Fifteen minutes later…
"What's her address again?" Theo whined. "I can't believe I forgot her address."
"Her house is a blue one, remember?" Theo gave Lily a look, and she returned it. "Just look for 'Lovelli' on the mailbox, alright?"
"Lovelli, Lovelli…" Theo went off ahead of them, his eyes deftly darting around to find what Lily had told him.
"Hey, there's a blue house with little red flowers in the yard. Didn't she mention little red flowers once?" Casey asked.
"You're right." Lily replied, softly touching elbows with him. "Theo! Over here!"
"Lovel-huh? Oh! Coming!" Theo met up with them in front of the blue house. Casey led the group up to the stairs, but suddenly stopped before knocking on the door.
"…Is anybody else getting a really weird vibe right now, or is it just me?" He queried.
"It's just you, so knock already." Theo replied in an annoyed tone.
"What do you mean, Casey?" Lily asked back. "I feel a little odd, too. I mean, I don't know, but I feel a little weird about being here, if that's what you mean. We usually don't just run over to Fran's house on any given day. She may not even be here."
"Well, we'll just leave and go back to the loft. No problem at all." Theo replied, sounding slightly less annoyed. "Alright, so just knock on the door, and-"
"No, I'm just feeling kinda…creeped out. Like something's not right. I think-"
"That's it." Theo knocked on the door and was treated to a scuffling noise from inside, like someone was moving fast away from the door. "Okay, that was weird."
Lily grabbed the door handle and turned it, finding that it was unlocked. "I'm a little worried now, too." Theo added as they walked in.
The house was quiet now; nothing was moving about. "Hello? Fran?" Lily called out.
Suddenly, Fran confidently strode out of a bedroom from the end of the hallway, wearing a long green bathrobe. She gave a smug and mildly irritated look to the trio and rested her arms around her waist. "What're you doing here? Didn't you knock?"
"You didn't hear Theo knock? We're sorry." Lily asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I don't need you guys to be here right now, so go…man the shop or something." She rudely replied.
"Are you sure everything's alright?" Theo asked, sounding unusually concerned. "You sound very…different."
"That's because she's doing a horrible impression of me." A voice from the stairs called out. Fran walked downstairs, eyeing the imposter. "The least you could've done was wear the same color bathrobe as me." Fran commented with a grin, suggesting that she was joking around.
"Well, I don't care what you are wearing, the purpose was to get them out of the house. Now they're just going to stay." The imposter replied, quickly changing back into Camille. The Rangers took to their fighting stances. "See? They're ready to kick my head in already."
"Guys, guys…relax." Fran stood between the Rangers and Camille and held her hands out to stop them. "She's not here to fight us…well, right now she isn't."
"Agreed." Camille then addressed Fran. "I see you caught on quickly. You're finished faster than expected."
"I'm pretty good when it comes to the doctory stuff, with my mom being a doctor and all."
"Whatever." Camille replied coldly. "I want a pot of green tea with a sugar dish. Do you think you can do that?"
Fran nodded. "Does he want anything?"
"Master Dai Shi has found full sensory enjoyment from the black box in the armoire, and requires nothing more. I merely came out to chase the Rangers away, but you've ruined it, as I said, and now I wish to enjoy an open room with a low table and a pot of green tea." Camille's tone dripped with superiority and attempted intimidation. Fran, however, was too tired to feel scared anymore.
Casey followed Fran into the kitchen while Lily and Theo kept their eyes on Camille, who had taken to pacing next to the coffee table in the living room.
"Fran, what the hell is going on here?" Casey whispered angrily into her ear as she scrambled around the kitchen looking for the tea set.
Fran stopped, and gave Casey a scared look. "Listen, I can't talk right now, okay?"
Casey grabbed her wrist as she tried to push him away. "Why is she here? Why are they there? I'm not letting you go until you tell me."
Fran turned red and looked down. "They were going to let RJ die if I didn't give in. I wasn't gonna let him die…" She started to cry. "I've had enough…" She started to fall and Casey sat her down at the small kitchen table.
"I'll get Camille her tea, then I'm gonna come back and you can talk to me and let it all out, okay?"
Fran worried; did RJ really want her talking to them about the whole situation. Wouldn't he have told her to go to the loft if he didn't mind letting them know, or was it his pride? She couldn't answer that question fully, but she respected what she thought to be true.
"I don't wanna talk. I just want to be alone."
"Alright. I understand." Casey replied as he began boiling the water in the teapot.
Fran walked upstairs and sat down at her desk chair, letting herself cry and she removed her glasses and set them aside. "I can't do this anymore…" She muttered through sobs as she laid her head down on her arms in front of her. For almost a minute, all she could hear were the cries of release emanating out of her, and she quickly felt better about everything.
"Hey…" RJ's weak voice called out to her from the bed. She wiped her eyes and looked over at him. Already, the toxin was retreating from his face and arms, leaving not a trace of malice behind in its wake. RJ sat up slowly, still clinging to the pillow he had been attached to while he was resting, looking well-rested yet still distant like before.
"I don't want to talk." Fran replied, sniffling. "I tossed your pants in the dryer, and they'll be dry soon. I'll go get them when they're done."
