Ji got to Brenda's apartment, making sure to knock before letting himself in with his key. From the tone in her voice when she called him, he could tell that she was afraid, and he had already been pepper-sprayed once when she had panicked before.
He found her on the couch, clutching the pepper spray in her hands, shaking like a leaf. He had seen her scared before, but this was a whole different level. She was truly petrified, so crippled by her panic that she hadn't even noticed him entering the apartment. He approached her slowly.
"Brenda?" He asked her, making sure he was moving slowly so he didn't panic her. She eventually looked around at him, tears streaming down her face. "Brenda?"
"I'm sorry Ji, I couldn't." She sobbed. "I tried, but I just couldn't..."
"I'm sorry Brenda, this was my fault." Ji told her. "I knew you were afraid, I could feel it in the way you held my hand, the way you held me so tightly when we left the apartment."
"I'm just so scared Ji." She told him. "I can't...I tried...I couldn't even turn the door handle."
"I know, and I'm sorry that I tried to make you." Ji told her. He started to make his way towards her slowly. "After what you've been through, it would be strange if you weren't afraid."
"You wouldn't have been." She muttered.
"The difference is, I've lived around violence all my life." Ji told her. "Whether it was my father's discipline, my futile efforts to take out the gangs, or the war with the Nighlock..."
"You wouldn't be afraid to go out the fucking door!" She screamed at him, throwing her can of pepper spray at him. He swatted it away as he watched her grab her head and wring her hair in her hands. He walked towards her slowly, finally reaching her and putting an arm around her.
"I need help Ji." She sobbed. "I can't spend the rest of my life in this apartment thinking every time the doorbell rings someone's going to try and blow my brains out!"
"Brenda..."
"I can't live this way Ji, I just can't!" She screamed at him. She slumped into him as he held her. "I think I need help."
"I'll be willing to provide all the help I..."
"That's not what I mean." She told him. He looked to him tearfully, cradling his face. "You've been amazing Ji, I don't deserve you."
"Brenda, it isn't a case of what we deserve." Ji told her. "If it was, then you wouldn't have been shot in the first place."
"Ji, I think maybe this is one of those things you can't handle." She told him. "I can't even leave my apartment without you. I think...maybe I need a professional."
"A professional?" He asked. "You mean a psychologist?"
"Or a psychiatrist, or...hell, whoever deals with this kind of thing." She sighed. She caressed his face lovingly with her hand. "Ji, I love you..."
"And I love you." Ji replied, kissing her softly, before sweeping away some of her tears. "I shall talk to Jayden about releasing some funds. If you need help, you will receive the best care money can buy."
"Jayden's...?" She started to say. "Ji, I can't ask..."
"You aren't asking." Ji told her with a little smile. "Besides, I think you underestimate how deep the pockets of the Shiba clan are. The Samurai were not known for being gauche and outlandish with their demonstrations of wealth."
"Ji, that's his money." She told him. "If I need help..."
"Jayden is my son in every way that matters barring blood. If I ask it, he will ot even think about it." Ji assured her. "You are precious to me, and I will not lose you, no matter the cost."
Brenda just grabbed him, pulling him in to a long, passionate kiss. In some ways it hurt Ji to know that he couldn't help her himself, but all that mattered to him was getting her back to being the beautiful, strong, lively woman he loved more than life itself.
Mia had gone for a jog after preparing the dinner. Kevin had offered to go with her, but she had politely declined, she wanted to be by herself to think.
Emily's mood troubled everyone at the Shiba House. They all wanted the bouncy, clumsy, adorkable little Emily back, but so far that was looking as likely as Antonio quitting gold puns. No one could really blame her, no one was really feeling particularly great.
In the last month, they had see Stephen murdered before their very eyes and were unable to do anything to stop it. They had seen Serena pretty much break down, and they had watch her leave them for no other reason than the fact that her mere presence at the Shiba House would put them all in danger because all she could think about at the mere mention of Serrator's name was to ensure his destruction, regardless of what that would cost.
