“Ah, forgive me! That came out wrong! Hahahaha!”
Hayao laughed, much to the confusion of everyone in the living room.
“I didn’t mean I want to bully you on camera. Kou, I like you. You’re passionate, fiery, and full of justice! However, your execution needs a bit of polishing. Regardless of the truth, what you did to Daniel Mitchell that night could only be seen as bullying. Some people antagonize you because of that.”
“…he’s right, Takumi-kun. I know you’re not using social media, and I didn’t want you to know about it too, so I didn’t say anything, but you do have some haters on the internet.”
As Hayao dropped the bombshell of a truth, Saki validated his words. Takumi reflexively turned to Shizuka, and his mother also nodded.
“There has been harassment, but haters are just that, haters. I deal with them the way I always do, by ignoring them.”
Spoke Shizuka out of experience.
“They aren’t necessarily followers of Daniel. A quick search can tell anyone how horrible of a person Daniel is, and they know that. However, Kou, it is you that they have a problem with. They see you as some kind of high-handed, arrogant person with so much talent that you’re looking down on others.”
“…ghah!”
This time, it was Saki’s turn whose ears hurt from hearing Hayao’s words. After all, that was exactly what she thought of Takumi before she became friends with him.
When everyone’s eyes focused on her, Saki only waved her hands, saying “I-it’s nothing.”
Hayao continued.
“I want to dispel that misconception! I want people to see you for who you are, Kou!”
“And my defeat in your hand helps that?”
“Yes!”
Exclaimed Hayao with vigor. His voice echoed throughout the house.
“Kou, I will have you show up in my Sunday morning show! I will be riding my motorbike when my navigator AI tells me it detects a Darkness signal nearby. I will suspect it is Black Garuda, my nemesis, and head to the specified location, which is an EXP zone. However, the signal turns out to be you! We will fight for a few minutes, with me mistaking you as one of Black Garuda’s minions, however, I will soon realize that is not the case! And then, after defeating you, I will help you stand, and we will share a passionate handshake! What do you say?!”
Hayao offered his right hand to Takumi as if to simulate what he just said.
Takumi was still pondering about it when someone let out an excited scream at the prospect of Takumi’s collaboration with Hayao — and this time, it was not Saki, but Jun.
“TAKUMI’S SHOWING UP IN EAGLE RIDER, WHAT?! T-Takumi, take it, take that hand right now!”
Ushered Jun, inviting a confused look from Takumi. When he saw Takumi didn’t understand the reason behind his excitement, Jun threw an accusatory look at him.
“You don’t know Eagle Rider?! Eagle Rider is the latest implementation of the 49-year-long-running show Doubutsu Rider, you know?! Every Sunday morning, everyone from grandpas to little kids would sit in front of television just to watch it! Not to mention, it is the first ever Tokusatsu show that doesn’t use special effects! This is our one-way ticket to fame! ”
Jun started to gush out like how Saki always did. Takumi recalled an internet trivia that said that you began to take after people you’re close with, but now he feared the day he would also gush out like them.
Perhaps taking Takumi’s silence as him being unconvinced, Hayao spoke up again.
“We have the EXP zone ready, and our writing team also altered the scenario to fit you just right in! At the end of the episode, the navigator AI will ask me if letting you free is the correct choice, and I will say this piece; “Sometimes, you need to enter the abyss to save your loved ones from the abyss.” And you won’t believe how much it fits with the theme, since Black Garuda turns out to be my father who turns to the dark side to protect me and my little sister! …Ah, I wasn’t supposed to say that! Gyahahaha!”
“““NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”””
For some reason, Saki, Jun, and one of the soldiers closed their ears with their hands with an anguish look on their faces.
“Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!!”
“Why?! We are getting on to the final phase, just a few more episodes until Black Garuda’s identity is finally revealed! Why must you do this to us?!”
“…I can’t believe the prevailing theory about Black Garuda’s identity turned out to be true.”
“It’s-it’s okay, Jun-kun, soldier-san! With my eidetic, I’m sure I can erase this memory from our brain! It’ll be my Second Step!”
“Don’t be hasty, Saki-chan! You can’t even control your eidetic, how could you use a Second Step?!”
“Please do, Kobayashi-san…I don’t know how to live with this memory…”
As he watched the three of Saki, Jun, and the female soldier kicking a fuss in utter anguish, Hayao spoke up in a sorry tone.
“…I did a bad thing, huh.”
To that, Takumi could only agree in silence.
