other as she slowly trailed behind Hunter towards the two motocross bikes that were parked outside the little shed that probably had the tools and equipment to fix the bikes.
"What did Blake want you to grab?" Belle voiced when they entered the little shed.
"You, of course," came a deep voice from the doorway that had Belle whipping around to face a morphed navy ranger.
His posture spoke volumes of confidence with the way he was leaning against the door jam with his arms folded over his chest.
"What are you talking about?" Belle demanded with narrowed eyes.
"Why don't you ask Hunter?" the navy ranger prompted her with an inclination towards the blond behind her.
Belle eyed the ranger in front of her warily before turning to Hunter who had his back facing her.
"Hunter, what is he talking about?" Belle directed towards the taller male who flinched slightly at her question.
Belle's stomach dropped at the almost invisible jump and her eyebrows furrowed in worry.
"Hunter, what is going on?"
"You seem to be real close with the Wind Rangers," the navy ranger commented offhandedly.
"So we were hoping that you could lure them out for us."
"They would have come to help any civilian who had been taken hostage," Belle denied.
"That's just how they are."
Both the navy ranger and Hunter decided to ignore her while Hunter reached for a length of rope that was sitting on the work table. Tears threatened to bead on his waterline as Hunter advanced on Belle with the rope tight in his hands.
"Why are you doing this?" Belle questioned softly, her brown eyes searching Hunter's ash blue.
Hunter felt a blow to his heart at the way Belle was pleading with him, but he was quick to harden his heart.
"You know why."
Hunter was quick to wrap the rope around Belle's arms with some of the length left to lead Belle out of the shed. She could feel a lump in her throat at the anger and hurt she felt inside that in turn brought tears to the corners of her eyes. The final destination was tying Belle to the pole that was in the middle of the little clearing before they called a monster to the scene who looked to be like a ghost warrior. In the process of the monster arriving, Hunter transformed into his maroon ranger uniform so that both he and the navy ranger flanked Belle on either side. To prevent the others from hearing her morpher, Belle cloaked the sound and urged her double back at Ninja Ops to meet Cam and Sensei Watanabe out in the Command Center.
"Shouldn't be long till the other rangers get here," the navy ranger told Hunter, folding his arms to his chest.
"And when they do, we need to get out of here. We can't have them ruining the surprise."
With that said, they could hear the sound of the Wind Rangers plus Belle's double ninja streaking onto the scene. The navy ranger was the first to flee while Hunter hesitated. His body language made it seem like he wanted to say something, but he was gone before his mind could come up with anything.
"Why don't you try screaming?" the monster suggested while her cold and clammy hands ran under Belle's jaw.
"I'm sure the rangers would love that."
"Go to hell," Belle spat, her brown eyes sparking in defiance.
Hunter couldn't help but feel proud that Belle was facing this monster with such fire even though she was at a severe disadvantage in his eyes. As if on cue, uniforms in red, blue, yellow, and white gold burst onto the scene with their guards up.
"Let her go!" the red ranger shouted towards the lone monster with Belle tied up.
"Why don't you make me rangers?" the monster taunted.
"You asked for it," the white gold ranger smirked under her mask as she pulled out her fans.
As per training, the yellow ranger was quick to dash forward to strike the monster, but it seemed to just phase through the hammer and then through the yellow ranger.
"What?" he questioned in shock while his feet slid to catch himself.
The red and white gold rangers were quick to follow behind to try to land a hit on the monster. She phased through their weapons yet again to instead land heavy attacks on the rangers. Yelps and shouts left their mouths as their protective barrier wavered and sparks flew off of their uniforms. Worried for her teammates, the blue ranger used her sonic fin that made the monster stop for a few moments until she phased through the ground. Her eyes widened at the turn of events and she whirled around to try to find the monster only for her to spring up from under her and slash across her chest. While the monster was distracted by the other rangers, the yellow ranger was busy cutting Belle free and putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" he asked her once he had her safe in his arms.
