Chapter 37

Time passed since the defeat of Serrator and all was quite peaceful, currently at the Shiba household Jayden was practicing in the front yard with the help of Nariko. While the couple fought each other with the practice wooden swords, Mia happened to be watching them from the doorway.

The pink ranger couldn't help but smile as she observe the samurai couple train together, though attention was soon diverted to the front gate where Mia witnessed a monk handing an envelope to Ji. She immediately recognized the symbol stamped on the envelope and softly gasped, "The Shiba family crest…"

Mia hid behind the door and watched as Ji approached Jayden and Nariko; the couple ceased their sparring and turned to their mentor. Ji held out the envelope to Jayden who immediately took and opened it. The red ranger retrieved the letter from within the envelope and began reading its contents with Ji and Nariko by his side.

Seconds ticked by as the trio read over the letter, Ji simply nodded once he finished reading "We knew this day would come…" Jayden slowly put down the letter, "This changes everything…The other rangers will finally know my secret…I hope they'll forgive me…"

Nariko gently placed her hand on her fiancé's arm and laid her head against his shoulder, "Oh Jayden…" the red ranger wrapped his arm around his princess and kissed her forehead, "I know, love…I know…"

Meanwhile outside at a Japanese temple, Dayu and Octoroo had left the netherworld with a nighlok named Fiera in order to carry out a plan concerning the red ranger. Octoroo handed Fiera an artifact, "Your skills are exactly what we need for this job. All you have to do is target the red ranger. These are specially designed to take down the head of the Shiba clan."

Fiera observed the artifact in her hand, "Hmm…What are they?"

"Fiery flashers." Answered Octoroo, "Red symbol power is fire so we're going to fight fire with fire. These are filled with evil flames from the Sanzu River…Hehehe every time they strike it'll make the fire within the red ranger burn and destroy him from the inside out! Ooh ah ooh! The red ranger is through!"

Back at the Shiba household, the gap sensor went off having everyone rush into the living room. Jayden summoned the virtual map on the table and once seeing the location, he looked at his team "Nighlok attack at the park, let's go!"

The red ranger gave a quick peck to Nariko on the lips before rushing out of the household with the others following. Though Mia couldn't help but stay behind for a few seconds, Nariko noticed and stared at the pink ranger in wonder. Noticing the princess' look, Mia nodded at her friend and quickly followed after the others. Ji who had also witnessed this looked at the Yamada princess, the two stared at each other for a few seconds when Nariko walked pass the samurai mentor "I'm going to be in the kitchen if you need me Ji."

Meanwhile with the rangers they arrived at the park to find moogers terrorizing the civilians. They immediately drew their weapons and began attacking the nighloks, "Take them out!" told Jayden

And as the rangers began fighting off the moogers, little did they knew Fiera was watching them from atop the Japanese temple, "So that's the red ranger…The head of the fiery Shiba clan…Time to use these fiery flashers to light it up!"

While they continued to fight the annoying moogers Antonio said aloud, "These guys get uglier every time I see them!"

"Yo moogers have cornered the market on ugly, it's what they do best!" said Mike

"Stay focused, pick your targets!" told Jayden

Suddenly Fiera appeared and aimed her arm at the red ranger, "I've picked mine!" Jayden turned just as Fiera fired on him. The attack struck the red ranger in the chest and immediately he began to feel the effects of the fiery flashers. He cried out in pain and fell to his knee, "Ugh…It feels like my insides are burning up…"

Back at the Shiba household, Nariko was in the kitchen cutting up some fruit when she felt a painful jolt run down her spine. The princess gasped and ceased her cutting, "What…What was that I felt just now…" she then tightly clutches her necklace, "I really don't like this feeling I'm getting right now…Like something awful is happening…"

Nariko's head shot up once she realized what that feeling is, "Oh no…Jayden!" the princess darted out of the kitchen and made her way towards the front door. Ji who had remained in the living room abruptly stood up from his seat once spotting the princess quickly making her way towards the door, "Nariko! Where are you going?"

