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Ibara walked into the cafe, relieved to actually be on time for once. No Dark Sorcerers, monsters, or any other strangeness had interrupted her commute. Thank the Lord. She set her sights on the table with a small bush of green hair poking out over the top of a menu.
Good, nothing had interrupted Izuku’s commute either.
Ibara sat down across from the bush, which lowered its menu to reveal her boyfriend. “Hello Ibara,” Izuku said, smiling at her. He scratched his cheek. “You uh, you look really beautiful.”
Ibara’s cheeks flushed. “Why thank you Izuku,” she said. She fidgeted with the dress she’d chosen, slightly formal, but still fairly casual. “Y-You look rather nice yourself.”
Instead of his usual green t-shirts saying “T-shirt”, Izuku wore a dark green button up and jeans (with his red sneakers of course). The end result was that he’d traded his usual dorky cuteness for looking downright handsome.
“How is your martial arts club?” she said.
“Oh everything’s fine,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Just the same stuff as usual.”
She could tell he wasn’t being entirely forthcoming, but that was fine. His friends frequently had personal emergencies that forced him to rush over to help them. Ibara didn’t want to pry into the lives of Izuku’s friends any more than she wanted him to pry into the lives of hers. After all, she of all people knew that people were entitled to their secrets.
For, while Izuku may be a completely normal boy, she was a magical girl. A member of the Quintet of Justice, guarding this city from the Dark Emperor of the Moon and his Dark Sorcerers. It was a secret she was forbidden to share, no matter how much she wished to. It made her miss dates, stay up late to finish homework, and cancel on friends. And yet Izuku forgave her every single time.
I am truly blessed to date such a kind and forgiving soul.
Maybe it was best to not burden him with all the danger and stress that frequently engulfed her life. Let him be a normal boy with normal problems.
Izuku was so glad that Ibara was so accommodating toward him. Anyone else would wonder why he had to disappear so often to “help his friends”. After all, even Kacchan didn’t have a disaster every week. They might also wonder why his friends always ran into trouble right when there was a Mutate attack.
After all, Ibara was just a normal teenager while he was the Green Ranger, a member of the elite fighting force protecting the world from the Mutates.
It was a hard life, but he loved it. Sure, it ate into his personal time, forced him to rush homework, and miss dates. But it also let him defend the innocent, gave him the best friends he’d ever had, and even helped him muster the courage to ask out Ibara. Sure she frequently had to go help her friends with their problems, but so did he, so it balanced out.
Speaking of, Izuku said, “How are your friends doing?”
“They are doing well. They helped me choose this cafe. Kendo said that it-”
Alarms went off. Izuku and Ibara looked up. An attack from a Dark Sorcerer on the south side. Those were handled by the Quintet of Justice, the magical girl group. Mr. Yagi made it very clear that the rangers were to let the Quintet handle Dark Sorcerers so they could focus on the Mutates. Still, Izuku thought it would be nice to help-
Another alarm. This time, a Mutate attack at the park near the abandoned buildings district.
Izuku and Ibara looked at each other. “I have to go!” they said in unison. “Uhhhh…”
Ibara tried to think of a reason, then said, “Jiro said she’d be in that area! I need to make sure she’s alright!”
“And Kaminari said he’d be at the park! I need to check on him!” Izuku said.
“Will you be safe?”
“Of course. But what about you? Maybe I could help you first and then-”
“No!” she said. “Your friend obviously needs you. Go to him.”
“Alright,” he said.
Ibara ran off and ducked into an alley. She touched a pendant she kept around her neck, right next to her crucifix necklace. “Take me to them.” A portal opened to the area of the Dark Sorcerer’s’ attack. She stepped through.
Four more portals appeared around her, revealing four other girls.
“Let’s do this!” Ochako said, pumping her fist in the air.
“Ready when you are,” said Jiro with a smirk.
“Heck yeah,” Kendo said, punching her first.
“I’m ready,” said Pony, stretching her neck.
Ibara folded her hands. “God be with us.”
