Author's Note: The first scene in this chapter and the last scene in the previous chapter were all written by Winter Yuy, so credit to her for the scenes. However, the first scene in this chapter is altered to where the Power Rangers are included in this scene. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Guardians walked into the home the Ronins and Guardians shared and was greeted happily by the Ronin's and Rangers. Josephine and Kento performed some kind of odd handshake. Jillian smiled and pointed at her lips as she accepted the loving kiss from RJ. Amaya gently placed a kiss on everyone's cheek.
Cye spoke up, "Someone is missing."
That's when the nine armor bearers realized that Rekino was missing. Hana stepped outside into the cool Fall night and looked around.
"Did we forget her?" the Halo Guardian asked. "She's so small sometimes I forget she's around."
"How?" Casey questioned her. "She's obnoxious. And loud."
Josephine pursed her lips and looked to the side, "Maaaan. She's gonna be mad."
Ryo lifted a hand to silence everyone, "Do you hear that?"
It was then they all heard it. Faint words drifting in from the sitting room. They quickly made their way into the next room. There, in front of the fireplace, was Rekino sitting cross legged in front of White Blaze. She was talking tenderly to the large tiger. At least that's what they thought until they noticed the black and white fur between Rekino's legs. They all listened closely.
"See, Kitty? He's just a big baby. Aren't you, buddy?" She reached out and stroked the white tiger's fur. He licked her affectionately as Kitty hissed at his actions.
"No, Kitty," Rekino leaned down and put her nose against the cat's forehead, "you gotta be nice to him. He's Ryo's friend just like you're my friend. Yes, you're my best friend. Mommy loves you."
They all watched with amusement and astonishment as the cat cautiously moved out of Rekino's lap. Kitty approached White Blaze slowly. The larger cat moved his face forward. His nose touched the nose of Kitty. The black and white munchkin cat hissed in annoyance.
"Do not be a bitch kitty," Rekino said sternly and pointed a finger at her.
White Blaze, unaffected by the smaller cat's attitude, licked her. Kitty backed up. It was like she didn't know what to think of the action. White Blaze did it again, but this time Kitty didn't move.
Rekino was on her hands and knees watching the scene anxiously. Kitty lifted a paw and put it on the tiger's face. The guardian of the armor of fire made a painful sound, but her breath hitched when Kitty sauntered to White Blaze's stomach. She jumped up on him and made two full circles before curling up in his fur.
"Yay!" Rekino jumped two feet in the air and landed on her feet. She was clapping her hands quickly and with excitement. She got back on her knees and gave White Blaze a kiss between his ears.
"Thank you, buddy. I'll get you a steak one day soon."
White Blaze closed his eyes and purred loudly when she scratched between his ears. Satisfied, Rekino stood up and turned to the group.
"'Sup?"
"Um," Dominic asked, "We knew about Kitty and all, but can you explain the tiger please?"
"I can explain that," a voice chimed from behind. Everyone turned around to see Lady Kayura at the scene.
"Who are you exactly?" Tommy asked respectfully, "with all due respect, of course."
"My name is Lady Kayura," Kayura answered, "I am the last of the Ancients and the current bearer of the Ogre armor."
"Kayura is a good friend of ours," Ryo assured the Legendary Ranger.
"What brings you here anyway?" Rowen asked.
"I brought White Blaze here in case you guys need him," Kayura explained, "there is a battle that is coming in the future and you will be needing White Blaze when Ryo has his Inferno Armor."
"Inferno Armor?" Dustin looked on, confused.
"We haven't seen his Inferno Armor yet," RJ nodded in agreement.
"In time you will," Kayura told the group, "When the five armors join forces with Ryo's Wildfire armor, his armor becomes the white armor of Inferno, and before you ask, Rekino has her own Lady Inferno armor as well."
"Where are the Warlords right now?" Sage asked.
"They are at the Dynasty looking after things," Kayura answered, "I just dropped by to bring White Blaze to you Ronin Warriors and Lady Ronin Guardians."
