Back where it all began [Mae Iharu's Epilogue]

A new morning dawned over San Malarus a couple of weeks after the events that shook the archipelago to it's very core... This day she had been waiting for a very long time for this paticular day to come. It couldn't come soon enough, especially not after what had transpired here a few weeks back. Charles had left Mae, after explaining that he just... felt like he was holding Mae back. She had refused to let him go for a long while, but eventually... She gave in... and let him leave her. At least the dorms were back in full swing again, and school was surely soon to follow. Kinaku and the band had left the islands as well, continuing their world tour, their next destination being Barcelona in Spain. Mae had to resist the urge to follow them there quite fiercily, as she still had things left to do here... Aside from school of course.

She had a new goal in mind. A goal which she would fight to the nail to fulfil. Jack was the only one who really knew about this goal of hers. Starting up an orphanage from scratch was going to be difficult, she knew that. Did it stop her? Of course not! What was life without a bit of challenge? And let's face it, nothing she would ever face in her whole life would measure up to the ordeals that she had to face over this last year... She had seen it through to the end, and became a stronger person as a result.

Anyway, back to what Mae was doing. She headed down the streets of San Malarus, on her way to the station... Where one of her best friends was waiting for her... Ayane Masuo had kept her promise, and returned to Azores around Halloween, which was great for Mae. What she didn't know however, was that Ayane's parents managed to get her transferred to Zela Academy. So, there she was, walking down the street, blissfully unaware of the very pleasant suprise waiting for her at the station. She wore something she usually didn't wear that often for the occasion. It was an outfit her grandmother had made for her as a christmas gift a year ago, and it... just didn't fit as her everyday clothing, so she only wore it on special occasions, like today.

"Hey! Maaaaeee!" Ayane waved at her friend, shouting to let her own voice carry through the masses. Mae looked up, and saw the familiar pigtails bounce up and down along with a familiar pair of red eyes. "Ayaaane!" The redhead rushed over to her friend with a big smile on her face.


Ayane chuckled lightly before answering. "It went rather well. Sure, it took a while, and I barely got any sleep, but I'm here, and that's all that matters in the end, doesn't it?" Mae nodded. The pigtailed girl did look quite tired, now that she mentioned it. And another thing she noticed too... "What's up with all the luggage? I thought you were only going to stay here for a couple of days?" To this, Ayane answered with a broad smile. "Here... Let me show you." And the girl opened up her purse, and gave Mae a thick envelope. "Hm... What's this?" The redhead asked, looking at the envelope with a curious expression. "Open it, why don't you?" Ayane's smile grew wider as Mae opened up the envelope and took a look at the first paper inside.


Dear Ayane Masuo.
We are pleased to inform you that your transferral to Zela Academy of Azores has been approved, with immediate effect. We expect to see you at the re-opening on...

Mae didn't even bother to keep reading anymore. She already knew the date, and she could barely contain herself. "You're TRANSFERING?!" She asked, overjoyed by the news. Ayane nodded, her smile even wider than before. "AAAAAAAHHHH! This is GREAT! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" Mae jumped up and down in place before hugging her friend quickly. "Now you see why I have so much luggage?" The pigtailed girl replied with a light chuckle. "Mhm! Let me help you with that." Before Ayane could protest, Mae had already taken one of her bags. "You don't ha-nevermind." She blinked, before bursting out laughing as the two went on their merry way back to the dorms...


Mae sat in her room, late at night, holding the pink ranger mask she had gotten from Jack all those months ago when she had first joined the rangers. It was a strange feeling, really. Looking at it now, as her duties as a ranger had vanished along with the threat... She had made a lot of friends over the course of this long year... but victory came at a price...


"Hyde..." Not a single day passed without Mae thinking about her friend that passed away... She missed him, of course, and the way he had suddenly left was kind of cruel... But he had died as he lived... Always fighting for the greater good, no matter what people thought about him. She respected him for that. Sure, they might not have been the best of friends, but he was one of the very first people to approach her when she had just started studying at Zela Academy. Him and Jack... The fond memories she had with him. When they went to Starlight Karaoke... and the visit to Edogawa Sushi in Penecia... He would continue to live on in her memories, alongside everyone else who knew him... If only she had got to know him better... That's the one regret that Mae thought she would never get over completely.

"Heh... We really did it, Jack..." Mae said with a wry smile as she looked down on the Mask resting on her lap. "We saved the world... All of us did... You managed to pull people together and fight for everyone who couldn't fend for themselves... So, in a sense, you really are... no... you've transcended beyond the heroes you've wanted to be..." And here she was, left behind, while everyone else moved on, became stronger, and saved the world. Even Rin hadn't bothered to say goodbye to her... It really stung, but... what could she do about it? Not much, but it pained her still.

The girl suddently stood up, and grabbed the hammer and a nail that she had borrowed from the Janitor... She wanted to hang something on the wall. Of course, he had insisted on helping her, but... This was something she needed to do on her own. The action carried far more weight than just hanging up a simple decoration on the wall... It symbolized Mae's pride as the Pink Ranger, the strong woman she had become over the course of this year. With each swing of the hammer, the nail dug deeper into the wall, little by little until she felt it was enough. While doing this, she thought of Sharaku, and what she had learned from him...


Those words still echoed within Mae's mind... She wasn't worthless... She didn't need to live just for the sake of getting other's acceptance. That was in itself another reason why she hung up the mask on the wall. She was distancing herself from what she used to be, and strived to look forward, with a new goal in sight. She didn't want to live just to get others to accept her anymore. What she needed was to accept herself, and who she was... And she wasn't going to do that if she kept dwelling in the past. No, it just wouldn't do. Sharaku would just be angry at her for not learning from her mistakes... She didn't want that. In fact, she would be even angrier at herself if she kept up her old ways much longer. When this Mask was hung up on the wall, her new way of life would begin.

With one final strike, the nail dug itself deep enough into the wall that the mask could safely hang from it. Mae turned around, and went back to her bed, and picked up the Ranger Mask, which she then hung up on the wall... "I, Mae Iharu, have successfully become a ranger, and I swear that I will keep these islands safe from future threats, no matter what they may be, or where they are from. That, is my vow to humanity." She would then inspect her little decoration on the wall with a smile. It felt... much better now. Making her vow to protect the islands and her friends from harm as a physical vow made her resolve much stronger, and this mask would serve as a token of that promise, so that she would never lose sight of it...