RJ walked over and grabbed the envelope off the floor and walked over to his chair. He looked it over, looking at the unbroken seal, his father's personal seal. He sighed as old thoughts flooded his mind. Thoughts of floating in the sea, watching his belongings float away. Thoughts of the rowboat lectures, thoughts of shaking and getting sick from extreme fatigue. Thoughts of success and failure, lack of self-control, and the feeling of the backstabbing betrayal by all but one person around him.
It wasn't like the last part wasn't at least partially, if not mostly, his fault, but did he think his little monetary present would really make everything better? No, RJ decided, he did everything on his own, with little to no help at all. It's why he was alone now; nobody helped him better than himself and himself only, and that's how it would end.
Just him and Dai Shi, holding nothing back, the way RJ liked it. Nothing was more fair than that.
No father, no students, no pizza shop, no support, no nothing. This was it.
He Frisbee tossed the envelope across the room, watching it spiral down on its heavily laden corner and smiling. It was time to dig out his old clothing chest.
Dai Shi and Camille marched into the throne room, and Carnisoar was less than happy. "I want to train." Dai Shi commanded.
"Oh, so now you wish to have me teach you? Was my instruction to crush the Rangers not what you considered training?"
"The Wolf Master is the only tie I have left to these pathetic creatures. Once I kill him, there isn't anything left to hold me back. So if you train me to do so, I promise this stupidity and display of weakness will be worth it."
"You had better do so, or I will work you harder than you ever thought possible." Dai Shi bowed his head in humility. "Now, we start."
"Focus, RJ. I know you can. Only allow one chain of thoughts to dominate your mind."
He breathed heavily, trying to block out the errant, violent voice in his mind. His own voice was smothered by the deeper one emerging and consuming him.
"I can't hear my voice…" He choked out. He was hardly able to even say that, let alone sit still and meditate.
"You need to focus on one specific thing. It's like meditation; you need a mantra. Just repeat a single thing over and over in your mind."
RJ took a deep breath and just repeated one thing over in his mind.
Please go away. Please go away. Please go away…
Master Swoop joined him in meditation. It was the first time in three days that RJ had sat still for more than five minutes without leaping up and trying to bumrush the door. If Master Swoop hadn't thought to chain the young master to the floor, he would be more littered with bite marks and bruises than he already was.
He was the only one who genuinely wanted to help the young man with his burden. It was a genuine shame, as he had always taken the young man to be a quick learner.
Please go away, please…
(Why should I go…?)
RJ's eyes shot open as he breathed heavier. It was the first time the voice directly spoke to him, rather than just flooding his mind with a smokescreen.
I want you to leave because…because I've lost everything because of you!
(You still have a lot left. You lost a lot of material things, really.)
I lost everyone's trust.
(You have your fondest master here with you, yes?)
That's not the point!
Master Swoop looked up at RJ, sensing both halves of the young man growing stronger as RJ's breathing became labored. He put up his guard, just in case.
(But it is the point. Obviously the people who you thought were great protectors would not dare to protect people from the thing that would kill everyone if it had the chance.)
It's not your choice to decide what is right and wrong! It's not mine, either!
(So you can't have a sense of right and wrong for yourself?)
That's not what I'm saying!
(Then what are you saying?)
That…I'm not strong enough to follow through with decisions like that.
(Then I will help you become stronger.)
No! I don't want to fight anymore.
(But…it's all you live for…)
Not anymore. I'm tried of fighting! I'm tired of trying to be the best! Look where it's gotten me!
RJ focused on the necklace he had recently started wearing out of habit, the one Master Swoop had given to him through Master Mao. RJ slowly tried raising his hand up to hold it, but the chains were too tight around his wrists. "Master…Swoop…"
"Yes?"
"I want…to hold…the focus ring…" He struggled out.
(Are you shutting me out again?)
I can't let you run my life anymore. Nearly two decades is long enough.
Master Swoop cautiously began unhooking the chains around RJ, steadying himself as best as he could to keep RJ down and himself stable. He then slowly lead RJ's shaking arms upwards and cupped his hands around the focus ring tied around his neck.
(Don't you have the instinct to protect?)
I don't want to do it…
The voice was growing dimmer the harder RJ focused on the ring itself. Master Swoop chained RJ up tightly in his new position, making sure to secure him to the floor.
"Is it helping?"
"Very much. Thank you." RJ's voice was steadier and calmer than before, which calmed the Bat Master's nerves a bit.