The Ancient looked at the rangers present in the room, "I see you have wonderful allies with you as well."
"Yes," Tommy bowed respectfully, "we are the Power Rangers."
"Of course," Kayura nodded, "We have heard about you as well as Pai Zhua. I will be looking forward to seeing how things turn out with each of you. I am certain we will be meeting again. In the meantime, I shall return to the Dynasty."
The rangers didn't really bother to ask how she knew about Pai Zhua or the Power Rangers as Kayura left the room and returned to the Dynasty.
"Well," Dustin replied, "that explains the tiger."
"By the way, Rekino," Hana stepped forward. "How the hell did you get in here without anyone seeing you?"
"Number one: I'm am ninja. It's what I do," the ebony haired girl said matter of factly, "and number two: you said it. I'm just soooooo tiny, I'm overlooked."
Josephine choked trying to hold her laughter in, "Oh damn."
"Oh man," Tommy quipped.
"Twister," Dustin added.
"Don't," RJ held his brother's arm, "I wouldn't if I were you."
"Hold up," the blonde Halo Guardian stepped up to her friend. They were toe-to-toe. "I didn't say tiny; I said small."
"It's the same damn thing."
Amaya closed her eyes, "All this foul language gives me a headache."
"Girls," Mia tried to get between the two, "let's calm down."
"She's right," RJ added, "this is getting pretty intense here."
"Back up!" The two guardians said in unison.
The Strata Guardian held her hands up in defeat and moved to the right before backing up. RJ followed suit and Jillian looked at him as if to say, "Well, you tried."
Ryo moved to be by Mia's side and to get a better view of the argument.
"Will they fight?" Conner asked quietly.
"It depends," Josephine replied.
"On?"
"How bad they insult one another," Lady Hardrock looked at Mia. "You got any popcorn?"
"Oh hush," the guardian of the armor of water said motherly.
"I bet five dollars on the sm...the one in red!" Eric exclaimed.
"I'll take that action," Dustin replied.
"Seriously?" RJ asked, annoyed.
"Dude!" Conner followed suit.
"It's just a word. Whatchu gonna do about it?"
"You don't want none of this."
"I know what you got."
"Same here. And so does half the men on our block."
Josephine opened her mouth in amazement then laughed, clapping her hands. Amaya elbowed her friend. No one else spoke or attempted to move.
Hana's midnight blue eyes narrowed in anger, "At least I'm not going to die a virgin, Ms. I'm too scared to talk to boys."
"I talk to guys!" Rekino pointed at the Ronin Warriors and the male Power Rangers. "They're guys! And besides, what does it matter? I'd rather have no dick in me than nine hundred miles that you've had."
"Whoa!" RJ, Casey, Ethan, Conner, and Dominic all exclaimed in shock and unison.
"Hey!" Lily, Theo, Kira, Fran and Trent all exclaimed in unison.
"Rekino!" Mia and Amaya shouted.
"That was out of line!" Tommy couldn't help but to blurt out.
"You've had so much that your vaginal odometer is about to roll over!"
Hana leaned down and whispered to Rekino harshly, "This coming from the orphan that was passed around from home to home because no one wanted her except the couple who couldn't have kids."
Rekino's body tensed up at Hana's words. Her body immediately shifted to a ready stance. "You take that back."
"You first," the blonde responded.
"You started it," the smaller one retorted, "and you let that Tiger Master call me names."
"I'm glad Jillian was not raised like this," Kimberly muttered.
"Agreed," Tommy nodded in agreement.
Rowen, being braver than anyone else, took a strategic step forward. Neither of the girls moved, but their eyes shifted to his tall form. He held up his hands in defense.
"Hana. Rekino," he tried to keep his voice even and without emotion, "how about we just call it even and stop this. Huh?"
The two guardians returned to staring at one another. A minute passed. Then another and another. No one knew how long the two females stood there. Rekino was the first to give in. She backed away and took a deep breath before stomping out of the room.
Josephine's eyes were wide, "That was…different. Normally they just use small insults."
