Disclaimer: I own nothing

Author Notes: Based on events that happened in 'Thunder Storm part 2'. I realised Tori and Kira really do have a lot in common, particularly their choice of man. Let me know what u think. Enjoy!

RANGER GIRL BONDS

"Wait a minute, Blake? That's where I know you from; you're a Power Ranger!" Kira exclaimed excitedly.

Tori scowled at the smile blossoming on Kira's face. White hot jealousy filled the Blue Wind Ranger. Did Kira have a crush on Blake? Her Blake? She felt her fist clench at the thought. If she'd known that before, she'd have mangled Kira beyond recognition. Blake had just been returned to her by her master Lother and she wasn't going to let some half-rate Ranger take him away from her. Blake stood in front of her, a familiar sneer on his face which caused Tori to smile triumphantly. He was back on their side, the side he'd come from in the first place. Together they could destroy those pathetic Dino Thunder Rangers and Tori could personally plant her fist through Kira's face. Six Ninja Storm Rangers against three Dino Thunder Rangers. She liked those numbers.

"You'll need these. A little power boost; direct from the abyss of evil."

Cam's words snapped her back to reality. She glanced down at the Ninja Discs he held in out in his hand and then fixed him with a glare that held traces of distain.

"We already have our powers," she informed him icily.

"Not these ones," countered Hunter, his face a solemn impenetrable mask.

Tori scrutinised the discs. They looked real enough, the blue one had the tell-tale dolphin's flukes design in its centre to indicate it was connected to her Water powers, and any power was good power. All the more to use it to annihilate them with. She half-turned to Shane and gave an approving head nod. Their leader was making his decision.

"You better be right about this," Shane muttered, his expression threatening.

"Trust me, you won't be sorry,"

Eagerly, Tori plucked the gold-rimmed blue disc from Cam's hand and in unison with her team-mates, flicked the old discs out and slotted the new ones into their Morphers. With a vengeful glare at Kira, she pressed the button. Instantly a blast of energy shot through her body. She could feel it purging something from her system. Light prickled the edges of her darkened vision. Desperately she grasped for whatever was fleeing her but it was disappearing fast. Strange memories and visions swirled in her addled mind. Her body shuddered and then collapsed backwards to the ground. She heard two more bodies do the same.

Then........ nothing.

Calming comforting blue washed through her mind. Groggily, she found her centre and in a few seconds realigned herself. She struggled to remember. They were at a cliff; her, Shane and Dustin. Sensei had summoned them there. Lother! He was back. Anger twisted inside of her. Sensei had given them Morphers. Then all she felt was darkness. What had happened?

She was heard movement and was aware of Dustin and Shane being helped to their feet by Cam and Hunter. She looked up and saw a hand stretched out to her. The hand belonged to Blake. He smiled at her, pure relief and happiness etched on his face. She found herself smiling back. When had he come back? Gently he pulled her to her feet and Tori felt so many questions fill her confused mind.

"What happened? The last thing I remember we were with Sensei," she left her sentence unfinished.

"Lother," said Blake simply. "He's back."

"Yeah we know, Sensei told us," Shane answered.

"No, that wasn't Sensei."

As the conversation continued, Tori snuck a glance at Blake. Though she hadn't told the guys, she'd missed her absent boyfriend a great deal. Their time as Ranger had bonded them all inextricably together but Tori and Blake had gotten closer than most. Time without the other had hurt them both. He looked back at her reassuringly. He was glad to be back with her too.

"Look this is all highly entertaining," a new unfamiliar interjected. "But do you think someone can tell me what's going on?"

At the sound of the voice, Tori's hackles on her neck rose. It was a voice not to be trusted her instinct told her. She swept into a defensive stance. Shane and Dustin did the same. Three teens stood in front of them. The middle one was tall with an air of confidence, his hands in his pockets and a black jacket over his primarily red clothing. He wore the face of a student of their's. Tori frowned, it wasn't a student she taught she knew that much. The two either side of him couldn't have been more different from him or each other. The other guy wore all blue which made his dark skin glow and his expression was guarded as he gazed at the defensive Wind Ninjas. The only girl in the group wore layers of clothes consisting mostly of yellow and black and had heavily made-up eyes. Tori was surprised to find a feeling to dislike emerge as she looked at the girl but she couldn't work out why.

