Random Fact Time!

Hector David Jr. is Puerto Rican.

You hear that Latino/Hispanic PRSS fans? He knows some Spanish too! :P

The next day, toward noon, Lauren and Cody were sitting on a wooden bench, gazing at the lake in front of them. Lauren felt much better compared to yesterday and decided to go jogging with Cody in the forest around her house. Now, they were relaxing after their run before they went back to the Shiba house.

Lauren kicked one of her legs up on Cody's lap without much thought. He didn't care. Their relationship wasn't a unique one but Lauren loved it. They weren't too romantic and they weren't too casual with it either. Cody also teased her quite a bit. He never really meant what he said, though. She was a little scared about starting her first relationship with a stranger but knowing that Cody wasn't just into her bodily features, how she dressed, or her father's money settled her mind at ease.

Cody rubbed the leg Lauren propped up on his lap and gave her a gentle smile. "So…"

"So…"

"Summer is next month." Cody stated.

"No school!" Lauren lazily threw her arms up in the air in excitement. "I passed my final exams. Give me two more years and I could be a lawyer. That's how it works in the real world, right?"

Cody chuckled. "If everything works out and someone actually wants to hire you that fast, then yeah, sure, you can be a lawyer."

"The real world is so complicated. Three years later, and I still don't understand any of it."

"It's only complicated if you make it complicated." Cody assured her. "Trust me; I've been working since I was fifteen. Let's focus on summer, though. Do you have any plans? Are you getting a summer job rich girl?"

"No, I haven't made any plans yet." Lauren shook her head. "What do you do in the summer? Jayden and I usually stay home or volunteer somewhere. We never have much to do. A few times, we went on road trips to Harwood County. Those were really fun."

"Nice." Cody nodded. "I don't do much in the summer either. Sometimes my roommates and I will go to a couple beach parties or go to amusement parks. Remember my cousin, Amanda? She's a completely different story. You can find her hanging out with a drunken friend one day and the next day, she'll be skydiving."

"Wow, I never knew she was so wild."

"She said she hates to be bored." Cody shrugged. "I hate being bored too but I'm calmer. Different personalities; different fun."

In another part of the forest, Mike and Emily were walking mindlessly around the trees, bushes, and occasional patches of grass. They felt frustrated and pissed off. Last night, they spent hours looking for the black flower and it was nowhere in sight. By midnight, they called it a night and passed out, completely exhausted, in their camping tent. When they woke up early in the morning, they tried to enjoy their small camping trip but they couldn't get the black flower off their minds.

The couple no longer had much faith in themselves to find the magical plant.

The black flower had a lot of unbelievable healing power. It was used by many past generations of samurai when medicine wasn't as good as it is today. When a samurai woman got pregnant with a baby with both of its parent's elements, she began to slowly die (very similar to Mia's situation). But she lived. The black flower healed her. The black flower is like the healing symbol in liquid form. It's a very simple medicine to prepare but it's also a very difficult medicine to find.

Emily walked ahead of Mike, hugging herself, watching a flock of birds pass by in the sky. Mike trailed behind her, kicking an acorn with every step he took.

"Hey Em, how much acorns do you think a squirrel can hold in its mouth?" Mike asked with a chuckle. He knew Emily didn't want to talk right now. Their search for the magical plant was officially serious business now that they knew Mia won't live without it. But a little joking around every here and there was acceptable, right?

Emily didn't reply. She didn't even look at him. She just sighed and sat on a large rock, staring at the lake that was several yards from her position. Without a word, she pointed next to the lake. Mike looked at the spot she pointed at. He could see Lauren and Cody laughing on a bench by the lake.

Mike stuffed his hands into his khaki shorts' pockets and made his way over to his wife. "We can tell them if you'd like. Especially since Lauren…" Mike trailed off as he got closer to Emily. She was sobbing. "What's wrong?"

"I… Lauren and I… the symbol…" Emily stuttered, in between sobs.

"Shh…it's okay." Mike wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. "What's the matter?"

"The healing symbol didn't work. Now, Mia's literally dying. I feel awful Mike. What if we don't find the flower? It's going to be my fault… Mia's going to die and it's going to be my fault!" Emily cried.

"At least we're trying…"

"What type of Earth and forest samurai are we if we can't find a damn flower?"

"Emily, listen to me." Mike said, taking a seat next to her on the rock. "It's not your fault. It's not Lauren's fault either. You ladies worked hard on that symbol. You knew the symbol could've killed you and it's a really risky kanji to make. That didn't stop you or Lauren though. It only made you girls work harder. Both of you tried and failed but like I said; you tried. I am so, so proud of you for that."

