Go Go Sentai
Boukenger: The Satoru/Eiji universe
By Dany
PG-13
Summary: After having officially joined the Boukenger team, Eiji struggles with his incomprehensible feelings towards Chief, while Satoru is trying to resign himself to what he believes is unrequited attraction...
(chapter 1, set shortly after Task 20 'A new giant')
"Why in the world would you people need a headquarters that huge?" Takaoka Eiji lamented for the umpteenth time as he shuffled down the hallway of the SGS dormitory after Akashi Satoru. "You've dragged me all over this place for the last hour and the only thing it's done is that I'm completely turned around now."
"I thought you might want to get to know your new home," Satoru said over his shoulder with a wry grin.
"I just wanted to know where my room was," Eiji countered. "You were the one who had the great idea to combine that with the Grand Tour." The twinkle in his eyes belied the gruff tone, though, and Satoru grinned again.
"Well, your suffering is over now, here is your room."
They came to a halt in front of a nondescript door exactly like every other one down the long corridor. The only thing that identified it as Eiji's room was the silver color bar atop the keypad and buzzer. Satoru dug a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Eiji.
"This is the access code for your door."
"Thanks."
"If you need anything - my room is three doors down the hallway." The Fiery Adventurer pointed down the corridor.
"Lemme guess: the door with the red color bar on it," Eiji deadpanned.
"Right, smart-ass. Come by any time."
Eiji averted his eyes from Satoru's warm gaze. "Thanks, but I'm sure I'll be all right."
"This was not an empty offer, Eiji." A hand on his shoulder made the Ashu-hunter look back up. "You are not alone anymore. You have friends now." Satoru said. "Remember that."
"I know." Eiji seemed to be at a momentary loss for words at the friendly gesture. He shifted his pack from one shoulder to the other. "It's just - I need some time to get used to the concept, I guess. I've never had friends before."
"Well, you've got all the time you need. We're not going anywhere." With a playful cuff to Eiji's shoulder, Satoru turned to go. Three steps down the hallway, however, he suddenly snapped his fingers and turned back around.
"By the way, I found something that belongs to you. You'll find it inside." And with that he walked off down the corridor.
Somewhat bewildered, Eiji stared after him until the chief was swallowed from his view before he punched in his door's access code. He crossed the threshold - and stood rooted to the spot when he saw the item on his bed.
There, atop the quilt, lay his broken shakujo, his father's staff.
Not sparing the rest of the room a second glance, he was by the bed in three long strides, grasping the staff in a white-knuckled, two-handed grip.
Its energy was depleted, of course, released when Gai destroyed the ornamental top of the staff, but Eiji could still feel a remnant of his father's essence lingering within. A slow smile spread across his face at the familiar and comforting feeling.
Where and when had Satoru found it? After the battle with Quester-Robo, Eiji had returned to the spot where the staff had been broken, but despite an extensive search, had come up frustrated and empty-handed. Had Satoru beaten him to the spot or just happened to have found it in an area that Eiji hadn't searched?
It didn't matter; all that mattered was that he had his father's legacy back, even in its broken state.
For a moment Eiji was of half a mind to run back out into the hallway after Satoru, but an overt display of gratitude was not Eiji's nature. He would thank Chief tomorrow, after making a crack that he would eventually have found the shakujo himself.
Still, he couldn't deny the warm feeling that went through him at Satoru's efforts.
Eiji sat on the mattress and shifted his grip on the metal rod, examining the jagged top. One piece of dark metal was sticking out a bit and when Eiji jiggled it between two fingers, it came loose. It was about half the length of his index finger, with one pointed and one blunt tip and for a long moment, Eiji stared at it thoughtfully before a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
Tomorrow he would take the piece down to SGS's machine shop; with all the sophisticated equipment they must be housing there to aid the Boukengers in their hunt for Precious, they were sure to have a precision tool that could cut a small hole through this shard.
If Eiji could no longer carry his shakujo, he would be wearing a piece of it around his neck from now on instead. That way at least he could keep his father close to him in some way.
Nodding to himself, satisfied with his decision, Eiji looked up to take in his new surroundings for the first time.
Standard employee quarters; the bed, nightstand, a small desk with a chair, a TV screen mounted on the wall opposite the bed. A narrow closet next to a closed door that, Eiji assumed, led to a doubtlessly tiny bathroom.
Good enough for him. Time to make himself at home.
He put the staff back on the bed, then retrieved his bag from where he had dropped it by the door and proceeded to unpack his meager belongings, draping his father's black coat over a hanger in the closet and putting away his few other items of clothing. It took him less than ten minutes to 'move in' and afterwards, the room didn't look much more lived-in than before.
Still - much better than what he was used to. He now had shelter from the elements, an actual mattress to sleep on, indoor plumbing and convenient access to food, since there had to be a kitchen or cafeteria around here somewhere.
