Title: Six Feet From the Edge
Rating: PG 13, some innuendo, nothing explicit but a vague description of boys kissing.
Pairings: HunterCam, BlakeTori
Summary: ONE SHOT 8 months after Ninja Storm, Hunter, Blake and some students have to stay at the Wind Academy. Cam and Hunter bicker. A lot. Hmm... Yaoi
My Opinion: YAY! This was inspired by Creed's My Last Breath, but Six Feet from the Edge is a less depressing title. Don't worry about Gifted and Talented. This was a 5 hour escape over writers block.
8 8 8 8 8 8
Please come now I think I'm falling
I'm holding on to all I think is safe
It seems I found the road to nowhere
And I'm trying to escape
I yelled back when I heard Thunder
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Cam sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his tired eyes. He really hated having to cover Dustin's class- all of them were about as air headed as the Earth ninja himself. He resisted the urge to spring for joy as the final bell rang, signifying the end of the Wind Academy's day.
"Sensei Brooks expects you to be able to finish the assignment this weekend. Class dismissed," he said, glaring slightly as the Earth affinities filed out of the classroom, chatting loudly. Yeah.. he was definitely going to need some aspirin later tonight.
"Nice. Do you always torture the Earth students, or was today special?" a sarcastic voice behind him asked, and he turned around to amused blue eyes.
"Sensei Bradley," Cam arched an eyebrow, bowing slightly, though the act was sarcastic. Hunter was the head teacher at the Thunder Academy, and he taught the Air ninja's also.
Hunter grinned, walking over to Cam and giving him an all encompassing bear hug. "Its good to see you too, bro!" Hunter said, squeezing the life out of Cam. The usage of 'bro' annoyed Cam, who wheezed, "Really.. I must breathe sometime, Hunter..." He grinned sheepishly, putting Cam back down. "Sorry. I thought Samurai were tougher than bear hugs."
"Obviously," Cam said shortly, fixing his glasses. "...Don't even talk to me about Samurai. I don't even want to know what my class is doing. I left a lesson plan, but I don't think Shane is a very good sub..." he said grimly. "What are you doing here? And where's Blake..."
"Aww, can't a guy visit his friends?" Hunter cracked, and at Cams level stare, said "Ok ok, so it's not all personal... one of out Fire ninja kinda... burned some things..." Hunter said sheepishly.
"Burned some things?..." Cam echoed, raising his eyebrows. "All right! He burned part of the school! We need to transfer the Air and Fire ninja's here for a week, ok?" Hunter said, squirming mentally under the level gaze. 'Dammit' he thought. 'He's not supposed to make me nervous!'
Cam smirked. "I assume Blake is asking Tori the same thing?" he asked, and Hunter nodded.
"Well, she may be assistant head teacher, but you'd still have to ask Dad," Cam said, placing the lesson plan down and leaning back on Dustin's desk. "I figured..." Hunter mumbled, going for the door, then stopping and looking at Cam expectantly.
"Oh for the love of..!" Cam rolled his eyes, getting up. "Yes, I'll go with you to ask." Hunter grinned, and followed Cam as he walked out the door.
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
After nabbing Blake and Tori and asking Sensei if the Air and Fire Thunder ninja's could be transferred for a week, the answer had been yes. Much to Tori's delight, Blake and Hunter were going to stay for the week to watch their students.
The next day, Cam walked into his class to see quite a few unfamiliar faces. He drew a mind blank until he remembered: the Thunder academy had a few Samurai classes, and their Samurai were Air affinities, unlike Cams students who were Metal affinities. It was quite hard to get into a Samurai class at the Winds.
"For some of our temporary students," Cam began to say, "We're practicing second level offense and defense techniques this week. If you've done it befor-"he was interrupted by the door opening, and someone stepping in.
"Sensei Bradley. So glad you could join us...late," Cam spoke dryly. "Take a seat anywhere. Though I dare say we are a bit short," he said, referring to that some of the Metal and Air Samurai who were sitting on the floor. Hunter snorted. "very funny," he said, standing by the wall expectantly.
"As I was saying before I was interrupted," Cam resumed his little speech. "If you've done these before, get over it and do it again. If you haven't, I hope you learn quick, or you'll be eating," he smirked slightly, "metal." Hunter snickered derisively. "that's if none of you get whiplash," he commented quietly, causing some of the Thunder students to laugh quietly.
"Have something to share, Sensei?" Cam emphasized 'sensei' with a glare. "Nothing at all," Hunter held his hands up in a surrender pose, though his smirk said otherwise. "Right," Cam glared, looking at his student list.
"Kyofu!" he called out a Thunder ninja's name. "You'll go with Lee," he paired her up with a Wind ninja. He did the same thing until he ran out of Thunders, and then paired off the rest.