(Why not? You'll have wasted your life if you don't let me push you to the top of your potential, at the very least!)
I don't want to do it anymore! I don't want to be pushed anymore! I just want to fade away here.
"Are you able to focus more?"
"I am…" RJ weakly smiled.
"Good. You've made a little progress."
"Can I…stay like this all night? Is it safe?"
"Of course it is. I will come and check on you in the morning, and we'll start from the top."
RJ sighed deeply. This was so tiring…
RJ's eyes slowly opened, and he looked over at his small alarm clock as the bells on top rang out.
He swung his arm out, knocking the alarm clock off the nightstand and into the carpet, where the sounds of the bells became muffled.
He partially sat up, letting his reminiscing dream flow out of his mind as thoughts of the new day rushed in to replace it.
He wasn't sure at what point yesterday he had fallen asleep, but he had managed to drag out his clothing chest and toss everything out of it.
He got up and slowly stumbled out of his room, like a zombie on the prowl. He yawned and scratched the back of his head, not worrying about being shirtless and in his boxers for the first time in months. He was too tired and worn out to even think about worrying about it.
He marched into the bathroom and just went through the motions of his daily routine, not really thinking about it. He then stumbled out and meandered down the steps to the main floor of the loft.
An errant basketball was lodged in the rafters, deflated and singed around a decent sized hole. RJ blinked and sighed, grabbing another basketball from the rack and tossing it at the deflated one, knocking it down to the floor with a dead thud.
He walked up to the catwalk to get a yogurt from the fridge, and noticed a half-empty bottle of vodka and two overturned shot glasses lined up perfectly on the counter, which quickly explained his current hatred of light. He grimaced and set the bottle away in the freezer and the shot glasses in the sink; he couldn't recall drinking at all last night, but then again, he couldn't recall much of anything.
His eyes widened at the thought that the vodka wasn't the only reason for him blacking out.
He sighed deeply and grabbed a spoon for his yogurt before making his way back to his room. He managed to juggle eating with getting dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and khaki jeans, then made his way back downstairs to the main room.
He looked around, feeling like he was going to go deaf from the silence. It had been a while since he had his house to himself. He grabbed the dead basketball and inspected it, finding that the large hole was about the size of his fist. He hummed in curiosity, then grabbed the other basketball that was on the floor.
He cracked the knuckles on his left hand and focused a portion of his energy into it. He then positioned himself into a concentrated offensive pose, one he would only consider in training. Once he could feel the heat emanating from his left forearm, he slammed the basketball down and let it bounce, slowly catching the rhythm of its bouncing.
He pulled back his left forearm and waited. Once he saw his chance, he forced his forearm forwards in a vicious cross punch, singing the orange rubbery shell with the heat his forearm was giving off and sending it flying towards the wall. As it hit the back wall, the ball's bladder exploded loudly, firing out all of the air inside and leaving a battered shell.
RJ grinned. "So…" He shifted his pose to a more relaxed stance and watched the popped ball slide down the wall.
"Impressive." A voice called out, startling RJ. He turned around to see Master Swoop standing against the opposite wall. How he got in without RJ hearing him was beyond his comprehension. "You've improved greatly since our last session two years ago. In fact, if I didn't know any better, that was a spirit-enhanced strike."
"I wasn't expecting you here; I would've cleaned up better if you gave me a little time."
"I sensed your animal spirit's sudden surge, so I came to make sure that you and the Rangers were alright. I see that they're not here right now."
RJ looked away. "I wanted to train on my own."
"Ah. Back to your old ways, then?" Master Swoop approached RJ and set his hand on the young master's shoulder. "You know that it doesn't help you to work on your own in your condition."
"I've been fine for at least four and a half years. One little…kickback…doesn't mean I have to be secured to the floor again and monitored round the clock."
"Then I see no reason to send your charges off while you train."
RJ sighed. "…I put them in danger. I already hurt one student before, I don't want to hurt any more of them now."
"Yet you never hurt any of them in any way, from what I saw. In fact, you protected your defenseless employee with your life many times, even while you were on your last leg. I was greatly impressed and very intrigued."
"…Really?" RJ seemed quite surprised.
"Yes, it was very impressive, the restraint you held. Or perhaps, the self-restraint it had." Master Swoop smiled, setting his arm at his side and walking past RJ. "Perhaps…you've found a level of synchronicity with it after all this time?"
"I'm not sure." RJ replied. "To be honest, I don't remember most of this week." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"Perhaps then, it's decided on its own to bend to your will."
