Chapter Thirty-Six: Megumi's Concerns

In the cold, quiet alley, the slow, crisp sound of footsteps echoed. The old buildings surrounding them blocked out the warm sunlight, making the narrow, damp alley even more deep and chilly. A young girl walked slowly, supported by a boy even younger than herself.

“Are you still not feeling well, Mihoko?” Ryuunosuke gently held her shoulder, concern evident in his voice.

“Azé... am I being cowardly...?” Mihoko’s voice was soft, fragile as a newborn kitten.

“No, you’re very brave,” Ryuunosuke denied her words firmly. “When I confronted those men in black, it was you who courageously threw lime powder to help me. And when I was dealing with those two men, it was you who bravely stopped me.”

Ryuunosuke gazed into Mihoko’s beautiful eyes. Her limpid gaze, framed by long lashes, made him momentarily lose himself. He quickly shook his head—he had a girlfriend after all, he shouldn’t entertain such thoughts!

Mihoko looked up at him, dazed, then broke into a sweet smile. “You’re a brave boy too! But speaking of which, your swordsmanship seems quite impressive!”

“Eh, is that so? Oh no! I need to get back to the dojo!” Ryuunosuke slapped his forehead as he remembered his work. By now, everyone must already be waiting for him at the dojo. If the head instructor found out he was late, he’d definitely get his pay docked.

Brrring—

Ryuunosuke pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the caller ID. It was Masao Chiba, the head of the dojo.

“Speak of the devil,” he muttered.

He’d bought this secondhand phone from a street vendor, along with the cheapest plan. As for the money, he’d pestered Masao Chiba for an advance on most of his wages.

“Where the hell are you during work hours, you brat! The students are calling me, the head, to complain!” Chiba’s furious shout blasted through the phone.

“Ah, yes, sorry! I had a bit of an emergency, so...”

“Get your ass back to work, now!” Chiba’s voice, as fierce as a wolf’s howl, cut him off.

Beep—beep—beep.

The call ended abruptly, leaving only the busy tone.

“Mihoko, could you get me out of this maze-like alley a bit faster? My boss is calling me back to work,” Ryuunosuke said helplessly, pocketing his phone.

...

Fire Golzan had already been dealt with by Dyna and the Victory Team; the fog-shrouded Mt. Kirigamine had returned to peace.

TPC Pacific Headquarters.

Inside the brightly lit command center, various monitoring instruments hummed. The group sat around a large white round table, chatting and laughing.

“That Golzan fellow—finally taken care of!” Shinjo lounged in a rolling chair, hands clasped behind his head, speaking lazily.

“Monsters have been appearing on Earth so often lately... What in the world is happening to our planet?” Rina gazed at the screen, which replayed images and data on the monsters encountered so far, sighing in concern.

“Yano, how’s the analysis of that capsule going?” Captain Jun asked, sitting in her chair with long, glossy black hair flowing down her back, her slender fingers interlaced. She frowned as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her.

Yano’s fingers danced rhythmically over the keyboard, bringing up a video call with Dr. Danko, who was in charge of researching the capsule.

“We’re still working hard on analyzing the capsule. Its material doesn’t seem to exist on Earth. As for the last message from Yuren, we still can’t decode it,” Dr. Danko replied. On the big screen, he appeared in glasses and a white coat—a rotund man, much like Dr. Hashii.

Behind Dr. Danko sat a conical, silvery capsule. GUTS had discovered it within a meteorite that fell from the sky. The capsule could project a mysterious message: a white-haired woman calling herself Yuren warned of a great catastrophe to befall Earth and explained how to respond. But the crucial part—the instructions—was always indecipherable, the voice too garbled to understand.

“I see... Thank you for your efforts, Dr. Danko.”

After ending the call, Captain Jun bowed her head, deep in thought, her expression troubled.

“Is something bothering you, Captain?” Daigo noticed her unease and asked with concern.

“The power of Ultraman... Is it really something humans can control?” She spoke slowly, almost to herself, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Eh?” Daigo’s pupils contracted in shock. Was the captain hinting at something with these words?

“What kind of future awaits humanity?” Captain Jun murmured on, then gave a self-deprecating shake of her head, her straight bangs swaying with the motion.

Daigo gazed at his captain with a complicated expression, as if searching for some answer in her demeanor.

...

Meanwhile, under Mihoko’s guidance, Ryuunosuke had finally emerged from the labyrinthine alley.

In front of the Hokushin Ittoryu Dojo.

“Azé, is this where you work?” Mihoko peered curiously into the dojo, seeing only a few students chatting and joking inside.

“Yeah, I’m a coach here,” Ryuunosuke replied with a smile.

“Then you’d better hurry up and get to work!” Mihoko rolled her eyes at him, looking adorably stern.

“Well, until next time!” Ryuunosuke nodded to her, then turned and walked into the dojo.

“See you, Azé!” Mihoko watched his departing figure for a few moments before turning to leave herself.

On their way back to the dojo, they had already exchanged phone numbers, so they could contact each other anytime. Mihoko also told him she lived in the maze of alleys behind the dojo and worked part-time at a restaurant.

People who lived in that area were all from the poorest and most marginalized parts of society. Ryuunosuke could easily imagine that Mihoko’s life couldn’t be easy.

“I should help this kind-hearted girl as much as I can,” Ryuunosuke thought. “A kindness given is a kindness kept.”

“But what is the organization behind those men in black...?” He still couldn’t figure out why they wanted to capture him alive. He searched his hazy memory of the original story, but couldn’t recall any such group existing in the plot.

Bang!

“Ouch, that hurt!”

Ryuunosuke, lost in thought with his head down, walked right into a wall and fell hard onto the ground.

“Hahaha—” The students who had seen him walk straight into the wall burst into laughter. Even Shuichi Nan’ya, who was usually cold towards Ryuunosuke, couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

“What on earth were you thinking about, Coach Azé? You were so lost in thought—don’t tell me you were daydreaming about some girl?” Sonoko Aoki covered her mouth, teasing him.

“Dream on!” Ryuunosuke shot back grumpily, getting up, dusting himself off, and picking up his Cloud Sword, which had fallen in the tumble.

“This afternoon’s practice will be a sparring match!” Ryuunosuke announced, a mischievous smile appearing on his lips.

“Aww—!” The room was instantly filled with groans of protest.