She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and looked across at a bench outside the nearby arcade. She knew Mike used to come here a lot, up until his friends nearly got annihilated by Rofer. She noticed something curious though, she saw that Spike was outside, sitting on a low wall, sulking. Although they had met before, she didn't know him especially well, but Serena had talked to them at length about Bulk and Spike, so she felt like she did. Seeing him looking so miserable, she approached him.
"Hey Spike, remember me?" She asked him. He looked up dejectedly and forced a smile.
"Yeah, you're Mia, you used to room with Serena right?" He asked her. Mia just nodded. It wasn't EXACTLY true, Serena and Stephen had their own room in the Shiba House, but she didn't see the need to correct him.
"So, what's the problem?" She asked him. "Are you out of quarters or something?"
"No, I've got plenty of change." He muttered. "I just don't feel like playing much."
"Oh?" Mia asked him. She looked in the window, seeing Cody and Micky on a Dance Hero machine, while Jimmy and Mal looked on, laughing and joking. She knew Cody, having met him not long before, but the others...she knew she had seen Spike with them before.
"Those are your friends right?" She asked him. "Wouldn't you rather be with them than out here?"
"They probably haven't even noticed I'm not there." Spike told her. He looked to where Vicky stumbled clusily off the podium, into Cody's arms laughing as they stepped off the machine, making way for Mal and Jimmy. "I guess this is karma for being such a dick about the whole 'King of YouTube' thing."
"I don't know, they seemed to have a good time at the concert." Mia reminded him as she sat down. She saw Spike looking at where Cody and Vicky were standing, looking at a claw grabber machine and discussing whether or not to play it. "Say, Cody's a pretty cool kid isn't he?"
"Yeah, Cody's great." Spike said somewhat half-heartedly. "He's pretty good at Martial Arts too. He and his dad are giving us great training."
"I notice he's spending a lot of time around Vicky." Mia commented. "Do you think they...?"
"Well, he's a freshman and she's a sophomore, but I guess being at different schools that won't matter so much." Spike commented, before shaking his head. "No, I'm sure there's nothing there. They're friends!"
"I see." Mia commented, picking up something in Spike's defensive demeanour about this subject. "What about if they weren't?"
"I guess Cody's a good guy, I know he'd be good for her." Spike commented. "He did mention he wanted to ask her to the formal and...HE'S A FRESHMAN!"
"Oh, is that a bad thing?" Mia asked him. "I thought toyboys were all the rage these days."
She saw the way Spike clenched his jaw as he looked at them. Cody had managed to win a stuffed giraffe, and gave it to Vicky. She started laughing and hugged him tightly. Spike let out a little laugh seeing that.
"What?" Mia asked him.
"I'm just remembering Vicky's laugh." Spike told her. "She has this cute little thing she does when she's really enjoying herself. It sounds kind of like a cross between a hiccup and a piglet grunting."
"Really?" Mia replied, giving Spike a little look. Spike had to do a double-take to appreciate that look.
"Wait, what...? NO!" He stammered. "She's...I mean...we're..."
"You're friends?" Mia asked him. "Well, if that's all it is, I guess I misread things."
As she got up, she got another thought and smiled.
"Say, you liked Serena training you right?" She asked. Spike nodded.
"Yeah?" He responded. "So?"
"Well, how about her little sister?" Mia asked him. "I could always ask Emily if she'd be willing to spend an hour or two a day helping Cody and his dad."
"I guess any help we can get would be good." Spike commented. "I mean, Cody is pretty amazing, he's got moves I can't even dream of pulling without giving myself a hernia."
"Since when was it a competition?" Mia asked him. She jerked her head in the direction of the arcade. "It'll probably be more fun in there. I'll see what I can do about Emily."
A she left, Spike stood up and straightened himself out. He wasn't sure why, but Mia had him thinking with what she had said. Why did the idea of Cody asking Vicky out bother him? Why was he so desperate to just shut his eyes and believe it wouldn't happen?
"I did promise I'd be there." He sighed, before heading inside.
The night wore on in the little pub in Scotland, and the patrons were coming and going in various states of sobriety. Dayu just nursed her drink, not that it mattered since alcohol had little effect on her given her half-Nighlock state, starting to become impatient as she watched Jindrax wolf down a fifth order of bangers and mash.
