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For the first time in a while, Sumino found herself headed to Shibuya. With the Battle Royale and the antics of Bridan, she actively avoided taking up cases that brought her away from Tegasword Village. She couldn't afford to miss an opportunity to snag a new ring, could she?
Thankfully, it was a simple day trip; to a particular boutique near the Scramble Crossing to inquire about a shirt previously sold there. If things went smoothly, she would be back in the afternoon, minimal time for the boys to do something stupid and have it go out of control.
Then again, she was probably underestimating those idiots' ability to stir up trouble.
With a stack of her business cards and the nicest outfit she had in her closet, one typically reserved for high class parties, Sumino set off.
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‘Then after this I just need to—‘
“Ow!” Too busy staring at the directions on her phone, Sumino walked straight into another person. The two of them stumbled back, phones clattering onto the walkway.
“Oh god I’m so sorry!” The other person — a pink haired girl who looked no older than 17 — frantically apologised. “And I was just promising them I wouldn’t walk and type…”
“No, no it’s fine! I should have been paying attention too.” Sumino reassured her as she bent down to pick up her phone.
“By the way Miss, is that yours?” The girl asked. Following her finger, her expression quickly shifted to one of shock upon realising what she was talking about.
‘Shit! The evidence!’ She scrambled to pick it up, dusting off any dirt it may have picked up. Dammit, she should’ve kept it in her bag instead of holding onto it.
“Is everything alright?”
"Ah- uh, yeah… I think." Sumino mumbled. Thankfully, it seemed undamaged. The girl stared intently at the fabric, something that didn't evade Sumino's notice. "Do you recognise it?"
"It looks pretty similar to a release one of my favourite stores dropped a while back. Though the stitching and cut looks a bit different from what I remember it being…" She mumbled.
"I see. Do you-"
"Am I able to guide you there?" The girl smirked.
"Yes, if you don't mind."
"Sure! Buuuuut, you have to do me one favor first."
Sumino raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Tell me why you're walking around with a half torn shirt in your arms." Her expression remained smug. It reminded Sumino of herself every time she chose to bug one of the Gozyugers. She was the No.1 Busybody for a reason. And clearly, this girl seemed to be challenging her for that title.
"Only if you promise not to spill this to anyone."
The girl's mouth quickly formed an 'O' with that information, "is this like your super secret hero uniform? It got damaged in a fight so you're here to repair it?"
Sumino laughed, if only she knew. "Very funny, but no."
"So am I still bringing you to that shop?"
The girl glanced left, then right, then left again. It was almost as if she was trying to test Sumino's patience. Eventually, Sumino asked. "Are you going to spill?"
"No."
"I'm a PI and this is for a case I took up." She explained, pointing to the shirt. "I was hoping to go to the shop where this was bought from to have an expert tell me more about how it was made."
"So what you're saying is that you just need someone who's familiar with making clothes? You don't actually need to go to that shop in particular?"
"Why?"
It was the girl's turn to giggle, rubbing her chin. "You're talking to the person you need right now!~" She proclaimed.
"Really?"
"Well I'm like ninety percent confident about the stitching and materials used. But if you don't mind waiting, I can go back and grab my reference book just to be ultra sure."
"How long will that take?"
The girl looked up, squinting her eyes. "Hmm well I still have to fetch a few things I promised to get a friend, and then it's gonna take me some time to get home so… I'd say around 2 hours?"
"That's fine by me."
"Oh right! We should probably agree upon a meet up place too." The girl pointed out. "Do you have any suggestions?"
Sumino shook her head.
"Hmm… alright. There's Phoenix Wonderland, it's not that far from here and there's a bunch of benches — makes it easier for me to show you all the stuff." The girl suggested. "I don't think they're rehearsing today either so it should be peaceful…"
While she didn't know who exactly the "they" the girl was referring to, Sumino decided to trust her judgement. After all, she seemed like she lived around the area. "That works for me. Thank you."
"Well, I couldn't just let an opportunity to show off my fashion prowess go to waste," she said smugly. The girl was about to leave when Sumino realised she hadn't provided her any way to contact her.
"Before you go." Sumino rummaged through her bag, fishing out one of her business cards. "To contact me if something comes up or you need help in the future."
The girl stared in awe at her card. "Ichikawa Sumino…holy crap I'm actually working with a private investigator! The rest of them-" She paused for a moment as realisation hit her. "-right I should introduce myself too. It'd be weird if I was helping you and you didn't even know my name." The girl laughed, "Akiyama Mizuki! I'm excited to work with you!"
Sumino smiled, Akiyama certainly was excited over the whole prospect of working alongside a detective. "Thank you again for helping me in this case."
"No problem! See you later Ichikawa-san!" Akiyama waved goodbye before quickly disappearing into the Shibuya crowd. What an interesting person she was.
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A few clothing stores and a cafe break later, Sumino found herself sitting at one of the benches at Phoenix Wonderland. Based on when she and Akiyama had parted ways earlier, there was still a good 10 minutes before the girl was slated to arrive. In the meantime, she checked her phone for any new jobs or panicked messages from Kinjiro. Outside of the typical spam messages, nothing.
