The raising sun coming through Jiao's window woke her up the next morning. She sighed, opening her eyes as she slowly turned from her stomach to her side. She sighed again as she realized that a night of sleep hadn't done anything to alleviate the pain in her body. She slowly maneuvered herself towards the edge of the bed and put her feet down on the side. Jiao groaned as the flash of pain went up her legs as her feet touched the floor.
"I swear, next time I see little boy Green, he's gonna get it," she muttered to herself. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and summoned all the strength she could to get herself to stand up. "Ow! Son of a mother fucking bitch!" She yelped as set of more intense pains shot up her legs at her putting all her weight on her wounds, causing her knees to buckle beneath her. Her butt fell to the edge of her bed before slipping off and crashing to the floor. Two seconds later her bedroom door burst open as Hayden came in.
"You okay?" He asked. Jiao glared at him.
"Oh yes, I always greet the new day with a stream of curses," she replied. Hayden rolled his eyes and went over to where Jiao was sitting.
"Only you." He commented. He bent down and took hold of her wrist with one hand while the other snaked around her waist. "Put your weight on me," he said as he began to help her up. Jiao nodded and leaned against him as he helped her get back up on her bed.
"Thanks," she said before reaching over to her nightstand and grabbing her glasses and necklace and slipping both on.
"No problem." He replied. He sat down beside her. "So, how are you feeling?" He asked. Jiao shifted her eyes to him.
"Well, you felt the need to bust into my room like a firefighter in the towering inferno, so……….perfectly fine," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Is it at all possible for you to say a sentence that's not marinated in sarcasm?" Hayden said, shaking his head, amused. Jiao thought about it for a minute.
"No." She replied. Hayden sighed. "My stomach's feeling a little better," she said. "Now it just compares to having a teeth pulled without novacaine, as supposed to having a limb amputated without anesthesia. My arm's still sore, my head still hurts, and the still somewhat open wounds on my feet are pretty much debilitating," she finished her explanation with a sigh. "Satisfied?" Hayden just looked at her.
"Sure."
"So glad I could make your day," Jiao said. Hayden smiled.
"Do you need anything?" He asked. Jiao went to shake her head but realized she had no intention of experiencing the pain again even for the sake of her hesitation of accepting help.
"Yeah," she finally said. She pointed past him to a small grey leather book on the desk at the other end of the room. "Could you mind passing me my date book?" Hayden nodded and went to retrieve the requested item and handed it to her. Jiao scratched her head a bit before opening up the book to the day's date.
"What, got a hot date?" Hayden teased. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"Just needed to double check something," she said. "Sweet," she said to herself before snapping the book shut. "Today's my day off from work," she explained.
"Well that's good." Hayden replied. He stood up. "You should probably have your bandages changed," he said.
"What's the point?" She asked. "I mean, they'll just get bloody and need to be changed again!"
"Uh, cause having bloody bandages is gross and not conducive in keeping your wounds clean?" Hayden offered, surprised by her outburst. Jiao was quiet.
"Fine." She said. Hayden sat back down next to her.
"What's up?" He asked. Jiao gave him an incredulous look. "I mean aside from being in whatever pain you're in, what's really going on?" He asked. Jiao looked away.
"Nothing," she said. Hayden looked at her, utterly unconvinced. Jiao sighed. "He was in my house," she said softly. "He was in my house and he wanted to kill me." Hayden frowned and put his hand on her shoulder.
"But you survived."
"I ran," Jiao muttered bitterly. "He appeared in my living room, busted up my TV, punched the side of my head and I ran, trying to hide in my room….but he got in, and had his buddies with him. I turned myself invisible and put a field up around Tybee and the first chance I got, I ran again."
"But you were able to get away from him... Jiao, you survived and that's the biggest part." Jiao sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"How'd he get in?" She asked. "I mean….How…..I didn't even know he was there……..I wouldn't have if he didn't have such a taste for the dramatics and shot my TV out. He could've snuck up behind me and slit my throat or something if he wanted to," she said, shuddering slightly under Hayden's touch.
"Well, thank god for his love for the dramatics then," Hayden replied, unsure what else to say. Jiao nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so." She replied. She looked at him, her expression changing back to her usual cold look. "I'd appreciate it if this conversation didn't find its way to additional ears," she said. Hayden nodded, taking his hand off her shoulder.
"Sure," he said. "It'll be our little secret," he said with a smile. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, Rainbow Brite," she muttered.
"Anything you say, My Little Pony." He replied.
