Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sayo loved the smell of coffee brewing in the morning. Being a doctor and surgeon, coffee was how she made it through the long days at the hospital and the operating room. Shiguru was less keen on the smell but relied on the brew just as much as his wife in order to make it through the long days on set.

Shohei walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes, and immediately wrinkled his nose at the smell permeating the room.

“Good morning, Sho-kun! Would you like some breakfast?”

“No thanks, Kaa-san. What is that horrible smell?”

“It’s coffee, Sho-kun. Your father doesn’t really like the smell either, but he tolerates it enough to drink it.”

“Sena-obasan drinks it and Sa-chan and Haya-kun say they can’t stand it either. Tame-ojisan says he prefers energy drinks to coffee since he can’t really stand the smell either, but he won’t let Sa-chan and Haya-kun drink coffee or energy drinks.”

“The three of you are way too young to be drinking coffee or energy drinks, Sho-kun, so it’s a good thing none of you can stand the smell of it. When all of you are our age, you can drink whatever you want, but until then, it’s juice or water for you.”

“Well, if coffee always smells that bad, I don’t want to drink any! Ever!”

Chapter Text

Hayate sat on the living room couch with his Nintendo Switch in hand. He was getting frustrated at his game because no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to get past this current boss. He felt as though he was about two steps away from throwing his Switch through the window.

“Haya-nii, what’s up? Is something wrong?”

“This game! This game is stupid!”

“Why is the game stupid?”

“The developers made it almost impossible to beat!”

“I’m sure they didn’t, Haya-nii. Why don’t you ask Tou-san to help you or beat it for you.”

“No! I want to do it myself!”

“What game are you even playing anyway?”

“Pokémon,” he muttered.

“What was that, Haya-nii? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Pokémon,” he said a little louder.

“Maybe you need to take a break from gaming for a bit or play another game. You could always pick up a book, broaden your horizons a little.”

“I don’t want to read and broaden my horizons! I want to beat this stupid game!”

“Well, it’s obvious you’re doing something wrong then because if you keep getting stuck on that one part of the game and getting frustrated, you’re not doing yourself any good.”

“Maybe if they didn’t make these gym leaders so nigh unbeatable, I wouldn’t have a problem!” Satomi sighed and walked away, heading to her room.

Hayate’s shouting eventually drew the attention of his parents.

“Haya-kun, why are you shouting?”

“I’m playing this stupid game it’s so hard that I just want to throw it out the window!”

“Mind if I take a look at it?”

Hayate handed his console over to his father and sunk into the couch, pouting. After looking at the situation on-screen, Tametomo immediately noticed the problem.

“You’ve been trying to beat the gym leader with your Pokémon at that level? Didn’t I teach you that you have to level grind to beat opponents stronger than you?”

“I have been level grinding, Tou-san! First, I was losing against the gym trainers, then I finally got past them and now I keep losing to the boss! I thought I’d finally leveled up enough, but, obviously, I guess not.”

“Why don’t you go read a book or watch something on TV, broaden your horizons beyond games? Games won’t help you in school, but lots of knowledge will. Practice your writing or your math or something.”

“School is boring! I want to play my game, like you!”

“School is boring, but important. You need to learn more things than just games, Hayate. Broadening your horizons by learning new things will help you get into a good school and help you get a good job.”

“Fine,” Hayate grumbled.

Hayate went off to his room to work on some of his homework he’d been trying to put off for as long as possible. After his father had introduced him to video games, he’d decided that he wanted to become a gamer. However, his parents had stressed the importance of a good education and he could consider becoming a gamer after graduation. He didn’t want to wait that long!

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Tametomo was having the time of his life with the game console in his hands. His forte was first-person shooters on the computer, and while he wasn’t a genius gamer, he wasn’t a complete idiot when it came to the Pokémon games.

“Alright! That’s one boss down and a few more to go!”

“Tame-kun, don’t beat your son’s game for him. I’m sure Haya-kun will want to do it himself.”

“Sena, I’m just training his Pokémon a little! They’re so weak, including his starter. Like, how did he get past the first gym leader with a team this weak?”

“I did train them a little , Tou-san!” Hayate walked back into the living room, math workbook in hand. “I finished math and was wondering if someone could check it to make sure I did my problems right.”

Tametomo continued playing his son’s game while Sena rolled her eyes at her husband. She turned to her son with a big smile. “I’ll check them, Haya-kun!”

“Thank you, Kaa-san.” Hayate handed his mother his math workbook and watched as she opened it to the page he specified. She looked over her son’s work carefully and smiled brighter when she noticed that everything was right.

“Yay! You did so good, Haya-kun! Don’t you feel smarter already?”

“N-not really…I-I mean, I feel kinda the same, I guess?”

“You got all of your problems right, Haya-kun, so whether or not you feel smarter or not, you are!”

Hayate looked over at his father, who looked like he was having way too much fun.

“Now that I’m done with my homework, do you think Tou-san would let me have my game back?”

“Tame-kun, let your son have his game back! You’ve been playing for hours!”

“Hey! It’s only been like a half hour, Sena!”

“Haya-kun wants his game back and I want my husband back.”

“Um, I’m just going to go play in my room. Yeah.”

Tametomo grumbled and gave Hayate his Switch back, the boy immediately bounding off to his room afterwards.

“So, now that the kids are in their rooms, what do you say we try to broaden our horizons a little, huh, Sena?”

Sena bonked her husband on the head. “Nice try, Tame-kun, but we’re not trying for baby number three.”

Chapter Text

Sena exited her apartment for her morning run and noticed how foggy it was. It wasn’t split pea soup-thick, but it was thick enough to make her question whether or not she really wanted to be outside at that moment. She had half a mind to just go back inside her apartment and forgo running, just for one day, but being the woman she was, Sena decided to press on.

After some stretches, Sena set off, her ponytail swishing behind her as she ran. For the most part, she could still see in front of her, but she began to wonder if this was normal weather or something more sinister. She quickly dismissed the latter thought, knowing that Yodonheim had been defeated, so the likelihood of the weather conditions being caused by Yodonheim were slim to none. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder, at least, just a little.

Chapter Text

“You’re telling me you had no idea what a jukebox was? Juru no baka!”

Juru scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “I’ve never seen one before, Kakihara-chan. I’m sorry.” Juru then did a double-take. “Wait! How did you know what a jukebox was?”

“I have an older brother, Shosuke, remember?”

“Yes, I remember Shosuke, but I had no idea that he even knew what a jukebox was either.”

“He might not be that old, but he’s old enough to know what a jukebox is, baka!” Mizuki began chasing Juru around the room, Juru frantically running for his life from his girlfriend.