'Maybe I should ask Akiyama-san to hand out a few more of my business cards to her friends.' Sumino thought. She seemed social enough and her persistence would probably help in getting more stubborn people to accept. 'Yeah, I'll ask her afterwards. I wouldn't mind coming out here more. It's peaceful not being surrounded by the rest of them.'
A few minutes of fiddling with her ring later, Sumino heard a voice calling her name. Looking over towards the source, she saw Akiyama bouncing towards her, a book clutched under an arm.
"I'm here! Hope I didn't make you wait too long or anything."
Sumino took a quick glance at her watch. A minute early. "No worries, I only got here."
Akiyama let out a sigh of relief, plopping herself next to Sumino and opening the book. Sumino could only look in awe at its contents; there were different fabrics stapled onto the pages, each accompanied by dedicated notes and silly doodles.
Before either of them knew it, half an hour had already passed. With anyone else, Sumino would've asked them to get to the point. But a single look at the burning fire in Akiyama's eyes made it obvious what she should not do.
"Aaand that's it!" Akiyama exclaimed, shutting her book closed. "Sorry if I wasted a bit too much of your time with all the random off-topic talk."
"No no, it's alright. I'm not in any sort of time crunch." She reassured the younger girl.
Akiyama was about to say something when she was interrupted by a nearby explosion, followed by the screams of civilians.
'You have to be kidding me.' Sumino grumbled as she got up. She turned to Akiyama. "Stay here. I'll go check it out."
Without looking back, she ran straight for the source. Unbeknownst to her, a certain editor couldn't stop her curiosity, secretly trailing behind.
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To no one's surprise, the culprit of the commotion was a No. 1. With a body covered in all sorts of clothes and multiple civilians restrained with ribbons, it was obvious that it had something to do with fashion.
Sumino smirked, good. She'd say she had a decent taste in fashion. Beating the monster at its own game should be no problem if simple fighting didn't work out.
"Engage!"
"CLAP YOUR HANDS!"
"GOZYU UNICORN!"
She charged straight towards it, landing two punches on its chest before ducking to the right to avoid an incoming rope. Sumino slammed her hand on its chest, her mind now flooding with its next moves.
It would recall the rope to catch her off guard, taking the chance to assault her with an assortment of clothing before incapacitating her like everyone before her.
'Not today No.1.' A simple forward roll was all she needed to do to counter it's attack, following it up by slamming the blade of her Tegasword into its legs. The No. 1 yelped, sending out a mass of fabrics in its panic.
Summoning her drill, Sumino easily cut down the obstacles in her way. Now, it was time to do her favourite thing when it came to facing off against No. 1s.
Grab her left arm.
She grabbed its right arm in response.
Tie her up!
A duck to avoid the rope, which coiled itself around the monster's right hand.
Punch at her head.
Sumino took the free end of the rope, using it to throw the No.1 off balance before it could act. She took the chance to knee it in the abdomen.
Stupid hero!
A smirk formed on the PI's face. It was always fun to torment No. 1s like this. With all her strength, Sumino spun the monster around, releasing the rope to send it flying into a nearby tree.
"Give up, or we can go for another round if you please." She taunted. The No. 1 grunted, only to notice a certain pinkette trying and failing to hide behind another tree.
"You…" it mumbled, pointing to the girl. "I challenge you."
"M-me?" The voice immediately caused Sumino's heart to race. Oh god, Akiyama followed her.
"Yes. You're the only one in this land who is even remotely fashionable." It continued, earning a smirk out of Akiyama, "I want to challenge you to see who's the true Fashion No.1."
"Not a chance." Sumino's lips had moved before she even got the chance to mull over what she was going to say. "You are facing off against me instead."
"Oh really? Prove it."
Sumino clicked her tongue, removing her Gozyu Unicorn ring to detransform. "There, good enough for you?"
The No. 1 looked her up and down a few times before talking. "You pass, I suppose. Better than the rest of them." It looked back at Akiyama, "so, do you accept my challenge?"
"Already told you, you aren't challenging her."
"Salty that you aren't as fashionable as a high schooler?" A bit. But with Akiyama's knowledge of fabrics, she was on a different level.
"Still, no."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Um, what's the challenge about anyway?" Akiyama finally asked, seeing as the discussion was going nowhere. "As long as there's no fighting or stuff like that I'm all good."
Sumino and the No. 1 awkwardly stared at each other for a few moments before the No. 1 spoke. "No fighting. I want to see you show off your fashion prowess."
"Fine. But lay a single finger on her and I won't hesitate to beat your ass." Sumino threatened. "Deal?"
"Deal."
The No. 1 first pointed to one of the many tied up civilians, a man in a business suit. "How would you improve his outfit?"
Akiyama rubbed her chin for a few moments before answering, "his tie could be a more neutral colour and he should roll up his sleeve just a little bit."
The monster only nodded before pointing to a couple. "Them."
"A maroon scarf for her and a light blue jacket for him."
A school girl.
"Her bags could use a few keychains and cute accessories. Oh and maybe a ribbon in her hair too."
