Shinkenger: Aftermath
Summary: Why don't reunions ever turn out as they should? Post-Shinkenger Act 49 (final)
Disclaimer: Yeah, right.
"Ne, Mako. This is actually pretty decent," Ryuunosuke told Shinken-Pink after taking a formerly dreaded bite of his prepared bento. Across from him and to his left, Takeru and Kotoha nodded in relieved agreement. Mako pouted despite the compliment.
"Was my cooking really that bad before?" she asked, glowering down at Shinken-Blue next to her. He cowered slightly away from her. In an instant, she took this as an unspoken apology and returned to the smile that had been on her face previously. "Well, I guess it wasn't as good as I thought it was, but one of the moms at the kindergarten helped me improve a lot in this past year."
A year. That was how long it had been since the team had 'disbanded.' Not a single disturbing sign of the return of the Gedoushu had surfaced at all in the exact 365 days that had passed. Today was actually the same day that they had parted ways. Jii was away preparing a feast for dinner as well as putting final touches on accommodations for the night. With that, this would make the day perfect, that is, until those two arrived.
"Where could Genta-kun and Chiaki-kun be?" Kotoha wondered as they finished up their bentos. This question brought about a scattered mix of musings.
"Well, you know Chiaki," Mako said. "He's probably caught up playing a game at the arcade."
"Or he overslept," Ryuunosuke added, scoffing as her then addressed the other one. "That Genta is obviously caught up in being recognized as a 2-star sushi chef. He's gotten a bit more boisterous since he's one star closer to his dream."
"You rang?" An all-too-familiar voice called out from near the entrance to the room. And speak of the devil, Shinken-Gold was grinning widely down at them with his arms crossed and two shining gold stars pinned to the left side of his shirt. Floating next to him was the forever wise-cracking DaiGoyou.
"Oy, don't you usually yell before you come in here?" Ryuunosuke questioned indignantly, hiding the fact that was happy to see the man. Genta just ignored him and walked over to Takeru, clapping a hand on the Lord's shoulder.
"Hey, Take-chan," when Shinken-Red nodded, he continued. "How's the hobby going?"
At this, Takeru froze as he thought about Jii's attempts to give him something to do besides being a samurai. He flashed back to the time he had fallen off a semi-old wooden boat as he tried to reel in a fish no bigger than his foot, and then the time he'd been introduced to soccer where he kept picking up the ball to Jii's dismay, and then the time he had been forced to try flower arranging… not something worth remembering. Looking away from the curious gazes of his vassals he gave short reply, "Good."
Even as he said that, the others just smiled as they interpreted the meaning of it. A sudden thought came suddenly to Ryuunosuke, "Oh yeah. Where is Tono-sama's mother?"
Now this was something he was willing to truthfully answer. "Kaa-san and Tanba went on a business trip to China. That man said she should learn the etiquette of other countries."
"Does either of them know how to speak Chinese?" Kotoha asked skeptically.
"Kaa-chan learned a decent amount before she left. Tanba also brought a book with him."
Before anymore could be said, Jii, flanked by a few kuroko, entered. "Tono, everything for tonight has been prepared. Has everyone arrived?"
"No, Jii," Takeru replied. "That guy is missing."
The ring of Kotoha's cellphone resounded throughout the room. Looking down at the caller ID, her face brightened up even more than it had been before. "It's Chiaki."
"Ah, put it on speaker phone, I'd like to hear the excuse from his own mouth," Ryuunosuke requested. Shinken-Yellow happily obliged, pressing the button to answer the call.
"Konnichiwa, Chiaki-kun. You're missing Mako-chan's cooking. It was actually really nice this time," Kotoha greeted.
"What do you mean, this time? Ne, Chiaki, your bento is getting cold. Come over here quick," Mako said, changing her tone from indignant to motherly.
"You'd better not be playing at the arcade, you're making Tono-sama wait!" Ryuunosuke reprimanded, wagging his finger as if the college student could see it.
"Oy! Bleach-head! Come and see the master two-star chef in action!" Genta practically yelled into the receiver.
"Genta, dinner's being prepared already. There's no need for that," Takeru reasoned.
Surprisingly enough, the familiar whine of Shinken-Green did not complain about his broken eardrums. Instead, the faint sound of metal against metal sent the Shinkengers on edge. Moments of deadening silence later, Kotoha finally found her voice, "Ch…Chiaki-kun."
The noise of feet crushing crisp, dried leaves filled the room until it slowed into a stop. A harsh, wet cough followed by the sound of a body leaning against a solid surface was all they heard. Several seconds of ragged breathing later, their friend's voice finally came into play, "Yokatta! I'm glad you're all together… You wouldn't believe what kind of day I've been having."
Shockingly, Chiaki actually tried laughing as he usually did, but this only earned another bout of sickening coughs that chilled the hearts of the others. Takeru took action, deftly picking up the phone to speak, "Chiaki, where are you?"
From the sound of it, the teen was running again. But through this, he found the moments to reply, "I'm heading…over to…the old pier….but…..you…you really shouldn't be worrying about me now…..Takeru, mina-san, prepare…..for…. a…fight…"
At that, the shing of two swords colliding resounded once more. And then…the line went dead. Takeru tightened his grip around the phone, trying to analyze the situation at hand. The others were also in a similar situation. Then the sound of a crash somewhere in the house shook them into their senses. Jumping to their feet, the Takeru and company raced to the scene.
Elsewhere, Chiaki backed up slowly, clutching his left arm that hung loosely against his side, dripping with blood. Several other scrapes and bruises were scattered around his body and his own sword had been used to skewer his cellphone and cut off his message to Takeru and the others. Amazingly, Shinken-Green still had the energy to smirk at his opponent, despite the fact that the wound to his head was bleeding profusely. Head wounds always bled a lot even if they weren't that serious, right? Shakily, he grabbed the handle of his sword, shaking off the remaining bits of his phone. Spitting out some blood, Chiaki got into his stance, adrenaline running through his veins as the enemy approached him once again. What had he gotten himself into?
A/N: I had the idea of this early in the morning after a wicked night of fangirling over Shinkenger and other Super Sentai shows. Sorry if it's kind of crappy... But if it isn't to you, please review. Knowing someone loved (or at least liked) to read a story you wrote is fuel for a writer. 3