The next week was rather hectic for The Rangers, as they were still expected to carry their usual workload despite being down to four. Frosty was doing as well as she could with sudden leadership, but when officers would ask 'Where's Phoenix?', it would get awkward. All the other girls tried their best to support her, though to UC, Kai was being a bit immature and sometimes made things more difficult. While Masuyo had occasionally spoken to Thea, there still seemed to be some tension. Lailah had officially given her student council position to Nephele, who was spending almost every afternoon with Prez and the rest of the student council members preparing for the upcoming school dance. The dance that was two weeks away, was 'The Dance of the Blade Queen'. It was a traditional event that happened yearly right before the start of the first test season. It celebrates a nameless warrior who, almost a century ago, saved the city and took down a hundred foreign invaders in one night without magic, using only a single broken blade. Most students called the dance 'the last night of fun, before death by testing.' So, it was a pretty big event.
Near the end of the week, the four girls met with their PR representative, Clarie. She was paid by the council to help the Magical Ranger Girls with their public image, merchandising, social meetings and social media. She was a taller woman in her late 20's or early 30's with curly pink hair, too much makeup, and wore a vibrant purple sequenced dress. She was also one of the few people who knew their secret identities, because a few years ago, the girls told her so she could help them with their social status at school. They had met in one of the conference rooms at the Heroes Tower. Thea and Nephele were absent.
"Geez girls!" She said tapping her acrylic nails on the table impatiently. "I take a month off, and you guys almost get killed in a bank robbery, blow up a building, and get two of you suspended?!"
"That's not what happened!" Hooves stood up, offended.
"I know, I know." Clarice waved her hand at her. "But that's what it looks like on paper. You girls are usually so well behaved. What happened?"
"It wasn't our fault." Kai pouted. "Shit just happened."
"Hey! Don't curse when you're in your costumes! It can be bad optics if you're heard like that." Clarie chastised her. "Either way, you all need to keep your noses clean. Nix and Gus may be the ones suspended, but your whole team now has the council's attention, and for you guys, that's not a good thing."
"What do you want us to do?" Frosty asked "We're holding the workload of six people with just four!"
"Hey, Frosty, you're the leader for now. You need to think on your feet if you want to continue to have that roll. You guys will not be called into any problem too big for you. You may not notice it, but these calls you've been sent to this week were acceptable for a seasoned team of four."
"So, you're just saying we're not trying hard enough?" Hooves looked a bit in disbelief. "Do you hear yourself?"
"Do you? You're sounding like crying children, because something bad happened to you. You're heroes. Act like it."
This meeting was about as helpful as ever. She was great at her job, but absolutely terrible at being sympathetic to any hero issues the girls had. After thirty minutes of hearing how to recover their image with the council, the meeting ended. As the girls were getting to leave, Clarie called UC over.
"So, UC, that boy we talked about a while ago. He's now your stepbrother?" Claire flatly asked as she sat in her swivel chair, looking annoyed.
"Yeah. How did you find out?" UC was a bit surprised.
"I have a cousin who goes to your school and said something about it?"
"She doesn't know about us, does she?!"
"Of course not. I'm not some rookie. Nix happens to hold a rather important roll in your school, and my cousin told me, unprovoked. But evidently that happened several months ago. So why didn't you tell me? I told you a while ago, that if you wanted to keep your high social status at school, you needed to distance yourself from that loser. If you're his sister now, we need to do damage control."
"It's fine!" UC said, a bit irritated. Then calming down, added. "We barely speak anymore anyway."
"Do you still like him? I told you before, that if you wanted to date him, you just had to keep it out of the public eye, but you're related now. I can only advise you to drop it."
"I KNOW! Geez! I… look, with work how it is right now, I wouldn't have time a-anyway…" She stuttered off.
"That's not an answer." She gave a serious look over to UC. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you're going to drop it."
A silence hung in the air.
A week later, Gus' suspension was over, and she returned to The Rangers under probationary service. That morning Masuyo was planning on preparing a big lunch in celebration of her return and forced herself to get up early to prepare. The sun hadn't even fully risen yet. As she went downstairs, still in her pajamas, she saw Daniel in a track suit, tying his shoes at the front door.
"You're up early, Masuyo." He said, with a kind smile.
"I could say the same thing about you." She groaned back.