"I'm fine," she assured him even if his eyes were racing over her form to make sure that she suffered no injuries. However, the rest of his team was slowly getting their asses beaten behind them and Belle noticed when she felt a huge drain of her magic to keep her clone up. Her eyes snapped over to the fallen rangers and her heart almost fell when she saw the situation.
"Hey!" Belle yelled at the monster to get her attention. "Leave them alone!"
A smirk rose on the monster's dark lips as her coal black eyes moved to rest on the small girl.
"Oh, so you want my attention? Very well, I shall fulfill your request."
Before the yellow ranger could even try to deflect the monster, she had already sent him flying. Belle stared her possible death in the face the closer the monster got to her.
"Where's your protectors now?!" the monster taunted, a tanto blade being pulled from the little sheath that rested on the small of her back. By acting completely on instinct, Belle's hands flew up in front of her that sent a rush of white gold magic flying at the monster. It seemed that it was able to power through the monster's phasing ability because it hit her dead on even though her form turned hazy. A shout left the monster's lips at the attack and she stumbled back from the softly trembling Belle. The white gold ranger was the first ranger up and actively attacking the monster.
"Get out of here!" Belle's clone yelled at her to which she gave a shaky nod before running away from the scene. The two hidden navy and crimson rangers watched what had happened with rapt attention.
"Did you know she could do that?" the navy ranger directed towards Hunter who was completely shocked at what he had seen.
"No," Hunter breathed out.
"It seems you found the perfect person who could help us get revenge on the rangers," the navy ranger said excitedly.
"If she could do that, maybe she can locate the ninja school for us."
From under his helmet, Hunter's eyes flicked back and forth rapidly as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened and what his brother was suggesting. He had already pulled this with Belle. Could he live with himself if he pulled her deeper into his vendetta against the Wind Rangers and their sensei? Off to the side of the battlefield, Belle allowed herself to merge back with her double who was in her ranger uniform. Her body seemed to shudder before she launched back into fighting against the monster that dissolved into dust. This time the monster didn't come back as a five story version of itself so the rangers ninja streaked back to Ninja Ops.
As soon as Belle crossed the front door, she lost her ranger from and started cursing herself. Damn it, she cursed in her mind while her hands tightened into fists. I can't believe I was so stupid. I may not have revealed my identity as a ranger, but I might as well have advertised myself as a sorceress. The other rangers tried to stop her to talk with her, but she was oblivious to them as she made her way to her room.
"Anna," Ron said, this time grabbing Belle by the arm to stop her. She looked greatly surprised at Cam stopping her and wide brown eyes looked up into dark orbs. That was only for a few moments before her face hardened.
"What do you want Cameron?"
"I'm worried about you," he told her with his brow furrowed. "This is the second time you've been targeted by the enemy."
"It wouldn't have happened if you would stay away from Hunter," Shane piped up without anyone saying anything to stop him. Belle looked around to everyone to see that, in some way, they were all in agreement with Shane.
"I'll talk later," Belle grumbled as she jerked her arm from Cam's hold. "I'm going home."
"You can't just walk away from this!" Shane called after her angrily.
"Watch me," Belle shot back on her way back to her room. She had stopped in her room just long enough to grab some paper, writing utensils, and a measuring tape before stepping through the portal she made back to her home in Briarwood.
"Mom! I'm home!" Belle called out upon leaving her room.
"We're down in the living room ma chou!" Mama Luna called back to her. We, Belle echoed to herself in confusion. She got her answer when she saw all of her friends lounging on the couch and the surrounding chairs.
"Hey Anna/Belle," they greeted her with wide smiles.
"Hey guys," Belle smiled back, her tension from back in Blue Bay melting after seeing all of her home friends.
"We didn't know you were coming back," Xander commented.
"It was a spur of the moment thing," Belle shrugged slightly before her eyes lit up.
"Are you guys ready to get your measurements taken?"
Chip was the first one out of his chair and was the first one to stand in front of Belle. Happy that she would be able to take her mind off of what had happened back in Blue Bay, Belle was quick in wrapping her measuring tape around Chip's middle. Chip giggled a bit when Belle's fingers prodded a ticklish spot on his sides, but Belle was quick to laugh and move her hands. Measuring his arms, legs, and head was quick to follow with Vida going after him followed by Maddie and then Xander. For Belle's measurements, her mother came forward to take them as quickly as Belle had done for the others.