"That would be…totally mind-blowing, to say the least."
"Perhaps we could test it to see for ourselves?"
"Well, as long as I don't have to wreck any more of my basketballs. Those're pretty expensive."
"Of course." Master Swoop replied with a grin.
The day seemed to float by as Master Swoop and RJ trained vigorously, testing the limits of RJ's abilities. The Bat Master could see a vast progress from what he had seen weeks before when he came to train Theo; physically, RJ looked less pale and worn and more relaxed and vibrant, mentally, he was more focused and less drifting and vacant, and his skill and power levels both looked and felt a great deal stronger than they had even when he was in the Academy as the elder master's student. As the sun began to set, RJ dropped into his recliner, looking tired and worn out yet hyped up and ready for more.
"Is that all? I'd like to see you go through your katas." Master Swoop asked.
"I need five minutes." RJ replied, taking labored breaths while airing himself out by shaking the collar of his hooded sweatshirt.
"Perhaps we could have a one-on-one discussion while you rest?"
"Always." Master Swoop sat in front of RJ's recliner. "What's on your mind, Master?"
"I heard about your impending fight against Dai Shi." RJ furrowed his brows slightly. "How does this…make you feel?"
"Well, part of me feels that it was a wise decision because I've managed to give my students a well-deserved break, part of me thinks this's a horrible idea because I don't wish to fight, and a final part is just anxious to tear him to pieces."
"That's interesting. I thought you would be more thrilled than anything, to be honest."
"No, but my animal spirit is. All it wants to do is destroy every evil and/or disrespectful thing it sees, without any thought of consequence, and it doesn't want me to rest until it's done."
"Is there a specific reason, or is it just targeting one thing for no reason? Which do you think?"
"…To protect something…" RJ muttered. "To protect others, others around me. But I'm just so tired of training and fighting and-"
"Why?"
RJ sighed deeply, then looked down. "I…I just don't want to." He curled up in a ball in the chair. "The more I think about fighting, the more I think of how hard I pushed myself, how much negative karma I racked up just following my animal spirit, and especially how much of a spoiled brat I was about being the best…it reminds me of Jarrod. I'm reminded of how much I ruined his life, too. Here I thought that maybe he was better off without me, and…" His voice cracked ever so slightly as he hid his face. "and now he's Dai Shi. If he wasn't such a jerk, if he hadn't have picked it up from me, then none of this would've happened." He took a deep breath. "The only person I had to protect in my entire life…and I tossed him straight into the fire."
Master Swoop understood exactly what RJ meant. "Do you think you're going to do that again to the Rangers? Do you think you're doing that now?"
"I don't know…" He sniffled softly. "I just don't want to find out. These kids can't afford to deal with me like this right now."
"Deal with you? You all seem to be doing fine together. In fact, I think they've made you even stronger than you were before. But they need you as much as you need them, without a doubt. I think that even if they were just 'dealing' with you, as you say it, then it doesn't bother them in the least." RJ looked up, his face slightly red. He stayed silent as Master Swoop continued. "As for me, I don't think I'm 'dealing' with you; in fact, I consider it a life lesson that I can draw inspiration from, both a good and bad one. I think the Rangers could benefit from the same lessons; both the consequences of one's unfortunate mistakes and of perseverance through insurmountable odds. Nobody thought you'd even be able to function anywhere in society for the rest of your life, let alone function to a point where you could teach again, and I admit that there were times in the beginning where I felt the same. But you've proven everyone wrong, even your father, who was by far the most open critic to my effort to rehabilitate you." RJ glared. "I'm sure if he saw you now, he'd be amazed." RJ huffed in disbelief. "You don't think so?"
"I don't want his praise." RJ muttered.
"I see. Still too soon?"
"Much."
"My apologies." Master Swoop sighed. "If you'd like, I can sit with you for some guided meditation."
"Yeah." RJ curled out of his chair and quickly grabbed his mat from the hamper in the corner.
The days seemed to meld by for the Rangers inside the otherwise empty hotel room. Lily had spent most of her time sitting in front of the window, meditating. Casey found himself sleeping often while Theo wandered around, randomly finding time to juggle.
Lily sighed and looked over at her cell phone, which sat next to the TV and hadn't rang a single time in the last three days. She had worn her Ranger coat, in hopes that it would channel some good luck, or rather, enough bad luck to garner an attack from Dai Shi.