"This is my normal leave time." He responded a bit confused. "I train before school every day."
She was a bit perplexed. She'd never really seen him almost any morning, but she was kind of a late riser. So, she always assumed he'd barely left before she'd gotten up, not hours before. But wait...?
"If you train so much, how are you still so weak?" She was still groggy from waking up and said it before thinking, then covered her mouth.
Finishing putting on his shoes, he stood up and looked at the floor, then at her, with a slightly hurt smile.
"I guess the real question would be; If I didn't train, how much weaker would I be?"
"I…I'm really sorry, Daniel. I didn't..." Masuyo responded looking away from his smile. "That was super rude of me."
"It's fine." He assured her. "It's definitely not the worst thing people have said to me." She looked back and caught him looking at her chest, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
"Geez," she teased, "talk about rude. My eyes are up here." She covered her chest, jokingly.
"S-sorry." He stuttered out, snapping his eyes up. "Swear I was actually looking at your necklace. It's really unique. Where did you get it?"
She looked down at her Alexandrite necklace dangling above her chest. She couldn't exactly tell him about the old woman giving her and her friends superpowers. Thankfully, the girls had decided on a story in case of these questions from friend or family.
"Thea." She said, his eyes meeting hers. "She gave it to me as a gift, years ago."
"Thea?" Their eyes stayed locked for a minute. He then turned and grabbed his bag. "Funny, she said you got her the pin she used to wear. Either way, I've got to get going." He started towards the door, then stopped, and turned back to her. "Hey, if you ever need to talk, I'm here."
"Thanks?" She was a bit confused on a few levels. 'Used to wear'? She thought.
"You've just seemed tired over the last few weeks. Have you been helping Thea with the dance?"
"Dance?" She'd completely forgotten about it because she'd been so busy. Wait! He's been watching me enough to notice I'm more tired than usual?
"Spaced it, huh? Well, I assume you don't have a date either then?"
"Date?" She was now the one spacing out, but for a completely different reason. 'either'? Does that mean he doesn't either? She thought to herself. I guess that's not a surprise given his status at school, but…
"I'll see you after school, Masuyo." He left, and she stood in the entry way for a few minutes, playing various situations in her head. Each one was more unlikely than the last, but each was more and more desirable to her.
+++
The sun had barely touched the morning sky as Thea made her way to the school. This last week before the dance was going to be brutal. Most of the counsel had been shirking their responsibilities so it was all falling on her to keep everything together. Luckily, Nephele and a few of the more responsible members were trying to help with the workload, but at best she could give them half of the remaining work, and she'd be stuck with the rest.
Good thing I have all this free time now. She bitterly thought to herself.
In her self-loathing Thea almost missed the female underclassman standing near the school gates. She noticed just in time to not run her over and stopped, inches away. She was a little shorter than Thea and had long red hair not too dissimilar from her own, curled into loose curls. Her eyes were a rather vibrant green and they gave off a slightly strange softness. She was just as shocked as Thea at their near collision.
"OH!" Her soft voice squeaked.
"Whoah!" Thea let out a surprised yelp.
"I'm sorry." The girl apologized. Bowing slightly.
"What are you doing here so early?" Thea asked a bit flustered. "The school doesn't open up for a bit."
"A-actually, I'm here to t-talk to you, Miss President." She stuttered out, panicking a bit.
"Me?"
"Y-yeah."
"Please tell me this isn't some last-minute requisition for the dance. The counsel is no longer accepting them." She tried to be nice about it, but the deadline had passed days ago, and people kept trying to turn them in.
"N-no. It has n-nothing to do with that. Well… it may, or may not, but that something different, but…" The girl rambled a bit.
"I'm sorry, but I am in a hurry." Thea brought her back to earth.
"Oh! Sorry! Umm… I just… You know Daniel Clifton and I was wondering if you two… you know."
"Wait. What?"
"Are…are you and Daniel dating?"
"How…? Why would you think we're dating?" Thea came off a bit more defensive than she meant to.
"Huh?" The girl tilted her head slightly. "Well, I see you two training in the morning around my home most day. And when you're both out there, you two look really close, kind of like a couple."
Crap!