Rekino stomped back into the room. She was huffing and looked almost like she could cry. She pointed at Hana.
"I'm sorry I said you have nine hundred miles of dick in you. It's not true and I know it," she turned to Casey. "You better sleep with your eyes open. I'll get you. And I don't make empty threats."
"I gotcha," Casey replied, "I hear you. Go on."
"Oh!" the Wildfire Guardian stomped her foot angrily. "It's not 'small' or 'tiny'. I'm funsized!"
With that, she stomped away again.
"Rekino!" Josephine laughed loudly. "Come back! You're so cute when you're mad!"
"Fuck off!"
Amaya held up her hands, "Stop with the language!"
Hana sighed and let her shoulders slump. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look at Kira.
"You okay?" the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger asked.
The blonde shook her head, "No, but give it a couple of hours. We will be fine."
Kitty suddenly got off of White Blaze and ran in the direction Rekino had disappeared in. Cye cocked his head questionably.
"Why is the cat so…tiny?" Conner asked.
Ryo smirked, "It's a munchkin cat. They're like the dwarves of the cat world."
Ethan smiled, "She's cute."
Kento laughed, "It's like her little legs just scurry across the floor."
"Awww," Trent looked on in awe.
"I love her," Kira quipped.
"That's why Rekino adopted her," Hana sounded almost sad, "because Kitty is small just like she is."
A voice resounded through the house.
"If you don't stop calling me small there is gonna be something serious go down in this house."
"Rekino Sanada!" Mia said sharply. She put her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare do anything in this house."
The aforementioned person walked into the room with a plate balanced in her hand, "I rigged this house and you didn't even know. Whatchu gonna do?" She brought the fork to her lips. "This is really good. What is it?"
Theo pointed at her in shock, "What the hell?"
Josephine hit the floor laughing. Kento took slow steps towards her. His granite colored eyes were fixed on her plate.
"Is that my steak dinner?"
Rekino looked confused, but continued eating. Ryo moved towards his sister.
"Did you get that from the kitchen?"
"No. I got it from the closet," Rekino said sarcastically. "Of course I got it from the kitchen. It wasn't touched and I was hungry."
"Mia made that for me," Kento huffed then pouted. "I was gonna eat that later tonight for a snack."
Amaya, Josephine, and Cye laughed at Kento's heartbroken expression and whining. Mia reassured Kento that she would make him another steak since they had plenty. Hana and Sage disappeared without anyone knowing. Rowen watched Rekino curl up in a chair as she continued eating the food.
"I have no regrets," she nodded her head seriously. "This is a damn fine meal."
Rowen wasn't a fool by no means. He could tell that the guardian of fire was hiding her feelings. He fought with himself on whether or not he should talk to her. He tensed when he felt someone behind him. He turned to see Lily.
"It's you."
Rowen raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"It's you. You're the one she likes."
The Cheetah Master smiled at him before walking away.
"She's right you know," Hana replied.
Rowen turned back around to find Rekino mock fighting with her brother. He watched her moved gracefully. Her smile was bright, but strained.
The revelation shook him. He didn't quite understand his own feelings, but knowing that Rekino possibly felt the same way made him feel not so awkward.
-Through-Dangerous-Times-
RJ prepared himself for another meditation session.
The rangers had returned to the JKP loft shortly after the blow out back the Ronin Headquarters.
"Hey," James walked over to the Wolf Master, "how are the Ronins and Guardians?"
"They're fine," RJ answered, "Rekino and Hana had a bit of a blow out that you missed."
"It's something I was best to stay out of in this case," James quipped.
"Truly," RJ nodded in agreement, "it was intense."
Suddenly, the guys heard the speakers play a song from the soundtrack to the movie The Last House on the Left which was "Wait for the Rain" by David Hess.
"What's the deal with the music?" RJ asked, even though he was intrigued by the song.
"Sorry," James apologized, "brought my Mp3 player to play some music while you guys were out."
"It's okay, dude," RJ nodded, "I would like to meditate in silence however."