"Guys cool it, they're ok," said Hunter quickly.

"Shane, Dustin and Tori meet the Dino Thunder Rangers," explained Cam calmly. "The newest team of Power Rangers."

"Are they going to try and kill us again?" asked the blue one.

"Kill you? Why'd we do that dude?" asked a confused Dustin.

"You almost did a minute ago," replied the tall one with a scowl on his face.

"Eric? What are you doing here?" asked Shane surprised.

Eric McKnight. That was it. Tori remembered Shane telling her about a particularly unruly student in his Air Ninja class whom she'd met briefly a couple of times.

"Wrong twin," the guy replied grimly. "I'm Conner, his brother."

Tori blinked in surprise. Still she felt distrust and vague vestiges of hate as she looked at the three before her, despite their apparent Power Ranger status.

"Why would we try to kill you?" asked Shane.

"Lother gave you Ninja Discs which corrupted you. You've been destroying Reefside and Blue Bay Harbour," informed Cam seriously. "The Dino Thunder Rangers have been trying to stop you."

"Is that why I feel like I can't trust them?" asked Dustin, his fists still raised.

"Cool your engines guys," Blake said, stepping towards the Wind Ninjas. "There could be some bad stuff left over from the discs clouding your judgement."

"Yeah, Cam's been in contact with Haley who's their tech support to check out the after effects," supplied Hunter. "Leftover evil's one of them."

"They're good guys, you can trust them," finished Cam. "You have to trust them, combining the teams is the only way we're going to get rid of Lother for good."

The Wind Ninjas slowly lowered their arms. Tori could feel her swirling distrust slowly dying down as the blue energy inside of her worked to cleanse her. It left her with a killer headache. A nagging dislike remained as she gazed at the girl in yellow. Then she felt other eyes staring at her. Blake. The full weight of his presence hit her. He was here with her, not racing round the USA via its motocross circuits. Right now he smiled at her and reached out to intertwine his hand with her's. A warm feeling spread through her. She could concentrate on that later. She quickly fixed her eyes on the teens before her. Blake trusted them as did Hunter and Cam. That had to mean something. Tori gave the Dino Thunder Rangers a quick appraising once over.

"If you're Rangers then where're your Morphers?" she asked sharply.

"You think we wear them so that everyone can see them?" snorted the boy in blue. "These are our Morphers."

He lifted a wrist and pushed a sleeve back to reveal a silver bracelet adorned with a blue gem. Tori raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

"Alright, we'll show you then," declared Conner. He braced his arm across his chest. "Ready?"

"Ready," the others confirmed, mimicking his gesture.

In glows of red, blue and yellow energy the bracelets transformed into elaborate chunks of colour coded metal. Dustin's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Dude that's sick! They've got powers from the dinosaurs, just like the original Rangers had" he breathed, eyes fixed on the Morphers.

"Now do you believe us?"

Shane nodded and turned to Tori who nodded back. If Dustin recognised them with his geekish obsession with Ranger history then it was a good sign. The Morphers did look like some old Morpher designs Cam had shown them.

"I'm Shane, the Red Wind Ranger," Shane said finally, deciding that a proper introduction was warranted. "This is Dustin the Yellow Wind Ranger and Tori the Blue Wind Ranger."

"You already know I'm Blake, Navy Thunder Ranger," added Blake with a smile. "And this is my brother Hunter, Crimson Thunder Ranger."

"And I'm Cam, Green Samurai Ranger," finished Cam. "As you probably all know, most of us work at the Wind Ninja Academy your brother attends Conner, Hunter works at the Thunder Ninja Academy and Blake does motocross professionally."

"I'm Conner, Red Ranger and this is Ethan the Blue Ranger and Kira the Yellow Ranger," supplied Conner. "High school students at Reefside High."

"Wait, there's only three of you?" blurted out Dustin. "No wonder you need our help!"

"Hey you guys started out with three too," protested Ethan.

"How'd you know that?" asked Shane suspiciously.

"Ranger history's a hobby of mine," replied the Blue Dino Thunder Ranger. "Especially since Dr O's the greatest living Ranger and all."

"We have two more Rangers," cut in Kira, feeling the others' confusion. "Trent's our White Ranger and Dr O's our Black Ranger. He was on three other Ranger teams before us, including the original one."