Chapter Text

There’d been reports of suspicious activity at the lighthouse and Captain Hakataminami tasked his detectives with the investigation. Detective Imizu and his partner, Detective Hayami, were the first ones on the scene.

“Shiguru said he’d be joining us shortly and Sayo-nee asked us to call her if we find a body. For now, let’s go inside and inspect the lighthouse, see if we see anything worth collecting and taking back to headquarters with us.”

Tametomo and Sena had only been partners for a short while, but both of them had a strong drive to succeed. Tametomo was the senior detective while Sena was the junior. At first, they bickered like no one’s business, but they quickly developed a good working relationship and built a strong trust between each other. Sayo had taken to teasing them about their bond, wondering when they were finally going to figure out there was more than just a partnership between them. Both of them denied there was anything beyond friendship, of course, but anyone who had two working eyes could see the opposite was true.

The two walked into the lighthouse, guns out, sweeping the area to make sure the coast was clear.

“Clear!”

Sena began the long walk up the stairs to make sure everything was clear upstairs but soon encountered trouble.

“Tame-kun!”

Tametomo tensed at the sound of his partner’s frantic voice.

“Sena! Hold on, Sena, I’m coming!”

Tametomo ran up the metal stairs. “Sena, get down!” He pointed his gun at the person standing on the stairs. “Follow the sound of my voice and walk to me. Now.”

The suspect wasn’t listening. He pulled out a knife from a holster hidden on his person and held it to Sena’s throat, causing her to squeak in fear.

“Sena, just stay calm and trust me.” Tametomo looked at his suspect. “Put the knife down and walk towards me. We can talk after you stop holding a knife to my partner’s throat.”

“We both know that I’m not leaving this lighthouse alive, so just get it over with!”

“Why did you come here?”

“Why would I tell you that?”

“You obviously came here with a reason in mind, which is either a person or money.”

“We have some money hidden here and I was sent to retrieve it for my boss.”

“Who do you work for?”

“Nice try. Like I’d tell you that. Now, I suggest putting your gun down before I “accidentally” knick your beautiful partner’s throat. It really is a shame to have someone so beautiful work so closely with you day after day, only to suddenly lose her.” He stroked Sena’s cheek softly with his fingers, causing her eyes to swivel towards him, locked in a death glare.

“Feisty too.” He smiled. “I like this one. I may just keep her.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but you can’t have my partner. There’s only one Sena and I won’t let you have her!” Tametomo leveled his gun at his suspect again, making sure he had a clear shot. “Put the knife down and we all leave here alive. If you hurt Sena, I have no choice but to take you out.”

The suspect smirked. “As I said before, just get it over with.”

Tametomo knew if he took the shot, the knife would most likely knick Sena’s throat as the wielder went down, but if he didn’t take the shot, the suspect would most likely knick Sena’s throat anyway. He felt like he was in an impossible situation.

“Sena, I’m sorry I got you into this mess. If I’d just taken the shot before, you wouldn’t be in this situation.” 

Tametomo lowered his gun and noticed his suspect was loosening his grip on his knife. He saw the opportunity and took it, shooting out one kneecap before sending another bullet into the other man’s shoulder. The knife clattered on the step before falling through the crack and the man howled in pain, letting go of Sena. She ran down to her partner and hugged him with all the strength she could muster.

“Whoa, hey, Sena. It’s okay now. You’re safe.”

“I know that Tame-kun, but it was still so scary!”

He patted her head gently. “I know it was, but at least it’s over now. Let’s find the money, get our guy into custody, and get back to the station. The paperwork is going to suck, but it’s a necessary evil, especially since I shot our guy twice.”

Neither one noticed the suspect hobbling down towards his fallen weapon. He was in a lot of pain but was determined to reclaim his knife and finish what he started.

“You should’ve killed me when you shot me!” He cackled, clearly more insane than either Tametomo or Sena gave him credit for.

Sena turned and noticed he was going for the fallen knife. “Tame-kun!”

Before Tametomo or Sena had a chance to take a shot at their suspect, someone else did, the echo of a gunshot filling the small room. The suspect lay bleeding in a pool of his own blood, dead. Tametomo and Sena turned to the doorway and noticed Shiguru standing there, his gun barrel smoking.

“Shiguru-san!”

“Thank you, Shiguru-san.”

“Let’s call Sayo-nee and ask her to come to get the body.”

Shiguru walked over to Tametomo and whispered in the younger man’s ear, “Take Sena home. Don’t worry about the scene and the paperwork. I’ll take care of everything. She seems like she could use some rest.”

“Thank you, Shiguru-san, but I still have to give my statement on the shooting and collect the missing money.”

“I’ll tell Captain. Knowing him, he won’t make you give your statement until you’re ready. I’ll look for the money and wait for Sayo to get here. You just take care of Sena.”

“What is with everyone trying to push Sena and me together? We’re just partners and that’s it!”

“Tame-kun, could you please take me home now?” That sounded different from her normal tone.

“Um, sure, yeah.”

The two left, leaving Shiguru to begin processing the scene and to wait for Sayo to arrive. The ride to Sena’s was quiet. Too quiet.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you even need to ask? If you don’t already know, then I’m not telling you!”

“I don’t know if you don’t tell me!”

Sena huffed, clearly not willing to come off her earlier statement.

“Sena, come on! Talk to me! We’re partners, aren’t we? If you can’t talk to me, who can you talk to?”

“Yeah, we’re partners and that’s it, Tame-kun.”

“Wait, is that what this is about?”

“I don’t know. Is it?”

Tametomo scowled, clearly tired of the entire conversation. “Look, I’m just tired of everyone trying to push us together. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to and I don’t want to see you angry. Would you rather we change the subject?”

“No, we need to talk about this. We’re both angry and we shouldn’t leave each other feeling angry.”

The two arrived back at Sena’s place and quickly made their way inside the modest apartment.

“What do you want me to do so you’re not angry anymore?”

“I want you to realize that maybe we aren’t just partners anymore. I’m sure you’ve noticed that things have changed between us. I mean, everyone else has and everyone’s trying to do something about it except us. We should be the only ones doing something about us.”

“Is there an us?”

“I’d like there to be an us, but only if you want the same thing. There’s no sense in there being an us if only one of us is in it.”

He stepped closer to her and stroked her cheek gently. “I’m sorry that creep had a chance to touch you like that. I should’ve taken him out right then, but I couldn’t risk him slicing your throat.”

“You did exactly what we learned in the academy. If you had shot him while he still had the blade against my throat, it’s likely he would’ve sliced it as he fell. It was a good shoot, Tame-kun.”

“I still have to give my statement and hand over my gun, but Shiguru said that Captain would likely wait until I was ready. I can take care of everything tomorrow when we head into the station.”