"Now, I'm going to demonstrate a basic drop and roll attack," Cam said, picking up his bokken as the students did. "I need a volunteer." Hands rose. "All you have to do is rush me." Some dropped. "And hopefully you'll have a high pain tolerance," he finished. Nearly all the hands disappeared.
He scowled, then had an idea. "Sensei Bradley," he called out to Hunter, "You can help me with this move." Hunter walked over to Cam, with a look like he was sizing him up. "What exactly am I supposed to do?" he asked finally.
"Just rush me, and try to push me down. Take a bokken if you want to feel safer," Cam said, insinuating that Hunter should be scared? Never. Hunter glared, but picked up the bokken with hostility. Suddenly, Hunter charged.
The bokken was near to his throat before he ducked, going to his knees and planting a fist in Hunters stomach. As he heard the breath taking "Oof!" he pushed Hunter backwards, hooking his bokken in front of Hunters and smashing it away before he was completely on the ground and down.
He was in a crouching defensive position, ready for retaliation but Hunter laid there for a moment before sitting up slowly. Wincing he placed a hand on his stomach. "Ow."
"Sorry," Cam said, getting up and helping Hunter up. "That's a basic drop and roll attack," he said, turning to his students. "it starts when your opponent rushes you..."
He was half expecting late retaliation, but he mostly heard the rush of air before he realized what was happening. He dodged, knowing that Hunter, being an Air ninja, could have made no noise at all, and caught Cam off guard. But how often would a Samurai be facing the top Air ninja teacher, and besides, this was a sparring challenge, or at least, Hunters version of one.
When his students took a step forward he yelled "Halt!" to them, ducking another swing. "this is a game!" he grinned, locking "swords" with Hunter.
He felt Hunters soft breathy chuckle more than he heard it, air tickling his face. "yeah, that's basically everything with me, isn't it, sensei?" he asked. Cam just grinned. "My my, did I wound your ego, Bradley?"
I'm looking down now that it's over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out heaven save me
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
The day saw Hunter and Cam to the academy infirmary, after the third class. The battle tension and wounded egos had gotten to be too much. Another assistant Samurai took Cam's last two classes.
"This is your fault, you know," Hunter complained, holding an ice pack to the side of his head and wincing. Being suspended from further duties for the day, Hunter was in the infirmary, wearing a dark red t shirt and black jeans.
"My fault? You started it with the 'whiplash' comment!" Cam said indignantly. He wore a green shirt that said "Its mine, its mine, ITS MINE!... what was it again?" in black lettering on it and tannish jeans. "How in hell is it my fault?" Cam had his left arm bandaged from a cut and was holding an ice pack to his side.
"You started it by being you," Hunter retorted, as Blake, Tori and Shane walked into the infirmary.
"Oh shove it Hunter!" Cam exclaimed. "Having fun?" Shane quipped, raising an eyebrow. "Your not helping the Wind and Thunder Academy's' relations," he said, leaning on the side of Cams chair. He missed Hunters glare as he did that.
"Blake and Tori more than make up for it," Hunter mumbled, shifting the ice pack. "Hunter!" Tori exclaimed. "Hunter!" he mimicked, "Geez that's twice in one day. In the past thirty seconds, too..."
"Not now, Bro. Jeez," Blake said, crossing his arms. "You just can't keep your hands off each other, can you?"
"BLAKE!!!"
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
The next day found Cam and Hunter recovering from their bruises (No ranger healing power) so Tori was hanging about with Cam, as she had no classes.
"No, Cam, you can't go check on your students. They'll be fine!" Tori said, pushing him back into the Ninja ops computer chair. "go run a scan on the zords. You still know how to do that, right?" she asked sarcastically. Cam rolled his eyes, glared, and turned to the computer. Exasperated, she turned to see Blake coming out of the kitchen, which was where they were keeping Hunter.
"He wants out. Says he has to beat Cam," He said, wrapping an arm around Tori's waist. "Which is code for 'I'm bored, I want to see Cam,'" he informed her, in a quiet voice only Tori could hear. They watched as Hunter walked out of the kitchen, looking at Blake and Tori, then scoffing, and walking over to Cam. He stood behind the Samurai and watched the computer screen for a moment before sitting on the table behind Cam.
"Whatcha doin'?" Hunter drawled, doing that eyes-half-lidded look he did so well. "Checking for energy readings," Cam said, not missing a beat. "Like, as in Lothors goons? They're all in the Abyss," Hunter said matter of factly.
"We know Lothor's in there. We don't know what happened to his generals," Cam retorted. "I think you're paranoid," Hunter said, folding his arms. The corners of Cam's mouth quirked. "Maybe, but at least I'm not lazy."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said." Cam smirked. Hunter growled, eyes narrowing.
