I can't believe the total irresponsibility shown by them! I mean what they were thinking, having a battle near a cliff!"

"Sensei Bradley."

"People could have been terribly hurt, even killed. That's not the thinking of a Ninja! There is no honor in that!"

"Sensei Bradley."

"We're here to help these people and they threw it back in our faces. Cam could have been killed!"

"Sensei Bradley." Hunter kept his pacing back and forth in front of the two people and they exchanged slightly exasperated looks.

"This is completely unacceptable behavior! First we're attacked by Ice Ninjas, then by the Fire Ninjas after leaving their academy! This trip is meant to help them sort out their differences and find out what's causing them, not kill the very people here to help them!" Sensei Palan looked at Cam as he finished bandaging Cam's left hand and raised an eyebrow. Cam just gave a soft sigh and looked up at his friend. It was touching really; Hunter was going all out in his frustration and anger because Cam had gotten hurt. Cam had seen it a few times when Blake had been hurt, but to see this kind of energy and focus on Hunter because he'd gotten hurt was nice, but enough was enough, time to calm the thunder storm down.

"Hunter!" Hunter finally stopped pacing and looked over at where Cam was sitting and Sensei Palan was quietly packing the first aide supplies away. Hunter suddenly realized what he had been doing by the look on Cam's face and his face flushed as he gave Cam a tiny wry smile.

"Over reacting again was I?" Cam gave him a tiny smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he teased his friend softly.

"Oh yeah. Sensei Palan's been trying to get your attention for the last few minutes while you were ranting." Hunter's eyes widened as they twinkled with suppressed mirth.

"I was not ranting." Cam raised an eyebrow, his expression incredulous.

"You were ranting."

"Was not." Cam snorted softly as he gently flexed his fingers.

"If that wasn't ranting Hunter, I don't know what was." Hunter crossed his arms, a smirk on his face.

"That was not ranting, that was stating my displeasure and worry in a forceful manner." Cam just shook his head and watched Sensei Palan quietly leave the room for a moment to put away the first aide supplies. He turned back to find Hunter had moved over to crouch down in front of him, his blue eyes worried. Cam looked at him, the same worry in his own eyes. Hunter hadn't been as hurt as badly as him - just some minor cuts and bruises - but he was still sporting a small white plaster on his forehead.

"What?" Hunter glanced down at Cam's hand and then back up at him. His voice was soft when he spoke again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cam was touched by the concern in his friend's eyes and voice. He reached over and put his hand on Hunter's shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

"I'm fine. It's just a minor burn; it'll heal in a day or so." Hunter's eyes never left his.

"I was so frightened when I saw you get hit like that." Cam's eyes crinkled and he gave a soft chuckle.

"It wasn't fun for me that's the truth. Let's agree not to do that again if we can help it on this trip, okay?" Hunter had to grin and shook his head, chuckling as well.

"Okay Cam, we'll agree not to get each other killed by over zealous Fire or Ice Ninjas." Cam squeezed Hunter's shoulder gently and almost reluctantly removed his good hand from his shoulder.

"Agreed. And let's not tell the others about this. They get over protective enough as it is sometimes." Hunter grinned, easily springing to his feet and holding his hand out to help Cam to his. Cam reached out and grabbed his hand and let Hunter pull him to his feet. They stood there a moment, hands together, eyes meeting before they released their hands. For some reason, the intensity of Hunter's gaze stirred something in Cam, but he couldn't pin down what it was. Just then, Sensei Palan came back in the room and smiled at them.

"Ah, good. Now, Sensei Watanabe; Sensei Bradley. Again, my apologies about the incident with my students earlier, when you were awaiting the Fire Ninjas. Now, please, come with me as I would think after the long day you have had, some rest would be in order." The two of them exchanged glances and then nodded.

"That would be appreciated, thank you Sensei Palan." Cam gave the older man a tiny bow of the head. "We haven't stopped since getting off the plane in the small hours of this morning, and then being in two battles, well, as you can guess, we are a bit tired."