Clarie had brought up to the group that Daniel was going to destroy their social standing in school, if the girls still hung around him. Despite a few objections, the group ultimately decided it was for the best. So, since starting high school, they kept their distance. Daniel was surprisingly understanding when they brought up the plan and even supported the idea. He even made a new friend at her request. However, halfway through their freshman year, Thea saw Daniel getting beaten up at school, and stepped in. Daniel actually reprimanded her for that, as it could have hurt her image. Thea gave Daniel a compromise, if he would work out and train to grow stronger, she'd stay out of his business at school. He agreed, and soon after, they were meeting every day before dawn. They'd train for a while, then she'd head to school. He insisted that they work out a decent distance from school so no one would see them, but evidently, they had grown careless.
"I think you're confused." Thea responded. "I knew Daniel in middle school, but we don't-"
"I know you avoid him at school, but I know it was the two of you. I saw you guys a while ago, and on plenty of occasions. I just didn't have the confidence to talk to you about it."
Thea's expression got serious.
"Are you trying to blackmail me?"
"What?! No!" The girl squeaked.
"Then what do you want?"
"I really just wanted to know if you two were dating."
"Why do you want to know that?" Thea's expression shifted to distrust.
"Well, with the dance coming up, I wanted to ask him out, but… if you're already dating…. Well, I like him but am afraid to ask. Especially of he's already with someone, or if someone is already interested in him."
Thea looked at the girl. She was really cute, her expression earnest as she tried to explain her thought process. The girl didn't seem much younger but had an air of innocence that Thea was lacking. Thea did like Daniel. He'd been her closet friend outside Masuyo. As far as a 'dating' however, she confessed a few months ago, he told her he couldn't completely return her feelings yet, so they weren't dating. Though, he was now completely aware of her feeling.
"Oh, that's all?" Thea answered nonchalantly, having taken stock of the situation. "No, I'm not dating Daniel."
"Why do you train with him, then?" The girl seemed to not fully accept what she said.
"Huh? Ah, he's just the weakest in our grade, so as the student counsel president it's my responsibility to help him improve. Looks bad for the school otherwise." She confidently lied.
"So, it's just for the school? And you don't have any romantic feelings for him?"
"Ha!" Thea scoffed. "Come on. He's a smart guy, but he's so weak. I could never fall for a loser like that. He's just lucky to have someone as skilled as me to mentor him."
After the words escaped her mouth, a sudden strike of guilt hit her. Looking into the hurt face of the girl only made it worse.
"I don't mean to be disrespectful, Miss President, but you shouldn't badmouth one of the school's students like that. Daniel isn't the strongest, but he's clearly the nicest. If you don't see that, maybe you should look at what you see as a 'good person'! Because…" She clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry!"
The girl ran off without another word. Thea pulled out her phone, thinking about texting Daniel about what had just happened, but put her phone away soon after. Giving a rough sigh, she made her way into the building to start her counsel work.
If that idiot is ever going to do it, she needs to do it soon.And if I don't tell her to, I don't think she'll ever forgive me.
+++
The girls met for lunch in Masuyo's classroom and were all quietly celebrating Nephele's return to the team. Unfortunately, the joyous occasion was overshadowed by a major problem.
"The dance is a week away. Are you telling me you ALL forgot?!"
Prez was on the girls for forgetting. Between schoolwork and their shorthanded crimefighting, they'd been extremely busy. Though bringing up the second part probably wouldn't end well.
"Alessia, you were complaining weeks ago about not having a date. Have you done nothing about that since then?"
"Sorry Prez." Alessia apologized.
"Nephele and I have been working our asses off making this amazing for each of you. Are you telling me none of you made any plans to go?"
"I'm going." Nephele muttered. "I even got a date."
Everyone at the table stopped and stared at Nephele.
"W-well a boy asked me, and I said 'yes'."
Alessia grabbed her friend by the collar, "Who is it?! Is he cute?! If he is, does he have an identical twin?!"
Peeling Alessia off, Nephele calmly answered. "He's Quil Forsole. I think he's cute, but he's also super nice. I don't think he has siblings, but if you really want, I can ask if he has any friends."
"Make sure they have low standards, if you do." Eda teased.
"Forsole?" Thea thought on the name. "He's the president of the Art Club, isn't he?"
"Yes! That's how we met. I was asking for his club's assistance for the dance, and he asked me out."
"How cute. I've seen him a few times. He seems quite nice."
"I thought so too." Nephele smiled widely.
