The Hellhound's Secret

Shimazu Returns, Part I

The Rock Porium was bumping as Kali stepped through its doors early that morning. She smiled as she found Vida and Matoombo shaking it out on stage and winked at her pink-haired friend as they caught one another's gaze from across the room.

"Hey, you're here!" Xander exclaimed, stepping out from behind the counter and hugging Kali.

It had been almost a month since Tori's birthday, and in that month Kali had barely been home. Her correspondences with the former Mystic team had been few and far between, given she had Ninja training, Ranger duties, and Lothor to worry about back in Blue Bay Harbour. But today she had the morning off, and unless Lothor attacked again, she was free to spend it however she pleased.

"Yeah. Things are slow in Blue Bay, and Sensei's given us the morning off," said Kali. "Plus, I have something for V." She took out a folded-up piece of paper from her inside pocket, unfolded it, and showed it Xander.

"Totally Talented," Xander read, his eyes widening. "No way, for real?"

Kali nodded. "Hunter and Blake just stopped by Storm Charges with a leaflet and started gloating about how they were trying out next week. I don't know what they're doing, but it started a chain reaction with the others. Dustin is practicing his Saxophone, Shane, apparently, can sing, and Tori is doing a dance routine. I figured Vida could show her DJing skills."

"What about Cam?" Xander asked.

"I dunno. Aside from being a total computer genius, I don't think he has any secret talents."

Xander shrugged. "What about you?" he asked.

Kali shook her head.

"I find that hard to believe," said Xander. "I've seen you dance with V."

"That's just fooling around. Besides, I entered a dance competition when I was thirteen, and I got so scared that I was almost sick," Kali explained. "The only reason I got through it, is because Nick jumped up on stage and danced with me."

"That's cute."

Kali rolled her eyes. "After that day, I swore I would never do anything in front of an audience again," she said.

"We talking about the dance recital of 1990?" Nick asked, appearing behind Kali. She jumped and spun around, hand over her heart and eyes narrowed at him.

Nick laughed. "You're awful jumpy, Hellhound," he teased. "I thought you could sense when Magic was near?"

"Dark magic," Kali corrected. "Unless you've possessed again, I don't see why you would have dark magic."

"What? Scared that someone may steal your thunder in that category?"

Kali shook her head. "No. But yes, we were talking about my first and last dance recital," she said. "I was telling Xander that I never would've made it through if it wasn't for you."

Nick shrugged. "You looked a little green," he said. "I figured I'd come to your rescue."

"My hero," Kali teased.

Nick chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Given how mortified you were that day, why are you talking about it now?" he asked.

Kali handed him the Totally Talented flyer. "I'm wondering if V wants to enter," she said. "They're looking for new participants. The other Ninja Rangers, apart from Cam, are entering. I haven't seen any of them perform, and I know Vida rocks the house."

"Why thank you," Vida said, approaching. Matoombo followed behind, the top of his head brushing the ceiling of the shop. "Where have you been? We thought something had happened, especially when our texts were going unread."