"Mike?" Antonio's voice startled Mike, causing him to jump.
Mike quickly shut the case he had opened and retreated his hands into his pockets.
"What were you doing with that?" Antonio stood at the door of the walk-in closet, which was filled with a collection of samurai relics from the Shiba house.
The small space also included some of the archives that didn't fit on other shelves.
"I was um... I was just.." Mike couldn't muster a feasible excuse for his actions. What could he say when he was caught reaching for the Uramasa.
"It's not what you think, I was just curious." Mike attempted to defend himself.
"Sure you were." Antonio shook his head. He hated having to be serious just as much as Mike. "I don't want to bring everyone else into this. So just leave it alone and don't open the case again."
~~~
"Lauren." A sweet, motherly voice whispered. "I love you.. but I can't love you too much."
"Mom?" Lauren only saw darkness but felt a soft kiss on her forehead with a tight hug.
"You can't love me either." The voice held back sobs as it loosened its hold on Lauren. "I'm sorry baby, but maybe we'll see each other one day."
"Come back." Lauren couldn't feel or hear them anymore, but she immediately missed the warmth of that person's touch.
"Come back?" Mia sat on the side of Lauren's bed after hearing her distressed voice from across the room. "You must have been dreaming."
When Lauren saw Mia, a wave of relief washed away the tension in her heart.
Lauren could only think of how much she missed Mia as she launched herself into her open arms.
Though Mia did expect a hug, she was still caught off guard by Lauren's eagerness and was nearly knocked right off the bed.
Mia laughed a bit after facing a sudden fright from Lauren's tackle. But her giggles died down quickly when Lauren flinched from a sharp pain in her shoulder.
"Remember you're injured and sick." Mia's tone became more stern as she urged Lauren to take it easy. "Seriously, how can you let yourself get sick with these injuries."
As Mia scolded her, Lauren turned and relaxed her head on Mia's lap; a better position for her injuries.
Being at the Watanabe house truly put her at ease.
The moment Lauren was well enough to leave the hospital, she was situated in her old home.
The decision seemed to be a consensus between the mentors and monks. But for Lauren, it meant that she would never get to see the rangers again until the final battle.
"What happened to your arm?" Lauren looked up into Mia's brown eyes with her blue ones.
"You should know Jen Shiba. When we went to kidnap you, Jen almost shot me dead. Luckily, she just grazed my arm with a bullet." Mia replied while sweeping the hair off Lauren's face.
"Jen Shiba?" Lauren didn't recognize the name.
"Wasn't Jen your caretaker? She had tattoos and orange hair. You have to know her." Mia's suspicion raised.
"My caretaker was an old woman with gray hairs. She passed away after I moved into the Shiba House with you all." Lauren replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Mia was awfully confused. Who was Jen and why was she affectionate towards Lauren.
"I wasn't close to her." Lauren spoke solemnly, leading a silence between the two of them.
"Lauren, do you know your mother's name?" Mia took a shot, hoping for a response.
"We were very young when she left, I don't remember her name or face." Lauren's behavior became slightly antsy. "Jayden knows a lot more about our family."
"It's okay, I'll ask him later." Mia dropped the topic after noticing Lauren's reaction. She endearingly patted her warm head to soothe her.
~~~
Jayden stumbled outside and towards the hibernating gardens where Mia was.
He fell into a frenzy as he used his cane to hop towards her as fast as he could.
She was reading on a bench along a path, keeping warm in a heavy sweater.
The tremendous commotion Jayden was more than enough to pull her attention away from her book.
"Jayden?" Mia read the frantic expression on his face immediately and returned his energy.
He wasn't even properly dressed for the cold weather with his short sleeved t shirt.
"Your grandfather told me that you were shot in the arm." Jayden was out of breath and heaved between every few words.
"He told me that you can't move it anymore, and you might have to amputate it." He tossed his cane aside and sat next to her on the frigid bench.
"Will you be okay?" Jayden spoke with a warm voice as leaned towards Mia slightly.
As Jayden was heaving and sweating, Mia couldn't help but smile.
Her small giggles escalated to a full laughter with glimmering tears of joy.
Jayden couldn't read her at all. Was she actually laughing or did she lose it?
To him, it seemed that she had. Crying while laughing could only mean nearing the peak of lunacy.
Jayden took a deep breath.
He didn't blame her for losing her marbles.
She had gone through a lot before the situation with Terry. But now suddenly losing her arm must've pushed her over the edge.
"Everything will work out Mia, I promise. You have much more strength than you know." Jayden decided that he wanted to help Mia restore her lost sanity.
"Jayden." Mia finally settled down. "My grandfather lied to you. He tricked you."
"What?"
"My arm was grazed by a bullet." Mia explained while enjoying Jayden's dumbfounded expression. "I wasn't necessarily shot, so I'm fine."
"Oh.." Jayden scratched his head. "Thank goodness you're still sane."
Though the situation was bizarre, Mia found his false concern was heartwarming.
If she was really hurt, that was how he would run to her.
"Anyway, can I ask you an odd question?" Mia's request changed the mood.
She hoped to bring up Jen and get the answers she couldn't from Lauren.
"Sure." Jayden gave her his full attention.
"Do you know your mother's name?" Mia noticed that Jayden was instantly thrown off by her question.
"Um.."
"I'm sorry if it's too out the blue." Mia prepared to drop the subject.
"No, it's fine." Jayden insisted. "Her name is Tiana."
Jayden's response denied that Jen Shiba was his mother. Unless Jen wasn't her real name... which is probably thinking too hard about it.
"How come?" Jayden asked.
"I was just curious." Mia lied. "You once told me that Lauren's life would be warmer if she stayed and cared for her."
"Did I?" Jayden tried to remember.
"Do you know what she's like?" Mia asked before realizing that she could be prying too much.
"I don't remember her very well." Jayden fell deep into thought. "Ji told me that she is a kind but self sacrificial leader. And when he got upset with me, he would say that I'm too much like her."