As if it heard her plea for an end to the silence, her phone rang. Lily picked it up anxiously and saw that it was Fran.
Better than nothing.
"Hello?"
Fran's voice sounded hectic. "Hey! Have you heard from RJ yet?"
"No. Have you?"
"Oh my goodness, he called me before you guys? Really? Weird!"
"What'd he say?"
"He wanted me to-"
A beep cut her off, and Lily looked at the screen. JKP's phone number. RJ was calling her. "Fran, Fran, he's on the other line right now."
"Really? Okay, I'll let you go, then! Call me back! Bye!"
Lily switched over as Theo took notice and Casey looked up from the sheets.
"RJ?" She half-shouted as her phone switched over.
"You three. Devil's Cove. Six hours." Click. Lily looked at the phone, unsure what he meant. She called Fran back.
"What'd he say?"
"Something about 'Devil's Cove'. What's that?"
"That's the beach area south of JKP, about two miles south. I wonder why he mentioned that."
"He wants us to meet him there in six hours."
"I hope he doesn't wanna take you guys swimming. That beach has some nasty riptides."
"Thanks for the warning." Lily replied. "So, what'd he call you for?"
"He wanted me to run the shop today."
"Oh…" Lily replied. "Well, it sounds like he's back to normal…kind've."
"Well, I gotta get going. Gotta open up the shop!" Fran cheerily replied. "Good luck at the beach."
"Thanks." Lily hung up as Fran did.
"So what's going on?" Casey lazily asked.
"RJ wants us to meet him at Devil's Cove in six hours. He didn't say much else."
"Hm. Devil's Cove is the beach, right?" Theo asked.
"Yeah. So…six hours."
"Longest six hours of my life…" Casey groaned before lying back on the bed.
The sun was setting, and the wind from across the ocean rushed through RJ's hair as he continued to meditate. Focus. It's all he had to do. Forget about petty inner quarrellings for the moment. The wind rustled through a large sheet of cloth behind him; he had company.
"Not much to this place." Dai Shi commented.
"Didn't want either of us to have a real ground advantage." RJ replied, giving a white lie. While the terrain hadn't changed from the way he remembered it, it really didn't help to have little, if no, solid ground to support himself. All he could do was hope what he could remember vaguely would give him just a slight edge.
"You didn't have to get all dressed up for me." Dai Shi teased, referring on RJ's uniform.
"Oh, I decided to air this old thing out before the moths ate it." RJ said as he stood up and faced Dai Shi, brushing off the errant sand off his boxing shorts.
The silk shorts still shone a royal purple with black stripes up the sides of his thighs in the fading sunlight. His cotton gi was a deeper purple, a slightly faded tyrian purple by the looks of it, and had not only black trimmings around the cuffs and collar, with the Order of the Claw's insignia sewed onto its chest. Tied around his hands and forearms were faded royal purple hemp ropes, still slightly damp and having gotten the unrolled sleeves of his gi a bit wet as well. His feet and shins were bound with a softer royal purple cloth, stained dark brown in places from dirt.
RJ grinned and struck his unique defensive pose after quickly rolling his wrists and cracking his knuckles to loosen the ropes slightly. "Shall we dance?"
Casey, Lily, and Theo arrived on a high plateau overlooking Devil's Cove, and Camille dropped out of her camouflage and smiled. "About time you got here. You're late."
"Late?" Lily asked.
"The fight's already started. See?" She pointed down to the beach with her good hand before going back to cradling her left arm.
"He's having the fight here?!" Casey replied in a shocked tone.
"Of all the places to fight…" Lily muttered.
"Hm…" Theo sat down and found his eyes gazing out to the ocean rather than the fight itself.
Dai Shi charged at RJ, summoning his Lion Armor while powering up his right hand. He bellowed as he leaped in the air getting a few feet off the ground as his right hand glowed with dark energy. RJ grinned softly; Dai Shi did just what he thought he'd do.
By the time Dai Shi could no longer turn away from the attack, RJ sidestepped to the left just enough to execute his favorite kind of counter.
As Dai Shi began to land, RJ turned at the waist, smacking the overlord's striking arm down with his right elbow and swiftly following up with a fierce jab to Dai Shi's exposed ribcage with his left elbow, sending the younger opponent dropping to his left side and rolling across the beach.
"I thought you would've remembered that one." RJ taunted, smiling as Dai Shi gingerly held his ribs, realizing that RJ had managed to crack several through his armor. Dai Shi growled and slowly got up.
