Chapter 31
It happened to be another training filled day at the Shiba household, currently inside Mike and Emily were sparring in the dojo with Kevin watching over the two. The rangers quickly dodge or blocked the others attacks when Emily managed to knock Mike onto the ground.
The green ranger let out a painful grunt, causing Emily to quickly go over to this side, "Mike are you ok?"
Mike then took this opportunity to grab the yellow ranger by the arms and throw her over him. She let out a cry of surprise before letting out a grunt once hitting the practice mats.
Mike slowly sat up and looked back at the yellow ranger, "Point."
Kevin nodded in approval at this, "Good job Mike!"
The blue ranger then made his way over to the yellow ranger and kneels by her side, "Emily…You are too nice, you are going to need to toughen up."
She made no comment at this but slowly sat up, keeping her gaze to the floor. At this time Mia showed up in the dojo with a newspaper in hand, "Hey guys! Hey Em!"
The pink ranger held up the newspaper that had a big ad on it, "Did you forget about the big sale?"
Emily quickly looked up at the sound of this and smiled, "Oh yeah!"
"Well come on then!"
"Go on Em, you've been working hard we'll continue with this later." Told Mike
"Cool!"
And with that Emily got up on her feet, running over to Mia. The girls quickly made their leave from the household with Mike and Kevin watching the two.
Just as the girls stepped out of the household, they spotted Nariko with Jayden at the garden. Emily turned to the pink ranger, "Hey Mia…Why don't we invite Nariko along?"
"That's a great idea Emily!"
The two rangers quickly made their way over to the couple and called out to the Yamada princess, "Nariko!"
She turned around and smiled once seeing who had just called her, "Oh hello Mia, Emily…Do you need something?"
The girls stopped in front of the princess and Emily gently grabbed Nariko's arm, "Well…Mia and I were wondering if you wanted to go shopping with us?"
"You want me to come along?"
"Definitely! We barely have any girl time because of the recent nighlok attacks." Said Mia
"Well you do have a point there…"
Jayden came up behind Nariko and wrapped his arms around her stomach, "I say you go along Nariko it gives you at least something to do."
"You sure Jayden?"
"Of course I want you to at least get out of the household and have fun."
Nariko lightly sighed at this and smiled at the two female rangers, "All right let's go shopping girls!"
Both Emily and Mia cheered at this, Jayden chuckled a bit and kissed his fiance on the cheek "Call me when you girls are heading back to the household, ok?"
"I will."
"You girls be careful."
Nariko turned around in Jayden's hold and gave him a quick peck on the lips. As she got out of his hold the red ranger grabbed the princess' hand and pulled her back to him in order to get a proper kiss.
Once receiving the kiss Jayden wanted he pulled away and watched as the three girls make their leave from the Shiba household.
20 minutes passed for the girls to arrive at the store, once entering the building Emily and Mia quickly picked out some clothes for themselves and Nariko before making their way to the fitting room. The girls had a lot of fun trying on different clothes and doing little struts, currently Nariko was in a white sundress and hat looking at herself in the mirror while Emily and Mia were trying on more clothes.
"So…Is this a tough look or what?"
Nariko turned around as she heard this and saw Emily wearing a white t-shirt, camouflage pants, tan boots and sunglasses. She made a tiny face at this and looked to Mia who had the same face, the two shared a look with each other then turn their attention on the yellow ranger.
"Wow…Emily…Interesting but…Nah…" told Mia
"But what? I'm just trying to be as tough as you and the others…"
Nariko walked over to the yellow ranger and gently grabbed her shoulders, giving them a squeeze "Em…You're tough in your own way."
As she and Mia continued to look through the clothes that were picked, Emily couldn't help but sigh a little and think back to what Kevin said to her earlier at the household.
10 minutes later after picking the clothes they wanted, the girls went to the cash register to pay their clothing. While doing so a guy by the name of Spike who Mia happened to have met a few days ago spotted the girls at the register.
He started to pull on the sleeve of his Uncle Bulk who had come along with him to the store, "Hey it's that girl Mia!"
Bulk nudges his nephew's shoulder "Well? Go on Romeo! This is your big chance, you've got to talk to her before she leaves!"
"I-I can't!"
Spike soon sighed in disappointment as he watched the girls leave the store, he then spotted something on the floor and gasp.
Bulk looked to his nephew once he did this, "What is it?"
Spike pointed to a pink wallet on the floor, "Look that's hers!"
He quickly ran over to pick the item up before chasing after the group, with the girls they were a few feet away from the shop when Mia's samuraizer went off.
The pink ranger stopped in her tracks to answer the call, "Yes?...All right we're on our way."
"You girls go on I'll take your stuff back to the household." Told Nariko
"Thanks Nariko!"