"No, you should rest. You look really tired." He replied, patting the side of the bed next to him. She gave him a look. "Don't worry, I won't bite. Besides, it's your bed."
Fran thought it over, then sighed. "Sure…" She sauntered over to the bed and laid down on top of the comforter.
"See? Don't you feel better already?" RJ replied, lying the pillow in his arms under her head. "Now, I'm going to just lie here and rest, and you go to sleep." He smiled warmly as he lied back on the bed and got comfortable. He sighed contently and rolled onto his side, his arm resting across Fran's stomach. Fran felt a moment of awkwardness and tried to push his arm off, but it stiffened up and refused to budge under her push.
She sighed and got as comfortable as she could. "Am I bothering you?" RJ muttered sleepily.
"No…I'm just not used to being used as an armrest." She nervously replied.
"Oh. Well, it's either I latch onto a pillow, or I latch onto you. Force of habit."
"Well, if that's how it goes…" Fran grinned and laid her arms over his.
Downstairs, Casey brought in Camille's tea while Lily and Theo stood over her, waiting for her to answer them.
"Listen, I don't quite understand why Dai Shi is saving your bumbling boss's life. I know that he used to collaborate with Dai Shi's host many years ago, and that he is doing this out of respect. I don't understand quite why he's chosen to do so, but I suppose that it's out of…respect of this old collaboration."
"I am doing this out of respect for my old master. Nothing more." Dai Shi called out as he walked into the room. Camille got up and bowed to him.
"RJ was your master?" Lily asked, sounding shocked.
"The best master in the Pai Zhuq order. It's a shame that many others did not feel that way." Dai Shi replied.
"What a small world, huh?" Casey said with a hint of venom in his tone.
"Indeed." Dai Shi replied. "Now, I have extended a temporary olive branch in his honor. Don't force me to take it back."
"Well, in honor of this…temporary peace…how about I make everyone something to eat?" Lily offered.
"No!" Casey and Theo shouted, looking scared. She looked at them, making them nervous. "We should just order out instead of cooking. What would Fran say if we just randomly started yanking foods out of cabinets?" Casey tried to rationalize.
"…You've got a point." Lily nodded. She then turned to Camille and Dai Shi. "Do you two like Chinese take out? We passed a shop about five blocks down."
"Well, I've always been a little partial to the orange chicken." Camille replied. "Master?"
"As long as it's warm and not smothered in shrimp…"
"Alright, everybody chip in, and I'll go get the food." Lily smiled.
The rest of the night was relatively silent. Fran and RJ stayed upstairs, lost in a deep and well-earned sleep, while the Rangers, Dai Shi, and Camille conversed about the situation at hand. The Rangers felt slightly betrayed that their leader would hide such a dark and dangerous secret from them, and they tried to make sense of it. This RJ that Dai Shi told them about was nothing like the RJ they knew, but then again, even the RJ they knew hadn't been himself lately. Casting their doubts aside, they begrudgingly held themselves back, for RJ's sake.
Dai Shi and Camille took up residence in the master bedroom, and the Rangers found sleeping spots around the living room. Dai Shi found himself sleeping very little during the night, and he sleepily wandered around the house after a short sunrise meditation.
The Rangers and Camille were suddenly woken up by the sound of yelling and a large crash. The trio watched as RJ crouched on top of Dai Shi at the bottom of the staircase, his hands tightly laced around the evil overlord's throat.
"Get out! Get out of him!" RJ shouted loudly, shaking Dai Shi violently by the throat as his body became enveloped by a faint purple flame. Dai Shi desperately tried to peel RJ's hands away, but failed.
Camille ran up, her eyes widened. "Get off of him!" After he didn't respond, she took an offensive pose. The Rangers ran up to defend their master, but Camille shooed them away. The flames began to burn brighter around RJ, searing Dai Shi and scaring Camille slightly. She then bravely began a quick strike, hitting him in the neck, left shoulder, and lower back in rapid succession with the heels of her hand.
RJ's eyes widened in pain and he let go of Dai Shi's neck, allowing him a chance to breathe and to push RJ off of him. RJ writhed around the floor in pain, and the Rangers ran to his side as Camille helped Dai Shi off the floor.
"Forgive me, Dai Shi." She bowed in a humbling manner. "I couldn't think of a better option."
"No…your method was necessary this time." Dai Shi reassured her. He softly sat his hand on her shoulder for moral support as he caught his breath, then left for the master bedroom.
"RJ! Are you okay?" Lily asked him, grabbing his hand.
"Here, let's try to get him off his back." Theo commented, softly supporting RJ's neck. "Ready?" Casey grabbed RJ's other hand, and the trio sat him up.
RJ looked at the three of them and winced. He brushed them off roughly, knocking them back. "I'm disappointed in you three. I'm not surprised that my attendant couldn't fight them off, but you three? My own students? You can't even pick off that one?" He scolded, pointing at Camille.
"They're not fighting us!" The trio shouted, stunning the bathrobed master.
"What?"
"They're here to make sure you didn't die yesterday." Lily replied.
"They called a truce until you got healed up." Theo added.
