A/N/Disclaimer: My goal is to post every Friday, but I may post more often whenever I finish a chapter early (such as when I can procrastinate studying for a test). Also, I'm not really editing this as I go; I'm just writing to get the ideas out and for my own enjoyment. Since working at the Writing Center I've realized I've kind of lost the ability to just write for the sake of writing, without staring at a sentence and wondering if that's exactly how I want it to sound. So that's a little of what this story is; attempting to write without editing for hours. Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys. Oh and I know this came out around 2004, so some of the songs I choose for Kira to sing were not out yet…but sometimes I'll add them anyway, just because I feel like it fits the scene better than other songs.
Note: this chapter may be a trigger for those who self-harm or are recovering.
I don't own Dino Thunder or the characters.
Chapter Two
The sun was just beginning to peer over the treetops, filtering into the living room of Reefside High School's favorite science teacher, whenever he jolted awake.
He blinked blearily and glanced around him, trying to recall where he was and what led him to fall asleep on the couch. Absently his fingers pulled at the cover that had fallen off of him whenever he sat up while the memory of the news headline flickered in his mind's eye.
Trent and Anton Mercer were gone. Connor and Ethan went home with Hayley last night. Kira stayed there.
Kira must've given him the blanket, he decided, running a hand through his black hair then down his face. Whenever he pulled his hand back he noticed small flecks of dried blood and sighed. He needed to shower; he still reeked of their final battle and he suddenly felt incredibly grimy.
Quietly, unsure of where Kira had ended up or if she was still asleep, Tommy walked to his bedroom and gathered some clothes and a fresh towel before heading to the bathroom. Whenever he tried the door he realized it was locked and raised a hand to knock at the same moment it opened to reveal Kira.
Her usually wavy blonde hair was tossed up in a towel and her bright hazel eyes seemed brighter as her cheeks turned crimson. Once Tommy unfroze, he realized why she was so red: she was only wearing one of his t-shirts, which acted semi-effectively as a dress on her.
Neither of them spoke, although Tommy's own cheeks burned and his heart raced in his chest. After a second he realized his eyes were still on her shapely legs instead of her face, and he quickly refocused.
"I, um, couldn't find any sweats," Kira mumbled.
Tommy unfroze and took a step back, allowing Kira to step by him, giving him access to the bathroom. After depositing his clothes and towel on the sink countertop he led Kira to his room and dug around one of his many dresser drawers until he found some sweats with a drawstring. Half in a daze he handed them to her, deaf to her quiet gratitude, before almost running to the bathroom.
Once he was safe in the bathroom he stripped, turned the knobs for the coldest water he could manage, and submerged himself. He tried desperately for the first five minutes of his shower to eradicate the image of the young woman in nothing but one of his t-shirts, perky nipples poking out and her long, smooth legs all too visible.
In the end his attempts were futile and left him with far too much blood for his comfort in his nether regions, which sent a wave of shame over him. Christ, Tommy, she used to be your student.
An unwelcome voice in the back of his mind sent another wave of shame, But you never thought of her as your student anyways, did you?
With a sigh, Tommy forced himself to focus on cleansing his body of yesterday's battle, and yet before long his thoughts returned once more to Kira.
It was true; Tommy had never considered Kira his student, but that was because between all of the young rangers, she showed the greatest strength. Not physically, but mentally. Emotionally. Some days Tommy even wondered if she was stronger than him.
Sure, she had her insecurities, but she tried to never let them hold her back. She hid behind her witty quips and neo punk style—always with a speck of yellow in her outfit—but it served her well.
Tommy would be lying to himself if he claimed he did not admire her strength and courage.
He remembered the first night he witnessed the full ferocity of her strength.
It was after a particularly brutal match against the White Ranger, before they released him from his evilness, whenever Kira called him from a park bench in downtown. Her speech was slightly slurred and tears were ever present in her words, and even though it was nearly three a.m., he came.
Whenever he found her, he was shocked to see her wearing a pretty, yellow dress with sequins that caught the light of the street lamps. She smelled of cheap liquor and had the faintest smell of cigarettes hanging about her, but she managed a small smile whenever she saw him.
"What happened, Kira?" Tommy asked, filled with concern as he sat next to her, body turned to face her fully.
"My band split up," she said after a moment, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "Or I guess, they kicked me out."
Tommy apologized, but he was uncertain what else to say. He was shocked—how could a band kick out their lead singer? "What are you going to do?" he asked, wondering if that was a bad question to ask so soon, and yet he was curious.
"Music means a lot to me," she admitted after a moment. "But I know a career out of it wouldn't be easy. I got a nice scholarship to go to the University a town over, and I'm going into their geology program with a minor in music."
"That's great, Kira," he said genuinely, repressing the urge to hug her. He found himself oddly satisfied to hear she was going into geology.
She smiled a little uncertainly. "I'm sorry I called you Dr. O," she laughed quietly and shook her head before looking up at the star filled sky. "There was a time whenever I wouldn't have taken this news that well." Another small snort. "Then again, I guess I didn't handle this so well, going to a bar and all."
Tommy was not naïve, so he chose not to ask how she managed to get served in a bar. He was very aware of the fake I.D. problem in Reefside, but instead he considered what she said.
He worked in close quarters will all of the young rangers, so of course he had noticed her scars. Most of them were faded white lines along the inside of her wrists and some even on her legs, but he had never really considered them until now. He could just barely make out the ones of the inside of her wrist, and absently he reached out and traced one of them.
"You called me though," he murmured and traced another scar. "That takes a lot of courage."
Kira smiled sadly. "Nah," she shook her head slightly, "I lost my dad to drunk driving, I just know better."
"What do you need me to do?" Tommy asked, matching his honey brown gaze to her bloodshot, hazel orbs.
"I don't want to hurt my mom by going home drunk, but it's a bit cold to sleep on a park bench tonight—"
The way she said that made Tommy look up, a furrow between his brows. "Kira, anytime you need a place to go, call me," he said a bit sharper than he meant to, but the image of Kira sleeping on a park bench drew at his chest. There were too many creeps out and about that would take advantage of her—especially if she was drunk.
By the time he finished showering and dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt he heard a buzzer going off in the kitchen and he found Kira, hair hanging in loose tendrils about her shoulders, bustling around the kitchen while the smell of pancakes and bacon filled his nostrils.
Kira shot him a small, grateful smile then returned to filling plates with breakfast. Tommy returned her smile and found himself perched next to her on the bar stools, eating his first home-cooked breakfast in weeks.
"Connor and Ethan will be here soon. Hayley's going to bring me a change of clothes." A pause, then a sigh. "The funeral is tomorrow morning, one of Trent's aunts is setting up the proceeding."
Once they finished eating breakfast she took their plates to the sink, and before long there was a knock at the door and Hayley proffered a bag of clothes. "Sorry, Kira, your parents hadn't left yet so I brought you some of mine."
Kira took them with a smile and a thank you before disappearing into the guest room to dress in more appropriate clothes.
Tommy looked at Hayley with a question in his eyes, and she shook her head ever so slightly. "I closed the shop for today and tomorrow."
Before long the guys showed up and they had a wake of sorts for Trent, training and sharing memories in his name.
A/N: Lots of backstory, but I promise the next couple chapters will pick up in speed. In case it wasn't very noticeable, the rangers have graduated high school within the past couple of weeks and are preparing to go off to college.