“We?”

Tametomo looked at Sena with a smoldering look in his eyes. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight after what happened with that creep, you have another thing coming. I’m not going to let any more creeps even get near you, let alone touch you again. We agreed there was going to be an us, so let me protect you.”

“Tame-kun, I’m a trained detective. I can protect myself, but thank you for the overprotectiveness.”

He smiled and leaned down, sealing their new relationship with a soft press of his lips against hers. She leaned up on her toes and kissed him back. Once Shiguru and the others found out about their new relationship, they’d have a field day.

Chapter Text

It was the team’s first gathering since they’d all gone their separate ways after the defeat of Yodonheim. Muryo had suggested having a cookout and bonfire party, which everyone had agreed to. Fire and the others arrived back from Crystalia, excited about the prospect of spending much of the night with their partners again. Juru had invited Mizuki as well, who was hesitant about going at first but eventually agreed to the invitation. The majority of the day was spent making preparations.

“Shoveljii, can you dig a hole for us?”

“Just tell me where. Here I go!”

The Kiramagers and their Mashin partners were in an open field.

“Shoveljii, right there in the middle.” Tametomo pointed to the middle of the field to give Shovellow a better idea of where to dig.

Using his Shovellow Boom, Shovellow dug out a large-sized hole in a relatively short time. The hole was filled with dry kindling, logs, and other materials. Cinderblocks were placed around the hole to help keep the fire somewhat contained. Plastic tables and chairs were set up a fair distance from the fire pit as was a portable grill for the cookout. Once everything was set up, everyone made plans to meet back there later that evening.

The Mashin transformed into their stone forms and shrunk down to fit into their respective partner’s hands.

With Mizuki, Juru, and Fire

“While we wait for the party, we want to spend the day with you guys!”

“U-um, well, Kakihara-chan and I were kinda going to go on a date, Fire.” He looked at Mizuki nervously, trying to gauge her reaction. “B-but, you’re more than welcome to come with us!”

“Are you sure your girlfriend wouldn’t mind, Juru?”

“Of course I mind!” She glared at Fire. “But, you’re his trusted partner and I accept that. You’re the reason the world was saved from the invasion. You can come with us, but only like that and as long as you stay quiet. There’s no need to let anyone else know about you.”

“I agree to your terms.” The two humans and the sentient gem walked off to parts unknown.

In another part of the field, Sena, Tametomo, Sayo, and Shiguru were talking to their respective partners.

With Sena, Tametomo, Shovellow, and Mach

“I have a tournament to get to. Sena, are you coming?”

“Okay!”

“Can I come too, Tametomo?”

“Shoveljii, I need to concentrate. This is a big tournament and Spark of Bullet can’t afford to lose.”

“You’re the number one e-sports player. There’s no way you’ll lose!”

Tametomo scowled at his partner’s confidence in him. “Fine, you can come, but you’ll need to hang out with Sena and be quiet during the tournament.”

“We can both sit on Sena-oujosama’s heavenly thighs!"

Sena glared at Mach. "Mach, that's enough."

"I'm sorry, Ojou-sama."

Sena accepted his apology, though she remained frustrated that Mach still hadn't mellowed out about her and her beauty. The boys just stood there and listened awkwardly.

"Ahem, so my gaming tournament?"

"Right! Let's go!" Tametomo led the way to the e-sports arena, Shovellow and Mach in tow.

With Sayo, Shiguru, Helico, and Jetter

"I should get back to the hospital. I don't have any more patients for the day, but I have a lot of paperwork to complete and I'd like to finish before the party."

"Would you care if I walked you there? I'm free until the party starts."

Sayo smiled. "That sounds lovely, Shiguru-san. Thank you."

"Ah," Helico squealed, "young love! It makes my rotors beat with dokidoki happiness!"

"Wait! Aniki's in love with Sayo-san?"

Shiguru cleared his throat awkwardly, having been listening to every word. "W-well, I mean...you know...i-it's, well, i-it's..."

Sayo waited expectantly, just as she had when she thought Yujin was going to confess his love to her. "Yes, Shiguru-san?" She was clearly wanting him to just spit it out rather than have a repeat of the Yujin incident. Suddenly, Jetter and Helico were floating in the air near them and Shiguru's hands were on her cheeks.

"S-Shiguru-san?!"

"How is it that I can read the words on a script so perfectly, but when it comes to you, my words completely fail me?"

"W-well, Shiguru-san," Sayo giggled a little, "the words on the script are just acting. When it comes to actually telling someone how you really feel about them, well, that's a little different."

"Come to the bonfire with me tonight?"

"Eh? But, I'm already going." Sayo tilted her head to the side.

"I meant, come with me a-as my date."

Sayo blushed. "O-oh, well then, yes, Shiguru-san. I'll come with you to tonight's bonfire party as your date. Let me finish my paperwork first and then I'll call you and you can pick me up at my place later."

"Y-yes! I mean, yes, sounds good. I'll be awaiting your call."

The two walked off towards the hospital.

Back with Mizuki, Juru, and Fire

"So, when are you going to tell me the real story of how you got those cuts I saw you with when I ran into you later? You didn't have them before you discovered you switched phones with your brother, but when I ran into you later, you had them."

"Juru, if I told you the real story, I think you'd get a little angry with me."

"Isn't that for me to decide after I've heard the story?"

Mizuki nodded a little. "Well, yes, I suppose so."

"Just begin wherever you're comfortable."

"After I realized that I had switched my phone with my brother's, I noticed a video. He's currently working on this big case, although I had no idea what it was about at first. I later learned he was investigating the Kuchinawa Gang and their dealings in harvesting organs for sale on the black market."

"Kakihara-san, Mizuki, please tell me you didn't..."

"I had to find my brother, so I searched the last known place I thought he might be, the maid cafe where the organ harvesting operation was being run out of. I didn't find him, but I found the Kuchinawa Gang. Again, they weren't too happy to see me."

"Again?! Mizuki, what were you thinking?! You got involved with a gang and an organ harvesting operation? For what?! Mizuki, why didn't you call me?"

"You don't have your changer. What could you have done, Juru? There's no way you could've taken these guys without your changer."

"I would've asked for it back in a heartbeat if it meant that I would be able to protect you."

"The Kiramagers don't attack civilians."

"Don't you understand, Mizuki?! It's a dangerous gang! They murder innocent people and harvest their organs! You should've called me."

"It wasn't like I was completely defenseless!"

"What do you mean?"

"Yodonna helped me beat all of them after they tried to attack us."

"Yodonna?!"

"You know her?"

"She was our enemy, or at least, one persona of him."

"What do you mean?"