"Looks like we'll be kicking them to the curb by lunch time, huh?" Casey joked.
"Not really…" RJ replied. His hands clenched into fists as he looked over at Camille. She gave him a wary look back, and flinched as he shot up. He winced a little out of pain, then sauntered down to the laundry room.
RJ walked up several minutes later in his own jeans and a loose dress shirt which obviously wasn't his. He walked into the living room and stopped in front of Camille, Casey, Theo, and Lily, who were watching a talk show on TV. They all looked up at him, giving him an array of emotions, ranging from Camille's worried stare and Casey's slightly scared look to Lily's concerned head tilt and Theo's attentive gaze.
RJ attempted to give a cool and confident gaze to mask his pain and anger, and it contorted his face into a wide smile. "I have decided to make breakfast. Everyone to the table. Now." His smile then dropped, and a more serious and focused look claimed his visage as he marched out into the kitchen.
The quartet walked out to the wide open space occupied by both the kitchen and the dining room to find Dai Shi walking in at the same time as them. Casey looked over at RJ and caught his attention. "Is it alright if I go train before breakfast?"
"That should be fine. In fact, I encourage it. Back yard's big enough, I think…" RJ looked out one of the windows and smiled softly. "Yeah, that's a good size, and it's fenced in. Don't break anything."
Casey smiled back and walked outside, making no eye contact with Dai Shi as he passed him by.
"So," RJ began rifling through fruit bowls and cabinets, collecting things as he went. "how do banana pancakes sound to everyone?"
Not a squeak of objection came from the four remaining people, and RJ took it as a unanimous 'sure'. He turned on the radio and began mixing up the batter to the beat of the song playing.
Dai Shi took the seat closest to where he stopped walking, which happened to be the short end of the table sitting in front of the windows. Camille immediately took the seat to his left, and Lily took the seat across from Camille. Theo then reacted by taking the seat next to Lily, and then four then all sat down.
"So…is this your morning routine still?" Dai Shi asked RJ as RJ took a skillet down from the hanging pan holder. He didn't get a response, which caused Dai Shi to look over at Camille in a strange manner.
"Do you want me to get him to talk? I don't think I'll do much better…" She softly replied to him.
"Hey RJ, it's really nice for you to be making us all breakfast like this." Lily chirped up, hoping to help Dai Shi and Camille out.
"It's only preoccupying me and delaying the inevitable." RJ replied in a monotone.
Lily elbowed Theo, who quickly began ad-libbing as well. "Well, I mean, you usually don't go all out with pancakes. I haven't had pancakes that weren't frozen in forever."
"Don't get used to it. The longer my hands are too busy to do anything else, the better." He poured the batter down for the first pancake and grabbed a pair of chopsticks to work with. "This one craves banana pancakes, and the recipe hasn't been used in ages. If I forget it, then my secret recipe's lost. Even little things shouldn't be left to be lost." He flipped the pancake over and began humming along softly to the music on the radio.
Dai Shi softly laughed. "You slip too much in your speech. I'm surprised you managed to emulate your host so well for so long."
RJ stopped humming and looked up, grinning madly.
"I've only seen a wolf grin before a kill."
RJ's grin swiftly dropped. "I could give you one if you want." He then went back to cooking.
Fran walked down into the dining room in a pair of lounge pants, slippers, and a teeshirt, rubbing her eyes as she slowly woke up. She took the seat next to Camille as RJ looked up. "Other seat." He muttered, and Fran did so in a confused manner.
Dai Shi looked around the table and smiled. "You always had a penchant for silent order with seating arrangements."
"Shut up." RJ demanded, surprising the quintet. "You are not my student, so stop using him to speak with me."
"Dai Shi himself may not be acquaintances with you, but-"
"You keep out of this, chameleon. I didn't ask for your advice." Camille was taken aback by his comment. "So go make yourself useful and blend into a wall or something."
"C'mon, RJ! She's just trying to be nice!" Lily insisted.
RJ fell silent but still looked visibly enraged as he continued cooking, and both Fran and Lily jumped up. "We'll make breakfast for you!" Fran commented.
"You can go relax and wait for breakfast." Lily added.
"You can even go meditate!"
"Yeah! See? We'll take over." The two began to walk over, but met his deathly gaze and stopped.
"I'm fine. Go sit down." His voice wavered, sounding almost like his normal tone. The two quickly scurried back to their chairs, lest they lose this sudden flash of their RJ to the unpleasant one that had replaced him.
"He's got you all on leashes, like a good leader should. Good to see some things never change."
"I only kept Jarrod on a leash because I knew he was more ruthless than I was." RJ replied as he finished making the second pancake. He was moving faster now that a more upbeat song was playing. "I have to say, that's quite the accomplishment."
"Does that make him better than you?"
RJ winced and thought before responding. "It doesn't make him any better or any worse in the long run, it just means that he'll do whatever he can to succeed. One of my more ass backwards lessons, I can attest. Look how far it got me." He hung his head low as he finished off the third pancake. "About halfway done." He commented. "Someone get Casey."
Theo got up and stuck his head out the nearest window, where he spotted Casey meditating in the middle of the back yard. "Casey! Breakfast's almost ready!"