"I told you, I ain't anyone's 'pony'," she grumbled. Hayden snickered and stood up, making his way to the door to get the supplies to change her bandages.
"Uh huh, all you need is a rider," he said, before grinning, catching the double meaning in the sentence. Jiao's eyes widened as she too caught it and grabbed one of the pillows on her bed and flung it at him. Hayden quickly ducked as the pillow came towards him and hit the person who was just about to walk into the room.
"Oomph!" Ryder exclaimed as he got a face full of pillow before the object fell at his feet as he stumbled back a bit, bracing himself against the doorframe so as not to fall over.
"Alright, note to self. Duck when entering Jiao's room." Ryder muttered. Hayden snickered.
"Morning Ryder," he said cheerfully. "We were just talking about you," he said. Ryder gave him a questioning look.
"No we weren't!" Jiao quickly insisted. Ryder looked at them both.
"I'm not sure if I should be curious, or not." He shrugged before looking at Jiao. "How are you feeling?" Jiao rolled her eyes.
"Peachy," she said, getting a little annoyed that she kept getting the same sort of question. Ryder nodded.
"I was just about to get some stuff to change her bandages," Hayden said. Ryder nodded again.
"Alright, I can stay here." He replied.
"I don't need a babysitter," Jiao growled. Ryder looked at her.
"Did I say you did?" He questioned.
"No, you don't need to. I'm telling you." She replied. She put her hand on her nightstand and used it to push herself up to her feet, almost faltering a bit at the pain but refusing to let herself fall down or show any sign of backing down. "I'm fine," she said.
"Right, and that's why you cursed like a sailor who just got a nasty letter from the health department not too long ago," Hayden said, rolling his eyes. "Sit back down."
"Yeah, who in this room is the boss of me?" She asked. "Certainly not you," she said.
"If you're so fine then why don't you let go of the nightstand?" Ryder challenged knowingly, seeing how she was pretty much putting all her weight on the piece of furniture.
"Because it's how I do things in the morning." She shot back. "I like leaning against furniture when I wake up, it's a great way to stretch the sleepy muscles," she said. Ryder snorted and walked over to her.
"Oh really?" He asked. Jiao watched him with a wary eye.
"Yes re-leeeeee!' She exclaimed as Ryder gently nudged her arm making her lose her balance on the nightstand and fall down, irritating her feet as she went down. "Ass!" She yelled at him.
"Oh sorry, I thought you were just stretching," Ryder said innocently. Jiao narrowed her eyes and quickly swung around, sweeping her leg under him, catching his calves with her ankle, effectively knocking him off balance and making him fall on his back.
"Whoa!" He yelled as he fell. Jiao grinned.
"My bad," she said, though no part of her tone indicated she regretted her actions. "Maybe next time you shouldn't disturb someone's stretching," she said with a shrug. She sighed and shifted around until her hands were on the edge of her bed and used it to pull herself up until she was sitting on the bed. She looked down as Ryder slowly got back up, her eyes focusing on a fresh spot of blood on the carpet. "Ass!" She snapped, throwing a glare at Ryder. "You made one of the cuts open up!" Ryder looked at her.
"I thought you were fine?" He questioned. Jiao tightened her jaw as she looked at him with barely contained fury.
"Get out," she growled, her eyes going to Hayden. "Both of you."
"Hey, what'd I do?" Hayden asked.
"Get out!" She shrieked. Hayden sighed and grabbed Ryder's shoulder, pulling him out with him. Once they were both out, he pulled the door shut before turning around and smacking Ryder upside the head.
"Thanks a lot, dumbass," he said. Ryder looked at him.
"What?"
"I was just getting her to be a little less bitchy and you go and undo everything," he said, rolling his eyes. "You really are an ass."
"I'm sorry?" Ryder questioned.
"What's going on?" They both heard Trent asked. They turned to the couch where the older man had been sleeping but was now stretching upwards, looking at them with bleary eyes.
"Jiao's being herself." Ryder replied grumpily. Hayden threw him a glare.
"Oh, and you had nothing to do with her getting pissed?" He challenged.
"Hey, if she would just admit that she was in pain, there wouldn't be a problem."
"She had admitted it," Hayden snapped. "When I went in there to check on her she told me what was hurting and what was feeling better, but you….well, I don't know what the hell that was….you sticking your nose where it wasn't needed or whatever, ruined it."
"I ruined what?" Ryder asked, rolling his eyes.
"Look, Jiao's obviously not too keen with suddenly having all of us in her life, not to mention her house, and when we were talking it looked like maybe she was starting to accept it…that's what you ruined, ya ass," Hayden replied as he stalked over and grabbed the first aid bucket.