"Yodonna was one persona of Emperor Yodon, our enemy that we defeated to save the world, Shadon being the other. I can't believe she'd help you out."

"Well, it was more like she possessed me rather than actually helping me."

Juru rubbed his temples, clearly trying to process everything his girlfriend had just told him. "Next time you encounter something like that, call me first before you do anything. I'll ask for my changer back and Fire and I will come to the rescue."

"Huh? Next time? You make it sound like I want to go through all that again. I don't! There isn't going to be a next time!"

Juru remembered something. "Wait! So, if Yodonna was helping you, how did you get hurt?"

"Hm? Oh, that? The Kuchinawa bodyguard slashed at Yodonna a few times with her knives and the wounds transferred to me."

That was it. Juru saw red.

"Hey, Juru? Juru?" Fire was trying to get his partner's attention, but Juru wasn't paying any mind to him. "Hey, Juru! Snap out of it! Your girlfriend is fine, so calm down."

"Fire, I can't calm down! They hurt Mizuki, the girl I love!"

Mizuki gasped. Juru loved her? He'd never said as much, but it wasn't exactly as if she'd said it either.

"I know, Juru. They hurt her, but you can't go up against a gang in retaliation for hurting your girlfriend! Even with your changer, do you know how stupid that would be?!"

"Yes, I know. I should just let the police handle it. Thank you, Fire."

"You're welcome, Juru. That's what I'm here for, sound advice and being your wingman!"

Juru laughed awkwardly because, inside, he was still seething over the fact the Kuchinawa Gang attacked and injured his girlfriend. He made a mental note to talk about this to the others at the bonfire later that night.

At the bonfire party

"Can I talk to you guys alone, please?"

"Of course, Juru-kun. What is it?"

"Oh, well, it's about Mizuki, er, Kakihara-chan."

"When did you get on a first-name basis with your girlfriend?"

"Well, um, earlier this afternoon, Tame-kun? When we were all hanging out with our partners?"

"So, Juru, what did you want to discuss with us?"

"Oh, right, Shiguru-san. Um, so, Mizuki's older brother, Shosuke, is a police detective and she said he was investigating a big case but disappeared in the middle of his investigation. Apparently, he was investigating a group called the Kuchinawa Gang, but I don't know all the details, only what Mizuki has told me. The Kuchinawa Gang is in deep with the organ harvesting trade and runs their operation out of a maid cafe. Mizuki decided upon herself to go undercover and find her missing brother and got caught by the Gang."

"Is Mizuki-chan okay?!"

"She's fine, Sena-san, so thank you for asking."

"What the hell?! Why would she do something so obviously stupid?!"

"I asked her that myself, Tame-kun. It was so she could find Shosuke-san."

"She could've been killed."

"I know that, Sayo-san. She was attacked by the Kuchinawa's bodyguard and several of their members. She should've told me about this! I would've demanded my changer back and gone with her!"

"And what would you have done, Juru?"

"I would've done anything for Mizuki, Shiguru-san! No, I would do anything for Mizuki!"

"So, Juru, what do you want to do?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Tame-kun?"

"Let me rephrase. What do you want to do about the Kuchinawa Gang?"

"I want to make sure they never hurt anyone ever again, but that's the police's job, not ours. The Kiramagers don't hurt civilians, no matter how horrible they might be, and they certainly don't kill them. If we go after the Kuchinawa Gang, we're no better than them."

"I agree that we're no better than them if we go after them to kill them out of revenge, but the point still remains that something needs to be done about these people and their horrible operation."

"Sayo-san, you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you? Are you really suggesting that we, as the Kiramagers, hunt down the Kuchinawa Gang and stop their operation once and for all ourselves?"

"Sayo-nee, is that even really possible?"

"I never said we'd kill them, but merely detain them for the police."

"Sayo, what you're suggesting is highly dangerous. We'd need a highly sophisticated plan and we'd need to execute it perfectly if we stood any chance at making it out alive."

"Leave all the planning to me." Tametomo smirked. The Kuchinawa Gang wouldn't know what hit them.

Chapter Text

Satomi and Hayate were sitting at the kitchen table, a book open between the two of them. While it wasn’t strange to see Satomi reading a book, it was rather strange for her brother.

“So, what do you think, Haya-nii?”

“I think we aren’t going to be able to make any of these dishes without help.”

“But I want to make it a surprise for Tou-san and Kaa-san!”

“Oh, it’ll be a surprise alright,” Hayate muttered.

“What’ll be a surprise?”

“Oh, well, we found this recipe book in the cupboard and we were thinking of making something, but after reading over some of the recipes, I think we’ll need help. I want to keep it a surprise from Tou-san and Kaa-san.”

The belated realization of who had actually asked the question slowly began to dawn on Hayate. “T-Tou-s-san?!”

“Yes, Hayate?”

“Waaaaaah, where did you come from?!”

Tametomo just smirked.

“So, what were you two doing out here, besides flipping through this recipe book?”

“Um, just flipping through this recipe book?”

“I know that! What were you going to do when you found a recipe?”

“Um, m-make it?”

“Do either of you know how to cook?”

“Well, no, not exactly…”

“So, you two were going to cook a recipe when neither of you knows how? That sure makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?”

“There’s no need to be sarcastic, Tou-san.”

“I just don’t want you two getting hurt due to your inexperience. What would you have done if one, or both, of you had burned or cut yourself and I hadn’t come in here?”

“Probably cry because of the pain.”

“Exactly. You’re my kids and I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. Okay?”

“Yes, Tou-san.”

“Good."

Chapter Text

“Oh, this is bad! This is very bad!”

“What is it, Carantula?”

“Someone has taken over Yodonheim!”

“How is that even possible?”

“I have no idea! They just came in, took over, and kicked me out! Gah! We need the Kiramagers again!”

“Carantula, calm down! Let me get in touch with Crystalia and explain the situation, then we’ll go from there.”

Muryo opened up a communication line between him and Crystalia and waited for someone to answer. His brother answered.

“Hello, Nii-Nii. We have a bit of a problem here on Earth and I think we’re going to need Crystalia’s help again.”

“What do you mean?” Takamichi asked.

“Carantula discovered that someone has taken over Yodonheim. We’re going to need the Kiramagers again.”

“I’ll send Fire and the others, but, unlike last time, I can’t just leave. Since Mabushina became Queen and restored Crystalia to its original splendor, things have been better than ever!”

“Thank you, Nii-Nii.”

The communication ended and Takamichi sent Fire and the other Mashin back to Earth, with the exception of Oradin and Hakobu.

“Let’s go find Juru and the others. There’s no telling exactly when Yodonheim will launch their first attack, so we might not have much time.”