"Not hungry." Casey replied. "Give my food to Fran or whoever else wants it."
"Alright, if you say so." Theo replied, somewhat understanding the tiger's motives.
Theo poked his head back in and closed the window. "He says he's not that hungry."
RJ's gave a grin. "Well then, no loss."
RJ finished making the pancakes, then organized them on plates with a hunk of butter and a soft drizzle of maple syrup on each before setting them on the table. He took his seat between Camille and Fran and dug into his pancake.
Camille looked over at RJ, trying to look under his shirt. RJ noticed and looked back at her. "What?"
"Your…" She slowly reached up towards her own left shoulder, and RJ understood. He pulled his collar back, revealing that the toxin had yet to retreat from the side of his neck and his shoulder. Camille gasped, and the Rangers were physically taken aback by the sight. "How are you still moving your arm?"
"Lots of force." He replied, covering it back up.
"What is that?" Theo asked.
"Paralysis toxin. Not a big deal." RJ replied.
"Yes it is!" Lily protested.
"Well, it's not doing what it should be doing, now is it?" RJ smirked. "Besides, the anti-toxin is working like a charm. I should be fine with that by tomorrow. Now, these stab wounds…" He laughed softly.
"You should really be in bed, resting." Lily advised. "I mean, I know you're not going to listen to just me-"
"Or just me." Fran added.
"Well, you need to lie down and heal, RJ." Lily sighed and took a bite of her pancake. "As your student, I'm concerned for my master's well-being."
RJ smiled. "Your concern is well-noted, young cheetah. In fact, everyone's concern is well-noted. But I will endure and recover."
"The 'Iron Wolf' is not one for resting." Dai Shi joked.
"No, I'm not." RJ replied.
"It's good to see everyone's in a fairly good mood." Fran replied. "Well, given our circumstances."
"If I've learned anything in the last seven years, it's that if something can't be helped, you should just go with it instead of fighting it every step of the way." He finished off his pancake and stood up. "Sometimes, practicing what you preach takes a while. Now, excuse me." He grabbed his plate and put it in the sink before walking outside.
RJ looked on as Casey practiced with his nunchucks. After a few minutes, Casey noticed his audience and stopped. "Hey, RJ." He called out, walking over to him. RJ began approaching him as well, walking out genially as if to pat him on the shoulder. Dai Shi turned around in his chair and grinned, drawing attention to himself.
"You've been training well out here," RJ smiled widely. "but I think you're missing something."
"I am?" Casey asked, getting close to RJ. Without warning, RJ swung around behind Casey and planted his left foot against the side of Casey's left foot. By the time Casey finally realized that RJ was behind him, RJ smacked him in the middle of his back and sent him flying forwards, then followed up by spinning around on the ball of his left foot and smacking Casey with his left forearm, now sending Casey stumbling back.
The Rangers and Fran saw the event happening and leapt from their chairs, but Dai Shi and Camille kept them inside.
RJ shifted his weight to his right foot and stuck his left foot out a bit, tripping Casey up and sending him falling backwards. Casey hardly even had time to flinch as RJ then shifted his weight back to his left foot and began to kneel, his left palm aiming directly for Casey's face. Casey winced and prepared for impact, but it never came. He opened one eye cautiously and could practically read the lines on RJ's palm, which sat a mere inch above his face.
"You're missing breakfast." RJ replied, grinning madly. "Maybe you shouldn't miss it; it's a pretty important meal, ya know."
Dai Shi grinned. "I was anticipating that." He looked at the floor. "He was never one to tolerate anyone skipping out on a meal."
The Rangers and Fran looked at RJ in awe as he walked in with a slight limp on his right side. "Spun a little too fast…gonna go relax." He replied, setting his hand over his hip wound. Camille got up as Dai Shi gave her a look and she helped the limping master to the living room couch while Lily, Fran, and Theo ran out to help Casey.
Camille sat him down on the couch, and he gave her a look. "Recliner."
"Huh?" He nodded his head over towards the reclining chair, and she got his point. She helped him over to the reclining chair, and he popped it into a reclining mode and lied back, closing his eyes.
"Go get me an icepack for my hip." He ordered. Camille winced and walked into the kitchen. She looked around the kitchen and saw Casey sitting in a dining room chair, nearly buried in ice packs as he groaned.
"How pathetic." Camille commented. "Do you have any of those to spare?"
Casey offered one of the ones on his head, and Camille cautiously took the sweat-covered pack and wiped it off on her loincloth before presenting it begrudgingly to RJ moments later.
"Would it kill you to give a little service with a smile?" RJ asked as he positioned the icepack over his injured hip.
"For you? Yes." Camille snarked.
The ranger trio and Fran walked out slowly, lying Casey on the couch, while Camille and Dai Shi sat on the sides of the recliner. RJ looked at both of them in a wondering manner. "And you two are next to me…why?"
"We refuse to be around them when we don't have to be." Camille replied.
"We're not here to ensure their well-being." Dai Shi added.
"I appreciate your…need to ensure my well-being, but I'm recovering just fine. Just need to lie down and focus my energy." He lied back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath as a faint violet flame crawled across his body. The flame flickered out at Dai Shi and Camille, which made them lean away from him. "Wake me up for dinner." RJ muttered.