"Great," Belle beamed when she saw all of the measurements she had recorded in a book.
"Now all I have to do is buy the fabric and I can start making the costumes!"
"We really appreciate you doing this for us Anna," Maddie spoke up with her small smile on her lips.
"Yeah, if you need us to do or get something for the costumes," Vida added. "Don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't," Belle promised.
ooo0ooo
Vida, Maddie, Chip, and Xander stayed over for a good three hours after that but in the end they had to go back home. However, they had promised to come back tomorrow to hang out with her some more before she went back to Blue Bay.
"What is bothering you Annabelle?" Mama Luna asked as soon as the others were gone.
"What makes you think anything is wrong?" Belle attempted to play off in hopes that she didn't have to tell her mother what had happened.
"I know you well enough to know when you are trying to hide something," Mama Luna remarked with an unamused frown and hand on her hip.
"Now tell me what's wrong."
It didn't take very long for Belle to cave and tell her mother exactly what was going on back at Blue Bay Harbor. She didn't hold back on anything concerning Hunter or the sticky situation she found herself in.
"And that's when I came over," Belle finished with a large sigh.
"You have definitely gotten yourself into a right mess," Mama Luna sighed.
"I would say that you can't see Hunter anymore, but I know that it won't work. It's clear you see something in him that makes you think that he is good. You may be naive in some aspects, but you have never been wrong about people being good."
Belle couldn't help the smile that lit up her face at her mother's words. It was nice to know that there was one person who saw how she felt about Hunter. Well, not in the romantic sense, but that was to be discussed later.
"However," Mama Luna continued after a few minutes of soothing her daughter.
"Now that they know you have magic, you can use your teleportation to your advantage. If it feels like you're going to be cornered again, teleport back to Ninja Ops to safety."
"I will," Belle promised. "And thanks for listening."
"Think nothing of it ma petite étoile," Mama Luna smiled warmly.
"I only ask that you be careful from now on."
"I would make a joke that I'm always careful, but I feel like it's not gonna work," Belle chuckled weakly.
"You are going to give me gray hairs," Mama Luna clicked her tongue even if a small smile took away her exasperation.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Belle made for the stairs but her mother stopped her.
"Oh, and Annabelle."
"Yes?"
"Take it easy on poor Cameron. He's only looking out for you."
"I know," Belle said softly in guilt over how she had treated him. "I'll apologize when I get back."
"You better."
With her mind made up, Belle went back through the portal in her closet to start on dinner for Ninja Ops. For dinner that night, Belle decided to make Cam's favorite dish as an apology before she actually spoke with him. She was quick to take out the pork and everything she would need to make katsudon. To go along with the meal, Belle poured the both of them a cold glass of green tea. By the time dinner was ready, Cam was shuffling into the kitchen. He started shuffling over to the fridge to grab something to eat for his dinner, but he stopped when the scent of katsudon hit his nose. His eyes widened and his head snapped up to meet the sheepish look that Belle was giving him.
"Dinner's done," she told him while gesturing to the heaping bowls of food. Cam's confused look turned into understanding when he saw the way Belle was fidgeting with her hands.
"Thank you Anna."
He gratefully took a seat at the kitchen table and looked down at the bowl in front of him.
"I haven't had homemade katsudon since my mother made it for me," Cam told her while he picked up his chopsticks.
"Then eat up Ron," Belle told him. "There's more if you want it."
Tears that were starting to form stung Cam's lower eyelids as he began to eat his dinner. Belle was content with just one bowl of katsudon, but Cam went in for a second then was finished. To finish her apology dinner, Belle went to grab the dishes but Cam beat her to it.
"Dishes are my job," he smiled at her while taking the dishes that Belle was bringing to the sink. She watched him with tears in her eyes at how he didn't even try to shout at her or treat her coldly. He should have after how She had treated him for just helping her. Belle had to admit her hardheadedness had gotten in the way of her realizing that Cam was looking out for her until she talked with her mother just an hour earlier.
