Ninja Storm being mine? Hahahahah…..riiight

Please R2 (Read and Review) and thank you for doing so!

AN: Another weird and wicked muse, that's my excuse.

ANN: The nickname is something that I think sometimes describes Hunter. So it is not official, but it's for my own amusement. Not that I don't love him, it's just that it's true sometimes!

Hunter "Brooding Idiot" Bradley- Graphophobia: Fear of writing

The crimson ranger liked to lead a simple life.

Traveling to exotic places was over rated, he was perfectly happy to be in Blue Bay Harbor.

He enjoyed the simple things in life.

Of course his reality included ranger powers and a very expensive gas powered dirt bike but who cared? In his opinion, those things were the necessities, so his life was simple.

He liked things to be simple.

Bells and whistles were side notes, the last thing on his mind sometimes. So were troubles, he rather ignore them than deal with them. While being a ranger wasn't simple, he was completely fine with the arrangement. He had teammates that he could depend on; it was kind like they had a little family going on. While most might give him a funny look at this statement, it was true; there was no doubt if you knew the team the way he did.

You had the responsible parents, Cam and Tori, who were not a couple but acted like they were punishing children (himself and the others) at times. Then there were the little brothers, Blake and Dustin, who were cool, calm and collected…and in Dustin's case a jokester. And finally you had Shane and himself, who were the big brothers of the group. The ones that fought, teased, all of the above at times; the ones who had the competitive spirit racing through their veins.

That being said, a 'family' picnic was something that fit very well into his simplistic life style; especially one that was at the beach. They had divided what to bring by a simple fact.

Well, it was actually two facts.

Tori could cook.

And they could not.

Although Dustin wasn't too bad in the kitchen, they gave her the pleasure of bringing the sandwiches, potato salad, and apple pie. The green, navy, and yellow rangers had set off to lug off all the stuff to the beach, to find a good spot. That had left himself and Shane to go chip/ drink shopping.

It was a simple task, one of course had blossomed into a full out obstacle course. That had led to them sprinting down the aisles to see who could get the goods faster and checkout. Pushing and shoving had led to them almost getting kicked out of the store. Finally getting out of the store with armfuls of dried potatoes and bubbly liquids, they had arrived to the others' location rather quickly.

Then, as Blake called it sometimes, his 'forgetfulness' kicked in.

"Damn it" Hunter muttered, feeling around in his pocket for the missing object

"What did you lose now bro?" The navy ranger appeared as his search came up empty

"My phone" The older thunder ninja sighed, there was not telling where it was. He would have to backtrack to the store and see the employees glare at him. Maybe he could wear a hat? But the crimson clothes would give him away. Perhaps the others could run interference, Dustin and Blake could duke it out in the parking lot or even better would be Tori accusing them of something…curses would fly, it would be perfect. They might look like rednecks doing it, but it would be hilariously perfect.

"Why are you rubbing you hands together like you have an evil idea?" The blond looked to Dustin, then to his hands. Their previously devious activity stopped imminently.

"Hunter lost his phone" Blake filled them in

"Perhaps it fell out of your pocket when you ran into the cereal boxes" The red ranger suggested with an evil smirk.

"You mean when I was pushed into the boxes of lucky charms" The statement was shot back with a smile on his face

"You ran into them"

"You pushed me"

"Ran"

"Pushed"

"Ran"

"Pushed"

Not about to be beat, his opponent in the verbal competition said "Prove it"

"How about we ask the stock boy that you almost slammed into?" Hunter's grin grew wider as Shane's eyes narrowed at the mention of the event that had happened only minutes ago

"You pushed me into him"

"Just like you didn't push me into the boxes?"

"What's this about pushing?" Their glares broke to see Tori looking not amused at all.

"Nothing" The crimson thunder said smoothly

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion, before putting the picnic basket in the crook of her arm on the checkered blanket.

Everything was going exactly to plan.

While they all enjoyed lunch together, the five boys had schemed to get her fear from her. Curiosity about what scared her was on their minds, they really wanted to know. Dustin's attempt had failed miserably so they had reasoned that bringing her to the beach was a very good idea. The sun and surf was her element, it would calm her; perhaps to the level where they could ask the question that she had avoided answering the last few days.

So when she was relaxed, they would strike.

But before that could happen, he needed to find his phone.

"Why don't you call it, perhaps someone will pick up?" Cam suggested while helping their female member set out the food.

"That's a great idea" He muttered, knowing that a very angry manager would probably toss his cellular device in the trash if he knew it was his. Shane sighed, knowing the situation that the others were unaware of, handing over his phone to the crimson ranger.

