Kakuranger-New Year's Romance

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Sentai. They belong to Saburo Yatsude, Shotaro Ishinomori, TV Asahi, and Toei Company, Ltd. Unless otherwise noted, the characters in this story are actually speaking Japanese. Some characters may appear a bit OOC.

(Friday, December 31, 1999; 09:00 JST)

New Year's Eve, Tokyo, Japan. They say it's a romantic time here in the land of the rising sun.

Over in the Bunkyo ward of Tokyo, a man in his early thirties wearing a black winter jacket and blue jeans was walking down the street. He was Sasuke, descendant of legendary ninja Sarutobe Sasuke, and Ninja Red, a member of the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. On this day, Sasuke was reminiscing about his Kakuranger days…particularly a certain ninja in white.

Come to think of it, if Sai and I hadn't freed the Youkai, I probably wouldn't have met Tsuruhime-chan, he thought to himself. As he was walking, he noticed a man flying out of the alleyway and landing just inches from him.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked the man as he helped him up.

"Man…that bitch is crazy!!" the guy then ran off down the street. Two others than ran out of the alleyway and down the street in the opposite direction. Curious, Sasuke decided to enter the alleyway, and saw a woman in her late teens. "Miss…are you all right?" He ran up to the girl, but as soon as he approached her, she grabbed his arm and flipped him over her. Before he could get up, she put his foot on his chest. "What in the…?" Sasuke said before he recognized the person that had flipped him onto the ground. "Tsuruhime?"

"Sasuke! Oh, I am so sorry!" Tsuruhime said as she helped him up. She was the descendant of Shodai Tsuruhime, and Ninja White, the formal leader of the Kakurangers. "I thought you were one of them!"

"Those ecchis?" Sasuke said. "What made you think that?"

"You know those freaks like to show up around New Year's," Tsuruhime said.

"Unfortunately," Sasuke said. "But look at you! You're really grown up since the last time I saw you!"

"Oh, come on, Sasuke. It wasn't that long ago," Tsuruhime said.

"Well, in that case…you're more beautiful than the last time I saw you," Sasuke said."

"Oh, stop!" Tsuruhime said, blushing a bit. She had definitely grown up in height in the five years since becoming a Kakuranger, and more beautiful as well. She was also wearing a brown jacket and khaki pants.

"I'm serious," Sasuke said. "So, can I have a hug now?"

"How about a kiss?" Tsuruhime asked.

"That's even better," Sasuke said. The two then shared a light kiss on the lips.

Soon, the two ninjas were walking down the street.

"So, what are your plans for New Year's, Tsuru-chan?" Sasuke asked. Tsuru-chan was one of Sasuke's pet names for her.

"Well, I was going to spend it with my father," Tsuruhime said. "But he said to me, 'Tsuruhime, you're going to be an adult soon, so just go do whatever you want.'" Sasuke looked at her like she was crazy. "Seriously, he said that."

"Really?" Sasuke said. "The same Hakamenrou that was totally against our relationship from day one?"

(flashback; between the time the Kakurangers sealed the Youkai and the time they teamed up with the Ohrangers)

Tsuruhime was seen looking over the balcony of her house. She was gazing out towards the starts and a tear could be seen coming out of her left eye. She had just had another argument with her father, Hakamenrou, about her and Sasuke's relationship. He (referring to Hakamenrou) had barred Sasuke from his house, and even threatened to kill him if he ever saw the two of them in a "compromising" position. As she was stargazing, the youngest member of the Kakuranger failed to notice a familiar person arriving behind her. The person then turned her around. Tsuruhime immediately recognized him.

"Sasuke!" she said in surprise.

"Hello, Princess," Sasuke said. 'Princess' was another pet name for Tsuruhime. The two of them then shared a brief kiss on the lips.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Tsuruhime asked. "If my father catches you here, he'll kill you!"

"I just had to see you, Tsuru-chan," Sasuke said. He then started stroking her lovely black hair.

"Sasuke…" Tsuruhime said as he continued stroking her hair. "We both know that this isn't going to work out in the end."

"Because I'm 27 and you're 15?" Sasuke asked.

"Mm-hmm," Tsuruhime said.

"You know…we could wait," Sasuke said.

"Wait?" Tsuruhime said. "Sasuke…in all honesty, we should probably break up."

"Do you really think that?" Sasuke asked, somewhat hurt.

"Well…"

"Tsuruhime, don't listen to what your mind's telling you," Sasuke said. He then put his hand on Tsuruhime's chest, being very careful not to touch her…you know. "Listen to what your heart's telling you."

"Who's out there?!" Hakamenrou called out. Both of the two ninjas gasped, with Sasuke immediately leaping up towards the roof. Hakamenrou then peeked through the door that led to the balcony. "I thought I heard someone here."

"No, just me, otou-san," Tsuruhime said nervously.

"Really?" Hakamenrou said. "Ah, I must have been hearing things. Good night, Tsuruhime."

"Good night, otou-san," Tsuruhime said. As soon as her father left, she put her hand on her chest and thought about what Sasuke had just said to her.