Nariko stopped and turned to the samurai mentor, "Ji I need to go help Jayden! I have this feeling that he's in trouble." "Nariko…" she turned to leave but immediately stopped in her tracks once noticing someone standing there.

The princess stared at the person in surprise, "It's…It's you…" Ji joined Nariko's side and also stared at the person, "Oh my goodness…You're…You're really here…"

Back at the battle Fiera was still targeting Jayden with the fiery flashers, Kevin immediately went to his leader's aid "Jayden!" the blue ranger got in front of his friend and took a hit from the fiery flasher. Kevin fell to his knee and put a hand to his chest, Jayden grabbed his teammate's shoulder "Careful those blasts are powerful!" "Huh? I feel ok…"

Jayden then charged at Fiera who quickly disappeared before the red ranger could land an attack on her. Kevin quickly joined his leader's side and began looking around for the nighlok, "That blast didn't affect me much." Jayden looked at him in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah I'm barely scratched…" Kevin looked to his teammates, "I think we can block her shots, rangers!"

Mike, Emily, Mia and Antonio joined up with Kevin and immediately surrounded Jayden just as Fiera reappeared. The nighlok fired the fiery flashers which ultimately hit the whole group, once again Jayden cried out in pain from the effects of the fiery flashers.

"Jayden!" exclaimed Emily

"Why is that only happening to him?" wondered Mia

"I'll tell you why." Said Fiera, "The head of the Shiba family has massive fire symbol power. My fire flasher simply ignited the flames already inside him and you can't stop me! You can't even see me!"

Thus the nighlok disappeared before the rangers' eyes causing them to become highly alert. Mike looked around at his surroundings, "Where is she?"

"We must protect Jayden and the sealing power!" told Kevin

Immediately the rangers surrounded their leader who still remained on the ground, just then Fiera appeared then disappeared after firing a fire blast at each of the rangers "Now you see me! Now you don't!"

"You guys, stop taking hits for me!" told Jayden

"We have to protect you!" said Mike, "Besides her hits aren't that strong, we're a team Jayden!"

Emily nodded in agreement, "He's right! If they want you they'll have to go through us first!"

"Emily is right! We six are a team to the end!" said Antonio

"They're too loyal…" thought Jayden

"Ready to have a blast?" asked Fiera who once again fired upon the rangers

The group fell to the ground groaning in pain, causing Jayden to slowly stand "Please! You guys need to stop protecting me! I can handle this!" once fully standing the red ranger took a step towards the nighlok "You want me? Then fight me, not them!"

As Jayden went into super samurai mode, Fiera appeared and fired the fire flashers "Nice vest!" the red ranger once again got hit by the blast but it didn't stop him from running off in another direction having Fiera follow, "Running away won't help!"

"Come on! We can't let him do this alone!" told Kevin

As he and the other rangers ran after Jayden, Mike couldn't help but say "That's just who Jayden is…He'll do anything to protect us…"

With the red ranger, he stumbled through the park with the bullzooka in hand. As he stopped to rest, Fiera appeared right before him "Noble self-sacrifice? You humans are pitiful!"

The nighlok disappeared once again only to reappear behind Jayden, flying high above him "This will finish you!" as she fired another fire blast, the red ranger turned around and fired his weapon "Think again, say hello to my bullzooka!"

Though as Jayden fired the bullzooka, he got hit by the fire flasher in the process and flew back. Fiera who got hit by the red ranger's attack, fell to the ground clutching her chest "N-No! You're supposed to burn up, not me!" as the nighlok was destroyed, the other rangers arrived and rushed over to their leader.

Little did they know Dayu and Octoroo were watching the group from a far. "I can't believe the fire didn't consume him…" said Dayu, she looked to her companion "What happened?"

"If he's the head of the Shiba family, there should've been enough fire symbol power in him to destroy him…" Octoroo then gasps, "There's only one explanation!"