"Yes, of course. Everything is now my fault!" Ryder claimed. Trent groaned and collapsed back on the couch.
"And Ethan thought people in their twenties would be easy to deal with," he muttered into the pillow.
"Shut up!" Came the collective reply. Trent sighed, wishing he'd gone back to the house. Suddenly hearing Conner rant didn't sound too bad.
--
Conner awoke to the smell of food cooking in the kitchen. Yawning and stretching, he threw the covers back and headed downstairs. He walked into the kitchen to find Kira, dressed in jeans and a yellow shirt, busily cooking enough bacon and eggs to feed an army.
"What are you doing?" Conner asked. Kira jumped slightly and turned around to face him.
"Oh, you're up," she said. She smiled. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Making enough food for an army, clearly." He replied. Kira rolled her eyes and turned back to the stove.
"I figured I'd take some breakfast over to the others," she explained.
"Ah." Conner replied.
"If you get dressed you can come with me," she said. "Maybe get that apology to Jiao out of the way," she said with a smile. Conner rolled his eyes.
"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked.
"Yes, I'd like that." She replied. Conner nodded.
"All right," he said. "I'll go get dressed." Kira smiled.
"Alright." She replied. Conner went back upstairs as Kira finished up cooking. She too two large serving bowls out from the cabinet and put the eggs in one and the bacon in the other before covering both bowls with plastic wrap. By the time she was done, Conner came back down dressed in jeans and a red t-shirt.
"Ready?" He asked. Kira nodded, picking up the bowl of eggs. "Grab the bacon, will you?" She asked. Conner nodded and grabbed the remaining bowl. They headed outside to Conner's car and climbed in. Kira took the bowl of bacon and placed it between her feet, the eggs sitting in her lap.
"I hope Jiao's feeling better," Kira commented as Conner started up the car. He simply nodded as he began the drive back to her house. Within minutes they arrived to Jiao's little home. Conner parked the car and took the bowl of eggs from Kira as he opened the door with his other hand. Kira bent down and grabbed the bacon before getting out herself. They walked up the porch step to the front door that, aside from a splintered dent near the bottom from when Ryder had kicked it in, seemed to have faired well after the attack the night before. Kira knocked on the door and waiting only a minute for the inside door flew open, Hayden standing there looking angry.
"Uh, hi," Conner said, caught off guard by his expression. He held up the bowl of eggs. "We brought breakfast," he said.
"Hurrah!" Hayden exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and rolling his eyes at the same time. He turned around and walked away.
"Hey guys," Trent said as he came over to the door, he held the door open for them and let them walk in before shutting it behind them.
"Uh, hi?" Conner replied as they looked around the house. "What's going on?" He asked, taking note of the sour expressions on Ryder and Hayden's faces. Trent held up a hand.
"You don't want to know," he sighed.
"Cat fight?" Kira supplied. Trent rolled his eyes.
"How's Jiao?" Conner asked.
"Well, she was doing a little better, until someone thought it'd be funny to knock her down and make one of the cuts on her foot open up," Hayden replied, which caused Ryder to glare at him.
"She's the one who said she was fine," Ryder said. Hayden ignored him and looked at Conner and Kira.
"And now she wants to be left alone. I tried going back in there to change her bandages but she threw a pillow at me and practically screeched for me to get out." Kira gently nudged Conner's side, he looked at her.
"Now might be a good time for that apology," she said.
"As long as she doesn't have any artillery heavier than a pillow," Conner said before handing the bowl of eggs to Trent as he and Kira made their way to the kitchen. Conner sighed and made his way to the bedroom. He lightly knocked on the door, waited a moment and then turned the knob, slowly opening the door. He jumped back and pulled the door shut as a pillow came flying across the room, barely missing his head.
"Whoa, she's got a bit of an arm," Conner muttered.
"Leave me alone, Hayden!" Jiao yelled from inside.
"It's Conner," Conner replied. He paused, waiting for a reply, when none came he figured all was well. He went to open the door again, only to quickly shut it again when a wooden keepsake box soared through the air like a heat seeking missile going for his head. "Whoa!" The box hit the doorframe, barely missing Conner's forehead, before falling to the floor. "What the hell!" Conner exclaimed. "What, did you run out of pillows?!"
"No, but I wanted to make sure that one hurt!" Jiao replied.
"Are you sure that you're all there upstairs? Really." He asked. Jiao didn't respond. Conner sighed. "I wanted to apologize," he said. There was silence for a moment. "Can I come in?"