"Ron," she voiced softly while clutching her hands into fists.
"Yes, Anna?"
"Why aren't you yelling at me or treating me just as mean as I was to you?"
"I already yelled at you once Anna," he sighed.
"And I regretted it as soon as it left my mouth. I didn't want to fight with you, but I'm glad that it seems to be over."
This time the tears fell down Belle's cheeks unchecked as she threw her arms around Cam's waist from behind him and cried into his back. Cam gave an exasperated yet happy look up to the ceiling before he turned so that he could hold Belle while she cried. Belle's tears were full of both relief that things were on their way of going back to normal as well as regret for how she had treated him.
"I'm so sorry Ron," she sniffed. "I was being unfair and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
"I was angry at first," Cam admitted, leaning his cheek against her head.
"But after I thought about what was said, I couldn't fault you because that's just your nature. You're understanding and forgiving to a fault with those you think of as friends."
Cam continued to rub her back as Belle rode out the last of her tears then pulled back slightly to look at her.
"Feel better now?"
"Yeah."
Cam let Belle stand in his arms with her head on his chest for a few minutes as they both relished having the other close again before Cam spoke.
"Are you going on a ride tonight?"
Even though to anyone else, it sounded like Cam was asking Belle if she was going to ride her broom, Cam was asking her if she was going to go see Hunter again.
"Yes," Belle answered in a soft voice. "I want to ask him for myself why he did what he did. If anything happens, I'll teleport myself straight back here."
"You better," Cam insisted. "But I'll be waiting at the supercomputer when you get back."
Another kiss was placed on Cam's cheek before Belle ventured from Ninja Ops to tree travel to where she usually met Hunter.
Like any other night, Hunter was waiting on the tree trunk resting on the ground.
"Hunter," Belle called out hesitantly, magic sweeping out around her to tell her if there were any other people in the vicinity. Hunter jumped a little at the sound of Belle's voice and he slowly turned to face her.
"I didn't think you would show up," he said softly.
"I came to find out why you would do that to me," Belle told him. "I thought you said that you trusted me."
"I do trust you," Hunter insisted. "It's my brother that's the problem."
"Why is he the problem?"
"He doesn't like that I have an "unhealthy attraction" to you. He says that I should view you as a way to get to the rangers and nothing more. You're only a liability that can get me caught or killed."
"Hunter," Belle let out in shock. "I would never do anything to hurt you."
"I know that," Hunter sighed. "But my brother has more trust issues than I do."
Belle couldn't help but feel conflicted with Hunter's words. If Hunter said that he didn't want to meet up anymore, that would be beneficial to us both so that we wouldn't fight with our allies anymore about us meeting. But I don't want to stop seeing Hunter, Belle admitted with a saddened heart. Besides the whole revenge business, I really get along with Hunter and I think of him as a friend. While Belle was arguing with herself about what course of action to take, there was no argument for what Hunter wanted to do. The thought of never coming to meet Belle again did not even cross his mind. Instead he was thinking of ways they could still see each other without setting their teammates off. Well, in Hunter's mind, Belle setting her friends off.
"Well, we could stop," Belle began to say that Hunter cut off very quickly.
"I'm not going to stop seeing you," he insisted.
"I'll cut down on meeting up with you at night, but I won't stop seeing you all together."
"But what about your brother?" Belle questioned. "You said that your family is important to you."
"He is important to me," Hunter sighed. "But so are you. I'm not letting myself be the reason Lothor or my brother attacks you."
Belle could say nothing to the amount of devotion Hunter was putting in for her safety. She was very touched to say the least, but it almost made her feel wrong that she was going behind peoples' backs for this versus when she was hanging out with Hunter in public. She was very conflicted over which side to pick, but she knew that Hunter would keep to his word and would come here every night to meet with her even if she didn't show up. Her turmoil was plain enough on her face that Hunter picked up on very quickly.
"Hey," Hunter said when he saw the sad look on her face as he rose from the downed trunk he was sitting on.
"It'll be ok Anna. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
Frustrated tears began to prick Belle's eyes at his words.
