--
Dustin approached Sensei's office and knocked on the door lightly, taking a breath as he waited for an answer.
"Come in, Dustin," came Sensei's voice.
Dustin opened the door and found Sensei sitting at his desk. He went over to him and bowed. "Sensei, I need to talk to you."
He looked up. "What is it?"
"Well," he began. "I've been thinking about things a lot, and I know it's kinda late but I was wondering if that position might still be open."
"You want to teach here?" he asked, folding his hands.
Dustin nodded.
"What brought you to decide this?"
He paused. "I guess the only reason I wasn't going to was a bad one. If you don't have a place for me anymore it's okay, I know I'm a little late."
"Yes," Sensei agreed. He stood. "But I had a feeling you would change your mind, and the position is still open."
Dustin grinned. "Awesome."
"You know classes start in a week, can you prepare in time?"
"You bet," Dustin said.
Sensei smiled. "Then I suggest you begin now."
"Thanks so much," Dustin said, smiling. He bowed and left the office quickly, colliding with someone entering. "Sorry," he said.
He stepped back to see Shane staring at him coldly. "No problem," Shane said.
Dustin looked at him a moment. "I've just accepted a teaching position here."
Shane's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. I thought you'd wanna know." He paused. "Look, Shane, we're gonna be working together a lot now, don't you think we should put some things aside and move on?"
Shane folded his arms. "Wasn't my choice. I'll work with you, Dustin, that's my job now. But aside from that I don't even want to be around you. Understand?"
Dustin nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. Then he walked away.
--
Hunter sat at his desk going over the work he'd be presenting in only a few short days. He'd never imagined what went into the classes he'd taken, but he found himself enjoying the process more than he would have thought. He was looking forward to the new students arriving, and really beginning his work, but he was glad for the time to get used to things.
Luckily he knew his way around, and remembered a lot about the place. But getting used to being there again, and all the new faces and sights, was difficult. He'd known it would be strange, but wasn't really prepared for the sudden change.
Two days after he arrived he'd met the other teachers, they'd all gathered to discuss the coming year and to introduce themselves. He did his best to make a good impression, unlike he usually did, and they seemed to accept him well.
Blake would have been proud of me, he thought with a smirk. I didn't sit in a corner and glare all evening.
Hunter had almost felt connections with some of them, they were a down to earth group that he could relate to. He didn't know if any of them knew about his being a power ranger, but that could have had something to do with their acceptance of him. He didn't like to think that was their reason, but it was possible.
Or maybe he didn't like to think that it wasn't their reason, he thought quietly. Why did it bother him so much when people actually liked him? He shook his head. It didn't make any sense, but what did? His life had stopped making sense a long time ago, and him along with it. That was just how it was.
He thought about Dustin. He already missed him, worried about him. They'd talked on the phone a few times at night and Dustin told him he was taking the teaching position after all. He sounded excited, and Hunter hoped it went well for him. He wanted him to do it since he found out, but he was still worried about how it might go. Shane sounded mad from what Dustin had said, and that could be bad. Shane wasn't one he wanted Dustin getting on the bad side of.
Hunter stood up and stretched out a little. He would call Dustin again that night, once his work was done, and see how things were going. He had no doubt that Dustin could do it, but convincing him of that might be difficult. For one so seemingly carefree, Dustin had a surprisingly small amount of confidence in himself about this whole thing. But Hunter didn't mind giving it a boost every now and then.
He heard a knock on his door and looked up, frowning to himself. "Come in."
The door opened and another teacher came in. Hunter remembered her from the meeting but didn't recall her name. "Can I help you?" he asked.
She nodded. "Some of the students have arrived, we need you there for introductions."
He nodded. "I'm coming." He turned to his desk and placed his papers in a folder, then put the folder in a drawer. "Isn't it early for them to be arriving?"
She shook her head. "No, they'll be staying here till graduation, they come earlier than those who only stay for training."
Hunter stood and went to the doorway. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name."
She smiled. "I'm Kara." Then she paused. "And you?"
"Hunter," he said, extending a hand.
Kara took it. "Introductions were a bit rushed the other night, huh?"
"Yeah." They started down the hall silently.
She looked at him after a few minutes. "You're pretty quiet."
"Yeah," he replied simply. "Always have been."
"You new here?"
He nodded. "Just started. I went to this Academy not long ago."
"Me too," she said.
Hunter could feel her eyes on him and turned to look at her. "What?"
Kara paused a moment. "Are you the power ranger?"
"What power ranger?" he asked.
She looked at him curiously. "The others have been talking about a former ranger who's here now, I was wondering if it was you."
"Does it matter?" he asked, not anxious for his history to be let out. There were too many things he wasn't at all proud of.
"Yeah, it does," she replied easily. "It's you, isn't it?"
Hunter stopped walking and faced her. "If you have to know, then yes, I was a ranger. But I don't see why that's so important to you."
She looked at him quietly for a moment, then spoke. "I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it, or let anyone know. It's just . . . kinda exciting I guess. It isn't every day I meet someone like you."
"I'm nothing special," he said, starting to walk again. "We'd better get down there, or we'll be late."
"Yeah," she said, following him. They walked in silence the rest of the way.
--
Tori walked over to where Shane was sitting by the lake, watching him for a few minutes before approaching. "Hey Shane," she said.
He looked up. So different already from the Shane she had known only a few weeks ago, it bothered her more than she let on. Things had changed so much between them all, and she was painfully aware of her part in it.
"How're you doing?" she asked him. No one had seen him around much, and she was concerned. Things weren't easy on him right now.
"I'm fine," he said shortly. "You?"
"Good," she said, sitting down beside him. "We're kinda worried about you, Shane."
He looked at her. "Why?"
Tori paused. "It's just that—ever since we found out about Hunter and Dustin, you haven't been yourself at all. I know you're mad at them and hurt and all but don't you think it's time to let that go and get things back to normal?'
Shane shook his head. "Tori, can you honestly tell me you've gotten over it? I see the way you act around them, the looks you give. I know you hate it as much as I do."
"Look, I might not like it but at least I'm trying," she said. "I don't hate them for it, as much as I wish they were different. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, or even if I want to, but I'm not just giving up on them." She shook her head. "What's wrong with you?"
He paused. "You think if your boyfriend wasn't Hunter's brother you'd even give them a second thought? You were ready to give up, Tori, it was just because of him you didn't. Let's see how you do with Dustin around, now that Blake's gone. I doubt if you'll give him more than a glance."
"I'm doing my best," she said. "And yeah, it is partly because of Blake. But that's not the only reason." She paused. "Shane, you're losing your five best friends here. We have to choose, and they all have already."
Shane looked at her quietly for a moment. "And what about you?"
Tori paused. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yeah," he said. "But where are you going to be in the end? You said you have to choose, and somehow I don't think I'll be the one."
"Shane, I don't want to," Tori said. "But you're making this impossible. We can't be friends with you and them, you know that. And you can't possibly expect us to forget about them."
He shrugged. "Then I guess we know how it's gonna be, huh? At least when Blake's around."
Tori sighed. "Look, I'm trying, okay? I don't know what else to do, I don't want to lose you."
He nodded. "I didn't ask for this to happen, Tori, and I'm not any happier than you are." He stood up. "I guess we'll just see what happens."
"Yeah," she said. "I guess."
"I'll see you around, okay?" he said.
"Of course," she replied. "I'll see you."
He nodded and walked away, and she watched him go quietly.
--