"Not unless you want a hairbrush hurled at your forehead," came Jiao's reply. Conner groaned.
"Okay, I give up," he said. Kira, who by now had come out of the kitchen with Trent, looked at him with an amused expression.
"Well, you didn't think this would be easy, did you?" She asked.
"I was hoping." He muttered.
"It might've, if Nature Boy over there hadn't ticked her off," Hayden muttered.
"Shut up!" Ryder replied. Kira sighed and went over to the door, gently pushing Conner aside and knocking on the door.
"Jiao?" Kira asked gently. "It's Kira, can I come in?"
"Do whatever you want," came the reply. Kira sighed.
"Okay, can I be assured nothing will be hurled at my head if I do?" She asked.
"Why don't you come in and find out?" Came the snarky response.
"Yes, because I have idiot written across my forehead." Kira replied. Jiao didn't reply but the others could hear shuffling and slight groaning from inside before the door opened to reveal Jiao tightly gripping the doorknob.
"I like her, she can come in," she hissed pointedly to the guys, mainly Ryder and Conner before hobbling back to her bed. Kira cast a look back at the others before walking in, shutting the door behind her.
"You probably shouldn't be walking around," Kira said as Jiao sat back down on her bed. Kira sighed and looked down, noticing the small trail of blood that had followed her when she had made her way to the door.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize my mother had come for a visit," Jiao muttered. Kira sighed.
"Look, it's clear that sarcasm is your defense mechanism. But at this point it's going to get you nowhere. So you can either let me do what I'm about to do, or I'll leave and let you bleed to death. Either way, you're gonna have to suck it up eventually and realize that we're actually here to help you." Jiao looked at her.
"Fine," she relented. "But keep your boyfriend and the other bonehead far, far away from me." Kira smirked.
"And just so we're clear, who would the other bonehead be?"
"Tall, dark and asshole-ish," Jiao replied.
"You're going to have to be a little more specific," Kira said. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"The idiot who made my foot start bleeding again," Jiao barked, not in the mood for Kira's games. Kira nodded.
"Fine, but I have one condition." Jiao looked at her.
"What's that?" She questioned.
"Stop yelling at me." Jiao fixed her with a glare.
"Fine," she said, forcing her voice to stay at an even and normal level. "Is this more to your liking, madam?"
"Much," Kira nodded. "And don't call me madam," she said before turning back to the door and opening it slightly. "Could someone hand me the first aid kit, please?" She said. Jiao sat back and watched as someone from the other side of the door handed Kira the kit before she shut the door again and turned back to her. Kira went over and sat beside Jiao on the bed. "Here, let me take care of your arm first," she said. Jiao rolled her eyes and let Kira take her arm in her hands and slowly unwrap the gauze. "Ya know, I could do without the constant eye rolling too," Kira said. Jiao snorted.
"Jeez, now you really do sound like my mother," Jiao replied. Kira dropped Jiao's arm.
"Stop with the sarcasm Jiao. Do you really think that you're the only one who's had a rough time with all this? Two of my best friends are dead because of that psycho, and he nearly killed you, yet all you can do is bitch and moan. I'm not asking you to be Miss. Mary Sunshine, but cut the rest of us some slack!"
"Whatever," Jiao muttered, looking away. Kira glared at her.
"Right," she said, snatching Jiao's arm back without caring too much about being gentle. "I'm sure this all seems pretty trivial to you, us having to deal with losing people. You'd actually have to let someone in to be affected by losing them, wouldn't you?" Kira said as she dabbed at Jiao's arm with a cotton ball doused in rubbing alcohol. Jiao glared at her.
"You don't know me," she said. "Don't try to act as if you can make any judgments about me." Kira peered up at her.
"You're right. I don't know you, and you don't know me. But if you tried not being a total bitch for just five minutes, maybe we can remedy that," she said.
"Yeah, whatever, Miss Rock star wants to be my gal pal?" Jiao sneered.
"Miss Rock star would like to try at least. Look Jiao, I'm reaching out there. People only reach out so long before they stop."
"Then stop," Jiao replied with a small shrug. Kira stopped what she was doing and stared at her. "Look, the only reason you and the others are here is because I made the stupid mistake of listening to your bonehead boyfriend and showing up at the house, which was only followed by the even stupider mistake of touching this stupid thing," she said, looking at her gem. "We're not friends. We're just people thrown together by a series of unfortunate events." Kira stared at her for a moment longer before chuckling as she finished cleaning up the wound on Jiao's arm and began wrapping it with fresh gauze. "What's so funny?" Jiao asked.