Dai Shi growled and charged up a ball of dark energy and hurled it at RJ. The Pai Zhuq master deftly dodged it by dropping to the ground and rolling, tossing sand up all around. As the sand dropped down on him, his right hand dug into the loose terrain and tightly squeezed.
Dai Shi charged once again as RJ stayed down on the ground. He rose to his knees and tossed the clump of sand in his hand at Dai Shi, disorienting him for the moment. He grinned, then stood up, giving a solid uppercut with his elbow off of Dai Shi's chin, knocking him back. As Dai Shi stumbled back, RJ grabbed the fur mane on the back of his helmet to steady him, then rammed his left knee into Dai Shi's cracked ribs, making him yelp.
He briskly tossed Dai Shi's head downwards, then quickly turned on his heel to stand side to side with Dai Shi while wrapping his left arm around the overlord's throat, his elbow sitting directly above his Adam's apple. RJ then turned at the waist again and let Dai Shi's weight hold the rest of his body down as Dai Shi's head was dragged along with RJ's arm. A sharp charge of pains shot through Dai Shi's body, and RJ decided after a few moments that he had done enough and dropped him to the ground with a soft thud.
RJ sighed and walked off, looking out to the ocean. After a moment, his eyes stopped, stalling the rest of his body for a moment as his gaze focusing out at a single point on the vast horizon.
The small rowboat far out in the ocean rocked back and forth in the violent waves, its lone occupant visibly enjoying the whitewater fishing adventure. His bucket hat ruffled in the wind as he looked out to the beach. For a moment, he and the young master on the beach locked eyes, then parted just as soon as they had met.
Dai Shi slowly rose from his resting place and charged up a ball of energy. Before Lily even began to shout down to RJ to warn him, Dai Shi was up on his feet, already hurling the ball at him. The energy smashed RJ directly in the center of his spine, locking his body up and tossing him forwards, crashing face-first in the sand.
Dai Shi laughed at his former master's helplessness and walked over, slamming his foot down on RJ's back. "Very impressive. It's a shame your students aren't half as worthy to fight me as you are." RJ winced in pain as Dai Shi bent over and grabbed him by the hair. "If I knew I had to kill you first, I would've done this sooner."
He dragged the still-paralyzed RJ out into the surf, deciding to play with his kill before finishing him off. RJ's motionless yet still conscious body could do little more than play the part of a rag doll as Dai Shi dragged him through the rushing foam. His mind raced, sending out flashes of red alert as his fear of drowning was triggered; his body ignored them, still temporarily severed from his mind by the burning pain of the now-fading blast.
Dai Shi laughed and tossed RJ's body into the waves far out from the shore, and RJ could do nothing to keep himself afloat. His mind raced through old memories, constantly shifting back to the sight of the surface several feet above him as he sunk helplessly. RJ did what he could to hold his breath and not panic. In a few more seconds, the feeling came back in his appendages and he mentally grinned, but his brain finally overruled his common sense and he began to flail aimlessly.
(Why're you panicking? Stop!)
RJ stopped in shock. He recognized the voice that suddenly pushed through in his mind.
…What are you doing?
(Stop flailing. You're not done.)
But I can't swim! I'm going to drown!
(Calm down!)
I…I can't!
(Stop moving. Now. Hold your breath, and I will get us through this.)
…You will?
(I can't let this demon crush us in this kind of defeat. Now let go and stop breathing for a few seconds.)
RJ held his breath as his body autonomously dropped to the bottom of the ocean floor. As soon as his feet dug into the sandy gravel, his legs bent and bounced him up to the surface. He slowed his momentum and stayed beneath the surface, waiting until he could see Dai Shi's legs…
Dai Shi turned around to address Camille, letting his Lion Armor dissipate to show his violent grin. The trio began to run down the cliff, but Camille scowled, then shot her tongue out, catching the three and yanking them to the ground.
"This is not your fight." Camille warned.
"This's insane!" Lily shouted at her as she stood up.
"No. This is people keeping their promises. Your master knew that he could die today."
Just then, the waves split and shot upwards as RJ leaped from out of the water, catching everyone off-guard. RJ headbutted Dai Shi in the chest and tackled him to the surf, setting off sparks from the clashing energies between them. Dai Shi fell flat on his back as gentle purple flames danced across RJ's body.
"Miss me?" RJ taunted before giving him a rough right hook to the face. Dai Shi punched him in the gut and tossed him off, then charged up his right fist and rolled to the side, preparing to cave RJ's head in with a super-powered punch.