Izuku ducked into a secluded corner and pulled out his Wild Morpher. He placed it on his wrist, where it could easily be mistaken for a weird watch. Izuku held the morpher to his face and pressed a button to activate his comms. “I’m ready,” he said. A teleportation beam enveloped him, transporting him to the park with four others. His teammates, his fellow rangers, his friends.
I’m here,” Izuku said.
“Let’s kill this bastard!” Kacchan said.
“I’m with you,” said Kaminari, making twin finger guns.
“Ooh! Maybe after beating him we can all hang out again! That would be really fun!” said Nejire.
“Maybe,” Mirio said with a cocky smile.
They all stood in a line with Mirio in the center. He stepped forward. “Ready?”
“Ready!” they answered.
“Alright then, let's do this!” he said.
Wild power, unleashed!” they all cried out. In unison, they performed the hand gestures for their morphing ritual, then pressed the activation button on their morphers. Energy surged through Izuku’s body, making him feel like a barrel of caffeine was just injected into his veins.
The energy exploded out, forming a bright green costume, topped by a helmet with an opaque visor, and a ram decal on the side. Izuku and his his fellow rangers struck a pose and announced their presence.
“Red Eagle!” said Mirio.
“Blue Hummingbird!” said Nejire.
“Yellow Electric Eel!” said Kaminari.
“Green Ram!” said Izuku.
“Black Bombardier Beetle!” said Kacchan.
Kendo clasped her pendent and raised her fist. “Let’s do this!”
The other girls did the same. “Together!”
Magic flowed around them, coating them in a storm of bright colors before transforming each girl’s respective clothing into a bright frilly dress. They were no longer ordinary high school students. They were magical girls. They each summoned their respective weapon.
“Quintet of Justice!” they said in unison.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Rangers!” said the Mutate. “I was hoping I’d get to destroy you!”
“Not gonna happen!” said Mirio. “Let’s take him!”
They all leaped at the Mutate, flipping through the air before attacking him hand to hand.
Ibara used her magic wand to send blast after blast into the Dark Sorcerer while Jiro unleashed a sonic wave from her magic flute. While they bombarded it, Kendo ran around, trying to tie it up with her whip. Pony attacked head on, trying to slash it with her sword, all while Ochako used her staff to levitate the civilians to safety.
The Sorcerer fired a dark spell that hit Pony, sending her flying into Kendo.
“Pony!” Ibara said. She charged her magic. For my friends. “Holy BLAST!” She fired a massive blast into the Sorcerer’s chest.
“Charging Ram! Battering FIST!” Power surged through Izuku, allowing him to propel himself forward and slam his supercharged fist into the Mutate’s gut.
The Mutate staggered but quickly recovered and kicked Izuku away. Sparks erupted from Izuku’s ranger outfit as he flew backward. Fortunately, his attack had given his friends the opening they needed.
Nejire punched the mutate in the face, then used her speed to evade its blows while Mirio to hit it with a flying kick. Kaminari wrapped his arms around its body to hold it in place while Kacchan blasted at it with his Bombardier Blaster. Izuku leaped back into the fray to help them.
They were winning.
They were winning.
The Quintent had saved the civilians, allowing Ochako to use her staff to throw large objects at the Sorcerer while Ibara and Jiro continued to hit it from afar. These attacks allowed Pony to rush in and stun it with a sword slash while Kendo tied it up.
“I’ve got it!” Kendo said. “Let’s purify it.”
They surrounded the Sorcerer, charging their magic. As they did, Ibara smiled. This creature did not choose to be evil. It was just a human transformed by malignant dark magic, a human they were about to set free. Ibara appreciated the chance to redeem her enemies. She felt Izuku would appreciate that too.
“Fire!”
Izuku and his fellow rangers unleashed a massive blast from their Ultra Blaster. The Mutate let out a loud screech as it fell down and exploded, creating a massive fireball. The rangers remained at the ready. This wasn’t the end. It never was.
Sure enough, a Reconstitution Beam came down, reviving the Mutate, while enlarging it to the size of a skyscraper.
“Let’s summon our Zords!” Mirio said.
They raised their hands. Soon, several giant animal robots charged into the city, each one matching a ranger’s signature color and animal. The rangers leaped into the air and entered their respective Zord.