As more conversation broke out, Tori found herself drawn to Kira. There was something about the girl that niggled at her, something that made her angry. She was determined to solve it later. Right now, she was overwhelmed by Blake's close presence. She hadn't expected to see him for another few weeks when Factory Blue gave him a break. She felt herself pulled out of her thoughts literally as Blake tugged on her arm to get her attention. The others had begun walking.

"Where are we going?" she hissed.

"Dino Cave, it's like their Ninja Ops," Blake supplied.

There were a few moments of silence and then.

"What's up Tor?" he asked quietly as they began walking. "You've been quiet since snapping out of the spell, you ok?"

"Kinda. Just freaky where there's gaps in my memory plus how I totally dislike the Dino Thunder Rangers for no reason, especially Kira."

"Kira?"

"Yeah, I get this weird feeling of nastiness whenever I look at her and I have no idea why."

"Its all left over from the mind control Lother had you under."

"How does that even work?"

"Cam gave me and Hunter a quick lesson on it. Apparently the discs Lother gave you tapped into the dark sides of your personalities. We all have the ability to be bad, we just don't choose to be," explained Blake. "Lother's discs made your dark sides take over everything else via your Ranger powers. It'll fade with time."

Tori was quiet as she contemplated his words. Blake slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer for physical comfort. The more Tori looked at the Dino Thunder Rangers walking ahead of her, the more the lingering feeling of dislike and distrust faded. She could easily tell that they were a team. Conner was obviously their leader, a step ahead of them as he conversed seriously with Shane, and it showed in the way he constantly checked either side of him that Kira and Ethan were ok. The other two stuck close to his side, gradually opening up to the Ninja Storm Rangers chatting to them. Their Morphers sealed their identities.

"Was it this way after you and Hunter turned good?" she asked suddenly. "My mind feels clear but there like shadows at the edges I can't get rid of."

Blake was silent. Tori chewed her lip, worried she'd overstepped a line. As a rule, Blake and Hunter never spoke about the times they'd fought against the Wind Rangers and the others never asked them about it but Tori needed some reassurance from someone who knew.

"I can remember all I did the first time we fought against you guys," Blake began. "I try not to think about it but its there and it hurts to remember how I used you and nearly killed you."

Tori winced. It wasn't a memory she herself treasured.

"Its part of my past now which I have to deal with you know. Hunter and I both do. When we shared an apartment, he woke up screaming sometimes about the ways he hurt Dustin. Its hard to live with but I swear it gets better."

The battle was hard but the Ranger prevailed. They worked together as a strong team. Unified they'd destroyed the army of monsters. A bunch of times Tori found herself teaming with Kira. She felt drawn to the Yellow Ranger. Her fighting style was unpolished but her heart for her mission shone through as she tore through her enemies. When they worked together, Tori was surprised to find that they were very successful as a unit. Tori couldn't put her finger on it completely but she felt bonded to this stranger. Cam had informed them in a quiet moment that they would bond quickly with the Dino Thunder Rangers due to their shared mission and assorted similar experiences when wielding the Power.

"Feel free to use any of my make-up," Kira's voice cut through the Water Ninja's thoughts.

"Thanks, I don't wear much," Tori responded.

Kira gave a brief smile and began applying her eyeliner as she gazed in concentration in the mirror. Tori watched with interest, trying to unravel the mystery of their strange bond. The two of them were physical opposites. Tori favoured minimal maintenance appearances; hardly any make-up and her clothes were simple and practical for teaching or surfing purposes. Kira had turned wearing layers of clothes into an art form and wore a lot of dark make-up to emphasise her large eyes. She dressed as she wanted on whatever whim.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Kira, putting her eye pencil down and staring at Tori in the mirror.

Tori started; embarrassed she'd been caught and began looking around the room. Dr Oliver had insisted that the Ninja Storm Rangers stay over for at least the weekend and had offered his own house as a make-shift youth hostel, claiming his students could learn a lot from the former Rangers. Tori and Blake were given the spare room to share while Shane, Cam, Hunter and Dustin were squashed together in the lounge. Currently, everyone was preparing to go to Blake's motocross race. The Ninja Storm Rangers had briefly ninja streaked home for some clothes and Blake had headed off early to prepare, leaving with a promise to Tori that he'd talk to her properly after the race. Kira had offered to help Tori unpack and arrange the items she and Blake had collected from home; Tori didn't feel like she could refuse the girl's kind offer.

