109 - Fragile / Force

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"After he told us where to go, we ran out. And then when we finally found you, Serrator caught up. So Antonio took you out and I fought Serrator..." Mia yawned as she was telling Jayden the story.

Mia and Jayden were heading home in the backseat of a car. The drive ahead was still long.

"Are you sure you're not tired??" Jayden had asked before as he was clearly able to see her drowsiness. It was odd to hear someone talk about a life threatening moment while falling asleep.

"No, no I'm fine." Mia insisted, knowing she had to sit up straight for her ribs to heal well. "So Serrator and I fought, and he was really powerful. He landed a few on me before 4 helpers came along. And that's when I decided to use all of my strength to end it."

"I'm proud of you." Jayden smiled to himself, looking out the window.

Mia was caught off guard by the sudden praise, but she smiled after seeing his. It meant something when the red ranger was proud of you.

She observed his dreary eyes, his lips sitting in a frown. If only her ribs weren't broken, she could lean on his shoulder.

"I was thinking about the funeral for the monks..." Mia spoke of what suddenly came to mind, making Jayden's heart thump. "You looked so... devastated... It was hard to see..."

Jayden remained silent, his thoughts fell to paranoia.

"I was wondering what really happened while you were imprisoned..." Mia knew Jayden was injured and starved, but not much else.

And with her question, Jayden was forced to think back, regardless of whether or not he going to answer her question.

Either way, his expression was telling enough; his teeth clenching into a bitter smile and his teary eyes shot, with contracted pupils. He heaved as he felt something climb up his throat, only to realize it was a cry.

Suddenly, Mia found Jayden's bandaged arms gently slung around her, like a child who had fallen. His head was on her shoulder with tears running down her forearm.

Mia's heart melted, knowing how horrified Jayden must have felt after experiencing what she had on Xandred's ship.

She pressed a hand on his back, letting her warmth sink through any way she could. And he spoke when and of what he could.

~~~

"Mia decided to leave with Jayden, back to the Watanabe House." After Emily had been chatting with Antonio for a while, she finally decided to mention the elephant in the room. "It's hard to see Jayden react like that..."

Antonio stretched his arms, loosening up after a 3 hour nap. Though a slight feeling of weakness remained, he felt fine.

Still, he had been hoping she wouldn't bring him up. It was too stressful to think about him.

"I could tell you why." Antonio humorously raised an eyebrow.

"Why he reacted that way?" Emily leaned in with curiosity.

"Only after you tell me what's been going on with you." Antonio bargained, wondering why she had been sick since they arrived at the monk's temple.

Emily was caught off guard. Her lower lip quivered as she thought to say something, but she ultimately kept it shut.

"Your arms must hurt." Antonio acknowledged her injuries to change the subject, noticing her discomfort with the topic.

"I was just a bit shocked." Emily knew she would have to tell everyone at some point. "Well, you know about my sister...?"

"You don't have to say anything." Antonio understood what she was getting at. "I'll tell you why Jayden was so upset."

"When we were little children, me and Jayden were curious. So we took turns opening the red ranger's samuraizer, which was Jayden's father's at the time." Antonio reminisced as he spoke, and Emily listened intently.

"When I opened the samuraizer, I felt an intense shock and my heart stopped. They rushed me to the hospital.. I spent about a year in the hospital because of the pain, and also my heart was fragile. I never saw Jayden again from that moment... haven't even heard anything of him either."

"That's very sad..." Emily didn't know what else to say. But she could understand more of why Jayden had such a strong reaction.

"You know, the first time I heard of Jayden since then was when the very first mooger attacks happened. It was just the red ranger fighting by himself back then. I remember how he was on the news and everything."

"Jayden was very reluctant to summon us. Mentor told us he only called upon us after he insisted that the battles would become tougher, and also that he needed to put the world before his feelings." Emily remembered how she and the other rangers struggled to win Jayden's trust.

But as they fought together and continued to keep their promise to fight together, their bond became stronger.

~~~

Mia and Jayden approached the gardens of the Watanabe House. It wasn't as lively in the cold, but the nostalgic feeling the garden evoked was enough to make them feel welcome.

As they approached the Watanabe house, they couldn't help but feel like something was off. It was difficult to recognize what exactly was off until they got closer, realizing that the roof had collapsed on one side of the house.

Mia and Jayden looked at each other, confirming that they were both seeing the same thing.

"Go on without me." Jayden knew Mia would want to run up as quickly as she could, though he physically couldn't do the same.

Mia nodded and sped towards the house.

Once she made it to the porch, Mia flung the front door open, yelling, "Ojii-san!"

But the person who answered her call was not Daisuke.

A woman in a wheelchair approached Mia with a blank expression, which suddenly turned into rage.

She rose her hand as high as she could, then brought it down on Mia's face with all of the force she had in her body.

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