(end flashback)

"Sasuke, you know he's gotten over it by now," Tsuruhime said. "In fact…"

(flashback; shortly after the Ohranger-Kakuranger team-up)

After their big team-up with the Ohrangers, the Kakurangers decided to go their separate ways. Saizou, Seikai, and Jiraiya had already been dropped off, with Sasuke driving Nekomaru back to Tsuruhime's place.

"Well, here we are," Sasuke said.

"Thanks, Sasuke," Tsuruhime said.

"Tsuru-chan…let me walk you over to the door," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, I can walk fine by myself, thank you very much," Tsuruhime said.

"I know, but I'm worried," Sasuke said. "Especially after…you know."

"I guess…" Tsuruhime said. The two of them then disembarked Nekomaru, and Sasuke walked Tsuruhime over to the front door of her house. "Thanks again."

"No problem," Sasuke said. "Hey, can I take Nekomaru with me?"

"No!"

"Just thought I'd ask," Sasuke said. They were about to kiss when Tsuruhime abruptly pulled back.

"Wait…what if my dad shows up?" Tsuruhime asked nervously.

"Let him watch, then," Sasuke said. The two of them then started kissing. They were so into their kiss that they didn't notice a ten-year-old boy opening the front door. The boy was definitely startled at what he was seeing.

"Onee-chan!" the boy said. At that moment, the two ninja immediately pulled apart, and noticed the boy standing on front of them.

"Bun-chan!" Tsuruhime said. Bun was the young Youkai child who despised the Youkai way, helping Hakamenrou in secret, and rescuing the Kakurangers on one occasion. After the Kakurangers sealed the other Youkai, Bun was adopted by Hakamenrou, making him Tsuruhime's brother.

"Bun?!" Sasuke said.

"What's going on ouy there, Bun?" Hakamenrou's voice was heard, heading for the door. "Did Tsuruhime return yet?" He then noticed Tsuruhime and Sasuke in a half-embrace. "Oh, my…"

"Otou-san, I can explain…" Tsuruhime tried to say.

"Save it," Hakamenrou said. "Bun, go up to your room. I need to have a word with your sister."

"Hai," Bun said, bowing before leaving the three alone.

"Well, in that case, I'll just be on my way," Sasuke said. He was about to turn and leave.

"Hold it right there, Sasuke," Hakamenrou said. Sasuke stopped in his tracks. Hakamenrou then turned to his daughter. "Tsuruhime, do you really love this man?" At that moment, she thought of what Sasuke had told her several months earlier.

Don't listen to what your mind's telling you. Listen to what your heart's telling you.

"Yes," Tsuruhime answered.

"And do you truly love my daughter, Sasuke?" Hakamenrou asked him.

"Yes," Sasuke said. "Are you trying to marry us?"

"Of course not," Hakamenrou said. "That's the last thing that I'd want. However…if you two truly love each other, then I won't interfere any longer. This doesn't mean that I personally like it, but my daughter's happiness is more important."

"Hakamenrou…" Sasuke said.

"Arigato, otou-san," Tsuruhime said, almost crying.

"Now, Sasuke," Hakamenrou said. "If anything happens to my daughter…"

"I promise you, sir. Nothing will happen to your daughter as long as I'm with her," Sasuke said.

(end flashback)

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

"So, what do you have planned for New Year's, Sasuke?" Tsuruhime asked.

"Nothing really," Sasuke said.

"Nothing at all…Ojii-san?" Tsuruhime asked with a bit of playfulness in her voice.

"What did you just call me?" Sasuke asked in mock anger before giving Tsuruhime a noogie.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Tsuruhime said as she was being noogied.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke said, pretending to ignore her. "What did you just say?"

"I give! I give!" Tsuruhime shouted. Sasuke then let go. "That was mean!"

"Well, you did call me Ojii-san," Sasuke said.

"Well, you were the oldest out of all of us, Sasuke," Tsuruhime said.

"Ha-ha," Sasuke said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Hey, there's an arcade about two kilos from here. I'll race ya to it."

"Deal," Tsuruhime said. She was about to run, but Sasuke held her back.

"Not yet," Sasuke said. She tried to run again, but Sasuke again held her back. "Not yet." Tsuruhime was starting to get impatient, so he let her go. "GO!" And the two of them ran off.

An indeterminate about of time later, Tsuruhime arrived at the arcade, and to her surprise, she found Sasuke outside the main entrance, flipping a coin in the air.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked in mock anger.

"I took a couple of shortcuts," Sasuke said. He then tossed the coin again and caught it.

"What is that?" Tsuruhime asked about the coin.

"Oh, this?" Sasuke said. "It's a 1924 Peace Dollar. Jiraiya got it for me for my 30th birthday."

"Really?" Tsuruhime said. "I never realized he was a coin collector."

"He isn't, but he told me he was looking for something special for me," Sasuke said. "You know what…we forgot to make a wager for this race."

"How about this? I'll pay for the both of us at the arcade," Tsuruhime said. "But you have to pay for our lunch."

"Fine with me," Sasuke said. The two shared a brief kiss before heading into the arcade for some fun. However, as they were entering the arcade, a shady man wearing a trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses was watching them.

That's the end of this chapter. Please read and review. Thanks to redryuranger11 for helping me out with this.