Brooke took her seat next to Jayden, stifling a yawn with her hand. The rangers were going about their usual routines, having breakfast and chatting about nothing in particular. However, they all noticed Kevin, as the blue ranger was precisely measuring out his granola, seemingly counting out each oat. Brooke and Jayden shared a look of confusion, the red and silver rangers watching the blue with raised brows.
Mike loudly dropped his spoon in his bowl, shooting an exasperated look at Kevin when the blue ranger raised his head at him. "What're you doing? Just eat already!" Mike urged, rolling his eyes at Kevin.
"There's a right way to do everything within the samurai code," Kevin replied, his usual grumpy look on his face. It gave Jayden's a run for his money, honestly.
Brooke snorted, nudging Jayden's foot with her own and breaking into a grin when Jayden glanced at her. "It's like watching a different species. And I thought public school was bad enough." She joked, stabbing a grape with her fork, not taking her eyes off of Mike and Kevin. It was amusing, as Mike knew what buttons to push to piss Kevin off the most.
The corners of Jayden's lips twitched into a small smile. "When you say that, should I be concerned?" The red ranger teased, and Brooke shot a disappointed expression at him.
"Haha, funny werewolf joke. Very original, Red." Brooke retorted, her voice monotone. However, her acting broke when Jayden rolled his eyes, the silver ranger breaking into her usual grin and popping a grape into her mouth.
Meanwhile, Mike was trying his best to annoy Kevin, the green ranger letting out a low whistle at the "Samurai Code" comment. "Wowwww, you're so wound up, I'm surprised you can digest your food." He snickered, and Kevin shot him an annoyed look. The look only egged Mike on further, launching into teasing comments and asking Kevin if the samurai code told him how to breathe correctly.
When Mia walked into the room, a silver platter in her hands, the playful mood dropped, being replaced with one of fear, the five rangers sharing worried looks. "Hey, guys!" Mia greeted, and Brooke suddenly became very interested in finishing her fruit, much to Jayden's amusement.
Brooke almost felt bad, the pink ranger seemed to enjoy cooking but was god awful at it. The silver ranger remembered the chicken- well, the lump of charcoal that resembled a chicken. She also recalled her second night at the Shiba House, when she was still awkwardly trying to fit in with the others. Mia had made dinner, and Brooke didn't want to be rude, so she forced herself to eat it. The rangers, sans Mia, had shot her impressed and worried looks and then laughed at her afterward for it. It became an inside joke that Brooke was poison immune after stomaching Mia's cooking.
Setting the silver platter on the table, Mia beamed proudly. "I came up with a new recipe!" She declared happily, and Brooke's eyes flashed gold for a moment.
The silver ranger pointed her fork at the platter, quirking a brow. "Oh? What is it?" Brooke wondered, and Jayden felt himself grow pale when he noticed that his childhood friend seemed to be planning something. Her grey eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked at Jayden, and he inwardly cringed. "I'm sure our dear Red here would love to try it." She added and snickered when Jayden shot her a look of disapproval mixed with disappointment.
Mia seemed to brighten up at Brooke's question."Well, I figured that everybody likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so what better way to combine them with breakfast than," As the pink ranger pulled off the top of the platter, the five others all winced at the mess of eggs, jelly, and peanut butter. "A peanut butter and jelly omelette?"
It's not even the right color, Brooke thought worriedly, her eyes now a steady gold color as she eyed the mixture nervously.
Kevin seemed to throw the samurai code out the window, dumping his granola in his bowl and eating quickly, which Mike picked up on. "Precision and discipline, huh?" Mike commented with a shit-eating grin, ignoring Kevin's glare.
"It's... interesting." Jayden stated, trying to force himself to act intrigued, a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw. Mia's cooking was a bigger threat than the nighlok, it seemed like.
Brooke saw right through his acting and laughed quietly. "Eat it, bet." She challenged Jayden, and let out a fake noise of pain when the red ranger lightly hit her- well, it was more of a tap, in response.