A man who looked to be in his 30s.
"His shirt is clearly behind the times. A polo shirt would work wonders."
A teenage boy.
"That jacket goes around his waist. He's probably very stuffy in that otherwise."
The routine of question and response continued to repeat itself, with each question only further proving Akiyama's expertise. And it was clear that the No. 1 was getting flustered at this turn of events. Its voice was getting more and more panicked, trying to find someone to throw Akiyama off her hot streak.
As the monster looked about frantically for its next target, the pair shared a look, both having the same thought in mind.
"Say Akiyama-san, what do you think about this one's fashion?" Sumino said in the most irritating voice possible, patting the No. 1 on the shoulder.
Akiyama feigned being deep in thought, tapping her foot against the ground to really sell the image that she was thinking hard. "I don't know." she took in an exaggerated deep breath. "The outfit is kinda out of whack you know? The colors of the clothes are totally out of balance, and I've seen my fair share of horrible color combinations."
"Oh and there's way too many accessories. Like those bracelets are completely unnecessary, really clashes with whatever aesthetic you're trying to get at."
That was the last straw for the No. 1. "You!" It shouted, charging at Akiyama.
"CLAP YOUR HANDS!"
"GOZYU UNICORN!"
"Wow, who's the one getting all jealous about a high schooler's fashion sense now?~" Sumino mocked, stopping its fist with her Tegasword. "I guess you're salty enough to break our deal."
This time, she spared the No. 1 no mercy whatsoever, overwhelming it with attack after attack. Regardless of what it threw her way, she swiftly shot it down and continued on the offense.
"Ichikawa-san!" Akiyama exclaimed, waving a stray ribbon. "I think a ribbon would do this guy a lot of good!"
Sumino smirked, pinning one of its hands behind it's back while she caught the ribbon. With a swift flick of her wrist, she looped the ribbon around the monster. "I hope you like the taste of your own medicine." She teased, looping it a few more times before tying it off with a simple bow. "Does that look good to you Akiyama-san?"
"Yep! Much better now."
"You! You'll both pay for this!"
"I'd like to see you try."
"FINISH FINGER!"
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Having made sure anyone caught up in the No. 1's antics was safe, Sumino finally could let out a sigh of relief.
Though, there was still one last thing she had to tie up. That being one very excited Akiyama Mizuki.
The younger girl had this glint in her eyes, one akin to those in cats when they found something to pounce on.
"Oh. My. God." She gasped. "You're a superhero. A real life superhero."
"Yes…?"
Akiyama squealed. "That's so cool! What kind of powers do you have? Do you fight in those super big mechs? How about the rest of your team?"
Looking around to make sure no one was listening in to their conversation, Sumino responded. "I can read minds thanks to my ring. I can pilot my own mecha if no one else in my uh, 'team' is… and I don't even know if we can even be considered a team." Before Akiyama could ask another question, she added, "also, please keep this a secret. It's not exactly a secret identity but I'd rather not get hounded by other people about it when I have work to do."
The pinkette nodded, "so what about this 'team' of yours?"
"Well, we're all participating in a battle royale, which will let us get any wish of our choosing if we collect all the rings. So our 'team' is more like a temporary alliance until it is just the six of us left. Then we'll fight it out to be the final victor."
"Sounds fun."
"Until you are allying with a group of idiots who can't seem to stay out of trouble for a day."
Akiyama snickered, "yeah, I think I'll let you deal with them."
"Any other questions?" While Sumino had provided Akiyama with her number, it never hurt to get out any other burning questions while they were still talking face to face.
"Nope." She replied, popping the 'p'. "Thoughhhh, since you've so kindly shared about this other job of yours, I might as well do too."
"Go on."
"Have you by any chance heard of Nightcord at 25:00?"
The name sounded familiar. But Sumino couldn't remember where or when she had heard it.
"Maybe? I'm not too sure."
"It's an online anonymous music group." She explained, "all the members go under an alias so no one knows who they are. So for example, I go by 'Amia' and I do all the editing for our music videos."
"So it's similar to idols."
"Correct, just that we are technically faceless. We also cover other songs too."
'Covers…' In her head, a memory flashed. One of Rikuo talking about doing a cover for a song he had heard online. "Did you guys make some song called Lower?"
"Yep!"
"I see, my friend- or more accurately one of my allies, talked about doing a cover for that one day."
Akiyama's eyes lit up again. "You have to send it to me once they're done! I have to see how they cover my own song!"
Sumino laughed, "sure thing."
As much as she would've loved to continue conversing with Akiyama and learn more about Nightcord at 25:00, the sun was already beginning to set. That unfortunately meant that her little trip to Shibuya was reaching its end. With one final exchange of goodbyes alongside an offer to call her up anytime the pinkette needed assistance, the two parted ways.
Now all Sumino had to hope was that everything was still in one piece when she returned. She really couldn't trust the rest of the team.
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Weeks later, Sumino hears about the apparent struggle the Gozyugers (and especially Mashiro) had against another Fashion No. 1. She laughs, hard.
It really must suck to not have a very fashionable friend.