"Please, follow me and I will escort you to our guest quarters where you can rest, bathe if you like and join us for our evening meal." Hunter grabbed their bags and fell into step behind Cam as Sensei Palan led them through the corridors of the Ice Ninja Academy. Unlike the Fire Academy, which was located at the foot of a volcano and was constantly way too hot for Hunter's tastes, the Ice Academy was high in the mountains of the south Island of New Zealand and there was a constant chill in the air. Hunter guessed that the students and teachers didn't notice it anymore, having gotten used to it. Sensei Palan led them to two rooms at the end of a corridor that was away from the main part of the academy. He gestured to the two rooms next to each other.

"Please, use these rooms. Bathing facilities are in both, and we have a steam pool behind your rooms in the secluded rock garden, it is fed by the mineral springs that this area is well known for and will ease the stresses of the day. Evening meal will be served in ninety minutes. I will send a student to escort you to the dinner hall." Hunter just nodded and Cam gave Sensei Palan another sketchy bow of his head.

"Thank you Sensei Palan, we will see you then." The small stocky man bowed back and turned, leaving them to it. Hunter gestured to the rooms.

"Take your pick." Cam gave him an exasperated smile and opened the door on the right, walking in. Hunter followed him in and dropped his bag on the bed.

"Great. That mineral pool sounds good. Want to try it?" Cam looked at Hunter and thought a moment and then nodded.

"Yeah, actually, might be nice. Meet you there in say fifteen minutes?" Hunter grinned.

"You're on." He turned and left, shutting the door behind him and Cam stared at the door for a minute. Why did he agree to go into what basically was a hot tub with Hunter? Shaking his head Cam turned to his bag and unzipped it with his good hand and began going through it.

Hunter was grinning to himself as he dried himself off after a quick shower. The shower had washed off the last of the hot mineral water. Hunter had found it soothing, but slightly gritty, hence the shower after wards. He and Cam had actually enjoyed the hot mineral springs, it had eased aches and pains he wasn't really aware he had until they started to disappear. The tension that had been gripping his shoulders with the worry about Cam had gone and he was finally relaxing. The quick warm shower he had after soaking in the tub had just been a perfect capper to the relaxation in the tub that they had enjoyed. He found he was tired, but feeling pretty good and more himself now. As he began to get dressed Hunter found himself thinking about Cam for some reason. One thing Hunter had found he really enjoyed doing lately was spending time with Cam, and he often found himself finding excuses for them to get together. Hunter quickly slipped into clean clothes - jeans and a dark red long sleeved t-shirt. Just then there was a knock on his door and he looked up as he sat on the bed, putting on some socks.

"Enter." The door opened and Cam stuck his head through and gave him a smile.

"The student is here to take us to dinner, you ready?" Hunter ran a hand through his hair and grinned as he quickly slipped his feet into some sneakers.

"Yep. Let's go. I'm starving." Cam just shook his head and Hunter went out the door, falling into step next to Cam. He noticed Cam's hair was damp as well, so obviously he'd taken the chance to have a quick shower as well. The student led them into the main area of the Ice Academy and directed them to the main table where Sensei Palan was waiting for them. Cam and Hunter stood out among the students, as they were both in plain clothes. Hunter found it amusing that both he and Cam had dressed casually, their training uniforms were a bit sweaty and dirty after the two battles today. Silence fell as they took their places next to Sensei Palan. They bowed slightly in respect and he returned the bow and then turned to the students.

"Students. Teachers. We are honored this evening to welcome two visitors to our Academy. This is Sensei Hunter Bradley, head teacher of the Thunder Ninja Academy. And Sensei Cameron Watanabe; Samurai teacher from the Wind Ninja Academy." They both bowed their heads to the students and the students bowed back. Sensei Palan gestured for everyone to sit and there was an immediate murmuring among the students and teachers as the food was brought out. Cam turned his head slightly, ignoring the dark looks that were being thrown his way and muttered softly to Hunter as he held out the water pitcher, trying to make it look like he was offering Hunter a drink.

"That went down well. I'm not technically a Samurai teacher." Hunter held out his glass, his own eyes having noticed the looks Cam was getting.

"Perhaps your Dad put that in his reply to these guys so that they would listen to you. Saying you're a Samurai student doesn't have the same type of impact." Cam filled Hunter's glass with water and gave a soft sigh.

"Perhaps. But it's just made this whole job ten times more difficult." Hunter gave him a tiny smile, turning his head so only Cam would see it, his eyes latching onto Cam's.