He raised an eyebrow at the gesture, usually he would expect the air ninja to laugh at his misfortune, not give him his phone. Knowing himself very well, it was a possibility that he could lose it.

"I thought that it would be best if you used mine, after all, I was the one who pushed you" Shane grinned at the memory of curses flying from a pissed Hunter

"At least you admitted it…" The dirty blond began to dial the number "…sorry about the stock boy thing" Putting the phone to his ear, he did not expect the pain a moment later.

The source of the pain was a smack upside the head that both the crimson and red ranger felt.

"Shit" Hunter groaned rubbing his head

"Owwwww" Shane winced, looking to his attacker

"Why did you do that?" Dustin asked to Tori who was glaring at them

"Why can't you two go shopping without fighting?" The water ranger ignored the question saying the sentence with a tone of irritation

"We weren't fighting" The skateboarder retorted

"They were probably trying to prove their alpha male dominance….again" Cam stated

Both reds rolled their eyes at the comment.

"Hunter…" The elder Bradley looked to his brother "…phone"

Turning his attention back to the device that he had completely forgotten about during the moment, Hunter found that someone had actually answered.

"Hello, is anybody there?" The voice seemed so familiar

"Hi, I lost my phone and I was calling to see if someone would answer it. My name is…" He was cut off

"Hunter Bradley, I know your name all too well"

How the hell did she know that, who was she?

"Do I know you?" Hunter eyed the phone, like he could glare at the person on the other side by doing so.

A chuckle was heard "It's Kelly, the person nice enough to give you a job"

"It's you?" He grinned at his own stupidity; he should have been able to recognize he voice

"Yep, it's me and I have your phone"

A few details later, he knew that she and his phone were at Storm Chargers. It was a great relief, he was only few minutes away and there would be no brawling in the parking lot of a random grocery store. Tossing the phone back to Shane, he informed his friends that he would be right back and not to start without him.

"We won't, just hurry up or someone will eat your piece of pie" He rolled his eyes at Tori's comment before taking off towards his place of current employment.

It was simple.

Get his phone, get back to eat, and then grill the blue ranger about her fear.

A simplistic plan, which worked perfectly for him.

Now he just had to get to Storm Chargers…

And then get back to the beach before Shane ate his pie.

It had been a normal day for her.

It had been a normal day.

Then music had blasted through her shop.

With a taste of my lips you're on a ride

I'm toxic, you're slipping under

With a taste of my poison, paradise

You're addicted to me, cus you know that I'm toxic

[AN: These are not the actual lyrics of 'Toxic' by Britney Spears, I slightly tweaked them to Hunter's personality. I think that he's toxic, who thinks that this could actually be his ringer? I DO! XD]

With the customers looking at her strangely, she had managed to find the source of the slightly amusing and slightly disturbing lyrics.

To prevent the ringtone to sing again, she had opened the phone to hoping to hear a greeting of a stranger. Unfortunately for her, all she had heard was…

"Why can't you two go shopping without fighting?"

"We weren't fighting"

"They were probably trying to prove their alpha male dominance….again"

The voices were familiar; she wondered whose phone this was.

"Hunter…" There was then a pause "…phone"

It was one of her employee's voices, Blake. So was the elder Bradley calling her? And why?

Deciding to initiate the conversation, and get her questions answered, she said "Hello, is anybody there?"

"Hi, I lost my phone and I was calling to see if someone would answer it. My name is…" A slightly deeper voice than Blake's began to ramble through the information; she decided to cut him off

"Hunter Bradley, I know your name all too well" It was true, she knew him all too well. After all he worked for her, they saw each other at the motocross track, hell they saw each other every other day.

"Do I know you?" Kelly rolled her eyes, was he really that dense?

But then again, he thought that he was talking to a random stranger, so it was a definite possibility that he didn't recognize her voice. A chuckle escaped, due to the fact that she was thinking of the mental image that was going through his head. He probably thought that he was talking to a soccer mom or something. "It's Kelly, the person nice enough to give you a job"

"It's you?" His voice relaxed a bit, he was probably smacking himself for not recognizing her voice.

"Yep, it's me and I have your phone"

After giving him the news that she and his precious device were at the same place he worked almost everyday, she manned the counter. With the customers thinning out, she waited.

Like most people, she was not a very patient person.

Waiting…

It was growing old.

Thankfully for her, the mailman decided to show up with the packages that she had been expecting for over a week. After helping him unload the products, she made a mental note to get her three stock boys to do inventory soon. Grabbing his clipboard, she scrawled her name to sign for the delivery, expecting him to be off and for Hunter to come through the door.