Fire and the other four core Mashin flew off in search of their old partners. Juru was found at home, working in his home art studio. Working mostly on commission, the former Kiramai Red was busy. Very busy. He had no less than four works he was working on and his supplies took up much of the room’s space.

“Juru! I’m sorry to bother you, but we need you!”

Juru was too entranced in his current piece, much like he had been when he was younger. So, he’d never lost that aspect, did he? Fire settled for sitting on the table next to the easel. Once Juru turned to the table for more supplies, he’d surely notice the red stone sitting there. And it didn’t take him long.

“Waaaah! Fire! What are you doing here?! Is something wrong?”

“A new evil has taken over Yodonheim and is restarting the invasion that Emperor Yodon started.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Fire, but I can’t help you this time. I’m way too busy with my career. I’m sorry! Is Carantula okay?”

“Don’t apologize, Juru, and I'm not sure if he's okay or not. I should’ve expected that from you. So, you finally made a career out of your art?”

“Yes, I did! I’m working on a few commissions now, see?”

As Fire was looking at the commissions Juru was working on, a young teenage girl walked into the room.

“Tou-san, I made you a snack, since you forget to eat when you get busy with your work.”

“Ah, thanks, Kei!”

“Tou-san?! I didn’t know you were a father, Juru.”

“Fire, this is my daughter, Kei. Kei, this is my friend and partner, Fire.”

“Tou-san, why did you just introduce me to a talking red rock and why is it in your studio?”

“Excuse me, young lady, but I’m a Kirama Stone. My name is Mashin Fire and I was your father’s partner when he was Kiramai Red during the first Yodonheim invasion. Now there’s a second invasion and I’m in need of a partner. Would you like to help me?”

“Eh?!”

“Eh?! No, Fire. My daughter is not going to become a Kiramager.”

“But Juru, you won’t do it and I need a new partner. Kei’s your daughter and I sense the same things in her that I sensed in you when you first became my partner. She has a shining spirit and a shining determination, just like you.”

“Do you really need her that badly?”

“I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t. I’ll take good care of her and protect her with my life, Juru.”

Juru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine, but if anything happens to my little girl, Mizuki will be on you so fast that you won’t even have time to blink.”

Fire bobbed up and down as if he was nodding. “Well, Kei, should we go?”

“Go where? I never said I was going anywhere with a strange rock.”

“There’s an imminent invasion and I’ve chosen you as my partner, Kei. Let’s go. We don’t have much time. The others are probably back at CARAT by now.”

“Others?”

“Your team, Kei. You’ve been chosen by Fire to become the new Kiramai Red. The new Kiramai Yellow, Kiramai Green, Kiramai Blue, and Kiramai Pink should probably be back at headquarters by now unless the others haven’t found their partners yet.”

“There’s only one way to be sure, but we should get outside first.”

Juru smiled, knowing exactly what Fire was planning to do. After all, he did the same thing with him the first time they met. “I’ll tell your mom that you’ll be home by dinner so she won’t worry.”

“Tou-san! You’re just going to let this rock practically kidnap me?!”

“He chose you, Kei. He’s not kidnapping you. Good luck!”

Kei squawked in indignation that her father would just let a strange red stone kidnap her and take her to parts unknown.

“Come on, Kei!” Fire was getting impatient.

“Fine, but I don’t have to like this!”

“She must have gotten her personality from her mother,” Fire muttered to himself.

The two exited the apartment and Fire beamed Kei inside him, flying off towards Coconut Tower. Once they arrived, they were met by Muryo, Carantula, Shovellow, Mach, Jetter, Helico, and four other teens she could’ve sworn she’d seen before.

Muryo and Carantula smiled at each other. “The Kiramagers, together again! Feel free to introduce yourselves.”

“Um, so I’m Kei Atsuta and I’m Kiramai Red.”

“Satomi Imizu, Kiramai Yellow.”

“I’m Hayate and I’m Satomi’s brother! I’m Kiramai Green!”

“My name is Shohei Oshikiri and I’m the new Kiramai Blue.”

“I’m Aki Oshikiri and I’m Kiramai Pink, as well as Shohei’s sister.”

“As I’m sure you know, your parents were the previous generation of Kiramagers. I never thought there’d be a need for the Kiramagers again after your parents defeated Yodonheim the first time, but things change. Kei, you’re the leader, following in the footsteps of your father. Here’s your Kiramai Changer.” Muryo gave her the changer. “To transform, you press the red button and spin the wheel while shouting ‘Kiramai Change!’ Satomi, you will serve as the team’s second-in-command, taking over for Kei when she isn’t able to lead.” Muryo handed over another changer. He was about to address Hayate when the alert went off. “Yodonheim has just sent their first Jamenshi. Are you guys ready?”

“I guess we have to be. Let’s go, everyone!”

The team transformed into their Ranger forms for the first time and headed out to the scene where the Jamenshi was attacking. When they got there, they noticed a monster with a red body and a windmill for a head.

“Kiramagers?!”

“You sound surprised, baka!”

“I’m Windmill Jamen and I’ll blow you away!”

“Not a chance.” Satomi pulled out her Kiramai Shot and began firing at Windmill Jamen.

“Guys, let’s give him something that’ll really blow him away.

“Sparkling Determination! Kiramai Red!”

“Targeted Shooting! Kiramai Yellow!”

“Supersonic Speed! Kiramai Green!”

“Soaring Blade! Kiramai Blue!”

“Autumn Elegance! Kiramai Pink!”

“Mashin Sentai Kiramager!”

“Bechats! And that’s Windmill Jamen to you!”

“Let’s take these guys down! I’ll go for Windmill Face. Satomi, you and the others take out the Bechats.”

“Roger!”

With accuracy and a speed that would make their parents proud, the Imizu siblings mowed down a horde of Bechats while the Oshikiri siblings did the same, Aki taking some down with just her Aikido skills. Soon, all the Bechats were taken care of and Kei stood with her hand on her hip.

“Well, well, well, Windmill Face, it’s just you and us now.”

“That’s Windmill Jamen to you! Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?”

Kei shrugged. “What can I say? I’m more like my mom than my dad. I will say, though, that I inherited this position from my dad, so I’ll be the one to take you out.” She formed the Kiramai Buster out of her Kiramai Sword and Kiramai Shot. “Any last words, Windmill Face?”

“That’s Windmill Jamen, little brat! Beware of hurricane-force winds!”

Kei rolled her eyes underneath her helmet and took her shot, the homing bullet hitting him straight through the gut, causing him to explode in a shower of sparks and flame. A portal opened and a large tentacled beast emerged.

“What the heck is that?!”

“I have no idea, but I think we should summon Fire and the others. They’ll probably know more about what to do next.” Kei’s Changer rang.