With the rangers, Kevin helped his leader slowly sit up "Jayden, you're going to be ok!" the red ranger wince in pain and handed his teammate the black box, "You gotta lead Kevin…" "You can count on me!"

"He's toast!"

The rangers looked to find Fiera reappearing in her giant form, "And the rest of you will be next!" Antonio gently dragged his childhood friend over to a statue and set him against it, "Just rest here buddy, we're coming back for you!"

As Kevin and the others left to fight Fiera, Jayden remained where he was though the red ranger couldn't help but notice two blurry figures walking towards him followed by a female voice, "Jayden…Don't worry we'll handle this."

With the rangers, their megazord had come apart due to Fiera's powerful attacks and speed. The nighlok continued her relentless attacks, but she was completely caught off guard by the lion zord suddenly attacking. Kevin and the others were also surprised too as they saw this, though they couldn't help but wonder just who is piloting the lion zord since Jayden still remained on the ground.

Back with the injured red ranger, he still remained lying against the stone statue just as the Yamada princess arrived, "Jayden!" She knelt by his side and gently cupped his cheek "Oh Jayden…"

"I'm all right Nariko…"

"No you're not you're badly injured!"

"Nariko…"

"Jayden, Nariko!"

The couple looked to find the rangers returning from the battle with the defeated Fiera. "Jayden are you ok?" asked Mia, the ranger leader nodded "I'm ok…"

"We need to get him back to the Shiba house so I can take care of his injuries." Told Nariko

The rangers nodded and immediately helped their leader up, though before they could make their journey back to the household, two mysterious figures arrived on the scene. They stopped in their tracks and looked to find a female red ranger standing there with a guy with short black hair by her side.

"What's going on here?" wondered Emily

The female red ranger powered down, revealing a girl with blonde hair to the others. Antonio studied the guy and girl before asking, "Who are you?"

There was a moment of silence before Jayden broke it by saying, "The blonde is my big sister…Lauren…" "And the guy is my older brother: Takashi…" told Nariko

The rangers stared at the couple in surprise, "What?! You two didn't tell us you had siblings!" said Mike

Lauren couldn't help but smile at the sight of her younger sibling, "Hi Jayden…" she then walked over to the group with Takashi following. Lauren stopped in front of her little brother and gently cupped his cheek, still smiling at him.

"Why didn't we know about you two?" asked Emily, "And…Where have you two been?"

"Why weren't you two with Jayden and Nariko?" questioned Mike, "And what about-"

Mia immediately cut in, "Whoa, whoa, whoa…Don't just throw a million questions at them…Why don't we start with this?" the pink ranger turned to Lauren and Takashi with a friendly smile upon her face, "Lauren, Takashi welcome to the samurai rangers."

"Thank you." Said Lauren

Takashi gave a small smile, "We've imagined this day for a long time…Lauren and I can't wait to get to know each one of you…And especially our young siblings." He then looked at Nariko only to have her immediately look away from him.

This wiped the small smile off of Takashi's face, "Nariko…"

"Now that we got introductions over and done with, we need to head back to the Shiba household so I can tend to Jayden's injuries." Told the Yamada princess

Everyone nodded at this and made their departure from the park, back at the Shiba household Kevin and Antonio brought Jayden into his room gently setting him down on his bed. The rangers then stepped aside as Nariko knelt by her fiance's side and began tending to his injuries.

Ji then ushered Kevin and the others to the living room leaving Takashi, Lauren, Nariko and Jayden alone. Once the rangers were comfortably sitting down, Ji proceeded to tell them the secret that was kept from them for so long.

"The nighlok never even knew Lauren or Takashi existed…It was all a part of their father's secret plan. You see in the last invasion, Master Xandred's forces were raging an intense battle they were overwhelming the samurai rangers. So their fathers put all their faith into their children, Lauren and Takashi were sent off and put into hiding. That way Lauren could fully master the sealing power with the aid of Takashi. Though while they were off practicing the sealing symbol, someone had to continue fighting off the nighlok…That's where Jayden and Nariko came in."