Both predictions were wrong.

"I have a package for Blake Bradley to be delivered here" She turned to look at the older man

"I'll sign for it" He was her employee, it would work perfectly fine.

"I need Mr. Bradley to sign for it, it's a very expensive package" She mentally slapped herself.

Blake had mentioned getting a new part for his bike, which must be what the package was. While anyone could sign for the smaller items she had purchased, the large package that she pictured sitting in the truck outside was probably on the top of the guy's 'do not get stolen' list.

"Look, he works here, can't I…" She was, to her irritation, cut off in her sentence

"No, it's a company policy that all packages over a certain weight have to be signed for by the one who ordered it" So it was the bike part…

She was getting frustrated, had it been a younger person who wasn't such a stickler for the rules, this would have never been a problem. What was she going to do?

"Kel!"

And the angels sung as the answer to her problem came through the door.

She could make this work…

"Blake, hi"

…she would make it work.

Phase one of his plan was done.

He had finally made it to Storm Chargers, despite the fact that he had been slowed by the traffic surrounding the beach. Stupid cars hadn't let him, a nice young man, cross the street without trying to run him over. He had of course responded to the act with curses and yelling, which induced glares from the older drivers. They probably thought that he was a juvenile delinquent, which he was not! Well then again…he had destroyed a nice display of food and encouraged a race between himself and Shane, plus he had glared at the employees when they had threatened to throw them out. But he fought crime and kept the city safe, so it all balanced out. At least he hoped so.

"Kel!" He called, seeing the person that he was looking for

"Blake, hi" That stopped him, what the hell? Had Kelly had a lapse in brain function? She knew it was him, he didn't look a thing like Blake; which was one of the reasons that most were surprised to learn that they were brothers.

"Blake Bradley?" A man asked, Hunter realized that he hadn't noticed the guy when coming in. Oops, he thought, another thing that he hadn't seen.

Taking a second to look at Kelly, seeing that she was giving him a 'go with it' glare, he smiled "Yup, that's me"

"I have a package for you" It must be the part that his brother had been rambling about forever, the one that would make his bike 'faster' and 'better'. He had of course retaliated with declaring that no matter how fast his bike was, that he would beat him; cus that was his job as older brother.

"Cool" The word came out smoothly, seeing what Kelly was trying to pull. It was a good plan that he was happy to go along with; helping his brother was something that he tried to do as often as possible.

Expecting a box to land in his arms, the crimson ranger was surprised and shocked to see a clipboard instead.

"Um…" He saw the pen and the line; he twitched at the thought of the past

"Hunter Bradley, please come to my desk"

Swinging his little legs from underneath the desk, he walked with slow steps up to his teacher's looming desk of doom. She didn't smile, on stare blankly at him.

"Yes Miss Apple?" He smirked, she hated being called that. Even at his young age, he was already becoming a sarcasm filled person.

"My name is Miss Appleton" Her eyes slightly narrowed in irritation

Batting his lashes in a innocent way he replied "But it's easier to say that way"

The older woman sighed, before saying "Never mind. Hunter, there was a problem with your test"

What was wrong with it? His eyebrows furrowed, he had studied forever with Dad; he was sure that he had gotten an A. Even his new baby brother had wanted to help, trying to sound out the words with his little kid lisp.

"Did I get something wrong?" His voice was smaller now, had he gotten a lot wrong? His fingers began to tap against his side, something he did only when he was nervous.

Had everything he had tried to do, something he thought to be proud of, been a failure?

The mailman gave him a strange look "I need you to sign for your package"

"Oh, g-gotcha" He stuttered, picking up the pen; his fingers tap the underside of the clipboard.

Tap-Tap.

A two count, he tried to focus on the pattern; to calm himself down.

"No, that's not it…" He let out a sigh of relief, his hard work had paid off; he couldn't wait to tell…

"It's your handwriting" His eyes went wide, he gulped.

He had tried to get better, but it was always a disaster. Hours of practice with his very practice mother and still nothing. Spelling wasn't a problem, but his scrawl always was…

"I couldn't read one of your answers, could you please rewrite it?"

…unreadable.

"Blake?" He heard Kelly call in question

"I'm fine" Managing to smooth out his voice, he tightened his grasp on the pen

Tap-Tap-Tap

A bead of sweat formed, he tried to slow his breaths.

A collective snicker arose in the class of second graders, he turned back to see them grinning; just as he had been. His cheeks flushed, embarrassment built up in him. Clutching the paper that had been given to him, the pencil in hand threatening to break; he tried to focus. He knew the answer, but…

"Chicken scratch" One voice hissed

His eyes going to the floor, he felt worthless.