“Hello?”

“This is Carantula. Once you summon your partners, you need to Mashin Gattai to fight the Hildon.”

“What’s a Hildon?”

“The tentacled beast. It’s a Dark Beast that’s been given a Jamen and transformed into a Jamenju. The smaller version is a Bechat that’s been given a Jamen and transformed into a Jamenshi. Once you’ve formed your giant robot, you’ll be able to take Turbine Hildon out with ease!”

“Okay?” Kei was confused as to how Carantula knew so much about the Jamenshi and Jamenju but decided to ask later. Muryo’s voice came over the Changers. “Summon your partners by pressing the green button then spinning the tire, then press the yellow button twice, spin the tire, and shout, ‘Mashin Gattai’. You’ll be able to form Kiramaizin.”

Kei and the others did as Muryo told them to do, summoning their Mashin partners and then pressing the yellow button twice and spinning the tire. “Mashin Gattai!”

Fire, Shovellow, Mach, Jetter, and Helico combined to form Kiramaizin. Shohei slashed at Turbine Hildon with the Jetter Sword and Hayate fired the Mach Flash lasers, but neither attack worked.

“What are we going to do? Nothing’s working!”

“What if we sliced off those nasty-looking tentacles? I don’t think it can do any damage without its arms.”

“What about its turbine? That’ll blow us away before we even get close to its tentacles!”

“What if Shoveljii and I clog up its turbine? If we can clog it up with enough debris, that should incapacitate it enough to destroy it.”

“It’s worth a shot. Go, Satomi!”

“Right. Shoveljii, let’s go! Sand Attack!”

“Here I go! Heave ho! Heave ho!” The debris acted as intended, clogging up Turbine Hildon’s turbine.

“Kei, I have an idea, but you and the others may want to stand on the sidelines for this, otherwise, things might get a little bumpy and I don’t want you getting hurt. Your dad would probably disown me if you ever got hurt. I promised him I’d keep you safe when I took you on as my new partner and I intend to keep that promise to your dad.” Kei nodded and relayed Fire’s idea to the others and they all disembarked their respective mecha.

“Guys, stack up!”

Shovellow, Mach, Jetter, and Helico transformed into their stone forms and stacked on top of each other near Fire. Using the Fire Ladder, Fire whacked the other four stones at Turbine Hildon, each smashing into the monster. “Kiramai Stone Bomber!” Turbine Hildon went up in a fiery explosion.

“Yossha! We did it! Let’s celebrate!” The Kiramagers celebrated with a round of high-fives and pats on the back.

Chapter Text

Captain Hakataminami walked over to the desks of Detective Tametomo Imizu and his partner, Sena Hayami, and placed a case file in front of Tametomo.

“What’s this?”

“Your next case. Your victim was found in the bathroom of a gas station. No one knows why she was there to begin with. Begin with the scene and work your way around. Witnesses will be few, but maybe the clerk will have some insight.”

“The security camera footage might give us some answers too, like why our victim walked into this gas station and was killed in this bathroom.”

The two detectives grabbed their things and set off for their crime scene. When they arrived, patrol officers already had the entrance to the gas station convenience store taped off and were busy dealing with the few people they had trying to get inside. Tametomo and Sena ducked under the tape and let themselves into their crime scene, taking a look around.

“Footprints will be a dead-end, too many sets. Fingerprints too. If she were killed in a less public place, we may have had better luck with prints, but this is a nightmare. I think security camera footage, biological samples, and the autopsy results will be our best chances of solving this.”

Something shiny caught Tametomo’s attention and he leaned down to inspect it further. It was a shell casing of a small-caliber bullet, which he quickly identified as a .22. He placed the bullet in a small evidence bag and walked over to the women’s bathroom, their primary crime scene.

“I just found a .22 shell casing but didn’t find the gun that goes with it. Our killer probably took it with them while fleeing the scene. The killer wouldn’t risk leaving the murder weapon behind when they know it could easily be traced back to them.”

“So, we have no other evidence besides the bullet and the body?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s not much to go on, Tame-kun.”

“Tell me about it.”

They heard the familiar dinging noise that accompanied the door opening and clicking footsteps that sounded like they were getting closer.

“I hope I can find something that’ll advance your investigation.” The sound of the cheerful medical examiner echoed throughout the room.

“Hello, Sayo-nee!”

“Hello, Sena-chan!”

“So, what can you tell us, Sayo-nee?”

“Your victim is a woman in her late twenties to early thirties and, while I still need to do a complete autopsy, she was shot through the heart with a small-caliber gun.”

“A .22. I already found the casing.”

“We can always count on you to know your guns, Tame.” Sayo smiled.

Tametomo smirked. Firearms were his specialty and he was regarded as the best shooter in the department.

“Let us know when you’ve finished your autopsy and what you find.”

“As soon as I know anything, you’ll know.” Sayo departed the scene with the victim’s body, leaving Tametomo and Sena to continue their investigation.

Chapter Text

“They must be getting more and more desperate for good ideas because this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen yet.”

“What do you mean I’m ridiculous?! I’m Wildflower Jamen!”

“Yep, ridiculous.”

“Hey! That’s rude!”

The Kiramagers rolled their eyes from underneath their helmets.

“I think he’s due for a pruning!” Sena revved up and sped toward Wildflower Jamen, Kiramai Sword at the ready.

“No, wait, Sena! Stop! He might be ridiculous-looking but we don’t know what he’s capable of yet!”

Sena didn’t hear Tametomo’s warnings as she sped ahead.

“Sena!”

“You should’ve listened to your friend. Poison Powder!” The cloud of poison spores hit Sena.

“Sena!” He cried. “Let’s get back to Base and get Sena to the med bay! We need to get the poison cleared from her system!”

“Calm down, Tame. You aren’t going to be able to think clearly if you let your anger cloud your judgments. She’ll be fine.”

“Sayo-nee, please help her!”

“You know as well as I do that I’m going to do everything I can for Sena, Tame, but if you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to sedate you.”

He calmed a little, but he was still frantic inside. The poison spores could easily kill Sena and Sayo was telling him to stay calm. What had he done to deserve this?

This wasn’t the first time she’d done something like this, the last being during their battle against Gramophone Jamen. He’d told her not to charge ahead that time too, but she clearly hadn’t learned her lesson. He was beyond frustrated with the entire situation.

Tametomo lingered at the doors to Kiramai Base’s med bay, unable to let himself actually enter the room. If he entered that room, it would mean that everything that had happened was real and he preferred to believe he was living in a nightmare for the moment. Maybe he was, who knew? He couldn’t be there. He needed to be anywhere else but there. He silently left Kiramai Base without telling anyone where he was going.

