Disclaimer: It turns out that the way of the samurai is a lot easier to research than the way of the ninja. Buena Vista owns the Power Rangers.

Off Guard
by Starhawk

"Guard's too low."

Cam slammed his fist into the punching bag with unnecessary force, and all it got him was an overextended elbow. He moved closer, refusing to shake his arm out, and continued the upper body basics with single-minded determination. Lunge punch, lunge uppercut--

"Your guard's too low," the voice repeated. It was louder, as though he might not have heard the first time. "You're leaving yourself open."

He didn't turn his attention from the punching bag. "I'm not a ninja, Hunter."

"You should be able to fight like one." It was hard to tell whether the Crimson Ranger's voice was mocking or critical. "You've lived it long enough."

He wasn't going to turn this into a testosterone contest. He continued the basics without another word, ignoring his unsought audience of one. The room had been empty when he started, and Hunter hadn't offered so much as a greeting since he arrived more than half an hour ago.

Until now.

"Look, I'm just trying to keep you from getting killed. If you don't get your guard up you're going to be vulnerable to all kinds of attacks."

He didn't give up, that was for sure. Cam slid his right foot back and pivoted, coming up with a knife-heel strike to his opponent's neck. Hunter blocked without seeming to move, grabbed his shoulders and slammed a knee into his gut.

Or he tried to. Cam let himself drop, hitting the mats and taking Hunter with him. In one smooth motion, he planted his foot in the other Ranger's solar plexus and tossed him over his head. He rolled over his shoulder and came up in a defensive crouch, ready for a return volley.

Hunter just lay there on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to figure out what had hit him. Cam straightened, backing off the mats and snatching his towel up off the bench. "Thanks for the tip," he remarked dryly, heading for the door.

"Hey!"

He was almost in the hallway when Hunter's voice caught up with him. He hesitated, which was probably a mistake, and that was just enough time for Hunter to scramble to his feet and call after him. "Want to teach me that move?"

"Not really." It wasn't an answer he had to think about. Hunter had been more confrontational than usual lately, and the last thing Cam felt like doing was going one on one with him on the mats.

"Look, try to be a little less standoffish, okay?" Hunter sounded annoyed, but that wasn't anything new. Hunter had never had much respect for the team's resident computer geek, and the fact that Cam had powers now had done little to improve his standing in the other's eyes.

"That was a pretty cool move," the Crimson Ranger continued, though his admiration was grudging at best. "Don't you think you owe it to the team to share?"

And that marked the first time Hunter had ever used guilt to win an argument. Cam mentally added that to the list of Hunter's Unscrupulous Tactics. The list was already long and he was sure it was far from complete.

With a sigh, he turned back to the exercise room. "Fine. If you're so eager to get thrown around, I won't stop you."

Hunter grinned, startling him. "I know how to fall. Do you?"

"You're not trying that on me until you know how it works," Cam said firmly. "It's not as easy as it looks."

"Oh, come on." Hunter's grin had faded into his trademark smirk, and he gave Cam an uncomfortably thorough onceover. "I do know the principles of jujitsu. I've just never seen someone like you use them before, that's all."

"Prove it," Cam gritted, ignoring the last comment with difficulty. He got a grim kind of satisfaction from rushing Hunter, grabbing him in the same shoulder hold the other Ranger had used on him, and braced himself to pull his attack when his opponent didn't get out of the way quickly enough.

The next thing he knew, he was off-balance with a foot in his gut and gravity doing cartwheels on him. His shoulder hit the ground first and he tucked himself into a clumsy roll, slapping the mats with his hands automatically as he crashed onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, trying and failing to draw breath into his suddenly empty lungs.

Then Hunter's face was looming over him, that stupid smirk still firmly in place. "Proof enough for you?" he demanded smugly.

Cam curled onto his side, laboring against the panic of breathlessness. It wasn't the first time he'd had the wind knocked out of him, but repetition didn't make the sensation any less frightening. He was going to kill Hunter. Just as soon as he could move again.

Black clad knees hit the mats in front of his face, and this time Hunter's voice was tinged with worry. "You all right? What's wrong?"

Yeah, and if he could talk, those would be perfectly logical questions. Did he look all right? Hands caught at his shoulders, and he didn't have the strength to shove the other boy away as Hunter shifted him into a more or less upright position. Then an arm snaked over his stomach, and he really tried to protest but no sound came out.

"Calm down," Hunter said irritably, pressing the heel of his hand against Cam's sternum. "Used to knock the wind out of Blake all the time. You'll be fine."

His open-handed grip pressed and relaxed against Cam's chest, uncomfortably close and only vaguely reminiscent of the first aid courses he had taken. But either the warmth or the shock loosened the muscles around his ribcage, and breathless gasps slowly gave way to one shuddering breath after another. He wasn't sure whether to envy Blake or pity him.

Shoving Hunter's hands away, he pushed himself to his knees and braced his arms on the mats. "Thanks," he gasped, straightening his back with an effort. "I think."

Hunter shrugged carelessly. "Guess I need a little more practice."

"Knock the Kelzacs--" Cam struggled for another breath, then finished, "Senseless, for all I care."

"Can't use it to spar until I have better control." Hunter cocked his head, managing to make his failing sound like Cam's problem. "Give it another try?"

Getting his feet under him, Cam rose unsteadily to his feet. "You're kidding, right?"

Hunter stood with a grace that no one that lanky had any right to possess, and it was all the more annoying now. He just looked at Cam, and the amused expression on his face said it all. His condescending attitude was just another method of persuasion.

"Forget it," Cam retorted. "I didn't want to do this in the first place, remember?"

"You'd teach someone halfway?" Hunter wanted to know. "Doesn't your dad say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?"

"No," Cam shot back. "He says a fool only convinces other fools."

Hunter chuckled, then lashed out so quickly that nothing but Ranger reflexes prevented the blow from landing. Cam blocked another punch and found himself inches from Hunter's face as the other grabbed the front of his shirt and stared him down. His eyes were surprisingly blue.

Where had that come from?

"I said no," Cam growled, pushing ineffectually at Hunter's arms. He could break the grip, of course, but that was exactly what the other Ranger wanted. "Let me go, Hunter."

"Make me," Hunter answered. There was an odd look in his eyes, and his fingers tightened on Cam's uniform, making Cam stumble forward a step before he caught himself.

The next thing he knew, Hunter was in his face, mouth pressed against Cam's and his blue eyes closed reflexively. Frozen in place, it took all of Cam's willpower not to respond. This didn't even deserve a response. This was--

Hunter was kissing him!

He broke Hunter's grip with a strength born of shock, not technique. Shoving the other Ranger back with a glare, he made a deliberate show of wiping his mouth with his hand. "What was that?!"

Hunter just blinked at him, and Cam wondered if that deer-in-the-headlights look was any reflection of what his own expression was doing right now. His voice might be a little higher than he would have liked, but no way was he letting the other Ranger get the upper hand. "You can't just go around kissing people!"

"Well you--" Hunter floundered, at a loss for words for the first time since Cam had known him. "You can't just go around letting people kiss you!"

"That's ridiculous!" The exclamation was automatic, but he took some comfort in the fact that it was also a totally reasonable thing to say in these circumstances. "Why don't you just... find someone else to work out with!"

He turned and strode purposefully toward the door, not pausing when Hunter yelled after him, "Maybe I will!"