"Now I'm fired up to totally find a date!" Alessia enthusiastically declared, slamming her fist down on the desk. "Oh! And I know just who to ask!" She stood up from her seat and looked around the room, like a lion searching the plains. "Him."
The other girls followed her gaze and saw Daniel sitting at his desk, eating his lunch. Alessia took a single step towards him and was immediately dragged out of the room by her friends. They made their way to one of the empty classrooms where they released her. Alessia then stood up, dusting herself off.
"What was THAT?! He's nice. He's cute… enough. I know he's single. Why can't I ask him out? You guys didn't stop me when I did it in middle school."
Eda looked at Thea, while Nephele and Lailah looked at Masuyo. Both Thea and Masuyo were wearing stern looks, aimed at Alessia.
"That was a long time ago. He's off limits." Eda finally said. "Remember Clare's advice on popularity? We don't interact with him. And even out of school you shouldn't be trying anything. What if something awkward happened again, then going to Masuyo's house would be difficult."
"Come on. I don't believe that bull crap at all! We're as freaking popular as is! Even if we had him hang with us, I swear it would only improve his life and not do anything at all to our popularity! And nothing awkward would happen. He's a mature adult like us, and it's not like I'm related to him or anything." She pushed back.
"Oh yeah?" Lailah said. "What if one of us tried to date your brother?"
"He's a total ass, and I'd never wish that on any of you!" She announced. "But if that's what you really wanted, and I could have one of you as a sister?! I'm game for that. The only reason he even became 'off limits' is because Prez and Yo-Yo love him, and you," she pointed at the others, "decided you'd rather be popular than a good friend to someone who used to be there for us. So, since you are all so conceded, and you two won't get over yourselves, I'm somehow not allowed to try?!" She glared harshly at Masuyo, "He's your brother now. 'Step' or whatever, you're related now. You need to let it go, get out of the way, and let someone else…"
'SLAP'
She was suddenly silenced by a hard slap to her face, but not by Masuyo. The whole group looked over, dumbstruck, at Thea, as she lowered her hand.
"DON'T talk about this like you understand ANYTHING!" Thea boomed in a deep threatening voice.
Alessia held her face, huffed, then ran from the room. Lailah, Eda, and Nephele followed. Masuyo began to follow as well, but Thea grabbed her arm. After the others had made their way to the hallway, she let go and they looked at each other.
"You should tell him." Thea finally said. "I hoped you'd gotten over him, but that isn't the case, is it? I'm sure Clare warned you, but I doubt you care. It isn't fair for you to live like that without being honest."
"What about you?" Masuyo coldly shot back. "Does he know your feelings? Don't you dare lecture me on something you're just as scared to do yourself."
"You're wrong." She responded as if she was recalling something, "I've told him."
"W-what?" Masuyo took a step back.
"A while back I did. I confessed to him near the end of school last year. It was after your parents got married. I figured you didn't have a horse in the race anymore, so I took a chance."
"So," Masuyo looked away, "are you two secretly dating then?"
"I wouldn't say you should confess to him if we were."
"So, he rejected you, then?"
"Not exactly." She responded, a lit too calmly.
"What?"
"Look, you should talk to him if you want to know the details." She turned away, to leave the room, then stopped at the door. "Know this though; I love him. I won't let you, or anyone else take him from me. So, you better fight back with everything you have if you want him."
+++
After class, Daniel began to pack up his schoolwork. As he started to leave the class, he noticed Masuyo and Thea intentionally ignoring each other as they left.
I guess they're fighting about something. How odd. What could cause that?
The tension had been thick since lunch ended, and as he headed to the back of the school, he thought on recent events. Thea has been dealing with something work-related over the last few weeks. He trained with her almost everyday since he went to her house and found her drunk. However, she hasn't said a word about it, so he decided to not talk about it until Thea was ready. His phone suddenly buzzed. [Can I meet with you at my place, today] Thea messaged him. Was she reading my mind? As he went to respond, a message from Masuyo came in.
[I need to talk to you. It's about something important.]
Maybe this is about whatever is bothering them? I really hated the idea of being whatever cause their friction.
[I have something to take care of right now, but I'll stop by your place right after] He responded to Thea.
He told Masuyo, [I'll be home a bit later, but when I am, we can certainly talk.]