Flashback!
Hisaki: Hey Maculata, thanks for taking our short notice job!
Crowne: Is that the suit? Damn, that's forward.
Maculata: Girl, you know me by now, right? I hear traditional Japanese festivals can get pretty rough, so I used that as the design idea! Kick Monster ass in old festival aesthetics!
Hisaki: Is it really okay to put Kouki in that? Seems too off his vibes.
Maculata: Good observation! That was deliberate. You might have heard, but he's in the gossip rags lately. It's dumb as all hell, but it's bothering him...
Hisaki: Yeah...he's a great actor, but he's still a kid.
Maculata: He must be confused, so I figured I'd send these! You gotta be able to stand strong and dispel rumors yourself to survive in show business, so if he shows a new side of himself he can do that. Questionable amounts of child body exposure can do that, right? He'll shine like the best child actor I know he is!
Hisaki: Wow you sure think highly of him.
Maculata: I better! All of Neo Talents are my customers, so they better do good and buy my stuff!
Present
Reaction shot from Hitomi, Crowne, Hisaki, Maculata, Akashi, and Mokdai!
Kouki's aggressive side is on camera. It's different from his usual self, but not in a bad way.
Kouki: Sirius!
Sirius: BARK
The little Monsters are down! Sirius runs back, and Kouki attaches his dual swords into a double-ended sword.
Kouki: No matter how I look, I'll still strive for the same dream I've had! That's why my family Sirius can support me on camera and in private...oh is that what not picking either way means? I'm still going to keep trying to make my dream come true, as a hero and as an actor, and I'll go all out for it! Watch this! Variorum "Prime Time Emperor"!
Gammei: Hey, I'm here too and I'm gonna kick ass! Arrest "Toward the Star"!
Kouki is riding on Sirius and drive by slashes at the mikoshi Monster! That exposes the core, which Gammei breaks!
Monster: LOVELYYYY (poof)
Kouki: ...welp, that happened. I guess this is fine though. Excuse me, can you turn the camera dron this way? And MC, can you turn off my hero suit for a sec? I need you help with something...
Kouki moves to the center of the area and turns to the camera.
Kouki: Sorry to surprise you all! What you just saw and what you're seeing now is both me. I know I'm still inexperienced as a hero and an actor, but I want to use my new suit as a push to step forward. So do you like me as I am now? Or... (Festival Kouki transform!) do ya like me more now? You ain't seen nothin' yet!
Sirius: Bark!
Comments are streaming in. The opinions are varied, but Kouki looks determined now as he looks at them.
Title Card: Five Minutes with Someone Long Ago
That night
Akashi: Hey MC! I'm glad you're doing okay, and I'm glad we could call.
Mokdai: Akashi hasn't chilled at all since you left. Since this is your regular reporting in day, I invited him to come see.
Akashi: Thanks Mokdai. I'm still bummed we didn't really get to talk before you left. It was so fast all I had time for was giving you that alarm doohickey...
MC: Thanks for worrying / I'll use it if I need to / I'm surprised you had it
---
(C) Akashi: Roiker gave it to me a while ago. I forget what he called it but he said it was custom made and everyone in his group has one.
---
Akashi: Anyways, I'm glad to hear what's up with the case from you. Plus there's heroes with you.
Mokdai: Saw you livestream earlier! Kouki was so cool and in synch with Sirius!
Akashi: And damn did Gammei swing that heavy looking thing and crush the Monster. I missed the beginning so I wanna see it again...it's not in the archives though.
MC: Maybe it's stuff with Neo Talents? / Maybe the locals said no? / I think I know why...
Mokdai: President Huckle said UEHA wanted it that way. Figures, what with how Gammei was on camera...
Akashi: Wait, was he really drunk!? I couldn't tell from what I was seeing...
Mokdai: Gammei was fighting solo until Kouki got there. It's actually impressive how well he moved even with how red in the face he was.
Akashi: Damn, so he got filmed drunk on the job. Really sucks to be him, and he was busy already.
MC: He's asleep right now / His phone's been blowing up / Welp
---
(A) Mokdai: Ahh. Well after all he did, no wonder.
(B) Akashi: Oh my god??? I'm reminded of when I forget to turn in my homework for Toshu's class...
(C) Mokdai: Things happened. Maybe UEHA will let it go.
---
Mokdai: Well it's good you can rest now. Good luck tomorrow!
Akashi: Call us if anything happens. Maybe we can still help even if we aren't over there.
Call's over. MC goes to the next room over.
Gammei: (thousand yard stare)
MC: Damn / Oh, did you remember everything? / Did they dock your paycheck again?