"Don't worry Cam. We'll get it done. I have faith that when push comes to shove, you'll do the right thing if these guys decide to make an issue of it. Now, have something to eat. If I'm starving, you must at least be hungry." Cam smiled slightly as he put the water jug down and looked at the food that was put on the table. Hunter always seemed to know what to say to make him feel better when he was feeling a bit down.

"I am a bit hungry." Hunter grinned as he handed the basket of bread rolls to Cam and they began to eat, the teachers around them drawing them into conversations, but concentrating more on Hunter than Cam. But Cam was happy to leave it that way, as he wanted to concentrate on the conversations around them, hoping to pick a few things up that they normally wouldn't have been told.

Almost two hours later Hunter and Cam were on their way back to their guest quarters. They had arranged to meet with Sensei Palan after morning meditation for him to show them the academy's secret seal. Then, in the afternoon, they would go with Sensei Palan, his head teacher and student, to meet with Sensei Laglia and his party, in a neutral location to discuss what they could do to fix the problem the two academies was having. They rounded a corner and were suddenly confronted by a wall of Ice Ninjas. They were standing in the entire hallway, blocking their passage through. Hunter exchanged a wary glance with Cam, wondering what was going on. By rights and tradition, head teachers of other Academies were accorded the same respect and honor as their own head teacher. Obviously these Ninjas weren't going to observe that tradition when it came to Cam, as all eyes were on the Samurai. Hunter crossed his arms, looking stern.

"You're blocking the way." The Ice Ninja didn't even flinch at Hunter's tone.

"We don't want his kind at our school." Hunter didn't even have to look at Cam to know that his friend was annoyed; he could hear the soft sigh he gave.

"And what kind would that be?" Cam's soft, familiar sounding sarcastic tone made Hunter smirk. Cam wasn't taking this jerk seriously, so neither would he. But he would be on his guard anyways.

"Samurai. You don't belong at any school." Hunter realized that the voice belonged to the Ice Ninja that had attacked them earlier in the day. "If we had known what you were, we would have destroyed you this morning." Cam crossed his arms and practically mirrored Hunter's stance.

"You would have tried you mean." Hunter was hard pressed not to laugh out loud. These students were almost laughable in their prejudice, but they were also dangerous.

"It's nice to see that respect and honor are taught at this academy. Even if you don't like Sensei Watanabe, you have to respect his rank, and mine. Now move." Cam just stood there, a small smile on his face at Hunter's tone. Hunter was doing his 'I'm extremely dangerous, are you sure you want to do this' act on the Ice Ninjas, and it certainly was working. A few of the Ice Ninjas shuffled nervously, casting glances at the one standing in front of the two of them.

"You don't belong here Samurai." Cam was tempted to show just how much better he was than them but he didn't. Shaking his head at the stupidity of it all he uncrossed his arms and looked at Hunter, sarcasm dripping from his frosty tone.

"And we're here to help these guys. Come on Sensei Bradley, I don't know about you, but after the day we've had today, I feel the need for some rest, away from insignificant distractions." Cam's tone left no doubts that he'd just insulted the Ice Ninjas on many different levels and Hunter smirked dangerously at them, uncrossing his arms and clapping Cam on the back gently.

"Right behind you Sensei Watanabe. I know exactly what you mean. Discipline in these two academies has defiantely gone bad, don't you agree?" Cam nodded and took a step forward to push their way through the group of Ice Ninjas. They didn't move and Cam just stared down the leader. The Ice Ninja wasn't able to hold Cam's gaze for long and they reluctantly parted. Hunter followed Cam through the Ice Ninjas, his eyes roving back and forth, looking out for the sneak attack but thankfully it didn't come and they made their way through. Shaking his head at the stupidity of it all, Cam led the way to their rooms. The Ice Ninjas soon disappeared around a corner and Hunter gave a sigh, looking at Cam.

"You okay Cam?" Cam opened the door to his room and Hunter automatically followed him in, concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, it's just all so stupid." Hunter leaned against the wall, watching Cam as he flopped down on the bed, putting his back to the wall. He kept his expression carefully neutral. He'd never encountered prejudice like this before.