"Really unique!" Emily added, her smile forced as she looked at the mixture with a wary expression. "But should you really mix sweet and savory first thing in the morning?" The yellow ranger questioned, and Mia didn't seem to pick up on hidden meaning.
"Why don't you try it and tell me what you think?" Mia suggested brightly, and Emily shook her head.
"I just ate, but thank you." The younger girl answered quickly, and Mia turned her attention to Brooke, who raised her bowl of fruit without a word.
All of the rangers sighed in relief when Mia covered the concoction, but that relief was replaced with confusion when Ji partially jogged into the room.
"Everyone, I have excellent news," Ji greeted, and the six looked at him with confusion etched on their faces. "The swordfish zord has been spotted at Limitua Beach." The older man declared, and Jayden perked up.
"Swordfish?" Mia echoed, and Ji nodded.
"It was lost in action years ago," Ji explained, and Brooke resisted the urge to make a snarky comment. So were the silver rangers' disks, but that didn't seem to be important, but the fish is. "If we didn't catch it now, who knows when we'll get another chance." The older man seemed excited at the thought, but the excitement soon got replaced with concern as the gap sensor and Brooke's samuraizer started going off in unison.
Jayden stood, but was having what seemed like a crisis, his blue eyes filling with conflict. Brooke noticed this and shot him a look of concern over her samuraizer, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Kevin," Jayden called the blue ranger, who stood quickly. "Are you up for a solo mission?" He asked, and Kevin beamed.
"Up for it? I've been waiting my whole life for it!" Kevin answered enthusiastically, but Jayden didn't return the enthusiasm.
"We'll handle the nighlok, and you go catch the zord," The red ranger commanded, his voice emotionless. "With you holding the symbol power of water, I'm confident you can catch the zord." With Jayden's urge, Kevin nodded and rushed out of the room.
Once Kevin left, Mike turned his attention to Brooke with a grin. "Alright miss werewolf, where we headed today?" He asked the silver ranger, who looked at him with a deadpan expression.
Closing her samuraizer and shoving it into the pocket of her grey and white flannel, Brooke let out a heavy sigh at the nickname. "Parking garages, our favorite. I know a way." Brooke replied, and the team was off, the brown wolf leading the way.
--
The five reached the parking garage, Brooke shifting back as the team noticed a man dressed in a suit lying on the ground, clutching his chest. Mike and Emily rushed over to the man, and Brooke wrinkled her nose, coughing.
The whole area smelt bad- and it wasn't just the stench of nighlok, which was strong already. The smell of garbage mixed with the death and rotten milk smells, and it caused the silver ranger to gag. Brooke already knew it was going to be a tough battle for her and prayed that her helmet had some sort of way to block out the smell.
Mia noticed Brooke's queasy expression, the silver ranger's face turning somewhat green, and knit her brows in concern. "Brooke, are you alright?" Mia asked, and Brooke sucked in a breath, trying to only breathe out of her mouth.
"I'll be fine. Let's just worry about the nighlok," Brooke urged, spinning on her heels and turning her attention to where the smell was the most potent. "There's the bastard." She muttered, her claws growing in.
The nighlok chuckled, walking towards the rangers, Mike and Emily regrouping with the team. "People do say I have a certain... air about me," The monster laughed at its own joke, and Brooke let out a growl of annoyance. "Not fond of my natural scent?" It snickered, and Brooke rolled her eyes, which had settled on a gold color.
"I've smelt better," Brooke fired back, flipping open her samuraizer, and blinking back tears as they formed in her eyes. Her body seemed to be already suffering the effects of the nighlok's power, and Brooke suddenly felt too hot, cursing under her breath as her body temperature spiked. "Let's wrap this up before I suffocate!"
"Go Go Samurai!"