Ibara and the Holy Quintet chanted their purifying spell, appealing to the better nature of the human within. Each fired a golden blast, engulfing the Sorcerer. Soon, the the dark clouds twisting the Sorcerer’s soul dissipated, leaving a regular girl staring confused at the area around her.
Their Zords came together. The Zords slowly transformed, with panels shifting, body parts reconfiguring, and gears twisting. Soon, the five Zords had become a torso, two arms, and two legs. They then combined into one massive humanoid robot, the Beast Megazord.
The Rangers now shared a single cockpit. Miro said, “Let’s take him, together!”
“Yeah!” the others said.
The Beast Megazord marched up to the Mutate. It cocked an arm back and slammed its metal fist right into their enemy’s chest. The Mutate roared in defiance.
“What…happened?” the girl said to Ibara and the others. “And what’s that noise?”
“You were trapped during the latest Dark Sorcerer attack,” Ochako said with a soft smile. “That noise is just the rangers righting another monster. You’re alright now!”
As their mentor said, ordinary people couldn’t remember the girls’ faces, but they would remember their smiles. So, Ibara, channeling Izuku, gave a gentle smile of her own. “Of course. You’re safe now. Everything is-”
“Alright!” Mirio said, “Let’s finish this!”
“We’re ready!” said Izuku, pumping his fist.
The horns of Izuku’s Ram Zord horns separated, combining with some of Kacchan’s Beetle Bomber to form the Megazord’s Battering Beetle Blaster.
The Mutate charged, desperate to stop them.
Too late.
“Finishing Move!” Mirio said. “Battering Beetle Blast!”
The Megazord fired. A massive energy wave erupted from the blaster, striking the Mutate in its center of mass. An enormous explosion erupted from the Mutate’s chest. The Mutate let out a thunderous screech as it slowly staggered backwards. The Mutate fell back and exploded one final time.
The rangers cheered.
“Reduce, reuse, and annihilate!” Kacchan said.
“I have to go!” Ibara said once they’d transformed back. “Me and Izuku might still be able to enjoy our date!”
“I still can’t believe you can keep a boyfriend,” said Ochako, head sagging. “This magic stuff takes up so much time…”
“It’s because she’s way too forgiving no matter how unreliable he is!” Jiro said. “Seriously, it’s like when Mina suggested I date Kaminari, despite the fact that he’s constantly disappearing to help his martial art friends with their “emergencies.”” She said the last part with air quotes. “Terrible idea if you ask me.”
“Izuku is a noble soul who would only cancel when he has a good reason. Besides, what right do I have to object when I do the same thing to him whenever we have a Sorcerer attack?” Ibara said.
“Besides,” Kendo said to Jiro, “Don’t you do the same thing whenever you come to help us?”
Jiro looked up, clearly going over the many many excuses she’d given before running to join them. “Crud, you have a point.” She turned to Ibara. “Well then, you’d better hurry.”
Ibara nodded and turned to run.
“Or use a portal!” said Pony.
Ibara froze. She could do that, couldn’t she?
“I’ve got to get back before Ibara does!” Izuku said.
“She ditched you again?” Kacchan said. “Why do you let her just up and vanish on you whenever her friends have “emergencies”?”
Izuku gave him a deadpan stare and gestured to himself and his fellow rangers.
Kacchan growled but said nothing, which was his way of conceding. Izuku teleported to the same alley he’d come from and demorphed. He raced to the same cafe as Ibara came around the other corner.
Both skidded to a stop about a meter from each other. Izuku chuckled. “Our table’s probably gone, isn’t it?” he said, scratching his head.
“Most likely,” she said with an amused smile. “Perhaps we should just go visit an arcade?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” He held out his hand. “I know a place.”
Ibara took Izuku’s hand, and let him lead her toward a place his friends had taken him a month ago. He hoped she’d love it as much as he had.
She doesn’t suspect a thing.
Ibara let Izuku lead her, She trusted his judgement, and those of his friends. And if the place wasn’t fun, at least she’d get to spend time with him.
He doesn’t suspect a thing.