Emily and Mia quickly handed their shopping bags to the princess before darting off while Nariko went the other way. Just as she turned a corner Spike had just ran out of the shop calling Mia's name, "Hey, hey Mia!"
Spike then grunted in surprise as his uncle bumped into him, "Well Spike?"
"I was too late, she's already gone!"
Bulk took the wallet out of his nephew's hand "Oh but look! We have a wallet and a driver's license!"
Spike took the wallet back from his uncle and took a good look at Mia's picture, "Oh…She has a pretty picture…"
"Yeah! That and we have her address, now all you have to do is take this back to her and you can be her hero!" Bulk pointed out
Meanwhile with the rangers they encountered a nighlok by the name of Grinataur who was making people hungry and thirsty by shooting them with his black sand. As the rangers fought with the moogers that Grinataur sent to fight them, Emily saw an opening and took this chance to prove to the others that she was tough.
Though as she tried to go against the nighlok on her own, Grinataur overpowered the yellow ranger making Emily collapse the ground and powering down. Seeing what just happened to their fellow ranger, Kevin and Mia quickly made their way over to help Emily just as Grinataur sent his black sand at her.
The two rangers quickly got in front of Emily to protect her, in turn they got hit by the sand and just by being hit, Kevin and Mia powered down collapsing right in front of the yellow ranger.
"Mia, Kevin!" groaned Emily
Kevin groaned a bit as he tried to sit up, gripping his stomach, "I'm starving!"
Mia gasps and put a hand to her throat, "So very…Thirsty!"
"Oh no…" Emily quietly said, she then looked to the remaining rangers exclaiming, "They've been hit!"
Jayden looked to the yellow ranger when she said this then to Mike and Antonio, "Go cover Emily!"
The two rangers did what they were told; unfortunately they were also hit by Grinataur's sand. Just like what happened to Kevin and Mia, Antonio and Mike powered down collapsing to the ground.
The green ranger groaned before spitting, "Ugh! It feels like I had a sand sandwich!"
Jayden quickly finished off the rest of the moogers and ran over to Emily, standing in front of her with his spin sword drawn, "Don't worry I'll protect you!"
"Heads up!" told Grinataur, the nighlok sent a little bit of sand towards the red ranger which successfully made a hit.
Xandred's minion soon groans in disappointment, "Oh I'm out of dirt! You lucked out, I'm gonna have to reload again to finish you off properly!"
With that being said the nighlok made his escape through the gap, once he was gone Jayden powered down and fell to one knee. He gripped his throat, groaning and coughing a bit Emily who was witnessing this said to herself, "I've got to fix this…"
Back at the household Jayden, Mia, Kevin, Mike and Antonio quickly made their way to the kitchen. Once being there, the group began eating all the food that's there. Emily quickly went to get Ji and Nariko, bringing them to the kitchen in order for them to see what's going on. Upon entering the room the two were shocked at what they saw.
"This is crazy!" exclaimed Ji
"And it's all because of me…They took that hit because I was trying to prove that I was tough…" admitted Emily
Thus the three tried to take away most of the food that the rangers were eating, though they were not giving up without a fight. This went on for quite some time until the doorbell rung; Ji ceased taking the food away from Kevin and Mike looking around in wonder, "What now?"
Turns out to be Bulk and Spike, trying to return Mia's wallet as Ji tried to get rid of the two he heard Nariko yell from the kitchen, "Jayden give me that popcorn or I'll be force to put you down!"
"Uh…Can you wait right there? I'll be right back!" told Ji to the two guys before running back to the kitchen.
Upon arriving Ji spotting Kevin trying to eat some flour, "No!" he ran to the blue ranger and grabbed the bag, though Kevin wouldn't let go and soon the two were playing tug of war with the bag until Mike joined in. Soon all of the flour ended up on Ji, Nariko who had witnessed this covered her mouth in shock.
"Hey! I was going to eat that!" exclaimed Mike
Ji looked to the Yamada princess, "I need to change."
"B-But wait Ji!"
Nariko then turned her attention on her fiance and Antonio who had begun to fight over a bag of chips, "Will you two knock it off? And give me that bag!"
It didn't take long for Ji to quickly come back to the kitchen after having a little talk with Bulk and Spike, he immediately went over to Emily and grabbed her shoulder, "Emily you have to get rid of those two out there! They think this is a dojo, they think they want to be samurai!"
The yellow ranger went over to the door leading into the practice room, "What are you talking about?"
She opened the door just a crack to see Bulk and Spike messing with some of the equipment, Emily quietly gasp and close the door saying to herself, "It's that guy Mia met from the factory…That other guy must be from his friend…"
The yellow ranger thought for a bit before a smile came upon her face, "I have an idea."
Emily went out into the practice room wearing a disguise, keeping Bulk and Spike busy with exercise drills. Once making sure that they were distracted she left out of the room to change out of her disguise and join the others back in the kitchen. There she found the rangers gathered around Nariko and Ji who had watermelons set on the counter.