"Nothing," Kira said. "It's just that….that's pretty much how I felt when Ethan, Conner and I first became rangers. I really had no interest in being their friend."
"Uh huh, but as you worked together you grew to tolerate one another until one day you realized they were your bestest friends, blah blah blah," Jiao said, rolling her eyes again. "Ow!" She yelped as Kira quickly tugged the gauze, making it painfully tight for a second.
"What did I say about the eye rolling and the sarcasm?" Kira said as she continued to tend to Jiao's arm. Jiao glared at her.
"Look, Rock star, this little dominant thing or whatever may work to keep your boy toy in line but if you do that again, trust me you will regret it," Jiao said.
"Oh really?" Kira said as she cut off a piece of medical tape to hold the gauze together on her arm.
"Yes, really," Jiao replied. "I'm not scared of you, I don't care if you are a more experienced ranger or whatever the hell else. I will not hesitate to kick your as—Ow!" Jiao shrieked after Kira poked at her wound. "Knock it off you crazy bitch!"
--
Outside the room, the four guys crowded around the door trying to listen into what was going on.
"Dude, what the hell is going on in there?" Hayden asked.
"Catfight?" Trent asked, shrugging. Conner looked at Trent.
"And since when does Kira do catfights?" He questioned. Trent thought about it for a moment.
"That time she and Tori fought when the Ninjas came to town?" He suggested.
"Yeah, evil former rangers don't count," Conner said, rolling his eyes. Ryder and Hayden shared a confused look before shrugging.
--
"Guess what," Kira said, looking at Jiao who was rubbing her sore arm. "Just as much as you're not scared of me, I'm not scared of you either, so remember that."
"Did you and Conner have a personality switch or something?" Jiao grumbled. "What happened to the chick who was in my corner last night?"
"She got fed up with your bullshit," Kira replied. Jiao was silent as Kira knelt down in front of her. "I'm gonna re-wrap your feet and put some new antibiotic on it." Kira commented. She got down to the floor when a sharp kick to her chin sent her flat on her back. "Ow!" She yelled. She quickly sat up, glaring at Jiao who was simply looking back at her with a smirk. The door opened as Conner and Trent walked in with Ryder and Hayden behind them.
"Okay, that's one too many 'ows'," Trent said. "What the hell is going on in here?" Kira and Jiao simply stared at each other, as if locked in a silent battle of wits.
"We're fine," Kira finally said. She looked back at the guys, giving them a smile. "Just engaging in some gal pal bonding. Why don't you guys go start eating breakfast and give us some more time to chat?" Conner and Trent looked at each other.
"Alright, but just give us a call if you need us." Conner replied as they headed out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Kira shot a glance at Jiao.
"What the hell was that?" She demanded. Jiao shrugged.
"Same thing as this." She replied, her foot connecting with Kira's cheek, sending her face-first into the nightstand. Kira grunted as she was momentarily dazed by the impact before shaking her head and glaring at Jiao. Before Jiao had a chance to try and kick her again, Kira grabbed her ankle and twisted it, causing Jiao to roll over until she fell off the bed with a yelp.
"I was trying to be nice, but if you really want a butt kicking, I'll be happy to oblige," Kira huffed as she wiped at the small trickle of blood coming from her newly split lip. The door burst back open, reveling Conner and Hayden standing there. They quickly took inventory of the situation.
"Uh, okay Kira, when I gave you the first aid kit, it was so you'd take care of her wounds, not create more," Hayden said.
"Yeah well I wasn't really expecting to be attacked when I came in here." Kira replied, wiping her lip again.
"You started it," Jiao huffed as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Poking someone's wound isn't exactly an act of peace."
"Well treating someone like dirt when they're trying to reach out and help you isn't exactly nice either." Kira shot back.
"I don't need any help," Jiao growled. Kira shook her head.
"Then why'd you let me come in here? You obviously wanted help," Kira pointed out.
"Figured I had an ally against those four boneheads," Jiao said. "But if you're going to be pushy you can just go."
"How the hell is trying to extend a friendly hand being pushy!" Kira exclaimed.
"Whatever, just go, I can take care of myself," Jiao said as she pulled herself back up on her bed and brought her right ankle up to her left knee and began unwrapping the bandages from her foot. Kira threw up her hands and pushed herself up from the floor.
"Whatever." She replied, leaving the room. Jiao looked up and glared at Hayden and Conner.
"You two can leave too," she barked.
"Well, how thoughtful, your majesty." Conner snapped back. Jiao narrowed her eyes.