The rangers morphed, and the battle commenced. Brooke was grateful Jayden was sticking by her side because the helmet was actually making things worse. Her head spun, and she tried to land a swing on the nighlok but missed, stumbling. Jayden was there before the nighlok could attack her, blocking the nighlok's attack and returning with his own, the red ranger standing in front of the silver protectively.
As Mike rushed the nighlok, Brooke and Jayden stepped back slightly. "Gotta love the wolf senses." Brooke joked, but it ended in a coughing fit, and she ignored the burning in her throat as she tried to regain her breath.
"Are you alright?" Jayden asked, his voice full of concern as he shot a glance at the silver ranger.
She was doubled over but still standing, coughing into her elbow violently. "Heightened sense of smell does not do well against a nighlok who specializes in making stuff smell bad." Brooke wheezed out, turning her attention to the nighlok. Still, she had to win the battle, so she tried to breathe out of her mouth as she settled into a fighting stance.
"If you need anything, I'm here." Jayden reminded her, and Brooke smiled weakly underneath her helmet. However, the smile fell when she noticed Mike.
The nighlok had the green ranger in a chokehold, letting out a chuckle as Mike struggled. "Once you get a whiff of my funky smell, it's knockout!" The monster threatened, and then breathed in Mike's face.
A green cloud hit Mike and caused the green ranger to hit the ground and roll a couple of times. "Did you gargle garbage for breakfast?" Mike wheezed, coughing as his suit disappeared. A look of pain on his face, he clutched his chest and fell to his side, Mia and Emily rushing over and checking on him.
Brooke and Jayden ran forward. The two rangers tussled with the nighlok, but they were both getting overpowered quickly. Brooke was trying to make sure that she could help Jayden out, but being in close proximity to the nighlok caused her head to spin. But, she did block the nighlok's arms as it swung at Jayden, and the red ranger did manage to land a couple of attacks.
"What the fuck?" Brooke yelled out in surprise as she found herself falling alongside Jayden and the nighlok. She heard her katanas and Jayden's spin sword clatter on the ground a few feet away from the pair as they landed on a pile of cardboard boxes.
The boxes did little to cushion their fall, and Brooke found herself almost landing on Jayden, the red ranger having a tight hold around her waist, preventing her from landing on her side. They hadn't demorphed in the impact, luckily, the two rangers letting out groans of pain. Still, they staggered to their feet, and as Jayden went to go collect their swords, Brooke shifted.
The brown wolf snarled at the nighlok, who had landed a short distance away from Brooke and Jayden. The monster noticed wolf-Brooke's raised hackles and bristled fur, but only let out a chuckle as Brooke lunged with a snarl. "Hey, take a breather!" It cackled, breathing a green cloud in the wolf's face. It caused Brooke to hit the ground, forcibly shifting back into a human, demorphing. Brooke clutched her tank top that she was wearing underneath her flannel with a clawed hand as she tried to breathe, watching Jayden with blurry vision. He got hit with the same green cloud, falling onto his back and demorphing.
This is less than ideal, Brooke thought, as she rolled onto her back and coughed violently. She felt someone shake her shoulder and looked at Emily's yellow helmet with unfocused vision. She couldn't make out Emily's voice, but Brooke assumed that the younger girl was asking if she was alright. "Alright- nighlok." Brooke urged, her throat raw, and her voice hoarse.
Emily nodded, and she and Mia rushed the nighlok, the two rangers holding their own pretty well. Still, they got hit with the same cloud, and fell to the ground, their suits disappearing in flashes of yellow and pink.
The nighlok looked at the four fallen rangers, cackling. "From my head to my toeses, I don't smell like roses!" The monster sneered, sauntering off, and Brooke tried to prop herself up, her claws scratching on the pavement.
Willing enough willpower, Brooke shakily stood on her feet, ignoring the burning in her body as she stumbled, dragging her booted feet on the pavement some as she walked, well, staggered, over to Jayden, Mia, and Emily. Sweat was covering her body, and she peeled off her flannel, tying it around her waist.
