Coming to the end of her first week, Emily was at Cody's place, taking her new students through their paces. She didn't want to work them too hard since it was her first week, and she really didn't have too much experience training students. She tried hard to come up with a coherent lesson plan, but was finding it hard.
No one had shown her how to teach, or how to deal with students, on the whole, she had been left to her own devices. She was trying hard to remember what others had done with her, but that caused its own problems.
Her mother had been very patient and spent most of her time guiding her through everything with a gentle hand, and thorough explanation. Serena, when she gave her a little guidance, was a little rougher, showing her the flaws in her defences and her techniques with a strike just hard enough to make a point without really trying to hurt her. She also made sure that she interspersed it with a good measure of fun, making it as much a playtime activity as it was training, telling Emily that she found she took in more, and was more likely to practice when she was having fun.
Ji was somewhere between the two, having no second thoughts about bruising up the Rangers when it was necessary to make a point, he was also very particular in his technical skills, making the Rangers do everything hundreds, if not thousands of times to ensure that every symbol was absolutely correct, and every stroke of a sword exact to the millimetre. That said he was not above letting the Rangers blow off some steam and have a good time while they worked. Their spirited games of capture the flag generally left them all bruised, scraped, but also with huge smiles that would last until the following day.
The point was that she couldn't really pinpoint any one thing that they all did that made them good teachers. She couldn't even think of anything that all of them did the same way to try and figure out what actually caused people to learn. She saw Cody and Spike helping Bulk back to his feet after Cody had swept his legs out from under him, and smiled, heading over to them.
"Alright, that was...alright." She told them, finding it hard to think of what to say. "Um...alright, just...run a few sprints and call it a day."
Cody and the others put down their training gear and took off, leaving Emily to gather it up. Cody's dad came by; narrowly avoiding being hit by Bulk as they all ran off, laughing as they went. He came over to Emily, seeing her gathering up the equipment.
"They seem to be having a good time." He commented.
"Yeah, I'm trying not to push them too hard." Emily told him. "I've still not found my stride as a sensei, and I don't want to push them away while I figure it out."
"Look, I don't want to criticize, but would you like a little constructive advice?" He asked her. Emily just frowned as she looked at him.
"If there's anything you can suggest, sure." She replied, wondering what he was going to say. Since he had already used the word 'criticize', she guessed that it wasn't going to be praise. She knew she had things to learn, but didn't think she was doing anything badly. None of them had gotten hurt on her watch, and they seemed to enjoy her training sessions. He just put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. It reminded her somewhat of when her dad would talk to her. She had always been small, and Cody's dad was so large by comparison that his hand seemed to take up pretty much her whole shoulder.
"You're not their friend, you're their sensei." He told her flatly. She just looked at him a little confused.
"But...they are my friends." Emily reminded him. "I guess I don't know Bulk and Spike too well, but..."
"Hey, there's no reason you can't be their friend if that's what you want." He told her. "But while you're training, you can't be. You have to be their sensei first."
"I..."
"Emily, do you know one of the things that makes people listen to a good sensei?" He asked her. She shook her head. "Respect. They need to know that you're their sensei, and what you say goes. They're not with you to play; they're with you to learn skills that could very well save their lives one day. That can't be taken too lightly."
"They do respect me." She protested. "They're doing well. They're..."
"They've learned nothing of any note in the week you've been training them." He reminded her. "They've been playing, not training. You can keep this up for a year and they'll be at exactly the same level."
"You think they don't respect me?" She asked him.
"Not in the way they should respect a sensei no." He told her honestly. "I know it's not your fault, I just want to help you."
"But...they listen to me..."
"Then can I ask why YOU'RE clearing away the training equipment?" He asked her. Emily just looked to it all sitting there, waiting to be put away. "That equipment is a vital part of their training. If it serves them well, if it works to give them that little extra edge, it could be the difference between them walking away from a fight, and not. I always made Cody tidy away his training equipment, and he is responsible for cleaning it and maintaining it."
"You said you can't be their friend." Emily commented, trying to wrap her head around what he was telling her. "Cody's your son."
"He's my son, and I love him, that will never change." He assured her with a little smile. "Of course, because I love him, I want to know he'll be at his best and be safe. He was jumped at a comic book store a couple of weeks ago by a bunch bigger kids. He wiped the floor with them and came home with only a few bruises."
"That's...pretty impressive." Emily commented with a little smile. "If he'd been from one of the Noble Families, he'd make a great Samurai."
"During our lessons, I'm his Sensei first and his father second." He told her. "Outside of training, I know that because of that, I can be his dad first and know he'll be safe."
"So...what am I doing wrong?" Emily asked him. "Should I be kicking their asses?" He just laughed.
"Somehow I don't think that'll be your way of doing things." He told her. "Look, I know you're a nice person, but there are a few things."