Kouki: Oh my god, MC! Gammei woke up while you were on the phone. Want to bet what he said when he did? "What did I do while I was asleep?" I wanted to show him the battle from earlier, but it wasn't saved to the archives...
Tsuneaki: So we told him. He bluescreened and left to make a call, probably to his office. He tried to apologize, but you can see how well that worked out for him. Then again, he was caught drunk on the job on camera, soooo.
Gammei: ...AH! Oh, uh, I'm good.
MC: Oh, he woke up / Yeah, probably not... / Hope it's not too bad...
Gammei bows and scrapes at thin air so apparently not every phone call in this universe is Space Zoom with holograms. Eventually the call ends.
Gammei: Oh thank god I didn't get pay docked.
Tsuneaki: Uh, does that happen a lot?
Gammei: Shut up! But man, I somehow got off with a stern warning and some "wow you really must be tired" sympathy. They even told me to take a vacation and find a goddamn hobby already.
MC: Yeah, you do seem like you never take time off.
Kouki: I thought so too. I figured you were busy, but not THAT busy. Whenever I work with UEHA, it's always with you. Do you actually ever relax?
Tsuneaki: Yeah, you know how busy child actors are?
Normally Gammei would be pissy here, but...
Gammei: ...I guess my life really does look crazy to the outside world.
Kouki: Oh my god I'm sorry! I didn't think you actually worried about that!
Tsuneaki: Me too! It must be bad if you aren't getting mad, huh?
Gammei: (big sigh) Oh, sorry. I'm not bothered by you guys, I just had a lot to think about. Like literally everyone I know at UEHA and the police station are telling me to take a break. It's not like I LIKE working that hard. I take time off like everyone else, but...I've never wanted anything more than that. But almost everyone my age has a family or a life outside work or both. Mine must look really empty.
MC: Barrel said that too? / Well, different strokes and all... / Hmm...
(A) Gammei: Nah, he knows my deal already.
Gammei: I make a living as a hero and an investigator, so of course I'd work for the public. It's expected I grind myself to the bone for total strangers.
Gammei sighs again. Kouki and Tsuneaki look confused.
Kouki: Oh, that's it? Well yeah, I guess Joe Schmoe would think that about you.
Tsuneaki: Huh, I think I get what Kouki's saying. I'm just a small time actor too.
MC: Ohhh / what / (listen)
Tsuneaki: Well us actors are all different on an individual level when you get down to it. But when we work together in the same place doing the same things, the differences start going away after a while. Stay long enough and people start thinking the same things are normal, even if they aren't. So Gammei's coworkers might look at him and think they should try to do something for him, and he'd think he should change his life up.
Kouki: Both are fine, right? Trying hard for other people is still pretty cool on its own. We can't all balance work and private life.
Tsuneaki: Yep. I think the important bit is what people want themselves.
Gammei: (stares)
MC: I think your good points are... / So back at the plaza...
MC asks why Gammei deliberately chose to mingle and listen to the Shinraku folks earlier in the day rather than wander off with some excuse to focus on the case. Gammei smiles nostalgically at the question.
Gammei: Well, it's partly related to what the old lady in Kyoto said, but it also reminded me of my past. As a kid I lived in Fukushima, the island of blessings. It wasn't very blessed, and we all did our best to survive. And then you have the ones trying to be cute and stealing from others that I had to chase. I don't remember why I had to do it anymore, but I remember doing it brought relief to the people I knew, which made me happy. Seeing the Shinraku folks reacting the same way reminded me of that.
MC: You sure like looking after people / You never changed / So this is your dream job
Gammei is startled for a second, but relaxes.
Gammei: Heh, guess so. Thanks, you guys are right. (psyches himself up)
Gammei: Okay, so someone is using the bad blood between Shinraku and Kyoto to start shit and I am going to catch them if it's the last thing I do. I'm counting on you Kouki, MC.
Tsuneaki: But what about me? It's your local guide!
Gammei: You're still a person of interest and expected to just help!
Tsuneaki: But you're still paying for my room and board. I guess that's thanks enough.
Gammei: Uh, no you're on your own there. Bill us after if you have to.
Tsuneaki: NOOO
Flashback!
Tsuneaki: The reason why the Monster damage in Kyoto is different from everywhere else?
Space Onmyouji: Yeah, you ever thought about that? The old capital gets burned to the ground, but Kyoto's central government has no records of that. I've been wondering, so I looked into things myself.
Tsuneaki: What's with the circles and lines on this map?