"So this is the famous Dr Oliver's house," Tori managed, hoping Kira didn't notice her blatant subject change.

"Yep this is Dr O's pad. Fully equipped with Dino Cave," quipped Kira. "Its weird hearing you call him famous. He's just Dr O to us but to you guys he's this really important figure in Ranger history which I guess he kinda is."

"Dustin's mentioned him a lot," supplied Tori, smiling as she thought about Dustin's incessant babbling since he'd met Dr Oliver.

"Are you ok Tori? No offence but you've been kinda off since the battle," Kira asked, peering at Tori curiously.

"Just weird thoughts. Like I had this total dislike for you guys when I came out from the spell. It really threw me. Now I feel bonded to you," Tori hesitated but decided to continue with total honesty. There was nothing she could say which would shock someone who was a Power Ranger. "You're the one I felt most weird about."

"Me? How come?"

"I don't know, just felt more dislike with you than the others," Tori shrugged helplessly. "Blake says it'll be part of my past from now on, the whole being evil thing and I've gotta deal."

"You and Blake are close right?"

"We've been together for a year."

"That's sweet. Blake's such a cool guy."

Tori felt icy hot jabs of jealousy shoot through her heart. Instantly she honed in on it. It was an oddly familiar feeling. Jealously over Kira knowing Blake? That was stupid. Then she remembered Blake's words about the evil spell taking hold of her dark side. Part of dark side was certainly her jealousy; it had slipped her up before. Seeing Kira being familiar with Blake had probably driven her evil self wild. It also explained the lingering dislike of Kira. Kira was gazing at her in confusion.

"What?"

"I think I worked out the weirdness. Did you and Blake act friendly in front of me when I was evil?"

"Maybe, I can't really remember," Kira shrugged. "I met him for the first time in Cyberspace, this really cool café we all hang out at. I recognised him from a video Dr O made of past Rangers."

"That's it then! The whole evil spell thing taps into our dark sides according to Cam and my jealousy is kinda out of control sometimes. Put that with you being friendly with Blake......," Tori trailed off slightly embarrassedly.

"Oh well you don't have to worry about me and Blake. There's another guy I like but it's sorta complicated."

"Can't be worse than when I first met Blake. He tried to kill me a lot and then used me to get into Ninja Ops where he and Hunter kidnapped Sensei," Tori said deliberately off-hand and tried to ignore the still smarting pain she felt at her boyfriend's actions.

Kira's eyes went wide and she dropped onto the bed, tucking her legs in cross-legged. She gestured for Tori to join her so awkwardly the Water Ninja perched on the edge.

"Maybe you can help me. Trent and I went through a lot of the same things except the whole kidnapping part," Kira confided.

Trent. Tori's brow furrowed she recalled the smart sweet guy who'd transformed into the White Ranger. According to Dr Oliver when she'd asked him, the various sketches left around the house were Trent's work. If they were anything to go by, Trent was a very talented guy.

"So Trent was evil?" she guessed. "According to Dustin, it happens a lot to Rangers."

"More than just a little evil. This evil white Dino Gem bonded with him and totally corrupted him. When I first knew him, he was such a sweet guy. He watched me perform and drew pictures of me. But the gem changed him."

"Started whooping your ass in battle?"

"Uh huh but we didn't know he was the White Ranger. Then one day he told me. He'd been having blackouts and didn't realise what he was doing. He fought against the gem's power but eventually he was taken over and became totally evil 24/7. Conner and Ethan wanted to kill him but I didn't, I couldn't."

Tori nodded. It was a twisted mirror image of her own early period with Blake. Now that her lingering jealousy over Kira's involvement with Blake had disappeared, she wanted to help. She could clearly see the fragile pain laid bare on Kira's face. Her emotions were completely unmasked. This girl was going through almost exactly what she, Tori, had been through not so long ago. She'd had no one to talk to but Kira could talk to her. It was strange talking to a girl Ranger and strangely comforting as well, to find someone who had been through so many similar experiences and almost identical trauma when it came to the man in their lives. Tori scooted closer and laid a hand on Kira's knee.