"No one ever said prejudice had to be logical Cam." Cam ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"I know. I mean, it's been getting better at home. And also when I come see you at the Thunder Academy, the looks aren't so malicious any more. But..." Hunter frowned. This was news to him.

"Hang on a minute, what's been happening when you come see me? Has someone said something or done something?" Cam gave a tiny smile and a shake of his head.

"Nothing out in the open like that. Just stares, that sort of thing. It happens at home as well, although not so much lately. The students back home have begun to accept the few Samurai students that we have. It's just that sometimes, the stares aren't that friendly." Hunter pushed himself off the wall and went over to the bed, sitting down next to Cam on it and looking at his friend.

"I'm sorry Cam. I didn't know that was happening." Cam shrugged, absently fiddling with the bandage on his hand, not willing to look Hunter in the eye.

"There was nothing you could do about it Hunter. I think the fact that we hang around a bit, at both academies, has helped with the prejudice back home." Cam looked up and his eyes caught Hunter's. "People are more accepting now, thanks in part to you." Hunter raised an eyebrow, confusion on his face.

"Me? How come?" Cam shrugged, thinking it was strange that this had never come up between them before, but knowing it wasn't something he really talked about. It was just something that was, and he accepted that.

"Because you're you Hunter. You don't take any crap from no one and people know that. They also know you're extremely over-protective and do the whole big brother thing like nobody's business." Cam suddenly grinned at Hunter, enjoying the discomfort and embarrassment he could see in his friend's eyes. "Everyone knows not to mess with you, and by proxy, your friends. I'm just glad that I'm your friend." Hunter was warmed by Cam's last words, but worried about his earlier ones. Nothing he could do about it now other than smile at Cam.

"Cam, you're more than a friend to me you know." Cam didn't know what to say to that, his eyes had caught Hunter's for a moment, and again, there was something there that he couldn't identify. Hunter suddenly broke their gaze and sprang to his feet. "Anyway, just wanted to make sure you were okay. See you at morning meditation?" Cam's smile was slightly unsure, but it was there.

"You certainly will." Hunter opened the door to step outside and Cam spoke again. "Hunter," Hunter turned and looked him, his expression unsure and Cam gave him a warm smile. "Thanks, for caring I mean." Hunter flashed him a quicksilver grin and shrugged.

"Not a problem. Night." He closed the door behind him and Cam sighed, leaning back against the wall again. Just what was going on between him and Hunter? Shaking his head at another mystery in his life, Cam began to get ready for bed.

Morning meditation and training had turned into an unmitigated disaster. Cam and Hunter had both gotten good night's sleep and were up and ready for morning meditation and practice when the student knocked on their doors. Dressed in their practice gear - Hunter with his Thunder symbol on his chest and Cam with the Samurai symbol on it - they had joined the Ice Ninjas for morning meditation. It had relaxed and calmed them both, which was a good thing. Afterwards Sensei Palan had asked the two of them would they mind giving a fighting demonstration of Wind and Thunder Ninja techniques. Hoping to smooth some ruffled feathers by their very presence, Hunter and Cam had agreed. And that's where the trouble had started. Cam and Hunter had sparred and trained together for a long time, they could anticipate each other's moves and were also evenly matched. After their quick demonstration they had moved off to one side to watch the Ice Ninjas train. They had commented softly to themselves on their style and training methods, impressed despite the treatment they had received the day before. They were about to leave the area to meet with Sensei Palan when the incident happened.

The two of them had been standing to one side of the practice area, watching with crossed arms and neutral expressions. As the class dismissed Cam and Hunter had turned to go when suddenly they were stopped by a wall of ice appearing in front of them. Cam raised his eyebrow and looked at Hunter. Hunter just shook his head in frustration and they turned as one to face whoever was behind them. It wasn't much of surprise to see the Ice Ninja that had confronted them yesterday morning and last night standing in front of them, his hands out in front of him and glowing brilliant white. Cam gave a soft sigh and shook his head and Hunter frowned. He took a step forward, hands on his hips and his eyes hard.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" The Ice Ninja returned his stare with one of his own.