After helping Mia and Emily to their feet, the two girls stumbling back into the parking garage to go help Mike, Brooke turned her attention to Jayden. "C'mon Red," Brooke coughed, feeling her hair sticking to her forehead with sweat. "You gotta help me here." She urged, and Jayden looped his arm around Brooke's shoulders as she wrapped an arm around his waist.
They were both using each other as support, keeping each other standing as they slowly walked. Mia, Emily, and Mike were in the same boat, the five rangers sharing looks of exhaustion mixed with pain. They didn't talk on the way back to the Shiba House, the silence only broken by coughing fits.
--
In the med bay of the Shiba House, Brooke found herself gulping down air with ragged breaths, resisting the urge to claw at her throat. The nighlok's smell wouldn't leave her, and it made Brooke feel like someone was squeezing her throat, restricting her airway more and more as time passed. Mixed with the fever and the pain from the fall, she didn't know what to do.
After a half an hour, the painkillers were starting to kick in, but Brooke's body was slick with sweat. She had shed her flannel, which left her in a grey tank top and tied up her sticky hair, but it did little to help. Her hearing perked, and Brooke didn't really mean to eavesdrop on Ji's conversation, but it was the only thing she could do, other than listen to the others hack up their lungs. Brooke learned that the swordfish zord could most likely cure their fevers, and she breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a coughing fit. Grey eyes landed on Jayden, his face screwed up into an expression of agony, and Brooke frowned, her eyes flashing. Feeling some negative emotion that Brooke didn't recognize swirl in her gut, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Just laying on the bed didn't sit right with her, and her grey boots made no noise on the wooden floors as she staggered out of the room, using a wall as support.
With the others occupied with their fevers and Ji talking to Kevin, Brooke slipped out of the med bay without anybody noticing her. With uneven steps she reached the main doors and pushed them open, stepping out of the Shiba House. Flipping open her samuraizer, which she clutched tightly in her clawed hand, Brooke made her way down the gravel path, stumbling slightly.
The nighlok was still in the area, which was shown by the red dot on the small map on the screen of Brooke's samuraizer. It just hadn't triggered the gap sensor yet, which was fine by Brooke. With her being a shifter, she had more energy than the other rangers, and while this particular nighlok affected her the most, she couldn't let the others fight the monster. She could take another couple of hits if need be.
And that's what Brooke planned to do. She knew she couldn't defeat the nighlok herself- but she could hold it back until Kevin caught the swordfish zord. She could protect the others. And that was enough.
The gap sensor blared, and Jayden's blue eyes snapped open. His gaze flickered around the room, doing a headcount. Mike, Mia, Emily, and-
"Brooke?" Jayden called out his friend's name, waiting for a response. It never came, and he cursed the silver ranger silently for leaving, glaring at her grey and white flannel, which was laying on the now-empty bed. He knew what the silver ranger was planning to do- and seemed to already be three steps ahead of the others. Brooke was crafty, Jayden will give her that. Shrugging on his grey overcoat, Jayden made his way to the doorway, sort of... slamming into it as he stumbled. Ji noticed and shot the red ranger a glare.
"Jayden, what're you doing?" Ji chided as Jayden let out a groan and used the wall as a support, staggering towards the exit.
"You heard the gap sensor, there's a nighlok to fight," Jayden responded, trying to sound nonchalant, but he tripped over his own feet and landed on his knees, letting out another groan of pain. His head spun, and while he usually carried a higher temperature than the others due to him being the ranger of fire, the fever was a whole different level.
"You can't defeat a nighlok in your condition!" Ji argued, shooting the red ranger a look of disapproval as Ji helped him to his feet. "Just wait until Kevin comes home with the swordfish zord! It can cure all your fevers!"
"Tell that to Brooke." Jayden retorted, wiping some sweat off of his brow and leaning heavily against a wall for support.
Ji furrowed his brow in confusion. "Brooke?" He echoed, quickly making his way back to the med bay. Spotting the empty bed, the older man let out a heavy sigh. He knew that she was probably long gone, and he also knew Jayden's concern for Brooke. They both would stop at nothing to keep each other safe.
