Fighting to Love (Power Rangers Samurai)

Sticks and Stones Pt. 2

I don't know how this happened, but some how, by the next morning, Logan was back with the real Ji. Jayden and the others embraced him while I stood behind in the shadows shyly.

"Ji, this is our friend... Hey, where did Ashlynn go?" Jayden said.

I stepped out of the shadows. "I'm here. I just decided you might want to have a little moment to catch up. I don't need recognition, do I?"

"Of course you do! You helped us defeat the nighlok. You gave us shelter when we really needed it." Emily pointed out.

"No, I can't possibly be given credit. You should be." I said. "I don't need credit. It won't help. Its not worth my time. Neither it is yours. You should get going."

"Logan, may we stay for a little longer? Since the Shiba house was infiltrated, it is no longer safe." Ji asked.

"I agree. You may stay for as long as you want. But don't trash the danger room, bub." Logan said. He pulled out another one of his awful cigarettes.

"Logan, out." I pushed him out onto the patio.

I came back inside. "Sorry, you know... He smokes these toxic cigarettes all the time. I'm trying to get him to quit." I sighed. "I don't know what the room arrangements are, but I do know the girls will sleep in my room."

"Okay. Cool house." Emily said.

"Thank you for letting us stay." Jayden said formally.

"You're welcome." I said quietly. "It's the least we could do."

"And our training?" Kevin asked.

Logan had come back inside. "Follow me." He said gruffly. "We got all the gadgets. Just try not to get killed."

The Prof had modified the house on his last visit, and he had added the danger room underground. It was specifically for training- and for security.

We followed Logan down to the underground Danger Room.

"Why is it called the Danger Room?" Mike asked.

"You'll see." I winked, then followed Logan into the high tech training room.

"Woah." Mia said. I nodded politely.

"And now it's time for my training session." I said. "Logan?"

"Hold on, Ashes." Logan said. "Rangers, get in here."

I ran to the lower part of the Danger Room, below the evaluation tank at the top.

"Ashlynn's Flame: Begin stimulation." Logan said over the speakers.

A bunch of metal popped up around me, along with animatronic monsters(Which were made of cardboard to scare me).

The animatronics start attacking me, and I do a round off, then kick one in the face and punch another's. I'm taken down in a net where I use my fingernails to cut the thick rope and start running for the exit. More animatronics pop up. I start snapping my fingers, but this time, my powers are disabled currently. I start doing hand to hand combat with one, then grab two daggers and a gun from the weapon wall next to me. I beat my way to the exit and run up the stairs to the evaluation tank very fast, because then the animatronics start following me up. And they go at least 2 steps per second. There are at least 50 steps and 5 animatronics. I start throwing the daggers and shooting the gun. They go down.. except for the last one. An Arachnid. I start running faster and faster, until I get into the evaluation tank, and I'm let in.

"Ashlynn's Flame: End stimulation." Logan said into the speaker. The Danger Room shut down, and we walked up stairs. Jayden had a horrified look on his face.

"Scared of spiders? I got you." I said.

"Thanks for understanding." He said. "No one gets me like you do, and it's only been 2 weeks since I've met you." I slipped my hand into his. He didn't seem to mind.

"Maybe because we're the same. So guarded that we don't let others in." I said quietly. "We've been hurt too many times to forgive. We're so focused on defeating evil... That nothing else matters, like having fun."

"Yeah. That's exactly how I feel."

He pulled his hand away, and so did I.

If you count how many times I've fallen in love with someone, it would take a year to explain it all, every single detail. But being with Jayden felt different. If I could count the time from this moment to when we met, it would be 2 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours and 55 minutes. Was it possible that I was already falling for him?