On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

115 - Sympathy

* Back to present timeline from ch 110*

"Thankfully, no one was hurt in the accident. Lauren and Kevin did a great job at protecting everyone as we had some issues controlling Terry." Daisuke told Jayden and Mia.

"You look tired mago. You should rest and heal." Daisuke sympathetically referred to his granddaughter. "Mai, can you prepare her a bath?"

"Come with me." Mai gently took Mia's hand.

"About Terry.." Daisuke continued once Mia was away, leaving only him and Jayden.

"I cannot put this lightly. He took uramasa and ran away." Daisuke let the information sink in before continuing.

"Given that he's the only nighlok creature in our world at the moment, he shouldn't be too overwhelming to deal with."

"Given how uramasa influenced Deker, he may just be looking for.. the ultimate battle." Daisuke observed Jayden's reaction. "In all honesty, I'm not even sure if Terry poses a real threat. He's fast, but seemingly not too strong. Though uramasa might just give him an extra boost."

"That's just..." Jayden was lost for words.

"Tell me how the other rangers are doing." Daisuke implored after a moment of silence.

"They all have injuries, but they'll recover." Jayden scratched the back of his neck. "But Emily fell ill.."

"Hmm."

"And Antonio toyed with Emily's samuraizer, and he got shocked." Jadyen shook his head, feeling annoyed as he spoke. "But they're all coming back here soon. Me and Mia just went on ahead."

"And you?" Daisuke asked. "You look frail."

"..."

"Follow me." As Daisuke began to make his way towards the rooms, Jayden trailed behind him. "The seal Antonio put on the Other World is quite strong. After all of the craziness, the monks plan to continue monitoring it. Who knows, we may have more than a couple months ahead of us without any nighlok encounters."

"That would be great news." Jayden replied.

"Yes, hold out some hope." Daisuke smiled at Jayden before opening the door to Lauren, Emily, and Mia's room. "Given that we have time, we wanted to pull you back into the Shiba House for intensive care and training."

Jayden followed Daisuke into the room to find Lauren laying on her top bunk bed. Her eyes were open, blankly watching him from above.

"We want to to take a break from action and being a leader. That way you can properly heal and become stronger." Daisuke told Jayden.

Once Lauren noticed Jayden, she made her way down from her top bunk and stood in front of him.

"Lauren, are you okay?" Jayden noticed some bandages on her arms and legs before hugging her.

"Mm" Lauren flinched as his hands touched the injury on her back.

"Sorry." Jayden noticed.

"Can Lauren come with me?" Jayden asked Daisuke. "I don't trust the monks completely. I don't want them to take her away."

Of course, Jayden had always been concerned by how Lauren was treated by the monks, mentors, and caregivers. Now that he had more influence, he wanted to keep her from those toxic environments.

"I will be here. The rangers too." Daisuke replied. "But this is about you Jayden. We're worried that you take on too much while you're here. You can't heal properly."

"I'll consider it.." Jayden left it there.

~~~

"Mayumi?" Hana, Mia's aunt, noticed her sister returned to her room. "You look upset."

Mayumi wheeled her chair by Hana's bed and rested her forehead on her hand.

She was losing her family all at once. How could it be possible?

Her sister, her son, potentially her daughter...

"Hana, your daughter is beautiful." Mayumi smiled and held her sister's hand.

"Yes, Aika is...." Hana smiled by the thought of her. "She's clever too."

"I worry about her upbringing. I know the servants here are wonderful, but I want her to have someone who is consistent." Hana dreamed.

"Is it not me who will watch after her?" Mayumi seemed a bit confused. She thought that she would obviously be the one to gain custody over Aika.

"I don't want to ask that of you. It's too much." Hana nervously smiled. "You have both Mia and Terry."

"But neither will live with me in Hawaii. There's a lot of room at my home." Mayumi insisted.

"I want her to be raised here. I want to her be close to her grandpa, her heritage, the history of our family." Hana attempted again to politely decline.

"Of course I can teach it to her," Mayumi was, in fact, the previous pink ranger. "And we could visit here a lot."

"Mayumi, I love you," Hana's throat was raw. "But Aika will be in our father's custody."

"..."

"I truly want her to be close to where we were raised." Hana explained.

Mayumi held her tongue.

Without it being said, both knew the reality; Hana didn't trust Mayumi with her child.

It wasn't a secret that she left Mia all by herself since the beginning of her samurai training. Also Terry went to school abroad from Hawaii to get away.

Hana wanted the best for her daughter, and she knew it wasn't her sister, unfortunately.

Mayumi was hurt and angry, on top of what just happened between her and Mia.

But of course, she kept it to herself. She wasn't here to make her sister's final moments stressful.

But Mayumi couldn't help but hold a little grudge. It was easy for her sister to stay at the Watanabe House and be in proximity to the rangers.

She didn't have to face the traumas of being a ranger. She only had to witness them from afar.

Hana grew up going to school and coming home to learn more about the samurai. She lived by her own choices, dying her hair blonde and learning to play 3 instruments.

She didn't need to live away in Hawaii to preserve her sanity.

"I don't tell dad this, but I worry about Aika so much." Hana teared up. "Aika cries and I know she wants me to hold her... But I feel guilty every time I see her."

"The less I see her, the easier it will be for her when I'm gone, right?" Hana cried to Mayumi. "How can she even understand that I'm gone?"

"Hana," Mayumi's eyes became glossy as she held both of her sister's hands. "Be with your daughter as much as you can."

Mayumi wasn't good with her words like she used to be, but her heart wasn't completely closed.