"But…Jayden and Nariko were young back then." Said Mia

Ji nodded, "Exactly…Jayden's father figured that he himself hadn't mastered the sealing power, but he was willing to try and Nariko's father was there to aid him…Jayden's father hoped that even with an imperfect seal would at least be strong enough to send Master Xandred to the bottom of the Sanzu River, long enough to allow his daughter to fully master the symbol herself and for his son to grow strong enough to protect the world until she did…To deceive the nighlok Jayden had to do one of the hardest things in the whole world…Hide it from his best friends."

"He must've felt like his whole life was a secret…" said Mike

"He's been carrying that around inside him all this time…" said Mia

"So…Does this mean Lauren is ready?" asked Emily

Ji studied his pupils and nodded, "Yes…She has finally mastered the sealing power…The only power capable of sealing Master Xandred away forever…This is the day that we've been waiting for…"

The next morning at the Shiba household after Nariko had brought Jayden his breakfast and some tea, she quietly sat on her fiancé's bed while he drank his tea. Noticing how quiet his princess is, the red ranger placed his cup down and gently grabbed her hand "Nariko…"

The Yamada princess snapped out of her little dazed and looked at her loved one, "Jayden?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah…I'm fine…Just thinking…" "It's about your brother isn't it?"

"Jay…"

"You should talk to him, Nariko…After all you haven't seen him since that night he and Lauren were sent away."

"Jay…I don't think…"

The couple looked to the door as they heard a knock upon it, there standing in the doorway were Lauren and Takashi. The older Shiba sibling gave the couple a small smile, "Hey…May we come in?" "Of course." Said Jayden

As they stepped in Takashi asked, "How are you feeling Jayden?" "Just fine…Thanks for asking Takashi."

Nariko then took the cup out of Jayden's hands and set it on the tray, "I'm going to go wash the dishes." As she picked up the tray and began heading for the door, Takashi took a step towards his young sibling "Here let me help you."

The Yamada princess simply brushes pass her older brother, "I've got it…But thanks for the offer…" Takashi sighed as he watched his sister leave before turning to Lauren and Jayden, "She hates me…"

"No…She doesn't hate you Takashi." Said Lauren

"Nariko is just still upset about what happened that night when you and Lauren were sent away." Told Jayden, "You and Nariko need to talk to each other."

"Both of you clearly saw what happened a few seconds ago…She doesn't even want to talk to me…" said Takashi

"You need to keep trying, Nariko will talk to you once she sees how much you want to talk to her." Said Jayden

Takashi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well…If you say so…I mean after all you are her fiance and know my little sister better than me…I'll leave you and Lauren alone now…"

And with that being said the older Yamada sibling left the room, Takashi soon found Nariko in the kitchen washing dishes while the other rangers and Ji were eating their breakfast. Mia was the first to notice the older sibling and happily greeted him, "Good morning Takashi."

Immediately the others also greeted Takashi who smiled and nodded at them, "Good morning to you all…" he then looked to his young sister, "Nariko?" she stopped her washing and looked at him, "Yes?" "Can we talk?"

Nariko stared at her brother for a bit and once noticing the looks that the others were giving them, the princess sighed and quickly finished rinsing the dish that she's holding "Yeah…Just give me a second…"

The Yamada heir then placed the dish on the drying rack and wiped her hands, once her hands were dry she looked at her brother "Follow me." And the Yamada siblings left the kitchen with the rangers and Ji watching them.

Once they were outside Nariko led Takashi over to the pond and sat down on the stone bench, "All right…What did you want to talk about?" Takashi took a seat next to his sister, "I want to talk about what happened that night I was sent away with Lauren."

Nariko crossed her arms over her chest and looked the other way, "What's there to talk about?"