"A few?" Emily asked him, suddenly shrinking away a little. She understood that he had some reservations, but she didn't think she was going far wrong. Now he was telling her there was a FEW things wrong?
"Well, no offence, but you don't really carry yourself like someone that's well..." He snapped his fingers a few times trying to think of the word. He suddenly got the word. "Well, tough."
"I...I don't?" She asked him.
"What would you think if you went to a bank for a mortgage and the guy sitting on his desk wearing Bermuda shorts and an Aloha shirt?" He asked her. He then gestured to her hair band, which had a couple of yellow flowers on it and her clothes, a Hello Kitty T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. "I know you have your own style, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but you do kind of give off more of a little sister vibe than a sensei image."
"Is there anything else?" She asked him.
"The whole 'bouncy' thing, you should probably think about checking that at the door when it comes to training time." He told her. "Like I said, they should be in the mindset that playtime's over when they come to you to train."
He could see Emily looking a little dejected as he finished, and suddenly felt a little badly about what he had said. He hadn't meant to go so far. Although he did have his doubts because her methods were so different from his, he had only intended to give her a couple of pointers, and some suggestions. He had gone a lot further though, much further than he intended to, and clearly she was starting to take it to heart. He had to admit that if he thought about it, it had to seem a bit like a personal attack.
"Look, sorry, I didn't mean to be hurtful, I'm just trying to help." He told her.
Before Emily could answer, her Samuraizer bleeped. She looked to it, then back to him. He just nodded. She answered it, finding that Mia was on the other end.
"Hey Emily, you're nearly finished training right?" Mia asked her. "I was thinking...it's been ages since we've been shopping. Do you want to hit the mall afterwards?"
"The mall?" Emily asked her. She was indeed nearly finished, but after what Cody's dad had said to her, she wasn't really feeling too much like shopping. Cody's dad just sighed and patted her on the shoulder.
"Go. I'll explain." He told her. As she gathered her things and left, she couldn't help thinking about what he had said to her. Her students didn't respect her because she was too soft. She could remember all the way back to when she first arrived at the Shiba House, back when the others saw her for the first time, and realised that this girl, who was significantly younger than them was their Yellow Ranger. Although they were polite enough not to say it to her face, she could tell that they were disappointed. She had seen that look most of her life.
As Cody, Spike and Bulk came back from their sprints, they were all still laughing and joking. Cody looked around, a little confused.
"Where's Emily?" He asked.
"She was called away urgently." He told them. He then pointed to the training equipment. "Clear that up, and get ready for dinner. I'll be serving in about hour."
"Clear it up?" Bulk asked, looking to the equipment. Cody's dad just shrugged.
"It's not going to do it by itself." He answered. "You know where it all goes Cody, and I expect it to be spotless."
With that, he went back into the house, leaving them all looking around each other, slightly bemused. Cody just shrugged and started to gather stuff up.
"Come on guys." He told them. "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."
In the Netherworld, Serrator came aboard Master Xandred's Junk, finding Octoroo poring over some of his books, while Xandred was drinking some of his medicine.
"Nice job with your last Nighlock squid face." Octoroo taunted him. "Duplicator looked like he might actually inconvenience the Rangers for a little while."
"Oh, go blow your hot air to someone that wants to hear it Serrator." Octoroo grumbled. "You saw how he..."
"How he blew up? Why yes, I did." Serrator snorted. "Funniest thing I saw the whole day."
"Well, it's not like you've been doing much to be bragging about lately." Octoroo stated. "Sure, you might have somehow found a way to bring Dekker to our cause, but where is he exactly? He's vanished without a trace! Much like this supposed plan of yours. I haven't seen you doing anything to advance our cause since you killed that boy."
"Well, given your track record, you'll forgive me if I keep my cards close to my chest." He commented. "I have a feeling that it'll be less likely to fail if you aren't involved."
"Well, even though we are immortal, there's no reason for us to wait forever for your plan to finally show some progress." Octoroo sniped back.
"Well, I have something new in mind, just to keep things interesting for the Rangers until my plans start to...come together more." He told them, waving in a Nighlock. Xandred and Octoroo both watched him enter, wondering what manner of creature he was going to present them. It was a remarkably hideous creature, even by Nighlock standards. It had multiple, leering mouths covering the front of its head, the largest one of which had a huge, blue tongue hanging out of it.
"So, what is this thing meant to do? Make them lose their lunch?" Octoroo sneered.
"Ah, funny you should say that, it's quite the opposite to be exact." Serrator said in his usual condescending tone. "Grinataur has the ability to shoot a toxic dirt that greatly increases the appetite of anyone it hits."
"So you're going to make them hungry, big whoop." Octoroo replied, twirling a finger in the air. Serrator just laughed.