"You know, this is my house, I have full right to kick you out," she replied.
"Jiao, come on, we're just trying to help," Hayden sighed.
"No one asked you to," Jiao shot back. Conner shook his head and put a hand on Hayden's shoulder.
"We'll be in the kitchen eating breakfast," he said to her before pulling Hayden out with him. Jiao rolled her eyes. She reverted her attention back to her foot and cleaned up the cut with the alcohol. She picked up the roll of gauze to rewrap her foot when the roll fell out of her hand and rolled to the door.
"Fuck," Jiao muttered. She sighed and put her elbows on her lap, burying her face in her hands. She let out a breath, biting the inside of her cheek as she felt a lump growing in her throat. She took in a shuddering breath as tears entered her eyes.
"Ask for help," she heard someone say.
"Go away," Jiao replied, not bothering to look up.
"You have two choices here," the voice replied. "You can either continue being stubborn and, what, crawl to the gauze? Or, you could apologize and ask for help." Jiao looked up, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Kira leaning against the doorframe, with her arms crossed over her chest.
"What are you, a masochist?" Jiao said, not understanding why she'd come back.
"No, just stubborn like you, I guess," she replied.
"I am not stubborn," Jiao snapped, quickly wiping away at any escaping tears. Kira sighed and walked into the room, shutting the door and leaning against it.
"Uh huh," she said, unconvinced. Jiao sighed.
"Fine, since you're here, pass me the gauze," Jiao said. Kira chuckled.
"Are you asking for help?" Kira asked. Jiao was quiet. Kira shrugged. "I can wait all day," she said.
"Smug is not an attractive look this season," Jiao growled.
"And neither is bitch," Kira shot back without missing a beat. Kira sighed, crossing her arms. "All you have to do is apologize and ask me to help you…….and promise to behave yourself," Kira added. "I'll wrap up your feet and we can go enjoy the nice breakfast I spent so much time preparing for us all."
"Why don't you just go and eat with the others?" Jiao replied.
"Like I said, I'm stubborn," Kira smirked.
"So, what, you're not going to leave until I do what you want?" Jiao said, quirking an eyebrow. Kira shrugged.
"Hey, I don't have a job or any thing else to do," she said. "So, what's it going to be? Will I be needing a change of address card made out for your bedroom or are you going to work with me?" Jiao crossed her arms.
"Fine," she muttered. Kira shook her head.
"Uh uh, I'm going to need the actual words here," Kira said. Jiao closed her eyes. She felt like she was being made a fool of and she couldn't stand it.
"Fine, help me," she growled.
"I do believe I also asked for an apology," Kira replied. "And a please, not to mention a nicer tone, would be nice," Kira said. Jiao glared at her.
"A bit demanding, aren't you?" She said. She tightened her jaw. "I can be just as stubborn as you, lady," she said.
"I'm not the one with the bleeding foot, do you really want to try and get into a battle of wills here?" Kira asked smugly. Kira sighed, as much as she wanted to get through to this girl; even she was realizing forcing it like this might work against her in the long run. "Fine," she said. "You've got ten more seconds, and then I'm leaving," she said. She turned to the door, her hand going to the knob. "10……..9………..8………7………6……5……..4…..3-"
"I'm sorry," Jiao finally said. Kira stopped, waiting for her to continue. She heard Jiao sigh. "Could you please help me?" Kira smiled and turned around.
"Was that so hard?" She asked. Jiao closed her eyes, rolling them beneath the lids.
"Guess it'd be too much to ask for you not to gloat," she muttered.
"Yes, it would," Kira chuckled. She bent down and picked up the gauze. "I'm sorry too by the way," she said as she stood up and went to kneel down, before remembering what happened the last time. She looked at Jiao. "Now, I should tell you that if you kick me again, I will be forced to hurt you."
"Fine," Jiao said. "And I should tell you if you start going off about how we should all be bestest bestest friends again, I'll be forced to kick you," she said.
"Fair enough," Kira nodded before getting down to the floor. "For now at least," she said. Jiao shook her head.
"Whatever," she said.
--
Outside the door, Hayden looked at Conner with a dumbfounded expression after overhearing what just happened.
"What just happened?" He asked. Conner chuckled and shook his head.
"That, I believe is just a small taste of the hell we will be witnesses to due to having two alpha females on the same team and constantly butting heads," he mused.
"…..And that," Hayden said, tilting his head to the door indicating he referred to the semblance of peace on the other side, "would be what? The calm before the storm?"
"Pretty much," Conner replied.
