Italics are Kira thinking

CHAPTER 3: KIRA

ANGEL GROVE
FEBRUARY 6 2004
10:15

"You knew he played soccer."

"Yeah, but he's nine."

"You kicked hard when you were nine."

"Yeah, but I'm a Power Ranger."

"Not when you were nine!"

"Yeah, but it's been in my DNA all this time!"

"No, it's been in your Dino Gem all this time. It picked your DNA." And we still don't know why.

The two Rangers turned POW (Prisoners of Wretched-children) were sitting at the island counter in the kitchen. Connor had one leg on Kira's lap and she was trying to tape an ice pack to his knee, while he was rubbing his opposite thigh.

Kira unsuccessfully tried to suppress a laugh, and after a minute she was holding the counter top so she wouldn't fall over.

"What?!" Connor snapped.

"A nine year-old!" She gasped out. "Beat you up…Six year-old…closet!"

Connor was not laughing. He swung his leg down, and limped out of the kitchen.

You gotta be kidding me…

"Aw, Connor!" Kira called after him. "Come on, I didn't mean it! …Ok I did, but you're just too easy…I couldn't resist!" She hopped down off the stool, practically skipping after him. "Let's just forget about it, ok?"

He stopped dead and whirled around so quickly Kira ran into him.

"Forget?" Connor asked in a monotone voice, lifting his eyebrows. "No, Kira," He shook his head and placed his hands on her shoulders, so they were standing similar to as when he fell out of the closet, and speaking to her as if she were a child. "We will never 'forget'. It shall forever be ingrained into our humble little memories, and it will never cease to let us be. It will follow us to the grave, where it shall torment us into our post-life experiences. It is a curse that has no knowledge of the definition of 'humiliation'. It is a past that shall never erase itself from our personal lives' history."

Wait, what?!

"It is-"

"A closet," Kira cut in curtly. "Cope. And where did you learn those long words?"

He stared at her.

"School, Kira," he said slowly. He bent over so they were eye to eye, still talking as if explaining something to a child. "You should try it some time. An education these days is highly beneficial in the workforce."

"Workforce? You want to play soccer for the rest of your life!"

"Only till I'm 30," he shrugged. "And by then, I'll have enough dough that I can buy the team. And that's where the Business Major will come in handy."

"Business major? Wait-you're going to college?!"

"Well, yeah," he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why? Aren't you?"

"Kira?…"

Kira looked to her right, Connor to his left, and saw Cora standing there. Kira had sent the kids to get ready for bed, not after Cormac went on his vengeance crusade against Connor's shins, but after the kids had decided to play 'War' in the living room. War pretty much consisted of throwing marshmallows at one baby-sitter, while the other was upstairs checking on the baby. In this case, Kira had left to check the baby, and Connor was left cowering in the corner.

Now Cora was standing in front of them, the same expression plastered on her face as before when she found her baby-sitters in this close proximity.

"Yes sweetie?" Kira wriggled her way away from Connor's tight grasps and walked over to kneel down in front of Cora.

"Umm…I'm ready to, to, um, to be…tucked in now."

She was playing with her nightgown and hugging a stuffed rabbit to her chest, like she was nervous, or scared of something that was about to happen.

Very un-Cora like. Uh-oh. I wonder what Cormac's planning…

"Excellent!" Connor said, clapping his hands together. "I'll go finish cleaning the hot chocolate off the wall, the macaroni off the couch, get the marshmallows out from behind the TV, throw out the broken vase, and you lock them in their rooms. Have fun!"

Cora looked up at Connor and put her fist on her hips. "You were the one who threw the macaroni you-you…big…bad, um…big, bad, red lump!"

Oh yeah. This one's definitely a Ford Girl.

Kira stood up and took Cora's hand to lead her upstairs.

"Are you gonna take that Connor?" she teased over her shoulder.

"I didn't throw it, he jumped on me and it flew out of my hands!"

"Yeah. Sure it did. Or…he was annoying you and you threw it at him. The broom's in the cabinet next to the oven!" She called as she rounded the corner with her younger cousin in tow.

"'Cabinet next to the oven,'" Connor mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Oh I'd like to do more than just sweep with that broom…"

"So, Cora," Kira spoke to her cousin as she wrapped the Barbie blankets around her. "What really happened with the macaroni?"

Cora was more than eager to retell the story.

"Well, Cormac was making faces and mimicking because Lumpy was trying to tell him to stop throwing marshmallows, so Lumpy put some mac'n'cheese on his spoon and he went-whoosh!" she mimicked her own impression of Connor throwing macaroni off of a spoon. "-But Cormac was ready for it, so he jumped out of the way, but he landed on Lumpy's foot, and that was when Lumpy spilled all the mac'n'cheese!" she finished gleefully.

The only thing Kira got out of that explanation was the naming of the 8th Dwarf.

"Um…Lumpy?"

"Yeah. Lumpy. Your boyfriend," she laughed. "He looked like a big lump when he was trying to hide in the corner when we were playing War with the marshmallows!"

"Ok, then. Lumpy it is. But Cora, you do know that it's not right to throw marshmallows and hot chocolate, right? I mean, tonight you have to go to bed before bedtime because you made a mess…and I have to tell your mommy and daddy. And you probably won't…wait. Did you say boyfriend?!"

"Well…yeah. Isn't Connor your boyfriend?" Cora asked innocently.

"NO!" Kira practically yelled. "I mean…no. No, he's not." She reached over and pushed a strand of blonde hair away from Cora's face. "Honey, Connor and I are just friends! We have the same classes and we…um…hang out…kind of…after school and we're teammates…but we're not boyfriend and girlfriend. What made you think that?"

"Oh. Well, you guys are always kissing whenever me and Cormac aren't around."

What?

"Trust me Cora, I have never kissed Connor McKnight in my life!"

And I doubt I ever will.

Cora yawned. Kira decided to leave the room now and leave it at that, then handle it next time. She started backing out of the door when Cora spoke again.

"So, why are your faces always so close and he's always holding you…" Her voice trailed as her eyes drifted close. "That's what daddy always does when he…kisses…mommy…" Kira backed out and shut the door quietly.

She went to check on Cormac next, but he was already fast asleep, and snoring, so Kira let him be.

Then she made her way to the stairs, her mind racing of things she was about to yell at her brave red lump of a leader.