Once everyone settled in, Lily approached Dai Shi slowly. "…Hi."
"What do you want?" Camille snipped.
Lily stood in front of the chair. "Well I…I know that you two are here because of something that involved Jarrod in the academy, so I wanted to try and…talk to you Dai Shi, like him and I once did when we were students together. Do you think we could for a few minutes?"
"I see. I have a few minutes to spare. Come." Dai Shi stood up, and Lily followed him out into the yard.
"Make it quick." He spat out as he closed the door behind them once they reached the back yard.
"Well first off, I miss us all being like this."
Dai Shi laughed. "What? Being neutral with each other? I don't miss it at all."
"Can't say I'm not surprised." Lily huffed.
Dai Shi exhaled forcefully. "Is that all you want to talk about, because I don't want to listen to you prattle on about meaningless things like that."
"No. I also had a question about something you said earlier over breakfast."
"Don't take long."
"You called RJ…the 'Iron Wolf'. What does that mean?"
Dai Shi grinned and tried not to laugh. "You've never heard of the 'Iron Wolf' before?" He looked away. "They apparently erased him from the collective memories of everyone when he was deposed…" Dai Shi sighed. "My master's moniker was the 'Iron Wolf' when he was there. It was given to him, he had told me, by his fellow students while he ascended ranks with them."
"Right. Every student with a strong animal spirit gets one, like you and I. But why 'Iron Wolf'? It's a very…unique moniker. Typically we just get named after our animal spirit and its aura color."
"He told me it was because his will to succeed was as strong as iron, and that through his hard work and constant training, his attacks became so strong that people likened them to being struck with a wrought iron rod. Iron body, iron will, iron wolf. Make sense?"
"It does." Lily nodded. "It's a shame, though…to have to forget someone like that. To erase them."
"Soon no one will remember the Black Lion either." Dai Shi replied. Lily gave a sad look. "Why does that bother you?"
"Because…good or bad, nobody deserves to be forgotten." Lily replied.
"Hmph…" Dai Shi looked up at the sky in boredom. "Are you done yet?"
"I guess."
"Then I shall see you inside. I wish to spar with you and the blue one later."
"Right." Lily walked in feeling incredibly uncomfortable, and Dai Shi did little more than return to his spot beside the recliner.
Several hours later…
"RJ, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Casey asked from the kitchen table as RJ continued making dinner.
"Listen, if you're not feeling so clean, perhaps you should be more careful with who you're with. I don't need to hear the details."
Casey blushed. "That's not what I was going to ask…but I'll keep that in mind."
RJ grinned at his successful attempt to make Casey squirm. "What is it?"
"Well…I wanted to ask about you and Jarrod…"
"Oh. Well, it's not what you think. We were friends because we were kindred spirits, but it's not anything odd; I mean, I was his teacher way back when, and he was a very studious…student."
"…Okay…" Casey gave a perturbed look to the table as he continued going over shift schedules for the group.
Meanwhile, Camille snuck up to Fran's room to find the usually energetic young woman bent over a notebook and calculator, surrounded by perfectly tri-folded papers. She softly walked up to see that they were bills, and obviously not her own.
"What do you need, Camille? I'd help but I'm busy." Fran replied without looking up. She punched in a few numbers as Camille dropped out of camouflage.
"You've got one hell of a sixth sense if you knew I was here." Camille commented.
"No, you just didn't bother to avoid stepping on the creaky steps on the way up." Fran replied. "So, what do you want? Is RJ done making dinner?"
"No, I merely came up here to meditate."
"In here? Why?"
"There's a calming atmosphere in here. I find it very useful in meditating."
"Well then, don't let me stop you from meditating. Meditate away."
Camille sat up against the bed and camouflaged herself while meditating, but after a few minutes of Fran continuing to do her paperwork with all the tapping and scraping, Camille dropped out of camouflage and flashed her a dirty look. "Need you be so noisy?"
"It has to be done before the end of the month, so I'm going a little fast. Sorry."
Camille scowled and grabbed one of the papers, looking it over. "I don't suppose that you're Randall Finn?" Camille joked.
"I'm book keeping for JKP. I gotta do a lot to earn my boost in pay, and I just happen to be good with numbers. I make sure all the shop's money is all in order…but I find myself buying more and more red pens every week." Fran sighed.
Camille smiled. "So you're his retainer in every sense of the word…you're very loyal to him, I see."
"Well, he's my boss. Why wouldn't I be? I mean, if you can't trust your employees to stand behind you, even in these sorts of situations, then who can you trust? Well, I mean, besides your friends. Your friends always stand behind you in these…sorts…of situations, and that's why I'm here for RJ too. He's my friend as much as he's my boss."
Camille laughed briefly. "Does he know of your sentiment?"
"What do you mean?"
"Does he know that you consider him to be your…friend?"
"Of course. He's told me that he thinks the same of me too. I wouldn't consider him a friend if I knew he didn't at least seem to feel that way towards me." Fran gave her a look. "That's an odd question for you to ask."