All the other kids could write beautifully, but the lines he drew were horrible mangled. Why couldn't he twirl the lines into cursive, why was any attempt ending in failure?

Why him?

Knowing that they were watching him, he slowly moved his hand.

Blake….

Taking a deep breath, he reassured himself. You can do this, you can do this, he chanted.

Tap-Tap-Tap

He froze, knowing it wasn't him.

Her foot was tapping in impatience.

"Mr. Bradley, please hurry up"

Another smothered laugh rose up the class, the woman didn't hear it; but he did. It was crystal clear, what they thought of him.

A failure, that's what they knew he was.

Scrawling his last name, he flung the clipboard back at the man before vanishing into the back room. Pulling himself onto the workbench in the back, he hit the back of his head on the wall. Not caring about the package or what the others wanted, he tried to stop the tears.

BRRRRRIIIINNG!

Grabbing his backpack, he dashed out of the room.

Maybe he could forget, put it all behind him…

"Hey chicken scratch, why do you suck so much?" A kid from his class laughed in his ear, his friends joining in. Trying desperately to ignore them, he tried to find his dad's car. He could get in and forget, try to forget…

Then he saw it, the familiar color and style.

Taking off, he ran away from everything.

But it still followed.

"LOSER!"

A single tear ran down his cheek as his stride faltered. Somehow keeping his balance he opened the car door and climbed in. Keeping his head bowed, he hoped that the driver wouldn't notice. He didn't want to deal with that, not now; not ever.

"Wunter?"

"Hunter?"

Looking up, there was Blake. Wiping away the one tear that had escaped his self control, he met his brother's gaze.

"Hey" His voice was hoarse; he hoped that he could get away with…

"The others told me to tell you to hurry…what's wrong?" Little brother is on the case, damn.

"Hey Blake" Two little eyes were looking at him, a small smile on the younger boy's face

"What's woung?" He resisted the urge to chuckle, so young and he already knew that something was wrong.

"Nothing, how are you?" The parent in the front seat raised an eyebrow but said nothing

"Okay!" His little brother squealed, before reaching a small hand out at him

"Good, little brothers should be happy" He smirked, giving the hand a tight squeeze in substitution for the hug that the younger wanted.

"Nothing" The elder Bradley lied as Kelly entered with a box in hand

Giving him a strange look, she handed the part to him "Your bike part just arrived" before exiting the room as quickly as she had come.

"Nice…" The navy ninja smiled, but then frowned "…but how did…"

Waiting for his brother to figure it out, he counted down…

Three, two, and….

"You didn't" The younger thunder ninja sent down the package on the counter

"I did" He replied, his voice coming back just a bit

"You shouldn't…" Blake knew of what had happened, it had been explained to him when he had been older. He cut the navy ranger off.

"What kind of a big brother would I be if I hadn't?" Hunter challenged

"A smart one" He chuckled at the comment

"Well it's done, you have your bike part" Rolling his eyes, he shot back the statement, ignoring the insult

"Let's go, the others are waiting" Hopping off the counter, the past forgotten, he walked out Storm Charger's doors with Blake by his side.

"You didn't have to" Shaking his head, he knew that what had been said was wrong

"Little brothers should be happy, which means that if the part makes you happy then I should get the part" He replied, he knew Blake was rolling his eyes.

About to arrive at the beach he heard his brother say "While being an idiot, you are still the best big brother ever"

"Big brothers swould be wike you" His grin grew a bit bigger

"Why's that?" He asked, the incident fading

"Cus you're the bwest big brother ever!"

With a smile, they arrived to the site of the picnic, the others smiling at their arrival.

"You're late" Dustin said as the crimson male flopped into a beach chair

"Whatever" He retorted

They all were happy, but he did not miss the evil smirk on the air ninja's face. His food being handed to him, he searched for his piece of pie.

The piece that was nonexistent, there wasn't even crumbs.

"Shane…" He growled

"I wrapped your piece up" Tori said, handing him a plate covered with foil

Wanting to enjoy dessert before his meal, he unwrapped hid deliciously baked fruit in a crust. Upon what he saw, he glared.

"Why is there a bite out of it?"

The red ranger shrugged while trying to hide a snicker, which wasn't going so well.

Dropping the container, he stood and Shane took off like a bullet.

Racing after him, he forgot the package; he forgot writing all together.

Writing was something that made his life complicated…

"SHANE!" Hunter bellowed

…and he liked things simple.

Reviews? Please!

Next is Blake, what's with him?

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