Footsteps echoed though a long, dark corridor. A woman in black robes slowly made her way down the hallway, towards a set of large, metal doors. The woman's face was covered by a white mask with a black, intricate design that wrapped around two large blue eyes and two long white horns.

In her hand, she held the black and red mask that she had acquired a few days prior from the Hikari Museum. She carried it close to her chest, guarding it with her heart - if she had one.

The large metal doors opened, revealing a large, circular room. The room was lined with rows of stone pews, all positioned to face a large, empty throne. The pews were filled with a few dozen creatures. Most of them were the same shadowy figures that she had sent upon the two children who had made it passed her magic barrier. The remaining two figures also wore black robes, and masks similar to the woman's - but each with their own unique design.

"It took you long enough, Kibala" The tallest said, with a hiss. His mask had yellow eyes, with green lines going down the masks - as if they were tears. He moved closer to the woman, extending a gloved hand. "Give it here."

Kibala took a step back. "It is not your place to touch Our Lord with such filthy hands, Ohjah." She scoffed, walking passed Ohjah as he hissed.

"Enough, Ohjah." The remaining figure said. His mask had three green eyes, with a gold line connecting them together - like a triangle. "She brought us the mask, but did you bring us our sacrifice?"

Ohjah looked back at _, before returning his attention back on the third figure. "Yes." He hissed. "I've been keeping him here for quite some time. A little older than I had wanted him to be -"

"Very well." The unnamed figure cut Ohjah off. "Prepare him for the ceremony. There is still one more piece we need." The figure turned his head to a group of the shadowy foot soldiers. "Go now - as you were ordered."

The dozens of monsters swirled together, like one large dust cloud. The cloud spun through the large metal doors, and out of sight.

The three young heroes stood in a large, empty construction lot. Hideo and Eiji stood, transformed by the ancient masks they wore on their helmets. Sanjo stood in front of them, arms folded.

She now wore a modern outfit, a pair of tight jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a grey vest. She was not used to wearing such clothes. "If you two are going to fight using the masks, then you have to learn how to use them." She said, with a demanding tone in her voice. "So far, you've been lucky enough not to get yourself killed. The last Oni we fought was nothing compared to what we could face next."
"Hey, I thought we did okay!" Eiji said. "Transform, swing our clubs, no big deal."

"If that was all the masks were capable of, I wouldn't have been guarding them for all this time." Sanjo stated, pushing Eiji's helmet with her finger before walking across the lot.

She took her place next to Gin, who was wearing a baseball uniform. By his feet was a large metal bucket of baseballs. Each was colored either red or yellow.

"So...what does that have to do with baseball?" Hideo asked.

His question was answered by a loud crack as Gin smashed a red ball with his bat. The ball spun towards Hideo, who had to duck to avoid it. "H-Hey!" He yelled.

"Sorry!" Gin yelled back. "We don't have any real monsters to shoot at you." He grinned as he picked up a yellow ball.

"You need to learn to focus and use your masks properly in battle." Sanjo said. "Once you've mastered that, you can use the masks's abilities to summon your weapons." A blue glow swirled around Sanjo's hand as her staff appeared out of this air. "Like this."

"We kicked an Oni's butt. I don't think a baseball will be much threat. Eiji said with a laugh. His smug attitude was cut off when Gin launched a yellow ball. The ball smashed against Eiji's helmet, knocking him to his feet.

"I've put a spell on Gin's club. Any thing he swings at will be more than enough to keep you distracted.

"Uh, Sanjo. It's a bat. A bat, not a club." Gin muttered into Sanjo's ear. He had been spending the past few days trying to familiarize Sanjo with modern day life. So far, it was proving to be difficult.

"Let's get started!" Gin called out.

For an entire hour, Gin launched ball after ball at the OniRangers. Each time that he did, his enchanted baseball bat launched a ball towards Hideo or Eiji. They tried their best to dodge and weave around the red and yellow balls that zoomed passed them, but they only got faster – and hurt more and more each time the boys were hit.

"This isn't a speed exercise!" Sanjo yelled. "Focus!" Sanjo swung her staff. As she did so, its four silver rings lit up.

