On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

53 - Softly / Urn

"What a joke!" The clown faced nighlok died from laughter, tossing up his silky red hair around.

"The rangers are strong teh...." The ghostly nighlok cowered.

"Konservativ was an idiot anyway. Especially letting one measly ranger kill him." The wheel-footed nighlok kicked up her feet on a rock and tangled her yo-yo string in her hand. "That's what you get for kissing Velos' feet."

"Sharp tongue, Acies." Velos' sly voice startled the three nighlok. "I see that you all haven't been attacking together like I've instructed."

Velos calmly approached the three nighlok as they shivered. Velos smiled sweetly at them before driving his bow through a rock, crumbling it to pieces.

"The rangers were weak! You could have killed each one of them had you fought alongside Konservativ!" Velos ranted in a frighteningly composed manner.

Velos then took a deep breath. "But it appears we have someone on our side... Acies and Exspira, you both must go out and fight when I command."

When Velos left, all three of the nighlok were able to breathe.

"No more of the bet I guess." Acies sighed, going back to swinging her yo-yo. "I guess betting over who can kill their opponent the fastest was dumb anyway. Dumb like Konservativ's power."

"This is bad!" Exspira, the ghostly nighlok, cried as she ran off.

"Velos yelled at you! Sharp tongue! Sharp tongue! Sharp tongue! Sharp tongue! Sharp tongue! Sharp tongue!" The clown faced nighlok teased.

~~~

"This ice should help with the swelling." Antonio gently placed an wrapped ice pack on Jayden's bare right side.

"Thanks." Jayden adjusted the position of the ice.

"That nighlok was crazy... You know they're truly evil when they talk in poetry..." Antonio sighed.

"Get some rest, I'm gonna go." Antonio patted Jayden's shoulder before leaving Jayden and Mia alone in the room.

"I'm sorry, I messed up in that fight." Mia mindlessly watched her twiddling thumbs.

"How?" Jayden couldn't think of anything she did wrong.

"I should've been able to block before he got my shoulder." Mia explained.

"You killed Konservativ. You saved me from taking on Deker by myself. And then you saved me again by making him leave us." Jayden assured her. "... You've never doubted yourself before."

"I don't know." Mia sat beside his bed. Both of them remained silent.

"How's your injury?" Jayden finally asked.

"It hurts. There are crazy ridges on that sword, the Uramasa." Mia's fingers hovered over her wound. "What are we going to do when Deker comes back? He said he was impatient."

"We'll have probably have the light zord by then, so that should help."

"You're thinking about taking him on by yourself, aren't you?..." Mia knew it. "You can't."

"You just fought Konservativ."

"You know it's different. Konservativ is really strong, but facing Deker's alone is a death wish."

"..."

"Even his presence is evil. The air became lighter right after he left."

"..."

"How much more power do you expect the light zord to give you?"

"Enough."

"What if Emily and Mike don't make it back before Deker?"

"..."

As they both set their mind on opposing opinions, the tension grew.

Jayden's eyes were filled with determination, and his usually sense of duty as a leader.

"You're so dumb." Mia couldn't stand him. Even with all the rangers, he still felt the need to bare the weight of the world by himself.

In a way, she was being hypocritical. She often dealt with her issues alone, without trying to burst in front of everyone.

But in her defense, Jayden was placing himself all alone in a position of critical responsibilities. In a way, it undermined the rangers' strength.

"Don't you know that we're with you? We can take him on altogether. That's the only way we can win and you've seen it today." Mia slightly raised her voice.

Jayden was surprised as she started to get emotional.

Jayden didn't know what his arm was thinking, but his hand ended up on her cheek. His thumb gently brushed away a tear before it could run down her face.

Naturally, Mia's lips ended up on Jayden's. The two kissed softly, with Mia's hair falling at the sides of Jayden's pillow.

They didn't know how or why. Only that it felt right.

~~~

"You want one?" Kevin offered Lauren a granola bar. He spotted her her sitting in the backyard's garden alone and decided to join her.

Lauren took the bar from his hands even though she was unsure if she wanted it.

"You seem upset." Kevin noticed after sitting down on the grass next to her. "How come?"

"...I think my father's ashes are in this plant." She pointed at an urn with a tree stemming from it. "Jayden told me it was here."

"Oh," Kevin felt sorry. "Do you miss your father."

"No." Lauren deadpanned.

"Oh um... how come you're upset?"

"... I couldn't do a thing while everyone was getting hurt." Lauren twirled her pointer finger around a blade of grass. "Even with all of my strength, it all feels useless."

Kevin looked at the urn that he had never noticed before. "It's hard."

Lauren opened the granola bar a took a tiny bite. It didn't taste like she expected it too, it was sweeter.

"But theses decisions are out of our reach. They're for the sake of the world. Plus, you don't have to worry about us too much. We all know what we signed up for. We can handle some danger." Kevin tried to comfort her.

Lauren understood what he meant, but she couldn't shake how she felt. She remembered clearly how helpless she felt in that situation, how much she could've prevented.

As Lauren remained silent, Kevin patted her back before leaving. He hoped that he could get closer to her little by little.