RJ hit the sand and quickly barrel rolled to avoid the rough punch. The sand kicked up into Dai Shi's face, temporarily blinding him. RJ got to his feet in a crouching position and he bounded forwards, dropping down on Dai Shi's back with a reinforced left elbow, quickly crushing Dai Shi, and letting out more sparks.
Alright, it's over! RJ temporarily gained control and began running back as Dai Shi stayed collapsed in the sand.
(Not yet! You've seen him in action. Just a little longer…)
Dai Shi growled and began to glow a tarnished gold.
(There it is! Turn around!) RJ turned around on command as Dai Shi summoned his lion spirit. (Oh! Your punch!)
Huh?
(The punch! You know…! Get ready!)
RJ's eyes widened once he realized what his spirit meant. He took the position and prepared the searing hot left hook he had done before as the flames around him dissipated.
The black and gold plasma lion charged at him as he channeled most of his remaining strength into his left forearm. As the lion swung at him, RJ dodged with a crouch to the side, and countered with a left hook, smashing the creature apart and making it disappear.
Dai Shi looked physically injured by the blow and RJ felt drained from the move, so it seemed almost natural that both would drop to their knees. RJ slowly rose to his feet first and got up, deciding on his own that the fight was over.
"What is he doing?" Camille complained.
"I thought you'd be happy about him sparing Dai Shi." Casey replied, grinning. Camille sneered.
Dai Shi growled and stood up, charging up and firing off another ball of dark energy, missing RJ by mere inches as the Pai Zhuq master calmly continued his trek up the beach.
Dai Shi got up and ran after RJ, having a small advantage on his side as RJ seemed completely off guard. The trio tried to call out to him, but he didn't seem to be paying attention.
(Five…four…three…two…)
RJ grinned and, just as Dai Shi came within range, RJ shot his elbow back, connecting with Dai Shi's face and rendering him unconscious. "Sleep well, young lion. Today's lesson is over." RJ commented before continuing on up the beach.
Camille's eyes widened and she ran down the cliff's decline as the Rangers just sat and smiled at their master.
"Hey! Anybody hungry for some pizza?" He called up to them. Their faces broke out in wide smiles. "Let's go!" RJ replied, grinning right along with them.
The moon shone brightly in the midnight sky as RJ channel surfed in the loft. Casey lie nearby in his hammock, in a deep sleep that not even the all-metal music video channel could wake him out of as RJ skipped over it. Theo calmly meditated over in his corner of the room, the sound of the rapidly changing channels blocked out of his thoughts. Lily had retreated to her room several hours before, nobody quite knowing what she was doing.
RJ continued to idly channel surf, but having anything in particular that he wanted to watch. He sighed deeply as the downstairs door shut and a pair of high heels marched up the steps at an even pace.
Fran poked her head in, her hair down and held back in a green dragonfly clip rather than in their pigtails. With her arms folded around her waist, she approached RJ with a modest smile.
She softly pointed to the dragonfly clip. "It was underneath the stool up there. Figures." She commented.
RJ grinned in a humored manner. "Yeah, figures." He turned off the TV then reached out in the near-dark to turn the lamp on. "So…how was today?"
"Busy. Long." Fran replied, sitting down in front of the side table.
"Sorry the others weren't here."
"You were out…fighting or whatever. No problem." She smiled unusually wide. "So…I take it that you're gonna be out there more often with them."
"Oh, no! Fighting's not my style. I prefer to sit back, relax, and watch the show. You can join me in the watching if we're not too busy."
"I think I've had enough…sightseeing for a lifetime."
"I get ya." RJ sighed softly.
"Well, I suppose I should go. Long day tomorrow." Fran stood up and let her smile fade. "Have a good night."
"As good as it's gonna get." RJ replied.
"Perhaps you should…reconsider your decision tonight?"
RJ looked up at her, then broke into a half-smile. "You're determined, at the very least. Maybe I'll think about it. Or maybe I won't."
Fran smiled, then turned around the leave. After a few steps, she stopped. "Thank you for the drink the other night. It numbed my wrist quite well." She smiled and let her arm drop to her side for a moment, cleverly pulling up her coat sleeve to reveal a cloth-wrapped splint as she walked out.
RJ turned a few shades of pale before turning the TV back on. Of all the things he'd come to realize about himself and others in the last week and a half, that was surely the one that would leave him guessing for a long while.