On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

52 - Rouge / Mentor

Lauren never learned about medical treatment or bandages. She hadn't any experience with it unlike all the other rangers.

Her mentors didn't deem it necessary in her training. Her mentors taught her that the only person she had to take care of was herself.

She felt kind of bad for sitting back and watching Kevin do all the work on Antonio and Mia.

Lauren watched closely as Kevin roughly demonstrated how to loop the bandage around Antonio and Mia's wounds.

"Just don't wrap them as rough as Kevin and you'll be fine Lauren." Antonio joked, provoking Kevin to glare at him.

"But what about Jayden?" Lauren asked.

"The medic said that two of his ribs are a bit cracked. One took more of the impact than the other. It's not that bad but we shouldn't wrap anything tight around it." Kevin replied.

"Then Deker was right about Jayden's ribs." Mia rested her chin on her palm. "But the real question is, how does that nighlok know human anatomy? Let alone how to tell if bones are cracked?"

"Yeah, that was odd. Deker merely touched his chest and claimed they were cracked." Kevin shook his head. "And he was correct."

"You're right. Nighlok don't even understand their own anatomy. All nighlok are unique, even having different types of organs and organ systems. Since there is no set nighlok anatomy, we can't study them and make a poison or disease to wipe them all out. But on the other hand, the nighlok cannot conduct research to find a more effective cure for Master Xandred." Lauren explained.

"Wow, I never knew all of that." Kevin thought aloud.

It was true that Lauren's knowledge solely pertained to nighlok and fighting.

"Me too, it makes a lot of sense though." Mia commented. "Come to think of it, where did Deker even go? We only saw him walk away."

"What if he's causing trouble?!" Antonio jumped.

"Then the gap sensor would go off." Kevin reminded him.

"Right."

"What if the nighlok is rouge?" Lauren noticed that Deker never interacted with any moogers or nighlok, especially since he was always standing alone on rooftops.

Lauren continued, "If he was with Master Xandred, he would've just jumped down while your bodies were swapped and ended you all. If anything, he is a slave to that sword."

"If he is rouge, he'd be killed by other nighlok or Master Xandred if he was seen in the other world. And he'd dry up from living in our world since he needs the Sansu to survive." Kevin reminded them of nighlok politics and necessities.

"What if he doesn't need it to survive? What if the Uramasa has some power we're not aware of." Mia suggested.

"That might just be it." Lauren agreed. Though the name Uramasa rang in her head. She decided to check the archives to refresh her memory.

~~~

"Mentor!" Mike and Emily ran to hug him.

"Emily? Mike? Where are the others? Did something happen?" Gi was shocked to see the two of them. "Wait, come inside first. I'll make some tea."

The three of them quietly walked past the monks as they worked before sliding the door to the temple open.

"What brings you two here?" Gi poured green tea for the two rangers, who were seated on floor cushions. "Did anything urgent happen?"

"We came for the light zord." Emily told Gi as she took the cup from his hands. "The nighlok have switched gears."

"Switched gears?" Gi handed Mike his tea.

"Welp, they want to kill us now. They don't even bother terrorizing humans anymore." Mike replied.

"This is bad! Do you want me to return with you?" Gi stood up.

"Actually Mentor, I think it's best that you stay here. While the nighlok aren't focused on flooding our world, you and the monks can focus on decreasing the water level." Emily reasoned, hoping Gi wouldn't come back so she could remain close to Mike.

"This is true... Did you meet Lauren?" Gi asked, making sure his question was vague in case they had not.

"Yeah, she joined us a while back." Mike replied.

Gi smiled. "I haven't seen her in a long time. You're all treating her nicely, right?"

"Umm, yeah." Mike recalled upon the last time he yelled at Lauren. He never apologized for shocking her.

"Good." Gi patted Mike's shoulder. "Now, how are the other rangers doing? You're all getting along right?"

"We're all doing well, getting along..." Emily smiled nervously with Mike.

"I'm glad to hear it." Gi felt relieved. "Now, when did you guys leave? You must've traveled for a few of days."

"Actually, we decided to travel straight through the night." Mike sipped his tea. "Took about a couple of days."

"You two must be tired. Please, it's best if you stay the night and head back with more energy. I'll send you off with the light zord and something extra."