"I'm taking care of the trash that should have been done when you first arrived here." Hunter glanced at Cam; he wouldn't make an issue of this if Cam didn't want him to. This was Cam's call, not his. Although Hunter right now wanted nothing more than to wipe the floor with the Ice Ninja, he didn't move. His eye's caught Cam's and asked the question. Cam shook his head slightly and Hunter nodded in return, his eyes turning back to the Ninja in front of him. He was upset that this had happened, not because it was another Ninja, but because Cam should not have to deal with this type of stupid prejudice anyway. Cam took a step forward, his demeanor relaxed and calm but Hunter recognized that look from days gone by. Cam was pissed and wasn't going to take any prisoners this time.

"Just what is your problem with me? I've done nothing to you; in fact, I've traveled half way around the world to help out your academy."

"You are Samurai. Old hatreds die hard. Your kind has no honor." Now that was going too far thought Hunter and without thinking he stepped up to Cam's side and spoke out, his voice hard.

"Sensei Watanabe is showing a lot more honor than you are right now. If you know what's good for you, you'll stop this madness before it starts and we won't say anything to your Sensei." Cam looked at Hunter, surprised at the strength of his tone. It had the ring of truth and sincerity about it. His friend's demeanor was like last night's, but there was something slightly different about it this morning, Cam couldn't put his finger on what it was. His attention was drawn back to the Ice Ninja who was sneering at them both.

"I don't need your silence, Thunder Ninja. I just want him gone. My Sensei will not..."

"Your Sensei will not what Terrance?" Sensei Palan had come up behind the Ice Ninja that was confronting Cam and Hunter and now he spun around, surprise on his face.

"Sensei."

"You didn't answer my question Terrance. What won't I do?" Sensei Palan stared hard at his student and the Ice Ninja bowed his head. "As I thought. Terrance, you will remove yourself from this arena and wait for me in my office." The Ice Ninja bowed his head and moved away. Hunter relaxed slightly, as did Cam and the two of them looked at Sensei Palan. He waved his hand and the wall of ice that was blocking their way disappeared. He gave a soft sigh and then looked at the two of them.

"I am truly sorry that you have encountered this type of thinking here Sensei Watanabe. I assure you, it is not the feeling of myself or the majority of my students and teachers." Cam nodded, putting his glasses back on.

"I thought as much Sensei Palan. It's okay, it's something I've unfortunately come to expect from Ninjas not from my or Sensei Bradley's Academies. When my father instituted the Samurai program, he did so at great risk, but it is slowly proving its worth." Cam gave him a small smile.

"But that doesn't mean I haven't been trained as a Wind Ninja," Cam threw a glance at Hunter and Hunter could swear he heard Cam smirk even though his face didn't change expression, "as certain people found out." Hunter grinned back at him and Sensei Palan nodded.

"Thank you for understanding. Now, if you'll come with me, we have some rather important work to do."

The afternoon sun was blazing over head as the four men sat on the grass. Behind them, three Ninjas from each of the academies stood guard.

"So, we are agreed in our assessment then." The other three nodded at Sensei Laglia's words. Cam sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he removed his glasses.

"The recent opening of the Abyss of Evil," Hunter and he shared a quick glance of bitter memories. "Has weakened the seal holding him in. To be honest, I'm surprised it's held up this long. And I think that the seals being weakened is what's causing all the bad behavior and problems you're having with your students Senseis." Hunter nodded, gesturing with one hand.

"You can sense that there's more than a normal level of evil presence in the air." Hunter nodded at Cam. "We've both been sensing it since arriving yesterday." Cam leaned forward slightly as he put his glasses back on, gesturing to the students behind them.

"It also explains how come that they have been acting the way they have. It's snuck up on you so gradually, that you have most likely subconsciously gotten used to it so you don't even sense it. But it is defiantely there, a malicious feeling of evil." The two Senseis exchanged glances and then as one, closed their eyes and took deep breaths, slipping easily into a meditative trance. Hunter looked at Cam who returned his glance with a small smile. Hunter nodded in understanding, he knew that the whole situation had become a whole lot more dangerous than a couple of Fire and Ice Ninjas fighting. Hunter took a deep breath himself, closing his eyes as he did, relaxing slightly in his surroundings. He began to listen to the strange sounding birds and smelling the fresh, clean air of the strange country. Suddenly he could feel himself being watched and he opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to find Cam watching him, a strange expression on his face. Hunter raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what' and Cam just gave him a tiny smile. Just then the two Sensei's opened their eyes and both of them looked troubled.