Space Onmyouji: They called them dragon veins or leylines in the past. Nowadays we call it Ether. Monsters gather where Ether gathers, and the family head worked with other houses and abused that fact when they noticed. At the very least they kept the center area safe by shoving them all to Kyoto's south.
Tsuneaki: Are you talking about your ancestors?
Space Onmyouji: No, I'm not a direct descendant. It's complicated. Anyways, my family's onmyou magic could at least defend against Monsters if it couldn't destroy them, so I've been wanting to bring back that old business. That's why I'm glad to have you as my student, Tsuneaki.
Tsuneaki: Huh. On another note, you look really pale. You okay?
Space Onmyouji: Probably just cold, nothing serious. See you next time! (Asian drama cough of death)
Present
Kouki: MC, wake up! (shakes MC)
MC: What...? It's still night time... / Did you need me to take you to the toilet?
---
(C) Kouki: No, stupid!
---
Kouki: Gammei and Tsuneaki are gone. Sirius noticed and woke me up. When I went to check, their room was empty.
MC: Something must've happened / ...did they leave together? / Maybe they just went to a convenience store or something
---
(B) Kouki: Dunno...
(C) Kouki: Wait, you don't know? Tourism laws say nothing's open at night around here.
---
Kouki: Anyways, we have to go find them. It must be serious if Sirius woke me up.
Later
Tsuneaki is walking down an empty street towards somewhere different from yesterday...until he suddenly stops.
Tsuneaki: ...nice night out, huh Gammei?
Gammei reveals himself. Tsuneaki doesn't even turn to look.
Gammei: ...you were talking with someone last night.
Tsuneaki: Oh, were you following me? Aww, you could've just asked me to a date.
Gammei: Don't think you can joke your way past me.
Tsuneaki: You think I stabbed you in the back after almost earning your trust and I must be neck deep in the case, huh?
Gammei: Don't flatter yourself, dick. You were sus from the start.
Gammei wanted to believe in him but keeps that down. Things were getting friendly, but he still suspected it might have been a ruse. Now that he's found Tsuneaki sneaking out for secret meetings, he can't trust him even more now. Both stand and wait for the other to react. Gammei blinks first.
Gammei: Tsuneaki, you've never been honest with me. But you did show a little bit to Kouki and MC.
Flashback!
Tsuneaki: When I was your age, I was bothered by the difference between my origins and my appearance.
Present
Tsuneaki: ...
Gammei: Either you're hiding something or you're actually involved in the case, and either way you're too much in our business. Start talking about your deal!
Tsuneaki: Wow, I thought you were just some hotheaded detective, but you really thought through what I could be. Maybe it's time I showed you my hand? I'm worried for Kouki, but I'm interested in MC even more.
Gammei: Stop stalling and--
Tsuneaki: GET AWAY FROM THERE (pulls Gammei away from some thrown shuriken)
Suddenly Evil Ninjas!
Gammei: Dammit Tsuneaki, you were setting me up for th--
Tsuneaki: Nonono I just saved you! I didn't expect this to happen! (turns to the ninjas)
Tsuneaki: Could you guys like not mess up my opportunity to get trust with your inconvenient timing?
The ninjas pull out swords and surround Gammei and Tsuneaki!
Gammei: Fine, bring it!
Tsuneaki: Hello, they have Parallel Weapons out and we don't. Man this sucks.
The ninjas rush in!
MC: Found you Gammei! And Tsuneaki too! / Sirius, now!
---
(AB) Kouki: Sirius, go!
---
Sirius: BARK
MC uses their alarm tool distract everyone while Sirius jumps in to defend Gammei and Tsuneaki!
Tsuneaki: Hey cool, thanks for the save you two!
Gammei: Thanks...but why are you here?
Kouki: Sirius told me you two left. MC, transform Gammei!
Tsuneaki: Oh, wait, hold up. MC, I'm sending you something to your phone first. Boop! You've got mail! A love letter from me~!
MC: Never mind that now! / I'll read it later then / marriage form when
---
(AB) Tsuneaki: Haha, kidding. Look, I sent you a temp hero contract.
(C) Tsuneaki: Wait what you like me that much? Now I feel bad for joking around...sorry, it's a temp hero contract.
---
Tsuneaki: I DO have an Operator from my agency, but this should prove my innocence to you guys.
Kouki: Wait, you were investigating the case too!?
Gammei: ...MC, help us out here.
MC: Uhhh, well okay then! Execute!
Gammei and Tsuneaki transform!
Tsuneaki: Okay I'll explain later. But first, it's kickass time!
Gammei: Going along with you pisses me off but fine. MC, your orders!
BATTLE START
No comments:
Post a Comment