"Well...this is going to be interesting?" Hayden said. Conner sighed.
"Come on, lets go eat," he said, leading the way back to the kitchen.
--
Back inside the room, both Jiao and Kira were silent as Kira tended to both Jiao's feet. Once Kira was done wrapping fresh bandages on both feet, she stood up and sat beside Jiao.
"All right, done," she said.
"Great," Jiao said, going to get up, only to be stopped by Kira. Jiao groaned. "What now? Are you going to force a thank you out of me?"
"The thought did occur to me," Kira replied, "but no," she said.
"Okay, then what do you want?"
"An explanation," Kira replied.
"To?" Jiao asked. "Mysteries of the universe? Why grass is green? What?"
"I think I'll settle for what's the deal with your attitude for now, thanks," Kira replied. Jiao sighed and leaned back until her back was resting on her bed.
"There's no explanation," Jiao replied.
"Bull," Kira said.
"Well where should I start? Firstly, I have all this thrusted upon me, followed by two psychotic teammates and three crazy former rangers trying to mentor me. Then, on top of all that wonderful junk, I have some fucker trying to kill me... And you wonder why I have an attitude!?" Jiao lashed out. Kira sat back and took her outburst in, thoughtfully crossing her arms.
"I see," she said. Jiao blinked a moment before glaring at her.
"I see? That's all you have to say?" Jiao hissed.
"What would you like me to say?" Kira replied. "Do you want me to say it's going to get better? Easier?" Jiao sighed and looked away. "I can't promise you that," Kira stated honestly. "Sure, ten years ago when I was first a ranger, things felt easier once I got used to all the changes and trusted my new friends and teammates. But does it really get easier? That's hard to say. Fighting supernatural freaks is never easy, no matter how used to it you might get. And this new guy…..he's nothing like what I faced before. You yourself saw how ruthless these bad guys can be." Kira replied. Jiao was quiet for a minute.
"I guess... I'm not a people person to begin with, so all of this has just thrown me for a complete loop." She commented.
"I understand," Kira said. "I-" Kira was cut off by Jiao throwing her a look.
"And if you try to say you were once the same way, or anything of the sort, I will be forced to kick you again," she said. Kira chuckled.
"Fair enough," she said. She shrugged. "But come on, I'm sure you're not all that bad……I mean there has to be at least someone who you're close to, you can't be a total loner."
"I prefer the term independent," Jiao replied. Kira rolled her eyes.
"You close to your parents?" She asked, the snort from Jiao was enough answer for that. "…….okay then," Kira said. She titled her head as she caught sight of the necklace around Jiao's neck. "How about whoever gave you that?" She said, pointing to the pink pendant. Jiao placed her hand on the necklace and looked down.
"My Lao Lao," Jiao muttered. She caught Kira's blank expression and sighed "that'd be Chinese for maternal grandmother," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Kira narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, because see it temporarily slipped my mind that I'm fluent in Chinese." Kira snapped. Jiao simply rolled her eyes again.
"Sorry," she muttered, shrugging. "Used to dealing with folks who are, I guess."
"Ah so you are close to someone, then?" Kira prodded. Jiao sighed.
"Fine, yes," she said. "Jeez, it's like a dog with a bone with you. You don't let things go," she muttered. Kira grinned.
"Well?" Kira said, Jiao rolled her eyes.
"Yes, my grandmother and I were close," Jiao replied. Kira's grin faltered.
"Were?" She asked.
"She died five years ago."
"Oh," was all Kira said.
"And yeah……I guess I'm close to my older brother…….and his wife, by association…….guess if he married her she's not a total toad……and….." Jiao paused.
"And, what?" Kira asked. Jiao shrugged.
"Just some guy back home. We grew up together since his dad and my mom owned the medical practice together and all that……he wasn't a total pain in the ass, so I guess we were close," she said with another shrug. Kira smirked.
"How close is close?" She teased. Jiao threw her a glare.
"I must've kicked you really hard if you're under the delusion that we're friends and you're privy to that sort of information," Jiao said. Kira shrugged.
"There's no harm in asking." She replied.
"How close are you and the bonehead?" Jiao countered, mocking Kira's previous teasing tone. "It's not exactly a polite question, now is it?" Jiao said.
"Something tells me you don't exactly spend too much of your time worrying about what's polite or not," Kira laughed. "And, in the spirit of showing I'm making an effort here, if you must know, Conner and I are…." She paused a moment, giving a look at the paper clip ring on her finger. She wasn't sure if calling him her fiancé was appropriate yet since technically they were "pre-engaged" but just calling him her boyfriend seemed like an understatement. "Together," she finally said.