"You know there's a lot we need to talk about Nariko…"

The Yamada princess remained quiet but then she softly said, "What you said to me that night…About me becoming strong, you not wanting to look after a weak sister like me and if I didn't become strong I wouldn't be a true Yamada samurai…Your words really hurt me that night Takashi…"

Takashi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I know…And I want you to know I'm truly sorry for what I said to you…It was foolish of me to say those cruel words after all you were young and you didn't fully understand what was going on at that time…I guess me putting on a brave face for you broke that strong bond we had as brother and sister…But now that we're reunited I really want to repair that bond…That is…If you forgive me…"

There was a moment of silence between the two Yamada siblings before Nariko slowly turned to her brother and gave him a small smile, "I forgive you Takashi…" this brought a smile on the older sibling's face, he held out his arms to his sister who immediately embraced him "I've missed you big brother…" "I've missed you too Nariko…"

With the Shiba siblings as Lauren began wiping Jayden's forehead with a wet cloth she said, "I was so proud when Takashi and I saw you fight yesterday…You've grown into a true samurai…"

"You were the one who tore up the battlefield…You were amazing…"

Lauren smiled a bit and dipped the cloth into the bowl of water she had in her lap, "I thought of you often over the years…I imagine…Like me and Takashi…You and Nariko must've felt lonely not having us here by your side…"

"Yes…Luckily we had each other…Not only that we've learned to trust our friends…They've become like brothers and sisters to Nariko and me…"

"I hope I can become part of the family too…You…Me…Surrounded by friends and the people we love…"

"Lauren…You know we can't be together now…"

The female red ranger stopped wiping her brother's forehead and placed the cloth back in the bowl, "I had hoped that maybe there would be someway…"

"I always knew that this day would come…You are the red ranger…You must take your place as their leader…The only way for that to happen is for me to leave…"

"J-Jayden…" Lauren then turned away from her brother and wringing the water out of the cloth, trying to hold back her tears.

"The symbol power is the only way to save the world…It must be protected and that means protecting you at all costs…" told Jayden, "They're too loyal to me…" he gently grabbed his sister's hand, "If I stay…Dangerous mistakes could be made…I can't let that happen…"

Lauren who was still holding her tears back managed to ask, "Are you sure?"

Jayden softly sighed and answered, "There could only be one red ranger…"

At that moment Nariko and Takashi entered the room which caused the Shiba siblings to look at them, "Hey…We just came by to let you know Ji and the others are preparing a little welcome party for us, Lauren." Told Takashi

"Oh that's nice…"

"I can assume that the two of you have made amends?" asked Jayden

Nariko smiled at her fiance while hugging her brother's arm, "Yeah…We did…" though her smile soon faded once noticing the look on her ranger's face, "Jayden…What's wrong?"

"Nariko…We need to talk…"

20 minutes passed and during this time Lauren had left the room to join Ji and the other rangers outside while Takashi and Nariko remained inside with Jayden. The older Yamada sibling watched as his sister and her fiance began packing their things, "You know…You don't really have to leave Jayden…"

"It's best that I do Takashi…Besides Lauren is the true red ranger and…There could only be one."

Takashi sighed and looked at his little sister, "Nariko…" "Takashi…I haven't left Jayden's side since the beginning I'm not leaving him now…"

"But you're the head of the Yamada clan."

"Which should've been you…I mean you are the oldest after all…"

"But Father appointed you before he left for battle."

"Then it's best that I leave…It's better for Lauren and the others if I went into hiding…That way they don't have to worry about protecting me from Master Xandred, all they have to focus on is sealing Xandred away for good…"

"Nariko…We…We just got reunited after so long…"

"I know…And it really saddens me that we have part ways again…"

"Promise me…After this is all over we'll see each other again…"

"I promise…"

Takashi then strode forward and wrapped Nariko in a tight embrace; she returned it and bit her bottom lip as the princess held back her tears. The older Yamada sibling then broke the embrace and cupped his sister's face, "Hey…No crying now…I'll be outside with the others…" "Ok…"

Takashi gave Nariko one last hug before departing from the room, the Yamada princess then stood by Jayden's side who is looking at a wooden box containing his power disks and the black box.