The dozens of balls that were scattered around the lot floated up into the air for a moment. Eiji and Hideo watched them carefully.

"Oh, this can't be good." Eiji mumbled.

The balls magically launched themselves towards them all at once.
Hideo's mask flashed as he reached for his club. "YuraYura Kanabou!" He commanded. With a surprising burst of speed, he swung the club with precision aim, striking every ball that Sanjo had attacked them with. The baseballs were demolished on contact, sending rubber flying in every direction.

"Woah!" Gin exclaimed.

Eiji lowered his arms from the attack and stared at Hideo. "Show-off."

"The Red Fukumen grants its wearer amazing accuracy and precision." Sanjo explained."Eiji, you need to relax more. The masks will rely on your instincts. Don't spend time covering your head."

"Tch." Eiji scoffed as he reached for the yellow mask on his helmet. He pulled the mask away as it dissolved into a yellow light, along with the rest of his OniRanger attire.

Hideo shook his head and pulled his mask off as well. He was about to say something supporting to Eiji, but the sound of explosions in the distance had distracted everyone. "What was that?" He asked, turning to Sanjo.

Sanjo watched as smoke climbed into the air. "I can sense Oni Magic. They are making their next move – let's go."

In a large business area of the city, hundreds of lawyers, pencil pushers, doctors, and other pedestrians, all ran for their lives. Shadowy figures were chasing the people through the streets, creating a panic.

Hideo, Eiji, and Sanjo arrived in time to see a Kurayami Oni walking up a set of stairs, towards one of the large buildings in the area. The monster looked like the Oni that Hideo remembered reading about – only this one had many characteristics of a Praying Mantis.

"Kurayami!" Sanjo called out. "Stay where you are."

The mantis monster looked back at the three. The creature sniffed the air. "Ah, Ningen clan." The monster spoke, with a high voice. "I was wondering if it was true. Ningen no Sanjo is still around after all these years."

Sanjo said nothing as she gave a cold glare at the monster. She turned to the others, pulling out the black device that would transform the group. Gin had repaired them at Sanjo's request. He had been talking about upgrading them – with the possibility of adding something he called a 'cell phone'.

""It is time." Sanjo said as Hideo and Eji removed their black devices as well.

"Ningen Chant!" The three spoke in unison. "Oni Change!"
In a flash of red, yellow, and blue, The Ningen warriors were transformed. Their clothes were replaced with tight, black armor. Tunics in their respective colors formed over their black suits, each bearing a menacing, golden face. Black helmets formed over their heads, followed by the three masks of Red, Blue, and Yellow.

"Let's go." Sanjo said, grabbing her club; "YuraYura Kanabou." The three called out, charging towards the monster.

"Hmph." The monster snorted. "Attack, Kagedorōn!" He yelled, pointing at the OniRanger.

The shadowy monsters swirled around the rangers, cutting them off from the monster. The rangers attacked, smashing through the shadows as they tried to make their way to the monster.

"I don't get it." OniRed said as he knocked one of the drones back. "I thought these things couldn't go into the light!"

OniBlue pushed hard against a shadow with her club. The club was spinning, grinding against the monster, sending it flying into oncoming shadows. "The Kurayami are growing stronger. Something has changed."

"Oh great. Like we didn't have enough problems on our hands." Eiji complained as he smashed a Kagedorōn with the base of his club, which was soon followed by a hard spin kick at the monsters head.

"Use the power of the Fukumen." Sanjo ordered. Her mask flashed bright blue. "Mystic Staff!" She called out as her blue weapon appeared in her hands. "Ningen Chant. Nami Mahō" Sanjo swing the staff upwards, sending a wave of blue energy along the ground, cutting through several of the shadowy monsters.

"Right." Hideo replied. His mask flashed bright red as a slender sword appeared in his hand. "Skilled Sword!" He called out as he ran through the group of monsters. His movements were almost like a blur as he cut through five of the monsters with the same precision as he had with the baseballs. "Ningen Chant. Kanpekina Odori

"My turn!" Eiji called out as his mask flashed bright yellow. A large metal club appeared in his hands. Spikes likned the top and the bottom of the club, which was almost as large as Eiji. "Strong Ha-uoah!" Eiji could not keep the club in the air, nearly losing his balance as the weapon smashed into the ground, creating a small crater.

