"Hey bro, wake up! Pack for a week!" Hunter said throwing open the curtains in Blake's room.
Blake only mumbled and pulled his sheets higher, but apparently Hunter wasn't getting the signal, so he finally asked "Where are we going?" He was sitting bolt upright when Hunter replied, "Wind Ninja Academy for our first ever sparring tournament."
"No, that's not correct. Look, watch me." Tori went through the motions of the kick perfectly. Her student watched her and imitated. Tori nodded, "That's good. You're getting it. Keep at it." She looked up then to see Cam approaching her, and excused herself, meeting the former Green Samurai Ranger midway.
Cam looked at her a while before sighing and saying, "Blake and Hunter are here with the students. I've just left Lee Ann to set up the female members and Sensei Omano and Dad are busy catching up on old times. Tori, I'm really sorry about this. I wish we could have scheduled this at a better time, preferably when Blake was not here or something but…"
Tori cut him off, "It's fine Cam. I'll be alright. I really don't know how you guys figured it out, but I really am fine. This is between Blake and me, and we don't have to involve everyone else. Blake's still a friend to all the others and there's no reason that has to change because of me. We'll sort it out," Tori said, waiting until Cam and nodded and walked away before adding, "Or we won't."
Tori walked into ninja ops, which was now their 'Sensei Base'- as Shane had once called it when she was Hunter walking out. "Hey." She greeted her former colleague and friend.
Hunter, startled, looked up from the papers he was holding and smiled awkwardly, "Oh hey Tor. Just heading out. Catch you later. Bye."
"You know it. Bye." Tori said and then sighed. So much for maintaining a low profile. She knew as a rule Blake told Hunter everything, but it didn't seem like him to tell Hunter what had happened between them. It was more interesting to know, if Blake had told anything at all to Hunter, what exactly he had told him. Maybe he'd given his brother an explanation for his recent behavior, which she would have liked to have known herself. Tori sighed once more; she was at it again, thinking about Blake and wondering where they could have gone wrong. She walked to the fridge and got herself a glass of milk before sitting at a counter and flipping through a motocross magazine someone had left there – Dustin probably. Her good looking brown haired friend was always forgetting where he'd kept his stuff. She smiled at that thought and continued flipping, until suddenly a headline caught her attention.
"Oh my God! A Factory Blue rider dies in a tragic accident during training. Danny Filgero….good friend to motocross superstar Blake Bradley died tragically last week, his friend being the last one he spoke to before the accident happened. No comment has been made from Bradley who seems to have disappeared off the track scene since the accident. Roger Hannah makes no comment regarding this though he does say that he extends his deepest sympathies to Filegro's family and friends and that he and Factory Blue also feel the loss deeply." Tori read from the magazine and as she finished, it dropped out of her hands. Everything started fitting into place now. Blake had returned soon after this incident. The magazine article said he had disappeared but he'd actually come back to them all. And he was giving motocross up because his friend had died and Blake was….realization hit Tori like a dozen 250s running over her…Blake was afraid!
Tori finished pacing the room. Something had to be done. She had to be able to put aside her personal feelings for Blake, whatever they were right now, to be able to help him at a time when he needed help the most. The article had explained a lot of Blake's actions, though she was unsure it had anything to do with him calling it quits with her. Tori looked at the magazine again and then held it close to her. Hunter. She needed to talk to Hunter first, show him the article and see what could be done. Either way, Blake was going to get the help he needed right now. She wasn't going to let him drop out of something she knew he loved, and the reason was simple…she loved him too much for that.