Camille looked away. The pang of jealousy burned in her chest again. What was this little human doing that she wasn't? Complete loyalty, more than partial trust in her competence…she had the same things, but why, why did this human have a closer bond to their leader than she did to her own?
"How do you get his…approval of this rather uncouth union?"
"Union? Do you think we're…oh geeze, you too?" Fran laughed. "Please…" She rolled her eyes, then looked away while he face turned a soft shade of red. "If you're not going to meditate in here, could you please leave?"
Camille got up and put the bill back down, then walked towards the door. She turned around and looked back, quickly looking her up and down then giving her a commanding look. "You know…Fran, is it? If you ever find these Rangers to be too much, I could put in a good word for you with Dai Shi. You're very useful."
"Don't hold your breath." Fran replied, looking down. Camille walked out and sighed. She had hoped that she found a moment to kick the chair out from underneath the Rangers' leader, but alas. Now Fran probably thought she actually valued her. Just a minor setback, she supposed.
Back in the kitchen, Dai Shi strode in and immediately looked over RJ's shoulder to inspect the cooking. "What is that?"
"It's what you're eating." RJ stiffly replied.
"Since when did you become my father?"
"Since you became my student. I never formally got rid of you, remember?" Dai Shi huffed and walked towards the dining room table. "If you must know, it's lamb stew." Dai Shi's eyes seemed to light up, but then he spotted Camille.
"Please teach Camille how to make it. She's dreadful at it." Dai Shi formally asked RJ.
"Teach the chameleon? I don't take reptiles on as students." RJ replied.
"Well, I don't want to be your student, either." Camille sarcastically shot back.
RJ grinned. "Well, in that case…after dinner, we're going to have a little sparring match. Me and you, no holds barred. I don't care how hard you hit me, and I will certainly not hold back. If you win, I'll take you as my student."
Casey stood up. "You're going to make yourself worse!"
"That's not for you to worry about, cub." RJ snipped at him. "I will fight when I want."
"Who's fighting?" Lily asked as she walked into the dining room. Her question fell on deaf ears.
"Well, I anticipate a good match from you. Hopefully I didn't put too many holes in you to stop you from giving me a good fight." Camille laughed.
"It doesn't matter. I'll give you a good fight if it kills me." Lily and Casey flashed him looks of horror. "…What?" He looked at them both, and a racing doubt shook him and was left burning inside of him. If his students were terrified of his own decision, was it really the right one? Why was he even second-guessing himself, anyways? Was it really him who was doing it, or rather the thoughts of a suppressed conscience…? A migraine quickly emanated from his rather manic train of thought, and he winced. "You, cub, get me some aspirin." He ordered Casey as he softly reached up and rubbed his temples in an attempt to soften the tension. He had been trying to will away the physical pain, but this was the first time it had failed him thus far. Something was terribly wrong, but he refused to back down from anything.
Casey looked at him strangely. "I thought you hat-"
"Don't. Question me. Just. Get me. The aspirin." He gruffly spat out. Casey jumped from his chair, fearing another beat down, and made his way to the bathroom.
"Having…troubles with your host?" Dai Shi asked, grinning with glee. "I could teach you a few tricks for dealing with such nuisances."
"My will is the only thing I need. I will away anything unneeded; sleep, food, poison, extraneous thoughts…it's a shame I can't entirely be like that. New age hippie prattle is meaningless, and I wish I could make this one be more straightforward with things, but I've been weakened by time and that leash from that blind menace…"
"Master Swoop?" Lily asked as Theo walked in. She could've sworn that RJ's response to her was a growl.
"Dinner smells great." Theo replied, walking in cheerfully.
"Outta my way!" Casey shouted at Theo as he ran in with the Excedrin and the Advil, setting them both in front of RJ. He took the green bottle and downed a pill swiftly without water. Theo stared at him in awe. "How'd you…"
"You're not RJ at all, are you?" Lily asked, sounding scared. RJ grinned widely. "You're the 'Iron Wolf', aren't you? You're his animal spirit, using him like a giant puppet while he's helpless to resist you."
"What a wise little cheetah you are! No, I am not RJ. RJ is too weak to be doing things himself, so I am carrying him along. If you don't like it, go away for a few days." He stirred the stew a bit, then looked over at her.
"You think I'm a horrible monster, don't you? You make me out to be one, at least." He gave a short, pained laugh as he looked down. "I may be strict, and I may be brutal, but I certainly don't do it because I'm a monster. I do it because you're my pack, and I would have nobody to blame but myself if the cubs that were sent to me were hurt because I didn't teach them proper tactics."
"You beat on Casey for skipping out on breakfast!" Theo countered.
"Well, he won't do it again, will he?" RJ replied. "Breakfast is the first meal of one's day, and what one has or doesn't have affects them greatly throughout the day." RJ grabbed the pepper mill and seasoned the stew. "That reminds me. Dai Shi, on behalf of RJ, I accept your challenge to the fight taking effect immediately after I fully recover." He grinned widely.
"Your little human friend assured me that a pacifist like yourself would surely disagree with that." He grinned, letting RJ in on the joke.