"If you're going to keep eating like this…Then we're going to make it healthy." Told Ji
Nariko set down a plate of sliced pieces of watermelons, once doing so the rangers immediately grab the fruit, went to their own corners and began scarfing it down. Emily watched her friends for a bit before making her way over to Nariko and Ji.
Her gaze went to the watermelons on the counter and she grabbed one, looking at it. Seeing this Ji couldn't help but wonder aloud, "What are you doing?"
"Being creative." Told Emily
Soon Emily busied Bulk and Spike by having them hold watermelons in their hands and on their heads until the gap sensor went off. In the kitchen Jayden immediately stopped his eating and looked to the sensor, "The nighlok is back, I've got to go!"
Before he ran out of the kitchen Jayden quickly grabbed a cookie and then ran out of the room having Nariko yell after him, "Wait Jayden you're not ok! Emily!"
Hearing the princess' cry Emily turned around to see Jayden running over to the living room table to look at the city map. Once having the nighlok's location the red ranger ran out of the household.
"I've got to go help Jayden!" said Emily to herself, before leaving the household she made Bulk and Spike's task harder in order to keep them busy. Once making sure that they were completely distracted by their task Emily ran out of the building to catch up with Jayden.
Soon Emily arrived at the battle to find Grinataur having the upper hand on Jayden. The yellow ranger quickly ran over to her leader and defended him against one of Grinataur's attacks. A bit caught off guard by her appearance, the nighlok charged at Emily.
She managed to put off most of Grinataur's attacks but the nighlok caught her off guard with a surprise attack. Emily fell to one knee and Jayden's amazement she was able to get back up again.
Impressed by her will to not give up, the red ranger quickly handed Emily the black box. Once having the weapon in hand, the yellow ranger used its powers that help her defeat Grinataur. By doing so this managed to break the spell the nighlok casted on everyone the monster came in contact with.
At the household Ji and Nariko were resting their heads on the counter while the other rangers sat in different places, calmly eating snacks. And to their surprise they heard Mia questioned out loud, "What are we doing?"
Nariko and Ji looked to find the rangers standing, looking around the kitchen in confusion. Ji quickly grabbed towels and handed them to the rangers, "No time to explain, the nighlok has returned! Hawk Side Trails! But wait the back way!"
"Got it!" said Mike, who quickly left out of the kitchen along with the others.
Both Ji and Nariko sighed in relief, only to be surprise by Mike's sudden return to the kitchen. The green ranger quickly grabbed a cookie, winked at the two and ran back out.
Nariko scoffed at this and rolled her eyes, "Typical Mike…"
Kevin and the rest of the rangers met up with Jayden and Emily in order to form the megazord. Once combining the zords together and with the power from the black box, the rangers were able to defeat Grinataur for good. Though once the battle was over Emily quickly left her team to return to the Shiba household, in order to deal with Spike and Bulk.
To her amusement she found Bulk and Spike trying to escape, once confronting them in her disguise Emily learned that the only reason why they were here was to return Mia's wallet. She then told the two they did a good job and she'll see them tomorrow, but as she walked away Emily had a strong feeling that Bulk and Spike weren't coming back at all which put a smile upon her face, feeling pleased with her work today.
Later in the kitchen Emily joined Nariko and Ji at the counter, trying to rest from today's ordeal. Mike happened to be in the kitchen also, most likely looking for something to snack on.
To his displeasure he found no food in the empty refrigerator, "Hey! Who ate everything?"
Nariko who had her head down on the counter groaned at this while Ji and Emily shook their heads at the green ranger. At this time Jayden and Antonio came in, carrying a chess pieces and board in order to play a game at the table.
Mia also happens to enter the kitchen at this time, "Hey…Has anyone seen my wallet?"
Emily smiled at the pink ranger and held up the item she was looking for, "You dropped it in the store."
Mia returned the smile and went to retrieve her wallet, once she had it in hand the pink ranger looked at Emily in wonder.
With a smile still on her face Emily said, "Don't ask."
Mia simply just shrugged at her answer and casually walked out of the kitchen, only to have Kevin enter at this time.
The blue ranger looked around the room for a bit before focusing his attention on Ji, Nariko and Emily, "What exactly happened here today?"
The Yamada princess looked at the blue ranger, with her head still resting on the counter, "If you only knew…The toughest day ever…" she looked at the yellow ranger, "Right Emily?"
Emily smiled at the princess and nodded, "You said it Nariko…"
Antonio and Jayden looked at each other, sharing a look then to Kevin who made a face and shrugged his shoulders. Nariko and Emily happen to catch this and began to giggle, both planning to tell the boys and Mia today's events sooner or later but for now, they'll have them keep wondering.