"Should we tell Lauren?" Emily sighed, looking back at the lake. "She seems… happy today."

"I think you should make that decision."

Emily thought about it for a minute. Once she made her decision, she stood up with Mike and they made their way to Lauren and Cody by the lake. Cody saw them and greeted them with a grin. Lauren grinned a little too but it quickly faded. She didn't want any drama today.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you guys here today." Cody said, breaking the awkward tension between them.

"We could say the same about you two." Mike replied, sitting on the second bench next to Lauren.

Emily didn't move. Instead, she turned her attention to Cody and frowned.

"I'm sorry. I…" Emily struggled with her words as she began to choke up again. Her emotions have been haywire lately. She couldn't control them. "I'm so, so sorry for taking out my anger on you yesterday. I don't know what came over me."

"It's cool Emily." Cody held out his fist, which Emily gladly bumped with her own fist. "All of the memories from that night must've been hard for you to process after such a rough wake up."

Emily nodded. She glanced over at Lauren, who wasn't happy with her. She had run off, like Mike did, without a word, causing Lauren to worry like crazy. The yellow samurai politely asked Lauren to take her leg off of Cody's so she could sit in between them. Emily hugged Lauren.

"I'm sorry." Emily told her. "Ji said I worried everyone sick, especially you. Family shouldn't just get up and leave without a reason, right Mike?"

"I'm sorry too." Mike smiled brightly at the couple and his wife. "It wasn't my wisest idea."

"It's okay." Lauren pulled away from Emily's embrace. "Just stop being so mushy. I was actually enjoying my afternoon with my boyfriend." Lauren gave Emily a look that immediately sent her a mental message. Emily got up from where she was sitting, allowing Lauren to sit closer to Cody. Then, she moved to the spot Lauren was sitting in. "By the way, what are you two doing all the way out here?"

Emily bit her lip and glanced at Mike nervously. She wasn't sure how to tell Lauren about Mia's condition. She mentally prayed that Ji already told the red samurai. Mike could sense Emily's distress and spoke for her.

"You guys and Ji are the only people that know we're out here." Mike explained to Lauren and Cody. "We're searching for the black flower."

"The black flower is…"

"Not you too." Mike rolled his eyes at Lauren. He knew what she was going to say. Emily told him and Ji's sentence came out exactly like Lauren's until he could cut him off. "There's no easy way for me to say this…"

"What?" Lauren started to feel herself tense up. It wasn't often Mike got serious.

"Mia's dying… literally dying." Mike informed her. "Ji said the healing symbol didn't work. The only thing that can save her now is the black flower."

"The symbol… didn't… but how?" Lauren jumped out of her seat and gave Mike a frightened look. "I worked my ass off on that spell! How could it not work? I suffered yesterday for nothing? I couldn't walk!"

"Lauren?"

"Shut up Cody!"

Cody shook his head and got out of his seat too. He walked over to Lauren and started to pull her away from the forest samurai. She looked ready to kill.

"Maybe that's enough secrets for today." Cody said to Mike and Emily. The couple nodded their heads in agreement. It wasn't easy news to receive.

"Please don't tell anyone else in the house." Mike reminded him. "It might be for the best too."

"We won't." Cody promised and gave his girlfriend a quick kiss. "Let's go Lauren."

"We'll look out for the flower." Lauren told the couple before walking off with Cody. She began to sob like Emily did earlier. "I want to see Mia now."

"We will."

"I feel… guilty, very guilty. What if Mia doesn't live?"

Cody gave her another kiss and kept on walking. He didn't know how to reply to that.

At the Shiba house, in Kevin's room, the new father was dozing on and off in sleep. He was lying in bed next to his daughter, who was sleeping as the usual, still unable to be awake for any longer than two hours. Kevin placed two large pillows on the side of the bed his daughter was sleeping on to keep her from accidentally rolling over in her sleep, and falling off the bed when he wasn't looking. He glanced at the clock on the wall and back to his baby. He stuck his finger in her tight fist.

"I love you so much." Kevin whispered to his sleeping child. "My love for you will never change little one. It's just… I really wish I knew the risks of having you."

Thank you sooo much for the reviews! They are all so sweet! I'm sorry this chapter took a while. As usual, I was busy with school work. Also, this chapter was a little challenging because I got writer's block. Anyways, don't be a stranger! Review and let your opinion be heard! :D