RJ's right hand clamped against the stove's side as he looked down, apparently not in the mood for joking. "I've been waiting seven years to fight you, Dai Shi. I've been waiting to pay you back for everything, even if it was my fault. I've been waiting for my chance to tear you to pieces so I can redeem my losses I suffered trying to kill you before. I want nothing more than to destroy you…"
"Even if you had to kill Jarrod?"
RJ's breathing sped up a bit as he went to answer. Again, the burning pain in his chest. His conscience couldn't get in his way here! It was starting to annoy him now. He forced it back up against the wall before the pain he was suppressing came to cripple him. "Jarrod would understand that it was for the best. He'd willingly give himself up to save us; that's just the person he's always been. We would do that all the time for each other, no matter how much of a rivalry we had at the moment. I'd be a hypocrite, and so would he, if we didn't both do everything we could to destroy such a vile thing like you."
"So eloquent. I never thought you spoke in such a…flowery manner."
"I blame my host, I really do. But it sounds rather intelligent, even if neither of us are really Rhodes scholars." RJ laughed softly. "Now, are you all hungry or not? Dinner's ready."
"I'll go get Fran…" Lily said, abruptly shooting up from her seat, visibly perturbed by what she was witnessing.
The dinner seemed to go by fast, as everyone seemed excited by what was to happen, with the exception of Fran, who had no clue. Lily, Theo, and Dai Shi finished quickly, then went out to spar while Camille and RJ sat the entire time silently and slowly, making sure to properly digest their meals.
"This's actually decent." Camille finally broke the ice.
"I haven't used this recipe since I was a master at the academy. Lamb's surprisingly expensive here in Ocean Bluff, so I've been trying to not use it on purpose."
"Lamb's expensive here?" Casey asked as he migrated over to the table, sitting next to Fran. "I wonder why."
"I've seen places around here where the sheep outnumber the people while out on scouting missions. I wonder why they're so expensive as well."
"Well, there's a huge demand for it in our sister town of San Angeles, so the farmers have driven the price up to make big profits. That, and the feed that the farmers have been using lately is kind've expensive to make and/or import from New Zealand." The three of them looked at Fran, making her turn red in embarrassment. "It was on the news last week. The prices are starting to drop now that all the people from San Angeles who've moved here in the last year have started demanding it."
"Maybe I'll get to make this more often, then." RJ happily beamed.
"Sweet." Casey replied.
"So the little tiger likes my food…how encouraging." RJ smiled softly. "I'll keep that in mind. Maybe he should use the quality of my meals as a motivator to not miss any of them." He gave a look suggesting that he was merely yanking Casey's chain, which made the tiger cub grin.
Shortly after dinner, RJ and Camille were in the back yard, warming up. "You ready, Camille?" RJ asked politely as he cracked his neck, much to Fran's dismay.
"Ready whenever you are." Camille replied, getting into a defensive stance.
Before she was completely prepared, RJ leapt into action, arm outstretched as he swung a rough right hook at her. She saw through his move and once he was close enough, she reached out and seized his wrist and forearm and, using his momentum against him, turned and flung him halfway across the yard.
She brushed her hands off, then walked over to him as he struggled to get back up. She stood over him and prepared to drop her heel down on his spine, but he sensed her presence and rolled away just as she stamped down. He quickly sprang up to his feet and seized her right arm tightly while giving a little tug, pulling her off her feet. He then spun the two of them around twice before letting go and sending her flying towards the fence.
RJ waited for her to hit the ground before he began to run out towards her, as she got up, he approached her and pinned her against the back fence while putting her in a headlock. He then began slamming his knee into her side to weaken her. She let out little whimpers before finally getting tired of the abuse and shot her tongue out and wrapped it around his throat. He let go of her head and proceeded to pull the vicegripped muscle away from him, which was exactly what she wanted.
She used her tongue like a high-tension wire, she lifted him off his feet and flung him into the air, letting go of him as soon as he was nearly thirty feet off the ground and letting him spiral into the air before landing face-down on the field.
After a long second, RJ got to his feet and lunged at her, preparing a rough and reinforced elbow to the temple. Once he came within range, his body suddenly froze mid-strike. His eyes widened as he realized the sudden stop, and he began to force his body to move, only to find that he couldn't move a centimeter. Several more attempts to charge finished the same way, and Camille lost her patience and knocked him back on his rear.
RJ got to his feet and stared at his hands. "This's the worst possible time to decide to be a forceful pacifist…" He softly scolded as Camille summoned her sais and charged. "Please move…" He softly begged his legs, which were as inflexible as steel to his will. "Stop trying to exert yourself…"
She spun her sai and thrusted. "She's going to kill you!" The Iron Wolf had finally lost his patience and screamed at his uncooperative host's body. Suddenly, a jolt shot through him in response, giving him the chance to move his arms that he took full advantage of.
He seized Camille's wrist with the knife of his hand and pinched the nerve connected to her thumb, instantly making her drop her sai as her entire hand went limp. He then swiftly pushed her arm upwards, and an audible snap rang through the air.
Even Dai Shi looked affected by Camille's scream of agony as RJ let go of her now broken wrist. She looked at him in fear as she took steps back and cradled both her wrist and hand with her other arm. The violet flames began manifesting across RJ's body once more, and it triggered a strange instinct within Lily. She stood up from her place on the lawn as RJ began to move towards Camille, and the boys followed suit, not knowing whether to help her or stop her.
