"Alright, alright, explain this to me again. Sensei had a new lesson to teach you guys and…" Kelly trailed off, waiting for one of the boys to finish her sentence for her. There was nothing funnier than hearing the guys admit defeat.
"And we got our asses kicked by ourselves…" Dustin grumbled. He tried to avert his eyes away from his boss, hoping it would hide the embarrassment. Kelly chuckled, hugging Dustin and Blake.
"You guys never cease to amuse me," she smiled. When she let go of the yellow and navy Ranger, she reached out to Shane, giving him a noogie on the head. "That just made my day."
"It's not that funny," Shane grumbled. "How were we supposed to know we weren't supposed to be fighting ourselves?"
"Yeah, and dude, I still call a redo! Tori already fought her own clone. She's had more practice than us," Dustin complained.
Leanne handed the customer his bag before walking around the front counter and joining her friends.
"I thought Sensei explained this to you already? In a battle where there is no winner, there is also no loser. You guys would have been fighting for hours, days, weeks…"
"Let's not get carried away, Leanne," Kelly smirked, "These boys don't have an attention span that last longer than…"
"Dude! Is that the new limited edition Cyclone Helmet?" Dustin called out as he, Shane and Blake darted to the back room to take a look at the new helmet. Kelly let out a breath.
"That… I was going to give them more credit…"
Leanne smiled and shook her head as she went back to the counter to watch over the store. Kelly crossed her arms over her chest and followed the guys into the back room.
"So, because Tori's the smart one, she's gone on some mission to…"
"She gets to find a turtle," Blake nodded. He never took his eyes off the shining yellow helmet as he lifted it up and held it carefully.
"And that's why she's not coming into work today?"
"Dude, I told you hiring her was a bad move!" Dustin said. "Now, if you hired someone like me…"
"I did. You're the employee who stands there and looks pretty."
"I mean, if I was the manager, I wouldn't be running off every few days and leaving you with the store."
Kelly hopped up on the work table and smirked as she glared at Dustin.
"Tori called in sick. That's why Leanne's working in the front. She ditched, but got someone to replace."
"Sisters stick together, dude," Shane whispered.
"Yeah, it's some freaky code," Blake nodded. He finally put the helmet down and sighed, "Well, I got to go. Duty calls."
Dustin and Shane tore themselves away from the helmet as well and turned to the younger Bradley brother.
"Where are you headed off too?"
"Cam's asked me to help him in Ninja Ops while Tori's away on this secret mission," Blake smirked. "He said he would have asked one of you two, but then he remembered you were Shane and Dustin."
"So?"
"Do you not remember how long it took you guys to set up the TV in the couch area?" Kelly chuckled.
"Hey, we are now pros at setting up electronics!" Dustin said. Shane nodded his head.
"Uh, yeah… only because we read like… every instruction manual on the face of the planet… in both Spanish and English."
"If any little Spanish man needs help with his stereo system, he can give me a call," Dustin nodded proudly before the clock caught his eye. He grabbed Kelly's wrist, twisting it slightly to check the time on her watch. "Dammit!"
"What?" Kelly frowned, watching as Dustin tossed away the rag that was sitting on his shoulder and ran to the punch clock. As he punched out, he looked to Shane, "Dude, we're meant to be at that Environmental Conference!"
"Oh shit!" Shane said, grabbing his head with his hands. Kelly turned to the boys with wide eyes.
"What? Come on! I thought once I knew the Ranger secret there would be no leaving suddenly unless there was a monster attack occurring in the city."
"It's Sensei. He gave us this super-secret ninja mission," Shane explained. "We'll be back tonight. Dinner for the seven of us in celebration of yours and Leanne's sisterhood."
"But… I'll be without staff!" Kelly cried. Suddenly, Hunter walked down from Kelly's apartment upstairs and punched into work. He smiled at Kelly, opening his arms wide.
"I'm here!"
Kelly's eyes widened again, "No! Please, stay. We don't need the environment!"
"Sorry, Kel, Rangering comes first. That was the deal we made…" Dustin smirked before taking off, with Shane on his heels. Kelly turned to Hunter and sighed.
"I don't like this."
"Neither do I," Leanne spoke. Hunter and Kelly both turned to the door and saw she was leaning against it with a terrible look on her face, "I'm stuck with my sister and my brother, and they're going to be making kissy faces all day."
Kelly turned to Leanne and growled, "Get back to work…"
"I would but we have no customers," Leanne said, moving out of the way to show Kelly the empty store. "I came in here to suggest you let Hunter go fo-"
"Great idea!" Kelly smirked. She turned to Hunter and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything Leanne interrupted.
"For the day! I was going to say for the day!"
Hunter let out a sigh of relief and mouthed a huge thank you to Leanne while Kelly glared at her sister.
"You know, you're still on probation, both on the job and in my life. At any point in time I can remove your ass from this store."
Leanne rolled her eyes before dramatically pointing to the front door, "Just go! Go and leave me here so I don't have to watch you two playfully bicker while hiding your true feelings for each other!" Leanne clutched the spot over her heart and breathed deeply, "I'll be fine!"