When Ji walked back to Jayden, the red ranger was working on making his way to the doors, rather slowly. "The nighlok affects her more. I need to..." Protect her. "Help her. I'll handle the nighlok." Jayden declared, staggering towards the doors.
Ji didn't argue, knowing it was useless. It was ironic, the two most stubborn rangers on the team were the ones who worked themselves the most. He knew both Brooke and Jayden, and the lengths they would go to protect each other. From his perspective, it was incredibly concerning, but stopping the silver and red rangers were fruitless. They had been that way since they were kids.
"Jayden, Ji- where's Brooke?" Emily asked with a cough, the other rangers walking up as well, looks of confusion etched on their faces.
Being a colossal dumbass, Jayden thought, but he didn't voice it aloud. "She's already long gone. It seems she left awhile ago," Jayden explained, wishing that really wasn't the case. He knew the nighlok effects her worse, and she knew that. The fact that she left- without a word, scared Jayden somewhat, but he didn't show it. He just willed those thoughts away, they wouldn't do him any good, and Jayden knew that. So he just shoved those thoughts into the basement of his mind, not planning to touch them anytime soon.
Mia had an almost impressed look of her face. "Brooke's sneaky." She mused, and Jayden let out a sigh, then gritting his teeth when the fever spiked.
"You don't know half of it," Jayden remarked. Brooke was even sneakier when they were little, disappearing for hours on end without a word, so he was somewhat used to the ditzy silver ranger. Or so he thought. "We have a nighlok to fight. Rangers, move out." He commanded, making his way to the heavy wooden doors, calling Brooke as the team shadowed him.
"This is Brooke Wolfe. I'm most likely busy at the moment, so just leave a name and I'll call back once I get the chance." Jayden sighed, flipping his samuraizer shut and breaking into an uneven jog.
--
Brooke made her way back to the parking garage, the brown wolf lunging at the nighlok before it could hit a mother, who was clutching her baby to her chest. Ignoring the nighlok's snide comments, Brooke shifted back. The woman seemed in shock, staring at the raven-haired teenager, who nudged her shoulder lightly. She saw Brooke's clawed hands and enlarged canines but quickly snapped out of it when Brooke spoke, her having a slight lisp due to her canines.
"Ma'am, please. Go. Quickly!" Brooke urged, and the woman got on her shaky feet and ran. Spinning on her heels, Brooke faced the nighlok, flipping open her samuraizer. "You're not making anyone else suffer today! Go Go Samurai!" The silver ranger threatened, the silver kanji for wolf hanging in the air for a moment.
Brooke activated the symbol and felt the familiar suit on her body and unsheathing her katanas. Let the games begin, she thought as she rushed the nighlok. Making sure to breathe solely out of her mouth, she avoided the nighlok's poisonous clouds. Brooke also heard her samuraizer beep, signaling a call, and she guessed it was either from Jayden or Ji. After fighting with the nighlok for a couple of moments, Brooke got kicked back by the monster, coughing. Even with her plan of breathing out of her mouth, it wasn't foolproof. The world was spinning too quickly, and with every breath she took, it felt like her throat was being squeezed tighter and tighter.
"The sour smell of defeat is headed your way!" The nighlok threatened, shooting bursts of energy out of its eyes. They hit Brooke directly, and she let out a yell of pain, her katanas clattering to the ground a couple of feet away from her as she rolled, demorphing at the impact. "Heh, you've lost your swagger and your outfit!" The monster sneered, watching the silver ranger as she crawled on her knees and reached her katanas.
Using her swords to prop herself up, Brooke coughed, feeling the sweat coat her body. She felt gross, but frankly, she just wanted to breathe again. She didn't even know if the others were coming- or just waiting out for Kevin to return with the swordfish zord and do his fish healing magic. Brooke didn't even know if she wanted the others to come or not, but pushed that thought aside and let out a yell, running into battle again.