Lily sprinted across the lawn as RJ sped up to once again attempt to bash Camille's temple with his elbow. Lily leapt into the air and wrapped her arms around his neck, taking him slightly off balance. Following suit, Theo dove at the ground at RJ's feet and grabbed RJ's ankles, and Casey dove for RJ's mid-section, knocking their master forwards and down to the ground.
"Please. Please stop. You've beaten her." The flames self-extinguished as RJ's body locked up to Lily's plea. He wanted to scream and kick them away, but he couldn't even grip the blades of grass between his fingers. A sense of guilt filled the usually guiltless spirit, and suddenly he realized the exact nature of his problems. He sighed deeply and reconciled, then managed to muster up the will to slam his hand against the ground twice in rapid succession.
"I forfeit." He squeaked out.
The trio slowly got up and helped RJ to his feet as his body finally relaxed. "Brave cheetah, show the equally brave chameleon a little gratitude, and wrap up her wrist. You two…well, help her, I guess." He softly ordered before limping back to the house, feeling a massive hole in his ego.
Casey and Theo walked out to the living room as Lily and Fran tended to Camille, with Dai Shi standing close watch to ensure that they properly treated her. They found RJ sitting in front of the sliding glass doors, his pair of necklaces sitting in front of him.
"You know," RJ began to say before they had a chance to begin their own speech. He picked up the necklace with the ring looped in it and continued. "this charm necklace here was a gift from Master Swoop via Master Mao…it was a sort of parting gift at the time, something he thought would help RJ out with dealing with me. It's a focusing charm, and it helps focus his energies to suppress me, to keep events like this from happening. To keep me from taking over and doing what I want with his body." He smiled and set it down. "I don't think he needs it anymore."
"We never knew that." Casey replied. "Why didn't you…or RJ…just tell us?"
"Living a life of self-reliance means you never ask for help and you never accept it. Also stubbornness, and a bit of pride. Not much of that, though. I'm the one with all the self-pride now, and even I'm not feeling it anymore after that fight." He sighed. "He should be proud of himself, though. He's accomplished something not even his dear Master Swoop believed was possible; he crushed me on my own turf, he locked me out of control completely, even if it was temporary. I'm sure even his father would be proud of him. Ha, that'd be the day…" He looked down, turning red. "That's my fault, too. I've done a lot to make his life difficult by always exerting my will upon him…that's why he's in this mess today. I guess…I guess maybe today is the day I realize that he doesn't need me to push him anymore."
Casey and Theo sat down as Lily and Fran walked in. "It's a bittersweet feeling…I'm so proud to know that he's become so strong and yet, I know it's probably the last time I'll be able to do this sort of thing. I guess it's for the best; I'm not exactly domesticated, and he's managed to figure it out a bit on his own." RJ sighed deeply, then smiled. "I know that he'll protect you all on his own just fine now, and that's all that matters to me."
"Hey um…I have a question." Fran asked, raising her hand softly.
"Yes?"
"If RJ's so strong…then how come you managed to beat him in the first place?"
He smiled. "The question, I suppose, is less 'how' and more 'why'. I think he secretly wants to help you cubs out, but don't tell anyone…well, mostly him." He looked back and smiled. "Maybe he feels a little useless and slipped a little on purpose. Maybe he felt a little sympathy for me deep down inside, because he knew that I only wanted to help. Maybe he was bored and wanted something to do. Only he knows. But he's been letting me slip out slightly for weeks, and then he just suddenly lets his guard down completely? I can't help but feel that it's on purpose." The group nodded in understanding.
"So, are we still going to fight when your host is well?" Dai Shi asked as he walked in with Camille.
"Of course, but keep her off the recliner. That's mine." He stood up with the necklaces in hand and sat down in the recliner. "Now, one last thing."
He reclined the chair and grinned. "Okay my dear pack, I've decided that perhaps I should give in to RJ's will and just rest until he's a hundred and ten percent. I would like a pillow and a blanket…no wait, two pillows. One of them from the bed, and one of those fluffy ones off the couch."
Fran, Lily, and Dai Shi took little effort to get together what he wanted. He wrapped his arms around the couch pillow and sighed happily as Lily and Fran brought down a pillow and the comforter from Fran's bed. "Now…I'm going to rest for as long as I need to. The next time I wake up, it'll be RJ and not me, so don't be surprised if I seem a tad bit confused, alright?" The group seemed to understand him. "Okay, good. And Dai Shi? Please hold him to my promise."
"No need to ask. I would do it without you asking." He grinned widely.
"Good." RJ sighed deeply. "Alright, one very very last thing; I need a pair of small hands to tie these back around my neck. RJ will certainly be in a better mood if he wakes up to find they're back on his neck." Lily reached out and took them from RJ, promptly tying them both without hesitation. "Thank you again, brave cheetah. But alas, there's been enough stalling out of me. You've been a great group, and don't you forget it." He smiled and closed his eyes, and within moments his body seemed to sink into the chair as he fell into a deep sleep.