"I felt the same way about Blake. I really liked him but when I saw him and Hunter in Ninja Ops having kidnapped Sensei, everything just crumbled. I felt so betrayed. There was this guy I really liked turning out to be my worst enemy. But things changed and after a lot of work, things turned out ok for both of us."

"How did you do that? I mean trust him again after all he'd done?" asked Kira almost eagerly. "Sometimes he's just Trent and other times I see this monster. The guy who nearly annihilated me or Conner, Ethan and Dr O."

"Blake went away for a while with Hunter to clear his head. When they came back, Lother turned them against us using a spell. When we broke through it, he stayed and we spent a lot of time together talking it through. He was really upset by what he'd done and wanted to have some sort of relationship with me, even if it was just a friendship."

Tori stopped talking, flooded by a wealth of memories. Blake's repentant expression, his heartfelt words about wanting to stay and help the other Rangers. How Cam had explained that evil spells taking over team mates were a regular occurrence among Rangers and that it could happen to any one of them. Shane and Dustin's brotherly warnings to her about trusting Blake with her heart when he'd stomped on it before and then Dustin and Hunter finding each other through all the chaos. The cautious nature of her and Blake's relationship as slowly trust was built and old wounds healed. So much had built into their relationship.

"Wow," said Kira quietly, breaking Tori out of her thoughts. "You've got this amazing look on your face. Like you're smiling but you're sad too." She paused before speaking again. "Is it worth it?"

"Being with Blake after everything he did?" Kira nodded. "Yes definitely. It took a while but I liked him so much and I believed he could be saved. Eventually he was and even though I don't see him as much as I'd like to because of his motocross touring, I wouldn't want my life without him."

"I was the only one who believed in Trent," murmured Kira. "The others just saw him as evil but I still saw the guy who drew a picture of me and complimented me on my singing. I believed in the good in him and eventually it broke through the bad."

"I don't know Trent Kira, but I know what its like to watch a guy you like struggle with guilt about what he's done in the past. You're scared about opening your heart to him again, trusting someone who tried to kill you with your intimate feelings," Tori wrapped a comforting arm around Kira's shoulders. "I know that sometimes he'll be miserable with guilt over what happened and he'll want more than anything to go back and change it. You've helped him before and even if you just end up being friends, he'll need you. Go for it. Even if nothing works out in the end, it'll be worth it."

There was silence as tears slowly slipped from Kira's eyes and down her face. She leaned into Tori, not wanting to voice the tender vulnerability she masked so well from her male team-mates but trusting the girl who'd been through exactly what she was going through to understand. Tori pulled her into a hug. At that moment she knew she was bonded to Kira. Each the solitary female in a Ranger team of men, each lost to a man who'd tried to kill them and was seeking repentance, each sometimes utterly alone. Now they had each other.

A creak at the door warned them someone was entering.

"Um...not interrupting anything am I?" Dustin sounded apologetic as he poked his head round the door.

"We're good," assured Tori as Kira pulled away to aim a watery smile at her Yellow counterpart.

"Ok, cool. We're all ready to go if you guys are."

"We'll be down in a moment ok?"

"Gotcha."

As the door shut, Kira grinned at her friend.

"My make-ups running, isn't it?"

"Not too badly. You can repair as I find my shoes."

Tori made a move to get off the bed but Kira caught her hand and pulled her into sisterly hug.

"Thanks Tori, I really needed that you know? No one else round here understands."

"Its cool Kira, I'm glad we can be friends," Tori tapped her Morpher. "Maybe I can get Cam to splice your frequency into my Morpher so we can always be in contact."

"He'd do that? That would be great and Blue Bay Harbour isn't so far away."

"Maybe I can teach you to surf."

"Only if I can teach you to play the guitar."

"Done."

With a laughing handshake, the two began to quickly get ready

The weather at the race was glorious. Tori could sense her spirits rising already as she walked beside Kira into the pit area of the motocross circuit. Everyone was talking (or yelling in Dustin's case) excitedly to one another as they rushed to get a good viewing point to see Blake race from. Tori was surprised to find she had butterflies unleashed in her stomach. It was months since she'd seen her boyfriend race and she couldn't remember the last time all of the Ninja Storm Ranger had been with her to watch. Having their new friends with them made it even more special. Even Dr Oliver had come along and was chatting to Shane and Conner about leadership. From what Dustin had told her, the veteran Ranger should know a lot about that. Tori slowed to a stop near the safety barrier and turned to look at her friends. Hunter, his arm wrapped loosely around Dustin's shoulders, was currently teasing Cam about Hayley.