♤♠♤♠♤
In the end, the offer was postponed.
Takumi had actually come around to it and wanted to accept the offer from Hayao. However, he didn’t want to make a hasty decision, so he told him that he would give the answer tomorrow at the latest.
Hearing Takumi’s reasoning, Hayao agreed to postpone the offer.
After that, Takumi’s training, which was halted by Hayao’s intrusion, continued. Hayao stayed around to watch.
Adam, however, made use of Hayao’s presence to give Takumi a chance to fight against a different training opponent. Hayao was more than happy to join as he took off his leather jacket. Different from Adam’s tight and quick hits, Hayao’s fighting style involved a lot of wide swings. It was less tactical and more theatrical.
When the third session, dancing, started, Hayao let out an admired exclamation.
“Multitasking Dancing with ESP training, huh! What a novel idea, I should bring this up to my agency’s coach.”
Hayao nodded in self-satisfaction.
And so, the training for the day ended without any further incident.
Whilst Takumi was taking a shower to wash the sweat away, Saki and Jun went to see Hayao off, though their true motive was to see the iconic Hawkbike, trademark of the Redhawk.
When they saw the modified flaming red CBR650F parked in front of the house, they let out an audible “ooh!”
Hayao gave them permission, and Saki and Jun didn’t waste any time feeling the sports motorcycle with their hands. The small LED monitor that was fitted on it was actually connected to Hayao’s smartphone, and the Navigator AI was a custom-made text-to-speech app. When Hayao demonstrated its function, Saki and Jun once again let out an awed exclamation.
They wanted to take a picture too, but it was prohibited to take a photo in the vicinity of Sago House EXP zone, and so they reluctantly complied. For some reason, the female soldier, who came out after them, also looked disappointed.
Hayao put on his helmet, a normal, codified road-safety helmet and not the Redhawk costume helmet, and got on his bike.
“One last thing I need to tell you two,” as he was getting ready to hit the road, Hayao opened the visor of his helmet and spoke to Saki and Jun. “Keep your eyes on your friend, Kou. His type of person would sacrifice themselves and think that it’s okay as long as they’re the only ones who have to suffer. Remind him he’s not alone, and support him. Got that?”
“Y-yes!”
“I’ll stick with him even if he’s sick of me!”
Saki was a bit surprised with the sudden piece of advice, but Jun readily answered. Hayao nodded looking at them.
“Good answer!”
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After saying his goodbye, Akabane Hayao left the Sago House EXP zone behind on his motorcycle. That was when Takumi, who was back in his uniform, fresh out of the shower, walked out from the house with Shizuka in tow.
“Ah, Takumi. We just saw Akabane-san off. You should’ve seen the Hawkbike, it was awesome.”
“Heeh.”
“Are you done with everything? We should go home too.”
“Sure,” Takumi agreed to Jun’s suggestion and walked away from the front door, leaving the Sago House EXP zone behind.
Jun gushed about the Hawkbike excitedly. Takumi listened in silence, responding to him every once in a while. Shizuka walked a step behind them. With Saki walking beside them, chiming in with Redhawk trivia, the four of them walked together into the sunset.
For that moment, everything was all right in the world.
“EEHH?!!”
That was when Saki raised a surprised scream. Surprised by her surprise, Jun asked her.
“What’s wrong, Saki-chan? You surprised me.”
“Ah, sorry. —I forgot to turn off Airplane mode after the theater, you see, but the moment I turned it off, I received an avalanche of messages from everyone in school. They said the school is swarmed with reporters!”
“EH?! —Ah, you’re right. I muted my phone so I didn’t notice it, but everyone in class and the soccer club were talking about it!”
Hearing the news from Saki, Jun also checked his phone.
As expected, he found 90+ notifications in his messaging app. After reading through the messages, he concluded that apparently reporters somehow got word that Kou was a student in their school and came to interview him.
In retrospect, it should’ve been weird that an unheard new Omega Fighter fighting a single Battle garnered so much attention. However, the fact that it was a premium slot, with an audience in the tens of thousands from all over the world, was vital. Not to mention, memes of Takumi defeating Daniel were still going strong on the western side of the internet, and clips of his battle on TikTok had reached millions of views.
Once again, it wasn’t that Takumi in particular was special compared to other Fighters. His fame heavily relied on the infamy of Daniel. It was enough to fuel news-hungry reporters to come to their school.
“This is big, Takumi! They’re looking for you!”
“Yeah! Also, the headmaster called for you on the speaker, so I think everyone knows it’s you.”