"Alright, are we here to get Urumasa or watch your gluttonous boyfriend eat his bodyweight in potatoes?"
"Jindrax!" Toxica hissed, kicking him under the table. He just belched as he slid his plate away from him.
"What? It'll be a while before..." He then fell silent and pointed to the door. "Bingo!"
Dayu looked around, seeing a black man, and a woman wearing spectacles entering the bar. They went up to the bar, ordered a bottle of wine, and sat at a booth. Toxica and Jindrax hid themselves behind menus, while Dayu just looked to them.
"They're at Faslane?" Dayu asked them.
"The guy's Joel Rawlins, Green Lightspeed Ranger." Toxica informed her. "The woman's his wife, Angela Rawlins. She's the leading researcher of supernatural phenomena on the planet."
"So Urumasa's right up her street." Dayu concluded. Jindrax just nodded.
"Yeah, that's about the size of it." Jindrax told her. "They have a couple of glasses here most nights. I figure we hang around, see if we can figure anything out."
"You just like the bangers and mash." Toxica groaned.
"OOH, and the rhubarb crumble!" Jindrax called out. "Waitress, waitress!"
Dayu just shook her head in disbelief. Although Jindrax's eccentricities were frustrating, and she could feel that she was so close to Urumasa she could almost taste it, she knew that his plan had merit. If these people were here with Urumasa, that seemed like a good enough way to find a way in.
Antonio and Jayden arrived back in the Shiba House after a busy day at the markets. Antonio had made a killing that day, and was not shy about celebrating the fact. He had been treating Jayden to performances of his favourite songs since they had started on their way home.
"Annie, you've been hit by..." He breathed, adopting his best MJ stance as he tossed his fishing gear aside. "Annie you've been struck by...a smooth criminal!"
"Alright Antonio, I think that's enough of the song and dance portion of the night." Jayden chuckled.
"I thought rock stars made you all hot under the collar." Antonio teased him. He saw that Jayden was smiling, but it was quite forced, and he wasn't convinced. He just sighed, helping him gather up the discarded fishing equipment.
"It's that thing with Ji earlier isn't it?" Antonio asked him. "You've been out of sorts all day."
"I just don't know if he's ready..."
Just then, the doors flew open and Ji came striding in. He approached Jayden, and stood before him. Both Jayden and Antonio remained silent as he did so. It was often hard to guage Ji's mood. He then slowly got to one knee and bowed his head before Jayden.
"My lord, as your vassal, I have something to ask..."
"Ji!" Jayden hissed, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't think this is needed..."
"I believe it is." Ji replied. "I must ask a tremendous favour of you, one I am not certain I will ever be able to repay."
"Uh...ok?" Jayden asked him. Ji just looked to him.
"Brenda has...a problem, one I am neither qualified, nor equipped to help with. I require help, professional help." Ji told him. "I have not had power of attorney over your accounts since you turned 21..."
"Ji, you've done so much for me, there is no question I will help you." Jayden assured him. He smiled and helped the older man to his feet, before hugging him warmly. "You've been there for me my whole life. It this is one thing I can do for you, I will ensure you have all you need."
"I thank you." Ji replied, bowing respectfully, before his emotions overcame him. He grabbed Jayden and pulled him in, hugging him enthusiastically. "My son."
As Ji left, Antonio came to Jayden's side.
"So, that's what it took for you to feel happier?" Antonio asked him. "You needed him to ask you for money?"
"You don't get it Antonio, Ji's always grown up around the whole Samurai thing. Self-reliance is a big part of the culture. Asking for help...needing help...it's not something that was done lightly."
"But...he's your dad." Antonio stated. Jayden just smiled.
"But his pride wouldn't let him ask for help if he didn't admit he needed it." Jayden told him. "That was what scared me. He was trying to do too much himself."
"So, you're happy that he's having problems?" Antonio asked him. Jayden just shook his head.
"No." He answered his boyfriend. "I'm just happy my dad feels like he can come to me when he needs it."