Finding Wildflower Jamen alone, he quickly summoned the Kiraful Go Arrow and transformed into Go Kiramai Yellow. Taking aim, his hand never wavered even as the Jamenshi turned to face him.

“Kiramager! Where’s the rest of your team?”

“They don’t know I’m here. I came here all on my own. It’s just me and you.”

“What do you plan to do all by yourself?”

Tametomo pulled the handle back, charging the Arrow. “This.” He fired. “Shooting Star Billion.” A yellow energy phoenix flew from the tip of the Arrow and pierced Wildflower Jamen, killing him instantly. He released his transformation and returned to Kiramai Base.

Sayo walked out of Sena’s med room just as Tametomo was coming down the hallway. “I can’t explain it, Tame, but Sena is completely fine now. There are no traces of the poison left in her system. I’ve done a complete medical workup, just to make sure, and—” She was cut off by Tametomo entering Sena’s med room and closing the door behind him.

“Sena, what you did was stupid, irresponsible, and reckless. I told you to stop.”

“Just stop lecturing me already! Don’t you think I know what I did was stupid?! I don’t need you to tell me that!”

“I feel like we keep rehashing this same conversation over and over! We go up against a Jamenshi, you go charging in despite the warnings not to, and then you get hurt! I don’t know if I can keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Us, I don’t know if I can keep doing us. If you keep doing this battle after battle, you’re going to get seriously injured, or worse.”

“So, you’re just going to walk away?”

“Can you promise me that you won’t be so reckless?”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“I love you, Sena, but I can’t watch you do this to yourself anymore.” He walked out of the room, leaving Sena to stare at the doors with tears in her eyes.

Chapter Text

A modest camper traveled down the road, carrying six passengers. The group decided to go on a camping trip as a way to strengthen their group dynamics. Takamichi, Sayo, and Shiguru each took turns at the wheel while Sena, Tametomo, and Juru took up spots around the main seating area.

Juru was sketching away in his sketchbook and texting Mizuki, Tametomo was playing a game on a handheld game console, Sena was reading a magazine, Sayo was reading some medical books, and Takamichi was napping. Growing tired of reading, Sena dog-eared the current page of her magazine and set it on the table in front of her. Sayo noticed this and started digging around in her bag. She pulled out a small bookmark with kittens on it and handed it to Sena.

“Please use this, Sena-chan. It’s better than creasing your pages to mark your spot, hm?” Sayo giggled softly, a smile on her lips.

“Thank you, Sayo-san!” Sena took the bookmark and stuck it in her magazine where she’d creased the corner of the page.

Sena leaned back against the bench seat and closed her eyes. Slowly, her body began to fall to the side and her head slid down to rest on Tametomo’s shoulder.

He looked down, mildly surprised, but didn’t attempt to move her off of him. If she was comfortable enough against him, he wasn’t going to disturb that.

Chapter Text

Takamichi walked through the cave, Shiny Kiramai Changer in search mode. The searching beam swept over the floor of the cave, but didn’t beep in recognition that it found anything. Still, he didn’t give up. Good treasure hunters never gave up, even if they were technically also extra-dimensional royalty and a Kiramager.

The prince moved deeper into the cave and the searching beam swept over something that caused the Shiny Kiramai Changer to beep. He pulled out his Shiny Breaker and very gently began breaking up the ground around where the search beam hit upon something. He didn’t want to bring the whole cave down on him, so using the Shiny Breaker to break the ground was already risky, but if he went slowly and gently, he could unearth a treasure in no time.

Chapter Text

When Sayo wasn’t performing surgery, tending to patients, or practicing aikido, she tended to a secret garden she kept. No one knew about her garden, not even Helico, and she preferred it that way. She needed to keep up appearances after all!

The pride and joy of her garden was her rosebushes. She’d grown them from baby stick piles all the way into healthy, adult foliage. There were both deep red roses and pink roses blooming and Sayo just adored them. However, soon, she’d have to find a way to transplant her beloved rosebushes to her new apartment. Her boyfriend had asked her to move in with him and she agreed, even if they barely saw each other with their demanding schedules. Still, she was excited by this new development, calling it a big mood.

Chapter Text

After seeing this idea online, Juru decided to make one. He was an artist, typically drawing, but this was different. He was going to make a pinecone “kissing ball”, whatever that was. He thought the article looked interesting and he read through the tutorial, thinking it looked easy enough to make.

Using paint, he painted six pine cones red, yellow, green, blue, pink, and silver. Once they dried, he glued them together with a bunch of other regular, non-painted, pine cones. He added some pine needles and some ribbons and soon, his project was completed. For never having made one of these pinecone “kissing balls”, he thought his turned out well. Now, he just had to figure out how he was going to explain exactly how the “kissing ball” was supposed to work. His understanding of it was that it was a substitute for mistletoe, but he knew some of his teammates would be skeptical.

Chapter Text

Five-year old Kei wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she was afraid of the dark. She prided herself on being tough like her mother and tough little girls weren’t afraid of anything. She clutched her covers up around her chin and whimpered, but refused to let herself cry. Tough little girls didn’t cry either.

Needing a drink of water, Juru made his way to the kitchen, passing his daughter’s bedroom on the way. He heard whimpering and entered the room.

“Kei? Kei, is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, Tou-chan.”

“I heard you whimpering. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine!”

“Kei, you don’t have to pretend to be fine when you and I both know you’re not. What’s wrong?”

Kei considered lying to her father, but knew he was far smarter than both she and her mother gave him credit for.

“I’m afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“The dark.”

Juru smiled. “I have a solution, but I need a piece of paper, a pencil, and some light.”

“There’s paper on my desk and I have some pencils there too. You can use my lamp too.”

“Thank you, Kei!”

Juru walked over to the desk, turned on the lamp, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. He closed his eyes and thought about what he needed at that moment. A flash of inspiration coursed through his head.

“Hirameki~ng!”

Juru’s hand began flying across the paper. Soon, a drawing of a nightlight took shape and his powers caused the drawing to spring to life. He took the nightlight and plugged it into an outlet, turning it on. The light flooded the room and Kei let go of her death grip on her covers.

“Goodnight, Kei.”

“Goodnight, Tou-chan, and thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Juru smiled and left the room.

Chapter Text

Sayo sat in her newborn daughter’s nursery, rocking the infant to sleep in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. The chair was a family heirloom from her side of the family and, once she had Shohei, her mother thought she should have it. It really came in handy because shortly after Shohei and Aki were born, they both loved being rocked to sleep.

The door cracked open an inch. “Sayo, dinner is ready.”

“Shh, Shiguru-kun.” Sayo giggled softly. “I just got our daughter to sleep and you wouldn’t want to wake her up, would you?”

