It is the first few weeks and Jayden doesn't exactly trust his team
"Do you trust me Jayden?" Emily asked softly. "Do you trust any of us?"
Jayden wasn't sure how to answer Emily. Trust was such a scary word for him. He was trying to trust them, but he wasn't sure he should let their trust build in him. He was after all hiding something big from them.
Instead of answering Emily, Jayden just walked out. He simply said nothing. He walked out of the Shiba house and towards the river near the house. He needed to think before he could answer.
By the River
His emotions were clouding his judgement. He wanted to trust his team but he was scared about them getting hurt. Even though it might have been a few weeks since the team had gotten together, but he genuinely cared about each one of them. All of them had their own quirks and had their own ways to show that they cared.
Mia tried to cook for anyone who was upset. While her dishes were a disaster, you knew that her heart was in the right place. Mia was like an older sister, you could go to her with anything and she would have a solution. She could get Kevin to stop practising and Mike to practise properly. She always had advice to give and reminded Jayden of Lauren.
Kevin always tried to help others with their technique and did his best to understand everyone, which was hard for him. He was rigid like a stick but as time was passing, he was getting more relaxed. He even started playing games with the others.
Mike was someone who showed that he cared by protecting his teammates during a fight. Especially after his friends got injured, he was truly scared of any one of them getting hurt. Following the Samurai rules to the T was hard for him but as time went on, you could see that he was trying. He always made sure that everyone stopped practising and actually took a break.
Emily was the youngest but she had the biggest heart of them all. She was the glue that brought this team together. She somehow could get Jayden to spend time with the team and not just sit in his room alone. She made this team into a family and he was really glad for it.
While he enjoyed the quiet house, he had learned to love the house in which you could hear conversations going on in one room or the sound of walking around the house. He even learned to love the sound of Mike's video games or Kevin's kendo stick hitting a dummy at 6 am. He loved that he could hear Mia humming a tune while training with dummies or Emily playing her flute. He loved the girls just talking in one of their rooms which was near Jayden's room, so the muffled conversation flowed into his room. He even loved Mike and Kevin's bickering over the most nonsensical topics. Over the past few weeks, he found himself looking for these sounds. He no longer wanted it to be him and Ji anymore.
Between all this thinking, he understood that he not only trusted his team but also cared for them deeply. He wasn't someone who let his emotions come in the way but right now, he knew that this wasn't just a brain game but his heart also had decisions to make. After all, he was human, earlier these decisions may seem lite to him but now, now that he has actually connected to these people, these people who he calls his friends, he was having trouble. He was a human, a complex one at that.
Back at the house
Jayden had just walked out leaving the rest of them staring at the door. Emily was feeling bad because she had pushed Jayden to answer a question he wasn't comfortable with answering. Tears were whelming up in her hazel eyes.
"I'm so sorry you guys, I shouldn't have pushed Jayden to answer," Emily said as her voice started breaking.
Mike and Kevin hated Emily crying like that for something that wasn't her fault. Mia moved towards Emily and wrapped her in a hug, gently stroking her back. The younger girl had tears falling down her face.
"Emmy, it wasn't your fault," Mike said softly. "Jayden just needed to think, he always had been alone. Trusting people is something big for him."
"I thought he was opening up to us," Emily whimpered. "I just want him to feel like he can trust us. I mean we are his team."
"I know, Emily, but you gotta let him come to us. You can't force him to open up you know," Mia reasoned with Emily. She knew the latter didn't like the fact that Jayden was always alone and didn't try and get to know them yet, but she had to wait, be patient. But again Emily wasn't exactly the most patient person in the house.
"Emmy, look at Kevin. He took time to open up to us too, but he did. You gotta let him come to us," Mike said.
Emily quietly nodded and wiped her tears out of her eyes. Ji dismissed training and all of them went inside the house.
As they were going in, Ji called out to Emily. Emily gestured the rest of them to go in without her. After a few minutes, Ji said "While your heart was in the right place, you got to learn how to be patient. I know Jayden is also being stubborn, but pushing him will only push him away. Both of you can be quite stubborn when you set your mind to something."