"Unfortunately you are right Cameron."

"The evil has increased. Sensei Palan and I have not sensed it. It must be is as you have stated, it has crept up on us so gradually we did not sense it."

"But when we went looking for it, we found it." Cam nodded.

"I thought as much. Now we just have to work out what we can do about it." Hunter frowned.

"Excuse me for sounding the dumb one here, but can't we just seal him up again or something?" The three men looked at him and suddenly Cam grinned excitedly at him.

"Hunter that's brilliant." Cam turned to the two Senseis. "Do you have the original scroll still, the one with the binding spell that they used in the first place?" Sensei Laglia looked at Sensei Palan who gave him a sharp nod. Sensei Laglia looked at Cam.

"Yes, we do. Each of us has half the scroll. It was decided since the seal was in two parts, at the two academies, then the scroll should be as well." Cam frowned slightly but then shrugged.

"Not the way I would have done it but hindsight is a wonderful thing." Hunter looked at his friend.

"Cam, what are you thinking?" Cam looked over and caught Hunter's eyes, his expression grim.

"I'm thinking that we can modify the original binding spell to re-enforce the seals. Now that the Abyss is permanently closed, it should be enough to keep the evil behind the seals." Sensei Palan shook his head.

"That will not work Cameron. The original spell used cannot be modified in the way you are thinking." Sensei Laglia leaned forward slightly.

"But I have something that will do the job." They all looked at him in surprise.

"A few years ago I came across an ancient text that is a binding spell that is stronger than the one originally used. It's not a spell to be used lightly, but given the circumstances, I think we can risk it." Cam raised his eyebrow and exchanged glances with Hunter before looking back at Sensei Laglia, his tone curious.

"Is it a difficult spell Sensei Laglia?"

"Very difficult. And some of the ingredients needed are extremely rare and hard to get."

"You did not tell me about this Sensei Laglia."

"I know Sensei Palan, but at the time, I felt that a spell this powerful was best kept a secret." Sensei Palan opened his mouth to reply but Hunter beat him to it.

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that we get this done before things get worse. What are the ingredients needed? We can use the students and teachers to help us obtain the ingredients that we'll need." The two Sensei's looked at each and Cam resisted the temptation to smirk at their obvious discomfort. Hunter had a tendency to cut through the crap and get straight to the point; it was one of the things that Cam really liked about him. Reluctantly it seemed the two Sensei's nodded.

"Alright. I will return to the Fire Academy and retrieve the scroll and what ingredients I already have. Sensei Palan, I will call you from there to let you know what I do not have. Then, what you don't have we can then send people out to get." Sensei Palan nodded.

"Good. Shall we go then?" The two Sensei's rose to their feet with controlled grace and power, Cam and Hunter following suit. Cam gestured to the two Senseis.

"You go ahead. Hunter and I will be along in a few minutes." Nodding the two Senseis bowed to each other and went their respective ways. Moments later they, and their escorts, disappeared. Hunter looked at Cam, frowning slightly.

"What's up?" Cam sighed, crossing his arms and looking at his friend.

"Something's really bugging me about this whole situation." Hunter titled his head slightly, seeing the concern in Cam's eyes.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Cam gave a short, sharp nod.

"Yeah, I am. More worried than I really should be." Cam uncrossed his arms and waived in the general direction of both the academies. "By rights, those seals should last eons; they shouldn't be degrading like they are." Hunter shrugged.

"You said it yourself Cam, the energy from the Abyss of Evil has weakened it." Cam shook his head.

"That shouldn't have done much damage, the energy that made it this far wouldn't have been that strong. It's not enough to have weakened the seals like that have." Hunter shrugged again, at loss to explain it. But the feeling of evil in the air was strong.

"It has been a few hundred years Cam. Maybe time's weakened them as well." Cam gave a frustrated sigh.

"Could have, I just don't know." Hunter smirked at him.

"Admit it Cam, you just hate the fact you can't figure something out." Cam shook his head and managed a tiny grin for his friend.

"You know me too well." Hunter managed to stop himself from muttering what he wanted to say to that but grinned at his friend.

"So, I know you, and I know you're thinking of something devious aren't you?" Cam just laughed as he shook his head, running a hand through his hair almost absently.