"So why didn't you bring her here then?" the Crimson Ranger asked, an annoying smirk on his face.

"Do you really think a dirt track is the place to bring a MIT genius?" retorted Cam exasperated.

"You're here."

"I enjoy motocross, Hayley doesn't. She's doing some upgrades on the bikes and ATVs while we're out. I'm going to help her after the race."

"So it's like a date?" Dustin joined in, his mind finally torn away from his beloved motocross to join his boyfriend in teasing Cam.

"Yes Dustin, it's like a date if you want to see it that way."

"Dude, you've been in contact with this chick for months and you're finally gonna get some proper alone time with her. I'd call it a date," grinned Dustin.

"Yes but your idea of a date is a trip to the arcade with Hunter," pointed out Cam.

"Gets me laid," shot back Hunter as Dustin snaked an arm around his waist.

Cam made a disgusted face and rolled his eyes but Tori could see amusement in his face too. No matter how crude they were, he did care for the odd ying and yang couple that was Dustin and Hunter. He also cared a lot about Hayley if the late night phone calls and constant computer contact were to be held up as examples. It was especially clear in the cranky tone Cam took with anyone who needled him about it.

Kira stood a little way off, her hand shyly intertwined with Trent's. Tori could see that they were talking together. She hoped that they were able to talk through all the junk that came from having one of them forced under an evil spell for the time they'd know each other. Heck if she and Blake could do it then so could they.

"How you doing Blue?" asked a teasing jovial voice.

Tori turned with a smile to Ethan who stood at her side, hands deep in his pockets.

"Pretty good, you?"

"Out with a team of former Rangers? I think I can cope," he laughed. "It's amazing to meet you guys, properly I mean without you wanting to kick our butts."

Tori found herself laughing too at the sheer freedom of being with people who equally understood the burden they'd carried for so long. Then she spotted the riders walking their bikes to the start line.

"Guys, Blake's up!" she called loudly.

Immediately the mixed team of Rangers flooded to her side, fighting for position at the barrier. Hunter and Dustin got to the front while the others filed in at all available space. Kapri and Marah, looking strangely casual in civilian clothes and the happiest Tori had seen them in a long time, joined the group. Their diva behaviour had mellowed with the discipline of the Wind Ninja Academy. It had ground them down into good competent students who never lost the ditzy valley speak which characterised them in the first place. Here, Tori, realised was exactly where she wanted to be as the starting klaxon went off and Blake's navy bike shot ahead of everyone else.

After the race as Blake received the large silver trophy and Conner and Shane lifted him onto their shoulders, Tori found she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She felt pride swell in her chest at her boyfriend's accomplishments and as soon as he was lowered to the ground, threw her arms around him in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. Too shocked to respond for a moment, Blake hugged her tightly back. When they pulled apart, she led him a little away from the crowd.

"I've talked to Kira and everything's ok," she blurted out. "She's had problems too with an evil Ranger she's fallen in love with."

"Sounds familiar," joked Blake, squeezing her hand. "So you don't feel weird about the Dino Thunder Rangers anymore?"

Tori paused, taking a look around. Most of the Rangers were chattering excitedly to one another about Blake's victory. She found Kira, hand in hand with Trent and a happy smile on her face. She felt Tori's eyes on her and turned to wave at her friend.

"I think it's safe to say all weirdness about them has gone," Tori told her boyfriend.

"That's good to hear Tor. You want to get a bite to eat with them or we could go somewhere just the two of us if you like?"

It had been a long time since the two former Ninja Storm Rangers had had some private time together. Tori felt a warmth spread through her at Blake's consideration of this.

"Just the two of us," she decided. "I don't get to spend that much time with you."

Blake nodded and slipping an arm around her, walked her back over to their friends to let them know. The sight of the group of new and old friends made Tori smile even more. Distrust had given way to friendship, jealousy to a close bond. The Ranger Power had been a burden more than once but now, it had brought these wonderful people into her life and she, as she watched Trent put an arm around Kira's waist and her new friend smile at him, was more than grateful.