"Ah, you are so short sighted." Serrator scoffed in response. "This isn't just a hunger, but an insatiable, gnawing hunger, one that will continue to plague anyone that succumbs to it, no matter how much they eat. The human body can only withstand so much before its limits are reached. They will quite literally eat themselves to death!"
Serrator turned to his Nighlock and pointed to the window.
"Go Grinataur, go into the city and spread your misery. In my experience, causing some civilian casualties is always a sure fire way to draw the Rangers out." He told him. Grinataur disappeared, at which Serrator got up and started to leave.
"Where are you going?" Xandred asked him.
"I would have thought you'd want to watch your Nighlock's progress." Octoroo commented.
"I am confident he will do what I planned him to." Serrator told them. "In the meantime, I have something I must check on."
With that, he too disappeared.
In the city centre, Ji was sitting with Brenda in the waiting area of a clinic. It had taken his every reassurance that he wouldn't leave her until she was comfortable to let him do so that had managed to get her to come.
Her physical wounds were healing, but there was still something that she needed help with. Since coming home from the hospital, she had been unable to bring herself to leave her apartment without Ji. Even with him, he could tell she was far from comfortable. He couldn't blame her really, recent events had been a stark reminder that even the Rangers were not infallible, and couldn't save everyone.
Her right leg bounced, and she played with her fingers nervously as they waited. Ji tried to calm her by placing his hand on her thigh, and giving it a little squeeze. Brenda barely noticed it though, instead finding her eyes drawn to the clock. Time was ticking away, ticking towards her appointment, when she would have to trust a complete stranger with her crippling fear.
The intercom on the secretary's table buzzed, and the secretary just pressed a button, before looking to her.
"Dr. Jamieson will see you now." She told her. Brenda looked to Ji, who stood up with her, and headed for the door.
As they made their way into the treatment room, neither of them really knew what to expect, but once they were inside, they found themselves in a bright room, with cream painted walls on three sides, one wall of which was dominated by a book case filled with all manner of books, though few of them seemed to strike them as being any form of medical book, it was mostly paperback novels. There was a large, chrome framed desk with a glass top in front of them, with a chiropractic chair behind it, and a computer on it which was displaying a screensaver of dolphins swimming. Large shrubs were in the corners of the room, and there were a couple of large, plush, dark brown easy chairs in the room.
Brenda's attention was brought to one feature of the room in particular though, something that troubled her greatly. The remaining side of the wall was comprised of a floor-ceiling window, which looked out into the city. Ji could see her starting to panic as she eyed it fearfully, and could see her imagining that anyone could see inside, anyone could..."
"You don't need to worry, its one-way tinted glass." They heard a voice behind them say. Brenda almost jumped completely out of her skin, and even Ji had to admit to having something of a start. Turning towards the source of the voice, they saw a head poke around the side of one of the shrubs.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just watering the plants." She told them, coming around and setting down a jug on the desk. She was a small woman, Ji thought it was possible even Emily would be taller than her, and she was incredibly skinny. She was wearing a powder-blue suit jacket with a matching skirt, and a pale pink, ruffled blouse. She had very pale skin and flaming red hair. "I'm Siobhan Jamieson. Please, take a seat."
Brenda and Ji both sat down, but Brenda couldn't help looking at the window, wondering if they really were one-way.
"Oh, you're staying?" She asked, seeing that Ji was also sitting down. "I normally don't have others sit in on my sessions with adults Mr...?"
"Ji." He introduced himself. "Brenda asked that I come. If she is happy that I leave, I will do so, but other than that, I must insist that I stay."
"How do you feel about that?" She asked Brenda. Brenda just looked between them, before looking down.
"I'd like him to stay." She answered. Siobhan just smiled, making her way around her desk and bringing the chair back around. "I'd feel better that way. Anything you can say, you can say in front of him."
"Well, I wouldn't want to rush you into anything that makes you uncomfortable." She assured them. "Alright, I just wanted to begin by assuring you of a few things. This office is completely soundproof. The only people that will know what is said within these sessions will be the people in this room. I will record these sessions so I can analyse them later, but only I have access to those recordings. Other than that, the only people who will know what happens here will be anyone you see fit to take into your confidence. Is that alright with you?"
Brenda just nodded. Siobhan smiled.
"Also, I couldn't help noticing you keep looking at the window. That's only for my own benefit, but I assure you that no one outside can see in." She said soothingly. "Privacy is vital for the trust I need my patients to feel in these sessions. This is a safe place; you can believe me on that."
Brenda didn't look entirely convinced, but that was because she wasn't really sure what a safe place was any more. If she had been asked before the attack, she'd have considered her office parking lot a safe place, and that was where she had almost been killed. Siobhan looked between Ji and Brenda, and leaned back in her chair.
"Alright Brenda, I'd like you to begin by telling me in your own words exactly what brings you here." Siobhan invited her. "Please, feel free to take your time."