"Not devious as such, but I am thinking that we'll need added energy to re-seal those portals." Hunter thought a moment and then raised an eyebrow.

"You want the students of both academies to give their energy when we perform this spell, don't you?" Cam nodded, not really surprised at Hunter's guess.

"Got it in one Hunter." Hunter shook his head and crossed his arms, shaking his head slightly.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? Keeping the students in the dark about what their academy is guarding seems to be a good idea." Cam gave a frustrated sigh as he absently fiddled with the bandage on his hand.

"I know. But I don't think between the two Senseis and all their teachers, and us, that it will be enough energy."

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it Cam. Until the two Sensei's have gotten together, with that scroll and the list of stuff they need, our hands are tied."

"I know. I just wish..." Hunter uncrossed his arms and reaching over he rested his hand on Cam's shoulder and gently squeezed it.

"I know Cam. You just wish that there was more we could do right now." Cam's eyes meet his and Cam could see the truth in them, and also the faith that Hunter seemed to have in him as well. It was a nice feeling. Hunter suddenly grinned, his eyes turning mischievous as he clapped Cam on the back. "So, there's nothing really we can do right now, correct?" Cam looked at him, his expression wary but a smile dancing around the edges of his mouth.

"No, not really. Not until Sensei Laglia gives us a list of what we'll need." Cam stared hard at Hunter. "Hunter, just what are you thinking?" Hunter grinned at him.

"I'm thinking that until we hear from them, we have some time on our hands." Hunter gestured to the now starting to set sun. "It's almost dinner time. Why don't we go back to the Ice Academy, change and go get dinner or something in town, have a look around and stuff." Cam thought a moment and then shook his head.

"We should really hang around and see what they say." Hunter frowned and crossed his arms again, Cam was being stubborn.

"But that could take hours, couldn't it?" Cam thought and reluctantly it seemed he nodded.

"Well then, I don't know about you Cam, but the last thing I want to do is hang around at the Ice Academy, waiting for the Senseis to get their act together and let us know what they need in a very hostile environment. Come on Cam, admit it, it's the last thing you want to be doing right now, isn't it?" Cam sighed softly and grinned ruefully at Hunter.

"How come you know me so well Hunter? You're right; the last thing I really want to do is be somewhere that I'm not welcome. But it's the responsible thing to do. We should stay on the grounds of the Academy." Hunter snorted and shook his head. Cam took his responsibilities very seriously, and so did Hunter truth be told, but Hunter was determined, he could tell that.

"I know Cam; it would be the right thing to do." Hunter smiled gently at him. "But you're forgetting that they really don't want us there. So, let's go, get some good local food and atmosphere and see some sights. We've got time." Cam just looked at him and then sighed. Hunter was right, he didn't want to go back to the Ice Academy and face all that prejudice again. He was used to encountering it every so often, but that didn't mean he liked it. He gave in gracefully and gave Hunter a warm smile.

"You know something Hunter; you're making a habit of this." He fell into step beside Hunter as they began to walk back towards the edge of the clearing they were in.

"Habit of what?" Cam grinned at him, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Inviting me out to eat and stuff. Hanging out and all that." Hunter tilted his head sideways to look at his friend and smiled.

"Yeah I know. But you got to admit, we do have fun and everything. Besides, I like spending time with you. You're a very important friend to me Cam and I don't want to lose that among teaching, fighting and all the rest of the crap that goes with being an adult." Hunter blushed slightly under Cam's stare; he normally wasn't this open with anyone other than Blake. Cam smiled gently and reached over, squeezing his shoulder gently with his good hand.

"And it's appreciated, more than you'll ever really know Hunter. You've helped me to realize that I don't have to be relegated to the background again, like I was before the whole thing with Lothor. You, my grandfather's arrival, learning to be a better Samurai and a few other little things have what's made these past few months bearable." Cam lowered his hand and nodded at Hunter. "You're a good person Hunter, never forget that. And it's appreciated." Cam grinned as he quickly stepped away. "Even if you do hide it under that 'let's piss everyone off' act of yours!" And with that parting taunt, Cam laughed as he streaked away.

"What act?" Hunter yelled after him and grinned, streaking after his friend.