Blocking a nighlok's swing with one katana and slashing with another, Brooke performed her usual moves. It was a sense of stability and control that the silver ranger welcomed as she twirled, hitting the nighlok multiple times. Still, she found herself landing on her back again, letting out a groan of pain that turned into a coughing fit.
"Three strikes and you're out!" The nighlok sneered, and Brooke found herself weakly gripping her katana as the nighlok's foot descended. "Bye-bye, ranger!"
As Brooke struggled to breathe, she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the sound of her ribs cracking, but it never came. Instead, it was Mike's yell, who landed a firm kick on the nighlok and sent it staggering backwards. The rest of the team ran up as well, not morphed, but still had their blades drawn. Jayden made his way to Brooke's side, helping her to her feet and keeping a tight hold on her.
"Glad to see ya joined the party, Red," Brooke wheezed, smiling a weary smile at Jayden, which he didn't return. Seeing her friend's disgruntled expression, she let out a sigh, which turned into a coughing fit. Jayden tightened his hold as she leaned into his side, body shaking with every cough.
"Brooke, you shouldn't have done this." Jayden murmured, his voice soft, but he still had his traditional grumpy expression.
Honestly, Brooke smiled at the red ranger. She didn't know if it was the fact that her ribs didn't get broken, or because Jayden was standing by her side, but a strange sense of relief washed over her. "Don't look so grumpy. I'll be- DOWN!" Brooke cut herself off, feeling her senses perk due to the shift in energy.
The rangers tensed, getting ready to tank the attack of the nighlok's blasts from its eyes, Brooke saw a blur of blue. It was Kevin's dragon zord, who easily deflected the blast and flew back to its owner.
"Did someone order the fish?" Kevin called, holding what Brooke assumed to be the swordfish disk in his hand with a triumphant smile.
"Kevin!" Jayden greeted, and Kevin attached the swordfish disk to his hydro bow, nocking an arrow.
The blue ranger fired, and it caused blue sparkles to fall from the sky. The sparkles hit the rangers and cured them of their ailments, Brooke looking at Jayden with a cheerful expression as she felt her strength return. Plus, hearing the nighlok yell out because it was losing its powers was also satisfying to hear.
"Damn, fresh air is underrated," Brooke joked, and Jayden rolled his eyes, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze and then stepping away. "Third time's a charm! It's showtime!" She flipped open her samuraizer and the others followed suit, the six drawing their symbols and morphing into their ranger suits.
The rest of the battle went fairly well, but while Kevin and Jayden set up the swordfish cannon, Brooke felt a familiar feeling wash over her. It was the feeling she was being watched, and she scanned the area, her gaze landing on a nighlok she hadn't seen before. Its body was skeletal and white, but it's face was red, and it was unwavering from Brooke's hard stare. Looking towards Jayden, she made a move to call out to him and point out the second nighlok but stopped herself when he and Kevin fired the swordfish cannon. Staying quiet, Brooke just glanced at the skeletal nighlok again, who nodded faintly and then burst into purple flames, disappearing. She stared at the space where the nighlok disappeared, her eyes flashing and lips twitching into a frown. Well, that's ominous.
"C'mon, Brooke!" Emily's voice snapped Brooke out of her trace, and the silver ranger nodded, pulling out her wolf zord.
The megazord's attacks, combined with the swordfish and wolf zords', made quick work of the nighlok, and everything was going pretty smoothly. Kevin had combined with the main samurai megazord with a comment of "now we're popping," which made Brooke laugh. And that was all good until the rangers wanted to fire off their megablade attack.
"Okay, so, I've made fun of the megazord before but what in the fuck?" Brooke wondered aloud through the comms, staring at the swordfish megazord from her wolf zord. Her zord seemed to have the same thoughts, letting out a bark at the megazord and wagging its metal tail.
