Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to me.
Chapter 10: Someone Else
Cole looked for Alyssa as he walked across the surface of the water to get out of Ninja Ops. Preparing himself for the moment in which he would at last tell his longtime teammate he loved her, Cole tried to steady his nerves as well as his footsteps on of the ripples. Yet Cole almost passed out into the depths of the pond when, in the distance, he finally found Alyssa… crouched closely beside Hunter on his bike.
"Hunter, don't get all angry with me now," pleaded Alyssa. "I just want to talk."
Cole paused for a minute, unsure whether he should make his presence known to the two who seemed in the middle of an intense conversation.
"It's cool if you want to talk," Cole heard Hunter reply. "In fact, I always want to talk with you Alyssa. Just not about Cole."
Upon hearing his name, Cole immediately had his mind made up for him. And despite his usually steadfast moral compass, Cole found himself ducking behind a tree to listen in on the rest of the conversation between the girl who stole his heart and the guy who was trying to steal her from him.
"I just am curious why you and Cole were fighting with each other back during the battle against the Ninja Orgs earlier today," said Alyssa as Hunter worked on his bike. "I mean, you both are rangers. You should know better."
"So you came outside to find me just to say you don't like me anymore," replied Hunter grimly as he tried to fix the gear shift.
"No, it's not like that!" cried Alyssa quickly. "But when I see you react so aggressively toward someone I care about…" Alyssa found her voice trailing off; uncertain what to say.
"Someone you care about," reiterated Hunter calmly, but making his true emotions known has he stomped furiously on the gear shift, causing the bike part to break off.
"I am not saying Cole wasn't at fault either," brokered Alyssa quickly as she handed the gear shift to Hunter in the gesture of a peace offering. "But why did you come at him that way, Hunter? I need to… I need to know so that I can like you!"
Hunter's face looked filled with inner turmoil to Alyssa as she waited for what felt like forever to hear his answer. His voice was soft and shaky when he finally spoke.
"If I told you I wasn't jealous of how close Cole and you are, I'd be lying," said Hunter, not meeting Alyssa's gentle gaze. "But it wasn't the real reason I kept trying to hold Cole back. When I saw the other monsters show up and you all unmorphed, it just brought back a lot of bad memories for me."
"What do you mean?" asked Alyssa concernedly.
"The Thunder Ninja Academy where Blake and I grew up after our parents died was destroyed last year by Lothor," explained Hunter, his voice quivering. "Our Sensei coincidently had given us our Thunder Ninja Rangers powers earlier that very day, but the rest students who did not have morphers were captured by Lothor."
"So you thought you were going to loose us when you saw my friends and I fight without our powers," finished Alyssa.
"I know you all could yourselves against one monster unmorphed, but suddenly during that last battle there were so many monsters," murmured Hunter. "Just like on the day the Thunder Ninja Academy was destroyed…"
Alyssa startled Hunter out his reverie by placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for them being captured," she said.
"I was the one with the ranger powers," said Hunter, clearly torn up. "I should have protected them as the leader of the Thunder Storm Rangers. I am responsible."
"And you still are!" urged Alyssa. "You and Blake have been working your best to make sure the students return home. Someday you all will defeat Lothor and save both ninja academies."
"We're the only ones who can," said Hunter gravely.
"Not true," cheered Alssya, coming up behind him and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Now you have me! And Cole and the other Wild Force rangers too, of course."
"You mean," began Hunter hopefully. "You still like me?"
"Welllll…." stalled Alyssa flirtatiously but before she could finish, Hunter leaned over and kissed her.
Watching Hunter and Alyssa kiss drove Cole practically insane. From behind the tree, Cole fought every urge in his body to keep from coming out of his hiding spot and ripping the couple apart. But as feelings of jealousy and rage coursed through his veins, another worse sensation overtook Cole: the honest realization that Alyssa was not pulling away from Hunter's embrace.
"Danny must have been wrong," Cole cried to himself. "Alyssa doesn't like me. She never did. Danny's whole idea of 'sacred love' is bullshit, because this display just shows Alyssa and I clearly were never meant to be together."
Turning quietly and quickly, Cole was unable to watch anymore as Hunter and Alyssa continued to use their own sense to get to know each other more deeply.
Cole was already back inside Ninja Ops when Alyssa only a few seconds later suddenly pulled away from Hunter's kiss.