Kelly frowned and turned to Hunter, "Was she always like this?"
"You should have seen her when I first started dating," Hunter nodded.
Leanne knew it was going to take a little more pushing to get her brother and sister out of the store. She cried out loudly, dropping to her knees on the floor.
"Go! Quick! Before I change my mind!"
Hunter quickly grabbed Kelly's arm, pulling her towards the door, "Oh no. we better go before she really gets into her role."
Kelly stared at her sister as she was being pulled away, "You know, if being a Ninja doesn't work out, she should try theatre."
"She has," Hunter nodded, "one little acting role in a soap opera about people working in a hospital… I think her character's name was Rach-"
"Get out of my store!" Leanne screamed tired of waiting for them to leave. She pushed them both towards the front door and kicked them out. "Be gone with you!"
Hunter and Kelly quickly ran out. They knew better than to get on Leanne's bad side. Leanne closed the door behind Kelly and Hunter, clapped her hands together and smiled at her accomplishment. Now, they were going to have time alone, and she wouldn't be there to witness what she liked to call "Indirect Incest".
-Storm-Chargers-
After being kicked out of Storm Chargers, Hunter decided he would go to the park. It had been a while since he had been to the park and he wanted to enjoy it.
He had been a little surprise when Kelly tagged along with him. Though they had bonded over the last couple of days and they had even shared a moment after Kelly saw her mother, he was sure she would have found something better to do with her time; such as trying to get back into the store she owned.
As he finished up his ice cream cone, he looked down at Kelly.
"You didn't have to follow me," he said. "I'm a big boy, I won't get lost."
Kelly looked up at him with a pointed stare, "I'm not following you. I'm going in the same direction as you."
Hunter decided to put her words to the test and prove to Kelly he was right and she was wrong. Quickly and suddenly, he took off to the left. Then, just as quickly, he changed directions and went to the right. Kelly however, continued straight for a few steps before stopping and turning to look at Hunter.
"What are you doing?" she asked. Hunter stopped running and frowned. He walked back over to Kelly.
"I, uh… nothing?"
"I'm not following you, if that's what you're trying to prove," Kelly said.
"Okay, but you can't stand being around me," Hunter nodded. "Why would you choose to go in the same direction as me?"
Kelly shrugged, "It's not that I can't stand being around you… it's just… I prefer being with everybody else over you."
"Why?" Hunter asked. Kelly turned to him and frowned.
"What do you mean, why?"
"I mean why as in… why?"
"Very specific, genius."
"Alright, why do you prefer the others over me? I mean, don't get me wrong, Dustin's my bro but…"
"But?"
"I don't know. I like him."
"I like him too."
"Okay… well…"
"Your question isn't going to be answered," Kelly quickly told Hunter, before he attempted to go on with this pointless conversation. "Look, after our little talk, I do like you more than before..."
"Aha!" Hunter cried out, scaring off a few pigeons who were feeding on the grass. Kelly quickly hushed him and looked around, making sure he wasn't drawing any attention to himself.
"What I said doesn't mean anything," Kelly growled. "I like ice cream more than I did when I was a kid, that doesn't mean I like it. It just means I like it more."
"What?" Hunter frowned, following Kelly as she started walking off again. "You… you don't like ice cream."
"It only took you fifteen minutes to clue in," Kelly smirked. "Why do you think I declined your offer for it back at the ice-cream stand?"
"You… you don't like the cold, creamy goodness of ice-cream? It's like Alaska for your mouth!"
"Alaska for…" Kelly trailed off as she turned to Hunter. She stared for a few minutes before shaking her head, "Whatever. Look, I'm going to stop by the bank," she pointed across the park to a building marked BANK, "feel free to 'follow me'," she said, using the finger quotation marks to show Hunter she was making fun of him. Hunter frowned.
"Fine, I'll go to the bank too, but not because I'm following you, I'll just be heading in that direction from now on."
Kelly rolled her eyes as she led the way to the bank. She needed to check her account and do a withdrawal now that Leanne was going to be living with her and Tori. As much as she loved sharing a bed with her sister, it was best for everyone if Leanne got her own bed, or couch to sleep on.
Hunter walked beside Kelly, shaking his head slightly.
"How do you not like ice-cream?"
-Storm-Chargers-
Kelly groaned, counting her bills again.
"Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, two…"
"You're still not counting properly…" Hunter whispered in a sing song voice as he stood behind the line. Kelly stared at the teller as she imagined the many different ways of ripping Hunter's head off.
She groaned again as she restarted her count.
"Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one, twenty…"
"Still not counting right!" Hunter called to her, a smirk on his face. "If you're going in increments of twenty, one doesn't come after eighty…"
Kelly whipped herself around as she glared at Hunter. She raised her hand over her head, "I've had it up to here with you. Go sit on the couch and wait for me there!"
"But…"
Kelly's eyes narrowed as she pointed to the couch "Go!"
Hunter raised his hands in defeat, "Okay, okay! I've got to go to the bathroom anyways…"
"There's a port-a-potty in China. Seeya when you get back," Kelly said, turning back to the teller to count her pile of bills again. Hunter turned to another one of the tellers to ask if there was a washroom he could use. As the teller pointed down a hallway and handed him a key, Kelly finished counting the money and made her way to the door.