Eiji snorted; an hour of forced sightseeing around SGS headquarters and the one place Akashi hadn't shown him was the cafeteria.
Akashi. Satoru. Chief. Eiji wasn't even sure what he was supposed to call him. The rest of the team was easier: Sakura-san, Natsuki-chan, Souta-kun and…the black guy.
But Chief? That guy was an enigma to him. Eiji's eyes went to the Go Go Changer on his wrist. Satoru had exhibited a trust in him that no one else other than his father had ever put in him. Even after Eiji had nearly killed him a few days ago under the influence of his Ashu blood…Eiji's grip on his shakujo tightened unconsciously at the memory. Even after that, he had still wanted him to be part of the team!
You have given me a chance when no one else would, Satoru, and I will not betray that trust. I promise!
That night Takaoka Eiji slept soundly, his father's staff on the floor next to the bed. He dreamt of Akashi Satoru.
'Man, where is that funny upside-down cone guy with a treasure-hunt assignment when you need him?' Eiji thought as he stared into his glass of carrot juice while noise abounded all around him in the common room. He was trying to teach himself team spirit by spending more time with the Boukengers instead of going off on his own, but between Natsuki and Masumi's high-pitched argument about some silly topic he tried hard not to listen to, Souta's guitar-strumming and Sakura's constant questions about one aspect after another on the mechanics of the Siren Builder, Eiji was developing a headache. He had no idea how that mecha worked; he just drove the thing. And where was Satoru anyways?
Just when he was seriously contemplating a strategic retreat to his room for some peace and quiet, the double doors swished open and Makino-sensei entered.
"Ah, good morning, Boukengers," the older technician said, bowing. "It is that time of the month again."
The statement was received with smiles all around the Boukenger team as they assembled around their tech support specialist. Eiji stayed where he was, watching in mystification as Makino handed out an envelope to each treasure hunter.
Masumi tucked his in his jacket pocket and immediately took off with hardly a good-bye.
"What is this?" Eiji asked.
"Why, it's your paycheck, Ei-chan!" Natsuki exclaimed. "What did you think?"
"Paycheck?" Eiji echoed, genuinely puzzled. He had never even considered the possibility that he was going to get paid for being Boukenger, yet here was Makino-sensei handing him an envelope with his name in formal kanji on it.
His father had left him with enough money to survive so far; he had never had a reason to worry about funds. There was still quite a nice amount left in the black lacquered box hidden in the house of his birth. Eiji looked at the envelope again. But this was certainly a nice incentive on top of adventuring.
Sakura's voice broke through his thoughts. "What are you going to do with your money, Eiji?"
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I never even thought we would be getting paid for Precious-hunting."
"Yeah! Going on adventures and getting paid for it. Isn't it great?" The big grin on Souta's face showed that the High Adventurer certainly thought it was.
"What do you all do with your money?" Eiji wanted to know.
Souta shrugged. "I don't know what Masumi is doing, but I'm sure Chief is already on his way to that antiques store across town that he always visits on payday. The old man who owns it has an impressive collection of treasure maps."
Eiji grinned at that; so like Satoru to be spending his money on treasure maps.
"Natsuki and Sakura are going shopping!" Natsuki said ebulliently. "I really hope the mall has a sale on cute clothes. You should go, too, Ei-chan!"
"Why?"
The yellow-clad girl managed to look both amused and exasperated at the same time. "So you can get some new clothes for yourself, of course! That same black pants/black t-shirt outfit gets boring after a while, you know." She stepped up to him and grabbed a fold of his commodious coat, eyeing the worn black material with a frown. "And you might want to get that coat dry-cleaned."
"I'm not going to get my father's memories dry-cleaned away!" Eiji huffed indignantly, snatching the cloth back.
"All right, all right," Natsuki laughed, "keep your funky coat, then. We're off!" She winked at him as she grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her towards the door.
Souta dashed after them. "Wait, I'm coming with you. There's a comic book store at the mall that I've been wanting to check out for the longest!"
The three of them walked out the door of the common room, and Eiji could hear Natsuki ask, "What do you guys think Masumi is doing with his money?"
"Who knows? What he should be doing with it is take it to a dentist…"
"Souta-chan!"
Eiji couldn't help but laugh while the door swished shut behind his three teammates. He put the envelope in his pocket and drained his glass of carrot juice. Natsuki was right; he should spend his money on something.
The image of Satoru poring over faded, old treasure parchments popped into his head. Perhaps next time they could go to that antiques store together. Or somewhere else, a restaurant maybe…
Dinner? Whoa! Eiji blinked at that unforeseen thought. Strangely enough, though, he could see them going out to dinner together, just the two of them.
Why not? We're two men, after all… It's not like it would be a date - would it?
The Dazzling Adventurer stared at his empty glass as if it somehow held the answer, yet the only thing he came up with was that he needed some fresh air.
He went out and somehow ended up at the nearest farmer's market where he spent a good part of his earnings on fresh vegetables.
TBC…