"If I am such a complication, why are you so insistent on seeing me?" she asked to get some clarification for Hunter's actions.
It couldn't be that Hunter was that attracted to her, as their relationship had started on their mutual and very magnetizing attraction to each other.
"I don't know," Hunter answered honestly. "All I know is that I can't go a day without thinking about you and wanting to see you."
"Hunter…"
"You've become a part of my life," Hunter told her, cupping her cheek in his palm.
"One I hope won't leave."
Belle looked up into Hunter's eyes and she saw nothing but his sincerity of his words in his blue eyes.
"You're not mad about me hiding that I had powers?" Belle voiced when she realized that Hunter had said nothing about it.
"It was your secret to keep or share," Hunter shrugged easily.
"You kept my secret so I shouldn't be mad at you for hiding something that could get you mixed up in this."
There was a blow to Belle's heart at his words. Oh, there is something that gets me mixed up in all of this, Belle thought to herself as more guilt ate at her.
"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow night," Belle said hesitantly.
"See you tomorrow night Lil' Firecracker."
This time Hunter did not deny his urge to kiss Belle on the forehead that shocked her. His actions spoke of tender affections that had Belle wondering if Hunter had developed genuine feelings for her outside of their attraction. Hunter reluctantly pulled away from Belle then made his way back towards his home. With so many thoughts and feelings racing in Belle's head, she traveled back to Ninja Ops. True to his word, Cam was awake and waiting for her when she got back.
"I take it everything went well," Cam said when he saw her walk in versus teleporting in.
"I think so," Belle replied. "To be honest, my head is racing with thoughts and feelings."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Cam offered even though almost every part of him violently wanted to take it back.
While he wanted to be Belle's friend who she could share things with, the topic of Hunter was very testy and he didn't want another falling out to happen like last time.
"Are you sure?" Belle asked after remembering the last time.
"Yes. I'll keep my thoughts to myself and try not to be biased when you ask for advice."
"You are truly a great guy Ron," Belle sighed happily.
That was enough to have a warmth bloom in Cam's chest as he led Belle through Ninja Ops to the couch in the living room. As soon as the two settled on the couch, Belle told Cam all about what had happened during her visit with Hunter. While listening to the story, Cam felt a stab of jealousy in his heart about how Belle talked about Hunter and the bond they shared. Do I like Belle, Cam asked himself when he realized the feeling he had. He couldn't think about that any further because that was when Belle asked for his advice.
"Do you think that I should see where this attraction between us goes?" Belle questioned, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"Or should we stay as friends?"
"I can't answer that for you," Cam admitted.
"For one, I am not good with relationship advice. And two, whatever answer I could give you would be very biased. Instead make a pro and con chart. Whatever answer you get from the chart should be your answer."
Belle agreed that the idea did sound very good.
"Alright, I'll give it a try," Belle smiled. "Thank you Ron for your help."
"Glad I could help," Cam said.
Belle gave him a kiss on his cheek before she headed towards her bedroom door.
"Goodnight Ron."
"Night Anna."
The next day Belle and Cam got back into their usual routine. In the morning Belle went out for her run and little workout only to come back and make breakfast for the both of them. After breakfast, Belle worked on her schoolwork then joined Cam in his coding. By the time Cam was done with teaching her, he left to grab Belle and him some snacks when Shane and Dustin snuck into the computer room to get on Cam's laptop.
"Hey Shorty," Dustin threw over his shoulder without actually turning to greet her. Shane said nothing as he watched Dustin fiddle with the laptop.
"Hey Géant, Shane."
She went back to looking over her coding work while the boys were fawning over whatever they were looking at on Cam's computer.
"You two better no be doing anything illegal on Ron's laptop," Belle said.
"He'll be mad enough that you're even on his laptop without his permission."
"And you are right about that Anna," Cam agreed when he showed back up with some corn chips and a couple cans of soda. Both Shane and Dustin instantly tried to turn the laptop so Cam couldn't see what they were looking at, but that gave Belle the opportunity to see instead.
"They're looking at the Tsunami Cycles," Belle told Cam to ease his nerves somewhat.
