At last, it was time for Yukari Amada and the Feathermen to depart. The six women were waiting by their limo bus, while the Hakone Caravan, the Hasegawas, and Sojiro Sakura stood in various positions along the hillside leading up to the old ryokan.
"I must say, this brief detour was...invigorating," admitted Yukari; the immediate snorts from several individuals who will go unnamed did not escape her.
Sakura-sensei scratched at the back of his head with a weary expression. "Well, at least you cleaned up after yourselves," he said in a completely general way.
The subtext did not escape the adults, particularly Junpei, Ryuji, Ann, and Rise, who snorted even
louder.
Ken wisely remained silent.
"
ANYhow," said Yukari with a twitching grin, "I think their agents couldn't keep the 'horde' at bay any longer, because now my phone's getting blown up by our escorts," she said, holding up her phone which was now buzzing incessantly.
"But I think it's important for a little spontaneity every now and then," remarked Rio, looking intently towards Mana. "Sometimes it leads to unexpectedly pleasant fruits."
"Indeed," agreed Naoto, looking intently towards Shinji. (For some reason, it felt appropriate to quietly nod back.)
"It was definitely a treat!" exclaimed Ann.
"In more ways than one," crooned Rise, winking in Zenkichi's direction.
The senior Hasegawa blinked. "Wait, what-"
"Check your back pocket."
Zenkichi did so, finding a slip of paper that had been snuck inside. "...wait, is this your
number?"
Rise giggled. "Call me~♡"
Saki sighed, immediately grabbing the woman in a headlock. "Okay you thirsty little witch, cool your jets, okay?" Opal Owl ignored Sapphire Swan's frantic flailing as she dragged her into the limo bus.
"And with
that, I believe it's time we leave." Hifumi bowed deeply at the waist. "Thank you for your wonderful hospitality."
"Likewise," said Naoto with a nod.
"May your future endeavors be successful," said Rio with a polite wave.
The Hakone Caravan gave polite farewells as the women boarded the bus, which closed its doors behind them. Before the transmission switched gears, six windows lowered, and the Featherman all leaned out; without hesitation, they gave a two-fingered salute — index and middle finger joined together, the tips going up against their brow — with their right arm, sporting confident smiles. As they did so, the credits theme for
Featherman Z — an energetic number with electric guitar and saxophone — played over the bus's speakers.
"
Until next time, boys and girls!" they all chorused. "
Bishoujo Senshi Feathermen, conquering tomorrow for the sake of love and peace!" With those words, the limo bus finally rumbled off of the grass and onto the driveway leading back to the main road; before long, the music faded away.
"...I have to say, that's some pretty corny stuff right there," stated Sojiro.
"You said it," agreed Junpei.
"I thought it was nice," said Mayumi, trying to defend them for reasons that had
nothing to do with the signed copy of a
Featherman Z manga volume that had been given to her.
"Sure it was, and those ladies were all pretty cool. Doesn't stop it from being corny," retorted Ryuji.
"You said it, sensei!" agreed Toji, even though he now sported a rather sporty Featherman cap on his head.
"But, at least Kenny had a good time...or so you'd think." Junpei slyly glanced towards Ken. "So...wearing an ice pack, eh? Don't think I don't see that bulge underneath the back of your shirt!"
"I
refuse to comment." With those words, Ken turned around and began walking (somewhat gingerly) back up the hill.
"Oh come on, at least tell me what happened to make you pull it, you old geezer!" joked Junpei as he followed his partner back towards the ryokan, pestering him with more and more inappropriate questions.
"...well, I think I'm going to order take-out for dinner. Not in the mood for cooking anything after all the hubbub," remarked Sojiro as he meandered on back to his home. Before long, after Zenkichi and Akane said their goodbyes, only Mana, Shinji, and Ryuji remained on the hill, with the latter simply sitting down to rest.
This left Shinji to look towards Mana, who was still staring in the direction that the limo bus had departed in. "...Kirishima-san?"
Mana blinked, looking towards him with a blank expression. "What?"
His eyes were drawn towards the circlet on her head, which bore a small but pretty emerald gemstone. "...that's a nice headband."