Emily nodded, not sure how to answer.
"Emily, you can go and rest for a bit. Jayden will be back soon," Mentor said, sensing Emily feeling guilty about everything.
Emily again nodded and moved inside.
Inside, Mike was sitting with his handheld game console and playing something. Mia and Kevin were quietly talking. Everyone had changed back to their civilian clothes. Emily quickly went and changed back to her civilian clothes, but instead of going back out, she decided to write a letter to Jayden, apologizing for her stubbornness.
Back at the river
Jayden was starting to realize that him sitting here all alone, was so lonely. Throughout his childhood, loneliness was never a problem for him. After all, it was always him and Ji. So, he learnt to have fun alone. Letting his imagination run, taking him places that don't exist. He didn't have many friends at school sparing one, he would often let his imagination run free. But soon the bounds of his imagination started to grow too small, so he just stopped imagining those vibrant places.
Jayden shook his head, getting back to the real world instead of the past. He sometimes wondered if he had not met his team, would it had been better?
As these thoughts ran through his mind, he also remembered his team and sensed a longing for them about now. He wanted to get a pizza with them and just enjoy talking, or watch a movie with them bickering about which movie to watch.
Jayden brushed himself and got up, ready to be back with his team. His soon to be family.
At the Shiba house
Jayden entered the house and saw Mike playing on his handheld and Kevin reading a book.
"Hey man! You are back!" Mike said enthusiastically, pausing his game. Mike extended his fist for Jayden to met him halfway and do a special handshake that Mike taught everyone. Mike beamed. He knew that Jayden was ready to open up some more.
Kevin nodded at his leader with a small smile tugging his lips, letting him know that even though he wasn't saying anything, he was glad that he was back.
Mia came out with a cup of tea and as soon as she saw Jayden, she handed the tea to Kevin and gave Jayden a hug. Jayden was first stiff in the hug but soon he returned it.
"Don't you ever do something like this again. You had us so worried, what if something happened to you…" Mia scolded Jayden as an older sister. Jayden just smiled back, ready to be scolded. He would take every bit of scolding from all of them, as long as they remain his friends.
Ji stood in the corner, happy to see his godson happy.
The only one missing was Emily. She was sitting in her room, writing Jayden a perfect apology.
When Mia briefly stopped, Jayden asked her where the yellow ranger was. Mia quickly told him where to find Emily.
Jayden slowly knocked on the door, he was scared. Not because he would be scolded or anything, but because he had hurt Emily. The young girl felt the most fiercely out of all of them and he was unsure if she was upset or feeling guilty or angry. When Emily didn't open after a few seconds, he slowly turned the handle and let himself in. The state of the room was a mess, which was quite unusual. There were paper balls all over the room, a small notepad was lying on the desk with words scribbled and then crossed out on it. A pen sat beside that little notepad. The owner of the room was sitting near the window, playing a soft tune on the flute. Jayden knew that Emily was upset. She usually played this type of tune when she was upset.
Jayden cleared his throat and Emily looked towards the open door. As soon as Emily saw Jayden, she tackled him in a hug. Once again, Jayden was stiff. He still wasn't used to hugs.
As soon as Emily felt that Jayden didn't melt into the hug, she released him.
With tears forming in her eyes, Emily said, "I'm so sorry for both right now and during training, when I pushed too hard. I just don't learn, do I? I should have given you space…." Emily was speaking at a mile a minute, apologizing for every little thing that came to her mind.
Jayden tried to speak but was cut off by Emily apologizing. So not finding a way, Jayden wrapped Emily in a hug and stroked her back. This shocked Emily and she became quiet.
"It's okay Emily, you weren't at fault. I should have been open to you. I should have answered you when you asked in the morning. You didn't push too hard, you pushed just the right amount. I trust you guys and always will. I have started to care too much to lose you guys," Jayden said.
Emily looked up at Jayden, pulling away from the hug with tears in her eyes and asked "Do you mean it?"
"Every word of it," Jayden said warmly. This was a beautiful start to a friendship.
Hi guys! I hope you enjoy it. I don't have much to say so I'll just say "I hope you guys are doing well."