Kirameki Sentai Kisekiranger (Sparkling Sentai Miracleranger)

Chapter 9: Stolen Smiles

Thankfully for the Kisekirangers, no other Ghoulish threatened the town for a few days. They finally had a bit of time to relax. Well, somewhat relax. Since they had time, Spirit had made them train a lot. They were all hating it, but had to admit they were getting better. Spirit seemed proud of their improvement.

It was still hard to get used to working with a Ghoulish. Spirit had been very kind to them and hadn't shown signs of anything ill. But, they all knew that Spirit was hiding a lot about their past and it made them uneasy. Not to mention that they still had yet to know what Spirit's special ability was. Every Ghoulish they fought had some sort of special thing they could do so it made sense that Spirit had to have something like that as well. Unfortunately, they dodged the question when it was asked.

Spirit was also seeming to struggle to figure out how to handle this situation as well. They had stepped up to help, but it did seem more so as a thing they were doing so they could do less work. As it stood still, the Kisekirangers were really bad at fighting. Spirit was the only one who stood much of a chance against their enemies. Hopefully these training sessions would pay off soon.

It was another day. Spirit had decided to get up early and go out on their own. They were used to being alone for a majority of the day. Even in the camp with the other Ghoulish, most barely bothered each other unless they had something important to say. Spirit was not enjoying how much they had to interact with people so suddenly. If they could have eased into it a bit more it wouldn't have been so bad.

They were walking deep into the woods. No one was going to bother them here. Unless a Ghoulish decided they wanted to be around here but even most of them avoided this area. It wasn't like there was much use out of being away from the town like this. If they wanted to take over the world, they needed to be near where the people were in order to do so.

Spirit came to a river. They stopped by it and sat down. The sound of the rushing water was calming. They pulled back their cloak slightly so they could place their hand into the water. The water was cold as it ran over their hand. Small wisps of shadows were pulled along with the current. It was very nice and peaceful.

Spirit had no idea how long they had sat there for. The trees were dense and it was hard to see the sky in this area. They had no reference for what time of day it was now. There was nothing they had planned to do with the kids for the day, so they assumed it was fine to go off for a while. They needed their personal time.

Their peace was interrupted as a call came through on their glove. They had managed to teach the kids how to use the glove to its full function. Being able to communicate with them was one thing it also could do.

"Spirit! There's another Ghoulish in town! Where are you?!"

Spirit couldn't make out who it was that was talking. It sounded like they were in a fight.

"I'll be there soon." Spirit simply responded.

They got up and sighed. Looks like the peace was over. Someone else had decided to try their luck in getting some footing in this town. Spirit wondered who it would be this time. There were still so many that had said they wanted to terrorize the town that had yet to act. There was no telling who was doing it until they got to the scene.

...

Spirit arrived to a not so pleasant scene at hand. The five Kisekirangers were all sprawled out on the ground, wounds visible all over their bodies. They were all struggling to stand. None seemed able to in their conditions.

"Mix." Spirit growled in displeasure as they noticed which Ghoulish was present at the scene.

"Ah, Spirit. How kind of you to join us." Mix chuckled. "Unfortunately, I have what I came for. You all know what to do if you want these back."