The megazord, the Swordfish Phaser Megazord, as the team announced triumphantly, seemed normal, if you could call the thing normal. The katana sticking out of the robot's head, however? That was something else. Brooke knew the rangers liked their flashy attacks, she enjoyed hers as well, but this? This was the most absurd thing yet. She didn't get an answer, watching as the megazord swung its head around, hitting the nighlok with the sword in its head.
Rolling her eyes, she heard Jayden's call, and unfolded her own megablade, slashing in unison with the other rangers.
"Swordfish Slash!"
"Full Pack!"
The silver and blue attacks caused sparks to fly out from the nighlok's body, the samurai megazord striking its victory pose. As Jayden called his usual line, the wolf zord raised its metal head to the sky and let out a howl, which caused the red ranger to smile faintly.
"Samurai Rangers: Victory is Ours."
--
"Ah, the sweet smell of success!" Mike cheered as the six walked on the beach.
Brooke trailed behind some, grey boots sinking in the sand slightly. She just enjoyed breathing the fresh air, and not feeling like she was being choked, sitting at the shoreline. Jayden was talking to Kevin, presumably about important ranger things, and Mike, Emily, and Mia were splashing each other in the shallow water.
Brooke smiled faintly at the sounds of the three rangers' laughter, the tide cleaning the tips of her boots. She reached for her phone, but then remembered it was back at the Shiba House, along with her flannel. Now Brooke wished she had the flannel because she was starting to get cold in just her tank top. Wrapping her arms around herself, she laughed quietly as Mike hit the ground and got covered by a big wave, the green ranger yelling in annoyance.
"Are you cold?" Jayden asked, walking over to Brooke.
The silver ranger offered a faint smile to Jayden as he sat down next to her. "Yeah," Brooke admitted, wrapping her arms around herself tighter as she shivered.
"C'mere." Jayden's voice was barely audible, and Brooke shot him a confused glance, noticing the pink blooming on his cheeks. He held his arm out, and Brooke laughed quietly as she scooted closer to him.
Jayden was warm, and Brooke found comfort in the feeling of their sides pressing together. He kept his arm around Brooke's shoulders, tracing scars with his fingertips. The two sat in comfortable silence, well, it wasn't necessarily silence, because Kevin joined in the small splash war, the four rangers' laughter ringing out and mixed with the crashing of the waves. It was peaceful, and Brooke felt at peace for the first time in a while. Having Jayden hold her- was an incredibly peaceful feeling, and Brooke wanted to stay in the feeling for as long as she could. The sun was starting to set, the pinks and oranges blending together and reflecting off of the water.
"When we were little you always wanted to watch the sunset," Jayden mused with a small smile, and Brooke hummed in response. "You even made us climb onto the roof once." He added, and Brooke laughed quietly.
"Did I make you, or did you follow me?" Brooke teased with a grin, and Jayden only smiled, seemingly lost in a happy memory.
After a minute of silence, Brooke spoke again."I'm sorry." She mumbled, her grin falling, and Jayden shot her a quizzical look.
"What's this about?" Jayden wondered, and Brooke shivered, a chilly breeze hitting both of the rangers.
Feeling Jayden pull her closer, Brooke looked up at the red ranger. He had his eyebrows raised, concern, and confusion was written on his face. It made Brooke want to burst into tears because he cared a lot, and she- "For not being able to remember you. You care so much and- I can't remember you. It makes me feel guilty." She confessed, and Jayden smiled at her.
"It's okay. You're here now, and I'll take it." Jayden reassured her, and Brooke turned her gaze back to the sunset, resting her head on his shoulder. He allowed her to, adjusting his position so that he could hold her closer.
"I'm glad I'm here. Even if it means falling three stories and struggling to breathe because of some stink monster," Brooke joked, and Jayden laughed slightly. "Thanks, Red. For having my back."
Jayden hummed. "You do the same for me. It's only fair. Plus, we're friends." He reminded Brooke, who laughed.
"Yeah. We are. Don't let me forget it this time."