"Together... Well how descriptive." Jiao replied snarkily. Kira narrowed her eyes.
"I don't see you being descriptive about you and…." She trailed off, expecting Jiao to supplement a name, when she saw Jiao made no move to speak she rolled her eyes, "whomever this one friend of yours is," she said.
"Well that's because I don't feel the need to make an effort," Jiao smirked.
"You're impossible, you know that?" Kira sighed. Jiao grinned.
"Yeah, I get that a lot," she said. Kira just rolled her eyes. "His name's Byron by the way," she muttered after a moment. Kira nodded.
"See, was that so hard?" She asked. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"You just love to gloat, don't you?" Jiao asked.
"Not often, but when I do...I enjoy it." Kira replied.
"Yeah, well just so you know, it's a surefire way to get yourself kicked again," Jiao said. Kira rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you just give me a list of all the things that won't get me kicked, I figure that'll be shorter, huh?" Kira said. Jiao chuckled.
"Everything has the chance of getting you kicked," Jiao informed. There was a knock on the door before it opened as Trent poked his head in.
"Hey you two, you should probably come and get some breakfast before Conner and Ryder leave nothing but bacon bits," he advised. Kira laughed.
"We'll be out in a minute," she said. Trent nodded and backed out of the room, shutting the door as he left.
"I'm not all that hungry," Jiao said. Kira looked at her.
"After that hellish night, you need a good meal," Kira said. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry; did my mother just possess your body or something?" Jiao muttered. "I'm not hungry." Kira sighed and stood up.
"You can either get up and I'll help you walk out to the kitchen, or I'll get one of the guys to carry you," Kira said in a no nonsense tone. Jiao's mouth fell open.
"You wouldn't," Jiao said. Kira smirked.
"Do you really want to underestimate me?" Kira asked. Jiao was silent for a moment.
"Fine." She agreed. She sat up and slowly rose to her feet. Kira took hold of her arm and let Jiao put her weight on her so as not to put all of it on her feet.
"Small, slow steps, okay?" Kira said.
"Yeah, yeah," Jiao grumbled. Kira simply smiled as the two slowly made their way out of the room and to the kitchen.
"If you guys ate all the food, I will be forced to hurt you," Kira called as they walked into the kitchen.
"We made sure to leave you guys some stuff," Conner smiled.
"Yeah, more like I made sure piggy and piggier over here didn't scarf everything down," Hayden quipped, looking at Conner and Ryder.
"Hey, nothing wrong with having an appetite," Ryder shrugged. "Some of us didn't exactly eat much last night," he looked over at Jiao as Kira helped her into the chair Trent had vacated. "Your fridge wasn't as stocked as you implied last night," he said. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry, I'll remember to go grocery shopping the next time I have moochers unexpectedly and unceremoniously dumped on my lap," she said. Hayden grinned.
"Awesome!" He replied happily. Jiao threw him a glare before Kira slid a plate filled with food in front of her.
"Eat now, give snarky reply later," Kira said with an amused expression. Jiao rolled her eyes.
"Yes, mom," she replied sarcastically. Kira gave her a look.
"You can stop with the mom jokes, I'm not that much older than you," Kira said.
"Yes, but your still older." Hayden quipped. This got him a swift smack upside the head from Conner who was beside him.
"We prefer the term 'more experienced'," he warned.
"Experienced in what though?" Ryder commented, barely hiding a smirk. Conner gave a brief look to the young man at the other side of him.
"Life," Conner replied.
"Right…which you guys have because you're old," Hayden smirked before going into a round of chuckles which Ryder joined in on. This got them both on the receiving ends of smacks upside the head as Conner got them both at the same time.
"It's like watching the Three Stooges," Jiao muttered, shaking her head. Kira grinned.
"Yet somewhat less intelligent." She muttered.
"Hey!" Ryder, Hayden and Conner both yelled in offended unison. Trent, Kira and Jiao burst into a fit of giggles over the outburst. Conner narrowed his eyes at Trent.
"Dude, show some solidarity to your gender, man," he said, which only made Jiao giggle harder.
"Did you really just use 'dude' and 'man' in the same sentence?" She asked.
"Its something that only Conner could get away with." Kira replied.
"What's next? Going to put in some other outdated phrases like 'whazzup' or something?" Jiao said, snorting through her giggles.
"….Dude and Man are timeless," Conner grumbled.
"Uh huh, sure," Jiao laughed. Trent just rolled his eyes.
"Come on everyone, dig in."