Nariko gently gripped her loved one's arm and laid her head on his shoulder, "Jayden…" "I'm fine Nariko…It's time…"

Meanwhile outside the rangers were happily chatting and eating with Lauren and Takashi when Jayden and Nariko stepped out of the household. Everyone immediately focused their attention on the couple, Antonio smiled at his childhood friends "Hey…Well look who's up! Come on Jayden, Nariko it's your siblings homecoming party and we even got cake!"

"Come on!" urged Mia

Though the couple simply just stood there causing the rangers to become concern, "Jayden…Nariko…What's wrong?" asked Kevin

Lauren looked to Takashi who nodded at her, she then stood up and walked over to the samurai couple with Takashi following.

"What's the deal?" wondered Mike

He and the other rangers watched as Lauren stood in front of her brother, Jayden then brought out the wooden box and opened it revealing the power disks and black box. The rangers watched in shock as Jayden handed the box to Lauren.

Jayden then turned to his friends, "You all need to follow Lauren now…She's the new red ranger and your leader…I'm going away…And Nariko is coming along."

"What do you mean?" asked Emily

"You mean on a trip, right?" said Mike

"I mean permanently…" told Jayden

"What?!" exclaimed the team

Mia took a step forward towards her leader, "Jayden, you and Nariko can't go! You know how we all feel!"

"We know…But Lauren alone has the sealing power, she's able to do what I could never do…End this fight, bring peace…And Nariko feels that it's best if she went along with me so you don't have to worry about protecting her…Takashi will stay here in her place and will give you his aid…You all need to rally around her and Takashi." Told Jayden

"We need you both too!" said Antonio, he looked to the older siblings "Lauren, Takashi tell them."

Though Lauren and Takashi remained silent causing Antonio to urge them, "Well go on tell them!" and yet the two older siblings remained silent.

Just then Ji walked out of the household and stood in the doorway, Mike who had noticed his presence said to him, "Mentor what is this? Jayden and Nariko are leaving…H-How could you keep this from us?! Come on make them stay!"

"I'm sorry Mike…You can't stop them…No one can…"

Nariko turned to the samurai mentor, "Ji…You've been our guiding light…Thank you for everything…" Ji nodded then stood by Lauren and Takashi as the samurai couple turned to the rangers.

"Mike…Emily…Mia…Antonio…Kevin…It's been an honor to fight by your side." Told Jayden

Though as he and Nariko began walking away Kevin loudly exclaimed, "I'm going with you!" the couple stopped in their tracks and turned to the blue ranger, "Kevin…You're a samurai ranger…Jayden and I are counting on you to stay…And fight by my brother and Lauren's side." Told Nariko

Jayden placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder, "I know you'll make Lauren proud of you as you have me…" he then looked to the Yamada princess, "Come on Nariko…"

The Yamada heir nodded and grabbed her fiancé's hand, everyone couldn't help but watch in sadness as Jayden and Nariko departed from the Shiba household together, not once looking back at them.

Later that night at the household everyone had been completely silent ever since Jayden and Nariko left. The rangers had gathered in the living room with Lauren and Takashi, thinking about what happened earlier today.

"It was Jayden and Nariko who brought us together…Somehow fighting next to them made me a stronger warrior." Admitted Emily

"So what are we supposed to do?" questioned Mike, "Just forget about them like they never existed?!"

"Of course not." Told Takashi

"Mike, you remember what Jayden and Nariko said! We have a duty as samurai." Said Kevin

Antonio abruptly stood up from his seat, "Well…They're my best friends…And technically…I'm not a true samurai like all of you are…So I'm going after them!"

As the gold ranger stormed out of the household, Mike simply just shook his head "I'm sorry Lauren, Takashi…I'm sure you both are great samurai…But it's just not the same without Jayden and Nariko."

Lauren gently bit her bottom lip and looked to Takashi who placed his hand over hers, gently squeezing it. Slowly one by one, the rangers left the room leaving Lauren and Takashi alone who couldn't help but worry about their young siblings and silently wished that they hadn't leave.