"Hunter, I'm heading back," she called. "Don't catch up."
Hunter was halfway down the hall when he heard this. He nodded his head slowly and took a few more steps before he stopped. He turned around and saw Kelly was already out the doors with five hundred dollars on her person.
He knew that as a Ranger, it was his job to protect her from Lothor. If anything happened to her in his presence, he would have a few very angry Rangers and a very angry sister to deal with.
He also knew that as a friend he should walk home with Kelly while she was carrying all that pocket money and offer her a little bit of protection.
He took off, running after her, "Wait up, Kel! I've got to…"
"Sir!" the teller shouted and Hunter turned back, running to the counter to return the bathroom key.
"Thanks bro, but I'll go pee when I get back to work!"
Hunter quickly bolted outside and looked in both directions. Kelly could have gone either way to get back to Storm Chargers. He muttered a curse under his breath, wondering why Kelly had to make his life so difficult before he heard a muffled scream. He followed the noise to the right and found an alley. Inside the alley, two men were surrounding Kelly. One of them had one hand over her mouth, and the other hand held a gun to her head.
"We saw you leaving the bank, princess," the one man holding Kelly said. "Give us whatever you got."
Kelly's hands moved to her pockets before she spotted Hunter. He had walked over and decided to tap one of the men on the shoulder.
"Dudes, it's called a deposit," he said casually. The man before him turned around, ready to attack, but Hunter was quick enough. He grabbed the thug's arm and flipped him over.
The man holding Kelly and the gun growled loudly. He tossed Kelly aside and pointed the gun at Hunter.
"Turn around and pretend you never saw anything," he said. Hunter shrugged.
"Naw, this will make a good story someday."
"Hello, I'm the one with the gun," the man said, waving his gun around. Hunter laughed before kicking the gun out of his hand. When Hunter's feet landed on the ground again, he jumped up once more and kicked the thug square in the chest with enough force to knock the wind out of him and send him to the ground.
"Not anymore," he smirked, cracking his knuckles. "So, do you want to be flipped like your friend, or should I continue to give you the special treatment?"
The thug shook slightly before grabbing his friend and taking off. Hunter frowned; slightly disappointed he didn't get to fight.
"Aw man, we ran into cowardly thugs…"
"You know, I'm a little thankful for that fact," Kelly said. Hunter turned to her and smiled.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," she nodded. Now that Hunter was sure she was fine, he began to laugh.
"Boy, Tori was right, you do have a habit of getting yourself into trouble."
"Shut up and walk me home please," Kelly grumbled. Hunter smirked.
"I'll follow you home, how about that?" he said. Kelly sighed and again led the way.
This time as she walked home, she felt a little bit paranoid. She knew that it was unlikely she get mugged twice in one night, but she was still looking around carefully every few seconds to make sure no one was going to jump out at her.
Hunter could see this from where he was walking and smiled. He sped up his pace until he was right beside her.
"C'mon, scardy cat," he laughed, "You're with a Power Ranger. Nothing's going to happen to you…"
Hunter trailed off and his pace slowed. His voice deepened as he reached out to Kelly, grabbing her sides, where the money was safely hidden in her pockets.
"Gimme your money!" he shouted, scaring Kelly half to death. She screamed and turned around, punching Hunter in the chest until he stumbled backwards, pulling away from her. He held his hand over his chest and frowned.
"Ow, that hurt."
Kelly glared at him as she caught her breath, "Don't do that again."
Hunter smirked, "Alright, alright… you can protect yourself. You don't need…"
"Hunter, please just walk home with me peacefully."
Hunter nodded. He walked beside Kelly, staying quite for five minutes before speaking up again.
"So, when you get home you're going to put the money away safely, and then you're going to get ready for dinner tonight. Just you and me?"
Kelly turned to him, "What? We're eating with everyone."
Hunter smirked, "How about tomorrow night? After you go shopping with Leanne?"
"No."
"C'mon, Kel! A walk in the park, ice-cream… or hate of ice-cream… this was practically a date."
"Exactly. It was practically a date, which means is practically wasn't…"
Kelly had to keep her composure. She had to make it look like she wasn't thrilled that Hunter was asking her out. She didn't know why she had to hide her feelings, but there was some little voice telling her it would be wrong, very wrong to let Hunter know how she felt. It would be wrong to give in and let herself fall in love again.
After all, it didn't work out the first time.
Hunter grabbed her hands, causing her heart to soar on the inside, but on the outside, Kelly frowned.
"Please, Kel. Just one date. If you don't like me after that, I'll let you hate me again."
"No."
"How about we double? I'll get Blake to man up and ask Tori and that way there is less pressure."
"No."
"Triple!"
"With who? Shane and Dustin?"
"If you want," Hunter frowned. "I'm sure with a little convincing they would…"
"Hunter… The answer's no. Now please, let go of my hand."
Reluctantly, Hunter let go of Kelly's hand and watched as she walked off without him. He kicked a pebble on the sidewalk and tried to ignore the feeling of rejection and pain before following Kelly back to Storm Chargers.