Spoke Jun followed by Saki, their tone sounded half-excited, half-worried. Looking at them, Takumi pulled out his own phone.
“…”
1 email notification.
It was a coupon for a nearby supermarket.
He was supposed to be the star, and yet his notification was as empty as the Sahara desert.
♤♠♤♠♤
Thursday morning.
It was the usual sight of students walking up to their school. Some met up with their friends and walked together, some on a bicycle. However, what wasn’t very usual was the numerous reporters standing around the front gate, eyeing every student that passed them by.
They were probably looking for Takumi based on his characteristic blue eyes and scar. They might also think that Takumi must be popular since he was the new and rising Omega Fighter, so they looked at students that came in big groups.
Unfortunately for them, and fortunately (?) for Takumi, Takumi was a gloomy introvert who had no friends with bangs so long his face was completely hidden.
He did draw some gaze when he passed them by, mainly due to how odd he looked, but they immediately lost interest in him.
Once he was through the gate, Takumi let out a relieved sigh. Now he didn’t have to be swarmed by people, he thought.
Oh how wrong he was.
When Takumi opened the door of his classroom, the chit-chat of his classmates suddenly stopped all at once as they all directed their gazes at him.
Takumi’s desk was at the back of the class, on the side of the corridor immediately next to the door, so it didn’t take him long to reach his desk. However, the moment he sat down, his classmates immediately rushed onto him at once.
There was a sense of impending doom attacking him. And thus, the onslaught of questions crashed on him like a broken dam.
“Kurogane-kun, is it true you’re an Omega Fighter?”
“Takumi, why didn’t you tell us anything?”
“Kurogane, I saw your clip and—”
“Kurogane-san, do you know Magician Momo—”
“Takumi-kun, I didn’t know your eyes were blue—”
“Kurogane-kun, do you mind follow me on—”
“Takumi-kun—”
“Takumi-kun—”
“Takumi-kun—”
“Takumi-kun—”
As Takumi was getting overwhelmed by all the questions, someone parted the wall of students.
“Now, now, don’t swarm the guy. You’re troubling Takumi this early in the morning. Also, you’re in the way.”
The reliable back belonged to a girl with ashen, wavy hair. She stepped in front of Takumi and tried to disperse the crowd, though more likely because she wanted to get to her desk.
“Asa-chin,” called the gyaru, Takamine Erika, who spearheaded the crowd.
“Also, if it’s Omega, you can just ask Saki. She’s the one who knows everything about Omega after all.”
Asa added, pointing at Saki who sat silently on her desk at the other end of the classroom. Everyone’s gaze followed her finger.
Saki let out an “ueh?” not expecting that she would be sacrificed.
“Look at her. Isn’t it weird that Saki, of all people, doesn’t come to Takumi to ask him questions? She’s Omega’s biggest fan, there’s no way she wouldn't get excited if Takumi was an Omega Fighter.”
“Well, you’re right…”
Erika validated Asa’s argument. That was when a male student, Kawaguchi Nobu, chimed in with another question. It was the same male student who always gushed about Omega Battle with Saki.
“Then what about the callout by the headmaster yesterday?”
“It’s not unusual for a student to be called out on a speaker, right? Now disperse. I can’t get to my desk.”
While they weren’t entirely convinced, the students still dispersed. Finally, there was room for breath.
“Good morning, Mister Popular.”
Joked someone who just entered the classroom when everyone returned to their seats and back with their usual circles, though their eyes were still glancing at Takumi.
When Takumi looked at the person, it was a tall boy with muted blue hair parted in the middle.
“Jun.”
“Yo. That was an ordeal.”
“Yeah, it was. —Ah, Imai-san, thank you for earlier.”
Takumi thanked Asa who placed her bag on her desk next to his.
“It’s fine, they’re getting on my nerves too.”
“Getting on your nerves?”
“Oh, you mean like how they suddenly hold interest in Takumi even though they always ignore him before this?”
Asa nodded her head at Jun’s question.
“Also, they were blocking my way.”
“You do have that meddlesome part in you, Asa-chan. Like you can’t leave people alone.”
“Shut it.”
Jun teased Asa with a smile. Takumi felt like giving his input too, so he opened his mouth.
“I think that’s a good personality to have. I like it, Imai-san.”
““…haah””
Jun and Asa gave him stinky eyes instead, much to Takumi’s confusion. He thought he was investing in the conversation?