"Not a problem," James replied, turning off the music just as the song was going off, "I was getting ready to head home to Twyla anyway."
"Catch you guys later," RJ waved goodbye to his ally.
"Same to you," James nodded before leaving the loft with his Mp3 player.
RJ sighed as he turned off the lights to the room, and then, he got into position and began to meditate.
-Through-Dangerous-Times-
"Oh, RJ," a voice taunted from behind.
The wolf master turned around to see a familiar young lady with red hair, dressed in punk style, glaring at him.
"Tiffany?!" RJ exclaimed in surprise.
"Surprised to see me again, douchebag?" Tiffany taunted him.
"A little," RJ answered calmly, "I see you're still mean spirited and selfish like when I last saw you."
"When you last saw me?"
"When I caught you cheating on me!"
"Oh yeah that," Tiffany nodded before glancing at her ex boyfriend, "but wait till you see me again, Wolf Boy. You will be surprised to see who I really am, and what I have been up to."
"What the hell are you talking about?" RJ demanded.
RJ gasped as he opened his eyes. He looked around and found himself in the darkness of the JKP loft where he was when he first started mediating. He found it weird seeing a vision of his ex girlfriend and wondered just what it all meant.
-Through-Dangerous-Times-
"Oh, Dustin," a voice taunted from behind.
Dustin turned around to see Kelly Halloway standing from behind.
"The hell?" Dustin glanced at his ex girlfriend, "Kelly?! What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to send you a message," Kelly answered, "you will be seeing me real soon."
"What do you..." Dustin started to ask as he was now confused.
"Yeah," Kelly replied with a smirk, "in the most unexpected place, you will be seeing me again. It's kinda odd that I'm sending you this vision now. A lot has changed since I last saw you and rest of the Ninja Storm Rangers."
"So you know who we are?" Dustin asked.
"Pretty much," Kelly answered, "something I wish you told me years ago, especially when Storm Chargers was still open."
"We couldn't tell you who we were, our Sensei made us keep this a secret, even back when we were students of the academy."
"Details," Kelly replied, "I can tell you this, a big secret of mine is going to be revealed real soon, and boy will you be in for a surprise."
"So you have a secret too, huh?" Dustin asked.
"Besides the fact I've been into the magicks for awhile now," Kelly answered, "and I believe the Jungle Fury team has known me for awhile too. I even dated one of them, one that you call your brother."
"You...I swear, friend, ex girlfriend, or not," Dustin glanced at the red head, "if you have harmed RJ and I find out, there's going to be hell to pay!"
-Through-Dangerous-Times-
"Kelly!" Dustin shouted as he woke up from his sleep. He looked around and found himself in the room he was sleeping at. He was at the JKP Loft.
Quietly, the Yellow Ranger snuck to the phone which was next to RJ's chair. He was mindful to sit on the floor instead of the chair because he was aware of his baby brother's disdain of other people sitting in his chair.
Dustin took a deep breath and dialed a few numbers.
After a few rings, a female voice answered, "Hello? Who's calling at this hour?"
"Tori?" Dustin called, "It's me, Dustin."
"Dustin," Tori replied, "hey. How are things going at Ocean Bluff?"
"My family's fine at the moment, but I had a vision of Kelly just now."
"Kelly? As in Kelly Halloway? Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack. I saw Kelly in my vision. She even claimed to know the Jungle Fury Rangers and dated one of them. I swear, I hope it's not RJ. I hope she didn't hurt him for that matter because..."
"Dustin, I know you miss Kelly and we all do, but I think you're overreacting."
"Not exactly. Kelly's expressions looked evil in my dream."
"Come to think about it," Tori replied, "I have been having strange visions of my own. I'll get Blake, Hunter and Cam and we will hurry over to Ocean Bluff. Kelly might actually be in Ocean Bluff."
"Thanks," Dustin nodded, "I'm having the same feeling too."
"We'll see you there real soon."
Dustin hung up and sighed, hoping that this was just a bad vision and Kelly hadn't changed as he feared.