Ninja headgear dropped onto the back of the chair, and he flexed his fingers as he unlaced the bracers and pulled them free. It had been a long morning. They were field testing some of the new students: sending them off campus into a controlled situation to see what their capabilities were under pressure. It was something he had always been good at--even a little too good if his teachers had anything to say about it, which they always had. Now, seeing it from their perspective, he was starting to understand that good students caused as many headaches as bad ones.
Hunter had bypassed the equipment room in favor of his office, and his teaching bo had joined the other two in the corner by the door. This place was fast becoming his refuge in an academy where, suddenly, everyone was looking to him. He was used to people knowing who he was. He wasn't used to them asking him to solve every little problem... and not just asking, but expecting it. It was a side of the academy's training programs that he had never seen: the constant supervisory details that kept a place like this running from one hour to the next.
His uniform felt particularly heavy today. He was tempted to kick his boots off, to go barefoot as well as bare-handed, but they had been out later than they'd wanted to be and lunch was already more than half over. If he wanted anything to eat while the cafeteria was still serving hot food, he would have to give up his few moments of relaxation and get down there quick. No more stalling.
On the other hand... Who was gonna question the head teacher if he showed up in the cafeteria barefoot? Half the students trained that way, and there weren't any rules about footwear anywhere on campus. He considered this option for about two seconds before deciding that agonizing over it wouldn't get him anywhere. Take them off or don't, who was gonna notice?
As he bent over to tug at his boots, the message light on his cell phone caught his eye. Or rather, the flicker of green in place of its normally slow crimson blink made him pause. Reaching for the phone, he flipped it open and dialed before he returned his attention to his boots. When it connected, he straightened up and skipped right to new messages.
"One new message," the phone told him. Hunter stepped on the heel of one boot and pulled his foot free, taking a step backward to repeat the procedure with his other boot. "First message."
"It's Cam," a familiar voice said. "Call me back."
Click.
"That was your last message," the phone continued a moment later. "To delete this message, press 7. To save this message--"
Hunter pressed 6 to return the call and waited, tugging his socks off one at a time and rocking back and forth on feet that were suddenly free. Why was he doing this now? Cam hadn't said it was important, hadn't said anything at all, in fact, which was both typical and annoying. By all rights, he should put the phone down and go find some lunch. But as usual, his curiosity won out and he waited for Cam to pick up.
"Yeah," Cam's voice said a moment later. "I tried to call you before."
"I was teaching," Hunter said, somewhat testily. "What's going on?"
"I got one of the satellite feeds going in Ninja Ops."
"Yeah, great," Hunter answered. "I'm late for lunch, y'know."
"You haven't eaten yet?"
Hunter glanced at the clock, but he didn't need to. "Have you?"
There was a moment of silence from the phone. "The satellite system is picking up power signatures from at least a dozen of Lothor's former generals," Cam said at last. "Everyone that didn't get thrown back into the Abyss with him is still around, but as far as we can tell there hasn't been any unusual activity since the Action Games."
"No leader," Hunter guessed. "Cut off the head and the body can't function."
"That was an unnecessarily graphic analogy," Cam grumbled. "But yes, it's possible. We can't track them at this point, so until and unless they start causing trouble, there's nothing we can do."
"We should assemble a ninja team," Hunter said. "A group that can go out and kick butt if it needs to. We may not have our Ranger powers anymore, but we can take care of some leftover goons. No problem."
"That's what I said, too. Well, the part about assembling ninjas," he amended. "I didn't use the words 'kicking butt.'"
"Shoulda," Hunter said with a grin. It started to fade as he wondered, "Wait, who did you say that to?"
"Tori, Shane, and Dustin," Cam answered. "I called an impromptu meeting to let them know what I found. Couldn't reach you or Blake."
"Yeah." He was staring at the picture on the corner of his desk: him and the rest of the Rangers, the day of graduation. They had known they were going their separate ways... but had they known just how separate they would be? He didn't like the sudden feeling of isolation that Cam's casual comment evoked.
"I'll get permission to put something together here," Hunter said abruptly. "Just in case you guys need backup or whatever."
"Thanks." Cam's voice was curiously free of sarcasm, and Hunter found himself saying the words before he'd had time to think them through.
"Hey, you wanna catch up sometime? You know, not about this, just about... everything. I'm feeling kind of out of the loop, here."
Cam's reply surprised him. "You and me both. I feel like I've been living in Ninja Ops lately."
"How is that different?" Hunter asked, feigning puzzlement.
"Very funny." Oddly, Cam actually did sound amused instead of annoyed. "What did you have in mind?"
Hunter shrugged, even though he knew Cam couldn't see it. "I dunno. Lunch, the arcade, go-karts, whatever. Training's okay, as long as it's not on campus." He thought about that, then took it back. "No, training's not okay. Train with someone else. I'm bored with training."
Cam's tone was still faintly amused when he replied, "Lunch is fine. This week or next?"
"This one," Hunter said firmly. He wasn't gonna start scheduling his friends two weeks in advance, no matter how busy he was. "How 'bout Friday?"
There was a pause. "Sure," Cam said at last. "Friday's good. You coming here?"
It was a reasonable assumption, given that Blake was still in Blue Bay, but for a moment Hunter was tempted to say "no" just to see what Cam would do. "Yeah," he said instead. "Meet you at Ninja Ops."
"Fine." Cam sounded distracted. "I have to go. Watch out for evil generals."
Hunter had to grin. "Yeah, you too. Later."
He stared at the phone for a minute after he'd hung up, then shook his head and put it back on his desk. He turned around, stepped out into the hall, and pulled the office door shut behind him. It would serve as a signal to anyone looking for him that they wouldn't find him here. Then he headed for the cafeteria.
Barefoot.
Next Time on Power Rangers Ninja Storm
