Power Rangers Samurai

Father's Day

June 19th, 2011

Jayden's POV

Being a samurai was the ultimate sacrifice. All of the rangers knew that, and were willing to give all they had for the upcoming final battle with Master Xandred. The rangers had to be passionate, determined, and needed to be able to make tough decisions in the heat of battle. They knew those risks, and they accepted them. 

When the rangers first arrived at the Shiba house, they were all told of the rules for both the house and for being a samurai, before making themselves comfortable. Mentor Ji had made sure the rangers were aware of these rules. They weren't harsh, or anything like that, they were simple, common sense rules that even Mike could understand, such as having no contact with family members and friends to keep them all safe, and house chores. Although Mike wasn't too happy about the chores, he still accepted the rules along with everyone else. 

However, there were rare occasions where even Mentor allowed the rangers to break the rules after much persuasion from the rest of the team. For example, father's day. Although, it was a huge risk to allow the rangers to celebrate the day with their fathers they had all agreed to meet up in a secure location and accepted the risks of meeting with each other. 

For as long as Jayden could remember, it had only been him and Mentor. He wasn't complaining. He enjoyed Mentor's company and was grateful for all of the hard-work, love, and dedication he had for making sure that Jayden was properly trained. In fact, after his father died, Mentor became a father figure he never had. But even Mentor couldn't fix the sadness Jayden felt on days like Father's Day. Sure his father had died 12 years ago, but it still hurts. It always hurts. Even the rangers, except for Antonio, didn't know about his father. They knew that his father was the previous red samurai ranger, but that was all. 

In fact, Mentor Ji and Jayden typically didn't do anything for Father's Day besides the fact that Jayden would visit his father's grave. It was just like any other day, which led to a conversation with the rest of the rangers while Mentor went shopping and Jayden had to go retrieve more archives from the Tengan Gate. 

Line Break

"I cannot wait for tomorrow!" Emily said to Mike and Mia while practically bouncing in the main room. 

"Yeah, it's been so long since I've seen my father. Ever since my parents got divorced, and becoming a samurai, it's been difficult to find time with either of them." Agreed Mia. 

"So what are you guys going to do?" Mike asked. 

"I don't know yet, maybe see a movie and get dinner." Emily replied as Kevin and Antonio walked into the room. 

"What are you guys talking about?" Antonio asked the trio. 

"We're talking about what we're going to do for father's day!" Emily replied, bubbly as ever.

Kevin stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to break Emily's heart, but he knew that neither Mentor nor Jayden would let any of the rangers leave the house to go see their families. It was one of the first rules Mentor had mentioned when they first became rangers. 

"Emily," he started off carefully trying to formulate his words, "I know you want to see your father, I want to see mine too, but we need to remember the rules. Mentor said it was dangerous to interact with our families while being a samurai. We could be putting them in more danger."

That stopped Emily. With her excitement over Father's Day, she had forgotten about the long-lasting rule. 

"Oh... right." Emily replied sadly.