"Yeah," the boys grinned, chuckles also slipping past their lips.
"Shouldn't you be doing school work like Anna or annoying your parents?" Cam grumbled as he tried to fix whatever the boys had done.
"Well, you know," Dustin said sheepishly. "It was already logged onto this channel..,"
"Computers don't have channels Géant," Belle pointed out from her spot by the supercomputer.
"And I would really appreciate it if you didn't cruise in here without asking me first," Cam continued.
"Calm down," Shane dismissed. "We didn't hurt it."
"It's the principle behind the action Shane," Belle piped up.
"I don't want any words from you Annabelle," Shane glared.
"It's just that it's taken me two weeks to make the changes to the on board telemetry systems and I don't want anything to-,"
Cue the look of disbelief on Cam's face and Belle's head whipping up to stare at the computer at the beeping that happened. Without waiting for Cam to say anything, Belle slid over to the computer chair and tried to help Cam keep the data he had stored on the computer.
"Please say that this is a dream," Cam groaned as dread pooled in his stomach.
"I don't think it's a dream there hon," Belle commented while her hands flew across the keyboard.
"How does Anna know how to do that?" Dustin whispered to Shane as they watched the tech duo work.
"She must be taking lessons from Cam."
However, even with the combined efforts of Cam and Belle, the systems still froze and everything for the Tsunami Cycles were wiped.
"Sorry Ron," Belle offered when he came to stand by her side.
"You backed it up though right?" Shane offered in hopes of making Cam feel better.
"You did," Belle confirmed for Cam. "It's on the disk that you gave Dustin."
"Oh yeah yeah, yeah right," Dustin let out as he slowly remembered being given the cd case.
"It's in my back-,"
"Your backpack that is not currently on your back," Belle finished for him when Dustin reached behind him.
"Yeah."
"Why don't you retrace your steps? I'm sure you'll find it," Belle suggested.
"Yeah, thanks Shorty."
"No problem."
Shane, Cam, and Belle sat in silence while Cam worked on trying to get everything back up before Shane shot up to his feet.
"I'm going to be at the skate park if you need me."
"Guess we're back on shaky terms again," Belle sighed from her spot sitting next to Cam.
"I'm sure he'll calm down eventually," Cam assured her.
Belle gave a sigh as she held up a chip for Cam to take before stuffing a couple in her own mouth.
"Thank you," Cam mumbled from around the chip.
As he worked, Cam got a little more frustrated but a simple calming spell from Belle was able to help him.
"Calm down Ron. We won't be able to do anything until we get that disk. Why don't you focus on keeping an eye on the city instead?"
"You're right Anna," Cam sighed, switching the view to the city wide scanner.
Everything looked good until Cam picked up some strange energy from the quarry.
"Why is it always the quarry," Belle muttered to herself as Cam called Shane on his morpher.
"You better ranger up just to be safe," Cam warned them.
"I better go too," Belle commented while she rose from her seat.
"Cosmic Storm! Ranger Form!"
In a flash her street clothes were traded for her ranger uniform that sparkled in silver and gold.
"Catch you later Ron."
With that she ninja streaked out of Ninja Ops to meet the other three rangers at the quarry.
"Look alive rangers," Belle warned as soon as she stepped foot in the clearing.
"I can feel that disturbance that Bushi talked about."
"Where?" Shane asked her, moving so that he had his back to hers.
The others were quick to circle up for better visibility. Belle herself wasn't quite sure until she felt the incoming energy from a blast coming their way.
"Watch out!" she shouted, flipping out of the blast radius to round on where the attack came from. The other rangers weren't as lucky when they got hit full on with the lightning blast. Lightning blast, Belle thought to herself in shock. No, it can't be. Sure enough, rangers in navy and maroon appeared out of the smoke of the blast.
"What a perceptive little ranger we have here," the navy ranger smirked under his helmet.
"Who are you?!" Shane demanded when he got back to his feet.
"I recognize those symbols anywhere," Belle spoke up. "They're from the Thunder Ninja Academy."
"It seems she might be too perceptive for her own good," the maroon ranger agreed with his partner.
