Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Blow after blow was delivered to the training dummy. In sync, the team trained. It was mid-morning and they had already been at it for four hours. The training is intense, if not a bit excessive, but it'll pay off in the long run.
The dojo door opens suddenly, startling the six rangers. Heads whipping around to face the door, come face to face with Mentor Ji. One glance tells them something is off. His usually stoic face is seen with red rimmed eyes. Clearing his throat, he gives a pained whisper
"Emily..."
With this, Emily's mind races. A feeling of dread washes over her and a rock forms in the pit of her stomach. The others have a similar feeling. All of the rangers know that Mentor's next few words are going to affect them but they aren't aware of just how much this will change their lives.
Mentor clears his throat and, with eyes welled with tears, stares straight ahead. His lips quiver as he searches for the right words. He knows that what he has to share will crush his youngest ranger, Emily, who is a few months shy of 17. "Emily.."
Emily's heart jumped into her throat as he continued.
"I've received word from your parents. Something happened last night. Serena, she went to sleep and this morning they learned that she slipped away. I am truly sorry."
Emily felt her world shatter. The earth quaked as she fell to her knees. Mia, the pink ranger, felt tears sliding down her own face. It pains her, as well as the others, to see tears fall from Emily's hazel eyes and down her porcelain skin. Mike, the green ranger, felt tears stinging his own eyes. He and Emily have spent multiple night in the common room talking about her life on the farm, while drinking hot tea. He knows just how much Serena actually means to her. To Emily, her sister hung the moon. Emily looks up to her big sister and she was her reason for fighting as hard as she does. Kevin, he is a different story. Originally, he didn't want to form bonds. Strictly business, if you will. He believed the only parts to the samurai life were fighting nighlocks and training. He began to realize, though, that even a samurai needs friends and family. Even a samurai needs to have fun or have someone to remind them why they are fighting. He began to grow close to his teammates. His teammates became family. Siblings, with the exception of Mia, are what he gained when he left home to head to the Shiba House. Mia, the exception, is something special. Kevin began dating Mia a few weeks prior to the tragedy that struck the young yellow ranger. Kevin is the blue ranger, always serious but is learning to loosen up. The moment the news came out of mentors mouth, he froze. His mind began to run in circles. Jayden, the ranger in red, seemed to understand and share her pain. When he was young, his father was the red ranger. His father, along with the parents of his team, had rushed off to face and attempt to seal Master Xandred. The managed to seal Xandred temporarily, but the cost was great. His father died in battle, facing the Master of the netherworld. Now, they are fighting the inevitable rise of the zanzu river and the rise of Master Xandred. Jayden understands her pain and wishes that he could take her pain away. His team, along with Mentor Ji, are the only family he has and the only family he will have. It hurt to see them in pain, even emotional pain.
Her face contorted with misery, as she dropped to her knees. Her agonized sobs cutting us to the core. Still, all we could do was watch. We watched as she curled into herself like a turtle hiding from the world. We watched as she retreated into herself, building up impenetrable walls.
It was Antonio who finally sprung into action. Antonio, the ranger in gold, went forward to comfort his friend. Though he hasn't been with the team long, he feels a close bond with all of them. The samurai team is a family, a close one at that. "silencio, dulce emily, it will all be okay. We are all here and we aren't going anywhere."
Her only response was hugging him tight. He stayed there, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words of comfort. An immeasurable amount of time passed before her heart breaking sobs turned to soft whimpers. After what seemed like a lifetime, she stood up. Her face a blank slate. Even her expressive eyes were devoid of emotion. She walked away, through the dojo doors, with her head down. We followed close behind. No one should have to be alone with their thoughts after that.
She was curled up on the common room couch. We all sat around her until early the next morning. We are going to need a plan to get through this. A plan that will get them through this together.