Mana gingerly touched it, a confused yet thoughtful expression on her face. "...have you ever thought about what you want, Ikari?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Out of life."
"...all the time," he honestly admitted,
empathizing with the young girl.
"Well, what is it?"
"...I'm not sure."
Mana impulsively snorted. "You too, huh? Figures...we're both kids, even if the world doesn't treat us like it." With a troubled sigh, she impulsively summoned her weapons from Sakura-sensei's house; resting LABRYS and AIGIS on the ground, she stared heavily at the glittering gemstones — silver topaz for LABRYS, ruby red for AIGIS — embedded into them, housing untold quantities of spiritual energy, as well as the residual metaphysical essence of her sisters. "...been focusing so much on trying to reclaim what I've lost that I haven't put any thought into where I'm going..."
"...and where would that be, Kirishima-san?"
"I...honestly haven't a clue. But maybe I should start thinking about it more."
"...if...if I figure out an answer, I'll tell you mine," he said, clenching his right hand. "And hopefully...that'll give you an idea."
Mana lightly smirked, an odd expression in her eyes. "And I'll return the favor. I just hope we'll both live long enough to see it."
"That's...pretty grim, Kirishima-san."
"...yeah. It is," she murmured, looking up towards her own forehead, where Emerald Eagle's Transformation Tiara rested. "...but I still gotta try, don't I...?"
"...I think that's all anyone can ask for," he admitted.
"And if I don't succeed? What if I'm looking for this 'answer' for the rest of my life? How would I even know what it looks like?"
Shinji frowned, because it was
honestly a good question. "...I think...it's something you can only understand when you finally find it. At least, that's my hope." (Because leaving it as a nebulous hope...was all he was willing to allow himself.)
(
You have no guarantee that you'll become the person you want to be.)
His Other glared at the Beast.
"We are always striving to become better, even if it hurts."
The Beast sneered at his Other.
"And yet too much pain eventually overwhelms...and I will enjoy the destruction he will unleash when that happens."
The Other nodded grimly.
"So then the question becomes...how much pain are you willing to endure?"
"Hope, huh?" Mana chuckled. "...that's something I'll also have to work on."
Shinji nodded, feeling like he had come to understand Kirishima a bit better...and
why was he hearing the sound of an approaching car engine?
Suddenly, like a tardy student being chased by the Class Representative, a familiar blue Alpine Renault
screamed up the driveway, coming to a perfect stop in the grass besides where the HiAce and DeLorean were parked. "...huh?"
Sakamoto, concerned by the noise, sat up with concern...and then with impending dread. "Aw crap, are you for
real...?"
Without warning, a feminine leg
kicked the driver door opened, and out stormed Misato Katsuragi, who could
charitably be called irate. "Hey." She glared at Ryuji. "Woke up this morning to a phone call from
Sae Niijima about everything that went down. So
thanks for that."
"...did...did you just
drive nearly six hundred kilometers in one day?!" sputtered Sakamoto.
"And I only had to stop and refuel
once." She quickly walked towards Shinji and Mana, giving them a once-over. "...well, you both look like you're in one piece." She patted Shinji on the shoulder, before actually
hugging Mana briefly but tightly. "Seriously, trouble just seems to follow you no matter what, neh?"
"...um..." Shinji didn't quite know what to say. Mana was apparently too emotionally drained after the day's proceedings to do much other than stare dumbly in response to Misato's embrace.
As for Misato, she stomped over towards Sakamoto and — with one hand held over her beret to keep it from falling off — hauled him up by the front of his shirt. "
You owe me a full sitrep."
"...I take it your phone call from this morning didn't suffice?"
"
No."
"...can we at least do it inside the house?" he said, gesturing with a thumb towards the ryokan atop the hill.
"Give me
one good reason."
"Other than Junpei and Ken being able to provide corroborating testimony? This way I'll have more eyewitnesses if you suddenly decide to try and kill me."
Misato narrowed her eyes. "Against my better judgment, I'll accept that."
At that precise moment, Shinji felt a sudden desire to be very very
very far away from Misato.
xxxx
/Strength
//now at Rank 4