"Obviously you didn't get the memo."
"Old rangers out, new rangers in," the navy ranger continued.
"What? You expect us to fight you?" Dustin scoffed.
"Be careful Leo," Belle warned while every instinct she had told her to watch the new rangers carefully.
While Belle knew that eventually she would have to fight both Hunter and Blake, she didn't think that the fight would happen so soon.
"I don't think they want to talk."
As if on cue the rangers streaked forward to attack which Belle readied herself for. It did a little to block some of their hits with her fans, but the enemy rangers still ended up getting in a few hits to her sides when the two would attack at the same time. The Wind Rangers on the other hand were overrun with the Thunder Rangers. When the Thunder Rangers were done with their barrage, the Wind Rangers were on the ground and Belle was kneeling on the ground with her fans at the ready to deflect another attack.
"I vote for kicking their butts," Tori grumbled as she rose back to her feet.
Shane and Dustin seconded her words, but Belle was hesitating. She didn't want to fight Hunter. Even if Hunter didn't know it was her, she still felt the guilt of knowing it was him she was fighting. The thought of having to fight him did not prepare her for the real thing.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you to play nice," Shane remarked while he took to the air to fight.
"We don't do nice," the navy ranger retorted, jumping up to kick Shane right out of the air.
Seeing as though Belle wasn't going to fight Hunter, she ran to Shane's side to help him against the navy ranger.
"Thanks Lupa," Shane sighed when an arc of stars flew out from her fan to stop the navy ranger from advancing.
"Hawke, let's continue on as if we're in formation," Belle suggested. "We'll do better if we are more united."
"Right."
Shane again took to the skies while Belle used her magic to boost her speed, strength, and agility as she raced forward. Her fans were quick to try to slice at the navy ranger who raised his staff to block her attacks. However, Shane's Hawk Blaster made good work of sending attacks down at the navy ranger. Said navy ranger cursed as a few of both Shane's and Belle's attacks hit. Upon seeing his partner getting some resistance from the other two rangers, the maroon ranger made quick work of Tori and Dustin to move over to help the navy ranger. Blasting Shane out of the sky was easy while trying to blast Belle proved difficult when she jumped out of the way.
"You pesky little White Gold Ranger," the maroon ranger growled in frustration.
"We should take her down first," the navy ranger conferred with the maroon ranger.
"I couldn't agree more."
This time both rangers ran at Belle who tensed while waiting for their attack. She dodged them both but only retaliated with the navy ranger instead of the maroon ranger. Upon seeing her hesitance in fighting him, he upped his attack power that had Belle scrambling to just deflect their attacks. In the end, they were too much for her and they managed to leave a hefty amount of damage on her that had her protective barrier wavering and sparks to fly from her suit.
"Why don't you just give up," the marron ranger taunted.
"It will be a lot easier for you if you do," the navy ranger added.
"Is this a training exercise?" Shane asked while he stood up.
"I'm afraid it's not Hawke," Belle said through grit teeth as she slowly rose to her feet.
"Alright, ready," the maroon ranger said to his partner while lightning jumped to life at his fingertips.
At his words the navy ranger too had lightning at his fingers. Belle readied herself for the worst yet the two didn't shoot any lightning at them. Instead they just ninja streaked away leaving Belle all sorts of confused. And sore, she told herself while fighting back a groan at how tender her body felt. I'll definitely need some ice.
ooo0 Ninja of the Stars 0ooo
And done with another chapter. I have to say, I really like the revised version of this chapter better than the original chapter. I felt like the revised conversation between Hunter and Belle was a little bit more realistic than before. Hopefully a lot of the interactions that I tweaked seem a little bit more realistic than before because that was my whole goal in rewriting the story. I also noticed that I had forgotten to put the edit date at the beginning of the earlier chapter, but I made sure to put the date for this one at the beginning. I know I keep putting this in the A/N, but I would really love to know what you guys think about the changes I made and what you think about this story. Just seeing some feedback is enough to inspire me to get a little bit farther than I was before because of writer's block. That was all I had for here, so I will 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