"Great Oceans, and they don't even know they're flirting," Tori whispered under her breath, leaning on Blake. "They just need to admit they like each other and get it over with."
"Or get laid," Blake said after a moment. "OW!" he winced as Tori hit him playfully. Hunter and Cam looked over at them. "Abusive, much?" Cam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Shut it Spock," Tori said, glaring playfully. "if he's Spock, that makes Hunter Kirk, me McCoy and you must be..." Blake trailed off.
"Your worst nightmare!" Tori cried, launching herself at Blake and he flinched away as her hands danced across his stomach. "Quick, hold him down!" Hunter laughed, grabbing Blake's arms, and Tori assaulted his stomach. Blake laughed uproariously, and it made all of them laugh. It was almost like the old days.
Sad eyes follow me
But I still believe there's something left for me
So please come stay with me
'Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me
For you and me
For you and me
"So do ever wonder what would've happened if we'd never met?" Hunter asked suddenly, looking at Cam as they crouched in front of the Reflecting Pool.
Cam scowled. It would be another two days before Hunter and Blake left for the Thunder Academy, which was a days drive from here, but if they got permission to streak it was only a few minutes. Granted, it wasn't that odd of a question- he'd thought about it before- but not one he really one he wanted to answer truthfully.
"Like what?" Cam settled for asking another question, careful to keep his eyes on the Pool. "Like, say Blake and I were never rangers, and were just frozen like all the rest of the Academies students," Hunter prompted.
"Simple. We'd all be dead. You two saved our hides enough and were essential to the team. Possibly I might never have even become a ranger," Cam said quickly enough, noting amusedly Hunters warped reflection looked like a blonde Jessica Rabbit.
"You really think so?" Cam nodded. "Huh.. wait. What do you mean, you might not have become a ranger?" Hunter asked, and Cam could feel his gaze, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"It's nothing." The reply was curt and quick, not inviting the possibility of further conversation. Hunter persisted, of course. "What? What do you mean?"
"...I said its nothing!" Cam got up quickly. This was just what he needed, he thought as he brushed his pants off, an inquisitive Hunter who had a very real possibility of getting him to admit things he didn't even want to admit to himself.
"Hey!" Hunter got up and fell into stride quickly with Cam. "I wanted to know! It's not nothing to me, and if it is to you, you can tell me!"
"It's not something I can tell you," Cam said coolly, glad it was late so no one else could get involved in this conversation... though it was more of a one sided argument. "I wouldn't tell anyone this, and I'm definitely not telling you."
"So what, I'm not worthy of being told? Nobody is?" Hunter scowled. "That's not like you Cam! It's obviously something, and I bet it's what's been bugging you!"
"What?" Cam snapped, whirling around to face Hunter. "You've been acting weird the entire time Blake and I have been here!!" Hunter said, glaring at Cam.
"That's preposterous!" Cam said, turning back to the hallway. Hunter grabbed Cam's arms and pushed him back against the wall.
"Hunter!" Cam winced as he was pushed back. He glared at Hunter, who just glared right back. "Something's wrong, and I wanna know," he said, his grip loosening. Cam looked down. "I can't tell you," he said, though his tone was offering no resistance.
"Tell me," Hunters tone was softer now.
Cam looked completely down now, hiding his eyes. "I wanted to be closer to you.... You seemed ok.. and not like the others.. that was one of my motivations for going for the amulet... and I was worried about you.. "Cam trailed off. He didn't want to see the look of anger in Hunters eyes.
"You were worried about me...?" Hunter's soft question penetrated the heavy silence. Cam swallowed. "Yeah." He said, his voice rough. His feet were very interesting right now..
He felt the fingertips lift his chin before he saw the face, felt the lips on his before he actually realized what was going on. His eyes widened, then he relaxed as Hunters mouth coaxed him to, and slowly he responded.
He was left breathless as Hunter pulled away. "You.." he managed to breathe out.
"I...like you too," Hunter said, grinning sheepishly. "I always sort of have since I met you... you weren't scared of us, and you had an impressive wit," he finished.
Cam tilted his head to the side, giving him the half-lidded look. "you know, that can be interpreted many ways," he commented smugly. Hunter gave him an incredulous look. "You just- what the-!" Came the spluttering reply, then Hunter started to laugh finally. "Oh geez! Cam made a sick joke! It's the apocalypse!' he roared, hugging his sides.
"I'll show you apocalypse," Cam growled, going for Hunter.
Please come now I think I'm falling
I'm holding on to all I think is safe
It seems I found the road to nowhere
And I'm trying to escape
I yelled back when I heard Thunder
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
I'm looking down now that it's over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out heaven save me
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
Sad eyes follow me
But I still believe there's something left for me
So please come stay with me
'Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me
For you and me
For you and me
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down.