"Woah, woah." Eiji snapped, tugging at the handle of his hammer. "What the hell!" Eiji's efforts were cut short as two of the monsters slashed OniYellow's back, knocking him to the ground.

"Eiji!" OniRed yelled, slashing through the remaining few monsters away with his sword. He ran towards Eiji, crouching down to check his condition.

OniBlue looked back at the steps. The Mantins Monster had ran off.
"Damn!" Eiji muttered as OniRed helped him up. Oni Yellow ripped the mask off his helmet, which dissolved back into his OniChanger along with his yellow attire. "What's the point of having a hammer that I can't even pick up!" He protested.

"I told you," Sanjo explained sharply. "You need to let your instincts take over. You are still just trying to show off." Sanjo removed her mask. "Hideo. We're going to look for the Kurayami. Eiji…go back to the museum."

"Ehh?" Eiji moaned. "I'm not hurt, I can still –"

"If you can't use your Fukumen power then you are no use in battle. Go back until you get it right!" Sanjo yelled, before storming off.

Hideo sighed as he pulled off his mask."Go on, Eiji." He said as the red light faded back into his Changer. "Before she ends up swinging at us next."
-

Eiji wandered the halls of the museum, paying no attention to the small groups that walked by. "Stupid Sanjo." He muttered as he stuck his hands in his pocket. He stopped his steady pace as he dug through each of his pockets, over and over. To his dissatisfaction, Eiji had forgotten his headphones. "Great. Now I have to go down there." He signed, walking towards the elevator.

Within minutes, Eiji stepped out the elevator again, entering the large circular room that was now their "Base." Gin had redecorated since the first time they arrived. There were a few couches now, placed alongside the walls. In the center, four computer terminals were placed around the large tree trunk that extended up through the ceiling. The rest of the tree was floors above. Eiji did not know if it was real or not, but in was positioned under a large skylight.

"Oi, Caretaker!" Eiji called out. The room was empty. He wandered around the room until he found what he was looking for, his pair of large, yellow headphones. He was just about to turn his music on, when he heard a large crash coming from a small tunnel opposite the elevator doors.

The boy ran, dropping his headphones back on the couch. Moving down the small hallway, Eiji entered a smaller room. This room was cluttered with large computers and many artifacts similar to the ones on display upstairs. There was also a large cloud of dirt and dust floating in the air, as if something had fallen.

"Gin?" Eiji called out, coughing through the dust.

"Over here!" Gin called out. "Help!"

Gin has pinned under a very large statue. The statue looked like it was once a mighty Oni monster. It was large and looked very heavy. It had fallen in such a way that Gin was face to face with the monster. The monsters large arms had Gin pinned under the statue, pushing its weight down on the caretaker's chest.

Eiji crouched down, and pulled on the statue. The large stone figure was intent on laying there. "How the hell did you end up under there?"

"I was examining the gem on this monster's head." Gin grunted, looking at the large red gemstone that made up the monster's only eye. "It wouldn't budge. I just kept pulling and pulling until…" Gin tried to push the monster off of his lungs one more time. "I must have pulled to hard."

Eiji pushed and pulled the statue as hard as he could. The stone warrior would not budge. "I guess I have no choice then." Eiji said as he removed his OniChanger from his pocket.

Hideo and Sanjo regrouped after splitting up to find the monster. They stood on a small bridge above a long river. By now, the sun was starting to set.

"Still no sign of that bug. Whatever the Oni was looking for, he must have found it." Hideo said as he leaned against the rail. "Don't you have something up your sleeve that can track him down?"

Sanjo shook her head. "It must have slipped back to their world. My tracking spell won't pick them up unless they step out of the shadows." Sanjo lifted her hand, revealing a small ball of pale blue light. "Once I finish putting these along the city, we will be able to catch it the moment it enters our world."

As if on cue, three circular blades of energy were launched at the two Ningen. Hideo pushed Sanjo out of the way, narrowly missing the attack as it sliced through the railings.

The two stood back up. Downstream, they could see the Mantis Kurayami preparing another attack.

To Be Continued in Episode 4 – "Swing, Batter!"