Takumi couldn’t understand why they’d be sighing at that.
“Takumi, that kind of thing needs proper TPO, you know?” Teased Jun, fully knowing Takumi didn’t understand his joke.
“I would’ve misunderstood it if I didn’t know you beforehand,” spoke Asa, holding her head in defeat.
With Takumi still not understanding what they meant, homeroom eventually started.
Some students did come to see Takumi during lunch break, but Takumi, Saki, and Jun had left the classroom to have a meeting in the Literature Club after being invited by Asa to escape the same thing that happened that morning.
Once they opened their respective lunch boxes, Saki started the conversation.
“Are you going to be okay, Takumi-kun? If they know your identity, doesn’t that mean they’ll know where you live?”
“Yeah, that’s what I want to ask too. Is it going to be okay in your home? I mean, I don’t mean to say it badly, but your home doesn’t exactly look safe.”
Jun recalled the state of Takumi and Shizuka’s house. It was a small and rotting apartment, and its security was doubtful at best. It was easy to imagine someone barging into the room even if the door was locked.
“Yeah. It’s okay. My mom understands we can’t live in that apartment anymore, so she agreed to move to the condominium last night. We talked with the landlord this morning. After filling some documents, we’re ready to move out. The movers should come this afternoon.”
“That’s…fast.”
“That is just how mom is.”
A hint of pride was heard from Takumi’s tone of voice.
Next Jun asked a question.
“What about the battle with Redhawk? In the end, do you accept Akabane-san’s offer?”
“You said that you’d give the answer today, right?”
“Yeah. That’s also decided last night. I’m doing it, the tokusatsu. There’s no reason to turn down the offer, and it’s good publicity too, said my mom. But…”
Takumi trailed off there. He then put his chopsticks down to pull out his phone. A minute later, there was a notification sound coming from both Saki’s and Jun’s phones.
When they checked their phone, they saw Takumi had sent them a pdf file. There was a huge CONFIDENTIAL word on its first page.
“What is this, Takumi-kun?”
“That’s the newest revised script. Apparently, since Akabane-san asked to revise the story so suddenly, the writers are still perfecting the script to match with the continuity. It might be revised again by tomorrow.
“Heeh.”
Saki immediately accepted Takumi’s explanation.
“Are we allowed to read this?”
Asked Jun half fearfully and half excitedly.
“Yeah,” when Takumi gave him the okay, he didn’t waste time to click on the pdf. Saki also did the same and promptly read the script. It was a short read, and it didn’t take them long enough to finish reading it all.
“Huh, so Craypon, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, is going to show up.”
“And Takumi-kun is going to save Redhawk from Craypon’s sneak attack! I think it’s good!”
“Yeah. But, since it will air this Sunday, the shooting will have to be finished by Saturday at the latest, or else there won’t be enough time for post-production. But…”
“But you feel like that’s too soon and you’re not ready for it?”
Jun finished Takumi’s words, and Takumi nodded without saying a word.
Saki and Jun exchanged glances, then smiled.
“No helping it, then! Since I’m so generous, I’ll help you practice with the script. I’ve been watching Eagle Rider since the beginning; I can play off Redhawk perfectly. Takumi, you just need to bounce off me.”
“AH, that’s not fair! If Jun-kun is playing Redhawk, that means I’m Craypon! I don’t want that!”
“…then I’ll do Craypon. Saki can play me.”
““THEN WHAT’S THE MEANING?!!””
Saki and Jun screamed the same thing at the same time.
Looking at them, Asa, who had been silent this whole time, chimed in.
“You know…when I look at you guys like this, it feels like you’re actually a team.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.”
Maybe not a good one, Asa added in her heart. Looking at Saki’s eyes beaming up, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“Also, look at line 38.”
Takumi continued without minding Asa. Saki and Jun followed what he said and looked at the aforementioned line. It took them a while until they realized that there’s something off.
“Wait, it says here that ‘Kou draws his sword and takes a pose’? That’s not right.”
“I don’t think Takumi-kun uses a sword though, right?”
“Wait, Takumi doesn’t use a sword?”
An air of confusion was shared between Jun, Saki, and Asa. Asa, in particular, seemed like she wasn’t on the same page as the rest.
Apparently, the clips and memes of Takumi holding Daniel’s Ame-no-Masamune had gone more viral than the entirety of the Battle itself that people thought that the blackened wooden sword belonged to Takumi instead.
Instead of his holograms, the Fighter known as Kou was better known for being a sword user by the wider world.