“No. No, I wouldn’t,” Shiguru whispered.

“Let me tuck her in and I’ll meet you in the kitchen, hm?”

“Sounds good,” he whispered and left the room.

Sayo smiled and stood, the chair rocking a bit, then walked over to her daughter’s crib. She placed Aki in her crib, tucked her blanket around her, kissed her on the forehead, and left the nursery.

Chapter Text

The six Kiramagers walked into Kiramai Base after a somewhat tough battle.

“If I leave now, I can make it to practice on time! I can’t believe our battles took that long!”

“Sena, we could’ve handled things with just the five of us if you needed to be at practice earlier.”

“I’ll be fine!”

She turned and moved toward the exit, but her body faltered and sputtered to a stop. She fell to the floor and the boys scrambled to catch her before she hit her head.

“Hey, Sena! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Tame, calm down and let me examine her. Help me get her to the medical wing.”

“Yes, Sayo-nee.”

Gently, but quickly, they got Sena to the medical wing and laid her on one of the beds. Sayo hooked Sena up to several monitors to track her vitals. Sayo performed a scan and took a blood sample to figure out what caused Sena to pass out.

“Her vitals look normal, Sayo-nee. Does that mean she’s okay?”

“We won’t know for sure until I get the results of her blood work, Tame.”

“What if nothing shows up?”

“Then, we have to assume she has a devious little hitchhiker inside of her, using her body to incubate itself.”

“You mean she probably just caught a cold or a flu from somewhere?”

“Exactly, Tame!”

“So, if she’s sick, how do we flush out the little bug that hitchhiked its way into her system?”

“The usual way we all do when we get sick. She needs rest, lots of rest, fluids, food she can easily digest, like soups and broths, and medicine. She definitely won’t be running or fighting until she gets much better. She’ll probably feel the need to be sick and need to spend some time in the bathroom. I’m sure she’d appreciate a bit of help, hm, Tame?”

He wasn’t really looking forward to that particular part of the whole being sick experience, but the things he did in the name of love.

Chapter Text

Lemons, yellow like his uniform.

Lemon leaves, two shades of green like her uniform.

Lemons, symbols of love and friendship.

Chapter Text

His nose wrinkled and he awakened to the smell of a traditional Japanese breakfast. Someone was in his apartment and he had no idea who’d be there that early. He’d been up very late gaming and had only gotten a few hours of sleep before he woke to the present state of things. Pushing his covers off of him, he climbed out of bed and made his way to his kitchen. Rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn, he walked into the kitchen and noticed a familiar brunette, wearing a halter-neck, green, polka dot vintage-style dress, with a flared skirt, and matching heels.

“Sena? What are you doing here this early?”

“I’m making you breakfast!”

“What are you wearing?”

“What? You don’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that! I’m just wondering why you’re in my apartment this early and wearing a dress.”

“I told you already! I’m making you breakfast! Either eat it or don’t, I don’t care!” She huffed.

“We can heat it up and eat later.” He shut everything off and scooped Sena into his arms, causing her to squeak.

“Tame-kun, put me down!”

He pretended to think. “No, I don’t think I will.” He carried her off to his room and dumped her on his bed.

“Hey!”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me! You’re the one who woke me up after I stayed up most of the night gaming. I think it’s only fair if you’re punished for that.”

“I’m sorry! But, how was I supposed to know you were up all night?”

He smirked and pulled her against him.

“Sleep. We’ll talk more and eat when we get up later.”

Chapter Text

A morning bike ride,

riding along the river,

a girl and her bro.

Chapter Text

“Why do we have to be here? Why can’t I hang out with my friends instead?

“Kei, please stop complaining. Your father wanted to come to the art museum to check out the art and get some inspiration. He suggested we make a family day of it, so no complaints. You can hang out with your friends another time.”

The girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes narrowed and a pout took up residence on her lips. Kei just wanted to go home, call up her friends, and hang out with them. In her opinion, anything was better than spending time in boring old rooms full of paintings and other mediums from times gone by as well as the present. She wondered why her father loved art so much.

Chapter Text

The group of five walked through the quiet, rather empty, town where they discovered the Kuchinawa Gang was known to hang out. It was amazing what good resources and plenty of research could do. The plan was fairly simple: get into the ghost town hangout, give the gang a reason to never come near Mizuki and Shosuke again, and get out, all before someone might identify them, even with secret superhero identities.

“Does everyone know the plan?”

“Yes, Tame-kun. You’ve only gone over it a hundred times.”

“These are very dangerous people, so we need to make sure our plan goes off without a hitch.”

“We go in, tell them to leave Mizuki-chan and her brother alone, and get out. They’ll most likely want to fight, but we didn’t go there for such a purpose. Even so, we need to be prepared to fight our way out.”

“Alright, let’s go, everyone!”

“Okay!”

Chapter Text

Blackberries, blackberries, purple-black and round,

Blackberries, blackberries, segments all around.

Blackberries, blackberries, juicy, sweet or tart,

Blackberries, blackberries, put them in your cart.

Chapter Text

Harvest moon,

Barley moon,

Full corn moon.

September,

Late summer,

Near the autumnal equinox.

Chapter Text

Juru and Mizuki

Their apartment was made up of a comfortably furnished living room, two bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen. Several photographs rested on various surfaces around the living room. Each photo had its own frame, some more ornate than others. The most ornate picture frame housed Juru and Mizuki’s wedding photo, the frame having been a bridal shower gift.

Tametomo and Sena

Sena liked to display photos of everything. There were photos of her after winning meets, Tametomo after winning tournaments, photos of Tametomo and Sena’s wedding day, photos of Satomi and Hayate as children, a photo of the team, and more. Each photo had a simple picture frame, neither feeling the need to spend much money on expensive picture frames.

Shiguru and Sayo

Sayo wanted to capture the precious moments of life, so most of their photos in their apartment were of their children, Shohei and Aki, as they went through the various stages of their lives. She also kept a beautifully framed photo of their wedding day at home and on her desk at the hospital.

Chapter Text

Dreamers, dreaming of many things,

always dreaming, always thinking.

Dreamers, thoughts ever fleeting,

always dreaming, always thinking.

Chapter Text

Once they arrived at the airport and got off the plane, they were greeted by several women in traditional Hawaiian attire. The women placed leis, a traditional Hawaiian flower garland, around their necks, signifying their official arrival in Hawaii.

“So pretty!” Aki couldn’t stop looking at all the beautifully colored flowers around her neck.

“Aki, it’s just a bunch of flowers. I bet they grow all over this island.”

“Sho-kun, I agree with Aki-chan. I think the flowers they use are very pretty, hm?” Their mother giggled softly.