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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Tragedy Strikes Again

A/N: Time for another update! Yay! Hope you like it! By the way, I saw Big Hero 6 yesterday and it was fabulous! Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on." -Robert Frost

The silence in the Shiba House was starting to deafen Tiara. She heard footsteps and saw Lauren walk into the living room. "Why don't you just call him?" she asked her older sister. "I'm sure you two can work it out."

"Stay out of it Tiara," Lauren replied, knowing exactly who she was referring to. No names were needed.

"Why? You're fighting with Antonio, Jayden is fighting with Ji. Everyone in this house is losing their heads!"

"I'm not fighting with Antonio. There was no fight. We just went our separate ways. That's all."

"Well that's stupid," Tiara replied.

"And as for Jayden and Ji...they'll get over it I suppose."

"They'd better." As if on cue, Jayden and Ji walked into the room simultaneously and glared at each other. Tiara glanced between them and felt a shiver go down her spine at the acid filled glares they were giving each other. "Hi Jayden."

"Hey Tiara. Lauren."

"Hi Jayden," Lauren said. She looked between her brother and mentor, wondering how best to defuse the situation. "Would you two like to join us."

"I was just leaving," Jayden said. "I'm meeting Lorrie in a half hour."

"Of course," Ji said rolling his eyes.

Jayden's eyes narrowed. "I don't recall asking for your opinion, Mentor Ji."

Ji smirked. "My apologies Lord Shiba. I shall remember to hold my tongue in your presence next time."

Jayden recoiled for a second, then balled his fists. Tiara grabbed her book and left the house. She sat down on a bench in the yard and sighed. There was no way she was staying in there while Jayden and Ji argued for the next thirty minutes. She went back to her reading, knowing the argument would be over when Jayden stormed out ether looking triumphant or angry; depending on whether he thought he'd won. After what only felt like fifteen minutes she heard the gate open and looked up. A middle aged Asian man entered yard, followed by two marines.

Tiara stood up, holding her book to her chest. "Can I help you?"

"Is this the Shiba residence? Home of Tiara Shiba?"

"Yes, I'm Tiara. What's going on?"

"I'm afraid I have some rather...unfortunate news for you."

"What-what is it?"

The man sighed. "I'm so sorry to tell you, but a bomb went off at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo yesterday."

Tiara gasped. "Is my dad ok?"

The man looked at her with saddened eyes. "I'm sorry, but your father did not survive it's blast."

Tiara dropped her book and her mouth hung open in shock. It took a few seconds before she was able to move again. She tired to talk but the only thing her brain could think of to do was scream. So she did. She screamed and threw herself on the ground, feeling like she wanted to break into a million pieces. She screamed in heaving sobs as her body shook and trembled. She didn't even hear the door open and three hurried footsteps running out. She sobbed as she pressed her face into the ground and screamed again. Distantly she could feel someone wrapping their arms around her.

She didn't even have the energy to push them away. Instead she let them pull her off the ground and hold her tight. She leaned init them, eyes shut. She sobbed and cried, feeling hot tears streaming down her face. At that moment it didn't matter to her that three people were talking to her, trying to get her to calm down. She didn't care. She clutched the shirt of the person who held her and cried. More people had their hands on her back and shoulders, but it still didn't make a difference. She just cried and cried, unable to stop. It was like the whole world has suddenly collapsed beneath her feet.

-Samurai Ranger Life-

Lauren was about to try and put an end to Jayden and Ji's latest round of yelling at each other when she heard something that made her blood run cold. Tiara's scream seemed to travel straight through the walls of the house and directly into the room where the other three inhabitants were standing. Lauren locked eyes with Jayden, who stopped dead mid-sentence. She knew they were both thinking of the two weeks after Tiara had become the temporary red ranger. They both thought about the last time they'd heard her scream like that.

Less than a millisecond later they bolted outside, Ji right behind them. Lauren half expected to see nighlocks, but was instead confused when she saw the men. All Jayden saw was his younger sister on the ground crying her heart out and a guy knelt down next to her. He stepped in front of the marine. "Back up," he said in the voice Kevin called his 'shogun voice.' "If you know what's good for you, back up now."

The man nodded and stood, backing away form Tiara. Lauren dropped onto the ground next to her and pulled her sister into her arms. "What happened?" she asked as Jayden joined them. She watched as Ji talked to the men, then paled at their words. He nodded and the men nodded back. They left as Ji knelt down to join the three Shibas. "Ambassador Sterling is dead," he explained. "He was killed by a bomb that went off at the embassy yesterday."

"Oh my god," Lauren said. She looked down at Tiara and suddenly understood her reaction. She hugged her tighter.

Jayden hugged Tiara too, his heart breaking to hear her so upset. "We're right here, Sis. We're right here."

Ji looked sadly at three of them. He knew that this would mean a long and tiring journey of grief for Tiara. He sighed sadly as he smoothed the hair on top of her head gently. She was taken away from her father before birth, then put up for adoption not long before her mother dies. Then she's adopted, but her adopted mother leaves her without ever saying good-bye and never speaks to her again. And now her adopted father is dead. He didn't understand why fate could be so cruel to someone so young and kind.

Ji could tell Jayden and Lauren wanted to tell Tiara it was alright, but having lost a father themselves, they knew it wasn't. All three of them knew it wasn't ok that Tiara had to feel this pain. It wasn't ok that the one person in the word who'd been there for her since he'd met her was now gone. They simply squeezed her between the two of them, like they could create a barrier to protect her from the world. From the realties of what she would have to face.

Tiara for her part, simply cried and cried; laying on Lauren limply and without really noticing her siblings. Please don't let this be true, she thought. Please God, let this be a bad dream. But for once it wasn't a dream. At least not one she could wake up from.